By 1863, the combination of the Northern blockade of Southern ports, the diversion of Southern food supplies from the home front to the war front and the escalating inflation of its currency began to negatively affect the Confederacy's civilian population. Tensions boiled to the surface on April 2, 1863, when a group of hungry and desperate women descended upon the Confederate capitol in Richmond demanding relief. Shouting "Bread, Bread, Bread!" the mob vented its frustrations by smashing store windows and looting their contents.  The bread riot was eventually quelled when Jefferson Davis climbed atop a wagon and threatened to have Confederate troops open fire on the crowd. He pulled out his watch and gave the rioters five minutes to disperse and return home.  There were no further riots in Richmond during the Civil War, because the government placed cannons at strategic locations in and around the city and increased efforts to distribute food to the poor. City leaders went to great lengths to keep the fact of the riot out of the news, fearing the impact the story would have on troop morale. However, news leaked out via Union prisoners of war in Richmond, and the riot was front-page news in The New York Times on April 8.