Railroad workers in Indiana joined the strike and peacefully advocated for the reinstatement of what they deemed their rightful wages. For nearly a week, workers controlled the rail yards in Indianapolis and Terre Haute without incident. Despite the peaceful nature of the strike in the state, the state government soon joined with local and national business leaders to put down the strike with a show of force. Local militia forces were led by future-President Benjamin Harrison and were encamped on the grounds of the federal Arsenal, now Arsenal Technical High School.. The militia’s main duties were parading throughout the city’s streets and throwing raucous picnics.

As strike activity waned in other cities, the Indianapolis strikers met with a committee of business leaders, also led by Benjamin Harrison. Harrison’s committee seemed sympathetic and promised to advocate for the strikers’ demands if they returned to work at pre-strike wage levels. The committee also pledged that none of the strike leaders would be arrested for their activities during the strike. The strikers agreed to return to work, at which time promises made by Harrison’s were forgotten and the strike leader, Warren Sayre, was arrested on charges of interfering with rail lines in federal receivership. Mayor Caven paid Sayre’s bail and unsuccessfully lobbied that the charges against him be dropped. Sayre and fourteen others were tried with no jury in federal court and received sentences ranging from one to six months and fines from $500 to $5,000.