In the Riot's Aftermath

The evidence reviewed in this exhibit reveals that the riot was triggered by a specific combination of factors. Draft quotas were high in Ozaukee County compared to lower quotas in most other Wisconsin counties, and the working poor in Port Washington believed they were being unfairly targeted for conscription. The state government exacerbated the situation by using politically connected, wealthy elite members of the community to carry out the draft rather than the draft officials chosen and elected by the citizens. Finally, many of the wealthy elite were also receiving draft exemptions. These actions by Governor Solomon and the draft agents infuriated the common citizenry who sensed that political favoritism was fraudulently skewing the conscription process and forcing them into military service. Evidence from newspaper reports and the 1860 Census also indicates that those attacked by the rioters had some combination of high-class economic status, membership in the Masons, and affiliation with the Republican party.

It must be kept in mind that this riot occurred in November 1862, eight full months before the more famous draft riot in New York City in July 1863. The same month that the draft riot occurred in Port Washington, there were also numerous other demonstrations across the state of Wisconsin, some of which nearly resulted in rioting. In Manitowoc, a large crowd demonstrated, and the local newspapers identified these demonstrators as mostly Irish and German immigrants. In Sheboygan, an angry crowd was dispersed when the draft commissioner pulled out his revolver. On November 15,1862, a large mob with firearms also paraded into Green Bay. After angrily demonstrating in front of the residences of the mayor and a U.S. Senator, the crowds were dispersed before sunset without violent incidents. Large military presences were subsequently established in Green Bay, Milwaukee and West Bend, which prevented further escalation of violence in Wisconsin. The local newspapers identified these demonstrators as immigrants. But these assertions from the newspapers need to be verified by other means.