Thanksgiving 1862: A Riot in Kewaunee County

Thanksgiving in Kewaunee County today was much different than it was in 1862 when Kewaunee was dealing with thoughts of a draft riot. In the beginning, most felt the war between the North and the South would be over in a few months. Enlistments were for three months but things changed fast. President Lincoln called for 100,000 men and Wisconsin answered the call. Then came the drafts – and the riots. Kewaunee wasn’t the only place that had one.

At the beginning of the war, the Belgians of Lincoln, Red River and areas that today are in Luxemburg Town, had been in Kewaunee County for only two of three years. They were not assimilated and it was not their war. Few spoke English. They were mostly impoverished. The Belgians believed they were unfairly treated in the drafts, a charge history validates as Belgian names often sounded alike and some who thought they were drafted actually served under a name that belonged to someone else. In the early drafts, lists of those eligible were not posted; names were drawn and announced. Everybody knew money brought medical disabilities and therefore exemptions. Yankees and Germans had money with which to purchase a substitute, but for the Belgians, that was just about impossible.

Just before Thanksgiving Day 1862, Draft Commissioner W.S. Finley announced a draft to meet the county’s quota. By then the Belgians had had it and descended on Kewaunee armed with tree branches and pitchforks. They didn’t sneak up on anybody and must have been an angry mob because Draft Commissioner Finley, who was in his store on the corner of today’s Main and Ellis Streets, heard them coming. He must have known what the noise was and obviously thought the men meant business because he escaped from the store and ran the block to the harbor where he jumped on the steamer Comet which was about to cast off. When Finley ran, he left Mrs. Finley to deal with the angry men! She knew the men had to be hungry and opened barrels of crackers, cheese and other stores to feed them. Her kindnesses settled the men, whose issue was with her husband and not with her. The “riot” was broken up and the men went home.

Meanwhile, Finley was sailing to Milwaukee. He returned to Kewaunee with the town’s own Capt. Cunningham and Co. A, which was still in Milwaukee, preparing to go south into battle. Co. A paraded in the streets and Kewaunee was quiet. Rioters didn’t show up for the next draft which proceeded without incident. As for the men of Co. A, they were home for Thanksgiving dinner and dancing.