On the morning of June 24, 1861, a mob attacked several banks in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Hudson City Guards will be involved in restoring order and tomorrow you will be able to read Jerry Flint’s account of the riot. By way of introduction, today’s posting consists of published information on the riot.
Alexander Mitchell (1817-1887), a powerful Milwaukee banker, and some other Milwaukee bankers “saw an opportunity to eliminate some of their banking competitors by challenging their depressed currency,” according to Frank L. Klement.
Klement goes on to say, “On Friday, June 21, 1861, Mitchell and some fellow bankers secretly listed the bank notes of ten more banks as ‘unacceptable.’ The bankers then cleansed their vaults of the questionable currency, passing it on to manufacturing firms when they picked up their weekly payroll packages. The next day—and after the close of banking hours—some of Milwaukee’s manufacturers ended the work week by paying their unwitting workers in the virtually worthless currency.
“On Monday, June 24, Mitchell and his fellow bankers publicly listed the currency of the ten specified banks as ‘discredited and unacceptable.’ Workers who had received their week’s pay in the discredited currency complained bitterly, claiming they had been defrauded. A mob gathered and some men muttered threats; a riot ensued.”
Klement’s book, Wisconsin in the Civil War: The Home Front and Battle Front, 1861-1865 (Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1997; available in the UWRF Library, E 537.9 .K54 1997), provides much more detail on the Milwaukee Bank Riot on pages 19-20.
The following article is from The Hudson North Star, June 26, 1861:
MILWAUKEE, June 22.
The Governor, bank commissioners and bankers have held a conference on the State loan question. We learn that the entire State loan has been taken by the bankers of this city, and the bonds are to be received by the bank commissioners at par to take the place of Southern and other depreciated securities in the deposit. This arrangement, it is thought, will be of great benefit to the currency.
The following articles appeared in both The Prescott Journal and The Hudson North Star, both published on June 26, 1861. Neither paper credited where the story came from, but they obviously both copied it from the same Milwaukee newspaper.
Riot in Milwaukee.
MILWAUKEE, June 24—11:30 A.M.
A mob attacked the banks this morning. They have completely ridded Mitchell’s bank, destroying all the furniture and papers they could get hold of. The money and books are safe in the vault. Several clerks, with Mr. Mitchell himself, were inside, and one of them was taken out insensible. The mob afterwards stoned the State Bank of Milwaukee and Martin’s broker office, and have just commenced on the Juneau Bank. The damage as yet is not very large.
The Montgomery Guards, Captain O’Rourke,1 were called on by the Mayor, but after arriving on the ground refused to act. The Zouaves1 are now loading with buckshot. We look for sad work.
LATER.—The military have cleared out the mob and stationed guards at the banks and on the corners of the streets. No one is permitted to pass except by special order.
Fifty arrests have been made. The city is comparatively quiet now.
MILWAUKEE, June 24—2 P.M.
The military have got the better of the rioters and cleared the streets, stationing guards at every corner and a small squad at each bank. No one is permitted to pass without an order from the officer in command. Arrests are continually being made. There are over fifty now in custody. We can learn as yet, of none being killed. There are some wounded but the names are unknown. The banks are all closed. The riot originated in the Sixth and Eighth Wards, amongst the Germans. About ten o’clock they marched, headed by a band of music, through East Water street, till they arrived at Mitchell’s Bank, when the work of destruction commenced. The damage is not so great as at first feared, the papers of value and the currency having been locked up in the vault. The inside of the State Bank, Mitchell’s Bank, and J. B. Martin’s office, were completely riddled and burst. The clerks in Mitchell’s bank were badly bruised, but no lives lost nor any considered dangerously wounded. J. B. Martin2 and officers and clerks of the State Bank made their escape without injury. The riot was caused by the banks throwing out more currency. There was a good deal of murmuring Saturday and Sunday, but the action this morning was unexpected.
1. Probably John O’Rourke of Milwaukee who will become captain of Company D of the 6th Wisconsin Infantry. He was commissioned on April 23, 1861.
2. The Milwaukee Zouaves, which will become Company B of the 5th Wisconsin Infantry.
3. James Baynard Martin (1814-1878), a Milwaukee businessman, banker, and flour miller.
The Civil War and Northwest Wisconsin 