"The Indians are coming," the cry rang out that evening in 1862 on the 2nd of September in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Fire and church bells sounded the alarm. The news spread from Manitowoc all the way south to Racine and soon a mass exodus of the outlying communities occurred as families headed to the cities and safety.
On September 5th, a telegram was sent to Wisconsin Governor Edward Salomon, who had been Lt. Governor until Governor Louis P. Harvey's drowning death in April of 1862. It read: "Please send troops and arms by the first train. The Indians are within five miles of here, and are murdering and burning everything they come across. They burned Cedarburg last night."
Trains arrived in Milwaukee from the north and west filled with terrified passengers, many who couldn't even pay their fare. Normally quiet highways were filled with all manner of refugees traveling on foot, in cart, or any way they could manage.
Two scouting parties were formed from the Wisconsin 26th regiment to investigate. They returned to reassure the populace that all was peaceful. There was no uprising and there never had been an uprising in the area.
The mass hysteria had been induced by several factors. There had been an actual Indian Massacre at New Ulm, Minnesota. Several white settlers had been killed in late summer and the guilty tribesmen had been rounded up and hanged.
The Civil War was in full swing and there was a general mood of depression and apprehension made worse by the draft Governor Salomon had set up, eventually recruiting enough men to fill 14 regiments.
There was active opposition to the war by members of a group called the "Copperheads." Their support seemed strongest in Manitowoc, and reporters of the time wrote of secret meetings in barns, sheds, and stockrooms. The group's activities consisted of discouraging people from enlisting and aiding deserters. They also allegedly reported on Union activities and cooperated with rebel spies.
It is believed that the Copperheads were the ones behind the Indian scare, however, there was also an incident involving about a dozen actual Indians, who had been fishing near Cedarburg. Supposedly they became intoxicated and burned down an old mill. It is possible that the Copperheads took this occurrence and embellished upon it, helping to spread the panic.
The Indian Scare of 1862 turned out to be nothing more than rumor and panic and though it took several days to convince everyone, they soon all returned home with plenty to talk about.
Comments
I wonder if this was the Black Hawk war. My mother talks about a family member of that time hiding the kids in the ravine because the indians were coming. Another family member by the name of pierre whom was very large, sat on his porch and laughed. It turned out there was no indian war. They were out of Holy Cross, WI area. Our family from that time on my mother's side was the Schmacher's.
Wow, this is very fascinating! I love it!
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