Detroit Burning

In March 1863, news of a controversial draft law hit the streets of Detroit as William Faulkner, a local saloonkeeper, stood trial for raping two young girls. Faulkner’s sensational trial and the even more sensationalized coverage in local newspapers inflamed festering racial animosities that resulted in an event dubbed “the bloodiest day that ever dawned upon Detroit.” The Detroit riot of 1863 permanently altered the city’s social landscape and later influenced the formation of Detroit’s first metropolitan police department.
This history of the Detroit riot of 1863 pieces together a scene-by-scene narrative that illustrates the unique and complex social dynamic of Detroit during the Civil War. Using eyewitness testimony from rare and seldom seen court records and trial transcripts, the author identifies the ringleaders, examines factors leading to the riot, and analyzes Faulkner’s trial in the context of political events.

Writer and researcher Tobin T. Buhk lives in Jenison, Michigan.

Tobin T. Buhk
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 275
Bibliographic Info: 21 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2024
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9216-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5201-6
Imprint: Exposit

Acknowledgments vii

Preface: The Great Riot 1

Introduction 3

Major Figures in the Detroit Riot of 1863 8

Timeline 11

Part 1—Kindling (February 27, 1863) 13

 1. The Past as Prologue (1833–1863) 15

 2. Behind Closed Doors: Law and Order in Detroit, c. 1863 36

Part 2—Torch (Monday, March 2–Friday, March 6, 1863) 59

 3. “The Faulkner Outrage” (Monday, March 2–Wednesday, March 4, 1863) 61

 4. The Case for the Prosecution (Thursday, March 5, 1863) 75

 5. The Case for the Defense (Friday, March 6, 1863) 84

Part 3—Inferno (Friday, March 6, 1863) 91

 6. Blaze (Friday Afternoon, March 6, 1863) 95

 7. Wildfire (Friday Afternoon, March 6, 1863) 102

 8. Detroit Is Burning (Friday Night, March 6, 1863) 113

Part 4—Ashes (Saturday, March 7–May 1863) 125

 9. Cinders (Saturday, March 7, 1863) 127

10. Sermons (Sunday, March 8, 1863) 145

11. Inquest (Saturday, March 7–Tuesday, March 24, 1863) 150

12. Witnesses (Monday, March 9–Tuesday, March 24, 1863) 160

13. Black, White, and Sepia (March 1863) 167

14. Whitewash: The Trials of the Rioters (April–May 1863) 176

Part 5—Rebuilding 187

15. Residual Effects and Legacy 189

16. Lessons: The Children’s Crusade 204

Epilogue 219

Appendix 1: “The Riot” 225

Appendix 2: Kids in the Big House, Juveniles in the Detroit House of Correction 228

Appendix 3: The Rev. Sylvan S. Hunting’s Sermon of March 15, 1863 233

Appendix 4: Questions for Study and Contemplation 236

Chapter Notes 237

Bibliography 259

Index 261