Detroit Burning

Book excerpt: In March 1863, news of a controversial draft law hit the streets of Detroit as local saloonkeeper William Faulkner stood trial for raping two young girls. The sensational trial and accompanying lurid coverage in local newspapers inflamed festering racial animosities, resulting 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 spurred the establishment of Detroit's first metropolitan police department. This history of the Detroit riot of 1863 illustrates the unique and complex social dynamic of Detroit during the Civil War. Featuring eyewitness testimonies from rare and seldom seen court records and trial transcripts, the book identifies the ringleaders, examines factors leading to the riot, and analyzes Faulkner's trial in the context of political events.