Bay View massacre

Bay View Massacre
Bay View Massacre
	Wisconsin Historical Marker
Date	May 5, 1886
Location	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Goals	Eight-hour day
Methods	Strikes, Protest, Demonstrations
Parties
Knights of Labor	Wisconsin National Guard
Lead figures
	Jeremiah McLain Rusk;
Casualties and losses
Deaths: 7; Injuries: ; Arrests:	Deaths: ; Injuries:

The Bay View massacre (sometimes also referred to as the Bay View Tragedy) was the culmination of events that began on Saturday May 1, 1886 when 7,000 building-trades workers joined with 5,000 Polish laborers who had organized at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to strike against their employers, demanding an eight-hour work day.^[1]

By Monday, these numbers had increased to over 14,000 workers that gathered at the Milwaukee Iron Company rolling mill in Bay View. They were met by 250 National Guardsmen under order from Republican Governor Jeremiah M. Rusk. The strikers had shut down every business in the city except the North Chicago Rolling Mills in Bay View. The guardsmen's orders were that, if the strikers were to enter the Mills, they should shoot to kill. But when the captain received the order it had a different meaning: he ordered his men to pick out a man and shoot to kill when the order was given. Workers camped in the nearby fields and the Kosciuszko Militia arrived by May 4. Early the next day the crowd, which by this time contained children, approached the mill and were fired upon. Seven people died as a result, including a thirteen-year-old boy.^[2]^[3] Several more were injured during the protest. Several contradictory newspaper accounts described other possible casualties, but the count of seven deaths is substantiated by specific names (Frank Kunkel, Frank Nowarczyk, John Marsh, Robert Erdman, Johann Zazka, Martin Jankowiak, and Michael Ruchalski).^[4]

Since 1986, members of the Bay View Historical Society, the Wisconsin Labor History Society, and other community groups have held a commemorative event to honor the memories of those killed during the incident. The event is held every year on the first Sunday in May at 3pm, at the State Historical Marker site at the intersection of Superior Street and Russell Avenue, within view of the former rolling mill location.

References

^ Nesbit, Robert C. (1985). "Labor". The History of Wisconsin, Vol. 3: Urbanization and Industrialization, 1873-1993. Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin. pp. 381–403. ISBN 0-87020-122-0.
^ Korn, Bernhard C. (1980). "Labor Seeks Its Own". The Story of Bay View. Milwaukee: Milwaukee County Historical Society. pp. 85–89. ISBN 0-938076-05-1.
^ http://www.uwm.edu/People/emj9/Labor%20Walk/interface%20two.html.
^ http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2011/05/02/the-bay-view-massacre-125-years-later/

External links

Wisconsin Labor History Society
"The 1886 Bay View Massacre" from the "People and Events in Labor History" collection on the Wisconsin Laborers' District Council website.

[1] Nesbit, Robert C. (1985). "Labor". The History of Wisconsin, Vol. 3: Urbanization and Industrialization, 1873-1993. Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin. pp. 381–403. ISBN 0-87020-122-0.

[2] Korn, Bernhard C. (1980). "Labor Seeks Its Own". The Story of Bay View. Milwaukee: Milwaukee County Historical Society. pp. 85–89. ISBN 0-938076-05-1.

[3] ttp://www.uwm.edu/People/emj9/Labor%20Walk/interface%20two.html.

[4] ttp://urbanmilwaukee.com/2011/05/02/the-bay-view-massacre-125-years-later/

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v t e Major armed conflicts in American labor union history
19th century	Great Railroad Strike, 1877 Rock Springs massacre, 1885 Bay View massacre, 1886 Haymarket affair, 1886 Thibodaux massacre, 1887 Morewood massacre, 1891 Cotton pickers' strike of 1891 Homestead Strike, 1892 Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor strike of 1892 Pullman Strike, 1894 Streetcar strikes in the United States, 1895–1929 Lattimer massacre, 1897 Illinois coal wars, 1898–1899
20th century	Streetcar strikes in the United States, 1895–1929 Colorado Labor Wars, 1903–1904 1905 Chicago teamsters' strike 1907 San Francisco streetcar strike Pressed Steel Car strike of 1909 Westmoreland County coal strike of 1910–1911 Paint Creek–Cabin Creek strike of 1912 1913 Ipswich Mills strike Colorado Coalfield War, including the Ludlow Massacre, 1913–1914 Copper Country strike of 1913–1914 Everett massacre, 1916 1920 Alabama coal strike Battle of Matewan, 1920 Battle of Blair Mountain, 1921 Herrin massacre, 1922 Hanapepe massacre, 1924 Columbine Mine massacre, 1927 Harlan County War, 1931–1932 West Coast waterfront strike, 1934 Gulf Coast longshoremen's strike, 1935 Memorial Day massacre, 1937 Hilo massacre, 1938
Related articles	List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States Union violence in the United States Anti-union violence in the United States List of worker deaths in United States labor disputes
Portal:Organized Labour

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