Grafton Historical Society Meeting On Troy Draft Riots

The Grafton Historical Society will meet at 7 pm in the Grafton Town Hall on July 17. This month’s program is The Troy Draft Riots of 1863, presented by Michael Barrett.
What has been described as “the second most destructive draft riot in the nation” broke out in Troy on July 15, 1863. The bulk of the two to three thousand angry protestors in the streets were Catholics who worked in the city’s mills, factories and iron works. The Troy Draft Riots were violent disturbances that were the culmination of discontent with new laws to draft men to fight in the ongoing Civil War. The rioters were working class men, resentful, among other reasons, because the draft unfairly affected them while sparing wealthier men who could afford to pay expensive fees to exclude them from the draft.
Michael Barrett earned a B.S. in Criminal Science at Russell Sage College while working as a police officer for the City of Troy and presently is employed as Director of the Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway in Troy.
The program is free, and the public is welcome. Refreshments will be served. For more information contact 518-641-9660 or email historicgrafton@aol.com.