Detroit sober German soldiers?

major bill

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Forum Host
Joined
Aug 25, 2012
Was the German Anti-Liquor Law Brigade a real military militia company? The uniforms and side arms make it sound like a home guard company.


german no drink.jpg
 
I am not as familiar with the "German scene" up in Detroit, but while the makeup of the German element in the United States was very diverse, to be anti-temperance was very common. To many it was seen as an attack on their very culture.

Combine this with the reality that German immigrants were many times attacked outright by nativists and Know Nothings, it is not a surprise that they would take the initiative to arm themselves. Organizations such as the Turners had formed their own militia companies prior to the war in many cities. Here in Cincinnati, they had no choice but to do so, as several incidents broke out into full on riots requiring blockades in the streets and resulting in multiple deaths and hundreds of injuries.
 
I am not as familiar with the "German scene" up in Detroit, but while the makeup of the German element in the United States was very diverse, to be anti-temperance was very common. To many it was seen as an attack on their very culture.

Combine this with the reality that German immigrants were many times attacked outright by nativists and Know Nothings, it is not a surprise that they would take the initiative to arm themselves. Organizations such as the Turners had formed their own militia companies prior to the war in many cities. Here in Cincinnati, they had no choice but to do so, as several incidents broke out into full on riots requiring blockades in the streets and resulting in multiple deaths and hundreds of injuries.

you may want to read up on the turnerbewegung :D friedrich ludwig jahn <- the guy who kinda founded them (just wiki, but good enough for a first glance), basicly all that turnen (gymnastics) was a vehicle to be fit enought to fight the french. so your 'turners' being armed and ready comes in no way as a surprise to me :whistling:

to achieve (germany) or preserve (usa) the union ist the thing to do for them
 
you may want to read up on the turnerbewegung :D friedrich ludwig jahn <- the guy who kinda founded them (just wiki, but good enough for a first glance), basicly all that turnen (gymnastics) was a vehicle to be fit enought to fight the french. so your 'turners' being armed and ready comes in no way as a surprise to me :whistling:

to achieve (germany) or preserve (usa) the union ist the thing to do for them
No surprise here, either, but the Turner movement is not very well known here in the US. The first Turnverein in the US was formed in Cincinnati in November 1848 (with the assistance of Friedrich Hecker), membership jumped from the original 14 members to over 200 by 1851. By 1860 there were 157 Turnvereine in the US with over 10,000 members. Safe to say that even though it was a small portion of the greater German diaspora, there was certainly a demand for it, and one only needs to look through old newspaper accounts describing stonings, riots, and worse to justify that demand.
 
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