In November 1862 during the American Civil War, the draft was unpopular with some Washington County residents, including German immigrants who had experienced or fled conscription in their homelands. On the day that men from the nearby Town of Trenton were being drafted at the courthouse in West Bend, a mob disrupted the proceedings and forced the draft commissioner to flee to Milwaukee. On November 22, 1862, the commissioner returned to West Bend with six companies of the 30th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment to prevent further disruptions.