After the men were through their work in the woods it was customary to bring them to Williamsport and place them in the mills to help saw up the logs. As the season was short and it was important to clean up the work of sawing before the next winter, the mills operated twelve hours a day.
The “sawdust war,” as it was called, was a strike on the part of the workmen in the mills for a ten-hour day instead of twelve. There was no question of wages involved, and the principal advocates for the change were men who were not employed in the lumber industry, but were simply labor agitators.
The move for the ten-hour day began in June, 1872, and was characterized by frequent public meetings at which the speakers urged the men to go on strike. This finally culminated in a large number of men walking out, July 1, 1872, and adopting as their slogan, “ten-hour day or no sawdust.”
The strike reached to Lock Haven, where the men followed the lead of their Williamsport fellow-workmen.
Many of the mills were compelled to shut down on account of a depleted force until July 10, when an attempt was made to start up the mills, but without success. This precipitated the “Sawdust War.”
Parades and marches were held every day, the strikers going to the several mills and endeavoring to induce the workers still on the job to quit. Meetings were held every night. Thomas H. Greevy, by reason of being secretary of the local union and secretary of the State Labor Organization, was a prominent figure and always addressed these meetings.
After the strike had been in progress for a few weeks some of the men were induced to go back to work, but others, who were not willing to return, interfered, when a number of breaches of the peace took place.
The marches to the mills finally resulted in assaults being made upon the loyal workmen, and several attacks were made on mill owners on the streets of the city. These assaults finally became so frequent and so serious that Mayor S. W. Starkweather and Samuel Van Buskirk, sheriff of the county, called upon Governor John W. Geary for militia to be sent to Williamsport.
This request was complied with, and on July 22 troops were ordered to the city. They arrived the next day, July 23, and consisted of the following units: City Grays, Harrisburg, Captain Thomas Maloney; City Zouaves, Harrisburg, Captain Robert V. Vaughn; Middletown Zouaves, Middletown, Captain James Stanley; Washington Zouaves, Lebanon, Captain B. Y. Hean; Coleman Guards, Lebanon, Captain J. P. S. Gobin; City Grays, Williamsport, Captain A. H. Stead; Taylor Guards, Williamsport, Captain John H. White.
Williamsport was placed under martial law. On the same day, July 23, Thomas H. Greevy, James M. Birmingham, A. J. Whitten, Thomas F. Blake, Henry Crook and Alem Tate were arrested on charge of inciting to riot and at a hearing on July 25, before the City Recorder, were held in $10,000 bail for their appearance at the September term of court. Bail was promptly furnished, but an hour later Greevy was rearrested and $15,000 additional bail demanded. As other charges were pending, the men were taken to jail to await trial. On July 27 motion was made for a writ of habeas corpus and reduction of the amount of bail, which, on July 29, was refused by the court.