RIOT: 1863 New York City, Severed

New York, in its earlier history, stands preeminent among the cities of the country for the frequency and violence of her riots,” wrote historian Daniel Van Pelt in Leslie’s History of Greater New York.

“But up to the year 1863 — with the Doctor’s Mob of 1788, the riots of 1834, 1835, 1837, 1849, and the ‘Dead Rabbits’ exploits of 1857, not to mention Mayor Wood’s performances with his ‘own’ police in the same year, all garnishing the record — and New York’s are not easily excelled…

In 1863 the ‘Draft Riots.’”¹  became the worst, bloodiest, most destructive and brutal riot of all, which stemmed from many causes, not the least of which, was the way violence had been employed for political reasons, in the past 3 decades.

Prior to the insurrection, German and Irish immigrants were fleeing their own personal hell into Hell’s Kitchen , New York.

Between 1800 -1860, New York grew by a 1,000% and as the city’s expansions grew ever new and modern, the worse life became for the older parts of the city where recent immigrants lived.

 The Conscription Act called for the drafting of 200,000 men, but allowed for commutation on payment of $300, a clause favoring the rich.

Opposition politicians throughout the North called the act unconstitutional, and planned protests against its implementation, though in execution of the law, New York was a critical focal point by the Federal government.

In 1863 the city had a population of about 800,000—a spectacular rise from the 50,000 inhabitants of 1800. Most of the increase came from immigration, from within the US and overseas..

 

The majority of the foreign immigrants were Irish, crowding into the slums of the Lower East Side and the working-class areas of the Upper East and West Sides.

In 1863 New York extended to just north of present-day Central Park, which was then under construction.

Since 1811, the city had adopted the rectangular pattern of streets running east–west and avenues north–south. It was crowded and dense and suffered from serious air pollution, bad sanitation, numerous tenement firetraps, and endemic corruption.

Irish Americans first came to America in colonial years (pre-1776), with immigration rising in the 1820s due to poor living conditions in Ireland.

But the largest wave of Irish immigration came after the Great Famine in 1845.

The War Department published a formal announcement, draft  lotteries would begin July 11th to enlist men for the US civil war, but  no further notification was sent to the Mayor or the Board of Metropolitan Police, therefore, no requisition was made for a police guard to preserve order at the enrollment offices where  draft lotteries were to be held.

In addition, no extra military force was provided.

The only shadow of such a precaution was a regiment of Invalid Corps (crippled soldiers, 500 strong) was directed to furnish guard, though violent riots had taken place the week earlier in Boston and Buffalo , NY.

 

When the draft law came into force, the lower classes of New York were almost totally alienated from federal and city power structures.

The Democratic Party, was split between the War Democrats who supported the Lincoln government and Peace Democrats who sought a negotiated peace with the Confederacy.

Peace Democrat politicians, were the loudest in assuring the people that the draft was immoral and unconstitutional, but were also powerless to stop it, though it was generally well known Governor of New York , Hon. Horatio Seymour, had been and still was in correspondence with the national government trying to prevent, mitigate, or postpone the Draft, and most citizens believed he would be successful.

Initially there was a wait and see attitude, but his efforts were without result, except making an atmosphere of general suspense.

It produced a quiet tension, and increasingly  dark rumors of trouble to come.

Whispers  circulated  from house to house, through all the lower wards of the city.

 

Some clear-headed citizens began to not only perceive the presence of possible danger, but also prepared to meet it.

A curious feature of the situation, it wasn’t the timid men or non- combatants, but some of the military officers, who for various reasons remained in the city, were fairly aware of an impending crisis, before it aroused the suspicions of those supposed to be professionally on the watch, for such indications.

On Saturday morning, the 11th of July, 1863, the actual operation of the Draft began, held at the Marshal’s or Enrollment Office of the 3rd Sub division of the 9th Congressional District, at No. 677  Third Avenue, corner of Forty-sixth Street.

The drawings of names were made by means of a lottery-wheel, and proceeded through out the day without disruption.

A large crowd assembled and there were many cloudy faces, but all utterances of discontent were seemingly within the bounds of reason.

1,236 names were drawn, leaving only 264 men to be obtained, to complete the quota of that subdivision.

No other enrollment office was ready, or attempted to begin operations that day.

When the lottery-wheel ceased its intensely-watched revolutions, the crowd slowly dispersed.

The drafted men had some days left to arrange their affairs and report for duty, or the reverse, but they all went away, more or less gloomily.

In proportion to the measure of their patriotism or war-spirit, or the pressure of their circumstances, or their mental and moral condition, the oppressive nature of the Conscription Act became manifest to them.

Soon, visions of the wheel, the frenzied anxiety of Russian Roulette grew and anger began simmering.

Its tremendous reality also dawned upon them and the entire community.

It was a fact, and no manner of escape was provided for any drafted man who could not raise $300 (equal to a years pay for an average man) to pay his exemption- fee or furnish a substitute.

” Thus far. everything has gone quietly, and the people generally consider the Draft as a matter of course, for we have been unable to learn of any undue excitement in regard to it in any section.

Many stories have been circulated to the effect that bands, gangs, and companies have been organized, here and there, with the intention of resisting the Draft, and that the numbers are armed and drilled, hold secret meetings, and so forth ; but, from all that we can learn, no such organizations exist ; and even if they did, they will amount to nothing.”

That ,was the editorial declaration of the New York Daily Tribune on Saturday morning, July 11, 1863; and there was no better authority in the country- within a couple of days, their office would be set ablaze by a mob.

It was parsed, in a sort of suppressed fermentation, by nearly the entire population.

The next day, Sunday,  July 12 was a day of rest, but it was also the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne may have played on the minds of the Catholic Irish.

In the sweltering July heat of that Sunday in 1863, most New Yorkers congregated in bars and on stoops to drink and talk politics.

The coolest, although most deeply interested men were the Metropolitan Police, who were hardly affected by the growing excitement.

The external signs of its effect upon others escaped them altogether, or, if observed, were regarded as indicating nothing of importance.

All the discussions of the evil to come, and there must have been many such, were held in secret places; but their existence seemed to send out an atmosphere of its own which brooded heavily over the whole city.

Quiet citizens in their houses felt trouble in the air, and wondered what it might be.

There were fires in two or three places that evening, but nobody connected them with the Draft, and it was only noticed that they seemed to attract larger and more disorderly crowds than usual.

Sunday evening, only customary details for duty were made by the Superintendent of Metropolitan Police.

He had at his disposal about a 1,000 men, well trained and entirely trustworthy, being that half of the entire force which was ” on duty.”

The other half was ” off duty,” for its daily rest, but subject to summons, constituting it an avail able reserve.

The 1,000 or more men on duty were scattered all over the city.

The station- house of each of the 32  precincts* was the local headquarters and rallying-point of men belonging to that precinct.

Each station-house was connected by telegraph with the Central Office, the general business of the department being transacted through the wires.

 

The Board of Metropolitan Police was invested with the power of calling out and employing the militia regiments within its jurisdiction, but these all, 17 in number, were now out of reach.

Superintendent Kennedy had not thought of needing militia regiments or of any special pressure upon what seemed the ample force, under his direction.

It was purely a routine precaution when he ordered a sergeant and 12 men to proceed to each of the United States enrollment offices, on Monday morning.

They expected crowds of men would gather, but thought they were only present to hear if their name would be called.

 

At 10 a.m., on July 13, 1863 , a furious crowd of around 500, led by the volunteer firemen of Engine Company 33 (known as the “Black Joke” named after a ship from the War of 1812), attacked the assistant 9th District provost marshal’s office, at 3rd Avenue and 47th Street, where the draft was taking place.

What became known as “Irish confetti”  was thrown by the crowd, large paving stones through windows, burst through the doors, and set the building ablaze.

When the fire department responded, rioters broke up their vehicles.

Others killed horses that were pulling streetcars and smashed the cars.

To prevent other parts of the city being notified of the riot, they cut telegraph lines.

The Mayor of New York had already summoned a special meeting of the Board of Aldermen to discuss measures for the preservation of the peace of the city, and was in consultation with the military commanders, State and National.

Telegrams were flashing out in swift succession from the Central Office of the Metropolitan Police, calling in all outlying details of men, and making  preparations for a desperate struggle.

 

Still, it was no time for giving explanations, and as late as 11.30 A.M. the down-town station-houses sent up telegrams inquiring, ” Is there a riot up-town ?”

Since the New York State Militia had been sent to assist Union troops at Gettysburg, the local New York Metropolitan Police Department were the only force on hand to try to suppress the riots

 

Police Superintendent John Kennedy arrived at the site on Monday to check on the situation. Although not in uniform, the mob recognized him and attacked him.

Kennedy was left nearly unconscious, his face bruised and cut, his eye injured, his lips swollen, and over 70 knife wounds, all over his body.

Police drew their clubs and revolvers and charged the crowd, but were overpowered.

The police were badly outnumbered and unable to quell the riots, but they kept the rioting out of Lower Manhattan below Union Square.

The mob was rising in other parts of the city.

The work of the Draft was but just beginning, at the other enrollment offices when, at 11.25 o’clock A.M., they received telegraphic orders to suspend.

The 6th Avenue deputy marshal was even ordered to carry his books and papers to Governor’s island for safety.

The “Bloody Sixth” Ward, around the South Street Seaport and Five Points areas, refrained from involvement in the rioting.

Still on 3rd Ave, the police was losing ground, in spite of unsurpassed heroism.

At 12:15 a telegram came to the Central Office : “There is danger of the mob attacking the Armory corner of 21st Street and 2nd Avenue.

There are about five hundred stand of arms in it.”, 15 minutes later a similar message concluded with:

“There is a great crowd. One of our men has — ” And there it stopped, for there were many broken and disjointed messages in that hour of difficulty.

The armory building alluded to, on the north eastern corner of Second Avenue and Twenty-first Street, was a large brick structure built for a piano-factory, but now occupied as a rifle-factory, the entire upper story being used as a drill-room by military organizations.

The quantity of arms stored there was probably about as stated, but a much larger quantity was known to be in the Union Steam Works building, one block above, on the corner of 2nd Avenue and 22nd Street.

Operations Department of the Western Union Telegraph Building

The latter building was largely occupied for the manufacture of carbines for army uses.

There was also supposed to be a small quantity of ammunition in each ; and the plans of the mob evidently included obtaining so desirable a supply of weapons.

Captain Cameron, of the 18th Precinct, had already acted promptly with reference to the Armory.

 

 

Still the crowd surged, An attempt to storm the main entrance, the door being partly shattered, at last compelled the garrison to use their revolvers ; and the 1st of the rioters who were actually killed.

Precisely how many were hit – unknown, but the ruffian who led the rush lay dead on the door-step, and others were taken away by their friends.

 

 

 

Sergeant Burdick managed to send a request to Captain Cameron for help, but he replied,  there was no one to send ; and the aspect of affairs grew darker and darker.

At last, at about 4 pm, it became obvious, the building could be held no longer.

To remain was but to be massacred ; and yet for a mere handful of 35 men, all told, to venture into the street was but to rush upon certain death.

The crowd still swelling, In this extremity a sort of ” man-hole ” was discovered in the rear wall of the factory, about eighteen feet from the ground, with a gutter-pipe below which would aid descent.

It was barely large enough to let a man through, and all the Broadway Squad were six-footers ; but they managed to perform the feat one after another, swinging themselves down undiscovered, and, making their way through back yards and over fences into 22nd Street, ran the 18th Precinct station- house.

Every man escaped ; but hardly was the last one out of the  Armory before the doors were burst open and the mob poured in to plunder it, mad with rage to find their victims beyond their reach.

The Bull’s Head hotel on 44th Street, which refused to provide alcohol to the mob, was burned. The mayor’s residence on Fifth Avenue, the 8th and 5th District police stations, and other buildings were attacked and set on fire.

Fire engine companies responded, but some firefighters were sympathetic to the rioters because they had also been drafted on Saturday.

Later in the afternoon, authorities shot and killed a man as a crowd attacked the armory at 2nd Avenue and 21st Street.

Building after building began to be attacked at this point, an orphanage housing black and mixed race orphans was sacked,and burned agter intended target, the offices of the N. Y. Tribune.

 

All orphans thankfully survived and were taken to safety inside the a police station, where they would stay the night.

 

 

During the first three months of 1861, New York City boldly flirted with leaving the Union.

The reasons were decades in the making, but the sentiment was never more pointed than on January 6, 1861, when New York Mayor Fernando Wood addressed the city council.

Then, as now, New York City was the nation’s financial hub, and had made its reputation and revenues by supplying goods and services to the slave South.

Most New Yorkers were decidedly pro-Southern and for years leading up to Abraham Lincoln’s election, two scoundrels—Wood and U.S. Marshal Isaiah Rynders—nurtured pro-slavery practices in the city.

New York City had not welcomed the onset of the Civil War, as it meant losing the South as a trading partner.

Cotton was an extremely valuable product for New York’s merchants: Before the Civil War, cotton represented 40 percent of all the goods shipped out of the city’s port.

Also, long after the slave trade was made illegal in 1808, the city’s illicit slave market thrived.

 

When the war broke out in 1861, there was even talk of New York seceding from the Union itself, so entwined were the city’s business interests with the Confederate States.

“It would seem that a dissolution of the Federal Union is inevitable,” he observed, noting the sympathy joining New York to “our aggrieved brethren of the Slave States” and suggesting that the city declare its own independence from the Union.

“When Disunion has become a fixed and certain fact, why may not New York disrupt the bands which bind her to a venal and corrupt master—to a people and a party that have plundered her revenues, attempted to ruin her, take away the power of self-government, and de­stroyed the Confederacy of which she was the proud Empire City?”

 

The city was also a center of mixed sentiment regarding Abraham Lincoln.

While his speech at Cooper Union may have sealed his presidential candidacy, “Many New Yorkers gave Lincoln a cold shoulder when he visited on his way to the inauguration,” according to Lincoln and New York.

Mayor Wood hoped to capitalize on this hatred, saying independence would be “disrupt[ing] the bands which bind her to a venal and corrupt master.”

However, that all changed with the attack on Fort Sumter. According to the New York Times:

The tidal wave of support for the Union overwhelmed secessionist sentiment in the city. New York, alongside the rest of the North that April, proclaimed its loyalty to the United States. On April 20, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers gathered in a massive patriotic rally in Union Square, by which time New York had already begun to provide vast amounts of money, men and supplies that would save the Union over the next four years.

By late 1861 it was widely recognized among the nascent political leaders of the Irish-American community that one sure route to social acceptance in their adopted nation was through military service.

Some saw the presence of Irish immigrants upon the fields of battle in the developing war as a method to display the ancient concept of “Civic Virtue.”

Accordingly, and despite their initial political opposition to the Republican administration of Lincoln, Irish America threw its full weight into the war.

The most visible result of this was the Irish Brigade, which became the most famous unit in the Union Army of the Potomac, and arguably one of the most celebrated units in all American history.

 

Originally the Irish Brigade consisted of three regiments from New York City, the 63rd, 69th and 88th New York.

These units, although they drew heavily on the membership of the earlier 69th New York State Militia, were a separate category of troops known as “State Volunteers.”

(The vast majority of all soldiers that fought in the Civil War were in units of this type.) This meant that they served at the discretion of the federal government, not that of the states.

On the other hand, they were still allowed to retain some of their individual character, and one way that they did this was through their battle flags.

 

Prior to this During the 1840s and 1850s, journalists had published sensational accounts, directed at the Irish , dramatizing the “evils” of interracial socializing, relationships, and marriages, Irish were referred to as white Negroes, at times , as Blacks were called smoked Irish. The Irish social status, also on par with emancipated slaves.

 

The extent of the draft week riots would not be surpassed until on 156  years later , known as the L. A. riots of 1992.