1863: New York City Draft Riots

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Description

On 11-16 July 1863 a series of riots of mainly Irish-American residents of New York City, burned, looted and murdered in several sections of the city causing millions of dollars of damage and severely shaking the social order of the city. The riots were a response to the dramatic changes the Civil War brought about: key among them the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and the Conscription Act of 1863.^[1] When the names of those who were to be drafted were published in newspapers, rioters began vandalizing official government and draft buildings.^[2] Later, the rage of the rioters was directed at black citizens of New York. The Colored Orphan Asylum of New York was burned to the ground and numerous blacks were grusomely lynched in the streets.^[3] Although New York, like many major cities of this era, had a long history of riots, the Draft Riots of 1863 ranked among the most bloody in American history.^[4]

Seeking to quell the violence, city and state officials asked for federal help. Several regiments, many recalled from the recent Battle of Gettysburg, restored a relative calm to the city around the 16 July. Although the draft was able to proceed on 19 August, the Draft Riots were a stark example of the growing discord not just between North and South, but Democrats versus Republicans,upper classes versus lower classes, immigrants versus natives, white versus black all over the nation. ^[5]

Related Events

1863: Emancipation Proclamation 1863: Battle of Gettysburg

Sources

^[1] Adrian Cook, The Armies of the Streets: The New York City Draft Riots of 1863 (Lexington, KY: The Univ. of Kentucky Press, 1974)

^[2] New York, New YorkThe New York Times, July 14, 1863

^[3] Cook, 174.

^[4] Incidents of the 1863 New York Draft Riots Taken From The Report Of The Merchants' Committee For The Relief of Colored People Suffering From The Late Riots In The City Of New York (July 1863) Compiled and Transcribed by Richard Irby (Self-Published) Accessed 13 November 2006 (http://www.geocities.com/irby.geo/nyr/report.html)