i£x ICtbrts SEYMOUR DURST When you leave, please leave this hook Because it has heen said "Ever'lhing comes t' him uyho waits £?^cept a loaned hook." Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library (. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/penpencilsketcheOOhead PExN Ai\D PENCIL SKETCHES OF THE GREAT EIOTS. AX ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE KAILROAD AND OTHER GREAT AMEPJCAN RIOTS. MUlm all ae Riots in tlie Early History of tie Country. By Ho^-. J. T. HEADLEY, Author of " Napoleon AXD His Marshals," " Washington and His Gen- erals," " Sacred Mountains," " Sacred Heroes and Martyrs," Etc. IXjIjXJSTE,-A.TEr>- NEW YORK : E. B. TREAT, 805 BROADWAY, H, W. KELLEY, Philadelphia. H. H. NATT & CO., St. Louis LOUIS LLOYD & CO., Chicago. 1877. 3 COPYRIGHT, ."K. B. TREAT, 1877. PREFACE. TfiE materials for the descriptions of the Xegro and Doctors' Riots were gathered from the Arcliives of the Historical Society ; those of the immediately succeeding ones, from the press of the times. For the scenes and incidents that occurred on the stage and behind the curtain in the Astor-place Opera Kiot, I am indebted to a pamphlet entitled " Behind the Scenes ^ The materials for the history of the Draft Riots were obtained in part from the Daily Press, and in part from the City and Military Authorities, especially Commissioner Acton, Seth Hawley, General Brown, and Colonel Frothingham, who succeeded in putting them down. Mr. David Barnes, who published, some ten years ago, a pamphlet entitled The Metropolitan Police," 4 JUiEFACE. kindly funiislied nie facts relating to the Police Department (j»f great value, and which saved me nnich lal)or and time. Much difficulty has been encountered in gathering together, from various quarters, the facts spread over a century and a half, but it is believed that every- thing necessary to a complete understanding of the subjects treated of has been given, consistent with the continuity and interest of the narrative. Tlie material for tlie account of the unparalleled Enilroad Strike, ^\•ith the Riots connected with it in various places, are gathered necessarily from the local press of the country. Of course some minor riots — a collection of mobs that were easily dispei*sed by the p{)lice, and were characterized l)y no prolonged struggle or strik- ing incidents — are not mentioned. In addition to the numerous illustrations from special designs, engraved expressly for this work, the Publisher is indebted to the courtesy of the Penn- sylvania Pailroad Company for a number of the finest illustrations, also to Frank Leslie's Illustrated Xewspaper. CONTENTS. CHAPTER 1/ Character of a City illustrated by Riots. — New Material for History of Draft Riots. — History of the Rebellion incomplete without History of them. — The Fate of the Nation resting on the Issues of the Struggle in New York City. — The best Plan to adopt for "^•otection against Mobs 17 CHAPTER II. THE NEGRO RIOTS OF 1712-1741. Almost impossible for the present Generation to comprehend its true Character and Effect on the People. — Description of New York at that Time.— The Negro Slaves.— The Negro Riot of 1713.— Description of it. — The Winter of 1741.— Governor's House burned down. — Other Fires. — Suspicion of the People. — Arrest and Imprisonment of the Blacks. — Reward offered for the sup- posed Conspirators. — Alarm and Flight of the Inhabitants. — Ex- amination and Confession of Mary Burton. — Peggy, the New- foundland Beauty, and the Hughson Family. — The Conspiracy. — Executions. — Fast. — Hughson's Hearing. — Hung in Chauis. — The Body, and that of a Negro, left to swdng and rot in the Air. — Strange Change in the Appearances of the Bodies. — The Peo- ple throng to look at them. — Negroes burned at the Stake. — Terrific Spectacle. — Bloody Summer. — Execution of a Catholic Priest. — Strange Scenes. — Upper Classes accused. — Executions stopped. — Reason of the Panic 24 CHAPTER HI. THE STA]VtP-ACT RIOT OF 1765. Thorough Understanding of the Principles of Liberty by the Peo- ple. — The Stamp Act. — How viewed by the Colonists. — Colden 1* CONTENTS. streugthens Fort George iii Alarm. — Arrival of the Stamps. — How the News was received by the Sons of Liberty. — A Bold Placard. — Stamp Distributor frightened. — Patriotic Action of the Mer- chants. — Public Demonstration against the Stamp Act.— Golden takes Refuge in the Fort. — Dare not fire on the People. — The People at the Gate demand the Stamps. — Golden and Lord Bute hung in Elligy. — Golden's Coach-house broken open. — The Images placed in the Coach, and dragged with Shouts through the Streets.— Hung again in Sight of the Fort.— A Bonfire made of the Fence around Bowling Green, and the Governor's Carriages, while the Garrison look silently on. — Prejudice against Coaches. — Major James' House sacked. — Great Joy and Demonstration at the Repeal of the Stamp Act. — Celebration of the King's Birth- day. — Loyalty of the People. — Mutiny Act. — A Riot becomes a Great Rebellion 46 CHAPTER IV. doctors' RTOT, 1788. Body-snatching. — Bodies dug up by Medical Students. — Excitement of the People. — Effect of the Discovery of a human Limb from the Hospital. — Mob ransack the Building. — Destruction of Anatomical Specimens. — Arrival of Mayor, and Lnprisonment of Students. — Second Day. — Examination of Columbia College and Physicians' Houses. — Appeal of the Mayor and distinguflfilied Citizens to the Mob. — Mob attempt to break into Jail and seize the Students. — The Fight. — The Military called out. — Beaten by the Mob. — Larger Military Force called out. — Attacked by the Mob. — Deadly Firing. — Great Excitement. — Flight of Doctors and Students 56 CHAPTER y. SPRING ELECTION RT0T9 OF 1834. Fatal Error in our Naturalization Laws. —Our Experiment of Self- government not a fair one. — Fruit of giving Foreigners the Right to Vote.— Bitter Feeling between Democrats and Whigs, —First Day of Election. —Ships " Constitution " and " VGto."-'Whiga driven from the Polls. — Excitement. --Whigs determined to defend rONTEAJ'J'R. 7 themselves. — Meeting called. — Resolutions. — Second Day's Elec- tion. — Attack on the Frigate ''Constitution." — A Bloody Fight. — Mayor and Officers wounded. — Mob triumphant. — Excitement of the Whigs. — The Streets blocked by fifteen thousand en- raged Whigs. — Military called out. — Occupy Ai;scnal and City HaU all Night. — Result of the Election. — Excitement of the Whigs. — Mass-meeting in Castle G-arden G(> CHAPTER YI. ABOLITION KIOTS OF 1834 AND 1835. The Slavery Question agitated. —The End, Civil War.— The Re- sults. — Wilham Lloyd Garrison. — Feeling of the People on the Subject. — First Attempt to call a Meeting of the Abolitionists in New York. — Meeting in Chatham Street Chapel. — A Fight. — Mob take Possession of Bowery Theatre. — Sacking of Lewis Tap- pan's House. — Fight between Mob and Police. — Mobbing of Dr. Cox's Church, in Laight Street. — His House broken into. — Street Barricaded. — Attack on Arthur Tappan's Store. — Second Attack on Church in Laight Street. — Church sacked in Spring Street. — Arrival of the Military. — Barricades carried. — Mr. Lud- low's House entered. — Mob at Five Points, — Destruction of Houses. — The City IVIilitary called out. — Mob overawed, and Peace restored. — Five Points Riot, — Stone-cutters' Riot . . , 79 CHAPTER VII. FLOUR EIOT OF 1837, Starvation will always create a Riot. — Foreign Population easily aroused against the Rich. — Severe Winter of 1836. — Scarcity of Flour. — Meeting of Citizens called without Result. — Meeting called in the Park. — Speeches. — Sacking of Hart & Co.'s Flour Store, in Washington Street. — Strange Spectacle. — National Guards called out. — Disperse the Mob. — Attack on Herrick's Flour Store.—Folly of the Riot 97 8 CONTENTS. CHAPTER YIII. ASTOR-rLACE RIOTS, 1S49. Rivalry between Forrest and Macready. — Macready's Arrival in this Country. — The Announcement of his Appearance at the Astor- place 0|:)ora House, and Forrest at the Broadway Theatre the same Xight posted Side by Side. — Bowery Boys crowd the Opera House. — Anxiety of the Managers. — Consultations and Dramatio Scenes behind the Curtain. — Stamping of the People. — Scene on raising the Curtain. — Stormy Reception of Macready. — Howled down. — Mrs. Pope driven from the Stage by the Outrageous Language of the Mob. —Macready not allowed to go on. — His foolish Anger. — Flees for his Life. — His Appearance the Second Night, — Preparations to put down the Mob. — Exciting Scene in the Theatre. — Terrific Scenes without. — ]\Iilitary arrive. — At- tacked by the Mob. — Patience of the Troops. — Effort to avoid Firing. — The Order to Fire. — Terrific Scene. — Strange Conduct of Forrest. — Unpublished Anecdote of General Scott Ill CHAPTER IX. 3'OLICE RIOT dead-rabbits' RIOT — BREAD RIOT, 1857. Creation of the Metropolitan District. — Collision between Mayor Wood's Police and the ^Metropolitan Police. — Seventh Regiment called out. — Dead-Rabbits' Riot. — Severe Fight between the Roach Guards and Dead Rabbits. — Police driven back. — Barri- cades erected. — jVIilitary called out. — Killed and Wounded. — Bread Riot. — Financial Distress 129 CHAPTER X. DRAFT RIOTS OF 1863. Cause of the Riots.— The London Times.— Draft called a despotic Measure. — The despotic Power given to Washington by Con- gress. — Despotic Action sometimes Necessary, in order to save the Life of the Nation.— The Rights of Government.— Drafting the Legitimate Way to raise an Army — It is not Unequal or Op- pressive 136 CONTENTS, 9 CHAPTER XL Bights of Municipalities. — Interference of the Legislature with the City Government. — Conflict between the Governor and Police Commissioners. — Provost Marshals. —Preparations of Superinten- dent Kennedy. — The Police System. — Attack on Provost Marshal Captain Erhardt. — Telegrams of the Police 142 CHAPTER XII. Commencement of the Mob. — Its Line of March. — Its immense Size. — Attacks a Provost Marshal's Otfi.ce. — Terrible Struggle of Ken- nedy for his Life with the Mob. — Mob cutting down Telegraph Poles, — Superintendent of Telegraph Bureau seized and held Prisoner by the Mob 153 CHAPTER XIII. Soldiers beaten by the Mob. — Gallant Fight of Sergeant McCredie. — Mob Triumphant. — Fifty thousand People block Third Avenue. — • A whole Block of Houses burning. — Defeat of the Broadway Squad. — Houses sacked in Lexington Avenue. — Bull's Head Tav- ern burned. — Block on Broadway burned. — Burning of the Ne- groes' Orphan Asylum. — Attack on Mayor Opdyke's House . .100 CHAPTER XIY. No Military in the City. — The Mayor calls on General Wool for Help. — Also on General Sandford. — General Wool sends to Gen- eral Brown, commanding Garrison in the Harbor, for U. S. Troops. — Marines of the Navy Yard ordered up. — Eventually, West Point and several States appealed to for Troops. — Attack of Mob on the Tribune Building.— Government Buildings Garri- soned 175 CHAPTER XY. Telegraph Bureau. — Its Work. — Interesting Incidents.— Hair- breadth Escapes. — Detective Force. — Its arduous Labors. — Its Disguises. — Shrewdness, Tact, and Courage. — Narrow Es- capes 10 CONTEXTS, CHAPTER XYI. DRAFT KIOT SECOND DAY. Fight between Rioter>- and the Police and Soldiers. — Rioters hurled from the Hoofs. — Soldiers tire on the People. — Awful Death of Colonel O'Brien. — Fijjht in Pitt Street. — Deadly Conflict for a Wire Factory. — Horrible Impaling- of a Man on an Iron Picket. — Colonel Xugent's House Sacked. — Fight with the Mob in Third Avenxxe. — Night Attack on Brooks and Brothers' Clothing Store. Value of the Telegraph System. — Seymour's Speech to the Mob 192 CHAPTER XYII. DRAFT lilOT THIKD DAY. Scenes in the City and at Headquarters. — Fight in Eighth Ave- nue.— Cannon sweep the Streets. — Battle for Jackson's Foundry. — Howitzers clear the Street. — The Mob at Corner of Twenty- ninth Street and Seventh Avenue. — Dead and Wounded Sol- diers left in the Street. — Captain Putnam sent to bring them away.— Terrific Night 229 CHAPTER XYIII. DRAFT RIOT — FOURTH DAY. Proclamations by the Governor and Mayor. — Soldiers chased into a Foundry by the Mob. — Fierce Fight between the Mob and Military in Twenty-ninth Street. — Soldiers driven from the Ground. — Captain Putnain Mows down the Rioters with Canister. — Colored Orphans and Negroes taken by Police to Blackwell's Island. — Touching Scene. — Increased Force in the City to put down Violence. — Archbishop Hughes offers to address the Irish. — Strange Conduct of the Prelate 244 CHAPTER XIX. CLOSING scenp:s. Tranquil iMorning. — Proclamation of the Mayor. — Mob cowed. — Plunderers afraid of Detection. — Archbishop Hughes' Address. — Noble Character and Behavior of the Troops and Police. — General Brown's invaluable Services 259 CONTENTS. 11 CHAPTEE XX. Continued Tranquillity. — Strange Assortment of Plunder gathered m the Cellars and Shanties of the Rioters. — Noble Conduct of the Sanitary Police. — Prisoners tried. — Damages claimed from the City. — Number of PoUce killed. — Twelve hundred Rioters killed.— The Riot Relief Fund.— List of Colored People killed. — G-enerals Wool and Sandford's Reports 267 CHAPTER XXI. ORANGE EIOTS OF 1870 AND 1871. Religious Toleration. — Irish Feuds.— Battle of Boyne Water. — Orangemftu. — Origin and Object of the Society. — Picnic at Elm Park. — Attacked by the Ribbonmen. — Riot of 1871. — Conspiracy of the Irish Catholics to prevent a Parade of Orangemen. — In- dignation of the People. — Governor Hoffman's Proclamation. — Morning of the 12th. — The Orangemen at Lamartine Hall. — At- tack on the Armories. — The Harpers threatened. — Firing of the Military. — Terrific Scene. — The Hospitals and Morgue. — ' Number of Killed and Wounded. — The Lesson 289 CHAPTER XXII. THE RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. Labor Organizations. — Their Object. — Their Course of Action. — Rise of Labor Organizations. — List of those in England. — Their Object. — Laws against them. — List of American Organizations, — Their Failure as mere Strikes. — Become Riots. — Communism. — A Diflficult Problem to Solve. — All Violence Must be Put Down. —Manner in which it should be done. — Napoleon's mode... 337 CHAPTER XXIII. THE RAILROAD RIOTS WEST VIRGINIA. Commencement of the Riots. — Extent of the Strikes. — Their Cause. —Riot in Martin.sburg. — Trains Stopped. — A Man Shot. — Dis- graceful Conduct of the MiHtia.— Never Reliable. — The Aid of the Greneral Government Asked. — Caution of the President. — He Sends Aid. — His Proclamation 349 CHAPTER XXIV. TlIK KAILKOAI) KIOTS. MARYLAND. Governor CarroH's Prochunatiou. — Cause of the Outbreak in Balti- more. — Attack on the Fifth Regiment. — Mustering of the Sixth Regiment. — The Armory attacked by the ]\Iob. — A Fearful Night Scene. — Scene at the Depot. — The Fifth Regiment. — The Presi- dent asked for Troops. — Xumber of Killed and Wounded. . . .309 CHAPTER XXY. THE KAILKOAI) KIOTS. PENNSYLVANIA. The Riot in Pittsburg. — Its Origin. — The Track taken Possession of. — The Philadelphia Troops Sent for. — Their Reception. — At- tempt to Clear the Track. — The Fight. — The Troops in the Round-house. — A Fearful Siege. — Attempt to Barn them out. — Flight of the Soldiers. — The Work of Destruction. — A Committee of Citizens Attempt to Quell the Rioters. — Union Depot set on Fire 869 CHAPTER XXVI. THE RAILKOAD RIOT PENNSYLVANIA. Beginning of the Harrisburg Disturbance. — Quickly Quelled. . . .383 CHAPTER XXYII. THE RAILROAD RIOT PENNSYLVANIA. The Riot in Reading. — Bloody Work.— First Outbreak. — Burning of Lebanon Valley Bridge. — The Coal and Iron Police. — Arrival of the Militia. — Blank Cartridges. — Point-blank Firing 38G CHAPTER XXYIII. THE RAILROAD RIOT. PENNSYLVANIA. Philadelphia in the Riots. — The Fears respecting Her. — The Mayor's Proclamation.— The Mob.— Trains Stopped.— The Police.— Scrantou Miners and Strikers Join. — Wilkesbarre. — Governor Hartranft.— His Energj', Skill, and Promptness 390 CONTENTS. 13 CHAPTER XXIX. The Railroad Riot.— New Jersey 404 CHAPTER XXX. THE KAILROAD EIOTS NEW YORK. The Two Great Trunk Roads. — Table of Wag-es Given, — How to Decide what are Fair Wages. — Strike at Hornellsville. — Strike over the Central Road. — Strike at Albany. — Arrival of the Ninth Regiment. — Strike at Syracuse. — Riot at Buffalo. — Mr. Vander- bilt's Views. — The Great Meeting in New York 406 CHAPTER XXXI. THE RAILROAD EIOTS OHIO. Cincinnati, Zanesville, Newark, Toledo, and Fort Wayne. — Military at Newark Sympathize with the Mob. — The Latter Entertain them. — The Governor orders Troops from Cincinnati. — Com- mands in Person. — Issues a Proclamation. — Raiding in Cincin- nati.— Public Meeting at Toledo 429 CHAPTER XXXII. THE RAILROAD RIOTS ILLINOIS. Bloody Riot in Chicago.— Character of its Population. —Com- mencement of the Mob. — Shops and Factories forced to shut up. — Mobs in various Sections of the City. — A Communist Editor taught a Lesson. — Mob on the Lake Front. — United States Troops sent for. — A Mass-Meeting in the Tabernacle. — A Night Attack. — The Second Day's Struggle. — A Fight between the Military and Mob. — The Latter shot down. — Severe Fight near Canalport Avenue. — A Brave Boy. — The Regulars. — Battle of the Last Night. — General View of the Design of the Strikers 434 14 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXXIII. THE PTKTKEKS AT ST. LOUIS AND LOUISVILLE. The Mob overcome the Police at Carondelet. — Citizens enrolling- themselves. — A Steamer Boarded, and the Captain compelled to Raise the Wages of his Hands. — The Citizens of Louisville Join the Militaiy. — The Mob put down 454 CHAPTER XXXI Y. Les.sous of the Strike .457 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE. 1. Pittsburgh — Burning op the Union Depot, Frontispiece. 2. Fort Lafayette, New York Harbor . . .17 3. Fort Hamilton ; from whence U. S. Troops were sent to aid in Suppressing the Draft Kiots . 17 4. Penn. R R. — Horse-Shoe Curve, five miles west OP Altoona .33 5. Penn. R. R — Sample Track and Track Tank for Supplying Through Trains with Water while IN Motion 49 6. New York Hospital — Scene of the Doctors' Riot . 65 7. Xew York — The Colored Opphan Asylum, 14ou St. 6o 8. Penn. R. R. — Coatesville Bridge . . . .81 9. New York — Burning op the Provost , Marshal's Office 97 10. Penn. R. R.— Block Signal Stations . . . .113 11. New York — The Fight Between Rioters and Militia 129 12. New York — The Attack on the Tribune Building . 145 13. New York — The Rioters Dragging Col. O'Brien's Body Through the Street 161 14. New York — Burning of the Second x^ve. Ar:\iory . 169 15. New York — The Dead Sergeant in 22d Street . 177 16. Pent^. R. R.— Conestoga Bridge 185 17. New York — Hanging and Burning a Negro in ' Clarkson Street 193 18. Penn. R. R. — Allegheny Mountain Tunnel . . 201 19. New York — The Riot in Lexington Avenue . . 209 20. New York — A Night Scene in Company A's Room . 217 21. Nsw York— Serving Chowder to the Soldiers . 217 22. New York— Receiving and Removing Dead Bodies at the ]Morgue 225 23. New York City— Battery B, N. G. S N. Y., Equip- ping FOR A Move 233 24. New York — The Railway Suspension Bridge, Niagara Falls 241 25. New York City — Battery B, N. G. S. N. Y. , Wait- ing FOR Orders 249 26. Baltimore — Attacking the Soldiers at the Arm- ory 257 16 LIST OF ILLr.STliATIOXS. 27. Baltimore— U. 8. Artii lkky Guarding the Cam- den St. Dfcpot 265 2S. Balti.moim:— Scene Aftei; tjie Fikst Volley by the Srxrii IkEgiment 273 20. Baltimoke— The Mob Assaulting a Member of the Sixth 281 no. Baltimore — The Mob Firing the Camden Street Station - . . . 231 'M. Baltimore — Carrying off teie Dead Rioters . 289 :V2. Baltimore — A Night Skirmish at Eutaw Street . 297 ;]:5. Baltlmore — Arriy^'lL of Gatling Guns at Camden St. Depot 305 :]4. Pittsburgh — Rioters Distributing Stolen Whisky. 313 3.J. Pittsburgh — Arrest of a Rioter Defended by the 3IoB 321 Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge, Fairmount Park . 329 37. Penn. R. R. — View of Harrisburgu .... 337 38. Corning— The Construction Gang Righting Over- turned Cars, under the Protection of the Militia 345 39. New York— Rioters Marching Down the New York Central Railroad Track at West Al- bany, July 24, 1877 353 40. New York — The Construction Gang Repairing the Tracks at Corning, under Protection of the 23d Reg't, N. Y. S. N. G 361 41. Penn. R. R.— View op Pittsburgh .... 369 42. Corning, N. Y.— Second Detatciement, 23d Regi- ment, N. G. S. N. Y., Stopped BY Rioters . . 377 43. Reading— Burning of the Lebanon Valleit Bridge. 385 44. New York — Rioters Soaping the Track at Hor- nellsville 393 45. Penn. R. R.— View op Trenton, N. J., and R. R. Bridge 401 46. New York— Rioters Tearing up Rails at the Bridge at Corning 409 47. Newark, O. — An Engineer Lifted prom his Train . 417 48. New York — The Stairway Defendf.d by Artil- lery 417 49. Chicago— the Fight at Turner Hall, Arrival of U. S. Artillery . 425 50. Chicago- Depot of the Chicago and North West- ern Railroad ........ 433 51. Chicago — Charge of the Cavalry and 2d Regi- ment UPON the Mob at Halstead St. . . 441 52. Iowa — Railway Bridge over the Missi'-sippi at Clinton 449 53. Iowa — Railjioad Depot at Council Bluffs . . 457 FORT L \FAYKTTJ:. NEW YORK IIAKEOK, AND FORT HAMILTON; FROM WIIENCPJ UNITED STATES TROOPS WERE SENT TO AID IN SUPPRESSING THE DRAFT RIOTS OF 1863. THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. CHAPTER I. Character of a City illustrated by Riots. — New Material for History of Draft Riots. — History of the Rebellion incomplete without History of them. — The Fate of the Nation resting on the Issues of the Struggle in New York City. — The best Plan to adopt for Protection against Mobs. The liistory of the riots that have taken place in a great city from its foundation, is a curious and unique one, and illustrates the peculiar changes in tone and temper that have come over it in the course of its de- velopment and growth. They exhibit also one phase of its moral character — furnish a sort of moral history of that vast, iguorant, turbulent class which is one of the distinguishing features of a great city, and at the same time the chief cause of its solicitude and anxi- ety, and often of dread. The immediate cause, however, of my taking up the subject, was a request from some of the chief actors in putting down the Draft Eiots of 1863, to write a his- tory of them. It was argued that it had never been written, except in a detached and fragmentary way in the daily press, w^hich, from the hurried manner in which it was done, was necessarily incomplete, and more or less erroneous. It was also said, and truly, that those who, by their 18 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. courage and cneriry, saved the city, and avIio now would aid me not oidy officially, but by their personal recollections and private memoranda, would soon pass away, and thus valuable material be lost. Besides these valid reasons, it was asserted that the history of the rebellion was not complete without it, and yet no historian of that most important event in our national life had given the riots the prominence they deserved, but simply referred to them as a side issue, instead of having a vital bearing on the fate of the war and the nation. On no single battle or cam- paign did the destiny of the country hinge as upon that short, sharp campaign carried on by General Brown and the Police Commissioners against the rioters in the streets of New York, in the second week of July, 1863. Losses and defeats in the field could be and were repaired, but defeat in Xew York would in all proba- bility have ended the war. It is not necessary to refer to the immediate direct effects of such a disaster on the army in the field, although it is scarcely possible to over-estimate the calamitous results that would have followed the instantaneous stoppage, even for a short time, of the vast accumulations of provisions, ammu nition, and supplies of all kinds, that were on their way to the army through New York. Xor is it necessary to speculate on the effect of the diversion of troops from the front that such an event would have com- pelled, in order to recover so vital a point. AYashing- ton had better be uncovered than New York be lost. One thing only is needed to show how complete and irreparable the disaster would have been ; namely, the effect it would have had on the finances of the country. With the great banking-houses and moneyed institutions THE GKEAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. 19 of New York sacked and destroyed, the financial credit of the country would have broken down utterly. The crash of falling houses all over the country that would have followed financial disaster here, would have been like that of falling trees in a forest swept by a hurricane. Had the rioters got complete posses- sion of the city but for a single day, their first dash would have been for the treasures piled up in its moneyed institutions. Once in possession of these, they, like the mobs of Paris, would have fired the city before yielding them up. In the crisis that was then upon us, it would not have required a long stoppage in this financial centre of the country to have effected a second revolution. With no credit abroad and no money at home, the Government would have been completely paralyzed. Not long possession of tlie city was needed, but only swift destruction. Doubtless the disastrous effects would have been in- creased tenfold, if possible, by uprisings in other cities, which events showed were to follow. Even partial success developed hostile elements slumbering in various parts of the country, and running from Boston almost to the extreme West. In this view of the case, these riots assume a magni- tude and importance that one cannot contemplate without a feeling of terror, and the truth of history requires that their proper place should be assigned tliem, and those who put them down have an honorable position beside our successful commanders and brave soldiers. It is also important, as a lesson for tht future, and naturally brings up the question, what are the best measures, and what is the best policy for the city of New York to adopt, in order to protect it- THE c;]JKAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. self from that wliicli to-day constitutes its j^rcatcst danger — moh violence f If it ever falls in ruins, the work of destruction will commence and end within its own limits. We have a police and city military which have been thought to be sufficient, but experience has ^hown that though this provision may be ample to re- store law and order in the end, it works slowly, often unwisely, and always with an unnecessary expenditure of life. In conversing with those of largest experience and intelligence in the police department on this sub- ject of such great and growing importance, we are con- vinced, from their statements and view^s, a vast improve- ment in this matter can be made, while the cost to the citv, instead of being increased, will be lessened ; that is, a cheaper, wiser, and more effectual plan than the present one can be adopted. Of course this does not refer to mere local disturbances, which the police force in the ordinary discharge of its duties can cpiell, but to those great outbreaks which make it necessaiy to call out the military. Xot that there might not be ex- igencies in which it would be necessary to resort, not only to the military of the city, but to invoke the aid of neighboring States ; for a riot may assume the pro- portions of a revolution, but for such no local perma- nent remedy can be furnished. The objections to relying on the military, as we in- variably do in case of a large mob, are many. In the first place, it takes the best part of a day to get the troops together, so that a mob, so far as they are con- cerned, has time not only to waste and destroy for many hours, but increase in strength and audacity. The members of the various regiments are scattered all over the city, engaged in different occupations and THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. 21 employments, and without previous notice being given, it is a long and tedious process to get tliem to tlieir re- spective headquarters and in nniform. This wastes much and most valuable time. Besides, they are com- pelled to reach the mnstering place singly or in small groups, and hence liable to be cut off or driven back by the mob, which in most cases would l^now tlie place of rendezvous. In the second place, the members are taken out from the mass of the people, between whom there might be a strong sympathy in some particular out- break, which would impair their efficieucy, and make them hesitate to shoot down their friends and acquaint- ances. In the third place, in ordinary peace times, these uniformed regiments are not the steadiest or most reliable troops, as was witnessed in the riots of 1863, as well as in those of the Astor Place in 1849. They hesitate, or are apt to become hasty or disor- ganized in a close, confused fight, and driven back. In the commencement of a riot, a defeat of the military gives increased confidence, and indeed, power to a mob, and makes the sacrifice of life, in the end, far greater. In the fourth place, clearing the streets does not always dissipate a mob. A whole block of houses may become a fortress, which it is necessary to storm before a permanent victory is gained. Half-disci- plined men, unaccustomed, and nnskilled to such work, make ])oor headwa}^ with their muskets through nar- row halls, up staij-ways, and throngh scuttle-holes. In the fifth place, the military of the city cannot be called away from their work for two or three days, to 22 Till-: oi:i:at kiots of new york city, parade the city, witliout a heavy expense, and lienec the process is a costly one. Ill the last phice, the firing of these troops at tlic 1)est is not ver}" judicious, and cannot he discriminating, so iliat those are shot down often least cul])al)le, and of least influence in the moh — in fact, more lives usually are taken than is necessary. The simplest, most efiicient, and most economical ])Lin would he to select five hundred or more of the most courageous, experienced, and efiicieiit men from the police department, and form them into a separate hat- talion, and have them drilled in such evolutions, ma- noeuvres, and modes of attack or defence, as would he- long to the work they were set apart to do. A hattery might be given them in case of certain emergencies, and a portion carefully trained in its use. At a cer- tain signal of the bell, they should be required to has- ten, withont a moment's delay, to their head-quarters. A mob could hardly be gathered and commence work before this solid body of disciplined, reliable men would be npon them. These five hundred men would scatter five thousand rioters like chaff before them. It would be more efiicient tlian two entire regiments, even if assembled, and would be worth more than the whole military of the city for the first half day. Besides, clubs are better than guns. They take no time to load — they are never discharged like muskets, leaving their owners for the time at the mercy of the mob. Their volleys are incessant and perpetual, given as long and fast as strong arms can strike. They are also more discriminating than bullets, hitting the guilty ones first. Moreover, they disable rather than kill — ■ which is just as effectual, and far more desirable. In THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. 23 addition to all this, being trained to one pnrpose, in- structed to one duty, a mob would be their natural ene- mies, and hence sympathy with them in any cause al- most impossible. CHxYPTER II. THE NEGRO RIOTS OF 1712-1741. Almost impossible for the present Generation to comprehend its true Character and Effect on the People. — Description of New York at that Time.— The Negro Slaves.— The Negro Riot of 1712.— Description of it. — The AVinter of 1741. — Governor's House burned down. — Other Fires. — Suspicion of the People. — Arrest and luiprisonment of the Blacks. — Reward offered for the sup- posed Conspirators. — Alarm and Flight of the Inhabitants. — Ex- amination and Confession of Maiy Burton. — Peggy, the New- foundland Beauty, and the Hughson Family. — The Conspiracy. — Executions. — Fast. — Hughson's Hearing. — Hung in Chains. — The Body, and that of a Negro, left to swing and rot in the Air. — Strange Change in the Appearances of the Bodies. — The Peo- ple throng to look at them. — Negroes burned at the Stake. — Terrific Spectacle. — Bloody Summer. — Execution of a Catholic Priest. — Strange Scenes. — Upper Classes accused. — Executions stopped. — Reason of the Panic. Probably no event of comparatively modern times — certainly none in our history — has occurred so extraor- dinary in some of its phases, as the negro riot of 1741. AVe cannot fully appreciate it, not merely because of the incompleteness of some of its details, nor from the lapse of time, but because of our inability to place oui-- selves in the position or state of mind of the inhabi- tants of New York City at that period. We can no more throw ourselves into the social condition, and feel the influences of that time, than we can conceive the outward physical appearance of the embryo me- THE NEGKO KIOTS OF 1712-1T41. 25 tropolis. It is impossible to stand amid the whirl and uproar of 'New York to-day, and imagine men plough- ing, and sowing grain, and carting hay into barns, where the City Hall now stands. The conception of neai'ly all the city lying below the Park, above it farms to Canal Street, beyond that clearings where men are l)nrning brush and logs to clear away the fallow, and still farther on, towards Central Park, an unbroken wilderness, is so dim and shadowy, that we can hardly iix its outlines. Yet it was so in 1741. Where now stands the Tombs, and cluster the crowded tenements of Five Points, was a pond or lakelet, nearly two miles in circumference and fifty feet deep, and encircled by a dense forest. Its deep, sluggish outlet into the Hud- son is now Canal Street. In wet weather there was another water communication with the East Piver, near Peck Slip, cutting off the lower part of the island, leav- ino; another island, containino; some eio:ht hundred acres. Through Broad Street, along which now rolls each day the stream of business, and swells the tumult of the Brokers' Board, then swept a deep stream, up whicli boatmen rowed their boats to sell oysters. The water that supplied these streams and ponds is now carried off through immense sewers, deep under ground, over which the unconscious population tread. Where Front and Water Streets on the east side, and West Green- wich and Washington on the west side, now stretch, were then the East and Hudson Pivers, laving smooth and pebbly beaches. There was not a single sidewalk in all the city, and only some half dozen paved streets. On the Battery stood the fort, in which were the Gover- nor's and secretary's houses, and over which floated the British flag. 2 20 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY But all this outward appearance is no more unlike the Now York of to-day than its internal condition. Tlu^ population nunibered only about ten thousand, one-liftli of which was negroes, who were slaves. Their education being wholly neglected, they were ignorant and debased, and addicted to almost every vice. They were, besides, restive under their bondage and the severe punishments often inflicted on them, which caused their masters a great deal of anxiety. Kot isolated as an inland plantation, but packed in a narrow space, they had easy communication with each other, and worse than all, with the reckless and de- praved crews of the vessels that came into port. It is true, the most stringent measures were adopted to pre- vent them from assembling together; yet, in spite of every precaution, there would now and then come to light some plan or project that would fill the whites with alarm. They felt half the time as though walk- ing on the crust of a volcano, and hence were in a state of mind to exaggerate every danger, and give credit to every sinister rumor. The experience of the past, as well as the present state of feeling among the slaves, justified this anxiety and dread ; for only thirty years before occurred just such an outbreak as they now feared. On the 7th of April, in 1712, between one and two o'clock in the inoi'ning, the house of Peter Van Tilburgli was set on Jiro by negroes, which was evidently meant as a signal Joi- a general revolt. The cry of fire roused the neighboring inhabitants, and they rushed out through the unpaved muddy streets, toward the blazing building. As they ap- proached it, they saw, to their amazement, in the red THE NEGKO RIOTS OF 1712-1T41. 27 light of the flames, a band of negroes standing in front, armed with guns and long knives. Before the whites could hardly comprehend what the strange apparition meant, the negroes tired, and then rushed on them with their knives, killing several on the spot. The rest, leaving the building to the mercy of the flames, ran to the fort on the Battery, and roused the Governor. Springing from his bed, he rushed out and ordered a cannon to be fired from the ramparts to alarm the town. As the heavy report boomed over the bay and shook the buildings of the town, the inhabitants leaped from their beds, and looking out of the windows, saw the sky lurid with flames. Their dread and uncer- tainty were increased, when they heard the heavy splash of soldiers through the mud, and the next mo- ment saw their bayonets gleam out of the gloom, as they hurried forward towards the fire. In the mean- time, other negroes had rushed to the spot, so that soon there were assembled, in proportion to the white popu- lation, what in the present population of the city would be fully 10,000 negroes. The rioters stood firm till they saw the bayonets flashing in the fire-light, and then, giving one volley, fled into the darkness northwai'd, tow^ards what is now Wall Street. The scattered inhabitants they met, who, roused by the cannon, were hastening to the fire, they attacked with their knives, killing and wounding sev- eral. The soldiers, firing at random into the darkness, followed after them, accompanied by a crowd of peo- ple. The negroes made for the woods and swamps near where the Park now stands, and disappearing in the heavy shadows of the forest, w^ere lost to view. Knowing it would be vain to follow them into the 28 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. thickets, the soldiers and inhabitants surrounded them and kept watch till niorninfr. Many, of course, got off and buried themselves in the deeper, more extensive woods near Canal Street, but many others were taken prisoners. Some, finding themselves closely pressed and all avenues of escape cut off, deliberately shot themselves, preferring such a death to the one they knew awaited them. How many were killed and captured during tlie morning, the historian does not tell us. We can only infer that the number must have been great, from the statement he incidentally makes, that " during the day nineteen more were taken, tried, and executed — some that turned State's evidence were transported." " Eight or ten whites had been murdered," and many more wounded. It was a terrible event, and remembered by the pres- ent inhabitants with horror and dismay. To the little handful occupying the point of the island, it was a tragedy as great as a riot in Kew York to-day would be, in which was a loss of 5,000 or more on each side. Many middle-aged men, in 1741, were young men at that time, and remembered the fearful excitement that prevailed, and it was a common topic of conversation. The state of things, therefore, wdiich we have de- scribed, was natural. This was rendered worse by the arrival, in the winter of 1741, of a Spanish vessel, which had been captured as a prize, the crew of which was composed in part of negroes, w^ho were sold at auction as slaves. These became very intractable, and in spite of the floggings they received, uttered threats that they knew would reach their masters' ears. Still, no evi- dence of an}' general plot against the inhabitants was suspected, and things were moving on in their usual THE NEGRO EIOTS OF 171^-1^41. 29 way, when, on the ISth of Marcli, a wild and bhisterhig day, the Governor's house in the fort was discovered to be on fire. Fanned by a fierce south-east wind, the flames spread to the King's chapel, the secretary's house, barracks, and stables ; and in spite of all efforts to save them, were totally consumed. The origin of the fire was supposed to be accidental, but a few days after. Captain AYarren's house, near the fort, was found to be on fire. Two or three daj^s later, the storehouse of Mr. Yan Zandt was discovered on fire. Still, no general suspicions were aroused. Three more da^^s passed, wlien a cow-stall was reported on fire, and a few hours later, the house of Mr. Thompson ; the fire in the latter case originating in the room where a negro slave slept. The very next day, live coals were dis- covered under the stable of John Murray, on Broadway. This, evidently, was no accident, but the result of de- sign, and the people began to be alarmed. The day followiiio;, the house of a sero-eant near the fort was seen to l)e on fire, and soon after, flames arose from the roof of a dwelling near the Fly Market. The rumor now spi-ead like wildfire through the town that it was the work of incendiaries. It seems to us a small foun- dation to base such a belief on, but it must be remem- bered that the public mind was in a state to believe al- most anything. The alarm was increased by tlie statement of Mrs. Earle, who said that on Sunday, as she was looking out of her window, she saw three negroes swaggering up Broadway, engaged in earnest conversation. Suddenly she heard one of them exclaim, " Fire ! fire ! Scorch ! scorch ! a little d — n by and by ! " and then throwing u his hands, laughed heartily. Coupled with the numerous 30 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. lires tlitit had occni-red, and the rumors afloat, it at once excited lier suspicions tliat this conversation had something to do with a ph)t to burn tlie city. She tlierefore immediately reported it to an alderman, and lie, next day, t(^ the justices. Altliough the mnnber of buildings thus mysteriously set on lire was, in reality, small, yet it was as great in proportion to the town then, as three hundred would be in Kew York to-day. Less than that inimber, we imagine, would create a panic in the city, especially if the public mind was in a feverish state, as, for instance, during the recent civil war. Some thought tlie Spanish negroes had set the build- ings on Are from re\"eiige, especially as tliose of the Government were the first to suffer. Others declared that it was a plot of the entire negro population to burn down the city. This belief was strengthened by the fact that, in one of the last fires, a slave of one of the most prominent citizens was seen to leap from the window, and make off over garden fences. A shout was immediately raised by the spectators, and a pursuit connnenced. The terrified fugitive made desperate efforts to escape, but being overtaken, he was seized, and, pale as death, lifted on men's shoulders and car- ried to jail. Added to all this, men now remembered it lacked but a few days of l)eing the anniversary of the bloody of thirty years ago. Tliey began to watch and que&vion the negroes, and one of the Spanish sailors, on being interrogated, gave such unsatisfactory, suspicious answers, that the whole crew were arrested, and thrown into prison. But that same afternoon, while the mag- istrates, whom the alarming state of things had called THE NEGRO KIOTS OF 171'^-1T41. 31 together, ^vere in consultation about it, the cry of " Fire ! " again startled the entire connnunity. The ringing of the alarm-bell had now become almost as terrifying as the sound of the last trumpet, and the panic became general. The first step was to ascertain if there were any strangers in town who might be con- cealed enemies, and a thorough search was made — the militia being ordered out, and sentries posted at the ends of all the streets, with orders to stop all persons carrying bags and bundles. This was done on the 13th of April. Xone being found, the conclusion became inevitable that some dark, mysterious plot lay at the bottom of it all, and the inhabitants thought the city was doomed, like Sodom. First, the more timorous packed up their valuable articles and fled into the country, up toward Canal Street. This increased the panic, which swelled until almost the entire population were seen hurrying througli the streets, fleeing for their lives. The announcement of an approaching army would not have created a greater stampede. Every cart and vehicle that could be found was eno-ao^ed at any price, into which vvhole families were piled, and hurried away to the farms beyond Chambers Street, in the neighborhood of Canal Street. It was a strange spectacle, and the farmers could hardly believe their senses, at this sudden inundation into their quiet houses of the people of the city. The town authorities were also swept away in the general excitement, and negroes of all ages and sexes were arrested by the wholesale, and hurried to prison. The Supreme Court was to sit in the latter part of April, and the interval of a few days was spent in efforts to get at the guilty parties. But nothing definite could be ascertained, as the con- 32 THE GKKAT RI( )TS UF NEW YORK CITY. spirators, whoever tliev were, kei)t their own secret. At length, despairing of getting at the trutli in any other way, the anthorities offered a reward of a hnndred pounds, and a full pardon to any one who w^ould turn State's evidence, and reveal the names of the ring- leaders. Tliis was pretty sure to bring out tlie facts, if tliere were any to disclose, and almost equally sure to obtain a fabncated story, if tlierc was nothing to tell. A poor, ignorant slave, shaking with terror in his cell, would hardly be proof against such an inducement as a free pardon, and to him or her an almost fabulous sum of money, if lie liad anything to reveal, wliile the temptation to invent a tale that would secure both lib- erty and money was equally strong. On the 21st of April the court met. Judges Philips and Ilorsmander presiding. A jury was impanelled, but although there was no lack of prisoners, there w^as almost a total want of evidence sufticient to put a sin- gle man on trial. The reward offered had not borne its legitimate fruits, and no one offered to make any revelations. Among the first brought up for examination was Mary Burton, a colored servant girl, belonging to John Ilughson, the keeper of a low, dirty negro tavern over on the west side of the city, near the Hudson River. This was a place of rendezvous for the w^orst negroes of the town ; and from some hints that Mary had dropped, it was suspected it had been the head-quarters of the conspirators. But when brought before the Grand Jury, she refused to be sworn. They entreated her to take the oath and tell the whole truth, but she only shook her head. They then threatened her, but with no better success ; they promised she should be protected THE NEGRO RIOTS OF i;i2-1741. 33 from danger and shielded from prosecution, l)nt she still maintained an obstinate silence. They then showed her the reward, and attempted to bribe her with the wealth in store for her, but she almost spat on it in her scorn. This poor negro slave showed an independence and stubbornness in the presence of the jury that aston- ished them. Finding all their efforts vain, they ordered her to be sent to jail. This terrified her, and she con- sented to be sworn. But after taking the oath, she refused to say anything about the fire. A theft had been traced to Tlughson, and she told all she knew about that, but about the fires would neither deny nor affirm anything. They then appealed to her consci- ence ; painted before her the terrors of the final judg- ment, and the torments of hell, till at last she broke down, and proposed to make a clean breast of it. She commenced by saying that llughson had threatened to take her life if she told, and then again hesitated. But at length, by persistent efforts, the following facts were wrenched from her by piecemeal She said that three negroes — giving their names — had been in the habit of meeting at the tavern, and talking about burning of the fort and city and murdering the people, and that Hugh- son and his wife had promised to help them ; after wdiich llughson was to be governor and Cuff Phillipse king. That the first part of the story w^as true, there is little doubt. How much, with the imagination and love of the marvellous peculiar to her race, she added to it, it is not easy to say. She said, moreover, that but one wdiite person beside her master and mistress was in the conspiracy, and that was an Irish girl known as Peggy, " the jS^ewfoundland Beauty." She had several aliases, and was an abandoned character, being a prostitute to 3* 34: THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. tlie negroes, and at this time kept as a mistress by a hold, desperate negro named (yivsar. This revelation of Mary's fell on the Grand Jury like a bombshell. The long-sought secret they now felt was out. They im- mediately informed the magistrates. Of course the greatest excitement followed. Peggy was next exam- ined, but she denied Mary Burton's story in toto — swore that she knew nothing of any conspiracy or of the burn- ing of the stores ; that if she should accuse any one it would be a lie, and blacken her own soul. It is rather a severe reflection on the courts of justice of that period, or we might rather say, perhaps, a strik- ing illustration of the madness that had seized on all, that although the law strictly forbade any slave to tes- tify in a court of justice against a white person, yet this girl Mary Burton was not only allowed to appear as evidence against Beggy, but her oath was permitted to outweigh hers, and cause her to be sentenced to death. The latter, though an abandoned, desperate character, was seized with terror at the near approach of death, and begged to be allowed another examina- tion, wliich was granted, and she professed to make a full confession. It is a little singular that while she cor- roborated Mary Burton's statement as to the existence of a conspiracy, she located the seat of it not in Ilughson's tavern, but in a miserable shanty near the Battery, kept by John Bomme, who, she said, had promised to carry them all to a new country, and give them their liberty, if they would murder the whites and bring him the plunder. Like Mary Burton's confession, if truthful at all, it evidently had a large mixture of falsehood in it. On Saturday, May 9th, Peggy was again brought in, and underwent a searching examination. Some of her THE NEGRO RIOTS OF 1712-1741. 35 statements seemed improbable, and they therefore tested them in every possible way. It lasted for several hours, and resulted in a long detailed eonfession, in which she asserted, among other things, that it was the same plot that failed in 1712, when the negroes designed to kill all the whites, in fact, exterminate them from the island. She implicated a great* many negroes in the conspiracy; and every one that she accused, as they were brought before her, she identified as being present at the meet- ings of the conspirators in Itomme's house. The court seemed anxious to avoid any collusion 'between the pris- oners, and therefore kept them apart, so that each story should rest on its own basis. By this course they thought they would be able to distinguish what was true and what was false. Either from conscious guilt, or from having got some inkling of the charge to be brought against him, Romme fled before he could be arrested. His w^ife, however,, and the negroes whose names Peggy gave, were sent to jail. On the 11th of May, or twenty days after the court convened, the executions commenced. On this day, Caesar and Prince, two of the three negroes Maiy Burton testified against, w^ere hung, though not for the conspiracy, but for theft. They were abandoned men, and died recklessly. Peggy and Ilughson and his wife were next condemned. The former, finding that her confession did not, as had been promised, secure her pardon, retracted all she had said, and exculpated entirely the parties whose arrest she had caused. An atmosphere of gloom now rested over the city ; every face showed signs of dread. In this state of feeling the Lieutenant-governor issued a proclamation, 3G THE GRKAT KIOTS uF NEW YORK CITY. appointing a day of fasting and humiliation, not only in view of this calamity, but on account also of the want and loss caused by the past severe winter, and the decla- ration of war by England against Spain. When the day arrived, every shop was closed and business of all kinds suspended, and the silence and repose of the Sabbath rested on the entire community. Without regard to sect, all repaired to the places of worship, where the services were performed amid the deepest solemnity. The day of execution appointed for Ilughson, his wife, and Peggy was a solemn one, and almost the entire population turned out to witness it. The for- mer had declared that some extraordinary appearance would take ])lace at his execution, and every one gazed on him as he passed in a cart from the prison to the gallows. lie was a tall, powerful man, being six feet high. He stood erect in the cart all the way, his piercing eye fixed steadily on the distance, and his right hand raised high as his fetters would permit, and beckoning as though he saw help coming from afar. His face was usually pale and colorless, but to-day it w^as noticed that two bright red spots burned on either cheek, which added to the mystery with which the su- jjerstitious spectators invested him. When the sad procession arrived at the place of execution, the prisoners were helped to the ground, and stood exposed to the gaze of the crowd. Ilughson was firm aud self- possessed ; but Peggy, pale, and weeping, and terror- struck, begging for life ; while the wife, with the rope round her neck, leaned against a tree, silent and com- posed, but colorless as marble. One after another they were launched into eternity, and the crowd, solemn and thoughtful, turned their steps homeward. THE NEGEO RIOTS OF 1712-1741. 37 Hughson was hung in cliains ; and in a few days a negro was placed beside him, and here they swung, blind and blackening," in the ilpril air, in full view of the tranquil bay, a ghastly spectacle to the lisher- men as they plied their vocation near by. For three weeks they dangled here in sunshine and storm, a terror to the passers-by. At length a rumor passed through the town that Hughson had turned into a negro, and the negro into a white man. This was a new mystery, and day after day crowds would come and gaze on the strange transformation, some thinking it supernatural, and others trying to give an explanation. Hughson had threatened to take poison, and it was thought by many that he had, and it was the effect of this that had wrought the change in his appearance. For ten days the Battery was thronged with spectators, gazing on these bloated, decomposing bodies, many in their superstitious fears expecting some new transformation. Under the increasing heat of the sun, tliey soon began to drip, till at last the body of Hughson burst asunder, filling the air with such an intolerable stench that the fishermen shunned the locality. As simple hanging was soon thought not sufiicient punishment, and they were left to swing, and slowly rot in chains, so this last was at length thought to be too lenient, and the convicts were condemned to be burned at the stake. Two negroes, named Quack and Cuffee, were the first doomed to this horrible death. The announcement of this sentence created the great- est excitement. It was a new thing to the colonists, this mode of torture being appropriated, by the sav- ages for prisoners taken in war. Curious crowds 38 THE GKEAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. gathered to see the stake erected, or stare at the loads of wood as they passed along the street," and were unloaded at its base. It was a strange spectacle to hehold — the workmen carefully piling np the fagots under the spring sun ; the spectators looking on, some horrified, and others fierce as savages ; and over all the blue sky bending, while the gentle wind stole up from the bay and whispered in the tree-tops overhead. On the day of execution an immense crowd assembled. The two negroes were brought forward, pale and terri- fied, and bound to the stake. As the men approached with the fire to kindle the pile, they shrieked out in terror, confessed the conspiracy, and promised, if re- leased, to tell all about it. They w^ere at once taken down. This was the signal for an outbreak, and shouts of "burn 'em, burn 'em" burst from the multitude. Mr. Moore then asked the sherilf to delay execution till he could see the Governor and get a reprieve, lie hurried off, and soon returned with a conditional one. But, as he met the sheriff on the common, the latter told him that it would be impossible to take the crimi- nals through the crowd without a strong guard, and before that could arrive, they would be murdered by the exasperated populace. They were then tied up again, and the torch applied. The flames arose around the unhappy victims. The curling smoke soon hid their dusk}^ forms from view, while their shrieks and cries for mercy grew fainter and fainter, as the fierce fire shriv- elled up their forms, till at last nothing but the crack- ling of the fianies was heard, and the shouting, savage crowd grew still. As the fire subsided, the two wi'etched creatures, crisped to a cinder, remained to THE NEGEO KIOTS OF 1712-1741. 39 tell, for the hundredth time, to what barbarous deeds terror and passion may lead men. Some of the negroes went laughing to the place of execution, indulging in all sorts of bnffoonery to the last, and mocking the crowd which surrounded them. All protested their innocence to the last, and if they had confessed previonsly, retracted before death their statements and accusations. But this contradiction of themselves, to-morrow denying what to-day they had solemnly sworn on the Bible to be true, instead of causing the authorities to hesitate, and consider how^ much terror and the hope of pardon had to do with it, convinced them still more of the streno^th and danarer- ous nature of the conspiracy, and they went to work with a determination and recklessness which made that snmmer the bloodiest and most terrific in the annals of ]^ew York. No lawyer was found bold enough to step forward and defend these poor wretches, bnt all volunteered their services to aid the Government in bringing them to pnnishment. The weeks now, as the}^ rolled on, were freighted with terror and death, and stamped with scenes that made the blood run cold. This little town on the sonthern part of Manliattan Island was wholly given to panic, and a nameless dread of some mysterious, awful fate, extended even to the scattered farm-houses near Canal Street. Be- tween this and the last of August, a hundred and fifty- four negroes, exclusive of whites, were thrown into prison, till every cell was crowded and packed to suf- focation with them. For three months, sentence of condemnation was on an average of one a day. The last execution was that of a Catholic priest, or rather of a schoolmaster of the city, who was charged witli 40 THE (J RE AT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. ])eing one. Mary Burton, after an interval of three months, pretended to remember that he was present with tlie other conspirators she had lirst named as heiug in Ilughson's tavern. His trial was long, and apparently without excite- ment. He conducted his own case Avith gj*eat ability, and brought many witnesses to prove his good character and orderly conduct ; but he, of course, could not dis- pi-ove the assertion of Mary, that she had some time or other seen him with, the conspirators at Ilughson's tav- ern — for the latter, with his wife and Peggy, and the negroes she had before named, had all been executed. Mary Burton alone was left, and her evidence being credited, no amount of testimony could avail him. Although the proceedings were all dignified and solemn, as became an English court, yet the course the trial took showed how utterly unbalanced and one-sided it had become. To add weight to Mary's evidence, many witnesses were examined to prove that Ury, though a schoolmaster, had performed the duties of a Catholic priest, as though this were an important point to establish. The attorney -general, in opening tlie case, drew a horrible picture of former persecutions by the Papists, and their cruelties to the Protestants, until it was apparent that all that the jury needed to indorse a verdict of gnilty was evidence that he was a Catho- lic priest. Still it would be unfair to attribute this feeling wholly to religions intolerance or the spirit of persecution. England Avas at this time at war with Spain, and a report was circulated tliat the Spanish priests in Florida had formed a conspiracy to murder the English colonists. A letter from Ogilthorpe, in Georgia, confirmed this. Ury, wlio was an educated THE NEGRO RIOTS OF 1712-1741. 41 Englishman, but bad led an adventnrons life in differ- ent conntries, could not disprov e tbis, and be was con- victed and sentenced to he bung. lie met bis fate witb great composnre and dignity, asserting bis innocence to tlie last. He made tbe cigbteeiitb victim bnng, wbile thirteen bad been burned at tbe stake, and seventy-one transported to various countries. At tbe average rate of two every week, one banged and one burned alive, tbey were burried into eternity amid prayers, and imprecations, and shrieks of agony. Tbe hauling of wood to the stake, and the preparation of the gallows, kept the inhabitants in a state bordering on insanity. Business w^as suspended, and every face wore a terrified look. The voice of pity as well as jus- tice was hushed, and one desire, that of swift ven- geance, filled every heart. Had tlie press of to-day, wuth its system of interviewing, and minuteness of detail and description, existed then, there would have been banded down to us a chapter in human bistoiy that could be paralleled only in tbe dark ages. A swift massacre, a terrible slaughter, comes and goes like an earthquake or a tornado, and stuns rather than debases ; but this long, steady succession of hor- rible executions and frightful scenes changed the very nature of the inhabitants, and they became a prey to a spirit demoniacal rather than human. The prayers and tears of those led tt'orth to tbe stake, their heart- rending cries as tbey were bound to it, and their sbi'ieks of agony that w^ere wafted out over tbe still waters of the bay, fell on bard and pitiless hearts. The ashes of the wood that consumed one victim would hardly grow cold before a new fire was kindled upon them, and the charred and blackened posts stood month after month, 42 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. hideous monuments of wliat man may become when judgment and reason arc surrendered to fear and pas- sion. The spectacle was made still more revolting b}' the gallows standing near the stake, on which many were hung in chains, and their bodies left to swing, blacken, and rot in the summer air, a ghastly, horrible sight. A\niere this madness, that had swept away court, bar, and people together, would have ended, it is impossible to say, had not a new terror seized the inhabitants. Mary Burton, on whose accusation the first victims had been arrested and executed, finding herself a heroine, sought new fields in which to win notoriety. She ceased to implicate the bla(;ks, and turned her attention to the whites, and twenty-four were arrested and thrown into prison. Elated with her success, she began to as- cend in the social scale, and criminated some persons of the highest social standing in the city, whose charac- ters were above suspicion. This was turning the tables on them in a manner the upper class did not expect, and they began to reflect what the end might be. The testimony that was sufiicient to condemn the slaves was equally conclusive against them. The stake and the gallows which the court had erected for the black man, it could not pull down because a white gentleman stood under their shadow. Robespierre and his friends cut off the upper-crust of society without hesitation or remorse ; but unfortu- nately the crust next below this became in turn the upper-crust, which also had to be reuioved, until at last they themselves were reached, when they paused. They had advanced up to their necks in the bloody tide of revolution, and finding that to proceed farther w^ould take them overhead, they attempted to wade THE NEGRO EIOTS OF 1712-1741. 43 back to shore. So here, so long as the accusations were confined to tlie lowest class, it was all well enough, but when tliey were being reached, it was high time to stop. The proceedings were summarily brought to a close, further examinations were deemed unnecessary, and confessions became flat and unprofitable ; and this strange episode in American history ended. That there had been cause for alarm, there can be no doubt. That threats should be uttered by the slaves, is natural ; for this would be in keeping with their whole history in this country. Kor is it at all improbable that a conspiracy was formed ; for this, too, would onl}^ be in harmony with the conduct of slaves from time immemorial. The utter folly and hopelessness of such a one as the blacks testified to, has been urged against its existence altogether. If the argument is good for anything, it proves that the con- spiracy thirty years before never existed, and that the Southampton massacre was a delusion, and John Brown never hatched his utterly insane conspiracy in Harper's Ferry. There have been a good many ser- vile insurrections plotted in this country, not one of which was a whit more sensible or easier of execution than this, which was said to look to the complete over- throw of the little city. That the fires which first started the panic were the work of negro incendiaries, there is but little doubt ; but how far they were a part of a wide-laid plan, it is impossible to determine. Unquestionably, success at the outset would have made the movement general, so that nothing but mili- tary force could have arrested it. There is one thing, however, about which there is no doubt — that a panic seized the people and the courts, 44 THE (UiKAT KIOTS UF NKW Y(»KK CITY. and made tlicin as unreliable as in the days of tlic Salem witchcraft. V>ut these strikini»: exhibitions of the weakness of human nature under certain circum- stances have been witnessed since the world Avas made, and probably wdll continue to the end of time, or until the race enters on a new^ phase of existence. Panics, even among the most veteran soldiers, some- times occur, and hence we cannot ^vonder they take ])lace amid a mixed population. Popular excitements ai'e never characterized by reason and common-sense, and never will be. In this case, there was more rea- son for a panic than at first sight seems to be. In the first place, the proportion of slaves to the whites was large. In the second place, they were a turbulent set, and had shown such a dangerous spirit, that the authorities became afraid to let them assemble together in meetings. This restriction they felt sorely, and it made them moi-e restive. AIL w^ere aware of this hostile state of feeling, and were constantly antici- pating some outbreak or act of violence. Besides, it was but a few years since the thing they now^ feared did actually take ])lace. And then, too, the point first aimed at was significant, and showed a bold- ness founded on conscious strength. Eight inside the fort itself, and to the Governor's house, the torch was applied. It certainly looked ominous. Besides, the very wholesale manner in which the authorities thought it l)est to go to work increased the panic. In a very short time over a hundred persons were thrown into prison. The same proportion to the population to-day would be over ten thousand. Such a wholesale arrest would, of itself, throw Xew York into the wildest ex- citement, and conjure up all sorts of horrible shapes. THE NEGRO RIOTS OF 1712-1741. 45 Add to this, an average of two limidred burned at the stake, and two hundred hung every week, or more than liitv a day, and nearly three times that number sentenced to transportation, and one can faintly im- aorine what a friMitfiil state of thino-s woukl exist in the city. The very atmosphere grew stifling from the smoke of burning men and women, while the gallows groaned under its weight of humanity. Had this been the wild work of a m()b it would have been terrible enouo-h. but when it was the result of a deliberate judicial tribunal, which was supposed to do nothing except on the most conclusive evidence, the sense of danger was increased tenfold. The conclusion was in- evitable, that the conspiracy embraced every black man in the city, and was thoroughly organized. In short, the whole place was, beyond doubt, resting over a concealed volcano, and the instinct of self-preserva- tion demanded the most summary work. Let the in- habitants of any city become thoroughly possessed of such an idea, and they w^ill act with no more prudence or reason than the people of New York at that time did. An undoubted belief in such a state of things will CvHifuse the perceptions and unbalance the judg- ment of a community anywhere and everywhere on the globe. Still, consistent as it is with human history, one can hardly believe it possible, as he stands in ISTew York to-day, that men have there been burned at the stake under the sanction of Eno^lish law, or left to swin^r and rot in the winds of heaven, by order of the Supreme Court of the city. CHAPTER III. THE STAMP- ACT KIOT OF 1765. Thorough Understanding of the Principles of Liberty by the Peo- ple. — The Stamp Act. — How ^-iewed by the Colonists. — Golden strengthens Fort George in Alarm — Arrival of the Stamps. — How the News was received by the Sons of Liberty, — A Bold Placard. — Stamp Distributor frightened. — Patriotic Action of the Mer- chants. — Public Demonstration against the Stamp Act.— Golden takes Refuge in the Fort. — Dare not fire on the People. — The People at the Gate demand the Stamps. — Golden and Lord Bute hung in Effigy. — Golden s Goach-house broken open.— The Luages placed in the Goach, and dragged with Shouts through the Streets. — Hung again in Sight of the Foii;. — A Boniire made of the Fence around Bowling Green, and the Governor's Carriages, while the Garrison look silently on. — Prejudice against Goaches. — Major James' House sacked. — Great Joy and Demonstration at the Repeal of the Stamp Act. — Celebration of the King's Birth- day. — Loyalty of the People. — Mutiny Act. — A Riot becomes a Great Rebellion. At the present day, when personal ambition takes the place of patriotism, and love of principle gives -waj to love of party ; when the success of the latter is placed above constitutional obligations and popular rights, one seems, as he turns back to our early liistory, to be transported to another age of the world, and another race of beings. Nothing shows how thoroughly understood by the common people were the principles of liberty, and with what keen penetration they saw through all shams and THE STAMP-ACT EIOT OF 1705. 47 specious reasoning, than the decided, nay, fierce, stand the}' took against the stamp act. This was nothing more than our present law requiring a governmental stamp on all public and business paper to make it valid The only difference is, the former was levying a tax without representation — in other words, without the consent of the governed. The colonies assembled in Congress condemned it ; hence the open, violent oppo- sition to it by the people rises above the level of a common riot, and partakes more of the nature of a righteous revolution. Still, it was a riot, and exhibited the lawless features of one. The news of the determination of the English Gov- ernment to pass a stamp act, raised a storm of indig- nation throughout the colonies, from Massachusetts to South Carolina, and it was denounced as an oppressive, unrighteous, tyrannical measure From the Avayside tavern and the pulpit alike, it was attacked with un- sparing severity. The Government, however, thought it a mere ebullition of feeling, that would not dare ex- hibit itself in open opposition, i^s or does this confidence seem strong, when we remember the weakness of the col- onies on the one side, and the strength of an organized government, Avith tlie law and force both, on the other. Cadwallader Colden, a Scotchman by birth, and a clergyman by profession, Avas at that time acting Goa'- ernor of Isew York ; and to guard against any resort to force on the part of the people Avhen the stamps should arrive, had Fort George, on the Battery, rein- forced by a regiment from Crown Point, its magazines replenished, the ramparts strengthened, and its guns trained on the town. The people saw all this, and un- derstood its import ; but it had the opposite effect from 48 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. that which was intended, for, instead of overawing tlie people, it exasperated them. At lengtli, in October, 1765, a ship witli the British colors fiving came sailing up the bay, and anchored off Fort George. In a short time the startling tidings was circulated, that she brought a quantity of stamps. It was like sounding an alarm-bell, and the streets l)ecame thronged with excited men, while all the provincial vessels in the harbor lowered their colors to half-mast, in token of mourning. In anticipation of this event, an organization of men had been formed, called " Sons of Liberty." They at once assembled, and resolved at all hazards to get hold of those stamps. They had caused the act itself to be hawked about the streets as " the folly of England and the ruin of America," and now they determined to measure their strength with the Governor of the colony. That night, when the town was wrapped in slumber, they quietly afhxed on the dooi"s of every pul)lic oflice and on corners of the streets, the following placard : Pro Patria. The first man that either distributes or makes use of stamped pajjer^ let him take care of his house^ jper- son^ ami effects. Vox Populi. '^We Dare." To the stamp distributors they said, "Assure your- selves, the spirit of Brutus and Cassius is yet alive. We will not submit to the stamp act upon any account or in any instance." McEvers, the head stamp distributor, frightened by THE STAMP-ACT RIOT OF 1765. 49 the bold, determined attitude of the people, refused to receive the stamps, and Golden had them sent for greater safety to Fort George. He had written to the British Secretary, " resolved to liave the stamjps distributed^ But the people were equally resolved they should not be. Still, on the 30th day of October, he and all the royal governors took the oath to carry the stamp act into effect ; l^ut they soon discovered that they could find no one bold enough to act as dis- tributor. All along the sea-coast, in every part of the colonies, the people were aroused, and either assembling quietly, or called together by the ringing of bells and firing of cannon, presented such a united, determined front, that not one person remained duly commissioned to distribute stamps. On the last day of October, the merchants of Xew York came together, and bound themselves to "send no new orders for goods or mer- chandise, to countermand all former orders, and not even receive goods on commission, unless the stamp act be repealed " — that is, give up commerce at once, with all its wealth and benefits, rather than submit to a tax of a few shillings on paper. / Friday, the 1st of November, was the day fixed upon for a public demonstration of the people throughout the colonies against it, and never dawned a morning more pregnant with the fate not onlj- of a nation, but of the world. From Xew Hampshire to South Carolina it was ushered in by the tolling of muffled bells, the firing of minute-o'uns, and flails liuno; at half-mast. Eulos^ies were pronounced on liberty, and everywhere people left their shops and fields, and gathered in excited throngs to discuss the great question of taxation. 50 THK GREAT RIOTS OF NKW YORK CITY. "Even the children at their games, thoiigli liardly able to speak, canght up the general chorus, and went along tlie streets, merrily carolling: ' Liberty, Property, and no Stamps.' " In New York the uprising was terrific, for the pop- ulation rushed together as one man — as Gage, the commander of Fort George said, " by thousands." The sailors flocked in from the vessels, the farmers from the country, and the shouts, and ringing of bells, and firing of cannon made the city fairly tremble. Golden ^vas terrified at the storm that was raised, and took refuge in the fort. An old man, bent and bowed with the weight of eighty years, he tottered nervously to the shelter of its guns, and ordered up a detachment of marines from a ship of war in port, for his protec- tion. In his indignation, he wanted to fire on the peo- ple, and the black muzzles of the cannon pointing on the town had an ominous look. Whether he had threatened to do so by a message, we do not know ; at any rate, the people either suspected his determination or got wind of it, for during the day an unknown per- son handed in at the fort-gate a note, telling him if he did, the people w^ould hang him, like Porteus of Edin- burgh, on a sign-post. He wisely forebore to give the order, for if he had not, his gray hairs would have streamed from a gibbet. At length the day of turmoil wore away, and niglit came on, but with it came no diminution of the ex- citement. Soon it was dark, the " Sons of Liberty," numbering thousands, surged tumultuously up around the fort, and deiiaanded that the stamps should be * Bancroft. THE STAMP-ACT RIOT OF 1765. 61 given up that tliey might be destroyed. Golden bhmtly refused, when with loud, defiant shouts they left, and went up Broadway to " the field " (the present Park), wdiere they erected a gibbet, and hanged on it Golden in effigy, and beside him a figure holding a boot ; some said to represent the devil, others Lord Bute, of whom the hoot^ by a pun on his name, showed for whom the effigy was designed. The demonstration had now become a riot, and the Sons of Liberty degenerated into a mob. The feeling that had been confined to words all day must now have some outlet. A torchlight procession was formed, and the scaffold and images taken down, and borne on men's shoulders along Broadway towards the Battery. The glare of flaring lights on the buildings and faces of the excited crowd, the shouts and hurrahs that made night hideous, called out the entire population, w^hich gazed in amazement on the strange, wild spec- tacle. They boldly carried the scaffold and effigies to with- in a few feet of the gate of the fort, and knocked au- daciously for admission. Isaac Sears was the leader of these " Sons of Liberty." Finding themselves unable to gain admittance, they went to the Gos^ernor's carriage-house, and took out his elegant coach, and placing the two effigies in it, dragged it by hand around the streets by the light of torches, amid the jeers and shouts of the multitude. Be- coming at last tired of this amusement, they returned towards the fort, and erected a second gallows, on which they hung the effigies the second time. All this time the cannon, shotted and primed, lay silent on their carriages, while the soldiers from the 52 THE GREAT RIOT.^ OE NEW YORK (HTY. ramparts looked woiideriiigly, idly on. General Gage did not dare to fire on the people, fearing they would sweep like an inundation over the ramparts, when he knew a general massacre would follow. The mob now tore down the wooden fence that sur- rounded Bowling Green, and piling pickets and boards together, set them on fire. As the flames crackled and roared in the darkness, they pitched on the Governor's coach, with the scaffold and effigies ; then hastening to his carriage-house again, and dragging out a one-horse chaise, two sleighs, and other vehicles, hauled them to the fire, and threw them on, making a conflagration that illumined the waters of the bay and the ships riding at anchor. This was a galling spectacle to the old Governor and the British ofiicers, but they dared not interfere. What was the particular animosity against those car- riages does not appear, though it was the only prop- erty of the Governor they destroyed, unless they were a sign of that aristocratic pride which sought to en- slave them. There were, at this time, not a half-dozen coaches in the city, and they naturally became the symbols of bloated pride. It is said the feeling was so strong against them, that a wealthy Quaker named Murray, who lived out of town, near where the distrib- uting reservoir now is, kept one to ride down town in, yet dared not call it a coach, but a leathern conveni- ence.'''' Although Sears and other leaders of the Sons of Lib- erty tried to restrain the mob, their blood was now up, and they were bent on destruction. Having w^itnessed the conflagration of the Governor's carriages, they again marchpcl up Broadway, and some one shouting THE STA:VIP-ACT riot of 1765. 53 "James' house," the crowd took up the shout, and pas^r ing out of the city streamed through the open country, to where West Broadway now is, and near the corner of Anthony Street. This James was Major in the Koyal Artillery, and had made himself obnoxious to the people by taking a conspicuous part in putting the fort into a state of defence. He had a beautiful resi- dence here, which the mob completely gutted, broke up his elegant furniture, destroyed his library and works of art, and laid waste his ornamented grounds. They then dispersed, and the city became quiet. The excitement was, however, not quelled — the peo- ple had not yet got hold of the stamps, which they were determined to have. Golden, having seen enough of the spirit of the '* Sons of Liberty," w^as afraid to risk another night, even in the fort, unless it was in some way appeased ; and so the day after the riot, he had a large placard posted up, stating that he should have nothing more to do with the stamps, but would leave them with Sir Henry Moore, the newly appointed Gov- ernor, then on his way from England. This, however, did not satisfy the Sons of Liberty : they wanted the stam]>s themselves, and through Sears, their leader, insisted on their being given up — telling him very plainly if he did not they would storm the fort, and they were determined to do it. The Common Council of the city now became alarmed at the ungovernable, desperate spirit of the mob, which seemed bent on blood, and begged the Gov- ernor to let them be deposited in the City Hall. To this he finally though reluctantly consented, but the feeling in the city kept at fever heat, and would remain 60 until the act itself was repealed. 54 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. Moore, the new Governor, soon arrived, and assumed the reigns of government. The corporation offered him the freedom of the city in a gold box, but he re- fused to receive it, unless upon stamped paper. It was evident he was determined to enforce the stamp act. But on consulting with Golden and others, and ascer- taining the true state of things, he wisely abandoned his purpose, and soon made it publicly known. To ap- pease the people still more, he dismantled the fort, which was peculiarly obnoxious to them from the threatening attitude it had been made to assume. Still, the infamous act was unrepealed, and the people re- fused to buy Englisli manufactures, and commerce languished. At length, Parliament, finding that further insistance in carrying out the obnoxious act only worked mischief, had repealed it. When the news reached New York, the most unbounded joy was manifested. Bells were rung, cannon fired, and placards posted, calling on a meeting of the citizens the next day to take measures for celebrating properly the great event. At the ap- pointed time, the people came together at Howard's Hotel, and forming a procession, marched gayly to " the field," and right where the City Hall now stands, then an open lot, a salute of twenty -one guns was fired. A grand dinner followed, at which the Sons of Liberty feasted and drank loyal toasts to his Majesty, and all went "merry as a marriage-bell." Tlie city was il- luminated, and bonfires turned the night into day. In a few weeks, the King's birthday was celebrated with great display. A huge pile of wood was erected in the Park, and an ox roasted whole for the people. Cart after cart dumped its load of beer on the ground, till THE STAMP-ACT RIOT OF 17fi5. 55 twenty-five barrels, flanked by a huge hogshead of rum, lay in a row, presided over by men appointed to deal out the contents to the populace. A boisterous demonstra- tion followed that almost drowned the roar of the twen- ty-one cannon tliat thundered forth a royal salute. As a fitting wind-up to the bacchanalian scene, at night twenty-five tar-barrels, fastened on poles, blazed over the " common," while brilliant fireworks were exhibited at Bowling Green. The feasting continued late in tlie night, and so delighted were the " Sons of Liberty," that they erected a mast, inscj-ibed ''to his most gra- cious Majesty, George the Third, Mr. Pitt, and Liberty." A petition was also signed to erect a statue to Pitt, and the people seemed determined by this excess of loyalty to atone for their previous rebellious spirit. The jo}^, however, was of short duration — the news of the riots caused Parliament to pass a mutiny act," b}^ which troops were to be quartered in America in sufii- cient numbers to put down any similar demonstration in future, a part of the expense of their support to be paid by the colonists themselves. This exasperated "the Sons of Liberty," and they met and resolved to resist this nevr act of oppression to the last. The troops arrived in due time, and of course collisions took place between them and the people. Matters now continued to grow worse and worse, until the " riot of tlie Sons of Liberty " became a revolution, which dis- membered the British Em])ire, and estaldished this great republic, the influence of which on the destiny of the world no one can predict. CHAPTER lY. doctors' PJOT, 1788. Body-snatching. — Bodies dug up by ]\Iedical Students. — Excitement of the People. — Effect of the Discovery of a human Limb from the Hospital. — Mob ransack the Building. — Destruction of Anatomical Specimens. — Arrival of I\Iayor, and Imprisonment of Students. — Second Day. — Examination of Columbia College and Physicians' Houses. — Appeal of the Mayor and distinguished Citizens to the Mob. — Mob attempt to break into Jail and seize the Students. — The Fight. — The jVIilitary called out. — Beaten by the Mob. — Larger Military Force called out. — Attacked by the Mob. — Deadly Firing. — Great Excitement. — Flight of Doctors and Students. In former times " body-snatching," or digging np bodies for dissections, was much more heard of than at present. Tlie fear of it was so great, that often, in the neighborhood where medical students were pursu- ing their studies, persons who lost friends would have a ^vatch kept over their graves for several nights, to prevent them from being dug up. Neither the high social position of parties nor sex was any barrier to this desecration of graves, and the public mind was often shocked by accounts of the young and beautiful being disinterred, to be cut up by medical students. In the city there was, a few years ago — and perhaps there is now — a regular commercial price for bodies. x\lthough it was conceded that for thorough instruc- tion in medical science, subjects for dissection were necessary, yet no one outside of the medical profession DOCTOKS' RIOT, 1788. 57 could' be found to sanction ^'body-snatching." There is a sacredness attached to the grave that the most hardened feel. Whenever the earth is thrown over the body of a man, no matter how abject or sinful he may have been, the involuntary exclamation of every one is " requiescat in ])acer When it comes to be one of our own personal friends, a parent, sister, or child, to this feelino; of sacredness is added that of affection, and no wrong is like that of invading the tomb of those we love. Shakespeare left his curse for him who should disturb his bones ; and all feel like cursing those wlio disturb the bones of friends who are linked to them by blood and affection. In the winter of 1787 and 1788, medical students of New York City dug up bodies more frequently than usual, or were more reckless in their mode of action, for the inhabitants became greatly excited over the stories that were told of their conduct. Some of these, if true, revealed a brutality and indecency, shocking as it was unnecessary. Usually, the students had con- tented themselves with ripping open the graves of strangers and negroes, about whom there was little feeling; but this winter they dug up respectable people, even young v\'omen, of whom they made an indecent exposure. The stories did not lose anything by repetition, and soon the conduct of physicians and medical students became a town talk. There seemed to be no remedy for tliis state of things ; the graveyards, which were then in the heart of the city, were easily accessible ; while plenty of men could be found, who, for a small sura, would dig up any body that was desired. A mere accident caused this state of feelincr to cul 58 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. minate and suddenly break out into action. In the spring, some boys were playing in the rear of the hos- pital, when a young surgeon, from a mere whim, showed an amputated arm to them. One of them, impelled by curiosity, immediately mounted a ladder that stood against the wall, used in making some repairs, when the surgeon told him to look at his mother's arm. The little fellow's mother had recently died, and Ulled with terror, he immediately hastened to his father, who was a mason, and working at the time in Broadway. The father at once went to his wife's grave, and had it opened. Tie found the body gone, and returned to his fellow-workmen wdth the news. They were filled with rage, and, armed with tools, and gathering a ci'owd as they marched, they surged up around the hospital. At first many seemed to be impelled only by curi- osity, but as the throng increased, the masons became eager for decisive action. Threats and denunciations began to arise on every side, and then appeals for ven- geance, till at length they rushed for the door, and pouring into the building, began the work of destruc- tion. For a while there was a terrible rattling of bongs, as they tore down and smashed eveiy anatomi- cal specimen they could lay their hands on. Valuable imported ones shared the common fate. They swarmed through the building, and finally came upon fresh sub- jects, apparently but just dug up. This kindled their rage tenfold, and the students, who thus far had been unmolested, were in danger of being roughly handled. The news of the gathering of the crowd and its threat- ening aspect, had reached the Mayor, who immediately summoned the sheriff, and taking him witli several DOCTOKS' RIOT, 1788. 59 prominent citizens, hastened to the spot. Finding the students in the hands of the infuriated mob, he re- leased them, and to the satisfaction, apparently, of the rioters, sent them to jail for safe-keeping. There was now nothing left for them to do, and they dispersed, and the matter was thought to be ended. But, during the evening, knots of men were every- where discussing the events of the day, and retailing the exciting reports that were now flying thickly around ; and next morning, whether from any concert of action, or impelled by mere curiosity, is not known, crowds began to fill the street and yard in front of the city hospital. The discovery of the bodies the day be- fore had deepened the excitement, and now a more thorough examination of the building was proposed, and also an examination of the physicians' houses. Matters were beginning to wear a serious aspect, and the Governor, Mayor, Chancellor, and some of the prominent citizens of the town, came together to con- sult on a course of action. It was finally resolved to resort in a body to the spot where the mob was as- sembled, and make a personal appeal to it. They did so, and presented an imposing appearance as they advanced up Broadway. Although representing the State and city, they did not presume on their authority, but attempted persuasion. Mounting the steps, they in turn addressed the throng, which now kept momentarily increasing, and exhorted them as law-abiding citizens to use no violence. Some made most pathetic appeals to their feelings, their pride and self-respect ; indeed, begged them, by every consideration of home and justice, to desist, and retire peacefully to their homes. They solemnly promised tliat a most thorough investi- 60 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. gatioii should be made, and they should have all the satisfaction the laws conld afford. More they onc^ht not to ask. These appeals and promises produced a favorable effect on many of the mob, and they left. But the greater part refused to be pacified. Their blood was up, and they insisted on making the exam- ination themselves. They did not propose to commit any violence, but having begun their investigations they were determined to go through with them. The Mayor and the Governor seemed to have an unaccountable repugnance to the use of force, and let the mob depart for Columbia College without any re- sistance. The professors and students were amazed at this sudden inundation of the crowd, who swarmed without opposition through every part of the building. Finding nothing to confirm their suspicions, they left without doing any material injuiy. Still unsatisfied, however, they repaired to the houses of the neighbor- ing physicians, and the leaders, acting as a delegation of the crowd, went through them with the same result. It was a singularly well-behaved mob, and they re- ceived the report of the self-constituted committees with apparently perfect satisfaction, and when they had made the round of the houses, gradually broke up into knots and dispersed. But the lawless spirit of a mob seldom arrests and controls itself. Having once felt its strength and power, it is never satisfied till it measures them against those of the legal authorities, and yields only when it must. Hence, as a rule, the quicker " it feels the strong hand of power " the better for all parties. Promising legal satisfaction to law-breakers is a xcvy unsatisfac- doctors' riot, 1788. 61 tory proceeding. ObedieDce first and discussion after- wards is the proper order to be observed. The Mayor had hardly time to congratulate himself on having overcome so easily a serious difficulty, before he found that he had not as yet touched it. In the afternoon, the crowd again began to assemble, and this time around the jail, with the avowed purpose of taking vengeance on the students and physicians locked up there for safe-keeping. Having asserted and exer- cised, against all law, the right of domiciliary visits, it was but a short and easy step to assert the right to punish also contrary to law. As they gathered in front of the jail, it was seen that a different spirit from that which they had hitherto exhibited ruled them. The tiger was unchained, and loud shouts and yells were heard. " Bring out your doctors ! bring out your doc- tors ! " arose on every side. They threatened to tear down the building unless they were given up. The inmates became thoroughly alarmed, and barricaded the doors and windows, and armed themselves the best way they could for self-defence. Attempts were made to parley with the crowd, but they would listen to nothing, and answered every appeal with loud shouts for the doctors. What they intended to do with them by way of punishment was not so clear, though what their fate would have been, if once at their mercy, there was little doubt. The city authorities now be- came alarmed, murder was imminent, and having no police force sufficient to cope with such a formidable mob, they decided that the city was in a state of insur- rection, and called out the military. About three o'clock, the force marched up the street, and passed quietly through the crowd, which opened as they ad- THE GR?:AT riots of new YORK CITY. vanced. As they moved past, a shower of dirt and stones followed them, accompanied with taunts, and jeers, and mocking laughter. The whole military movement was evidently intended only for intimida- tion — to show the rioters what conld be done if they resorted to violence ; for the soldiers, instead of taking np their quarters, as they should have done, in the building, having exhibited themselves, marched away. But the mob, still retaniing its position and threaten- ing attitude, another force, a little later, consisting of only twelve men, was sent up. This was worse than nothing, and as the little handful marched solemnly up, the crowd broke out into derisive laughter, and all sorts of contemptuous epithets were heaped upon them. Instead of waiting for them to come near, they rushed down the street to meet them, and swarming like bees around them, snatched away their muskets, and broke them to pieces on the pavement* The soldiers, dis- armed, scattered, and hustled about, were glad to escape with whole bodies. This first act of open resistance excited the riot- ers still more — they had passed the Hubicon, and Avere now ready for anything, and " to the jail ! to the jail!" arose in wild yells, and the turbulent mass poured like a tumultuous sea around the building. They rushed against the doors, and with united shoul- ders and bodies endeavored to heave them from their hinges. But being secured with heavy bolts and l)ars, they resisted all their efforts. They then smashed in the windows w^ith stones, and attempted to force an * John Jay and Baron Steuben were both wounded in tiying to allay the mob. doctors' riot, 1788. 63 entrance through them ; but the handful of men in- side took possession of these, and, with such weapons as they could find, beat them back. Numbers were of no avail here, as only a few at a time could approach a window, while those within, being on the defensive, knocked them back as often as they attempted to climb in. The rioters, bafiled in their attempts, would then fall back, and hurl paving-stones and bricks at the windows, when those who defended them would step one side. But the moment the former advanced again, the latter would crowd the windows with clubs and sticks. The enraged assailants tore off pickets, and advancing with these, made desperate efforts to clear the windows. But those w^ithin knew it w^as a matter of life and death with them, and stubbornly held their ground. The fight was thus kept up till dark, amid yells and shouts and a pandemonium of noises, and no efforts apparently were made to put an end to it, and release the inmates of the jail. But steps had been taken to organize and arm a large body of militia under an experienced officer, and now in the dim 'starlight their bayonets were seen gleaming, as they marched steadily forward on the dark, heaving mass that filled the street far as the eye could see. The rioters, however, instead of being intimidated at the sight, sent up a yell of defiance, and arming themselves with stones and brick-bats, hurled them in a blinding volley on the troops. So fierce was the as- sault, that before the latter had time to form, many were knocked down, and some badly wounded. The commanding officer, finding the fight thus forced on him, gave the order in a ringing voice, " Ready, aim, fire ! " A flash broad as the street followed, lighting THE rTRf:AT RIOTS OF NKW YORK CITY. up the gloom, and revealing the scowling faces of the mob, the battered front of the jail, and the pale faces of those guarding the windows. They had not expected this close, point-blank voUev, for the timid action of the authorities had not prepared them for it, and they stopped in amazement and hesitation. The command- ing officer imderstood his business, and instead of waiting to see if they would disperse, poured in an- other volley. The rioters were confounded as they saw their comrades fall by their side, but still stood at bay ; until at last, seeing the dead and wounded on every side, they could stand it no longer, but broke and fled in every direction. In a few^ minutes the street was clear of all but the dead and wounded, the groans of the latter loading the night air. The poor wretches were carried away, and the troops remained on the spot all night. The next day the city was in a fever of excitement. The number of killed was greatly exaggerated, and the denunciations of the butchery, as it w\as called, were fierce and loud. On almost every corner groups of excited men were seen in angry discussion — multitudes gathered in front of the jail, and gazed with horror on the blood-stained pavement. The soldiers who had committed the slaughter were cursed and threatened by turns, but they quietly rested on their arms, ready, it was evident, to repeat the ex- periment at the first open act of violence. For awhile there was danger of a general outbreak throughour the city ; but the authorities had become thoroughly aroused to the danger of the situation, and seeing that the quicker they brought the conflict to a close, the better, made such a display of force, that the riotous spirit YORK-THE COLORED ORPHAN ASYLUM, 143d STREET. THE FORMER BUILDING DESTROYED DURING THE DRAFT RIOTS OF 18bd. DOCTOKS' RIOT, 1788. 65 was overawed. Still, it was not entirely subdued., and it was evident that it was kept under by fear alone. The physicians of the city came in for almost as large a share of the hatred as the military. They were the original cause of the disturbance, and threats against them became so open and general, that they w^ere in constant dread of personal violence, and many fled from the city. They scattered in every direction, and there threatened to be a general Hegira of physicians. All the medical students were secretly stowed into carriages, and hurried off into tlie country, where they remained till the excitement died away. It did not, however, subside readily ; indeed, the danger of open revolt was so great for several days, that the milit;ary continued to keep guard at the jail. CHAPTER Y. SPRING ELECTION KIOTS OF 1834. Fatal Error in our Naturalization Laws. — Our Experiment of Self - government not a fair one. — Fruit of giving Foreigners the Right to Vote. — Bitter Feeling between Democrats and Whigs. — First Day of Election. — Ships Constitution " and "Veto." — Whigs driven from the Polls. — Excitement. — Whigs determined to defend themselves. — Meeting called. — Resolutions. — Second Day's Elec- tion. — Attack on the Frigate ''Constitution." — A Bloody Fight. — Mayor and Oflficers wounded. — Mob triumphant. — Excitement of the Whigs. — The Streets blocked by fifteen thousand en- raged AVhigs. — Military called out. — Occupy Arsenal and City Hall all Night. — Result of the Election. — Excitement of the Whigs. — Mass-meeting in Castle Garden. This country never committed a more fatal mistake than in making its naturalization laws so that the im- mense immigration from foreign countries could, after a brief sojourn, exercise the right of suffrage. Oar form of government was an experiment, in the success of which not only we as a nation were interested, but the civilized world. To have it a fair one, we should have been allowed to build and perfect the structure with our own material, not pile into it such ill-formed, incongruous stuff as the despotisms of Europe chose to send us. Growing up by a natural process, educating the people to the proper exercise of their high trust, correcting mistakes, and adjusting difficul- ties as we progressed, the noble building w^ould have settled into greater compactness as it arose in height, SPRING ELECTION RIuTS OF 1S34. 67 and all its various proportions been in harmony. We should have built slowly but surely. But when there was thrown upon us a mass of material wholly unlit for any political structure, and we were compelled to pile it in liap-hazard, it was not long before the goodly edifice began to show ugly seams, and the despotisms of Europe pointed to them with scorn, and asked taunt- ingly how the doctrine of self-govermnent worked. They emptied their prisons and poor-houses on our shores, to be rid of a dangerous element at home, and we, with a readiness that bordered on insanity, not only took them into our bosoms, but invited them to aid us in making our laws and electing our rulers. To ask men, the greater part of whom could neither read nor write, who were ignorant of the first principles of true civil liberty, who could be bought and sold like sheep in the shambles, to assist us in founding a model re- public, was a folly without a parallel in the history of the world, and one of which we have not yet begun to pay the full penalty. It was a cruel wrong, not only to ourselves, but to the oppressed masses of Europe, who turned their loniyino- eves on us for encouraoement and the moral aid which our success would give them in their sti'uggles against despotism. If the reason given for endowing this floating popula- tion — and dangerous element under any circumstances — with the full rights of citizens had been the true one, namely: to be just to them, and consistent with the great doctrine of equality on which our Government rested, there might be some little comfort in reflecting on the mistake w^e made. But this was false. The right of suffrage was given them by a paity in order to secure their votes, and secure them, too, by appeal- G8 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. inu; to those very passions tluit made them dangerous to the republic, and which the interest of all alike required should be removed instead of strengthened. All the good the Democratic party has ever done this country will hardly compensate for the evil of this one act. If our experiment shall finally prove a failure, we verily believe it will be owing to the extension of the political franchise to whites and blacks who were unfit to use it, and cared for it not because of its honor, or the good use to which it might be put, but as a piece of merchandise to be sold to the highest bidder or used as a weapon of assault against good order and right- eous laws. Of course, the first pernicious effect of this transfer of power to ignorant, reckless men would be felt at the polls in Xew York City, where this class was in the greatest number. The elections here soon became a farce, and the boasted glory of a free ballot-box a taunt and a by-word. That gross corruption and villany practised here should eventually result in the open vio- lation of law, as it did in the charter election of 1834, w^as natural. Political animosity w^as probably more bitter between the Democrats, under Jackson's administration, and the Whigs, than between any two political parties since the time of Federalists and Democrats, in the days of the elder Adams. In the spring of 1834 especially, party spirit ran very liigli in the city. As usual, for a month or more before the election, which took place on the second Tuesday in April, all kinds of accusations and rumors w^ere afloat. There was no registry law, and compara- SPRING ELECTION RIOTS OF 1834. 69 tively few places for the polls, so that there could be little check on voting, no end to repeating, while the gathering of an immense crowd around each place of voting became inevitable. At this election, there was a split in the Democratic party, Mr. Yerplanck being the candidate of the Independent Democrats, and Mr. Lawrence of the " Tammany.'' The most extensive preparations were made on both sides for the conflict, and it was generally expected there would be a personal collision in some of the wards. Tuesday, the 8th of April, dawned dark and stormy, and the rain began to fall heavily, at times coming down in torrents. But to such a fever heat had the public feeling been carried, that no one seemed to heed the storm. The stores were closed, business of all kinds suspended ; while the streets were black with men hurrying to the polls. At twelve o'clock the American flag was hoisted on the Exchange, when the building became deserted, and all gathered at the places where the voting was going on. Men stood in long lines, extending clear out into the street, patiently enduring the pelting rain, waiting till their turn came to vote. The famous expression of Jackson, " Perish credit, perish commerce," had been taken out of the connec- tion in which it was used, and paraded everywhere. The sailors had been enlisted in the struggle, and rigged up a beautiful little frigate in complete order, and named it the " Constitution." Mounting it on wheels, several hundred of them paraded it through the streets and past the polls. As they passed through Wall Street, thundering cheers greeted them, and the excited popu- lace, heedless of the rain, fell into the proces-^ion, till 70 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. it swelled to thousands, who, with songs and shonts, fol- lowed after. Fearful of the effect of this demonstra- tion on the voters, the Jackson men hastil}^ rigged out a boat, surmounted by a flag on which was painted in large characters, " Yeto ; " and " Constitution " and Yeto " sailed after each other through the city. This should have been prevented by the authorities, for it was impossible for these two processions to meet with- out a fight occurring, while it was equally certain that the Whig one would be attacked, if it attempted to pass the polls in those wards in whicli the roughs had the control. But the " Hickory poles " had inaugurated a new mode of carrying on political campaigns. Ap- peals were made to the senses, and votes obtained by outward symbols, rather than by the discussion of important political questions. This mode of elec- tioneering culminated with the log-cabin excitement. In the Eleventh Ward, the Jackson party had two private doors through which to admit their voters to the polls, while bullies kept back from the main entrance the Independent Republicans. In most of the strong Jack- son wai'ds, where it was all on one side, the voting went on peaceably enough, but in the Sixth, it was soon evident that a storm was inevitable. Oaths and threats and yells of defiance made the polls here seem more like an object on wliicli a mob was seeking to wreak its vengeance, than a place where freemen were depositing tlieir votes under sanction of law. The babel of sound continued to grow worse in spite of the rain, and swelled louder and louder, till at last the Jackson roughs, headed by an ex-alderman, made a rush for the committee room where their opponents SPEIXG ELECTION RIOTS OF 1&34. were assembled. Some of them ^vere armed with c'hibs, and others with knives, which thev brandished fiercely as they burst into the room. Before the mem- bers could offer any resistance, they were assailed with such fury, that in a short time nearly twenty were stretched bleeding and maimed on the floor ; one so badly wounded that he was carried out lifeless, and. apparently dead. It was a savage onslaught, and those who escaped injury reached the street hatless, and with coats half- torn from their backs. The mob, now being complete masters of the room, tore down all the banners, destroyed the ballots, and made a complete wreck of evervthins:. The Whio- leaders, enrao-ed at such dastardly, insulting treatment, despatched a mes- senger in all haste to the Mayor for help, but he re- plied that he could not furnish it, as all the available force was away in other sections of the city on duty. The excitement among the Whigs now became fearful, and they determined to take the matter in their own hands. The election was to last three days, and they concluded to let the polls, when the mob entered, take care of themselves the balance of the day, and organ- ize a plan for self-protection on the moi-row. A call was at once issued for a meeting at Masonic Hall, and that night four thousand Whigs packed the building, from limit to limit. General Bogardus was called to the chair, who, after stating the object of the meeting, and describing the conduct of the mob in the Sixth Ward, olfered the following resolutions: '* ]\7iereaSj The authority of the police of the city has been set at defiance by a band of Jiirelings^ mer- cenaries^ and huUies in the Sixth Ward, and the lfves of our citizens put in jeopardy. And whereas it is 72 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YOIIK CITY. evident that we are in a state of anarchy, which re- quires the prompt and efficient interposition of every friend of good order who is disposed to sustain the constitution and hiws, therefore, be it " Resolved^ That in order to preserve the jpeace of tlie city, and especially of the Sixth Ward, the friends of the constitution and the liberties of the citizen will meet at this place (Masonic Hall), to-morrow (Wed- nesday), at half-past seven o'clock a.m., and repair to the Sixth Ward poll, for the jpurjpose of keeping it open to ALL VOTERS until such time as the official authorities may ' procure a sufficient number of special constables to keep the peace.' " Besolved, That while at the Sixth Ward poll, those who are not residents thereof will not take part in the election, but simply act as conservators of the peace, until such times as the ma.jesty of the laws shall be acknowledged and respected." These resolutions were carried with acclamations and shouts and stamping of feet. There was no bluster in these resolutions, but their meaning w^as apparent enough, and the city authori- ties understood it. From that hall, next morning, would march at least five or six thousand determined men, and if the mob rallied in force, to repeat the action of the day before, there would be one of the, bloodiest fights that ever disgraced the city. It was believed that the great mass of the rioters were Irish- men, and the thought that native-born Americans should be driven from their own ballot-box by a herd of foreigners, aroused the intensest indignation. It was an insult that could not and should not be tol- erated. SPRING ELECTION RIOTS OF ia34. 73 The next morning, at half-past seven, Masonic Hall was filled to repletion. Tlie excitement can be im- agined, when snch a crowd conld be gatliered at this early honr. In the Ninth Ward a meeting was also called, and a resolution passed, tendering a committee of one hun- dred to the general committee ; that, with a committee of the same number from each of the fourteen w^ards of the city, wonld make a battalion eighteen hundred strong, to be ready at a moment's notice, to march to any poll " to protect the sacred right of suffrage." These measures had their desired effect. The pres- ence of large bodies of men at the different polls, for the purpose of protecting them, o\'erawed the unorgan- ized mob, although in some of the wards attempts were made to get up a riot. Stones and clubs were thrown, and one man stabbed ; it was thouglit at the time fatally. The Sixth Ward, "the Bloody Sixth," as it was called, was the point of greatest danger, and thither the Mayor repaired in person, accompanied by the slieriff and a large posse, and remained the greater part of the day. Threats and opprobrious epithets were freely used, and occasionally a paving-stone would be hurled from some one on the outskirts of the crowd ; but the passage to the polls was kept open, and by one o'clock the citizens could deposit their votes without fear of personal violence. The evil of having the election continue tl^-ee days now became more apparent than ever. The dis- orderly class, " the roughs," by their protracted drink- ing, became more and more maddened, and hence riper for more desperate action. This second night was spent by them in carousing, and the next morning 4 74 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. they turned out to the polls, not only ready, but eager for a liglit. Early in the forenoon, the frigate " Con- stitution " was again on its vo^'age through the streets, followed by a crowd. x\s it passed Masonic Hall, the liead-cpiarters of the Whig Committee, it was saluted with cheers. This was followed by a rush upon it, on the part of tlie mob, who attempted to destroy it. The Whigs inside of the building, seeing the attack, poured forth with a loud cheer, and fell on the assail- ants with such fury, that they turned and fled. The news of what was passing, had, in the meantime, reached the Sixth Ward folks, and a shout was raised for followers. Instantly a huge crowd, composed of dirty, ragged, savage-looking men, broke away with dis- cordant yells, and streamed up Duane Street towards the building, picking up paving-stones and brick-bats, and iDulliiig down pickets as they ran. Coming in sight of the little frigate, tliey raised a shout and dashed on it. The procession had now passed the hall, but the Whigs, informed of what was going on, again sallied forth to the help of the sailors, who were flgliting man- fully against overwhelming odds. But they were soon overpowered, and again took refuge in the hall. This was now assailed, and stones came crashing through the windows. The Mayor was sent for, and soon appeared with the sheriff, backed by forty watchmen. Mounting the steps, he held up his staff of office, and commanded the peace. But the half-drunken mob had now got beyond the fear of the mere symbol of authority, and answered him with a shower of stones, and then charged on the force that surromided him. A flerce and bloody fight followed. Citizens rushed out to the help of the Mayor, while the watchmen fell SPRING ELECTION RIOTS OF 1834. 75 on the mob with their clubs. They soon stretched on the pavement more than their own number, but the odds against them was too great. The Mayor received a wound — ten or fifteen watchmen besides citizens were wounded — Captains Stewart, Munson, and Fhiggs, badly injured, the latter with his skull horribly fract- ured, ribs broken, and face cut up. A few of the rioters were arrested, but the great mass broke through all opposition, and streaming into the hall, forced the coDimittee to creep through back passages and win- dows. The news of this his^h-handed outrac^e was carried like the wind to the lower anti-Democratic wards, and the excited Whigs came streaming up, until Duane, Elm, Pearl, Cross, Augustus, and Chatham Streets, up to Broadway, were black with determined, enraged citi- zens. Ten or fifteen thousand were in a short time assembled, and a fearful battle seemed inevitable. In this appalling state of things, the Mayor called a con- sultation, and it was decided to declare the city in a state of insurrection, and call on the military for help. A messenger was immediately despatched to the Navy Yard for a company of marines. Colonel Gamble, commanding, replied that he would be glad to comply with the request, and put himself at their head, but that he had just sent them on board the " Brandy wine" and " Yincennes." Application was tlien made to Com- modore E,idgely, commander of the station ; but he re-- fused, on the ground that he had no authority to inter- fere. A messenger was then hurried across to Gov- ernor's Island for help, but he met with no better suc- cess. As a last resort. General Sanford was now di- rected to call out the city military. 76 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. All this time the crowd kept increasing, while fi-om ont its bosom came an angry murmnr like the moaning of the sea before a st()rm. The polls were deserted, and it seemed impossible that the opposing forces conld be long kept apart. At length word passed throngh the Whigs that the mob were about to take possession of the arsenal. Instantly several hundred citizens made a dash for it, and occupied it. This w^as a bril- liant piece of strategy, and no sooner did the rioters hear of it, than they swarmed around the building with yells and imprecations. The Whigs, however, held it, and some of them passed out arms to their friends. Three terrible hours had now passed since the first outbreak, and from the Park to Duane Street, Broad- way, and the cross streets on the east side of it, were packed with excited men, their shouts, calls, and curses rising over the dwellings in tones that sent terror to the heart. But for the narrow streets, in which but few could come in contact, there would doubtless liave been a collision long before. But at this critical moment a detachment of infantry and two squadrons of cavalry came marching down Broadway, and in close column. The crovrd divided as they advanced, and they drew up before the arsenal. The gleaming of the bayonets and the rattle of sabres had a quieting effect on the rioters, and they began to disperse again to the polls, to watch the progress of the voting. In the meantime, the infantry took up their quarters at the arsenal, and the cavalry at the City Hall, for the night. When the polls closed at evening, the l)allot-box of the Sixth Ward was taken under a strong guard to the City Hall, and locked up for ^he night. It was fol- SPRING ELECTION RIOTS OF 1884. 77 lowed by four or five thousand excited men, but no violence was attempted. The election was over. For three days the city had been heaving to the tide of human passion, and trem- bling on the verge of a great disaster, and all because a few ruffians, not a fourth part of whom could probably read or write, chose to deny the right of suf- frage to American citizens, and constitute themselves the proper representatives of the city. But the excitement did not end with the election. It was very close, and as the returns came in slow^ly, the people assembled in great numbers, to hear them reported. The next day, till three o'clock at night, ten or fifteen thousand people blocked Wall Street, refus- ing to disperse, till they knew the result. It w^as finally announced that Mr. Lawrence, the Democratic candidate, was elected by a small majority. The next thing w^as to ascertain the character of the Common Council. The same mighty throng assembled next day, forgetting everything else in the intense interest they felt in the result. It would seem impos- sible to get up such a state of feeling over the election of a few local officers, but the city shook from limit to limit as the slow returns came in. At last, it was an- nounced that the Whigs had carried the Common Coun- cil by a small majority. As the news passed thi'ough the immense concourse, a shout went up that shook Wall Street from Broadway to the East River. It rolled back and forth like redoubled thunder, till every throat was hoarse. When the crowed at last dispersed, it was only to assemble again in separate bodies in different parts of the city, and talk over the victory. 78 THE GREAT KIOTS UF NEW YORK CITY. Even then the excitement was not allowed to die away. The event was too great to be permitted to pass without some especial honor, and a mass-meeting was called in Castle Garden to celebrate it. Webster was sent for to make a speech, the most distinguished speakers of Xew York were called upon, and a day of general rejoicing followed, great as that which suc- ceeded Lee's surrender. CHAPTER VI. ABOLITION KIOTS OF 1834 AND 1835. The Slavery Question agitated, — The End, Civil War. — The Re- sults. — William Lloyd Garrison. — Feeling- of the People on the Subject. — First Attempt to call a Meeting of the Abolitionists in New York. — Meeting in Chatham Street Chapel. — A Fight.— Mob take Possession of Bowery Theatre. — Sacking of Lewis Tap- pan's House. — Fight between Mob and Police. — Mobbing of Dr. Cox's Church, in Laight Street. — His House broken into. — Street Barricaded. — Attack on Arthur Tappan's Store. — Second Attack on Church in Laight Street. — Church sacked in Spring Street. — Arrival of the Military. — Barricades carried. — IMr. Lud- low's House entered. — Mob at Five Points. — Destruction of Houses. — The City Military called out. — Mob overawed, and Peace restored. — Five Points Riot, — Stone-cutters' Riot. Most of the riots of New York have grown out of causes more or less local, and wholly transient in their nature. Hence, the object sought to be obtained was at once secured, or abandoned altogether. But those aris- ing from the formation of Abolition societies, and the discussion of the doctrine of immediate emancipation, were of a different character, and confined to no locality or time. The spirit that produced them developed it- self in every section of the country, and the question continued to assume vaster proportions, till the Union itself was involved, and what was first onlv a conflict be- tween the police of the city and a few liundred or thou- sands of ignorant, reckless men, grew at last into the so THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. most o-io^antic and terrible civil war that ever cursed tlie earth. The Union was rent asunder, and State arrayed against State, wliile the world looked on aghast at the strange and bloody spectacle. The final result has been the emancipation of the slaves, and their endowment with all the rights and ])rivileges of American citizens. But with this has come a friglit- ful national debt, the destruction of that feeling of common interest and patriotism, which is the strongest secAirity of a country; a contempt for the Constitution, the concentration of power in the hands of Congress, small regard for State rights, while the controlling power in the South has passed into the hands of an ignorant, incapable, irresponsible class ; and, worse than all, the people have become accnstomed to the strange spectacle, so franght with danger in a republic, of seeing: the les^islatures and executives of sovereisin States overawed and overborne by the national troops. That frightful conflict for the slave has sown danger- ous seed ; what the final harvest will be, the future historian alone will be able to show. The inconsistency of having a system of slavery in- corporated into a republican government was always felt by good men Is"orth and South, as well as its dam- aging effect on the social and political well-being of the whole community ; and steps had been taken both in Virginia and Kentucky to do awa}' with it by leg- islative action. AVhether these incipient steps would ever have ended in relieving us of the evil, can only be conjectured. We only know that a peaceable solu- tion of the question was rendered impossible, by the action of the Abolitionists, as they were called, who, governed by the short logic, that slavery being wrong, ABOLITION RIOTS OF 1&34 AND 1835. 81 it could not exist a moment without sin, and therefore must be abandoned at once without regard to con- sequences. The system of slavery was no longer a social or political problem, calling for great wisdom, prudence, statesmansliip, and patience, but a personal crime, not to be tolerated for a moment. The whole South was divided by them into two classes, the op- pressor and oppi*essed, the kidnapper and kidnapped, the tyrant and the slave — a relationship which liberty, religion, justice, humanity, alike demanded should be severed without a moment's delay. These views, in the judgment of the press at the time, and of sound statesmen, w^ould eventually end in civil war, if adopted by the entire North, and hence they denounced them. The Abolitionists were consid- ered by all as enemies to the Union, whom the lower classes felt should be put down, if necessary, by vio- lence. This feeling was increased by the action of "William Lloyd Garrison, the founder of the society, who went to England, and joined with the antislavery men there in abusing this country for its inconsistency and crime. These causes produced a state of public feeling that would be very apt to exhibit itself on the first opportunity. When, therefore, in the autumn of 1833, after Garrison's return from England, a notice appeared for an antislavery meeting in Clinton Hall, some of the most respectable men in New York de- termined to attend, and crush out, by the weight of their influence, the dangerous movement. Another class was resolved to effect the same project in another w^ay, and on the 2d of October the following placard was posted in flaming letters all over the city : 4* 82 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. NOTICE To all persons from the Soiith. All persons interested in the subject of the meeting called by J. Leavitt, W. Goodell, W. Green, J. Rankin, Lewis Tappan, At Clinton Hall, this evening, at 7 o'clock, are re- quested to attend at the same hour and place. MANY SOUTHERNERS. New- York, Octoher 2d, 1833. N. B. All citizens who may feel disposed to mani- fest the true feeling of the State on this subject, are requested to attend. Putting the appeal in the name of the Southerners, was an artful device to call out the people. At an early hour crowds began to assemble in front of Clinton Hall ; but to their surprise tliey found a no- tice nailed on the door, that no meeting would be held. Many, seeing it, returned home ; but still the crowd con- tinued to swell to thousands, who rent the air with shouts and threats aojahist Garrison. Determined not to be disappointed in a meeting of some kind, they forced their way upstairs, till the room in which it w^as to be held was crammed to suffocation. The meeting was then organized, and waited till quarter past seven, when it was moved to adjourn to Tammany Hall. There it Avas again organized, and a gentleman was ABOLITTOX RIOTS OF 18:^4 AND ia3r>. 83 about to address the crowd, when a man stepped for- ward to the president, and stated that the meeting an- nounced to be held in Clinton Hall was at that mo- ment under full headway in Chatham Street Chapel. Instantly several voices shouted, Let us go there and rout them ! " But the chairman said they had met to pass certain resolutions, and they should attend to this business first, and then every one could do as he liked. The resolutions were read, and after some remarks had been made upon them, adopted, and the meeting ad- journed. A portion of those present, however, were not satisfied, but resolved to go to the chapel and break up the meeting there. The little handful assembled within, apprised of their approach, fled, so that when the mob arrived, the building, though the doors were open and the lights burning, was empty. It immedi- ately took possession of the room, and giving a negro who was foremost in the sjwi-t the name of one of the Abolitionists, made him chairman. The most absurd resolutions were then ofi^ered, and carried, when the chairman returned thanks for the honor done him amid the most uproarious laughter, and what had threatened to be a serious riot ended in a wild, lawless frolic. This w^as the beginning of the Abolition riots in Xew York City, which afterwards, to a greater or less extent, prevailed for years in different parts of the Union. Next summer the excitement, which during the win- ter had nothing to call it forth, broke out afresh, end- ing in destruction of property and bloodshed, and the calling out of the military. On the evening of the 7 tii of July, an assembly of colored persons of both sexes occupied Chatham Street Chapel, fov the purpose of TFIE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. listening to a sermon from EAD-RABBITS' RIOT BREAD RIOT. 133 fiance. Now the Dead Kabbits would drive their foes before them, and again be driven back. The bloody fight thus swayed backwards and forwards through the nar- row streets for a long time. At length twenty-five Me- tropolitan Police appeared on the scene, while fifty more were held in reserve. Though assailed at every step with clubs and stones, they marched steadily on, clear- ing the crowd as they advanced, and forcing the Dead Rabbits into the houses, whither they followed them, mounting even to the roof, and clul)bing them at every step. After clearing the houses, they resumed their inarch, when they were again attacked by the increas- ing crowd, many of them armed with muskets and pis- tols. Barricades were now erected, behind which the mob rallied, and the contest assumed the aspect of a regular battle. The notorious Captain Rynders came on the ground, between six and seven o'clock, and at- tempted to restore quiet. Kot succeeding, however, he repaired to the ofiice of the Police Commissioners, and told Commissioner Draper, if he had not police force enough to disperse the mob, he should call out the mil- itary. The latter replied that he had made a requisi- tion on Major-General Sandford, for three regiments, and that they would soon be on the ground. But it was nine o'clock before they made their appearance. The police then formed in two bodies of seventy-five men each, and supported, one by the Seventy-first Begi- ment and the other by the Eighth, marched down White and Worth Streets. This formidable display of force overawed the rioters, and theyfiedin every direc- tion. This ended the riot, although the military were kept on duty during the night At times, the fight was close and deadly, and it 134 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. was reported that eight were killed and some thirty wounded. BREAD RIOT. In the autumn there came a financial crisis, that was SO wide-spread and disastrous that the lower classes suffered for want of food. Banks suspended specie payment, manufactories were forced to stop work, and paralysis fell on the Avhole industry of the nation. It was estimated that ten thousand persons were thrown out of employment. These soon used up their earn- ings, and destitution and suffering of course followed. Their condition grew worse as cold weather came on, and many actually died of starvation. At length they became goaded to desperation, and determined to help themselves to food. Gaunt men and women, clad in tatters, gathered in the Park, and that most fearful of all cries, when raised by a mob, " Bread," arose on every side. Propositions were made to break open the stores, and o-et what thev needed. Flour was hoarded up in them because so little could be got on from the West. The granaries there were groaning with pro- visions ; but there was no money to pay for the trans- portation. There was money East, but kept locked up in fear. As this became known to the mob, their ex- asperation increased. To know that there were both food enough and money enough, while they were starving to death, was enough to drive them mad, and there were ominous mutterings. Fortunately, the au- thorities saw in time tlie threatened danger, and warded it off. A great many were set to work on the Central Park and other public works, while soup- houses were opened throughout the city, and private POLICE RIOT dead-rabbits' RIOT BREAD RIOT. 135 associations formed to relieve the suffering; and the winter passed without any outbreak, though more than five thousand business-houses in the country failed, with liabilities reaching thi*ee hundred millions of dollars. CHAPTEE X. DEAFT RIOTS OF 1863. Cause of tlie Riots. — The London Tmes.— Draft called a despotic Measure. — The despotic Power given to Washing-ton by Con- gress. — Despotic Action sometimes Necessary, in order to save the Life of the Nation. — The Rights of Government. — Drafting the Legitimate Way to raise an Army — It is not Unequal or Op- pressive. The ostensible cause of the riots of 1863 was liostil- it}^ to the draft, because it was a tyrannical, despotic, unjust measnre — an act wliicli has distinguished tyrants the world over, and should never be tolerated by a free people. Open hostility to oppression was more than once hinted in a portion of the press — as not only a right, but a duty. Even the London Times said, It would have been strange, indeed, if the American people had submitted to a measure which is a distinctive mark of the most despotic governments of the Continent." As if the fact that a measure, Ijecause resorted to by a despotic government, was therefore necessarily wrong. It might as well be said, that because settling national difficulties by an appeal to arms has always been a distinctive feature of despotic govermnents, therefore the American people should refuse to sustain the government by declaring or prosecuting any war ; or that because it has always been a distinctive feature DRAFT RIOTS OF 1SG3. 137 of despotic governments to liave naval and military schools, to train men to the art of Avar, therefore the American people should not submit to either. It is not of the slightest conserjuence to us what despotic governments do or not do ; the simple question is, Avhether the measure is necessary for the protection of our own government, and the welfare of the people. To leave this untouched, and talk only about des- potism, the right of the people, and all that, is mere demagogism, and shows him who utters it to be unfit to control public opinion. Besides, there is a great diiference between measures that are despotic, which are put forth to save the nation's life, or honor, and those put fortli to destroy freedom, and for selfish ends. Not that, intrinsically, despotic measures are always not to be deprecated and avoided, if possible ; for if tolerated in one case, they may be exacted in another. Liberty can never be guarded too carefully, or the barriers erected around the rights of every individual respected too scrupulously. But everything in this world is a choice between two evils. The greatest wisdom cannot avoid all evils ; it can only choose the least. Sound statesmanship regards any stretch of power better than the overthrow of the nation. Prob- ably there never was a more able and wise body of men assembled, or more jealous of any exercise of arbitrary power, than the First Congress of the United States ; and yet, almost in the commencement of oar struggle for independence, when events wore such a gloomy aspect that failure seemed inevitable, rising above its fears of despotic measures, in its greater fear of total defeat, it conferred on Washington powers that made him to a laro-e extent militarv dictator. lie 13S THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. Wcas autliorized to raise sixteen battalions of infantry, three tlionsand liglit-liorse, three regiments of artillery, together with a corps of engineers, and apjyoint the officers JiimseJf. He had, also, full power, when he deemed it necessary, to call on the several States for the militia; to appoint throughout the entire army all the officers under hrigadicrs ; fill up all vacancies; to take whatever he wanted for the use of his troops, wherever he could find it, with no other restriction than that he must pay for it, whicli last was nullified, because he was empowered to seize and loch up every man who ref used to receive in pay Continental money. It would seem impossible that a body of men wlio were so extremely sensitive in bestowing power on a mili- tary commander, and so watchful of the rights of indi- viduals, could have committed such an act ; and yet, who does not see that, under the circumstances, it was wise. Now, granting that conscription is a despotic measure, no truthful, candid man will deny that, in case of a war, where men must be had, and can be got in no other way, that it would be the duty of govern- ment to enforce it. It is idle to reply that the sup- position is absurd — that in this country such a thing can never happen ; for what has been in the world can be again. Besides, this does meet the question of the right of the Government, that must be settled before the emergency comes. Now, we do not believe there is sounder principle, or one that every unbiassed mind does not concede with the readiness that it does an axiom, that, if necessary to protect and save itself, a government may not only order a draft, but call out every able-bodied man in the nation. If this right does not inhere in our government, it is built on a DRAFT RIOTS OF 1863. 139 foundation of sand, and the sooner it is abandoned the better. But we go farther, and deny that a draft is a despotic measure at all, but is a just and equital)le mode of raising an army. True, if troops enough can be raised on a reasonable bounty, it is more ex- pedient to do so ; but the moment that bounty becomes so exorbitant as to tempt the cupidity of those in whom neither patriotism nor sense of duty have any power, volunteering becomes an evil. We found it so in our recent war. The bounty was a little fortune to a cer- tain class, the benefit of which they had no idea of losing by being shot, and hence they deserted, or shammed sickness, so that scarce half the men ever got to the front, while those who did being influ- enced by no motive higher than cupidity, became worthless soldiers. A draft takes in enough men of a higher stamp to leaven the mass. The first ISTapoleon, when asked what made his first " army of Italy " so resistless, replied that almost every man in it was intel- ligent enough to act as a clerk. The objection that a rich man, if drafted, can buy a substitute, while the poor man, with a large family depending upon him, must go, if of any weight at all, lies against the whole struct- ure of society, which gives the rich man at every step immunities over the poor man. When pestilence sweeps through a city, the rich man can flee to a healthy locality, while the poor man must stay and die ; and when the pestilence of war sweeps over the land, must one attempt to reverse all this relation between wealth and poverty ? When society gets in that happy state, that the rich man has no ad\'antages over the poor, there will be 140 THE GREAT lilOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. no need eitlier of drafting or volunteering. Yet, after all, it is not so unequal as it at first sight appears. War must have money as well as men, and the former the rich have to furnish ; and if they do this, it is but fair that they should be allowed to furnish with it ajso the men to do their fio-htino:. Besides, there must be some rule that would exempt the men that carry on the business of the country. We have said this much, because the riots in Isew York, vdiich might have ended in natioiuil destruction, were brought about by preaching views directly the op- posite of these. The military spirit is so prevalent in the nation, that in any ordinary war the Government can get all the troops it ^vants by giving a moderate bounty, and wages but a little greater than can be secured at any ordinary business or occupation. Still, the right to raise them differently should never be denied it. AVlien the old militia system was given up in the State, and a certain number of regiments were raised and equipped and drilled for active duty, and for which the people paid taxes, it was thought they would furnish all the quota that would ever be called for from the State — and in any ordinary war will. The crisis, however, in which we found ourselves had never been anticipated, and hence not provided against, and when Congress attenq)ted to do it in what seemed to it the best way, an outcry was raised of injustice and oppression. It was hard, doubtless, but there are a gre>at many hard things in the world that have been and have to be borne. The feeling of hostility unques- tionably would have been less intense, had not so many of those to be drafted been bitterly opposed to the DKAFT RIOTS OF 18G3. 141 war. Believing it to have been bronglit about by llie reckless demagogism and fanaticism of their polit- ical opponents, and levied as it was against those who had been their warm political friends, indeed, chief de- pendence for political success, it was asking a good deal, to require them to step to the front, and figlit in such a war. Whether this feeling was right or wrong, had nothing to do with the influence it actually exerted. On this feeling was based, in fact, the real hostility to the draft, in which a portion of the press shared. But, as we said before, we having nothing to do . with the justice or injustice of this belief or feeling ; we only state the fact, with our denial that it furnished any excuse for the denunciations uttered against the draft as a wrong use of power, or the refusal to submit to it on that account. The Government, whetlier wrong or right, must be supported, or abandoned and given over to revolution. In ordinary times, denunciation of its measures, and the most strenuous opposition to them, is the right and often the duty of every con- scientious man. This right, exercised by the press, is one of the most effectual checks against abuses, and the most powerful lever to work reform and changes. But in a great crisis, to set one's self against a measure on which the fate of the nation hangs, is a flagrant abuse of that right ; for the effort, if success- ful, will not work change and an improved condition of things, but immediate, irretrievable ruin, and put the nation beyond the reach of reform. CHAPTER XI. Rights of Municipalities. — Interference of the Legislature with the Cit}"- GoTemraent. — Conflict between the Governor and Police Commissioners. — A Wrong becomes a Practical Blessing. — Pro- vost Marshals. — Riot not anticipated. — Bad time to commence the Draft. — Preparations of Superintendent Kennedy. — The Police System. — Attack on Provost Marshal Captain Erhardt. — Telegrams of the Police. — Kennedy starts on a Tour of Observa- tion. The rights of municipalities have been conceded from the first dawn of constitutional liberty — indeed municipal freedom may be said to be the first step in the onward progress of the race toward the full rec- ognition of its rights. To interfere with a great com- mercial city like New York, except by general laws, is as a rule unwise, impolitic, and, indeed, unjust. Like a separate State, it had better suffer many and great evils, than to admit the right of outward power to reg- ulate its internal affairs. To do so, in any way, is fraught with mischief; but to do so as a political party, is infinitely more pernicious. It leaves a great metropolis, on which the welfare of the commercial business of the nation mainly depends, a foot-ball for ambitious or selfish politicians to play with. But as there are exceptions to all rules, so there may be to this — still they sliould always be exceptions, and not claimed as a settled policy. We mention this, because the interference of the Legislature, or rather the dominant part of it, in the DRAFT RIOTS OF 18G3. 143 internal policy of New York, about the time the war commenced, was in itself a mischievous and tyrannical act, while, under the circumstances that soon after oc- curred, it proved of incalculable benefit. With the city stripped of its military, and the forts in the harbor of their garrisons, the police, under the old regime, during the draft riots, would have been trustless and powerless, even if the city government had attempted to uphold the national authority, which is doubtful. The Kepublicans established a Board of Police Commissioners, the majority of which were of their own political faith, who had the entire control of the department. Under their hands, an entire differ- ent set of men from those formerly selected, composed the force, and a regular system of drills, in fact, a thorough organization, adopted. But in 1862 the Democrats elected their governor, though they failed to secure the Legislature. Mr. Seymour, immediately on his inauguration, summoned the Commissioners to appear before him, the object of which w^as to change the character of the board. The latter understood it, and refused to appear. Legal pro- ceedings were then commenced against them, but they were staved off, and in the meantime the Legislature had got to work, and took the matter in hand ; and Messrs. Bowen, Acton, and Bergen, were made to con- stitute the board — John A. Kennedy being superintend- ent of police. Mr. Bowen, tlie president of the board, having been appointed brigadier-general, resigned, and Mr. Acton, under the law, became president. This political character of the board, so diametrically op- posed to the feelings and wishes of the vast majority of the citizens, tested by the ordinary rules and princi- 14:4: tup: great kiots of new yokk city. pies of a Iiepublican Govcniincnt, was unjust ; a palpable, deliberate eiicroaclimeiit on the right of self- government. But as we remarked, just how, it was fortunate for the country that sucli a state of thins^s ex- isted. In the extraordinary, not anticipated, and peril- ous condition in which we found ourselves, everything was changed. Keither constitutions nor laws had been framed to meet such an emergency, and both, in many cases, had to be suspended. "What was right be- fore, often became Arrong now, and vice versa. The article inserted in the Constitution of the State, that the moment a l)ank refused specie payment, it became bankrupt, was a wise and just provision, but to enforce it now, would be financial ruin, and it was not done. This usurpation of the government of Xew York by the Republican party, which seemed so unjust, was, doubtless, under the circumstances, the salvation of the city. It was, moreover, highly important to the whole country, in the anomalous war which threatened our very existence, that the controlling power of the city should be in sympathy with the General Gov- ernment, but it was especially, vitally so, when the latter put its provost marshals in it to enforce the draft. That this mode of enforcing the draft by provost marshals, was an encroachment on the rights and powers of the separate States, there can be no doubt. It is equally clear that the proper way was to call on the separate governors for their quota, and let t/ie?7i enforce the draft. If they refused to do it, then it was time for the General Government to take the matter in its own hand. This, however, was no encroachment on individual rights. The oppressive nature of the act and the result were the same to the person, whether en- NEW YOI{K— THE ATTACK ON THE TlilliUNE BUILDING. DKAFT RIOTS OF 18(>:i 145 iorced bj the State or General Government. Still it was a total departure from the practice of the General Government since its first organization, and it more- over established a dangerous precedent, which the sooner it is abandoned the better. But this had nothing to do with the opposition to the draft. That was a personal objection. With the Police Department in sympathy with the rioters, it is not difficult to see what the end would have been. We do not mean by that, that the heads of the department would not have endeavored to do their duty, but it would have been impossible to control the kind of element they would inevitably have to deal with. This even the long- tried, trusted leaders of the Democratic party acknowledged. In fact, the police force would not have been in a condition, with ever so good a will, to have acted with the skill and prompt- ness it did. The draft riots, as they are called, were supposed by some to be the result of a deep-laid conspiracy on the part of those opposed to the war, and that the success- ful issue of Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania was to be the signal for open action. Whether this be so or not, it is evident that the outbreak in ]^ew York City on the 13th of July, not only from the manner of its com- mencement, the absence of proper organization, and almost total absence of leadership, was not the result of a general well-understood plot. ■ It would seem from tlie facts that those who started the movement had no idea at the outset of proceeding to the length they did. They simply desired to break up the draft in some of the upper districts of the city, and destroy the registers in which certain names were enrolled. 7 146 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. A general provost marshal had been appointed over the whole city, which was subdivided into various dis- tricts, in each of which was an assistant provost niar- shall. Although there had been no provision for a general assistant provost marshal or aid, yet Colonel jSTugent acted in this capacity. The drafting was to take place in the separate districts, under the direction of the assistant provost marshals. Although there had been some rumors of resistance to it, they received very little credence, and no special provision was made for such an emergency. The city was almost denuded of the military; the regiments having been called to Pennsylvania to repel Lee's inva- sion ; yet so little fear was entertained, that even the police department was not requested to make any special preparation. The Invalid Corps, as it was called, composed of the maimed and crippled soldiers who could no longer keep the field, were thought to be quite sufficient to preserve the peace. The draft commenced on Saturday in the Eleventh and JSTinth Districts, and passed olf quietly; and it was thought the same order would be maintained through- out, and if any force were necessary to repress violence, it would be when the conscripts were required to take their place in the ranks. Still Superintendent Kennedy of the Police Depart- ment feared there might be some difficulty experienced by the officers in charge of the draft, even if no serious resistance should be offered. Some of the enrolling officers, a short time previous, while taking the names of those subject to draft, had been assailed with very abusive language, or their questions received in sullen sik^ucc or jinswered falselv ; fictitious names often ])o\vtened the doors ; but knowing they would furnish but a momentary resistance to the armed multitude, he, with others, collected hastily the terrified children, and carrying some in their arms, and leading others, hur- ried them in a confused crowd out at the rear of the building, just as the ruffians effected an entrance in front. Then the work of pillage commenced, and everything carried off that could be, even to the dresses and trinkets of the children, while heavy furniture was smashed and cliopped up in the blind desire of destruction, ^^ot satisfied with this, they piled the fragments in the different rooms, and set fire to them. At this juncture Chief Engineer Decker arrived, and determined, if possible, to save the building, addressed the crowd, as he had in the morning, hoping to induce them to forbear further violence, and let him extin- guish the flames. But they liad now got beyond argu- ment of any kind, and knocking him down twice, pitched him into the street. But ten brave firemen at this juncture rushed to his side, and together fought their Avay through the crowd into the building, where they were joined by two assistant engineers. Lamb and Lewis. They at once began to scatter and extin- guish the burning fragments, keeping back for a while, by their bold bearing, tlie rioters. The lattei-, however, soon rallied in force, and some mounting to the loft, set DRAFT KIOTS OF 1863. 171 it on fire in every part. Decker and his few gallant allies, finding it impossible to save the building, retreated into the street, and soon the massive structure was a sheet of flame. The crowd now proceeded to Mayor Opdyke's house, and gathering in front of it, sent up shouts and calls for the Mayor. They were, however, deterred at that time from accomplishing their purpose by an appeal from Judge Barnard, who addressed them from the steps of an adjoining house. Soon after, an immense mob was reported coming down Broadway, for the purpose, some thought, of at- tacking the negro waiters in the Lafarge House, be- tween Amity and Bleecker Streets, but in fact to at- tack police head-quarters in Mulberry Street, and break up the very centre of operations. It was a bold stroke, but the rino-leaders had been drinkins^ all dav, and now, maddened by liquor, were ready for the most desperate attempts. When the news of this movement reached head-quarters, the commissioners saw that a crisis had come. The mob numbered at least five thousand, while they could not muster at that moment two hun- dred men. The clerk, Mr. Hawley, went to the com- missioners' room, and said : Gentlemen, the crisis has come. A battle has got to fought now ^ and won too, or all is lost." They agreed with him. " But who," they asked, " will lead the comparatively small force in this fight ? " lie replied that he thought that Sergeant Carpenter should be selected, as one of the oldest and most experienced oflicers on the force. " Well," they said, " will you go down to his room and see what he says about it?" He went, and laid before 172 THE GKKAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITV. liiiu the perilous condition of things, and that an im- mediate and snccessfnl battle must be fought. Carpenter heard him through, and taking in fully the perilous condition of things, paused a moment, and then rising to his full height and lifting his hand, said, with a terrible oath, " I'll go, and I'll win that fight, or Daniel Carpenter will never come hack a live mmiP He walked out and summoned the little force, and as " Fall in, men ; fall in," was repeated, they fell into line along the street. When all was ready, Acton turned to Carpentei', every lineament of whose face showed the stern purpose that mastered him, and quietly said, " Sergeant^ make no arrestsP It was to be a battle in which no prisoners were to be taken. " All riglit^'' replied Carpenter, as he but- toned up his coat and shouted " Forward." Solid, and silent save their heavy, measured tread on the pave- ment, they moved down Bleecker Street towards Broadway. As they turned into the latter street, only a block and a half away, they saw the mob, which filled the entire street far as the eye could reach, moving tumultuously forward. Armed with clubs, pitchforks, iron bars, and some with guns and pistols, and most of them in their shirt-sleeves and shouting as they came, they presented a wild and savage appearance. Pe- destrians fled down the side streets, stores were hastily closed, stages vanished, and thej^had the street to them- selves. A huge board, on which was inscribed " No Draft," was borne aloft as a banner, and beside it waved the Stars and Stripes. The less than two hundred policemen, compact and firm, now halted, while Carpenter detached two com- panies of fifty each up the jiarallel streets to the right DRAFT RIOTS OF 1803. 173 and left, as far as Fonrtli Street. Coming down this street from both directions, tliey were to strike the mob on botli flanks at the same time he charged them in front, lie waited till they had reached their positions, and then shouted, ^^By the right JlanJc Company fronts douhle- quicl\ cnAEGE." Instantaneously every club was swnng in air, and solid as a wall and swift as a wave they swept full on the astonished multitude; while at the same time, to cut the monster in two, the two compa- nies charged in flank. Carpenter, striding several steps in advance, his face fairly l)lazing with excitement, dealt the first blow, stretching on the pavement a pow- erful rnfiian, who was rushing on him with a huge chib. For a few minutes nothing was heard but the heavy thud of clubs falling on human skulls, thick and fast as hailstones on windows. The mob, just before so con- fident and bold, quailed in terror and would have broke and fied at once, but for the mass behind wdiicli kept bearing down on them. This, how^ever, soon gave way before the side attacks and the panic that followed. Then the confusion and uproar became terrible, and the mass surged hither and thither, now rolling np Broadway, and again borne back or shoved np against the stores, seeking madly for a way of escape. At length, breaking into fragments, they rushed down the side streets, hotly pursued by the police, whose remorse- less clubs never ceased to fall as long as a fugitive was within reach. I3i-oadway looked like a field of battle, for the pavement was strewn thick with bleeding, pros- trate forms. It was a great victory and decisive of all future contests. Having effectually dispersed them. Carpenter, with the captured flag, marched np to Mayor Opdyke's 174 THE GREAT KIoTS OF NEW YORK CITY. house, wlieii, finding everytliing quiet, lie returned to head-quarters. This successful attack of the police was received with cheers by those spectatoi's who had wit- nessed it. CHAPTER XIY. I^To Military in the City. — The Mayor calls on General Wool, com- manding- Eastern Department, for Help. — Also on General Sandford. — General Wool sends to General BrowTi, command- ing Garrison in the Harbor, for U. S. Troops. — Marines of the Navy Yard ordered up. — Eventually, West Point and several States appealed to for Troops. — General Brown assumes Com- mand. — Attack of Mob on the Tribune Building. — Its severe Pun- ishment. — Government Buildings garrisoned. — Difficulty between Generals Brown and Wool. — Head-quarters. — Police Commis- sioners' Office ]\Iilitary Head-quarters. The terrible punishment the rioters received, at the hands of Carpenter had, however, only checked their movements for a time ; and, as the sun began to hang low in the summer heavens, men looked forward to the coming night with apprehension. In the meantime, however, the authorities, conscious of the perilous condition of the city, had resorted to every means of defence in their power. Unfortunately, as mentioned before, nearly the whole of its military force, on which it depended in any great emergency, was absent. Lee's brilliant flank movement around Hooker and Yv'asliino^ton, terminatino; in the invasion of Pennsylvania, had filled the country with consterna- tion. Ilis mighty columns were moving straight on Philadelphia, and the Government at AVashington, roused to the imminent danger, had called for all tlie troops within reach, and iS^ew York had sent forward, neai-ly every one of her regiments. Ordinary pru- 176 THE GREAT RK^TS OE NEW YORK CITY. (leiice would luivc dictated that tlic draft slioidd be postponed for a few days, till these regiments, now on their way back, or pre]3aring to return, should ai-rive. It was runnino^ a needless risk to uro-e it in such a crisis — indeed, one of the follies of wdiich the Adminis- tration at this time was so needlessly guilty. General Wool, at this juncture, commanded the Eastern Department, with his head-quarters at the cor- ner of Bleecker and Greene Streets. Mayor Opdyke immediately called on him for help, and also on Major- general Sandford, connnanding the few troops that were left in the city. The latter immediately issued an order requesting the Seventh Regiment to meet that evening, at their drill-rooms, at eight o'clock, to consult on the measures necessary to be taken in the presotit unexpected crisis, and another to the late two-years' volunteers then in the city, to report at the same hour in Grand Street, to Colonel William II. Allen, for tem- porary duty. General Wool, also, during the afternoon, while the rioters were having it all their own way, sent an officer to the adjutant-general of General Brown, commanding the troops in garrison in New York harbor, ordering up a force of about eighty men immediately. General Brown, on his way from his office to Fort Hamilton, was informed by Colonel Stinson, chief clerk, that a serious riot w^as raging in the city, and that General AVool had sent to Fort Hamilton for a detachment of some eighty men, and that a tug had gone for them. Surprised at the smallness of the number sent (he was, by special orders of the War De- partment, commandant of the city, and commander of all the forts and troops in the harbor except Fort DRAFT RIOTS OF 1808. 177 Columbus), he immediately ordered the company at Fort Wood to the city, aud sent a tug for it. He then made a requisition on the quartermaster for transporta- tion of all the other companies, and proceeded without delay to Fort Hamilton. General Brown's office was close to General Wool's ; but he did not think proper to consult him on the movement. General Brown, immediately on his arrival at Fort Hamilton, directed that all the troops there, as well as at Forts Lafayette and Kichmond, be got in readiness to move at a moment's notice, and also that a section of artillery be organized, in case it should be wanted. Having taken these wise precautions he hastened up to the city, and reported to General Wool. The result proved the wisdom of his forecast. A new order was at once dispatched for the remaining troops, and just at twilight, Lieut. McElrath saw two steamers making directly for the fort. They were hardly fastened to the dock, when an officer stepped ashore and handed him an order from General Brown to send up at once all the efficient troops in the forts, and have their places sup- plied as best he could with some volunteer artillery companies. The reports coming in to police head-quarters had shown that it was no common uprising of a few dis- affected men to be put down by a few squads of police or a handful of soldiers. The Mayor, after consulting with the Police Commissioners, felt that it was the beginning of a general outbreak in every part of the city, and by his representations persuaded General Vv^ool to apply to Rear-admiral Paulding, commanding the J^avy Yard, for a force of marines, and eventually to Colonel Bowman, Superintendent of West Point, and 8* 178 THE GREAT RIOTS OE NEW YORK CTTT. also to the authorities of Newark, and (Tovernors of New York, Xew Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode IsLand for troops. Genei-al Brown, after reporting to General Wool, repaired to police head-quarters, which he adopted as his own, and issued the following oixler : " Head-quarters, New York, July 13, 1863. "In obedience to the orders of the Major-general commanding the Eastern Department, the undersigned assumes command of the United States troops in this city. "Lieutenant-colonel Frothingham and Captain Ke- volle are of the staff of the undersigned, and will be obeyed accordingly. "Harvey Brown, ''''Brevet Brigadier-general^^ He also sent a dispatch to General Sandfoi-d, at the arsenal, notifying him of his action, and requesting him to come down and consult with him on the course to be pursued. General Sandford, after awliile, did come down, and, to General Brown's amazement, in- sisted that all the troops should be sent up to the ar- senal. General Brown, seeing the utter madness of such a disposition of his force, refused decidedly to permit it to be done. This was of course denying Sandford's claim to be his superior officer. It was well for the city that he took this ground. Mayor Opdyke also issued a proclamation, calling on the rioters to disperse. But while these measures were being set on foot, tho rioters were not idle. DRAFT RIOTS OF 1863. 179 All day long a crowd had been gathering in the Park around the City Hall, growing more restless as night came on. The railroad-cars passing it were searched, to see if any negroes were on board, while eyes glowered savagely on the Tribune building. They had sought in an eating-house for the editor, to wreak their vengeance on him. Not finding him, they deter- mined that the building, from which was issued the nefarious paper, should come down, but w^ere evidently waiting for help to arrive before commencing the work of destruction. The mob, wliich Carpenter had so terribly punished in Broadway, were marching for it, designing to burn it after they had demolished police head-quarters. Their dispersion delayed the attack, and doubtless broke its force, by the reduction of numbers it caused. There seemed enough, how^ever, if properly led, to effect their purpose, for the Park and Printing- house Square were black with men, who, as the dark- ness increased, grew more restless ; and " Down with it ! burn it ! " mingled with oaths and curses, were heard on every side. At last came the crash of a window, as a stone went through it. Another and another followed, w^hen sud- denly a reinforcing crowd came rushing down Chat- ham Street. This was the signal for a general assault, and, witli shouts, the rabble poured into the lower part of the building, and began to destroy everything within reach. Captain Warlow, of the First Precinct, No. 29 Broad Street, who, with his command, was in the gallant fight in Broadway, after some subsequent fighting and marching, had at length reached his head- quarters in Broad Street, where a despatch met him, to proceed at once to the Tribune building, lie imme- ISO THE GKKAT liKTrs OF NEW YORK CITY. diately started off on the double-quick. On reaching the upper end of I^assau Street, he came to a halt, and gave the club signal on the pavement, to form column. Captain Thorne, of the City Ilall, in tlio meantime, had joined his force to him, with the gallant Sergeant Devoursney. Everything being ready, the order to " Charge " was given, and the entire force, perhaps a hundred and fifty strong, fell in one solid mass on the mob, knocking men over right and left, and laying heads open at every blow. The panic-stricken crowd fled up Chatham Street, across the Park, and down Spruce and Frankfort Streets, punished terribly at every step. The space around the building being cleared, a portion of the police rushed inside, w^iere the work of destruc- tion was going on. The sight of the l)lue-coats in their midst, with their uplifted clubs, took tlie rioters by surprise, and they rushed frantically for tlie doors and windows, and escaped the best way they could. Id the meantime, those who had taken refuge in the Park found themselves in the lion's jaws. Carpenter had hardly rested from his march up Fifth Avenue to Mayor Opdyke's house, when he, too, received orders to hasten to the protection of the Tribune building. Taking one hundred of his own men, and one hundred under Inspector Folk, of Brooklyn, who had been early ordered over, and been doing good service in the city, he marched down Broadway, and w^as just entering tlie Park, when the frightened crowd came rushing pell- mell across it. Immediately forming " company front," he swept the Park like a storm, clearing everything before him. Order being restored, Folk returned with his force to Brooklyn, where things began to wear a DRAFT EIOTS OF 1863. 181 threatening aspect, and Carpenter took up his station at City Hall for the night. This ended the heavy fighting of the day, though n:inor disturbances occurred at various points during the evening. Negroes had been hunted down all day, as though they were so many wild beasts, and one, after dark, was caught, and after being severely beaten and hanged to a tree, left suspended there till Acton sent a force to take the body down. Many had sought refuge in police-stations and elsewhere, and all were filled with terror. The demonstrations in the lower part of the city excited the greatest anxiety about the Government buildings in that section — the Custom House and Sub- treasury were tempting prizes to the rioters. General Sandford, commanding the city military, had sent such force as he could collect early in the day to the arse- nal, to defend it ; for, should the mob once get posses- sion of the arms and ammunition stored there, no one could tell what the end would be. United States troops also were placed in Government buildings to protect them. Almost the last act of the mob this evening was the burning of Postmaster Wakeman's house, in Eighty-sixth Street. Mrs. Wakeman was noted for her kindness to the poor and wretched, who now repaid her by sacking and burning her house. The precinct station near by was also destroyed. In the meanwhile, an event happened which threat- ened to disarrange all the plans that had been laid. Militar}^ etiquette often overrides the public good, and here, at this critical moment. General Wool chose to consider that, as General Sandford was Major-general, though not in the United States service, he, therefore, 1S2 tup: great kiots of new yokk city. ranked Brigadier-general Brown of the regular ai*niy, and required him to act under the other's orders. This, 1 )rown promptly refused to do, and asked to be relieved, telling General Wool that such a proceeding was an unheard-of thing. That he was right the order below will show"^ that his troops must be under his own com- mand, as he was responsible for their action to the Government, and Sandford was not. Wool, however, continued obstinate, and a total disruption seemed in- evitable. Mayor Opdyke, President Acton, Governor Seymour, with several prominent American citizens, were present, and witnessed this disagreement with I^ainful feelings. They knew that it would work mis- chief, if not paralyze the combined action they hoped to put forth in the morning. Genei'al Brown, finduig Wool inflexible, turned away, determined to retire altogether. The Mayor and others followed him, and begged him not to abandon them in the desperate strait they were in — to think of nothing but saving the city. General Brown had been too hasty, sticking on a point of mere etiquette, with, perhaps, too much tenacity. True, an officer must insist on his rank as a rule, but there are emergencies when everything of a personal nature must be forgotten — crises where it may * [General Order No. 36.] War Department, Adjutant-generaVs Office^ Washinffton, April 7th, 1863. 6. The military commander's duties ia reference to all troops and enlisted men who happen to serve within the limits of his command will ho prechelf/ those of (i commanding ojjicer of a military post. The duties of military commanders above defined, will devolve in the City of New York, and the military 'posts in that mcinity, on Brevet Brigadier-general H. Brown, Colonel Fifth U. S. Artillery. By order of the Secretary of War, (Signed) L. Thomas, Adjutant- general. DRAFT EIOTS OF 1863. 183 be an officer's duty to serve in any capacity, however subordinate, and trust to being righted afterwards. Luckily, General Brown, on a sober second thought, took the proper view, and returned to General Wool, and asked to be reinstated in liis command, but giving him to understand that, though he would co-operate in every possible way with General Sandford, he still must retain distinct and separate command of his own troops. This was right, and whether General Wool perfectly understood the arrangement, or seeing how deeply the gentlemen present felt on the subject, chose not to press a mere point of etiquette, does not appear. We only know that if General Brown had given up the command of his troops, the results to the city would have been disastrous. Wliile these events were passing in the St. Nicholas Hotel, the streets were comparatively quiet. It had been a hard day for the rioters, as well as for the po- lice, and they were glad of a little rest. Besides, they had become more or less scattered by a terrific thmider- storm that broke over the city, deluging the streets with water. In the midst of it, there came a tele- graphic dispatch to the commissioners, calling for as- sistance. The tired police were stretched around on the floor or boxes, seeking a Httle rest, when they were aroused, and summoned to fall in; and the next mo- ment they plunged into the darkness and rain. They were drenched to the skin before they had gone a block, but they did not heed it — and then, as to the end, and under all circumstances, answered promptly and nobly to every call. Acton had now gathered a large force at head-quar- ters, and felt ready to strike at any moment. 184 THE GRExVT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. "Wliile the men flung themselves on the hard floor, like soldiers on the field of battle, ready to start on duty at the first call, Acting Superintendent Acton and his assistants never closed their eyes, but spent the night in telegraphing, organizing, and preparing for the fiercer fights of next day. Much was to be done to cover and protect a district that reached from Brooklyn to Westchester, and it was an anxious night. They had one consolation, however : though taken un- awares, they had at the close of the day come out vic- tors, which gave them confidence in the future, espe- cially as now Brown and his trained soldiers were with them. Some fifteen or twenty policemen had been more or less severely injured, while the number of the killed and wounded of the mob was wholly unknown. Both the dead and maimed were left by the police where they fell, and were almost immediately hurried away by their friends. The destruction of property on this first day, con- sisted of four buildings on Tliird Avenue burned, also a block on Broadway between Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth Streets ; two brown-stone dwellings in Lexington Avenue ; Allerton's Hotel near Bull's Head ; a cottage, corner of Forty-fifth Street and Fifth Ave- luie; the Colored Orphan Asylum, and the armoiy corner of Twenty-first Street and Second Avenue. CHAPTEE XY. Telegraph Bureau, — Its Work. — Skill and Daring- and Success of its Force. — Interesting Incidents. — Hairbreadth Escapes. — Detec- tive Force. — Its arduous Labors. — Its Disguises. — Shrewdness, Tact, and Courage. — Narrow Escapes. — Hawley, the Chief Clerk. — His exhausting Labors. One thing Commissioners Acton and Eergen iii> their consultation settled must be done at all hazards — ^telegraphic communication must be kept open with the different precincts. Otherwise it would be impos- sible to concentrate men at any given point, quick enough to arrest the mob before they spread devasta.- tion and conflagration far and wide. Every hour gained by a mob in accumulating or organizing its forces, increases the difiiculty of dispersing it. The rioters understood this partially, and had acted accord- ingly ; but the rich spoils they had come across during the day, had driven, for the time being, all other thoughts but plunder out of their heads. Some com- munications had already been destroyed, and the rioters would evidently b}'^ morning have their eyes open to the importance of doing this everywhere, and their efforts must be foiled, no matter what the risk or sacrifice might be. Thej^ had already cut down over sixty poles, and rendered upwards of twelve miles of wire useless ; and how much more would share the same fate tlie next day, no one could tell. The superintendent and deputy of the Telegraph 186 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YuKK CITY. Bureau, Messrs. Crowley and Polliamus, with the ope- rators mentioned before, were, therefore, set at work this very evening in the storm to restore the broken lines. This was a perilous undertaking, for if once discov- ered, their lives would be instantly sacrificed. The details of their operations, their disguises, in- genious contrivances, deceptions, and boldness in car- rying out their object, would make an attractive chap- ter in itself. Often compelled to mingle with the mob, always obliged to conceal what they were about, not daring to raise a pole or handle a wire unless cautiously or secretly, they yet restored the lines in the north section by morning, and those in the south by Wednes- day evening. Sometimes they were compelled to carry a wire over the top of a house, sometimes round it, through a back-yard ; in short, every device and ex- pedient was resorted to by these daring, sharp-witted men. Once Polhamus had his boots burned off in tramping through the burning ruins of a building after the wires. Once he and Mr. Crowley came near being clubbed to death by the police, who mistook them for rioters, so ingeniously and like them were they at work among the ruins. Captain Brower rescued them, or their services might have ended on the spot. This work was kept steadily up during the continu- ation of the riots. On one occasion, Mr. Crowley, hearinurpose, though all were engaged in anin)ated discussions of some topic. Dirty, ferocious-looking women were scattered through the crowd ; some of the men were armed, while all looked defiant and determined. There were doubtless many who had come from mere curiosity, and a few attempted to allay the excite- ment, among them a Catholic priest, who harangued them, urging them to maintain peace. His address seemed to have considerable influence on those imme- diately around him ; but as soon as he left, his words were forgotten, and the mighty throng, estimated by some at ten thousand, began to be agitated by passion. What would have been the first act of violence, it is impossible to say, had they been left undisturbed. But at the cry of " the police and soldiers are coming," everything else was forgotten. Inspector Cai'penter, coming down Twenty-first Street, struck Second Avenue, and wheeling, moved in solid column through the crowd up to Thirty-second SECOND DAY. 195 Street. The force was assailed with hoots and yells, and all kinds of o])probrious epithets, but no violence w^as shown, until it had crossed Thirty-second Street. The mob not only filled the street, but numbers, with piles of stones and brick-bats, had climbed to the roofs of the houses. These deeming themselves secure, sud- denly, with one accord, rained their missiles on the rear of the column. The men fell rapidly, and two were dangerously hurt. Carpenter immediately halted his command, and ordered fifty men to enter the houses, and mount- ing to the roof, clear tliem of the assailants. Barri- caded doors were at once broken in, and every one that opposed their progress clubbed without mercy, as they made their way to the upper floors. Captain Mount of the Eleventh Precinct, led tlys storming part}^ Officers Watson and Cole distinguished themselves by being the first (^n the roof, fighting their way through a narrow scuttle. As the police, one by one, stepped on to the roof, they rushed on the desperadoes with their clubs, and felled them rapidly. Those who attempted to escape through the scuttles were met by the police in the rooms below ; or if one chanced to reach the street, he was knocked down by those keeping guard there. Some dropped from second and third story windows, and met with a worse fate than those who staid behind. One huge fellow received such a tre- mendous blow, that he was knocked off his feet and over the edge of the roof, and fell headlong down a height of four stories to the pavement beneath. Crushed to death by the force of the fall, he lay a mangled heap at the feet of his companions. The fight was sharp and fierce, and kept up for 190 THE GREAT RT0T5 OF NEW YORK CITY. nearly an lioiir, and bodies scattered around showed witli wliat deadly force the club had been wielded. But with the clearins: of the houses there came a lull in the conflict, and the immense crowd looked on in sullen silence, as the police reformed in the street, and recommenced their march. Tlie military force that had accompanied the police, had formed on the ave- nue, about a block and a half above whei-e the latter were stationed, while the detaclnnent was clearing the houses. Two howitzers were placed in position com- manding the avenue. Colonel O'Brien, of the Elev- enth New York Volunteers, who was raising a regiment for the war, had gathered together, apparently on his own responsibility, about fifty men, and appearing on the field, from his superior rank, assumed command. For a short time the rioters remained quiet, but as the police marched away, they suddenly awoke out of their apparent indifference. Maddened at the sight of the mangled bodies of their friends stretched on the Davement, and enraged at their defeat by the police, they now turned on the soldiers, and began to pelt theniAvith stones and brick-bats. O'Brien rode up and down the centre of the street a few times, evidently thinking his fearless bearing would awe the mob. But they only jeered him, and finding the attack grow- ing hotter and more determined, he finally gave the order to fire. The howitzers belched forth on the crowd, the soldiers levelled their pieces, and the whist- ling of minie-balls was heard on every side. Men and women reeled and fell on the sidewalk and in the street. One woman, witli her child in her arms, fell, pierced with a bullet. The utmost consternation fol- lowed. The crowd knew from sad experience that the SECOKD DAY. 197 police would use their clubs, but thej seemed to think it hardly possible that the troops would fire point- blank into their midst. But the deadly effect of the fire convinced them of their error, and they began to jostle and crowd each other in the effort to get out of its range. In a few minutes the avenue was cleared of the living, when the wounded and dead were cared for by their friends. Order had been restored, and O'Brien, with some twenty or tliirty men, marched down to police head-quarters, and offered his services to Gen- eral Brown. Colonel Frothingham thanked him, but soon saw that the Colonel was not in a fit state to have command of troops, and so reported to General Brown. O'Brien appeared to comprehend the state of things, and asked to be excused on the plea of sickness. He was excused, and rode away. Whether he disbanded his handful of men, or they disbanded themselves, was not stated, but lie was soon back as^ain at the scene of the riot. His residence was close by, but had been de- serted that morning by the family, which had fled in alarm to Brooklyn. Scowling visages lowered on tlie colonel, as he rode slowly back among the crowd, and \q>\y mnttered threats were heard. Although an Irish- man, and well-kn(jwn in that neighborhood, his sympa- thy with the Government had awakened more or less hostile feeling against him, which his conduct to-day kindled into deadly hate. Apparently unconscious or reckless of this, he dismounted, and entered a neigh- boring drug-store or saloon. After remaining a few moments, he came out, and paused as he beheld the crowd that had assembled around the door. There was little said, but dark and angr^^ countenances w^ere bent on him from every side, and he saw that mischief 19S THE CJKEAT KIOTS OF NEW YOKE CITY. Was intended. Drawin": liis sword, and takinir a re- volver in the other hand, he deliberately walked out into the street. He had taken but a few steps, when a powerful blow on the back of his head made him stag- ger forward. In an instant a rush was made for him, and blows were rained so fast and fierce upon him, that he was unable to defend himself. Knocked down and terribly mangled, he was dragged with savage bru- tality over the rough pavement, and swung from side to side like a billet of wood, till the large, powerful body was a mass of gore, and the face beaten to a pumice. The helpless but still animate form would then be left awhile in the street, while the crowd, as it swayed to and fro, gazed (^i it with cool indifference or curses. At length a Catholic priest, who had either been sent for, or came along to offer his services wherever they might be needed, approached the dying man and read the service of the Catholic Chnrch over him. the crowd in the meantime remaining silent. After he had finished, he told them to leave the poor man alone, as he was fast sinking. But as soon as he had disappeared, determined to make sure work with their victim, they again began to pound and trample on the body. In the intervals of the attack, the still living man w^ould feebly lift his head, or roll it from side to side on the stones, or heave a faint groan. The whole afternoon was spent in this fiendish work, and no attempt was made to rescue him. To- wards sundown the body was dragged into his own back-yard, his regimentals all torn from him, except his pantaloons, leaving the naked body, from the w^aist up, a mass of mangled fiesh clotted with blood. But the dying man could not be left alone in his own SECOND DAY. 190 yard. A crowd followed him thither, among which were women, who committed the most atrocions violence on the bod}', until at last, with one convulsive mo\'ement of the head, and a deep groan, the strong man yielded up his life. While this tragedy was being enacted here, similar scenes w^ere occurring all over the city. Mobs were ever^'where, the spirit of pandemonium was abroad, and havoc and revenge let loose. Lieutenant Wood, whom General Brown had sent off, with a company of regulars, came in conflict with a mob, two thousand strong, in Pitt and Delancey Streets. Marching along Houston to the Bowery, he turned dowai the latter, and kept on to Grand. On reaching Pitt Street, he beheld the hooting, yelling crowd com- ing straight towards him. He immediately formed his little force of one hundred and fifty men in line across the street, and brought them to " shoulder arms." One of the ringleaders stepped forward to speak to him, when Lieutenant W^ood waved him off. This was the signal for the attack, and immediately a shower of stones fell among the soldiers. The officer ordered the men to fire — it was said over the heads of the rioters — in order to disperse them. The result was scattering shots in return from the latter. Wood then ordered a point-blank volley, when men tumbled over right and left. The crowd did not wait for a second, but fled in every direction. Wood then marched back to head- quarters, but on the way slipped and sprained his an- kle, wdiich caused a report that lie had been wounded. A bloody conflict also took place between the police and mob in the same avenue where Colonel O'Brien fell, below Thirtieth Street. There was a wire fac- 200 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. tory liere, in wliicli several tliousaiid carbines were stored. Of this, some of the rioters were aware, and communicated the fact to others, and a plan was formed to capture them. Having discovered from the morn- ing's experience that the military had been called in to aid the police, arms became imperatively necessary, if they hoped to make a successful resistance. All public depositories of arms they knew were guarded, but this factory Avas not, and hence they resolved to capture it without delay. Swarming around it, they forced the entrance, and ])egan to throw out the car- bines to their friends. The attack, however, liad been telegraphed to head-quarters, and Inspector Dilks was despatched with two hundred men to save the building, and recover any arms that might be captured. He marched rapidly up to Twenty-lirst Street, and down it to the avenue. Here he came suddenly upon the mob, that blocked the entire street. As the head of the force appeared, the rioters, instead of being frightened, greeted it with jeers and curses. It was two hundred against atliousand; but the inspector did not hesitate a moment on account of the inequality of numbers, but instantly formed his men and ordered a charge. The mob, instead of recoiling, closed desperately on the police, and a fierce hand-to-hand encounter took place. The clubs, however, mowed a clean swath along the street, and the compact little force pushed like a wedge into the throng, and cleared a bloody space for it- self. The orders were to recapture all the arms ; for this was of more vital importance than the capture of men. Wherever, therefore, a musket was seen, a man would dash for it, and, seizing it, fight his way back into line. On the pavement, the sidewalk, and in the gutters, men SECOND DAY. 201 lay bleeding and dying, until at last, the more resolute having been knocked on the head, the vast crowd, like a herd of buffalo, broke and tore madly down the street. One of the leaders was a man of desperate courage, and led on the mob with reckless fury, though bleeding freely from the terrible punishment he re- ceived. As his comrades turned to flee, leaving him alone, a fearful blow sent him reeling and staggering towards the sidewalk. As he reached it, he fell heavily over a£i:ainst the iron railino- aud his chin strikino- one of the iron pickets, the sharp point entered it and pen- etrated through to the roof of his mouth. Xo one no- ticed him, or if they did, paid no attention to him in the headlong flight on the one hand, and swift pursuit on the other. Thus horridly impaled, his body hanging down along the sidewalk, the wretched man was left to die. At length Captain Iledden noticed him, and lift- ing up the corpse, laid it down on the sidewalk. It was found, to the surprise of all, to be that of a young man of delicate features and white, fair skin. " Although dressed as a laborer, in dirty overalls and filthy shirt, underneath these were fine cassimere pants, handsome, rich vest, and fine linen shirt." lie was evidently a man in position far above the rough villains he led on, but had disguised himself so as not to be known. He never was known. The corpse, during the fight that followed, disappeared with the bodies of many others. The street being cleared, Dilks turned his attention to the factory, which was filled with armed rioters, who were determined to defend it to the last. Detachius^ a portion of his force, he ordered it to take the building by storm. Dashing over all obstacles, the men won the * D. M. Bames. 9* 202 tup: great riots of new york city. stairway step by step, and entering the main room on the second story, felled a man at almost every blow. Those who succeeded in escaping down-stairs were knocked on the head by the force in the street, and soon no rioter.^ were left but the dead and dying. How many fell in this fight it is impossible to tell ; but one physi- cian alone dressed the wounds of twenty-one desper- ately wounded men. Taking what guns they could lind and had captured in the street, the^ force marched tri- umphantly back, cheered on their way by the spectators. In the meantime, Mayor Opdyke's house in Fifth Avenue had again been attacked and partially sacked. Captain JManiere, one of the provost marshals, howevei', assembled a small force, and drove out the rioters, who were mostly young men and boys, before the work of destruction was complete. The news of this attack had been telegraphed to head-quarters of the police, and Captain Helme, of the Twenty-seventh Precinct, des- patched to its defence. At his approach the rioters dispersed. Soon after, he was ordered with his com- mand over to the Second Avenue, accompanied by a detachment of troops under Captain Franklin. This w^as in the afternoon — the mob had reassembled, and re- inforced by those who had been dispersed at Tliirty- fourth Street, where Colonel O'Brien fell, had over- come the small body of police at the vvdre factory, and again taken possession of it. They had found some boxes of guns that had been overlooked by Dilks, and having armed themselves, determined to hold it. Even women joined in the defence. As the force approached, it was greeted with shouts of defiance and missiles of every kind. An immense crowd was gathered outside, while the windows of the five-story building were filled SECOND DAY. 203 with angry, excited faces, and arms wildly gesticulat- ing. Charging on this dense mass, and clubbing their way to the building, the police entered it, and streaming np the stairways, cleared it floor by floor, some being knocked senseless, others leaping from windows, to be killed by the fall, and others escaping down-stairs, to be met by the force in the street. A thorough search was now made for arms, and the building emptied of them. Taking possession of these, the police and military took up their line of march for liead-quarters. They had not proceeded . far, however, before the mob that had scattered in every direction began to pour back again into the avenue, and close on the military that were bringing up the rear. Following them with hoots and yells that were unheeded, they became emboldened, and pressing nearer, began to hurl stones and bricks, and everything they could lay their hands on, against the soldiers. The latter bore it for awhile patiently ; but this only made the wretches more fierce and daruig. Seeing there was but oneway to end this. Captain Franklin ordered his men to " About face ; " and ready, aim, fire," fell in quick succession. The yelling, shouting crowd were in point- blank range, and the volley told with deadly effect. The street was strewed with dead and dying, while the living fled down the avenue. In the meantime, mobs had sprung up in every part of the city ; some larger and some smaller ; some after negroes, others firing buildings or sacking tliem. Some idea of the pressure on the Police Commission- ers during this forenoon, and the condition the city was in, may be gathered from the following despatches, 204: THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. Avliicli are only a small portion of tlu)se received and answered in two Ikmu-s : 10.20. From Thirteenth. Send military here im- mediately. 10.22. To Seventh. Find military and send them to Thirteenth Street forthwith. 10.45. From Sixteenth. A mob lias jnst attacked Jones' soap factory ; stores all closed. 10.50. To Twenty-sixth. Tell Inspector Leonard to send one hnndred men here fortliwitli. 10.55. To Twentieth. From General Brown. Send to arsenal and say a heavy battle is going on. Captain AVilkins and company of regnlars will report to me here at once. 11.18. From Sixteenth. Mob is coming down to station-house ; we have no men. 11.20. From Eighteenth. The mob is very wild, corner Twenty-second Street and Second Avenue. They have attacked the Union steam factory. 11.35. To Twentj^-sixth. Send another one hun- dred men here forthwith. 11.35. From Twentieth. Send one hundred men to disperse mob assailing Mayor Opdyke's house. 11.38. To Twenty-first. Can you send a few men here? 11.40. From Twenty-second. The mob has gone to Mr. riiggins' factory, foot of Forty-third Street, to burn it. 11.45. From Eighteenth. AVhat shall we do ? The mob is about 4,500 strong. Answer. Clear them down, if 3-011 can. 11.50. From Eighteenth. We must leave; the mob is here with guns. SECOND DAY. 205 11.50. From Twentieth. Mob tearing np track on Eleventh Avenue. 11.58. The mob have jnst sacked a large gun-store in Grand Street, and are armed, and are on the way to attack ns. 12.10. To Fifteenth. Send your men here forth- with. 12.35. From Twentieth. Send two hundred men forthwith to Thirty-fifth Sti'eet arsenaL 12.36. From Twenty-first. The mob have just broken open a gun-store on Third Avenue, between Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Streets, and are arming. 12.40. From Twenty-first. Send help — the crowd is desperate. And so on. Between these rapid telegrams asking for help, were others making and answering inquiries. And so it was kept up from daylight till midnight for three days in succession. These urgent calls for help coming from every quarter at the same time, would have thrown into inextricable confusion a less clear head than Ac- ton's. It was a terrible strain on him, and had it con- tinued a little longer, would have cost him his life. In the midst of it all he received anon3aTious letters, tell- ing him he had but one more day to live. But while the police head-quarters were thus crowded with business, and the commissioners wero straining every nerve to meet the frightful state of things in the city, other means were being taken to add to their efiSciency. Governor Seymour had reached the city, and after being closeted with Mayor Opdyke, had issued a proc- 200 THE GKEAT KTOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. lamatioE, calling on the rioters to (lis[)erse, and saying that they would be put down at all hazards. At a meeting of the merchants and bankers in Wall Street, it was resolved to close up business, and form volunteer companies of a liundred men each, to serve under the military. General Wetmore was one of the first to offer his services. The high-spirited citizen, William E. Dodge, was among the most prominent advocates of the measure, and soon found himself a captain under orders. The steamboat of the harbor police was busy in bringing troops and cannon from Hiker's and Governor's Island, and rapidly steaming from point to point on the river, to prevent destruction around the docks. Around the arsenal cannon were placed. At the city armory, corner of AVliite and Elm Streets, were a company of the Eighty-fourth New York Militia, and some of the Zouaves and other troops. Tlie Siib-treasur}^ and Custom House were defended by the Tenth National Zouaves and a hundred and lifty armed citizens. In front of the Government stores in Worth and White streets, the Invalid Corps and a company of marines patrolled, while howitzers loaded with grape and canister stood on the corner of the street. Nearly four hundred citizens had been sworn in at police head-quarters as special policemen, and had been furnished with clubs and badges. All this time the fight was going on in every direction, while tlie fire-bells continually ringing increased the terror that every hour became more wide-spread. Especially was this true of tlie negro population. From the out- set, they had felt they were to be objects of vengeance, and all day Monday and to-day those who could leave, lied into the country. They crowded the ferry- SECOND DAY. 207 boats in every direction, fleeing for life. But old men and women, and poor families, were compelled to star behind, and meet the f nry of the mob, and to-day it be- came a regular hnnt for them. A sight of one in the streets would call forth a halloo, as when a fox breaks cover, and away would dash a half a dozen men in pursuit. Sometimes a whole crowed streamed after w^th shouts and curses, that struck deadly terror to the heart of the fuo^itive. If overtaken, he was poimded to death at once ; if he escaped into a negro house for safety, it was set on fire, and the inmates made to share a common fate. Deeds were done and sights witnessed that one would not have dreamed of, except amoug savage tribes. At one time there lay at the corner of Twenty- seventh Street and Seventh Avenue the dead body of a negro, stripped nearly naked, and around it a collec- tion of Irishmen, absolutely dancing or shouting like wild Indians. Sullivan and Roosevelt Streets are great negro quarters, and here a negro was afj-aid to be seen in the street. If in w^ant of something from a grocery, he would carefully open the door, and look np and down to see if any one was watching, and then steal cautiously forth, and hurry home on his errand. Two boarding-houses here were surrounded by a mob, but the lodgers, seeing the coming storm, fled. The des- peradoes, finding only the owner left behind, wreaked their vengeance on him, and after beating him nnmerci- fully, broke up the furniture, and then fired the build- ings. A German store near by, because it was patron- ized extensively by negroes, shared the same fate, after its contents had been distributed amono- them- selves. A negro barber's shop was next attacked, and THE (a^KAT of new YORK CTTT. the torch applied to it. A negro lodging-house in the same street next received the visit of these furies, and was soon a mass of ruins. Old men, seventy years of age, and young cliildren, too young to comprehend what it all meant, were cruelly beaten and killed. The spirit of hell seemed to have entered tlie hearts of these men, and helpless womanhood vras no protection ao-ainst their ras^e. Sometimes a stalwart ne£2:ro would break away from his nmrderers, and run for his life. With no place of safety to which he could flee, he would be headed olf in every direction, and forced to- wards the river. Driven at last to the end of a pier, he would leap off, preferring to take his chances in the water rather than among these bloody men. If bruised and beaten in his desperate struggle for life, he would soon siidv exhausted with his efforts. Sometimes he would strike out for a ship, but more often dive under the piers, and hold on to a timber for safety, until his yelling pursuers had disappeared, when he would crawl stealthily out, and with territied face peer in every di- rection to see if tliey had gone. Two were thus run off together into the East Kiver. It was a strange spectacle to see a hundred Irishmen pour along tlie streets after a poor negro. If he could reach a police station he felt safe ; but, alas! if the force happened to be away on duty, he could not stay even there. When- ever the police could strike the track of the mad hunt, they stopped it summarily, and the pursuers became the pursued, and received the jnmishment they had desifjned for the nei^ro. All this was in the nineteenth century, and in the metropolis of the freest and most enlightened nation on earth. The hunt for these poor creatures became so fearful. NEW YORK — THE IllOT IN I-EXINGTON AVENUE. SECOND DAY. 209 and the utter impossibility to protect them in their scat- tered localities so apparent, that they were received into the police stations. But these soon proved inade- quate, and they were taken to head-quarters and the arsenal, where they could be protected against the mob. Here the poor creatures were gathered by hundreds, and slept on the floor, and were regularly fed by the authorities. It is impossible to give a detailed account of what transpired in every part of the city. If there had been a single band of rioters, no matter how large, a force of railitar}^ and police, properly armed, could have been concentrated to have dispersed it. But bodies of men, larger or smaller, bent on violence and devastation, were everywhere ; even out at Harlem eight buildings were burned, and the lower end of Westchester was in a state of asfitation and alarm. A mob of thousands would be scattered, only to come together at other points. A body of police and military plunging through the heaving multitude, acted often only as a stone flung into the water, making but a momentary vacuum. Or, if they did not come together again, they swung off only to fall in, and be absorbed by a crowd collected in another part of the city. The alarm of Monday had only been partial, but to-day it culminated. Families, husbands, and sons left their business, and with arms patrolled the streets. Stores were shut up, stages and cars stopped running, and all business was suspended. The blood flowing through the thousand arteries of this great mart seemed suddenly frozen in its chan- nels, and its mighty pulsations to stop at the mandate of lawless men. The city held its breath in dread, l)ut 210 TIIK GREAT RIOTS OF NKW V(»RK CITY. there were linn liearts at police lica(l-(|iiarters. Actoii never flinched, and in General Ih-own lie fonnd a soldier that knew his duty, and would do it at all haz- ards. Still, the uprising kept swelling into vaster pro- portions, embracing a still larger territory. Broadway was deserted. A few hacks could be seen, but with very different occupants than those which they ordinarily contained. The iron shutters were closed on the Fifth Avenue Hotel, and a stack of arms stood in tlie hall-way. Crowds of respectable citizens, not on duty, were making all haste toward railroad depots and steamboat landings. Ever}^ boat, as it swung from the dock, was loaded to its utmost capacity with peo2:)le leaving a city that seemed doomed to destruction ; going, many knew not where, onl}^ out of New York. Cars were packed, and long trains were made up to carry the crowds in haste to get away. But travel on the Hudson E-iver Road was soon stopped by the mob, that tore up the track to prevent com- munication with other parts of the State, and the ar- rival of troops. The Harlem and Third Avenue tracks were also torn up, as the rioters were determined to isolate the great city, w^hich they had doomed to destruction. Passing from one object to another, now acting as if from plan, and now intent only on destruction and plunder, the crowd streamed from point to point with shouts and yells, that sent terror through the adjoining streets. Suddenly, some one remembered that they were in the vicinity of Colonel Nugent's house, in Yorkville, the assistant provost marslial general, and shouting out the news, a rush was made for it, and it was packed from ^op to bottorn. SECOND DAY. 211 As the police were gathered together either at the precinct stations or head-quarters, ordinary patrol duty was out of the question ; hence, many isolated acts of violence could be committed with impunity. This freedom from close surveillance, coupled with the con- tagion of the lawless spirit which was abroad, made every section of the city where the lower classes lived more or less restless. It was impossible for the police to divide itself up so to furnish protection in individ- ual cases, and yet be in sufficient force to cope with the mobs, that numbered by thousands. Although the whole city was heaving like a troubled sea, 3^et the main gathering this day had been in the upper part and on both sides of it. The terrific contests we described farther back were in the Second Avenue, on the east side, but, nearly opposite, in the Sixth Ave- nue, crowds had been gathering since early in the forenoon. For a long time they swayed backward and forward, apparently without any definite purpose, and moved only by the spirit of disorder that had taken possession of the city. But aboat two o'clock, these various bod- ies began by mutual attraction to flow together, and soon became one immense mass, and impelled by some information or other, gathered threateningly around a large mansion on the corner of Forty-sixth Street and Fifth Avenue. They had supplied themselves with all sorts of weapons, revolvers, old muskets, stones, clubs, barrel-staves — in short, everything that could be found, that might be of service in a flght — and soon com- menced plundering the residence. But their move- ments had been telegraphed to head-quarters, and Captain Walling, of the Twentieth Precinct, w^s dis7 212 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORIC (TTV. patc'liod thither, with a company of rei^iih^irs under Captain Putnam, a descendant of " Old Put." The re- port soon spread througli the crowd, that bayonets could be seen coming np the avenue. Marching up to Forty- sixth Street, the force tnrned into it, towards tlie Fifth Avenue ; and breaking into the charge step, with the order " no prisoners " ringing in their ears, struck tlie mob almost in the centre, cutting it in two, like a mighty cleaver. There ^vas no need of bayonets — the police, at the head of the military, went right through it, and scattered the men in every direction. The force then divided into squads, and each one taking a section of the mob, followed it upon a swift run, and smote them right and left for several blocks. The larger portion went down Sixth Avenue, and seeing only a portion of the police pursuing, turned and showed fight, when the leader received a bullet in the head and fell. Seeing their leader fall, the mob wheeled and took to their heels. Captain AYalling in one instance saw a crowd with fire-arms standing in an alley-way. Just then a fire- engine and company came down the street, and he with his small force got behind it, and kept concealed until opposite the unsuspecting crowd, when, with a shout, they dashed on it. A volley received them, — with answering volley, the police charged into the narrow opening. The rioters fled into a tenement-house, from which came yells and screams of terrified women and children. Walling had some sharpshooters with him, to pick off those beyond the reach of the clubs. One fellow, armed, was seen astraddle of the ridge pole of a house. The next moment a sharpshooter covered hina, and he turnbled headlong to the ground. The SECOND DAY. 213 same afterr.oon lie saw some twenty or thirty men at- tempting to sta\e in a hardware store, evidently after pistols. Walling charged on them alone, and with one terrible blow, his clnb sent the leader to the pavement with his brains oozing out. Although the draft was almost forgotten by the riot- ers, in the thirst for plunder and blood, still men in the streets and some of the papers talked of its being un- constitutional, and to be contested in the courts — oth- ers that it had been and would be suspended, as though any disposal of it now could affect the conduct of the rioters. Force was the only argument they would lis- ten to. The riot had almost ceased to wear any politi- cal aspect since the attack on the Tribune office, the day before, had been defeated. An occasional shout or the sight of a negro might now and then re- mind one of its origin, but devastation and plunder were the great objects that urged on the excited masses. The sacking of Opdyke's house was done chiefly by a few youngsters, who were simply following the exam- ple set them the day before ; while the burning of negro buildings, the chasing and killing of negroes, seemed to have only a remote connection with the draft, and w^as simply the indulgence of a hatred they were hith- erto afraid to gratify. So the setting lire to the Wee- hawken ferry afterwards, could be made to grow out of politics only so far as a man who kept a liquor saloon there was a known Republican. This seemed a weak inducement to draw a crowd so far, when more disthi- guished victims were all around them. It is more probable that some personal enemy of parties in the vicinity, finding the mob ready to follow any cry, led them thither ; for one man seemed to be the leader, 214 THE GKI:AT KIOTS of new YORK CITY. who, mounted on a fine cavalry horse, and l)randis]iing a sword, galloped backwards and forwards through the crowd, giving his orders like a held officer. Mobs springing up everywhere, and flowing together often apparently by accident, each pursuing a different ob- ject : one chasing negroes and firing their dwellings ; others only sacking a house, and others still, wreaking their vengeance on station-houses, while scores, the mo- ment they got loaded down with plunder, hastened away to conceal it — all showed that the original cause of the uprising had been forgotten. A strong uncertainty seemed at times to keep them swaying backwards and forwards, as though seeking a definite object, or wait- ing for an appointed signal to move, and then at some shout would rush for a building, a negro, or station-house. The mob was a Im^e monster — frio-htful both in proportions and appearance, yet not knowing where or how to use its streno-th. The attack on Mr. Gibbon's house at Twentv-ninth Street and Ei^-hth Avenue, during this afternoon, was attributed to the fact that he was Mr. Greeley's cousin, and that the former sometimes slept there — rather a far-fetched inference, as though a mob would be aware of a fact that probably not a dozen immediate neio'hbors knew. Some one person might have raised a cry of " Greeley's house," which would have been sufficient to insure its destruction. The police being notified of this attack, sent a squad of men with a military force to disperse the mob. Captain Ryer formed his troops in front of the house, and Sergeant Devoursney did the same with a part of his men, while the other portion was sent into the building, that was filled with men, women, and children, loading them- SECOT^D DAT. 215 selves down with the spoils. The appearance of the caps and clubs in the rooms created a consternation that would have been ludicrous, but for the serious work that followed. Xo defence was made, except by a few persons singly. One fellow advanced to the door with a pistol in his baud, and fired, sending a ball through Ofiicer Hill's thigh. The next instant the latter felled him to the floor with his club, and before he could even attempt to rise he was riddled with balls. Some of the women fell on their knees, and shrieked for mercy ; while one strong Irish woman refused to yield her plunder, and fought like a tigress. She seized an officer by the throat, and trying to strangle and bite- him, would not let go till a blow sobered her into submission. Some were loaded with shawls and dresses, and one burly, ferocious-looking Irishman carried under his arm a huge bundle of select music. As the police chased the plmiderers dow^n-stairs, and out into the street, in some unaccountable way the troops got so con- fused that they fired a volley that swept the police as well as the rioters. Officer Dipplo was so severely wounded that he died the following Sunday, while Officers Hodson and Robinson both received flesh wounds. In the upper part of the city, few buildings, except those too near police and army head-quarters, or too well defended, offered much spoil except private houses, and these had been the chief objects of attack. But Brooks and Brothers' clothino^ store in Catharine Street, situated in a part of the city thickly pop- ulated with the very class mubs are made of, be- came toward evening an object of great attraction 216 THE GKEAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. to groups of hard-looking men and women. As night settled down, the heavens being overcast, it became very dark ; for in all the neighboring houses the liglits were extinguished by the inmates, who were terribly alarmed at the rapidly increasing crowd in the street. To deepen and complete the gloom the rioters turned off the gas. Officer Bryan, of the Fourth Ward, telegraphed to head-quarters the threatening appear- ance of things, and a force of fifty or sixty men were at once despatched to the spot. In the mean time Sergeant Finney, with Piatt and Kennedy, stood at the entrance to defend the building till the police could arrive. For awhile the three determined police officers, standing silent in the darkness, overawed the leaders. But soon from the crowd arose shouts, amid which were heard the shrill voices of women, crying, " Break open the store." This was full of choice goods, and contained clothing enough to keep the mob supplied for years. As the shouts increased, those behind began to push forward those in front, till the vast multitude swung heavily towards the three police officers. See- ing this movement, the latter advanced with their clubs to keep them back. At this, the shouts and yells redoubled, and the cnnvd rushed forward, crushing down the officers by mere weight. They fought gal- lantly for a few minutes; but, overborne by numbers, they soon became nearly helpless, and were terribly beaten and wounded, and with the utmost exertions were barely able to escape, and make their way back to the station. The mob now had it all its own way, and rushing against the doors, burst bolts and bars asunder, and streamed in. But it was dark as midnight SECOND DAY. 217 inside, and they could not distinguish one thing from another ; not even the passage-ways to the upper rooms of the building, which was five stories high. They therefore lighted the gas, and broke out the windows. In a few minutes the vast edifice was a blaze of light, looking more brilliant from the midnight blackness that surrounded it. The upturned faces of the ex(dted, s^pialid throng below presented a wild and savage spec- tacle in the flickering light. Men and women kept pouring in and out, the latter loaded with booty, mak- ing their way home into the adjacent streets, and the former rushing after their portion of the spoils. Coats and pantaloons, and clothing of every description, were rapidly borne away ; and it was evident, give them time enough, the crowd w^ould all disappear, and there would be scarcely enough left to finish the work of de- struction. Thinking only of the rich prize they had gained, they seemed to forget that retribution was pos- sible, when suddenly the cry of " Police ! police ! " sent a thrill of terror through them. Sergeant De- laney, at the head of his command, marched swiftly down the street, until close upon the mob, when the order, " Double-quick," was given, and they burst with a run upon them. For a moment, the solid mass, by mere weight, bore up against the shock ; but the clubs soon made a lane through it broad as the street. Just then a pistol-shot rung from a house, almost over their heads. Many of the rioters were armed with muskets, and the comparatively small police force, seeing that fire- arms were to be used, now drew their revolvers, and poured a deadly volley right into their midst. Several fell at the first discharge ; and immediately terror seized that portion of the multitude nearest the police, 10 218 THE GREAT EIOTS OF NEW YoKK CITY. especially tlie woinen, and many fell on their knees, crying for merc}^ Others forced their way recklessly oyer their companions, to get out of reach. As the police made their way to the front of the store, they formed line, while Sergeant Matthew, of the First Precinct, with his men, entered the building. The scene here became more frightful than the one with- out. The rioters on the first floor made but little re- sistance, and, thinking only of escape, leaped from the windows, and rushed out of doors like mad creatures. But as they attempted to flee, those without knocked them oyer with their clubs. Haying cleared this story, the police mounted to the second, where tlie rioters, being more closely penned, showed fight. Pistol-shots rang out, and some of the police ofiicers had narrow escapes. One powerful bully fought like a tiger, till two policemen fell upon him with their clubs, and soon left him stark and stiff. At last they drove the whole crowd into a rear building, and kept them there till they had time to secure them. Just as the store Avas cleared. Sergeant Carpenter, who had been sent as a reinforcement in case of need, came up with a hundred and fifty men, and charging on the crowd, sent them flying down the narrow streets. After quiet had been restored, a military force arrived and took possession of the building. Just previous to this, another attempt was made to burn the Tribune building, but was easily repelled. The Times oflice, near by, warned b}' the fate of its neighbor the night before, had established a regular garrison inside, w^hile it brilliantly illuminated the open space all around it, iu the circle of which the rioters did not care to come. SECOND DAY. 219 The invaluable service of the telegraph was tested to-day, not merely in enabling General Brown g.nd the commissioners to despatch men quickly to a threatened point, but to keep a force moving from one ward to another, as messages came in, announcing the incipient gathering in different districts. Word sent to the sta- tion in the neighborhood where they were acting, would instantly change their route ; and knots of men, which if left alone would soon have swelled into for- midable mobs, were broken up, for they found military and police force marching down on them before they could form a plan of action. 'N'or was this all. A force sent to a certain pjint, after dispersing the mob, would be directed to make a tour through the disaf- fected districts — all the time keeping up its commu- nication with head-quarters, so that if any serious demonstration was made in that section of the city, it could be ordered there at once, thus saving half the time it would take to march from head-quarters. Thus, for instance, Captain Petty was ordered this morning to head-quarters from the City Hall, where he had passed the night, and directed to take two hundred men (including his own precinct force), and go to the protection of a soap factory in Sixteenth Street, Eighth and Ninth Avenues. He moved off his command, marching rapidly up Broadway and down Sixteenth Street. The mob saw it coming two blocks off, and immediately scattered in every direction, which awak- ened the supreme contempt of the captain. He now inarched backward and forward, and through the cross streets, up as far as Nineteenth Street, scattering every fragment of the mob that attempted to hold to- gether, and finally returned to head-quarters. This 220 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YOKK CITY. was a long march, but the men had scarcely rested, -when the captain was hurried off to aid in the protec- tion at the wire factory in Second Avenue. In the fierce fight that followed, he, with ten men at his back, charged up the broad stairway, fighting his way step by step to the fifth story. Caught up here at the top of the building, the rioters were clubbed without mercy. Some, to escape the terrible punishment, plunged down the hatchway ; othei's attempted to dash past the men, and escape down the stairs. At one time eight bodies lay in the door-way, blocking it up. He then marched back to head-quarters. lie had been marching and fighting all day. Similar exhaust- ing duties were performed by other commands, both police and military. Inspe(;tor Dilks, with his force gatliered from various precincts, passed the entire day in marching and fighting. The men, weary and hun- gry, would reach head-quarters or certain points, hop- ing to get a little rest and refreshment, when the hurried order would come to repair to a point a mile off, where the mob was firing and sacking houses, and off they would start on the double-quick. Uncom- plahiing and fearless of danger, and never counting numbers, both police and soldiers were everywhere all this day, and proved themselves as reliable, gallant, and noble a set of men as ever formed or acted as the police force of any city in the world. In the meantime. Governor Seymour and the Mayor of the city were not idle. The latter at the City Hall, fearing an attack, asked Acton for a guard of protec- tion, and fifty men were sent him. Iteport of the mob assembled there, reached Governor Seymour, at the St. Nicholas, and he immediately hastened thither, and SECOND DAY. 221 addressed the crowd from the steps, which allayed ex- citement for tlie time. This speech was variously com- mented npon. Some of the criticisms were frivolous, and revealed the partisan, rather than the honest man. If the Governor had not previously issued a proclamation to the wliole city, in which he declared without reser- vation that the mobs should be put down at all hazards — if this speech had been his only utterance, then the bitter denunciations against him would have been deserved. It would have been pusillanimous, cowardly, and unworthy the Governor of the State. But he spoke in his official capacity, not only firmly, emphatically, and in no ambiguous terms, but he had hurried up the military, and used every means in his power to accumu- late and concentrate the forces under his control to put down the riot. iSo faint-heartedness or senti- mental qualmishness marked any of his official acts. Prompt, energetic, and determined, he placed no con- ditions on his subordinates in the manner of putting down the mob, and restoring the supremac}^ of the law. But here in this address he was speaking to men who, as a body at least, had as yet committed no overt act ; and many doubtless were assembled expecting some public declaration from the City Hall. He was not addressing the plunderers and rioters that were firing houses and killing negroes, but a mixed assembly, the excitement of which he tliouglit best to allay, if possi- ble. Some said he began his address with " My friends ; others, " Fellow-citizens." Whether he did one, or the other, or neither, is of no consequence and meant nothing. To have commenced, " Ye villains and cut-throats, disperse at once, or I'll mow you down with grape-shot ! " might have sounded very brave, but 222 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. if that was all he was going to say, he liad better kept his room. K jproclamation like this address would have been infamous. Here is where the mistake was made in the criticisms heaped upon it. Ilis official acts were all such as became the Chief Magistrate of New York. The speech, therefore, must be judged rather b}^ the rules of taste and proj^rietv, than by those which apply to him officially. If a man's official acts are all right, it is unjust to let them go for nothing, and bring into prominence a short address made without premedita- tion in the front of an excited, promiscuous assembly, moved by different motives. That it was open to crit- icism in some respects, is true. It should have been imbued more with the spirit of determination to main- tain order and suppress violence, and less been said of the measures that had or would be taken to test the con- stitutionality of the draft, and of his purpose, if it were decided in the conrts to be wrong, to oppose it. Such talk had better be deferred till after order is restored. AVhen men begin to burn and plunder dwellings, attack station-houses, hang negroes, and shoot down policemen, it is too late to attempt to restore pea(^e by talking about the constitutionality of laws. The up- holding of laws about the constitutionality of Avliich there is no doubt, is the only thing deserving of con- sideration. The Common Council of the city exhib- ited in this respect a most pnsillanimous spirit, by offer- ing resolutions to have the constitutionalitv of the law tested, when the entire constitution and laws of the State were being subverted ! Unquestionably, some charity should be extended to men who are pleading for those whose votes elevated them to office. Brutuses SECOND DAY. 223 are rare nowadays ; and politicians do not like to shoot down their own voters — they wonld much rather make more voters out of men no moi-e fit to exercise the rio-ht of suffrasce than horses and mules. Governed by a similar spirit, Archbishop Hughes, although he had yielded to the pressure made on him and issued an address to the Irish, calling on them to abstain from violence, yet accompanied it with a letter to Horace Greeley, directly calculated to awaken or in- tensify, rather than allay their passions. He more than intimated that they had been abused and oppressed, and thought it high time the war was ended. The procla- mation was short, but the letter was a long one, full of a vindictive spirit, and showing unmistakably with whom his sympathies were. Towards evening a mob assembled over in Xinth Avenue, and went to work with some system and fore- thought. Instead of wandering round, firing and plundering as the whim seized them, they began to throw up barricades, behind which they could rally when the military and police came to attack them. Indeed, the same thing had been done on the east side of the city ; while railroads had been torn up, and stages stopped, to keep them from carrying policemen rap- idly from one quarter to another. During the day, Colonel Frothingham had stood in Third Avenue, and stopped and emptied every car as it approached, and filled it with soldiers, to be carried to the upper part of the city. Acton, too, had sent round to collect all the stages still running in Broadway and the Bowery, and in a short time they came rumbling into Mulberry Street, forming a long line in front of head-quarters. A tele- gram from Second Avenue demanded immediate help, THE CJRKAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. and the police were bundled into them and hurried off. One driver refused to stir, saying, rouglily, he was not hired to carry policemen. Acton had no time to argue the case, and quickly turning to a policeman, he said : " Put that man in cell Number 92." In a twinklinor he was jerked from his seat and hurried away. Turn- ing to another policeman, he said: ''Mount that box and drive." The next moment the stajxe, with a Ions: string of others, loaded inside and out with the blue- coats, was whirling through the streets. He had done the same with the Sixth Avenue cars. The son-in-law of George Law remonstrated, saying that it would pro- voke the mob to tear down the railroad buildings. There was no time to stand on ceremony ; the cars were seized, and the company, to save their property, paid a large sum to the ringleaders of the rioters. In fact, a great many factories and buildings were bought off in the same way ; so that the leaders drove quite a thriving business. But, as before remarked, the commencement of barri- cades to obstruct the movements of the police and mili- tary, after the Parisian fashion, was a serious thing, and must be nipped in the bud ; and Captain Walling, of the Twentieth Precinct, who had been busy in this part of the city all the afternoon in dispersing the mob, sent to head-quarters for a military force to help re- move them. He also sent to General Sandford, at the arsenal, for a company of soldiers, which was promised, but never sent. At six o'clock a force of regulars ar- rived from General Brown, and repaired to the Pre- cinct station-house. Captain Slotf, of the Twentieth Precinct, took command of the police force detailed to cooperate with the troops, but delayed action till the SECOND DAY. 225 arrival of the company promised from the arsenal. ]\Ieanwhile, the rioters kept strengthening the barri- cades between Thirty-seventh and Forty-third Streets, in Eighth Avenne, by lashing carts, wagons, and tele- graph poles together with wire stripped from the lat- ter. The cross streets were also barricaded. Time passed on, and yet the bayonets of the expected rein- forcement from the arsenal did not appear. Tlie two commanding officers now began to grow anxions ; it would not do to defei- the attack till after dark, for snch work as was before them recpiired daylight. At length, as the snn stooped to the western horizon, it was resolved to wait no longer, and the order to move forward w^as given. As they approacdied the first bar- ricade, by Thirty-seventh Street, a volley was poured into them from behind it, followed by stones and brick-bats. The police now fell back to the left, and the regu- lars advancing, returned the fire. Tiie rioters, how- ever, stood their ground, and for a time nothing was heard but tlie rapid roll of musketry. But the steady, well-directed fire of the troops, at length began to tell on the mob, and they at last broke, and fled to the next barricade. The police then advanced, and tore down the barricade, w^hen the whole force moved on to the next. Here the fight w^as renewed, but the close and rapid volley of the troops soon scattered the wretches, when this also w^as removed. They kept on in this wa\", till the last barricade was abandoned, when the uncovered crowd broke and fled in wild disorder. The soldiers pressed after, breaking np into squads, and chasing and firing into the disjointed fragments as they drifted down the various streets. 10* 22G THE GREAT IITOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. There was more or less disturbance in this section, however, till midnight. At nine o'clock, an attack was made on a gun and liardware store, in Thirty- seventh Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, but Sergeant Petty was sent thither with a small force, and scattered them at the first charge. At midnight, an attempt was made to destroy the colored church in Thirtieth Street, between Seventh and Eighth Ave- nues ; but before the rioters had accomplished tlieir work, Captain Walling, with liis entire force and the regulars, came up, and though met witli a volley, fell on tliem in such a headlong charge, tliat they scattered down the street. All this time the arsenal presented the appearance of a regular camp ; videttes were kept out, sentries established, howitzers commanded tlie streets, and evervthino; wore the look of a besieo-ed fortress. Sandford, whom AYool wished to take command of all the troops, evidently thought that he had as much as he could do to hold that building, without doing any- thing to quell the riot in the city. One of the first companies that came up from the forts the day before, and hence belonged to General Brown's force, got, no one could hardly tell how, into the arsenal, and were there cooped up as useless as though in garrison — for if seven hundred men with cannon sweeping every approach could not hold it, seven thousand could not. General Brown and Acton needed this company badly, but how to get it was the question. Governor Seymour held no direct commun- ication with the Police Commissioners ; for they were not on friendly terms, as they were holding their places in defiance of him, lie liaving removed them SECOND DAY. 227 some time before. Mr. Ilawley, the chief clerk, who knew the Governor personally, acted, therefore, as the channel of communication between them. lie now went to him, and asked him how things were at the arsenal. lie i-eplied, he did not know — no report had been sent him. Ilawley then asked him to send an officer and asc^ertain, and get back the company belong- ing to General Brow^n's command. lie replied he had no one to send. Hawley then offered to go him- self, if he would give an order to this company of United States troops to report at once to General Brown at police head-quarters. lie did so, and Ilaw- ley, reaching the arsenal in safety, gave the order to the adjutant-general, before calling on Sandford, so as to be sure it was obeyed. On the northern limits of the city, serious disturb- ances had occurred during the day, especially in York- ville, to which Acton was compelled to send a strong force. Tlie mob also attempted to burn Harlem bridge, but the heavy rain of the night before had made it so wet that it would not ignite. Down town, likewise, mobs had assembled before the Western Hotel and other places, but were dispersed before they had in- flicted any damage. Almost the last act in the even- ing was an attack on the house of Mr. Sinclair, one of the owners of the Tribune. But rioters must eat and sleep like other people, and though knots of them could be seen in various parts of the city, the main portion seemed to have retired soon after midnight. In the police head-quarters, men were lying around on the floor in the warm July night, snatching, as best they could, a little repose. General Brown and staff, 228 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. ill tlieir chairs or stretched on a settee, nodded in this hill of the storm, though ready at a moment's notice to do their duty. Cut there was no rest for Acton. lie had not closed his eyes for nearly forty hours, and he was not to close them for moi'c than forty to come. With his nerves strung to their utmost tension, and resolved to put down that nioh though the streets ran blood, he gave his whole soul to the work before him. lie infused his determined, fearless spirit into every one who approached him. Anonymous letters, telling him he had not another day to live, he flung aside with a scornful smile, to attend to the telegraph dispatches from the different precincts. Troops and men were stationed at various points, and gunboats were patrolling the rivei-s, and he nnist be on the alert every moment. The fate of a great city lay on his heart, and he could not sleep. CHAPTEE XYII. DRAFT EIOT THIED DAY. Scenes in the City and at Head-quarters. — Fight in Eighth Ave- nue. — Cannon sweep the Streets. — Narrow Escape of Captain Howell and Colonel Mott. — Battle for Jackson's Foundry. — Howitzers clear the Street. — State of Things shown by Telegraph Despatches. — General Sandford sends out a Force against a Mob, at Comer of Twenty-ninth Street and Seventh Avenue. — Colonel Gardin's Fight with the Mob. — Is Wounded. — Mob Vic- torious. — Dead and Wounded Soldiers left in the Street. — Cap- tain Putnam sent to bring them away. — Disperses the Mob. — Terrific Night. Tuesday had been a day of constant success to the police and military, and many thought that the rioters were thoroughly disheartened, and but little more hard fighting would be done. There had been two days of exhausting work, and both parties were well tired out. The commissioners, certainly, could not stand this terrible strain much longer. Forty-eight hours with- out sleep or rest, and all the time under the intensest mental strain, was telling on even the wiry Acton, thouo;h he would confess to no fatiscue. To one who could take in all that was passing in New York on this morning, the city would have pre- sented a strange appearance. The magnitude and demonstrations of the mob had aroused great fear for the Navy Yard and the naval property of the Government, and the marine company that had been on duty with the i)olice was recalled by 230 THE GKEAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. Admiral Paulding for their protection ; and this morn- ing six war-vessels, carrying in all over ninety guns, shotted and trained, could be seen drawn up, so as to command everj^ avenue to the yard, while the iron- clad battery Passaic and a gun-boat lay off the Battery to protect Fort Columbus during the absence of its garrison. Marines armed to the teeth, and howitzers, guarded all the entrances to the Xavy Yard. Broad- way was almost deserted — no stages Avere ruiming, street-cars had disappeared — only here and there shut- ters were taken down from the stores, and it looked like Sabbath day in the city. But at police head- quarters all was activity. The African church nearly opposite was filled with soldiers stretched on tlie seats and floor of the building. Another house, a few doors from the police building, was also crowded with soldiers. The owner of this empty house, having sent a flat refusal to Acton's request for the use of it, the latter quietly told the policemen to stave in the door. It took but a few minutes to send it from its hinges ; and now the troops were quartered in it also ; for all those in the service of the United States, under General Brown, had their head-quarters here. In the basement of the police l)uilding was the tele- graph, with the wires running like nerves to every part of the city, over which inquiries and answers were continually passing. Iloonis all around were filled with rations obtained from a neighboring grocery and meat- market, taken with or without lea\e. On the main floor, on one side, in their oftice sat the weary commis- sioners ; on the other, were Inspectors Carpenter, Dilks, and Leonard, fit, each one to be a general, wdiile scattered around were polic^e captains, detectives, and THIRD DAY. 231 patrolmen. On the second story were the clerks, copy- ists, etc. ; while the top floor was crowded witli colored refugees, who had lied thither for protection. Some were standing and conversing, others sitting in gronps on boxes, or walking from room to room ; many of these sad and serious, as they thought of missing rela- tives aiid friends, while the colored man placed over them, with his shirt sleeves rolled up, was, with his assistants, dealing out provisions. But soon it was announced that a vast crowd, num- bering some five thousand, was assembled near Eighth Avenue and Thirty-second Street, sacking houses and han<^ino^ ne2:roes. General Dodofe and Colonel Mott, with Captain Howell, commanding Eighth Regiment Artillery, were at once despatched thither. As they marched up the avenue, they saw three negroes hang- ing dead, while the crowd around filled the air with fiendish shouts. As the firm, compact liead of the column moved forward, the mob fell back, but did not scatter. Colonel Mott dashed forward on horse- back and cut down one of the negroes with his sword. Tliis seemed to be the signal for the mob to commence the attack, and tlie next moment tliey rushed forward on the soldiers with stones, brick-bats, and slung-shots. Colonel Mott then told Captain Howell to bring two pieces into battery on the corner of Thirty-second Street and Seventh Avenue, so as to sweep the streets; but he could not get through the dense crowd to do so. The infantry and cavalry were then ordered up and told to clear the way. The former, with level bayonets, and the latter with drawn sabres, charged on the mass, which parted and fell back some distance, and then halted. Captain Howell then advanced alone, and 2o'2 THE GKK.\T RIOTS OF XPJW YORK CITY. ordered the rioters to disperse, or he should fire on them. To this they replied in sullen silence. The apparent unwillingness of the captain to fire embold- ened them to believe that he would not fire at all. Although they refused to disperse, the officers, as long as they made no assault, declined to give the word to fire. This delay encouraged the rioters still more ; and either believing the guns, whose muzzles pointed so threateningly on them, wei-e loaded with blank cart- ridges, or grown desperate and reckless with rage, they suddenly, as though moved by a common impulse, rushed forward and rained stones and missiles of every kind on the soldiers. Seeing that their object was to seize the guns and turn them on the troops, the word to fire was given. The next moment a puff of smoke rolled out, followed with a report that shook the build- ings. As the murderous shot tore through the crowded mass, they stopped, and swayed heavily back for a moment, when the pieces were quickly reloaded, and again sent their deadly contents into their midst, strewing tlie pavements with the dead and dying. Those, however, in the rear, being protected by the mass in front, refused to give way, and it was not till five or six rounds had been fired that they finally broke and fled down the side streets. The military then broke into columns and marched up and down the streets, scattering everything before them, and arresting many of the rioters. Having finished their work, they returned to head- quarters. As they left the district, the mob, or a por- tion of it, gathered together again, and strung up afresh the lifeless bodies of the negroes. A few hours later. Captain Brower, with a police THIRD DAY. 233 force, was sent tliitlier, to take clown and remove the bodies of any negroes that might be still hanging. He did so without molestation. Captain Howell's murderous fire on the mob came very near causing his death two days after. Having the curiosity to witness the scene of his struggle with the mob, he took his carriage, and drove over to it. A gang of seven or eight ruffians, seeing his uniform, cried out, " There's the man who fired on us here — let us hang him." Their shouts called others to the spot, and almost before the captain was aware of his danger, some fifty men were assembled, and at once made a dash at the driver, and ordered him to stop. Captain Ilowell, quickly drawling his revolver, pointed it at the driver, and ordered him to turn down Thirty -first Street, and give his horses the whip, or he w^ould shoot him on the spot. The man obeying, lashed his horses into a run. At this moment the crowd was all around the carriage, and one man was climbing up behind, when he fell and was run over. A shower of stones and brick-bats followed, breaking in the panels of the car- riage, and narrowly missing the captain's head. One stone struck an old wound in his side, and for a moment paralyzed his arm. The crowd with yells and shouts followed after, when he turned and empt- ied his revolver at tliem through the back w^indow, which brought them to a halt. Colonel Mott had a similar escape the day before. Passing down one of the avenues in a carriage, he was recognized by some of the rioters, who immediately assailed him with stones, and fired at him. One of the bullets passed througli the cushion on which he w^as sitting. Soon after this affair in Seventh Avenue, word wag 234: THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. telegraphed tliat Jackson's fouiulrv, corner of Twenty- eighth Street, First and Second Avenues, was threatened. A military force was despatched forthwith to it, piloted by four policemen. At Twenty-iirst Street and First Avenue, they were fired on by the mob. The attack was continued through the street to Second Avenue, and up this to Twenty-fifth Street, witliout any notice being taken of it by the troops. Made reckless by this forbearance, the rioters began to close up in more dan- gerous proximity, when the howitzer Avas unlimbered and pointed down the avenue. The mob not liking the looks of this, scattered, when the column resumed its march. The mob then rallied, and followed after, with shouts and distant shots, till the foundry on Twenty- eighth Street was reached. Here another mob came up from First Avenue, and the two made a simultan- eous attack. The command was then given to fire, and a Volley was poured into the crowd. Rapidly loading and firing, the troops soon stretched so many on the pave- ment, that the rest broke and fled. Tlie military then entered the building and held it. The mob gathered around it, threatening to storm it, but could not pluck up courage to make the attempt. They seemed espec- ially exasperated against the policemen, and had the effrontery to send a committee to the ofticer in com- mand, demanding their surrender. If their request was refused, they declared they would storm the build- ing at all hazards ; but if complied with, they would disperse. The committee had to shout out their de- mands from the street. In reply, the ofilcer told them if they did not take themselves olf instantly, he would fire upon them ; upon which they incontinently took to their heels. THIKD DAY. 235 As the day wore on, things began to wear a still more threatening aspect. Despatches came in from every quarter, announcing the activity of the mob. To a question sent to the Thirteenth Precinct, a little*past twelve, inquiring how things were going on in Grand Street, was returned the following reply : '* Lively ; store-keepers have fired into the mob ; no force there yet." " 12.20. From Twenty-first. Building corner Thirty- third Street, Second Avenue, is set on fire by the mob." " 12.50. FroQi Fifteenth. Send assistance to Twenty-first Precinct ; they are about attacking it." 12.55. From Twenty-sixth. It is reported that Government stores in Greenwich, near Liberty, are on fire ; fired by mob." " 1.10. From Twenty-seventh. Send more men nere forthwith." " 1.25. From Fourth. Fire corner of Catharine Street and East Broadway." " 1.45. A man just in from Eleventh Precinct, re- ports a number of bands of robbers, numbering from fifty to one hundred each, breaking into stores in Hous- ton, near Attorney Street." " 1.47 P.M. From Twenty-ninth. The mob have cleared Twenty-first Precinct station-house." " 2 P.M. From Twenty-ninth. A large mob sur- rounded Captain Green's house. Twenty-eighth Street, Third Avenue. lie escaped out of the back window ; they threatened to hang him." " 3.10 P.M. To Eleventh. Send to foot of Four- teenth Street, East Piver, and if military is there, send word here forthwith." "3.15. From Twenty-fourth. Mob are firing the 236 THE (.rKEAT KIOTS OF M:\V YoKK CUV. building on Second xV venue, near Twcnty-eiglitli Street Immediate assistance is re(.|uired. Houses occupied by negroes, who are fleeing for their lives. 3.25. From Twentietli. The mob are sacking houses at Twenty -seventh Street and Seventh Avenue. We have no force to send. 3.30. From Twenty-tirst. There is an attack on the colored people in Second Avenue, between Twenty- eighth and Twenty-ninth Streets. 3.40. From Eleventh. Send to 242 Stanton Street, and take possession of cavalry swords forthwith. There were five thousand cavalry swords there, and the mob were assembling to capture them ; and the telegram announcing the fact, and the one ordering a foi'ce to seize them, were received and answered the same minute. 3.55. To Twenty-first. IIow do things look ? Ans. Very bad ; large crowd in Thirty-fifth Street, near Third Avenue, and no assistance from adjoining precinct. 4 o'clock. To Twentj'-first. What is going on ? Ans. Tlie mob have captured some five or six negroes, and are preparing to hang them ; be quick with reinforcements, 4.43. From Twentieth. News have just come in that the mob are about to attack the Twenty-second Precinct station-house. 5.15. From Sixteenth. Send us one hundred special shields and clubs ; the citizens are arming up well. 5.15. From Twenty-ninth. Who feeds the special men? Ans. You must, far as able. THIRD DAT. 237 Re/ply. Xo money. Alls. It makes no difference ; they must be fed ; we are responsible. 5.20. From Twenty-ninth. The rioters are no^r on Seventh Avenue and Twenty-eighth Street. They have just killed a negro ; say they are going to cut off the Croton ; they have pickaxes and crowbars ; and also say they will cut off the gas ; so reported by one of our men, who has been in the crowd ; they were about to fire corner of Twenty-eighth Street and Seventh Avenue, when he came away. To have cut off the water and extinguished the gas, would have been master-strokes ; but the military arrived in time to prevent it. 5.25. From First. Eiot at Pier 4, Forth Eiver; they have killed negroes there. Thus, at the same moment, from the two extreme ends of the city, came the news of riots and calls for help. From points five miles apart, the wires would bring simultaneously tidings that showed the mob omnipresent. In the midst of all these incessant exhausting labors, the following telegram came from the Twentieth Precinct : " General Sandford says he has so many negroes at the arsenal, that he must get rid of them." Acton's answer was characteristic. ELe had no time for formalities or courteous exchange of views. In an instant there flashed back over the wires the curt reply: " Tell General Sandford he must do the best he can with them there." General Sandford liad at this time about the same number of men under his command at the arsenal 238 THE GREAT RlOTr^ OF NEW YORK CITY. tliat General Brown liad at })olice liead-quarters ; vet the former, np to this niorninfr, had not sent ont a single company to assist the police to arrest the devas- tations of the mob. lie apparently did not know what Avas going on, liad hardly kept np any commnnication with the Police Commissioners or Governor Seymour, but now begs the former to relieve him of some colored refugees, as if the overworked commissioners had not enough on their hands already. Tliis recpiest is especially noteworthy, wdien taken in connection with his after report, in which he states that on this morning the riot was substantially over ; so ranch so, at least, that the police could do all that was necessary without the aid of the military. It would seem that if he really thought that the rest of the work should be left to them, he might liave sent off some of his troops, and made room for the negroes in the arsenal. At about two o'clock in the afternoon word was re- ceived that a larore number of muskets were secreted o in a store on Broadway, near Thirty -tliird Street ; and Colonel Meyer was ordered to proceed thither, with thirty-three soldiers belonging to Hawkins' Zouaves, and take possession of them. Reaching the place, he found a large raob gathered, which was momentarily increasing. lie, however, succeeded in entering the building, and brought out the arms. An Irishman happening to pass by in his cart, the colonel seized it, and pitching in the guns, closed around it, and moved off. Citizens offering their services were coming in all day, and a company was formed and placed under the command of Charles A. Lamont, and did good ser- vice. Others also were enrolled and placed on duty. Colonel Sherwood's battery of rifled cannon arrived THIRD DAY. 239 in the afternoon, and was put in position in front of the arsenal, where the firing of pickets all day wonld indicate that an attack was momentarily expected. Tliis did not look as if General Sandford thought the riot snbstantially over. At about five o'clock, it was ordered by Sandford, with an infantry force of one hundred and fifty, to corner of Twenty-seventh Street and Seventh Avenue, to quell a mob assembled in large numbers at that point, and which were gntting, and plundering, and firing houses. As they approached, they saw^ flames bursting from win- dows, while, to complete the terror of the scene, the body of a negro hung suspended from a lamp-post, his last struggle just ended. At the same time that the military arrived, firemen, who had come to put out the fire, reached the spot in another direction. One 23ortion of tlie mob immediately took shelter behind the latter, so that the troops dared not fire and clear the streets, while another ran up to the house-tops, armed with guns and pistols, for the purpose of firing into the ranks below. The colonel told his men to keep a sharp look- out, and at the first shot fire. Scores of guns were im- mediately pointed towards the roofs of the houses. In the meantime, from some cause not fully explained, the imposing force, after this demonstration, marched away, leaving the mob in full possession of the field. It had hardly reached the protection of the arsenal again, when the plundering and violence recommenced ; and in a short time two more neo:roes were amusino* the spectators with their death throes, as they hung by the neck from lamp-posts. This was the second expe- dition sent out by Sandford, the commander-in-chief of the military, during the riot. I 240 Tin: GKKAT R^OT^i OF XKAV YORK CITY. Towards eveuiiio- word was brought to tlio Seventh Iwegiment armory that the mob had gathered in great force in First Avenue, between Eighteenth and Nine- teenth Streets. Colonel Winston, in command, immediately ordered out a force, composed in part of the military, and in part of enrolled citizens, and with a battery of two howitzers, under command of Colonel Jardine, of Hawkins' Zouaves, marched rapidly to the scene of disturbance. Passing down Kineteenth Street to the avenue, it halted, and unlimbering the pieces, trained them so as to connnand the avenue, while the in- fantry formed in line to support them. As soon as the rioters saw the guns bearing on them, they dodged into basements, and mounted to the windows and roofs of the tenement buildings that abounded in that vicin- ity. A number of them armed with muskets and pistols, and the rest with stones and brick-bats, began a fierce and determined attack on the troops. The howitzers, loaded with grape and canister, at once swept the street. After the first discharge, but few ventured to show themselves in the avenue, until alter they heard the report, when they would dodge from behind corners and fire back. But from the tops of the houses an incessant fusillade was kept u]). The soldiers endeavored to pick them off, but the rioters presented a small mark compared to that which the troops, massed in the open streets, furnished ; and it was soon apparent that the fight was imeqiial. If they had only had a police force to enter the buildings, and hunt the men from the roofs, the fight would soon liave been over. But the commander, thinking he could not spare a sufficient number to do this work, or THIRD DAY. 241 that the soldiers, cumbered with their muskets, which, after the first discharge, would have to be clubbed, could make no headway in such a hand-to-hand fight, made no effort to dislodge the wretches, who loaded and fired with the most imperturbable coolness. One man was seen to step round the corner, after the dis- charge of the battery, and resting his gun on the shoulder of a fellow-rioter, take as deliberate aim at Colonel Jardine as he would at a squirrel on the limb of a tree, and fire. The ball struck the colonel in the thigh, and brought him to the pavement. Other ofii- cers shared his fate, while at every discharge, men would drop in the ranks. The howitzers rattled their shot on the deserted pavements and walls of the houses, but did no damage to the only portion of the enemy they had to fear, while the fight between the infantry and the rioters was like that between soldiers in the open field and Indians in ambush. Colonel Winston soon saw that it was madness to keep his men there, to be picked off in detail, and ordered a retreat. At the first sign of a retrograde movement, a cry rang along the avenue ; and from the side streets, and base- ments, and houses, the mob swarmed forth so furiously, that it assumed huge proportions at once, and chased the retiring soldiers with yells and taunts, and pressed them so hotly that they could not bring off all their killed and wounded. Among those left behind was Colonel Jardine. He took refuge in a basement, where the mob found him, and would have killed him on the spot, had not one of them recognized him as an old acquaintance, and for some reason or other pro- tected him from further violence ; and he was eventually carried to the house of a snrgCMjn near bv. 11 242 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. The mob were left masters of tlie field, and soon be- gan their depredations. The state of things was at length reported to police head-quarters, and General Brown sent off Captain Putman, with Captain Shelby and a hundred and fifty regulars and two field-pieces, to disperse the mob and bring away the dead and wounded of Winston's force that might remain. They reached the spot between ten and eleven o'clock at night. The dimly lighted streets were black witli men, while many, apprised of the approach of the military, mounted again to the roofs as before. Putnam imme- diately charged on the crowd in the street, scattering them like a whirlwind. lie then turned his guns on the buildings, and opened such a deadly fire on them that they were soon cleared. Having restored order, he halted his command, and remained on the ground till half -past twelve. At the same time a mob was pulling down the negro houses in York Street, which they soon left a heap of ruins. Houses plundered or set on fire in various parts of the city, combined with the ringing of fire-bells, thunder of cannon, and marching of troops, made this night like its predecessor — one of horror. There was also a disturbance in Brooklyn. Shaw's and Fancher's elevators, and Wheeler's store on the docks, were set on fire, and a force ordered to put them out. The illumination of the windows from the Times buildino; this cvenino: shed a brilliant fflow over Print- ing-house Square, and flooded the Park to the City Hall with light, while an armed force within was ready to fire on any mob that should dare expose itself in the circle of its influence. THIRD DAY. 243 At 12.15 the followino^ telec^ram was sent : " To all stations. How are things in your precinct ? " Answer. " All quiet." Thus the third night of this terrible riot passed away still unsubdued, and still Acton sat at his post, awake, while others slept, and kept feeling tlirough the tele- graph wires the pulse of the huge, fevered city. The regiments coining back from Pennsylvania might arrive at any time, and he was anxious to know the moment they reached the New York docks. The Seventli Kegiment, especially, he knew was expected to reach the city that night by special train. Police- men were therefore kept on the watch ; but the regi- ment did not arrive till after daylight. About half- past four in the morning, the steady ranks were seen marching along Canal Street towards Broadway, and soon drew up in front of St. Nicholas Hotel. CHAPTER XYIII. rOUKTII DAY. Proclamations by the Governor and Mayor. — City districted. — Appear- ance of ttie East Side of the City. — A small Squad of Soldiera chased into a Foundry by the Mob. — Fierce Fight between the Mob and Military in Twenty-ninth Street. — Soldiers driven from the Ground, leaving a dead Sergeant behind. — Captain Putnam sent to bring the Body away. — Mows down the Rioters with Canister. — Storms the Houses. — Utter Rout of the Mob. — Colored Orphans and Negroes taken by Police to Blackwell's Island. — Touching Scene. — Coming on of Night and a Thunder-storm. — Returning Regiments. — Increased Force in the City to put down Violence. — Archbishop Hughes offers to address the Irish. — Curi- ous Account of an Inters-iew of a Lady with, him and Governor Seymour. — Strange Conduct of the Prelate. Only the principal disturbances of the third day were t^iven, and of these the accounts were very succinct. The movements of the mobs and the conflicts with them were so similar in character, that a detailed description of them would be a mere repetition of what had gone before. After the police force, and tlie troops under General Brown had become organized so as to move and act ton^ether, each ficcht with the rioters was almost a repetition of its predecessor. Having adopted a plan of procedure, they seldom deviated from it, and the story of one fight became the story of all — a short struggle and a quick victory. It was hoped this morning that the rioters would ponclude that they could not carry out their mad de- rOUETII DAY. 245 signs; for the enrolment of large bodies of citizens, and the annonnceraent of the speedy return of several regiments, showed that all the force necessary to sub- due them was, or soon would be, on hand. The day before, the Governor had issued a proclamation, de- claring the city to be in a state of insurrection ; but this morning appeared a proclamation from Mayor Opdyke, announcing that the insurrection was practically ended. It is true he called on the citizens to form voluntary associations, with competent leaders, to patrol tlieir separate districts, to protect themselves from roam- ing gangs of plunderers, and so spare the exhausted police and military. Yet he called on the citizens to resume their usual avocations, and directed the railroad and stage lines to resume their routes. This opinion of the Mayor was strengthened by the positive announce- ment that the draft had been suspended, and the pas- sage of an ordinance by the City Council, appropriating $2,500,000 towards paying §300 exemption money to the poor who might be drafted. It was plain, if the draft was the cause of the continued riot, it would now cease. But in spite of all this, bad news came from Harlem, and Yorkville, and other sections. In fact, it was evident that the Police Commissioners did not share fully in the pleasant anticipations of the Mayor. Having ascertained that the leaders of the mob, learn- ing from experience, had organized more intelligently, and designed to act in several distinct and separate bodies in different sections, they, with General Brown, divided the city into four districts, in each one of which were to be stationed strong bodies of the police and military, so that they could act with more expedition and efficiency than if they were sent out from the com- 246 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. raon head-quarters in Mulberry Street. It would, be- side, save the fatigue of long marches. Those separate stations were in Harlem, Eighteenth, Twenty-ninth, and Twenty-sixth Precincts. A good deal was also expected by an invitation given by Archbishop Hughes, that appeared in the morning papers, to the Irish to meet him next day in front of his house, where, though crippled from rheumatism, he would address them from tlie balcony. The Eighth Avenue cars had been started, as well as those of the Third ; and many stores were opened. Still, on the east side of the city, in the neighborhood of First Avenue, most of the shops w^ere closed. It should be liere remarked to the credit of the Ger- man population, which were very numerous in certain localities on this side of the city, that they had no sym- pathy with the rioters ; on the contrary, sent word to the Police Commissioners not to be concerned about their locality ; they had organized, and would see that order was maintained there. ISo better title to Ameri- can citizenship than this could be shown. Though early in the morning, it was comparatively quiet on the east side of the city ; yet near First Ave- nue knots of men could be seen here and there, en- gaged in loud and angry conversation. They looked exhausted and haggard, but talked defiant as ever, swearing terrible vengeance against the military ; for, though hidden from sight, in the miserable tenement- houses near by, lay their dead, dying, and wounded friends by scores. Near Nineteenth Street, the scene of the conflict the evening previous, there were stones, brick-bats, shivered awning-posts, and other wrecks of the fight. The grog-shops were open, in which men with FOTTRTn DAY. 247 bloody noses, and bruised and battered faces, obtained the necessary stimulus to continue the desperate struggle. Dirty, slovenly-dressed women stood in the door- ways or on the steps, swearing and denouncing both police and military in the coarsest language. Though the immense gatherings of the preceding days were not witnessed, yet there was a ground-swell of passion that showed the lawless spirit was not subdued, though overawed. But the Police Commissioners were now prepared for whatever might occur. The Seventh Kegiment had been stationed on the west side of the city, with a wide district to keep in order, thus ena- bling them to concentrate larger forces in other direc- tions. Bat, although everything wore this favorable aspect to the authorities, it was evident towards noon, from the steadily increasing size of the groups observed in the morning, that they had resolved to try again their strength with the military. The state of things was telegraphed to police head-quarters, but the re- port making the mob not formidable, only a company of about twenty-five men were sent out. Finding the rioters numbered about two hundred or more, and not daring to fire their howitzer, lest, before it could be re- loaded, the former would rush forward and seize it, they concluded to retire. The mob at once set furiously on them, and forced them to take refuge in Jackson's foundry. The following telegram to head-quarters announced the fact : " 1.25. From Twenty-first. The mob has charged our military, about twenty-five in number, and driven them into Jackson's foundry. First Avenue and Twen- ty-eighth Street. The mob are armed, and every time a regular shows himself they fire. A few good skir- 248 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. mishers would pic.k off these riflemen and relieve the military." This was soon succeeded by the following : " 1.54. From Twenty -first. Send military assist- ance immediately to First Avenue and Twenty-eighth Street. The mob increases, and will nnirder the mili- tary force." A71S. " They arc on their way up." They soon arrived, and were at once furiously at- tacked by the mob. The soldiers hred into them, but they boldly held their ground, and were evidently bent on a desperate liglit. The former now took np their stations at the junc- tion of the streets, and were about to sweep them with canister, when from some cause a delay was ordered. This increased the boldness of the mob, and they taunted and derided the soldiers. But in a few min- utes a reinforcement of regulars arrived on the ground and charged bayonets. The rioters fell back, but I'al- lying, forced the soldiers to retire in turn. The latter, however, returned to the charge, when the mob again gave Avay, but still stubbornly refused to disperse. Xews of the magnitude of the sti-uggle reached the Seventli Regiment, and they rapidly marched to the spot. Their steady tramp along the pavement, and well-set ranks, discouraged the crowd, and they marched and counter-marched through the streets without molestation. The mob, however, dispersed only to reassemble again in Twenty-ninth Street, and began to plunder the stores in the vicinity, and spread devastation on every side. This being reported to head-quarters, a military force FOURTH DAY. was despatched to disperse them. The rioters, how- ever, instead of retreating, attacked them with the greatest fury. Almost every house was filled with them, and they lined the roofs witli muskets and pis- tols, from which they poured down a deadly fire. For nearly a half an hour tlie fire was kept up without cessation, and many were killed. A sergeant was knocked down hy a hrick-bat, and then seized and beaten to death. The troops finding themselves imable to dislodge the assailants, retreated, leaving the body of the sergeant in the street, where it lay for three hours. General Brown not having a sufficient number of troops on hand, the mob all this time had it their own way. It was nine o'clock before he could despatch Captain Putnam with a strong force to put an end to the disgraceful scene. Arriving on the spot, the latter addressed the crowd, saying that he liad come to carry away the dead body of the sergeant, and should doit at all hazards. But he had hardly placed it in a wagon, when the crowd began to assail his troops. He immediately unlimbered his pieces, when it scattered in every direction. But the rioters came tosrether as^ain at the corner of Thirtv-first Street and - Second Avenue, where they were met by reinforce- ments, and made a stand. They filled the houses, and mounted to the roofs, armed with muskets and revolv- ers, and as Putnam appeared, commenced a rapid fire. Placing his pieces in position, this gallant officer swept the street with canister, which soon cleared it. Eleven of the ringleaders were shot down, and bodies lay thick on the pavement. But this did not intimi- date those in the windows, or on the roofs, and they kept up a steady fire. Putnam, who showed by his cool 11* 250 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. courage that the fighting stock from which he came liad not degenerated, now ordered his men to turn their fire on the buildings. At each discharge, the heavy volleys brought down many of the wretches, some pitching headlong from the roof, and dashing out their brains on the pavement and flagging below. But the fight was very unequal, for the assailants w^ould expose their bodies as little as possible ; Putnam saw that the houses must be stormed, and gave the or- der to do it. The fight was now transferred to the in- side, and became close and murderous. In the narrow halls and on the stairways, numbers were of no avail, and the rioters fought with a desperation they had not before exhibited. There was no way of escape, and they seemed to prefer death to being taken prisoners, and for a half an hour maintained the conflict in the darkened rooms and passages with a ferocity that was appalling. At last, however, with their numbers sadly thinned, they were forced to yield, and took refuge in flight. Many, unable to get away, hid under beds and in clos- ets, but the soldiers ferreted them out, and carried them to police head-quarters. The arsenal had not been attacked, as Sandford seemed every day to think it would be. Many colored people, as before stated, took refuge in it ; and about noon on this day, a body of police arrived before it, with the children of the Colored Orphan Asylum that had been burned on Mc^nday, in charge. They had since that time been scattered round in station-houses, but were now to be escorted to Black well's Island, for better security. It was an impressive spectacle this army of children presented, as they drew up in line in front of the arsenal to wait for those within to join FOUimi DAY. 251 them. The block was filled with them. The friglit- ened little fugitives, fleeing from they scarce knew what, looked bewildered at their novel position. It seemed impossible that they ever could have been the objects of any one's vengeance. With a strong body of police in front and rear, and a detachment of sol- diers on either side, they toddled slowly down to the foot of Thirty -fifth Street, from whence they were taken by boats to the Island. The Sixty-fifth New York Regiment arrived from Harrisburg in the afternoon, and just before mid- night the One Hundred and Fifty-second also reached the city, and marched up Broadway to police head- quarters, where they were stowed away to get some rest. A heavy storm that set in during the evening, helped to scatter the crowd that would otherwise have gath- ered on this warm July night, but it at the same time gave a sombre aspect to the city. The crescent moon was veiled in black, and thunderous clouds that swept heavily over the city, deepened the gloom, and seemed portentous of greater evil. The closing of all the stores and shop-windows at nightfall, through feai', left the streets lighted only by the scattering lamps. This unusual stretch of blank dead walls, emitting no ray of light, rendered the darkness made by the over- hanging storm still more impenetrable. Flashes of lightning would reveal small groups of men bent on plunder, in sections where the military and police were not stationed, but no open violence was attempted. In other directions, the bayonets of the soldiers would gleam out of the dense shadows, as they silently held the posts assigned them, ready to march at a moment's 252 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. notice. This was the fourth night, and the cannon phmted in the streets, and the increased military force, showed that peace was not yet fully restored. The Seventh Regiment was quartered in Thirty-fourth Street, part of the soldiers within a building, and . crowding every window to catch the iirst sign of disturb- ance, and })art stationed below, or marcliing back and forth in the street. Other troops and policemen were massed at head-quarters, ready to move, at the w^ord of command, to any point threatened by the mob. The fourth night was passing away, and still Acton clung to his post, and refused to take even a moment's rest. His whole nature had been keyed up to meet the grave responsibilities that lay upon him, and through the wires he still watched eveiy threatened point in the city, with sleepless vigilance. In the meantime, over a thousand special policemen had been sworn in, and five hundred or more citizens had volun- tered their services, Vvhile the steady arrival of return- iug regiments swelled the military force into formid- able proportions. During the day, Senators Connolly and O'Brien had waited on General Brown, and asked him to remove the military from their ward, as their presence excited the people. The General very bluntly refused, saying he should not permit his troops to retire from before an armed mob. He was asked also to order the troops to leave Jackson's foundry for the same i-eason, and gave an equally emphatic refusal. There was now to be no compromise with the rioters, no agreement entered into. They had got beyond the character of citizens with rights to be respected — they were assassins and murderers, to whom was submitted tlie FOURTH DAY. 253 simple question of subjection to law and authority, or death. The fighting through the day had been severe, but the disturbance had not been so wide-spread and gen- eral. Outside of the city, there had been threatening rumors. It was reported that there was danger of an uprising in Westchester, where some leading Democrats had taken open opposition to the draft, and a gun-boat had gone up as far as Tarry town ; but nothing serious occurred. The rioters being almost exclusively Irisli, it was thought that an address from Archbishop Hughes would go far to quiet the ringleaders, and he had there- fore issued the following call, already referred to : To the men of iSTew York, who are now called in many of the papers rioters. Men! I am not able, owing to rheumatism in my limbs, to visit you, but that is not a reason why you should not pay me a visit in your whole strength. Come, then, to- morrow (Friday) at two o'clock, to my residence, north- west corner of Madison Avenue and Thirty-sixth street. There is abundant space for the meeting, around my house. I can address you from the corner of the balcony. If I should not be able to stand during its delivery, you will permit me to address you sitting ; my s'oice is mucli stronger than my limbs. I take upon myself the responsibility of assuring you, that in paying me this visitor in retiring from it, you shall not be disturbed by 254 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEAV YORK CITY. an}' exhibition of municipal or military presence. Yon who are Catholics, or as many of you as are, have a right to visit your bishop without molestation. f John Hughes, Archbishop of New York. New York, July 16, 1863. A curious incident was related subsequently in one of the ^s"ew York papers, respecting the manner in which an interview was broui^ht about between him and Governor Seymour, and which resulted in the reso- lution of the Archbishop to address the rioters. The substance of the account was, that a young widow of high culture, formerly the wife of a well-known lawyer of this city — a woman living in an atmosphere of art, and refinement, and spending her time in study, be- came so excited over the violence and bloodshed that the authorities seemed unable to suppress, and finding that the Irish were at the bottom of the trouble, deter- mined to appeal to Archbishop Hughes personally, to use his high authority and influence to bring these ter- rible scenes to a close. Acting on this determination, she set out this morn- ing for the Archbishop's residence, but on arriving was told that he was at the residence of Yicar-general Starrs, in Mulberry Street. Hastening thither, she asked for an interview. Iler request was denied, when she repeated it ; and though again refused, would not be repelled, and sent word that her business was urgent, and that she would not detain him ten minutes. The Archbishop finally consented to see her. As she en- tered the library, her manner and bearing — both said to FOURTH DAY. 255 be remarkably impressive — arrested tbe attention of the prelate. Without any explanation or apology, she told him at once her errand — that it was one of mercy and charity. She had been educated in a Roman Catholic convent herself, in which her father was a professor, and she urged him, in the name of God, to get on horse- back, and go forth into the streets and quell the excite- ment of his flock. She told him he must, like Mark Antony, address the people ; and in rescuing this great metropolis from vandalism, would become a sec- ond Constantine, an immortal hero. It was his duty, she boldly declared ; and though she did not profess to be a Jeanne d'Arc or Madame Roland, but a plain woman of the present day, she would ride fearlessly by his side, and if he were threatened, would place her body between him and danger, and take the blow aimed at him. The cautious and crafty prelate was almost carried away by the impassioned and dramatic force of this woman, but he told her it would be presumption in him to do so ; in fact, impossible, as he was so crippled with rheumatism and gout, that he could not walk. She then asked him to call the crowd, and address them from the balcony of his house. He replied that he was just then busy in writing an answer to an attack on him in the Trib- une. Slie assured him that such a controversy was worse than useless — that another and higher duty rested on him. She pressed him with such importunity and en- thusiasm, that he finally consented ; but as a last effort to get rid of her, said he feared the military would interfere and attack the mob. She assured him they would not, and hurried off to the St. Nicholas to see Governor Seymour about it. She found tlie ante-room filled with officials and other personages on important 256 THE IJREAT KTOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. business, waiting tiieir turn to be admitted. But ber determined, earnest manner so impressed every one witb tbe importance of ber mission, tbat precedence was granted lier, and slie found berself at once beside tlie astonisbed Governor. AVitbout any prebm- inaries, sbe told bini sbe bad just come from tbe bead of tbe cluircb, and wanted bis excellency to visit bim immediately. Xo business w^as of sucli vital impor- tance as tbis. Tbe self-possessed Governor coolly re- plied tbat be sbould be glad to see tbe Arclibisbop, but business was too pressing to allow bim to be absent even a balf an bour from bis duties. Sbe liastened back to Arcbbisbop Iluglies, and prevailed on bim to write a note to Governor Seymour, asking bim to call and see bim, as be was unable to get out. Fortified witb tbis, sbe now^ took a priest witb ber, and providing ber- self witli a carriage, returned to bead-quarters, and ab- solutely forced, ])y ber energy and determination and persuasive manner, tbe Governor to leave bis business, and go to tlie Arcbbisbop's. Tbe invitation to tbe Irisb to meet bim was tbe result of tbis interview. Wby Arcbbisbop Iluglies took no more active part tban be did in quelling tbis insurrection, wben tbere was scarcely a man in it except members of bis own flock, seems strange. It is true be bad publisbed an address to tbem, urging tbem to keep tbe peace ; but it was prefaced by a long, undignified, and angry attack on Mr. Greeley, of tbe TriJmne, and sbowed tbat be w^as in sympatby witb tbe rioters, at least in tbeir con- demnation of tlie draft. Tbe pretence tbat it w^ould be unsafe for bim to pass tbrougb tbe streets, is absurd ; for on tbree different occasions common priests bad mingled witb tbe mob, not only witb impunity, but FOURTH DAY. 257 with good effect. He could not, tlierefore, have thought himself to be in any great danger. One thing, at any rate, is evident : had an Irish mob threat- ened to burn down a Roman Catholic church, or a Koman Catholic orphan asylum, or threatened any of the institutions or property of the Roman Church, he would have shown no such backwardness or fear. The mob would have been confronted with the most terrible anathemas of the church, and those lawless bands quailed before the maledictions of the representative of " God's vicegerent on earth." It is unjust to sup- pose that he wished this plunder and robbery to con- tinue, or desired to see Irishmen shot down in the streets ; it must, therefore, be left to conjecture, why he could not be moved to any interference except by outside pressure, and then show so much lukewarmness in his manner — in fact, condemning their opponents almost as much as themselves. The excitement consequent on the draft, exhibited in outbreaks in various parts of the country, and in the vicinity of New York, was increased by the reports of violence and fighting in the latter city. In Troy there "was a riot, and the niub, imitating the insane conduct of the rioters in Xew York, proceeded to attack an African church. But a priest, more bold or more patriotic than Archbishop Hughes, interfered and saved it. That the latter, armed with notliini? but the crucifix, could have effected as much as the police and military together, there can be but little doubt. This open and decided sympathy with law and order, and bitter anathemas ao-ainst the vandals who sous-lit the destruction of the city, were the more demanded, as such a large proportion of the police foi'ce were Roman 258 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. Catholics, and in their noble devotion to duty, even to shooting down their own countrymen and men of a similar faith, deserved this encouragement from the head of the church. CHAPTER XIX. CLOSING SCENES. Tranquil Morning. — Proclamation of the Mayor. — Mob cowed. — - Plunderers afraid of Detection. — Dirty Cellars crowded with rich Apparel, Furniture, and Works of Art. — Archbishop Hughes' Address. — Useless Efforts. — Acton's Forty-eight Hours without Sleep over. — Change in Military Commanders in the City. — General Brown relinquishes his Command. — True Words. — Noble Character and Behavior of the Troops and Police. — General Brown's invaluable Services. This week of liojTors — a week unparalleled in tlie history of New York — was drawing to a close. It had been one of terror and dismay to the inhabitants, who thought only of the immediate effects on themselves of the triuinpli of the mob. A great city laid in ashes, given up to robbers and cnt-tliroats, is at any time a terrible spectacle ; but ISTew York in ruins at this time was a republic gone — a nation uncrowned and left deso- late ; but the battle, both for the nation and city, had been nobly fought and won ; and Friday, the fifth day of this protracted struggle, dawned bright and tranquil. The storm of the night before had passed away, and the streets, thoroughly washed by the drenching rain, stretched clean and quiet between the long rows of buildings, emblematic of the tranquillity that had re- turned to the city. The cars were seen once more speeding down to the business centres, loaded with passengers. Broadway i>GO THE GREAT RIOTS <)F NEW YORK CITY. sliook to the ruml)lini): of the heavy omnibuses ; shut- ters were taken down, and the windows again slione with tlieir rich adornments. The anxious look had de- parted from the pedestrians, for the lieavy cloud, so full of present woe and future forebodings, had lifted and passed away. The following proclamation of Mayor Opdyke will show the true state of things on this morning, and what the people liad most to fear : " The riotous assemblages have been dispersed. Busi- ness is running in its usual channels. The various lines of omnibuses, railway, and telegraph have re- sumed their ordinary operations. Few symptoms of disorder remain, except in a small district in the eastern part of the city, comprising a part of the Eighteenth and Twenty-hrst Wards. The police is everywliere alert. A sufficient military force is now here to suppress any illegal movement, however for- midable. Let me exhort you, therefore, to pursue your ordi- nary business. Avoid especially all crowds. Remain cpiietly at your homes, except when engaged in busi- ness, or assisting the authorities in some organized force. When the military a])pear in tlie street, do not gather about it, being sure that it is doing its duty in obedience to orders from superior authority. Your homes and your places of business you have a right to defend, and it is your duty to defend them, at all hazards. Yield to no intimidation, and to no demand for money as the price of your safety. If any person warns you to desist from your accustomed business, give no heed to the warning, but arrest him CLOSING SCENES. 261 aiid bring him to the nearest station-house as a con- spirator. "Be assured that the public authorities have the ability and the will to protect you from those who have conspired alilvc against your peace, against the govern- ment of your choice, and against the laws which your representatives have enacted. " Geoege Opdtke, Mayor." Down-town there was scarcely anything to show that New York had for nearly a w^eek been swept by one of the most frightful storms that ever desolated a city. Even in the disaffected districts, no crowds were assembled. In the corner groggeries, small groups of men might be seen, discussing the past, and uttering curses and threats; and ruined houses and battered walls and hanging blinds here and there arrest- ed the eye, showing what wild work had been wrought ; but it was evident that the struggle was over. The mob was thoroughly subdued, and the law-breakers now thought more of escaping future punishment than of further acts of violence. Bruised heads and battered forms were scattered throuo^h the low tene- ment-houses in every direction, which friends were anxious to keep concealed from the notice of the authorities. In dirty cellars and squalid apartments were piled away the richest stuffs — brocaded silks, cashmere shawls, elegant chairs, vases, bronzes, and articles of virtu, huddled promiscuously together, damning evidences of guilt, which were sure not to escape, in the end, the searching eye of the police, who had already begun to gather up the plunder. Thus 262 THE GKEAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. the objects mostly coveted but a few hours ago now awakened the greatest solicitude and fear. Even if the military under General Brown and the police had not shown the mob that they were its mas- ters,- the arrival of so many regiments, occupying all the infected districts, was overwhelming evidence that the day of lawless triumph was over, and that of retribu- tion had come. Some acts of individual liostility were witnessed, but nothing more. Archbishop Hughes had his meeting, and some live thousand assembled to hear him. They were on the whole a peaceable-looking crowd, and it was evidently composed chiefly, if not wholly, of those who had taken no part in the riot. I^one of the bloody heads and gashed faces, of which there were so many at that moment in the city, appeared. The address was well enough, but it came too late to be of any service. It might have saved many lives and much destruction, had it been delivered two days before, but now it was like the bombardment of a fortress after it had sur- rendered — a mere waste of ammunition. The fight was over, and to use his own not very refined illustration, he " spak' too late." The reports that came in to Acton from all the precincts convinced him of this, and he began to think of rest. The strain was off, and overtasked nature made her demand, and he was compelled to yield to it. The tremendous work that had been laid upon him had been right nobly accomplished. Had he been a weak and va(n Hating man, the rioters would have acquired a headway that could not have been stopped, without a more terrible sacrifice of life and property — perhaps even of half the city. Comprehending intuitively the CLOSING SCENES. gravity of the situation, and the danger of procrastina- tion or temporizing, lie sprang at once for the enemy's throat, and never ceased his hold until he had strangled him to death. If he had waited to consult authorities about the legality of his action, or listened to the voice of pity, or yielded to the clamors of leading politicians or threats of enemies, both he and the city, in all human probability, would have been swept away in the hurricane of popular fury. On this day a most remarkable announcement was published : that a sudden change had been made in the military command of the troops of the city and harbor. General Dix superseded General Wool, and Canby, General Brown. That Wool should have been re- moved at any time, might have been expected ; not from incapacity, but on account of his age, and because any one could perform the mere nominal duties that devolved on him. But why General Brown should have been removed at this critical moment, when he and the Police Commissioners were performing their herculean task so faithfully and well, is not so plain ; unless it was the result of one of those freaks of pas- sion or despotic impulse, for which the Secretary of War was so ignobly distinguished. But unlike many other blunders which the War Department committed at this time, it did not result in any evil consequences, for the fight was over. But of this fact the Secretary of War was ignorant when he made out the order. General Brown, in relinquishing his command, spoke warmly of the noble behavior of the troops during the riots, saying,: " Engaged night and day in (jonstant confl.ict with the mob, they have in some fifteen or twenty severe contests^ — in most of them outnumbered THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. more than ten to one, many of the mob being armed — whipped and effectually dispersed them, and have been uniformly successful. In not a single instance has as- sistance been required by the police, when it has not been promptly rendered ; and all property, public and private, which has been under their protection, has been perfectly and efficiently protected ; and Avith pride he desires to record, that in this city, surrounded by grog-shops, but one single instance of drunkenness has fallen under his observation. " To Lieutenant-colonel Frothino-ham, his able and efficient adjutant-general, he tenders his thanks for his untiring assistance. " Having during the present insui-rection been in im- mediate and constant co-operation with police depart- ment of this city, lie desires the privilege of expressing his unbounded admiration of it. Xever in civil or military life has he seen such untiring devotion and such efficient service. " To President Acton and Commissioner Bergen he offers his thanks for their courtesy to him and their kindness to his command. " Harvey Brow^n, Brigadier-general.'''' The praise he bestows both on the police and soldiers was richly deserved ; and he may well say that witli pride he desires to record that in this city, surrounded with grog-shops, but one single instance of drunken- ness has fallen under his observation." AVith all a sol- dier's tendency to indulge in spirituous liquor, to be thrown right amid driiiking-places, which by harboring rioters had lost all claim to protection — part of the time sufferino: from want of f(jod, and often drenched CLOSIKG SCEXES. 265 to the skin, and weary from hard fighting and want of sleep — not to step away occasionally in the confusion and darkness of night, and solace himself with stimu- lating drinks, was something marvellous. After hard fighting, and long marching, and short rations, a sol- dier feels he has a right to indulge in liquor, if he can get it ; and their abstinence from it in such lawless times, not only speaks w^ell for their discipline, but their character. A single instance shows under what perfect control the troops were. One day Colonel La- due, seeing that his men w^ere exhausted and hungry, desired to let them have a little beer to refresh them, and the following telegram was sent from the precinct wdiere they were on duty : " 5.45 P.M. From 9th. Colonel Ladue wishes his men allowed to have beer in station-house." Answer. " Mr. Acton says he is opposed to beer, but the colonel can give his men as much as he pleases." " Acton is opposed to beer," but the troops are not under his command, and he has no heart to deny the poor fellows the station-house in which to refresh them- selves after their hard day's work. This incident also shows the strict discipline maintained in the police department. General Brown had done a noble work. Taking his place beside the Police Commissioners, he bent all his energies to the single task of carrying out their plans, and save the city from the hands of the rioters. He never thought what deference might be due him on the score of etiquette, or on account of his military rank ; he thought only of putting down the mob at all hazards. His refusal, at first, to serve under General Sandford was not merely that it was an improper 12 266 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. tiling to place a general of the regular army under the orders of a mere militia general,* having no rank whatever in the United States army, but he knew it would paralj'ze his influence, and in all human prob- ability result in the useless sacrifice of his troops. The absurdity of not moving until he received orders from his superior officer, cooped up in the arsenal, where he remained practically in a state of siege, was so appar- ent that he refused to countenance it. lie was willing that President Acton should be his superior officer, and give his orders, and he would carry them out ; for thus he could act efficiently and make his discij^lined bat- talion tell in the struggle; but for the sake of liis own reputation and that of his troops, he would not consent to hold a position that w^ould onl}^ bring disgrace on both. His views are clearly expressed in his reply to a highly complimentary letter addressed to him by the mayor and a large number of prominent citizens, for the signal services he had rendered. He says : " I never for a moment forgot that to the police was con- fided the conservation of the peace of the city ; and that only in conjunction with the city authorities, and on their requisition, could the United States forces be lawfully and properly employed in suppressing the riot, and in restoring that peace and good order which had been so lawlessly broken. Acting in accordance with this principle, and as aids to the gallant city po- lice, the ofiicers and soldiers of my command performed the most unpleasant and arduous duty, with that prompt energy and fearless patriotism which may ever be ex- pected from the soldiers of the Eepublic." * Because lie was especially assigned to tlie command of the city by the Secretary of War. CHAPTER XX. CcntinuBd Tranquillity. — Strange Assortment of Plunder gathered in the Cellars and Shanties of the Rioters. — Search for it exas- perates the Irish. — Xoble Conduct of the Sanitary Police. — Sergeant Copeland. — Prisoners tried. — Damages claimed from the City. — Number of Police killed. — Twelve hundred Rioters kiUed.— The Riot ReUef Fund.— List of Colored People killed.— Generals Wool and Sandford's Reports. — Their Truthfulness denied. — General Brown vindicated. On Saturday morning it was announced that the authorities at AYashington had resolved to enforce the draft. It had been repeatedly asserted during the riot that it was abandoned, and the report received very general credence. Still, the official denial of it produced no disturbance. The spirit of insurrection was effectually laid. It is a little singular, that, in all these tremendous gatherings and movements, no prominent recognized leaders could be found. A man by the name of An- drews had been arrested and imprisoned as one, but the charge rested wholly on some exciting harangues he had made, not from any active leadership he had assumed. There were, perhaps, in the city this morning not far from ten thousand troops — quite enough to presei've the peace, if the riot should break out afresh ; and orders therefore were given to arrest the march of reg- iments hastening from various sections to the city, under the requisition of the Governor. Still, the ter- 268 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK ( I TY. ror that had taken possession of men conkl not be al- layed in an hour, and althongli the police had resumed their patrols, and dared to be seen alone in the streets, there was constant di'ead of personal violence among the citizens. Especially was this true of the negro pc^pulation. Altliougli many sought their ruined homes, 3'et aware of tlie intense hatred entertained to- Avard them by the mob, they felt unsafe, and began to organize in self-defence. But the day wore away without disturbance, and the Sabbath dawned peace- ably, and order reigned from the Battery to Harlem. The military did not show themselves in the street, and thousands thronged without fear the avenues in which the fighting had taken place, to look at the ruins it had left behind. On Monday there was more or less rebellious feeling exhibited by the rioters, on account of the general search of the police for stolen goods, and the arrest of suspected persons. It exhib- ited itself, however, only in threats and curses — not a policemen was assaulted. It was amusing, sometimes, to see what strange articles the poor wretches had stowed away in their dirty cellars. There was every- thing from barrels of sugar and starch to tobacco and bird-seed. Said a morning paper: "Mahogany and rosewood chairs with brocade npholstering, marble- top tables and stands, costly paintings, and hundreds of delicate and yaluable mantel ornaments, are daily found in low hovels up-town. Every person in whose posses- sion these articles are discovered disclaims all knowledge of the same, except that they found them in the street, and took them in to prevent them being burned. The entire city will be searched, and it is expected that the greatest portion of the pro[)erty taken from the build- CLOSING SCENES. 269 ings sacked by the mob will be recovered." The rh ers and outlets to the city were closely watched, to prevent its being carried off. In the meantime, arrests were constantly made. It would be invidious to single ont any portion of the police for special commendation, where all did their duty so nobly ; but it is not improper to speak of the sanitary police, whose specific duties do not lead them to take part in quelling mobs. They have to report all nuisances, examine tenement- houses and unsafe buildings, look after the public schools, but more especially examine steam-boilers, and license persons qualified to run steam-engines. Hence, it is composed of men of considerable scientific knowl- edge. But all such business being suspended during the riot, they at once, with their Captain, B. G. Lord, assumed the duties of the common policemen, and from Monday night till order was restored, were on constant duty, participating in the fights, and enduring the fa- tigues with unflinching firmness, and did not return to their regular duties till Monday morning. The drill-officer also, Sergeant T. S. Copeland, be- came, instead of a drill-officer, a gallant, active leader of his men in some of the most desperate fights that oc- curred. His military knowledge enabled him to form commands ordered hastily off, with great despatch. But not content with this, he led them, when formed, to the charge, and gave such lessons in drill, in the midst of the fight, as the police will never forget. With the details of what followed we have nothing to do. The Grand Jury indicted many of the prison- ers, and in the term of the court that met the 3d of August, twenty were tried and nineteen convicted, and 270 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. sentenced to a longer or shorter tei*ni of imprisonment. Of com'se a large number on preliminary examinations got off, sometimes from want of sufficient evidence, and sometimes from the venality of the judges before whom they were brought. Claims for damages were brought in, the examination of which was long and tedious. The details are published in two large volumes, and the entire cost to the city was probably three millions of dollars. Some of the claims went before the courts, where they lingered along indefinitely. The number of rioters killed, or died from the effects of their wounds, was put down by the Police Commissioners at about twelve hundred. Of course this estimate is not made up from any detailed reports. The dead and wounded were hurried away, even in the midst of the Ught, and hid- den in obscure streets, or taken out of the city for fear of future arrests or complications. Hence there was no direct way of getting at the exact number of those who fell victims to the riot. The loss of life, therefore, could only be approximated by taking the regular re- port of the number of deaths in the city for a few weeks before the riots, and that for the same length of time after. As there was no epidemic, or any report of increased sickness from any disease, the inference nat- urally was, that the excess for the period after the riots was owing to the victims of them. Many of these were reported as sunstrokes, owing to men exposing themselves to the sun with pounded and battered heads. The Police Commissioners took great care to keep all the wounded policemen indoors until perfectly cured. Only one ventured to neglect their orders, and he died of a sunstroke. The difference of mortality in the city for the month CLOSING SCENES. 271 frevious to the riots, and the month during and sub- sequent, was about twelve hundred, which excess ■Mr. Acton thought should be put down to the deaths caused directly and indirectly by the riots. Although many policemen were wounded, only three were killed or died from the injuries they received. Immediately after the riot, j\Ir. Leonard W. Jerome and others interested themselves in raising a fund for the relief of members of the Police, Militia, and Fire Departments who had sustained injuries in the dis- charge of their duty in suppressing the riots. Sub- scriptions to the amount of §54,980 were paid in, and 822,721.53 distributed by the Trustees of the Kiot Be- lief Fund, in sums from §50 to §1,000, eacli, through Isaac Bell, Treasurer, to 101 policemen, 16 militiamen, and 7 firemen. The balance was securely invested, to meet future emergencies, a portion of which was paid to sufferers by the Orange Kiot of 1871. The following is the list of colored people known to be killed by the mob, together with the circumstances attending their murder, as given by David Barnes, in his Metropolitan record, to which reference has hereto- fore been made. COLOKED VICTIMS OF THE RIOT. William Henry Nichols (colored). E^ichols re- sided at No. 147 East Twenty-eighth Street. Mrs. Staat, his mother, was visiting him. On Wednesday, July 15tli, at 3 o'clock, the house was attacked by a mob with showers of bricks and stones. In one of the ro(Mns was a woman with a child but tliree days 272 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. old. The rioters broke open the door with axes and rushed in. Nichols and his mother fled to the base- ment ; in a few moments the babe referred to was dashed by the rioters from the upper window to the yard, and instantly killed. The mob cut the water- pipes above, and the basement was being deluged ; ten persons, mostly women and children, were there, and they fled to the yard ; in attempting to climb the fence, Mrs. Staats fell back from exhaustion ; the rioters were instantly upon her ; her son sprang to her rescue, ex- claiming, " Save my mother, if you kill me." Two ruf- fians instantly seized him, each taking hold of an arm, while a third, armed with a ci-o\vbar, calling upon them to hold his arms apart, deliberately struck him a savage blow on the head, felling him like a bullock. He died in the Y. Hospital two days after. James Costello (colored). — James Costello, No. 97 West Thirty-third Street, killed on Tuesday morning, July 14th. Costello was a shoemaker, an active man in his business, industrious and sober. lie went out early in the morning upon an errand, was accosted, and finally was pursued by a powerful man. He ran down the street ; endeavored to make his escape ; was nearl}" overtaken by his pursuer; in self-defence he turned and shot the rioter with a revolver. The shot proved to be mortal; he died two days after. Costello was immediately set upon by the mob. Tliey first mangled his body, then hanged it. Tliey then cut down his body and dragged it through the gutters, smashing it with stones, and finally burnt it. The mob then at- tempted to kill Mrs. Costello and her children, but she escaped by climbing fences and taking refuge in a police station-house. CLOSING SCENES. 273 Abrafiam Franklin (colored). — This young man, who was murdered by the mob on the corner of Twenty- seventh Street and Seventh Avenue, was a quiet, inof- fensive man, of unexceptionable character. He was a cripple, but supported himself and his mother, being employed as a coachman. A short time previous to the assault, he called upon his mother to bce if anything could be done by him for her safety. The old lady said she considered herself perfectly safe ; but if her time to die had come, she was ready to die. Her son then knelt down by her side, and implored the protec- tion of Heaven in behalf of his mother. The old lady said that it seemed to her that good angels were pres- ent in the room. Scarcely had the supplicant risen from his knees, when the mob broke down the door, seized him, beat him over the head and face Avith fists and clubs, and then hanged him in the presence of his parent. While they were thus engaged, the military came and drove them away, cutting down the body of Franklin, who raised his arm once slightly and gave a few signs of life. The military then moved on to quell other riots, when the mob returned and again suspended the now probably lifeless body of Franklin, cutting out pieces of flesh, and otherwise shockingly mutilat- ing it. Augustus Stuart (colored). — Died at Hospital, Blackwell's Island, July 22, from the effects of a blow received at the hands of the mob, on Wednesday even- ing of the Riot Week. He had been badly beaten previously by a band of rioters, and was frightened and insane from the effects of the blows which he had re- ceived. He was running toward the arsenal (State), Seventh Avenne and Thirty-seventh Street, for safety, 12* 274 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. when lie was overtaken by tlie mob, from whom he re- ceived his death-blow. Peter IIecstox. — Peter Ileiistoii, sixty-three years of age, a Mohawk Indian, dark complexion, but straight hair, and for several years a resident of Xew York, proved a victim to the riots. Ileuston served with the Xew York Yolunteers in the Mexican war. He was brutally attacked and shockingly beaten, on the 13th of July, by a gang of ruffians, who thought him to be of the African race because of his dark complexion. He died within four days, at Belle vue Hospital, from his injuries. Jeremiah Pobtxson (colored). — He was killed in Madison ne;ir Catharine Street. His widow stated that her husband, in order to escape, dressed himself in some of her clothes, and, in company with herself and one other wx)man, left their residence and went toward one of the Brooklyn ferries. Pobinson wore a hood, which failed to hide his beard. Some boys, seeing his beard, lifted up the skirts of his dress, which exposed his heavy boots. Immediately the mob set upon him, and the atrocities they perpetrated are so revolting that they are unlit for publication. They finally killed him and threw his body into the river. His wife and her companion ran up Madison Street, and escaped across the Grand Street Ferry to Brooklyn. AYiLLiAM JoxES (colored). — A crowd of rioters in Clarkson Street, in pursuit of a negro, who in self-de- fence had fired on some rowdies, met an inoffensive colored man returning from a bakery with a loaf of bread under his arm. They instantly set upon and beat him and, after nearly killing him, hung him to a lamp- post. His body was left suspended for several hours. CLOSING SCENES. 275 A fire was made underneath him, and he was literally roasted as he hung, the mob revelling in their demoniac act. Eecognition of the remains, on their being recov- ered, was impossible; and two women mourned for upwards of two weeks, in the case of this man, for the loss of their husbands. At the end of that time, the husband of one of the mourners, to her great jov, re- turned like one recovered from the grave. The princi- pal evidence which the widow, Marj Jones, had to identify the murdered man as lier husband, was the fact of his having a loaf of bread under his arm, he having left the house to get a loaf of bread a few min- utes before the attack. Joseph Reed (colored). — This was a lad of seven years of age, residhig at No. 147 East Twenty-eighth Street, with an aged grandmother and widowed mother. On Wednesday morning of the fearful week, a crowd of ruffians gathered in the neighborhood, determined on a week of plunder and death. They attacked the house, stole everything they could carry with them, and, after threatening the inmates, set fire to it. The colored people who had the sole occupancy of the building, fled in confusion into the midst of the gather- ing crowd. And then the child was separated from his guardians. His youth and evident illness, even from the devils around him, it would be thought, should have insured his safety. But no sooner did they see his unprotected, defenceless condition, than a gang of fiendish men seized him, beat him with sticks, and bruised him with heavy cobblestones. But one, ten- fold more the servant of Satan than the rest, rushed at the child, and with the stock of a pistol struck him on the temple and felled him to the ground, A nobla 276 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. young fireman, by the name of Jolm F. Govern, of No. 39 Hose Compan}^, instantly came to the rescue, and, single-handed, held the crowd at bay. Taking the wounded and unconscious boy in his arms, he carried him to a place of safety. The terrible beating and the great fright the poor lad had undergone was too much for his feeble frame ; he died on the following Tues- day. Joseph Jackson (colored), aged nineteen years, living in West Fifty-third Street, near Sixth Avenue, was in the industrious pursuit of his humble occupation of gathering provender for a herd of cattle, and when near the foot of Tliirty-fourth Street, East Iwiver, July 15, was set upon by the mob, killed, and his body thrown into the river. Samuel Johnson (colored). — On Tuesday night John- son was attacked near Fulton Ferry by a gang who mercilessly beat and left him for dead. A proposi- tion was made to throw him into the river, but for some reason the murderers took fright and fled. He was taken by some citizens to his home, and died the next day. Williams (colored). — He was attacked on the corner of Le Hoy and Washington Streets, on Tuesday morning, July 14th, knocked down, a number of men jumped upon, kicked, and stamped upon him until insensible. One of the murderers knelt on the body and drove a knife into it ; the blade being too small, he threw it away and resorted to his fists. Another seized a huge stone, weighing near twenty pounds, and deliberately ci'ushed it again and again on to the victim. A force of police, under Captain Dickson, arrived and rescued tlie mauj wlio was convoyed to the Xew Yoi'k CLOSING SCENES. 2Y7 Hospital. He was only able to articulate " Williams " in response to a question as to liis name, and remained insensible thereafter, dying in a few days. Ann Derrickson. — ^This was a white woman, the wife of a colored man, and lived at xTo. 11 York Street. On Wednesday, July loth, the rioters seized a son of deceased, a lad of about twelve years, saturated his clothes and hair with camphene, and then procur- ing a rope, fastened one end to a lamp-post, the other around his neck, and were about to set him on fire, and hang him ; they were interfered with by some citizens and by the police of the First Ward, and their dial)oli- cal attempt at murder frustrated. While Mrs. Der- rickson Avas attempting to save the life of her son she was horribly bruised and beaten with a cart-rung. The victim, after lingering three or four weeks, died from the effects of her injuries. Keports from the captains of the several precincts, with all the details of their operations, were made out — also from the subordinate military officers to their immediate superiors. The final reports of General Wool, commanding the Eastern Department, and Major-general Sandford, commanding the city troops, caused much remark in the city papers, and called forth a reply from General Brow^n, who considered himself unjustly assailed in them. Explanation of the disagjreement between him and General Wool havino^ been fully given, it is not necessary to repeat it here. The same may be said of the statement of Gen- eral Wool, regarding his orders on Monday the 13th, respecting the troops in the harbor. But in this repoi't of General Wool to Governor Seymour, there arc other statements which General Brown felt it his dutv 278 THE GKE4T KIUTS OF NEW YOKK CITY. to correct. General Wool says, that finding tliere was a want of harmony between Generals Sandford and Brown in the disposition of troops, he issued the fol- lowing order : Major-General Sandford, Brevet Brigadier-General Brown. Gentle:men : — It is indispensable to collect your troops not stationed, and have them divided into suitable parties, with a due proportion of police to each, and to patrol in such parts of the city as may be in the greatest danger from the rioters. This ought to be done as soon as practicable. John E. Wool, Major-general. After this had been issued. General Sandford re- porting to me that his orders were not obeyed by Gen- eral Brown, I issued the follow^ing order : "All the troops called out for the protection of the city are placed under the command of General Sandford." General Brown in his reply says, that he " never saw or heard of this first orderT The only explanation of this, consistent with tlie character of both, is that Gen- eral Wool sent this order to General Sandford alone — either forgetting to transmit it to General Brown, or expecting General Sandford to do it. At all events, sent or not, it was a foolish order. One would infer from it that the whole task of putting down the riots belonged to the military, the command- ers of which were to order out wdiat co-operating force of police they deemed necessary and march np and CLOSING SCENES. 279 down the disaffected districts, trampling out the law- lessness according to rule. This might be all well enough, but the question was, how were these troops, strangers to the city, to lind out where such ^arts 0/ the citij " were in which was " the greatest danger from the rioters f " It showed a lamentable ignorance of mobs ; they don't stay in one spot and fight it out, nor keep in one mass, nor give notice beforehand where they will strike next. Such knowledge could only be obtained from police head-quarters, the focus of the telegraph system, and there the troops sliould have been ordered to concentrate at once, and put themselves under the direction of the Police Commissioners. Again, General Wool sa^^s he issued the following order to General Brown, on Tuesday : " Sir ; — It is reported that the rioters have already recommenced their work of destruction. To-day there must be no child's play. Some of the troops imder your command should be sent immediately to attack and stop those who have commenced their infernal ras- cality in Yorkville and Harlem." This order, too, General Brown says he never received. Thinking it strange, he addressed a note to General "Wool's assistant adjutant-general, respecting both these orders, which had thus strangely wandered out of the way. The latter, Major Christensen, replied as follows: " The orders of General Wool published in his re- port to Governor Seymour, viz. : ' That patrols of mili- tary and police should be sent through the disaffected districts ; ' and the one July 14:th, ' To-day there must be no child's play,' etc., were not issued by me, and I 280 THE GREAT KIOTS OF Np:\V YORK CITY. cannot therefore say whether copies were sent to you or not. They were certainly not sent by me. " C. F. Christensen, " Major, Assistant Adjutant-general." We have explained how the error may have occurred with regard to the first order. But there is no explana- tion of this, except on the gi'ound that General Wool perhaps sketched out this order, without sending it, and afterwards seeing it amid his papers, thought it was a copy of one he had sent. lie was w^ell advanced in years, and might easily fall into some such error. It is not necessary to go into detailed account of all the statements contained in General Wool's letter which General Brown emphatically denies; but the following is worthy of notice. He says that General Brown issued orders that General Sandford counter- manded, and that General Bro^vn acted through the riots under his (Wool's) orders; whereas the latter says, he never received but three orders from Wool during the whole time, and only one of those referred to any action towards the rioters, and that was to bring off some killed and wounded men left by a military force sent out either by Sandford or Wool, and which had been chased from the field by the mob. But the statements of General Wool are entirely thrown into the shade by the following assertion of General Sandford, in his report. lie says : AVitli the remnant of the [his] division (left in the city), and the first reinforcements from General Wool, detachments w^ere sent to all parts of the cit}^ and the rioters every- where beaten and dispersed on Monday afternoon, Mon- day night, and Tuesday morning. In a few hours, but BALTIMORE — THE MOB ASSAULTING A MEMBER OF THE SIXTH- BALTIMORE— THE MOB FIRING THE CAMDEN STREET STATION. CLOSING SCENES. 281 for the interference of Brigadier-general Brown, who, in disobedience of orders," etc. The perfect gravity with which this assertion is made is something marvellous. One would infer that tlie po- lice was of no account, except to maintain order after it was fully restored by the military on Tuesday morning. General Sandford might well be ignorant of the state of things in the city, for he was cooped up in the arsenal, intent only on holding his fortress. So far as he was concerned, the whole city might have been barned up before Tuesday noon, and he would scarcely have known it, except as he saw the smoke and flames from the roof of the arsenal. He never sent out a detach- ment until after the Tuesday afternoon, when, as he says, but for General Brown's action, the riot would have been virtually over. The simple truth is, these reports of Generals Woo] and Sandford are both mere after-tliouglits, gi'owing out of the annoyance they felt on knowing that their martinetism was a total failure, and the whole work had been done by General Brown and the Police Commissioners from their head-quarters in Mulberry Street. Acton and Brown had no time to grumble or dispute about eticpiette. They had some- thing more serious on haiul, and they bent their entire energies to tlieir accomplishment. General Sandford held the arsenal, an important point, indeed a vital one, and let him claim and receive all the credit due that achievement ; but to assume any special merit in quell- ing the riots in the streets is simply ridiculous. That was the woi'k of the police and the military under the commissioners and General Brown. Tlie statement of the Police Commissioners, Acton and Bergen, on this point is conclusive. They say 282 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NVAV YOKK CITY. that General Sandford's error consisted in "not choosing to be in close communication with this department, when alone through the police telegraph, and other cer- tain means, trustworthy information of the movements of the mob could be promptly had." That single statement is enough to overthrow all of General Sandford's assertions about the riot. It was hardly necessary for them to declare further in their letter to General Brown : "So far from your action having had the effect sup- posed by General Sand ford, we are of the opinion, al- ready expressed in our address to the police force, that through your prompt, vigorous, and intelligent action, the intrepidity and steady valor of tlie small military force under you, acting with the police force, the riot- ous proceedings were arrested on Thursday night, and that without such aid mob violence would have con- tinued much longer." WELL-EARNED PRAISE. On the week after the riot the Board of Police Com- missioners issued tlie following address to the force, in which a well-earned tribute is paid to the military : To the Metropolitan Police Force. On the morning of Monday, the loth inst., the peace and good order of the city were broken by a mob col- lecited in several quarters of the city, for the avowed ]>urpose of resisting the process of drafting names to recruit the armies of the Union. Yast crowds of men collected and fired the offices THE METROPOLITAN POLICE. 283 where drafting was in progress, beating and driving the officers from duty. Fi oni the beginning, these violent proceedings were accompanied by arson, robbery, and murder. Private property, unofficial persons of all ages, sexes, and conditions, w^ere indiscriminately assailed — none were spared, except those who were supposed by the mob to sympathize with their proceedings. Early in the day the Superintendent was assaulted, cruelly beaten, robbed, and disabled by the mob which was engaged in burning the provost marshal's office in Third Avenue, thus in a manner disarranging the or- ganization at the Centi'al Department, throwing new, unwonted, and responsible duties upon the Board. At this juncture the telegraph wires of the depart- ment were cut, and the movement of the railroads and stages violently interrupted, interfering seriously with our accustomed means of transmitting orders and con- centrating forces. The militia of the city were absent at the seat of war, fighting the battles of the nation against treason and secession, and there was no adequate force in the city for the first twelve hours to resist at all points the vast and infuriated mob. The police force was not strong enough in any precinct to make head, unaided, against the overwhelming force. No course was left but to concentrate the whole force at the Central Depart- ment, and thence send detachments able to encounter and conquer the rioters. This course was promptly adopted on Monday morning. The military were called upon to act in aid of the civil force to subdue the treasonable mob, protect life and property, and re- store public order. 284 THE GEEAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. Under such adverse circumstances you were called upun to encounter a mob of such strength as have never before been seen in this country. The force of militia under General Sandford, who were called into service by the authority of this Board, were concentrated by him at and held the arsenal in Seventh Avenue, throughout the contest. Tlie military forces in com- mand of Brevet Brigadier-general Harvey Brown re- ported at the Central Department, and there General Brown established his head-quarters, and from there expeditions, combined of police and military force, were sent out that in all cases conquered, defeated, or dispersed the mob force, and subjected them to severe chastisement. In no instance did these detachments from the Central Department, whether of police alone or police and military combined, meet with defeat or serious check. In all cases they achieved prompt and decisive vic- tories. The contest continued through Monday, Tues- day, Wednesday, Thursday, and till 11 o'clock on Thursday night, like a continuous battle, when it ended by a total and sanguinary rout of the insurgents. Dui-ing the whole of those anxious days and nights. Brigadier-general Brown remained at the Central De- partment, ordering the movements of the military in carefully considered combinations with the police force, and throughout the struggle, and until its close, com- manded the admiration and gratitude of the Police Department and all who witnessed his firm intelligence and soldierly conduct. It is understood that he had at no time under his immediate command more than three hundred troops, but they were of the highest (jrder, and were com- THE METROPOLITAN POLICE. 285 manded by officers of courage and ability. They cor- dially acted with, supported, and were supported by, the police, and victory in every contest against fearful odds, was the result of brave fighting and intelligent command. In the judgment of this Board, the escape of the city from the power of an infuriated mob is due to the aid furnished the police by Brigadier-general Brown and the small military force under his command. No one can doubt, who saw him, as we did, that during those anxious and eventful days and nights Brigadier-general Harvey Brown was equal to the situation, and was the right man in the right place. We avail ourselves of this occasion to tender to him, in the most earnest and public manner, the thanks of the department and our own. To the soldiers under his command we are grateful as to brave men who perilled all to save the city from a reign of terror. To Captains Putnam, Franklin, and Shelley, Lieutenant Ryer, and Lieutenant-colonel Be- rens, officers of corps under the command of Brigadier- general Brown, we are especially indebted, and we only discharge a duty when we commend them to their su- periors in rank and to the War Department for their courageous and effective service. Of the Inspectors, Captains, and Sergeants of police who led parties in the fearful contest, we are proud to say that none faltered or failed. Each was equal to the hour and tiie emergency. Not one failed to overcome the danger, however imminent, or to defeat the enemy, however numerous. Especial commendation is due to Drill-sergeant Copeland for his most valuable aid in 286 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. com man ding the movements of larger detachments of the police. The patrolmen who were on duty fought through the numerons and fierce conflicts with the steady cour- age of veteran soldiers, and have won, as they deserve, the highest commendations from the public and from this Board. In their ranks there was neither falterins; nor straggling. Devotion to duty and courage in the performance of it were nniversal. The public and the department owe a debt of grati- tude to the citizens who voluntarily became special patrolmen, some three tliousand of whom, for several days and nights, did regular patrolmen's duty with great effect. In the name of the public, and of the department in which they were volunteers, we thank them. Mr. Crowley, the superintendent of the police tele- grapli, and the attaches of his department, by untiring and sleepless vigilance in transmitting information by telegraph unceasingly through more than ten daj^s and nights, have more than sustained the high reputation they have always possessed. Through all these bloody contests, through all the Avearing fatigue and wasting labor, you have demeaned yourselves like worthy members of the Metropolitan Police. The public judgment will commend and reward you. A kind Providence has permitted yon to escape with less casualties than could have been expected. You have lost one comrade, wdiom you have buried with honor. Your wounded will, it is hoped, all recover, to join you and share honor. It is hoped that the severe but just chastisement which lias been inflicted upon THE METROPOLITAN POLICE. 287 those guilty of riot, pillage, arson, and murder, will deter further attempts of that character. But if, arising out of political or other causes, there should be another at- tempt to interrupt public order, we shall call on you again to crush its authors, confident that you will re- spond like brave men, as you ever have, to the calls of duty ; and in future, wdienever the attempt may be made, you will have to aid you large forces of military, ably commanded, and thus be enabled to crush in the bud any attempted riot or revolution. To General Caiiby, who, on the morning of Frida}^, the 17th inst., took command of the military, relieving Brigadier-general Brown, and to Gen. Dix, who suc- ceeded General Wool, the public are indebted for prompt, vigorous, and willing aid to the police force in all the expeditions which have been called for since they assumed their commands. Charged particularly with the protection of the immense amount of Federal property and interests in the Metropolitan district, and the police force charged with the maintenance of pub- lic order, the duties of the two forces are always coin- cident. Whatever menaces or disturbs one equally menaces and disturbs the other. We are happy to know that at all times the several authorities have co-operated with that concert and Jiar- mony which is necessary to secure vigor and efficiency in action. Sergeant Young, of the detective force, aided by Mr. Newcomb and other special patrolmen, rendered most effective seiwice in arranging the commissary supplies for the large number of police, military, special patrol- men, and destitute colored refugees, whose subsistence 1 288 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. was tlirovrn imexpectedlj on the department. The duty was arduous and responsible, and was performed with vigor and fidelity. All the clerks of the depart- ment, each in his sphere, performed a manly share of the heavy duties growing out of these extraordinary circumstances. The Central Department became a home of refuge for large numbers of poor, persecuted colored men, women, and children, many of whom were wounded and sick, and all of w^iom were helpless, exposed, and poor. Mr. John H. Keyser, with his accustomed philanthropy, volunteered, and was ap- pointed to superintend these wi'etched victims of vio- lence and prejudice, and has devoted unwearied days to the duty. The pitiable condition of these poor peo- ple appeals in the strongest terms to the Christian char- ity of the benevolent and humane. The members of the force will do an acceptable service by calling the attention to their condition of those who are able and willing to contribute in charity to their relief. CHAPTER XXL ORANGE RIOTS OF 1870 AND 1871. Religious Toleration. — Irish Feuds. — Battle of Boyne Water. — Or- angemen. — Origin and Object of the Society. — A Picnic at Elm Park. — Attacked by the Kibbonmen. — The Fight. — After Scenes. — Riot of 1871. — Conspiracy of the Irish Catholics to prevent a Parade of Orangemen. — Forbidden by the City Authorities. — Indignation of the People. — Meeting in the Produce Exchange. — Governor HoiTman's Proclamation. — Morning of the 12th. — The Orangemen at Lamartine Hall. — Attack on the Armories. — The Harpers threatened. — Exciting Scenes around Lamartine Hall and at Police Head-quarters. — Hibernia Hall cleared. — At- tack on an Armory. — Formation of the Procession. — Its March. — Attacked. — Firing of the Military^ without Orders. — Terrific Scene.— The Hospitals and Morgue. — Night Scenes. — Number of killed and wounded. — The Lesson. In a free coimtiy like ours, where toleration of all religions alike is one of the fundamental principles of the Government, one would naturally think that open persecution of any sect or body of religionists w^as impossible. But the Irish, unfortunately, have brought with them to this country not merely many of their old customs and national fetes, but their old religious feuds. Xearly two hundred years ago, William of Nassau, Prince of Orange, or William the Third, a Protestant, met the Catholic King, James the Second, of England, in deadly battle, in the vales of Meath, through which the Boyne Piver flows, and utterly routed himj and com- 13 290 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. pelled him to flee to the Continent for safety. Accord^ ing to old style, this was on the first day of July, as the old ballad says : " 'Twas bright July's first morning clear, Of unforgotten glory, That made this stream, through ages dear, Renowned in song and story." According to new style, however, this has become the twelfth of the month. The Ulster Protestant So- ciety, known as Orangemen, was founded in 1795. It was a secret political organization, founded, it is said, to counteract the Ribbonmen, or Protectors, as they were called. Its object in this country, it is asserted, is entirely different, and more in harmony with other societies that have their annual celebration in New York City and other places. It is not necessary to go over the bitter feuds be- tween these and the Catholic Irish in the old country. The hates they engendered were brought here, but kept from any great outward manifestation, because the Or- angemen indulged in no public displays. We believe that there had been only one procession previous to this. In this year, however, an imposing display was resolved upon, but no trouble was anticipated, and no precautions taken by the police. It was not proposed to parade the streets, but to form, and march in pro- cession up Eighth Avenue, to Elm Park, corner of Ninetieth Street and Eighth Avenue, and have a pic- nic, and wind up with a dance. As the procession passed Fourth Street, in full Orange regalia, and about twenty-five hundred strong (men, women, and cliil- dren), playing " Boyne AVater," " Derry," and other ORANGE KIOTS OF 1870 AND 1871. 291 tunes obnoxious to the Catholics, some two hundred Irishmen followed it with curses and threats. Violence was, however, not feared, and the proces- sion continued on, and at length reached the new Boule- vard road, where a large body of Irishmen were at work. Beyond, however, the interchange of some words, nothing transpired, and it entered the park, and began the festivities of the day. In the meanwhile, however, the rabble that had fol- lowed them came upon the Hibbonmen at work on the Boulevard road, and persuaded them to throw up work and join them, and the whole crowd, numbering probably about five hundred, started for the park. The foreman of the gang of three hundred workmen saw at once the danger, and huri-ied to the Thirty-first Precinct station, corner of One Hundredth Street and Ninth Avenue, and told Captain Helme of the state of things. The latter immediately thought of the picnic, and, anticipating trouble, telegraphed to Jourdan for rein- forcements. In the meanwhile, the mob, loaded with stones, advanced tumultuously towards the park, within which the unsuspecting Orangemen were giving tliem- selves up to enjoyment. Suddenly a shower of stones fell among them, knocking over women and children, and sending consternation through the crowd. Shouts and curses followed, and the Orangemen, rallying, rushed out and fell furiously on their assailants. Shovels, clubs, and stones were freely used, and a scene of terrific confusion followed. The fio-ht was close and bloody, and continued for nearly half an hour, when Sergeant John Kelly, with a force of sixteen men, ar- rived, and rushing in between the combatants, sepa- 292 THE GREAT RTOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. rated them, and drove the Orangemen back into tlie park. The mob tlien divided into two portions, of be- tween two and three liundred each. One party went by way of Xinth Avenne, and, breaking down the fence on that side, entered the park, and fell with brutal fury on men, women, and cliildren alike. A terrible fight followed, and amid the shouts and oaths of the men and screams of the women and children, occasional pistol-shots were heard, showing that mur- der was being done. The enraged, unarmed Orange- men, wrenched hand rails from the fence, tore up small trees, and seized anything and everything that would serve for a weapon, and maintained the fight for a half an hour, before the police arrived. Tlie second portion went by Eighth Avenue, and intercepted a large body of Orangemen that had retreated from the woods, and a desperate battle followed. There were only two policemen here, and of course could do noth- ing but stand and look on the murderous conflict. In the meantime, the force telegraphed for by Captain Ilelme arrived. It consisted of twenty men, to which Captain Helme added the reserve force, with a ser- geant from the Eighth, Ninth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Nineteenth Precincts, making in all some fifty men. These he divided into two portions, one of which he sent over to Eightli Avenue to protect the cars, into which the fugitives were crowding, while the other dashed furiouslj- into the ])ark, and fell on the combatants with their clubs. They soon cleared a lane between them, when turning on the Ribbonmen, they drove them out of the park. They then formed the Orangemen into a procession, and escorted them down the city. A })oi-tion, however, had fled for the ORANGE RIOTS OF 1870 AND 1871. 293 Eighth Avenue cars ; but a pai*ty of Itibbonmeii were lying in wait here, and another fight followed. Ilnge stones were thrown through the w^indows of the cars, the sides broken in, over the wreck of which the mob rushed, knocking down men, women, and children alike, whose shouts, and oaths, and screams could be heard blocks off. The scene was terrific, until the ar- rival of the police put an end to it, and bore the dead and wounded away. About seven o'clock, Superintendent Jourdan arrived in the precinct, accompanied by Inspectors Dilks and "Walling, and Detectives Farley and Avery. In the basement of the Thirty -first Precinct station, on a low trestle bed, three bloody corpses were stretched, while the neighboring precincts were filled with the wounded. Two more died before morning. The street near each station was crowded with Orangemen inquiring after friends. Although no more outbreaks occurred, the most in- tense excitement prevailed among the Irish population of the city, and it was evident that it needed only a suitable occasion to bring on another conflict. THE RIOT OF 1871. ^Yhen the next anniversary of the Orangemen came round, it was discovered that a conspiracy had been formed by a large body of the Catholic population to prevent its public celebration. The air was full of ru- mors, while the city authorities were in possession of the fullest evidence that if the Orangemen paraded, they would be attacked, and probably many lives be lost. They were in great dilemma as to what coui'se to pur THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. sue. If thev allowed the procession to take place, they would be compelled to protect it, and shoot down the men whose votes helped largely to place them in power. If they forbade it, they feared the public indignation tliat would be aroused against such a truckling, unjust course. As the day drew near, however, and the ex- tensive preparations of the Irish Catholics became more apparent, they finally determined to risk the latter course, and it was decided that Superintendent Kelso should issue an order forbiddino^ the Orano-emen to parade. This ludicrous attempt on the part of the Mayor to shift the responsibility from his own should- ers, awakened only scorn, and the appearance of the order was followed by a storm of indignation that w^as appalling The leading papers, without regard to poli- tics, opened on him and his advisers, with such a torrent of denunciations that they quailed before it. Proces- sions of all kinds and nationalities were allowed on the streets, and to forbid only one, and that because it w^as Protestant^ was an insult to every American citizen. Even Wall Street forgot its usual excitement, and lead- ing men were heard violently denouncing this coward- ly surrender of Mayor Hall to the threats of a mob. An impromptu meeting was called in the Produce Exchange, and a petition drawn up, asking the presi- dent to call a formal meeting, and excited men stood inline two hours, waiting their turn to sign it. The building was thronged, and the vice-president called the meeting to order, and informed it that the rules recpiired twenty-four hours' notice for such a meeting. The members, however, w^ould listen to no delay, and with an unanimous and thundering vote, declared the rules suspended. The action of the city authorities ORANGE KIOTS OF 1870 AND 1871. 295 was denounced in withering terms, and a committee of leading men appointed to wait on them, and remon- strate with the Mayor, One could scarcely have dreamed that this order would stir Xew York so pro- foundly. But the people, peculiarly sensitive to any attack on religious freedom, were the more fiercely aroused, that in tliis case it w^as a Catholic mob using the city authority to strike do^vn Protestantism. The Mayor and his subordinates w^ere appalled at the tem- pest they had raised, and calling a council, resolved to revoke the order. In the meantime. Governor Hoff- man was telegraphed to from Albany. Hastening to the city, he, after a consultation with Mayor Hall, de- cided to issue the following proclamation : ''Having been only this day apprised, while at the capital, of the actual condition of things here, with reference to proposed processions to-morrow, and having, in the belief that my presence was needed, repaired hither immediately, I do make this procla- mation : " The order heretofore issued by the police authori- ties, in reference to said processions, being duly re- voked, I hereby give notice that an}' and all bodies of men desii'ing to assemble in peaceable procession to- morrow, the 12th inst., will be permitted to do so. They will be protected to the fullest extent possible b}^ the militar}' and police authorities. A police and military escort will be furnished to any body of men desiring it, on application to me at my head-quarters (which will be at police head-quarters in this city) at any time during the day. I warn all persons to abstain from interference with any such assembly or procession, 296 THE GKEAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. except bj authority from me ; and I give notice tliat all the powers of my command, civil and military, will be used to preserve the public peace, and put down at all hazards, eveiy attempt at disturbances ; and I call upon all citizens, of every race and rehgion, to unite with me and the local authorities in this determination to preserve the peace and honor of the city and State. Dated at Kew York, this eleventh day of July, A. D. 1871. John T. Hoffman. It was thought by many that this would counteract the effects of the cowardly order of the police super- intendent. But whatever its effect might have been, had it been issued earlier, it now came too late to do any good. The preparations of the Roman Catholics were all made. A secret circular had fallen into the hands of the police, showing that the organization of the rioters was complete — the watchwords and signals all arranged, and even the points designated Avhere the attacks on tlie procession were to be made. Arms had been collected and transported to certain localities, and everytliing betokened a stormy morrow. Consequently, General Shaler issued orders to the commanders of the several regiments of militia, directing them to have their men in readiness at their respective armories at 7 o'clock next morning, prepared to march at a mo- ment's warning. His head-quarters, like those of General Brown in the draft riots, Avere at the police head-quarters, so as to have the use of the police tele- graph, in conveying orders to different sections of the city. Meanwhile, detachments were placed on guard at the different armories, to frustrate any attempt,on the part of the mob to seize arms. BAI.TIMOKE — A ISlGilT bKIKMISII AT EUTAW STUEET. ORANGE RIOTS OF 18T0 AND 1871. 297 The night, however, wore quietly away, and in the morning the Governor's proclamation appeared in the morning papers, showing the rioters the nature of the work before them, if they undertook to carry out their infamous plans. It seemed to have no effect, however. Early in the morning sullen groups of Irishmen gath- ered on tlie corners of the streets, w^here the Irish re- sided in greatest numbers, among which were women, gesticulating and talking violently, apparently wholly unaware that the authorities had any power, or, at least, thought they dared not use it. Other groups traversed the streets, while at the several rendezvous of the Hibernians, many carried muskets or rifles without any attempt at concealment. In the upper part of the city, a body of rioters began to move southward, compell- ing all the w^orkmen on their way to leave work and join them. One or two armories were attacked, but the rioters were easily repulsed. The demonstrations at length became so threatening, that by ten o'clock the police seized Ilibernia Hall. About the same time, the Orangemen — who on the issue of Kelso's order had determined not to parade but on the appearance of the Governor's proclamation changed their mind — began to assemble at Lamartine Hall, on the corner of Eighth Avenue and Twenty- ninth Street. Their room was in the fourth story, and the delegates from the various lodges brought with them their badges and banners, w^hicli they displayed from the windows. This brought a crowd in front of the building, curious to know what was going on in the lodge room. Soon five hundred policemen, ten or fif- teen of them on horseback, appeared under the com- mand of Inspectors Walling and Jamieson, and occu- 13* 298 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. pied botli sides of Twenty-ninth Street, between Eighth and Xinth Avenues. Several policemen also stood on Eighth Avenue, while the door of the hall was guarded by others. Inside the hall there were probably some seventy-five or a hundred Orangemen, discussing the parade. Some stated that a great many, concluding there would be none, had gone to their usual work, while others, alarmed at tlie threats of the Hibernians, would not join it. But after some discussion, it was resolved, that although the number would be small, they would parade at all hazards ; and at eleven o'clock the door was thrown open, and the Orangemen, wear- ing orange colors, were admitted, amid the wildest cheering. An invitation was sent to the lodges of Jersey City to join them, but they declined, preferring to celebrate the day at home. Two o'clock was the hour fixed upon for the parade to begin, and the authorities at police head-quarters were so advised. In the meantime a banner had been prepared on which was inscribed in large letters, " AMERICANS ! FREEMEN ! ! FALL IN ! ! ! " in order to get accessions from outsiders, but without success. The line of march finally resolved upon was down Eighth Avenue to Twenty-third Street, and up it to Fifth Avenue, down Fifth Avenue to Fourteenth Street, along it to Union Square, saluting the Lincoln and 'Washington statues as they passed, and then down Fourth Avenue to Cooper Institute, where the pro- cession would break up. About one o'clock, a party of men came rushing OKANGE RIOTS OF 1870 AND 1871. 299 down Eighth Avenue, opposite Lamartine Hall, cheer- ing and shouting, led by a man waving a sword cane. As he swung it above his head it ])artcd, disclosing a long dirk. The police immediately advanced and swept the street. Eighth Avenue was cleared from Thirtieth Street to Twenty-eighth Street, and the police formed several deep, leaving only room enough for the cars to pass. In the meantime, around police head- quarters, in Mott Street, things wore a serious aspect. From six o'clock in the morning, the various detachments of police kept arriving until Bleecker, Houston, Mul- berry, and Mott Streets were dark with the massed battalions, ready to move at a moment's notice. Ra- tions were served out to them standing. Early in the day. Governor Hoffman and staff arrived, and were quartered in the Supei-intendent's room, while General Shaler and staff were quartered in the lire marshal's office. Commissioners Manierre, Smith, and Barr were in their own rooms, receiving reports from the various precincts over the wires. A little after nine a dis- patch came, stating that the quarrymen near Central Park had quitted work, and were gathering in excited groups, swearing that the Orangemen should not pa- rade. Immediately Inspector Jamieson, with two hundred and fifty policemen, was despatched in stages to Forty-seventh Street and Eighth Avenue, to watch the course of events. Another dispatch stated that an attack was threatened on Harper's building, in Franklin Square, and Captain Allaire, of the Seventh Precinct, was lun-ried off with fifty men to protect it. A little later came the news that the Orangemen had deter- mined to parade at two o'clock, and a police forco 300 THE GKEAT RIOTS OF NEW YOKK CITr. of five Imiidrcd, as wc have already stated, were massed in Eighth Avenue, opposite Lamarthie IlalL About noon, a body of rioters made an attack on the armory, No. 19 Avenue A, in which were a hundred and thirty-eight stands of arms. Fortunately, the jan- itor of the building saw them in time to fasten the doors before they reached it, and tiien ran to the nearest police- station for help, from which a dispatch was sent to head- quarters. Captain Mount, with a hundred policemen, was hurried off to the threatened point. He arrived before the doors were broken in, and falling on the rioters with clubs, drove them in all directions. Dur- ing the forenoon. Drill-captain Copeland was given five companies, and told to seize Ilibernia Hall, where arms were being distributed. As ho approached, he ordered the mob to disperse, but was answered with taunts and curses, while the women hurled stones at his face. lie then gave the order to charge, when the men fell on the crowd with such f nry, that they broke and fled in wild confusion. Meanwhile, the detectives had been busy, and secured eighteen of the ring- leaders, whom they marched to police head-quarters. As the hour for the procession to form drew near, the most intense excitement prevailed at police head-quarters, and the telegraph was watched with anxious solicitude. The terrible punishment inflicted on the riotei^s in 1863 seemed to have been forgotten by the mob, and it had evidently resolved to try once more its strength with the city authorities. Around the Orange head-quarters a still deeper excitement prevailed. The hum of the vast multitude seemed like the first murmurings of the coming storm, and many a face turned pale as the Orangemen, with their banners and badges, oidy ninety ORANGE RIOTS OF 1870 AND 1871. 301 ill all, passed out of the door into the street. John Johnston, their marshal, mounted on a spirited horse, placed himself at their head. In a few minutes, the bayonets of the military force designed to act as an es- cort could be seen flashing in the sun, as the troops with measured tread moved steadily forward. Crowds followed them on the sidewalks, or hung from windows and house-tops, while low curses could be heard on every side, especially when the Twenty-second Eegi- ment deliberately loaded their pieces with hall and cartridge. The little band of Orangemen looked seri- ous but firm, while the military officers showed by their preparations and order that they expected bloody work. The Orangemen formed line in Twenty-ninth Street, close to the Eighth Avenue, and flung their banners to the breeze. A half an hour later, they were ready to march, and at the order wheeled into Eighth Av^eiiue. At that instant a single shot rang out but a few rods distant. Heads were turned anxiously to see who was hit. More was expected as the procession moved on. A strong body of police marched in advance. Next came the Is inth Tlegiment, followed at a short interval by the Sixth. Then came more police, followed by the little band of Orangemen, flanked on either side, so as fully to protect them, by the Twenty-second and Eighty- fourth Regiments. To these succeeded more police. The imposing column was closed up by the Seventh Regiment, arresting all eyes by its even tread and mar- tial bearing. Tlie sidewalks, doorsteps, windows, and roofs were black with people. The band struck up a martial air, and the procession moved on towards Twenty-eighth Street. Just before they reached it, another shot rang clear and sharp above the music. 302 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. ISTo one was seen to fall, and the march continued. At the corner of Twenty-seventh Street, a group of desper ate-looking fellows were assembled on a wooden shed that projected over the sidewalk. AYarned to get down and go awa}', they hesitated, wlien a company of sol- diers levelled their pieces at them. Uttering defi- ant threats, they hurried down and disappeared. As the next comer was reached, another shot was fired, followed by a shower of stones. A scene of confusion now ensued. The police fell on the bystanders occu- pying the sidewalks, and clubbed them right and left without distinction, and the order rolled down the line to the inmates of tlje houses to shut their windows. Terror now took the place of curiosity ; heads disap- peared, and the quick, fierce slamming of blinds was heard above the uproar blocks away. The procession kept on till it reached Twenty-fourth Street, when a halt was ordered. The next moment a shot was fired from the second-story windows of a house on the north- east corner. It struck the Eighty -fourth Regiment, and in an instant a line of muskets was pointed at the spot, as though the order to fire was expected. One gun went off, when, without orders, a sudden, unexpected volley rolled down the line of the Sixth, Ninth, and Eighty-fourth Hegiments. The oflScers were wholly taken by surprise at this unprecedented conduct; but, recovering themselves, rushed among the ranks and shouted out their orders to cease firing. But the work was done ; and as the smoke slowly lifted in the hot atmosphere, a scene of indescribable confusion pre- sented itself. Men, women, and children, screaming in wild terror, were fleeing in every direction ; the strong trampling down the weak, while eleven corpses ORANGE RTOTS OF ISTO AND 1871. 303 lay stretched on the sidewalk, some piled across each other. A pause of a few minutes now followed, while the troops reloaded their guns. A new attack was momentarily expected, and no one moved from the ranks to succor the wounded or lift up the dead. Here a dead woman lay across a dead man ; there a man streaming with blood was creeping painfully up a doorstep, while crouc;hing, bleeding forms appeared in every direction. Women from the windows looked down on the ghastly spectacle, gesticulating wildly. The police now cleared the avenue and side streets, when the dead and wounded were attended to, and the order to move on w^as given. General Yarian, indig- nant at the conduct of the Eighty-fourth in firing first without orders, sent it to the rear, and replaced it on the flank of the Orangemen with a portion of the Ninth. The procession, as it now resumed its marcJi and moved through Twenty-fourth Street, was a sad and mournful one. The windows were filled witli spec- tators, and crowds lined the sidew^alks, but all were silent and serious. 'Not till it reached Fifth Avenue Hotel were there any greetings of welcome. Here some three thousand people were assembled, who rent the air with cheers. No more attacks were made, and it reached Cooper Institute and disbanded without any further incident. In the meantime, the scene at tlie Bellevue Hospi- tal was a sad and painful one. The ambulances kept discharging tlieir bloody loads at the door, and groans of distress and shrieks of pain filled the air. Long rows of cots, filled with mangled forms, were stretched on every side, while the tables were covered with bodies, held down, as the surgeons dressed their wounds. The 304 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. dead were carried to the Morgue, around which, as night canie ou, a clamorous crowd was gathered, seek- ing admission, to look after their dead friends. A sim- ilar crowd gathered at the door of the Mount Sinai Hospital, tilling the air with cries and lamentations. As darkness settled over the city, wild, rough-looking men from the lowest ranks of society gathered in the street where the slaughter took place, among whom were seen bare-headed women roaming about, making night hideous with their curses. A pile of dead men's hats stood on the corner of Eighth Avenue and Twenty-fifth Street untouched, and pale faces stooped over pools of blood on the pave- ment. The stores were all shut, and everything wore a gloomy aspect. The police stood near, revealed in the lamplight, but made ik effort to clear the street. It seemed at one time that a serious outbreak would take place, but the night passed off quietly, and the riot was ended, and the mob o'nce more taught the terrible les- son it is so apt to forget. Two of the police and military were killed, and twenty-four wounded ; while of the rioters thirtj'-one were killed, and sixty -seven wounded — making in all one hundred and twenty-eight victims. There was much indignation expressed at the troops for firing without orders, and firing so wildly as to shoot some of their own men. It was, of course, de- serving the deepest condemnation, yet it may have saved greater bloodshed. The fight evidently did not occur at the expected point, and doubtless the result here, prevented one where the mob was better organ- ized, and would have made a more stubborn resistance. ORANGE RIOTS OF 1870 AND 1871. 305 That innocent persons were killed is true ; but if they will mingle in with a mob, they must expect to share its fate, and alone must bear the blame. Troops are called out to fire on the people if they persist in viola- tion of the peace and rights of the community. Of this all are fully aware, and hence take the risk of being shot. Soldiers cannot be expected to discrimi- nate in a mob. If the military are not to fire on a crowd of rioters until no women and children can be seen in it, they had better stay at home. To a casual observer, this calling out of seven hun- dred policemen and several regiments of soldiers, in order to let ninety men take a foolish promenade through a few streets, would seem a very absurd and useless display of the power of the city ; and the kill- ing of sixty or seventy men a heavy price to pay for such an amusement. But it was not ninety Orange- men only that those policemen and soldiers enclosed and shielded. They had in their keeping the laws and authority of the city, set at defiance by a mob, and also the principle of religious toleration and of equal rights, which were of more consequence than the lives of ten thousand men. The day when New York City allows itself to be dictated to by a mob, and Protestants not be permitted to march as such quietly through the streets, her prosperity and greatness will come to an end. The taking of life is a serious thing, but it is not to weigh a moment against the preservation of author- ity and the supremacy of the law. One thing should not be overlooked — the almost uni- versal faithfulness of the Roman Catholic Irish police to their duty. In this, as well as in the draft riots, they 306 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW TOKK CITY. have left a record of wliicli any city might be proud. To defend Protestant Irishmen against Eoman Catho- lic friends and perhaps relatives, is a severe test of fidel- ity ; but the Irish police have stood it nobly, and won the regard of all good citizens.^' OFFICIAL EEPORTS OX THE DRAFT RIOTS. REPORT OF CAPTAIN PUTXAM. Fort Hamilton, July 21, 1863. Sir: — I have the honor herewith to make the follow- ing report of the operations of my command, during the late riots in New York City. At the commencement of the riot I was in command of the fort at Sandy Ilook, New York Harbor. On the night of the 1 3th of July, I received orders from General Brown, to proceed with my company to Xew Y^ork City. In thirty minutes my command was ready, with twenty rounds of ammunition. On my arrival in the city, I proceeded to the St. Nicholas Hotel, and re- mained in that vicinity about two hours. I was then ordered to report to the Mayor, at the City Hall. I marched my company down Broadway to the City Hall, as directed, and was immediately ordered back to the St. Nicholas by General Wool, and from there General Wool ordered me to proceed to General Brown's head- quarters, Xo. 300 Mulberry Street. On my reporting to General Brown, I was ordered to proceed with my (company to Forty-sixth Street, where the mob was burning buildings. We were accompanied by a force of sixty policemen, under Captain Walling. On our arrival there, we found the m(jb in strong force, burning and destroying property. We immediately charged on the riuters with our M'hule lorce, both military and police. The mob fought desperately for about five minutes, wdien they broke in all directions, leaving a number of dead and wounded in the street. Their loss in killed and wounded would not fall short of forty. One of my company 308 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YOKK CITY. was bacllj wounded, and was sent to the Jewisli hospital. Several others were more or less injured by stones thrown by the mob. My company numbered eighty- two enlisted men. Lieutenant Stacey, Twelfth Infantry, was the only company officer beside myself with the company. After dispersing the mob, we returned about 5 p.m. to head-quarters — the men having marched during the day not less than twelve miles. Oj)e7Xctions on Tuesday night. 10.30 P.M. My company, together with a police force of one hundred men, were ordered out and marched through a large portion of the city. Found everything quiet. Distance marched about seven miles. Heturned to head-quarters at 1.30 a.m. Operations on Wednesday^ July 15. About one o'clock p.m., received orders to march up the Bowery and Third x\ venue, and disperse the mob wherever found. After getting into Third Avenue a short distance, we met a regiment or part of a regiment of militia, commanded by a major. I think he had four companies. The rioters were collected in great force, and were firing on the militia with both muskets and revolvers. The troops were retiring before the mob, who had completely filled the avenue for some distance, also the cross streets in the vicinity. We immediately marched by the militia, when the mob commenced tiring on us. I ordered my skirmishers to tire on them, wliich they did Avith effect. AVe ad- vanced steadily, the light being between the skirmisher? and the mob, which soon gave way, and ran in all di - rections. We then marched up to Fourth Avenue, but found no disturbance there. At this time I was informed l^y a special policeman, OFFICIAL REPORTS. 300 that the mob had again collected in greater nninbers than ever, on Tliird Avenue, and were determined not to let me march back on that street. I immediately marched down the nearest cross street to Third .Vvenue again ; when the mob saw us. they scattered without firing a shot. I then returned to head-quarters with my command, which consisted of my own company and one field piece of artiller}", under command of Captain Rawolle, of General Brown's staff. The men of my command be- liaved like veterans. Operations on Wednesday night. About nine o'clock I was informed by General Brown, that a force of militia, rmder Colonel Jardine, liad been driven from Xineteenth Street by the mob, leaving a number killed and wounded, including their commanding ofticer, in the hands of the mob. The general ordered me to take my own company (the permanent guard from Fort Hamilton being for the time under the command of Captain Shelley, aide- de-camp,) and Captain RawoUe, with one gun from his battery, and proceed to ISTineteenth Street, disperse the mob, and bring Colonel Jardine and the wounded ofii- cers and men of his command to head-quarters, AVe marched down Ts ineteenth Street, and met the mob near First Avenue. I immediately ordered Sergeant Roche, with the skirmishers, to attack tliem, which he did. Lieutenant Stacey, Twelfth Infantry, supporting Jiim with the first platoon of company F (my own). The mob were driven back, but continued to fire on us. At this time I left Lieutenant Stacey to take care of the mob, and commenced a search for Colonel Jardine and others of his command. AVe found tlie colonel in a house, the family having hid him. lie was very badly wounded in tlie thigh. We also found another wounded officer, whose name 1 did not learn. Tliey were placed in a carriage. In the meantime, tlie n^qb luid 310 THE GREAT KTOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. gatliered on Second Avenue, and commenced firing cm Captain Shelley's conipanj, which I had posted near there ; a few shots from the skirmishers drove them away, and the mob being entirely dispersed, and ever}-- thing quiet, we returned to head-quarters, bringing the wounded officers witli us, also a number of ladies, to a place of safety. I forgot to mention a detachment of the Thirtieth Militia, which was ordered by Colonel Winston to accompany my command ; they behaved well. Colonel Winston was with me during this affair, and although having no command, conducted himself as only a soldier can. I did not lose a man killed, and only a few slightly injured, during the evening. Operations on Thursday. At nine o'clock a.m., went up Third xVvenue. In- spector Carpenter, deputy superintendent of police, ac- companied me. Marched through several streets for a distance of about five miles, found everything quiet, and returned to head-quarters. Operations on Thursday evening. About six o'clock p.m., General Dodge and Colonel Mott informed General Brown, that the troops at Grammercy Park had marched down Twenty-second Street, and been attacked by an armed mob; that they had been driven back, leaving their dead in the street. The general ordered me to take my company, and portion of the Twentieth and Twenty-eighth New York volunteer batteries, about eighty men, armed as infan- try, connnauded by Lieutenant J3. F. Ilyer. Lieuteuant Ilyer had with him Lieutenant liobert F. Joyce and Lieutenant F. M. Chase, Twenty-eighth Xew York battery. My whole command amounted to one hundred and sixty men. With this force I marched to tlie Grannncrcy Hotel. At a short distance from the hotel, I saw some of tlie OFFICIAL KEPORTS. 311 rioters lire from a house on some of Colonel Mott'a command. I immediately sent Lieutenant Joyce with a few men to search the house. The search was fruit- less, the men having escaped to the rear. I then told the women in the house that the artillery would open on the house, if any more shots were fired from it. We then inarched down Twenty-second Street, between Second and Third Avenues, found the body of a ser- geant of Davis' Cavalry, who had been killed two hours before. I ordered a livery-stable keeper to put his horses to a carriage, and accompan}^ me, for the purpose of carrying the dead and wounded. lie replied that the mob would kill him if he did, and that he dare not do it. lie was informed that he would be protected if he went, but if he refused he would be instantly shot. The horses were speedily harnessed, and the body put into the carriage. The mob at this time commenced firing on us from the houses. We at once commenced searching the houses, wdiile my skirmishers drove the rioters back from every w^indow and from the roofs. The houses w^ere searched from cellar to the roof. The mob made a desperate fight, and evidently seemed to think they could whip us. Every house that was used to conceal these rioters was cleared. A large number was killed, and several prisoners taken. We then marched to Second Avenue, where we found the mob in great force and concealed in houses. They fired on lis from house-tops, and from windows, and also from cross streets. We soon cleared the streets, and then commenced searching the houses. We searched thir- teen houses, killed those within that resisted, and took the remainder prisoners. Some of them fought like incarnate fiends, and would not surrender. All such were shot on the spot. The soldiers captured a large number of revolvers of large size, which I allowed them to keep. The mob at this place were well armed ; nearly every one had some kind of fire-arms, and had one blunderlinss which they fired on us. If they had been cool and steady, they miglit have 312 THE GEEAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. done us great harm. As it was, they fired wildly, run- ning to a window and firing, and then retreating back out of danger. When my soldiers once got into a house they made short work of it. The fight lasted about forty minutes and was more severe than all the rest in which my com- mand was engaged. There were none of my men killed. Sergeant Cadro, of company F, Twelfth Infantry (my own), was slightly wounded in the hand ; private Krouse was also slightly wounded. The mob being entirely dispersed, we returned to head-quarters. I remained at head-quarters till Saturday, when I was ordered by General Canby to Fort Hamilton. I have since been informed by Mr. Acton, President of the Board of Police Conmiissioners, that our fight (that of Thursday night) had the effect of crushing the rioters in the city, and that there has been no trouble since. I would respectfully call the attention of the general to the noble conduct of the ofticers who served with me on different occasions, during the riot, and beg leave to mention their names, together with some of the non- commissioned officers. First Lieutenant M. II. Stacey, Twelfth Infantry. Captain Eawolle, aide-de-camp, commanding Artil- lery. Captain Shelley, aide-de-camp, commanding Fort Hamilton permanent guard. Lieutenant B. F. Eyer, Twentieth I^ew York Artil- lery. Lieutenant R, F. Joyce, Twenty-eighth ISTew York battery. Lieutenant F. M. Chase, Twenty- eighth Xew York battery. First Sergeant J. E. Putnam, company F, Twelfth Infantry. Sergeant R. W, Tompson, company F, Twelfth In- fantry. OFFICIAL REPORTS. 313 Sergeant Frank Westcott, company F, Twelfth In- fantry. Sergeant Patrick Roach, company F, Twelfth In- fantry, had charge of the skirmishers, and behaved nobly. Sergeant Peter Cadro, company F, T\velfth Infantry, who was slightly wounded on Thursday night. Sergeant Kimball, of the permanent guard. I do not know the names of the sergeants of the other com- panies, but all, as well as privates, without exception, acted like veterans. I am, sir, very respectfully your obedient servant, II. R. Putnam, Cajpt. Twelfth U. S. Infantry Com. comjpany i^^ Second Battery. First Lieutenant J. P. McEleath, Fifth O. S. Art. A. A. A. G. REPORT OF CAPTAIN FRANKLIN. Fort Eichmond, New York Harbor, July 23, 1863. Sir : — I have the lionor to make tlie following report in regard to tlie part taken by " II " company, second battalion, Twelftli United States Infantry, and the troops attached to it, in quelling the late disturbances in Kew York City. Monday, July 14, about three o'clock p.m., I re- ceived an order for one platoon to report to Lieutenant Wood. Fifteen minutes after the order w*as received, thirtj^-iive men were on the boat, with thirty rounds of ammunition in their boxes. I accompanied the men over to Fort Lafayette, and there received an order from General BroAvn, to take charge of Lieutenant Wood's men, numbering fifty-four, and proceed to Leonard Street, New York, and i'ep(n't to Colonel Xu- gent, assistant provost marshal general. On mj' arrival 314 THE GREAT RfOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. at the corner of Leonard Street and Broadway, I re- ceived an order from Colonel Nngent, to report to him at the arsenal, corner of Thirty-fifth Street and Seventh Avenue. The command proceeded up Eighth Avenue to Tliirtv-fifth Street to the arsenal, and reported to Col- onel Xugent as ordered. The company remained at the arsenal till eleven o'clock that night, when it was ordered to report' to General Brown, at the police head- quarters, aSo. 300 Mulberry Street. Finding that General Brown had been relieved of his command, I reported in person to General Wool, who directed me to remain at the police head-quarters, at the same time detaching Lieutenant Yfoqd, and or- dering him to command the Fort Hamilton permanent guard. Tuesday morning, about nine o'clock, I re- ceived an order from General Brown, to proceed to Thirty-fourth Street and Second Avenue, to quell a disturbance which was raging there. I immediately took possession of the Fourth Avenue cars, and pi'O- ceeded as directed at a ra])id rate. On approaching near the scene of the riot, I heard firing, and forming my company by platoons, marched up Fourth Avenue to Thirty-fourth Street, down Thirty-fourth Street to a point where two field-pieces were in position. I was followed and surrounded by a threatening mob from tlie time I left the cars. The crowd soon commenced throwing stones and brick-bats, at the same time bran- dishijig clubs, and beckoning to their comrades to come on ; but on facing the rear platoon about, and coming to a " ready," they suddenly disappeared, and gave me no further trouble till I reported to Colonel O'Brien. The colonel seemed to have the mob ])retty well scat- tei-ed before we reached them, but tliere was firing still going on by his men, who were deployed as skir- misliers. I held my company as a reserve, near the field-pieces, and continued to do so till we returned to police head-quarters. I was joined before i^oing on this expedition, by 30 men of company "11, so that OFFICIAL REPORTS. 315 the total number I had, leaving behind the number of sick, was about 115. After being at the police head- quarters about thirty minutes, my company was or- dered to go with a party of police to Grand Street. Lieutenant Penny, the only commissioned officer I had with me, was taken sick at this time, and was not able to join me till Wednesday. We marched down Grand Street to East River, and back, but did not find any mob. About two o'clock, my company, with about 150 po- licemen, was ordered to proceed to Twenty-second Street and First and Second Avenues. On reaching Second Avenue, we found a large crowd collected, which soon retreated to First Avenue, firing with stones and muskets continually. The police making way for me, the company was marched in three sections down Twenty-second Street to First Avenue, and down First Avenue to Twenty-fii'st Street. The crowd grew more insolent, and increased the firing as we advanced. In Twenty-second Street the police took possession of between 200 and 300 carbines, which the mob was in the act of taking when we arrived ; they were all brought safely to the station-house. At the corner of Twenty-first Street and First Avenue I halted the company, and fired by sections, allowing each section to fall to the rear to load as fast as it had fired. The crowd soon retired to the houses and roofs, from which they kept up a fire for some minutes, but soon ceased altogether, as a number of them had been killed, and it became rather dangerous for them to show a head anywhere. I then withdrew my company by the same routes and in the same manner I had advanced. Go- ing down Second Avenue, the crowd seemed to in- crease very rapidly, and became more and more threat- ening. They were allowed to get quite close to us, when I faced the rear section about, and fired one or two volleys, which must have been very effective, as they dispersed, and did not give us any further trouble, till we ]-eached police head-quarters. Some of my 316 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. men received blows from stones, bnt none Avere seri- onsly hurt. After resting an lionr or two, my men were put in stages, and ordered to go to Twenty-tirst Street and Eighth Avenue. I marched tlie company up and down the avenues, and through several of the streets, but did not find a crowd that offered any resistance. We took the stages again, and proceeded to Twenty- ninth Street and Eighth avenue, and found there that a lionse had been just sacked, and some of the plunder- ers beino- found in it, were instantlv killed. Mv com- pany charged wherever there was a crowd, and it was instantly scattered. Marching lip to Fifth Avenue, and not finding any mob, we took the stages to police head-quarters. The company was not called on again during the night. A7ednesday morning, about twelve o'clock, it was ordered with 50 policemen to proceed to Harlem. On arriving there, we found that the mob had disappeared as soon as they heard of our coming. They had burned one or two buildings, but did not give us or the citizens of Harlem any trouble during our stay there. I was relieved by a company of the N. G. Seventy-first, and ordered to proceed to Fort Hich- mond on Monday morning, July 21st. In compliance with your request, that I should mention any ofticers, non-commissioned officers, or privates who had partic- ularly distinguished themselves, I have to make the following statement. Lieutenant Penny, the only com- missioned ofticer I had with me, was taken sick on Monday evening, and was only aide to march with me to Thirty -fourth Street ; he joined me again when we moved to Harlem. Among non-commissioned officers and privates, all of wliom acted so exceedingly well, it is very hard to make any distiiiction. First Sergeant Eagenieyer, who at the battle of Gaines' Mill, in Virginia, had sole charge of a company, and fought it all tlirough that day till wounded and taken prisoner, did equally well OFFICIAL KEPORTS. 317 on this occasion. Sergeants Livingstone, Coi-sa, Rnby, Burke, and Jackson, and Corporals ^Yilliams, Botliwell, Yonkers, Brandon, and Bajniond were very cool, and did excellent service. The men, amid tlie numerous temptations thej had to drink, and the fatigue they endured in marching over stone pavements, kept per- fectly sober, and bore the threats and insults of the mob with perfect coolness. Corporal Eaymond and eight of my men were de- tailed to guard the house of Mayor Opdyke, which duty they performed till they were relieved on Mon- day. My company at no time numbered more than 120 men, and generally about 105. I am, sir, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, Walter S. Franklin, Caj)ta{?i Tvjelft/i Infantry, Brev. Brig.-gen. Harvey Brown, Fort Hamilton, N. Y, REPORT OF CAPTAIN WILKIN S. Fort Columbus, New York Harbor, July 21, 1863. Sir : — I have the honor to report, that, in obedience to orders from Major-genei'al AYool, I proceeded on Monday the 13th inst., at lialf-past one o'clock p.m., in command of 89 non-commissioned olhcers and privates of the permanent paity, with directions " to report to Colonel Robert Xugent, A. A., provost -marshal general, 106 Leonard Street, for special service." Arrived there, 1 found ordei-s to repoi't to Colonel Xugent, at the arsenal on Thirty-hfth Street, and marclied to that point. On my arrival there I re- ported, and was directed to hold myself under the orders of Major-general Sandford, who was present. At about four o'clock p.m., I was ordered to take the 318 THE GKEAT RIOTS OF NEAV YORK CITY. advance of a command, consisting of my own men, the marines, and a detachment of the Invalid Corps, all under the command of General Sandford. After marching in various directions about the city — ]ny Ivuowledge of the streets being limited — without en- countering the mob I received orders to march the entire command back to the arsenal. On the morn- ing of the 14th, I was ordered to Mayor Opdyke's house. On my arrival, I found the mob had left, but the neighborhood threatened. Xicmained about two hours, and reported with command at head-quarters. Shortly after received orders to proceed to a police station, in the Twentieth Ward, situated on Tliirty- Hfth Street, between Eighth and Kinth Avenues. On my road to this point, I found a portion of the rioters sacking a house on a street leading into Xinth Avenue. They retired on my approach. Finding the house had been set fire to, I remained lono^ enoui>:li to have it ex- tingLiished, and followed the rioters into Xinth Ave- nue. I had moved but a short distance, when an attack was made on the command from the rear. I im- mediately opened fire, wliich was kept u]) at intervals until we reached Thirty-fifth Street and Ninth Avenue, when I halted till the police force at that station (about 20) joined me. In front of me, on the Xinth Avenue, I observed what appeared to be a formidable barricade, guarded by a strong force of riotei's. After waiting a short time, endeavoring to procure afield-piece, I concluded to storm the barricade with the small force I iiad, and wheeled into the avenue, advancing rapidly to the first barricade, wliich I found composed of empty wagons, carts, telegraph poles and wires. The rioters retreated, and under the protection of the com- pany, the police removed the obstructions ; no small task, as they had to roll the wagons away, untwist the wires, lift poles ; wliich of course occupied tiuie, and exposed them to the missiles of the mob. On remov- ing the barricade, I encountered a second, and thus for four the same process was gone through. During this OFFICIAL REPORTS. 319 time, neither the mob nor my men were idle, but were constantly exchanging civilities in the shape of stones and shot. After removing the barricades, and getting a clear street, I proceeded still farther np, when I was suddenly assailed with a terrific shower of brick-bats, thrown by unseen hands from the houses under which Ave were passing. After engaging this latter party, I concluded to take post at the station-house, as it was almost too dark to operate with any success. I re- turned without any molestation to the station-house, and remained there that night. On the morning of the 15th, Lieuteiumt Porter, of the First Artillery, joined me, bringing orders for the company to report at head- quarters. On reporting, I was ordered to the works of the Manhattan Gas Company, on the East Kiver, foot of Fourteenth Street. On my arriving there, I found the works at a stand-still, on account of the workmen having been driven off by the rioters ; and unless something was done, the city would soon be in dark- ness. Under the protection of the company, and the exertions of the engineer in charge, labor was resumed, and continued during my stay, which was up to Satur- day night, the lOtli, at which time I was relieved, and ordered to report at this point. Lieutenant Porter, during the time he was with me, Avas efficient and of ^reat service. Durins^ the time he was absent, I understand he was very active in the discharge of the various duties imposed upon him. Being the only officer with the company in the en- gagement of the 14th, I relied upon and received great assistance from Sergeant McGrath (acting first sergeant), Sergeants Sutler, Foster, Finn, and Delancey ; also Lance Sergeants Smith and Stewai-d. The entire command behaved well in the trying position in which they were placed. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, John D. Wilkins, Cajjtain 3d Infa/ntry commanding P, P, Lieut. S. F. McElkath, Acting Adj. Fifth Artillerg. 320 THE GREAT KIOTS OF NEW YoKK CITY. List of wounded : Sergeant Edward McGratii, contused. Sergeant Smith, contused. Corporal Lewis, contused. Hugh Carey, contused. REPORT OF SURGEON SMITH. Fort Wood, July 21, 18G3. Sir : — In obedience to your order dated July 20tli, I have the honor to make the following report : That upon July 13th, while I was absent from this post, an order arrived, directing me to report, with my command, to the Mayor of New York immediately for duty. My first sergeant, immediately upon the arri- val of the order, assem])led the men, and in ten min- utes was aboard the steamer, en route to New York. Upon his arrival he reported to the Mayor, who gave him an order to report to the officer connnanding the arsenal, corner of Seventh Avenue and Thirty-fifth Street. It was a few minutes subsequent to this that I met my company, commanded by the Sergeant, marching rapidly up Broadway, in obedience to the last order. 1 immediately took command, and marched direct to the arsenal, via Broadway, to Twenty-eiglith Street, and Seventh Avenue, and reported to Genei-al Sandford, who ordered me to march my men into the arsenal, and await further orders. Shortly after, I received conflicting orders from various parties whose authority was not sufficiently evident to permit their being obeyed. And as night was coming on, and the crowd around the building was increasing, and there was nothing to prevent a determined mob fi'om carry- ing the first floor, and firing the building, I moved my men down from the fourth story, and took possession of the first floor, and put it in such a state of defence as the means at my ('ommand ])crmitted. I preferred defending the building from the inside of the first floor, because my command was too small to permit of my OFFICIAL REPORTS. 321 holding all of the approaches from the outside. Dur- ing the night I was relieved by Captain Wilkins, Third U. S. Infantry, commanding the permanent party from Fort Colnmbus, and ordered to report to 'No. 300 Mul- berry Street, which I did. Tuesday morning, July 14th, I received an order in person from General Wool, to report to Brigadier-general Brown for duty, and was by him ordered to report with my command to Captain Putnam, Twelfth U. S. Infantry, at the City Hall. Upon arriving at the City Hall, I received an order from General Wool to report to Mr. Barney, of the Custom House, to guard some stores to be trans- ported to Fort Columbus, and to remain at Fort Colum- bus for the protection of the ordnance stores at that post. This order was not obeyed, because my services were not required by the Custom House officers. Dur- ing the day Captain Putnam w^as ordered elsewhere, and I was left with a section of artillery belonging to the Fifteenth New York. In compliance with your instructions, the command was so disposed as to protect the immediate vicinity as completely as possible. The artillery was posted, supported by my own men, so as to sweep all the points to be defended. In this posi- tion I remained till July 18tli, when, by order of Gen- eral Canby, I was relieved and ordered to return with my company to this post. The behavior of my men during the time we were on duty was soldierly and prompt to the highest degree. Upon Saturday, after five days and nights of unremit- ting service, constantly exposed, my whole original de- tachment was on duty, without exception, and all doing their duty cheerfully and willingly, although some of them were sufi'ering severely from old wounds, which had become irritable from the severe duty they had been performing. The strength of this command dur- ing the period we were on duty in New York was tiftj-three men. Joseph L. Smith, Assistant Surgeon U. S. A, Brigadier-general Brown, U. S. A. THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. REPORT OF LIEUTENANT WOOD. Fort Lafayette, N. Y. H., July 20, 1S03. Sir : — I have tlie honor to re])ort tliat mv command, as ordered by yon, came in contact witli the rioters for the first time about ten o'ch)ck on the morning of the 14th inst., in Pitt Street. My command consisted of detachments from Forts Lafayette, Hamilton, and Richmond, and numbered one hundred and thirty men. Previous to my order to fire, I connnanded the riot- ers, which were about live thousand strong, to disperse, which they refused to do, and connnenced an assault with clubs, stones, and other missiles. I then gave the order to lire, with the following result : fourteen killed and seventeen wounded. After reloading, I charged bayonets, and the rioters fled in every direction. I then proceeded to the corner of Division and Grand Streets, where anotlier large body of rioters were as- sembled. I halted my command about thirty paces from them, and ordered them to disperse, telling them if they did not, I would Are upon them. They wavered. I charged upon them, and dispersed them at the point of the bayonet. I then cleared the neigh- boring streets of all rioters ; and when everything was quiet, returned to the head-quarters in Mulberry Street, before reaching which ])lace, I unfortunately fell, and. sprained my leg so badly as to incapacitate me from any further active service during the riot. I cannot speak too praiseworthily of my men. They all acted bravely ; but particular mention should be made of Lance Sergeant Louis Bluff, general service, acting first sergeant of the detaclmient, for his cool- ness and bravery ; there being no commissioned officer with me, his position being one of great responsibility; also Private James McCarthy, of the permanent guard of Fort ILimilton. Tiie hitter, after the volley was filed into the rioters in Pitt Street, rushed from the OFFICIAL REPORTS. 323 ranks into tlieir n^idst, bayoneted one of tlieni who carried a flag, captured the flag, and returned with it to the command. The numl)er of men from this command on duty in New York during the riot was eighty. Yery respectfully, your obedient servant, Thomas O. Wood, First Lieutenant Ninth U. S. Infantry, REPORT OF LIEUTENANT RYER. Office op the SuPERmTENDENT of Police, 300 Mulberry Street, New York, July 20th, 1863. Sir : — I have the honor to transmit herewith, a report of the operations of my command during the period of the late riots in New York City. Pursuant to orders from General Brown, I reported to him with my command, which comprised parts of the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-eighth batteries (number- ing one hundred men, well armed and equipped, with rifles), on Tuesday, the 14tii inst., at al)out 6 p.m. Immediately on reporting, I received orders to march to Thirty -sixth Street and Second and Third Ave- nues, to recover the body of Colonel O'Brien, who had been killed in that neighborhood. On arriving there we found that the body had been removed, and no sign of the mob remaining. I immediately marched back to head-quarters in Mulberry Street, and reported the fact about twelve o'clock. I then marched my men through Grand Street, nearly to the ferry, and then backward and forward, through the various narrow streets in that part of the city, without being able to discover any disorderly persons. In this way I marched for four hours, and returned again to head-quarters, at four o'clock A.M., the 15th inst. About seven o'clock, I again received orders to pro- ceed to Tliirty-second Street aud Seventh Avenue, and 324 THE GREAT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. quell the disturbance there at all hazards. I marched there through a heavy rain, and found a crowd of some two hundred or three hundred rioters, who had been engaged in hanging a negro. They immediately dis- persed, without my having to fire a shot ; I then re- paired to the arsenal, Seventh Avenue, to obtain infor- mation where I could next meet the mob. I was or- dered by General Sandford to march my command inside the lines of his " videttes" and outer pickets. I was then ordered to march to Thirty-second Street and Seventh Avenue, and quell the disturbance, which had broken out anew — the mob trying to break into a house in which a number of negro families had taken refuge. I dispersed the mob, and brought tlie negroes, some fourteen in number, into the arsenal. I then placed one half of my command across Seventh Avenue and Thirty-second Street, and while in this position, tlie mob made a rush up the avenue, but were promptly met by two volleys of musketry from my command, ^vllen they retired with considerable loss. Soon after one of the rioters endeavored to wrest the musket from the hands of one of my sentries, but received the contents instead. During the time I was engaged with the rioters in Seventh Avenue, Lieutenant Kobert F. Joyce, in com- mand of the second platoon, received information that a large number of muskets were concealed in a house on Tliirty-second Street, near Broadway, and taking fifteen men from his command, proceeded to the house, and overcoming all the obstacles that were thrown in his way, succeeded in taking seventy-three Enfield rifles with accoutrements ; and placing them on a cart brought them to the arsenal, although he was threat- ened by 500 men in the streets. About four o'clock, information reached me that a large mob had collected in Forty-second Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues, and were endeavoring to burn buildings in that neighborhood. I immediately marched my com- mand, numbering about fifty men (the remainder being on guard near the arsenal), to the scene of the disturb- OFFICIAL REPORTS. 325 ance ; on arriving in Forty-second Street, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues, we were sahited with groans, hisses, etc., and when at the corner of Tenth Avenue, received a storm of bricks, and missiles of every description, and shots from the roofs and win- dows of the buildings. Wheeling the platoons right and left, I formed them so as to sweep the streets and avenue in all directions. I advised the mob to disperse in one minute, or 1 would fire, there being 2,000 men at least. A few of them moved away, but the greater part remained, when I ordered my troops to fire, and had to fire at least five volleys before I could disperse the mob ; when they again commenced firing on us from the windows, and house-tops ; one shot tired on us from the windows came near depriving us of a man, as the ball mazed his head, but terminated in nothing serious. I then or- dered Lieutenant F. M. Chase to take ten men, and search the houses from top to bottom, which he im- mediately did, and captured two prisoners. I suc- ceeded finally in clearing the streets and closing the houses, and I remained on the ground as long as there was any necessity for a force there. I then started for the arsenal, but had not progressed more than half a block, when the mob, who had been joined by an- other crowd of rioters, made a rush up the street, as if to overpower my force. I allowed them to approach very close, witli the impression that I was falling back, when I suddenly halted my command, and faced the second platoon to the rear, and fired two more volleys into them. They innnediately dispersed, and I was in- formed it was their last gathering in that locality. There were at least fifty killed, and a large number wounded, and I marched off with my command, with- out hardly a scratch. Having delivered our prisoners over to the authorities at the Twentieth Freciuct sta- tion-house, I again returned to the arsenal, and after a slight disturbance there, in which I arrested two of the rioters, I had the privilege of a few minutes rest, 326 THE GKEAT RIOTS OF NEW YOJIK CITY. when we were placed on guard, and kept there with- out a relief, nntil ordered back to these head-quarters by General Brown. I was then orderecl to proceed with Captain Putiiam, Twelfth U. S. Infantry, to the Second Avenue and Twentj^-eighth Street. This report will inform you of the nature of our duties at that point. I now most respectfully beg leave to call your atten- tion to the officers of my command. Lieutenant R. F. Joyce and Lieutenant F. M. Chase, Avho have nobly seconded every movement that was contemplated and executed. My sincere thanks are due commissioners and members of the police force, for the prompt and efficient service they have rendered us, as well as their excellent management in providing rations for my men, when so many others called their attentions away. I am very respectfully your obedient servant, B. Franklin Ryer, First Lieut. Comd'g Twentieth Battery^ iV^ Y. V. A. Lieut.-col. B. Frothingham, A. A. General. REPORT OF CAPTAIN FRANKLIN. Fort Ricitmond, New York Harbor, July 20, 1863. Sil^: — In reply to your request of the 26th instant, I have the honor to make the following statement : On the afternoon of the 13tli, I received an order from General Brown for one platoon of my company, to report to Lieutenant Wood, at Fort Lafayette. I accompanied it, and ffiiding General Brown at the wharf, reported to him, with the request that I might go with my own men. He granted my request, and or- dered Lieutenant Wood to" report to me, and at the same time gave me an order to report with ray whole command to Colonel Nugent, in Leonard Street. Ar- riving at tliat point, I was met by General Brown, who ordered me to i-eport to Colonel Xugent, at the arsenal, OFFICIAL REPORTS. 327 corner of Tliirh'-fiftli Street and Seventh x\ venue. On arrivinif; at the arsenal, I found everything in a £!^reat state of C(^.nfusion. No one seemed to know who was in command ; some said Colonel Kugent, and others, some colonel whose name I do not recollect. There was no officer of the day on guard, and no guard sta- tioned, except one at the arsenal door. The street, during the evening, became filled with a noisy crowd, and 1 suggested to Colonel Nugent that the streets be cleared, and that a guard be posted at all the four streets approaching the arsenal. Tliis was soon done by the marines, and the guard posted as I suggested. My company relieved the marines, and re- mained on guard till it was ordered to report to Gen- eral Brown, at 300 Mulberry Street. I marched the company down, about 11.30 p.m., through the rain, ac- companied by the marines. I found on my arrival that General Brown had been relieved. I then went to the hotel and reported to General Wool. A section of battery had just arrived from Fort Hamilton, with no one but a volunteer quartermaster in charge. The general did not seem to know what to do v\'ith it. I suggested to a member of his staff, that Lieutenant Wood be ordered to relieve Lieutenant McElrath, then commanding an infantry company, and that Lieuten- ant McElrath be ordered to take command of the sec- tion. The room at this time was filled with gentlemen, and the general seemed to be very much confused : it was a long time before the attempts made by several of his staff to make him understand this were success- ful. Finally he issued the order, and Lieutenant Wood started up with the section to relieve Lieutenant McElrath. General AYool seemed, during all the time 1 was there, very much confused and worn out, and I should judge unable to perform any duty. Soon after that, he gave orders to Colonel Nugent to take com- mand of the regular troops, who ordered me to ]'emain I 328 THE GREAT EIOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. at police head-quarters, all iiiglit. About 12 o'clock, I think it was, all the gentlemen and the general's staff left him for the night. I think only one orderly re- mained with him, and he on the outside of the door. The next morning General Brown was in command again, and I received orders from him, up to the time he was relieved by General Canby. From this time, everything seemed to work well. Every time there was any notice of any disturbance, in any part of the city, east or west, troops were sent with great promptness, and up to tlie time I left, with success. The statement of General Sandford, that Genei-al Brown confined his labors to the east side of the cit}^, is a mistake. My company was ordered to Twentieth Street, Eighth and Xinth Avenues, on Tuesday evening, and dispersed the mob that had just finished sacking the house on Twenty- ninth Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, on the same evening. I obeyed no orders during the riot except those re- ceived from General Bi-own, General Canby, and Colonel Nugent. Everything seemed to be working with perfect harmony and success, up to the time I left (Wednesday noon, July 15th) for Harlem. Kespectfully your ol)edient servant, Walter S. Franklin, Cajpt. ComcTg Company iT, Ttcelfth Infantry. First Lieut. McElratii, Acting Adjt. ^th Artillery. REPORT OF LIEUTENANT INICELRATU. Fort Hamilton, N. Y. H., July 28, 1863. General : — In response to your letter of the 26th inst., requesting a statement of all facts in my posses- sion connected with the service of the troops of your command, during the riot in New York, on and after the 13th inst., I respectfully state: On the 13th of 9 OFFICIAL REPORTS. 329 July I was acting assistant adjutant-general o£ the city and harbor of Xew York. On the afternoon of the 13th inst., I received an order from General Wool, to send immediately to New York a portion of the troops from Fort Lafayette, and half the company then gar- risoning Fort Richmond. The whole force thns de- tached did not exceed eighty men. Upon reporting to yon the terms of the order, yon expressed your snr- prise at the small nnmber of men ordered to tlie city, and directed me to immediately haye all the troops at Fort Hamilton, Fort Lafayette, Fort Richmond, got in readiness to move at a moment's notice. In the meanwhile, you hastened to Xew York to en- deavor to have them ordered to the city. AYliile wait- ing yonr orders, I occupied myself, by your direction, in organizing a section of artillery, using for the pur- pose the guns used for the instruction of the men of the Fifth Artillery, and the horses of the quarter- master department of this post. I filled the limbers with canister, and giving the command of one of the pieces to Drum-major George S. Browning, Fifth Ar- tillery, and that of the other to Com. Sergeant II. S. Iletherington, I directed the officers in charge to pro- ceed to New York, and report to you at St. Xichohis Hotel. About 8 P.M., two boats arriyed. I sent one to Sandy Hook b}" your order, to carry Captain Putman's company to your city, replacing it with a company of volunteer artillery, and in the other I proceeded my- self, with the remainder of the troops above-mentioned. These consisted of the permanent gnard of Fort Hamilton and the balance of the gari-isons of Forts Lafayette and Richmond, in all about l-IO effective soldiers, excellently disciplined and trained to tight. Arriving at the St. Nicholas, I found that you had been relieved of command, and I reported to General "Wool, who sent me to the arsenal in Seventh Avenue. I reported there to General Sandford for orders. He gave my men quarters in an upper room. About 11.30 330 THE GREAT KTOTS OF NEW YORK CITY. P.M., or 12, threats having been made of an early at- ta(ik on the arsenal by the mob, General Sand ford, who for some reason did not wear his uniform at any time during the riot, put on his hat, and bidding us good-evening, took his departui-e for his private resi- dence, leaving two of his staff to act during his absence. There appeared to be constant uncertainty throughout the night, as to which of these officers was really in command. About 2 A.M., Lieutenant C. O. Wood, Ninth Uni- ted States Infantry, reported at the arsenal, having brought wdth him the section of artillery organized by me. With the consent of Major Hamilton, of General Sandford's staff, who had just at that moment appeared to be in charge, Lieutenant Wood and I made a trans- fer of our commands — he taking my company of infan- try and I assuming command of the artillery. Majol Hamilton directed me to bring my two guns immedi- ately inside. I proceeded to the street and examined the building, and discovered there were no eml)rasures in the work. I returned and requested permission to place my guns in position in the street, where they could be put to some use. I believe I remarked to Major Hamilton, that he had already too much ord- lumce hidden in the building. My application was granted, and I put my guns in battery in the Seventh Avenue, at the corners of Thirty-fifth and Thirty- sixth Streets, pointing up and down the avenue. One hundred infantry and those two guns could have de- fended the arsenal against any mob that was concen- trated in the city during the riot. In the morning the battery was ordered, by a Colonel Moore, claiming to be in command, to Yorkville, in company with the Elev- enth New York Volunteers, under a volunteer officer whom I had detailed to accompany the battery from Fort Hamilton. I hastened to report to General Wool the fact of my command being taken away from me, but met you at the St. Nicholas, and was ordered to serve on your personal staff. It was during this inter- OFFICIAL El':ruIiTS. 331 val that, I tliink in Second Avenue, tln'ce rounds were tired from the Battery over the heads of tlie moh. Wlip is responsible f(3r this injudicious proceeding I do not know ; but had another coui-se been adopted at the time, the terrible murder of Colonel O'Brien would, I think, have been avoided. On Tuesday afteriujon, the battery having been reported to you for duty, I was sent in command of it, supported by the perma- nent guard, under Lieutenant Porter, First United States Artillery, to disperse a mob in the neighborhood of the arsenal, corner of Thirty-fifth Street and Sev- enth Avenue. I went into battery on the corner of Thirty-sixth Street and Seventh Avenue, but the crowd scattering with haste, as the guns apj^roached, it was unnecessary to lire. By the order of General Sandford, I remained where I was until Wednesday morning. On tlie morning of the 15th, my feet giv- ing me great pain, I was obliged to apply to be tem- porarily relieved of the command, and returned that day to Fort Hamilton, whence on Thursday I was about to return to Kew York with a small detachment, unavoidably left behind on Monday, when I received orders from you to remain at the fort. Tiie battery returned to this post the next day, having been in the meantime under the command of Captain Rawolle, of General Woc^l's staff. I am, General, very respectfully your obedient servant, T. P. McEleath, First Lieut, and Adj. Fifth U. S. Art. Brevet-general Brown, Colonel Fifth United States Artillery, EEP(_^KT of captain SHELLEY. Fort Hamilton, N. Y. H., Wednesday, July 29, 1863. Brevet Brigadier-general Harvey Brown. General : — I have the honor to submit the following 332 THE GRExVT RIOTS OF NEW YORK CHY. report of the part taken by the permanent £!;iiard " of Fort Hamilton, IS". Y. II., in qnellins^ tlie recent riots in tlie city of New York. On Tnesday night, Jnly 14th, at 11 o'ch>ck P.M., I received yonr order to pi-oceed to the state arsenal, TJiirty-lifth Street and Seventh Ave- nue, and assuine the command of the permanent guard " of Fort Hamilton, then temporarily connnanded by Captain Dole, Lieutenant McElrath having charge of the artillery. In obedience t(^ your orders, I marched my command to the head-quarters, Mulberry Street, to act as a re- serve ; all the troops then stationed there being act- ively engaged in different parts of the city in putting down the riot. Operations on Wednesday, July loth. At 7 o'clock A.M. received orders to proceed to Thirty-second Street and Seventh Avenue, and disperse the mob wherever found. On arriving at Thirty- second Street, I found a force of about 300 militia drawn up in colunni of platoon, with two pieces of artillery from the arsenal at Thirty-fifth Street, under the c(jmuiand of a brigadier-general, whose name I do not know. I also learned that the mob had, in this vicinity, hung and brutally mutilated a colored citizen. The militia force was resting on Thirty-second Street, near Seventh x\ venue, with their artillery uuliml)ered and placed in battery to sweep Seventh Avenue, where the rioters were tlien in force, concealed in the houses. x\bout this time the rain fell in torrents, and injured the ammunition of the artillery, so that it could not be used with effect. After consulting with the command- ing officer of the militia force, I determined to pass my conmiand by their flank to the front, and march down Seventh Avenue, which I accordingly did, dis- persing the mob wherever found, and then returning to head-quarters to await further orders. OFFICIAL REPORTS. 333 Operations on Wednesday night. About 9 o'clock p.m. I was ordered to proceed to Isiiieteeiith Street, with a detachirient of the Twelfth United States Infantry, with one piece of artillery commanded by Ca])tain Rawolle, the whole to be commanded by Captain II. R. Putnam, Twelfth Un- ited States Infantry, who displayed the command so that my company on the march to Nineteenth Street protected the rear. On arriving at Nineteenth Street and First Avenue, the head of the column became en- gaged with the rioters, and shortly afterwards they collected in force on our rear in Second Avenue, and commenced firing at us. By direction of Captain Put- nam, I ordered m^^ skirmishers, who were posted about fifty yards in rear of my column of platoons, to attack them, which they did effectually, and after a few shots they were driven off. Having recovered two wounded officers, left to the mercy of the mob by some of the militia force engaged during the day, and having dis- persed the mob, we returned to head-quarters, about 12 o'clock A.M. Operations on Thursday morning. About one o'clock in the morning, I was ordered to proceed with my command to Grammercy Park, for the purpose of protecting the property in that vicinity, as the mob were then collecting there in force, and had made threats to burn and rob the houses of certain parties residing in the immediate yicinity. The scouts employed by the mob warned them of my approach, so that when I arrived there I found everything cpiiet. I immediately posted pickets on the corners of the different streets, and made the necessary dispc»sition of my connnand for the protection of the place. About four o'clock in the morning my pickets gave the alarm, the mob had collected in Fourth Ave- 334 thp: great riots of new york city. line and commenced plundering a store. I immedi- ately marched to the place indicated and attacked them, when they scattered and fled in all directions. I returned to Grammercy Park, and remained till 3 o'clock A.M., when I received your orders to return to head-quarters, which I accordingly did. Tliursday noon. Was informed that the mob was in force near Fifty- second Street and Eleventh Avenue, with artillery. I received your orders to move my command to that place and disperse the mob and capture their artillery. On arriving at Forty-seventh Street, I learned that the mob had broken into a bullet factory on Fifty-second Street, and had taken a large quantity of bullets. I immediately marched through Eighth Avenue to Fifty- second Street, and dispersed the mob and took posses- sion of the piece of artillery, returning to the station- house on Forty-second Street, where I remained that night to protect the depot and stables of the Eighth and Nintli Avenue railroads, which the mob had threatened to burn. On Friday morning I received an official notification, that General Canby had assumed command of the United States troops in the city and harbor of New York, together with an order to remove iny command to the station-house on Thirty-fifth Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, where I remained till Monday morning, when I was relieved by two com- panies of militia, and ordered to report to Fort Hamil- ton with my command. Before closing this report, I would respectfully call attention to tlie gallant conduct of Sergeants G. A. Kimball and S. E. Tiffany and other non-connnissioned oflicers of the company. Being the only officers with the command I relied on, received very efficient aid and assistance from them. The men of the command acted like veterans, and are entitled to the highest OFFICIAL REPORTS. 335 praise. Although worn out with fatigue from inces- sant marching night and day, they performed the ardu- ous duties with alacrity and willingness. During the different engagements, 1 had three men badly wounded, and five or six slightly injured from various missiles thrown at us by the mob. Yery respectfully your obedient servant, E-icuARD L. Shelley, Ca^t. Com, Permanent Guard^ Fort Hamilton* CHAPTER XXII. THE RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. Labor Organizations. — Their Object. — Their Course of Action,— Rise of Labor Organizations. — List of those in England. — Their Object. — Laws against them. — List of American Organizations. —Their Failure as mere Strikes. — A Step Forward. — Become Riots. — Strikers Monopolists. — Must be put down. — Commu- nists. — A Difl&cult Problem to Solve. — Plunderers. — All Violence Must be Put Down. — Manner in which it should be done. — Xa- poleon's mode. Trades Unions, "Co-operative" Societies, and all those various societie-3 and organizations among the laboring classes for their own protection or Ijenelit, are a part of the spirit of the age. The great material re- sults which are constantly being accomplished are se- cured by the concentration and organization of capital. It is simply carrying out the old proverb, '* In union there is strength." That labor, as it becomes intelli- gent, should take advantage of this well-establi>lied principle, is natural and right. Although there have been some failures, there have been successes enough to prove that those organizations which have reference to supplying the necessaries of life can cheapen very much the cost of living. Those organizations or unions which are designed solely to affect the price of wages, whether among maufacturers or railroad men, or any class of laborers, look for success only in their ability at any given moment to "strike," or in other words, suddenly 15 338 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877 refuse to labor. At first these met with more or less success, for the losses entailed on large companies by the sudden suspension of work would compel them to accede to the terras of their employes, as the lesser evil of the two. The liistory of strikes proves tliis. The formation of workiiignien's societies for their own protection began with the present century. Wool-carders, cotton- spinners, scissors-grinders, tailors, men of all trades in England, formed organizations at first to keep out ex- ceptional men fi-om their own peculiar occupations, afterwards to control wages. Severe laws were passed against them. These were at length abolished, and a system adopted allowing these combinations to exist, and men to leave work when they chose, but denouncing all attempts to prevent otlie" men from taking their places. Believing that simply striking would bring the employers to terms, a was at once stai-ted and oTcat trouble occurred in the manufactui-iiiii^ districts of Great Britain. The following is a list of the prin- cipal strikes that have taken place in England since the repeal of the laws referred to : Manchester cotton-spimiers in 1829 ; number of idle 10,000 ; duration six months. Ashton and Staleybridge cotton-spinners in 1S30 ; number of idle, 30,000; duration ten weeks. Llverpoo'. building trades in 1833; duration six months. Preston cotton-spinners in 1854; number of idle, 17,000; duration nine months. London building trades in 1859 ; number of idle, 8,000. General lockout in the iron trade in 1865 ; number of idle, 200,000; duration sixteea weeks. TRADE ORGANIZATIONS. 339 Clyde ship-bnilding trade in 1867 ; number of idle, 18,000 ; duration nine weeks. Xortli of England iron trade in 1SG6 ; number of idle, 12,000 ; duration five months. In 1871, there was a general strike about liarvest time among the laborers, because the farmers cut down their wages, but the former were the chief sufferers. The last great strike occurred in Wales in 1875, and embraced 120,000 persons, whose aggregate loss during its continuance amounted to $15,000,000. In America, no attem])t has been made to prevent the organization of societies among laboring men for the protection of their own interests. The following is a list of them, with branches in different States : Estab- Jfemher- lished. Branches. ■ship. International Typographical Union 1852 175 10,950 Machinists and blacksmiths Ib59 104 8.000 Iron Moulders' Association 1859 152 7.500 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers 18{vJ 192 14.000 Journeymen Tailors' Xational Trade Union. 1865 40 2,800 Coopers' International Union 1870 68 5,000 Cigar-Makers' Union 1871 103 5,000 Miners' National Union 1873 347 35,315 United Sons of Vulcan 1874 4,000 The Miners' Union comprises organizations which existed for years in different States — Pennsylvania, Ohio. Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, IMaryland, Missouri, Kansas, Tennessee, and West Virginia. The Society of the United Sons of Yulcan comprises iron ])uddlei-s and otlier workers in metals. The local unions are called "forges." In addition to the above tliere are the Bricklayers' Kational Union, the United Order of American Plasterers, the House Painters' Union, the Hat Finishers' Association, the Knights of St. Crispin (shoemakers), the Order of Morocco Dresse^-s, the 'lournevmaii Ilorseshoers' Union, the Socictv of Loco,-! 7 • - • ^ ...... . 340 THE GRKAT RATT.ROAD RIOTS OF 1877 motive Firemen, and the Miile-Spiniiers of Cotton Fac- tories. Now all these organizations proposed to secure the results they desired by stopping work, thus compelling the great industries of the country to accede to their demands or lie idle. This course was to some extent successful, as it was in England, and compromises were made. They may still succeed in those branches of industiy where skilled labor is employed, but in the vast majority of cases, companies of nearly all kinds soon learned to be prepared for such emergencies, and replaced the " strikers " with new men. This at once rendered those vast organizations harmless. That laborers had a right thus to organize and act in unison, when they thought they were not sufficiently compensated for their work, no one will question, how muchsoever men may differ as to the wisdom of such a course. Strikes, therefore, as meaning simply to refuse to labor because the pay is not satisfactory, ai-e, except in isolated cases, things of the past. These organiza- tions saw that to be of any avail tbey must take another step forward, and not only refuse to woi'k themselves, but prevent any one else from working in their places. They thus passed from legitimate organi- zations into riotous proceedings, and at once lost the sympathy and countenance of the great mji>^s of the people, and laid themselves open to the penalties of law, which guarantees, first of all, tlie right of every man to labor for anv wao-es he mav a^rree to receive. They lost sympathy, because, instead of waging w^ar against monopolists, they themselves at once became the most tyrannical, outrageous monopolists in the ^puutry — indeed, the \vorst that cr.n exist — the m ..K.po- TRADE UNIONS. lists of labor. Large capitalists may, with some show of justice, claim the right to keep and control for their own benefit the wealth they have accumulated by lal)()r, intelligence, or successful ventures, but no man can take from another the right to work. It is God given, and the num or the men who seek to deprive their fel- lows of it are guilty of one of the greatest wrongs that he can commit. Here, for instance, are 10,000 men em- ployed as laborers on a single line of railroad. They band together, and simultaneously refuse to labor with- out an advance of wages. Ten thousand other men, with needy families, who are anxious to work, step forward, thankful for the opportunity to do this work for the wages given. The first 10,000 men say, " No ! No matter how needy your families may be, you shall not do this work. Nobody shall do it but ourselves, and w^e will not do it except on our own terms." This is a monopoly and despotism of the most oppressive kind. It is the merest sophistry to say that they are acting for the general good of the laboring class, to protect their rights, and elevate the standard of labor. These 10,000 men ai-e scattered workingmen, and if they are allowed no place on this railroad nnist pick up work where they can find it, and get such i-eniunera- tion for it as they can. So that we see that strikes have necessarily run into riots. Violence must be used and willing laborers must be clubbed from the places they are eager to occupy, and which their straitened circumstances urgently demand, and t'heir employers, if they attempt to defend them, must be shot down and their buildings and prop- erty destroyed. This is not striking for just w^ages — it is striking at the very foundation of society, and abro- 342 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1S77, gating law itself. Hence the question of strikes has passed from tlie domain of argument into one of force — a fight between lawless despotism and guaranteed rights — between self-interest and law — between anar- chy and good government. There can be but one end to this struggle — the putting down of such lawless, vio- lent conduct at whatever cost of life, or the utter aban- donment of government. What the result will be admits of no doubt. How long we shall be in reaching it, de- pends on the promptness, energy, and fearlessness of those in power. But there is another class of men, who at once join hands with strikers, of a still more dangerous type — communists and plunderers. The hrst believes there is an irreconcilable war between labor and capital, and that the latter must be put down at all hazards, and hence are glad of any opportunity to destroy property Tvhich has been accumulated by capital. COMMUNIS^r. Communism assumes different phases in different countries, as well as among different classes of men ; but the principles that lie at tlie bottom are the same. The fundamental principles are : — First, that the earth was made for men to enjoy equally ; that it produces enough to satisfy the wants of all, and hence its pro- ducts belong to all alike. Accumulation, therefore, in one place causes distress in another. In short, from accumulation, whether in individuals or corporations, springs all the pauperism of the earth, and consequent- ly most of its misery and crimes. In the se(;ond place, Communists believe that all class distinctions are wrong ; that men were made to be equal, and no one COMMUNISM. 343 should have any special rights and privileges, such as nobles or aristocrats, of whatever kind. Under this head come also all churches, clergymen, and religious institutions, etc. Isow wJiile these are in brief their principles, the manner in which tlicy at- tempt to give them success varies. Quakers, Fourier- ites, and various kindred communities repudiate vio- lence of all kinds, and believe in the law of example, the advocacy of truth, and the spread of light. The Communists of France and Germany, on the other hand, believe that all accumulation of wealth in palaces, monopolies, structures, and institutions of extrava- gance, to be wrong, and should be destroyed forthwith — indeed, that it ought to be the first move in the work of reform. There is a difference also in their religious and social belief. Those like the Oneida Communit}' believe that all marriage exclusiveness should be done away with, and woman, like property, be held in common, and hence are often called socialists. Others require a strict morality, whether they prac- tice it or not. Some have a form of i-eb'gious belief peculiar to themselves ; others, like the Fi-ench and German, for the main part have none at all, but are open infidels. These are some of the various forms in which Com- munism develops itself; but the underlying principle remains the same, and is what its name implies, " com- mune," " common," all things in common. The Communism that prevailed after the overthrow of the late Napoleon had some features that do not naturally belong to it. The Communists hoped to control France — in fact, make it one great Communist 344 THE GREAT -RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1S77. society, hut they could not ignore tlieir external rela- tions to other nations. Obligations were to be met, debts to be paid, etc., etc., which they must recognize, and hence certain political articles had to be inserted into their creed which had notliing to do with their principles, and hence need not be noticed here. It is sad, but true, that this antagonism between the poor and rich increases with the advance of republican principles. The masses can read the declaration tliat " all men are born free and equal in only one way — if their equality is a fact and not a delusion, then they have an equal right to the good things of this world. It is a worthless doctrine to them if it means simply equal rights to vote with the rich or to walk about, free to consult their own pleasure where they can find it. They must have the food, clothing, nay, a share of the luxuries of the rich, or their equality is a lie. They all have some ground for this belief, for the doctrine took root in tlie very first development of Christianity, when the early disciples had "all things in connnon." It does seem that the wealth and o:ood thino-s of this world, like snow after a heavy, disastrous storm, is heaped up in one place where it is a curse, and swept clean from the ground where it is needed, and more- over, what is worse, its accumulation in one place ne- cessitates its scarcity in another. But how" to right this is one of the difticult problems conuected with the history of our race that time alone can solve. There is one thing that is true, and about which there can be but one opinion among all enlightened and good men, and that is, the problem cannot be solved by violence, and plunder, and murder. However much we may err in our methods of reaching the })olitical and social millen- COMMUNISM. 345 ninm towards which the race seems ever earnestly and longmgly looking, we cannot err in putting down at an_y cost the violent methods of these comninnists. Here our diitv is plain. To destroy property is not to disti'ibute it equally. Robbers, and plunderers, and murderers never bring about a happy state of society. The millennium, which men are looking after, will never come in that fashion. As these fanatical men join the regular strikers, so that vast mass of wretched outlaws that throno^ our cities, and are only too thankful for any occasion in which they can safely give way to their savage and demoniacal spii-it and gratify their Jove of blood and rapine, join them also. They thus make common cause against society and good government, and must share the same fate. The personal character of the individuals forming these three separate classes may be very diiferent, but the character of their actions is the same. They are all rioters, law-breakers, and must be treated exactly alike. It is idle to draw a line of distinction in favor of the strikers as a class, because their cause is just, ^and that their wages are inadequate for their support. Mid their emjDloyers are oppressive. Infraction of law must have the same penalty, no matter what the motive or character of the man may be who is guilty of it. No matter whether a man steals from a stranger or from one w^ho has overreached him in a bargain, the penalty is the same. Xo matter whether he murders an innocent man or one steeped in crime, he must mount the scaffold all the same. The guilt or innocence of the party assailed has nothing to do with the crime of the aseailaut or his punishment in the sight of the 15* 346 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. law. The priiiciple is fixed and unassailable t)iat no man or set of men can be allowed to vindicate them- selves or enforce their rights outside of the forms of law. If one man can be allowed to do it, then all can, and law and government become a nullity, and society dis- organized. The rioters who resort to violence may be perfectly just in their demands, and yet the way they take to obtain them be the greatest crime they can commit. A large company may be oppressive and un- just, but murder is worse than oppression. They may cut down the price of wages, but that is not so criminal as to tear down houses and make wreck of human property. One crime camiot justify another and greater one. The world is full of oppression and suf- fering ; but who is to right it ? It is astonishing how the fact that because wrono^ is done to the laboriui^- jnan, men will say he is therefore justified in taking law into his own hands. God's physical laws do not ]uty nor discriminate as to the character of the man who violates them. All who break them suffer alike. The laws that uphold government and protect society are His laws also, given for the bene lit of man, and in preventing their infraction ofhcei's and o:ovei-mnent act only as His agents. The man who is shot clown while committing rapine and murder falls as really b}' the hand of God as though struck by lightning. The right of revolution — the right of a people to change a government from one based on injustice to one based on principles of truth and right no one denies, but all other violence leads to no government at all. Hence the miserable sentimentality that revolts at stern meas- ures to put it down becomes a crime. The man who indulges it is more compassionate than God, who is napoleon's mode of treating mobs. 347 pitiless to him who violates His physical laws. Suffering and death follow their infraction with reniui'seless cer- tainty, and they must, or God would cease to govern the world, and they must equally follow the violation of the laws of good government or government will cease to exist. Men often congratulate themselves on quieting a mob by kind words, and thus they say save life. On the contrary, they have destroyed it. One life is perhaps saved to-day to render the- destruction of forty lives on some future day inevitable. Blank cart- ridges at the outset of a riot multiplies the death-roll tenfold in the end. It is a fearful thing to shoot down fellow-citizens, but that is not the question involved — it is, will you shoot down five to-day and thus save fifty hereafter, or save one now and make the death of fifty in the future certain ? Unless we wish to see mobs in- crease and become more dangerous and destructive, there must cease all false sympathy for them, and they be looked upon not as American citizens, but as felons and murderers. The order to lay down their arms and disperse, if disobeyed, must be followed by such de- cisive action that no doubt can remain of what the issue will be. If mobs knew that the first salutation after the order to disperse was given would be gra})e-sliot and canister, we should see the end of them. The first Napoleon understood this when called before the (Con- vention to receive the command of the troo})s to put down the mobs that threatened to overturn Paris. Stung by his haughty sarcasm, uttered in reply to their careful advice, Kewbell said, " But do you know that this may be a very serious affair — that the sections " Yery well," fiercely interrupted the young Lieutenant, *' I will make a serious affair of it, and the sections will 348 THE GREAT KAILKWAD RIOTS OF 1S77 be tranquil." He had seen Louis XVI. put on the red cap and show himself from the 2:)alace of the Tuilleries, to appease the mob, with dis_ii;ust and indignation, and- exclaimed, " What niadness ! He should have blown four or live hundred of them into the air, and the rest would have taken to their heels." And when on the mighty populace, backed by the National Guard, his artiller}^, loaded to the muzzle with grape- shot, thundei-ed, he announced the manner in which he would treat with a mob, and as he promised, the sections became tranquil. CHAPTER XXITI. THE RAILROAD RIOTS WEST VIRGINIA. Commencement of the Riots. — Extent of the Strikes. — Their Cause. — Riot in Martinsburg. — Trains Stopped. — A Man Shot. — Dis- graceful Conduct of the Militia. — Never Reliable. — The Aid of the General Government Asked. — Caution of the President. — He Sends Aid. — His Proclamation. — End of the Strike. — Mis- chief of not Striking Promptly at First. The recent railroad strike has been unprecedented in its extent tbrongliont the country. Beginning at Mar- tinsburg, on the Baltimore and Ohio Bailroac^, its in- fluence reached all the great lines in the central and western part of the Union. So rapidly did one strike and riot follow another, that at first sight there seemed to have been a general concert of action, but such was evidently not the case. One followed another just as tinder and combustible matter take lire at the first spark that touches them, and the flames run rapidly into each other. This is evident from the fact that, although it was a railroad strike, the riotous element in every place was equally on the alert and ready for action with the railroad men. The truth is, the whole coun- try has for some tinie been ready for an explosion of some kind. Every man accustomed to watch public feeling has been aware of tliis, and more or less a])pre- liension has been felt. The hard times liave pressed heavily on everybody, and want always breeds discon- 350 THE GREAT RAir.ROAD RIOTS OF 1877. tent and restlessness. The rich man may see his for- tune crumble at his feet — there is nothing for him to strike for. The man of moderate means may be com- pelled to give np one luxury after another — he cannot strike to have them restored to him. The tradesman may see his custom diminish, and the mechanic the de- maud for contracts grow less and less — he cannot strike — he must sit still and suffer. But the laboring man has somebody to look to when his turn comes to retrench. As long as a man is insolvent, or a company can pay the interest on its debt, there seems to be no reason why his wages should be reduced. As long as money is paid out he thinks it should be paid to him, and if it is not he demands it with threats. The truth is, labor has been in such demand for years, and so extrava- ganth' rewarded, that the laboring class have been able to indulge in luxuries they never dreamed of before, and it is the loss of tliese they deplore more than the Avant of the necessaries of life. This is seen especially in domestic service. There no reduction of wages will be tolerated, simply because it would necessitate more plainness and economy in dress. There is no doubt that rich men and rich companies, on the other hand, base in some cases taken advantage of the hard times for the sole and wicked pur2:>ose of making more money by reducing thcAvagesof their employes beyond what was necessary or just, and hence naturally caused a great deal of complaint and bitter feeling. But whatever the particular causes may have been, the dis- satisfaction existed, and it needed but a spark to give it outward expression, and this was furnished at Mar- tinsburg when a strike took place among the railroad men oii lU'c, ):i:it of a j-edn(;tion in their wages. On the THE RAILROAD RIOTS WEST VIRGINIA. 351 night of the 16th of July the tirenien there struck, and when other men offered to take their places, drove them from the engines. The Yice-Presideiit of the road im- mediately telegraphed to Grovernor Matthews the state of things, saying that the trains l)()th ways were in the liands of the riotei's, and that the town authorities were powerless to suppi-ess the riot, and asked for aid. The Governor telegraphed back that he had sent word to Colonel Faulkner to aid the authorities with the two military companies of Martinsburg. Colonel Faulk- ner arrived that morning with seventy-five men of the Berkeley Light Infantry Guard, and took charge of one of the west-bound freight trains that had been stopped, and endeavored to move it on its wa.y. As the train reached the switch one of the strikers seized the lever which moved it and endeavored to turn it off on a side-track. A member of the militia company, named Poisal, jumped from the pilot of the engine and endeavored to prevent hini. The striker then lii-ed at him, slightly wounding him in the head. Poisal tired back, shooting the former tlirongh the hip. Sev- eral shots followed, fired by the soldiers, wounding the rioter still farther. The firing brought a crowd to- gether, and great excitement followed, amid which the volunteer engineer and fireman that had taken charge of the train ran away. At this Faulkner stated that he had done his duty, and if the train men deserted their posts he could do nothing more, and marching his company to the armory disbanded them, and the rioters were left in possession of the field. The next morning the western train brought in a new company of militia, sent by Governor Matthews, and a confer- ence was held between the oflieors and some of" the 352 THE GREAT RAir.ROAD RIOTS OF 18TT. citizens, but nothing was done. The rioters, embold- ened by their success, went at noon to the workshops of the company and endeavored to make the men stop work, but they refused to do so, and the former re- tired. The aspect of affairs in the place at tliis time may be gathered from the following dispatch, dated at 12.30 P.M. : " The rioters are still firm and determined, and the presence of the military only seems to further exaspe- rate them. The town is w^ild with excitement, and the strikers and their friends, numbering at this time fully 1,000 men, are marching about, bidding defiance to the military and the authorities. Some seventy-five or eighty engines are congregated here, and none are allowed to depart. A committee from the striking firemen have notified tlie engineers that in case any en- gineer shall attempt to take a train out of town he will be immediately shot. At noon a cattle train bound for Baltimore attempted to start, whereupon the rioters flocked on board, and withdrawn revolvers, placed at the head of the engineer and fireman, compelled them to run the train into the stock-yards, where the cattle were unloaded. The passenger trains are not interfered with, as the strike is entirely confined to the transportation men. So far the strikers have everything their own way, and the military are passive, awaiting further orders from the Governor, which up to this time have not come." The passenger trains were allowed to come and de- part unmolested, but all freight trains were stopped. It soon became very evident that no reliance could be placed on the local militia. Indeed, there never can be in case of a riot, embracing not rowdies or vagrants, but ordinary laboring men. In the first place, the militia is composed in part of these very men, while others are NEW YORK— RIOTERS MARCHING DOWN THE NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD TRACK AT WEST ALBANY, JULY 24, 1877. THE RAILROAD RIOTS WERT VIRGINIA. 353 the friends, companions, and relatives of those they are ordered to fire. into. Tliey may be opposed to the riot — believe it to be contrary to law, and shonld be suppressed by some means — but to shoot down their friends and companions engaged in it is quite another thing. The rioters know this, and hence are emboldened in their course. Eegiments from distant cities or States are better than home troops, because less likely to be governed by local sympathy, yet still they are, in a great measure, composed of workingmen, who do and will sympathize with workingmen whom they hon- estly believe to be wronged and oppressed — at least to that extent that they will not kill them at the order of their officers. Hence United States troops must always, in the last resort, be looked to for protection. It is not because they are braver or less sympathetic, but they have been trained to do their duty regardless of consequences. The veterans that stand unmoved in front of a deadly battery are not more courageous than the raw volunteers that turn and fly. But they have been drilled and trained to do simply their duty. This power of thorough discipline was seen a few vears aii:o in Xew York in the famous Oran£>;e ricjts. Religious hatred and fanaticism yielded to this sense of duty that had been drilled into the police, so that Koman Catholics shot down Roman Catholics without mercy in defence of Protestant Irishmen. Among all the Roman Catholics that composed the police force of the city, only one was found recreant to his duty. For years they had been taught to regard themselves as defenders of the city — the guardians of its peace and citizens. This had been and was their duty, into which they had been so thoroughly trained that they 354 THE OKEAT KAILKOAD RIOTS OF 1877. Avould do it reckless of consequences to individuals. It is so with regular troops — they have notliing to do with individual wrongs — they arc only to ohey the orders of their government. Governor Matthews soon saw that he could not rely on his home troops, and tel- egraphed to the President for aid. The latter, reluc- tant — as the President always should be — to interfere with the internal affairs of any State, ordered the Sec- retary of War to telegraph for more specific informa- tion. On its reception he no longer hesitated, and the Secretary of War ordered United States troops to Martinsburg, and a dispatch was received, dated 11 o'clock P.M. : " At ten o'clock at night a train of nine cars, drawn by engine Xo. 407, moved out of the Baltimore and Ohio depot in Washington, carrying the troops, com- prising eight companies of artillery acting as infantry. Six of the companies have been on duty at the Ai'senal, and two reached AVashington from Baltimore, joining the troops there. Their strength is two hundi'ed and fifty men, all in regular lighting trim, supplied with rations, canteens, plenty of ammunition, and in all other respects regularly equipped for whatever work may be necessary when they reach the scene of tumult. The Avliole detachment is under command of General French." This news somewhat astounded the strikers. They had found such synq:>athy from the citizens and local ti'oops that they fiouted the authorities, and had even stoned the Governor in his hotel at Grafton ; but when the general government in its majesty began to move, matters assumed a more serious aspect. Suddenly to face the naked fact that, to succeed, they must whip the United States, startled them. That was a solemn THE RAILROAD RIOTS WEST VIRGINIA. 355 night. The arrested trains stretched two miles away on each side of Martinsburg — enough hands were I'eady to start them — but no one dared to move. In the meantime, the heavy train bearing the United States troops, with artillery, was slowly approaching the place. Added to this, the rain began to fall in torrents, drenching the rioters and tending still more to dampen their courage. With the arrival of the troops came also the following proclamation of the President, which gave the rioters to understand very clearly the magnitude of the work on which they had entered. A PROCLAMATION. By the President of the United States of America : Whereas^ It is provided in the Constitution of the United States that the United States shall protect every State in the Union on application of the Legis- lature, or of the Executive when the Legislature can- not be convened, against domestic violence ; and, Whereas^ The Governor of the State of West Vir- ginia has represented that domestic violence exists in said State, at Martinsburg, and at various other points along the line of the Baltimore and Ohio Eailroad, in said State, which the authorities of said State are un- able to suppress ; and. Whereas^ The laws of the United States require that in all cases of insurrection in any State, or of obstruc- tion to the laws thereof, whenever it may be necessary in the judgment of the President, he shall forthwith by proclamation command such insurgents to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes within a limited time ; Now^ therefore^ I, Rutherford B. Hayes, President of the United States, do hereby admonish all good citi- zens of the United States, and all pei'sons within the 356 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. territory and jurisdictioTi of the United States, aj^ainst aiding, countenancing, abetting, or taking j^ai't in such iinhxwf ul proceedings ; and I do hereby warn all per- sons engaged in or comiected with said domestic vio- lence and obstruction of laws to disperse and retire peaceably 'to their respective abodes on or before 12 o'clock noon of the 19tli day of July inst. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of AVashington this 18th day of July, in the year of our Lord 1877, and of the indepen- dence of the United States the 102d. By the President, R. B. Hayes. F. W. Seward, Acting Secretary of State. The firm attitude of the general government stopped for the time all violent demonstrations of the mob, and on the 19th two trains were started out. Seventy- three locomotives stood with their fires banked i-eady to start, and the civil authorities began to arrest the lingleaders of the strikers. But the mischief had been done and from every quarter came, in rapid, startling s-uccession, the news of strikes and the sudden arrest of all transportation of freight to and from the sea-board. The sympathy of the military and the people with the strikers, and the complete control the latter had over the railroad, had been sent on telegraph wires all over the country, falling on the excited railroad men like fire on gunpowder. Had the people risen en masse and put down the rioters on the first day, or had the mili- tary acted v\'itli [)r()m])tness and decision, and on the first attempt at violence by the mob shot down a half a dozen, dispersed the rest, and set tlie trains rolling on tlieir way, the great railroad strike of 1877 would never have disgraced the country, and it would have THE RAILROAD RIOTS — WKST VIRGINIA. 357 been spared the suffering and loss that have followed. A mob is like a rolling rock that, once fairly in mo- tion, it is difficult to stop it. One prompt, determined blow at Martinsburg would liave ended the trouble. On the very day the following announcement was made from Martinsburg, Baltimore was in a tumult of excitement — the rioters parading the streets with shouts and yells, carrying dismay on every side. July 17th. — "Information has just been received here that there is serious troul)le at Keyser, and troops from this place are being sent by a special train to that place. The strikers at Keyser are collected in large force, numbering about two hundred. The small guard of ten men that arrived there this morning in charge of the first train from Martinsburg is insufficient to cope with the large body of strikers, and aid is i-equested. In fact, they are powerless to do much more tlian pro- tect themselves from the mob. " Trains commenced to move from here at seven o'clock this morning in charge of small detachments of United States soldiers. There were plenty of fii-emen and engineers at Martinsbui-g ready and willing to run the trains when assured that they would have protec- tion while discharging their duties. Large numbers of strikers were to be seen along the railroad in the * vicinity of the depot, but they w^ere not permitted to get near enough to offer any obstruction to the move- ment of trains. Gen. French this morning issued im- perative orders directing that all persons should be kept at a distance from the depot and from the vicinity of operations, no matter whether their intentions were friendly or hostile. Eight trains were dispatched from Martinsburg up to eight o'clock this morning. Up to 11 A.M. thirteen trains were started from tins point, of which seven went west and six east. The last west- w^ard train took another detachment of troops, which proceeded as far as Keyser. The service of the 358 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. Wheeling militia has ended, and they will probably leave this afternoon. Officers are now out for the purpose of arresting some of those most prominently engaged in the obstruction of the trains. One man, named Davis, was arrested this morning. One of the trains which left for the West this forenoon was cut oft" at Sir John's Run. After a short delay it was coupled up and went on. Capt. Litchfield has gone on with two companies of troops to prevent a repetition of the act, and with orders to arrest those engaged in it. 'No further interference at that point is apprehended." CHAPTER XXIY. THE RAILROAD RIOTS — MARYLAND. Governor Carroll's Proclamation. — Cause of the Outbreak in Balti- more. — Attack on the Fifth Regiment. — Mustering of the Sixth Regiment. —The Armory attacked by the Mob. — March of the First Company. — It fires on the Mob. — March of the Second Company. — Fights its Way onward. — March of the Last Com- pany. — Attack on the Regiment. — Deadly Firing. — A Fearful Night Scene. — Scene at the Depot. — The Fifth Regiment. — The President asked for Troops. — Number of Killed and Wounded. "Word having reaehed Gov. Carroll that the trains leaving Martinsburg were stopped by rioters at Cum- berland, he saw at once that the trouble was extending into Maryland, and immediately issued a proclamation in response to the call for aid from the railroad authori- ties — calling on all rioters to disperse. He also called out the Fifth Regiment of the Maryland National Guard, to proceed, under command of General Her- bert, to Cumberland, and protect the trains at tliat point. This proclamation and order seemed to l^e the spark tliat lit the flame in Baltimore, that soon spread like a conflagration. Baltimore has long been noted for its ferocious mobs, and the " plug uglies " have be- come known far and wide. There needs no railroad strikes to excite a mob there. The mere attempt to put one down elsewhere will bring it together. This regiment was to march at 7 r.M. Though there had 360 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. been no outbreak in the city, the news from Martins- burg for the last three days had produced the pro- foundest excitetnent. Angry crowds gathered around the depot to hear the news, inquire about the non- arrival of trains, while knots of rono-h-lookiufr lucn could be seen on the cornei's of the by-streets talking in low and earnest tones. It turned out thai a plan was laid to prevent the soldiers from departing to put down the rioters and support the raili'oad officers. As the soldiers, in obedience to the order of the Governor, hurried singly or in squads to the armory for their muskets, they were jeered by the men and boys that lined the streets, and occasionally a stone would be thrown at them. Soon after, tlie City Hall bell sounded the signal 151, denoting that a riot was in progress, and the mustering of the militia demanded. The Fifth Regiment was soon assembled in force, and at about seven o'clock, numbering about 250 muskets, marched out of the armory and took its way towards the depot, where they were to take the train to Cum- berland. An excited crowd followed them, hooting and yelhng as they advanced, and increasing in num- bers at every cross stj-eet. When about three blocks from the depot, at the corner of Pratt and Eutaw Streets, it made a rush at the regiment, shouting and cursing, and hurling stones and brick-bats. The sol- diers, with fixed bayonets, marched steadily forward to the station, and entered it amid a shower of stones. The mob then dashed around the lower end of the platform and met the ti'oops face to face. The soldiers immediately charged bayonets and scattered the crowd, and entered the train. The rioters then rushed for the locomotive, and dragged off the engineer and fireman. THE RAILROAD RIOTS — MARYLAND. 361 While these events were passing at the station, a more alarmino: state of thino^s existed in the heart of the city. The ringing of the alarm of the City Hall bell, by whomsoever ordered, was a most unwise thing, for it instantly roused up all the bad elements of the city, and sent them hurrying to a common cen- tre. The Sixth Regiment had been ordered to hold it- self in readiness for two or three days, and, at the first sound of the alarm bell, rnslied to the armory. But the streets were now thronged with angry men, whose cries and shouts sent terror to the hearts of the inhabitants. As soon as a soldier appeared a rush was made for him. The small police force stationed at the armory soon lost all control of the mob that surged in angry waves around the building. Some of the soldiers, being un- armed, turned back. One was seized and hurled over Fayette Street bridge into Jones's Falls, but he luckily caught on a timber, and, leaping the railing, fled down the street. In the meantime all was bustle and excite- ment inside the armory. Col. Peters, commanding the regiment, had received an order from Gen. Herbert, of the Fifth, at Camden station, to detail three companies and report to him there. The tumult was wild without, but the men appeared generally calm and cool. It was now apparent that the weak guard of four men at the door could do no good, and was, moreover, in dan- gei- of being hit by the missiles that were hurled against the armory, and Lieut. Brown was directed to go down and order them in. As they fell back a wild yell of triumph and derisive laughter greeted them, foNowed by a shower of brick-bats and stones. The two large glass doors were shattered into fragments, while Lieut. Brown received a severe blow on the arm. The crowd 16 362 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. thinking tiie soldiers were frightened, became more clamorous and violent and swelling every moment, rent the air with shouts, curses, and rained a perfect storm of brick-bats and stones on the armory. By a quarter past eight the preparations were all completed, and the three companies prepared to start. The police were ordered to throw oi)en the doors, and then stand aside. The door opened on Front Street, and the armory room being on the second floor, along flight of stairs had to be descended before the street could be reached. Down this the soldiers could march only two abreast. Company I, of only forty men, Capt. Tupper commanding, first began to descend. As it did so, the very building shook with the shouts of the infuriated multitude, and the doorway was darkened with fly- ing missiles. " Keep your heads down, boys, and for- ward march," passed down the line, and the men, though evidently greatly excited and for a moment wa- vering, gathered at the word of command, and march- ing steadily down, emerged into the street, and for a moment faced the shouting, maddened crowd. They then, in solid order, commenced their desperate march down the street, headed by Col. Peters. Immediately they were met by a shower of stones intermingled with pistol shots. The first rank of soldiers fired a volley over the heads of the mob as they filed out and formed into line. But this, as it always does, only exasperated the rioters, and they opened fire on the troops. The latter now levelled their pieces and fired point-blank into the dense and yelling mass. Men falling oji the sidewalks, or reeling backward w^ith bullets in their breasts, terrified the crowd, and they s(jattered. The company then marched down to Baltimore Street and THE RAILROAD RIOTS- > — MARYLAND. 363 halted. The mob, not seeing tlie rest of the regiment a])pear, thought they were afraid to leave the armory, and began to surge back around it with derisive shouts and cries. Company F, Capt. Fallen, was next put in motion, but the moment tliev reached the sti-eet they were met by a volley from pistols and muskets. They returned the fire with such deadly effect that the assail- ants were staggered. The company then marched for- ward to join the first, firing yolleys as they moved along. The last company, under Lieut. Duffy, fol- lowed immediately after. This was composed of very young men, some scarcely out of boyhood, many of whom, as they met the fire of the mob at the door, rushed back pell-mell upstairs. They, however, soon rallied and marched out. The deadly tire of the last company had intimidated the crowd, and they kept more aloof. The firing and the shouts had called the people far and near to the scene of disturbance, and after the troops disappeared around the corner, the crowd surged around the armory, beating in windows and doors, and picking up their dead and wounded comrades. As the thi-ee companies mai-ched down p]altimore Street, the mob once more fell upon it, but was met by such a deadly volley that it recoiled. The soldiers were in earnest, and fired with terrible effect. It was now about nine o'clock, and the lighted street presented a wild and fearful aspect. In a coin])act n)ass the some two hundred soldiers kept the middle of the street, while behind and beside them pressed the yelling, cursing throng. Ever now and then, as the mob pressed too closely, a sudden yoUey would light up the sea of swaying heads that would sud- 364 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. denly disappear down the side-streets as the dead fell on the pavement. An elderly man, dressed in white, stood in front o£ the Carrollton House as the soldiers passed. lie waved his hand and called on the crowd to come on. An en- raged soldier stepped out of the ranks, and taking de- liberate aim at him., shot him dead. The mob, unable to stand up against the deadly fire, soon scattered, and quiet was restored. The Fifth Regiment, down at the station, was in the meantime surrounded by a mob, and several collisions took place, and some of the soldiers were wounded. But the men not beino; allowed to fire on the mob, they took complete control of the engines and trains, and nothing was done. A few volleys like those of the Sixth would soon have settled the matter. The events of the night at this point may be summed up in a few words. Upon the entrance of the Fifth Regiment, about 7.30, an excited crowd of strikers, numbering about two hun- dred, began an attack upon Engine 389 with stones and pistols, and for some moments the fusillade was con- tinued, until the wood-work of the engine was a com- plete wreck. The engineer and fireman escaped with a few bruises. A small force of police from the front charged on the mob, but were repulsed. At this mo- ment Engine No. 407, Engineer Byerly, backed up to Barre Street to connect with No. 2 Chicago express, which was to leave at 8.15, when a second attack was made upon her, and soon she was also a wreck. Sub- sequently she was run out by the rioters, who jumped upon her, and, pulling back the throttle, let the engine go at full speed. She ran down the yard, and was wrecked in a collision with freight trains at a point THE KAILKOAD KIOTS — MARYLAND. 365 below Lee Street. Gen. Herbert ordered Capt. Zol- linger to disperse the mob. Capt. Zollinger, with Com- pany C, Capt. Herbert, then chai-ged tlie rioters with fixed bayonets, who had forced their way midway of the platform, north of Bari'e Sti-eet. Tlie sohiiery charged bayonets and drove them off the ])latform, when the rioters made a stand in the yard, near Howard Street, and assailed the troops with missiles of everj^ description. By this fusillade Private George Wonderly, of Company C, and Lieut. Spear, of the same company, were strnck in the head with stones and rendered unconscious. They were taken by their comrades back to Mr. King's private car, at the rear of the train, which had been converted into a tempo- rary hospital. Company C again chai-ged the mob to the intersection of Lloward and Barre Streets, where they made a stand and again assaulted the militia. Numerous pistol-shots were fired by the rioters, and private Lewis, of Company K, and others were struck down. Company C had in the meantime been rein- forced by Company K, but both c(Mnpanies were or- dered back, they being nnable to cope with the mob, wliich had increased to several thousand, and took possession of the entire vicinity. The coolness with which the two companies deported themselves was re- markable. Had extreme measures been used at the time, it would no doubt have put a stop to all further riotous acts, but Governor Carroll, who was present in consultation with Brig.-Gen. Herbert, Major Harry Gilmor, and other police authorities, counselled the use of civil power until the very latest possible mo- ment. Notice was sent to each of the station-houses for all policemen who could be mustered, and, pending 366 THE GREAT RAILKOAD lilOTS OF 1S77. tlieir arrival, the mob, constantly angiiiciitiiiu; in num- bers, held their position in the depot-yard and tlie sur- ronndino^ streets. Three bovs or vonnir men, evidently ciazed with liquor, boarded engine Ko. 407, and giv- ing her full power, ran her down below Lee Street, where she was turned upside down. The rioters then tore up the tracks in the yard, and simultaneously de- monstrations were made in front of the depot on Cam- den Street. Major Ilari-y Gilmor, with a squad of men from Company C, Fifth Eegiment, formed in line at the head of the platform in front of the ticket win- dow, where the ammunition of the Fifth, in boxes, was piled. At this time a movement was made by the rioters from Barre Street, but they retreated after as- cending the platform for a few yards. Anticipating the movement, the militia was oixlered to load and make ready, which they did, but the retrograde move- ment on the part of the rioters prevented any extreme measure at tliis time. Some firing was done by the policemen at Lee Street from the mob attempting to stop the fireuien from doing their duty. They cut the hose of Engine Ko. 2, and fired on the guai-d. The casualties were few, while the main injury by fire was the burning of a passenger- car and the destruction of the despatcher's ofiice. During the fire Governor Carroll sent a dispatch to President Hayes, saying that the depot had been fired by the mob, which was too strong for the force under his control, and asking for United States troops. Early in the morning the following reply was received : THE RAILEOAD RIOTS i — MARYLAND. 367 Washington, July 21. To Gen. Barry., Commanding at Fort McIIenry : The Secretary of War directs that you report to the Governor of Maryland with guns aiid all your men, to act according to his orders. The message was sent to Fort McHenry by a mounted orderly as soon as received, returning with word that the troops were in readiness at a moment's notice. Subsequently, when quiet had been restored, these and other orders for troops were rescinded. In the conj[lict with the mob between thirty and forty were killed or wounded, nine were killed outright, all of them rioters, and the removing of the bodies at eight o'clock in the morning, to their respective homes, was a sad and mournful spectacle. The crowd looked on in silence and a gloom settled down on the city. The Police Board of Commissioners called out and organized a special force of five hundred policemen; liquor stores and saloons were closed ; all trains over the road were stopped, and every precaution tak(m to prevent another outbreak. In the meantime Gen. Hancock was ordered to Mai-yland to take command of the troops there, while the spreading disturbances alarmed the government at Washington, and measures were taken to protect its p>roperty, should an uprising occur in the city. But while the fires were being stamped out in Mar- tinsburg and Baltimore, the conflagration was spread- ing over the country, and at Pittsbui-g broke out with tenfold fury. If there could have been a few days' delay, till the result in the former places could have been definitely ascertained, the strikes would not have 308 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1S77. extended as they did. But the first news of the np- rising seemed to run along the great raih'oads like an electric spark. The general reduction of wages had so angered the employes everywhere that they were ready to act on the first signal of revolt. CHAPTER XXy. THE RAILKOAD RIOTS. PENNSYLVANIA. The Riot in Pittsburg. — Its Origin. — The Track taken Possession of. — Conference between the Strikers and the Superintendent of the Road. — The Philadelphia Troops Sent for. — Their Reception. — Attempt to Clear the Track.— The Fight.— The Troops in the Round-house. — A Fearful Siege. — Attempt to Burn them out. — Flight of the Soldiers. — The Work of Destruction. — A Committee of Citizens Attempt to Quell the Rioters. — Union Depot set on Fire. — Destruction of other Depots. — Extent of the Destruction, — Tramps Seize a Train. — The Riot Ends. The very day after the riot in Baltimore, and before the knowledge of the final result could be obtained, a strike of the men employed on tlie Pennsylvania Rail- road took place at Pittsburg. The ostensible cause of this was the new order of the company, which went into effect on that day, requiring that a double train, pro- vided with two engines, and consisting of thirty-six cars, be taken out with one crew of men. They claimed that by this order two ordinary trains were taken out to Al- toona, a distance of 116 miles, instead of to Derry, which is forty-eight miles. Formerly a trip to Derry was considered a day's work, while now the trip to Al- toona is considered a day's work. This, the}^ say, would require one crew to do tlie work of two, and would en- able the company to discharge one-half their number. It was owing, however, doubtless to the general dis- 16* 370 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. affection growing out of the reduction of wages from former prices. The strikers ran out the freight trains on the side-track, and a man, while attempting to eouple cars, was severely beaten. The strikers pro- ceeded to East Liberty, and induced the yardmen in the stock -yard there to join them. They took posses- sion of the main track, and stopped all freight trains going east or w^est. A placard was posted at the depot, signed by the President of the Tradesmen Union, call- ing a meeting of the train men, at Phoenix Hall, in the evening. The Engineers' Brotherhood held a secret meeting, and resolved to stand by the strikers. The latter, in the morning, after a full meeting, appointed a committee of five, composed of one from the conduc- tors, one each from st(;kers, brakemen, and hremen, to w\ait on Mr. Pitcairn, Superintendent of the Western Division, to demand what they had resolved upon the night before, viz., that the classification of engineers be abolished, that the two per cent, reduction be restored, and the double train system abandoned. This demand was refused, and the officers of the company began to prepare for a defence of their propert}^, and open up the road. Thus far no passengei* trains had been sto])ped. The local militia, consisting of three regiments and one battery, were called out at their request, but it was soon evident that no reliance could be placed on them. Aid was then sought for elsewhere, and troops were sent on from Philadelphia. This was the beginning of serious trouble. When they arrived at Pittsburg, they were received with jeers and howls by the mob. But no violence was offered, and the troops proceeded with a Gatling gun to the Union depot. THE EAILROAD RIOTS PENNSYLVANIA. 371 This was on Saturday, and between three and four o'clock, word being brought that the crossing at the outer depot of the Pennsylvania Railroad \vas blocked by the rioters, it was decided that the sheriff should proceed thither and attempt to make arrests, and on his being resisted, as no one doubted he would be, ho was to call on the military for help. The troops set out, and a little before five reached the Twenty -eiglirh Street crossing, which they found packed with a mob that refused to leave. The Black Hussars were then ordered to clear the way, but the crowd stnbbornly held its ground. Another company was then sent to their aid, and advanced with fixed bayonets. The crowd in the meantime had armed themselves with stones, sticks, and everything they could lay hands on, which they suddenly hurled full in the faces of the soldiers. Unable to make headway against this pelt- ing storm, some say the order to fire was given, and others that the soldiers fired without order— it mat- ters little which. Enraged at the sudden and rapid fire that followed, and which mowed down nearly twenty of their number, the rioters turned and fied in affright toward East Liberty, when the military took possession of the crossing. This unexpected slaughter caused intense excitement, some assei'ting that the soldiers fired before any resistance was made, so that many of those killed and wounded wei-e mere spectators, and among these a little girl only four years old. The news, distorted and exaggerated, spread on every side, and brought together wcjrkingmen, tramps, and miners from every quarter, who filled the city with uproar. The immense throng divided, and began to roam the streets in search of arms or for 372 THE GREAT KAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. plunder. Threats of the direst vengeance were uttered against the military. The city was now" virtnally in the hands of the mob, and the inhabitants became filled with terror. Johnson's gim factory, on Smithfield Street, was sacked, and the guns distributed among the crowd. Brown's larger establishment on Wood Street was also gutted, and the rioters, only a small portion of whom were railroad men, marched 3,000 strong down Fifth Avenue, with drums beating and flags fly- ing, and shouting curses on the troops and General Pearson, who commanded them. In the meantime the troops had withdrawn into the romid-house for better protection. This was a sad mistake, for it was a confes- sion of weakness or timidity. With a single Gatling gun at their head, they could have cleared every street in the city in two hours. As soon as this movement was reported, the mob took courage and swarmed tumultu- ously around the building, bringing with them the guns belonging to the Hutchinson battery, which they had captured. These, as the papers stated, were lev- elled at the house, and soon the l)Oom of cannon shook the city. A breach was nuide in the walls, through which some of the most desperate rioters endeavored to rush. The soldiers were then ordered to fire, and a volley was poured into the crowd, which drove them back. At this crisis some one shouted that the troops were bringing their Gatling gun to bear on them. The mere mention of this terrible arm so terrified them that they turned and fled in the wildest confusion, and did not stop till they put two or three s(piares between them and the dreaded danger. In contradiction to this report it is proper to give, what is entitled to more credit and should be received THE RAILROAD RIOTS PENNSYLVANIA. 373 perhaps as the correct account of the matter, the fol- lowing statement of Captain Brett, of this same Hut- chinson Battery, whi(ih of course supposes that he was in the round-house with the Philadelphia troops, or obtained his information from them. He says : " After the retreat into the round-house the guards were mounted, and a most vigilant watch kept on all avenues of approach. Several times during the night attacks were made and were quickly repulsed by the sentries alone, Xo general tiring was permitted at any time, and not a shot was fired from the much dreaded Gatling guns either on Saturday or Saturday night. They with two guns of my battery shotted with canister were kept ready for a grand attack our spy reported was to be made, but, it is needless to say, never was made. "The only demonstration worth mentioning was when the mob placed one of the guns stolen from my armor}^ in position on Liberty Street, and endeavored to fire it. They speedily retired when opened on with sixty-five muskets, leaving several dead and wounded on the ground. They were allowed to remove all the dead and wounded except two dead meii who lay in such position that under cover of removing them they might have fired the gun. Every man who approached that gun was warned by the sentries to keep away, and no one was shot at who heeded the warning. At every point where attacks were made warning to keep away was given before firing. " The stories about the round-house being bombarded are also false. Not a shot was fired at us from a field- piece, nor would the guimery of the mob, had they commenced firing, created the slightest excitement or produced the least confusion. The Philadelphia men are soldiers and gentlemen, and simjily obeyed the orders given them, and regret very much that obedi- ence to those orders on Saturday caused bloodshed. 374 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. Tliey are as steady and precise as regulars, and I or no other officer conld ask or care to have a better sup- port. " The round-house was not evacuated till tlie men were suffocating from the smoke, and they retired in most excellent order." The sudden retreat, however, is not denied, and hence shows what the effect would have been if the Gatling guns had been brought into actual requisition. It was now near midnight, and under cover of the darkness the rioters rallied again, and finding the Gat- ling gnn was not brouglit into nse, became emboldened, and, returning to the round-house, resolved to burn the soldiers out. The order was given, and soon " burn them ! burn the wretches ! " went up in one wild shout to heaven. The long blockade had filled the side- tracks with freight-cars till they extended more than two miles east from the city. Some of these were loaded with coke, and while a part of the crowd guarded the round-house, so that the troops could not escape, another part, with flaming toi'ches, rushed for these cars, and in a moment huge volumes of black smoke rolled upwards, fallowed by sheets of flanie that ilhiminated the whole surroundino; region. Fire-bells were rung, increasing the terror, and soon the lire- engines came tearing down the street. But tlie mob kept them back and the flames had free course. The fire seemed to frenzy the mob still more, and holding torches before their pallid faces, they rushed backward and forward, setting fire to everything that would burn. They confined themselves, however, to the property of the railroad. The burning cars being too far frorn the roai^(}"house to set it on fire, some of the THE RAILROAD RIOTS — PENNSYLVANIA. 375 strikers took a car loaded with coke on the Alleghany Valley track and switched it off on to the Pennsyl- vania road. They then seized some cans of petroleum, flooded the coke with it, and then set it on fire, and shoved the car against the round-honse. The troops now thought they would have to fight their way through the crowd. But the building did not easily ignite, when other flaming cars were run down against it. Morning had now dawned, and whether the mob was seized with fear lest the Gatling gun should be turned on them, or moved by some other cause, they suddenly tnrned and fled. The soldiers who, if they had remained nnich longer, would have been roasted alive, took advantage of this lull in the storm to escape. Filing out of the building, they formed into line, and marching up Thirty-third Street turned into Pennsylvania Avenue and thence into Butler Street, where stood tlie Arsenal, hoping to obtain shelter there. In the meantime the news of their flight had spread among the rioters, and a thousand or more of them, fully armed, started in swift pursuit. Some of the soldiers turned and fired, but this only infuriated the mob, and they pressed forAvard more fiercely, and soon a soldier fell on the pavement, shot through tlie body. Arriving at the Arsenal the troops asked to be admitted, but the commandant refused, saying he had only ten men to guard it, and they w^ould be powerless to hold it should the mob attack it. He however, took in the wounded while the troops fled on up the street, pressed savagely by the mob, which kept up a con- stant fusillade upon them. The firing was kept up for a mile, when two more soldiers were killed and left on the sidewalk. The column continued on until they 376 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. got over to the north side of the Allegliany Eiver, which they crossed by the Sharpsbiirg bridge, when they scattered, and the mob broke up and disappeared. AVhile one mob was thus chasing tlie soldiers out (jf the city the other that remained behind continued the work of destruction, and the city was in a state of an- archy. The multitude, drunk with passion, and mad- dened by the sight of the roaring flames they had kin- dled, and which seemed to threaten the entire de- struction of that part of the city, continued to swell the conflagration by new fires. The sun, which now had begun to mount the summer heavens, was obliter- ated by the huge volumes of black smoke that rolled up the sky. The crackling of the flames rose over the maddened shouts of the multitude that now continued the work of destruction without fear or hindrance. It was Sabbath morning, but it had dawned more like the last day of time than the Christian's day of rest. By seven o'clock the flames had extended from Melville station to Twentieth Street, and long lines of cars, hun- dreds in number, were represented by long lines of lire, while the extensive machine shops of the com- pany, blacksmith shops, the depot and offices of the United States Transfer Company, two round-houses, and various other building^^, were set on fire and towered in flames over the flaming cars below. One hundred and twenty-flve first-class locomotives in the two round-houses were totally destroyed. The scene on Liberty Street, along the line of which the railroad track runs, was a strange, bewildering one. Men with sledges were breaking open cars loaded with merchan- dise, around wiiich crowded women and children strug- gling to get each his share of plunder. Goods were THE RAILEOAD RIOTS — PENNSYLVANIA. 377 pitched into tlie atreet, which was literally blocked by the pbinder tossed into it. Even wagons and carts were driven np and loaded with goods. It was a scene of confusion and terror indescribable, and yet some of the exhibitions of greed were ludicrous, notwith- standing the tragedy that accompanied them. Here, a brawny woman could be seen hurrying away with pairs of white kid slippers under her arm. Anotlier carry- ino' an infant would be rollino^ a barrel of flour alona: the sidewalk, using her feet as the propelling power. Here a man would be seen pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with white lead. Boys hurried through the crowd with large family Bibles as their share of the plunder, while scores of women utilized aprons and dresses to carry flour, eggs, dry goods, etc. Bundles of umbrellas, fancy parasols, hams, bacon, leaf lard, calico, blankets, laces, and flour, were mixed together in the arms of robust men, or carried on hastily con- structed hand-barrows. The mayor with the police attempted to stop the pillage, but lie could not stop the work of desti'uction that went on. It was evident that a large portion of the citizens were averse to the presence of the troops, thinking that it incensed the strikers, while they be- lieved the men could be controlled by reason and for- bearance. But now that the troops were gone, chased out of the city by a mob that shot them down as they fled, and havoc and destruction were abroad in their midst, they began to see what an incarnation of every- thing fiendish, a lawless, maddened mob was. About eleven o'clock a mectins: of the citizens was called at the City Hall, to see what was to be done. A com- mittee was appointed to wait on the rioters, and per- 378 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. suade tliem to desist from the work of destruction. On this committee of five was Bishop Twiggs, of the Roman Catholic Church, and Rev. Doctor Scovel, pastor of the Presbyterian church. It was thought that so many of the rioters being Roman Catholics the presence of the priest would awe them into submis- sion. But mayor and priest were alike insulted, and narrowly escaped personal violence. It was the Sab- bath day, and these peaceful servants of the Lord could not fail, it was thought, to have a g, but 392 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. speedily, or a sort of famine would prevail. There- fore no delay must be allowed, and troops were accord- ingly hurried to the threatened points with all possible speed, and in the middle of the week the following summed up the alarming situation : No through freight is arriving at Kew York, Phila- delphia, Boston, or Baltimore. On the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, where the strike began, the blockade continues at Cumberland, Keysers, and Grafton. On the Pennsylvania Central the blockade is com- plete. On the Lake Shore no trains are runnino^. No trains leave Cleveland or Toledo. On the Erie road the blockade at Hornellsville is perfect, way trains only running on the branches. On the Central and Hudson trains are running to Buffalo, but a strike is expected. On the Ohio and JVIississippi the road is blockaded at Yinceniies. The Central Pacific, Union Pacific, Louisville and Lexington, Cincinnati and Muskingum, St. Louis, L'on Mountain and Southern, St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern have acceded to the demands of the strikers. To alter this state of things, and reopen traffic, the following dispatch shows what vigorous steps the gen- eral government w^ere taking independent of the efforts put forth by the separate States and local authorities. Washington, July 23d. — In the AVar Department this morning there was a scene of unusual activity, and numerous dispatches were under transmission between THE RAILROAD RIOT PENNSYLVANIA. 393 the department and yarions military commanders, espe- cially General Pope, commanding the Department of the Missouri, and General Hancock, commanding the Military Division of the Atlantic, in regai-d to the movements of troops for the protection of public prop- erty. Adjutant-General Townsend, ^vith. a corps of assistants, was at the department tlironghout the niglit, but all the officers are very I'eticent as to the plans and course of the authorities. The President, accompanied by his son, Webb Hayes, yisited both the Wur and Navy departments this afternoon. The President was in consultation with Secretaries McCrary and Thomp- son. General Hancock has been ordered to assume per- sonal command of the troops in Pennsylvania, and General Schofield, who arrived here this morning and called on the President, has been requested to proceed to Philadelphia to confer with General Hancock. The United States steamer Swatara arrived here this morning from Norfolk with one hundred and fifty-seven sailors and marines on board, all armed and equipped for active service. The Plymouth soon after arrived with an additional number, and the Essex is now on the way to tlie city with about two hundred sailors and marines ; making a force of more than five hundred on the three vessels. The Powhatan was originally or- dered here, but it was found that she drew too much water, and the Plymouth was directed to come here in her place. The force on the United States steamer Tallapoosa and the receiving ship Wyoming at the Navy-Yard here, is kept in readiness for actual service, and can be sent to any point npon brief notice. The Secretary of the Navy has also given orders to have the force and vessels of the Philadelphia Navy- Yard in readiness for service to protect publi'c property "in that city and aid the civil authorities in the maintenance of law and order. Orders have been issued from the War Department 17* 394: THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. directing General Pope, commanding the Department of the Missouri, who has liis headquarters at I'ort Leavenworth, Kan., to send all the available force from that place to St. Louis for the protection of ])ub- lic property there, and go to that city himself if he deems it necessary. General Ruger, connnanding the Department of the South, has been ordered to send three companies of infantry to Louisville, Ky., and Jelfersonville, Lid. The six companies of the Twenty-second Lifantry en route from the Sioux country to the Department of the Lakes have been oi'dered to stop at Chicago and are now at or near that city. Orders were issued from the Navy Department to- day to have the various i run-clad s at Washington, Philadelphia, and elsewhere prepared for service imme- diately, and engineer officers have been ordered to re- port on board, to move them without delay, should it be necessary to do so. Governor Van Zandt has telegraphed to tlie Presi- dent, giving assurance of Rhode Island's readiness to aid him in the preservation of law and order, and offer- incT the support of military. Providexce, It. L, July 23d. — Troops from Fort Adams for Bahimore started at 7 o'clock this morning by way of Wickford. Portland, Me., July 23d. — The artillery company garrisoning Fort Preble started for Pittsburg this morning. A^ATERTOWN, N. Y., July 23d.— Battery II, United States Artillery, from Madison Barracks, Sackett's Harbor, passed through this city to-da}', en route for Baltimore via New York. Fortress Monroe, Ya., July 23d. — General Geo. W. Getty, commandant of the Artillery School, has re- ceived orders from General Hancock to join him at Baltimore and take command of the troops on the Baltimore and Ohio Paih'oad. Captain Ward, Aide- de-Camp on General Hancock's staff who is here THE RAILROAD RIOT — PENNSYLVANIA. 395 on an inspection tour, also leaves to-night for Balti- more. Boston, Mass., July 23d. — At 11 o'clock this morning United States troops, consisting of Company L, First Artillery, twenty-nine men. Company D, First Artil- lery, twenty-four men, and Companies I and A, First Artillery, fifty-nine men, left here for Baltimore, via the Baltimore and Ohio Bailroad. PouGHKEEPSiE, N. Y., July 23d. — Battery F, Third Artillery, from Fort Ontario, passed through here to- nighttf/i route to Baltimore. While in Maryland and in the soutliern portion of Pennsylvania, in Harrisburg, Reading, Pittsburg, and Altoona the riots were suppressed, more serious trouble was anticipated at Philadelphia. CHAPTER XXYIII. THE KAILROAD EIOT. PENNSYLVANIA. Philadelphia in the Riots. — The Fears respecting Her. — The Mayor's Proclamation. — The Mob. — Trains Stopped. — The Police, — Scrauton Miners and Strikers Join. — Wilkesbarre. — Governor Hartranft. — His Energy, Skill, and Promptness. — New Jersey in the Strikes. — Her Conservative Position. Philadelphia being the centre to whicli so many railroads run, much anxiety was felt respecting what course would be taken there by the eniph)yes. That the terrible news, coming in sucli I'apid, startling suc- cession, from Martinsburg, Baltimore, and Pittsbui-g^ should stu* the city pi'ofoundly was to be expected. She was surrounded by fire ; her own soldiers had been killed in putting down riots elsewhere ; and no one could tell how interlinked all these places were in a general conspiracy. Tlie depots became crowded with eager multitudes, and on the afternoon of the 22dniore than 3,000 people assembled at the Pennsylvania depot, where Colonel Scott and Mayor Stokely were in consultation. At the arrival of any train the crowd would rush hither and thither to obtain the news. By five o'clock the throng had become so vast that Mayor Stokely called out the reserve police and cleared the place, and then himself rode round the city to ascertain the state of things, and THE RAILROAD RIOT — PENNSYLVANIA. 397 sent a messenger to the Bridesbnrg Arsenal to inquire what force they had tliere, in case the raob should at- tempt to seize the arms. The reply came in a request to liave an armed tug sent up from the navy-yard, which was done. At tlie depot in the evening Col. Scott received a dispatch as follows : " Gov. Hartranft is en route for Pennsylvania, and has telegraphed ahead ordering out every militia regi- ment in the State. He has also telegraphed to the President of the United States calling for troops, and suggesting the propriety of a call for volunteers." The mayor issued the following proclamation : Mayor's Office, ) Philadelphia, July 22d. ) To lohom it may concern : Whereas^ violence, tumult and riot exist in various portions of this Commonwealth, to the great injury of domestic industry and trade, and to the discredit of American institutions and form of govei'nment, the perfection of which was last year celebrated in this the city of the Republic's birth ; and Whereas^ It is of -the highest importance that the great nauie which Philadelphia has made for herself among the nations of the earth during the Centennial year shall be preserved, and she shall be spared the horrible scenes enacted in our sister cities ; NoiD^ therefore^ I, William S. Stokely, in the name of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and by virtue of the autlioi'ity vested in me by law, do hereby ap- peal to all citizens of every occupation and calling to render it unnecessary that in the performance of my duty I should be called upon to suppress any outbreak and violence, which 1 assuredly will do if the occasion 398 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 18T7. requires it, and hand over the offenders to condign punishment ; and 1 make this appeal in the tirin behef that the citizens of Philadelphia appreciate, as I do, the importance of maintaining peace and good will among all classes of society, and I hereby pledge myself to give a patient hearing, and do impartial justice, as I best know how, to all persons who desire it. Let all the people resume and continue their lawful occupa- tions, and avoid assemblino- and oro^aniziuir too-ether for discussion, or otherwise, at the present time. This is the surest and best means of preserving the honor and fair name of the City of Brotherly Love. Wm. S. Stokei.y. At six o'clock the strike began by the men in the Pennsylvania depot leaving their places, and it was with some difficulty an engineer could be obtained for the Cincinnati express, which was to start at 9.10. The lirst open resistance was exhilnted when a loaded oil train, standing on the track above Callowhill Street, was ordered to l)e moved. The strikers interfered, when the police marched up. The train men then asked tliat it be left to stand where it was, and that no trains should be moved that night. To this Col. Scott, President of the road, consented. The night passed without further disturbance, but the morning showed by the gathering crowd and seri- ous faces that the excitemer.t and danger were not over ; and especially in the extensive yards of the railway company things looked ominous. But the police kept driving back the crowds a couple of blocks or more, thus keeping them clear. At live o'clock the police held all the bridges connecting with West Philadelphia, and let only residents and the horse-cars pass. To dis- tract the attention of the authorities an oil train had THE RAILROAD RTOT- ' — PENNSYLVANIA . 399 been set on fire, wl.i(;li destroyed several cars on tlie Junction road, and two firemen were injured by the ex- plosion of a tank. Tlie strikers held several meetings during the day, in whicli there was much excited speech-making. Coh Scott wisely prevented any vio- lence by resolving not to attempt to move any freight trains over the road for the present. A committee of strikers waited on him, and requested him to restore the ten per cent, taken off the engineers' wages on the 1st of June, but he firmly refused. Mayor Stokely called a meeting of the citizens, who took steps to aid in put- ting down the riot should one be attempted. The arrival of a hundred marines, commanded by Lieut. Hay ward, wdio took a position where they could sweep the yard if trouble occurred, had a disheartening effect on the strikers. Gen. Hancock also arrived with a few regulars and relieved some of the policemen, who had been on duty for five successive days, not sleeping more than an hour each day during the whole time. By the 2-l:th appearances indicated that no serious disturbance would take place in Philadelphia. It was evident that the mob element of the city that cares only to destroy and plunder had combined to rise the moment the strikers came in open conflict w-ith the authorities. The latter being prevented, the despera- does kept quiet. Just before noon, Col. Scott, after a consultation with the military ofiicers, determined to start three freight trains and test at once the temper and reveal the intentions of the strikers. The fires were stai'ted in the locomotives, and at half-past three the first train was sent out, though not without much misgivings as to its fate before reaching Kew York. 400 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. A large crowd had asfiembled on the bhiffs, at the head of Tliirty-sixth Street, ostensibly for the purpose of playing ball ; but their intention being suspected Capt. Chaztean, with his men, was ordered to disperse them. Some of the railroad men told them not to stir, when the Caj^tain addressed them, telling them he was acting under the order of the mayor, which required him to clear the bluffs ; that he should not attempt to make any arrests, but should ol)ey that order at all liazards ; and they would resist him at their peril. At this point the Captain was interrupted by one of the railroad men, who asked him: "Have railroad men no rights any more ? " The Captain replied : " If I know anything about President Scott he does not permit his engineers to leave their locomotives on the track under steam and go up on high bluffs to play base-ball." xls the guards were well armed, the crowd, wliicli numbered some four hundred or five hundred, deemed reti-eat w^ise, and sullenly moved olf. In the afternoon tlie mayor issued a proclamation congratuLatiiig the citizens on the maintenance of peace. He also gave orders to increase the police force, temporarily, to two thousand four linndred men, to relieve the one thousand two hundred men that had been on duty since Sunday. At night the strikers endeavored to hold a meeting at Kelly Ilall, but at the request of the mayor the hall was refused them. They then attempted to hold it on the sidewalks, but the police dispersed them. The riot was dead in Phil- adelphia. THE RIOT AT SCRAXTON. But while the State was becoming quiet in other sec- tions, trouble broke out in her northern boundaiy. On THE RAILROAD RIOT — PENNSYLVANIA. 401 the very day the Mayor of Philadelphia was issuing his congratulatory address to the citizens on the peaceful state of affairs, the employes of the Lackawanna and Iron Coal Company struck, and marching to the steel works and machine-shops were joined by the men at work there. The firemen of the Lackawanna & West- ern Railroad Company having received an unfavorable answer to their request for a restoi-ation of the ten per cent, reduction, also struck at six o'clock. There was no disorder ; the engines were quietly taken from the round-house to the yard, the fires drawn, and then left standing in good order. At the same time the firemen in the employ of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Com- pany struck for the same reason. All the trains on the two roads were stopped, but the strikers telegraplied to the State authorities that the company refused to run the mail, and that they would run it if necessary, and furnish a fireman and engineer. The Fourth Regiment, arriving at Allentown, dispersed the rioters there, but at Easton the hands on the New Jersey Central quit work. On the same day (the 25th), the brakemen on the Lehigh & Susquehanna Division struck, and also the railroad men aud miners at Wilkesbarre. At Scranton, on the 2Tth, matters became very much complicated by the vast number of miners in that re- gion — an army in themselves — making common cause with the railroad men. They met in the road to the number of 10,000 — a host of unarmed, yet angry men. The answer of the President, stating that the com- pany could not grant the demand of twenty -five per cent, advance, was read amid profound silence, and resolutions were adopted to the efi^ect that the men would die before returning to work at what they called 402 THE GREAT RAILROAD RlOlt? OF 1877. Starvation wages. The mine engineers and pump hands struck at night. They diew the fires, and the mines began to flood. If allowed to become flooded it would take a year to prepare them for work again. A meet- ing of prominent citizens was held at the call of the mayor, and to meet twice daily until further notice. The citizens began to organize for protection. In two or three days the railroad strike was over, and a large portion of the employes returned to their work, the only conditions required being that the leaders in the strike should not be discharged. The starting of the trains exasperated the striking min- ers, who declared that they had been sold by the railroad men. They had not only made common cause with them, but, like Cortez, had burned their ships behind them, for by flooding the mines they put it out of their power to return to work for a long time. Attention was now turned to them, foi* thousands of them were on the brink of starvation, yet they declared they would hold out till winter unless their wages were restored. A similar state of things existed at Wilkesbarre and in other mining dis- tricts, but as these have really nothing to do with the great railroad strike, they being of almost yearly occur- rence in some part of the coal region, we shall not at- tempt to follow them up. Governor llartranft is equal to the emei-gency. And here, by the way, it should be recorded that Governor llartranft deserves the highest praise for the pi'omptness, energy, and indefatigable activity he has displayed in stamping out the flames of incipient revolution in Pennsylvania. Stopped at Omaha on his way to San Francisco by the news of the riots \r\ his State, he hurried back fast as steam could THE RAILROAD RIOT PENNSYLVANIA. 403 carry him, and going from place to place collected, massed, and moved troops with the celerity of a vet- eran commander. lie did not argue with the rioters ; he struck first and listened afterward. With such a Governor Pennsylvania may be sure that violence can- not long triumph within her borders. CHAPTER XXIX. THE RAILROAD RIOT — NEW JERSEY. IS'ew Jersey, though connected so intimately with Philadelphia and Pennsylvania by railroad, showed her true spirit in this wide-spread panic, and thus escaped the bloodslied that disfigured other States. There was, of course, great excitement among the rail- road men, and a general strike was expected, and to a certain extent prevailed. Excited meetings were held at Hoboken and elsewhere, and the demand made as in Pennsylvania for a restoration of the ten per cent, re- duction. The refusal to grant it exasperated the men, and some 400 or 500 engineers quit their work, but yet without showing any liostility to the road. They cleaned and fixed their engines, and quietly left. There was an interruption of the trains at Newark and other places, but no violence or force used. At the Pennsylvania depot the men refused to strike, although the same refusal to restore the wajjes was made to them as to the others, and they in a meeting bitterly denounced the company for their unjust and suicidal policy. In Newark a meeting was held, in wliich reso- lutions were passed upholding the strikers, denouncing the railroad companies and the military, who aided them in maintaining oppression ; but throughout the State order was maintained, and no property destroyed. THE EAILROAD EIOT NEW JERSEY. 405 The Governor issued a proclamation, and the military was held in readiness to act, but there is no evidence that fear had anything to do with the conduct of the strikers. It resulted rather from sound calculation, that althougli their wages were too small, and tlie ac- tion of the companies unwise and oppressive, a strike would not pay, but make matters worse. They were very moderate in their demands, the engineers agree- ing to take the reduced wages if an additional fireman were allowed them to lielp them in their labors, which were too exacting. The strike caused heavy loss to many of the manufactories in Newark by loss of busi- ness, but the rights of property were respected. CHAPTER XXX. THE RAILROAD RIOTS NEW YORK. The Two Great Trunk Roads.— Table of Wages Given,— How to Decide What Are Fair Wages. — Strike at Hornellsville. — A Bold Engineer, — Arrest of Donohue. — Governor's Proclamation. — Ar- rival of Troops. — The Military Powerless. — Brooklyn Troops. — Terms Agreed On. — Stiike over the Central Road. — Strike at Albany. — Arrival of the Ninth Regiment. — Strike at Syracuse. — Riot at Buffalo. — Mr. Vanderbilt's Views. — The Great Meeting in New York. It was natural that public attention should be turned to tlie great State of New York, to see what effect this widespread railroad revolution would have on her. With her two gi-eat trunk roads tapping the far AVest, and concentering in the commercial emporium of the nation, and employing, as they did, such an army of men, it was a serious matter whether she responded in her might to this call of the strikers, or maintained her integrity. Perhaps, before entering on the history of the strike in her borders, it would be better to give an elaborate statement of the wages formerly paid and afterwards reduced on these two great roads. In this way the I'eader can forui an intelligent opiniou as to the justice of the complaints of the employee, better than by any argument. Not that it has anything to do with the right of men to obstruct trains — drive men off who wish to work in their places, and much THE RAILROAD RIOTS — NEW YORK. 407 less to destroy property. It is taken from the Nev^ Yorh Times: " On the Xew York Central and Hudson River Rail- road a ten per cent, reduction was made in the wa^es of employees on the first of the present month, llie following table gives the former and the present wages on the road : Old Rate. New Rate. Engineers, per day $3 50 $3 15 Firemen, per day 1 75 1 58 Brakemen, per day 1 75 1 58 Switchmen, per montli.. ... 40 36 Yard hands per month 40 to $55 86 to $49 50 Shop hands, per month 45 to 125 38 50 to $112 50 " On account of the evenness of the grade on this road, a run of 100 miles constitutes a day's work for eitgineers on all sections of the line. But, whether the engineers run 100 miles or but 10, they get §3 15 a day. For all miles run in a day over 100, they get at the rate of 3.15 cents per mile ; and every engineer on the road who wishes gets 150 miles a day, twenty- six days out of the month, thus earning $4 72 a day, or $122 85 a month, if they take all their Sundays off. Under the old rate engineers gut $3 50 a day, at the same rate for extra mileage, and §130 50 a month. Contrary to general opinion, the managers of the New York and Hudson River Railroad assert that the [)res- ent reduction is the first one made among their em- ployees since war times, with the exception of a 2^ per cent, reduction made against the switchmen and yard hands, two years ago. The managers also in- foi-med the reporter that previous to the war engineers earned only from $65 tu $80 per month, and tirenien, yard hands, and switchmen only S-JO to $35 when roads were rough and dangei-ous, when machinery was very imperfect and hard to handle, and \v4ien boilers used frecpiently burst, and the real expenses of living were greater than they are now. The railroad 408 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 18T7. officials seem to be of the opinion that their employees and the employees of all corporations have no concep- tion of the difficulty to be found in managino: affairs so that business can be run at all, and employment ,^iA'en in these dull times; and insist that lal)oriT":g men have had decidedly the best of the bargain for the past four years. The officials think that the laborers should be kept better informed and should be advised of the selfishness of their conduct in striking and crippling what little business there is left in the country, merely because the })rohts on labor, which has no risks, hap- pens by necessity to be cut down ten per cent., while its employers have conducted business for a long time at a loss, without shutting off labor at all. " At the Erie Hailroad affairs were found in an al- most similar condition. Although the employees and the company have of late had frequent disputes about wages, still the managers assert that the present reduc- tion is the first one niade on that road since the war, and they claim that at the reduced rates their men are not only the best paid of ail laborers of equal skill in the country, but that they are, considering the prices of living and tlie relative values of the currency now and then, far better paid than they were during the flush times of the war. The following is a table of the wages paid on the Erie now and before the reduction : Reduced 10 Old rate. per cent. Engineers, per day $4 00 ^3 60 Firemen, per day 2 36 2 13 Conductors, per month 100 00 90 00 Brakemen, per day 3 00 1 80 Ba<^g-age-masters. per month 55 00 49 50 Track foremen, per month 50 00 45 00 Track laborers, per day 1 25 1 12^ Switchmen, per day J 50 1 35 Laborers in yards, per day 1 50 1 35 " It should be borne in mind that these men all get work at least twenty-six days in the month, and that the engineers and firemen get paid pro rata for every NEW YORK— KIOTERS TEABING UP RAILS AT THE BRIDGE AT CORNING. THE RAILROAD RIOTS NEW YORK. 409 extra mile they run (the number of miles making a clay's ran on this road varies on each section according to the ease or difficulty of the grade), and that the en- gineer and firemen all have an opportunity of earning a half day's extra wages every day they choose to do so. Before the war men "were paid on the Erie the same wages as on the Xew York Central." From this table of rates one may easily see how much reason there was for complaint, especially when it is considered that almost every citizen has to reduce his rate of living more than these workmen were called upon to do. The rates of wages before the war are the proper ones now, for the simple reason that the whole country has got to come down to the standard of those times before it can recover its prosperity. It is absurd to say that everything must come down but labor, for that also must yield to the general pressure and obey the general law. Men may yield to it willingly, or not ; yield they must, or go without work. There must be a certain relation between labor and the prices its j)roJucts bring in the market. If the price of labor is fair when the article it produces brings a high price, when the time comes that the price falls ten per cent., labor must fall in proportion, or the in- dustry cease. If men expect houses to be cheaper, the labor must be cheaper that constructs them. If cer- tain manufactured articles fall in price, the labor that fabricates them must be cheaper also, or the manufac- tory must stop. This reciprocal law underlies all our industries. If a railroad does less freioOitino- business, and at reduced rates, the labor that moves it forward must come down in price also. This whole talk about keeping up or returning to old rates of wages, when 18 410 THE GKEAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. all the industries of the country are paralyzed, is the absurdest folly that was ever conceived. The very men who insist on the old standard of labor, de- mand that everything else should be cheaper on ac- count of: hard times. Why, the laboring men, who for the last few years have had steady emploj^ment^ have received more for their work than the average salary of the clergy of the country outside of the great cities amounts to, and to-day there are thousands of hard-laboring ministers, who have spent years and money in fitting themselves for their profession, who would be glad to accept the price for their services that many of those men received who strike for higher wages. Before the war, before everything went up like a kite, a dollar a day was all a man asked for his services ; but now he feels insulted if offered any such sum. But why should not wages come down to the old standard, if everything else does ? It may be said it is hard for the poor man to be deprived of those comforts and luxuries .he has so long enjoyed. So it is. It is hard also for a man to live on an income of $1,500 a year, wlio has been accustomed to live on $3,000. It is hard for the man to find land he paid $200 per acre for worth but $150 ; or for him who paid $10,000 for a house to see it bring but $5,000 ; or the builder to find where he built ten houses he now builds but five ; or the merchant to find where he sold $100,000 worth of goods, he now sells but $50,000 worth. All this is hard, but it is going on all over the country — nay, worse than this, men are constantly los- ing all the earnings of years, and, at the end of life, instead of finding their incomes reduced 10 per cent., see them swept away entirely. Now, is the laboring THE RAILROAD RIOTS — NEW YORK. 411 man not to share in these hardships ? Must his high wages go on just the same ? They will not, that is certain, and he must submit to the change, or do far worse. In the general depression, ahnost paralysis of all the industries and business of the country, onl}' a few of enormous wealth are exempt, and they solely because the reduction of their incomes does not rob them of any of the comforts, nor even luxuries of life — at least none that a reasonable man should desire. THE ERIE RAILROAD STRIKE. It was natural that this great trunk road of New York State, lying as it does on the borders of Penn- sylvania, and connected with so many of its roads and industries, should be the first, as it was, to feel the dis- turbance that occurred there. Why the strike should connnence at Ilornellsville instead of at either end is not so plain, except that at the former place there happened to be more able or reckless leaders to in- flame the passions of the men. As early as the 20th of July, firemen, brakemen, and trackmen at Hornells- ville had a meeting at midnight, at which they re- solved to strike next day, and sent a committee to the superintendent to apprise him of their intentions. This was innnediately telegraphed to headquarters at ISew York, when word was sent back along the line to have all trains approaching Ilornellsville stopped. It was not desirable to bring any more of the employees on to help swell the strike. Train men who were aware of what was passing in Ilornellsville were thus disappointed in getting on, though some of them seized hand-cars and reached it in that way. But the timely stopping of the trains prevented a large accu- 412 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. mulation of disaffected men at this point, as well as a great jam of cars. Several conferences were held between the men and two of the superintendents that had come on. At 2 o'clock the former made known their demand, which was that the pay of firemen 'should be made the same as it was previous to July 1, 1877 ; that brakemen should receive $2 a day ; switchmen, $2 ; head switchmen, §2 25 ; yard track- men, $1 50, and section workmen, $1 40 ; that monthly passes should be continued as before, and passes issued to trackmen and switchmen, and that no rent shouki be paid for company ground occupied by them, except according to agreement. A large majority of the trackmen here live in houses built on land belonging to the company. These terms the company decline to comply with. The passage of trains was then at on(ie stopped. A lightning express train, however, got on by coolness and strategy. It was stopped at Elmira by the strikers, the cars uncoupled, and Dan Chapman, who was one of the oldest engineers on the road, was notified that he could take his cars no farther. He told them he should go on, and getting the cars coupled up, he started. At Olean the strikers stopped it again, and held it thirteen hours. "When it got under way once more, the engineer determined it should reach Horn- ells ville without any more stoppage. He knew, when he reached the frei<>:ht-trains stretched alono: the sid- ings, that the men, if aware of his approach, would stop tlie train, and he directed his fireman not to ring the bell at stations, while he refused to whistle down brakes, although there were some heavy grades ; but with a full head of steam on, went dashing on through THE RAILROAD RIOTS — NEW YORK. 413 the darkness like some demon of the night — the thundering of the train as with its blazing headlight it swept by, alone announcing its approach and depart- nre. The brave engineer said that he could hear their howls of defiance and rage, over the deep rumble of the train as he sped on. It was near midnight when in dashed into the place, the strikers guarding the switches outside made aware of its approach only when they saw the flaming headlight almost upon them. In a conference held in tlie office of the railroad company on the 23d, Donahue, the leader of the strikers, asked Mr. Bowen, the general superintendent, if he would reinstate the men who had been discharged. He replied that he cei'tainly would not. This was at the close of the conference in which the strikers had stated the terms on which they would come back. That evening, while at supper in the Nicols House, the astonished Donahue was arrested on a warrant sworn out by Receiver Jewett, and issued from the Supreme Court of New York by Judge Donahue, on tlie charge of contempt of court. The rioter forgot that the road was in the hands of a receiver, and that he was respon- sible to some one else than the officers of the company. In the mean time the Governor had been called on for troops from this and various other quarters to put down the strikers and help to open the road. He was at his home in Elmira, and hastening to Albany, sent the following telegram to Adjutant-General Townsend : " I am on my way to Albany. You will direct the Major-General of each division in the State to hold his command in readiness for service at a moment's notice, subject to my orders." Gejieral Townsend immediately 414 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. put the telegraph at work and soon all was excitement and bustle at the different armories of the State, and by next day more than 3,000 men were ready to move wherever directed. It recalled the war times of a few years ago. Two days after his arrival at Albany, Gov- ernor Hobinson issued the following proclamation. He had three days before issued a general one from Elmira : State of New York, Executive Chamber, ) Albany, July 25, 1877. J I deem it my duty to invite the special attention of all the citizens of this State, and especially of such persons as are now attempting to interfere by unlawful means with the running of railway trains, to the fol- lowing act passed by the Legislature at its last session : Cliajpter 261 — An Act to Punish Trespassing on Railroads^ j)^'^^^^ 1877. The people of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows : Section 1. Any person who shall wilfully place any obsti'uction upon any railroad, or loosen, tear up, or re- move any part of a I'ailroad, or displace, ti-ansfer, or in any way interfere with the switches, frogs, rail, track, or other part of any railroad, so as to endanger the safety of any train, or who shall wilfully throw any stone or other missile at any train on any railroad, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment in a State prison not exceeding ten years, or liable to a fine not exceeding $1,000, or by both such fine and im- prisonment. Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 1 warn all persons engaged in the violation of the above law to desist thereirom, and I call upon all THE RAILROAD RIOTS — NEW YORK. 415 sheriffs, magistrates, district attorneys and other civil officers, and npon all good citizens, to aid in the en- foi-ceinent of the said law, and of punishment of all who are guilty of its violation; and I hereby offer a reward of §500, to be paid npon the arrest and convic- tion of each and every person who shall be guilty of a violation of the said act. The failure or omission of any sheriff, district attor- ney or other civil officer to take the most active steps in his ])ower to enforce the provisions of this act will be considered sufficient cause for his removal. L. Robinson. By the Governor : D. C. Robinson, Private Secretary. There was something more in this than the empty call on the rioters to lay down their arms and disperse. He lirst calls their attention to a law, of which he had no doubt they were ignorant, and clinches the whole by a reward of $500 for the arrest and conviction of any one guilty of violating that law. This reward was a masterly move and doubtless did more to make the ringleaders cautious than even the presence of the military. It was like having a price set on one's head, and tempting the very men he would incite to violence to betray him. In the meantime, troops had arrived at Hornellsville. The 54th Regiment of New York State militia from Rochester reached there on the night of the 21st, and soon after the 110th from Elmira with a battery. The latter were formed in line and marched through the yard, driving out the crowd, while the Rochester troops guarded the approaches. The strikers called a meeting, and resolved to be firm in spite of the mili- tary, and were encourged in their course by telegrams 416 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. from all along the line, promising aid. On the 22d it was resolved to start a train, whicli the strikers swore should not leave. Forty soldiers of the 110th Batta- lion were placed on the train, five being on the loco- motives, two on each car platform, and the rest inside the cars. The rioters had assembled at West street, having previously soaped the i*ails to prevent the ti-ain from getting headway. When the engine struck the soapy rails, no amount of sand the engineer could let down in front of the drivers could overcome the slippery surface sufficiently to maintain any degree of speed, and the train ap- proached the boisterous asseniblage not faster than eight miles an hour. The strikers, yelling like a pack of Indians, crowded on the track, waved a red flag, and demanded the engineer to stop the train, with threats of violence. Engineer Cai-ey was firm, and kept right on against the great disadvantages that be- set his progress. As the train pulled into the midst of the crowd they made a dash for the engine and the cars. The soldiers made confused and feeble attempts to keep the howling strikers back, one burly fellow, meanwhile, gaining the front platform of the car next the baggage-car. The guard was pushed aside and the brake seized. By this time every platform had two or three strikers upon it, the brakes were put on, and the passenger cars stopped and cut loose. The engine and the mail and baggage cars went on a little way, when the engine stopped. Instantly a strong gang of the strikers surrounded and climbed upon the engine. They threatened the engineer with violence if he did not proceed, but he replied firmly, if there was any chance for his getting possession of his passenger cars,' THE KAILROAD RIOTS — KKW YORK. 417 he would run the risk of their tlireats. He saw, how- ever, tliat the effort would be useless, and pulled ou up the grade. The whole force of the strikei's then swarmed upon the cars that had stopped. The soldiers came out of them, followed by the passengers. The strikers then began disabling the cars. They tore the brake-rods loose and bent them out of shape with axes ; they smashed the brake-wheels to pieces and broke everything necessary to be used on the cars, with wild yells, then starting them down the grade towards the station. The train dashed into the yard at a high rate of speed, threatening destruction to everything that might be in the way, but the cars were turned off upon a switch in time to save a collision with a locomotive and train that stood on the main track near the depot. The crowd then marched savagely jubilant to the guard limits of the yard, where they were soon ap- proached by train ]N"o. 7, which the company had started out on the way to Buffalo, guarded by soldiers. They threw open a switch aliead of the locomotive, bringing the train to a stop, and then did considerable damage to tlie engine. They pulled the fireman from the cab and forced from him a promise not to go out again. The train was then brought back into the yard by the engineer. Soon after this a gang of strikers boarded an engine and some cars that were being switched in the Susque- hanna Division yard, preparatory to starting a train east. Besides the engineer, there were several deputy sheriffs on board, who were all driven off, and the en- gine and cars run to the bridge, some distance east of this station, where the steam was blown off, the fire 418 THE GREAT R VILROAD RIOTS OF 1877, extinguished, and tlie engine crippled. The attack was made from localities where the men seemed to have been hiding. The troops seemed to be paralyzed with fear, or in- different to the actions of the strikers, for the latter were allowed to have their own way without molestation. The next day the lirst detachment of the 23d Regi- ment of Brooklyn, which had been ordered on, arrived. They were insulted all the way at the different stations. Some 1,500 troops were soon under orders at this point. The strikers saw at once that they were in a net, from which there was no escape, and immediately agreed to go to work on the following terras : The firemen and brakemen to go to work at the re- duction of 10 per cent. ; no men engaged in the strike are to be proceeded against or discharged, except those w^ho have destroyed the company's property ; the rein- statement of the connnittee who were discharged is left to the superintendent of the divisions in which the dismissals occurred, and the brakemen are to go to work at the wages they received before July 1 ; the case of Donahue, in the settlement, is left to the (coun- sel of the Erie and that of the strikers to arrange. It is not necessary to speak of the minor strikes along the line of the road, except at Corning, where the strikers, not satisfied with stopping trains, com- menced to tear np the track and to overturn locomo- tives, enlivening their work by shouts and oaths. But the construction gang soon put everything in order, and the excitement soon subsided. The one at llornells- ville was the backbone of all, the rest were mere off- shoots ; with the breaking down of that the trouble was over. THE KAILEOAD RIOTS NEW YORK. 419 THE CENTRAL ROAD. Rio^ht on the heels of the strike at Ilornellsville on the 20th, there was a meeting of the New York and Hudson Eiver Raih'oad men in the Capitol Park, at Albany, on the 23d, at which a resolution was passed demanding a general increase of 25 per cent, on their wages. A committee was appointed to wait on Mr. Yanderbilt to present this resolution, and if the de- mand was not complied with, to inform him that they should strike on the following morning at 8 o'clock. They met next morning, but thei'e was no life in the meeting, and after some consultation the crowd started for West Albany, where the shops of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad are located. Hero some 300 or 400 men were persuaded to quit work, whether from fear of a fight or from sympathy, or partly from both, does not appear. After the shops were closed, the following letter from Mr. Yanderbilt to a committee of employees on the road, was read : " The public interest should not suffer from any dif- ferences between the road and its employees. Keep at work till the excitement is over and a fair confer- ence can be had. " William H. Yanderbilt." This dispatch was received with shouts of derision by a poi-tion of the crowd. They then resolved to hold another meeting in the park in the afternoon. In the meantime they compelled the switch and track- men to quit work, and posted them where they could stop all freight trains. Two freight trains coming in, and one bound out, were both stopped. They had 420 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. hardly accomplished this when a western bound train was seen approaching. At the sight a great shout was raised, and a rush made for it, and the cars were uncoupled. At two o'clock, the mob, made up of rail- road strikers and vagabonds, again began to assemble in the Capitol Park. A meeting was organized, and a brakeman made an inflannnatorj speech. Another young man followed, denouncing the outside element, and declaring the company's property should not be destroyed. About 1,000 men then started for Green- bush and East Albany, and, taking the freight-house in their way, compelled the workmen to stop, as well as some of the switchmen. But about half-past nine the Ninth Regiment from Xew York arrived, and their appearance excited the admiration of the citi- zens, who crowded around the depot to see them as they marched out with fixed bayonets and took up their quarters at the Delavan House. It was feared that an outbreak might occur at West Albany, and so the next morning the Ninth was carried thither. General Carr made his headquarters at the railway station. The workmen who stopped work the day be- fore, feeling themselves safe under the protection of the military, cheerfully i-esnmed it. The Tenth Regi- ment of Albany arrived soon after. Colonel Amasa J. Parker, Jr., and the track was well guarded. Early in the afternoon, the pickets south came in and re- ported disturbances in that direction. The Ninth in- stantly formed into line and moved down the track, and cleared the bridge and roadway. Soon the trains were again moving, and it was evident that what threatened to be a dangerous riot at Albany was quelled. THE RAILROAD RIOTS — NEW YORK. 421 SYRACUSE. At Syracuse the railroad men blockaded the road, allowing no trains to pass, and the 54th Kegiinent was ordered out for duty. The next day they struck, together with the machinists of East Syracuse, 100 in number. Six hundred freiglit cars, seventy engines, and forty trains were stopped there, but the strikers de- tailed a guard of their own men to guard the property of the company. Xo violence was attempted, except so far as was necessary to stop the trains. The next evening a live-stock train ran past tlie yard and pro- ceeded towards Albany. The strikers were astonished to find that the train was not going to stop. They seized an engine and started in pursuit of the stock train. They overtook it about six miles east of Syra- cuse and ordered the fireman to leave the engine. He did so, and the strikers brought him back to Syracuse. The 8th New York Regiment, bound for Buffalo, was stopped by ordei-s of the adjutant-general, in order to quell the mob. The excitement gradually alhxyed, and, as the news from various quarters came in an- nouncing the steady collapse of the strike, the confi- dence and boldness of the misguided men sensibly decreased. BUFFALO. At Buffalo, the western terminus of the Central road, occurred the most serious riot on the whole length of the line. On the 22d of July the men struck, and by midnight numbered over 1,500, witli constant accessions to their strength. In the morning they took the fire- men and brakemen from the New York Central trains, 422 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877 unloaded the stock, and forbade the employes to do any further work. The mob, reinforced by large numbers, called at the car-shops of the Lake Shore and Erie companies and ordered all the workmen there to quit, which they did forthwith. About four o'clock in the after- noon, a Buffalo and Jamestown train, which leaves the Erie depot, on arriving at Compromise Crossing, two miles from the depot, had a passenger coach detached and shoved on the Central track, and the fireman was forcibly taken from the engine. Superintendent Doyle, who was on the train, remonstrated with the strikers, statino; there had been no reduction of w^ao^es on their road, nor had there been any since its in- auguration. The effect of this statement was the bringing back of the coach by the strikers, who coupled it on, and assured the Superintendent that nothing should be done in any way to interfere with the working of his road. "Early in the afternoon an assault was made by nearly 2,000 rioters on about 200 soldiers who were guarding the Lake Shore round-house. The militar}^ Avere obliged to leave the building, which was then barricaded by the mob, who placed cars in position as defense against an attack. C(»l. Flach, of the 65th Hegiment, with abont thirty men and three ofiicers, proceeded to the round- house to retake it from the mob. They were met with yells of derision from the crowd, and, under a shower of stones were obliged to retreat at the double-quick and force their way thi'ough the yelling crowd at the point of the bayonet, many of tlie soldiers being badly cut on the hands with knives, and also clubbed. Four of the soldiers lost their mu8- THE RAILROAD RIOTS NEW YORK, 423 kets, which, however, were afterwards recovei*cd. Col. Flach was badly clubbed, twice knocked down, foi'ced across the canal, and obliged to take refuge in the Lake Shore paint-shop." A public meeting was held that uight, called by the mayor, but was composed mostly of strikers, and those who sympathized with them. Committees were ap- pointed, and resolutions offered, and speeches made, chiefly by the mob. If any one attempted to pour oil on the troubled waters, and advocated peaceful measure and mutual forbearance, he was hissed down. It was a disorderly meeting, and never should have been called. At any rate, the moment the rioters assumed a bold and insolent bearing, they should have been told very plainly that if they persisted in com- mitting acts of violence, they would be shot down without mercy — that they had got to conquer the troops of their own State, and then of the General Government, before they could succeed. As it was, the meeting broke up, leaving a worse state of feeling than when it began. The train coming from AVestfield, on the Lake Shore Road, with a company of militia belonging to the Eighth Division, was stopped by the strikers about nine o'clock in the evening above Tifft's Station, on the outskirts of the city. The mob entered the cars and took from some of the soldiei's their nuiskets, when a general fight ensued, with firing of guns on both sides, and the throwing of stones b}' the assail- ants. This did not seem to confirm Mr. Yanderbilt's theory, which from the outset he liad maintained, that the employes of the road were loyal, and would i-e- 424 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS oF 1»TT. main so. He was frequently sending despatches like the following or expressing similar isentiments: " Saratoga, N. Y., July 22. " To J. ir. TilUnghast, Buffalo : Your despatch received. I have every confidence in the good, sense and stability of a large majority of our employes. The whole country is now looking most anxiously on them, and I feel confident that they will sustain their reputation and that of the road, by making common cause, having the fullest assurance that wlien the business of the country will justify it, they will receive compensation accordingly. " W. H. Yanderbilt." Now, there is no evidence that the men of this road were any more loyal than those of other roads. Doubtless a large majority of those who had destroyed property and openly resisted the military, elsewhere as well as here, were not railroad men. It is true also that all over the country a majority of the employes were afraid of the result of a strike — that it would make matters worse, although not a few might be truly loyal. But in every case like this, much depends on momentary excitement, the influence of leaders, and ex- ternal circumstances. Here, at Buffalo, there was no reason why the men should not be as loyal as in Utica. The circumstances happened to be different. A man like Donohue of Hornellsville, at Albany, would soon have shown how little difference of feelino: there was among the men on the various railroads. A general dissatisfaction prevailed against the way they were treated. One and all believed that they were oppressed by powerful companies, and if success could have been THE RAILROAD RIOTS — NEW YORK. 425 surely promised in a general strike, Mr. Vanderbilt would soon have seen how few loyal men he had on the Central Koad. To talk of loyalty either as a feel- ing of love or obligation on the part of the employes of our railroads at the present day is a farce. It does not exist. All the loyalty on the Central or other railroads grew out of the fear of not succeeding and faring worse. Poverty and suffering in the future, and bayonets at their bosoms at the time, wrung from them all the loyalty they exhibited. There is a bitter antagonism between those who own and those who run the railroads which ought not to exist, and is fraught with evil. Mr. Vanderbilt afterwards presented the men of the Central Eoad $100,000. THE GREAT COMMUNIST MEETING IN NEW YORK CITY. But while things were in this chaotic state, not only in Kew York, but all over the country, an event oc- curred that diverted the general attention, from the mere possibilities that might result from it. New York city is not only the largest in the union, but is composed of a dangerons population, exceeding in number that of any other city in the country. Conse- quently, the most extensive and dangerous riots have occurred there. Hence, anything like a convulsion there would naturally be regarded with special anxiety. It caused, therefore, serious alarm, especially throughout the State, when it was amujunced that a public meet- ing was called to be held in Tompkins Square on the 25th — just as we seemed to be getting out of our troubles, and in a fair way to have the traffic of the country flow in its usual channels — in order to sympa- 426 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 18T7. tliize with the sti'ikers, whicli of course meant to en- courage them to hold in and resist to the last. It is not necessary to go into all the preliminaries of this meeting. The object was phiin — to sympathize with and encourage the strikers to fight it out. What we have to do is with the propriety of the city authori- ties granting as they did tlie permission to liold the meeting. That permission was wrong and the fact that no evil resulted has nothing to do with the other fact that it should not have been allowed. AVe have seen but two reasons advanced by the city authorities for granting it. Whether these reasons were the real ones or not, we do not know ; we only know they are the only ones that could be given. These were, first, the city had no constitutional right to prevent the meeting. In the first place, no such right of prohibition was involved. The very simple question was whether tlie city authorities had the power and right to postpone it for four or five days. This does not admit of a doubt. If the meeting were called on a Sabbath or in the midst of a general conflagration, no one doubts it could be postponed for a day or two. But, more than this, we assert that the city authorities had the power and the right not only to adjourn, but prohibit the meeting altogether, so long as the ol^ject it had in view was not only understood but confessed. A meeting whose object is to help violators of the law succeed in their attempts to overcome both civil and military authority, and destroy property and murder innocent citizens, is never legal, and to grant it is to be accessory to crime. Discussion of questions that divide and agitate the public, and are more or less dangerous according to the views of individuals, is one thing, but THE RAILROAD RIOTS NEW YORK. 427 quite another to encourage men with arms in their hands who are vioLn^ting law and resisting the legal authoiTties. jSow, tliis meeting was called for the express ai:d only purpose of extending sympathy to such violators of law, and encourage them in the de- struction of property and in shooting down men while in the discharge of their duty. The right to prevent such a meeting lies back of all written constitutions, in the eternal law of self-protection that God, not man, made for the preservation of human government and the well-being of society. The second is quite as untenable as the first reason — that the city was well prepared — that was as good a time as ever to test the question whether a mob could rule New York. The time to test such a question is when it arises, not before. It is the duty of those in power to be prepared for an event, not force it. Slaughter and death are serious enough when they are inevitable, without being provoked. The doctrine that doing evil that good may come has no place in the Christian code. It was the simplest, easiest thing in the world to postpone this meeting a week, when it w(juld probably never have taken place. But it might not have been so easy as the Police Commissioners supposed, to prevent a slaughter when a collision had once taken place, and still harder to clear the con- science of the guilt of having caused the death of even one man unnecessarily. Precaution in all govern- ments, whether general or municipal, is one of the first duties of those representing them. Certainly the granting of a permission to hold this meeting was something quite the reverse of that. No man can foretell the extent or results of an outbreak when it 428 THE GREAT RAILROA.D RIOTS OF 1»77. has once coninienced : lieiice, no wise man should ever provoke one. Fi-eedoni of speech is one thing. Freedom to stop public conveyances, destroy property, and throw every- thing into cliaos, is quite another. To give rope to a mad dog just to show how easily you can master him, may do in sporting circles, but not in the government of a great municipality. But the meeting was a total failure, and the strike in New York was virtually over. CHAPTER XXXI. THE RAILROAD EIOTS OHIO. Cincinnati, ZanesviHe, Newark, Toledo, and Fort Wayne. — Military at Newark Sympathize with the Mob. —The Latter Entertain Them. — The Grovernor Orders Troops from Cincinnati. — Com- mands in Person. — Issues a Proclamation. — Raiding in Cincin- nati. — Public Meeting- at Toledo. — Strikers Draw up a Tariff of Wages, and Protect Railroad Property. — Men Driven from their Work at Fort Wayne. The strike on the Baltimore and Ohio Road spread with the rapidity of lightning, and on the very day of the riot in Baltimore a meeting of firemen and brake- men was held at Cohimbns to consider the situation. Cincinnati was also alarmed, and very naturally, for the reduction of the wages ten per cent, took place only the day before on some of the roads, and on that very day on one ; while it was clear that the strike on the Pan-Handle Road was rapidly w^orking westward. Two days after the firemen and brakemen of the Lake Shore Road struck at Cleveland, and a vigilance com- mittee was formed at Zanesville. At Xewark the strikers were masters of the situation. On the evening of the 21st four companies of militia arrived, and at noon next day marched into the freight yard, and the officer in command advised the strikers to withdraw. They refused, declaring they had committed no act of violence, and appealed to the soldiers' sympathies by re- 430 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 18T7. lating their wrongs. It was evident that the appeal was not in vain, for the troops soon quietly returned to tlieir quarters. Governor Young then ordered on four com- panies from Cincinnati, and two from Dayton. The militia in the meantime mingled freely with the strik- ers, who, hearing that the County Commissioners, then in session, refused to make any arrangements by which the troops could be fed, sent a comn)ittee around to raise money to buy food for them. The business men subscribed freely, and provisions were purchased, and the militia became the guests of those whom they were sent to disperse. The sympathy of the citizens was generally with them, and it was very evident, if the railroad companies depended on the State militia to open their roads for them, they would remain closed for a lono' time. In tlie evenino^ a meetin<]^ of the Broth- erhood of Locomotive Engineers was held, in which it was resolved to take no part in the strike of tlie tiremen and brakemen, but to wait awhile. Governor Y<^ung issued a short proclamation on the 21st, calling on all the citizens of Xewark to keep away from the yard, lie tried every way to make the strikers see the hope- lessness of the movement, but in vain, and so ordered parts of the First, Second, and Third Regiments to re- port at Newark. Two days after a mob patrolled a portion of Cin- cinnati, raiding private establishments and closing up nearly all the rolling-mills, machine-shops, and facto- ries on the west side of the river. r)Ut few railroad men were in the raid, however, the main part l)eing tramps, roughs, and miners. AYarrants were issued for the arrest of some of the leaders. Several hundred special policemen were enrolled, and a call made for a THE EAn.ROAD RIOTS — OHIO. 431 vigilance committee to be organized. The people of Xewai'k in the meanwliile were thrown into great ex- citement bj a report that a body of 1,000 miners were on the way to join the strikers there. TOLEDO. At Toledo also there was much excitement, and on the 25th a large crowd of laboring men of all occupa- tions appointed a committee to draw up a tariff of wages. They also appointed a committee to see that no injury was done to property. Mayor Jones was present, and made a conciliatory speech. At the conclusion of the mayor's remarks, the crowd formed a line, it being announced that they would first go the whole length of Water Street to the Pennsylva- nia Depot, and tlien through the manufacturing dis- tricts, notifying all the establishments to stop work at once. This plan was followed out, and the crowd pro- ceeded from place to place, gaining strength as it pro- ceeded, ordering the employes of lumber yards, mills, foundries, etc., to stop work. Most of the day was con- sumed in this manner, and in many, if not quite every in- stance, their demands were complied with, though not without protest in some cases on the part of the work- men. The Milburn "Wagon Works, emplo3'ing 300 hands, closed at two o'clock, before the arrival of the pi'ocession. Every large manufactui'ing establishment in the city was closed. A call for a mass meeting of citizens at eight o'clock in the evening was issued by the mayor early in tlie day, and in pursuance thereof an immense crowd assembled in the market space at that hour. Mayor Jones presided, and after addresses by several citizens, a resolution was adopted calling on the 432 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. mayor to appoint a committee to consist of twenty persons from each ward, to take measures for the prt',s- ervation of peace and protection of property. The meeting was composed hirgely of the discontented element, representatives of which took possession of the stand and proceeded to address the crowd, and the meeting finally broke up in confusion and disorder. But the sti'ike collapsed here when it seemed most threatening. Governor Young having returned from Newark, where he had in person commanded the troops, issued another proclamation at the capital, and it soon became apparent that tranquillity would be restored without any bloodshed or destruction of property. It is not neces- sary to mention all the sti'ikes in the State — they were all alike, while those given above were the principal ones. The great evil they accomplished was stopping for a while the transmission of freight between the West and the East. INDIANA. A similar state of things occurred in Indiana. At Fort Wayne the trainmen assembled on the 23d, and compelled the closing of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago shops, employing 1,000 men. The track- men and switchmen on this division of the same road also refused to work, and flocked to the city, where they joined the strikers. The situation looked very critical at noon, when threats were made that every railway shop and manufactory in the city would be forced to shut down. The mayoi-, therefore, called the City Council together in special session, and they passed resolutions ordei'ing the strikers to disperse, compelling THE RAn.ROAD PwIOTS — OHiO 433 all saloons to close up, and providing for the employ- ment of 200 extra policemen to preserve order and guard railroad property. The strikers assembled in the afternoon and passed resolutions respecting wages, etc., like those we have heretofore given. The same obstruction of trains oc- curred at Terre Haute and Indianapolis. In short, Indiana shoved another block across the great rail- roads, although the strikers refrained from destroy- ing property and from coming in collision with the military. 19 CHAPTER XXXII. THE RAILKOAD RIOTS ILLINOIS. Bloody Riot in CniCAOO. — Character of its Population — Com- mencement of the Mob — Shops and Factories forced to shut up — Mobs in various Sections of the City — A Communist Editoi taught a Lesson — Mob on the Lake Front — United States Troops sent for — A Mass-Meeting- in the Tabernacle- A Night Attack — The Second Day's Struggle— A Fight between the Military and Mob — The Latter shot down — Severe Fight near Canalport Ave- nue — A Brave Boy — The Regulars — Battle of the Last Night — General View of the Design of the Strikers. Persons acquainted with the population of Chicago feared tliat wlien the riots broke out there, blood would be shed. Foreigners, especially Germans, constitute a very considerable portion of the inhabitants. These, if not communists, as the papers call them, believe in a democracy closel}^ akin to their doctrines. Fleeing from the oppressions of the Old World, they bring with them all the hatred tow^ard the upper classes which has grown up with their growth. It is not difficult to make them be- lieve that men here possessed of wealth, though born of the people, belong in some way to that upper class at home which they so cordially hated. Especially is this true the moment the poor cry out that they ai'e oppressed or treated unjustly. These men, whether injured or not, are sure to take sides in any conflict of the poor against the rich, or rich companies. Hence, THE RAILROAD RTOTS ILLINOIS. 435 a strike of railroad meii there would be certain to rouse up this large population so that a formidable mob would be quickly collected and be characterized by more than usual ferocity. The strikers, beginning east, travelled westward steadily, and by the time they assumed any formidable appearance in Illinois, w^ere virtually over east of the AUeghanies. It was not till the 25th that any serious demonstration was made in Chicago. On Tuesday a mob had entered the planing-mills and lumber yards in the south-west part of the city, and compelled the men to stop work. Encouraged by their success, they assembled again on Thursday to finish their diabolical work. They began to gather as early as seven in the morning, in or about 22d Street bridge, near which are some of the larger mills and yards. It was composed of a motley set, only a por- tion of it being railroad men. 2VII were armed with pieces of wood some four or five feet in length, and the pockets of nearly all were bulged out and weighted down with stones. When ready, they moved slowly out Twenty-second street in a westerly direction, stop- ping at all the mills and yards along the route, and in- vestigating for themselves as to whether all labor had ' ceased or not. The first lively demonstration made was at the Chicago Planing-Mill Company, and an ad- joining distillery. The mill had fired up, and seemed all ready for work, which seemed to enrage the mob. Threats were freely made to fire the structure, but the mob suddenly proceeded onward without doing any damage. Pond & Soper's mill, in which the men were at work, closed down suddenly as the mob advanced. Lieut. Yesey, of the Hinman Street Station, saw the rabble advancing, and bethought himself of a way to 436 THE GREAT RAILKOAD RIOTS UF ISTT, bartie them. Teleo::raphing the state of affairs to Madi- son and Twelfth Street Stations, Lieut. Callahan and the Twelfth Street police, and Lieut. Blettner witli fifty police from Madison Street, came down to aid him. Yesey, nothing daunted by the overpowering number of the mob, massed his men on the corner of Blue Island Avenue and Twenty-second Street. They had no muskets out, as they expected no more trouble than upon the day previous. Finding his position a poor one for dispersing a mob, and ascertaining that the crowd were heading for the works of the United States Rolling Stock Company, McCormick's mammoth factory, and similar large establishments in the neigh- borhood, Yesey marched his men down Blue Island Avenue, or the Black Road, as that pait of it is called, and, taking up position at the gates of the Boiling- Stock Works, awaited the arrival of the strikers. The crisis came soon enough. Just about 10.30 o'clock the mob hove in sight, and, nothing daunted by the sight of the police, approached on the double-quick. Sev- eral of the leaders made a suiIy demand npon the police to stand aside and let them in at the gates, l^ieut. Yesey addressed them, exhorting them to return to their homes and do no violence, as under no con- sideration would the police allow them to proceed further. He also cautioned them that any violence wonld be repulsed by the police with slaughter, as they were heavily armed. The mob jeered and derided him throughout, and one of the leaders became so furious that Vesey and and his able Sergeant, M^Cabe, placed him under ar- rest. This infuriated the mob, and they rushed upon the fence and torn some 100 feet of it down, and then, THE RAILROAD RIOTS ILLINOIS. 437 turning in with their companions, made a desperate sortie upon the police with stones and sticks. The police retaliated with their batons, nntil, finding sev- eral of their number stricken down, they drew their revolvers and fired, several men firing as many as a dozen shots each. " Presumably they fired over the crowd or under them, but several have since averred that they were so enraged at the violence of the mob that they fired their shots where they tiiought to do the most injury. At this summary treatment the mob fled, slowly and sullenly enough, however, and fighting back bitterly." The police advanced and the crowd scattered north, east, and west, the main body com- ing directly along Blue Island Avenue. Reaching Lincoln street, Lieut. Callahan and his Twelfth street men completely surprised them, and greatly encour- aged Yesey and his men. By their combined efforts the mob was routed completely, and chased out on to the prairie. After skirmishing about for some time the policemen returned to the station, and found that in this encounter six of their number were wounded. It was said that the rioters were going to McCor- mick's reaper factory to make the w^orkmen there stop work ; but this onslaught arrested them, and the mill kept running, the men all being satisfied. The routed mob gathered together on the prairie and discussed mattei-s in a savage spirit. The Bohemians, as they were called, said they had two independent military companies, armed and equipped, and that they would get them out to protect them from the military ; proposed to tear down Bridewell, so that no more bricks could be made by contract, and de- clared they would have eight hours labor a day's 438 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. work, and an advance of 20 per cent, on present wages, or they wauld tear down and destroy, etc., and then dispersed. The mob in the lumber yard was very large. At nine o'clock nearly 2,000 men assembled in the vicinity of 22d and Loomis streets. Adjacent mills were stopped, and the workmen driven away. Foreman Frese, of the Kirby Carpenter Company, was beaten un- mercifully. They went to the gas company, but after a little parley concluded to let it continue the manu- facture of gas that day, but swore that on the morrow they would close it up. Early in the morning another crowd collected near Eighteenth Street bridge almost at the commencement of the day's work. This proceeded westward, sending off detachments now and then into side streets to close up the factories. They met with little resistance at first. At the Garden City Distillery and Rectifying Company, corner of Canalport Avenue and Twenty- Second Street, the mob tried to force the employes to leave, but they were told by a Government ofH(^er that that Institution was in the hands of Uncle Sam, and that if they interfered in any way they would be sum- marily squelched. In the west division, along Canal, Clinton, Jefferson, and other streets, a mob of 100 or more appeared at about ten o'clock, and descending upon the lumber yard of C. J. L. Meyers, compelled the men in it to quit work. Other lumber yards were visited in succes- sion and work m them stopped. They made the driver of Noble's luml)er wagon unhitch his horse and put him in the stable — waiting till it was done. They then visited the shot tower on Clinton Street, but the THE RAILROAD RIOTS ILLINOIS. 439 place was closed before they reached it, and they vented their spite in smashing in the windows with stones. After tliis achievement they proceeded to the Vulcan Iron Works, and stopped the work tliere. They attempted the same thing at Carlisle MasonV, but were driven off. Hooting and yelling, they then broke on a run into a passenger depot at the North-western Railroad, and endeavored to stop the passenger train, but a squad of police suddenly arriving they were taken by surprise, and one of their chief leaders, Sattal, was arrested and borne off to the police station, fol- lowed by the crowd, which yet dared not attempt to rescue him. On the north side was another crowd of working men. roaming about, perhaps 300 in number, closing all the matiufacturing establishments, brick-kilns, the Chicago Furniture Company, cooper-shops, etc., many of which resisted this tyrannical w^ay of making them cease working. Some twenty-five tamieries which lined the river on both sides came next under the supervision of the mob, and had to shut up. Coming to the Phenix Distillery, they met with a good deal of opposition. As the crowd pushed its way into tlu; building where sonie 6,000 bushels of grain were in a state of fermentation, the proprietors begged to be allowed to go on for the present and thus prevent the loss which would result from stopping work just then. But the mob would listen to no reason, and threatened to burn the building if their demands were not com- plied with, and everything was stopped. The mob now began to thin out, but a villainous-looking man put himself at the head of about 150 men and l)oys, and went to a t^-ilors j^liop wliere some twenty-five 440 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. sewing girls were at work, and in spite of all remon- strances achieved the great victory of making them stop. J]nt there seemed no end now to the mobs that had taken possession of Chicago, for while this high-handed aiition was carried out in other parts of the city, a drniiken German gathered a crowd around him at the corner of Division and Halstead streets, which, armed with clubs and iron bars, soon frightened all the stores, shops and saloons in the vicinity to shut up, and a stone-yard near by to stop work. The mob had now swelled to thousands, and started for Goose Island to stop the work in the tanneries there. They then made their way towards the gas- works, but, met unexpectedly by the police, which had been sent for, fled iu every direction. Mobs this morning seemed everywhere, for, while the various quarters of the city were being inundated by these lawless gangs, a mob sprang up, no one knew from where, in the North Division, south part of Chicago Avenue. There were not, perhaps, over a hundred and fifty of these thieves and ragamufiins and boys in all, yet they succeeded in stopping work in the lumber-yards and factories in the vicinity ; but in the midst of their success a squad of fifty policemen, under Lieut. Hathaway, came up, and charging on them, scattered them like sheep. In another direction a gang of a hundred or so visited David Woodville's wire screen factory, in Ohio Street, and compelled it to close up, and keeping on, made all the shops on their route stop work. It was a mere gang of rowdies, having their brief holiday of power in the utter helplessness of men who were weak simply because they were THE RAILROAD RIOTS — ILLINOIS. 441 anticipating no such high-handed robbery. The editor of the New World, a Scandinavian Socialist, went into the North Side planing-mill and told the men to quit. There were several hundred of them, and they obeyed. Then he went down into the engine-room and told the engineer to do likewise until more wages were paid. He was followed by the proprietor, John O'Neil, wlio told him that he didn't know what wages the men were getting ; that the best way for the strikers to do was to appoint committees to visit the different sliops and find out the rates, and then they could tell which were paying fair wages, and w^hich were not ; that all his men were getting good pay, and were perfectly satisfied to work. Calling to one of his men, Mr. CNeil said, "Jim, how much do you get?" " Three dollars a day," was the reply. Then Mr. O'Neil seized the Communist's hands and held them up for the workmen to look at. They were like a woman's — soft and white ; the fellow had never done manual labor in his life. This fact made Mr. O'Neil angry, and he said to him : " Here, I'll set you to work and give you three dollars a day." But the fraud said " Not now." Mr. O'Neil then told him that he never did an honest day's work in his life — that he would rather steal than work, and drove him out of the shop. One of the other men who went in — there were only three or four of them — was aworkingman ; his hands showed he was a toiler. The crowd, which, when it reached the corner, numbered perhaps 200, was doubled in half an hour after it arrived there, men, women, and children coming from all directions to see the fun." Threats being made against the brass works, the police 442 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OB^ 1877. were notified, and Lieut. Hathaway, with fifty men, re- sponded, and coming suddenly upon them, scattered them, and gave the socialist editor matter for a new leader in his paper. It is useless to follow the course of all the mobs in various sections of the city. It was the same story over — factories and shops were visited and closed under threats of violence. There was a little variation in the incidents which relieved the mo- notony, as for instance, on the lake front from the south side. A mob of about 150 of the roughest kind of loafers marched to the lake front in the mornine:, and went through the lumber-yard of Ludington, Wells & Co., compelling the men at work there to quit and join them. Thus augmented, they went to the Central Elevator, compelling the men there to stop work. They then visited the Michigan Central Elevator, but found no one at work there. Finally they reached Goodrich's dock, where they committed sundry ex- cesses, kicking boxes open, and foi'cing the men to leave their work. After leaving thi« point, they went ^ Waldron, Niblock & Co.'s place, where they found .,ome men at work on boilers, and some others who un- loaded stoves. These were driven off unceremoniously and the fires in the boiler-shops extinguished. Amid yells and hoots they marched back to the Michigan Central freight-house, back of Goodrich's office. Here the leader of the mob, a rough, dirty loafer, mounted a flat car and commenced to harangue the crowd. " The first w^ords he uttered were that he must have three glasses of beer, and by the eternal he was going to have them, though blood should be spilled in th-e at- tempt. If they had nothing to do in the summer, they THE RAILKOAD RIOTS n.LINOIS. 443 would have nothing to eat in the winter. ' Look at me/ he continued, casting around ferocious glances ; ^ do I look like a loafer or a laborer ? ' Tlie crowd yelled and cheered, and assured him that he was oue of them. 'Of course I am,' he said; 'I am as honest a workingman as ever worked in a shop. Look at my hands,' holding out a pair of paws the color of which cannot be described in words, the same being a mixture between black and yellow. ' These hands show what I am. We know what we are fighting for, and what we are doing. We are fighting those God d — d capitalists. That is what we are doing. Ain't we?' The crowd hurrahed and yelled, and a number of them shouted, ' Let us kill those d — d aristocrats.' He had been a railroad man himself once, he said, and knew what he was talking about. They had the thing started and they were going to keep it going until all these big-bugs had been put down. He was a boat- hand now, and was getting but $12 a month, and he just wanted enough to keep him from starvation."^ That's what they wanted, and nothing else. They were going to make the aristocrats sick, and they were not going to stop until the work was accomplished. He was ready to die for the workingmen, and so were ^hey all. The crowd again hooted and yelled, and as- 3ured the orator that they were in sympathy with liim, and that they would turn out and fix things in the evening. After completing this hai-angue he descended from the car and marched his mob around the freight- houses. Of a sudden there was a great commotion, and some one shouted, " The peelers are (coming ! The * Chicago I'ribune. 444 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1S77 bravado of the mob, which but a moment before vowed to amiihihite every aristocrat in town, suddenly gave way, and the crowd became panic-stricken and tried to escape. But the valiant peelers pounced upon them from all sides, making great havoc among the heads of about a dozen of them, whose feet were not fleet enough to carry them away in time. Among this number was the leader and orator of the mob. One special policeman took hold of him by the ears, lifted him up, shook him as a dog shakes a rat, and then rapped him a few times over the head with his club. A whole wagon-load of wounded were conveyed to the station after the affray. The squad of police then marched through all the neighboring streets, clearing them of suspicious characters. The treatment which the mob received was so efficient, though radical, that no more mol)S visited or molested that part of the city further during the day.* The uprising had now become so universal that Gov- ernor CuUom thought the city had got beyond the con- trol of the police, and before noon sent to Washington for the aid of the regular troops, and received the fol- lowing answers. Washington, July 25, 1877. Colonel R. C. Drum^ Assistant Adjutant- General C/iicogo 111. : The President directs that you use United States troops in case of emcTgency in suppressing the riot at Chicago, under orders of the Governor of the State. E. D. TowNSEND, Adjutant- General. * Chicago Tribune. THE RAILROAD RIOTS — ILLINOIS. 445 Chicago, III., July 26. To Hon.. S. M. CuUom^ Governor of Illinois : I have the honor to I'eport tliat 1 am authorized by the Pi-esideiit of the United States to use. under your orders, national tr(x)ps in this city in suppressing the riots. . R. C. Drum, Assistant Adjutant-General. Springfield, III., July 26, 1877. Colonel R. C. Dram., TJ. S. A. : You will please report to the Mayor of Chicago, and act in concert with liim in putting down the mobs and riots, and in keeping the peace and protecting the property of the people. S. M. Cullom, Governor. Immediately on the receipt of the Governor's order the national forces in the city were placed at his dis- posal. A mass meeting was held in the afternoon in the Tabernacle, in which were gathered a more anxious crowd than ever came together there to hear the famous preacher Moody. Speeches were made by distinguish- ed citizens, and a proclamation of the Mayor was read, calling on five thousand citizens to report at police headquarters for duty ; and various other precautions were taken to meet the coming storm. At evening the strikers gathered in the railroad yards, all the way from Canal street to Halsted. One portion moved towards the Round House, others broke in the windows of the freight-house and attempted to enter the building. In the meantime a body of police sixteen strong, under Lieutenant Callahan, came tearing down the street in a stage to the scene of disorder. Before reaching it, however, they were met by a mob led by a man named Miles Clynch, who attacked the 440 THE GRKAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. stage with stones and sticks, and, cutting* the liarness of the team, sent them dashing up the street. The driver was knocked from his seat and badly cut, and the squad of poHce was pressed so close by the yelling crowd that they at last drew their revolvers and fired into it from the stage windows. They then dashed out and scat- tered those nearest them, and drove the whole crowd before them till they reached the Viaduct, when they halted. The police then ran tln-ongh an opening into. Fifteenth Street, and gaining the approach to it, fired down on the mob. The latter at once fell back and attacked the police with such a shower of stones that they were compelled to retreat to their station to find out why they had not been re-enforced. A detachment had been sent to their aid, but missing them, came on the mob after they had left, and w^ere also badly beaten, and retreated to the station, where each recriminated the other for being left to fight the crowd alone. During all this time the mob had been carrying things at their will. The first street-c^ar that attempted to cross the Yiaduct was pelted with a shower of stones, the conductor and driver both driven from their posi- tions, the horses lashed into madness until they ran away, and finally the car w^as overturned at the junc- tion of Halsted and Evans streets, where it was pulled to pieces by a pack of howling young wretches not older than fourteen years. Eespectable citizens stood in their doorways, and quietly deprecated all such destruction, but were powerless to prevent it. The other cars that came to the Yiaduct were stopped, the conductors rifled of the contents of their pockets, and the passengers compelled to flee under serious threats. Farther up the street, the crowd, advancing THE RAILROAD RIOTS ILLINOIS. 447 towards Twelfth Street, entered the gun-store of M. J. Pribyl, Ko. 522 Halsted Street. Pribyl and family were scared out of their wits, and offered no resistance to the pillagers. The mob cleaned the store out, taking thirty-five guns, as many revolvers, and as many more pistols of the powder-and-shot kind, and a quantity of ammunitivon.* This was done, not by the workingmen, but by those wlio made off witli their plunder. The street-lights were put out. The mob now went to the hardware store of Mr. E. II. Lott, and wrenching off the iron bars, they broke in the windows, and entering the building carried off what plunder they wished. The street-cars were again attacked, and howls and yells made night liideous. Soon after a battalion of police came up and cleared the streets. On the next day, the 26th, the trouble began early in the morning. A meeting of workingmen had been called at 9 o'clock, and before that hour a large crowd had gathered at Turner Hall, and surged up and down the street, boasting what they would do. About 10 o'clock a squad of police hove in sight, when the mob began to hoot, yell, and pelt them with stones. The police charged on them with their clubs. While hit- ting right and left, another squad of police arrived and took them in rear and soon settled them. They then entered the building, when a fight began. Many jumped from the windows, and several received wounds more or less severe. A passenger train com- ing in was attacked and switched off the track. At the Yiaduct a street-car was stopped. Twenty-five po- licemen were sent down to disperse the crowd, but * Chicago paper. 448 THE OREAT KAILKOAD RIOTS OF 1«T7. were attacked with such violence tliat they drew their revolvers and fired into it. But the mob increased so rapidly, and from under cover, and from the tops of houses hurled stcmes so fiercely, that the police slowly retired, followed by the hooting, yelling rioters. See- ing that in all probability the territory between Canal- port Avenue and the Viaduct would be the spot on which most of the rioting would take place, the mili- tary were ordered there. Two cavalry companies soon came rattling down the street, followed by the Second Regiment, Col. Funk, 700 strong, with two ten -pound guns. By half-past ten it was estimated that nearly 10,000 people were gathered here, though not all open rioters. Through this immense throng the police would march, the crowd fieeing down the cross streets as they advanced, but i-uslii ng up again as they re- tired. Arrests were made and the prisoners hurried off in express wagons to the statiotis. A little after noon tlungs became quiet. But about three o'clock a company of cavalrymen, some twenty strong, that had been out patrolling the countrj^, came in, but getting separated from the police and militia, they were set upon by the crowd with stones and revolvers. The former returned the fire, and several were hit when the police came to their rescue and ended the fight. Seeing that the mob at the Ilalsted Street Viaduct was meditating an assault, Captain Learey of the west side was ordered to hurry all the men at his connnand to the spot. Laying aside their clubs, they had armed themselves with Springfield muskets and were ordered to fire at the first assault of the mob. At Fourteenth Street they were joined by a body of cavalry under Captain Anderson. They marched down the street, THE RAILROAD RIOTS ILLINOIS. 449 clearing the mob, and effected a junction with those at the Yiadiict and charged up and down the streets, dispersing the crowd. Joined by CoL Daly's cavahy, they then marched south to clear the rioters near the river. Reaching the bridge, they were fiercely at- tacked with stones and revolvers. A detachment was ordered across to clear the mob there. Tliey did so. and w^ere soon lost to sight as they charged into the crowd. At this critical moment some one swunoj the brido^e and cut them off from all succor. A mere handful, it now seemed that they must perish, enveloped as they were in such a mass of maddened men. At this juncture, when all seemed up with the brave fel- lows, a lad named James O'Neill, residuig on Twenty- fifth street, certainly no older than ten years, came to their rescue. " This gallant little hero, of whom too much cannot be said in praise, jumped into the river, and, swimming to the pier, mounted the structure, and swung it around, thus opening communication between the beleaguered squad and the main forces. xVs soon as the bridge sw^ung to, the cavalry charged across, while the gun of the Second Regiment was unlimbered, and aimed so as to sweep the street. Two companies of the second also wheeled into position, ready to sup- port both the artillery and cavalry." The crossing being effected, firing commenced, and several were shot down, when the mob gave way and fled in every direc- tion. But while a mob disappeared in one quarter of the city, another would suddenly be announced in an- other. " Rumors of fighting kept coming in, and conse- quently, at 12.30, two companies of the regulars were 450 THE GREAT KAILKOAD KIOTS OF 1S77. ordered forward ; and as the veteran Indian ligliters, all bronzed and rugged, filed out of headquarters, and marched down La Salle Street towards Twelfth Street, a cheer went uj) from the assenil)led crowd that fairly shook the building. Their soldierly appearance, their total lack of excitement, the clock-like regularity of their step, and the determination depicted on the coun- tenanc^es of the commanding officers, and more than all, the appearance of those ounce-bore Spencer rifles, that shoot sixteen times without loading, indicated that when they got on the scene something would have to give way. They proceeded immediately to Twelfth Street to support the battery where it had been sta- tioned.'' In the afternoon a troop of cavalrj^, some fifty in number, with two companies and a howitzer, and with the police on both flanks, started from a point south of the Viaduct, and marched to Twelfth Street. Hioters were seized, and then wouki follow a shower of stones, while pistol-shots and the sound of clubs falling on human heads were heard in every direction. Joined by more of the police, the force mo\ ed on amid hoot- ing and yells of rage, the police making arrests till soon there were three wagon-loads of them. .\ rioter fii'ed point blank at an officer, just missing him. The latter leaped from his horse, knocked him down and handed him over to the police. It was a terrible scene along the route of this force. Broken heads were everywhere visible. The police would charge right and left in the face of stones and pistol-shots, while screaming women helped to swell the Babel. The windows of the houses were closed ; the heat poured down without mercy, and Chicago seemed reeling in a THE RAILROAD RIOTS ILLINOIS. 451 hurricane of excitement that swept not onward, but round and round through the devoted city. At Canal Street a body of police, :Sfty strong, held the Viaduct — one portion armed with rifles — and as fast as the mob congregated it was dispersed. Captain Agramonte's squad of horsemen here joined the force. Shots being tired from a house, Xo. 23, in Canal street, the doors were burst open, and Learey's men made their way through a dozen infuriated women and seized the in- mates. Lieutenant Frese, commanding another squad of mounted men, was shot at from an alley, and in- stantly emptied the seven barrels of his revolver into the crowd. In taking the prisoners to the station the force was frequently assailed, and at Fourteenth Street a shot was fired from the crowd. Instantly Learey's men charged on it with fixed bayonets, wounding sev- eral. At headquarters all was commotion from the coming and departing of those engaged in putting down the riots, and the arrival of prisoners. Xews came in in- cessantly — often contradictory, but on the wliole it was plain the authorities were getting the rioters under control. One of the worst mobs was started in the morning at the stock yard, but it had to give way before the police and military. There was a severe fight in the i-earand vicinity of Xeill & Co.'s elevator. The mob had taken possession of several loaded coal-cars, the coal being used for missiles with which to attack the police. The mob was defiant, the cavalry and police determined, and the support back of them, in the sluipe of the battery and the Second Regiment, fully pre- pared. 452 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877, J ust previous to this there had been only a slight sortie, a portion of the mob having been driven south of the river, which rallied with the other portion im- mediately after from Bridgeport. The rioters were armed with long, ugly-looking knives, and revolvers, pistols, guns, and stones. They fired several volleys without effect upon the cavalry and police, when the latter jointly fired their revolvers with terrible effect. Three of the rioters fell mortally wounded, and how many were more or less seriously injnred, it was impossible to ascertain. It was said in this attack fourteen were wounded. The wild and stormy day at last wore away and night came down. What would these maddened men attempt to do under cover of darkness, was a question asked by many with anxious hearts. About eight o'clock the mob began to assemble, but the police charged and scattered them. In the meantime the Second Reo;iment was ordered to march towards the Halsted Street Yiaduct, where the mob were assuming a threatening aspect. They were supplied with blan- kets, expecting to make a night of it. As they marched steadily on they were greeted with yells and curses. Col. Quirk cleared sidewalks, door-steps, etc. It was soon ascertained that the Communists were in force at the Viaduct, and were preparing to march towards the Twelfth Street station-house. The regiment at the time was at parade rest ; but in an instant the orders, " Attention, shoulder arms," brought every man in position. Several companies were left in reserve, and the rest marched towards the Yiadiict. Soon after a volley of musketry rang out on the night air in the 4irection they h^d taken, followed by sounds of a THE KAILROAD RIOTS — ILLINOIS. 453 h3avy fight. The reserve was quickly put in motion, their bayonets gleaming in the moonlight. Advancing in dead silence, save their steady, measured tramp over the pavement, they could hear the shouts and yells in advance. As they approached the mob. Col. Quirk gave the order to lire, and a quick, sharp volley rang out, and the mob scattered. The troops returned to their position, and thinking the trouble was over, were preparing to take a nap, when word was brought that the mob had congregated on Col. Quirk's front at a coal-heap near the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy coal track. Soon the coal began to fall in a shower upon the troops. The order to fire was at once given, and the reserve was called up. The rioters held their ground doggedly till two volleys were poured into them, lighting up the shadows with their blaze, when they turned and fled. This substantially closed the riot and there was no more serious disturbance that night, and in the morning only the wrecks remained. Arrests were now the order of the day. Business soon resumed its ordinary course, and preparations were made to set the trains in motion again. This was not so difiicult, as only a small portion of the rioters were railroad men, the main part being Communists and the offscouring of the city. It is not necessary to mention the minor strikes in the State — at Springfield, Peoria, and smaller places — they were all interlocked with the strike at Chicago. At Braidwood they attempted to drive 200 colored miners out of the town, but the arrival of two regiments put an end to this fanatical outrage and q^iielled the rioters. CHAPTER XXXIII. THE STRIKERS AT ST. LOUIS AND LOUISVILLE. The Mob overcome the Police at Carondelet. — Citizens enrolling themselves. — Workingmen\s Party. — Their Arrog^ance and As- sumption. — A Steamer Boarded, and the Captain compelled to Eaise the Wages of his Hands. — The Mob confront the Police and Citizens. — The Citizens of Louisville Join the Military. — The Mob put down. Missouri fell into line with the other States andbeo^an to move as the Eastern ones were becoming tranquil. July 25. — The workino^men held an excited nieetino^ in Lncas Market last night, in which thev denounced capitalists. One speaker said they had 7,000 stand of arms in their possession, at which cries of " Let as have them and Ave will nse them ! " Another speaker charged the responsibility of bloodshed on the Presi- dent of the United States. The meeting recommended a general strike for eight hours as a day's labor.'' The Mayor issued a proclanjation, warning the people against violence and announcing a Connnitteeof Safety. At nine o'clock on the 25th a crowd assembled again in Lucas Market Place, around a stand ei-ected by the Workingmen's Party, 1,500 strong, while 2,000 or 3,000 spectators gathered in the vicinity. The crowd was made up mostly of wire-workers, who had struck, and strikers from other manufacturing THE STKIKERS AT ST. LOUIS AND LOUISVILLE. 455 establishments. At ten o'clock they formed in column and marched past the City Hall to Turner Hall, where the executive committee of the "Workingmen's Party was in session. Half an hour later a body of 500, made up chiefly of negroes, was sent to the levee, and marched its length for the purpose of inducing the roustabouts to join them. The steamer Centennial was boarded just as she was pushing out for New Orleans. They stopped the boat, and demanded that the captain should sign an agreement to pay a specified increase of wages. He did so, and the boat was allowed to depart. The disturbance spread on every side, embracing machine-shops and factories of every kind. At Ca- rondelet the police, endeavoring to defend the work- men at the Martin dale Zinc Works, were driven off, and all coal trains stopped — in short, the strikers brought eveiTthing to a standstill. The next day the citizens, having waked up to the dangerous crisis, began tc enroll themselves as a Citizens' Guard, which soon swelled to thousands. The vast mob marched up to the headquarters of the citizen militia and the police, at Four Courts Building, and boldly confronted them, but were compelled to retire without foi-ce being used. The railroad strikers almost entirely passed out of sight in the city in view of the magnitude of the move- ment inaugura.ted by the AV^orkingmen's Party, and the high hand with which they conducted it in closing mills, factories, etc., and compelled mechanics and laborers to cease work. The water-works in the nor- thern part of the city, and the distributing reservoirs, were placed under guard by soldiei's. The levee laborei'S, who compelled the granting of an extortionate advance in wages of all steamboat employees, boarded 456* THE GREAT RAH^ROAD RIOTS OF 1877. every boat that arrived and exacted accession to their terms. The Workingmen's Party assumed to dictate all kinds of terms to the mayor, passed resolutions asking the legislature to be convened* to take up the labor question, arranging beforeliand what that legislature sb)uld be. But the military and cannon soon brought down their arrogant spirits, and order was restored. The numerous strikes in various smaller localities in the State need not be mentioned here. A strike at the same time took place at Louisville and Kansas. The scenes at each were a repetition of those already described, while to make the chain across the continent complete, a terrible riot broke out in San Francisco, aimed at the poor Chinese instead of the rich railroad companies. At Louisville there would doubtless have been seri- ous trouble Imt for the prompt action of the citizens, who took the matter iu their own hands, and were de- termined to make quick work if the strikers resorted to violence. * Ninety- six pages are here added to correct the omission in pag- ing- the illustrations. CHAPTER XXXiy. LESSONS OF THE STKIKE. For more than a week the country had now lain in a sort of paralysis from this unexpected, unparalleled strike, running as it did the length and bi'eath of the land. The strikers doubtless thought this would work in their favor, and public opinion would com- pel the railroad companies to yield to their terms and relieve the pressure. They forgot that those whose interests are suffering by the detention of peaceful men look to the bold robber who tells the latter to stand and delivei-, for redress. The strikers said to the entire East aud AVest, " You have got to suffer, aud, if necessary, starve, until we get ten or twenty-live per cent, advance on our wages. Kow, if railroad employes ever think of repeating this experiment, let Them lay to heart this one fact: that utter indifference of the authorities and the non-interference of the mili- tary, both of which they desired in this strike, would be the greatest calamity that could overtake them. If they suppose they are going to sever the West from the East, strike down with impunity, at one blow, all the interests — nay, the very life itself of the great West, they are sadly mistaken. They may want an increase of wages, but the West want and will have an outlet to the tioui- and gi-ain and provisions they raise. These 664 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. they will not let rot on their hands, to their own im- poverishment, for anybody's wages. Hence, the more complete sway the strikers are allowed, the more terri- ble their doom will be when a suffering people arises. Non-interference of the authorities would only let the destruction of property for the time be greater, to make that punishment more terrible, for when the peo- ple of the West arose, as arise they would be compelled to or starve, that punishment would be swift and de- cisive. Those who had attempted to impoverish them, and imperiously told them, "you shall take no more of the products of your industry to market until we grant permission," would be shot down like dogs and hung like felons. The peojple^ from self-preservation alone, would be compelled to take the matter in hand, and then it would be mob against mob ; and who would go to the wall in such a conflict admits of no doubt. Men may cripple a single railroad company with impunity, but they cannot cut a continent in two and ruiu both portions, as such a strike as the recent one would do if prolonged. This is a truth which railroad employes of all grades should well consider before they under- take another such experiment. It turns out hard enough for them to be put down speedily by the strong arm of law, but it will be infinitely worse if the time ever comes when the people. East and West, foi* their own preservation, shall be compelhMl to crusl) tliem. When that day comes they will find that they " who sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind." They will find that whether their demands are just and right will have nothing to do with tlie settlement of the question. That will be, whether a slight wrong is going to justify a great one — whether the right of 100,000 men to LESSONS OF THE STRIKE. 655 to an increase of ten per cent, on their wages is to override the well-being — nay, almost the preservation of a whole continent. Of conrse the unparalleled scenes throngh which we had pas^^ed awakened the attention of the entire country to the possibilities of similar ones in the future, and con- sequently filled the press with suggestions and methods of preventing them. Some endeavor to show what lessons they had taught the railroad companies ; the burden of which was the imprudence of irritating and maddening men by oppressing them and compelling them to work at starvation prices. Otliers dwelt on the importance of putting an end to the fallacy that there was any real antagonism between capital and labor. Xow it is one thing to suggest a remedy against such a strike as the one we had just put down, and another to provide some method of settling oi'dinary disputes and differences between railroad companies and their em- ployees. The former, aiming as it did at the ruin of the country for the attainment of selfish ends, allows of but one remedy — the bullet, and teaches but one lesson, the sooner and more unsparingly it is used the better. When men conspire in such a diabolical plan as that, arbitration and commissions and appeals are worthless — point-blank volleys are the only resources. To provide against the latter is most desii-able if it can be done. It is suggested by one portion that the Govei-nment should own the railroads and thus be able to fix a fair and just remunei-ation for those who are employed on them. But this is simply an impossibility. If (rovern- ment had constructed the roads in the first place and built those only that the country needed, the plan might have worked well. But to buy up all the railroads 556 THE GREAT KAILRO.U) RIOTS OF 1877. now built at cost, and be compelled to run them by paying wages higher than those now paid, would be a losing business, and the country would have to be taxed to make up the loss sure to occur. With the exception of a few extravagant salaries paid to officers, they ai*e run more cheaply than the Government could run them ; yet a lai'ge portion are insolvent, and those which are not pay no dividend on their stock. That the people of the country will ever consent to be taxed to make up any deficiencies in the earnings of railroads, few will believe. Others propose that Congress shall fix the wages of em- ployees. Many think that all evils can be cured by the passage of right laws. The trouble is, some laws are totally inconsistent with republican institutions and, hence, cannot be enforced. Congress can no more fix the wages of railroad men than of those engaged in manufactures, or of household servants. Such inter- ference is the purest despotism, and the laws passed to that end would be declared unconstitutional by the courts, just as the eight hour system was. Ao-ain, it is suo^o-ested that Conorress fix the tariff on freight. Perhaps as it has power to regulate internal commerce it might do this. But if it were regulated according to the distance freiglit was carried, the longer roads must be abandoned and the more direct lines enjoy the monopoly of the carrying business. Perhaps this would be desirable, as we have too many I'ailroads, but what would the AYest say, if told, " You can no longer make your own bargains, but let Con- gress make them for you." It is evident that this plan would be beset with great difficulties, though, perhaps, not insurmountable. A third proposition is to have commissioners of LESSONS OF THE STRIKE. 557 arbitration, to which all difficulties between the i-ail- i-oad coin]')anies and their employees shall be referred. It is said that such a plan has worked well in England. A great many things may work well in the monarchies of Europe, that would fail disastrously here. If the difficulty be one of wages, the matter might as well be referred to Congress at once, and if such conniiissions are proper for railroads, why not for manufactories, farmers, builders — nay families. Sucli arbitrary commissions would not do in a republic like ours. The last method — viz. to cause the antagonism between capital and labor to cease, and harmony of feeling to take its place, is most excellent, and if carried out will solve the difficulty. But the great trouble is, how to bring about this desira- ble state of things. There seems no way except that proposed by the communists, to have all things in common, which is just what cannot be effected until the world is wholly changed, and the long looked-for millennium takes place. The antagonism between capital and labor is but an- other form of saying that the poor envy the rich, and are discontented that their lot is so different. " The rich oppress you," is not merely a scriptural utterance, it is an historical truth — not so much as ap2)lied to in- dividuals as a simple statement that the accumula- tion of wealth is necessarily secured, more or less, at the expense of the lower classes. The feeling of contempt on the one side, and restlessness or hatred on the other, are old as civilization, but, as stated in a former article, is more strongly developed in a republican government than in a despotic monarchy. In the latter men are born to a certain rank or condition in life, out of which they cannot escape and which from childhood they are 558 THE GREAT RAILROAD RTOTS OF 1877. taught to consider irremediable, ^[ore than this, they are told by the priests of relig-ion that this is a divine arrangement ; hence to rebel against it is to rebel against God. It is plain, therefore, that to a people born into such a social state and made to accept it as a divine in- stitution, that nothing but the most maddening oppres- sion or intolei-able suifering can make them rebel against it. It was on this account that Macaulav's me- morable saying was based, that the more violent a I'evolu- tion was, only showed the greater necessity for it. But in a republic the reverse of this, both in politics and religion, is taught. The State says that all men are born free and equal, and religious teachers reiterate the same truth while the poor and suft'ei'ing class say that both are a lie, if it is i-ight for them to accept their condi- tion and be contented with it. Hence, while some strikes are based on particular grievances, and all may be referred to some wrong which should be righted, as the immediate cause, the real trouble has a deeper foundation — it rests on the belief that the inequality in the good things of this world is unjust, and the worst of it is that tlie inove enlightened and intelligent the lower classes become, the stronger is this feeling in them. If this is true, the question naturally arises — AVhat then is to be the end of it all ? That is just the problem that man has been trying to solve for a thou- sand years, and we are no nearer its solution to-day than at the outset. It is the very difficulty which surrounds it that has given birth to that universal belief in some sort of millennium in the far future, more than from the dim hints of it in the sacred Scriptures. All feel that the Creator of man can alone solve it. To one occupy- ing a distant point of observation, this poor planet of LESSONS OF THE STRIKE. 559 ours seems like a ship on a lee shore, forever struggling towards the desired have-n, yet ever baffled in its efforts, and the faihire of every experiment, the overthrow of every government sounds a sigiial-gun of distress fired through tlie gloom, saying, AVe cannot help ourselves. Now, this general philosophical fact has been dwelt u])on because it lies at the bottom of all this antagonism between the rich and poor, and-, call it by what name you will, which none of the proposed remedies reach. This is abundantly proved in the recent strike. The more terrible features that accompauied it — nay, gave it its real strength— -owed their origin not to the disaffec- tion of laborers, but to this hostile feeling of one class against another. As long as this distinction exists, the only transient security is in the liberality, kindness, and justice of the rich. If the hovel stands under the shadow of the palace, the latter nnist amelioi-are the condition of the former. If the wealthy flaunt their wealth, and exhiljit their prodigality in the presence of the suffering, and wretched, and starving, that pro- digality must be directed on other objects than them- selves. The sonnds of mirth and reveli-y are discord- ant in the ears of the inmates of sordid teuements aT]d filthy cellars, aud no amount of sophistry can change it. On the other hand, the working classes must submit patiently to the law of demand and sup- ply, in labor, or do worse. The problem which the ages have tried to solve, cannot be solved by the torch and the bludgeon. They only make matters worse. Love thy neighbor as thyself, is the only remedy for the evils we suffer, and all amelioration of our con- dition can be measured by an approximation to itJ We may pile tome on tome on political economy, write 560 THE GREAT RAILROAD RIOTS OF 1877. philosopliieal treatises without end, form organizations and make laws, so long as they represent mere human sagacity they can only alleviate the symptoms — they do not reach the disease. We see great results brought about by material means, but they are useless to eradi- cate the evil we w^ish to reach, except as they are based on that elementary principle, " Love thy neighbor as THYSELF." i