Here is another account.

Cheryl Jackson's notes: New York Draft Riots (July 11-13, 1863) On March 3, 1863 Abraham Lincoln issued the Enrollment Act of Conscription. Due to this the nation was in complete panic. The Washington Times wrote that the nation was "in a state of Revolution, North, South, East, and West," and violent protests often occurred. The riots in New York City were the most violent and the most publicized compared to all the other riots taking place across the nation. The Democratic Party leader in New York City, Horatio Seymour, openly despised Lincoln and his form of politics. The enrollment act also shocked the people during a time when they were struggling with a war that had been going on for two years. By the time the names of the first draftees were drawn in New York City on July 11, reports about the carnage of Gettysburg had been published in city papers, which led to Lincoln calling for 300,000 more men to fight an endless war. However, the Enrollment Act did have several exemptions, including the payment of a "commutation fee" that allowed wealthier and more influential citizens to buy their way out of service. The men who were in unions or poor had no other way of getting out of the draft.

During this time Irish immigrants who just recently came to America were also being forced to fight in the war. This irritated the Irish immigrants because they felt they should not have to fight for people they did not know. A major riot occurred on Sunday, June 12, when the names of the draftees were published in newspapers. Immediately riots broke out that consisted of angry citizens and Irish immigrants. There were around 50,000 people who "terrorized neighborhoods on the East Side of New York for three days looting scores of stores." Beatings and lynching took place and blacks were the main targets while their churches and orphanages were burned down. The total damage amounted to $1.5 million dollars in damage. That figure was in the year 1863, so imagine how much money it would cost to repair the damage in this day and age. The riots also killed an estimate between two- dozen and one hundred people.

Lincoln had to do something to stop the rioting so he brought in the Federal Army, which camped around the city for several weeks. The pictures of the riots were disturbing. I saw people being hung in the streets and then shot. Buildings that were burnt down, people were beaten by sticks from the guards, complete chaos in the streets and stores were looted. This turmoil went on morning, noon and night. The troops that went to stop these riots first went in at night. They went around one of the corners in New York City only to hear the breaking of glass, yelling and screaming. "One of the first victims to the insane fury of the rioters was a Negro cartman residing in Carmine Street." A mob of men and boys seized this man on Monday evening, and beat him until he was unconscious. The group of people dragged him to Clarkson Street, and hung him from a branch of one of the trees by St. John's Cemetery. They took long sticks, and tied rags and straw to the ends of them, and with these torches they danced round their victim, setting fire to his clothes, and burning his body. The remains of the body hung there till near daylight on Tuesday morning, when the police removed them. The murder of Colonel O'Brien took place on Thirty-fourth Street and Second Avenue. The rioters dragged this man alongside the sidewalk with a rope. When the soldier asked why did he was killed someone replied, "Bedad I suppose it was to square accounts. There was a woman and child kilt there below a while ago by the sojers, and in coorse a sojer had to suffer." This proves how completely out of control the riots were getting. A dead sergeant was found on the sidewalk. He was shot in the head from an apartment close by. A cloth was laid over his head to hide the horrible wounds. However, women walked up to the dead body to look at it while their children amused themselves by picking up the dead bodies hands and then watching them drop. This shows that the children were getting so accustomed to seeing the violence in the streets that death was seen as entertainment.

     Chad Richards' notes: During times of war, people have been driven to participate in many irrational actions.  War, in and of itself, is an irrational action.  Physically fighting to resolve conflict is never a useful means to end a problem.  It is no surprise then, that during war many people engage in atrocities.  These atrocities are generally directed at the enemy or the perceived enemy.  This latter enemy was the focus of the New York City draft riots of 1863.  The New York riots were a response to the introduction of a wartime draft, the first draft in American history.  Many Northerners saw the draft as unconstitutional; they did not believe that they should be involuntarily chosen to fight a war, especially a war to free the blacks.  The Northerners were in favor of keeping the Union together, but they did not have any desire to die for the freedom of blacks.  This thought was driven by prejudice and the fear that the blacks would steal the Northern jobs, land, and women.

     The New York City riots became the epitome of a mob-mentality.  The rioters had no limit to the pain they would inflict upon anybody.  Accounts from Harpers Weekly describe the horrors inflicted by the rioters:

 

"Hundreds, and perhaps thousands of rioters, the majority of whom were women and children, entered the premises, and in the most excited and violent manner they ransacked and plundered the building from cellar to garret."

"The mob became highly exasperated at his conduct, and threatened to take his life if he repeated the act."

"The institution was destined to be burned, and after an hour and a half of labor on the part of the mob it was in flames in all parts."

"A mob of men and boys seized this unfortunate man on Monday evening, and having beaten him until he was in a state of insensibility, dragged him to Clarkson Street, and hung him from a branch of one of the trees that shade the sidewalk by St. John's Cemetery."

"They danced round their victim, setting fire to his clothes, and burning him almost to a cinder."

"Sated with blood, the rioters now turned their attention to plunder."

"He was killed by a bullet fired from one of the houses in the vicinity, and then barbarously beaten and mangled by the mob."

 

These descriptions displayed the atrocities of the New York City riots.  The rioters burned down buildings, beat people (especially the police and African Americans), stole goods, and created panic in the streets of the city.  It showed the worst qualities in human behavior.

     Many people in New York City were strongly opposed to the riots.  These people did not necessarily like the idea of a draft for soldiers, but they did not descend to the level of mob-violence.  Some people even stood up to the violence of the rioters:

 

"The word was given 'Stand firm!' and every man squared himself for what now seemed about to be a death-struggle with an overwhelming reinforcement of the mob."

"They both expressed themselves greatly in favor of virtue, and opposed to the scenes of violence passing around us."

"On the front steps of the building he stood up amidst an infuriated and half drunken mob of two thousand, and begged of them to do nothing so disgraceful to humanity as to burn a benevolent institution, which had for its object nothing but good.  He said it would be a lasting disgrace to them and to the city of New York."

 

According to the accounts in Harper's Weekly, the people opposed to the riot were in the minority.  It mostly chronicled the blatant violence of the mob and the struggle of the police and army to contain the rioting. 

     Some people might find the actions of the rioters to be surprising.  I, personally, do not find the actions to be surprising.  I find them to be atrocious, but not at all surprising.  After all, people were moved to kill six million Jews during World War II.  In our own country, we imprisoned many Japanese Americans for no justified reason in World War II.  People do crazy things during war times, but that is the nature of war.  It is not rational, so why should people ever be rational during it.

 

A side note about the Harper's Weekly accounts. . . These accounts were very interesting and well-written, but there was an obvious bias against the rioters.  Now, I am not saying that mob-violence is a proper means to change legislation, but I am saying that the magazine painted all people against the riots in an extremely positive light.  Not to take anything away from the police and the army, but I am sure that not all of them acted in such a glorious manner as the magazine describes.  I am sure that some of them used excessive violence in situations that might not have warranted such abuse.  I am interested in viewing some other accounts of the New York City Draft Riots.  Maybe Harper's Weekly was accurate, and I am wrong.  We'll see. . . .

Sarah Klim's Notes: The New York City Draft Riots (According to Official Military Sources)
On March 3, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln issued the Enrollment Act of Conscription to institute a draft that would provide the soldiers the Union Army desperately needed. Citizens in Union states had difficulty supporting the draft for several reasons. First, the fact that the army needed more soldiers seemed to indicate that an end to the war was not in sight. Second, many immigrants (especially the Irish) did not want to fight in the war. Basically, immigrants and blacks competed for the lowest-paying jobs in the North, and so immigrants didnÕt want to go to war to fight for their competitors. Third, the Act provided for exceptions, most notably a commutation fee. Wealthy individuals could pay this fee and be excused from service, which upset those of the working class who had no way to afford this fee.

When the New York Times printed the list of men automatically enlisted via the draft in July, 1863, riots broke out in several Northern cities. The riot in New York City was both the most violent and the most publicized. The majority of the rioters were Irish immigrants, but the rioting extended all over the East Side of New York City. The riotersÕ main target was the black community. Most citizens attacked by the mob were black, and a black church and a black orphanage were burned.

Out of necessity, Union troops from the Army of the Potomac were moved to New York to quell the riots and restore order to the city. They remained there for a few weeks and then some were moved to other cities, such as Buffalo, in case trouble broke out there. The ArmyÕs response to the situation in New York City was fairly immediate. As soon as troops were requested, they made arrangements to move several regiments there and stationed them in different areas of the city. According to the reports of the officers in charge of the troops, they were ordered to restore order, but not to use force unless necessary. In other words, if the officers felt the lives of their men were in danger, they then could order them to open fire or to fight back.

The army documents show minimal loss of life and injuries to the soldiers, and also do not reflect many injuries to the rioters. I think the highest number of deaths for rioters that I saw was sixty. The army records also discuss how the mob looted stores and homes throughout the city. Also, Harlem and Yorkville are reported to be burning. I believe Harlem was predominantly black [not at this time], I donÕt know about Yorkville, but this agrees with the idea that blacks were the main targets of the mob. One of the officers commanding troops in the city says that he came upon the mob attacking blacks and that he sheltered them from their attackers. In the military reports, there seems to be no sympathy for the mob. In fact, I think the officers were rather annoyed about having to deal with the riots. They seemed to think it was their duty and so they took it very seriously, but I think they felt there were better ways for them to be spending their time since there was a war going on. At the end of almost all the reports and telegrams sent when the riots were over were thank youÕs expressed by the officers. They commended each other and their troops and the New York Police on a job well done. They definitely implied that they felt everyone had done his part in quelling the riots and that ending them had been a combined effort. The military thus felt it had done its job well.

Dan Holland's notes: I focused my review of the draft riots on the series of telegraph reports sent from Edward Sanford to the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton.

July 13, 1863: What is represented as a serious riot is now taking place on 3rd avenue, at the Provost-MarshalÕs office. The office has been burned, and the adjoining block is said to be on fire. Further, our wires in that direction have all been torn down.

Just two hours later, Sanford telegraphed another report saying that the riot has assumed serious proportions, and is now beyond the control of the police. As night fell the situation only got worse, as described in this horrifying scene, "The programme is diversified by small mobs chasing Negroes as hounds would chase a fox".

July 14: The absence of a strong government military force could clearly be noticed by all affected by the demonstrations. The rioters have compelled all the workers in the factories to stop working, which only adds to the massive mob. The city of New York is at the mercy of a mob, whether organized or improvised, I am unable to say. As far as I can learn, the firemen and military companies sympathize too closely with the draft resistance movement to be relied upon for extinguishing the fires or the restoration of order". At about noon, the rioters took possession of Mayor UpdykeÕs house, and are now destroying it.

At this, Sanford is compelled to strongly urge Stanton that no less than 10,000 good native soldiers be brought in to restore order immediately.

July 15: Word comes from Boston that a large gathering a people in the North End formed yesterday, which resulted in some fighting and the injuring of two police. At night the crowd made an attack on armory in Cooper Street. All window glass demolished by brickbats. The crowd then retreated, after troops forced them away, but returned with more intensity a short while later.

July 16: The reports consisted of mainly the same stories. During the latest riot 35 men were killed, of which 25 were rioters. According to Sanford now though, the mob is more organized and well armed, and is ready to fire at the word of command.

July 17: Police Commissioner Thomas C. Acton reports that in a fight last night near Gramercy Park, the soldiers got the worst of it, and were driven back, leaving one of their number killed. Captain Putnam started with two companies and thoroughly routed the rioters, killing 15-25, taking 16 prisoners, and recovering the body of a sergeant who had been killed during an earlier fight.

July 18: The rioting has been suppressed for the time being, but there are strong indications of a formidable and widespread organization to resist the taking away of conscripts under the draft.

Ryan Grew's notes: The draft riots of 1863 indeed were severe. At the time Lincoln called for the draft of 300,000 new men to fight for the North in the war. Fuel was being poured all over this incident. This started from the top where the mayor along with newspapers claimed after the war all free blacks were to come north. As a result of this all jobs that were being given to blue collar type workers would be in jeopardy. At the time Irish immigrants would be predominantly effected and felt they would not only lose their jobs but also their wives and daughters to the potential freed slaves. Therefore in protest they revolted. Harper's Weekly gives an account from the standpoint of one police officer involved in the situation.

The account of the officer describes an overall account of what happened as he saw it. He begins by stating how proudly and galiantly he and his other officers put down a riot of near 5000 men. He claimed that they saved many businesses in this act. He then proceeds to what I found very interesting. The officer gives accounts of the brutality of the mob. They lynched and hung an innocent black man and killed a police officer. Both of these were shocking, but the fact that the perpetrators stuck around to celebrate and in the case of the officer to pump more bullets into his body testifies to the horror that ensued. The offficer continues by describing the sacking of retail stores. This to me displays that the rioters weren't even focused on demonstrating there madness with the situation but just wanted to destroy. http://blackhistory.harpweek.com/7Illustrations/CivilWar/Illustrations/0484w500.jpg

The final testament that the officer gives tells a story that reminded me not of a typical riot but of war. The fighting and rioting went on in the streets as well as buildings being supressed by the U.S. army. This makes me think of scenes that you would see on CNN in the Middle East that display utter confusion. New York was overtaken by a war that was pegged as a riot. The other account of the given by Harpers Weekly was the burning and sacking of a colored Orphanage. The remarkable fact about this was that the perps of this act were predominantly women and children. They went on to destroy the orphanage and burn it to the ground.