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While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
Continued Tranquility. Strange Assortment of
Plunder gathered in the Cellars and Shanties of the Rioters.
Search for it exasperates the Irish. Noble Conduct of the
Sanitary Police. Sergeant Copeland. Prisoners tried. Damages
claimed from the City. Number of Police killed. Twelve
hundred Rioters killed. The Riot Relief 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
Washington 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 Andrews 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 preserve the peace, if
the riot should break out afresh; and orders therefore were
given to arrest the march of regiments hastening from
various sections to the city, under the requisition of the
Governor. Still, the terror that had taken possession of men
could not be allayed in an hour, and although the police had
resumed their patrols, and dared to be seen alone in the
streets, there was constant dread of personal violence among
the citizens. Especially was this true of the negro
population. Although many sought their ruined homes, yet
aware of the intense hatred entertained toward 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 peaceably, 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 exhibited 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 everything
from barrels of sugar and starch to tobacco and bird-seed.
Said a morning paper: "Mahogany and rosewood chairs with
brocade upholstering, marble-top tables and stands, costly
paintings, and hundreds of delicate and valuable mantel
ornaments, are daily found in low hovels up-town. Every
person in whose possession 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 property taken from the
buildings sacked by the mob will be recovered." The rivers
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 out 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 knowledge. 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 fatigues with unflinching firmness, and did not
return to their regular duties till Monday morning.
The drill-officer also, Sergeant T. S. Copeland, became,
instead of a drill-officer, a gallant, active leader of his
men in some of the most desperate fights that occurred. His
military knowledge enabled him to form commands ordered
hastily off, with great dispatch. 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 prisoners, and in the term
of the court that met the 3d of August, twenty were tried
and nineteen convicted, and sentenced to a longer or shorter
term of imprisonment. Of course 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 fight, and hidden 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
report 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 naturally 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
previous to the riots, and the month during and subsequent,
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, Mr. 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 discharge of their duty in
suppressing the riots. Subscriptions to the amount of
$54,980 were paid in, and $22,721.53 distributed by the
Trustees of the Riot Relief Fund, in sums from $50 to
$1,000, each, 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 Riot 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 heretofore been made.
Reports 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 Brown, who considered himself
unjustly assailed in them. Explanation of the disagreement
between him and General Wool having been fully given, it is
not necessary to repeat it here. The same may be said of the
statement of General Wool, regarding his orders on Monday
the 13th, respecting the troops in the harbor. But in this
report of General Wool to Governor Seymour, there are other
statements which General Brown felt it his duty to correct.
General Wool says, that finding there was a want of harmony
between Generals Sandford and Brown in the disposition of
troops, he issued the following order:
Gentlemen: 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 reporting to me
that his orders were not obeyed by General Brown, I issued
the following 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 order ." The only explanation of this,
consistent with the character of both, is that General 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 commanders of which were
to order out what co operating force of police they deemed
necessary and march up and down the disaffected districts,
trampling out the lawlessness according to rule. This might
be all well enough, but the question was, how were these
troops, strangers to the city, to find out where " such
parts of the city " were in which was " the greatest danger
from the rioters ?" 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 should have been ordered to concentrate at
once, and put themselves under the direction of the Police
Commissioners. Again, General Wool says he issued the
following order to General Brown, on Tuesday:
"Sir: It is reported that the rioters have already
recommenced their work of destruction. Today there must be
no child's play. Some of the troops under your command
should be sent immediately to attack and stop those who have
commenced their infernal rascality 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 report to
Governor Seymour, viz.: 'That patrols of military and police
should be sent through the disaffected districts;' and the
one July 14th, 'Today there must be no child's play,' etc.,
were not issued by me, and I cannot therefore say whether
copies were sent to you or not. They were certainly not sent
by me.
We have explained how the error may have occurred with
regard to the first order. But there is no explanation of
this, except on the ground 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. He was well 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 countermanded, and that General Brown 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. He says: "With the remnant of the [his] division
(left in the city), and the first reinforcements from
General Wool, detachments were sent to all parts of the
city, and the rioters everywhere beaten and dispersed on
Monday afternoon, Monday night, and Tuesday morning. In a
few hours, but for the interference of Brigadier-general
Brown, who, in disobedience of orders," etc.
The perfect gravity with which this assertion is made is
something marvelous. One would infer that the police 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 burned 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 detachment 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 Wool and Sandford are both mere after thoughts,
growing 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 etiquette. They had
something more serious on hand, and they bent their entire
energies to their 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 quelling the riots in the
streets is simply ridiculous. That was the work of the
police and the military under the commissioners and General
Brown.
The statement of the Police Commissioners, Acton and Bergen,
on this point is conclusive. They say 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 certain 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 supposed by
General Sandford, we are of the opinion, already expressed
in our address to the police force, that through your
prompt, vigorous, and intelligent action, the intrepidity
and steady valor of the small military force under you,
acting with the police force, the riotous proceedings were
arrested on Thursday night, and that without such aid mob
violence would have continued much longer."
Well Earned Praise
On the week after the riot the Board of Police Commissioners
issued the 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 13th inst., the peace and good
order of the city were broken by a mob collected in several
quarters of the city, for the avowed purpose of resisting
the process of drafting names to recruit the armies of the
Union.
Vast crowds of men collected and fired the offices where
drafting was in progress, beating and driving the officers
from duty.
From the beginning, these violent proceedings were
accompanied by arson, robbery, and murder.
Private property, unofficial persons of all ages, sexes, and
conditions, were 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 organization at the Central
Department, throwing new, unwonted, and responsible duties
upon the Board.
At this juncture the telegraph wires of the department were
cut, and the movement of the railroads and stages violently
interrupted, interfering seriously with our accustomed means
of transmitting orders and concentrating 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 Department, 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 restore
public order.
Under such, adverse circumstances you were called upon 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. The military
forces in command of Brevet Brigadier-general Harvey Brown
reported 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 victories.
The contest continued through Monday, Tuesday, 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.
During the whole of those anxious days and nights,
Brigadier-general Brown remained at the Central Department,
ordering the movements of the military in carefully
considered combinations with the police force, and
throughout the struggle, and until its close, commanded 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 order, and were commanded by officers of courage and
ability. They cordially 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 periled all to save the city from a reign of
terror. To Captains Putnam, Franklin, and Shelley,
Lieutenant Ryer, and Lieutenant-colonel Berens, 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 superiors 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 the
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 commanding the movements of larger
detachments of the police.
The patrolmen who were on duty fought through the numerous
and fierce conflicts with the steady courage 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 faltering nor straggling. Devotion
to duty and courage in the performance of it were universal.
The public and the department owe a debt of gratitude to the
citizens who voluntarily became special patrolmen, some
three thousand 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 telegraph, and
the attaches of his department, by untiring and sleepless
vigilance in transmitting information by telegraph
unceasingly through more than ten days and nights, have more
than sustained the high reputation they have always
possessed.
Through all these bloody contests, through all the wearing
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 you to escape with less casualties
than could have been expected. You have lost one comrade,
whom 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 has been
inflicted upon 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 attempt to interrupt public order, we shall call
on you again to crush its authors, confident that you will
respond like brave men, as you ever have, to the calls of
duty; and in future, whenever 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 Canby, who, on the morning of Friday, the 17th
inst., took command of the military, relieving
Brigadier-general Brown, and to Gen. Dix, who succeeded
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 public order, the duties of the two forces
are always coincident.
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 harmony
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 service
in arranging the commissary supplies for the large number of
police, military, special patrolmen, and destitute colored
refugees, whose subsistence was thrown unexpectedly on the
department. The duty was arduous and responsible, and was
performed with vigor and fidelity. All the clerks of the
department, 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 whom were helpless, exposed, and poor. Mr. John H.
Keyser, with his accustomed philanthropy, volunteered, and
was appointed to superintend these wretched victims of
violence and prejudice, and has devoted unwearied days to
the duty. The pitiable condition of these poor people
appeals in the strongest terms to the Christian charity 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.
Great Riots of New York 1712 to 1873,
Including a Full and Complete Account of the
Four Days' Draft Riot of 1863
