USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > The memorial history of Boston : including Suffolk County, Massachusetts, 1630-1880, Vol. III > Part 38
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This may be taken as a fair expression of the sentiments of moderate Republicans of that day.
In the charter election of December, 1860, political feeling ran very high. Joseph Milner Wightman 1 was the candidate of both wings of the Democratic party and of the Old Line Whigs. Moses Kimball was the Re- publican candidate. The Webster Whigs were still a power in Boston, both socially and politically, and they threw the whole weight of their influence against Mr. Kimball on account of his action as a member of the board of aldermen that refused the use of Faneuil Hall in 1851 for the Webster recep- tion. Mr. Wightman, who had formerly acted with the Whig party, but who had been carried into the Democratic ranks by the Antislavery agita- tion, was elected by a majority of over three thousand votes.
As an executive officer Mr. Wightman was not wanting in energy or in honesty of purpose ; but he lacked dignity and discretion. His administra- tion fell upon an important period in our municipal history. The extraordi- nary demands upon the city authorities, growing out of the war, enlarged the powers and duties of the mayoralty to an unprecedented extent, and raised many questions new to municipal legislation. It required a man of much more than ordinary ability to manage the affairs of the city at such a time to the satisfaction of a community which had been favored with chief magis- trates who were generally dignified and sometimes wise. But while Mr. Wightman was not a man of more than ordinary ability, he possessed a good deal of energy and enthusiasm, and it was a time when energy and
1 He was born in Boston on Oct. 19, 1812, and was the son of English parents. At the early age of ten he had been obliged, by the death of his father, to leave school and become apprenticed lo a machinist. While serving out the terms of his indenture he eagerly availed himself of every opportunity to acquire a knowl- edge of mathematics, geometry, natural philos- ophy, and mechanical engineering ; and soon after coming of age he went into business as a manufacturer of philosophical apparatus. The discussion of the question concerning the intro- VOL. 111. - 34.
duction of water into the city first led him to take an interest in local affairs. He was ex- tremely active in promoting the scheme which was finally carried out, and from that time forth he has had a conspicuous part in municipal politics. He was a prominent member of the school committee for ten years (1845-55), and a member of the board of aldermen from April, 1856, when he was elected to fill a vacancy, to January, 1859. In both these positions he performed services which have been of perma- nent value to the city.
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THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
enthusiasm were wanted. He was put into the office by those who had been opposed to the election of a Republican President, but no one ever had occasion to charge him with lukewarmness in responding to the de- mands of the national administration for means to put down the Rebellion.
The Antislavery agitators, who were indignant over the failure of a Re- publican mayor fully to protect their freedom of speech, looked with con- siderable alarm upon the accession to power of a Democrat who might be inclined to shut them up altogether; and it seemed to them that the time had arrived to call in country Republicanism, which was of a more radical type than city Republicanism, to redress the balance. On Jan. 21, 1861, an order was introduced into the State Senate for the appointment of a joint special committee to consider the expedicncy of amending the charter of Boston so that its police should be appointed by the authoritics of the State. While the order was under consideration, on January 24, the Anti- slavery Society held its annual meeting in Tremont Temple. The galleries and the rear of the hall were filled with persons who interrupted the pro- ceedings by hisses and groans. The Mayor was called upon by the officers of the meeting to suppress the disturbance. He sent thirty policemen, but they made no serious effort to preserve order. Finally, on the writ- ten request of the trustees of the building, who feared injury to their property, the Mayor went to the meeting, accompanied by the chief of police, and under his instructions the galleries were cleared and order rc- stored. As soon as he withdrew the disturbance was renewed, and the meet- ing was then adjourned until evening, with a view to having the admission to the hall regulated by tickets. Some of the disturbers announced their determination to remain in the building until the evening mecting was held ; and the Mayor, being apprehensive of a riot, instructed the chief of police to clear the hall, close the doors, and prevent any meeting from being held in the evening. There was no such riotous spirit abroad as would justify such an arbitrary measure. The police might have preserved order if they had been properly instructed so to do by their superiors. After such an affair the proposition to place the control of the city police in the hands of the State authorities was favored by a good many persons who had no love for the Abolitionists. A committee of the General Court was appointed, and a great deal of testimony was taken in regard to the condition of the police force and the improper influences to which it was subjected by the mayor and aldermen; but although a precedent for the action proposed had been established by the New York Legislature, and had thus far worked well, the sentiment in favor of local self-government was too strong to be overcome even by the fervid rhetoric of the Antislavery leaders, and it was decided to let Boston manage her own affairs until her incapacity for so doing had been more fully demonstrated. The question was brought up several times in after ycars, but always with the same result.
Soon after the war broke out, the city was called upon to appropriate money for a variety of purposes not authorized by existing laws. To have
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refused to appropriate the money on the ground of a want of authority would have seriously impeded the work of furnishing men and supplies for the army. It is to the credit of the city authorities, and especially of the Mayor, that they did not hesitate to take the responsibility of using the city's money to do whatever was necessary to minister to the comfort of the soldiers and of the soldiers' families. Many persons who received com- missions to organize military companies had no means to provide quarters or subsistence for their recruits, and the Governor had no power at that time to establish camps where the volunteers might be maintained, drilled, and disciplined at the expense of the State. The city provided recruiting stations and paid for the subsistence of the men until they were mustered into the service of the United States. Uniforms and other clothing were also provided for the Boston volunteers; and regiments from other States, and from other portions of this State, passing through the city to the seat of war, were welcomed and refreshed on the Common or in Faneuil Hall. For these purposes about one hundred thousand dollars were ex- pended from the city treasury during the year 1861. Among other measures instituted by the city council of 1861 for the benefit of the volunteers and their families was one which involved only a trifling ex- pense to the city, but which was of incalculable value to the persons concerned. Arrangements were made by which the commanders of com- panies or regiments were enabled with little trouble to collect a portion of the money which their men received from the government paymaster and transmit it, without expense, to the mayor, to be deposited by him in a savings-bank, or paid to such persons as the soldier might designate. A very large amount of money was transmitted in this way, and many poor families had occasion to bless the Mayor for saving them from the necessity of receiving aid in a form which made them feel that they were objects of charity. In the following year the benefit of this system of allotments was extended by an act of the Legislature to the families of all the Mas- sachusetts volunteers, the money being transmitted to the State treasurer, and by him distributed to the several city and town treasurers; but some of the Boston regiments continued to send their money directly to the Mayor until the close of the war, as it reached its destination more quickly in that way.
In his address to the city government at the beginning of 1862, the Mayor strongly recommended the erection of a new city hall. The subject had been before the city council many times during the preceding twelve years, but the two branches had not been able to agree either upon a site or upon the plans for a building. Although there was strong opposition to entering upon any new enterprises while the resources of the people were being so heavily taxed to maintain the national government, a majority of the city council this year voted to build a new hall on the site of the old one, at an estimated expense of $160,000, and the corner-stone was laid on Dec. 22, 1862.
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THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
The requisitions made in July of this year for men to serve in the army created almost a panic. and led to the offer of heavy local bounties for vol- unteers. The city began by paying a bounty of one hundred dollars for men credited to its quota; and afterward, in order to compete with other municipalities which were offering much larger amounts, the payment was increased to two hundred dollars. The city was able to meet the demands made upon it without resorting to a draft ; but by the end of the year nearly a million dollars had been expended in premiums for volunteers.
The election of December, 1862, resulted in the defeat of Mr. Wight- man, and the reinstatement of Mr. Frederic W. Lincoln in the mayor's office.
The expenditures for war purposes during the years 1861 and 1862, although illegal and often extravagant, were never called in question by the people ; but what they did question was the expediency of erecting public buildings, widening and extending streets, and spending the city's money on other works which, in view of the tremendous crisis through which the country was passing, might well be postponed. The expenditures for what is known as " city junketing " began to assume rather formidable propor- tions about this time, and to excite the comments of the taxpayers. Junket- ing is not a modern vice. It has been the custom from the earliest times for the city magistrates to have occasional feasts - or, as Washington Irving calls them, gormandizings - at the public expense; and so the name of alderman, originally used to designate the elderman, - the man of the high- est wisdom and experience in the Teutonic community, - has come to be applied to the man of
" Fair round belly, with good capon lined."
But while the ancient alderman was satisfied with an occasional feast, his modern prototype seems filled with the desire to feast all the time; and the question as to the extent to which this desire should be gratified has fre- quently entered into the municipal elections in this city, and has sometimes determined the choice of a chief magistrate.
Mr. Lincoln was elected to bring the city government back to a more careful expenditure of the public money; and so well satisfied were the people with his efforts in that direction, that they continued him in office through four successive terms.
During the latter part of the year 1862 the cities and towns of the Com- monwealth had engaged in a ruinous competition for men to fill their scv- eral quotas under the calls of the President for additional troops. The raising of money by taxation for the purpose of paying bounties was illegal, and might have been stopped at any time on the application of ten taxpayers to the highest court of the Commonwealth; but the local au- thorities were sustained by the great body of the people in almost any meas- ure that was likely to avert a draft; and no man was willing, or rather no
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man dared, to throw any obstacles in the way of procuring volunteers for the army. When the Legislature met in January, 1863, the Governor recom- mended that bounties should be equalized and assumed by the State, to be paid by a tax on the property and polls of all the people. An act was accordingly passed forbidding towns and cities from raising or expending money for the purpose of offering or paying bounties to volunteers under future calls of the President, and a State bounty of fifty dollars was offered in lieu of all local bounties. In the summer of 1863, the city having failed to meet the requisitions for men by voluntary enlistments, it was found nec- essary to resort to a draft. On the afternoon of July 14 two assistant pro- vost marshals were serving notices upon the men who had been drafted for military service, and who lived in rather a disreputable quarter at the North End of the city, when they were suddenly assaulted by a woman whose husband was numbered among the conscripts. The cries of this infuriated woman acted like a preconcerted signal upon the people in the neighbor- hood. In an instant the narrow, crooked streets in the vicinity of the great manufactory of the Boston Gas-Light Company were filled with a mob of which women were the leaders, - the most frightful of all mobs. The marshals fled for their lives, and the local patrolmen, coming to their rescue, were set upon and beaten nearly to death. One gallant officer, a man of noble physique and of undaunted courage, attempted to make head against the terrible throng, but he was borne down, trampled upon, and maimed for life. The police rolls of the city still bear his name; and although he has never been able to do another day's service, no taxpayer grudges him the continued compensation of an active officer.
In a short time the whole North End of the city was in a state of revolt. The police of the First Division retreated into their station, which was threat- ened with assault. Then the city authorities saw that they had serious work on hand. For two days previous a portion of the city of New York had been under the control of a mob; and although there had been some indications of a disposition in this city to resist the enforcement of the draft, it was not believed that there would be any concerted resistance. It appeared after- wards that quite a formidable organization to resist the laws had been partially formed; but the leaders in that organization were probably as much taken by surprise at the sudden outbreak on the afternoon of the fourteenth as were the city authorities. Having taken possession of the streets at the North End, and surrounded the police station, the mob paused and awaited the next move of the city authorities. The composition of the mob was changed in the mean time. The men came from their work in the gas-house and elsewhere and took the places of the women. They pur- posed to test the question whether the Government had a right to drag them from their homes to fight in a cause in which they did not believe. The news of the great uprising in New York had been circulated among them, and its temporary success greatly stimulated their determination to resist. " I'd rather fight here, where I can go home to dinner," said one, "than in
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THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
the Southern swamps, where they don't have regular meals." But as a whole the assemblage was not a humorous one: it was taciturn, and took rather a serious view of the situation.
The Mayor was first informed of the disturbance by the marshal whose assistants had been mobbed. He was soon satisfied from the police reports which followed that extraordinary measures must be taken to preserve the peace. He acted with great promptness and resolution. There were only three local militia organizations in the city at that time: the independent company of Cadets (the prescriptive body-guard of the Governor), a bat- talion of cavalry, and a battery of light artillery. To these the Mayor issued his precepts, as authorized by the laws of the State, directing them to report to him forthwith, armed and equipped for service. This force was strengthened by several military organizations then in camp at Readville, preparing for service in the field, and by detachments from the heavy artil- lery and infantry companies on duty at the forts in the harbor. The Cooper- Street Armory, occupied by a light battery, was situated in the very midst of the riotous populace. The members of the local company had assembled quietly in the armory during the afternoon, without attracting much atten- tion. It was about seven o'clock in the evening when a company of United States artillery from Fort Warren marched down into the disturbed quarter to join the local battery. It was hooted and hissed while on the way, but was allowed to enter the armory without serious opposition. Then the mob closed in around the building in a dense mass, and began to break the win- dows. A lieutenant of the light battery, who attempted to pass through the crowd, was beaten and trampled upon. The men sent out to rescue him could regain the armory only by firing and using their bayonets. Then the building was assaulted in earnest; the brick sidewalks and cobble-stone pavements were torn up and hurled against the doors. A citizen standing at one of the windows inside the armory was killed by a pistol-shot. Just as the mob was about to effect an entrance through the front doors, which they had partially battered down, a loaded cannon was fired from within. Its charge tore through the mass and demolished a part of the opposite house- front. There was a moment's pause, and then the attack was renewed; but the firing of the infantry from the windows and doors dampened the ardor of the assailants, and a diversion was presently created by the proposition to sack Reed's gun-store, in Dock Square. In the mean time, the other militia organizations had been brought together, and were about to march to the Cooper-Street Armory, with the Mayor at their head, when word was re- ceived of the movement in the direction of Dock Square. A plan of the Square as it existed at that time, with the great number of narrow streets and lanes radiating from it, bears a very close resemblance to the centre of a spider's web. If the rioters had obtained arms from the numerous gun-shops in the neighborhood, and established themselves in this spot, they might, with intelligent leaders, have held the approaches against a greatly superior force; but as they came pouring in from the North End,
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they were met by an advance guard of policemen, who held them in check until the Mayor with his military force came up and effectually dis- persed them. One gun-store was broken into and a considerable quantity of arms taken; but the men who took them were scattered before they could make use of their weapons.
That was the end of the famous draft-riot in Boston. The whiff of grape-shot at the Cooper-Street Armory and the repulse at Dock Square disheartened the rioters. Those who had been drafted concluded that it would be less hazardous to fight the Southern rebels than to fight Mayor Lincoln. There were some slight disturbances in different sections of the city during the succeeding twenty-four hours, and a considerable portion of the military force was kept on duty for several days; but the spirit of the mob had been effectually crushed before midnight of the fourteenth. The number of rioters killed is unknown, as the bodies were in most cases con- veyed away secretly and buried without any official permit.
There was no further attempt to obstruct the operation of the Conscrip- tion Act. Of the twenty-six thousand one hundred and nineteen 1 men furnished by Boston for service in the army and navy, it appears that only seven hundred and thirteen were drafted. In the year 1864 the city ob- tained, through an act of Congress, credit for a large number of men who had enlisted in the navy since the beginning of the war; and although that gave a surplus of about five thousand men to offset any future requisitions, recruiting was continued with unabated zeal until the end.
In 1864 an important and a much needed improvement was made in the municipal organization for the relief of the poor. Under the provisions of the first city charter one person was elected in each ward of the city to be an overseer of the poor, and the persons thus chosen constituted the board of overseers, with all the powers formerly exercised by the town board. In the administration of their department they claimed the right to spend money to any extent and in any manner they saw fit. Grocers, coal-dealers, and others got elected on the board for the sole purpose of furnishing, either directly or indirectly, the articles for which the city paid. Mayor Quincy attempted in 1824 to obtain additional legislation by which the doings of the board would be brought under the supervision of the city council, but he failed; and his successors who afterward renewed the attempt failed, for the reason that the people could not be made to understand why the persons elected by them to the board of overseers were not as trustworthy as those elected to the city council. The change effected in 1864 was due
1 The Mayor in his message to the City Council, at the beginning of the year 1866, gives this as the total number of men furnished by Boston, as far as ascertained, at that date : army, seventeen thousand one hundred and seventy-five; navy, eight thousand nine hun- dred and forty-four. The several organizations in which they enlisted are given in the appendix
to the message. (City Document No. 1, 1866.) I have not been able to find either in the city clerk's office or the adjutant-general's office any- thing more complete or accurate than the state- ment furnished by the Mayor. [Sce General Palfrey's chapter on " Boston Soldiery," in the present volume, and Schouler's History of Massa- chusetts in the Civil War. - ED.Į
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THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
more, perhaps, to Alderman Norcross than to any other person. As the chairman of a committee which investigated the subject in 1862, he ex- posed the loose and irresponsible methods of the old board so effectually that the city council petitioned the General Court for authority to appoint the overseers and to audit their accounts. An act giving that authority was passed April 2, 1864; and the new board, composed of honest and capable men, was organized July 4 following, with Robert C. Winthrop as chairman.
On September 18, 1865, the city government took possession of the new City Hall, on School Street, and listened to an admirable address by Mayor Lincoln. Since January, 1863, the mayor, the city council, and some of the heads of departments had occupied the building belonging to the Massa- chusetts Charitable Mechanics' Association, on the corner of Chauncy and Bedford streets. The new hall was well fitted for the accommodation of the government of that day; but the growth of the city has since made it necessary to hire outside offices for many of the departments.
On April 4, 1865, an act was passed by the Legislature authorizing the city to build the new reservoir, since known as the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. This enlargement of the water-works became necessary to save the water which was wasted at the lake when it overflowed, and to have a larger supply than the Brookline reservoir to draw from in case of accident to the aqueduct. The cost of this work, including the handsome driveway which was constructed around the reservoir, was $2,450,000. The city was also authorized the same year to cut a street through Fort Hill. This led to the entire removal of the hill. Washington Square, which crowned its summit, --- once an attractive green spot, surrounded by the fine houses of wealthy residents, - had come to be a turfless, unwholesome piece of ground, surrounded by tenement houses of the lowest class. The work of cutting through the street was begun Oct. 15, 1866, and the whole ele- vation was removed by July 31, 1872. The amount of earth carried off, -- partly by an elevated railroad, to fill Atlantic Avenue and the docks on the landward side, and partly by carts, to raise the grade of the territory which had had its drainage impaired by the filling of the Back-Bay basin, - was five hundred and forty-seven thousand six hundred and twenty-eight cubic yards. The total cost of the improvement was $1,575,000. The mayor and aldermen had extraordinary powers from the General Court to take private property and assess the damages.
In the year 1866 the Legislature gave the city what it had been long pray- ing for, - that is, power to lay out, widen, and grade streets, and to assess upon each of the estates abutting on such streets a sum not exceeding half the amount which the estate is benefited by the improvement. Previous to the passage of this act the street widenings in the old portion of the city had generally been made by taking portions of estates where the owners had given notice of intention to build. By pursuing this policy the ex- pense of paying for buildings and for breaking up the occupants' business was saved; but it was nevertheless a very expensive way of doing the work,
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