USA > New York > New York : the planting and the growth of the Empire state, Vol. II > Part 17
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tween the two police forces in 1857 in the mayoralty of Fernando Wood, might well sug- gest to desperate minds a means of breaking the power of the loyal North. Conspirators were doubtless busy in New York, and the friction and restlessness under a draft alleged to be un- just gave them their opportunity. An anony- mous handbill was circulated evidently meant to incite an insurrection on the fourth of July, but the jubilations over the victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg called the loyal multitudes into the streets and prevented it. When the "Daily News" charged that "the evident design of those who have the conscription act in hand in this State is to lessen the number of democratic votes," and that " one out of about two and a half of our citizens are destined to be brought over into Messrs. Lincoln & Company's char- nel house," all the conditions were prepared for an explosion, in which the lawless classes should revel, and create a movement drawing to it men exasperated and therefore reckless. In various parts of the State, gatherings of disaffected persons took place, and mutterings were heard threatening the transfer of the war to Northern soil. The number of the disloyal was small, but they were active, and at this time were more free of speech than before or after.
When, July 13, crowds gathered about the
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provost marshal's office, at the corner of Third avenue and Forty-sixth street, New York, they included such disloyalists and criminals, with many honest citizens who had been forced to move with the gathering multitude. The first violence was the throwing of a paving stone through the window into the office where the draft was in progress. The shattering of the glass was the signal for other stones thrown at the officers, and then for a rush of the mob, utterly wrecking the place and the desks and papers ; and one of the assistant marshals, Lieu- tenant Vanderpoel, was badly beaten. Turpen- tine was sprinkled over the floor, and the whole building, of which the upper part was used for tenements, was burned to the ground. The rioters had taken possession of the hydrants. and for some time prevented the fire depart- ment from using them, and they assaulted and maltreated the superintendent of police.
From this scene of their triumph the rioters scattered in their work of rapine and arson. During the day and the night they sacked and burned houses, and robbed and murdered at will. They attacked an armory on Second av- enue to seize the weapons which it contained, and, with the loss of five or more killed. drove out the police, took the arms and burned the building. The office of the provost marshal at
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Broadway and Twenty-eighth street was sacked, and the whole block destroyed by fire. The mob, gathering numbers and fury, swept for- ward to the lower part of the city, and a de- tachment broke up the desks and counters in the business office of the " Tribune," but was scattered by a dashing movement of the police.
The colored people were the particular vic- tims of the brutal crowds. Men, women, and children were beaten and abused, and instances occurred where a victim kicked and knocked to death was hung to a tree, and a fire kindled under the suspended body. The colored half- orphan asylum on Fifth avenue was entered, the nurses and children maltreated and driven out, and the edifice burned. Into hotels and restaurants, where colored waiters were em- ployed, the mob rushed with wrath and fury.
The police fought gallantly against the mad thousands, with varying success, sometimes re- pulsed with loss of life or limb, but generally victorious in the bloody conflict. A company of fifty marines sent to quell the disturbance in the ninth district, firing with blank cartridges, was set upon by the rioters, and several killed, and nearly all the others badly bruised.
While the draft was the occasion of these dreadful seenes, the evidence of plan and lead- ership was such as to indicate a broader pur-
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pose than to check its progress ; the murder of the colored people sprang in part also out of the mad prejudice of the foreign-born inhab- itants. The success of such a mob in the chief city of the North would have been a victory for Lee's army, then invading Pennsylvania. By noon, General John E. Wool, in command of the Department of the East, issued a call to veteran soldiers in the city to volunteer for the suppression of the riots. Governor Seymour, having reached the city on Tuesday, issued a proclamation declaring that " riotous proceed- ings must be put down," and reminding citi- zens that the " only opposition to the conserin. tion which can be allowed is an appeal to the courts." On the same day he declared New York city in a state of insurrection, and gave notice " that the means provided by the law of this State for the maintenance of law and order would be employed to whatever degree may be necessary."
But the mob was still in practical possession of the city. It kept on killing colored people and destroying property. The stores were closed and all business interrupted, and the stopping of the running of stages and street cars gave a funereal aspect to the town. The citizens were, however, defending their homes and establishments; volunteers were organized,
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and troops were beginning to arrive; for the national government was aroused, and Secre- tary Stanton had ordered to the spot the New York militia regiments in service in Pennsyl- vania, sent thither on Lee's invasion. Tuesday afternoon the military begau to make itself felt. Lieutenant Wood, with one hundred and fifty regulars from Fort Lafayette, dispersed a crowd of two thousand at Grand and Pitt streets, but not without killing at least twelve, and wound- ing many more. Colonel O'Brien dispersed a like body on Third avenue. but, spraining his ankle, let his command move on, when the crowd turned upon him, and after killing him dragged his body for hours along the street, and delivered it at his home with gross abuses. On Wednesday, large grain elevators at the Atlantic Docks were burned by the mob, and on First avenue, between Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets. a well-organized force con- fronted a body of infantry. Ten rounds from two howitzers were fired into the crowd, but the mob drove the military before it, and only after a sharp fight were the rioters overcome. In the mean time, the authorities were using all means to lead all the people back to reason, and among other methods Governor Seymour in a brief address to the rioters, appealed for the maintenance of the law. Archbishop Hughes
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called " the men of New York " to his home by a circular, and on Friday addressed three thou- sand or more, asking: "Is there not some way by which you can stop these proceedings and support the laws, of which none have been en- acted against you, as Irishmen and Catholics ?"
On Thursday, Mayor Opdyke announced that the riots, which had for three days disgraced the city, had been in good measure subjected to the control of the public authorities. The power of the city, the State, and the national government had restrained the lawlessness, and gradually affairs returned to their regular or- der. For some days cavalry patroled the dis. tricts where the violence had been most marked, and detachments from the militia regiments were on duty. In his next message Governor Seymour stated that the number of killed and wounded was estimated by the police to be at least one thousand. The destruction of prop- erty was not less than $2.000.000. In Brook- lyn, also, riotous manifestations occurred. and considerable property was destroyed. In Trov the office of the " Times " was ransacked and its materials ruined, and in Jamaica the like spirit was shown.
The progress of the draft was interrupted in New York and Brooklyn by these mobs, while it went forward in the other districts. Gover-
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nor Seymour's protest led to a revisal of the en- rollment, and President Lincoln ordered mod- ifications August 11, announcing his purpose "to proceed with the draft, at the same time employing infallible means to avoid any great wrong," and finally a deduction of 13,000 was made from the quota originally required of New York. General John A. Dix, then command- ing the Department of the East, in a communi- cation to Governor Seymour, expressed himself " very anxious that there should be perfect har- mony of action between the federal government and that of New York," and asked his cooper- ation to see the laws faithfully enforced while the draft was taking place. August 15 Goy- ernor Seymour responded that there " could be no disturbances of the public peace which would not be infractions of the laws of the State, and those laws," he said, " would be enforced under all circumstances." General Dix, not satisfied with local preparations for maintaining order, asked the secretary of war for aid, and he sent forty-four regiments and batteries to the city for that purpose. Governor Seymour, August 18, issued a proclamation announcing that the draft was to be made in New York and Brook- lyn, admonishing citizens that "the spirit of disloyalty must be put down," and repeating his warning against riotous proceedings.
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The results of the draft in the State were disappointing. Of 77,862 conscripts examined, 53,109 were exempted for physical disability or other causes, 14,073 paid commutation, 6,619 furnished substitutes, and 2,557 went person- ally into the service. During the year 1863, however, nearly 50,000 volunteers were raised in the State and sent into the field.
The discussion over the conduct of the war brought out in New York frank expressions of opinion. The arrests of disloyal persons, and especially of C. L. Vallandigham in Ohio for utterances against the government and the war, prompted public meetings for protest ; and to one of these held in Albany, Governor Seymour wrote that " the action of the national admin- istration will determine, in the minds of more than one-half of the people of the loyal States. whether this war is waged to put down rebel. lion at the South, or to destroy free institutions at the North." Other gatherings were held. in which the people gave unwavering support to the national administration. and while admit- ting errors and shortcomings, demanded the use of every resource and energy to preserve the Union.
The legislature, adverse in politics, thanked Governor Seymour for securing a reduction in the quota under the draft, and provision was
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made by generous bounties to meet the call of the national government for additional men, and the State fulfilled the requisitions of 1864, reaching 204,105 men, and closed the year with an excess to its credit of 5,301.
While all the loyal States were prompt and vigorous in care for the soldiers in the field, to New York city, and especially to its women, belongs the credit of organizing on a -large scale the popular munificence. Several soci- eties were established for supplementing the work of the government for the relief of the sick and wounded. and for the improvement of the sanitary condition of the camps and hospi- tals. On the suggestion of these societies, as early as June 9, 1861, was created the United States Sanitary Commission, with its leading officers in New York, but with members in all the loyal States and national in its scope, and reaching far and wide in its beneficent opera- tions. Liberal as were the gifts of the people to this body and to the United States Chris- tian Commission, the commonwealth officially watched over its soldiers in the field. John F. Seymour was appointed general agent, with necessary assistants for that purpose, and a complete system was adopted under his direc- tion. The employment of special surgeons and nurses, the distribution of comforts, and per-
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sonal attention and sympathy, were even more helpful than the money expended.
The election of 1864, so critical in national affairs, and yet not doubtful in its main re- sult, caused intense excitement in New York. If President Lincoln should fail to be reflected and the executive authority should thus be laid on General McClellan, the belief was general that negotiations would take the place of war measures, with the result of the separation of the States, or the restoration of the relations ex- isting in 1860. Apprehensions were expressed of both fraud and violence at the polls in New York. General Dix issued an order from the headquarters of the Department of the East. in which he gave warning that rebel agents in Canada designed to " colonize at different points large numbers of refugees, deserters, and ene- mies of the government, with a view to vote at the approaching presidential election." and afterwards " shooting down peaceable citizens and plundering private property," and stringent precautions were recommended, while persons from the insurgent States were required to reg. ister their names, and detectives were set at work to watch suspected persons. The State authorities pronounced this action an interfer- ence with the privileges of citizens ; and a bri- gadier general of militia issued an order, which,
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while directing the national guard to maintain a watch on the Canadian frontier, declared that "the national government is charged with no duty or responsibility whatsoever relating to an election to be held in the State of New York." General Dix felt it necessary to send national forces to the northern frontier; and General Peck, from Buffalo, officially announced that " the government was slow to believe that any considerable force of the rebels would assemble in Canada for the sole purpose of murdering and pillaging undefended towns along the fron- tier. Such is, however, the fact, and rumor says plans have been matured for the commis- sion of crimes of a blacker character than has marked any former civilization." Governor Seymour issued, November 2, a proclamation appealing " to all men of all political parties to unite with those holding political positions in their efforts to allay undue excitement, soften the harshness of party prejudices and passions, and to avoid all measures tending to strife and disorder." Rumors of a conspiracy to burn the principal Northern cities on elec- tion day, and the experiences of the draft riots, led the national government to send General Benjamin F. Butler and General Joseph R. Hawley with an army of 7,000 men, that were kept on steamers ready for service at any point
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for election day, and the whole of the earlier part of that week. Fortunately peace was pre- served.
By an amendment to the constitution adopt- ed in March, 1864, soldiers in the field were permitted to vote just as if they were at home. In order that freedom of choice might be af- forded to the men in the field, Governor Sey- mour sent out democratic tickets, and Secretary of State Chauncey M. Depew provided repub- lican tickets. The soldiers, identified before a provost marshal, enclosed their ballots, with a formal statement of their right to vote. to a cit- izen in their respective election districts, and the ballots were duly deposited and counted. Allegations were made of false personation, and of forgery of the signatures of the voters and of the provost marshals. The opportunity for manipulating the ballots and for undue influ- ence over the soldiers was great. and only the importance of the choice of the hosts in the field and their undoubted right to be counted in a matter vital to the government. coukl ex- cuse the adoption of a system which it was so difficult to guard. In the canvass for votes five assistant State agents were charged with conspiring to commit fraud, and were tried be- fore a military commission, against the protest of Governor Seymour and a committee ap-
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pointed by him in the case of two. One of the five pleaded guilty, and was recommended to the clemency of the court, but he was sent to prison, although afterwards discharged ; an- other was found guilty, and imprisoned for five years. The others were, after long investiga- tion, discharged in 1866 as not guilty.
Order prevailed over the commonwealth on election day. When the votes were counted the electors favoring President Lincoln were found to be chosen by a majority of only 6,749 in a total of 730,721, while Reuben E. Fenton was elected governor over Horatio Seymour by 8,293 majority. Mr. Fenton first entered con- gress from the Chautauqua district in 1853, and was serving his fifth term when called to the executive chair of his State. Although not an orator, he was diligent and influential as a legislator, and had watched with devotion over the interests of the soldiers in camp and in the field. He was to serve two terms as governor, and in 1869 was to be elected to the United States Senate. He was for years a power in the politics of the State, by reason of his skill in organization, his affable address, and shrewd knowledge of men. He had somewhat retired from political activity before he died suddenly, August 25, 1885.
The discovery of an incendiary plot in New
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York city, and the firing of a number of hotels on the night of November 25, 1864, confirmed the belief that the draft riots were part of a con- spiracy in behalf of the rebellion. Robert Ken- nedy, who was one of the persons arrested, and who was hanged, confessed that he was one of eight whose plan was to set thirty-two fires in retaliation for the acts of Union troops in the Shenandoah valley. They were sent by con- federates in Canada, and he was escaping to his " command in the Confederacy " when ar- rested. The success of the Union armies put an end to these plots.
The services of the officers and men fur- nished by New York adorn many of the chap- ters of the civil war. If no single person at- tained to the first rank, a large number filled positions of great importance with eminent credit. In zeal and devotion and gallantry, New York troops were not behind their fellows in any danger or any trial. Wherever the sac- rifices and triumphs of the national army or navy are told or sung, their deeds will be l'e- membered and honored.
New York was represented during the war, in the United States senate, by Ira Harris, elected in 1861 to succeed William H. Seward, and Edwin D. Morgan, elected in 1863 to suc- ceed Preston King. The new senators were
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prudent and patriotic, and represented the loyal sentiments of their constituents. In the house of representatives the delegation contained many members of ability and influence. Be- sides those already in service, Charles H. Van Wyck, Roscoe Conkling, and Charles B. Sedg- wick entered in 1859; William A. Wheeler, Theodore M. Pomeroy, and Erastus Corning in 1861; Fernando Wood (a member in 1841), James Brooks (a member from 1849 to 1853), John V. L. Pruyn, John A. Griswold, Freeman Clarke, and Francis Kernan in 1863 ; Henry J. Raymond in 1865; and colleagues sat with them hardly less noteworthy as political lead- ers and as legislators.
Before the war closed, New York sent into the field 448,850 men, for periods varying from three months to three years, and was credited with 18,197 men who paid commutation, or a total of 467,047, according to the records of the war department. The State authorities claimed in addition 6.000 recruits to the regular army more than were allowed in the accounts of the war department, besides 16,213 militia who served thirty days, and for whom no credit was given, as none was given for persons ap- pointed to positions in the regular army and on volunteer staff corps. These claims would raise the number of men to 490,000. The in-
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vestigation and allowance by the national gov- ernment were closed by the peace. On the credits granted by the war department, the adjustment of time makes 1,148,604 years of service, or the equivalent of 382,868 men for three years. At the end of 1865, only seven regiments of infantry and two of cavalry re- mained in the service.
The strain on the commonwealth was such that the census taken in June, 1865, showed a decrease in population of 48.958 as compared with 1860. The amount of bounties paid by the State, counties, and towns, as stated in the official reports of the war department, was 886,629,228, - a munificence without parallel in human annals. At the same time, individ- ual gifts and benefactions flowed with uu- stinted profusion.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
WEAKNESS AND STRENGTH OF SELF-GOVERN- MENT.
1866-1875.
THE suppression of the rebellion dismissed to civil life the soldiers of the Union. Among these, in larger measure than elsewhere, there were in New York men of Irish birth and Irish blood. They organized in 1866 a movement for the invasion of Canada. They shipped arms to Eastport, Maine, and to Rouse's Point, perhaps for strategic purposes, where custom- house officers seized upon them. A force of from 1,200 to 1,500 men crossed the Niagara River June 1, seized Fort Erie, and, in a stub- born fight with Canadian troops sent against them, held the field at Ridgeway. The en- suing night the whole force was withdrawn. Two prisoners taken were sentenced to death, but saved by the friendly offices of the United States government. The movement was ap- proved by only a part of the Fenian leaders in the State, and their disagreements hastened its
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disastrous termination. For a while the ex- . citement on the northern frontiers was intense, hopeless, and ill-advised, as the invasion was re- garded from the outset.
The people of New York gladly returned to the tasks of peace. Projects were presented for the lengthening of the locks on the Erie Canal, and for deepening its channel, and other plans were carried out for extending the facil- ities of transportation. The State tax for the support of common schools was increased from three fourths of a mill to a mill and one fourth on the dollar of assessed valuation. Governor Fenton was reelected in 1866, but in 1868 the power of the State passed into the hands of the democrats. In the democratic national conven- tion held that year Horatio Seymour presided, and favored the nomination for president of Sal- mon P. Chase, who, as a member of President Lincoln's cabinet, would not be subject to oppo- sition for failure to give loyal support to the government during the war. The convention. however, insisted on making Mr. Seymour its candidate, and in the whirl of excitement he accepted the nomination. The canvass was ac- tive, and turned, as Mr. Seymour had foreseen, largely on the relations of parties and persons to the war for the Union, and from these the recent services of General Grant, the republi-
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can candidate, enabled him to derive irresist- ible strength. Mr. Seymour threw all his en- ergy and eloquence into a canvass which was hopeless from the outset ; and while New York gave him its support, he received all told only 80 votes in the electoral college to 214 for Grant. The popular majority in the State for Mr. Seymour was 10,000, while John T. Hoff- man, democrat, for governor received 27,946.
Mr. Seymour, who was never afterward a candidate for public office, although he ap- peared on the platform and in the press as the advocate of his party, devoted himself in larger measure to two departments in which he had already performed efficient labor. He became the zealous champion of the Erie Canal, and de- voted much time and effort to protect and pro- mote its interests, and to the day of his death exhibited in its behalf the same enthusiasmn that gave him distinction more than forty years before. To the topography and history of the commonwealth he gave study ; and in many occasional addresses, and hardly less in conver- sation with the many visitors who thronged to his home in Deerfield, he dilated on the impe- rial significance of the natural features of the domain, and on the distinct and strongly marked currents of the events which formed the Empire State. When he died, February 12, 1886, he
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was lamented, even more than as a politician, as an orator of signal charms and power, as a citizen beloved in private life, and as a New Yorker who loved his State and delighted to praise its beauties and to eulogize its greatness.
The excess of the majority cast for Mr. Hoff- man for governor over that cast for Mr. Sey- mour for president, and especially the majorities returned in New York city, prompted charges and inquiries concerning a new and dangerous power that ruled in elections and in municipal affairs. The government of the metropolis and of all large cities is a problem including at best many elements of radical difficulty. The vast expenditure and large force of officers, the in- attention of the citizens best qualified to rule, the conflicting interests, the numerous idle and vicious persons ready to serve any master, and the readiness to use municipal appropriations and offices for political purposes, afford a tempt- ing field to ambition and to greed. Appeal was made to the legislature to intervene to secure order and economy and good government, and statutes were passed for that purpose, which were seized upon by the rings as etlicient in- struments for their designs. Many thoughtful citizens favored the attempt by non-partisan bodies to diminish the evils from which New York city and county suffered from partisan rule.
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