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(Monday, July 13, 1863, 10:00 a.m. local time; during the New York City draft riots, part of Opposition to the American Civil War) — The four-day New York City draft riots, widely regarded as the culmination of white working-class discontent with new laws passed by Congress that year to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War, began today when a furious crowd of around 500, led by the volunteer firemen of Engine Company 33 (known as the “Black Joke”), attacked the assistant Ninth District provost marshal’s office, at Third Avenue and 47th Street in the city’s borough of Manhattan, where the second drawing of draft numbers was taking place.
The rioters were overwhelmingly Irish working-class men who did not want to fight in the Civil War and resented that wealthier men, who could afford to pay a $300 (equivalent to $7,100 in 2022 though a typical laborer’s wage was between $1.00 and $2.00 a day in 1863) commutation fee to hire a substitute, were spared from the draft.
Video: 'How the Civil War Draft Incited Violence in New York City'
Initially intended to express anger at the draft, the protests turned into a race riot, with white rioters attacking black people, in violence throughout the city.
President Abraham Lincoln diverted several regiments of militia and volunteer troops after the Battle of Gettysburg to control the city.
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The military did not reach the city until the second day of rioting, by which time the mobs had ransacked or destroyed numerous public buildings, two Protestant churches, the homes of various abolitionists or sympathizers, many black homes, and the Colored Orphan Asylum at 44th Street and Fifth Avenue, which was burned to the ground.
The unrest ended on Thursday, July 16, 1863, after a final confrontation occurred in the evening near Gramercy Park.
Video: 'New York City Draft Riots, 1863'
The official death toll was listed at either 119 or 120 individuals. The most reliable estimates indicate at least 2,000 people were injured.
The riots remain the largest civil and most racially charged urban disturbance in American history.
The area’s demographics changed as a result of the riot. Many black residents left Manhattan permanently with many moving to Brooklyn. By 1865, the black population had fallen below 11,000 for the first time since 1820.
