This month we are marking the 160th anniversary of one of the most dramatic moments in New York City history – the Civil War Draft Riots which stormed through the city from July 13 to July 16, 1863.
Thousands of people took to the streets on Manhattan in violent protest, fueled initially by anger over conscription to the Union Army which sent New Yorkers to the front lines of the Civil War. (Or, most specifically, those who couldn’t afford to pay the $300 commutation fee were sent to war.)
In many ways, our own city often seems to have forgotten these significant events.
There are very few memorials or plaques in existence at all to the Draft Riots, a very odd situation given the numerous markers to other tragic and unsettling moments in New York City history.
In particular, given the number of African-Americans who were murdered in the streets during these riots, and the numbers of Black families who fled New York in terror, we think this is a very significant oversight.
In this episode, a remastered, re-edited edition of our 2011 show, we take you through those hellish days of deplorable violence and appalling attacks on abolitionists, Republicans, wealthy citizens, and anybody standing in the way of blind anger. Mobs filled the streets, destroying businesses (from corner stores to Brooks Brothers) and threatening to throw the city into permanent chaos.
Visit the website for more information
FURTHER LISTENING
Fernando Wood: The Scoundrel Mayor of New York
The Hoaxes and Conspiracies of New York
And did you see this performance from the musical Paradise Square, set during the Draft Riots?
#174 American Kicks: A History of the Rockettes
#173 Ruins of the World's Fair: New York State Pavilion
#172 Ghost Stories of Brooklyn
#171 The Keys to Gramercy Park
#170 The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino
#169 The Tallest Building In New York: A Short History
#168 DUEL! Aaron Burr vs. Alexander Hamilton
#167 Cleopatra's Needle and the Freemasons Secret
#166 General Slocum Disaster 1904
#165 Ladies' Mile
#164 The Astor Place Riot
#163 South Street Seaport
#162 George Washington Bridge
#161 Fire Department of New York (FDNY)
#160 Tompkins Square Park
#159 The Broadway Musical: Setting the Stage
#158 Hotel Theresa: The Waldorf of Harlem
#157 Early Ghost Stories of Old New York
#156 The Boy Mayor of New York
#155 Sesame Street to Seinfeld: NYC TV 1969-2013
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Dark Histories
The Best Song Podcast
Irish Songs with Ken Murray
The Rest Is History
American Scandal