NYC Draft Riots, Governor Horatio Seymour, 1863

New York governor Horatio Seymour's famous (My Friends) speech, delivered from the steps of New York's City Hall during the draft riots, was widely misrepresented in the press. Although not an enthusiast of President Lincoln's war policies, Seymour actually rushed to the scene of the riots and tried to restore order. Here Seymour stands on the City Hall steps, addressing a motley crowd of armed rioters, most of them Irish. It may have been published in connection with the New York Tribune, whose building is prominent in the background. The Tribune's editor, Horace Greeley, was among Seymour's most vocal critics. The New York City draft riots (July 13-16, 1863) were violent disturbances in Lower Manhattan, motivated by discontent with laws passed by Congress to draft men to fight in American Civil War. The riots remain the largest civil and racially-charged insurrection in American history. The protests turned into a race riot, with white rioters, predominantly Irish immigrants, attacking black people throughout the city. The official death toll was listed at 120 individuals. 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. Eleven black men were hanged over five days. The most reliable estimates indicate at least 2, 000 people were injured. Engraving by Henry Louis Stephens, 1863

Picture No

12697328

Media ID

47701409

Size

4500px x 3158px (2.2MB)

Credit

LOC/Science Source/Mary Evans