The Great Riots of New York, 1712 to 1873Headley, Joel Tyler
History
The Great Riots of New York, 1712 to 1873
Headley, Joel Tyler
Draft Riot, New York, N.Y., 1863; New York (N.Y.) -- History; Riots -- New York (State) -- New York
as reliable, gallant, and noble a set of men as ever formed or acted as
the police force of any city in the world.
In the meantime, Governor Seymour and the Mayor of the city were not
idle. The latter at the City Hall, fearing an attack, asked Acton for
a guard of protection, and fifty men were sent him. Report of the mob
assembled there, reached Governor Seymour, at the St. Nicholas, and he
immediately hastened thither, and addressed the crowd from the steps,
which allayed excitement for the time. This speech was variously
commented upon. Some of the criticisms were frivolous, and revealed the
partisan, rather than the honest man. If the Governor had not previously
issued a proclamation to the whole city, in which he declared without
reservation that the mobs should be put down at all hazards--if this
speech had been his only utterance, then the bitter denunciations
against him would have been deserved. It would have been pusillanimous,
cowardly, and unworthy the Governor of the State. But he spoke in his
official capacity, not only firmly, emphatically, and in no ambiguous
terms, but he had hurried up the military, and used every means in his
power to accumulate and concentrate the forces under his control to put
down the riot. No faint-heartedness or sentimental qualmishness marked
any of his official acts. Prompt, energetic, and determined, he placed
no conditions on his subordinates in the manner of putting down the mob,
and restoring the supremacy of the law. But here in this address he was
speaking to men who, as a body at least, had as yet committed no overt
act; and many doubtless were assembled expecting some public declaration
from the City Hall. He was not addressing the plunderers and rioters
that were firing houses and killing negroes, but a mixed assembly, the
excitement of which he thought best to allay, if possible. Some said he
began his address with "My friends;" others, "Fellow-citizens." Whether
he did one, or the other, or neither, is of no consequence and meant
nothing. To have commenced, "Ye villains and cut-throats, disperse at
once, or I'll mow you down with grape-shot!" might have sounded very
brave, but if that was all he was going to say, he had better kept his
room.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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