New York City in the American Civil War
Powerful New York politicians and newspaper editors helped shape public opinion toward the war effort and the policies of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.Led by William "Boss" Tweed, the Democrats were elected to numerous offices in New York City, and to the state legislature and judges' seats, often through illegal means.A series of U.S. Army forts, most constructed prior to the war, housed garrisons of Union troops to protect New York Harbor and the city from possible Confederate attack, but none occurred.Among the early regiments trained at Camp Astor were the Anderson Zouaves, commanded by Col. John Lafayette Riker, a descendant of the family who had owned the island.In addition to government factories, hundreds of small private businesses throughout the New York area, such as the National Arms Company, provided military accoutrements, supplies, sundries, and items of use and comfort to the soldiers.[3][4][5][6] Initially intended to express anger at the draft, which wealthier men could buy substitutes for, the protests quickly degraded into civil disorder against the Republicans and especially against Black Americans.Using artillery and fixed bayonets, after the first day the military suppressed the mob, but not before numerous buildings were ransacked or destroyed, including many homes, the Tribune office, an orphanage for blacks, and P.T.Thomas W. Knox, a veteran journalist for the New York Herald, published a series of scathing attacks on General William Tecumseh Sherman and his men.Secret agents from the Confederacy operated in New York City throughout the war, providing information on troop strengths, political views, shipments, etc.The plot was initially foiled due to a double agent who turned over communications to Federal officials, and to a massive military presence that deterred the plotters.But, on November 25, the saboteurs finally struck, setting fires at several hotels and other leading landmarks, including P. T. Barnum's museum, which had been rebuilt following the Draft Riots the year before.
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