The New York City Draft Riots began #OTD in 1863. The Irish dominated among the rioters, and African Americans were particularly targeted and murdered. The Irish American noted: "wherever a colored person was seen, he was hooted, pelted, or badly beaten; and one even hanged." 1/8
Among the buildings singled out by the rioters during those tumultous days was the Colored Orphan Asylum, which was set ablaze (above image). The New York Irish American Weekly gave their accounting of the week's events here: irishamericancivilwar.com/2013/07/18/150… 2/8
To my mind, class conflict was the main driver behind the Riots, and is also central to understanding why Irish Americans viewed African Americans as they did. I explore some of the reasons behind Irish racial attitudes here: irishamericancivilwar.com/2013/01/04/to-… 3/8
The rioters also clashed with military and police forces, many of whom were themselves immigrants. Robert Nugent of the Irish Brigade, then a Provost Marshal, had his house burned. Irish Colonel Henry O'Brien was among those murdered (depicted below): irishamericancivilwar.com/2012/02/25/iri… 4/8
The Draft Riots had a major impact on perceptions of Irish American loyalty during and after the Civil War, as Professor Susannah Ural has convincingly argued (See "The Harp & the Eagle"). In the eyes of many, it negated the efforts Irish Americans had made in uniform. 5/8
It's my view that the Irish association with the Riots continues to skew our perceptions of Irish service in the Union military. It is seen as an indication that Irish Americans turned against the war more decisively than any other group. I'm not convinced that is the case. 6/8
There's a lot to place on the other side of the scales- e.g. only a small % of the New York Irish rioted; the Irish served in higher-proportion than their % of the population in New York; proportionately the Irish were more willing to enlist as Substitutes than native-born. 7/8
The riots offer insight into the often complex class and racial dynamics and interactions at play in mid-19th century New York. The main work on the event remains Iver Bernstein's book, which you should check out it you want to find out more: books.google.ie/books/about/Th… 8/8
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