The Troy Draft Riot in the Evening and Overnight

Here is another black and white print depicting the New York City draft riots.

The Troy draft riot had originated as a worker’s strike and protest march against the infringement of the military draft upon the livelihoods of the working class. The later stages of the riot devolved into political, racial and ethnic motivated destruction and violence. The reporters for the Albany Evening Journal distinguished between the types of rioters from earlier as opposed to later in the day. The evening rioters were not the “men of the class of sturdy rioters of midday.” The evening rioters were described as “boys, mainly, who took advantage of the prevailing excitement to gratify feelings less of a political than a personal and mischievous character.” The activities were curbed at different places by the efforts of numerous prominent men in the community, who pleaded and coaxed the rioters into refraining from riotous activities.

In the evening and overnight, groups of rioters engaged in looting and vandalism specifically targeting well-to-do Republicans, who were known, open supporters of the Civil War. This was mainly done to the residence of Martin I. Townsend, a prominent lawyer and Republication politician. The rioters damaged the grounds, broke in some of the windows, destroyed the furniture and completely looted the first floor. Another home that was targeted for vandalism was Deputy Provost Marshal Laithe’s (or Leigh’s) house. The Liberty Street Presbyterian Church was also targeted for vandalism.

The Colored Orphan Asylum (an orphanage for black children) was looted, vandalized and burned to the ground during the New York City draft riots, in mid-July of 1863. Fortunately, all of the children and staff were able to evacuate in time, and no one perished. In Troy, New York, there was also rampant vandalism, violence and terror enacted towards black citizens during the Troy draft riot. It is very difficult to determine the extent to which black were victimized during the Troy draft riot. No blacks were identified by name in the newspapers (although many whites were). Blacks actually fled Troy because of the violence, and did not return until several days later, so it must have been bad.

Some groups of rioters engaged in vandalism, terror and violence directed towards blacks and immigrant Germans. Three “German houses of disreputable character” on Short Seventh Street were forcibly entered, the furniture taken out into the streets and set on fire. The rioters on Short Seventh Street also sacked additional “disreputable houses” on Ferry Street and Ida Hill. Numerous black tenements and citizens in the downtown area were targeted during the afternoon and evening. A contingent of rioters also went to the riverfront and demanded that a ship from New York City give up any black passengers and waiters working aboard. Fortunately, none were visible above deck, and the black passengers and waiters that were below deck were spared from violence. At both the Troy House and the Hunter House, rioters entered and undertook vandalism with the intention of seizing and assaulting the black waiters working there.

During the course of the riot, some of the rioters assaulted numerous African American people regardless of age or sex – even women and children were stoned, beaten and severely mistreated. Many of Troy’s black population fled into surrounding communities to escape the violence and remained out of the city for several days. The extent of vandalism and violence enacted upon blacks in Troy that day is undetermined because it was not extensively reported in the newspapers.