The Riots in New York; Destruction of the Coloured Orphan Asylum

During the draft riots of 1863, the asylum was burned to the ground on the very first day of the violence.

NYPL ID number: 812649

1863

Picture Collection, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations

"Schedule of Property Destroyed or Stolen by a Riotous Mob, July 12, 1863"

Ashamed of what had happened to their city during the Draft Riots, New York's merchant class set up a Committee of Merchants for the Relief of Colored People offering all black New Yorkers whose property had been destroyed or stolen to submit claims for compensation. Albro submitted a lengthy list of items and eventually received $500 in compensation.

Albro Lyons

NYLP ID number: 1819712
Harry A. Williamson Papers. Sc Micro R-3984, Reel 1, Box 1, folder 3

1863

Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations

Letter from Sergeant John W. Rode to Albro Lyons, July 17, 1863

During the draft riots, a mob stormed the Lyons's home three times before finally managing to destroy the interior and partially burn it down. The mob's goals were multiple but precise: they wanted to strike at the heart of the black family; destroy black property and what they deemed to be undeserved wealth; undermine black enterprise; prevent black sailors from obtaining “white” work on the docks; and finally eliminate black activism (in the form of Vigilance Committees) dedicated to the abolitionist cause.

After it was all over, a police sergeant wrote this note to Albro Lyons promising help. What caught my eye was the reference to “said drugstore.” I wondered whether it was Philip's drugstore located right around the corner. If so, how could it have been a safe meeting place for a white police officer and a black victim gathering up his few remaining earthly possessions?

I found the answer in a New York Times obituary of Philip. Unlike Lyons, Philip had made himself indispensable to his local neighborhood. He had forged a mutually interdependent relationship between himself and his poor Irish neighbors. Giving away medicines for free, Philip was performing an act of charity but he was also ensuring the stability of the neighborhood in which he lived and worked, and safeguarding his own position within it. Accepting his benevolence over the years, his poor Irish neighbors repaid him during the riots by protecting him and his drugstore, upon which they depended so heavily.

Sergeant John W. Rode

NYPL ID number: 1819711
Harry A. Williamson Papers. Sc Micro R-3984, Reel 1, Box 1, folder 3

July 17, 1863

Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations

Protestant Episcopal Church, St. Philip's on Mulberry Street

In 1857 St. Philip’s moved from its original building on Centre Street to a more convenient location uptown on Mulberry Street. Despite their lack of funds, parishioners immediately set to work to beautify the new sanctuary. During the draft riots, authorities occupied the church as a barracks to house military troops brought in to restore order. The soldiers left the church heavily damaged. Devastated, St. Philip's parishioners demanded reparations from the city and the federal govermnment. It took them a full eight years to be reimbursed $1,500 out of the $2,500 requested.

photograph by G. Stacy

Negative #75721

circa 1860

Collection of the New-York Historical Society

#77616d

Metropolitan Police Headquarters, Mulberry Street near Bleecker

The New York police department established its headquarters at 300 Mulberry Street in1862. The building stood directly across the street from the church that St. Philip's had recently moved into. These headquarters were the central location for planning the city's response to the draft riots.

Lithograph by A. Brown and Company

NYPL ID number: 424490
Emmet Collection of Manuscripts Etc. Relating to American History

Booth's History of New York, volume 7

n.d.

Emmet Collection, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Arts, Prints, and Photographs, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations