Tag: 19th century

Governors Island

Governor’s Island is a large island situated directly in New York Harbor south of the tip of Manhattan. In recent years, Governor’s Island has been converted and used as a New York City park; but for a majority of its history Governor’s Island served as a key military installation for the city.  Under Dutch and …

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The Draft Riots: Brooklyn

Brooklyn had a free black community as well, called Weeksville. Established in 1838, and allowed economic mobility, intellectual freedom, and was self-sustaining . By the 1850s, Weeksville had over 500 residents, “ boasting more opportunity for homeownership, employment and success for its black residents than any other part of Brooklyn, and well beyond.”[1]. Many African …

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The Draft Riots: Staten Island

Staten Island traditional oral history recalls the events of the initial response to the riots as a single noble defense, but in actuality had two outcomes. The main telling goes that citizens in Port Richmond, which was a ‘hop, skip, and jump’ away from Manhattan, pointed a cannon towards the bridge at Bodine’s Creek to …

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The Draft Riots: Its Roots and Occurance

The New York City Civil War Draft Riots of 1863: Four Days of Unrest On the morning of July 13th, 1863, the American Civil War had been ongoing for two years. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Lincoln on the first of that year, freeing the slaves. The battle of Gettysburg had claimed its …

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Morrisey and Poole

John Morrissey and William “Bill the Butcher” Poole were the heads of their respective gangs, the Dead Rabbits and the Bowery Boys. Morrissey, an Irishman, was affiliated with Tammany Hall while Poole was an enforcer for the Know-Nothing party, a nativist organization that was against the influx of Catholic immigrants. Their rivalry came to a …

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Polo Grounds

Located off the Harlem River in Manhattan, the Polo Grounds was the home for the New York Giants from 1891 until they moved to San Francisco in 1957. With World Series, Army Navy Games, and even boxing matches held there, the Polo Grounds was one of the most popular establishments in the New York sports …

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