Chapter II: Part 2

SIDNEY H. STEWART, Clerk of the Police, states what he saw
and heard before the arrival of the military: “I left the
Tombs that evening in company with Justice McGrath, and
arrived at the Astor Theatre about 7 o’clock; soon after the
doors were opened, the audience were assembling; on entering
the house, I found the theatre filled with people and a large
body of the police; most of the police magistrates were
there; Judge Edmonds was there also; the understanding with
the magistrates, Judge Edmonds, and the Chief of Police, and
Recorder, was that no arrests should be made in the house,
unless some overt act was committed, tending absolutely to a
breach of the peace; the usual indulgence was to be allowed
as to the hissing and applauding; that rule was observed.
In the course of the evening, demonstrations were made by
several in the parquette, by shaking their fists at Macready,
threatening him with violence, by twelve or fifteen persons,
certainly not to exceed twenty; an application was made at
this time to the Chief of Police to arrest them, and remove
them from the house; he delayed the order for some time,
and finally sent for the Recorder to consult with him on
the propriety of making arrests; after a consultation, it
was concluded to make the arrests, which was done; in less
than five minutes they were taken into custody, and order
comparatively restored; about this time a great deal of
hissing was heard in the amphitheatre, and loud applauding;
the play was still going on; several arrests were made in the
amphitheatre, by order of the Chief of Police and Recorder;
about this time, the first breach of peace on the house was
a large paving-stone which came through the window into the
house; the house continued to be assailed from those without;
an alarm was given that a fire was below under the dress
circle; it was soon extinguished; large stones were thrown at
the doors on Eighth street, smashing in the panels, and doing
other damage; the police were ordered into Eighth street,
say fifteen men; on my going into the street, I saw a large
concourse of people, but those near the door of the theatre
were mostly boys, who were apparently throwing stones;
several of them were arrested by the police and brought in;
I cannot say how many were aiding in the disturbance, but
certainly a very small proportion to the crowd collected; the
policemen arrested some six or ten of them, and the attack
on the door in Eighth street ceased; the attack then, after
these arrests, was made with more violence on the front of
the theatre in Astor-Place; a very large crowd was collected,
yet I could pass in and out with ease, comparatively; this
crowd did not appear to be very turbulent; a very large
number appeared to be citizens looking on, and not aiding
in the disturbance; the majority of those throwing stones
were boys from the ages of 12 to 18 years; several of the
policemen at this time complained of being struck with stones
and badly hurt; the policemen kept making arrests, and
bringing them in; I cannot say how many; the crowd appeared
to be increasing and more dense; the mob appeared to be
determined to accomplish some particular act; there seemed to
be a strong determination, although they only threw stones;
the force of policemen on Astor-Place amounted to from fifty
to seventy-five; the mob then continued to throw stones; the
military then came.”

TESTIMONY OF MAJOR GENERAL SANDFORD.

I am Major General commanding the military forces of this
county. On Thursday last, I received a message from the
Mayor, requesting me to come to his office. I went there, and
found the magistrates named by the Mayor assembled. The Mayor
informed me of the object of my being sent for. The Mayor has
stated correctly my reply, when I was asked in relation to
the expediency of issuing an order to call out the Military.
After it was decided to issue the order, it was understood by
the Magistrates present, that the effort should be first made
by the civil authority to preserve the peace, and that the
Military should not be called out until that effort failed.
I left the Mayor’s office after this understanding, and then
received this order:

MAYOR’S OFFICE, City Hall, May 10, 1849.

Having reason to apprehend a serious riot this evening,
which will require more force to preserve the peace than is
possessed by the police, Major General Sandford is requested
to hold a sufficient military force in readiness to meet the
apprehended emergency.

C. S. WOODHULL, Mayor.

After receiving this order, I ordered one Regiment—the
7th—of Infantry to assemble at the Artillery drill rooms,
and one troop of Light Artillery with two 6 pound field
pieces, to muster at the Arsenal. I directed a small
detachment of Infantry to protect the pieces. The regiment,
when assembled, on account of the shortness of the notice,
consisted of but little over two hundred men. The regiment
is known to the citizens by the title of the National Guard.
I went myself, in the evening, to the Artillery drill rooms,
and informed the Magistrate that I would remain there to
await orders. I understood there was to be a large Police
force at the Theatre. Many of the Magistrates thought this
force would be sufficient without the military. The regiment
was under the command of Col. Duryea. There are eight
Captains in the regiment. I cannot say they were all present.
Capts. Shumway, Underhill, Pond and Price, were present. We
remained there until a verbal message came to me from the
sheriff, the purport of which was, that a mob had attacked
the house and driven in the Police force, and were assailing
the building; this was between 8 and 9 o’clock, as well as I
can remember. On receiving this notice, I immediately ordered
the Regiment to get ready for marching, and to distribute
their ammunition, which consisted of one thousand rounds of
ball cartridges; I sent at the same time an order to the
Arsenal yard for the horse belonging to the Regiment to come
up immediately to the drill rooms, and march with us to the
grounds. The horsemen carried only their sabres; the troops
were put on the march, and moved rapidly up Broadway to
Astor-Place; the field pieces were Left at the Arsenal; no
order was given to the artillery. I was not aware, until I
got to the ground, of the extent of the mob; I thought the
force I had with me, in connection with the Police force,
would be sufficient to preserve the peace. Before getting
on the ground, I mounted my horse, and took charge of the
cavalry, directing the Infantry to follow close after us. The
horsemen, on entering Astor-Place, were formed ten ahead,
and advanced in that order until we got nearly opposite the
corner of the Opera House; at this place, we were assailed
with a shower of stones and brick bats, by which almost every
man was hurt, and the horses rendered almost unmanageable;
the men pushed rapidly through Astor-Place, and through the
whole distance were assailed with a shower of stones; the
infantry followed them. The mob extended from Astor-Place
to the Bowery; the mounted men, being conspicuous marks,
received most of the stones, and were driven off the ground.
I dismounted, returned through the mob, and took charge
of the Infantry. They were halted in line across the open
space beyond the theatre, with a dense mob on both sides of
them, who were assailing them with all sorts of opprobrious
epithets, and frequent volleys of stones. I ordered Col.
Duryea to form a column of division for the purpose of
clearing the ground in the rear of the theatre, intending
afterward to go to the front. The columns were formed
promptly, and moved forward through the mob, until stopped by
an excavation in the ground, which I had not previously seen,
on account of the darkness of the night. We filed around
this broken ground, and cleared the rear of the theatre,
the mob retreating before us as we advanced. Two bodies of
troops were stationed at each end of the theatre, extending
across the street. I then sent in for the Sheriff and Chief
of Police. Mr. Matsell furnished sufficient of the police
to take the place of the two lines of military, and the
whole were then put under march; passed through Eighth-st.
to Broadway, and around into Astor-Place, the Sheriff at
my request accompanied us. We moved down Astor-Place until
we got a little past the centre of the theatre. The mob
partially retreated to the middle and opposite side of the
street; they commenced an attack on the military by throwing
paving-stones. The paving in this vicinity had been taken
up for the purpose, as I was informed, of laying down water
pipes and building a sewer. I ordered the regiment to be
divided and to form in two lines across the street; the
right wing advanced toward the Bowery, and the left toward
Broadway, with the view of driving the mob each way from
the front of the theatre; during this period, the men were
constantly assailed with showers of stones and brickbats,
and many were seriously hurt; a number of men near by and
Gen. Hall were struck with stones, and dangerously injured.
After giving this order, I advanced toward the middle of the
street to Captain Shumway, who led the first company, with
Col. Duryea by his side, being outside myself next the mob;
the Sheriff was behind me; at this time, we were assailed by
a volley of stones, by which about eight out of eleven of the
first platoon were more or less injured. Myself, Col. Duryea,
and Capt. Shumway were injured. At this time, a pistol was
fired by some man in the mob, by which Capt. Shumway was
wounded in the leg, and, as I believe, Gen. Hall in the face.
Previous to this, the crowd had been repeatedly notified
by Gen. Hall and myself, and by other persons whose voices
I did not recognise, that they must disperse or they would
be fired upon. I was at this time partly knocked down, and
when I arose, I found three or four of the front rank partly
down, and the head of the column forced back toward the Opera
House, the shower of stones at this time being incessant;
orders were then given by myself and repeated by Col. Duryea,
to charge bayonet; the attempt was made, but the crowd was so
close upon the troops that there was no room for the troops
to charge, and some of the men had their muskets seized by
the crowd; the troops by this time were forced back to the
sidewalk; I stated to the Sheriff that it was impossible to
maintain our position without firing. I several times called
out to the crowd that they must fall back or we would fire;
after this the Sheriff gave the order to fire. Gen. Hall, who
was a short distance from me, made an exclamation to fire
over their heads; the order to fire was repeated by myself
and Col. Duryea, and the men fired once over the heads of
the crowd, against Mrs. Langdon’s house. A shout then came
from the mob, “They have only blank cartridges, give it to
them again,” and another volley of stones came instantly;
the troops were then ordered to fire again; I think the
order was given by myself and Gen. Hall; Gen. Hall said,
“fire low;” then, for the first time, the mob began to give
way; the troops then moved forward, crossing the street,
and driving the crowd before them until the troops got near
the corner of Lafayette-Place. The mob here rallied at the
corner of Lafayette-Place, on one side, and at the corner of
the theatre and the broken ground, on the other side, and
advanced, throwing volleys of stones; several of the troops
were hurt severely, and orders were given for the troops to
fire—one half obliquely to the right, the other half to the
left upon these two bodies of men; this was done, and the
crowd fell back into Lafayette-Place, and the broken ground
behind the theatre. There was no firing after this; the mob
kept a constant attack upon the troops for some time with
stones and brickbats. The whole number of military engaged in
the conflict was 210, one half of the line toward Broadway,
and the other toward Bowery; the mob has been variously
estimated from ten to twenty thousand. Previously to leaving
Eighth-st. to go around to the front of the theatre with the
troops, I sent up the Light Artillery and the portions of the
Sixth Regiment that was to support it. They arrived after
the firing had ceased. One gun was placed toward the Bowery,
and the other toward Broadway. The Infantry were stationed,
and the mob were again told that unless they left, they
would be fired upon, and the Artillery used, if necessary.
The mob dispersed, and the firing ceased. Upwards of 50 men
of this small detachment of 210 men, were injured, chiefly
before the firing commenced. I do not believe that the troops
could have withdrawn in safety when the order was given to
fire, and that they could not have maintained their position
without firing. During a period of thirty-five years of
military service, I have never seen a mob so violent as the
one on that evening. I never before had occasion to give the
order to fire.

TESTIMONY OF STEPHEN W. GAINES.

STEPHEN W. GAINES, sworn, says:—I am a counsellor at law,
residing at No. 180 East Broadway; on Thursday evening last,
I was at the corner of Astor-Place and Lafayette-Place; I
stood upon a pile of boards; I stood there from half-past
eight o’clock until after the last discharge of musketry;
from the place where I stood, I had a fair view of the Opera
House; when I first got there, the space between us and the
theatre was filled with people, but not densely crowded at
that time; I saw persons throwing stones at the principal
entrance, and at the windows of the Opera House; they were
nearly in front of the Opera House; sometimes a single stone,
and at other times a volley; about fifty feet in front of the
house was the principal scene of action; the street toward
the Bowery was filled with people; there were no stones
thrown from the quarter where I stood, and there were so few
actually stoning the house, that it was a surprise to those
witnessing it why the police did not stop it; the first I
saw of the military was the horse, and then followed the
infantry; they came from Broadway, passed the Opera House in
Astor-Place, and took their stand near the 4th avenue; I saw
no opposition; in about half an hour I saw the horse troops
pass up Astor-Place, towards Broadway; I should have left
upon the arrival of the military, but so many coming upon the
sidewalk, I could not get out; within a short time after,
the infantry passed up in front of the house; I saw the fire
from the discharge of the muskets as it left the barrels, as
the lamps were out; some of them were fired perpendicular,
some on an inclined plane towards the house of Mrs. Langdon,
and others horizontally; this was the first discharge; we
had no intimation of firing where I stood, until I saw the
flash; several other volleys were discharged immediately;
previous to firing the last volley, the street was nearly
cleared; most of the people had left the enclosure where I
was; there were, perhaps, half a dozen on the sidewalk in
front of where I was; I was still standing on the board,
when the last discharge took place up Astor-Place towards
the Bowery; between me and the soldiers the space was clear;
there was a small number of persons on the corner opposite
Mrs. Langdon’s house; they were out of the range of the fire;
this fire was nearly in the range of where I was standing;
I stepped back a pace or two, to bring myself out of the
direct line; immediately another discharge took place, that
being part of the previous discharge; upon the discharge, a
man fell upon the sidewalk in front of us; there were but a
few persons near him at the time; after he fell, he remained
on the ground half a minute, some supposed he was shamming
being shot; on picking him up, a wound was discovered in his
back, by the blood running; we took the wounded man down to
the drug store corner Fourth and Wooster street; on examining
the body, we found a wound in the lower part of his stomach;
his name was Henry Otten, residing at the corner of Hester
and Orchard streets; he was standing on the sidewalk at the
time he was shot, taking no part in the disturbance; after
leaving him, I learned that others had been shot; I have been
informed that he has since died.

TESTIMONY OF THOMAS J. BELVIN.

THOMAS J. BELVIN, residing at No. 133 King street,
boatman:—On Thursday evening last, I was at the disturbance
at the Astor-Place Opera House; I stood on the corner of
Lafayette-Place, by Mrs. Langdon’s house; when I got there,
about half-past-six o’clock, I saw a lot of half-grown boys
throwing stones at the Astor Opera House; I passed on the
opposite corner, and was talking to two Philadelphians; they
were saying how trifling this was to some of their riots;
I stayed there until the horse soldiers came, and then the
infantry; then there was a rush with the boys, and we
started back, and then returned again to see how the military
operated; I was standing on the corner of Mrs. Langdon’s
house when the first firing took place; when the military
left, the boys went back and commenced throwing stones again;
I stood there when the first discharge took place; a man
fell; I laughed, and so did others, as we thought that it
was only blank cartridges to scare them; I heard a man say,
“my God, look at this; he’s shot;” this was at the first
discharge of musketry; I heard no notice given to disperse;
they might have done so; after this I started and ran down to
the church on the corner of 4th street, and there I stood;
I don’t know how long I stood there, I was so frightened; I
stood there until I heard another banging of muskets, and
then I started and ran home as quick as I could; I should not
have gone there, if I had known they were going to use lead;
I went to see what was going on, like many others; I don’t
know how long I stood at the church before I heard the second
firing; I was glad to get there; I jumped over several people
in making my way to the church.

It is to be observed that the above accounts vary according to the position of the witnesses. Mr. Stewart confines his attention chiefly to the operations of the police; Gen. Sandford to those of the military; while others may be supposed to represent the views and feelings of the mere spectators.

On the examination of Mr. Stewart, he was asked, if, in his opinion, the riot could have been prevented or suppressed by the action of the police, without calling on the military. Though loth to give an opinion, which might be construed into a censure of the authorities, he stated his belief that the whole affair might have been differently managed.

The scene which followed the firing of the military, beggars all description. The wounded, the dying, and the dead, were scattered in every direction. There were groans of agony, cries for help, and oaths of vengeance. The dead and the wounded were borne to the drug stores at the corners of Eighth street and Broadway, and Third Avenue, and others in the vicinity, and surgeons were summoned to attend them. Some were conveyed by the police to the Fifteenth Ward Station-House, and a few carried to the City Hospital. Some of the dead and wounded were laid out upon the billiard tables of Vauxhall Saloon, a large crowd gathered around, and speeches were made by excited orators.

Had none but those actively engaged in the riot been shot by the military, these details would have been sufficiently melancholy. But even then, we are to consider that the men who composed the mob, may have acted, under ordinary circumstances, like honest and respectable citizens. A mob is composed of the same men in a state of temporary insanity, and they should be treated accordingly. Sober and quiet citizens, acting under such a temporary excitement, have committed the greatest outrages. They should be restrained, but not sacrificed, unless under the most imperative necessity.

But in this case, very few of the active rioters were injured—the greater part of the killed and wounded being either spectators, or persons passing by the scene. Thus, Bridget Fagan was walking with her husband along the Bowery, shot through the leg, and died at the Hospital. Mr. Stuart, an old retired merchant, was severely wounded in the neck, while standing in the Bowery; and Mr. Collins was shot dead while getting out of a car of the Harlem Rail Road. Wm. C. Russell, a lawyer, had his arm shattered while passing around the corner of the Bowery. Mr. Livingston, standing in St. Mark’s place, two blocks off, was severely wounded. There were many more such cases.

Of those who were shot down in the immediate vicinity of the Opera House, the greater portion were taking no part in the affair. Mr. George W. Gedney, a broker in Wall-street, who had a wife, to whom he had been married but little more than a year, and one child, was shot instantly dead, as he was standing inside the railing by the Langdon mansion. At the first volley, a ball pierced his brain. His wife knew he had gone to see the riot, and she had had a presentiment of some disaster. She sat watching and waiting for her husband, for it was the first time he had been out at night, without her, since their marriage. She waited until four o’clock in the morning in an agony of terror, when, unable to endure the suspense any longer, she rushed into the street, went to the house of one of her husband’s friends, roused him from his slumber, and begged him to go and seek for her husband. The man went, and found poor Gedney a cold corpse. Mrs. Gedney was sitting at the window when he returned, and motioned for him to come to her, but he shook his head mournfully, and passed by in silence. She knew that her beloved husband was no more. Her neighbor, who had not the courage to tell her the awful tidings, sent his wife to comfort her. This is but one of many such cases of domestic affliction, produced by the events of that night of terror.

CHAPTER SEVENTH.

THE DAY AFTER THE RIOT—POPULAR EXCITEMENT—CORONER’S INQUEST—LIST OF THE KILLED AND WOUNDED.

The morning of the eleventh of May was one of sad excitement in the city of New York. The extent of the calamity, the number of the dead and wounded, made a deep and solemn impression. Public opinion was very much divided. The more excitable breathed threats of vengeance, and the military were kept under arms during that and the succeeding day. A meeting was called in the Park, of “Citizens opposed to the destruction of Human Life.” Several thousands assembled, and resolutions were passed, thoroughly condemning the authorities for not exhausting the civil power before calling out the military, and characterizing the sacrifice of life as “the most wanton, unprovoked and murderous outrage ever perpetrated in the civilized world;” and calling upon the Grand Jury to indict the Mayor, Recorder and Sheriff, for ordering the military to fire on the citizens. Exciting and inflammatory speeches were made by Edward Strahan, Isaiah Rynders, and Mike Walsh, but the meeting separated without disturbance.

That night, all eyes were turned toward the Opera House, for though it had been closed by the lessees, and though Macready was in Boston, it had been given out that it should be destroyed. The most efficient measures had been taken by the authorities, and a proclamation issued by the Mayor. Gen. Sandford called out four troops of horse artillery, one squadron of cavalry, four regiments of infantry, including the fifth brigade, and a detachment of the veteran artillery, with a 24 pound howitzer. The artillery was planted so as to sweep the streets around the building, and the infantry and cavalry stationed at a convenient distance. The artillery was furnished with grape, and the infantry with ball cartridge.

At dark, an immense crowd filled the streets around the Opera House, but the military took possession of the ground, dispersed the mob, and barricaded the approaches to the scene. The mob, most violent at first in Broadway, having been driven from that position, made an attack upon the troops in the Bowery, and severely injured several of the soldiers; but the police, aided by the military, arrested or dispersed the offenders. At about 9 o’clock, the mob erected a barricade across 9th street, near the Bowery, to defend themselves from the cavalry, but it was stormed by the police. At one time, the attack upon the City Guard was so severe, that they were ordered to load, and the Recorder proclaimed that another shower of stones would bring one of lead in return; but fortunately the volleys ceased. Bonfires were kindled, but these only made the leaders of the riot conspicuous, and aided the police to arrest them. About thirty arrests were made, the mob driven off in all directions, and at midnight order was restored. Half this efficiency the previous night, would have saved all bloodshed. Order was restored, and though it was reported that a large number of persons had come from Philadelphia, expressly to take part in a riot, the peace of the city was not again disturbed.

On Saturday morning, the Coroner assembled a jury, who proceeded in carriages, to view the bodies of those who were killed. After viewing them, and witnessing a surgical examination of each, the inquest was continued at the Hall of the Court of Sessions. The Mayor, Recorder, Sheriff, Chief of Police, and several military officers and citizens were examined. We have given some of the most important of the testimony.

The Jury retired at half-past six o’clock, on Sunday evening, and after being out a short time, returned the following verdict:

We believe that Geo. A. Curtis, John McDonald, Thos. Aylwood,
George Lincoln, Timothy Burns, Henry Otten, George W. Brown,
Wm. Butler, George W. Taylor, Owen Burns, Thos. Belman, Neil
Gray Mellis, Asa F. Collins, Wm. Harmer, Thos. Keirnan,
Mathew Cahill, Geo. N. Gedney, came to their deaths by gun
shot wounds, from balls fired by the Military during the riot
before the Opera House, on Thursday evening, 10th May inst.,
by order of the civil authorities of the city of New York;
and that the circumstances existing at the time justified
the authorities in giving the order to fire upon the mob. We
further believe that if a larger number of the Police had
been ordered out, the necessity of a resort to the use of
Military might have been avoided.

NEW YORK, May 14, 1849. JAMES H. PERKINS, Foreman.

O. H. WILSON, WM. BANTA,
LEONARD H. HEGAR, J. C. BALDWIN,
JAMES CROPSY, LEANDER M. SAMMIS,
SAMUEL RAYNOR, EDWARD C. ROBINSON,
JOSEPH B. BREWSTER, WM. S. SMITH,
GEO. W. DAWSON, THOS. S. MILLER,
WILLIAM BALLAGH.

Five other persons, in a few days afterwards, died of their wounds. The following is believed to be a complete list of all the killed and wounded:

LIST OF THE KILLED.

GEORGE A. CURTIS,

Aged 22 years, born in Chautauque Co., printer; shot through
the lungs.

JOHN McDONALD,

Aged fifteen years, born in Ireland, shot through the breast.

GEORGE LINCOLN,

Aged 35 years, appeared to be a sailor; shot in the abdomen.

THOMAS AYLWOOD,

Aged 19, born in Halifax, a clerk; shot in the thigh: died
after amputation of the limb.

TIMOTHY BURNS,

16 years, a printer; shot through the right lung.

HENRY OTTEN,

22 years; grocer; shot through the breast. He died in the
15th Ward Station-House, in presence of his aged mother.

GEORGE W. BROWN,

From Boston; clerk; ball passed through left lung.

WILLIAM BUTLER,

24 years; ship joiner; shot through the head.

GEORGE W. TAYLOR,

21 years; house carpenter; shot through the head.

OWEN BURNS,

24 years; born in Ireland; a cartman; shot through the head.

THOMAS BELMAN,

17 years; born in Ireland; laborer; shot through the neck.

NEIL GRAY MELLIS,

27 years; the musket-ball passed directly through the heart;
left a wife and one child. The deceased was a nephew to
ex-Alderman Neil Gray of the 10th Ward.

ASA F. COLLINS,

45 years; born in this State; business a house agent. The
deceased received a ball in the neck, as he was descending
from the railroad car.

WILLIAM HARMER,

16 years; a butcher; was brought to the Bellevue Hospital
early on Friday morning, having received a ball in the
abdomen; he lingered until four o’clock in the afternoon,
when death relieved his earthly suffering. He was a native of
St. John’s, New Brunswick.

THOMAS KEIRNAN,

21 years; born in Ireland; a waiter; shot in the right cheek,
the ball passing into the brain.

MATHEW CAHILL,

26 years; born in Ireland; laborer; widower; shot through the
right breast; one child.

TIMOTHY McGUINN,

19 years; laborer. The deceased was residing with his mother,
in the rear of No. 107 West Thirteenth-street, and died soon
after being brought home.

GEORGE W. GEDNEY,

34 years; born in New York; a broker; resided at No. 82
Seventh-street. The deceased received a musket-ball directly
through the brain.

JOHN DALZELL,

Was wounded in the hip, and died after amputation of the hip
joint.

ROBERT MACLEURGEON,

Aged 20, a native of New York, received a wound while passing
through Lafayette-Place; and died at his mother’s residence
on Monday.

JOHN McKINSLEY,

Shot through the lungs, died on Sunday night.

HENRY BURGUIST,

Known as “Harry Bluff,” lived at 410 Pearl-street. Ball
grazed the neck, went into the right shoulder, coming out
behind the right arm. Died of his wounds at the hospital.

BRIDGET FAGAN,

Irish; 30 years old; shot in the leg, just below the knee.
She was two blocks off, walking with her husband on their way
home, and fell into his arms. Died after amputation.

Thus TWENTY-THREE PERSONS were either killed on the spot, or died of their wounds shortly after.

LIST OF THE WOUNDED.

The following list is probably incomplete, as many who were not seriously wounded have not been publicly reported:

EDWARD MCCORMICK, 135 First Avenue; 19 years old; worked at
200 Mulberry-street. Shot through the side.

CONRAD BECKER, 27 Hudson-street; worked for Mahoney and
Thompson, Upholsterers, Chatham-street. Ball went through the
right thigh.

GEORGE N. KAY, 28 years of age; merchant; boarded at 107
Chambers-street. Ball in the right breast, going entirely
through.

FREDERICK GILLESPIE, a boy; shot through the foot.

A SON OF J. IRWIN, 243 Tenth-street; ball through his leg.

B. M. SEIXAS, jr.,

MATTHEW CARHART, residence First Av., corner of Twelfth-st.;
shot through the breast and neck.

Mr. STEWART, of the late firm of Coley, Stewart, and Co., Mobile,
retired merchant; while standing in the Bowery was shot in the neck.

Mr. PHILLIP LIVINGSTON, a young man, who was standing in St. Mark’s
Place, was badly wounded, the shot entering the fore arm,
and coming out near the thumb.

Lieut. J. BROWN; son of Prof. Brown; residence 42
Crosby-street; was shot as he came out of the Amphitheatre
door.

Deacon A. M. COLLINS; of the Allen-street Church; was also
shot.

WILLIAM SELLECK; 23 years of age; residence 227
Seventh-street; dangerously wounded by a shot; a spectator.

A young Philadelphian; name not ascertained; badly shot
through the thigh.

Mr. BRAISTED; of the firm of Secor & Co.; spectator; shot
through the knees.

WM. C. RUSSELL, Esq.; a lawyer of Wall-street; left his
residence in Fourth-avenue, about half-past 10, and while
passing the corner of Lafayette-Place, had his left arm
shattered by a ball.

Mr. MARSHALL LEFFERTS; of the firm of Messrs. Geo. B.
Moorewood & Co. 14 and 16 Beaver-street; while on duty as an
officer, was knocked from his horse by a stone, and seriously
wounded.

One of the National Guards had his jaw-bone broken by a
paving-stone.

LORENZO D. SNELL, of Philadelphia; 49 Bayard-street; was shot
through the thigh.

Mrs. BRENNAN, house-keeper for Mr. Kernachan, corner of
Second-avenue and Ninth-street; while passing up the Bowery,
on her way home, leaning upon the arm of a man, was struck
by a ball in her left thigh, which passed through the fleshy
part of this and the right thigh, without injuring the large
vessels or the bones.

STEPHEN KEHOE.

Mr. VANDERPOOL; was wounded with a ball at the corner of the
eye.

A boy, by the name of STONE.

An instance of heroism is related of one of the wounded, who, when the surgeon was about to examine his case, said, “Never mind me now, but look round and see if there is not some one who needs you more than I do!” The speech was worthy of Sir Philip Sidney. The lives of such men ought not to be lightly sacrificed.

Of the military and police, a large number were wounded, some of them severely, by paving-stones. Capt. Shumway received a flesh wound with a pistol shot.

The military performed their duty, generally, with commendable coolness. Some, it is said, laid down their arms, rather than fire, and others fired into the air; but on the whole, they did quite sufficient execution, especially on those who were not actively engaged in the riot.

CHAPTER NINTH.

WHERE LIES THE BLAME?

The dead are sleeping in their quiet graves. Day by day, time brings its consolations to the afflicted; but has society no lesson to learn from the horrors of which we have given as full a description as could be given, by looking at the mere surface of things? We have shown the causes which produced this dreadful sacrifice of human life—this massacre of innocent and unoffending citizens, for many of the killed were truly such. Let us endeavor to turn the terrible lesson to some useful account.

Those who were actively engaged in the scenes we have described, experience different feelings in regard to it. The mob was made up mainly of well-meaning, but ignorant, rash, and misguided men. The best feelings of our nature, when they are perverted, may produce the worst consequences. In this case, a feeling of patriotism, and a sense of justice, were the ruling motives of those who violated the laws, broke the peace of the community, defied the constituted authorities, and caused the death of twenty-three human beings. They acted in all good conscience, but an unenlightened or misguided conscience is no security against wrong. Some of the worst deeds that were ever committed, were done “in all good conscience.” Thus Christ was crucified by a Jewish mob, and said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Thus, in all ages, the worst acts have been committed from the best of motives.

The authorities are probably satisfied with having maintained law and order, though at a terrible sacrifice, and the press has almost unanimously sustained them. But it should be remembered that almost all men are liable to temporary excitements. Mobs are affected with a kind of insanity. The madness of a crowd seems to be infectious. These rioters may, in their calm moments, be good and quiet citizens. We have seen some of the most sober and moral communities excited into a fury of passion. At any rate, they are brethren, and should be dealt with in love and kindness.

But law and order must be maintained; very true—it must be done at all hazards, but it should be done prudently, and with the least possible sacrifice. Humanity has its claims as well as law; and it may not be necessary to the maintenance of public order, that ignorant and misguided men, laboring under a temporary madness should be shot down like dogs, if they can be controlled by means more gentle.

The military acted naturally, under the circumstances. They were placed in an ugly position by the authorities, suffered severely for it, and obeyed their orders. No doubt, they regretted the fatal necessity. Some idea of the probable feelings of those who fired the fatal volleys, may be judged of from the fact that a brother of Mr. Gedney, who was shot dead at the first fire, was a member of one of the companies that fired the volleys. All men are brethren—but here was brother against brother, in a sense that the most unfeeling can appreciate.

A distinguished clergyman of this city, preaching on the subject of the riot, says of Macready and his right to act—“Though he had been the meanest of his kind, he should have been protected here to the conclusion of his announced engagement, if an army of ten thousand men had been required to wait upon his movements, and a ship of war chartered to convey him to his native land. We have done something to vindicate order and law, and we ought to have done more.”

A zeal for the rights of Mr. Macready and his friends, and for the cause of law and order is commendable—but it must not be forgotten that other rights must have been violated, or this riot could never have taken place. Those ignorant men had a right to education, and to such conditions of cultivation, as would have made them intelligent men and good citizens. They would never have raised their hands against society, had society done its duty to them. Before they committed this wrong, they had been most deeply wronged themselves; and it would be better to provide ten thousand schoolmasters to instruct people, than ten thousand soldiers to prevent the result of their ignorance.

Men can be zealous and indignant about the rights of play actors, or their patrons—and we have no disposition to deny their rights, or to interfere with the lawful exercise of them—but they forget in how many ways the rights of our brethren are violated, and not a word is said in their behalf. Give every man the natural and social rights that belong to him and we should have few crimes and outrages to complain of, and law and order could be maintained without standing armies or ships of war.

When we go deep into the investigation of social wrongs, we shall find that society brings upon itself the very evils it attempts to subdue. Society, by an unjust distribution of the avails of industry, enables a few men to become rich, and consigns a great mass to hopeless poverty, with all its deprivations and degradations. This poverty produces ignorance, the sense of injustice, grovelling tastes, and a loss of all high ambition. The only wonder is that under such circumstances of wrong and outrage, men are so forbearing, so honest, and so orderly. The only wonder is that more crimes are not committed against both property and life. Thousands of poor people know that they are robbed and plundered every day of their lives—they feel bitterly the hardships and injustice of their lot; but how calmly do they wait God’s justice to set them right! How few of them comparatively attempt to right their own wrongs, and to seize upon a portion of what society withholds from them!

This terrible tragedy is a lesson to us all. None can escape its warning. We are all responsible, all guilty; for we make a part of a society that has permitted thousands of its members to grow up in poverty and ignorance, and exposed to the temptations of vice and crime. This mob is but a symptom of our social condition, and it points out a disease to which we should lose no time in applying a proper remedy.

THE END.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES.

1. Silently corrected simple spelling, grammar, and typographical errors.

2. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.

3. There is no “CHAPTER EIGHTH” in the original book.