Arthur Fremantle - New York and The Draft Riots

New York and The Draft Riots

His passage having been secured, Fremantle arrived by train in New York City on the night of 12 July, booking into the Fifth Avenue Hotel.

The following day, Fremantle went out for a walk along Broadway. Upon his return to the hotel, he found that shopkeepers were closing their shutters early, and then noticed that several buildings were ablaze. Fire engines were present, but the crowd was not permitting them to be used. Increasingly alarmed, Fremantle saw a black youth pursued by the mob, eventually finding refuge with a company of soldiers, to the disgust of the massed protestors. Bewildered, the Englishman asked a bystander why the crowds were so vehement in their hatred of blacks. In response, he was told that they were 'the innocent cause of all these troubles'.

In fact, the New York City draft riots (July 13–16, 1863), the most violent insurrection in USA's history (apart from the Civil War itself) had begun, and were eventually to evolve into an anti-black pogrom.

A day later, Fremantle noted that the activities of the mob were worsening, with battles between police and rioters now taking place in the streets. An English captain reported that the mob had forced their way onto his ship and beaten his black crew members, forcing a French warship to threaten violence against any attacks against foreign vessels.