separately from enlisted men, and from some of the commands no reports are found, yet, so far as made, they show 2592 killed and 12,709 wounded, total 15,301, and 5150 captured, grand total 20,451.' The records of prisoners of war in the Adjutant-General's Office, U.S.A., give the names of 12,227 wounded and unwounded Confederates captured at Gettysburg, July 1st to 5th, inclusive.' When the Gettysburg campaign ended I was fairly in the Army of the Potomac, destined to be with it and of it and to share its fortunes for two years and to the end of the war. CHAPTER III NEW YORK RIOTS, 1863-PURSUIT OF LEE'S ARMY TO THE D URING the Gettysburg campaign the organized militia of New York City and the volunteer and regular troops stationed there were sent to Pennsylvania to aid in repelling the invading army, thus leaving that city without its usual protection. Horatio Seymour, Governor of the State of New York in 1863, was not, at all times, in harmony with President Lincoln and the War Department with respect to the conduct of the war, the necessity for raising troops, and the means by which they were obtained. His opposition to the draft was well understood, and gave encouragement to a turbulent population in New York City who were opposed to the war, and, consequently, to all radical measures to fill the city's quota. The poor believed they had a just ground of complaint. A clause in the Enrollment Act of Congress allowed a drafted man to be discharged upon the payment of three hundred dollars. commutation. This gave the wealthier people a right the poor were not able to avail themselves of. The city of New York had responded loyally with men and money in support of the Union at the breaking out of the war, but as the struggle progressed and the burdens of the city increased and many calls for men came, there occurred some reaction in public sentiment, especially among the masses, who imagined they were the greatest sufferers. Her Mayor, Fernando Wood, prior to the war (January 6, 1861), in a Message to her Common Council, denominated the Union as only a "confederacy" of which New York was the " Empire City"; and said further that dissolution of the Union was inevitable; that it was absolutely impossible to keep the States "together longer than they deemed themselves fairly treated"; that the Union could "not be preserved by coercion or held together by force"; that with the" aggrieved brethren of the slave States" the city had preserved " friendly relations and a common sympathy," and had not " participated in a warfare upon their constitutional rights or their domestic institutions," and, "therefore, New York has a right to expect, and should endeavor to preserve, a continuance of uninterrupted intercourse with every section." He denounced other parts of New York State as a " foreign power" seeking to legislate for the city's government; claimed that "much, no doubt," could be said in favor of the justice and policy of a separation,” and that the Pacific States and Western States as well as the Southern States would each soon set up an independent Republic. But Mayor Wood, not content with all this disunion nonsense, said further: "Why should not New York City, instead of supporting by her contributions in revenue two thirds of the expenses of the United States, become also equally independent? As a free city, with but nominal duty on imports, her local government could be supported without taxation upon her people. Thus we could live free from taxes, and have cheap goods nearly duty free. In this she would. have the whole and united support of the Southern States, as well as all the other States to whose interests and rights under the Constitution she has always been true; and when disunion has become a fixed and certain fact, why may not New York disrupt the bonds which bind her to a venal and corrupt master-to a people and party that have plundered her revenues, taken away the power of self-government and destroyed the Confederacy of which she was the proud Empire City? Amid the gloom which the present and prospective condition of things must cast over the country, New York, as a Free City, may shed the only light and hope of a future reconstruction of our once blessed Confederacy.” 1 1 This most audacious communication ante-dated all Ordinances of Secession save that of South Carolina, and preceded President Lincoln's inauguration by about two months. The proposed secession of New York City involved disrupting the bonds which bound her to the State as well as the nation, and could not therefore possess even the shadow of excuse of separate sovereignty, such as was claimed for a State. The dangerous doctrine of this Message and the suggestions for making New York a free city, and other like political teachings, bore fruit, and had much to do with building up a public sentiment which culminated in resistance to the draft and the monstrous, bloody, and destructive riots that ensued in New York City. The significance of the defeat of the Confederate Army at Gettysburg and the capture of Vicksburg on the 4th of July, 1863, were not well understood in New York when, on Saturday, July 11, 1863, pursuant to instructions, Provost-Marshal Jenkins commenced the initial work on the corner of 46th Street and Third Avenue, by drawing from the wheel the names of those who must respond to the call of the Government or pay the commutation money. The first day passed without any open violence, and with even some good-humored pleasantry on the part of the great crowd assembled. The draft was conducted openly and fairly, and the names of the conscripts were publicly announced and published by the press of Sunday morning. It appeared that the names of many men, too poor to pay the commutation, had been drawn from the wheel, and these would therefore have to go to the army in person regardless of inclination or ability to provide for their families in their absence. Others not drawn were apprehensive that their fate would be the same. On Sunday, therefore, in secret places, inhabitants of 1 Hist. of Rebellion (McPherson), p. 42. the district where the draft had commenced, met, and resolved to resist it even to bloodshed. The absence of the organized militia and other regular and volunteer soldiers' was, by the leaders of the movement, widely proclaimed, to encourage the belief that resistance would be successful. The police, though efficient, were not much feared, as they would have to be widely scattered over the city to protect persons and property. In the promotion of the scheme of resistance to Federal authority, organized parties went early Monday morning to yard, factory, and shop, and compelled men to abandon their labor and join the procession wending its way to the corner of Third Avenue and 46th Street. Captain Jenkins and his assistants, not apprehending any danger, recommenced the draft in the presence of a great multitude, many of whom had crowded into his office, and a few names had been called and registered when a paving-stone was hurled through a window, shivering the glass into a thousand pieces, knocking over some quiet observers in the room and startling the officials. This was the initial act of the celebrated New York riots. A second and a third stone now crashed through the broken window at the fated officers and reporters, and with frantic yells the crowd developed into a mob, and, breaking down the doors, rushed into the room, smashed the desks, tables, and furniture, and destroyed whatever could be found. The wheel alone was carried upstairs and eventually saved. The Marshal escaped alive, but his deputy, Lieutenant Vanderpoel, was horribly beaten and taken home for dead. The building wherein the office was located was fired, and the hydrants were taken possession of by the mob to prevent the Fire Department from extinguishing the flames, and in two hours an entire block was burned down. Police Superintendent Kennedy was assailed by the rioters and left for dead. The most exaggerated rumors of the success of the mob spread throughout the city, and other anti-conscript bands were rapidly formed, especially in its southern parts. While General Sanford of the State Militia, Mayor Opdyke of the city, and General John E. Wool were hastily consulting, |