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Incidents of the New York Mob.
The details of the great mob in New York fill many columns of the New York dailies. We clip a few extracts from the Times of the 14th, illustrative of its spirit and character.
At 11 A. M. word reached the Park Barracks of the disturbance, and Lieut. RIED and a detachment of the Invalid corps immediately repaired to the scene of the riot. — They went by the Third avenue route, the party occupying one car. On the way up, crowds of men, women and children gathered at the street corners, hissed and jeered them, and some even went so far as to pick up stones which they defiantly threatened to throw at the car. When near the scene of disturbance, Lieut. Ried and command alighted, and formed in company line, in which order they marched up to the mob. Facing the rioters the men were ordered to fire, which many of them did, the shots being blank cartridges, but the smoke had scarce cleared away when the company (which did not number more than fifty men, if as many,) were attacked and completely demoralized by the mob, who were armed with clubs, sticks, swords and other implements. The soldiers had their bayonets taken away, and they themselves were compelled to seek refuge in the side streets, but in attempting to flee thither, several, it is said, were killed, while those that escaped, did so only to be hunted like dogs, but in a more inhuman and brutal manner. They were chased by the mob, who divided themselves into squads, and frequently a single soldier would be caught in a side street, with each end blocked up by the rioters. The houses and stores were all closed (excepting a few liquor shops, which had their shutters up, but kept the back door open,) no retreat was therefore open to him, and the poor fellow would be beaten almost to death, when the mob becoming satiated and disgusted with their foul work, he would be left sweltering in blood, unable to help himself.
After this the mob concentrated and returned to the fire, where they found their friends awaiting them, with nourishment in the shape of liquors, which, as may be supposed, only added fuel to the fire already kindled; whisky soon accomplished its mission; the men became quarrelsome and squabbled amongst themselves. Some boasted of what they had done, one man boasting that he had nearly killed two soldiers, and wounded many more. Another, an obese, small, villainous looking Irishman, who carried the butt of a bayonet, boasted that he had "done for" a nigger. — Others, suffering from the wounds they had received, consoled themselves by exclaiming: "Never mind, Seymour and Wood are around, and will help us!" and "Old Abe will pay $300 to keep quiet," and the like. — All vehemently protested against the "300 clause," and were willing to be made to shoulder his musket as well as they. Those who had done the most in routing the military, such as chasing a soldier until he fell from sheer exhaustion and then boating him till he was near dead, were cheered and petted by their friends who, both men and women, gathered around them by dozens.
The Orphan Asylum for Colored Children was destroyed by the mob about 4 o'clock. — This Institution is situated on Fifth-avenue, and the building,with the grounds and gardens adjoining, extended from Forty-third to Forty-fourth street. Hundreds, and perhaps thousands of the rioters, the majority of whom were women and children, entered the premises,and in the most excited and violent manner they ransacked and plundered the buildings form cellar to garret. The building was located in the most pleasant and healthy portion of the City. It was purely a charitable institution. In it there are on an average 600 or 800 homeless colored orphans. The building was a large four story one, with two wings of three stories each.
When it became evident that the crowd designed to destroy it, a flag of truce appeared on the walk opposite, and the principals of the establishment made an appeal to the excited populace, but in vain.
Here it was that Chief Engineer Decker showed himself one of the bravest among the brave. After the entire building had been ransacked, and every article deemed worth carrying away had been taken — and this included even the little garments for the orphans which were contributed by the benevolent ladies of the City — the premises were fired on the first floor. Mr. Decker did all he could to prevent the flames from being kindled, but when he was overpowered by superior numbers, with his own hands he scattered the brands, and effectually extinguished the flames. A second attempt was made, and this time in three different parts of the house. — Again he succeeded, with the aid of a half a dozen of his men, in defeating the incendiaries. The mob became highly exasperated at his conduct, and threatened to take his life if he repeated the act. On the front steps of the building he stoop up amid an infuriated and half-drunken mob of two thousand, and begged of them to do nothing so disgraceful to humanity as to burn a benevolent institution which had for its object nothing but good. He said it would be a lasting disgrace to them and to the City of New York.
These remarks seemed to have no good effect upon them, and meantime, the premises were again fired — this time in all parts of the house. Mr. Decker, with his few brave men again extinguished the flames. This last act brought down upon him the vengence of all who were bent on the destruction of the asylum, and but for the fact, that some firemen surrounded him, and boldly said that Mr. Decker could not be taken except over their bodies, he would have been dispatched on the spot. The institution was destined to be burned, and after an hour and a half on the part of the mob, it was in flames in all parts. Three or four persons were horribly bruised by the falling walls, but the names we could not ascertain. There is now scarcely one brick left upon another of the Orphan Asylum.
During the greater part of the day, a crowd composed principally of overgrown boys, amused themselves by going around to the various newspaper offices down town, cheering the bulletins which announced the progress of the riot in the upper part of the city, groaning the editors of such journals as were deemed obnoxious by the mob, and chasing and beating every person of color who chanced to make his appearance. The Tribune, as a matter of course, came in for the principal share of the groans, and it is but fair to add that the Daily News monopolized the cheers. Various hints were given out by the rioters that the Tribune would be attacked in the the evening, but they were not credited, or if they were, no preparations appear to have been made to repel it. About 7 o'clock, however, the crowd of boys began to be swelled by a different class of roughs, who appeared on the ground with clubs in their hands, and from their appearance, had evidently been engaged in the more bloody work up town. — They immediately gathered around the Tribune office, and commenced a series of the most unearthly groans and demoniac yells. In a few moments one of the more forward among them commenced an attack upon the door of the publication office, which was locked, but which soon gave way to the pressure of the mob, who amid the crashing of broken doors and windows, rushed in a body into the building. In a moment more files of the Tribune were thrown out to the crowd and torn and scattered to the winds. In less than five minutes the office was completely gutted, and the desks and counters upset and broken. At length a platoon of the First Ward Police came rushing up Nassau street, and on seeing them the mob, which numbered not less than four hundred men and boys, ran like so many sheep, leaving Printing House Square, in less than three minutes, almost as clear of people as it is of a Sunday morning. It was a striking illustration of the cowardice of a mob when confronted by a handful of determined officers of the law. — Before leaving the office, the rioters set fire the building, but it was extinguisd by a policeman before much damage was done.
There were probably not less than a dozen negroes beaten to death in different parts of the city during the day. Among the most diabolical of these outrages is that of a negro cartman living in Carmine-street. About 8 o'clock in the evening as he was coming out of the stable, after having put up his horses, he was attacked by a crowd of about 400 men and boys, who beat him with clubs and paving stones till he was lifeless, and then hung him to a tree opposite the burying ground. — Not yet being satisfied with their devilish work, they set fire to his clothes and danced and yelled and swore their horrid oaths around his burning corpse. The charred body of the poor victim was still hanging upon a tree at a late hour last evening.
At about 5 o'clock a large body of rioters, differently estimated from 100 to 300 — the latter much the nearer — marched down Broadway with a banner inscribed ‘No draft’ with the American flag, and with every conceivable diabolical weapon. They amused themselves en route by cheering and groaning at will, and occasionally killing or maiming every "nigger" they met. When below Fourteeth street they avowed their determination of entering the La Farge House and seizing every colored servant there. Fortunately they were met at Amity street — unexpectedly to them — by a body of Police some some 200 strong, under Inspector Carpenter and Sergeant Copeland. The police instantly formed company front, and, with Inspector Carpenter far in advance, at once charged on the "double quick" The fight for a few moments was savage and terrific. Men fell by the dozen under the sturdy blows of the police, who had orders to ‘make no prisoners,’ and in five minutes naught was left of the lawless horde but the bodies of those ruffians who were knocked senseless lying on the ground. Too much credit cannot be awarded to the police for their behaviour on this occasion. They did not know whether one hundred or five thousand of the lawless were their adversaries, nor did they wait to ascertain. On they charged, and in five minutes were masters of the situation. This charge, and its success, must have had a salutary effect, being the first regular fight with the organized mob, and showing them that the police are their superiors.
A short time previous to the fight above described, the mob had paid a visit to the residence of Mayor Opdyke, No. 79 Fifth-avenue. Their number was estimated at about 500 — As the police had not yet arrived upon the ground, it seemed a foregone conclusion that the Mayor's house would share the fate of others, and be pillaged and burned by the mob. While the rioters were about preparing for the attack, Judge Barnard made his appearance, and by a well-timed speech persuaded them to desist from their purpose. — While the Judge was addressing them, the ardor of the more violent roughs had time to cool, and on the conclusion of his remarks, they took up their line of march in another direction.