Another historical question: did those private fire companies actually fight it out over who got to loot the burning buildings? I imagine that somebody had to pay for their services!
(I promise this is the last question)! The film ends with the scene of the graveyard (in Brooklyn?)…first you see the headstone (celtic cross) with Vallon’s name and dates, then you notice the Brooklyn Bridge (went up in the 1880’s, I believe).Finally, you see the WTC, and Vallon’s grave is covered by weeds. Were people ever buried in manhattan? Or were all the cemetaries destroyed when the skyscrapers went up?
The shelled buildings are still around 33rd and… mmm. 7th-ish. My father had a funny story about that… he told me when he came back from Vietnam he always wondered about the markings on the buildings, because they reminded him of what he saw there.
The private fire companies did fight, they did loot, and they charged you, yep. It was more or less a protection racket.
And yes, there are still graveyards in Manhattan. There’s a lot of stuff there.
ruadh - Jenny was a pickpocket, which was a step above a prostitute. She said she was never forced by Bill to have sex, and when she finally slept with him it was because she wanted to. Bill took her in - I’m sure if he forced prostitution he’d’ve taken advantage of it.
ralph124c - I believe that’s another authentic scene in the movie. New York didn’t even have a professional police department until after the war.
StG
Why is it that people are troubled by the idea of a “priest” having a son, but no one is questioned the fact of him leading a street gang? I think Church doctrine is pretty clear in frowning on members of the clergy hacking people to death in a gang fight.
Hmmm. Not to say that these buildings weren’t shelled, but the Herbert Asbury book says that the only Navy shelling that took place during the riots was actually down on Wall Street. The boats were anchored at the end of the street and when crowds started forming shots were fired to clear them, which it did, Wall St. was saved from looting. Buildings weren’t shelled, at least not on purpose.
Perhaps the Army brought some artillery in which caused the damage uptown, or perhaps that was from another riot.
So how were the draft riots resolved? Did the federal Govt. rescind the hated $300 bounty (that if you paid it exempted you from the draft)? I live in New England, and if you visit any old cemetary here, you will come upon the graves of Civil War soldiers. The amazing thing: I have personally seen the gravestones of men killed in battle, who were in their 30’s and 40’s! You really have to believe in a cause to do that! I assume that by 1862, the real volunteers had all been killed off, so the govt. had to resort to a draft-and the draft fell naturally heaviest upon the immigrants. I’m sure anybody with money simply paid the bounty, and let the poor be the cannon fodder…civil war battles werehorrible, bloody affairs…even if you were wounded, most likely you were in for a painful death. I wonder if Abe lincoln ever was bothered by the fact that he had to draft men into the army…there wasn’t a lot of enthusiasm for the war in the later years!
Ralph Yes there are some cemetaries in NYC. Some were moved out to Brooklyn and Queens but there are still a few and Manhattan today.
I think if the film wanted to be accruate there should have been a Starbucks on the graves at the end.
Befor the war NYC was very sympathetic to the south. The New York banks had lent a lot of money to the south and didn’t want to risk losing that money if slavery was abolished. But when the south wanted to break off they became very much in favor of the war.
Personally I thought the movie was not that bloody. If you compare the street fight to Saving Private Ryan or Gladiator there is much less blood and gore.
As far as the ‘shelled buildings’ 33 and 7th…I’ve never noticed shelling damage on the buildings in that area.
The artillery fire around 33rd street was Army, not Navy, and most of it was cleaned up in the early…mmm 80s. But not all of it. Lemme find my copy…
P138ish. Artillery fire, grapeshot, men dispatched from 7th avenue Armory to Second and 31st.
P145. Warships at the foot of Wall, with grape and cannister.
P149. Howitzers sweeping 32nd from 7th avenue, six rounds, grape and cannister.
That’s what I was remembering. One street off, but there were nasty pockmarks. Fired towards 8th avenue, from 7th, down 32nd.
P149, 28th street, between 1st and second, at least six rounds fired.
P150. Howitzer fire, 18th and 19th.
I seem to remember this damage as well.
P152, artillery fire, unspecified, Second Ave, between 29th and 31st.
Out of interest, what sits on top of the 5 Points area today?
Also, after having watched the film on video last night, just as a final reference on the closing shots from the cemetary? I got the distinct impression it was shot from across the river, on the up river side of Brooklyn Bridge, and wasn’t on Manhattan at all.
Does any have any links on what New York looked like at that time? Sewerage must have been a dreadful problem. What was the population of Manhattan in 1862?
Primarily Columbus Park in Chinatown.