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Lets back up a bit and return to June when
the Municipals and Metropolitans were at each other’s
throats. Mayor Wood resisted an order to disband and the
Metropolitan Police Board ordered his arrest. He was hold
up in City Hall the day he was to be arrested. On officer came
there to serve the warrant but was beaten off. A force of
50 Metropolitan Police returned later that day to enforce the
warrant and arrest Mayor Wood. His 300 Municipals, in the
building, protected him and assaulted the Metropolitans.
This was the account and aftermath.
From Frank Leslie’s Illustrated
Newspaper, June 27, 1857.
GREAT RIOTS IN NEW YORK – SCENES
IN THE CITY HALL – STRUGGLES FOR POWER BETWEEN THE
MUNICIPAL AND METROPOLITAN POLICE.
WHY THEY ARE FIGHTING IN NEW YORK
To those of our distant readers who,
far removed from the influences of our great city, take but
little interest in its internal quarrels, and who hearing of
wars and rumors of wars,
and are yet unconscious of how the
fight began. A brief account of the causes which led to the
present state of disorganization which exists in New York, will
prove both interesting and instructive.
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The recent Legislature adopted a new
charter for the city of New York, many of the provisions of
which interfered with the existing rights of officers and were
conflicting with the charter already in force. Still the
Legislature adopted the charter and the new officers were
appointed by the Governor, and not by the will of the citizens
and armed with what they deemed sufficient authority, proceeded
to fulfill the duties appertaining to their offices. The
Police Commissioners commenced to organize their new forces,
and to discharge all the old police officers who did not
acknowledge their right to act.
Now Mayor Wood, believing the main
features of the new charter a wanton usurpation of the
inalienable rights of the citizens of New York, refused to
recognize its legality, placed an injunction to restrain the
new Commissioners from acting, and put the matter for a legal
testing of its constitutionality. Injunctions were
multiplied, granted and regained, and after a week or two of
legal quibble, the Police Commissioners and other officers
under the new charter went to work in good earnest, pending the
final decision of the Court of Appeals. It must be
clearly understood that for several weeks past we have had two
organized police forces, the old, a large and well drilled body
of men under the charge of Mayor Wood and the other regular
city officers, and the new, literally, the new body under the
control of the Metropolitan Police Commissioners.
Notwithstanding this duality of city guardians, there
were no more murders, robberies and assaults, than usual.
All this time war was progressing, although no overt act
was committed, the arms used as yet being only the tongue of
bitter rivalry and hate.
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But on Tuesday, the 16th inst., the
difficulty was brought to a climax under the following
circumstances. By the death of Joseph S. Taylor, the
Street Commissioner, a
few days since, that office became
vacant, and the Governor of the State at once appointed this
important city officer. On Monday, the 15th, the new
incumbent, Mr. Conover, presented himself at the office of the
department, but was refused admission by Mr. Turner, the deputy
and now acting Street Commissioner. Mr. Conover, not
being permitted to enter “the holy of holies” of
the office, planted himself and some of his clerks inside the
railing of the outer office, and proceeded to transact business
pertaining to his duties. So for that day we had two
acting Street Commissioners, in all probability one
countermanding what the other ordered and refusing what the
other granted. Still everything went on smoothly until
the time for closing the office arrived. Mr. Conover was
then ordered to quit the premises, and on positively refusing
so to do he was ejected with only so much force as was
necessary to overcome his resistance. This created a
visible excitement among the hundreds of idlers, loafers and
others who had been hanging around the office all day, in the
hopeful expectation of a “muss” (sic) of some kind
or the other. The excitement spread through the political
circles of the city, and the mutual feelings of indignation and
hate grew stronger and stronger until it reached explosion
point by the following morning, when the grand coup
d’etat was determined upon and put into execution.
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WARRANT TO ARREST THE MAYOR
On Tuesday, the 16th, Mr. Conover
again presented himself at the Department of the Street
Commissioner, and being refused admittance, applied to Judge
Hoffman of the Superior Court for warrants against Fernando
Wood, James C. Willet and John W. Bennett for assault and
battery. He commenced two suits, one criminal and the
other civil, laying his damages at $10,000. The warrants
were granted and placed in the hands of certain officers to
serve, the bail in each case being $5,000.
ATTEMPT TO ARREST THE MAYOR.
One warrant was placed in the hands of
Capt. Walling of the Metropolitan force, who gained access to
the Mayor and displayed his authority. The Mayor could
not without receding from the position has taken throughout the
difficulty, recognize the authority under which Capt. Walling
held his office, and said to him that he was no officer and
that the warrant must be presented by some one else, at the
same time ordering Walling to leave the room, which he refusing
to do, was summarily ejected.
THE MAYOR REQUESTS THE AID OF THE
MILITARY.
Fearing that some extreme action would
be taken, which might lead to disturbance and perhaps blood
shed, the Mayor addressed the following note to the General in
command:
MAYOR’S OFFICE, NEW
YORK,
June 16, 1857
SIR, - You will please hold the militia
under your command in readiness to protect the city in
case of riot, subject to my orders.
Very respectfully,
FERNANDO WOOD, Mayor
Gen. C. W.
Sandford.
____________________________
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