11. The draft riots in New York City in July 1863
With the exception of the Civil War itself, the Draft Riots which rocked New York City from July 13-16, 1863, were the largest insurrection in American history. The majority of the rioters were Irish immigrants or of Irish descent, who resented the presence of free blacks in their neighborhoods competing for jobs and the perceived disparities of the draft, which saw many of them called to service while those able to afford substitution or commutation were not. The city was so out-of-control on July 16 that the regional military commander later said that he should have declared martial law, but did not because he did not have sufficient forces on hand to enforce it.
New York was a hotbed of pro-Confederacy sentiment in the early days of the Civil War, due to its business ties with the Southern cotton market. The blockade led to unemployment of many Irish immigrants, which coupled with the influx of freed blacks following the Emancipation Proclamation made many too poor to avoid the draft. The riots coincided with the drawing of draft numbers in the city. By the time police and federal troops suppressed the riots 119 people were dead, though some sources list the death toll as 120. Because so many recently arrived blacks fled the riots and the city, never to return, the true death toll of the riots was probably much higher.