New York City draft riots

The New York City draft riots were a series of violent disturbances across New York City in mid-July 1863 that were the culmination of working-class discontent with new laws passed by the U.S. Congress that year to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War. With at least 120 civilian casualties, the riots remain the largest civil and racial insurrection in American history, aside from the Civil War itself.

History

The rioters were overwhelmingly working-class men, who resented the fact that wealthier men could afford to pay a $300 (equivalent to $5,766 in 2015) commutation fee to hire a substitute and be spared from the draft. Initially intended to express anger at the draft, the protests turned into a race riot, with white rioters, predominantly Irish immigrants, attacking Black Americans throughout the city. The official death toll was listed at 119, but the actual number is suspected to be as high as 1,200.

After hearing news of the ongoing riots, President Abraham Lincoln diverted several regiments of militia and volunteer troops who had fought at the Battle of Gettysburg, sending them to New York to restore order. The military did not reach the city until after the first day of rioting, by which time the mobs, primarily ethnic Irish, had already ransacked or destroyed numerous public buildings, two Protestant churches, the homes of various abolitionists or sympathizers, many black homes, and the Colored Orphan Asylum at 44th Street and Fifth Avenue, which was burned to the ground.

Assassin and Templar involvement

Start of the riots

Secretly, the riots were part of a Templar scheme to increase their influence in North America amidst the chaos of the Civil War, hoping to eventually regain the same level of dominance they had held before the American Revolution. Grand Master William M. Tweed, serving as the leader of Tammany Hall, noticed the growing tensions between the wealthy and working-class citizens of New York and took advantage of the situation by tasking his agent, Cudgel Cormac, to convince the city's gangs to instigate chaos and mayhem.

After Cudgel proved successful in this regard, Tweed organized a meeting with his fellow Templars within Tammany Hall, where he explained that, although many lives would be lost in the riots, they were a necessary sacrifice to further the Order's agenda. His primary goal was to use the resulting chaos to discredit his political opponents, the Mayor and the Governor, and increase his own popularity. In turn, this would grant the Templars greater control over New York politics, enabling them to rebuild the city in their image after the riots and eventually steer the Civil War towards a favorable conclusion.

Fight for the Dagger of Eden

As the riots broke out on the morning of 13 July 1863, Cudgel made his way towards the Aztec Clubhouse, having been informed by the Grand Master that the club was in possession of a Dagger of Eden—in reality a prong of the Trident of Eden. Meanwhile, fellow Templar Charles W. Sandford, who held the position of senior officer in the New York State Militia, used his influence to prevent the military from taking initial action against the rioters, leading to the city being quickly consumed by chaos.

The Assassins were unable to prevent the bloodshed due to having only one active agent in New York at the time, Varius. This was a deliberate choice made by the American Brotherhood's Mentor, who believed that having a single undercover operative would prevent detection by the Templars, allowing the Brotherhood to more easily spy on their activities. Having also been informed about the Dagger held by the Aztec Club, Varius made the artifact's recovery his primary mission. However, while he beat Cudgel to the clubhouse, he failed to secure the artifact when the Templar shot him with a paralyzing dart and stole the Piece of Eden.

Despite his victory, Cudgel arrogantly chose to spare Varius' life and decided to wait until sundown to deliver the Dagger to the Templars, as the ongoing riots made it too dangerous to traverse the city. In the meantime, he went to rescue several Black children from an orphanage that had been set on fire by rioters, believing that this act of violence was unnecessary and out of line with the Templars' goals.

Varius and Cudgel were not the only individuals caught up in the riots, as Abraham, one of Tweed's servants, was attacked and beaten to death by a white mob while looking for his daughter, Eliza. Although police officer Tommy Greyling and singer Adelina Patti, who had taken refuge from the riots together, attempted to save him, it was too late, and Abraham succumbed to his injuries shortly after reaching Tweed's estate.

Meanwhile, Eliza came across the injured Varius after heading to the Aztec Club to investigate the Templars' plans, having learned about them from a letter delivered to Cudgel, which she saw with her Eagle Vision. The girl helped the Assassin recover from the dart's effects, and he agreed to help her look for her father while they both made their way to Tweed's estate to stop Cudgel from delivering the Dagger of Eden. At the estate, Eliza witnessed her father's death and met Tommy and Adelina, before Cudgel arrived, leading to another fight between him and Varius.

During the brawl, Cudgel inadvertently used the Dagger's powers against Varius, leaving the Assassin vulnerable and allowing the Templar to injure him with a throwing knife. However, he was then shot with his own air rifle by Eliza, paralyzing him. Although furious at Cudgel and the Templars for starting the riot which had claimed her father's life, Eliza chose not to kill Cudgel and vowed to avenge her father by stopping the Order. She then retrieved the Dagger and, together with Tommy and Adelina, took Varius to the hospital.

Aftermath

Although the New York riots were ultimately suppressed, the demographics of the city changed as a result of the extreme violence the Black citizens had faced. So many Black Americans left Manhattan permanently, many moving to Brooklyn, that by 1865, their population fell below their 1820 census count of 10,000.

Varius eventually recovered from the wounds he had sustained during the riots and inducted Eliza into the Brotherhood, becoming her mentor. Eliza would subsequently complete numerous missions for the Assassins, including delivering the Dagger of Eden to General Ulysses S. Grant, allowing him to lead the Union army to victory and end the Civil War. She also brought forward evidence of Tweed's corruption, leading to his arrest in 1871 and foiling the Templars' plans to rebuild their influence in America.

Gallery

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  Rioters burning an orphanage

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Locus (flashback only)