| 165th New
York Volunteer Infantry / Wheat’s Tigers, Company B of the 1st Special Battalion
of the 3rd Louisiana Infantry
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The purpose of this short sketch is to provide the some
of the geographic, political, and social background necessary for creating a
credible first person impression of a New York
soldier. It is by no means
comprehensive, and is a work in progress.
My hope is that it will aid members of the unit either as a starting
point for developing first-person impressions or will provide additional
background to enrich their impressions.
This synopsis is divided into three sections: the first is a brief
examination of where the 165th NYSV troops were recruited; the second
includes some basic demographic information; and the third briefly explores
the political climate of New York
in the 1860s. Additional information
will be included as it is compiled.
Where the 165th was Recruited
The
165th New York Volunteer Infantry was originally recruited as the 2nd
Battalion of Duryee’s Zouaves (5th New York Infantry). It was organized in November of 1862 and
left in December for New Orleans. The 165th spent most of its federal service
in the state of Louisiana as
part of the 19th Corps, participating in the assaults on Port Hudson in May
and June of 1863. It also participated
in the Red River campaign in the spring of 1864. In July of 1864 the 165th was moved to Virginia
and served in the Army of the Shenandoah for the remainder of the war. The 165th had two commanders in its three
years of service: Col. Abel Smith, Jr. (from whence was derived the unit’s
occasional nickname: “Smith’s Zouaves”) and Col. Gouverneur
Carr.
Members of the 165th were
recruited in three counties in the state of New York: Kings, New York,
and Queens. Like most other federal infantry
regiments, the 165th was organized into 10 companies. The companies were lettered A through K,
with the letter J being omitted because it bore too near a resemblance to the
letter I. Members of all ten companies
were recruited in New York City. In addition, members of companies G, H, I
and K were also recruited from Long Island. Members of company F were recruited from Brooklyn
(Kings County),
and members of B were recruited from Jamaica
(Queens County). It may be especially useful to those
developing a first person impression to realize that the typical soldier in
the 165th was from New York City proper.
A Brief Demographic Sketch of New York in 1860
According
to the 1860 U.S. Census, the City of New York had a population of just over
800,000. By 1870, this population was
nearly 950,000, of which 202,000 (21%) had been born in Ireland. The bulk of this Irish immigration took
place in the 1850s following the potato famine in Ireland. Irish immigration to the United States hit
its peak in 1851 and 1852 with approximately 200,000 immigrants each
year. By 1860, the pace had slowed to
around 50,000 per year, however, spiked again in 1863 and 1864 with over
90,000 each year. This huge influx of Irish in the 1850s and
1860s is also reflected in the populations of Kings County (Brooklyn) and
Queens County in 1870. Of Kings
County’s 420,000 people, 19% were born in Ireland. The same is nearly true in Queen County,
were Irish immigrants made up 12% of the 74,000 population.
The native population of New York
City included English, Scotch, German, and Irish protestants. Overwhelmingly, the Irish immigrants of the
1850s and 60s were lower or lower-middle class Catholics. The Irish were not the only Europeans
arriving in New York during this time period.
Large numbers of Germans were arriving daily in the city. As well, smaller numbers of French, Danes,
Swiss, Italians, and Swedes and others added diversity to New York’s
population. A significant population
of African-Americans also lived in the city.
Politics of the 1860s in New York
Theodore
Roosevelt, in his work, New York: A
Sketch of the City’s Social, Political, and Commercial Progress from the
First Dutch Settlement to Recent Times, summarized the overall political
climate of New York City at the outbreak of the War Between the States:
[New York City] was...the
stronghold of the Democratic Party in the North... The mayor, Fernando Wood, in January, 1861,
proclaimed disunion to be “a fixed fact” in a message to the Common Council,
and proposed that New York
should herself secede and become a free city, with but a nominal duty upon
imports. The independent commonwealth
was to be named “Tri-insula,” as being composed of
three islands, --Long, Staten, and Manhattan.
According
to Roosevelt, New York
City was ready to secede with the Confederacy in 1861. But he also remarks that, “when Sumter
was fired on, the whole current changed like magic.” New York
sent thousands upon thousands of her young men south to fight for the Union
cause. Yet, a great deal of the
anti-war sentiment also remained in New York City,
as evidenced by the draft riots of 1863.
New York City
had always been a hotbed for political tension. It was the birthplace of the American or
“know-nothing” Party that grew to prominence in the 1850s and later was
absorbed by the Republican Party. This
party was known for its shady tactics and anti-immigration platform.
New York City
had three mayors between 1860 and 1865.
Fernando Wood served from 1860-1862, and was replaced by George Opdike. Charles Gunther, who served as mayor until 1866, succeeded Opdike. Brooklyn
(which did not consolidate with New York City
until 1898) also had two mayors during this time period. Samuel S. Powell served from 1861 to 1863,
when he was replaced by Alfred M. Wood, who served until 1865.
New York
State had two governors between
1859 and 1865. Edwin Morgan served in
office until 1863 when Horatio Seymour replaced him. Seymour
had been a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1860. New York’s
U.S. Senate seats were filled by Preston King and Ira Harris until King was
replaced by Edwin Morgan in 1863. All three New York Senators during the war
were Republicans.
As one develops his first person,
he is left with many questions to consider: What was the ethnic background of
my impression? An Irish immigrant? A
native New Yorker born of English stock?
What was his profession before he enlisted? A laborer?
A dock worker or sail maker?
What were his political leanings?
Was he Catholic or Protestant?
Was he from New York City
or Brooklyn?
This sketch is not an attempt to answer any of these questions—it is
merely intended as a starting point for their consideration.
Raleigh White
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