Often is it, perhaps, that little deeds of gentle and silent charity,
care for the suffering, and unostentatious benevolence, speak more
eloquently for the heart of a true man, than those of valor on the
field of battle in the noblest cause. In the Tribune of June 1, 1863,
is copied a certain appeal made a day or two before, and which we
recopy below:--
"TO THE POLICE OF NEW YORK: Thousands of soldiers--your
fellow-countrymen--are now lying in the hospitals about Washington,
suffering from wounds received in battle. Their chief torment is a
craving thirst; water is unwholesome, and cannot be given in quantities
sufficient to satisfy the craving. The only safe and effectual remedy
is found in the juice of lemons, and for a supply of this fruit the
kindness of individuals must be appealed to. Twenty-five cents from
each member of the force would afford incalculable relief to those who
now pine for the want of this simple luxury. Will you help? All money
paid over to Inspector Carpenter for this purpose will reach its
destination immediately."
This appeal, effectively "displayed" (in the job-printer's parlance),
and printed upon small handbills, was secretly circulated among the
police, and soon resulted in a contribution by them of the unexpectedly
large sum of over six hundred dollars, for lemons for the sick
soldiers. Though a small affair in the matter of money, it proved a
great one in other considerations. It was not only a beneficent act,
but a very judicious one. From whom the appeal emanated was a profound
secret among the police, until, on the 8th of June, 1863, there
appeared in the Tribune a notice of a "report" by the late Inspector
Carpenter, in which, referring to this matter, he says: "To Patrolman
McWatters, of the Twenty-Sixth Precinct, is due the credit of
projecting this trifling donation from this department to relieve the
sufferings of our sick and wounded soldiers."
In many other quiet and effective ways Officer McWatters administered
to the comfort of our soldiers and their families during the war, but
we have not space to recall them here. Some of them became known, from
time to time, and were recorded in the public journals of the day.
"RIOT WEEK," JULY, 1863: OFFICER MCWATTERS IN THE THICK OF THE FIGHT.
During the whole war nothing of a more fearful nature to the cause of
the Union occurred than the great riot in New York city, which
commenced on Monday, the 13th of July, 1863, and was not subdued until
the following Friday. The people of the North were, to a considerable
extent, becoming weary of the war, and thousands, if not tens of
thousands, who had previously exhibited a good degree of sturdy
patriotism, began to wane in their vigor and firmness of purpose, and
were ready to "let the rebels go in peace hereafter." But the facts of
those perilous days are too fresh in the memory of all to need recital
here. The rioters were exultant, and the people stood aghast for a
while; but finally the Metropolitan Police force obtained ascendency
over the surging elements of the local rebellion, and brought back
peace to the city again. But this was not done without more severe
effort and a greater destruction of life than was generally understood
by the country at large at that time.
Before us is a book, entitled "Record of the Police during the July
Riots, 1863," by David M. Barnes, in the preface of which the author,
speaking of the slaughters during those days, says, "The number killed
by the police and military in the different conflicts, when alone and
united, can never be ascertained; it is estimated by those who
witnessed the scenes, and had the best opportunity of judging, at
fourteen hundred. The bodies of those killed on the spot were hurriedly
taken off, and in many cases conveyed out of the city, or secreted
here, and privately buried. Cases of subsequent deaths from wounds, it
is known, were attributed to other causes. Eighteen persons are known
to have been killed by the rioters, eleven of whom were colored."
We confess ourselves somewhat astonished at so large an estimate of the
number killed during the riot; but those were horrible days, indeed,
and the estimate is, we think, quite probably within the limits of the
truth. The book was published in September, 1863, it appears,--a date a
sufficiently long time after the riots to have allowed much careful
investigation to have been made. Among the other heroes of those days,
whom the author signalizes by especial mention by name,--Commissioner
Acton, Superintendent Kennedy, Commissioner Bergen, Chief Clerk Hawley,
Inspectors Carpenter, Dilks, and Leonard, etc.,--is found our chief
subject, as brave, active, earnest, and efficient in the midst of a
deathly struggle, as he is ever gentle, kind, and tender in his silent
ministrations to the sick, sore, and suffering in the days of peace. On
page eighty-two of the book referred to, and where the special history
of the conduct of the police of the Twenty-Sixth Precinct is detailed
in regard to their conflicts with the mob in the City Hall Park,
Printing House Square, and the Tribune Office, the author says,--
"No mercy was shown, and over a hundred lay in the square and park, the
well-punished victims of their own folly and crime. While the mob were
being thus terribly handled in the street, some of the force turned
their attention to the Tribune Building, fighting their way to, and
entering it. The fire had just been lighted, and was readily
extinguished. Officer McWatters, on entering the door, was assaulted by
a burly ruffian, armed with a hay-rung, who, by a powerful blow on the
shoulder, knocked him down; instantly on his feet again, he more than
repaid, on the heads of the rioters, the blow. The building was cleared
speedily, and not a man in it escaped without severe punishment."
But it is unnecessary to extend comment upon the career of Officer
McWatters, as related to the active operations of the war. As a
patriot, his name is not only "without spot or blemish," but is one of
which the best of citizens might be proud, and of which only such could
have made themselves worthy.