New York City in the American Civil War

New York City during the American Civil War (1861–1865) was a bustling American city that provided a major source of troops, supplies, equipment and financing for the Union Army. Powerful New York politicians and newspaper editors helped shape public opinion toward the war effort and the policies of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. The port of New York, a major entry point for immigrants, served as recruiting grounds for the Army. Irish-Americans and German-Americans participated in the war at a high rate.

The city's strong commercial ties to the South, its growing immigrant population, and anger about conscription led to divided sympathies, with some business men favoring the Confederacy and other opinion in favor of the Union. The New York Draft Riot of 1863, provoked by fears of labor competition and resentment of wealthy men being able to buy their way out of the draft, was one of the worst incidents of civil unrest in American history and featured widespread ethnic Irish violence against blacks in the city. The neighboring and more populous City of Brooklyn, however, was more supportive of the war effort.