The New York Draft Riots (July 11 to July 16, 1863; known at the time as Draft Week Barnes 5), were violent disturbances in New York City that were the culmination of discontent with new laws passed by Congress to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War. The riots were the largest civil insurrection in American history apart from the Civil War itself.Foner, E. (1988). Reconstruction America"s unfinished revolution, 1863-1877. The New American Nation series. Page 32. New York: Harper & Row. President Abraham Lincoln sent several regiments of militia and volunteer troops to control the city. The rioters numbered in the thousands and were mainly Irish. Smaller scale riots erupted in other cities about the same time.Initially intended to express anger at the draft, the protests degraded into "a virtual racial pogrom, with uncounted numbers of blacks murdered on the streets".Foner, E. (1988). Reconstruction America"s unfinished revolution, 1863-1877. The New American Nation series. Page 32. New York: Harper & Row. The conditions in the city were such that Major General John E. Wool stated on July 16, "Martial law ought to be proclaimed, but I have not a sufficient force to enforce it." The military suppressed the mob using artillery and fixed bayonets, but not before numerous buildings were ransacked or destroyed, including many homes and an orphanage for black children.