Monday, July 13, 1863 The battle of the 9th District office: After a peaceful resumption of the lottery at 3rd Ave. and 46th St., the mostly Irish "Black Joke" fire company arrived, attacked, and destroyed the office. A mob of 10,000 that had gathered to protest the draft now swept down the East Side, tearing up telegraph lines and railroad tracks. The battle of the State Armory: All afternoon, the mob and the police vied for control of the weapons stored at 2nd Ave. and 21st St. The destruction of the Colored Orphan Asylum: All 233 children were safely evacuated from the asylum at 5th Ave. & 43rd St. and taken to the police station on 34th St. The battle of Bleecker and Broadway: Police drove the mob away from a possible attack on its headquarters at Mulberry and Bleecker streets. Directly across from the police building, St. Philip's Church, the leading black Episcopal parish in the city, was desecrated after its use as a barracks for troops. Defense of the Tribune: Two threats against the Tribune building on Park Row were thwarted over the course of the evening.
