It began on April 15, 1857, when the Metropolitan Police Act was signed into law by New York's Republican Gov. John King. This legally disbanded the NYC Municipal Police Department and removed the responsibility for policing New York City from the crooked Democratic Mayor Fernando Wood.         

With one stroke of a pen, hundreds of New York City police officers who owed their allegiance and jobs to a Democrat political machine were about to be thrown out of work with no hope for employment, during one of the country's nastiest depressions.

The Democrats, reluctant to give up such political patronage and power, appealed to the Municipal Police Officers not to recognize and join the new state police. A ballot was taken, and 800 of the 1,100 policemen voted to remain loyal to Fernando Wood. These 800 were Democrats.

The 300 policemen who voted to recognize the Metropolitan force were for the most part Republican and formed the nucleus of the Metropolitan force.

On June 2, 1857, the mayor signed a city ordinance that established a "Bureau of Day and Night Watch or Municipal Police." Now New York had two police departments.

Street commissioner skirmish

The spark that would light the June 16, 1857, confrontation was the death of Joseph Taylor, the city's street commissioner. The job was a very lucrative one. The civil service pay wasn't the greatest, but the benefits were many.

Gov. King saw an opportunity and erroneously assumed that he had the power to appoint the new street commissioner. He appointed his own man, Daniel Conover.

Mayor Wood refused to recognize Conover and appointed his own benefactor, contractor Charles Devlin, to the tune of $50,000. (In 1857, a police officer's annual salary was $600.)

On June 15 at 9 a.m., Conover arrived at the street commissioner's office to start his new job. He was assigned an escort of 20 Metropolitan police officers under the command of Capt. Frank Speight of the 21st Precinct. The Street Commissioner Office was located on the northeast quadrant of City Hall Park.

Conover was stopped by Municipal Police Lieutenant John Bennett of the 3rd Ward, who, according to the New York Tribune, happened to be Mayor Wood's favorite lieutenant. "Put out the son of a bitch," Bennett ordered his Municipal patrolmen, who administered a quick beating. Speight was quickly carried to the staircase and unceremoniously tossed down. Conover followed in short order.

Conover and Speight both didn't take their lumping lightly. They both went to Superior Court, where they swore out arrest warrants for Mayor Wood and Bennett in front of a Republican justice, Murray Hoffman. Charges included assault and inciting to riot.

Mayor Wood, getting word that a number of warrants had been issued for his arrest, ordered an additional 500 Municipal patrolmen to report to the park at noon to defend City Hall from the Metropolitans. He also called in his chits with the local gangs, such as the Plug Uglies, Bowery Boys and the Dead Rabbits.

There were 10,000 people in the park, according to the Tribune, which reported, "A large proportion of the gathering was composed of the very worst class in the city, many of them crazy with rum and ripe for riot."

Metropolitan Deputy Superintendent of Police Daniel Carpenter set up temporary headquarters along with the New York State Militia at 25 Chambers St., just west of Centre St.

Maj. Gen. Charles Sanford and Brig. Gen. Hall were also present, and called up nine regiments of infantry. In the next few hours, the men would be issued 6,000 rounds of ball cartridges and 100 rounds of canister shot — not to defend City Hall but to seize it.

Thugs armed to the teeth

The Municipals closed all the gates around the park and ringed City Hall with a wall of police. The archways below each gate were jammed. They stood, forming a blue wall of 800 men, waiting for the Metropolitan onslaught. Behind them were the gangs, some of the city's worst ruffians and thugs, who were armed to the teeth with clubs, knives and daggers, not to mention a pistol or two.

At 2 p.m., one of the arrest warrants for the mayor was given to Capt. George Walling.

Metropolitan Police Capt. George Washington Walling was only too willing to personally execute this warrant and put the mayor in cuffs. Walling, an extremely competent officer with a sterling reputation, had been fired by Wood the previous year on trumped-up charges of conduct unbecoming a police officer and neglect of duty when he was the commanding officer of the Municipal Police Department's 18th District Police, (today's 13th Precinct). Wood had him replaced with a political hack with no law enforcement experience whatsoever.

Less than a year later, in May 1857, Walling would be hired back by the Board of Metropolitan Police Commissioners as one of the newly minted police department's first captains.

A little after 2 p.m., Walling gained entrance to City Hall and spoke to the mayor, who refused to recognize him as a police officer. He was then physically evicted from the mayor's office. He reported back to Metropolitan Police Headquarters that Mayor Wood refused to submit to arrest.

The Metropolitan Board of Police Commissioners also was holding back 300 patrolmen at 88 White St., because they were under the belief that the Municipals had all intentions of sacking their headquarters.

Pitched battle in the park

On that dark and dreary rain-threatening day at approximately 3:30, the Metropolitans entered City Hall Park from Chambers and Centre Sts. They went in two by two, steadily and methodically brushing the people aside until they neared the rear entrance to City Hall. As they approached the entrance, the Municipals pounced. Yelling and screaming, hundreds of men set upon the Metropolitans with clubs and knives. They were beaten, stomped and stabbed to a bloody mess, but they kept coming. Scores of Municipal patrolmen poured out of the basement as stones hurled down from all over.

The Metropolitans at first retreated slightly, then held their own for a brief moment. They then made a second effort and made it all the way back to the very top of the back stairs to City Hall before being forced to retreat out of the park.

The fight didn't last 10 minutes, but the men gave an excellent account of themselves. Seventeen were severely wounded. But none were shot and none died.

Brig. Gen. Hall at this time stopped the 7th Regiment, which was marching down Broadway in their parade dress gray uniforms, and ordered the men to City Hall Park. The regiment was on its way to catch a boat to Boston for commemorative ceremonies honoring the battle of Bunker Hill.

The regiment had no ammo and was armed only with bayonets, but the Municipals didn't know that.

The band stopped playing, and a little after 4 p.m., the 7th Regiment, with fixed bayonets, marched into City Hall Park from Warren St. It formed a hollow square in front of City Hall, clearing much of the assorted riffraff out of the park. Orders were then given to stack arms and knapsacks, which they did.

Mayor Wood then agreed to submit to arrest.

Michael Bosak is a retired sergeant who served 26 years with the NYPD. He is the New York State Historian for the Fraternal Order of Police.

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