 Advertisement for a Fourth of July excursion to Staten Island aboard the "Mary Powell," published July 2, 1863 in the "New York Observer." The Fourth of July is the celebration of the Declaration of Independence, when thirteen colonies asserted their right to self-rule. Six years of war ensued, but in the end the new United States were victorious. Throughout the 19th century, Independence Day was celebrated as a unifying national holiday, even as the original thirteen states expanded to include all of the territory between two oceans. But like the war that followed the Declaration, the ensuing years were not without problems, problems which were often at odds with the freedoms espoused by the Declaration. Slavery, immigration, Indian Removal, and the struggle for women’s rights all marked the first 60-odd years of American history. On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass’ scathing speech, “What, to a slave, is the Fourth of July?” given in Rochester, NY, illustrated many of the divisions present in our new nation. The steamboat Mary Powell, called “Queen of the Hudson” from her launching in 1861, held many Fourth of July excursions over the years, with a schedule sometimes as long as 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. But one of her first Independence Day excursions was held on July 4, 1863. Unlike excursions in later years which focused on the celebrations and fireworks at Kingston Point Park, this advertisement, published in the New York Observer on July 2, 1863, focused on a daytime sightseeing cruise around Staten Island and New York Harbor. Mary Powell departed New York City for Kingston at “3 ½ o’clock,” missing the fireworks held in New York City that evening.  Fireworks in Union Square for the Centennial Fourth of July celebrations, July 4, 1876. New York Public Library. It was the middle of the American Civil War, and, unbeknownst to most Americans, July 4, 1863 would become a major turning point of the war. On that day, Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia were resoundingly defeated at Gettysburg, Virginia. At the same time, General Ulysses S. Grant’s six month siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi was finally broken on July 4 with the surrender of the starving Confederates. These two victories were celebrated throughout the Northern states. On July 6, 1863, the New York Herald reported, “The great and glorious victory won the eve of the Fourth of July by our heroic Army of the Potomac has, we verily believe, settled the fate of the rebellion.” But it was not to be. Determined to hold on until the Presidential election of 1864, in hopes that Lincoln would be defeated and non-abolitionist Northerners would capitulate, the Confederacy fought on.  Burning buildings on Lexington Avenue in New York City. Part of the Draft Riots of 1863. Wikimedia Commons. In New York City, which was largely pro-slavery in stark contrast to abolitionist Western New York, the first weeks of July, 1863 brought the Draft Riots. A new mandatory conscription law had been passed making every male citizen between the ages of 20 and 35, and every unmarried man between the ages of 35 and 45 eligible for conscription. Black Americans were not considered citizens, and therefore were not eligible for the draft. In addition, wealthy men could buy their way out of the lottery, avoiding conscription with a fee that equaled a year’s wages for the average laborer. After the first draft lottery on July 11, 1863, tensions over the draft exploded. On July 13, thousands of White men, mostly Irish immigrants, attacked first government buildings, and later Black residents, including setting fire to the Colored Orphans Asylum. White dockworkers, including the Longshoremen Association, attacked waterfront businesses that catered to Black workers, attempting to drive Blacks out of the workforce altogether. Symbols of Black economic success and White abolitionists or sympathizers were also attacked. Black men in particular were lynched or beaten to death throughout the city. The official death toll was 119 people, although some historians estimate it may have been as high as 1,200. It took the intervention of New York regiments of federal troops, fresh off the Battle of Gettysburg, to quell the riots. In just four days, White rioters had destroyed millions of dollars of property and left some 3,000 Black residents homeless. Between 1860 and 1865, New York City lost a quarter of its Black population.  "Goddess of Liberty" figurehead from the pilot house of the "Mary Powell," removed sometime in the 1890s and now housed at the Smithsonian Museum of American History as part of their folk art collection. 1863 is also the year Captain Absalom Anderson added the “Goddess of Liberty” figurehead to the top of the Mary Powell’s pilot house. Representing Columbia, the personification of the United States, it’s difficult to say what she meant to Anderson. Did he have abolitionist sympathies? Was it a statement about maintaining the Union? We may never know. In 1864, the Mary Powell offered another July 4th excursion to New York City, and the Poughkeepsie Eagle News reported that her excursion around Staten Island was “the excursion of the day.” In 1865, the assassination of President Lincoln just days after the end of the war with the surrender at Appomattox shocked the nation, but also derailed Lincoln’s efforts at Reconstruction. In 1865, the Mary Powell was sold to Thomas Cornell and although we can find no mention of a Fourth of July excursion that year, the advertisements resumed in 1866 and the trips seemed to continue throughout her career, with the last occurring in 1916. The Mary Powell’s last season of service was 1917, and her career, which had started with the Civil War in 1861, ended with the U.S. entrance into the First World War. Although the Mary Powell saw a period of incredible change in American life, one constant sadly remained. Like their grandfathers who had served the Union Army, Black troops returning from the First World War still faced discrimination and violence. And, like with the Draft Riots of 1863, White laborers still feared Black economic success. Summer, 1919 became “Red Summer” for its succession of race riots, including in New York City in July, 1919.  Advertisement for Fourth of July excursion aboard the "Mary Powell," published June 30, 1916 in the Kingston Daily Freeman. As it has since the beginning, the Fourth of July, American Independence Day has represented many different things to many different people. And, since the beginning, freedom has not always been accorded equally. But on this day we can look to the higher ideals and strive to form “a more perfect union,” one that truly affords everyone “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Bibliography & Further Reading:
AuthorSarah Wassberg Johnson is the Director of Exhibits and Outreach at the Hudson River Maritime Museum. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
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Editor's note: The following newspaper article, "Local Attractions on the Fourth" was originally published in the Kingston Daily Freeman on July 3, 1907. It was found and transcribed by Sarah Wassberg Johnson. Note the sarcasm of the introduction and the repetition of events at the end. Perhaps the newspaper editor needed to take up more space in the column?  Fireworks in Union Square, New York City, celebrating the Centennial. July 4, 1876. Library of Congress. WHERE KINGSTON FOLKS MAY GO TO CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAY IF THEY DO NOT WANT TO SHOOT FIRECRACKERS UNDER THEIR OWN VINE AND FIG TREE How to spend the Fourth of July is a problem that need not cause much worry to Kingstonians. First of all they should stay at home and shoot off firecrackers. They should begin early in the morning, fire the crackers at regular and frequent intervals all day long, and continue the noise-making process until far into the evening. In case they are compelled to leave home for a few minutes or an hour or so, someone else should be kept on the job, so that noise may shoot forth continuously. Noise, and plenty of it, will please the neighbors, and put them in a pleasant frame of mind. A good plan is to have a few accidents around the neighborhood, because this will make the day remembered, make business for the doctors, and furnish news for the newspapers. Cannon crackers, cannon and loose powder are best adapted for accident purposes, although Roman candles and sky rockets are also good. Everyone who wants to have an accident should be sure to lay in a supply of fire-stuffs. But above every other consideration should be a determination to make noise, for noise is a symbol of patriotism – on Fourth of July. For people who wish to get up early in the morning, and that will be easy for the beginning of the day’s celebration will undoubtedly keep them awake, the Mary Powell excursion is recommended. The boat will make an excursion to New York city at a low rate and the boat will leave Rondout at 6 o’clock in the morning. Returning, the Mary Powell will leave Desbrosses street at 1:45 p.m.; Forty-second street at 2 p.m., reaching Kingston in time for the fireworks display at Kingston Point Park. After the fireworks display the Powell will make a special trip to Poughkeepsie and return, reaching Rondout at about 11:30 o’clock in the evening.  "Steamer Mary Powell's Moonlight Sail," advertisement for Fourth of July excursion departing from Kingston Point Park. "Kingston Daily Freeman," July 2, 1906. Several baseball games will be played, and fans will have an opportunity of witnessing some good playing. The Mystics and the Wilburs will play two games at the Athletic Field, each game being for $50 a side. The first game will be called at ten o’clock in the morning and the second game at 3:30 o’clock in the afternoon. At ten o’clock in the morning the employes [sic] of the B. Loughran Company will play the employes [sic] of the Henry E. Wieber Company at Kingston Driving Park and a fast and snappy game is expected. Saugerties will attract hundreds of visitors from all parts of Ulster county, for Saugerties is to have an old fashioned celebration. A parade of the firemen and patriotic and other societies will be held at 9:30 o’clock in the morning, to be followed at 11:15 o’clock by patriotic exercises on the lawn of the Reformed Church. The Declaration of Independence will be delivered by the Hon. Joseph A. Lawson of Albany, after which patriotic songs will be sung by the Saugerties Male Quartet. Gartland’s famous band of Albany has been engaged for the occasion and will also give concerts during the morning, afternoon, and evening. In the afternoon a baseball game will be played by Kingston and Saugerties teams and in the evening $1,000 worth of fireworks will be burned. For those whose inclinations are for sports, races will be held at the New Paltz driving park, which scores from this city will attend. The villages of Griffin’s Corners and Fleischmanns will have a celebration similar to that of Saugerties, but not on so large a scale. The trip up the Ulster & Delaware railroad to these villages will make a delightful day’s outing, which will be taken advantage of by many. Newburgh and Poughkeepsie will probably draw some Kingstonians, although those cities have no attractions to offer aside from the fact that the Hudson river flows past them after it has passed Kingston. Morphy will sing to beat the band at Kingston Point during the afternoon and evening, although the band will be augmented by three additional musicians, all of whom are soloists. The Point, by the way, will be the Mecca of thousands of people from Kingston city, Ulster county, and from all points along the river. Kingston Point Park is too well known to need any eulogy.  Postcard depicting the steamboat landing at Kingston Point Park, c. 1900. Passengers disembarking from a steamboat and heading to the park. Hudson River Maritime Museum Collections. A quiet and delightful way to spend the day will be employed by scores of people who will make a pilgrimage to that beautiful resort. More than a dozen large parties will make the Mohonk trip, and several dozen smaller parties. Another quiet way to spend the day will be in fishing, and the fishing grounds are so numerous that it would be hard to name a place where fish do not bite. Lake Katrine, Legg’s Mills, the Hudson river and the Esopus creek all afford ample opportunity for catching “big ones,” and if the day is fair some record-breaking catches should be made tomorrow. The yacht plying the Hudson river and Rondout creek will do a big business with those who wish to make short trips, and all the railroads will carry immense numbers of passengers. There may be many Kingstonians who will not stay at home and celebrate the Fourth with firecrackers, but for every Kingstonian who leaves the city there will be two visitors who enter it, so that Kingston will not lack for crowds or excitement. Tomorrow being a legal holiday, holiday laws will be observed at the Kingston post office and Rondout station. Both offices will be open for business until 10 a.m. and the lobby will be open for the convenience of box holders until 8 p.m. There will be a carriers full delivery and collection in the morning and a partial collection in the afternoon. The banks will be closed the entire day. Many people from Kingston will spend the Fourth of July at New Paltz, where three good races will be held at the Brodhead driving park. Liberal purses have been offered and theses have attracted a number of fast horses. The enteries [sic] for the 2:17 trot and 2:20 pace are Miss Colwell, Tara, Nuefchatel, Miss Bandora, Renewal, and Cy Shelton. In the 2:25 trot and 2:28 pace are entered Dutchess, Elsie B., Aggie Lake, Trip Hammer or Paddy Wilkes, Handily and the Barbaraian. Entered in the 2:50 trot and pace are Handily, The Barbarian, Narada Bells, Elsie Wilkes, Adelta and Paddy Wilkes. The steamer Mary Powell will make an excursion to New York on Thursday for $1 for the round trip. In the evening the Powell will make an excursion to Poughkeepsie after the fireworks at the point, the fare being forty cents for the round trip. There will be two games of baseball at Athletic Field on the Fourth. The Mystics will play the Wilburs at 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
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