In the midst of anti-draft riots in New York City, the building that housed the New York Times was defended with rifles and Gatling guns manned by the staff of the newspaper. One of the defenders was Leonard Walter Jerome, Winston Churchill’s maternal grandfather. The police were overwhelmed, unable to even defend the draft offices. Private property owners were on their own. Luckily, the means to defend themselves had not yet been banned. Days later, the Army arrived and after some street fighting managed to restore order. Varying numbers of casualties exist, the official death count was set at 120, although it seems likely there were more than 1000 deaths.
