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In an appalling act of racial violence, rioting mobs attacked the Colored Orphan's Asylum in New York.
The racial nature of the violence during the Draft Riots reached a grand scale when a mob attacked the Colored Orphan's Asylum, located on Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street.
As rioters gathered outside the four-story institution, which cared for hundreds of destitute children, the asylum's superintendent managed to barricade the doors while he and his staff rushed about 200 terrified children out the back exits.
The mob broke down the doors and entered the building, smashing furniture and starting fires. As the building began to burn, a police superintendent began to plead with the crowd to disperse. He was attacked and beaten in the street.
A fire company arrived, and tried to extinguish the blaze. The firemen were also attacked by the mob, and finally had to retreat as the building was consumed in flame.
