Fought in front of the Metropolitan Police headquarters, Carpenter's victory saved the New York financial district from falling into the hands of the rioters.
With drillmaster Sergeant Theron S. Copeland, he assembled what remained of the police force, which was then about 125 men, and in a brief speech to the officers said "We are going to put down a mob, and we will take no prisoners".
Carpenter and Copeland then led the small squad through Mulberry and Bleecker Streets until meeting the thousands of rioters marching down Broadway.
Carpenter led the first assault, supported by Patrolman Doyle and Thompson, and supposedly killed the first thug which challenged him with a bludgeon.
The mob gradually began to give way and, after 15 minutes of heavy fighting, the rioters broke and scattered in all direction with officers following them into sidestreets while the dead and wounded lay on the streets and sidewalks.
[3] On the second day of the riot, at about 6:00 am, Carpenter left Metropolitan headquarters with a squad of 200 officers and marched uptown where rioters had appeared on Second Avenue and were threatening the Union Steam Works.
The rioters, who had grown even more confrontational towards the police, were now armed with muskets, pistols and swords while others invaded nearby homes and buildings to throw bricks and stones from the rooftops.
The mob had been slowly closing in from behind, surprised the police by attacking from the front and rear, but Carpenter and his men fought so fiercely that they managed to clear the street after 15 minutes of fighting.
With the frightened mob huddled in small groups a hundred feet from the police, Carpenter ordered 50 of his men into the surrounding buildings to chase out the rooftop rioters.
After the rioters had been dispersed, Carpenter continued on to the tour the eastern part of the city and where he attacked several smaller mobs still remaining in the streets.