[7] Federal records indicate 4,125 free blacks from New York served in the Union Army, and three full regiments of United States Colored Troops were raised and organized in New York—the 20th, 26th, and 31st USCT.

[12] Among the earliest casualties of the Civil War was Malta, New York, native Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth, who was killed in May 1861 during an armed encounter in Alexandria, Virginia.

Several wealthy New York industrialists played crucial roles in supporting the war effort through materiel, weapons, ammunition, supplies, and accoutrements.

Railroad impresario Cornelius Vanderbilt used his growing network of rail systems to effectively move large quantities of troops through the state to staging and training areas.

Congressman Erastus Corning's iron works to manufacture parts and materials for the USS Monitor, the Navy's first ironclad warship.

Other important producers of weaponry and munitions were the Federal government's Watervliet Arsenal[18] and the privately owned Remington Arms Company of Ilion.

In addition, the numerous immigrants in New York worried that freeing slaves would bring more labor competition to a market where they struggled over the lowest-paid jobs.

[23] Alfred Ely, Chairman of the House Committee on Invalid Pensions, was among the first U.S. representatives to be captured by the Confederate Army when he and other civilian onlookers were taken prisoner following the First Battle of Bull Run.

[26] The first Union soldier killed on Pennsylvania soil was a native Pennsylvanian, Corporal William H. Rihl serving in a company assigned to the 1st New York Cavalry.

This was also coupled with a strong anti-war movement sparked by Copperheads and other Peace Democrats, made New York one of the closest contested states in the presidential election of 1864.

[20] The New York Legislature oversaw the approval of funding the state's war effort, including bounties, fees, expenses, interest on loans, and for the support of the families of soldiers where needed.

New Yorker John Schofield rose to command of the Army of the Ohio and won the Battle of Franklin, dealing a serious blow to Confederate hopes in Tennessee.

[33] Col. Augustus van Horne Ellis was killed near Devil's Den on July 2; he was later memorialized with the only full-sized statue of a regimental commander to be erected on the battlefield.

Powerful city politicians and newspaper editors helped shape public opinion towards the war effort and the policies of President Lincoln.

The port of New York served as fertile recruiting grounds for the Army as immigrants from Europe (primarily Irish and Germans) at times stepped off the oceanic transports and into the muster rolls.

Recruiters such as Michael Corcoran filled muster rolls with thousands of immigrants in response to Lincoln's initial call for 75,000 volunteers from New York.

Led by William "Boss" Tweed, they gained numerous offices in New York City, and even to the state legislature and judges' seats, often through illegal means.

[36] The city's growing Irish and German immigrant population, and anger about conscription led to the Draft Riots of 1863, one of the worst incidents of civil unrest in American history.

[38] Residents, mainly Irish immigrants, were upset with new laws passed by Congress to draft men to fight on what they viewed was the unpopular Civil War.

Irish rioters numbered in the thousands and began rampaging through the streets of New York, attacking blacks and burning whatever building that either belonged to the wealthy or was sympathetic to the Union cause.

[44] As such, it provided a significant number of leading generals, admirals, and politicians who were either born in New York or spent considerable time there before the war.

A few of New York's most noted native sons follow, with their birthplaces in parentheses:[45] Other notable New Yorkers during the Civil War include Union spy and conductor of the Underground Railroad Harriet Tubman, war photographer Mathew Brady, English-born artist Alfred Waud, newspaperman Horace Greeley, and combat artist Edwin Forbes.

[46] James Wadsworth, one of the wealthiest men in the state and a former Republican candidate for governor, was among the Union generals from New York to be killed during the war.

Others included George D. Bayard of Seneca Falls, Daniel D. Bidwell of Buffalo, David A. Russell of Salem, Stephen H. Weed of Potsdam, and Thomas Williams of Albany.

[46] The Grand Army of the Republic and other veterans organizations throughout New York contributed to the erection of hundreds of individual statues, fountains, busts, and other commemorations, as well as building several meeting halls where they could relive war events and keep their relics and artifacts relatively safe.

[51] Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn is the final resting place for hundreds of Civil War veterans, including several generals.