As the BBC America original crime drama COPPER shows, 1860s New York was full of random and unspeakable violence. And this murder, which took place in what is now the posh Manhattan neighborhood of Sutton Place, was exactly that.
James Smith, William Rabitaille and a small group of men and women had been picnicking in Jones' Wood, a popular spot (on what's now the Upper East Side) for the working-class to drink beer, wave flags, play music and participate in other activities that were banned in Central Park. Smith and his group left by taking a boat on the East River—and they decided to take the oars from another boat. A fatal decision.
An illustration in Harper's Weekly
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