USA > New York > History of the Seventh Regiment of New York, 1806-1889 > Part 21
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Captain John H. Brower, a native of Brooklyn, born in 1801, commenced his military career in the Ninth Regiment, New York State Artillery, about the year 1819. He served in that regiment nearly eight years, and rose to the rank of adjutant. Having re- signed his commission, and retired from the service, he was pre- vailed upon to undertake in November, 1827, the reorganization of the Eighth Company, and was duly commissioned as its captain in January, 1828. He resigned the captaincy in 1832, but accepted
1832
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
206
the adjutancy in 1835, which position he retained until 1837. Cap- tain Brower was an officer of great ability and distinction. Ener- getic and indefatigable in a remarkable degree, he succeeded in rapidly organizing a new company, and at once placed it in the highest rank for discipline and efficiency. His company was always distinguished for the utmost neatness in uniform and equipments. He possessed the rare talent of maintaining the most rigid discipline in his command without im- pairing his personal and military popu- larity. In the general management of his company he manifested the admir- able business tact and talents which distinguished him in the commercial world. Captain Brower was below the medium height, muscular, erect, and soldierly, and remarkably active. From a photograph, 1850. When on duty he was austere and peremptory, but in private life he was social and genial. From humble circumstances he reached a high position as a successful shipping and cotton merchant. In 1857 he named one of his new vessels the " National Guard," in honor of the Seventh Regiment. Being largely engaged in the Southern trade, he met with heavy pecuniary losses in 1861 by the Great Rebellion. He died in New York in 1881.
207
THE POSTLEY CONTROVERSY.
1833
CHAPTER THIRTEENTH.
1833.
AT the meeting of the Board of Officers in March, a resolution favoring an encampment in July at some place within ten miles of the city of New York was adopted, and commandants were directed to bring the subject before their several companies. A majority of the companies voted in favor of an encampment, and Hoboken was the place popularly designated as the location, but the Board of Officers finally decided that there was not sufficient unanimity and enthusiasm among the members of the Regiment to insure the suc- cess of the undertaking. The usual spring parade took place on the 15th day of April, and the entire Regiment appeared for the first time in gray pantaloons.
The memorable contest between Colonel Stevens and Captain Postley, of the Sixth Company, was the great military event of the year. It appears that Captain Thomas Postley, while commanding the Sixth Company, was elected to the captaincy of the Clinton Horse-Guards, a troop in the Sixth Brigade of Artillery ; accepted the office and was regularly commissioned ; and entered upon the discharge of its duties. Believing that the acceptance of a new commission in another corps disqualified Captain Postley from serv- ing in his Regiment, Colonel Stevens directed Lieutenant Delano to take charge of the Sixth Company, and ordered an election to fill the vacancy in the captaincy. The election was held on the 1st of March, and resulted in the re-election of Captain Postley, who noti- fied Colonel Stevens of his acceptance of the office. Captain Post- ley had intended to hold commissions in both corps, but, finding that to be impracticable, he resigned on the 30th of April his commission in the Clinton Horse-Guards. Captain Postley then claimed his former rank in the Regiment, and, notwithstanding the protest of Colonel Stevens, the commander-in-chief (Governor Marcy) assigned him to duty in the Twenty-seventh Regiment, 15
1833
208
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTHI REGIMENT.
under his commission as captain, dated Jannary 22, 1830, and with rank accordingly. The contest had now become personal, and while the Sixth Company with great unanimity sustained their commandant, the other companies of the Regiment, and their offi- cers, were as unanimous in the support of Colonel Stevens. The Eighth, the Fourth, and the Fifth Companies, as well as the Board of Officers, adopted resolutions complimentary to Colonel Stevens, and denouncing Captain Postley both as a soldier and gentleman. In reply, the Sixth Company was equally vigorous in the support of their captain and in opposition to the colonel, and ventilated their enthusiasm by resolutions pregnant with argument and invective.
The commissioned officers of the Regiment at once made appli- cation for a court of inquiry to decide the question of rank, and the application was granted ; and on the 1st day of June Brigadier- General Moore ordered the brigade court-martial, of which Colonel IInnt, of the Second Regiment, was president, to act as a court of inquiry in the case. The Board of Officers at once authorized Colonel Stevens to procure the ablest counsel ; a committee was appointed to obtain the opinions of eminent military gentlemen both in the United States Army and in the militia service of the several States ; and no effort was spared to secure military justice, which it was charged political influences had overthrown. After a protracted hearing of testimony, and of the opinion of many of the most eminent military and legal gentlemen of the country (includ- ing a personal examination of Major-General Winfield Scott), the court unanimously came to the conclusion : "(1) Captain Postley vacuted his commission of captain in the Twenty-seventh Regi- ment, by the acceptance of a subsequent commission in another corps ; that (2) he is entitled only to commission in said Regiment giving him rank as captain from March 1, 1833; that (3) the petitioners, Captains William Jones, William T. Beach, Edward Roome, John T. Cairns, Samuel D. Denison, and John Telfair, take precedence over the said Thomas Postley in the line of the Twenty- seventh Regiment ; and that (4) no officer can, according to law or military usage, hold or act under two commissions at the same time. The acceptance of and qualification under the latter commission, whatever the grade may be, vacates the former without the formal- ity of a resignation." In an order, dated July 24th, Brigadier-Gen- eral Moore approved of the finding of the court, and directed the
209
RECEPTION OF GENERAL JACKSON.
1833
officers of the Twenty-seventh Regiment affected by the decision to conform thereto. The same order directed "the company lately commanded by Captain Postley to do duty in the Twenty-seventh Regiment; and until Captain Postley reports for duty under his commission of 1st of March, 1833, the company be placed under the command of its senior commissioned officer." The decision gave great satisfaction to all except Captain Postley and his com- pany. It was in accordance with a decision made by Adjutant- General John A. Dix under the preceding State administration, and has been uniformly confirmed in many other cases from that day to this. But Captain Postley at once appealed to general head- quarters, and until the final decision in the case the Sixth Company was excused from all drills and parades.
The decision of the commander-in-chief (Governor Marcy) was not promulgated until the 12th day of November, and is one of the most wonderful specimens of sophistry to be found in military literature. The conclusion arrived at, after many pages of laborious argument, was, that "a second commission, accepted by an official already in commission, is entirely void, unless, first, the latter com- mission be of a higher grade than the former, and in the same corps ; or unless, secondly, such second commission be one that confers a command over the corps in which the first was issued"; and, in accordance with this conclusion, the commander-in-chief directed that "Thomas Postley is liable to duty, and entitled to his rights as a captain in the Twenty-seventh Regiment of Artillery, by virtue of his commission of January 22, 1830." The military public was astonnded at this result, while Captain Postley and his friends were jubilant over their victory. The officers and members of the Regi- ment were almost mutinous with indignation ; and, had Captain Postley attempted to take advantage of the decision of the com- mander-in-chief in his favor, his situation and position would have been decidedly uncomfortable. He, therefore, wisely yielded to the necessity of the hour, and applied for a transfer to the Presi- dent's Guard, and on the 30th of November was, with forty-two men, transferred thereto. Although victory nominally perched upon the banners of Captain Postley, the field of battle remained in the possession of Colonel Stevens, and he proceeded to repair his losses by the organization of a new Sixth Company.
A public reception of President Andrew Jackson took place on
210
1833
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
the 12th of June. The First Division paraded at 2 P. M., at the Bat- tery, and General Jackson was officially received at Castle Garden by the Corporation of the city. He had barely crossed the bridge,
which at that time led from Castle Garden to the Battery, when it fell under the weight of the immense crowd, precipitating many persons into the water, and seriously injur- ing a large number of people. Having hastily reviewed the troops, the President on horseback was escorted to the City Hall. His appearance was almost grotesque, for, being in mourning for Mrs. Jackson, re- cently deceased, he wore upon his head a white hat, almost covered with an enormous vonchew Jackson weeper, with pendent bands, such as mutes wore at funerals in England at that period. The streets, windows, and house-tops were crowded with men, women, and children, and at every point he was received with the most flattering enthusiasm. So dense was the throng that he was obliged to leave Broadway at Fulton Street, and pass through Nas- sau to the City Hall, where he was officially welcomed by the Gov- ernor of the State, and received a marching salute from the troops. Since the reception of Lafayette, in 1824, New York had not wit- nessed so large and enthusiastic a demonstration as honored, on this occasion, the hero of New Orleans. The Sixth Company did not parade on this occasion, having been excused from duty until the rank of Captain Postley was definitely determined. The Fourth Company temporarily supplied the vacancy by parading as two companies, one under Captain Roome of the Fourth, and the other under Lieutenant Delano of the Sixth. The two companies of the Fourth were at the close of the parade detailed to escort the Presi- dent and Vice-President to their quarters.
The usual anniversary parade took place on the 4th of July, line forming at the Battery, where the division was reviewed by Major-General Morton. After passing in review before the mayor, at the City Hall, the troops doing duty with muskets formed in the Park, under the command of General Moore, and fired a feu-de-joie. On the 26th day of September the Regiment paraded under brigade orders for exercise in the evolutions of the brigade. The fiftieth
1833
NEW SIXTHI COMPANY.
anniversary of the evacuation of New York by the British was celebrated on the 28th of November.
An improvement in the knapsack, as worn by the Regiment, having been approved by the Board of Officers, was submitted to the several companies in September, and was adopted. The Sec- ond Company, which had persistently refused to equip itself with knapsacks, at last succumbed, and on the 4th day of October adopted the new and improved pattern. On the 7th of November the new style of knapsack was by resolution of the Board of Officers made a part of the Bill of Dress.
The annual inspection took place at the Battery on the 23d day of October. Only seven companies were mustered-the Sixth Company, Captain Postley, not having been ordered for inspection. The returns were as follows :
Field.
3
Fourth Company 81
Staff
5 Fifth
33
Non Com. Staff
2
Seventh
41
First Company
39
Eighth
61
Second
38
Band
15
Third
79
Total present, 397. Present and absent, 532.
The general orders transferring Captain Postley and forty-two members of the Sixth Company to another regiment were dated November 30, 1833, and directed such of the members of the com- pany as preferred to remain in the Twenty-seventh Regiment to report to the colonel within thirty days. As the strength from this source was likely to be inconsiderable, the Board of Officers, at a meeting held on the 7th day of December, resolved to organize a new company, and ex-Captain Philetus H. Holt was invited to accept the captaincy, and Lieutenant Thomas Delano of the late Sixth Company, and Lieutenant Theodore Crane of the Fourth Company, were designated as its first and second lieutenants. They accepted their appointments, and at once entered vigorously upon their important and laborious duties. The well-known energy and ability of Captain Holt was a guarantee of success, and the gener- ous aid of the Fourth Company secured the immediate accomplish- ment of the object. Thirty-three members of that company ("in- dignant at the manner in which the vacaney has been occasioned ") applied to Captain Roome for a transfer to the new company, which was promptly granted. Among this number were many members
211
212
1833
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
of great ability and influence, such as Asher Taylor, William Ever- dell, Joseph Durbrow, Jr., A. M. Ryder, Thomas M. Adriance, Wright F. Conger, and many others, who before and since have achieved distinction in the Regiment. So bitterly detested were Captain Postley and the men who adhered to his military fortunes that the new company, fearing it might be in some way confounded with the apostate organization, adopted a new name, and, instead of the " Sixth Company," was for a long period known as "Company 6." The organization of the new company being satisfactorily completed, the necessary papers were forwarded to general head- quarters, and there was great rejoicing among the officers and mem- bers of the Regiment when an order, dated February 4, 1834, was received and promulgated, officially recognizing the new company as a part of the Twenty-seventh Regiment.
During the summer several of the companies of the Regiment proceeded to places in the vicinity of the city for a day's pleasure and for military improvement. The target-excursion of the Fourth Company was to New Rochelle, on the 17th day of May ; the Sec- ond Company to Fort Lee, on the 1st day of August ; the Seventh Company to Bull's Ferry, August 19th; the Fifth Company to Tompkinsville, S. I., August 27th ; and the Eighth Company to Flushing, on the 23d day of September.
Stoneall's Shakespeare Tavern continued to be the popular place for the meetings of the Board of Officers and of the several com- panies ; and company drills were held at Brower's Long Room, Riker's Repository, McDermott's Masonic Hall, Broadway House, Military Hall, and at Euterpean Hall, No. 410 Broadway, more re- cently famous as the Apollo Rooms.
The changes among commandants of companies, not already referred to, were as follows: in the Second Company, John Tel- fair, ex-captain and formerly major of the Regiment, was elected captain in place of Ellison, who resigned in 1832; in the Fifth Company, Lieutenant Washington R. Vermilye was elected captain, vice Beach resigned. Captain William T. Beach was a splendid soldier. He had no superior as a military instructor, and, had he received proper support from his company, would have achieved great distinction in the Regiment. In accepting the resignation of Captain Beach, the colonel noticed, in general orders, " his zeal, tal- ents, and assiduous attention to his duties."
213
THE ELECTION RIOT.
1834
CHAPTER FOURTEENTH.
1834.
THE new Sixth Company, or "Company 6," having been offi- cially recognized by general orders, dated February 4, 1834, Colonel Stevens announced the completion of its organization on the 10th day of February, and directed Captain Holt and Lieutenants Delano and Crane to enter upon the discharge of their military duties. The first regular meeting of the company was held on the 14th of February, at Stoneall's Shakespeare Tavern, at which non-com- missioned officers were elected, by-laws were enacted, and other necessary business was transacted. The greatest harmony and en- thusiasm prevailed, and "Company 6" at once entered upon a long career of prosperity and usefulness.
In March the Board of Officers voted in favor of an encamp- ment upon New York Island during the approaching summer, and a committee was appointed to select a place and to estimate the expense. In April the committee reported Hamilton Square, "a place about three miles out of town," to be a suitable location, and estimated the cost of the proposed encampinent to be about thirteen hundred dollars. A majority of the companies approved of the project, and arrangements were made accordingly. It is a notice- able fact, and illustrative of the rapid growth of New York, that a part of the square selected for the encampment in 1834, and said to be "about three miles out of town," was secured by the Seventh Regiment in 1874 as the site for its new armory.
On the 10th day of April, 1834, the civil authorities were obliged for the first time in many years to call for military aid to maintain the peace of the city and protect the public property. The Twenty-seventh Regiment was the corps selected for this in- portant and delicate duty. At this period great political excite- ment prevailed in New York, and the bitter hostility which existed between the opposing parties was remarkable and dangerous. Every
1834
214
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
State and city election occupied three successive days, and as there was only one polling-place in each ward it was always surrounded by an excited crowd, and fights and mêlées were of common occurrence. The Sixth Ward was noted for its disorderly character, and the frequent skirmishes which took place within its borders, with the consequent black eyes and bloody noses, gave it the well-known sobriquet-" The Bloody Sixth." On the first day of the election, April 8, 1834, it was said that the anti-Bank, Democratic, and Irislı citizens of the Sixth Ward had blockaded the polls and prevented the Whigs from voting. On the second day the Whigs from other districts rallied in large numbers to the Sixth Ward, resolved to break the blockade and give their friends an opportunity to cast their ballots. The result was a series of engagements, in which both parties maintained their positions in the field until the polls closed for the day. A ship, mounted on wheels and adorned with Whig banners, was drawn through the ward, and used to convey voters to the polls, and this insulting invasion of the Democratic stronghold increased the excitement.
In the forenoon of the third and last day of the election (April 10th) a terrific battle raged in and about Masonic Hall, which was the headquarters of the Whig party, and was situated in Broadway, near Duane Street. The civil authorities attempted to quell the riot, but were powerless ; for, whenever the undisciplined and un- uniformed policemen of that period interfered in political disturb- ances, they were certain to receive a fair share of hard blows from both parties, and generally retired in disgust to more quiet locali- ties, leaving the belligerents to settle their difficulties as chance or superior force and courage might decide. The Democratic assail- ants were finally repulsed, and retreated to the more remote dis- tricts of the Sixth Ward. A rumor was forthwith circulated at Masonic Hall that they were attempting to break open the State Arsenal, to procure arms with which to resume the contest. The State Arsenal was on the corner of Elm and Franklin Streets, and with its yard and out-buildings and gun-sheds occupied the entire block between Centre, Elm, Franklin, and White Streets; in the center of the front, on Franklin Street, was the residence of the Commissary-General of the State, who had the charge of the estab- lishment. "To the arsenal! to the arsenal !" was the cry of the Whigs, and to the arsenal rushed pell-mell the excited crowd. The
215
THE ELECTION RIOT.
1834
fences were scaled, the rear doors were forced, the more active mounted from the shoulders of their comrades into the second-story windows, and the Whigs soon held the stronghold, and gallantly defended it against the large, uproarious, and threatening mob that hastened to the rescue. Commissary-General Arcularius was absent from the city, but the keys to the main building, where the arms were stored, were unwillingly delivered by his son to the victors, and bristling bayonets soon warned all those who besieged the stronghold that its capture was impossible. Meanwhile the mayor, Hon. Gideon Lee, had called upon Major-General Morton for mili- tary aid to suppress this violent outbreak, and to prevent still more serious consequences. The Twenty-seventh Regiment was detailed for this service by the following order :
FIRST BRIGADE, N. Y. S. A. April 10, 1834.
BRIGADE ORDER.
In pursuance of division orders of this date, you are hereby ordered to assem- ble at the Arsenal Yard with the 27th Regiment under your command, immedi- ately, in full uniform, armed and equipped.
By order, Brig. Gen'l MOORE. PRATT, Brigade Major & Inspr.'
To COL. STEVENS, 27th Regt.
Colonel Stevens promptly promulgated this order, and the com- panies of the Regiment soon began to arrive at the arsenal-yard, to which they were immediately admitted. The irregular force that held the establishment at once laid down their arms, and, having without formality transferred the arsenal and its contents to the care and custody of the citizen soldiers, quietly retired from the premises. Within two hours after the order was issued nearly three hundred of its members were guarding the arsenal and the arsenal-yard. The Regiment continued on duty until the next morning, when the canvass was completed and the result announced ; and the ex- citement having subsided, it was dismissed, with the thanks of the mayor.
The novel events of the day made a great impression upon the public mind. The large number of men of respectable connections directly and indirectly engaged in the political conflict, and in its riotous results ; the danger to political liberty from such violent interference with the rights of electors; the inefficiency of the police, and the entire inability of the civil authorities to control the
1834
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTHI REGIMENT.
216
lawless elements of the city; the necessity of invoking the aid of military power to prevent serious bloodshed ; the value of a well- organized and disciplined militia in periods of dangerous excite- ment-were all subjects of popular comment and discussion. The Common Council represented public opinion by the adoption of the following resolution :
Resolved, That the thanks of the Common Council be presented to the indi- viduals who thus nobly sustained their reputation as citizen soldiers, and proved the importance and the necessity to the city of a well-disciplined militia in time of peace as well as in time of war,
Major-General Morton promulgated this resolution in general orders, and commented upon the same as follows :
Next to the satisfaction arising from the consciousness of having performed a duty, is the approbation of those whose good opinion we prize. These resolutions, emanating from the municipal authorities of the city, cannot, therefore, but be highly gratifying.
The late occurrences will show to the public the necessity and the use of a well-regulated militia, prepared at all times to support the magistracy in sustain- ing law and order in the community. It will confirm us in the opinion, long entertained, that the time is not yet arrived when we may beat our swords into plow-shares and our spears into pruning-hooks.
The Major-General doubts not that the Corps will still continue to perform its duties ; they will be sustained by their fellow-citizens who will see in them, not the array of incontrollable foree, but a power directed by the venerable majesty of the laws in the persons of the magistrates.
The history of the famous "election riot" of 1834 would not be complete without a brief reference to the remarkable report upon that subject made to the Legislature of the State by Com- missary-General Arcularius. It is one of the curiosities of liter- ature ; and, though designed by its author to be serious, melodra- matic, and tragic, was welcomed by the humorous public with shouts of laughter. As the general was absent from the arsenal at the time of its capture, his report is based upon the wild and exag- gerated statements made by "my son George " and "Cornelius, the carpenter," whose names are repeated again and again in connec- tion with the brave defense and final surrender of the stronghold. Ridiculous by its minuteness of detail, its peculiarities of style, and its open partisanship, the report also overflowed with egotisin and bombast, and was interspersed with graphic sketches of the fero- cious acts of the terrible mob and of its terrible leaders. Among others particularly noticed by the general as a leader of the mob
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