USA > New York > History of the Seventh Regiment of New York, 1806-1889 > Part 27
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The annual spring parade of the Regiment occurred on April 25th, and it paraded with the division on September 24th, for re- view by the commander-in-chief, Governor William H. Seward. The annual inspection and review took place on October 29th, at Washington Parade-Ground; and the Regiment paraded with the division on the 25th of November, to celebrate the evacuation of New York by the British.
The Eighth Company adopted in 1839 for company parades a new style of uniform hat, which in the year 1842 was adopted by the Regiment. In all the improvements in the uniform and equip- ments of the corps at this period, Captain Shumway, of the Eighth Company, took an active and important part. At the May meet- ing of the Board of Officers he presented a pattern gun-sling of black leather for adoption, "in place of the white web, as now 19
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HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
worn," but the change was not at that time approved. The Fourth and Sixth Companies adopted during the year 1839 a gray fatigue jacket and cap.
In compliance with a requisition of the commander-in-chief, the Regiment assembled at Centre Market on December 9th, and awaited orders to proceed to Albany to enforce the laws in that vicinity. The difficulties which had long existed between landlords and tenants upon the great estates, which in colonial times had been granted to royal favorites, had at last culminated in the famous Heidelberg War, and the undisciplined militia of that section was supposed to sympathize too strongly with the anti-renters to be useful in preserving the public peace. During the afternoon and evening the Centre Market Drill-Rooms were the scene of great excitement. Officers were giving hasty instructions to their men as to the necessary preparations for the novel expedition, and the prospects of immediate departure and the length and results of the campaign were eagerly discussed by the members and their friends. There were the usual leave-takings, cheerful or otherwise, and the same blessings and good wishes which have preceded and followed every warlike expedition since Agamemnon hastened away to the siege of Troy. But the orders for departure did not arrive, and at 10 r. M. the Regiment was dismissed, to meet fully armed and equipped on the following day.
The Regiment assembled in the Park at 1 P. M., December 10th, with arms, knapsacks, blankets, and all the paraphernalia required for an active campaign. It was thoroughly inspected, and the order was promulgated for the Regiment to leave for Albany by the steamer at 5 P. M. ; but at 4 p. M. the order was countermanded, dis- patches having been received that peace was restored, and that the services of the Regiment would not be required. After a parade through the principal streets of the city, attended by a great throng of friends and admirers, the Regiment was dismissed. The ground was covered with snow, and the weather was extremely cold, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that in many a heart there was a quiet satisfaction at the thought that the cozy firesides of New York were not to be exchanged for unknown hardships and exposure in the wintry regions of the upper Hudson.
Previous to this time regimental courts-martial were unknown, delinquencies of every kind being tried by the courts-martial of the
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REGIMENTAL COURTS-MARTIAL.
brigade. To the Twenty-seventh Regiment is the militia of the State indebted for originating the movement which resulted in the amendment of the military law, by which regimental courts-martial were established and empowered to try ordinary delinquencies, thus securing to each regiment the power and the privilege of enforcing proper discipline in its ranks, as well as the pecuniary benefit re- sulting from penalties imposed for absence from drills and parades. In December the Board of Officers adopted the following reso- lution :
Resolved, That, in the opinion of the Board of Officers of the Twenty-seventh Regiment, the interests of the First Division, N. Y. S. A., would be greatly pro- moted could a law be procured from the Legislature of the State which would abolish the Brigade Courts-Martial so far as their power extends to trying ordinary delinquencies, and that Regimental Courts-Martial be substituted therefor.
A committee of five officers was appointed to solicit the co-oper- ation of other regiments in the movement.
Revolutionary Powder-horn and Canteen.
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HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT. 1840
CHAPTER TWENTIETH.
1840.
THE first year demonstrated that the administration of Colonel Jones was to be successful and popular, if not brilliant. A practical soldier, and a man of good common sense, he managed the diverse and discordant elements with sagacity and discretion. In the winter and spring of 1840 he instituted drills for officers and non-commis- sioned officers, which were decidedly beneficial in their military results. Nearly all the companies exhibited signs of improvement, and were commanded by officers of merit. The First, under the fiery and irrepressible Cocks ; the Second, under the staid and sol- dierly Cummings ; and the Third, under the genial and popular Lyon, were steadily advancing. The Fourth, under Bremner, re- newed its life and vigor. The Fifth gave to the field its popular Vermilye, but elected as its commandant that distinguished sol- dier, George William Smith, who, however, resigned before the end of the year, and was succeeded by George G. Waters. The Sixth was rapidly recruiting, and under the leadership of the ener- getic Conger had commenced an active rivalry with the Eighth for the foremost position in the Regiment, and in public favor. The Eighth yielded nothing of its prestige, and under the popular and soldierly Shumway stoutly maintained its fame and fortunes. The Seventh Company, alone, continued under a cloud. Captain Geer resigned in despair, and gallantly shouldered a musket in the ranks of the Fourth Company. He was succeeded in May by Mar- shall J. Bacon, whose reputation as an educated soldier inspired great expectations, but success did not crown his efforts, and before the end of the year he retired from the service.
On the 27th day of January the officers of the First Brigade met pursuant to brigade orders at the Centre Market Drill-Rooms. The object of the meeting was to consider the following proposi- tions : 1. To establish a brigade board of officers. 2. To make ap-
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THOMPSON'S HALL.
1840
plication for pay and rations during the Heidelberg War, in Decem- ber, 1839 ; and, 3. To make arrangements for a grand military ball of the division. After the several propositions had been thoroughly discussed the meeting adjourned, and the officers of the Twenty- seventh Regiment met and soon arrived at the followed sensible conclusions : First, that they had full confidence in the general commanding the brigade, that there was no necessity for a brigade board of officers, and that when the brigadier-general wanted advice the regimental commanders were competent to furnish the same ; second, that it would be highly improper to apply for pay for serv- ices not rendered, as the troops, although ordered to hold them- selves in readiness, had not actually left the city ; and, third, that a division military ball was not likely to improve the military charac- ter or reputation of the several regiments interested. The unani- mous action of the officers of the Twenty-seventh Regiment was decisive, and gave a death-blow to the proposed measures.
The drill-rooms at Centre Market continued to be occupied by the Regiment for military purposes, with such additional accommo- dations as were found necessary. Early in the year 1840 the Board of Officers engaged for business meetings Thompson's Hall, corner of Canal and Elm Streets, which for a considerable period thereafter was the recognized headquarters of the Regiment. The entrance to the upper floors was in Canal Street, and the large room (about fifty by sixty feet) was used for balls and public meetings as well as . for military purposes, and other parts of the building were occupied by the Freemasons and Odd-Fellows. Here the Board of Officers found respectable accommodations, and Thompson's Hall was a central and desirable location for the general business purposes of the Regiment, and for the business meetings of the several com- panies.
On the 21st of February Captain Washington R. Vermilye, of the Fifth Company, was elected major of the Regiment, vice Back- house promoted. At the spring parade, April 21st, when the Regi- ment was in line at the City Hall Park, the Fifth Company was called to the front, and Colonel Jones, in the presence of the mayor and Common Council and a multitude of spectators, presented to Major Vermilye, in behalf of that company, an elegant and valu- able sword as a token of the esteem and affection of his comrades, and in recognition of his long and faithful service to the company.
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HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
1840
The labor upon the extensive water-works, necessary and pre- paratory to the introduction of the Croton water to New York, was at this time rapidly progressing, but early in April the laborers in the upper part of the city struck for higher wages, and it became necessary to call upon the militia to suppress their riotous proceed- ings, to guard the public works, and to protect men who were will- ing to continue employed. The Twenty-seventh Regiment was ordered under arms, and promptly assembled at Centre Market, on April 6th, and proceeded by railroad to Forty-second Street. The appearance of the troops dispersed the mob, and the Regiment re- turned to the city late in the evening. The difficulties between the contractors and the laborers on the Croton water-works continued during the following two weeks, and both public and private prop- erty in the upper part of the island was often threatened with destruction. So alarming were the demonstrations on the 22d day of April that the Twenty-seventh Regiment was again assembled by order of the mayor, and at noon three companies, the Third, Fourth, and Eighth, were detached and forwarded to the scene of the riot. They proceeded by railroad to Forty-second Street, where the Fourth Company was stationed to keep order in the vicinity, while the Third and Eighth Companies marched to Eighty-fourth Street, where they bivouacked for the night. Guard was mounted at both places ; all riotous demonstrations were suppressed ; and, order having been completely restored, the companies returned to the city during the afternoon of April 23d and were dismissed. The Harlem Railroad Company having demanded payment for the transportation of the Regiment during the Croton-water riots, appli- cation was made to the city authorities to pay this and other neces- sary expense to which it had been subjected while in the service of the city. Strange as it may appear at the present day, although the Regiment was acting under the orders of the mayor and in the public service, the payment of its legitimate expenses was refused by the Common Council.
Colonel Richard M. Johnson, Vice-President of the United States, visited New York on July 9th, and was publicly received by the city authorities at Castle Garden. The military of the city paraded and was reviewed by Colonel Johnson at the Battery, after which he was escorted up Broadway to Bleecker Street, and thence through the Bowery to the City Hall, where the troops passed in
1
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PARADES AND DRILLS.
1840
review. The streets were crowded with people, all anxious to catch a glimpse of the distinguished representative of the national Gov- ernment, familiarly known to the public as "the man who killed Tecumseh." As Colonel Johnson was at that time a candi- date for re-election, and as the political ex- citement of the famous Log -Cabin and Hard-Cider campaign of 1840 was at its height, this ovation was supposed by many to be for political effect, and for that reason not a few of the members of the militia re- fused to parade; but the partisans of the Vice - President, with those who honored ah enJohnson him for his valuable military services to the country, succeeded in making the demonstration imposing and eminently successful.
The annual spring parade took place on April 21st, and the Regiment was reviewed by Mayor Varian at the City Hall Park. On the 10th day of June it proceeded to Harlem for a drill in the School of the Battalion. In compliance with regimental order of February 19th, which promulgated a new "programme of forma- tion and dismissal of parade," a company was detailed on this occa- sion to escort the colors to the parade-ground, and a company to escort them to the colonel's quarters when the parade was dismissed. Before leaving the Park a color was presented by Colonel Jones to the First National Guard Troop, the gift of the Board of Officers. The usual parade of July 4th was noticcable, from a serious accident to Captain Beach, of the Troop, by the fall of his horse. The an- nual inspection took place on October 15th at Tompkins Square, and Evacuation-Day (November 25th) was celebrated as usual by a parade of the First Division. Although the Twenty-seventh Regi- ment numbered only three hundred and forty-nine officers and men at the annual inspection, it was pronounced on good authority "the largest regiment in the city."
Several of the companies paraded during the year for pleasure excursions to various points in the vicinity of the city. The Second Company spent June 17th at Fort Lee in target-practice, and the Fourth Company proceeded to Yonkers on September 1st for the same purpose. On the afternoon of July 4th the Eighth Company
1840
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HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
revisited Hyde Park for pleasure and for military improvement. With a daily drill, occasional target-practice, rides and rambles through the surrounding country, and an interchange of hospitali- ties with the people of the vicinity, the week passed pleasantly at Hyde Park. The company presented to the church at that place an elegant marble font, as a token of its appreciation of the uniform kindness which the people of that delightful locality had extended to its officers and members on this and on former occasions. On the 10th day of September the Fourth, Sixth, and Eighth Compa- nies paraded as a battalion under Captain Conger, line forming at the arsenal-yard, and were reviewed by Colonel Jones at the Bat- tery. The Fifth Company passed a delightful day at New Brighton on September 29th.
The afternoon of the 16th of October was cold, bleak, and cheerless, and, as was usual at that period, there were long, unac- countable, and fatiguing delays before the review of the First Brigade at Tompkins Square by General Sandford. It was after sundown, and night was falling fast, when the Twenty-seventh Regi- ment passed in review. After the Sixth Company had passed the reviewing officer, Captain Conger flanked the company and marched it out of the column to the company quarters, leaving the Regiment to complete the form prescribed for a military review. Next day Captain Conger waited upon Colonel Jones and stated that no dis- respect to the commandant of the Regiment was intended by his extraordinary action at Tompkins Square ; that in his opinion the laws of the State did not authorize the general commanding to de- tain the troops upon parade after sundown ; and that his action was a protest against the long delays and detentions which were so com- mon on division parades, and which had been peculiarly aggravat- ing on the preceding day, if not dangerons to the health of the men, on account of the severity of the weather. So grave a breach of military discipline could not be overlooked ; in due time charges were preferred against Captain Conger; and, that the enforcement of discipline might be as publie as was the act of insubordination, Colonel Jones caused the arrest of Captain Conger to be made while in uniform, in command of his company and on parade with the Regiment in front of the City Hall. After the parade was dis- missed, the first lieutenant marched the company to the residence of Captain Conger, where the members were hospitably entertained
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SUPERNUMERARY OFFICERS.
1840
and pledged him their united support with great enthusiasm. The Sixth was a proud, high-spirited company, with an abundance of talent and pecuniary resources, and resolved to spare no effort or expense in the defense and vindication of the position of their popular captain. But before the trial by court-martial it was mul- tually agreed to submit the case for an opinion to Samuel Stevens, Esq., a legal luminary of the period, and to abide by his decision. The decision was averse to Captain Conger on every point ; he forthwith apologized in writing to Colonel Jones, and was released ยท from arrest. So discreetly had Colonel Jones conducted this con- test with one of the leading companies that the harmony and pros- perity of the Regiment, at one time seriously threatened, was unim- paired.
The practice of appointing supernumerary staff-officers, not au- thorized or recognized by law, commenced in the Twenty-seventh Regiment in the year 1840, by the designation of David Gould as judge-advocate and Peter Kinnan as assistant quartermaster. These appointments were made by the regimental commander, but a by- law was soon adopted by the Board of Officers which made it neces- sary that such appointees should be approved by the board before they could be admitted to seats or entitled to vote at its meetings. The chief objection to these illegal appointments was that they were often conferred upon persons who had not been identified with the Regiment, or who had not earned promotion by long and faithful service. Having a voice and vote in the Board of Officers upon all matters of importance to the Regiment and not represent- ing any constituencies, their presence was not always agreeable to the officers of the several companies. The rank and file also looked with disfavor upon those who assumed the insignia of official rank without the sanction of law, and circumstances often occurred to make the position of supernumerary officers uncomfortable. For more than twenty years this unmilitary custom was tolerated in the Regiment, but in 1863 the Board of Officers aimed a fatal blow at the abuse by adopting a code of by-laws, which admitted to its meetings none but regularly commissioned officers, and totally ignored the existence of supernumeraries.
The resolution adopted by the Board of Officers of the Twenty- seventh Regiment in 1839, recommending the establishment of regimental courts-martial for the trial of ordinary delinquencies was
1840
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
280
of too much importance to be forgotten. The Legislature was memorialized on the subject, an active committee of officers was organized to secure the co-operation of other regiments and the support of the higher military authorities, and in 1840 the effort was crowned with success. The first regimental court-martial of the Twenty-seventh Regiment consisted of Major Vermilye and Captains Lyon and Conger, and convened at Thompson's Hall in December, 1840; and regimental courts-martial have been recog- nized as a military necessity from that day to this. Previous to 1840 the brigade courts-martial had collected the penalties for ab- sence from regimental parades and drills, and the money received, which was not absorbed by brigade expenses, was divided equally among the several regiments. The treasury of the Twenty-seventh Regiment was materially benefited by the new arrangement, for thie receipts of the court-martial for the year 1840 were about eight hundred and fifty dollars. The regular annual receipts of the regi- mental treasury from 1835 to 1840 averaged about five hundred dollars, and the annual expenditures were about the same amount.
WH Hanifan
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FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT HARRISON.
1841
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIRST.
1841.
GENERAL WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON was elected in 1840 to the presidency, after the most exciting political contest ever known in America, and died at Washington in the following April, one month after his inauguration. The event cast a gloom over the whole country ; party animosities were for the time buried; and all classes united in honoring the memory of the late Chief Magis- trate. The 10th day of April was selected by the city authorities of New York for the funeral ceremonies. The day opened dark and gloomy, and the heavens seemed to sympathize with the occa- sion. At 9 A. M. the procession began to form in and about the Park ; but so immense were its proportions, that it was noon before it commenced to move. It was estimated to number at least thirty thousand people, and consisted of twenty-seven grand divisions (of which the military of New York and vicinity formed the first and second), and included all the civic and political societies and asso- ciations, the trades, the firemen, the State and city officials, the officers of the army and navy, and a host of citizens. The route was through Chatham Street, East Broadway, Grand Street, Bowery, Union Square, and Broadway to the City Hall, and the sidewalks, windows, and house-tops were crowded with people, who in silence witnessed the funeral pageant. Places of business were closed, public and private buildings were decked with mourning, flags were at half-mast, minute-guns were fired, and all the bells were tolled. Soon after the procession moved, a storm of rain and snow commenced, which continued throughout the day, and thoroughly drenched the thousands who participated in the ceremonies. So disagreeable a day has rarely been known in New York, and many deaths were directly traced to the storm and the exposure. The Twenty-seventh Regiment having performed the entire march, formed line in Broadway, near the Park, and waited patiently for
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HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
282
the procession to pass, and was then without formality hastily dismissed. The oration of Hon. Theodore Frelinghuysen, and the requiem composed by General George P. Morris, were, on ac- count of the storm and the lateness of the hour, postponed to another day. For the first time on a funeral occasion, the Regi- ment marched with fixed bayonets and arms at the shoulder, in accordance with the new regulations.
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The Hancock Light Infantry of Boston arrived in New York on July 21st, and was received by the Twenty-seventh Regiment at 6 A. M., and escorted to the United States Hotel, in Fulton Street, where the two commands breakfasted. At 11 A. M. they were reviewed by Mayor Morris at the City Hall, and, although the Hancock Light Infantry numbered about as many members as a single company of the Twenty-seventh Regiment, its fine, soldierly appearance attracted favorable notice. The review concluded, the military visitors were escorted to the Bowling Green, which was opened for the admission of troops for the first time since the War of 1812, where refreshments had been provided by the Regiment, in the shade of the fine old trees which adorned that historical locality. The entertainment concluded, the two commands em- barked for Governor's Island and were received with the usual honors, and the officers of the post spared no effort to make the visit agreeable. On the following day the various places of interest in and about New York were visited, and at 4 P. M. a battalion commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Backhouse escorted the Han- cock Light Infantry to the steamer for Boston.
The Regiment paraded in Brooklyn on May 19th for review by the mayor of that city, and was entertained by the Common Coun- cil at the Colonnade Garden. On Monday, July 5th, it paraded to celebrate the anniversary of American Independence. The line formed in the City Hall Park at 9 A. M., where the Regiment was reviewed by ex-Colonel Stevens; brigade line formed at the Bat- tery, and the First Brigade was reviewed by its commandant, General Ilunt ; division line also formed at the Battery, and the First Division was reviewed by its commandant, General Sandford, and afterward by Governor Seward. The troops then marched up Broadway; passed the commander-in-chief in review at the Astor Hlouse ; returned through Grand Street and the Bowery; and passed the mayor and Connnon Council in review at the City Hall,
1841
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PROPOSED TRANSFER OF TROOP.
and were dismissed about 2 P. M., after a feu-de-joie in the Park. Four reviews in one day, under a burning July sun, followed by a long march at noonday through crowds of sweltering people, would seem to be sufficient to satisfy the most ardent amateur soldier. But the length of the parade, and the military ceremonies on Inde- pendence-Day, were much the same for many years. In fact, the secretary of the Fourth Company refers in his minutes to the parade in 1841 as "much shorter and pleasanter than usual on the 4th of July." The annual inspection took place on October 14th, The Regiment formed in the Park at 8 A. M. and marched to Vauxhall Garden in the Bowery, and took the cars for Hamilton Square, where it was reviewed, after the inspection by General Hunt. The last parade of the year was on the 25th day of No- vember.
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