USA > New York > History of the Seventh Regiment of New York, 1806-1889 > Part 35
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Surgeon William B. Eager resigned his commission in August, 1850, to enlist as a private in the Eighth Company, in which he performed a full term of service with great fidelity. He was en- thusiastically devoted to the Regiment, was active and prompt in the performance of every duty, and possessed the entire confidence and respect of his associates. Surgeon Eager was a gentleman of fine personal appearance, genial disposition, and pleasant and quiet manners.
1850
MAJOR THOMAS MORTON.
363
The annual inspection of the Regiment took place on October 29th at Tompkins Square. The First, Second, and Third Brigades were all inspected on the same day, and the inspections were fol- lowed by a review by General Paez in Fifth Avenue. The result of the inspection of the Seventh Regiment was as follows :
Present.
Present.
Field and Staff.
6
Fourth Company. 30
Non Com. Staff.
4
Fifth
85
Band
24
Sixth
57
First Company
19
Seventh
26
Second
45
Eighth
54
Third 66
39
Troop.
39
Total present, 428.
In November Major Thomas Morton resigned his commission. He enlisted originally in the Fourth Company, was elected captain of the First Company in 1845, and major in 1849. He was an active, energetic, and spirited offi- cer, and was always deeply inter- ested in the affairs of the Regi- ment. He was a man of fine nat- ural abilities, excellent judgment, and great decision of character. Major Morton was an English- man by birth, and was for many years a partner of Colonel Brem- ner in business, and accumulated a large fortune. After retiring from the Regiment he resided at Newburg, N. Y., where he was a prominent and distinguished citi- zen, and died in 1886.
Thomas Morton From a photograph, 1883.
After many unsuccessful ef- forts, the vote of the necessary number of the companies of the Regiment was obtained in favor of the adoption of the overcoat as a part of the Bill of Dress. The Eighth Company, which had been the pioneer in the movement, yielded its preference as to pattern as soon as it was ascertained that a majority favored the "tight-fitting overcoat," and paraded February 25th in new overcoats, being the first company in the Regiment to appear in that important part of
1850
364
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
a soldier's uniform. No other company procured overcoats during the year. The overcoat, as adopted in 1850, is described as follows :
Sky-blue, army kersey, with cape, single-breasted. to button from the waist seam up with seven large N. G. buttons; to be cut large, and extend two inches below the bend of the knee. For a man five feet eight or nine inches in height: length of waist, twenty-one inches; full length of coat, forty-three inches ; back to be cut sack fashion ; width of each back at the hip, four inches; at the bottom, ten inches, and opening up the back seam two thirds the length of the skirt; two large N. G. buttons on the hip; the side edges in the plait to be pointed and ex- tend downward two thirds the length of the skirt, with a large N. G. button on and near the bottom and on centre of side edges; frock skirt, with waist seams; the width around the bottom of the skirt, thirty-three inches; the skirt to lap over in front at bottom about five inches ; the height of collar, three and one half to four inches. to extend up to the ear, and inclose the chin, lap over in front, and button with two small N. G. buttons, the button-holes to be worked through the collar; the cape to be three fourths of a circle, length behind, four inches less than waist, to button up the front with five small N. G. buttons; a button-hole in the cape behind, and a small N. G. button sewed on the back seam of the coat, and button through the cape ; the sleeves large, to have a pointed, turn-up cuff, two and one half inches deep, with a small N. G. button on the point, the whole width of the sleeve at the hand to be thirteen inches; two pockets in the plaits behind ; the body of the coat to be lined with red flannel; the sleeves to be lined with brown linen. No hair, wadding, or padding to be used in any part of the coat.
For Commissioned Officers .- Sky-blue, army kersey, with capc; double-breast- ed; to button from the waist seam up, with seven large N. G. buttons; to be cut large, and extend two inches below the bend of the knee. . . . The sleeves large, the cuffs or turn-ups to be five inches, the whole width of the sleeve at the hand to be thirteen inches. The cape to be cut three quarters of a circle, and lined with scarlet cloth ; the length of cape to be determined by the waist seam; the bottom edge of cape to meet the waist seam all around ; the cape to button up in front with ten small N. G. buttons. In other particulars same as overcoats of privates. The back skirts of the Mounted Officers opened up to the waist seam.
In October a proposition to erect a regimental armory in Broad- way, north of and adjoining Grace Church, was entertained by the Board of Officers, and a committee was appointed upon the subject. The companies generally favored the proposition, but after mature consideration it was decided that it was inexpedient for the Regi- ment to assume any large pecuniary obligation, and the project was abandoned. A proposition to erect a regimental armory at the corner of Broadway and Fourth Street shared the same fate, for the same reason. The arsenal-yard, which had long been used for military drills, now yielded to the demands of commerce, and was leased by the city for business purposes, but not without an earnest
365
THE "FEU-DE-JOIE."
1850
remonstrance to the Common Council from the officers of the Sev- enth Regiment.
Captain Pond, of the Second Company, resigned his commission in January, and was succeeded by Lieutenant Alexander Shaler. In the Seventh Company, Captain Van Winkle was succeeded by Kiernan B. Daly, formerly a lieutenant in the Third Company. Captain Millard, of the Fifth Company, also resigned, and Lieuten- ant Frederick Creighton was promoted to fill the vacancy ; but be- fore the end of the year the office was again vacant, and Henry B. Melville was elected captain. Captain Franklin Millard was adju- tant of the Regiment at the Astor Place Riot, and an officer of the Fifth Company for nearly twelve years. During his long term of service he performed his military duties creditably and satisfac- torily.
The feu-de-joie, a discharge of musketry at the close of a parade, had, from time immemorial, been a favorite institution with the militia of New York. The military parade of the 4th of July would have been considered especially tame and incomplete with- out the burning of powder, and the noise and smoke attending that operation. On the day preceding parade, requisition was made upon the commissary-general for the necessary number of blank cartridges, which were distributed to the men on the following morning. After passing the mayor in review at the City Hall, the troops were drawn up in line within and around the Park, facing inward, and the fire by file commenced, and was continued until the cartridges were exhausted. For several years the popularity of this time-honored custom had been on the wane. The muskets were soiled by the practice, lazy soldiers were careful not to load or discharge their pieces, but simply performed the motions as pre- scribed by the manual of arms, while raw recruits would occa- sionally fire off a ramrod, to the great disgust of veteran soldiers and the terror of spectators in the vicinity. The noisy enthusiasm which had characterized the celebration of the anniversary of national independence was rapidly disappearing, and the feu-de- joie was finally numbered among the traditions of the early years of the republic. The last feu-de-joie of the militia on the anniver- sary of American Independence in the city of New York, of which any record appears, was in the year 1850.
The annual receipts and expenditures of the Regiment (1846-'49)
366
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT. 1850
averaged about eight hundred dollars, but its disbursements in 1850 were unusually large, amounting to two thousand and sixty-five dol- lars, including the entertainment of the Boston Lancers. An assess- ment of two dollars and fifty cents per man was levied upon the Regi- ment by the Board of Officers to pay the expenses of the entertain- ment of the Boston Lancers. The power of the Board to levy assess- ments for such purposes was not questioned in this case, although the proceeding was a novelty ; but it was not long before it became a grave and formidable subject of discussion whether the companies could be taxed without their consent for any purpose whatsoever. The principles involved in the Declaration of Independence as to taxation without representation, or power duly delegated, have since been frequently and earnestly discussed in the Seventh Regiment.
.vi
Old Mill at Newport.
1851
FIRST PARADE IN OVERCOATS.
367
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIRST.
1851.
THE celebration of the 22d day of February, the anniversary of the birth of Washington, originated in 1851, and was the military fashion of the next decade. By division orders, volunteer detach- ments of the several brigades were directed to report to the divis- ion inspector at Centre Market in the morning, to escort the Light Artillery to the Battery, and to pay a marching salute to the mayor and Common Council at the City Hall, and the officers of the Divis- ion were ordered to assemble at the Governor's Room in the after- noon, to accompany the mayor and Common Council to Niblo's Theatre, to attend the patriotic exercises of the day. The pro- gramme of the celebration was successfully carried out, under the direction of a committee of the Common Council.
The great military feature of the celebration was the parade in overcoats of the detachment of the Seventh Regiment, consisting of the Second, Third, Sixth, and Eighth Companies. A military parade in the severe weather of December or February without overcoats had never been the subject of particular comment or criti- cism, and in the early history of the Seventh Regiment it was the practice to parade at all seasons of the year in white trousers. The novel appearance, therefore, of the Seventh Regiment battalion, as it passed down Broadway on the 22d day of February, 1851, in heavy blue overcoats, attracted unusual attention. To the unreflect- ing, this innovation seemed absolutely ridiculous, and the battalion was frequently greeted with the announcement that "the stage- drivers are on a strike." But the comfort and usefulness of the new garment were irresistible arguments in its favor, and the jocose remarks upon its odd appearance neither chilled the hearts of the well-clad soldiers, nor prevented its achieving, in due time, perma- nent popularity. After the parade of the day the battalion was reviewed by Colonel Duryee, in Broome Street, and proceeded 25
1851
368
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
thence to Lafayette Hall to partake of the hospitality of the Eighth Company. The new overcoat was the burden of speeches and toasts, and there was a unanimous expression of satisfaction at its · successful introduction.
On the 17th of February, Marshall Lefferts, a private in the Eighth Company, and brigade quartermaster of the Third Brigade, was elected major of the Seventh Regiment, vice Morton resigned. In the early part of the year Captain Amerman resigned, and Augustine E. Pressinger succeeded him as captain of the First Company ; Captain Melville of the Fifth Company resigned, and ex-Captain Creighton was elected to fill the vacancy ; and Captain Daly resigned the command of the Seventh Company, and First Lieutenant John Monroe was elected its captain. Of the com- mandants retiring in 1851, Captain Isaac Amerman was a quiet, reliable, and laborious officer, and a good military instructor; and Captain Kiernan B. Daly served with considerable distinction as an officer of the Third and Seventh Companies, and was an agreeable, intelligent, and popular gentleman.
The evening regimental drills, in the early part of the year, were held at the Apollo. On account of limited space and increas- ing numerical strength it was impossible to drill the whole Regi- ment at once, and thus originated the famous wing-drills (battalions of four companies), which for many years were useful, entertaining, and popular. The Regiment was constantly and thoroughly in- structed by these drills without taxing the business hours of officers and men, and they also enabled its friends to be present without inconvenience, and thereby encouraged efforts for military improve- ment. The Regiment drilled in Tompkins Square in May, and proceeded to Union Course, Long Island, in September, for mili- tary exercise and practice in street-firing.
The Regiment paraded at the City Hall Park on May 12th, to receive a stand of colors from the Boston Lancers. A committee of twenty-five members from that corps was present at the presen- tation ; Quartermaster Brastow, as their representative, delivered an address, and Colonel Duryee accepted the elegant color with suit- able acknowledgments. A review by General Sandford was fol- lowed by a parade in the Bowery and Broadway, and the proceed- ings closed with a collation at the Apollo. The color presented by the Boston Lancers was unique in design and elegantly executed.
369
THE COLLATION AT THE APOLLO.
1851
On one side of the flag was the arms of the State of Massachusetts, flanked by a squad of lancers, and by a lancer, full size, pointing to the Lancers' motto, " Union, Liberty, and the Laws," inscribed over the State arms. The other side of the flag bore the coat-of-arms of the State of New York, flanked by Seventh Regiment soldiers on parade.
The collation at the Apollo was insufficient in quantity and inferior in. quality, and caused great dissatisfaction. The officers and members of the Regiment were mortified and thoroughly disgusted with this part of the otherwise creditable proceedings of the day; for, in addition to their guests from Boston, many dis- tinguished military gentlemen of New York had honored the occasion with their presence. So much indignation needed and must find a victim, and Quartermaster Allen was the unfortunate party whom all desired to crucify. At a meeting of the Board of Officers, held in June, a committee was appointed to demand an explanation from the quartermaster as to the unsavory food which made the Apollo collation memorable. The quartermaster failed to satisfy the irascible committee, and at the July meeting resolu- tions were adopted strongly censuring that officer. But in due course of time wiser counsels prevailed, justice triumphed, the quartermaster was exonerated, and the resolutions of censure were expunged from the minutes of the Board.
The unfortunate collation at the Apollo was fruitful of trouble, for it developed a wide-spread dissatisfaction among the rank and file as to expenditures by the Board of Officers for other than strictly military purposes, and the assessment of the same upon the companies without their consent. In July the Fifth Company adopted resolutions denying the right of the Board of Officers "to assess the members of the company for collations given by the said Board without previously consulting the company," and in several other companies there was more or less disposition to question the action of the Board in this particular. The fact was not then so generally admitted as in later years, that the company officers are the representatives of the enlisted men, and are jealous of their rights as well as loyal to their interests, and that the Board of Offi- cers, which is practically controlled by the company officers, is not likely, except by error of judgment, to do anything which is detri- mental to the welfare of the Regiment or any part of it. Not until
370
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
1851
all the companies were gathered under one roof, and company in- terest, feeling, and pride gradually yielded to the higher claims of the Regiment, did this jealousy of the action and power of the Board of Officers diminish in its strength and influence.
President Millard Fillmore was publicly received by the city authorities at Castle Garden on May 13th, and the First Division
paraded in his honor. The Seventh Regiment Troop was detailed and paraded as the special escort of the President. The streets were thronged with people, and the military display was admirable, but, on account of the heavy rain, the programme of the day was not completed. In the evening the President was enter- tained at a corporation dinner, and was serenaded at his quarters at the Irving Millan Hermoso House, and on the following morning left for Dunkirk to attend the celebra- tion of the completion of the Erie Railway.
The fame and glory of the Battery as a military parade-ground were now on the wane. On the 4th of July, 1851, the First Divis- jon formed in Fourteenth Street, and with each succeeding year the Battery became less and less familiar to the militia of the city. The change in the place of formation of division line necessarily involved a change in the line of march, and from this time forward for many years the usual route was from Fourteenth Street down Broadway to the City Hall for the marching salute to the mayor or the Governor of the State. Since the organization of the Seventh Regiment in 1826 the City Hall Park had been its usual and favor- ite place for assemblage and formation. Notwithstanding the grad- ual and constant migration northward of the people and of its mem- bers, the Regiment adhered right loyally to its old and familiar stamping-ground, and not until the First Division and the Third Brigade had followed the people up-town did it relinquish its an- cient rendezvous and its pre-emption claim thereto, and seek accom- modations elsewhere. On the 4th of July, 1851, the Regiment formed in Canal Street.
In August a circular was issued, signed by two members of each company, recommending the organization of a " Board of Privates."
371
FUNERAL OF ADJUTANT DIVVER.
1851
It proposed that this Board consist of one sergeant, one corporal, and three privates from each company, to be chosen annually, to meet monthly, and the meetings to be public to the members of the Regiment :
The duties of this Board shall be to consider any written suggestions that may be made to it by members of the Regiment and any other matter of general inter- est; to endeavor to ascertain the true state of feeling in reference to any subject in agitation in the Regiment, and transmit their knowledge of the same to the Board of Officers ; to promptly circulate any information that may be transmitted to them by that Board, and thus prevent any misunderstanding that might arise from an incorrect conception of the wishes of the Board of Officers; to reconcile all difficulties that may arise between the various companies; and to aid and encourage any movement that will promote harmony, uniformity, and increased military knowledge in the Regiment.
The origin of this association may be traced to the jealousy which extensively prevailed of the power assumed and exercised by the Board of Officers and the secrecy of its proceedings, and many heartily entered into the movement, with the belief that it would be permanently useful in advancing the welfare and pros- perity of the Regiment. But they were disappointed in the result ; for, after a few meetings indifferently attended, and without accom- plishing anything of interest or importance, the Board of Privates quietly ceased to exist.
On the 17th day of October, Adjutant Joseph A. Divver, while laboring under temporary insanity, occasioned by domestic and pecuniary difficulties, died from the effects of prussic acid. A special meeting of the Board of Officers was held on the same day, at which it was decided to remove the remains to the Mercer House, that the Regiment attend the funeral on Sunday, October 19th, in citizens' dress, and that the Board pay the expenses of the funeral. When the action of the Board of Officers became known to the personal friends of the deceased, and particularly to the United States Dragoons and others who had served with him in Mexico, they were extremely indignant ; and, believing that military honors should be paid to his memory, they took possession of his body, and refused to deliver it to the care of the Seventh Regiment. At that stage of this unpleasant affair the Fifth Company took the responsi- bility of volunteering a military escort, and the remains of Adjutant Divver were therefore delivered to the company on Saturday after- noon, and were removed from his residence in Varick Street to the
372
1851
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
Mercer House. At a meeting of the friends of Adjutant Divver who served with him in Mexico, held on Saturday evening, resolu- tions were adopted approving of "the spontaneous and independent course of action of the Fifth Company, Seventh Regiment, in step- ping forth alone and rendering military honors to the remains of Adjutant Divver." On Sunday the funeral was attended at the Mercer House. The Fifth Company paraded as the military escort, and thirteen dragoons who had served under Adjutant Divver in Mexico acted as pall-bearers. The other companies, in citizens' dress, joined the procession, and proceeded with it to Greenwood. The funeral ceremonies were appropriate, the military dis- play creditable, and a large and most respectable proces- sion of citizens and friends honored the memory of the brave and unfortunate sol- dier.
Major Joseph A. Divver first enlisted in the Fifth Company, but became sec- ond lieutenant of the Third Company in 1841 and first lieutenant in 1843. During the latter year he was ap- pointed adjutant, and in Major Joseph A. Divver. 1845 was elected major of the Regiment. In 1847 he accepted a commission as first lieutenant of United States Dra- goons, and proceeded with the army to Mexico. After the siege of Vera Cruz he was promoted, and as captain of dragoons accom- panied General Scott to the city of Mexico, was in nearly all the important engagements preceding the capture of that city, and be- haved on all occasions with distinguished gallantry. In 1849 he was again appointed adjutant of the Seventh Regiment, which position he held at the time of his death. As a thorough, practical soldier Major Divver had few equals in the Regiment, and his record as a line, staff, and field officer was an enviable one. In the position of adjutant he was particularly distinguished for his devo-
1851
373
THE DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT.
tion to the interests of the Regiment, his prompt and intelligent performance of every duty, and his military enthusiasm. His amia- ble disposition, pleasant and conciliatory manners, and admirable social qualities made him a universal favorite. He was a man of good address and genteel appearance, and had a fine, soldierly figure and pleasant countenance. Previous to the Mexican War, Major Divver was in a prosperous business as a wholesale liquor-dealer in Front Street. He was active as a Democrat in politics, and was elected assistant alderman of the Fourth Ward in 1844, and alder- man in 1845, by a very large majority. So ardent was he in his political predilections that about the time of the famous "Dorr Rebellion " in Rhode Island, while in command of the Third Com- pany, Lieutenant Divver ordered out that company to escort Gov- ernor Dorr in this city. The remonstrance of prominent officers of the Regiment, however, induced him to countermand the order. After his return from Mexico he was unsuccessful in business, and finally became despondent and melancholy, and died as above related.
The death of Adjutant Divver left his little daughter a home- less, helpless, and unprotected orphan. Mary Divver, at that time about nine years old, was a child of intelligence and promise, and her destitute and friendless condition aroused the sympathy of the officers and members of the Seventh Regiment. At a meeting of the Board of Officers held in November, on motion of Major Lef- ferts, it was voted that a subscription be raised for the support and education of Mary Divver, that commandants bring the subject before their companies, and that the colonel act as her guardian. All the companies responded favorably, and it was decided that an assessment of one dollar per annum should be paid by each officer and member to the "Divver fund " for a period of nine years or for such time as the guardianship should remain with the Regiment, and thus Mary Divver became by adoption the Daughter of the Regiment. Her education was carefully superintended by Colonel Duryee, and, when not at boarding-school, his house was her home. There was a lively interest throughout the Regiment that the new protégée should thrive and prosper, and by her virtues and accom- plishments reflect honor upon the organization.
The annual inspection of the Seventh Regiment took place on the 21st of October. The Regiment assembled for the first time
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