USA > New York > History of the Seventh Regiment of New York, 1806-1889 > Part 37
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The Regiment paraded on February 22d, and was reviewed by Mayor Westervelt at the City Hall, and after a short parade was entertained by Colonel Duryee at Lafayette Hall. In May it proceeded to the Union Race-Course, on Long Island, for a field day, and it paraded as usual on the 4th of July. In October it accompanied the Third Brigade to East New York for exercise in
387
NEW UNIFORM HAT.
1853
the School of the Brigade. East New York was at this period a small, straggling hamlet of German proclivities about five miles from the Brooklyn ferries. A large, level meadow, in the immediate vicinity of the small hotels and lager-beer saloons, was used for the military movements, and was well adapted to the purpose. The place was a popular resort for the New York city militia from 1853 to 1866, and the visits of the Seventh Regiment to East New York were many, pleasant, profitable, and memorable.
Captain Creighton, of the Fifth Company, resigned his commis- sion in April. In a letter to that company he referred with com- mendation to its opposition to the Regiment on several occasions, and particularly in respect to the encampment of 1852. "Up to the present time," he said, "I have not heard of the first member of our corps being present at the encampment, even as a spectator. The regimental encampment, as might have been expected from the spirit in which it was conceived, was a failure." That the Fifth Company held a higher place than the Seventh Regiment in the heart of Captain Creighton is evident. There is no question, however, as to the military ability, executive capacity, and personal popularity of that officer in his own com- mand, for the Fifth Company during his ad- ministration was the largest in the Regiment, was active, enterprising, and ambitious, whether in the right or wrong direction, and was not inferior in military accomplishments.
In May the Regiment adopted a new uni- form hat of a pattern recommended by a committee of the rank and file. The new hat differed slightly from the one proposed in 1851, and urged for adoption in 1852, and was said to be "more in conformity with the State regulations and the prevailing style." It was described as follows :
7
New Uniform Hat.
Body .- Black felt or beaver, 6} to 7 inches high in front ; 8 to 8} inches high behind.
Tip .- Patent leather. Top, 52 to 6} inches. Chin-Strap .- Patent leather.
Visor .- 2} inches wide, inclining slightly downward ; rounded at corners; made of heavy patent leather.
Lining .- Black roan.
388
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
1853
Ornament of fine gilt in the centre of eap, medallion-raised figure 7, 126 inches long on flat black surface, 1g in diameter, enclosed by raised ring § inch wide, with "National Guard" in raised letters # inch long, surrounded by 8 rays 1} inch wide at outer end, fo inch at base, 4 inch long, ends curved inward } inch. Total diameter of ornament, 3g inches.
Pompon .- White wool, 3g inches long ; diameter, { inch at bottom, 24 inches at top, with ornament, viz., shield and coat of arms of Regiment.
Sabers of the pattern used in the United States Army were adopted at this time for the officers and non-commissioned staff officers of the Regiment, and staff-officers were allowed to wear the pompon instead of the plume.
The Seventh Regiment paraded on July 14th with the First Division for the reception of Franklin Pierce, President of the United States, and the inauguration of the Crystal Palace. The Crys- tal Palace, though built by a stock company, was designed for the "exhibition of the industry of all nations," and possessed a national character and reputation. President Pierce was received at Castle Garden by Mayor Westervelt and the Common Council, and, after reviewing the troops at the Battery, in company with Jefferson Davis, his Secretary of War, proceeded up Broadway at the head of the military procession. Thousands of strangers from the West and South and from foreign lands, who had waited impatiently the opening of the Crystal Palace, and the crowds of people from the city and neighboring towns, gave Broadway a remarkably gay and animated appearance. The President was received at all points with the respect due his rank. During his progress up Broadway he was overtaken by a thunder-storm, which compelled him to protect the presidential head with an umbrella. Upon his arrival at the Crystal Palace, the ceremonies Franklin Peine commenced. After prayer, an address was delivered by Hon. Theodore Sedg- wick, which was followed by a speech from President Pierce, officially announcing the opening of the exhibition to the public. The Crystal Palace was the most ele- gant and extensive edifice which had ever been erected in America,
389
DEATH OF CAPTAIN TOMLINSON.
1853
and was inaugurated under the most favorable auspices; but it proved, from various unfortunate circumstances, a failure to its pro- prietors, and, after passing through many vicissitudes of fortune, and being used for a variety of incongruous purposes, was finally destroyed by fire.
The insubordination and perverseness of the Fifth Company were certain, sooner or later, to culminate in demoralization or dis- cord, and the resignation of Captain Creighton hastened that result. The company could not agree upon his successor; the election was postponed until August 10th, and was then hotly contested. The two candidates, William A. Speaight and William P. Bensel, were active, talented, and popular, and each had warm adherents. The election resulted in favor of Sergeant Speaight, and Lieutenant Bensel and twenty members of the company forthwith made appli- cation for a transfer to the First Company. The application was speedily approved, and the First Company welcomed this large re- enforcement, and celebrated the event on August 31st with a col- lation at Lafayette Hall. The Fifth Company at once adopted a change of policy. Its first act after this large secession from its ranks was to officially notify the Board of Officers that it deprecated the late waywardness of the company, and had no sympathy with those who had placed it in opposition to the Regiment, and that in the future it would in all things abide by the action of the majority. As an appropriate act of good faith, the company paid into the regimental treasury its proportion of the assessment for uniforming the new band in 1852. This sensible action was mainly due to the influence of its new commandant, Captain Speaight, and during his long and successful administration the Fifth Company maintained an excellent reputation for discipline and good order, and was second to none in loyalty to the Regiment.
The death of Captain Tomlinson, of the Troop, was announced in November. Captain Tomlinson was an excellent cavalry-officer, and much respected and beloved by his company. Ex-Captain Lewis H. Watts succeeded Captain Tomlinson in the command of the Troop.
The annual inspection of the Regiment took place on the 2d day of November at Tompkins Square. The Regiment paraded for the first time in the new uniform hat and with knapsacks, and overcoats rolled. At the conclusion of the inspection the Regiment marched to Fourteenth Street, and was reviewed with the First
390
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
1853
Division by Governor Seymour. The result of the inspection of the Seventh Regiment was as follows :
Present.
Present.
Field and Staff.
9
Fourth Company. 39
Non Com. Staff.
11
Fifth
43
Musicians.
69
Sixth
50
First Company.
47
Seventh
37
Second
51
Eighth
68
Third
58
Troop.
37
Total present, 519.
A notable feature of this inspection of the Regiment was its band, which numbered sixty musicians, being the largest band that had ever paraded in the city of New York.
In November a committee was appointed, of which Lieutenant- Colonel Lefferts was chairman, to devise ways and means for stimu- lating enlistments. The committee reported in favor of presenting a medal to the non-commissioned officer or private of each company who enlisted the largest number of men between the annual inspec- tions of 1853 and 1854 ; the medals to be worn for one year, and to be reawarded at the end of each year to the successful competitors. It also recommended that a regimental medal be awarded by a com- mittee composed of the first lieutenants of the Regiment, to the com- pany having the largest pro rata increase in numbers in each year, to be worn by such person as the successful company should desig- nate. The Board of Officers adopted the report of the committee.
The Eighth Company paraded on a moonlight night in May for a drill in the streets of the city, and devoted a day to militay exer- cise at Hamilton Square, and it celebrated the twenty-fourth anni- versary of Captain Shumway's enlistment in July by an excursion to Fairfield, Conn. In September the First Company paraded with the City Guard as escort to the Boston City Guard. The Fifth Company presented a flag to the Boston Lancers at a ball given in Boston in February.
Since May, 1852, the meetings of the Board of Officers had been held at Lafayette Hall, but in November, 1853, and for some time thereafter, they were held at the New City Arsenal. In Jan- uary, 1853, a committee of the officers of the Regiment attended a military convention at Syracuse, at which a State Military Associa- tion was organized which has continued to exist from that date to this.
.
391
REGIMENTAL ARMORY PROJECTS.
1854
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOURTH.
1854.
THE year 1854 was a dull and uneventful one in the history of the Regiment. The drills and parades were numerous, but were of the usual routine character. All projects for excursions or other military amusements failed, and the Regiment was content to per- form its military duties in a modest and quiet way, with no demand upon publie attention. The Regiment celebrated the 22d day of February by a parade; its spring parade was on the 5th day of June; and it proceeded to East New York on June 13th for brigade drill. The Regiment paraded with the First Division on the 4th of July ; in October it drilled at the City Hall Park, in the manual of arms, loading and-firing, and street-firing; and on the 25th day of November it celebrated the anniversary of the evacuation of New York by a parade with the First Division.
In 1854 various projects to obtain a regimental armory were seriously considered by the Regiment. A memorial to the Legisla- ture, for the incorporation of the Regiment as an association to be called the "National Guard Military Institute " for the purpose of erecting a new armory was strongly supported, and so confident were the officers and members of the passage of the necessary law that committees were appointed by the several companies to co- operate with the Board of Officers, and a site was selected and plans for the new building were drawn and carefully considered. The site selected was bounded by Astor Place, Lafayette Place, and Fourth Avenue, the lease to extend for ninety-nine years at a ground rent of twelve hundred dollars per annum. When every thing promised the success of the enterprise, a misunderstanding occurred as to the terms of the lease, and the Regiment was com- pelled to abandon the project. In May a proposition was received from the " Metropolitan Hall Association " to lease to the Seventh Regiment for military purposes two floors of a building to be
1854
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
392
erected on Broadway and Mercer Street, nearly opposite Bond Street, at an annual rent of twenty-five hundred dollars, provided the Regiment would subscribe or guarantee the sum of fifty thou- sand dollars to the capital stock of the association. The proposition was favorably received by all the companies except the Sixth and Eighth, but, after due consideration by the Board of Officers, was not accepted. In December the Board of Officers appointed a committee to draft a petition for a regimental armory, secure signatures, and present the same to the Common Council, and this movement resulted in securing for the Seventh Regiment the Tompkins Market Armory.
The regulations in respect to the wearing of the uniform at this period were in some respects peculiar. While sergeants were re- quired to wear both the cross and waist-belts with overcoats, pri- vates were directed to wear only the cross-belts. A more complete device to secure a slovenly and unsoldierly appearance of the Regi- ment could not be imagined. The wearing of the uniform hat with the fatigue-dress at the evening regimental drills at the City Arsenal was also a regulation which would offend the military taste of more modern times.
The order for the annual inspection in October was counter- manded, but a portion of the Regiment paraded under Captain Shumway, and was hospitably entertained at Lafayette Hall. The Regiment was inspected on the 15th day of November at Tomp- kins Square, with the following result :
Present.
Present.
Field and Staff
8
Fourth Company.
37
Non Com. Staff.
14
Fifth
66
39
Musicians
44
Sixth
63
First Company
48
Seventh
66
48
Second 66
50
Eighth
50
Third
58
Troop
38
Total present, 497.
In the original contract with the Seventh Regiment Band it was agreed that the band should not play for any other military organization ; but upon application, and in the interest of the band, this restriction was removed, provided the uniform furnished by the Regiment was not worn except in its service. The Eighth Company voted in July to employ and to equip and uniform a drummer at its own expense, and to place him at the service of the
393
PERCUSSION MUSKETS.
1854
Regiment on all drills and parades. This liberal action of the Eighth Company was duly recognized by the Board of Officers, and the good example was soon followed by the other companies.
The large increase in the expenses of the Regiment, particularly for music, now threatened pecuniary embarrassment. The annual expenses were about fifteen hundred dollars, of which nearly one thousand dollars was for music, while the receipts from the com- mutation fund, regimental fines and dues, and assessments of officers was estimated at only about eight hundred dollars. To meet this deficiency the Board of Officers proposed a regular annual assess- ment upon the officers and members of two dollars per annum, to be called the "Music Assessment," and all the companies promptly and cheerfully voted in favor of the assessment.
The flint-lock musket had done good service on many a famous battle-field, and since the Revolution had been the familiar weapon of American militiamen. The time had now arrived when it must yield to the march of improvement, and in 1853 the Board of Offi- cers resolved to exchange the flint-lock for the new " percussion musket." In October, 1854, the captains of the Seventh Regiment received orders to make requisitions for a full stand of arms of the new pattern for their companies, and to adopt the system of drill prescribed for the percussion musket, and in November the old flint-locks were shipped to the military store-keeper at Albany. The arm received at this time was the United States musket, altered from flint to percussion lock, and was very inferior to the new and improved weapon soon afterward manufactured at Springfield. It was not without some sentimental regret that the officers and mem- bers of the Regiment, who were familiar by long practice with the old manual of arms, relinquished the superannuated flint-lock.
The Third Company visited, by invitation, the National Guard of Hoboken, in June. In July the Eighth Company celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the enlistment of Captain Shum- way by an excursion to Bath, L. I. The Second Company lost one of its most active and valuable members, Sergeant Andrew C. Schenck, who, while on duty as a member of Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, at a fire in Broadway near Barclay Street, in April, was buried beneath the ruins of the burning building.
1855
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTHI REGIMENT.
394
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIFTH.
1855.
TOMPKINS MARKET, situated on Third Avenue, between Sixth and Seventh Streets, was erected in 1830, and at this period was an unsightly place, the wooden market-house and the adjoining sheds being old and dilapidated. The rapid advance of the city in this direction demanded improved accommodations for this important branch of city traffic, and the butchers were the first to agitate a project for rebuilding Tompkins Market. The Seventh Regiment, long on the alert for a regimental armory, at once recognized the dawning opportunity, and hastened to improve it. The following are extracts from the minutes of the Board of Officers of January 4, 1855 :
Lieutenant Bensel moved that the Common Council be petitioned to provide this Regiment with a suitable building for a regimental armory. Carried.
Lieutenant Bensel moved that a committee of three be appointed to draw up a petition and to solicit signers to the same. Carried.
The Chair appointed Captain Riblet, Quartermaster Kemp, and Lieutenant Bensel as such committee.
Captain Shaler moved that the colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and Captain Price be added to the committee. Carried.
The petitions of the officers and members of the Regiment and of the butchers, for rebuilding Tompkins Market, were presented to the Common Council in February, there being a mutual and satisfactory understanding that the new edifice should be three stories in height, the lower story for market purposes and the two upper stories for the use of the Seventh Regiment. The petition to the Common Council was carefully worded, so as not to attract the attention of other regiments, and to avoid their possible inter- ference in the matter, and was as follows :
The undersigned, officers and privates of the 7th Regiment, National Guard, respectfully petition your honorable body to grant them suitable rooms for armo- ries in some part of the city, and in support of this, their petition, would present for your consideration the following statement of facts :
1855
TOMPKINS MARKET.
395
The Regiment is composed of eight infantry companies, whose aggregate expenses for room hire are . $1,800
Amount paid annually for insurance on muskets, armorers' wages, print- ing, stationery, and gas. 1,394
Amount paid for music for eight parades, made compulsory by law. 1,280
Average depreciation of uniforms, allowing them to last seven years, the
same costing about $60 per man, for 600 men, at $8. 4,800
$9,274
Amount paid for ferriages to and from Hoboken, and to and from Long Island, our city having no spot appropriated to military purposes sufficiently large to drill a regiment. . 100
$9,374
Your petitioners would merely mention, incidentally, that computing their services at the rate of laborers' wages-say $1.50 per day-for eight compulsory parades, and allowing an average muster of only four hundred men, would amount to $4,800, while in return they receive, as their proportion of the militia commu- tation-money, never over $500, or about 84 cents a man per annum, and the loan of a musket.
Without arrogating to themselves any particular merit, your petitioners feel they have at all times been ready to aid the city authorities in the protection of property and sustaining law and order, for which they have never asked or ex- pected any remuneration. Nor do they now, save and except so far as they may be justified in expecting such encouragement from the city government as will enable them to maintain their organization in efficiency and discipline.
Your petitioners respectfully request the privilege of waiting upon your honor- · able body, through their committee, at such time as you may name.
In March the Common Council passed a resolution to rebuild Tompkins Market upon the general plan proposed, and the resolu- tion was approved by the mayor in April. So adroitly, rapidly, and successfully was the whole movement managed, that before the attention of the military public was attracted to the subject, or any jealousies aroused, the Seventh Regiment had secured full authority for the erection of a large and commodious regimental armory. In August the Board of Councilmen approved of the plans and speci- fications for the new building, and in September the Board of Aldermen concurred and the mayor approved. An unexpected obstacle occurred in the refusal of the comptroller to be present at the opening of the estimates for the work, but in November both Boards, with the approval of the mayor, directed the Committee on Repairs and Supplies to open the bids.
The committee on regimental medal reported in January that the Seventh Company was entitled to the same, having received
1855
396
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
between the annual inspections of 1853 and 1854 eighteen recruits, and it was decided to award the medal to the successful competitor on the 22d of February. The Regiment paraded on that day, and after a review by Mayor Wood at the City Hall marched to the City Arsenal, where Lieutenant-Colonel Lefferts presented the medal to the Seventh Company, and the ceremonies were followed by a collation provided by the Seventh company. The regimental medal, although magnificent in gold, proved to be neither a popu- lar nor a permanent institution. In the following year it was award- ed to the Fourth Company, but was not presented with appropriate honors, and thereafter it was numbered among the unsuccessful de- vices which have from time to time been adopted for maintaining or increasing the strength of the Regiment.
In 1853 James MacGregor, an expelled member of the Fourth Company, had been elected second lieutenant of the Fifth Com- pany. The officers of the Fourth Company earnestly protested against his admission to the Board of Officers, claiming that his election, under the circumstances, to a commissioned office in the Regiment was an insult to their company, which the Board of Officers could not ignore. Against the exclusion of one of its chosen representatives the Fifth Company as earnestly remon- strated, and it was not until 1855 that the Board finally reached the decision that it had a right to determine who were qualified for and entitled to membership, and resolved that thereafter members should be elected by ballot, and three negatives should be suffi- cient to exclude an officer from membership. The Fifth Com- pany continued to claim its right to full representation in the Board, and Lieutenant MacGregor maintained a resolute and gallant contest for recognition. When hard pressed by argument, the Board of Officers was, by resolution, transformed into a "Council of Officers," and, under that title, continued to represent the Regi- ment as its legislative body until 1863. In January of that year, by a change of by-laws, the principle was established that the sev- eral companies, being entitled by law to select their own officers, were also entitled to be represented by them in the transaction of the business affairs of the Regiment ; too late, however, for Lieu- tenant MacGregor, as he had long before wearied of the contest against superior numbers, and in 1857 had resigned his commis- sion.
397
1855
THE "NATIVE AMERICAN " EXCITEMENT.
At this period the "Know-Nothing " or " Native American " ex- citement was at its height ; and so general was the prejudice against citizens of foreign birth, and particularly of the Catholic faith, that the peace of the city was often endangered. Secret societies, based upon this popular feeling, had been extensively organized, and ex- erted an immense influence upon the politics of the country. So excited was the public mind that a serious riot was anticipated from the parade of the Irish societies on St. Patrick's-Day, March 17, 1855, and precautionary measures were taken by the authorities for the preservation of peace and order. The several companies of the Seventh Regiment were ordered to assemble at their armories in the morning, and to be in readiness to march at a moment's notice to the scene of any disorder. Except some trifling disturbances, which the police succeeded in quelling, St. Patrick's-Day passed off quietly, and when the Irish parade was over the military was dismissed with the thanks of the authorities.
While Native Americanism was creating dissension and disinte- gration in organizations political, religious, literary, and social, tlie Seventh Regiment, composed almost entirely of citizens of Ameri- can birth, bravely withstood the storm of proscription. In some companies applicants for membership were rejected on account of their nativity; for the by-laws enabled five negative votes to ex- clude any one from admission. But such candidates for member- ship as were in every respect worthy and unobjectionable and were rejected by any company on account of place of birth were sure to obtain admission in some other company of the Regiment, and the loss to one company by the proscriptive action of a small minority resulted in a gain to those companies of more broad and liberal views upon the subject of American citizenship. From the organi- zation of the Seventh Regiment to the present time a great element of its strength has been its absolute freedom as an organization from religious and political prejudice. The character of a candidate as a citizen and a gentleman has been the test for membership, and, although at least nine tenths of the members have at all times been of American birth and of the Protestant faith, it has always numbered among its members Catholics and Hebrews, and men born in foreign lands. Politics and religion have always been forbidden subjects of discussion at the regimental and company armories, and every man has been respected and treated accord-
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