USA > New York > History of the Twenty-second regiment of the National guard of the state of New York; from its organization to 1895, pt 2 > Part 3
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halted, and faced to the east. The others were in column of platoons in the avenue into which they had wheeled before breaking into fours. Lying in the street were a number of injured National Guardsmen. Among these was Private Paige, of the Ninth, whose head had been smashed with a coping stone. The leading companies of the Seventh which were in line at once opened fire on the mob on the east side of the street and in the houses. This was done under orders, and was "at will," so that many of the men fired several shots each. One of these killed the man who was shooting from the roof, just as he was leaning forward to again fire his musket.
Adjt. William J. Harding, of the Twenty-second, had taken advantage of the halt to pass down the regimental column for the purpose of delivering cer- tain orders from Col. Porter to the company com- manders. In doing so he had reached the sixth company in column, when suddenly the sharp sounds of irregular, running firing rang out from the left flank and the rear columns of the escort. Instantly many men of the Twenty-second faced in the direction of the firing, and instinctively formed line by executing fours left, at the same time bringing down their pieces to the position of "ready." Knowing that no authoritative command to fire could have been given to the Twenty- second in the formation in which the regiment had been halted, Adjt. Harding ran briskly along the front of the line of the Twenty-second to the head of the regimental column, knocking up the rifles with his sword and shouting as he passed. "No firing, men, no firing; steady, men, steady." As he ran along - he received
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successive reassuring responses from dozens of men and officers, " All right, Adjutant; all right."
At the first indication of firing the police on the east flank of the procession had thrown themselves Hat upon the ground, and had thus almost wholly escaped the bullets. Although many were killed and wounded,# they were few compared with the number of shots that were fired. The riot took place while Creedmoor was being laid out. The Twenty-second was the only regi- ment in the escort that had, at that time, had the least instruction in shooting .? With the exception of such as had served in the field, the great majority of the members of the other regiments had never fired a ball cartridge. None of them could shoot as the National Guardsmen of the present day (1895) understand the word. They were consequently inclined to be · nervous and somewhat afraid of their guns when the latter were loaded. This made their fire ineffective when directed at the rioters who were throwing bricks from the roof or firing pistols from the windows. It also made the soldiers themselves unsteady, and largely contributed to the firing without orders which took place upon this occasion. As an example of this combination of igno- rance and nervousness it may be stated that the writer was informed by an officer of one of the regiments that was engaged in this riot that when the rifles of its men were examined after its return to its armory, quite a considerable number were found to have more than one charge in them. This showed that the men who used
* See estimate at page 431, post.
t See Chap. XXXVIII., "Inauguration of Rifle Practice," page 392, ante.
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history of the twenty: Second Regiment
them had put the bullet in the barrel before the powder, and then, not noticing in their excitement when they fired that the explosion of the cap had not discharged the cartridge, had rammed another load on top of the first. This, however, was not an uncommon occurrence with soldiers using muzzle-loaders. On some of the battlefields of the War rifles have been found that had three, four and even as high as seven loads in them. In other words, they were filled up nearly to the muzzle by their over-excited and probably thoroughly scared owners.
One of the results of this riot was to impress upon the leading officers of the National Guard the im- portance and, in fact, the necessity of instructing the different regiments in rifle practice .*
This greatly helped the work of the National Rifle Association and of the Department of Rifle Practice when the latter was organized by the writer in 1874.
The firing ceased as suddenly as it commenced. Then came a perfect pandemonium. The howling, furious mob was now completely panic-stricken. They made a wild rush in all directions to escape, jumping on each other, breaking in the doors and windows of the stores, and acting like maniacs. The groans and cries of the wounded were heard in all directions. All discipline appeared to be lost in the Eighty-fourth Regi- ment, which broke its ranks and surged back through the Orangemen nearly to the west side of Eighth Avenue. The parading Orangemen not unnaturally retreated before the rush of the Eighty-fourth, and many of them began to take off their insignia prepara-
* See Col. Porter's order, page 433, post.
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tory to flight. The situation was indeed critical, and threatened for a moment to break up the Orange pro- cession. But those who excitedly attempted to pass over to the west side of the avenue were confronted by the solid line of the Twenty-second, which stood there in double ranks, shoulder to shoulder, at a "charge bay- onets." This steady front gave a confidence to the Eighty-fourth and the Orangemen, which gradually restored order, although the confusion and excitement on the east side of the avenue was very great for a time.
The regimental surgeons, particularly those of the Twenty-second, at great personal risk came out from the column and cared for the injured police, soldiers and rioters who were lying in the streets. It is unneces- sary to say that at this day there was no such thing in the National Guard as stretchers, litters or ambulances. Many of the wounded were carried away by their im- mediate friends or fellow rioters, but a number of the dead remained where they fell until long after the pro- cession had gone on.
The order of the troops in protecting the parading Orangemen was now changed by Gen. Varian. The Eighty-fourth was relieved and the Twenty-second ex- tended not only down the left flank of the column, but also across the rear and partly upon the right flank of the procession, the remaining gap being filled by the Ninth. Order being finally restored, the Orangemen resumed their places and also their insignia, which many of them had hastily removed. The guarding columns then closed in and the command moved forward. As it started crowds gathered in over the scene of the late
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conflict and gazed with appalled eyes at the forms of the dead and dying who were scattered through the streets. Shouts of execration from the women rang along the column, but the men who had formerly been the loud- est in the attack seemed terrorized by the lesson which had been taught them, and attempted no further assault. The procession continued its march through Twenty- third Street, Fifth Avenue, Fourteenth Street and Fourth Avenue to the Cooper Institute. As it passed through Fourteenth Street the soldiers and Orangemen were cheered by the spectators, much to the disgust of a crowd of rough-looking men who hung along the skirts of the procession. As the procession passed through Fourth Avenue a number of minor attacks were made upon it and some missiles were thrown. This attack, however, was promptly broken up by a charge of the police. In Union Square a number of pistol- shots were fired at. Johnson, the Orange marshal, and the police made several arrests. On reaching the Cooper Institute, where the main attack had been intended to be made by the rioters, the troops were deployed and cleared a wide space, extending from Ninth Street to the junction of Fourth Street and the Bowery. While this was being done the Orangemen quietly doffed their insignia and disappeared, as if the ground had swallowed them. The regiments there- upon returned to their armories.
Mr. Johnson, the leader or marshal of the Orange- men, was, without doubt, the bravest man of the day. He was the only mounted man in the procession. As above-stated, he wore clothes which were equivalent to a uniform, in addition to the full regalia - and broad
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orange scarf of his " order." He consequently pre- sented a conspicuous target at which many a missile was hurled and shot fired. But he rode coolly along, look- ing straight ahead, with apparent unconcern, from the formation of the procession to the place of dismissal. That he escaped unhurt must be regarded as marvellous.
Col. Porter's official report, written at the time, concisely states the doings of the Twenty-second for the remainder of the day as follows:
The men of this command, under the faithful and constant supervision of their officers, stood firm, maintained their posi- tion, and did not fire a single shot. There was no assault of any consequence, as far as I know, made upon the column dur- ing the rest of the march. The column marched-this regiment . continuing as a guard-seven companies on the right flank of the procession, one company on the left flank and one in the rear-through Eighth Avenue, Twenty-third Street, Fifth Avenue, Fourteenth Street, Fourth Avenue to the intersection of Third and Fourth Avenues. At this last point the procession which we guarded dispersed, and, by order of Gen. Varian, this regiment cleared the avenues from Eighth Street to the in- tersection of Third and Fourth Avenues, and down to Fourth Street, and then formed in double lines across the avenue at Fourth Street, facing south. In this vicinity large crowds were assembled, both in front of the regiment and in the side streets. No demonstrations of any serious nature were made, however, in my front or vicinity, although the detective police near us made a considerable number of arrests, and, particularly along Fourth Avenue, took a large number of pistols and other weapons from men in the crowd on our flank. A little before 6 o'clock P. M. we were relieved by the Sixth Regiment (Col. Sterry), and, by direction of Gen. Varian, proceeded to our armory to await further orders. Arriving at the armory I caused an inspection of arms to be made. During the evening I have permitted a few members to be absent for about an hour at a time for the
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purpose of visiting their families in cases of sickness or where there appeared to be urgent reasons, but no more than five or six men have been absent at any one time from any one com- pany.
The regiment is now held at the armory for further orders: present, 29 officers and 378 enlisted men; total, 407. The drum corps, but not the band, has been with the command dur- ing the day. I would respectfully call attention to the gallant conduct of Surg. Rodenstein and Asst .- Surg. Roberts, of my staff, who, at the time of the affair at Twenty-fourth Street, and while the firing was still going on, went to the assistance of the wounded in Twenty-fourth Street and assisted in remov- ing the wounded policemen and others to a neighboring druggist's. I desire, also, to speak in the highest terms of the gallant con- duct and valuable service of the detachments of police in my front and on my flank.
Col. Porter's commendation of the police was fully deserved. Their conduct throughout the day was most efficient. It was known that a disorderly crowd had collected at the junction of Twenty-third Street and Broadway, and an attack upon the procession was anticipated at that point. Before reaching it the police gathered their prisoners in a body at the head of the column and marched them past, each having an officer alongside of him who held a revolver at his prisoner's ear. The spectacle was most impressive and destroyed all the ideas of an attack upon the procession, which the crowd which had assembled there had previously entertained. The police never permitted any demon- stration to gain headway. The least attack was in- stantly met by them by a fierce charge, in which their night sticks were freely used and which at once quelled any threatened outbreak.
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The troops were retained under arms at the various armories during the night, but were all dismissed early in the morning of the thirteenth, excepting the Twenty-second. By Special Order No. 18, of that day, from First Division Headquarters, received at the armory about 5:30 o'clock A. M., the Twenty-second was ordered by Gen. Shaler to Elm Park, at Ninety-first Street and Eighth Avenue, to relieve the Seventy-first Regiment and the Washington Grays, who, as above stated, had been sent there to prevent an outbreak on the part of a large gang of Irish laborers employed in the laying of the new aqueduct pipes. The regiment . was immediately formed and despatched, company after company, by the Sixth Avenue Horse Rail- way, ten cars of which were appropriated by Col. Porter for the purpose as they successively arrived at Fourteenth Street on their up-town trip. At Forty-third Street and Sixth Avenue baskets of sand- wiches and pails of coffee were served in the street to the command by way of breakfast. From this point the regiment marched to the depot of the Eighth Avenue horse-car line and was conveyed to Elm Park by special cars. Upon the way they passed through hundreds of laborers engaged in cutting through and grading Eighth Avenue above Sixtieth Street. These fre- quently made hostile demonstrations against the troops, which more than once threatened to be serious. Happily no actual assault was attempted, excepting that a few stones were thrown at the cars. The Twenty-second remained on duty at Elm Park until about noon of the thirteenth, when, on receipt of orders to that effect, it . returned, marching back through Central Park and
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Fifth Avenue to the armory, where it was immediately dismissed.
The following table of casualties in the escorting regiments is compiled from the Army and Navy Journal:
KILLED
WOUNDED.
REGIMENT.
TOTAL.
MEN.
OFFICERS.
MEN.
Sixth
I
2
3
Seventh
I
3
4
Ninth.
3.
I
3
7
Twenty-second.
I
8
9
Eighty-fourth.
I
2
3
Aggregate
3
5
18
26
The character of the wounds included cuts, stabs, pistol-shots, severe contusions from missiles and bruises from clubs. In addition, there were a large number of men who received slight wounds of which no record was made. The killed all belonged to the Ninth. Pri- vate Paige (K) had his skull crushed by a coping thrown from a height. Private Pryor and Serg. Wyatt (F) were shot. The exact number of rioters killed and wounded by the fire of the troops was never definitely ascertained, but trustworthy estimates put the former at about fifty and the latter at about seventy .*
The walls, window shutters and doors of the houses on the east side of Eighth Avenue from
* As usual in such outbreaks, several innocent persons, whose curiosity had induced them to mingle with the mob as spectators, were among those who fell victims to the firing of the troops.
مره
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History of the twenty: Second Regiment
Twenty-fourth to Twenty-seventh Streets bore the bullet marks of the firing for a long time after the occurrence, and the locality was visited daily for weeks after the riot by hundreds of curious sight- seers. Whatever may have been the strict military lessons to be drawn from the events of the day, one view at least was acquiesced in by all good citizens not only of New York, but of the whole Union, and that was that the power and honor of New York had been fully sustained and the value of its National Guard had been again demonstrated. Public opinion fully approv- ed of the firing on the mob, although without orders, and no attempts were made to punish any of those con- cerned in it. An encounter with a mob is one of the most difficult situations in which troops, either regulars or volunteers, can be placed, and, while it is easy to crit- icise what they may have done or omitted, it is exceed- ingly difficult at the moment to do enough and yet not to do too much. After the smoke of the riot had cleared away and the events of the day had become a familiar story, the Twenty-second received high commendation from many sources for the soldierly behavior and superior disci- pline which it had shown upon the occasion. Within a few months after the riots, Alderman Quincy, son of the Hon. Josiah Quincy, himself a soldier of repute, in discussing the report of the Military Committee of the Common Council of Boston, Mass., in favor of establishing regimental armories in Boston, made the following complimentary remarks with reference to the Twenty-second :
It does not need, in my opinion, military experience to perceive at once the great advantage of the system proposed .
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عبير
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History of the twenty- Second Regiment
as enabling commanders to establish and enforce a regiment- al standard of discipline and of drill. I mention these qualities in the order of their importance, for although they ought to go together they are by no means identical. For example, *
Regiment of New York has or had the reputation of being the best-drilled command in that city; but on the occasion of the July riot the Twenty-second made for itself a record of discipline of which regular troops might well be proud. Receiving, as the casualty returns show, their full share of brickbats during the riot, they marched back to their Armory when it was over without having fired a shot. The fact that others yielded to the excitement and fired without orders need not perhaps con- demn them, for regulars have often done the same when opposed to a mob. The red coats did it in State Street, when the crowd were pelting them, and the two massacres of the Paris Boule- vards, by which in turn Louis Phillipe lost a throne and Louis Napoleon waded to one, were both caused by troops of the line firing without orders. But to American militia, who can show steadiness superior to that of European regulars, all honor should be allowed.
In promulgating to the Twenty-second the orders of the Governor and Commander-in-Chief expressing thanks to the officers and soldiers of the National Guard for their patriotic services on the "Twelfth of July," Col. Porter, following his usual administrative methods, took advantage of the occasion, in General Orders No. 13, series 1871, to point out to his command the usefulness of the military experiences of that day as follows:
The services of this regiment on the twelfth and thirteenth July have received sufficient acknowledgment from the people, the press and the officers under whom it had the honor to serve. It remains only for the colonel commanding to congratulate the
Left blank in the report.
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officers and men on their prompt and almost unanimous re- sponse to the orders to assemble on the morning of the twelfth. Men left their business at a moment's warning, and many came from remote points, summoned by telegraph, to take their places in the ranks. The total present was considerably above the average attendance. Of the absentees, it has been ascer- tained that the greater number were sick, or too far away from the city to join us in time. The record is creditable to the com- mand; and manifests an esprit du corps which holds a duty to the regiment paramount to all other considerations. The lesson of the twelfth July was sharply illustrated, and must not be for- gotten. It is the necessity of the most exacting discipline; not mere proficiency in the manual of arms, but the habit of un- questioning obedience, the subjection of the wishes, opinions and will of the individual to the proper authority, at all times and under all circumstances. A battalion thoroughly under the control of one mind is a power to be feared; but, influenced by various and adverse opinions, is little better than a mob. Another consideration suggested by the events of the day is the need of a higher standard of marksmanship. This matter has been brought to the notice of the command in previous orders from these headquarters. It is believed that breech-loading rifles will soon be issued, and it is hoped that suitable facilities for target practice may be afforded to the regiments of the First Division. Still, much can be accomplished in the armory, and officers are urged to prepare themselves to give instructions in rifle practice as soon as the coming drill season commences. It is suggested, also, that an acquaintance with some parts of the bayonet drill might be of great use to the men in such service, as the regiment is most likely to be called upon to take part.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
FROM 1869 TO 1890.
T HE history of the Twenty-second during this period presents a steady improvement. The matters of special interest are treated in different chap- ters under the subjects affected. Speaking generally, it may be said that after 1870 the strain of the War began to wear off and more interest was taken in National Guard matters, recruits were easier to obtain, and Na- tional Guard prospects began slowly to improve. Dur- ing this period the experiences of one year were much like those of another, and, while interesting at the time to those who were engaged in them, presented little to be recorded in the history of the regiment. The regu- lar drills were had during the season and the usual street parades and reviews were annually made. The custom of parading upon Washington's Birthday, after having been followed for many years, was finally aban- doned, the weather being apt to be too inclement for a street parade. In its place a dinner of the Board of Officers was substituted. During each winter the regi- ment gave a series of concerts and usually a ball.
Altogether too much time and money, according to present ideas, were spent upon these. In looking over
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history of the twenty- Second Regiment
the proceedings of the Board of Officers, it is surprising to see how much of time and attention was given to them. The strain thrown upon the officers and men in being required to purchase tickets for these festivities, and in endeavoring to dispose of them, was great, and no more beneficial reform was ever effected than the decision made a few years after Col. Porter had assumed command to limit these matters as far as' was possible, and to concentrate the thoughts and time of officers and men upon purely military matters .*
Another subject which occupied a large part of the attention of the Board of Officers was the leasing of the armory, a matter which came up every few years.f
In the peculiar relations which the regiment occu- pied toward the Board of Supervisors in respect to its armory, it was wise for it to maintain friendly relations with the leading members of that august body. The completion of the large drill-room had been connected with the grant of its use to the great "Sanitary Fair." This established a precedent, so that applications were made by wholesale for its use for various charitable . organizations, many of which had influential backing. These were not all granted, for if they had been the regiment would have been unable to drill. But many of them were. The regiment also, upon a number of occasions, by leasing this drill-room for a few days in each year obtained funds which it needed for the uni-
* The author hazards the opinion that this is not the case in regard to street parades, and that it was a mistake to abandon them. While it may be conceded that they are of little military value, they are important, like a distinctive full-dress uniform, in attracting public attention to the regi- ment, and do much to help enlistments.
t See Chapter XLII., "The Fight for a New Armory," page 482, post.
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forms for the band and to assist in the various changes of uniform for the men which were made, as well as to make up the moneys needed for various other purposes. The matter ultimately came to such a point that there was scarcely a meeting of the Board of Officers of the Twenty-second at which some application was not re- ceived for the use of its armory. This became such a nuisance and interfered so much with the instruction of the regiment as to lead to the adoption of a resolu- tion by the Board of Officers on September 13, 1872, that thereafter the armory should not be leased for any pur- pose. To this decision the regiment has since steadily adhered. In November, 1868, there were apprehensions of disturbance which caused the issuance of a general order from division headquarters that all officers and men should at once report to the armory whenever twelve strokes should be rung upon the fire bells.
Among the many pleasant events which marked the period covered by this chapter were various excursions made by the regiment to different points, where it was entertained by prominent military organizations, and by its reception of various organizations which visited New York. The limits of this history do not permit a des- cription of these events. Among the most notable of them was the visit of a battalion of the Twenty-second, consisting of Companies B and D, under command of Capt. Vose of Company D, in 1868 to Boston, Charles- town and Providence. In the former city the Light Battery placed its armory at its disposal, and the com- mand was escorted and entertained by the First Mas- sachusetts Regiment and in Charlestown by the Charles- town Cadets. In Providence it was escorted and enter-
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