USA > New York > The Minute men of '17 - a history of the service rendered during the recent world war by the Ninth Coast Artillery Corps, New York Guard and the Veteran Corps of Artillery, state of New York > Part 18
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Officers
Enlisted Men
Attendance: Field and Staff
2
I
Ninth Company
3
43
Tenth Company
3
41
Eleventh Company
3
48
Twelfth Company
3
54
14
187
*Enlistment pending.
(Signed) L. A. Keyes, Major C.A.C., N. Y. G."
On October 2, 1919, Colonel Burleigh relinquished the command of the Regiment to accept the appointment as Acting Inspector Gen- eral on the Division Staff, with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. True to the high ideals of his command, he did the duty before him and did it well. His leaving the Regiment marks the ending of a chapter in the history of the Ninth. The officers and men of the Regiment, to show their respect and affection for their Colonel, caused a committee to be appointed who, on their behalf, presented to him a gold watch, on which was engraved the following inscrip- tion :
"Presented to Colonel George W. Burleigh by the officers and men of the 9th Coast Defense Command, N. Y. G., upon his relinquishing command of that organization, as a token of their regard and affection. Oct. 2, 1919."
On the reverse side of the watch is engraved the Colonel's coat- of-arms.
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At a meeting of the Officers' Association, the following resolu- tions were passed :
"Resolved, That we, the officers of the 9th Coast Defense Command, hereby express to Colonel George W. Burleigh our deep regret at his relinquishing the command of this regiment, our highest regard for him as a man, our warmest appreciation of the efficiency of his work as Commanding Officer, and of the unfailing kindness and con- sideration with which he has exercised the duties of his office; and that we extend to him our hearty and affectionate good wishes for the future.
"Further Resolved, That in the adoption of these resolutions, we feel that we are expressing the unanimous sentiment of the enlisted personnel of the regiment.
"Further Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions, suitably engrossed, be presented to Colonel George W. Burleigh, as a slight token of our unfailing good will."
We thus come to the close of a patriotic movement characterized by zeal, efficiency and modesty. Men prominent in business and professional life made many sacrifices to serve in the armed forces of the State during the great emergency. They served loyally and faithfully, without pay or other reward, save the consciousness of duty done.
It had been our intention to close the history at this point, but Captain J. G. Phelps Stokes, present Adjutant of the Ninth Coast Defense Command, has written an account of the later activities of the Ninth which will form the last chapter. In bringing his work to an end, the Historian desires to thank the many officers and men who have helped and encouraged him in the work. He has en- deavored to be fair and just, without fear or favor, and now he lays down his pen with quickened memories of the willing and patriotic men associated with him in the events just described.
The tale is told, the task is done. In the days to come we will often recall incidents connected with our work, and always have in our hearts a soft spot for our friends and comrades of the V. C. A. and the Ninth.
ALEXANDER R. THOMPSON.
Penn Yan, May 4, 1921.
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THE OLD NINTH RETURNS
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THE LATE 2ND LIEUT. ALEXANDER R. THOMPSON, HISTORIAN.
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COLONEL JOHN J. BYRNE.
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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN LATER ACTIVITIES OF THE NINTH BY JAMES G. PHELPS STOKES Captain-Adjutant, 9th C. D. C., N. Y. G.
C IOLONEL JOHN J. BYRNE, the new Commanding Officer of the Ninth Coast Defense Command, was immediately confronted with a somewhat difficult situation. The Ninth Coast Artillery Corps had been organized October 8, 1917, and its original members had enlisted, several hundred strong, on October 8, 1917, for the term of two years. Their terms of en- listment expired on the day that Colonel Byrne took command. The Regiment had already been much depleted by numerous with- drawals following the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918. Many men of large responsibilities in the business world, who had entered the Ninth, had felt that hostilities having ceased and the war having virtually ended, their duties to. their businesses should receive larger consideration again, and many of these men had already applied for and received their honorable discharges, and the full and honorable discharges of many others were already due.
On October 8, 1919, the Regiment numbered 49 officers and 623 enlisted men. Of the enlisted men, the terms of enlistment of a large proportion had expired at midnight of the preceding day. Had these men asked for and insisted upon their discharges just then, the Command would have been very greatly weakened, and at a time when notwithstanding the termination of hostilities the need for an efficient guard in New York City was perhaps greater than at any previous time during the war. Fortunately, the large majority decided to continue to serve. For a new danger had arisen-the Bolshevist movement and the organization within the City of New York of numerous revolutionary groups having for their outspoken purposes the violent overthrow of the government
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of our City, State and Nation. This new peril had arisen and reached serious proportions just at a time when the morale of the State troops, generally, had slumped badly as a result of reactions from the tensions of the war.
Under date of October 14, 1919, Major-General J. Mcl. Carter, of the General Staff of the United States Army, Chief of the Militia Bureau at Washington, writing by direction of the Secre- tary of War, addressed a letter to the Adjutant-General of all the States, declaring, "The need for the protection of lives and prop- erty within the States is greater than at any time since the Civil War." General Carter stressed the "vital necessity" of maintaining the organized militia at full strength, at that time particularly, "not," he declared, "for the purpose of aiding capital in its issue with labor, but with a view to enforcing the law of the land."
To the Ninth Coast Artillery Corps, which had been redesig- nated on August 7, 1919, The Ninth Coast Defense Command, had been particularly assigned responsibility for the defense of the lower end of Manhattan Island, which was at once both the nerve centre of industrial, commercial and financial America, and the headquarters and centre of activities of half a dozen of the prin- cipal anarchist, communist and syndicalist organizations of Amer- ica. The headquarters of four of these organizations were within a few blocks of the Armory of the Ninth, and the ablest of the revolutionary leaders lived in an obscure alley barely one thousand feet away.
A manifesto of the Federation of Unions of Russian Workers in the United States, had recently declared:
"We must mercilessly destroy all remains of governmental authority and class domination, liberate the prisoners, demolish prisons and police offices, destroy all legal . papers pertaining to private ownership of property, all field fences and boundaries, and burn all certificates of indebtedness. We must take care that everything is wiped from the earth that is a reminder of the right of private ownership of property. To blow up barracks, gendarme and police officers, must be the important concern of the revolting working people. In the work of destruction we must be merciless, for the slightest weakness upon our part may afterward cost the working class a whole sea of needless blood. * * * * We call all workers to a merciless war upon capital and
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government. * * * There is one means ' *armed insurrection and forcible seizure of all instruments and all products of toil." The manifesto calls upon "the working class" to "kindle and maintain the conflagration of civil war until we have torn up by the roots capitalism and government."
Very many revolutionary papers circulating in the State of New York were carrying proclamations of similar import.
Under date of October 20, 1919, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward McLeer, Jr., Division Adjutant, writing by command of Major- General O'Ryan, had urged all unit commanders to take immedi- ate steps to provide one hundred men per company for every company in the New York Guard. In the Ninth at that time the average strength per company was 42. Major-General O'Ryan in a public statement made December 20, 1919, declared, "The time has arrived when verbal patriotism must be translated into organ- ized security."
The Ninth at once endeavored zealously to do its share to pro- mote this "translation." A very vigorous recruiting campaign was got under way promptly. During October, November and De- cember, the Command lost 8 officers and about 120 enlisted men ; but by the middle of January, 1920, the tide began to turn and with but three exceptions during the balance of the drill season (ending May 31, 1920), the consolidated reports showed each week greater gains than losses. The strength of the Command on May 31, 1920, was 45 officers and 681 enlisted men.
On April 5, 1920, following rather extensive conferences, an innovation of large significance was introduced. For the first time in the history of the Guard of this or any other State, Vocational Training was introduced in the Ninth Coast Defense Command. Courses were offered in Gas Engine Mechanics, Electric Wiring, Radio, Steam Power and Mathematics. Through the generous cooperation of the Board of Education of the City of New York, skilled instructors were provided and the courses were thrown open to all enlisted men of the Command. Two hundred and seventy- five men were soon availing themselves of the privileges thus af- forded of securing instruction and training of sorts that could be ex-
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pected to increase their earning capacity in civil life, while increas- ing their efficiency for service in the technical branches of Coast Artillery.
Through the very active interest of Division Headquarters in the inauguration of this experiment, and the representations made to the Militia Bureau by the Coast Defense Officer and the Senior Inspector-Instructor, considerable aid by the War Department had been promised, and appropriations for equipment and material to the value of about $50,000 were made by the Department to put the Ninth's experiment upon a substantial and permanent basis. Similar provision was made looking to the establishment of Voca- tional Training in all the Coast Defense Commands of New York.
To suitably house the new equipment, appeal was made to the municipal authorities of New York City for an appropriation of $50,000 to cover the cost of erecting new class rooms and shops on the roof of the administration portion of the Armory. After many difficulties and obstacles had been met and overcome, the desired appropriation was finally obtained in the form of an issue of $50,- 000 par value of corporate stock of the City of New York. Plans for the proposed improvement are being rapidly matured, and it is hoped that it will be available and fully equipped by the opening of the next drill season.
Similarly, after repeated difficulties and temporary setbacks, an appropriation of $25,000 corporate stock of the City of New York has been obtained to cover the cost of providing bathing facilities in all the Ninth's company rooms, a plan which Colonel Burleigh had recommended and considered with the Armory Board, but the appropriation could not then be secured. It is planned to remove one of the two corner stairways in each com- pany room, and to place showers in the spaces thus obtained on the dressing-room floors, and company supply closets in the corre- sponding spaces on the floors beneath.
Colonel Burleigh had made one of the most interesting improve- ments in the Armory when the old Band Room near the sally-port was converted into a club room for the enlisted men. This room
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was redecorated and refurnished in December, 1920, and now affords a club room of a sort of which any regiment might be proud.
The change of the Regiment from an Infantry to a Coast Artil- lery status has brought about great changes in the character of much of the military instruction given to both officers and men. The officers have their school in the science of coast artillery, under the direction of Lieutenant-Colonel Lewis N. Thiery; and their school in advance mathematics, under Captain Barton Cruikshank. The enlisted men receive constant instruction in the handling of coast artillery material. During the summer of 1920, the federal- ized units of the Command enjoyed a two weeks' tour of very strenuous duty at Fort Wright, New York, at the eastern entrance to Long Island Sound.
Seven companies of the Ninth are now "federalized" and in service. of the United States, viz., the 13th, 14th, 15th, 18th, 21st, 22nd and 24th Companies. It is expected that the balance of the Command will be federalized before the end of the present drill season.
During the two months ending December 15, 1920, a special recruiting drive was conducted, which netted the regiment about 200 men. The annual muster and inspection in the week ending January 22, 1921, showed the strength of the Command to be at that time 46 officers and 751 enlisted men; representing a net gain of 3 officers and 182 enlisted men since the last previous muster in November, 1919.
"Ratione aut Vi" is the motto of our Command. When reason fails to restrain those who would destroy or nullify our Govern- ment, force must be used to compel obedience to the law. The Ninth has never failed our Government and it never will.
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CAPTAIN THEODORE T. LANE (Deceased).
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CHAPTER NINETEEN HOW THE NON-MANHATTAN UNITS OF THE V. C. A. AND 9TH C. A. C. CAME INTO BEING
I .- The Third Battery (Later Third Company)-Staten Island By Its First Commander
Early in the Spring of 1917 some of the citizens of Staten Island who could not volunteer for active military service were strongly of the opinion nevertheless that they should do something toward preparing for possible contingencies. To con- solidate the good American sentiment of the community, therefore, a meeting was called by Messrs. F. C. Townsend and H. S. Tenney for four P. M., Sunday, March 25th, to discuss the situation.
At this meeting, Mr. Townsend was chosen Chairman and Mr. Tenney Secre- tary of the temporary organization then effected. A committee composed of Messrs. F. C. Townsend, J. D. Clarke, A. L. Eglington, A. H. Pogson, H. S. Tenney, with Mr. G. S. Scofield in a legal advisory capacity only, was formed to pass upon the form of organization most available, with which affiliation might be made most advantageously to pursue the purposes of the patriotic gathering.
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The next assemblage occurred on Sunday, April Ist, and was attended by about one hundred gentlemen, including the writer. A resolution was then passed to begin drilling the following Tuesday, April 3rd, at 8 o'clock, P. M. This meeting of April Ist was made memorable to its attendants, in its historic significance due to the proclamation of the President of the United States then published, declaring a state of war to exist, and, as an indication of the admirable spirit of these early meetings, the following resolution, proposed by Hon. Howard R. Bayne and carried unanimously, is quoted in full:
"His Excellency, the President of the United States, Washington, D. C.
"At a meeting of one hundred citizens of the Borough of Richmond, City of New York, held at the Parish House of St. John's Episcopal Church, on the Ist day of April, 1917, the following resolution was unanimously adopted :
"RESOLVED: That we tender to the President the assurance of our hearty approval and support in the adoption of a firm and vigorous policy in the present crisis which will vindicate and protect our national rights by the employment of the Army and Navy of the United States, and further
"RESOLVED: That we tender to the President to the extent of our ability our individual and collective services in any way in which we may be useful in the prosecution of such policy; and further
"RESOLVED: That the Secretary of this meeting be instructed to immediately transmit a copy of this resolution to the President."
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THIRD BATTERY, V. C. A., AT BOROUGH HALL, ST. GEORGE, S. I., ABOUT TO LEAVE FOR AQUEDUCT DUTY, SEPT. 5, 1917.
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At a meeting held after the second drill, on Friday, the 6th of April, it was decided to join the Veteran Corps of Artillery of the State of New York. The suggestion was then made that until the Company, about eighty names to which had been subscribed as members at a previous meeting, should choose its officers, the committee first appointed should attend to its management. No objection was made to this arrangement at the time, so the committee proceeded to enlist recruits inte the V. C. A. and the organization thus formed was soon designated by proper authority as the Third Battery, V. C. A., and quickly attained full strength.
About this time the committee requested the writer to take in hand the drilling of one of the three platoons, each consisting of about 35 men, into which the company was divided. Two Coast Artillery sergeants of the Regular Army, from Fort Wads- worth, Sergeants Davis and Snyder, were handling the other two platoons. Most liberal use of St. John's Parish House was given to the 3rd Battery by that church, throughout, for the purpose of meeting and drills. The Battery soon did the writer the honor to elect him Second Lieutenant, Commanding, and he was duly commis- sioned by the Governor, April 23, 1917. Drills were thereupon vigorously prose- cuted, and field work, including extended order drill, with interior guard and outpost duty were taken up in order. Instruction in rifle fire was not neglected, for the Battery was soon armed with the new Krag rifles by the V. C. A. Headquarters. Staten Island offered a fair field for carrying on this work of training the personnel in the open; and Monday and Wednesday nights and Saturday afternoons were devoted to it regularly. In this the Battery Commander, though lacking N. C. O. aid at the start, will always cherish the memory of the loyal and skilful assistance rendered him in his task by Sergeants Davis and Snyder, and later by his own officers and men, when assigned to duty.
The Second Lieutenant Commanding was commissioned Captain, with Ist Ser- geant George S. Richards, Jr., First Lieutenant, on July 2, 1917; and Sergeant Arthur O. Ford was appointed First Sergeant the latter part of July. Drilling in the open continued throughout the Summer and the organization and training were gradually perfected.
Pursuant to Special Orders No. 198 and 198-A, 1917, A.G.O., N. Y., and Art. Ser. Det., V. C. A., Orders 18-C, about two-thirds of the Third Battery's strength was enabled to leave Staten Island on the morning of Wednesday, September 5th, for a tour of guard duty on the New York Aqueduct, under command of its officers. It was arranged at Headquarters that those leaving at this time might as far as practicable be relieved by those remaining, details to be worked out. This rather necessary procedure, due to various business responsibilities of the men, complicated somewhat what would otherwise have been a simple matter, in arranging for guard details.
The Battery, some 64 officers and men, received its orders at the Grand Central Station to proceed in two platoons to Ardsley and Tuckahoe, the Battery Commander
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taking half to the former station, and directing the First Lieutenant to conduct the remaining men to the latter point. . Early that afternoon the force arrived, and was merged into the unit holding the sector extending northward from the New York City line to about Elmsford, east of Ardsley-on-Putnam, and including Hillview Reservoir, Fort Hill Siphon, etc., with the intervening Aqueduct. (See folded map, front of book.) This unit, the command of which was transferred that day to the writer by Captain Louis J. Praeger, relieved, was designated Co. A, Ist Provisional Regiment, N. Y. Guard, Colonel Rose Commanding; Major Hodges, Battalion Com- mander. Captain Brodie's officers included Lieutenant Raymond L. Taft, and he, Lieutenant Richards and the N. C. O.s serving under them, exerted themselves to the utmost, together with the men, in rendering faithful and efficient duty.
The Third Battery was relieved by a detachment of the 1st Field Artillery, which "took over" the following week; and the Third, with the rest of the V. C. A., was ordered home, and marched off the Aqueduct on the afternoon of September 14th.
On October 8th, 1917, the Third Battery, V. C. A., in accordance with the Governor's command, through the Adjutant General, was assigned to the 9th Coast Artillery Corps, N. Y. G., and became the Third Company.
The Third Battery (and Company), throughout its period of activity, partici- pated in all ordered formations of the larger commands of which it formed a part, whether reviews, parades, guards of honor to visiting foreign commissions of Allied Nations, etc.
On March 18, 1918, Captain Brodie attended his last drill with his Company, and relinquished his command to take up Government war work, being soon after placed on the Reserve List for officers. Lieutenant Arthur O. Ford, later Captain, succeeded to the command of the Company ; he in turn to be followed by Captain Oscar W. G. Ericson, who is still in service with the 9th C. D. C., N. Y. N. G.
II .- The Eighth Battery (Later Eighth Company) -Forest Hills By Captain Horace F. Pomeroy
The Eighth Battery, V. C. A., had its beginning in the early spring of 1917. A number of men, residents of Forest Hills, Long Island, formed themselves into a committee for the purpose of organizing a military company. The objects, as set forth in the first printed announcements, were:
(a) To provide thorough military training in accordance with the latest tactics.
(b) To equip so as to be ready to afford the city adequate guard duty in case of internal disturbance.
(c) To assist men to qualify for Officers Reserve Corps.
(d) To demonstrate the inclination and ability to stand by the country in time of war.
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It was decided to give this military organization the name of the Forest Hills Rifle Club. The following men comprised the Recruiting Committee:
H. F. Pomeroy, Chairman
H. W. Thoms
D. C. Cary
W. G. Walker
F. L. Holmes
Arthur Wright
L. P. McGahie
H. W. Wood
Lyman Beecher Stowe
All able-bodied men were invited to join, and within a few weeks a company of 150 men were recruited. This company was officered by ex-National Guardsmen and Plattsburg students. The first captain was A. T. Shurick, and under his capable command, the Company developed military bearing and effectiveness.
In June, 1917, at the invitation of Colonel John Ross Delafield, and because of the desire for a more useful field of endeavor, the Rifle Club enlisted in the Veteran Corps of Artillery, becoming the 8th Battery. The officers were: A. T. Shurick, Captain ; R. L. Taft, First Lieutenant; H. F. Pomeroy, Second Lieutenant.
The Battery turned out a large proportion of its strength for active service with the Ist Provisional Regiment on the N. Y. Aqueduct.
In the fall of 1917 the Eighth Battery, in common with most of the other batteries of the V. C. A., enlisted in the 9th Coast Artillery Corps, N. Y. Guard, as the 8th Company, with the following officers: H. F. Pomeroy, Captain; W. D. Teague,* Ist Lieutenant; John Messenger, 2nd Lieutenant.
III .- The Fifth and Eleventh Batteries, V. C. A. (Brooklyn) (Later Machine Gun, K & I Companies, 23rd Infantry, N. Y. G.
By Captain William L. Sayers
When the Council of Administration, V.C.A., voted to authorize the Vice-Com- mandant to enlist members and organize additional batteries, no one realized that the spirit of war would spread to all the boroughs so rapidly. Recruiting was pro- gressing very quickly, and there were many who answered the call from Brooklyn; so Regt'l Sergt .- Major William L. Sayers, V.C.A., was detailed to instruct them in squad formations. Their numbers grew so fast that the Council voted the formation of a separate Brooklyn Battery to be known as the 5th Battery, and Sergt. Sayers remained with it.
By good fortune, Captain Louis Jewett Praeger, a man who had served many years in the Guard in the old 23rd, was offered the Command of the Brooklyn outfit. Captain Praeger shortly secured very advantageous quarters in the 23rd Regiment Armory, Bedford and Atlantic Avenues, Brooklyn. The men now numbered about
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