New
York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center
Upcoming Events and Programs
August
9, 2011
Friends of the New York State Military Museum
I am pleased to announce the New York State Military Museum has its own
Facebook page. The page will be the most current source of information
on
what is happening at the museum, the museum in the news and the latest
on our
collections.
Please visit the Military Museum on Facebook. If you like us, let us
know.
Regards,
Michael Aikey
Director
New York State Military Museum & Veterans Research Center
61 Lake Avenue
Saratoga Springs, New York 12866
(518) 581-5100
August
2, 2011
Friends of the New York State Military Museum
61 LAKE AVENUE, SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK 12866
(518) 226-0490
Greetings from your friends at the New York State Military Museum.
Your membership is very Important to us. Without your membership and
donations, our not for profit 501c-3 Charitable Organization would
not exist. At this time, we would like to ask you to submit your
annual dues. Your membership renewal is crucial to our existing
exhibits and programs in the New York State Military Museum and
Veterans Research Center.
With your membership, you will always be guaranteed to receive 10%
off all purchases made at the Military Museum Store. We are working
to reestablish the “Standard Bearer” newsletter. The Friends are
also working on new events for our valued members and their families.
Likewise, please come in and visit our new exhibit concerning The
National Guard in the 19th Century.
The Museum would like to plan a new exhibit concerning the American
Civil War. In this financial crisis, the Museum is faced with state
cuts that prevent this from happening. We are thankful for any extra
donations you may send, along with your annual membership renewal,to
start raising money to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil
War.
As you know, we are dedicated to memorializing the military heritage
of the Empire State and the preservation, expansion and
interpretation of the military collection of the New York State
Military Museum. The Friends of the New York State Military Museum is
the official private support organization for the operation of the
New York State Military Museum and Veteran’s Research Center. Our
organization allows the public at large to play a direct role in this
effort.
We honor New York State Veterans that honor us all by serving their
Country. Your donation will help to ensure the future of special
programs and events at the museum. Thank you for your continuous
support. We look forward to seeing you soon.
Membership Enrollment
Annual Member Options
Individual/Family Organizations Business
Individual $25 Veteran Posts/$100 Friends Level $50
Student/Senior over 62 $15 Small Clubs Museum Level $100
Family $35 Statewide/$200 Heritage Level $500
Regional
Member Benefits (All members will receive the following)
A membership card, Admission to ALL scheduled exhibits, Invitations
to special presentations and lectures, Museum Store discounts of 10%
on all purchases, “The Standard Bearer” Newsletter. Join us to
preserve history. SIGN ON TODAY!
Name____________________________________________________________________
Address_________________________________________________________________
City______________________________State_______________Zipcode___________
Phone
(D)__________________________(H)________________________________________
Enrollment
Selection____________________________________________________________
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Date___________________
Enclosed is my check for
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address______________________________________________________________
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Web Site-www.friendsofthenysmilitarymuseum.com
Make check payable and mail to the Friends of the New York State
Military Museum,61 Lake Avenue, Saratoga Springs, New York 12866.
July
26, 2011
SUMMER BOOK SALE (August 01-31, 211)
New York State Military Museum Store
www.nysmilitarymuseumstore.com
The Museum Store at the New York State Military Museum, 61 Lake
Avenue, Saratoga Springs, New York 12866 will conduct the annual
summer book sale for the next four weeks from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
Tuesday through Sunday. Hardcover military books and soft cover
nonfiction will be further reduced on Fridays and Saturdays. Also,
the Museum Store has a fine selection of gifts for everyone including
children. Special sales will be introduced for each day. Likewise,
while at the store, please visit the new exhibits at the Military
Museum. Contact Hector Lugo, Museum Store Manager, 518.226.0490 for
further information.
Save 20% Special Super Savings Coupon for all Veterans and their
families
Hardcover Military and Soft Cover Nonfiction Further Reduced on Fridays
& Saturdays!
Offer never expires.
Friends of the New York State Military Museum
April
18, 2011
New Exhibit at Military History Museum Traces Citizen Soldiers in the
19th
Century
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY (04/18/2011)(readMedia)-- A new permanent exhibit
at the New York State Military Museum traces the history of New York's
Citizen
Soldiers from flamboyantly-uniformed local forces under state control
to a force ready to serve as a reserve for the United States Army.
The exhibit " A Call Not Unheeded: New York's Militia and National
Guard 1792-1916" uses artifacts from the museum's extensive collection
to trace the history of New York's state Soldiers from the Whiskey
Rebellion to General John J. Pershing's expedition against Pancho Villa
in Mexico.
The exhibit takes its names from a quote from Silas Wright, Governor of
New York from 1845 to 1846.
"The citizen soldiery of New York have never been deaf to the call of
their country for aid against a foreign enemy; and until the spirit
which animated our ancestors during the struggles of the Revolution
shall be lost, and the memory of the Niagara frontier [during the War
of 1812]
shall be obliterated,such a call will not be unheeded by them." Wright
said.
From the end of the American Revolution through the eve of
World War I, the organized militia and the National Guard of New York
State served as a
state military force, separate and distinct from the nation's military
forces.
Comprised of volunteer citizens from all walks of life, the militia and
National Guard protected life and property and preserved peace within
the state but at the same time remained always prepared to answer the
call
for service to the federal government.
The exhibit features numerous artifacts from the museum's permanent
collection which have not been previously shown to the public.
Notable artifacts include:
* A coatee, or short coat, belonging to Gen. Jacob Morton who directed
the harbor defenses of New York City during the War of 1812;
* Chapeau and epaulets worn by Major General Earl Stimson (1776-1847)
from Galway, NY;
* An 1825 militia muster notice for Albany, NY;
* Militia sword (ca. 1825-1830) of Major Gen. Richard Varick De Witt of
Albany;
* 1840's Washington Greys dragoon helmet;
*A naval carronade captured by the 71st Regiment during the Dead Rabbit
Riot of 1857;
*And a dress coat & busby worn by the Troy Citizens Corps, ca.
1890, etc.
The subjects covered by the exhibit include:
* Origins of the Militia;
* The Annual Farce: the Decline of New York's Compulsory Militia,
1792-1830;
* War on the Home Front: New York and the War of 1812;
* From Pure Military Zeal Alone: The Rise of the Organized Volunteer
Militia, 1820's-1850's;
* Service at Home, 1830's-1850's;
* War with Mexico, 1846-1848;
* New York's National Guard and the Civil War;
* The Golden Age: Rise of the National Guard, 1865-1898;
* Castles in the City: Armories of New York;
* Aid to Civil Authorities, 1870's-1890's;
* New York and the War with Spain;
* A "National" National Guard: The Dick Act of 1903 and the National
Defense Act of 1916;
* Mexican Border Service, 1916.
The New York State Military Museum houses over 10,000 artifacts dating
from the Revolutionary War to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that
relate
to New York State's military forces, the state's military history and
the
contributions of New York's veterans. The artifacts include uniforms,
weapons, artillery pieces, and art. A significant portion of the
museum's collection is from the Civil War. The museum also owns the
largest
collection of state battle flags in the country and the largest
collection of
Civil War flags in the world. Of the over 2000 flags in the collection,
more than
60% are from the Civil War.
The museum is located at 61 Lake Avenue in Saratoga Springs New York.
Hours are Tuesday - Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. and on Sunday from
12:00
p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free.
April
13, 2011
News from New York State Division of Military & Naval Affairs
For more information contact: Eric Durr, 518-786-4581
New York's Legislature Moved Quickly to Answer Lincoln's Call
for Troops on April 16 1861
New York State Militia Mobilized to Defend Washington D.C. from
Confederate Forces in April 1861
LATHAM, NY (04/13/2011)(readMedia)-- New York's Legislature is not
normally
known for acting quickly. But as the Civil War got underway 150 years
ago, it
did; committing New York into President Abraham Lincoln's crusade to
save the
Union.
On April 15, the day after Fort Sumter surrendered to Confederate
forces in
Charleston, South Carolina, Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for
the
state's to provide 75,000 militia Soldiers for three months service to
end
the rebellion against the Federal Government.
New York, which had the largest organized militia in the northern
states, was
asked to provide 13,280 officers and men in seventeen infantry
regiments.
The militia then was the equivalent of today's National Guard;
part-time
Soldiers under the control of the state governor for state emergencies,
who
also have a responsibility to the federal government.
In January of 1861, New York had a militia force of 19,189 Soldiers,
commanded by 36 general officers organized into 77 regiments, 28
brigades and
eight divisions. The New York militia was larger than the United States
Army.
(Today the New York National Guard, comprised of the New York Army and
New
York Air National Guard has just over 16,000 Soldiers and Airmen).
Around this time, New York was also starting to call its militia the
New York
State National Guard.
On April 15 the Legislature created a State Military Board to oversee
the
mobilization of troops to respond to the President's call. The board
was
composed of the governor, the lieutenant governor, the secretary of
state,
the comptroller, the state engineer, and the state treasurer.
On April 16 the New York Legislature passed "an Act to Authorize the
Embodying and Equipment of a Volunteer Militia and to Provide for the
Public
Defense." The bill called for mobilizing 11 regiments and 7,334
Officers and
men as a first increment in answering Lincoln's call for troops.
But while the paper strength of the state militia was high, it
disguised the
fact that different militia units were at different levels of
readiness.
The Seventh Regiment, known as the "Silk Stocking Regiment" and
composed of
Soldiers from socially prominent New York City families, was fully
equipped
and manned, as was the 5th Regiment. In contrast, the 69th Infantry
Regiment,
composed mainly of working class Irish immigrants, had only 380
uniforms for
it's more than 1,000 Soldiers.
Even the Seventh Regiment was lacking equipment and 31 Wall Street
businessmen chipped in $100 each to help buy equipment. The New York
Stock
Exchange kicked in another $1,000.
The Seventh Regiment was the first unit to leave New York, heading out
on
April 19 for the ferry to Jersey City as New Yorkers turned out to
cheer.
Each man was directed to have his gray fatigue uniform, sky-blue
greatcoat,
and knapsack with one rolled blanket. Each soldier carried suitable
underwear, an extra pair of ankle boots, mess utensils, waist belt and
cap
pouch.
A famous painting by cartoonist Thomas Nast memorializes the event.
One-by-one, other New York Militia units-- Varians Light Artillery
Battery;
the Sixth Regiment (the Governor's Guards); the 71st Regiment; the
Eighth
Regiment (the Washington Greys); the 13th Regiment and the 69th
Regiment ;
the Fifth Regiment; and the 28th Regiment-left New York City for
Washington.
Upstate the 25th Regiment left Albany and the 74th Regiment departed
Buffalo
in answer to the call for troops for 90 days.
The lineage of some of these regiments is carried by today's New York
Army
National Guard Units. The 53rd Army Liaison Team traces its history to
the
Seventh Regiment, while the 1st Battalion 258th Field Artillery is the
successor to the Eighth Regiment. The 69th Regiment survives today as
the 1st
Battalion 69th Infantry. Soldiers from all of these units have served
in Iraq
and Afghanistan today.
These Citizens Soldiers would provide the initial defense of the
federal
capital from a Confederate attack and eventually see combat at the
First
Battle of Bull Run.
When their 90 days of service was up they came home.
But many of the Soldiers also enlisted in volunteer units New York was
organizing for three years of service. Almost all members of the 69th
New
York Militia, for example, joined the newly formed 69th New York
Volunteer
Infantry which went on to become famous as the "Fighting 69th" of the
Irish
Brigade.
More than 500,000 New Yorkers enlisted in the Army and Navy during the
four
years of the Civil War and 53,114 New Yorkers died. Throughout the
period of
the Civil War Sesquicentennial observance, the New York State Division
of
Military and Naval Affairs will be producing short articles about New
York's
Civil War experience researched by the New York State Military Museum
in
Saratoga Springs.
For more information go the NewYork State Miltiary Museum Civil War
Timeline
Website at http://dmna.state.ny.us/civilwar
April 12, 2011
The New York State Military Museum and the New York State Division of
Military and Naval Affairs Public Affairs Office now have a "New York
in the Civil War Timeline" on the museum's website: www.nysmm.org
The Timeline will chronologically track the state's deep involvement in
the
Civil War and highlight events, units and notable New Yorkers in New
York's
rich Civil War history.
The press release below is another example of the Division of Military
and
Naval Affairs' commemoration of New York State's participation in that
momentous conflict:
News from New York State Division of Military & Naval Affairs
For more information contact: Eric Durr, 518-786-4581
New Yorker from Fishkill Was the First POW of the Civil War
Lt. John Worden Taken Prisoner While on Secret Mission: April 13, 1861
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY (04/10/2011)(readMedia)-- John Lorimer Worden, a
native
of Westchester County who grew up in Fishkill became famous as the
captain of
the Union ironclad U.S.S. Monitor in the famous 1862 battle between his
ship
and the Confederate ironclad C.S.S. Virginia (often known as the
Merrimac).
But before he earned that distinction and went on to serve as a Vice
Admiral
in the U.S. Navy, he was the first POW of the Civil War.
As tensions rose between the federal government and the states that
were
declaring themselves out of the Union and part of the Confederate
States of
America, Worden was dispatched on a secret mission 150 years ago.
On April 7, 1861 the Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, ordered
Worden to
travel to Pensacola, Florida to pass on orders to the commander of a
squadron
anchored there. These orders directed the Navy ships to land Marines at
Fort
Pickens, Florida to prevent the Confederates from occupying that post.
Worden
executed his mission but on the way back north, with Fort Sumter under
fire
in Charleston harbor he was, stopped and arrested outside Montgomery
Alabama.
Worden was held prisoner for seven months, when he was finally
exchanged for
a Confederate officer. Although his health suffered as a result of his
time
in prison, he was offered the command of a revolutionary new warship,
the USS
Monitor.
Built in Brooklyn of iron plates manufactured in Troy, the Monitor had
no
sails and was the first ship to carry guns in a revolving turret.
Worden commanded the ship in Norfolk, Virginia harbor on March 8, 1862
when
it clashed with the Confederate Ironclad ship Virginia, which had been
constructed on the hull of the USS Merrimac. Popularly known as the
battle of
the Monitor and the Merrimac, it was the first time armored ships
fought each
other.
The battle ended in a draw, although the Confederate vessel was forced
to
withdraw and did not break the union blockade of the port, Worden was
blinded
by shell fragments and gunpowder during the battle but recovered.
He retired from the Navy as a rear admiral and lived to be 79, dying in
1897
after a bought of pneumonia.
The monitor sunk off Cape Hatteras in a storm in December 1862.
More than 500,000 New Yorkers served in the Army and Navy during the
four
years of the Civil War and 53,114 New Yorkers died. Throughout the
period of
the Civil War Sesquicentennial observance, the New York State Division
of
Military and Naval Affairs will be producing short articles about New
York's
Civil War experience researched by the New York State Military Museum
in
Saratoga Springs.
For more information go the NewYork State Miltiary Museum Civil War
Timeline
Website at http:www.nysmm.org
New
York State Military Museum Puts Information on 360,000 Civil War
Soldiers
Online
Roster of New York Volunteers Available As Nation Prepares to Observe
150th
Anniversary of the Civil War
SARATOGA SPRINGS , NY (12/27/2010)(readMedia)-- As the Nation
prepares to
observe the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the New York State
Military
History Museum and Veterans Research Center is making capsule histories
of
360,000 New York Civil War Soldiers available online.
The entire roster of New Yorkers who served during the Civil War Years,
1861-1865, is now available online, as well as the five annual reports
issued
by the Bureau of Military Statistics from 1864 to 1868 that chronicle
the
accomplishments of New Yorkers in battle.
The Civil War began on April 12 1861 when Confederate cannons fired on
Union-occupied Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Caroline.
On
April 19 1861 the New York National Guard's 7th Regiment was mustered
into
service and departed for Washington to defend the Capitol.
More than 360,000 Soldiers enlisted in New York regiments to fight for
the
Union during the Civil War. Capsule histories of those Soldiers
military
records were recorded from 1893 to 1906 in 17 volumes based on data
from the
New York Adjutant General's Office and the War Department, the
predecessor to
today's Department of the Army. These records have been posted in
PDFformat
and are searchable.
The Bureau of Military Statistics was established by the Legislature in
1863
to record the history of New York's volunteer Soldiers by collecting
newspaper clippings, artifacts, and securing the battle flags of
returning
units. The Bureau published five reports summarizing the information
collected and detailing the contributions made by New Yorkers during
the
Civil War. These records are also in searchable PDF format.
That collection of printed materials, weapons, artifacts and battle
flags is
maintained by the Military Museum today under the control of the New
York
State Division of Military and Naval Affairs.
Visitors to the museum's website can find out that John Hurley, the
assistant
surgeon of New York City's 69th Infantry Regiment, who enlisted on Nov.
1
1862, was killed accidently in camp on April 15, 1863 near Falmouth,
Virginia. Or they can learn that the towns of Onondaga County collected
$8.2
million in taxes to pay bonuses to Soldiers enrolling in volunteer
regiments
in 1862.
The museum staff has also begun scanning in, and making available
online most
of the thousands of Civil War newspaper clippings that the museum has
preserved since the 1860s.
"The Civil War was a critical time in the history of the United States
and of
New York," said Major General Patrick Murphy, the Adjutant General of
New
York. "I am pleased that the New York State Military Museum has been
able to
make this fascinating information readily accessible to New Yorkers and
all
Americans."
"With the addition of these new online resources, the Military Museum
and
Veterans Research Center continues to make important historical and
genealogical works from its collection more easily available to the
public
through our website." Michael Aikey
"Almost everybody who contacts me is amazed at how much we have been
able to
put online," said museum archivist Jim Gandy. "Without fail they are
thankful
that it is online because some of the stuff only exists on microfilm so
you
can't even get it from the library."
The process of digitizing these historic documents began almost eight
years
ago and has relied heavily on volunteers willing to spend time scanning
in
documents, Gandy said.
The museum's catalog of its collection of photographs, books, articles,
and
paintings is also being turned into digital information and is now
searchable
online, Gandy said.
While the museum holds vast amounts of information about the Civil War
and is
making that available online, other military data of interest to
history and
genealogy buffs is also now available online.
Thanks to the efforts of volunteers the names of all 13,025 who served
as
officers in the New York State Militia, the precursor to the New York
National Guard, prior to 1858, have been indexed. Local high school
students
fulfilling the obligation to spend 20 hours volunteering did much of
this
work over the last year, Gandy said.
Another volunteer project involved establishing a searchable database
of the
23,315 members of the New York National Guard who were awarded the New
York
State Long and Faithful Service Medal between its inception in 1894 and
1963.
One of those volunteers was Greta Hamilton, a Webster Grove, Missouri
resident.
She was doing research on the history of the 369th Infantry, a
historically
Black New York National Guard Regiment, discovered the museum's website
and
also discovered that Gandy was looking for people to help digitize
records,
she explained.
"I told him whatever was pressing I would be willing to work on," she
said.
"I learned a great deal about the units of New York and took the time
to read
up on many of their histories."
"I am curious by nature, so this was really fun. Bottom line anything
that
will help promote the veteran I am all for it," said Hamilton, a
veteran
herself.
Gary Mitchell, a veteran, Rochester resident, and West Point graduate,
also
volunteered to digitize information and said he really enjoyed spending
time
turning paper information into searchable, online documents.
"I learned that New York (National Guard) was often on the cutting edge
of
military technology, and in the 1880' and 1890's was frequently far in
advance of the US Army in technology and application," Mitchell said.
"I
learned to have a great respect for our early citizen soldiers, who
volunteered their time without any pay what-so-ever, often paying dues
and
buying their own uniforms in exchange for the privilege of belonging to
a
local unit."
"I learned that much of our military heritage is forgotten and exists
only in
scattered records and accounts, and if we do nothing, this heritage
will be
lost forever. Every time I make an entry in the digital database, I
imagine a
family member's delight as this entry someday provides another piece of
their
family's genealogy," Mitchell explained.
The Military History Museum is also the custodian of New York's Civil
War
Battle Flags. More than 800 flags collected when regiments returned
from the
war are stored. Many of those have been conserved.
Other items now available online at the New York State Military Museum
website relate to the New York National Guard's history in World War I
and
World War II.
Copies of two publications issued just before and during World War I,
the
"Rio Grande Rattler" from 1916 and the "Wadsworth Gas Attack "from 1917
are
now available for download from the website.
The Rio Grande Rattler was published when the New York National Guard
was
mobilized and sent to the Mexican Border in 1916 by President Woodrow
Wilson
following a raid on Columbus New Mexico by the troops of Mexican
Revolutionary Poncho Villa. New York National Guardsmen guarded the
border
with Mexico in 1916 just as they would in 2006.
In 1917, New York's 27th Division was mobilized for service in World
War II
and trained at Camp Wadsworth South Carolina.
Twenty-three years later the Guardsmen of the 27th Division were again
on
federal service, this time at Fort McClellan Maryland following
President
Franklin Roosevelt's activation of the National Guard for one year of
service
following the successful German invasion of France. The yearbook
published
for the division's Soldiers that year, which includes photographs of
every
unit and key officer, as well as pictures of the training, can be
downloaded.
Key links on the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research
Center
Website:
* Roster of New York Volunteers during the Civil War:
http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/rosters/rosters.htm
* Annual Reports of the Bureau of Military Statistics,
1864-1868:http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/annual_reports/annua
l_reports_index.htm
* New York State Militia Officers Prior to
1858:http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/research/OfficersPriorTo1858/NYSM_Offic
ersPriorTo1858_Intro.htm
* List of Long and Faithful Service Medal:
Holders:http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/research/decorations/LongAndFaithful
/Index_LF.htm
* The Wadsworth Gas Attack and Rio Grande Rattler:
http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/mexBorder/Rio_Grande_Rattler.htm
* 27th Division Year Book, 1941:
http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/wwii/infantry/27thInfDiv/27thInfDivM
ain.htm
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* The cover page of the Second Annual Report of the :
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