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New York State National Guard, 9th Regiment collection

Call Number

MS 3085

Date

1812-1961, inclusive

Creator

New York (State). National Guard. Regiment, 9th
Veterans of the 9th Regiment Association

Extent

12.46 Linear feet in eleven boxes of various sizes, fourteen free standing volumes, and one oversized folder.

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

This collection contains materials relating to the New York State National Guard, 9th Regiment. This military unit saw active service during the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II. The unit was given many other formal designations over time, including the 83rd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Civil War, and the 244th Coastal Artillery. The contents of this collection were compiled over time by the Veterans of the Ninth Regiment and include Civil War company records, commissions and certificates, minute books of the Veterans Association, general and special orders, scrapbooks, photographs, photo albums, invitations, ephemera, newspaper clippings, programs, and correspondence.

Biographical / Historical

The 9th Regiment was first formed on June 24, 1799 as the "6th Regiment of Infantry (N.Y.N.G.)." On March 27, 1805, the designation of the regiment was changed from the "6th Regiment of Infantry" to the "2nd Regiment of Artillery in New York City" and on June 13, 1812, the designation was changed once again to the "9th Regiment of Artillery." On December 13, 1813, the regiment was reduced to a battalion and on June 6, 1816, the battalion was reorganized as a regiment using the name "1st Battalion of the New York State Artillery."


The 9th Regiment participated (at intervals) in the War of 1812. It was in active service for roughly one year, in and about New York City, and was part of the U.S. Forces stationed at Sag Harbor in Long Island, N.Y., though the regiment did not participate in the conflict.


During the Mexican-American War, the 9th Regiment offered its services, however, the size of the unit was too small, not conforming to the U.S. military's size requirement.


On May 29, 1850, the unit became known as the "9th Regiment, New York State Militia" and due to the large percentage of Irish soldiers within the regiment, it was given the nickname, "the Irish Ninth."


Between 1861 and 1864, the 9th Regiment saw combat during the Civil War and fought under the name of the "83rd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment." It was attached to the Army of the Potomac and participated in dozens of actions from 1861 to 1864 including the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, and Cold Harbor to name some of the more famous engagements.


During the Spanish-American War, the regiment served as the "9th New York Volunteer Infantry" and increased in size to a twelve company regiment. This larger company was later disbanded in December 1898.


On January 23, 1908, in accordance with military law, the 9th Regiment was converted to coast artillery, becoming part of the Coast Artillery Corps and New York's National Guard as the 9th Artillery District.


In addition to participating in military conflicts, during the nineteenth century, the 9th Regiment was called to service during the abolition riots of 1835, the great fire in New York City of 1845, the Orange riot of 1871 and the three railroad riots of 1877, 1892, and 1895 at Albany, Buffalo, and Brooklyn respectively.


On August 5, 1917, the unit was mustered into federal service and assigned to Coast Defenses of Sandy Hook, New Jersey. During its World War I service, the 9th Regiment was reorganized as the 9th Regiment, C.A.C., N.Y.G., and also given the designation of Coast Defense Command. The unit was demobilized in December 1918 at Fort Hancock, organized as a depot battalion and transferred to 8th Coast Artillery Corps.


On January 11, 1918, some companies within the 9th Regiment were reassigned to the 57th Artillery, Coast Artillery Corps and served in France. These troops later returned to the U.S. and were demobilized in February 1919.


In 1920, the regiment was reorganized and redesignated as the "9th Coast Defense Command, New York National Guard (N.Y.N.G.)". In 1924, they were once again renamed the "244th Artillery, Coast Artillery (Tractor Drawn) Regiment, Coast Artillery Corps." Regiments of this type were usually armed with 24 155 mm GPF guns on towed mounts.


Inducted once again into federal service on September 16, 1940, the unit was moved to Camp Pendleton in Virginia. The 9th participated in military maneuvers in North Carolina between September 29, 1941 and December 3, 1941.


On December 21, 1941 1st Battalion was transferred to Fort Macon, North Carolina, where they established the Temporary Harbor Defenses of Beaufort, NC. From July 1942 until September 1942, reinforced by the 2nd Battalion, 54th Coast Artillery (Colored), the 9th served at Fort Macon until they were relieved by 3rd Battalion, 2nd Coast Artillery. 1st Battalion was then moved via the New York Port of Embarkation to the United Kingdom. Once they arrived in Honiton, England, the 1st Battalion was reorganized and redesignated as the 633rd AAA Auto-Weapons Battalion. This unit landed in France on June 16, 1944 and served in the European theater until returned to New York and inactivated October 6, 1945.


On December 24, 1941 2nd Battalion moved to Fort Lewis, Washington, where they were set to be deployed to Alaska. The 2nd Battalion was inactivated in Alaska on June 5, 1944 and redesignated the "289th Coast Artillery Battalion" (155 mm gun). They were then moved to Camp Joseph T. Robinson in Arkansas. Once in Arkansas, on August 17, 1944, 2nd Battalion was redesignated as the "782nd Field Artillery Battalion" (8-inch howitzer). This unit was further redesignated as the "782nd Chemical Mortar Battalion" on July 5, 1945 at Camp Bowie in Texas. They were later inactivated on September 8, 1945.


3rd Battalion departed Camp Pendleton on January 17, 1942 and deployed to New Caledonia in the South Pacific. On January 20, 1943, the 3rd Battalion was redesignated as the "259th Coast Artillery Battalion" (155 mm gun). This unit deployed to Guadalcanal, Fiji, New Guinea, and the Philippines. They were later deactivated on August 20, 1945 in the Philippines.


It should also be noted that between 1859 to 1969, the 9th Regiment's armory was located at 125 West 14th Street in Manhattan. The armory was later destroyed in the 1970s.


[The information for this note was derived from Wikipedia, the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center, as well as the collection itself (Box 5/Folder 14, and others).]

Arrangement

Arranged into six series:
Series I. Civil War Regimental Records (1860-1868, 1897)
Series II. Veteran Association Meeting Minutes (1869, 1871-1922)
Series III. Orders (1885-1941)
Series IV. Collected Documents (1814-1957)
Series V. Photograph Albums (1861-1945)
Series VI. Scrapbooks (1812-1950)

Scope and Contents

This collection contains materials relating to the New York State National Guard, 9th Regiment. This military unit saw active service during the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II. While referred to as the 9th Regiment through the years, the unit was given many other formal designations over time, including the 83rd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Civil War) and the 244th Coastal Artillery. The contents of this collection were compiled over time by the Veterans of the Ninth Regiment and include some Civil War company records, commissions and certificates, minute books of the veterans' and officers' associations, general and special orders, scrapbooks, photographs, photograph albums, invitations, newspaper clippings, programs, and correspondence.


Civil War era material includes several records from Companies A, C, I, and L including descriptive rolls, clothing reports, and morning reports; a petition from the regiment requesting release from service; a roll book for Company L said to have been taken from the corpse of a sergeant at Gettysburg; one edition of the regiment's camp newspaper; four albums of cartes-de-visite of officers and enlisted men who fought in the war; and other documents. Minute books for the Veterans Association span from 1871 to 1922, and there is a minute book for the Officers' Association of the 9th Coast Artillery Corps for 1917-1939. There is an extensive series of general and special orders from about 1890 to 1940 detailing daily activities, notifications for special events, enlistment information of certain men, and more.

Much of the collection pulls together a variety of collected documents, photographs and scrapbooks that collectively illustrate the history of the regiment from the early 1800s to the 1950s. Individual soldiers are represented with commissions, discharge papers, photographs, and other documents, especially for the 1870s and later. Colonel James Roosevelt Hitchcock (died 1878) features prominently in this regard. Several files include histories and historical notes about the regiment, helping to trace its lineage and actions into the mid-twentieth century. There is a rich set of ephemera, including programs and invitations, related to the social activities of the 9th Regiment and the Veterans Association. There are many photographs, both in the albums and standalone, of the regiment in training camps. The container list attempts to provide a more detailed view of the varied content in the collection

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers.

Use Restrictions

This collection is owned by New-York Historical Society. The copyright law of the United States governs the making of photocopies and protects unpublished materials as well as published materials. Unpublished materials created before January 1, 1978 cannot be quoted in publication without permission of the copyright holder. Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to 20 exposures of stable, unbound material per day.

Preferred Citation

The collection should be cited as: New York State National Guard, 9th Regiment Collection, MS 3085, New-York Historical Society.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of the Veterans of the Ninth Regiment, 1985-1986.

Collection processed by

Aki Synder

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:48:40 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

Processed in August 2019 by archives intern, Aki Snyder.

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024