71st Infantry Regiment (New York)
Encyclopedia
The 71st Infantry Regiment is an organization of the New York State Guard. Formerly, the 71st Infantry was a regiment of the New York State Militia and then the Army National Guard from 1850 to 1993.
The 71st New York was formed on October 23, 1850 and was called "The American Rifles" and later "The American Guard." Originally, the founders, J.M. Parker, Hamilton W. Fish, Sr
, Hamilton W. Fish, Jr. and William Kellock, had political links to the Know-Nothing Party. Initially there were six companies recruited. One officer in A Company, Captain Parker, resigned after hearing a "foreigner" paraded with the "American Rifles."
In Spring 1852, the American Rifles had eight companies, enough to be enrolled as a regiment of the state militia, and were assigned the regimental number of 71st. Its first commander was Colonel Abraham S. Vosburgh, previously its quartermaster. Vosburgh would remain commanding officer until his death on May 20, 1861. Henry P. Martin, previously adjutant, became Lieutenant Colonel in 1854. He would remain with the 71st through the first years of the Civil War. Its arsenal was located at Seventh Avenue and 35th Street.
The regiment became the "American Guard" in 1853 when their Ogden long rifles were replaced with muskets, which could carry bayonets. These, in turn, were replaced with Minie rifles in 1857.
On July 4, 1857, the Regiment, along with the seventh New York, served as riot control personnel during the riots in the Sixth Ward between the Dead Rabbits
and the Bowery Boys. During this action, Dead Rabbit leader Mickey Free was killed and the Regiment captured an 8-lb howitzer from the rioters. The Regiment was called into action again during the quarantine riot of September 1858 in Staten Island.
In 1858, the "Light Guard," New York's oldest military unit, detached from the 55th New York and became A Company. This led to some tension, because the "Light Guard" had several "foreigners" in the ranks.
. While the army assembled, a team made up of members of Regiment defeated the Washington Nationals baseball club by a score of 41 to 13.
The Regiment took part in the occupation of Alexandria, Virginia
, in May 1861, accompanying the New York Fire Zouaves and Colonel Ephraim E. Ellsworth, who was killed in the action.
A detachment of the 71st, with two howitzers, fought at Acquia Creek and Port Tobacco in May and June 1861. Private Charles B. Hall was the first man injured on any U.S. vessel in the war.
). On July 21, 1861, the 71st Infantry, under Colonel Martin's command, took part in the First Battle of Bull Run. Archaeological research on the battlefield at Manassas shows the 71st, along with the 1st and 2nd Rhode Island Infantry, faced the Tiger Rifles
of Major Chatham Wheat’s Louisiana Battalion, the only known unit engaged in fighting outfitted with .54-caliber muskets. The 71st supported the advance of the 2nd Rhode Island against Wheat's battalion. The Illustrated London News noted "The militia stood firm, firing and loading as if it were on parade."
Colonel Burnside's after-action report of July 24, 1861, noted:
His follow-up after-action report added, "I beg to again mention the bravery and steadiness manifested by Colonel Martin and his entire regiment, Seventy-first, both-on the field and during the retreat."
Casualties included 62 officers and men.
" under Brigadier General Daniel E. Sickles, which was placed under the command of Major General Joseph Hooker
in October. Its tasks included assisting in the building of defenses around Washington and stopping resupply of the Confederates from Southern Maryland.
The Regiment was mustered out of service in New York on July 20, 1861. It was remustered on May 28, 1862, under Colonel Martin, and returned to the man the defenses of Washington in 1862.
in May 1863.
on June 23, 1863, and fought at the Battle of Gettysburg
, as part of Sickle's III Corps, again in the Second "Excelsior" Brigade (Colonel William R. Brewster
).
On June 30, the 71st Regiment had a total strength of 16 officers and 304 enlisted men, of which 13 officers and 230 men were engaged on the field. The regiment lost a total of 10 men killed, 68 wounded, 13 missing and captured over all three days.
The above paragraph is in error. The 71st NYVM remained in New York and did have a hand in suppressing the draft riots. However the 71st NYVI 2nd Excelsior was in Gettysburg at the time and pursued the CSA retreat and saw action at Wapping Heights at the time of the draft riots. The 2nd excelsior was mustered out in 1864 when it completed its term. The 71st NYNG was not disbanded as the paragraph above suggests and went on to play a significant role in the Spanish American war,
In 1884, under accusations of financial mismanagement by Colonel Vose, 15 company-grade officers resigned. Colonel Vose blamed the problems on the Veterans Association.
In 1894, the 71st, under the command of Colonel Francis Vinton Greene, moved into its armory at 33rd and Park Avenue.
, the 71st Regiment, New York Volunteers, were the first of twelve New York State regiments called to active service on May 10, 1898. The regiment entrained to Tampa on May 13, arriving on May 17. A week of confusion and quartermaster incompetence delayed their shipment to Cuba. The 71st was bivouacked along with the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, the "Rough Riders", in Tampa, who then stole a march on the 71st to steal their transport on the Tampa. The 71st's sea trip took two weeks The confusion of this organization was cited as one of the reasons for the 1903 reforms of the Army and National Guard.
There were ten companies of the Regiment, with 1,000 soldiers, organized into three battalions.
Arriving at Siboney, Cuba, on June 23, the 71st was brigaded with two regular regiments, the 6th and 16th Infantry Regiments in the First Brigade under Regular Army Brigadier General Hamilton S. Hawkins
, as part of General Jacob Ford Kent
's division, as part of the Fifth Corps under General Shafter. Although the 71st was regarded as one of the best National Guard regiments, it was equipped with obsolescent black powder rifles, and its commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Wallace A. Downs, reported that one-third of his men had never fired a rifle before.
The 71st was ordered to support the Rough Riders in a skirmish against Siboney's garrison, but the fighting was over before the New Yorkers could arrive. On June 27, the brigade moved towards Santiago, making slow progress over poor roads in the heat. A letter from a private in the 71st noted "Yesterday the line of march up the hill was strewn with blankets and extra clothing, even some of the “regs” [U.S. Regulars] discarded clothes and walked in underwear."
, though not in the attack itself. Many of the members of the regiment were ill with malaria. The road on which Kent's First Brigade moved forked just before coming out of forested areas, and Kent ordered the 71st to take the left-hand road to join the 6th and 16th's left flank. As the regiment left the forest, the 71st was pinned down by accurate Spanish rifle fire from the heights of San Juan hill, preventing any advance.
General Hawkins noted later that General Kent had the 71st had been detached from his brigade without his knowledge and contrary to his plans and intentions. His command post was two miles (3 km) away and through a thick jungle of cactus.
Several commentators of the day, including Lieutenant Colonel Philip Reade, Inspector General for General Kent, made disparaging remarks about the 71st's apparent lack of courage (though the malaria and heat were factors). The official report of the 13th Infantry, leading Kent's Second Brigade, noted
The regimental commander, Lt. Colonel Downs, testified at a Court of Inquiry held in 1899 that he had received no orders to advance since 10 a.m. and held his force in reserve. The attack by Lawton's brigade on the right had been delayed, and Downs' last orders were to wait until Lawton's attack was successful to move. Around 12:30, Colonel Reade testified that he had to "shove" the 71st into the fight, though F Company Commander Captain Malcolm Rafferty and 3rd Battalion Commander Major Frank Keck responded immediately to the call to move forward; other men of the regiment moved forward to join the regulars in the attack, but as historian Walter Mills noted, "although the regiment as a whole soon recovered its morale, it had earned a black mark which the censorious publics who hadn't been there could not afterward forgive." However, the first American soldier to reach the crest of San Juan Hill was Lieutenant Herbert Hyde True of L Company of the 71st (in Keck's battalion).
The Spanish garrison of Santiago surrendered on July 14, 1898. The 71st began to suffer many men sick from yellow fever
and other tropical diseases.
One lieutenant noted there were reports the regiment would be moved to Montauk Point, Long Island, to recuperate from the climate, and many men from the 71st were sent there to recover on the hospital ship Shinnecock.
Upon its return to New York State on August 22, the regiment could only muster 350 of its initial 1,000 men. Eighty men had been killed in the fighting around Santiago. The majority of the regiment was on sick leave or in the hospital. In October the 71st returned to Camp Black and on November 14, 1898, the regiment was mustered out.
Following the war, a Board of Inquiry was held at the 22nd Regiment on the conduct of the senior officers of the Regiment, including Lieutenant Colonel Clinton H. Smith, the First Battalion commander. The testimony of witnesses was favorable to Lt. Col. Smith, noting he was present on the battlefield. However, Colonel Downs and Major John Whittle resigned their commissions. Two more officers were reprimanded. The board was reviewed by then Governor Theodore Roosevelt
, who noted "the greater part of the Seventy-First of their own free will took part in the storming of San Juan hill, and showed that no matter how cowardly their officers might be, they were willing to obey their country's call."
Despite the bad impression the Regiment made as a whole in Santiago, many individual soldiers in the Regiment were recognized for courage, including Corporal Lewis Benedict of Co. K (also in Keck's battalion), who "received a commission as lieutenant in the regular service." Major Keck received a commission as a captain in the Regular Army and served in the Philippines. After the war, Keck became prominent in New York City's social and business life. A member of the 71st was Charles Johnson Post who painted memorable watercolor paintings of the 71st in the 1898 war.
, and was noted for its particularly fine exterior architecture. This armory was used not only for military training, but many public events such as annual stamp shows.
, the 71st was mobilized as part of the U.S. Army force serving on the Mexican border. In the First World War, the 71st was called to service as the 105th Infantry Regiment and was part of the 27th "Orion" Infantry Division. Several of the officers of the Regiment were transferred to the 185th Infantry. The Regiment returned to New York in May 1919.
in Peekskill, New York
. Its regimental armory served as a homeless shelter in 1934. The 1940 and 1941 annual training took place at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
in the Aleutian campaign. The 71st was thus the only New York regiment to have units fighting in the Pacific and European theaters at the same time.
Sergeant Charles A. MacGillivary of the 71st won the Medal of Honor during the German Ardennes offensive of December 1944 near Woelfling, France, near the German border. On December 17, Sergeant MacGillivary was serving as company commander because of casualties among the officers. Ammunition was low and the company was pinned down. MacGillivary set out on his own to destroy the German machine guns menacing his company. He carried a sub-machine guns and grenades; when his submachine gun ran out of ammo, he picked up a discarded weapon and continued the attack. MacGillivary he wiped out the German positions and killed or wounded the defenders, at the cost of his right arm.
In this offensive, the 71st encountered the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen
, holding off eight attacks.
The Second Battalion and I Company of the Third Battatlion were both awarded Presidential Unit Citations.
In the last days of the war, the First Battalion crossed the Austrian border through mountain pass and attacked a German division.
s during a correctional officer's strike.
The Regiment's original armory was located at Park Avenue and 34th Street in Manhattan. It later moved to 125th West 14th Street.
In 1984, the Governor of New York, Mario Cuomo
, proposed disbanding the 71st and 106th Infantry to use their armory spaces for civilian purposes. The 71st Infantry Veterans' Association sued the State in court, stating that such realignment would violate state affirmative action guidelines since the 71st Infantry is predominantly black. The 71st received a favorable ruling.
On August 31, 1993, the 71st disbanded as a National Guard unit. A detachment of the battalion in Batavia, New York, was kept on active duty.
The First Battalion became a State Guard unit, serving with the 14th Infantry Brigade. Reports that a Third Battalion was activated with the 10th Mountain Division and served in Afghanistan in 2006 are in error: the unit is the 71st Armored Cavalry Regiment.
The regimental motto is "Pro aris et pro focis," which can be translated "For our homes and our families" but see 'Pro aris et focis
'.
The regimental crest is a blue shield, edged in gold, charged with gold fasces with the ax head pointing to the left, supported by two gold crescents. (This is the opposite direction from the Italian fascist symbol.) It can be found here at
The commanding officer of the Regiment traditionally wore as his ceremonial sidearm a Colt revolver that was originally Colonel Martin's sidearm. This pistol was left with the senior officer of the Regiment (or later, battalion) in the commanding officer's absence.
The regimental march is "The Gallant Seventy-First."
Foundation
In the fall of 1849, the Order of United Americans, related to the Know Nothing Party, held a meeting to organize a "distinctively American regiment."The 71st New York was formed on October 23, 1850 and was called "The American Rifles" and later "The American Guard." Originally, the founders, J.M. Parker, Hamilton W. Fish, Sr
Hamilton Fish
Hamilton Fish was an American statesman and politician who served as the 16th Governor of New York, United States Senator and United States Secretary of State. Fish has been considered one of the best Secretary of States in the United States history; known for his judiciousness and reform efforts...
, Hamilton W. Fish, Jr. and William Kellock, had political links to the Know-Nothing Party. Initially there were six companies recruited. One officer in A Company, Captain Parker, resigned after hearing a "foreigner" paraded with the "American Rifles."
In Spring 1852, the American Rifles had eight companies, enough to be enrolled as a regiment of the state militia, and were assigned the regimental number of 71st. Its first commander was Colonel Abraham S. Vosburgh, previously its quartermaster. Vosburgh would remain commanding officer until his death on May 20, 1861. Henry P. Martin, previously adjutant, became Lieutenant Colonel in 1854. He would remain with the 71st through the first years of the Civil War. Its arsenal was located at Seventh Avenue and 35th Street.
The regiment became the "American Guard" in 1853 when their Ogden long rifles were replaced with muskets, which could carry bayonets. These, in turn, were replaced with Minie rifles in 1857.
On July 4, 1857, the Regiment, along with the seventh New York, served as riot control personnel during the riots in the Sixth Ward between the Dead Rabbits
Dead Rabbits
The Dead Rabbits were a gang in New York City in the 1850s, and originally were a part of the Roach Guards. Daniel Cassidy claimed that the name has a second meaning rooted in Irish American vernacular of NYC in 1857 and that the word "Rabbit" is the phonetic corruption of the Irish word ráibéad,...
and the Bowery Boys. During this action, Dead Rabbit leader Mickey Free was killed and the Regiment captured an 8-lb howitzer from the rioters. The Regiment was called into action again during the quarantine riot of September 1858 in Staten Island.
In 1858, the "Light Guard," New York's oldest military unit, detached from the 55th New York and became A Company. This led to some tension, because the "Light Guard" had several "foreigners" in the ranks.
American Civil War
On April 16, 1861, 380 men mustered under Colonel Vosburgh at the State Arsenal, in response to President Lincoln's call for 75,000 troops. On April 21, the 71st paraded down Broadway and headed to the front.Arrival in Washington
The 71st, then called to service for three months under Colonel Henry P. Martin, arrived in Washington on May 21, 1861.and was bivouacked at the Washington Navy YardWashington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...
. While the army assembled, a team made up of members of Regiment defeated the Washington Nationals baseball club by a score of 41 to 13.
The Regiment took part in the occupation of Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
, in May 1861, accompanying the New York Fire Zouaves and Colonel Ephraim E. Ellsworth, who was killed in the action.
A detachment of the 71st, with two howitzers, fought at Acquia Creek and Port Tobacco in May and June 1861. Private Charles B. Hall was the first man injured on any U.S. vessel in the war.
First Battle of Bull Run
The 71st New York State Volunteer Infantry was organized in the Second Brigade (Colonel Ambrose Everett Burnside)(of the Second Division (Colonel David HunterDavid Hunter
David Hunter was a Union general in the American Civil War. He achieved fame by his unauthorized 1862 order emancipating slaves in three Southern states and as the president of the military commission trying the conspirators involved with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.-Early...
). On July 21, 1861, the 71st Infantry, under Colonel Martin's command, took part in the First Battle of Bull Run. Archaeological research on the battlefield at Manassas shows the 71st, along with the 1st and 2nd Rhode Island Infantry, faced the Tiger Rifles
Louisiana Tigers
Louisiana Tigers was the common nickname for certain infantry troops from the state of Louisiana in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Originally applied to a specific company, the nickname expanded to a battalion, then to a brigade, and eventually to all Louisiana troops...
of Major Chatham Wheat’s Louisiana Battalion, the only known unit engaged in fighting outfitted with .54-caliber muskets. The 71st supported the advance of the 2nd Rhode Island against Wheat's battalion. The Illustrated London News noted "The militia stood firm, firing and loading as if it were on parade."
Colonel Burnside's after-action report of July 24, 1861, noted:
It was nearly 4 o'clock p.m. . . . when I was ordered to protect the retreat. The Seventy-first Regiment New York State Militia was formed between the retreating columns and the enemy by Colonel Martin, and the Second Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers by Lieutenant-Colonel Wheaton.
His follow-up after-action report added, "I beg to again mention the bravery and steadiness manifested by Colonel Martin and his entire regiment, Seventy-first, both-on the field and during the retreat."
Casualties included 62 officers and men.
Patrolling Southern Maryland
In the fall of 1861, the 71st, along with the 70th through the 74th New York Volunteer Regiments and 10 battalions of the Third Indiana Cavalry, formed the Second "Excelsior BrigadeExcelsior Brigade
The Excelsior Brigade was a military unit in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Comprising primarily infantry regiments raised in the state of New York primarily by former U.S...
" under Brigadier General Daniel E. Sickles, which was placed under the command of Major General Joseph Hooker
Joseph Hooker
Joseph Hooker was a career United States Army officer, achieving the rank of major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Although he served throughout the war, usually with distinction, Hooker is best remembered for his stunning defeat by Confederate General Robert E...
in October. Its tasks included assisting in the building of defenses around Washington and stopping resupply of the Confederates from Southern Maryland.
The Regiment was mustered out of service in New York on July 20, 1861. It was remustered on May 28, 1862, under Colonel Martin, and returned to the man the defenses of Washington in 1862.
Peninsular Campaign
This 71st New York Volunteer Militia is being confused with the 71st New York Volunteer Infantry and was never a part of the Excelsior Brigade that fought in the Peninsular Campaign. The 71st NYVM remained in New York after its 3 months of national service and became known as the 71st NYNG. The 71stNYVM or NYNG was the American Guard made up of US born New York Protestant recruits only,while the 71st NYVI was made up mostly of Irish immigrants from New Jersey and Kingston New York and was known as the Jackson Light InfantryChancellorsville
Again the paragraph that follows is about the 71st NYSVM not the 71stNYSNG Colonel Henry K. Potter commanded the 71st New York State Volunteers, which was placed in the Second "Excelsior" Brigade (Brig. Gen. Joseph W. Revere) of the Second Division (Maj. Gen. Hiram G. Berry) of the Third Corps (Sickles) in the Battle of ChancellorsvilleBattle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
in May 1863.
Gettysburg
The 71st passed through Chambersburg, PennsylvaniaChambersburg, Pennsylvania
Chambersburg is a borough in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is miles north of Maryland and the Mason-Dixon line and southwest of Harrisburg in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley. Chambersburg is the county seat of Franklin County...
on June 23, 1863, and fought at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, as part of Sickle's III Corps, again in the Second "Excelsior" Brigade (Colonel William R. Brewster
William R. Brewster
William Root Brewster was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War who commanded a regiment in the famed Excelsior Brigade of the Army of the Potomac...
).
On June 30, the 71st Regiment had a total strength of 16 officers and 304 enlisted men, of which 13 officers and 230 men were engaged on the field. The regiment lost a total of 10 men killed, 68 wounded, 13 missing and captured over all three days.
Return to New York
After the battle, was recalled to New York City to help suppress the 1863 draft riots. The regiment was mustered out of service in 1864. Many members of the 71st joined the 124th New York, which carried on the name "The American Guard.' and took part in the Petersburg campaign. Others joined other regiments.The above paragraph is in error. The 71st NYVM remained in New York and did have a hand in suppressing the draft riots. However the 71st NYVI 2nd Excelsior was in Gettysburg at the time and pursued the CSA retreat and saw action at Wapping Heights at the time of the draft riots. The 2nd excelsior was mustered out in 1864 when it completed its term. The 71st NYNG was not disbanded as the paragraph above suggests and went on to play a significant role in the Spanish American war,
State Duty
The 71st also served to control the Orange riots of 1871, the railroad riots of July 1877, the switchmen’s strike in Buffalo of August 1892, and the motorman’s strike of 1895 in Brooklyn.In 1884, under accusations of financial mismanagement by Colonel Vose, 15 company-grade officers resigned. Colonel Vose blamed the problems on the Veterans Association.
In 1894, the 71st, under the command of Colonel Francis Vinton Greene, moved into its armory at 33rd and Park Avenue.
Spanish-American War
In the Spanish-American WarSpanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, the 71st Regiment, New York Volunteers, were the first of twelve New York State regiments called to active service on May 10, 1898. The regiment entrained to Tampa on May 13, arriving on May 17. A week of confusion and quartermaster incompetence delayed their shipment to Cuba. The 71st was bivouacked along with the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, the "Rough Riders", in Tampa, who then stole a march on the 71st to steal their transport on the Tampa. The 71st's sea trip took two weeks The confusion of this organization was cited as one of the reasons for the 1903 reforms of the Army and National Guard.
There were ten companies of the Regiment, with 1,000 soldiers, organized into three battalions.
Arriving at Siboney, Cuba, on June 23, the 71st was brigaded with two regular regiments, the 6th and 16th Infantry Regiments in the First Brigade under Regular Army Brigadier General Hamilton S. Hawkins
Hamilton S. Hawkins
Hamilton Smith Hawkins was a United States Army Major General during the Spanish-American War.Hawkins attended the United States Military Academy between 1852 and 1855, but did not graduate with the class of 1856 due to deficient academics. Despite being a South Carolinian, Hawkins served in the...
, as part of General Jacob Ford Kent
Jacob Ford Kent
Jacob Ford Kent was a United States general during the Spanish-American War. Kent also served in the Union army during the American Civil War.-Early life and the American Civil War:...
's division, as part of the Fifth Corps under General Shafter. Although the 71st was regarded as one of the best National Guard regiments, it was equipped with obsolescent black powder rifles, and its commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Wallace A. Downs, reported that one-third of his men had never fired a rifle before.
The 71st was ordered to support the Rough Riders in a skirmish against Siboney's garrison, but the fighting was over before the New Yorkers could arrive. On June 27, the brigade moved towards Santiago, making slow progress over poor roads in the heat. A letter from a private in the 71st noted "Yesterday the line of march up the hill was strewn with blankets and extra clothing, even some of the “regs” [U.S. Regulars] discarded clothes and walked in underwear."
The Battle of Santiago
The regiment took part in the Battle of Santiago aka Battle of San Juan HillBattle of San Juan Hill
The Battle of San Juan Hill , also known as the battle for the San Juan Heights, was a decisive battle of the Spanish-American War. The San Juan heights was a north-south running elevation about two kilometers east of Santiago de Cuba. The names San Juan Hill and Kettle Hill were names given by the...
, though not in the attack itself. Many of the members of the regiment were ill with malaria. The road on which Kent's First Brigade moved forked just before coming out of forested areas, and Kent ordered the 71st to take the left-hand road to join the 6th and 16th's left flank. As the regiment left the forest, the 71st was pinned down by accurate Spanish rifle fire from the heights of San Juan hill, preventing any advance.
General Hawkins noted later that General Kent had the 71st had been detached from his brigade without his knowledge and contrary to his plans and intentions. His command post was two miles (3 km) away and through a thick jungle of cactus.
Several commentators of the day, including Lieutenant Colonel Philip Reade, Inspector General for General Kent, made disparaging remarks about the 71st's apparent lack of courage (though the malaria and heat were factors). The official report of the 13th Infantry, leading Kent's Second Brigade, noted
The men of the 71st were lying flat on the ground along the underbrush bordering the road with their feet toward the middle of the road... From the remarks they made to us all along the line as we passed them at a run, I inferred that they were in this prostrate formation for the purpose of avoiding exposure to bullets.
The regimental commander, Lt. Colonel Downs, testified at a Court of Inquiry held in 1899 that he had received no orders to advance since 10 a.m. and held his force in reserve. The attack by Lawton's brigade on the right had been delayed, and Downs' last orders were to wait until Lawton's attack was successful to move. Around 12:30, Colonel Reade testified that he had to "shove" the 71st into the fight, though F Company Commander Captain Malcolm Rafferty and 3rd Battalion Commander Major Frank Keck responded immediately to the call to move forward; other men of the regiment moved forward to join the regulars in the attack, but as historian Walter Mills noted, "although the regiment as a whole soon recovered its morale, it had earned a black mark which the censorious publics who hadn't been there could not afterward forgive." However, the first American soldier to reach the crest of San Juan Hill was Lieutenant Herbert Hyde True of L Company of the 71st (in Keck's battalion).
The Spanish garrison of Santiago surrendered on July 14, 1898. The 71st began to suffer many men sick from yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
and other tropical diseases.
One lieutenant noted there were reports the regiment would be moved to Montauk Point, Long Island, to recuperate from the climate, and many men from the 71st were sent there to recover on the hospital ship Shinnecock.
Upon its return to New York State on August 22, the regiment could only muster 350 of its initial 1,000 men. Eighty men had been killed in the fighting around Santiago. The majority of the regiment was on sick leave or in the hospital. In October the 71st returned to Camp Black and on November 14, 1898, the regiment was mustered out.
Following the war, a Board of Inquiry was held at the 22nd Regiment on the conduct of the senior officers of the Regiment, including Lieutenant Colonel Clinton H. Smith, the First Battalion commander. The testimony of witnesses was favorable to Lt. Col. Smith, noting he was present on the battlefield. However, Colonel Downs and Major John Whittle resigned their commissions. Two more officers were reprimanded. The board was reviewed by then Governor Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, who noted "the greater part of the Seventy-First of their own free will took part in the storming of San Juan hill, and showed that no matter how cowardly their officers might be, they were willing to obey their country's call."
Despite the bad impression the Regiment made as a whole in Santiago, many individual soldiers in the Regiment were recognized for courage, including Corporal Lewis Benedict of Co. K (also in Keck's battalion), who "received a commission as lieutenant in the regular service." Major Keck received a commission as a captain in the Regular Army and served in the Philippines. After the war, Keck became prominent in New York City's social and business life. A member of the 71st was Charles Johnson Post who painted memorable watercolor paintings of the 71st in the 1898 war.
The New Armory
The original armory of the Regiment burned down in 1902. A new armory was built on the spot in 1905 by the firm of Clinton and RussellClinton and Russell
Clinton and Russell was a well-known architecture firm founded in 1894 in New York City, U.S.A. The firm was responsible for scores of notable New York City buildings, downtown and throughout the city.- Biography :...
, and was noted for its particularly fine exterior architecture. This armory was used not only for military training, but many public events such as annual stamp shows.
World War I
In 1916, before the U.S. entry into World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the 71st was mobilized as part of the U.S. Army force serving on the Mexican border. In the First World War, the 71st was called to service as the 105th Infantry Regiment and was part of the 27th "Orion" Infantry Division. Several of the officers of the Regiment were transferred to the 185th Infantry. The Regiment returned to New York in May 1919.
Between the World Wars
Between the World Wars, the 71st was brigaded with the 174th Infantry Regiment. It performed a number of civil and ceremonial duties. Its annual training was usually at Camp SmithCamp Smith (New York)
Camp Smith is a military installation of the New York Army National Guard in Cortlandt Manor near Peekskill, NY, about north of New York City, at the northern border of Westchester County, and consists of...
in Peekskill, New York
Peekskill, New York
Peekskill is a city in Westchester County, New York. It is situated on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across from Jones Point.This community was known to be an early American industrial center, primarily for its iron plow and stove products...
. Its regimental armory served as a homeless shelter in 1934. The 1940 and 1941 annual training took place at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
World War II
In World War II, the 71st, consisting of three battalions, was part of the 44th Infantry Division, which assembled at Fort Lewis, Washington. Headquarters Company of the 1st Battalion was detached to take part in the retaking of Attu IslandAttu Island
Attu is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. It was the site of the only World War II land battle fought on the incorporated territory of the United States ,...
in the Aleutian campaign. The 71st was thus the only New York regiment to have units fighting in the Pacific and European theaters at the same time.
Sergeant Charles A. MacGillivary of the 71st won the Medal of Honor during the German Ardennes offensive of December 1944 near Woelfling, France, near the German border. On December 17, Sergeant MacGillivary was serving as company commander because of casualties among the officers. Ammunition was low and the company was pinned down. MacGillivary set out on his own to destroy the German machine guns menacing his company. He carried a sub-machine guns and grenades; when his submachine gun ran out of ammo, he picked up a discarded weapon and continued the attack. MacGillivary he wiped out the German positions and killed or wounded the defenders, at the cost of his right arm.
In this offensive, the 71st encountered the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen
17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen
The 17. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Götz von Berlichingen was a German SS panzergrenadier division which saw action on the Western Front during World War II.-Formation and training:...
, holding off eight attacks.
The Second Battalion and I Company of the Third Battatlion were both awarded Presidential Unit Citations.
In the last days of the war, the First Battalion crossed the Austrian border through mountain pass and attacked a German division.
After World War II
The 71st was not called to active duty in either the Korean War or the Vietnam War. It was called to state active duty in April 1979 to serve as prison guards at Taconic and Bedford Hills prisonBedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women
Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women is a prison for women in Bedford Hills in the Town of Bedford, Westchester County, New York, USA. Bedford Hills, the only New York State Department of Correctional Services women's maximum security prison, is the largest women's prison in New York State...
s during a correctional officer's strike.
The Regiment's original armory was located at Park Avenue and 34th Street in Manhattan. It later moved to 125th West 14th Street.
In 1984, the Governor of New York, Mario Cuomo
Mario Cuomo
Mario Matthew Cuomo served as the 52nd Governor of New York from 1983 to 1994, and is the father of Andrew Cuomo, the current governor of New York.-Early life:...
, proposed disbanding the 71st and 106th Infantry to use their armory spaces for civilian purposes. The 71st Infantry Veterans' Association sued the State in court, stating that such realignment would violate state affirmative action guidelines since the 71st Infantry is predominantly black. The 71st received a favorable ruling.
On August 31, 1993, the 71st disbanded as a National Guard unit. A detachment of the battalion in Batavia, New York, was kept on active duty.
The First Battalion became a State Guard unit, serving with the 14th Infantry Brigade. Reports that a Third Battalion was activated with the 10th Mountain Division and served in Afghanistan in 2006 are in error: the unit is the 71st Armored Cavalry Regiment.
Symbols and traditions
The regimental nickname is "The American Guard."The regimental motto is "Pro aris et pro focis," which can be translated "For our homes and our families" but see 'Pro aris et focis
Pro Aris et Focis
Pro Aris et Focis is a Latin phrase used as the motto of many families and military regiments, as well as being one of the mottoes of Bristol University....
'.
The regimental crest is a blue shield, edged in gold, charged with gold fasces with the ax head pointing to the left, supported by two gold crescents. (This is the opposite direction from the Italian fascist symbol.) It can be found here at
The commanding officer of the Regiment traditionally wore as his ceremonial sidearm a Colt revolver that was originally Colonel Martin's sidearm. This pistol was left with the senior officer of the Regiment (or later, battalion) in the commanding officer's absence.
The regimental march is "The Gallant Seventy-First."
Commanding officers
Dates in parentheses are known dates, but not start or ending dates.- Colonel Abram S. Vosburgh, 1852-1861
- Colonel Henry P. Martin, 1861-1862
- Colonel Charles H. Smith, 1862-1863
- Colonel H.L. Trafford, 1863-1866
- Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Rafferty, Commanding Officer (1864), 71st New York Volunteers. Wounded in Action June 25, 1862 in Fair Oaks, VA. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on February 10, 1864.
- Colonel Theodore W. Parmalee, 1866-1869
- Colonel Henry Rockafeller, 1869-1871
- Colonel Richard Vose, 1871-1884
- Colonel Edwin A. McAlpinEdwin A. McAlpinGeneral Edwin Augustus McAlpin was president of the D.H. McAlpin & Co., a tobacco manufacturer. He built the Hotel McAlpin in New York City, at the time the largest hotel in the world. He had an active military career in the New York National Guard and was appointed Adjutant General by the Governor...
, 1885 - Colonel Frederick Kopper, 1891
- Colonel Francis Vinton Greene, 1891
- Colonel Johnathan T. Camp (1895)
- Lieutenant Colonel Wallace A. Downs (1898)-1899
- Colonel Walter Delamater (1936)