Lt. Col. Asa Bird Gardiner
Medal of Honor Recipient Who Said "Reform Be Damned."
An accomplished lawyer and soldier who had his Congressional Medal of Honor revoked, Gardiner coined the phrase "Reform be damned" when pundits criticized Tammany Hall.
Early Life
Born in New York City on September 30, 1839, Gardiner was the son of Asa and Rebekah Willard Bentley Gardiner. Gardiner's father and his uncle were innkeepers at the Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan. He received his A.B. degree from the College of the City of New York in 1859 and both his A.M. and LL.B degree from New York University. Honorary degrees were later awarded to Gardiner from Columbia, Dartmouth, Hobart and New York University.
Legal & Military Career
After completing his education, Gardiner practiced law in New York City. Once the call to arms came for The War of Rebellion, Gardiner joined the Union cause as an officer and served in the U.S. Army until December 8, 1888. He was a Captain in the 22nd Regiment of the New York State Militia and a First Lieutenant in the 31st New York Infantry. Gardiner received the Congressional Medal of Honor on September 23, 1872 for his bravery and distinguished conduct at Sporting Hill, PA, and Carlisle, PA during the Gettysburg campaign. In 1873 he was promoted from the First Regular Artillery to become a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Army. The following year, he was assigned to West Point, where he was a Professor of Law. During this time, Lt. Col. Gardiner wrote A Legal History of the Veteran Corps of Artillery, State of New York and The Military Society of the War of 1812. Gardiner wrote other legal and military-related works on The Society of Cincinnati and the American Revolution. He taught at West Point until 1878.
New York City Politics
In 1884 he legally changed the spelling of his surname from "Gardner" to "Gardiner." Gardiner became Acting Assistant Secretary of War from 1887 to 1888. Later, he was elected on the Democratic ticket to the office of District Attorney of New York County. He was an active member of the Tammany Society, as were his father and grandfather, and held the rank of Sachem in 1901. Gardiner was notorious for having said, "Reform be damned," when confronted with calls to confront the corruption of the Tammany Hall political machine.
Medal of Honor Revoked
In 1916 the Army revoked his Medal of Honor under the grounds that there was "insufficient evidence of his heroism." Gardiner refused to return his medal and the issue remained controversial until the day he died in 1919.
Organizations
Gardiner was active in numerous organizations including the Society of the Cincinnati, the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Sons of the Revolution and the Veteran Corps of Artillery. In the Society of the Cincinnati he served as the President of the Rhode Island Society and as General Secretary of the National Society for many years. He was Commandant of the Veteran Corps of Artillery from 1908 to 1919. He died on May 28, 1919 at the age of 80 at his home, Orrell Manor, in Suffern, NY. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
Sources:
The New York Times, May 29, 1919.
