More VCASNY History
History of the VCASNY and the Military Society of the War of 1812.
Part II of the history of the Veteran Corps of Artillery of the State of New York and the Military Society of the War of 1812.
After the war the V.C.A. resumed its firing of salutes and participation in parades and other public festivals. However in 1836, with elements of the 1st Brigade of New York State Horse Artillery under Command of Brigadier General Henry Arcularis, the Corps traveled to the Plains of Hempstead, Long Island, for three days to run a series of tests on the then new 24 pounder Licron brass howitzer.
By 1845, with the disappearance of almost all of the Revolutionary veterans and the death of Commandant George Warren Chapman, the Corps had come to a crossroads. On January 8, 1848, the Veterans Corps of Artillery merged with the Society of the War of 1812, which had been formed by the officers of that war on January 3, 1826 to press for pensions and bounty land legislation. On September 28, 1850, Congress passed a law granting bounty land to the surviving soldiers of the War of 1812 and their widows.
Upon the passage of this law, a portion of the Veterans Corps of Artillery withdrew and on November 19, 1850, formed the Veterans Corps of 1812, 13, and 14. Under Colonel Nicholas Haight, the Veteran Corps of 1812 was recognized as an independent military organization by the State of New York, which loaned its arms in 1851 and 1852. It assumed a regimental formation, later expanded into a brigade, and eventually boasted a strength of about 600 men throughout the State of New York.
The Veteran Corps of Artillery under Captain Richard Raynor, some 81 strong in 1858 became Battery G of the 4th Regiment of Artillery, New York State Militia. The 4th Regiment was called into the service of the United States for the Gettysburg campaign of June-July 1863. Battery "G" Veteran Corps remained in New York and was called out by General Sandford to guard the State Arsenal during the terrible days of the Draft Riots, July 13-16, 1863. Battery G "Veterans Corps" National Guard State of New York was disbanded in January 1874 and their four 24 pounder brass howitzers, obtained by the Corps as their own property in 1838, were turned over to the State. The Veteran Corps of the War of 1812, 13, and 14 then became the sole depository of the VCA lineage and tradition.
In 1890, the Corps, then reduced to 22 veterans, was reorganized as an hereditary society of the War of 1812 and in 1895, by act of the Legislature, was reconfirmed in all the rights and privileges of the Veteran Corps of Artillery as an independent military organization. In 1917, the VCA recruited 1400 men to form an antiaircraft unit for the defense of New York City. Three VCA officers were sent to Great Britain and France to study antiaircraft defense; were in October, 1917, Captain Robert H. Wilder, VCA became the first American officer to be gassed on the Western Front during World War I. In addition, the group translated the French anti-aircraft manual. This work became the U.S. Army standard for air defense. In August 1917, the VCA became a part of the First Provincial Regiment formed to guard New York City's water supply. Subsequently, in October 1917, 600 men were detailed to form the 9th Coast Artillery Corps to replace the 9th Regiment, then in active service in France.
In 1931 the VCA's annual summer camps became "Contact Camps" of the U.S. Army. As a majority of Corps members attending each summer were U.S. Army reserve officers, it was arranged with the Army to give the VCA camps official status, under the supervision of a U.S. Army officer, to enable the VCA reserve officers to complete their various reserve requirements. This arrangement lasted until World War II. Since World War II the Corps has been comprised mainly of veterans of World War II, Korea, and Viet Nam. They have served with distinction in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. Some have never served in any armed forces.
Regardless of any former rank, all join as Privates and are on an equal par for promotions. The Corps is a familiar sight in the Streets of New York to this day. In 1972, while under the command of Colonel Sherman P. Haight, Jr., the Corps acquired two 75 millimeter pack howitzers of World War II vintage. On July 4, 1974, the Corps resumed its traditional practice of firing a Federal salute at New York City's Battery. This has been exceptionally well received by the public, and it is to be hoped the Veteran Corps of Artillery will continue with this mark of respect to the Nation as long as the Nation and the Veteran Corps of Artillery shall endure. The Corps was confirmed in statutory and prescriptive rights and privileges as a separate corps in organized militia, by Acts of Congress of May 8th 1792, (section 1641, U.S. revised statutes); January 21st, 1903; May 27th, 1908; June 3rd, 1916; May 12th, 1817. Acts of New York State Legislature of April 17th, 1854 (Chapter 898). April 14th, 1855 (Chapter 586), March 9th, 1895 (Chapter 91), April 13th, 1904 (Chapter 828), May 15th, 1907 (Chapter 850), and May 14th, 1913 (Chapter 513).
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