9th Regiment
New York State Militia
New York National Guard
Civil War

History

The following is taken from New York in the War of the Rebellion, 3rd ed. Frederick Phisterer. Albany: J. B. Lyon Company, 1912.
The 6th Regiment, Infantry, was organized June 24, 1799, of five companies, most of which dated back to 1785. March 27, 1805, the designation of this, the 6th Regiment of Infantry, was changed to 2d Regiment of Artillery in New York city. June 13, 1812, it was designated the 9th Regiment of Artillery. December 13, 1813, the regiment was reduced to a battalion. June 6, 1816, it was again organized as a regiment, retaining its number all this time, although as a battalion it was also known as the ist Battalion, N. Y. State Artillery. By the change of regimental districts the officers and enlisted men were transferred to other regiments May 29, 1850, and the 9th Regiment newly reorganized and known as the "Irish Ninth." May 3, 1858, this organization was disbanded, the district of the 9th Regiment was however retained, and June 25, 1859, the regiment came again into existence. During the War of the Rebellion it served as the 83d N. Y. Volunteer Infantry from 1861 to 1864. In the Spanish-American war it served as the 9th N. Y. Volunteer Infantry until November 15, 1898, having been mustered in May 17, 19 and 20, 1898. For this war it was increased to a twelve company regiment; the additional companies, L and M, were disbanded December 22, 1898. The regiment is still in existence and located in New York city.
It served the State at the Abolition riot, January 11 and 12, 1835; at the great fire, December 17, 1835; at the Police riot, June 16-18, 1857; at the Dead Rabbit riot, July 5-7, 1857; at the Orange riot, July 12, 1871; at West Albany, July, 1877; at Buffalo in August, 1892; at Brooklyn, January 20-24, 1895, and at Albany, May 17-19, 1901.
It served in the War of 1812 in New York harbor from June 5 to July 28, 1812; at North Battery, September 15 to December 15, 1812; at West Battery (Castle Garden), May 23 to June 1, 1813; at Sag Harbor (detachment), May I to July 1, 1814; at Brooklyn Heights (detachment), August 15 to October 7, 1814; in the War of the Rebellion as the 83d N. Y. Volunteers, under which head its service will be found recorded, and in the Spanish-American was as the 9th N. Y. Volunteer Infantry.
TABLET TO OLD NINTH REGIMENT.
Unveiled at Site of the Old Thirteenth Street Headquarters.
That Was Where the Regiment Started for the War in '61 — Less Than a Score of Veterans Stand with the Present Artillerymen in the Rain at the Ceremonies.
A bronze tablet marking the location of the headquarters of the old 9th Regiment at Thirteenth street and University place, from which on May 27, 1861, the regiment, now 109 years old, marched to the front, 850 strong, was unveiled May 30, 1908, the ceremonies taking place at 11 o'clock after the regiment, which is now the 9th Coast Artillery Corps, N. G., N. Y., had participated in the Memorial Day parade.
Less than a score of veterans stood in the rain as Maj. Dabney W. Diggs, who got his rank for real service, and Col. William F. Morris, the present commander of the regiment, addressed them, but there were 800 then in olive drab standing at attention. The Colonel's wife and his daughter-in-law and his granddaughter, seven-year old Maude Morris, who unveiled the tablet, sat on the platform on the southwest corner all the time without umbrellas and braved the downpour like the true daughters of soldiers.
Of course in the regimental armory in West Fourteenth street there was something to warm other than dry clothing after it was all over and it isn't likely that many of the soldiers will suffer from colds.
There is an eleven story business building where the two story headquarters of the 9th Regiment stood when Lincoln called for volunteers, and the tablet has been placed on the north side of the building in Thirteenth street a few feet east of University place.
It bears this inscription:
" If any one attempts to haul down the American Flag shoot him on the spot."
1799; Ninth Regiment N. Y. S. M.; 1908.
83d N. Y. Volunteers.
THE HEADQUARTERS WrERE LOCATED HERE AND THE ORGANIZATION MARCHED AWAY IN DEFENCE OF THE UNION 850 STRONG MAY 27, 1861. AFTER A SERVICE OF 3 YEARS IN THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC THE RETURN HOME FROM THE WAR WAS WITH 17 OFFICERS AND 78 ENLISTED MEN ON JUNE 11, 1864. IT HAD TAKEN PART IN THE BATTLES OF BULL RUN (1862), SOUTH MOUNTAIN, ANTIETAM, FREDERICKSBURG, CHANCELLORSVILLE, GETTYSBURG, THE WILDERNESS, SPOTSYLVANIA, COLD HARBOR, ETC., ETC. This memorial erected by the officers and veterans of the regiment, May 30, 1908.
In the upper left-hand corner is the emblem of the 2d Division of the 1st Corps, of which the regiment was a part from '62 to '63, and in the upper right-hand corner is the emblem of the 2d Division of the 5th Corps, to which it was transferred and in which it served from '63 to '64.
One must do a great deal of reading between the lines to gain even a faint idea of the glory won by the 9th or to realize even a part of the service it has done the country and the flag.
On the staff of the United States flag carried by the regiment there are just thirty-three silver bands — each one representing a time at which the regiment served the country, and on the State flag there are thirteen. Here is a list of the services for which the silver bands were awarded:
On the National Color.— War against Great Britain, 1812-15; New York harbor, June 22 to December 15, 1812 (North Battery); New York harbor, September 2 to December 3, 1814 (West Battery); War of the Rebellion, 1861-65; Harper's Ferry, Va., July 4, 1861; Warrenton Junction, April 6, 1862; Warrenton Junction, Va., April 16, 1862; North Fork River, Va., April 18, 1862; Rappahannock River, Va., May 5, 1862; Cedar Mountain, Va., August 9, 1862; Rappahannock River, Va., August 22, 1862; Rappahannock Station, Va., August 23, 1862; Thoroughfare Gap, Va., August 28, 1862; Bull Run, Va., August 30, 1862; Chantilly, Va., September i, 1862; South Mountain, Md., September 14, 1862; Antietam, Md., September 17, 1862; Fredericksburg, Va., December 11 to 15, 1862; Pollock's Mill Creek, Va., April 29, 1863; Chancellorsville, Va., May 2 and 3, 1863; Gettysburg, Pa., July I to 4, 1863; Hagerstown, Md., July 12 and 13, 1863; Liberty, Va., November 21, 1863; Mine Run, Va., November 26 to December 2, 1863; Wilderness, Va., May 5 to 7, 1864; Spotsylvania Court House, Va., May I, 1864; Piney Branch Church, Va., May 8, 1864; Laurel Hill, Va., May 10, 1864; Spotsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864; North Anna, Va., May 22, 1864; Totopotomoy, Va., May 27 to 31, 1864; Cold HarSor, Va., June i to 7, 1864; Spanish-American war, May 2 to November 15, 1898.
On the State Color.— New York harbor, June 5 to July 28, 1812; Sag Harbor, L. I., N. Y., May i to August I, 1814; Brooklyn Heights, August 15, 1814; Brooklyn Heights, October 4, 1814; Abolition riot, January 11 and 12, 1835; great fire, December 17, 1835; Police riot, June 16 to 18, 1857; Dead Rabbit riot, July 5 and 6, 1857; Orange riot, July 12 and 13, 1871; West Albany Railroad Men's strike, July 24 to 28, 1877; Buffalo Railroad Men's strike, August 18 to 27, 1892; Brooklyn Trolley Men's strike, January 20 to 24, 1895 J Albany Trolley Men's strike, May 17 to 19, 1901.
The preliminary organization of the 6th Regiment, N. Y. S. M., of which the 9th is the successor, took place in June, 1799, by virtue of an order from Gov. John Jay at Albany to Gen. James Miles Hughes in New York. The 6th was made up of four companies from the ist Regiment, three from the 2d, five from the 3d and two from the 4th — all of them organized March 4, 1786; three companies from the 5th, organized May 11, 1789, and the independent Rifles, organized August 28, 1798.
There were sixteen companies in the old 6th Regiment as it was permanently organized on March 8, 1800, under the command of Lieut.-Col. Jacob Morton. In March, 1805, the regiment was changed to the 2d N. Y. S. Artillery and on June 13, 1812, it became the 9th Regiment, N. Y. S. Artillery. It was reduced to a battalion in 1813 and remained as such until June, 1816, when it again was made a regiment. In 1847 the State was divided into division, brigade, regiment and company districts and three of the 9th's companies were transferred to the 8th N. Y. S. M., in 1850, but Col. B. Clinton Ferris retained command of the 9th and it was reorganized on May 29, 1850. The regiment was disbanded partly in 1858, but the district of the 9th was left intact under Col. Lucius Pitkin and the regiment was reorganized anew on June 25, 1859.
Under the title of the 9th it entered the service of the Union on May 27, 1861, and was mustered in at Washington on June 8th. On December 7th, when attached to the 2d Division of the 1st Corps, it was designated as the 83d New York Volunteers and remained as such throughout its service in the Civil war until mustered out on June 23, 1864.
The district was retained in the State while the regiment was at the front, and on June 13, 1864, it again became the 9th Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y., which was continued until the Spanish war, when it became the 9th Regiment, Infantry, N. Y. Volunteers. It went back to its old name in 1899 and continued as such until 1908. To conform to the amended Military Code of 1908, under general orders dated Albany, January 23, 1908, the regiment was reorganized as Coast Artillery Corps, N. G. N. Y., Ninth District. As such it stood in the rain while the tablet was unveiled.
Colonel Van Buren, anticipating the Civil war, had been drilling the regiment in street firing at the arsenal, then at Elm and White streets. Lincoln's call for troops " to suppress unlawful combinations and enforce law" was promulgated on April 15, 1861, and on April i9th the 9th voted to tender its services. In the Rebellion the 9th lost 379 in killed, which is greater than the average of 300 regiments designated as lighting regiments by Lieutenant-Colonel Fox in his- book "Three Hundred Fighting Regiments of the Union Army."
Colonel Morris in closing his address said to his men that he hoped that every one who should pass that spot, whether in uniform or citizens' clothes, would uncover in respect to the memory of the men in whose honor the tablet was placed.

The following is taken from Third Annual Report of the Bureau of Military Statistics of the State of New York, Albany: [The Bureau], (C. Wendell), 1866.
In addition to the regiments heretofore enumerated, the Second, Ninth, Fourteenth and Seventy-ninth militia volunteered for the war, and were known respectively as the Eighty-second, Eighty-third, Eighty-fourth and Seventy-ninth New York Volunteers. An account of their services belongs properly to that of the State volunteer troops. The Second, Fourteenth, and Seventy-ninth participated in the battle of Bull Run. The Ninth at the time of the battle was at Harper's Ferry, under General Patterson. The Second fought in the Second brigade (Schenck's) of the First division (Tyler's.) Its loss, as reported a week after the battle, was 24 killed and 27 wounded. The Fourteenth was in the First brigade Second division. Its loss was 25 killed and 58 wounded, besides prisoners. The Seventy-ninth was in the Third brigade (Sherman's), First division. Its loss was 32 killed, 51 wounded and 115 missing. Among the killed was Colonel Cameron, the commanding officer.

See here for a brief history of the State Militia / National Guard.

Further Reading
This is meant to be a comprehensive list. If, however, you know of a resource that is not listed below, please send an email to int-historians@ng.army.mil with the name of the resource and where it is located. This can include photographs, letters, articles and other non-book materials. Also, if you have any materials in your possession that you would like to donate, the museum is always looking for items specific to New York's military heritage. Thank you.

Hussey, George A. and William Todd. History of the Ninth Regiment N.Y.S.M., N.G.S.N.Y. (Eighty-third N.Y. Volunteers) 1845-1888. New York: (Under the auspices of veterans of the Regiment, Press of J.S. Ogilvie), 1889.

Jaques, John W. Three years' campaign of the Ninth, N.Y.S.M., during the Southern rebellion. New York: Hilton & Co., 1865.

New York Infantry. 83d Regiment (1861-1864). Society of War Veterans, 9th Regiment, New York State militia (83d N.Y. vol.). Hartford: Star Print., 1887.
Located at Allen County (IN) Public Library.

New York Infantry. 9th Regiment (1859-). Washington's birthday: the Ninth Regiment and Veteran Corps. New York: 1883.
Cover title: Full dress reeception of the Ninth Reg't, N.G.S.N.Y. at Madison Square Garden ... February 22d, 1883
Located at the New York Historical Society.

Potter, Orlando B. Oration of Hon. Orlando B. Potter: on the dedication of the monument erected by the Ninth Regiment, N.G.S.N.Y., Eighty-third N.Y. Volunteers, Sunday, July 1st, 1888, at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. s.n., 1888.

United States.; Army.; New York Infantry Regiment, 83rd (1861-1864). The New York ninth. Warrenton, Va.: Jaques & Dailey, 1862.
Frequency: Weekly
Description: Vol. 1, no. 1 (July 31, 1862)-; Ceased in 1862?; v. ;; 38 cm.
Note(s): Last issue located: Vol. 1, no. 2 (Aug. 7, 1862). Cf. Cappon, L.J. Va. newspapers./ Audience: Published for the 9th regiment, N.Y. Militia, which enlisted in 1861 and became the 83rd New York Infantry.

Items in the museum collection are in bold.

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