History

masonbuford

The 9th Regiment, nicknamed The City Guard, has its origins in several independent companies raised in 1786. Its organizational history until the Civil War may be summarized in tabular form:

Date Activity
24 Jun 1799 16 companies ordered merged as 6th Infantry
27 Mar 1805 Reorganized as the 2nd Artillery
13 Jun 1812 Redesigned the 9th Artillery
13 Dec 1813 Reorganized as the 1st Bn., N.Y. Artillery
06 Jun 1816 Expanded and redesigned the 9th Artillery
29 May 1850 Reorganized as the 9th Infantry (The Irish 9th)
3 May 1858 Temporarily Disbanded
25 Jun 1859 Reactivated as the 9th Infantry

During the war of 1812 the 9th helped man the New York harbor forts and for a time maintained a detached battery at Sag Harbor, near the eastern end of Long Island.
On the outbreak of the Civil War the Regiment volunteered for Federal service, and was mustered in on 15 July 1861, becoming the 83rd New York Volunteer Infantry on 7 December of that year (except for Company K, which became the 6th New York Battery). The regiment served until mustered out, 7 June 1864, having lost 164 men killed in action or mortally wounded, as well as 91 others dead of diseases and accidents. During the war the 83rd N.Y. fought at Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg (in the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Division, of the First Corps), the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, and Cold Harbor. The 83rd New York is listed in William F. Foxs Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865 as one of the fightingest regiments in the Union Army. After the Civil War the regiment continued in the New York National Guard, under its old number, the 9th. Activated for the Spanish-American War, it saw no overseas service.
In 1908 the regiment was reorganized as coast artillery, becoming a federally recognized unit of the New York National Guard. When the 9th Coast Artillery Command was federalized in World War I it became the 244th Coast Artillery, while its depot battalion was activated as the 9th Coast Artillery Command, N.Y.G., embodying the Veteran Corps of Artillery, and served through the war.
During World War II the 244th Coast Artillery Regiment served until mid-1944, when it was broken up into separate 155-mm artillery battalions. The 1st Bn was disbanded, the 2nd became the 289th CA Bn, but saw no overseas service, and the 3rd became the 259th CA Bn, and served in the Pacific. During the war a new 9th Regiment was formed in the New York Guard. It is from this unit that the present 9th Regiment descends.
Text by: MAJ Albert A. Nofi, PhD

Historic Images

hardingAsst. Surgeon William L. Harding
9Th New York Infantry
Civil War Period
24 years old when enrolled on August 9, 1862 at New York city.
Mustered in as Asst. Surgeon on August 20, 1862 to serve two years.
Mustered out with regiment May 20, 1863.
Photo Courtesy of the NYS Military Museum

hawkins

Col. Rush C. Hawkins
9Th Ny Regiment
Civil War Period
29 years old when enrolled on May 4, 1861 at New York city.
Mustered in as Colonel on same day to serve two years.
Wounded April 19, 1862 at Camden, NC.
Mustered out with regiment, May 20, 1863.
Photo Courtesy of the NYS Military Museum