69th Infantry Regiment (New York)
The 69th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Army. It is from New York City, part of the New York Army National Guard. It is known as the "Fighting Sixty-Ninth", a name said to have been given by Robert E. Lee during the Civil War. An Irish-American heritage is attributed to the regiment, which is also nicknamed the "Fighting Irish" – a tradition mentioned in Joyce Kilmer's poem "When the 69th Comes Back". Between 1917 and 1992 it was also designated the 165th Infantry Regiment. It is headquartered at the 69th Regiment Armory in Manhattan.
The regiment currently consists of a single light infantry battalion and is part of the 27th Infantry Brigade of the 42nd Infantry Division. The regiment has seen combat in four wars: the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, and the Iraq War. It has also participated in 23 campaigns, so many that the staffs of its regimental colors are authorized to be one foot longer than normal to accommodate them all.
Early history and lineage
Late in the 20th century, the U.S. Army changed the lineage and the founding date of the 69th Regiment from 1851 to 21 December 1849 with Company A, 1st Battalion descending from the 8th Company of the of the American Revolutionary War.Unrelated Regular Army units designated as 69th Infantry Regiment
During the period when the "Fighting 69th" was assigned the National Guard "100 Series" regiment number of 165th Infantry, two Regular Army units were also designated as "69th Infantry Regiment." Neither of these unrelated federal units ever saw combat.The first 69th Infantry Regiment was constituted 9 July 1918 in the Regular Army as the 69th Infantry and assigned to the 10th Infantry Division, organized 10 August 1918 at Camp Funston, Kansas, from personnel of the 41st Infantry. Relieved from the 10th Division and demobilized 13 February 1919 at Camp Funston. The second 69th Infantry Regiment was constituted 1 October 1933 in the Regular Army as the 69th Infantry and allotted to the Seventh Corps Area. Organized about 1936 with headquarters at Minneapolis, Minnesota. Disbanded 11 November 1944.
Background
After the failed 1848 Young Ireland rebellion against British rule in Ireland, numerous Young Irelanders fled to the United States, with many of them settling in New York. Irish nationalists in New York soon made efforts to organize a military unit in order to assist in efforts to gain Irish independence from Britain. In late 1848, Irish-Americans in the city organized several independent military companies, holding drills at the Center Market. By mid-1849, an undermanned "1st Irish Regiment" had been formed from the independent companies, which the 69th traces its lineage to. Irish nationalist Michael Doheny, who had fled to the U.S. following the failure of the Young Ireland rebellion, was instrumental in the establishment of the independent companies and served as a company commander in the 1st Irish Regiment. In 1849, Irish-American leaders in New York City convinced the state government to establishment a U.S. Army regiment drawn from the independent companies. On 21 December 1849, their proposals were adopted by the state government. Doheny, Richard O'Gorman and James Huston, and Michael Phelan, who had not, all supported Irish-Americans enlisting in the New York State Militia with the hopes that this training would be useful in future Irish nationalist activities. As a result, the original 9th Regiment, established in 1799, was disbanded on 27 May 1850, and its companies transferred to the 8th Regiment. Two days later, on 29 May, the 1st Irish Regiment was mustered into the New York State Militia as the 9th Regiment with Colonel Benjamin Clinton Ferris as its commander.The 2nd Irish Regiment was organized on 12 October 1851, and mustered into the New York State Militia on 1 November as the 69th Regiment. Doheny left the 9th and enlisted in the 69th at the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In May 1852, the 72nd Regiment was established on Long Island. Thomas Francis Meagher, another leader of the Young Ireland rebellion, escaped to New York in 1852. Doheny then began to organize another Irish-American regiment with Meagher as the regimental commander. Doheny subsequently left the 69th and became the lieutenant-colonel of the new regiment, designed as the 75th Regiment and formed from new and existing independent companies as the "Republican Rifles". Since Meagher was rarely in New York, Doheny served as de facto commander of the 75th. By the summer of 1853, the three Irish-American regiments had reached maximum strength, and their commanders moved between the regiments throughout the 1850s. Captain James Huston left the 9th to join the 69th, as did Doheny. Meagher was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 69th in 1855 but declined the position as he was not a U.S. citizen. The three regiments co-existed until late 1858 when all three were merged into the 69th; the 9th Regiment ceased to exist until 1859 when it was re-organized once again.
Tensions in New York City
The new Irish Catholic regiments caused uneasiness among the nativist Know Nothing Party, whose membership was limited to White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. In 1852, nativists in New York formed a new militia regiment designated the 71st Regiment, the "American Guard", commanded by Colonel Vosburg until he died in 1861. Although the 69th and the 71st represented opposite views and had no contact during the 1850s, they became close in 1861 when both were stationed in Washington, D.C., prior to the First Battle of Bull Run. Within the 9th Regiment, Huston led a secret society of Irish revolutionaries known as the SF. Academic Patrick D. Flaherty claimed that the SF stood for "Silent Friends" in a 1973 book, though military historian J.C.P. Stokes claimed it instead stood for "Sinn Feins" in a 1953 letter.The outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854 was perceived as an opportunity for Irish nationalists to strike against Britain, but disputes between Huston and Doheny led to a lack of action. Huston left the 69th but conflicts continued. Although radical Irish societies were formed, all attempts to strike a blow for Ireland failed. Conflicts between Archbishop Hughes and the Irish Revolutionary leaders further exacerbated the situation. In 1855, racial, religious, and political tension was high in New York City. In January, prominent Bowery Boys gang leader William Poole was killed. Two Irishmen were arrested for the crime. The Know Nothings tried to stir up anti-Catholic sentiment, and there were several riots and both the 69th and the 9th were called to restore order. It was decided that military units would not march in the city's St. Patrick's Day Parade due to the ongoing tensions. On St. Patrick's Day 1855, the 9th, 69th, 7th, and 12th Regiments were held at the parade ground to await orders rather than march in the parade. As soon as the 69th was released, they marched with fixed bayonets down Broadway through the park before they were dismissed. The other military units did not march. Other U.S. states eliminated ethnic-oriented militias in the 1850s because of similar tensions. By 1858 the only Irish regiment remaining would be the 69th.
A new Irish secret society called the Fenians arose. Although not powerful within the 9th, they were extremely so within the 69th. After the consolidation with the 9th in 1858, the 69th adopted the 9th name of "National Cadets". The Fenians were founded as the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood in 1858 by James Stephens, a leader of the 1848 Revolt. Michael Corcoran was second in command. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Corcoran commanded the 69th Regiment and was also the head of the Fenians. As their leader, he advised the Fenian membership not to join the militia.