New York National Guard marks birthday of President Chester Arthur with White House wreath

MENANDS, N.Y. - New York Army National Guard Brig. Gen. Patrick Clare marked the 197th birthday of President Chester Arthur on Oct. 5 by presenting a White House wreath at the 21st president's gravesite at Albany Rural Cemetery.

Clare, assistant adjutant general-Army for the New York National Guard, presented the wreath on behalf of President Donald Trump in honor of Arthur, who died Nov. 18, 1886, at age 57.

Since 1967, military officers have laid wreaths sent by the sitting president at the graves of former U.S. presidents.

Arthur, elected vice president in 1880 as James Garfield's running mate, became president in 1881 after Garfield's death and served until 1885.

Clare and New York Army National Guard Command Sgt. Maj. Leylan Jones presented the presidential wreath at Arthur's grave following a short program attended by about 75 people.

An honor cordon composed of officers and senior noncommissioned officers from New York Army National Guard headquarters, along with a bugler and color guard, also took part in the ceremony. Chaplain (Maj.) Michael Scholes delivered the invocation and benediction.

Albany Rural Cemetery Trustee Lance Ingmire described the circumstances surrounding Arthur's death from kidney disease and his burial Nov. 22, 1886, next to his wife, who had died in 1880.

Although Arthur lived, worked and died in New York City, he had ties to the Albany area. He attended Union College in nearby Schenectady and taught school in Cohoes.

Albany-area historian and author David Pietrusza outlined Arthur's career as a lawyer and his accomplishments as president, including civil service reform, rebuilding the U.S. Navy and shaping the nation's early immigration policy.

Pietrusza noted that Mark Twain, who was notoriously cynical about politicians, praised Arthur after his death.

"I am but one in 55,000,000; still, in the opinion of this one-fifty-five-millionth of the country's population, it would be hard to better President Arthur's administration," Twain wrote.

In his remarks, Clare highlighted Arthur's service as a brigadier general in the New York Militia at the start of the Civil War.

New York Gov. Edwin Morgan designated Arthur engineer-in-chief of the militia and directed him to determine whether New York's harbor forts could defend against a sea attack.

When the war began, Arthur was tasked with housing, feeding and equipping troops mobilizing in New York City before dispatching them to defend Washington.

During the Civil War, states raised military units and then turned them over to the U.S. Army. By the end of 1861, Arthur had equipped 55 regiments, each with about 1,000 men, with muskets, tents, uniforms, rations, canteens and other supplies, Clare said.

"As a logistics officer myself I am impressed by what he accomplished," Clare said.

In 1862, Arthur was appointed inspector general of the New York Militia and visited troops in the field before being called back to once again serve as quartermaster general. During that year, he housed, fed and equipped 70 more regiments, Clare said.

"Today, as we remember Chester Arthur the accomplished lawyer, enemy of slavery, and reforming president, I am proud that we can also remember him as an accomplished New York citizen Soldier," Clare said.

Six presidents are buried in New York. The New York National Guard also places presidential wreaths at the graves of Martin Van Buren in Kinderhook and Millard Fillmore in Buffalo.

Arthur was born in Vermont and attended Union College before becoming a lawyer in New York. He also taught school in Vermont and Cohoes before entering the legal profession.

In 1855, Arthur represented Elizabeth Jennings, a Black woman who had been forcibly removed from a New York City horsecar in July 1854 because of her race. He won Jennings $225 in damages, and the court ruled Black passengers could not be excluded from public transit provided they were "sober, well behaved, and free from disease."

Arthur later became active in Republican politics and served as collector of the Port of New York from 1871 to 1878. He was elected vice president in 1880.

Arthur became president Sept. 19, 1881, after Garfield died from wounds suffered when he was shot by an assassin July 2, 1881.

As president, Arthur signed landmark civil service legislation, oversaw implementation of federal immigration laws and supported an international conference that established the prime meridian through Greenwich, England.

He also supported modernization of the U.S. Navy, including construction of steel, steam-powered warships and establishment of the Naval War College.

Arthur, who suffered from kidney disease during the latter part of his presidency, died of a cerebral hemorrhage less than two years after leaving office.