MENANDS, N.Y. – New York Army National Guard leaders marked the 190th birthday of President Chester Arthur, the 21st president of the United States, during a graveside ceremony Saturday at historic Albany Rural Cemetery.
Brig. Gen. John Andonie, the director of joint staff for the New York National Guard, and New York State Command Sgt. Major David Piwowarski laid a wreath from President Trump at Arthur’s grave.
Former presidents are honored on their birthday each year with a wreath at their grave from the current president. Local military leaders present those wreaths on behalf of the president.
The New York National Guard recognizes Arthur, who died at age 57 in 1886; Martin Van Buren, whose grave is in Kinderhook, N.Y.; and Millard Fillmore, who is buried in Buffalo.
It’s an honor to be asked to represent the White House in commemorating a past president, Andonie said.
“It is about recognizing the leaders of our nation that served our country. It is about recognizing their service and recognizing their lives,” he said.
During the short ceremony, Andonie and Piwowarski presented the wreath and saluted Arthur’s grave as taps was played. Bagpipers then played “Amazing Grace.”
Chester Arthur is not a well-known president, but his story is “a universal one of redemption,” said Albany-area historian David Pietrusza, who spoke at the ceremony.
Arthur was a veteran of Republican politics but had never been elected to any office until he became vice president in 1880 when he ran with President James Garfield. Arthur was the leader of the “stalwart” wing of the Republican Party and was put on the ticket to satisfy that side of the GOP.
When Garfield was shot July 2, 1881, the gunman was heard to say, “Now Arthur is president,” which generated rumors that Arthur had been part of a plot, Pietrusza said.
When Arthur took office after Garfield’s death on Sept. 19, 1881, he was widely distrusted and even reviled as a party hack who might have had something to do with Garfield’s death, Pietrusza explained.
But when he left office three years later, he was hailed for his performance. He instituted the federal Civil Service, oversaw the creation of a modern Navy and worked to reconcile the North and South in the aftermath of the Civil War, Pietrusza said.
Arthur was also a member of the New York National Guard.
During the Civil War, he was quartermaster general of New York and was responsible for equipping and transporting 70 New York volunteer regiments, totaling about 70,000 Soldiers.
Arthur worked as a lawyer and the judge advocate general of the New York National Guard, then known as the New York State Militia. He drafted a military law that restructured the organization.
Arthur went to college in Schenectady, taught school in Vermont and practiced law in New York City. During an 1855 court case, he won a lawsuit that ensured that African-Americans could ride on public transportation in New York City.