MENANDS, N.Y. - The New York National Guard honored Chester A. Arthur, the 21st president of the United States, with a formal wreath laying Sunday on his grave at Albany Rural Cemetery, the 185th anniversary of his birth.
Arthur, a former school teacher in nearby Vermont, a lawyer and a member of the New York National Guard, became president on Sept. 19, 1881, when President James Garfield died from an assassin’s bullet wound suffered on July 2, 1881. Born in Vermont, Arthur attended Union College in Schenectady for both his bachelors and advanced degrees and lived in Hoosick, New York.
He worked as a lawyer and was active in Republican politics and also served as the judge advocate general of the New York National Guard, then known as the New York State Militia. In this capacity he drafted a military law which restructured the organization.
During the Civil War, he was appointed quartermaster general of New York and was responsible for equipping and transporting 70 New York Volunteer Regiments, totaling about 70,000 Soldiers, during his two years on the job. From 1871 to 1878, he was the chief customs inspector in New York City and the leader of the “Stalwart” wing of the Republican Party. He was elected vice president during the election of 1880.
During his time in office, he promoted the first federal Civil Service Law, oversaw the implementation of the first law governing immigration, and organized an international conference to that set the prime meridian - used for determining a place on Earth and for time keeping - as running through Greenwich, England. Arthur, who had been in poor health during the latter part of his term, died Nov. 19, 1886, of a cerebral hemorrhage less than a year after leaving office. He was 57. He was buried next to his wife Ellen, who died of pneumonia in 1880.
Participating were Brig. Gen. Anthony German, the chief of staff of the New York Air National Guard, and Airmen from the 105th Airlift Wing at Stewart Air National Guard Base, Newburgh, and 109th Airlift Wing at Stratton Air National Guard Base, Scotia. New York Army National Guard Command Sgt. Maj. Louis Wilson also took part in the event.