CIVIL WAR WIA MEDAL HONOR GETTYSBURG CAPT 22nd NEW YORK/WAR 1812 LETTER SIGNED
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CIVIL WAR WIA MEDAL HONOR GETTYSBURG CAPT 22nd NEW YORK/WAR 1812 LETTER SIGNED :
$69.99
ASA BIRD GARDINER
(1839 - 1919)CIVILWAR WIA CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR CAPTAIN IN THE 22nd NEW YORK MILITIAFOR BRAVERY UNDER FIRE AT THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG,INDIAN WARS LT IN THE 9thUS INFANTRY and MAJOR OF THE 1st US ARTILLERY&JUDGE ADVOCATE 1873-1888Gardiner\'sMedal of Honor was later revoked during the \"Purge of 1917.\" He refused to return his medal, referring tothe investigation as \"a scandalous act.\" Gardiner himself was nostranger to scandal; he had prosecuted the first black West Point cadet,Johnson Chesnut Whittaker, on grounds that Whittaker had staged aracially-motivated assault. Gardiner was also active in NY politics and was activein the Tammany Hall machine; when called to confront corruption after hiselection to District Attorney, he famously refused, saying \"Reform be damned.\" Gardiner isburied in historic Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. His headstone shows his rank as \"brevetcaptain\" although he held the rank of Major in the Army!
HERE’S A RARE AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED BY GARDINER ONATTRACTIVE “THE SOCIETY OF THE WAR OF 1812” LETTERHEAD, 2pp., DATED AT NEWYORK, AUG. 2nd 1894 TO NATHANIEL HUBBARD CLEVELAND, ESQ. (1834-1922)(CLEVELAND LIVED IN SOUTHOLD, SUFFOLK COUNTY, LONG ISLAND), REGARDING THEPUBLICATION OF A REGISTER OF THE MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY WITH AN INTRODUCTORYCHAPTER ON THE “CAUSES OF THE WAR OF 1812.”GARDINER ALSO ADDS A LENGTHY POSTSCRIPT ON THE 2nd PAGE ABOUTOTHER POSSIBLE MEMBERS IN EasterN LONG ISLAND, AND OTHER MATTERS, WHICH GARDINERSIGNS AGAIN!
N. H. CLEVELAND, THE RECIPIENT OF THE LETTER, ALSOADDS A SIGNED NOTE AT THE BOTTOM MARGIN OF THE LETTER!
The document measures 8” x 10 ½” and is in very goodcondition.
BIOGRAPHYOF ASA BIRD GARDINER
Asa Bird Gardiner (September 30, 1839 –May 24, 1919) was a controversial American soldier, attorney, and districtattorney for New York County(a.k.a. the Borough of Manhattan)from 1898 to 1900.
He received the Medal of Honorfor his service in the American Civil Warin 1872 but it was rescinded in 1917 when supporting documentation was notfound. As a Judge Advocate in the United States Army,he prosecuted the case of Johnson ChesnutWhittaker, a black cadet at West Point.
He was elected New York County District Attorney in 1897, but was put ontrial for corruption, and despite acquittal, was removed from office by Theodore Rooseveltin 1900. He refused to prosecute the corrupt Tammany Hall bosses of New York City,proclaiming \"The hell with reform!\" (or \"Reform bedamned!\").
Early yearsAsa Bird Gardiner was born on September 30, 1839 in New York City. Hisbirth name was Asa Bird Gardner - without the \"i\" which headded when he legally changed his name in 1884. He was born at Fraunces Tavern, where his father and unclewere innkeepers. His father later ran the Philadelphia Hotel.
He graduated A.B.from the College of theCity of New York in 1859 and a LL.B. from New York University School of Law in 1860. He was admitted tothe New York City Bar Association and began private practice as anattorney.
Civil War serviceShortly after the outbreak of the American Civil War,Gardiner was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the 31st New YorkInfantry Regiment on May 27, 1861 and was mustered out of service onAugust 7, 1861. He was commissioned a captainin the 22nd National Guard Infantry (a.k.a. 22nd NewYork State Militia) on May 31, 1862, served in Baltimore, Maryland, and washonorably mustered out of service on September 5, 1862.
He was again commissioned a captainin the same regiment when it was reactivated on June 18, 1863 due to themovement of Lee\'s Army of NorthernVirginia towards Pennsylvania. Gardiner saw action at Sporting Hill,Pennsylvania on June 30 and at Carlisle on July 1, where he was wounded inaction. Gardiner\'s wound was apparently minor, as there is no indication hesuffered from a physical disability and he almost lived to the age of 80. Bothactions were minor with the 22nd having no killed in action but it did have 9and 12 soldiers wounded respectively on the 30th and the 1st.
Gardiner was mustered out of active service on July 24, 1863. On May 16,1865 Gardiner was commissioned a first lieutenant in the Veteran ReserveCorps to rank from February 11, 1865 and served as adjutant of the 7th Veteran Reserve CorpsRegiment until he was honorably mustered out of service on August 13, 1866.Gardiner was brevettedto the rank of captainon March 13, 1865, for \"gallant and meritorious service during thewar\".
Medal of HonorFor his actions at the Battle of Sporting Hill Gardiner received the Medal of Honor on September 23, 1872, for\"distinguished service performed during the war while serving as Captain22nd New York State Militia\". Gardiner\'s award of the Medal of Honorrescinded in early 1917 after a review panel, led by retired Lieutenant GeneralNelson A. Miles, found there was no evidence tosupport Gardiner deserving the award. Although Gardiner\'s award was rescinded,he refused to return the medal.
Post Civil War Military ServiceAfter the end of the Civil War, Gardiner was commissioned a second lieutenant of the 9th Infantry Regimentof the Regular Army, to rank from July 20, 1866, and was promoted to first lieutenant on February 14, 1868. Hetransferred to the 1st Artillery Regiment on April 3, 1869 and served for atime as aide-de-camp to Major General Irvin McDowell who was commander of theDepartment of the East with its headquarters on Governors Island in New York Harbor.
On September 23, 1872 Gardiner received the Medal of Honor for his services in action at Sporting Hill,Pennsylvania on June 30, 1863 and the defense of Carlisle,Pennsylvania on July 1 and 2 of the same year.
In February 1917, the Army revoked Gardiner\'s Medal of Honor on thegrounds that there was no record in the archives of its having been issued.Gardiner refused to return his medal and the matter was controversial untilGardiner died in 1919.
Gardiner served as an aide de camp, presumably to Secretary of War William W. Belknap,from October 4, 1872 to August 19, 1873.
Gardiner was promoted to the rank of major on August 18, 1873, and served as a Judge Advocate for 15 years until he retiredfrom the Army on December 8, 1888.
By an act of Congress, the United States Military Academy at West Point established a Department of Law in1874, with a senior Judge Advocate as its first professor of law. Secretary ofWar William W. Belknapappointed Gardiner to the post, and he became the first lawyer to teach law atthe Academy. Gardiner initiated the entire law curriculum, including study ofthe Lieber Code and a textbook he himself wrote.
Gardiner served at West Point as Professor of Law from July 20, 1874 to August28, 1878. Although his obituary in the New York Times stated that he held the rank of lieutenant colonelduring this time, and that Gardiner was usually referred to as \"ColonelGardiner\", the official Army Registers from this time period list Gardineras a Major. Ironically, Gardiner\'s government issue headstone gives his rank ascaptain.
Notable courts martialWhile serving as a judge advocate, Gardiner was involved in severalhigh-profile legal proceedings.
In 1875, while still at West Point, Gardiner was chosen by President Ulysses S. Grant to be the presiding judgeadvocate general at the Whiskey Ringcourt-martial of Brevet Brigadier General Orville E. Babcock,Grant\'s personal secretary. The civilian grand jury that had already convened refused toturn over its evidence, however, and the court-martial adjourned; Babcock waslater acquitted.
In 1878, a commission reviewed the court-martial of Fitz John Porter, who had been dismissed fromthe Army in 1863 for his actions at the battle of Second Bull Run. The commission chairman,General John M. Schofield,appointed Gardiner as recorder, but he \"took upon himself the role of ajudge advocate in a court-martial,\" contesting evidence favorable toPorter. The commission ultimately re-instated Porter.
In 1880, one of the first black cadets at West Point, Johnson ChesnutWhittaker, was assaulted by three fellow cadets, but administratorsat the Academy said he had faked the attack. After a year of inquests andhearings including the attention of the United StatesCongress, Whittaker was court-martialed, with Gardiner as prosecutor,resulting in Whittaker\'s expulsion. The verdict was overturned in 1883 byPresident Chester Arthur on the ground of faulty evidence, but the expulsionwas immediately reinstated by the Secretary of War on the grounds thatWhittaker had failed an exam. In 1995, acting on a request from Congress,President Clinton awarded Whittaker a posthumous commission as second lieutenant.
In 1884, Gardiner was selected for another high-profile prosecution, thatof his superior, Brigadier General David G. Swaim, the Judge Advocate General ofthe Army. Swaim was convicted of financial improprieties and suspended fromduty.
On July 11, 1884 Gardiner legally changed the spelling of his last namefrom \"Gardner\" to \"Gardiner\". This was, according to aletter he wrote the New York Times,to conform to the spelling of the last name by his ancestors who lived in RhodeIsland.
In 1887 Gardiner was appointed Acting Assistant Secretary of War and heldthe position until he retired from the Army on December 8, 1888 for\"disability in the line of duty\".
New York politicsAfter his retirement from the Army, Gardiner pursued the private practiceof law in New York City.He became active in the Tammany Hallpolitical machine, the major faction of the New York City Democrats. A history of the society calls him a\"simon-pure Democrat\" who followed his father and grandfather\'sparticipation in the Tammany Society, where in 1901 he was elected a sachem.
Gardiner was allied with Tammany Hall boss Richard Croker and, in November 1897, waselected on the Democratic ticket as New York County District Attorney. During the campaignGardiner said, \"Reform be damned!\" when confronted with calls toconfront the corruption of Tammany Hall.
He took office on January 1, 1898, together with the first electedofficers of the newly consolidated City of New York (which added the boroughsof Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island to Manhattan and the Bronx).
In December 1900 formal charges were brought against Gardiner for\"interfering with deputies of the Attorney General in presentation ofelection cases to the Grand Jury and the prosecution thereof\". Governor Theodore Rooseveltremoved Gardiner from office later that month after Garidner chose not tocontest the charges.
Among the beneficiaries of Gardiner\'s anti-reform attitude wassaloonkeeper Frank J. Farrell,who is said to have opened three hundred pool halls (in reality fronts for bookmakers) after his friend took office,building a fortune that he would use to bring the New York Yankees to town.
In 1908 Gardiner was hired by the State of New York to represent the statein opposing the extradition of Harry K. Thaw to Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania to testify in a bankruptcy case. Thaw had been judgedinsane in his trial for murdering architect Stanford White in 1906. Gardiner argued that,as Thaw had been adjudicated as insane, Thaw could not be called to testify incourt. The state offered a fee to Gardiner of $2,000 but Gardiner presented thestate with a bill for $15,000. Gardiner\'s rationalization of the high fee wasthat he had spent five months on the case while Thaw\'s mother spent $100,000 inlegal fees.
On September 10, 1913 he was the orator at the centennial commemoration ofthe Battle of LakeErie in Newport, Rhode Island. He wore the uniform of the VeteranCorps of Artillery and spoke in his capacity as the Commandant of the MilitarySociety of the War of 1812. A contemporary newspaper article described Gardineras \"one of the ablest orators Newport has ever heard.\"
Military and Hereditary SocietiesGardiner was active in several military and hereditary societies includingthe Society of theCincinnati (Secretary General and President of the Rhode IslandSociety), the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States(elected November 6, 1867, insignia number 586), the Grand Army of theRepublic (member of James Monroe Post), the Sons of theRevolution (founding member in 1876, insignia number 83), theMilitary Society of the War of 1812 (Vice Commandant with rank of lieutenantcolonel in 1890 and Commandant with rank of colonel in 1908), the Veteran Corps of Artillery of the State of New York(Commandant with rank of colonel in 1908) and the General Society of the War of 1812 (elected to membership in1892).
Although the highest rank attained by Gardiner in the United States Armywas major, Gardiner was commissioned a lieutenant colonel in the New York StateMilita when he was elected vice commandant of the Military Society of the Warof 1812 in 1890 and was promoted to colonel when he was elected commandant in1908. This is why Gardiner was frequently referred to as \"ColonelGardiner\".
Gardiner was also a member of the Union Club, the Metropolitan Club and the Delta KappaEpsilon fraternity.
Society of the CincinnatiIn 1877 Gardiner joined the Society of theCincinnati, a military society founded by officers who had served inthe American Revolution and perpetuated by their descendants. Gardiner was akey figure the re-establishment of the Rhode Island Society of the Cincinnati -which had been dormant since 1835. In 1878, Gardiner was elected as the RhodeIsland Society\'s Assistant Secretary.
Gardiner joined the Society by right of his descent from his great uncle,Lieutenant Jonathan Willard (1744-1832). Although Lieutenant Willard was aveteran of the 1st New Hampshire Regiment, and the Society has a tradition ofmembers joining the state Society which their ancestor was eligible to join,the Rhode Island Society had an exception in its membership requirements toadmit members who were descendants of officers whose state did not have anactive society. As New Hampshire did not have an active society in 1877,Gardiner was permitted to join the Rhode Island Society.
Gardiner was elected Secretary General of the National Society in 1884and, in the same year, authored Precedents and Ordinances of the GeneralSociety of the Cincinnati. Through his efforts to recruit new members, definepolicies and establish administrative procedures, he was probably the singleperson most responsible for the rejuvenation for the Society of the Cincinnatiin the late 19th Century.
Gardiner was elected president of the Rhode Island Society following at aspecial meeting of the Rhode Island Society on December 14, 1899 which wascalled as a result of the death of President Nathanael Greene, M.D. (b. 1809)(the grandson of General Nathanael Greene) on July 8, 1899. Gardinerremained president of the Rhode Island Society, as well as Secretary General ofthe national Society, until his death in 1919.
In the 41 years that Gardiner was active in the Society, it grew greatlyboth in membership and prestige and all of the dormant state societies wererejuvenated.
In March 1901 Gardiner traveled, on behalf of the Rhode Island Society, toSavannah, Georgiaand located the grave of Major General Nathanael Greene, a native of Rhode Island andhero of the AmericanRevolution. Gardiner was able to locate General Greene\'s grave andalthough some thought was given to moving Greene\'s remains to Rhode Island, butit did not come to fruition.
Gardiner was highly involved in the planning for the dedication of astatue of the French nobleman Rochambeau in Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. on May 24, 1902. Theceremony involved an official delegation from France, senior officers theUnited States Army and Navy, as well as the Society of the Cincinnati.President Theodore Rooseveltgave the keynote address at the ceremony.
In 1905 the Rhode Island Society published The Order of the Cincinnatiin France, which Gardiner wrote. The 243 page volume contains detailedbiographies of all the senior officers of the French Army who served in Americaduring the revolution.
Gardiner was succeeded in the Society by his son Asa Bird Gardiner, Jr.(1872-1936). His nephew, Norman Bentley Gardiner, II, became a member of theRhode Island Society in 1945 and was a member until his death in 1982.
FamilyGardiner married Mary Austen (b. 1841) of Baltimore, Maryland on October18, 1865. They had five sons - Asa Bird Jr., George, Philip, William andNorman. Of the five sons of Asa and Mary Gardiner, three - Asa, Philip andNorman - survived their father. Mary Austen Gardiner died in June 1900.Gardiner\'s son Philip served as a major in the Army Judge Advocate GeneralCorps during the First World War. Asa Bird Gardiner, Jr. was a prominent milkdistributor in Baltimore and succeeded his father in the Society of theCincinnati.
On November 5, 1902, at the age of 63, Gardiner married Harriet IsabelleLindsay (b. 1878), by whom he had two sons - John and William, who survivedhim.
DeathAsa Bird Gardiner died of a stroke of apoplexy at his home, Orrell Manor, in Suffern, New York on May 24, 1919 at the age of79. He was buried in Green-WoodCemetery in Brooklyn. His headstone shows his rank as \"brevetcaptain\" although he held the rank of Major in the Army.
In popular cultureGardiner was portrayed by actor John Gloverin the 1994 television movie Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of JohnsonWhittaker which portrays the experiences of African-AmericanCadet Johnson ChesnutWhittaker.
Gardiner was also featured in Douglas Jone\'s revisionist history novel TheCourt Martial Of George Armstrong Custer as the military prosecutor who triesGeneral Custer for negligence after he survives the Battle of Little Big Horn.
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CIVIL WAR WIA MEDAL HONOR GETTYSBURG CAPT 22nd NEW YORK/WAR 1812 LETTER SIGNED :
$69.99