New York Army National Guard Brig. Gen. Renwick Payne honored Chester A. Arthur, the 21st President of the United States, in a wreath-laying ceremony at his gravesite in the Albany Rural Cemetery on his birthday, October 5.
The presentation of a birthday tribute wreath on behalf of the President of the United States at Arthur’s grave is an annual tradition for New York National Guard general officers. A New York National Guard general officer also places a wreath at the gravesite of President Martin Van Buren in Kinderhook every December 4.
Arthur, was born on October 5, 1829, and died on Nov. 18, 1886. He was elected as Vice President to President James Garfield. He became President on Sept. 19, 1881, when Garfield finally died from wounds sustained during an assassination attempt on July 2, 1881.
Born in Vermont, Arthur attended Union College in Schenectady for both his bachelors and advanced degrees and lived in Hoosick. He taught school in Vermont and New York before becoming a lawyer. He was active in Republican politics and also served as the Judge Advocate General of the New York National Guard, then known as the 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, 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 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 later part of his term, died of a cerebral hemorrhage less than a year after leaving office and is buried next to his wife Ellen who died of pneumonia in 1880.