New York State National Guard Second Division 3rd Artillery Battery Descriptive Rolls

There was no law which specifically required the keeping of descriptive rolls, but Chapter 80, Laws of 1870; Chapter 299, Laws of 1883; and Chapter 212, Laws of 1898, governed the National Guard during the period covered by this series.

This series consists of descriptive roll books of the Third Battery of Artillery, Second Division, National Guard, headquartered in Brooklyn. Commissioned and non-commissioned officers are grouped together according to rank; the entries are arranged chronologically by the date of appointment or election. Each entry gives the name of the officer, date of election or appointment, date of warrant, and remarks on promotions, discharge, and other changes in status.

Following the roster of officers is a chronological register of men discharged from the battery, giving for each entry the individual's name, rank, and the reason for discharge; registers of men dropped, transferred or promoted out of the battery; register of deaths, giving the date and causes of death; and register of men expelled or deserted, giving cause in each case.

Following these special registers is a general register of private soldiers, entered alphabetically by the first letter of the last name, then chronologically by the date of enlistment. Each entry gives the individual's name, age at enlistment, height, color of complexion, color of eyes and hair, place of birth, occupation, place of mustering in, the date, place, and term of enlistment, by whom the individual was enlisted, and remarks on enlistment transfer, promotion, discharge and other changes in status. The first volume covers the period 1882-1885; the second, covering 1882-1902, duplicates the categories of information found in the first. Neither is indexed.

The third volume contains somewhat different categories of information. For commissioned officers each entry gives the individual's name, rank ("grade"), date of rank, date of commission, residence, occupation, address of employer, a summary of previous military service, and remarks on change in status. For non-commissioned officers each entry gives the individual's name, date of warrant (of appointment), date of rank, date when vacated, and reference to the roster of enlisted men. Each entry in this roster gives the individual's name, grade, date and term of enlistment, age, height, colors of eyes and hair, birthplace, occupation, place of residence and employment, summary of previous service, and remarks on promotion, discharge, transfer, and other changes in status. The third volume covers the years 1892-1911, and there is an alphabetical name index in the front.

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