History

The 13th Infantry Regiment was intended to be one of the twelve New York State National Guard infantry regiments federalized for service in the Spanish-American War. The regiment was initially constituted in 1847 and was reorganized several times over the next fifteen years, most notably in 1859 and 1860. The 13th Regiment served several short tours of duty during the Civil War and also helped deal with a number of public disturbances. The unit was called up to deal with the 1863 draft riots, the Orange riots of 1871, the railroad riots of 1877, the switchman’s strike of 1892, the quarantine riots on Fire Island 1892, and finally the motormen’s strike of 1895. On May 3rd, the regiment received orders to recruit two additional companies and bring the entire unit up to regulation strength. The recruiters were unable to accomplish this task and on May 7th, 1898 the regiment was disbanded excepting one battalion of four companies that contained men from all companies who had volunteered for federal service. This battalion was transferred to the 22nd Regiment where it served for the entire conflict as companies D, F, M, and L and was mustered out on November 23rd, 1898.