Hempstead and the Military
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Revision as of 15:47, 18 March 2007 by Kayla.Walker (Talk | contribs)
Project
This page is part of an enterprise story that examines the relationship between Hempstead, NY on Long Island and the U.S. Military.
Background
- 139th Infantry Regiment, Company I was recruited from Hempstead in September 1862. The regiment left New York for Virginia on September 11, 1862 where it served under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Mulcahy until it was honorably discharged and mustered out on June 19, 1865 in Richmond, VA.
- 145th Infantry Regiment, Company K was recruited from Hempstead in September 1862 as well. On September 27, 1862 the regiment left New York State for Maryland where it served under Lieutenant Colonel R. L. Van Wagenen until it was discontinued on December 9, 1863. The enlisted men were transferred to the 107th, I23d and 150th Infantry.
- 155th Infantry Regiment, Company E was recruited from Hempstead in November 1862. The regiment left New York for Virginia on November 18, 1862 when it was mustered in. The regiment was commanded by Colonel John Byrne until it was honorably discharged and mustered out near Washington, D.C. on July 15, 1865.
- In 1917 a new army aviation field, Field #2 was created in Hempstead, NY. The field became the one of the largest in the United States and became the training ground for hundreds of aviators being trained for war. Field #2 was renamed Mitchel Field in honor of former New York City Mayor John Purroy Mitchel in July 1918 after Mitchel was killed while training for the Air Service in Lousiana. The field continued to flourish after World War I and in 1938 became the starting point for the first nonstop transcontinental bomber flight made by Army B-18s. Mitchel also served as the base where the first demonstration of long-range aerial reonnaissance was made and in May 1939, three B-17s left Mitchel and flew out to sea where they intercepted the Italian ocean liner Rex. Mitchel Field became the main point of air defense for New York City during World War II and continued to be the headquarters of the Air Defense Command, First Air Force and Continental Air Command in throughout the 1940s. The field was relieved of its defense responsibilities in 1949 and was closed down in 1961 after numerous crashes. One of the most notable occurred when a P-47 flew into Hofstra University’s Barnard Hall, the current political science building.
