John Lafayette Riker
Encyclopedia
John Lafayette Riker was an American
attorney and an officer
in the Union Army
during the American Civil War
. He was killed in action at the Battle of Fair Oaks during the Peninsula Campaign
.
in New York City
. His father, James Riker (Sr.) was a merchant, landowner and, at one stage, a New York City alderman. His mother, Elizabeth Van Arsdale, was the daughter of Captain John Van Arsdale of Revolutionary War
and Evacuation Day
fame. John Lafayette was the younger brother of James Riker
, the New York genealogist who wrote A Brief History of the Riker Family, from Their First Emigration to This Country in the Year 1638, to the Present Time (1851), History of Harlem (1881) and Evacuation Day, 1783, with Recollections of Capt. John Van Arsdale, of the Veteran Corps of Artillery
(1883).
John L. Riker is said to have been given his second name, "Lafayette", by his grandfather, John Van Arsdale, in honor of Gen. Lafayette
who had arrived at Staten Island on the day that Riker was born. Van Arsdale had served with Lafayette during the Revolutionary War and had met with him on August 16, 1824, the day after Riker's birth. Van Arsdale and the Veteran Corp of Artillery, of which he was a member, had received Gen. Lafayette at the Battery
, on that day. Despite a lapse of forty-four years Van Arsdale was recognized by Gen. Lafayette which so pleased him, that later that day when he visited his new-born grandson, he named him "John Lafayette".
Sometime in the 1840s Riker married his first cousin Anna E. Elder. Anna was the eldest daughter of Hannah E. Riker, who was the younger sister of his father, James. About 1848 Anna gave birth to Riker's first child, Anna E. Riker. A year or two later she gave birth to a son, John L. Riker Jr. In 1851 Riker's wife, Anna, died of "hysteria". The following year his father James Riker Sr. died and in 1854 his young son, John L. Riker Jr. died of congestion on the brain.
John L. Riker studied law and passed the New York state bar exam in 1860. He began the practice of law, but stopped shortly after the Civil War erupted and he answered President Abraham Lincoln
's call to arms to put down the rebellion.
was soon to be encamped. He was appointed the colonel
of a volunteer regiment, initially known as the Anderson Zouaves, that he had raised in New York under the auspices of Major Robert Anderson
"the hero of Fort Sumter
." Riker and his regiment left "Camp Astor," on his namesake Riker's Island, for Washington
on August 21, 1861, for service in what became the Army of the Potomac
.
In early 1862 Riker was courtmartialled for creating a false roster, for extorting money from sutlers and for keeping a woman in his headquarters. However, he was found innocent of the charges, this despite the court having established that a woman, posing as soldier of the regiment, had in fact been with the regiment since it started recruiting in Union Square in 1861 and had spent time with Riker's daughter, Annie, in his headquarters at Tennallytown
, DC.
Due to his court martial, Riker was unable to lead his regiment during the advance on Manassas in early March 1862, but was able to lead his men later that same month to Fortress Monroe, with the rest of the Army of the Potomac, as part of McClellan's
Peninsula Campaign
. Riker led his regiment into action at the Battle of Williamsburg
and the Battle of Fair Oaks
in May 1862.
Riker was killed in action at the head of his regiment on the right wing of the Federal line at the Battle of Fair Oaks on May 31, 1862. His last words were "Boys, we're surrounded—give them the cold steel!" Several officers of the regiment including Lieutenant James H. Bradley, Riker's Aid-de-camp, and, it is assumed, the regimental chaplain, John Harvey, accompanied the body back to New York City. At a meeting of the friends of Colonel Riker held on June 7, 1862 at the Everett House, New York, which was attended by, amongst others, George W. Morton
, Ex-recorder Frederick A. Tallmadge
, Mr. E. B. Wood of Kings County
and several officers of the Anderson Zouaves, arrangements were made for his funeral. At the meeting Lieut. Bradley gave a long and interesting account of the part played by the regiment in the battle of Fair Oaks from which Riker's coolness under the most trying situations was evident. Bradley incidentally remarked that the Colonel was not struck while waving his sword, as he never drew his sword at all, but spent most of the time quietly smoking his cigar.
With Riker's death David John Nevin
, Lieutenant Colonel
of the regiment, was promoted to Colonel, on the field, a position which became effective on June 20 and which he held until he was mustered out on June 29, 1864. The regiment's Major Oscar Veniah Dayton
, was in turn, promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.
Riker's body lay in state at the Governor's Room of New York's City Hall and on June 10 his body, along with that of Colonel James Miller of the 81st Pennsylvania who had been killed in the same battle, was escorted by the New York State Militia (specifically the Fifth Regiment, a battalion of the Fifty-fifth Regiment, a troop of horse, a troop of Lancers and the Harlem Chasseurs), to Green-wood Cemetery
, Brooklyn, where Riker's body was placed in a temporary vault while it awaited permanent internment.
While it is not certain, it is possible that prior to the war Riker was a fire fighter and a member of the Mechanics Hook & Ladder Company No 7, which had its headquarters on Third Ave and 126th Street, close to the Riker family home near the corner of Fifth Ave and 125th street, Harlem. It is known that a number of the recruits of the Anderson Zouaves were members of New York fire companies and representatives of the Mechanics Hook & Ladder Company No 7 attended his funeral in June 1862. A newspaper report says that Riker was an honorary member of the company while another report says that when Riker left New York for the seat of war he wore a scarlet shirt under his Zouave jacket.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
attorney and an officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He was killed in action at the Battle of Fair Oaks during the Peninsula Campaign
Peninsula Campaign
The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...
.
Early life
John L. Riker was born in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. His father, James Riker (Sr.) was a merchant, landowner and, at one stage, a New York City alderman. His mother, Elizabeth Van Arsdale, was the daughter of Captain John Van Arsdale of Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
and Evacuation Day
Evacuation Day (New York)
Following the American Revolution, Evacuation Day on November 25 marks the day in 1783 when the last vestige of British authority in the United States — its troops in New York — departed from Manhattan...
fame. John Lafayette was the younger brother of James Riker
James Riker
James Riker New York historian and genealogist. His father, James Riker was a merchant and landowner descended from early Dutch settlers. Riker left school at the age of sixteen to work in his father's business. During the late 1830s and early 1840s he lived intermittently in Goshen, New York,...
, the New York genealogist who wrote A Brief History of the Riker Family, from Their First Emigration to This Country in the Year 1638, to the Present Time (1851), History of Harlem (1881) and Evacuation Day, 1783, with Recollections of Capt. John Van Arsdale, of the Veteran Corps of Artillery
Veteran Corps of Artillery of the State of New York
The Veteran Corps of Artillery of the State of New York is an American historic militia organization founded at the end of the American Revolutionary War for the purpose of preventing another British invasion of New York City....
(1883).
John L. Riker is said to have been given his second name, "Lafayette", by his grandfather, John Van Arsdale, in honor of Gen. Lafayette
Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette , often known as simply Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer born in Chavaniac, in the province of Auvergne in south central France...
who had arrived at Staten Island on the day that Riker was born. Van Arsdale had served with Lafayette during the Revolutionary War and had met with him on August 16, 1824, the day after Riker's birth. Van Arsdale and the Veteran Corp of Artillery, of which he was a member, had received Gen. Lafayette at the Battery
Battery Park
Battery Park is a 25-acre public park located at the Battery, the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City, facing New York Harbor. The Battery is named for artillery batteries that were positioned there in the city's early years in order to protect the settlement behind them...
, on that day. Despite a lapse of forty-four years Van Arsdale was recognized by Gen. Lafayette which so pleased him, that later that day when he visited his new-born grandson, he named him "John Lafayette".
Sometime in the 1840s Riker married his first cousin Anna E. Elder. Anna was the eldest daughter of Hannah E. Riker, who was the younger sister of his father, James. About 1848 Anna gave birth to Riker's first child, Anna E. Riker. A year or two later she gave birth to a son, John L. Riker Jr. In 1851 Riker's wife, Anna, died of "hysteria". The following year his father James Riker Sr. died and in 1854 his young son, John L. Riker Jr. died of congestion on the brain.
John L. Riker studied law and passed the New York state bar exam in 1860. He began the practice of law, but stopped shortly after the Civil War erupted and he answered President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's call to arms to put down the rebellion.
Civil War
Riker enlisted in the Union Army April 19, 1861, at Saltersville, New Jersey, where his regimentRegiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
was soon to be encamped. He was appointed the colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
of a volunteer regiment, initially known as the Anderson Zouaves, that he had raised in New York under the auspices of Major Robert Anderson
Major Robert Anderson
Robert Anderson was an American military leader. He served as a Union Army officer in the American Civil War, known for his command of Fort Sumter at the start of the war. He is often referred to as Major Robert Anderson, referring to his rank at Fort Sumter...
"the hero of Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
." Riker and his regiment left "Camp Astor," on his namesake Riker's Island, for Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
on August 21, 1861, for service in what became the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
.
In early 1862 Riker was courtmartialled for creating a false roster, for extorting money from sutlers and for keeping a woman in his headquarters. However, he was found innocent of the charges, this despite the court having established that a woman, posing as soldier of the regiment, had in fact been with the regiment since it started recruiting in Union Square in 1861 and had spent time with Riker's daughter, Annie, in his headquarters at Tennallytown
Tenleytown
Tenleytown is a historic neighborhood in Northwest, Washington, DC.-History:In 1790, Washington locals began calling the neighborhood "Tennally's Town" after area tavern owner John Tennally...
, DC.
Due to his court martial, Riker was unable to lead his regiment during the advance on Manassas in early March 1862, but was able to lead his men later that same month to Fortress Monroe, with the rest of the Army of the Potomac, as part of McClellan's
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
Peninsula Campaign
Peninsula Campaign
The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...
. Riker led his regiment into action at the Battle of Williamsburg
Battle of Williamsburg
The Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War...
and the Battle of Fair Oaks
Battle of Seven Pines
The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive up the Virginia Peninsula by Union Maj. Gen....
in May 1862.
Riker was killed in action at the head of his regiment on the right wing of the Federal line at the Battle of Fair Oaks on May 31, 1862. His last words were "Boys, we're surrounded—give them the cold steel!" Several officers of the regiment including Lieutenant James H. Bradley, Riker's Aid-de-camp, and, it is assumed, the regimental chaplain, John Harvey, accompanied the body back to New York City. At a meeting of the friends of Colonel Riker held on June 7, 1862 at the Everett House, New York, which was attended by, amongst others, George W. Morton
George W. Morton
George W. Morton was an American politician who served as the third Mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey from 1858-1859.-Biography:...
, Ex-recorder Frederick A. Tallmadge
Frederick A. Tallmadge
Frederick Augustus Tallmadge was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was a Member of the U.S. House of Representativesfrom New York's 5th congressional district from 1847 to 1849.-Biography:...
, Mr. E. B. Wood of Kings County
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
and several officers of the Anderson Zouaves, arrangements were made for his funeral. At the meeting Lieut. Bradley gave a long and interesting account of the part played by the regiment in the battle of Fair Oaks from which Riker's coolness under the most trying situations was evident. Bradley incidentally remarked that the Colonel was not struck while waving his sword, as he never drew his sword at all, but spent most of the time quietly smoking his cigar.
With Riker's death David John Nevin
David John Nevin
David John Nevin was an American officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Early life:Prior to enlisting in the Anderson Zouaves Infantry Regiment of New York , Nevin had worked as a coal merchant in New York City.-Civil War:Nevin enlisted in the Union Army on April 27, 1861, at New...
, Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
of the regiment, was promoted to Colonel, on the field, a position which became effective on June 20 and which he held until he was mustered out on June 29, 1864. The regiment's Major Oscar Veniah Dayton
Oscar Veniah Dayton
Oscar Veniah Dayton was a commercial agent and broker, and an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
, was in turn, promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.
Riker's body lay in state at the Governor's Room of New York's City Hall and on June 10 his body, along with that of Colonel James Miller of the 81st Pennsylvania who had been killed in the same battle, was escorted by the New York State Militia (specifically the Fifth Regiment, a battalion of the Fifty-fifth Regiment, a troop of horse, a troop of Lancers and the Harlem Chasseurs), to Green-wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 as a rural cemetery in Brooklyn, Kings County , New York. It was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.-History:...
, Brooklyn, where Riker's body was placed in a temporary vault while it awaited permanent internment.
While it is not certain, it is possible that prior to the war Riker was a fire fighter and a member of the Mechanics Hook & Ladder Company No 7, which had its headquarters on Third Ave and 126th Street, close to the Riker family home near the corner of Fifth Ave and 125th street, Harlem. It is known that a number of the recruits of the Anderson Zouaves were members of New York fire companies and representatives of the Mechanics Hook & Ladder Company No 7 attended his funeral in June 1862. A newspaper report says that Riker was an honorary member of the company while another report says that when Riker left New York for the seat of war he wore a scarlet shirt under his Zouave jacket.