Major William A. Bryant

Major William A. Bryant

Captain of the Essex Troop 1902-1913

Squadron Commander, First Squadron 1913 – 1916

He was an active member of the Committee to build the Roseville Avenue Amory in Newark which was completed in 1908 and a member of the Essex Troop for forty-two years.

Major Bryant commanded the Troop during four Presidential escorts in Washington, D.C. and Newark, NJ. The Troop escorted President Howard Taft during his inauguration on March 4, 1909, in Washington D.C. The Troop escorted former President Teddy Roosevelt at the unveiling of President Lincoln’s Statue in Newark, NJ on Memorial Day 1911.

The Troop’s famous escort assignment was on March 4, 1913, for the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson. This specific escort is immortalized in the Escort painting which hangs in the West Orange Amory. This was the first public appearance of the newly fored First Cavalry Squadron NJ, commanded by Major Bryant, the newly appointed Squadron Commander. The First Cavalry Squadron New Jersey, consisted of Troop A – The Essex Troop (Newark), Troop B (Red Bank), and Troop C (Newark).

Major Bryant remained with the squadron at the border in Douglas, Arizona in 1916, until ill health forced him to resign and return home. The major passed away on August 11, 1918, in the Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.