Colonel James E. Fleming
Founder of the Essex Troop: June 3, 1890
First Captain of the Essex Troop: 1890 – 1895
Fleming was studying law in Philadelphia when the Civil War broke out. He organized a troop of cavalry and proceeded to Washington, D. C. where his unit was assigned to Harlan’s 11th Pennsylvania Cavalry.
A gallant cavalry officer, Fleming was wounded several times, taken prisoner and escaped. He served on the staffs of General Alfred Gibbs and Generals Alfred Terry and Isaac Jones Wistar.
BIRTH OF THE ESSEX TROOP
3 June 1890 there was a meeting in Newark, NJ to discuss the formation of a Troop of Light Cavalry. More than forty of those in attendance enlisted in the newly chartered organization called the Essex Troop of Light Cavalry. Fleming was elected the first captain of the Essex Troop.
17 May 1893, the Essex Troop was mustered into the New Jersey
National Guard, as Cavalry Company A (Essex Troop) N.J.N.G. In
June 1894 the Adjutant General issued orders redesignated Cavalry Company A as the First Troop of Cavalry N.J.N.G.
Captain Frederick Frelinghuysen
Charter Member of the Essex Troop: First Lieutenant
Captain of the Essex Troop: 1895-1899
March 1897 the Essex Troop made its first trip to Washington D.C. following the election of President William McKinley and Vice-President Garrett Hobart of Paterson, NJ for whom the Troop acted as personal escort. The same year the Troop participated in the dedication of Grant’s Tomb in New York City. The Essex Troop was joined in the N.J.N.G. by the Second Troop of Cavalry – The Monmouth Troop, organized in Red Bank, NJ.
In 1894 a need was recognized for a new troop armory. Captain
Frelinghuysen collaborated with a committee which obtained options for the Roseville Riding Academy and adjacent properties. A decision was made to build on Roseville Avenue in Newark; construction was funded through subscriptions from members and friends of the Essex Troop, ground breaking took place in March 1896.
With the onset of the Spanish American War, President McKinley calls for volunteers. After a meeting and polling of the Troop Membership, it was immortalized that the Troop would volunteer unconditionally for service. However, the Troop was never ordered to active duty for the war.
First Lieutenant R. Wayne Parker
Charter Member: Second Lieutenant
Captain of the Essex Troop: 1899 – 1902
Acted as recorded and adjutant at the initial Charter Meeting of the Essex Troop on 3 June 1890. He was an instrumental member of the Armory Committee in 1894 to build the Roseville Avenue Armory. Parker led the Troop during the New York City parade on September 30, 1899, to honor of Admiral George Dewey’s victory during the Spanish American War. He was in command of the Troop during the state call-up for the Paterson Riots in 1902.
During his tenure as commander, the Troop began training with the regular U.S. Cavalry in joint maneuvers in Pompton Plains area and later in the Green Pond area of present day Rockaway Township and venturing out as far as Lake Hopatcong. The Troop became a regular site throughout Northern New Jersey on these joint maneuvers into Chester Township and down to sea Girt.
He served as Congressional Representative for New Jersey from 1895-1923 in four different New Jersey Congressional Districts while in command of the Essex Troop. Captain Parker passed away while in Paris, France on November 28, 1923 and is interned at St. Peter’s
Churchyard, Perth Amboy, NJ.
Major William A. Bryant
Captain of the Essex Troop: 1902-1912
Member of the Essex Troop: Forty-two years
He was an active member of the Committee to build the Roseville Avenue Armory which was complete in 1908. Major Bryant commanded the Troop during four Presidential escorts in Washington, D.C. and Newark, NJ.
Under Major Bryant the Troop continued the joint training operations its
regular Cavalry counterparts, training officers were assigned from the 11th and 15th U.S. Cavalry. Participated in the Massachusetts maneuvers in 1909, acting as the invading “Red Army”
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 most famous escort was March 4, 1913 for President Woodrow Wilson; this specific escort is immortalized in the Escort painting which hangs in the
West Orange Armory. This was the first public appearance of the newly
formed First Cavalry Squadron NJ, commanded by the newly appointed Squadron Commander Major Bryant.
September 12, 1912 Captain Bryant resigned as Captain of the Troop
comprised of nearly 100 cavalrymen. Early in 1913 he was elected Major of the First Cavalry Squadron New Jersey, consisting of Troop A – The Essex Troop (Newark), Troop B (Red Bank), and Troop C (Newark).
Colonel Hobart Brown, DSM
Major Brown Squadron Commander
First Squadron: 1917
Assumed command of the Squadron during the later months of the Mexican Border Campaign as a first lieutenant, and remained in command until the Squadron was reorganized on active federal service
for World War I with the 29th Infantry Division.
July 1917 the First Squadron was mobilized and reported to Camp Edge, Sea Girt, NJ for service as part of the American Expeditionary Force to Europe.
The First Squadron of New Jersey was initially assigned to the Provisional Cavalry Regiment along with First Squadron District of Columbia and First Squadron of Virginia. September 1917 the Regiment
was assigned to the 29th Infantry Division and reorganized into the 104th Military Police and Transportation.
Major Brown was promoted and reassigned to the 114th Infantry for the duration of World War I.
General Lewis A. Ballantyne
Captain of the Essex Troop: 1919-1938
Captain Ballantyne served in France during World War I serving as the Headquarters Troop Commander in the 104th Military Police, 29th Infantry Division.
In the post war years, he was authorized to organize a squadron of cavalry for the New Jersey National Guard. Troop A was the first to be organized and mustered into service in December 1919 at Newark. The reorganization for the First Squadron of Cavalry was completed in 1920.
Major Ballantyne was the first Regimental Commander of the First Cavalry Regiment of New Jersey; headquartered in Newark, NJ. The Regiment consisted of two squadrons of horse cavalry, a headquarters detachment, a medical detachment, and a band. On August 17, 1921, the First Squadron was redesignated and federally recognized as
the 102nd Cavalry Regiment N.J.N.G.EIR
Colonel Ballantyne was an active committee member to expand the Newark Armory, organizing and expanding the West Orange Farm, and the building of the Westfield Armory in March 1925. He was a charter member of the first Essex Troop Polo Team of 1919.
General Henry N. Moeller
Lieutenant Colonel: 1925
Trooper Moeller joined the Essex Troop in 1908.
Moeller was on leave to assist the Secretary of the Navy in Special Engineering work during World War I, and therefore was not active for World War I.
Was an active committee member in the planning, fund raising and building the addition to the Newark Armory to house Troop F and the Grillroom expansion. Collaborated with the Farm Committee to search for, acquire and prepare the Farm property in West Orange. The Farm provided much needed pasture for horses as well as a rifle range and a mounted pistol course for training purposes. He was the driving force behind the fund raising for all of these projects, with the bulk of the donations coming from the Squadron Members and friends of the Essex Troop.
He played a major role in the organization and training of the newly formed 102nd Cavalry Regiment in 1921.
General Donald W. McGowan
Regimental Commander 102nd Cavalry Regiment: 1940 – 1944
May 1916 enlisted in Company I, Fifth NJ Infantry which was
mobilized for the Mexican Border Campaign and served in
Arizona on the Mexican Border. The Fifth Infantry was recalled
in November 1916 for World War I; the Fifth was reorganized
into the 114th Infantry, 29th Infantry Division.
After fighting in the Haute-Alsace and the Meuse-Argonne
campaigns McGowan was appointed by General Pershing to
attend West Point on the basis of a competitive examination. He
resigned from West Point in 1919 and reenlisted in the 113th
Infantry in Orange, NJ. Commissioned a second lieutenant in
1922 and his eventually became the Deputy Adjutant General of
New Jersey in 1937. He resigned from the Deputy Office in
November 1940 and took command of the 102nd Cavalry
Regiment. McGowan was promoted to Colonel on 5 January
1941 soon after assuming command of the Regiment. He served
as Group Commander of the 102nd Cavalry from 1940 through
the D-Day Invasion, further served a Provost Marshall for the 1st
Army until V-E Day in 1945.
After World War II McGowan served as Deputy Adjutant General
of NJ from 1946 through 1948, he assumed command as
commanding general of the 50th Armored Division from 1948 to
1955, was appointed a Chief of Armor for the National Guard
Bureau from 1955-1959 and final was appointed as Chief of the
National Guard Bureau in 1959. He also served one term as the
President of the U.S. Army Armor Association in 1960. Prior to
his retirement; as a major general, he was the last active serving
veteran from the Mexican Border Campaign.
General Cyrus Dolph III
Commander 102nd Cavalry Group: July 1944 – May 1945
West Point Graduate: 1933
Awarded: Silver Star; 2 Legions of Merit
Colonel Dolph’s commanded the 102nd Cavalry Group throughout the European Theater from the Breakout of Normandy, across France through Germany and linking up with the Russians in Pilzen, Czechoslovakia on 10 May 1945.
At one point during the war Colonel Dolph commanded the 38th and 102nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons, 2nd Ranger Battalion, and several other battalion size units.
Under Dolph’s command units of the 102nd Cavalry Group fought in many of the European battles to include the breakout from Normandy, the Liberation of Paris, Battle of the Bulge, Crossing the Siegfried Line and link-up with Russians in Czechoslovakia.
A regular Army officer, Colonel Dolph, remained in the Army after World War II and served in Korea (1954-55) and before his retirement in the Republic of South Vietnam (1960) as the Deputy Commander American forces in Vietnam. He retired in 1963 as a major general and is interned at Arlington Cemetery.
General Charles J. Hodge
Enlisted into the102nd Cavalry: Mid-1930’s
Captain of the Essex Troop Polo Team: 1939
Commissioned a Second Lieutenant: 1938
Captain Hodge assumed command of Troop E 2nd Squadron in early 1940. He was fast tracked for promotion attaining the rank of major in December 1942 and appointed as Executive Officer of the 2nd Squadron.
In September 1942, the 2nd Squadron was detached to North Africa. While in North Africa Major Hodge assumed command of the 2nd Squadron on December 24, 1942 and promoted to lieutenant colonel (LTC) soon thereafter. The 2nd Squadron would be redesignated as the 117th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron on November 23, 1944 one of three separate reconnaissance squadrons of World War II. Lieutenant Colonel Hodge would lead the 117th Squadron through North Africa, Italy, and Southern France and was returned to the United States in January 1945, were he was appointed as Chief of Cavalry Tactics of the Cavalry School, Ft. Riley, Kansas. After World War II LTC Hodge assumed commander as the first post war commander of the 102nd Cavalry Group from 1946 through 1952, with the 102nd and 117th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons assigned. In 1953 he was assigned as the 50th Armored Division Field Artillery Officer.
Colonel Robert J. McGarry
Enlisted in the 102d Cavalry in the late 1930’s
President of the Essex Troop Association: 1948-1955
As the Regiment prepared for federal active service in January 1941, Captain McGarry was in command of Troop B in Newark. While at Fort Jackson, SC Captain McGarry was appointed as Assistant Operations Officer for the Regiment. In September 1942 he was assigned as the Executive Officer for 2nd Squadron and detached to North Africa. Continued to serve as the 2nd Squadron, redesignated 117th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron throughout the North African Campaign, through Italy, Southern France and until V-E Day in 1945.
Colonel McGarry assumed command of the 102nd Cavalry Group in 1948 and remained in command until 1951. He served as President of the Essex Troop Association from 1948 through 1955.
Colonel Francis J. Skidmore
Commander of the Regiment
At the time the Regiment reported for federal active service in January 1941 Colonel Skidmore was First Lieutenant assigned to the Machine Gun Troop in West Orange, NJ.
He was promoted to Major in the 102nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, and served as the Executive Officer until his transfer in late 1944.
Colonel James G. Depew
Regimental Commander
Colonel Depew enlisted into the Cavalry in the mid-1930 in Troop E, Westfield, NJ. He reported for federal active duty with the Regiment in January 1941 to Ft. Jackson, SC as a Sergeant. Attended officer’s candidate school in 1941 and was commissioned a second lieutenant of Cavalry at Ft. Riley, KS. He returned to the Regiment at Ft. Jackson and deployed to England in 1942. Colonel Depew was assigned to the 1st Squadron, which was redesignated the 102nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron in 1943. On March 1, 1944 he was promoted to Captain and assumed command of Company F; the tank company, 102nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron. On April 13, 1945 Captain Depew was promoted to Major and appointed as the Executive Officer for the 102nd Squadron.
Then Captain Depew landed in Normandy on Easy Red part of Omaha Beach late on 6 or 7 June 1944. One of three soldiers that are accredited in developing the famed “Rhino Plow,” for which Captain Depew and the others were awarded the Legion of Merit Medal. This device was attached to the front of American tanks, which greatly assisted in the breakout from Normandy in July 1944. His tank company participated in the Liberation of Paris on 25 August 1944, the Battle of the Bulge, into Central Europe Campaign and breaching the Siegfried Line.
After World War II Lieutenant Colonel Depew assumed command of the 102nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron in Newark in 1946. He further assumed command of the Regiment in the mid-1950’s.
Lieutenant Colonel Edward F. Lilley
Commander of the Regiment: June 1961- August 1965
Colonel Lilley enlisted in the Regiment on 13 January 1937 in
Newark, NJ. He was a sergeant when the Regiment reported for
federal active duty in January 1941, Sergeant Lilley was assigned
to Troop C 102nd Cavalry. While at Ft. Jackson, SC Sergeant Lilley
was promoted to first sergeant of Troop C in April 1941. In
December 1942 he was transferred to 2nd Squadron and
assigned to Company F.
Lilley deployed with the 2nd Squadron to North Africa in 1943
and received a battlefield commission to second lieutenant on
18 May 1943 and assigned to Troop E. Lilley was promoted to
first lieutenant while in Italy and attached to Headquarters 2nd
Corps. He returned to the 117th Cavalry Squadron in time for the
landing in Southern France, were he assumed temporary
command of the Troop E. He remained in command of Troop E
until the end of World War II. After VE-Day Captain Lilley was
transferred to American Forces Headquarters, Frankfurt,
Germany and finally discharged in December 1945.
In 1946 Captain Lilley was appointed as Adjutant for the 102nd
Cavalry, promoted to Major in 1950 and assigned as Executive
Officer 102nd Cavalry Squadron in Newark, he was promoted to
Colonel in 1961 and assumed command of the Regiment. After
his command stay with the Regiment, he was transferred and
assigned as the General Staff, NJ Department of Defense in
Lawrenceville, NJ. Colonel Lilley retired as the Executive
Administrator – Assistant to the Chief of Staff, NJ Department of
Defense in 1973.
Colonel William J. Marshall Jr.
1939-1940 Colonel Marshall was a member of the Civilian Military Training Corps. Assigned to 102nd Cavalry Regiment N.J.N.G. as Platoon Sergeant of Anti-Tank Platoon. Mobilized in January 1941 and transferred to Fort Jackson, SC. 1942 graduated Officer Candidate School (OCS), Fort Knox, KY, where he completed the Armor Officer Basic and Advanced Course. He was assigned to the 4th Armored Division in time for the Tennessee Maneuvers in 1942. Colonel Marshall landed in Normandy, France (Utah Beach) on 11 July 1944 with the 4th Armored Division and participated in the Lunaville, Nancy- Arracourt and “Breakout” Campaigns. He was in command of the first American unit to cross the Moselle River into Belgium and lead the strike into the German Army’s flank. He was decorated by General George S. Patton for his heroic act during this operation. Captured during the Battle of the Bulge in the vicinity of Bastogne and held prisoner at Hammelburg and Moosburg (Stalag VII-A). Colonel Marshall was repatriated by the 14th Armored Division in 1945.
Colonel Marshall joined the 102nd Cavalry Group in 1946 where he served as a Tank Company Commander, Squadron Operations Officers and Executive Officer of the 2nd Battalion 102nd Armored Cavalry. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and appointed as 2nd Squadron Commanding Officer.
After leaving the Squadron Colonel Marshall was assigned as Assistant
Inspector General for the 50th Armored Division and commanded the 4th and 6th Armored Battalions of the 50th Armor. In 1965 he took command of the 102nd Cavalry Regiment, he was the last Regimental Commander prior to the reorganization and retirement of the regiment’s colors in 1968. Military Awards: Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), Bronze Star with “V” device, Purple Heart, Prisoner of War Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, NJ Distinguished Service Medal, Order of St. George-Gold Medallion (first NJ National Guardsmen to receive the gold medallion).
After his retirement Colonel Marshall was assigned as Professor of Armor for National Guard and Reserve Forces at the U.S. Army Armor Center in Fort Knox, KY.
He is a recipient of the Draper Award in 1992 for excellence in Civilian
Leadership.