The Military Association of New-York was organized in 1853. The proceedings of 1854, the Constitution, By-Laws of the Association, and a list of its Members are subjoined.

The Association has, thus far, been enimently successful. Its objects, so far as they could be accomplished within the limited period of its existence, have been attained.

To insure its entire and permanent success and usefulness, it now requires only the continued and united support of the intelligent and active officers who have already given so strong an impetus to the military organizations of this State.

The officers to whom copies of this pamphlet are sent, are requested to distribute them as judiciously as possible; and especially to extend hteknowledge of the existence of the Association, and its objects. Persons eligible to membership, and desirous of becoming members, will forward the application and initiation fee, with a statement of rank, corps and address, to Col. H.S. Fairchild, Treasurer of the Association, at Rochester, New-York.

The next meeting of the Association will be held in the City of New-York, and every member is desired to communicate before the first of August next, to the Corresponding Secretary, Col. Clarance A. Seward, Auburn, New-York, by mail, (post-paid.) the name of the Post-Office where notice of such meeting, or other notices, shall be sent to him.

PROCEEDINGS, &c.
Tuesday, January 10, 1854.
The Military Association of the State of New-York met at the Hall of the Young Men's Association in the city of Albany, on Tuesday, the tenth day of January, 1854.

The President, Brig. Gen. Swan, the Vice-Presidents, Generals Randall, Bentley, Dunham and Spicer, the Recording Secretary, and a quorum of members, were present.

The Association was called to order, and opened with prayer by the Rev. Dr. Potter. The President then adressed the Association as follows: --

Gentlemen of the Association, I congratulate you upon the occasion of this our first annual meeting; I congratulate you upon the result of the Convention which gave organic life to this Association; I congratulate you, gentlemen, upon the encouragement we have given each other to honorable exertion, in the important service to which we have committed ourselves; I congratulate you upon the favorable impression our eforts have made upon our fellow-citizens throughout the State, and I trust that the future will still further attest the value of this brotherhood of honorable and chivalrous men, bound together, not only by the ties of association, but by the strongest bonds of devotion to an honorable service, and by high personal regard and friendship.

Gentlemen, in our best efforts to elevate the character of the service, we shall find a rich reward in the satisfaction which always follows the consciousness of a faithful discharge of duty. Anything short of this will afford no real satisfaction, nor leave us self-respect. What is our military association but a great Peace Society, with its presiding officer in the Executive Chamber of the Capitol, and its auxiliaries in every division, brigade, regiment and company throughout the State, pledged by our very existence, and by our oath of office, not only to the support of government, but to the preservation of peace, by the maintenance of law and order? Holding, then, as we do, the sword of the magistrate, shall we not see to it, that the very brightness of its blade, and the keeness of its edge, shall, perchance, prevent the dread necessity of its ever again being drawn from its scabbord?

To you, gentlemen, are committed important interests, and upon your action here, an influence will go forth, which will, I trust, cheer and encourage every heart of that chivalrous body of men who compose the Military Force of the State of New-York.

The resignation of Col. Lansing, during the past year, and his removal from the State, has deprived the Association of one of its warmest friends, and the service has lost a valuable officer.

Gentlemen, I ask your kind indulgence, forbearance and support in the duties imposed upon me as your presiding officer. I assure you of my best efforts to discharge those duties impartially.

ARTICLE I. -- Name and Object.
This Association shall be known and distinguished as "The Military Association of the State of New-York." The chief object of which shall be to foster, encourage, and perfect a thorough Military system.

ARTICLE II. -- Qualifications for Membership.
Sec. 1. Any person may become a member of this Association who holds a commission under the military laws of the State, and who shall be actually serving under such commission, or who has held such commission, and who now serves as non-commissioned officer or private in the ranks of any volunteer company, or who has served as such non-commissioned officer or private for the term of seven years, and who is now, or may be, doing duty as such, by signifying his intentions, signing the Constitution and By-Laws of this Association. Sec. 2. Supernumerary officers may be elected honorary members of this Association, by a vote of a majority of the members present at any regular meeting, they paying the initiation fee of five dollars on being so elected.

ARTICLE III. -- Officers.
The officers of this Association shall consist of a President, four Vice-Presidents, Treassurer, Recording and Corresponding Secretaries; a majority of whom shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business as a Council of Administration. No two of whom shall be elected from the same Division.

ARTICLE IV.
The duties of the officers shall be as usually belong to liek officers in civil associations.

ARTICLE V.
The Council of Administration shall constitute an Executive Board, with powers to carry into effect the objects of this Association agreeably to its will and direction, as expressed at its Conventions, and as an "Committee ad interim," to attend to all business of the Association, to call special meetings, to discharge all duties involved in the powers hereinafter granted. They shall be required to make an annual report, or as often as shall be directed by the Association.

ARTICLE VI.
The election of officers shall be held annually -- to be decided by ballot; and the person receiving a majority of all the votes cast, shall be declared duly elected.

ARTICLE VII.
The regular meetings of this Association shall be held on the second Tuesday of January in each year, at such place as shall be designated by the Association at a prior meeting. No meeting shall be held twice in succession at the same place. Thirty members, three of whom being officers, shall constitute a quorum for business.

ARTICLE VIII.
Any member removing from the bounds of the State, shall be deemed to have lost his membership in this Association, and any member resigning his commission, unless he goes into the ranks, shall lose his right to vote in the meetings of this Association, but may remain therein as an honorary member.

ARTICLE IX.
Any oficer who shall be cashiered, shall be expelled from this Association.

ARTICLE X.
Any person, in signing the Constitution, shall pay into the Treasury an intiation fee of five dollars, and annually thereafter the sum of three dollars, as dues, on or before September 1st, in each year.

ARTICLE XI.
Any article of this Constitution may be altered, amended or suspended for any length of time, by two-thirds of the membes present and voting, at any regular meeting; provided, that a proposition for such alteration, amendment or suspension shall have been submitted in writing to the Council of Administration, and notice thereof given to the Commandants of Divisions, Brigades and Regiments, who shall be members of this Association three months prior to any regular meeting of the Association.

ARTICLE XII.
It shall be lawful for this Association, at any regular meeting, to establish a system of Rewards for drill and discipline, to be paid for from its Treasury.

BY-LAW No. 1.
Every member of this Association, except honorary members, during its sittings, shall wear the uniform dress established by regulation or by special order; and no member, in default thereof, shall be entitled to a seat in the Association, unless excused, for good cause shown, by a majority vote.

BY-LAW No. 2.
It shall be the duty of the Recording Secretary to keep a roll of the members, their rank, change in rank, removal or death, and report the same at the regular meetings of the Association.

BY-LAW No. 3.
It shall be the duty of the Corresponding Secretary to keep up with the changes in each Division, Brigade, or Regiment, by corresponding with the commandants thereof; to notify the Recording Secretary of the same; and to notify members of annual or extra meetings, and perform such other duties as may appertain to his office.

BY-LAW No. 4.
It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to take charge of the funds of the Association, to collect in each Brigade the yearly dues, to keep an accurate account thereof, and report to the Association at their meetings. His books shall be always open for inspection to any member of the Association, and he shall execute a bond to the President in the sum of five thousand dollars, with good security, for the faithful performance of his duties, and to account to the Association for any funds remaining in his hands at the expiration of his term of office, and pay the same over to his successor.

BY-LAW No. 5.
The Council of Administration shall audit accounts of the Association, and the Treasurer may pay such accounts, so audited, and none other -- they to draw a warrant on the Treasurer.

BY-LAW No. 6.
It shall be the duty of the senior officer of every Division Brigade or Regiment belonging to this Association, to report any deaths in his Divisin, Brigade or Regiment, to the Recording Secretary.

BY-LAW No. 7.
No member shall be allowed a seat in the Association when in arrears for yearly dues.

BY-LAW No. 8.
The Council of Administration shall have authority to appoint a Sergeant at Arms.

Since the meeting of our Association, the Legislature, with great unanimity, have taken up and passed the Military code, prepared by the codifiers the year before. The Code was brought into existence by the recommendation of the Association, at its first meeting, at Syracuse, and met with opposition on its first introduction before the Legislature. But by the labor and activity of the officers in convincing the intelligent and thinking men of the Senate, not only of the utility, but the necessity, of a well-organized Militia; and that a system that would relieve the great mass of our citizens from the heavy burdens that formerly existed, and one that would make the duties of town officers, who were charged with the enrollment and the collection of the funds, plain and easy to be understood, increasing the penalties for neglect of duties, and providing funds to compensate, in part, the officers and soldiers fo rthe expense, labor, and sacrifice they must subject themselves to, by becoming attached to the uniform corps, was a desideratum much called for and needed -- the people, through their representatives, have given us the law we asked for; and we cheerfully acknowledge our obligations to General Levi Harris, of Chenango Co., for his unremitting exertions, during the sessions of 1851 and 1854, to secure to the people of this State a respectable system, and he has, with his untiring and indefatigable efforts, most gloriously triumphed.

But have we accomplished our object by the mere enactment of the law? Are we to sit down, fold our arms, and say it iss ended; we have succeeded? Will the law be enforced, and prove beneficial, in this way. All who are acquainted with the manner in which laws are enforced in this state, and especially in relation to the Militia, will see that we have only made a beginning; that it behooves every officer of the uniform corps to devote his attention to enforcing the provisions of this code, not only as far as the military organization is concerned, but the importance of having supervisors, assessors, clerks, treasurers, and collectors perform their several duties with promptitude and accuracy, is absolutely requisite to carry out the system successfully. The laws of 1847 and 1851 become unpopular, from the fact that the civil officers either carelessly or willfully neglected their duty.

If the officers of every town or district will see that the assessors perform which is required of them by the act, and for every delinquency report them to the proper officer without fear or favor, this Code will be placed on a firm foundation.

It is hoped that all interested, especially officers, commandants of brigades, regiments, and companies, will keep a vigilant eye upon those civil officers the present year; for if the enrollments are once made correctly, their successors will be likely to follow their footsteps.

Let us, therefore, one and all, wake up to the importance of this subject, and use all honorble means to enforce the provisions of the present law.

Tax-payers must see the necessity of rigidly collecting these commutations, and thereby save their towns the expense of making up the deficiency.

The subject of uniform is one that should be carefully looked to by all general and staff officers.

The uniform established by regulation is the only one that should be permitted to be worn. Asking or granting special orders, allowing deviations from the general rule, tends to subvert it, while a strict adherence to the rule in force, teaches subordination to the rank and file, and elevates the service.
April 26th, 1854.

When a family decides to name TWO of their sons Henry, you can expect confusion to reign.

Barent Bleecker Lansing and Sarah Breese named their second child Henry Livingston Lansing, after his uncle and his grandfather, Henry Livingston, Jr. of Poughkeepsie [the author of Night Before Christmas]. Not liking to give up a good name once they found it, they named their fourth child Henry Seymour Lansing, after Henry Seymour, the father of NY governor-to-be, Horatio Seymour.

Coming from a military family [their grandfathers were Col. Gerrit G. Lansing, and Col. Edward Antill], both sons, as well as their older brother Arthur, joined the army.

In 1861, Henry Livingston Lansing was appointed by Horatio Seymour, then governor of New York, to be chairman of the Senatorial Committee of his Senatorial District. In 1863, while commanding the 31st New York Militia in Buffalo, Henry Livingston Lansing was breveted Brigadier General by the governor.

In 1861, Henry Seymour Lansing resigned his commission as Captain in the 12th New York Infantry, in order to take command as Colonel of the 17th New York Infantry for a two year enlistment.

So at the start of the Civil War, both Henry Lansings were Colonels of New York regiments, one of a militia and one of a regular army unit. Halfway through the war, Henry Livingston Lansing was made Brigadier General by Governor Seymour. This was the same timeframe in which Henry Seymour Lansing's enlistment expired, with his being breveted a Brigadier General as well.

It's clear that current researchers aren't the only ones to be confused by the Two Henrys. The recording secretaries of the Military Association of New York must have gone crazy.

Oh, and to make matters worse, the Henrys were the sons of a banker, and both Henrys later became bankers and treasurers.

1854