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George Wood Wingate (1840-1928) was an American lawyer and organizer of rifle practice. During the Civil War he served in a New York regiment, and later supervised the construction of elevated railways in Brooklyn. In 1867 Wingate drew up rules for systematic rifle practice by Company A, 22d regiment, New York National Guard, of which he was then captain. The publication of these rules (the first of the kind to be formulated in the United States) led to the organization (in 1871) of the National Rifle Association of America, of which he was first secretary and later president for 25 years. Besides special articles on military subjects he published:

• Manual for Rifle Practice (1872; seventh edition, 1880)
• The Great Cholera Riots (1880)
• Through the Yellowstone Park on Horseback (1886)
• History of the 22d Regiment, N. G. N. Y. (1896)

[edit] Honors

George W. Wingate High School, a public high school in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, now closed, was named for Wingate. The high school's sports teams were known as the 'Generals', for Wingate's rank in the New York National Guard. The General GW Wingate Athletic Field in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn is named for him. The naming was in recognition of Wingate's role in founding, and long service as the first President of, the (New York City) Public School Athletic League.

[edit] See also

American Civil War portal

United States Army portal

[edit] References

This article incorporates text from an edition of the New International Encyclopedia that is in the public domain.