The Normal School Company:
Company E of the 44th New York
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In October of 1862, a group of nearly 100 men, most barely out of their boyhood, boarded a
steamboat at the Port of Albany and departed to reinforce the depleted ranks of the Forty-fourth
New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Faculty, students, and alumni of the New York State
Normal School at Albany New York became the core of "New" Company E of the 44th NY. As
members of this regiment the "Normal School Company" participated in seventeen battles of the
Civil War. The 44th NY formed in the Summer and Fall of 1861, in response to the death of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth in Alexandria, the first officer to die in the war, and was known as the "Ellsworth Avengers." Ellsworth had grown up in nearby Mechanicville, NY, and his death spurred the formation of the 44th NY, which was intended to include one man from each town in the state. Although this was never achieved men did join from nearly every county in New York. By October 1862, disease and battle had reduced the original 1100 members of the regiment to less than 200. The 44th NY faced possible absorption into another regiment, and needed new recruits to continue as the "Ellsworth Avengers."
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So it came to pass that in the summer of 1862 a large number of the best and bravest of our young men left school and college- dropping their books only to pick up the sword and musket - rallied to the support of Freedom''s flag, and offered themselves to fill up the now more than decimated ranks of the Union ArmyIn September of that year, the "Normal School Company," numbering 100, was mustered in into the service of the United States "for three years of the war," and soon became an integral part of the "Army of the Potomac," then facing the rebel "Army of Northern Virginia"……
-A.N. Husted (Normal School professor & 44th NYVI Officer)
Through this website, we hope to create a new awareness about the University at Albany and its historic roots. Although little appears to be shared between the Normal School of yesterday and The University at Albany of today, a common thread does join the students who attended each: both institutions have served as pivotal platforms from which young men and women have been become a part of great events that will be remembered throughout history. We hope that this website will inspire anyone visiting the site to further explore the rich history surrounding the University at Albany.