At a Glance
1840 – 1928
NRA co-founder whose rifle manuals and Creedmoor range shaped American rifle training.
Schools
- National Rifle Association (co-founder, 1871)
- Creedmoor Rifle Range (opened 1873)
- Public Schools Athletic League, New York (founding president, 1903)
Accomplishments
- Union Army veteran, later brigadier general, New York National Guard
- Co-founded the NRA (chartered November 17, 1871)
- NRA president, 1886 to 1900
- Wrote rifle practice manuals used for military instruction
Books
- Manual for Rifle Practice (1872)
(July 1, 1840 – March 22, 1928)
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– 1871 co-founder of the National Rifle Association
– 1872 Author – Manual for Rifle Practice
– 1886 to 1900 president of the National Rifle Association
– 1903 first President of the Public Schools Athletic League PSAL
About Gen. George Wingate
George Wood Wingate was a New York City lawyer, Union Army veteran and the driving force behind organized rifle training in the United States. Serving with the 2nd Regiment New York State Militia, which entered federal service as the 82nd New York Volunteer Infantry, he rose from private to captain and saw firsthand that many Union soldiers lacked basic marksmanship. That experience shaped the rest of his public life: he set out to teach Americans, soldiers and civilians alike, to shoot well.
On November 17, 1871, Wingate and editor William Conant Church chartered the National Rifle Association in New York, with General Ambrose Burnside as first president and Wingate as first secretary. Wingate secured state funding for 70 acres of Long Island farmland that became the Creedmoor Rifle Range, opened in 1873, and as general inspector of the New York National Guard he ran a training program and wrote shooting manuals later used by the U.S. Army. He went on to lead the NRA as president until 1900, corresponded with Theodore Roosevelt about rifle clubs, and served as founding president of New York City’s Public Schools Athletic League for more than 25 years. Wingate Park and the Wingate neighborhood in Brooklyn carry his name.
Key Facts
- 1861: Admitted to the New York bar; serves in the Union Army during the Civil War.
- November 17, 1871: Co-founds and charters the National Rifle Association with William Conant Church.
- June 21, 1873: The Creedmoor Rifle Range on Long Island officially opens.
- 1874: Appointed general inspector of the New York National Guard with the rank of brigadier general.
- 1903: Becomes first president of the Public Schools Athletic League in New York City.
- March 22, 1928: Dies in Brooklyn at age 87.
Sources
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