George Wood Wingate

author

George Wood Wingate

1840–1928

A Civil War veteran, lawyer, and early champion of organized marksmanship, he helped shape rifle training in the United States and co-founded the National Rifle Association. His life also touched public service, military reform, and the civic world of late 19th-century New York.

2 Audiobooks

The Last Campaign of the Twenty-Second Regiment, N.G., S.N.Y. June and July, 1863

The Last Campaign of the Twenty-Second Regiment, N.G., S.N.Y. June and July, 1863

by George Wood Wingate

A report on the feasibility and advisability of some policy to inaugurate a system of rifle practice throughout the public schools of the country

A report on the feasibility and advisability of some policy to inaugurate a system of rifle practice throughout the public schools of the country

by Ammon B. Critchfield, National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice, George Wood Wingate

About the author

Born in New York City on July 1, 1840, George Wood Wingate studied at the New York Free Academy, trained in law, and was admitted to the bar in 1861. During the Civil War he served with the New York militia and rose from private to captain, an experience that convinced him many soldiers needed far better rifle training.

After the war, he became a leading advocate for marksmanship instruction. As inspector of the New York National Guard, he helped develop rifle training programs and wrote shooting manuals that were later used by the U.S. Army. In 1871, he and William Conant Church helped found the National Rifle Association of America, and Wingate later served as its president for many years.

Wingate was more than a military organizer: he was also a lawyer, a public official, and a prominent figure in New York civic life. He died in Brooklyn on March 22, 1928, leaving behind a legacy tied to military preparedness, organized shooting, and the institutions he helped build.