Franklin County Soldiers Serve in the Civil War-- 2 New Books!!

Northern Arms-- Volume 1 & 2 Compiled by Maren E. Dodge Miles for the Franklin County Historical and Museum Society. These volumes tell the tales of the Civil War and lives of Franklin County, New York, soldiers and their families, as told by the soldiers, their families, friends, newspapers, and local histories. The Regimental histories, officer’s reports, letters, diaries, memoirs, stories, photos and newspaper articles found in this book, show what life in the Grand Army of the Republic was like for our Franklin County soldiers, and what their lives were like during and after the War. The book includes a little history of the war, the soldiers’ own stories, and tales of court martial and valor. Artists and photographers documented all aspects of army life and took thousands of individual photographs for the soldiers to send home to loved ones. Each story is unique and told in the words of the soldiers and their families. The book is illustrated with photographs of the soldiers loaned by their families and period photos from the Library of Congress. Volumes 1 and 2 are now available in the House of History Country Store. Price $40.00, plus tax.. Special price of $70.00 if you purchase both Volumes!

Grand Army of the Republic

G.A.R. Members marching in

Decoration Day Parade 1896, Malone

From the Collection of the Franklin County Historical & Museum Society

One of the outcomes of the American Civil War was the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), founded in 1866 and disbanded in 1949.  Membership in the G.A.R. was limited to those men who served in the Union Army, Navy, Marine Corps or Revenue Cutter Service during the Civil War. 

From the NYS Archives site:

     The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a large multi-faceted organization (fraternal lodge, charitable society, special interest lobby, patriotic group, and political club) founded in 1866 by Union Army Surgeon Benjamin Franklin Stephenson. The organization was originally envisioned as a brotherhood of veterans who were dedicated to helping other veterans.

      The first post was established at Decatur, Illinois in April 1866. Soon after a second post was organized in Springfield, Illinois, and others began to emerge throughout the northeastern states. By September of 1866, following a mass meeting of Civil War veterans in Pittsburgh, the movement began to spread east with the establishment of GAR posts by ex-union soldiers.

     The GAR was, without a doubt, a powerful political organization. It has been described by many as a "bloody shirt Republican club," and while this may be true, it is overshadowed by the organization's patriotic and social work. It was through the GAR, and the pension lobby, that many soldiers and their families received pensions. The Grand Army also promoted patriotism through parades, national encampments, placement of war memorials, and the establishment of Memorial Day as a national holiday.

G.A.R. members pose

From the Collection of the Franklin County Historical & Museum Society

1974.243

Franklin County Posts (adapted from the GAR site maintained by SUNY Morrisville):

• Waverly:  Post 101 - Named for Sgt. Guy Wynkoop, Co. H, 10th NY Cavalry -  Joined at Waverly Oct. 1861 at age 20; captured at Sulphur Springs, VA, Oct. 13, 1863; died Aug. 30, 1864 at Andersonville, GA.
• Malone:   Post 213 Chartered Jan. 28, 1895 - Named for Private John W. Pangborn, Co. I, 35th NYSV.  Joined at Elmira in May 1861 for two years; mustered with Co. H, moved to Co. I in Aug. 1861
• Malone:   Post 284 Chartered Aug. 12, 1882 - Named for Captain William D. Brennan, Co. A, 142d NYSV. Born 1839; joined Aug. 21, 1862 at Malone as 1st Lt., age 22; Capt. May 1864; WIA Sept. 29, 1864 at Fort Gilmer, VA and lost a leg; discharged May 17, 1865; brevet Lt. Col. NYSV; brevet Major USV; taught school upon his return home and eventually became a lawyer; served as county treasurer and three terms in NYS Assembly; suffered a political reversal and took strychnine March 7, 1881.
• Brushton:  Post 363 Chartered April 19, 1883 - Named for Captain Horace L. Aldrich, Co. H, 106th NYSV. Joined at Morris Aug. 14, 1862, as 2d Lt., age 26; Captain July 9, 1864; discharged June 22, 1865.
• Dickinson Center:  Post 462 D. Robbins
• St. Regis Falls:  Post 504 Active Aug. 6, 1884 to 1921- Named for Colonel Charles Durkee, 98th NYSV. Malone businessman and a Democrat; joined at Malone as Lt. Col. Jan. 10, 1862, age 35; discharged Feb. 25, 1863; elected to lead Malone's home guard during the St. Alban's scare of 1864; died 1879.
• Chateaugay:  Post 562 Chartered Oct. 6, 1885 - Named for Rear Admiral Theodorus Bailey, US Navy. Born 1805 in Chateaugay; second in command of Farragut's fleet at the battle for New Orleans; died 1877
• Saranac Lake:  Post 621 Active July 23, 1897 to 1921-  Named for Corporal Francis M. Bull, Co. A, 77th   NYSV. Joined in Oct. 1861, age 22; discharged for fractured thigh, July 19, 1862.

________________________________
Additional Resources:

• Grand Army of the Republic records in the NYS Archives (1865-1949)
• G.A.R. in New York State
• Brief History of the Grand Army of the Republic

Poem: "Picking Hops"

From an August 1861 Frontier Palladium, this poem evokes the poet's desire for hearth and home versus duty to fight during the American Civil War. 

Civil War Sesquicentennial

Today, April 12, 2011 is the 150th anniversary of the opening of military action during the American Civil War.   On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter, a Union garrison in Charleston (SC) Harbor.  The fort was surrendered the next day. 

Bombardment of Fort Sumter.

Perine, George Edward (1837-1885) engraver

1 print : b&w ; 14 x 20 cm. (5 1/2 x 8 in.)

NY Public Library/Public Domain.

Although no battles were fought in NewYork, this state contributed more supplies and money than any other state in the Union and more than 48,000 New York soldiers lost their lives in the conflict -- the highest casualty rate in the nation. 


Commemmorate this historical event by brushing up on your Civil War knowledge, and plan now to attend a lecture, tour a battlefield, or support a museum's efforts to preserve this important period of history.  The Civil War Sesquicentennial is from 2011 - 2015, so there's plenty of time to learn, participate, and commemmorate!


Upcoming Local Events:


•Saturday, May 7, 10:00 AM - Recruitment Day in Canton.  A reenactment of the signing up of volunteers will be held on the front lawn at the Silas Wright House in Canton, NY from 10 am - 4 pm. This event is free and open to the public.


•Sunday, May 22, 1:00 PM at the Franklin County Historical and Museum Society - 1st Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) presentation by Carl Marshall


•Saturday, August 27, 10:00 AM through Sunday, August 28 - Civil War Weekend at Robert Moses State Park, Massena.  Reenactment of the 1st Battle of Manassas; President Abraham Lincoln, USA and President Jefferson Davis, CSA; live period music and an evening concert by the 77th Regimental Band; informational talks and displays


•Sunday, August 28, 10:00 AM - Civil War Weekend at Robert Moses State Park, Massena. Reenactment of the 1st Battle of Manassas; President Abraham Lincoln, USA and President Jefferson Davis, CSA; live period music and an evening concert by the 77th Regimental Band; informational talks and displays


Links and Resources:

Civil War News Sesquicentennial News Briefs:  
          http://www.civilwarnews.com/civil-war-sesquicentennial.html


Civil War Trust's articles, maps and descriptions of the Battle of Ft. Sumter:    
          http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/fort-sumter.html


Fort Sumter Sesquicentennial - Bernard Powers on Secession & Racial Anxiety (C-Span 3 YouTube Video):
          http://youtu.be/albyR85ztfk


Fort Sumter History - National Park Service Historian Rick Hatcher (YouTube Video):
         http://youtu.be/zoj_fNAn9OE


NYS Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission:
         http://www.nycivilwar150.org/home.html


New York State and the Civil War history site:
         http://localhistory.morrisville.edu/sites/


National Civil War Museum
         http://www.nationalcivilwarmuseum.org/



Chateaugay Soldiers

From a May 1908 Chateaugay Record, a list of local soldiers' graves:

Thomas Hinds, part 2

The 1902 articles in the Watertown newspaper featuring the Civil War experience of Malone businessman Thomas Hinds were published in a small book, now available online through Google Books.  Although Hinds enlisted in Pennsylvania where he was resident at the time, the narrative is still an interesting one.

Telegram to Abraham Lincoln

Telegram from William A. Wheeler and Albert Hobbs to Abraham Lincoln, November 1, 1864. The telegram was concerning the case of Nathan Wilcox, a military deserter.

REPOSITORY:  The Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress (Series 1. General Correspondence. 1833-1916.)
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mal&fileName=mal1/377/3779800/malpage.db&recNum=0

(click image to enlarge)

Transcript:

Office U.S. Military Telegraph

War Department

The following Telegram received at Washington, 1023 a M, Nov 1 1864.
5 From Malone NY Nov 1 1864

Abraham Lincoln
President US

Mr Nathan Wilcox who is under sentence of death for desertion from the army is my relative + for the sake of his grandparents this large circle of loyal relatives I humbly pray your Excellency to commute his sentence so that his life may be spared He was a member of the twenty second 22d Massachusetts Volunteers
                                                                  A Hobbs

- Continued –

Hon A Hobbs who signs the above despatch is the Union Senator from the 17th NYork Dist + a good + loyal man to whose representation all good faith + credit may be given
                                                                 WA Wheeler
                                                                 Late MC
+++++++
President Lincoln must have agreed to order a stay of execution, as the Library of Congress has futher telegraphs on the matter.  On November 2, General Grant telegraphs to President Lincoln General Meade's reply to him, indicating that there's no "Private Nathan Niloan" scheduled for execution, but there is a "Nathaniel M. Wilcox" and he'll stay the execution order accordingly.
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mal&fileName=mal1/378/3785500/malpage.db&recNum=0&tempFile=./temp/~ammem_yjHO&filecode=mal&next_filecode=mal&prev_filecode=mal&itemnum=4&ndocs=96

General Meade sends his own telegraph to the President, indicating that he will suspend the execution and await further orders:
(http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/P?mal:2:./temp/~ammem_yjHO:: )

Franklin County men in Civil War prison

In the collection of the Franklin County Historical & Museum Society (1970.46.2) is a medallion, once belonging to Franklin County resident Mose Burrell, declaring him a member of the National Society of Andersonville Survivors.  Camp Sumter in Andersonville, GA was a Confederate prison (Feb. 1864-April 1865) notorious for its overcrowding and inhumane conditions.  According to the National Park Service, which now maintains the site as a National Historic Site: "During the 15 months during which Andersonville was operated, almost 13,000 Union prisoners died there of malnutrition, exposure, and disease; Andersonville became synonymous with the attrocities which both North and South soldiers experienced as prisoners of war."  

Mose Burrell's obituary appeared in the Tupper Lake Herald on April 25, 1919:

This January 23, 1969 Tupper Lake Free Press and Tupper Lake Herald article announced the donation of the Mose Burrell's medallion to the Historical Society:

Many other Franklin County natives were imprisoned at Andersonville, and a quick search of the Northern NY Library Network's Historical Newspaper database (available for free at: http://news.nnyln.net/) revealed articles on at least six other Franklin County men, including this tribute in the Ft. Covington Sun of April 21, 1910: