USA > New York > Rensselaer County > Troy > A history of the Troy citizens corps, Troy, N. Y > Part 17
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St. Paul's church in Troy, every flag in the city floating at half staff. The name of Colonel John McConihe is green in the memory of his fellow citizens of the repub- lic for whose safety he gave his young and promising life.
JOHN T. McCOUN entered the service as captain of Co. G, One Hundred Sixty-Ninth N. Y. V., Septem- ber 20, 1862, and was discharged with the same rank March 7, 1865. He was engaged in battle at Falmouth, Edenton Road, Providence Church, Blackwater Ford, Carrsville, Hanover Junction, Siege of Ft. Sumter, S. C., Rantoul Bridge, S. C., Cedar Bluff, Florida, Chester Station, Walthal Junction, Hatcher's Run, Cold Harbor, Dutch Gap, Deep Bottom, Siege of Petersburgh, Darby- town Road and Fort Fisher. His record was that of a good officer and brave soldier.
ROWLAND S. NORTON enlisted as private Aug. 13, 1862, in the One Hundred Thirteenth N. Y. V. This regi- ment, mustered in as infantry, Aug. 18, 1862, was changed in the following December to a heavy artillery organization, the Seventh N. Y. Leaving Albany on the 19th of August, the regiment reached Washington two days later and was immediately assigned to duty in the defences of that city. There they remained until the spring of 1864, when they were sent to the front in the Army of the Potomac, and were attached to the first brigade, fourth division, second corps. Later in the campaign, the Seventh was transferred to the fourth brigade, first division of the same corps. Mr. Norton was engaged in the battles of Spottsylvania, River Po, Milford Station, North Anna, Chesterfield Bridge, Tolo- potomoy, Cold Harbor, siege of Cold Harbor, Weldon Road and first and second Deep Bottom. He was appointed corporal Aug. 18, 1862, sergeant Aug. 1, 1863, sergeant major Aug. 10, 1863; was commissioned second lieutenant, Jan. 18, 1864, first lieutenant July 24, 1864, and captain of Co. K, Dec. 8, 1864. He was detailed for special duty during the campaign of 1864 as follows: Acting regimental quartermaster, Seventh N. Y. Vol. ar-
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tillery; aid on staff of Col. Lewis O. Morris, commanding first brigade, fourth division, second corps; A. A. Q. M., fourth brigade, first division, second corps; acting com- missary of subsistence, fourth brigade, first division, sec- ond corps. With the exception of a slight blow from a fragment of a shell at North Anna, Capt. Norton never was hit, and he was never on the sick list during his term of service. In February, 1865, he was returned to the command of his company, and on that date the regiment was ordered to Baltimore to garrison Fort McHenry and Federal Hill, and here, the war being closed, it was mus- tered out of service June 17, 1865. Thus ended a record of most honorable and gallant service.
WILLIAM A. OLMSTED, at the time a corporal in the Troy Citizens Corps, began recruiting at Fulton Market, then the armory of the Corps, on the 17th of April, 1861. One hundred and seventy-seven men were enrolled in a couple of days. Enough of these to form one company were accepted by the state, the rest going to other or- ganizations. Corporal Olmsted was mustered in as captain of Company B, Second N. Y. V. In August, 1861, he was made lieutenant colonel of the same regiment, which rank he held until the Second was mus- tered out, May 26, 1863. He was with the regiment in all its services, excepting for a brief period when assigned to other duty. In Heintzelman's affair, June 25, 1862, he was in command of the regiment, and received honorable mention in the report of Brig. Gen. Joseph Hooker. He commanded the regiment on various other occasions, in- cluding the battle of Chancellorsville, and remained in command from that time until the muster out. Novem- ber 9, 1862, he was assigned to command the One Hundred Fifteenth Pennsylvania volunteers, and re- mained with them until January following, meanwhile leading them at the battle of Fredericksburg. In Janu- ary, 1864, he was commissioned by the governor of the State of New York lieutenant colonel of the Twelfth N. Y. V., but was not mustered, as the regiment was not raised to the required strength. He was then
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authorized to raise the One Hundred Eighty-Ninth N. Y. V., but before mustering them in was appointed colonel of the Fifty-ninth N. Y. veteran volunteers, and was ordered to join them immediately in the field with Grant. His commission as colonel bore date October 1, 1864. December 13, 1864, he was assigned to com- mand the first brigade, second division, second army corps, and occupied this position through the remainder of the great struggle until the final surrender. At Hatcher's Run, in February, 1865, he was slightly wounded. Col. Olmsted was mustered out of service July 12, 1865, with the rank of brigadier general by brevet.
FRANCIS M. PLUM was commissioned first lieutenant of Company L, Second New York Cavalry, September 30, 1861. He was promoted to the rank of Captain, October 9, 1862, and served in Kilpatrick's command up to the time that dashing leader left the Army of the Potomac. Captain Plum was actively engaged in the many duties which made the cavalry arm so useful in that part of the field of war. He served under Bayard, Gregg and Davis, as well as Kilpatrick. He was with the last mentioned leader in his first famous raid on Richmond, which threw that city into a fever of conster- nation. This service was performed by Captain Plum's regiment, numbering only about four hundred men. He was also with Kilpatrick in his second memorable raid, in which the gallant Colonel Dahlgren lost his life. Captain Plum was wounded in the ankle in action near Tennallytown, July 11, 1864, during Early's raid through Maryland. He was mustered out at the expiration of his term of service, September 10, 1864, his wound hav- ing crippled him for life. He was afterwards brevetted major N. Y. V. by Gov. Fenton, for gallant and merito- rious services.
WILIAM M. OSTROM served with the Second N. Y. Vol- unteers as first lieutenant until May, 1862.
GEORGE H. OTIS was first commissioned captain in the Second N. Y. Volunteers, was promoted to the rank of
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major July 27, 1861, and served with that rank until his resignation, July 7, 1862.
BENJAMIN F. SIMONDS, being at the time a mere lad, was enlisted in the Troy Citizens Corps drum corps at its formation. When the three months' men were called out in 1861, he went as drummer with the Duryea zou- aves. He was then sixteen years of age. With this reg- iment he was present at the battle of Big Bethel. In October, 1861, he enlisted as drummer in the Second N. Y. V., then commanded by Col. J. B. Carr. Mr. Simonds was the first one in camp to detect the approach of a hostile vessel when the Merrimac came from Norfolk to attack the Cumberland and Congress, and at Col. Carr's command he beat the long roll which called the regiment to arms. With the rest of the troops he witnessed the momentous naval combat which followed. He afterwards followed the fortunes of McClellan's army through the peninsular campaign, being present at most of the battles from Yorktown to Malvern Hill. On the 22d of July, 1862, he was honorably discharged from the service by an order of the war department dispensing with regi- mental bands. On the 13th of September, 1864, he again enlisted as drummer in the first brigade, third division, second corps. He was then present throughout Grant's campaign before Petersburgh, until the close of the war. Having participated in the grand review at Washington, he was again honorably discharged from the service, May 31, 1865.
GEORGE D. SMITH enlisted as private in Co. K, Second N. Y. V., and was mustered in with that regiment, in May, 1861. He served through the peninsular campaign under McClellan, being engaged in all the battles of the gallant Second. Gallantry in battle and fidelity to duty obtained his promotion through the various non-commis- sioned grades, until he was made first sergeant of his company. At the battle of Bristow Station, the day be- fore the second Bull Run, Sergeant Smith was shot through both thighs and left on the field. Here he lay for five days, without food or care, until the tide of battle
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again flowed that way. He was then removed to Alex- andria, Va., where he was discharged for physical disa- bility, September 24, 1862.
JOHN W. SPRAGUE, being then a resident of Ohio, volunteered under the first call, April 19, 1861. He was elected captain, and his company became a part of the Seventh Ohio Infantry. This regiment was sent into Western Virginia, where, after considerable active service, Captain Sprague was captured and sent to Richmond. He was a prisoner there and in Charleston, S. C., for five months. Being then exchanged, he returned to Ohio, and was appointed colonel of the Sixty-Third Ohio Infantry. With this command he participated in the operations at Island No. 10 and New Madrid, in the siege of Corinth and the battle of Iuka. On the 3d and 4th of October, 1862, the Sixty-third fought in the battle of Corinth, in which over one-half of the regiment were killed or wounded, but no ground was lost. Only one field officer (Col. Sprague) and two line officers escaped without death or wounds. In the latter part of 1863 the regiment reënlisted. Of the men present only seven declined to enter the service again. The colonel was soon after placed in command of a brigade, consisting of the Twenty-fifth Wisconsin, Thirty-fifth New Jersey and the Forty-third and Sixty-third Ohio Infantry, and the Third Michigan Battery. With this brigade he joined General Sherman's army at Chattanooga, and did good service in nearly all the battles that occurred during the advance on Atlanta. On the 23d of July, 1864 (the day on which McPherson was killed before Atlanta), the brigade distinguished itself at Decatur, Ga., by defeating a vastly superior force of the enemy. "Colonel Sprague was then covering and guarding the train of the entire army, consisting of over four thousand wagons, contain- ing almost all the supplies of the army. He was attacked by superior numbers, and the contest continued for more than four hours, but by his own bravery and ability, no less than by the courage and prompt obedience of his troops, the enemy were finally repulsed, and only one
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wagon was lost. Col. Sprague's brigade lost two hundred and ninety-two men killed and wounded."* For this, and his previous gallant service, Col. Sprague was made a brigadier-general of volunteers, at the recommendation of General Sherman himself. Gen. Sprague was engaged in the battles and operations which resulted in the cap- ture of Atlanta, was with Sherman in his " march to the sea," and at the capture of Savannah. He was also in the same army during the subsequent march and engagements between that place and Washington, and in the grand re- view of the victorious armies at the national capital. Then he was brevetted major-general of volunteers, and after- wards appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Forty-first regi- ment in the regular army. This latter appointment, howev- er, he declined. For a year and a half after the war closed he remained in the army, serving under his brevet rank, with headquarters at Little Rock, Ark. He then resigned and entered civil pursuits. The story of our war tells of many brave soldiers and brilliant leaders. But there are few records more stirring than that of Major General John W. Sprague. We quote again from "Ohio in the War." " Gen. Sprague is a man of fine personal appear- ance, tall, straight and well proportioned. His charac- ter is unimpeachable, and his influence with his regi- ment and afterwards with his brigade was almost un- bounded. No one who knew him as a soldier failed to esteem and love him. He was always prompt, efficient and brave."
FREDERICK R. STow entered the United States navy in the fall of 1863, as paymaster, and was assigned to the monitor Weehawken. This vessel was then employed with the rest of the union fleet and with Gen. Gillmore's army, in the attack on the defences of Charleston, S. C. On the 7th of September, soon after Mr. Stow came on board, the Weehawken was engaged in taking soundings and setting buoys under the guns of Fort Sumter, when unfortunately it ran fast aground. There the vessel re- mained for thirty-nine hours, exposed to a heavy fire at
*From " Ohio in the War."
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· easy range from Forts Moultrie and Beauregard, Battery Bee, James Island, Castle Pinckney and other smaller works. During the engagement a shot from the monitor exploded the magazine of Fort Moultrie, causing great slaughter among the garrison. At length the persistent labor of the crew was rewarded with success, and the ship floated. Firing a couple of parting shots at the rebels, the gallant monitor steamed out to the federal fleet, welcomed by the cheers of the thousands on its decks, and by the admiral's signal, "Well done, Wee- hawken." The officers and men of the ship were favor- ably reported by the admiral to the navy department for gallant conduct. On December 6, 1863, during a violent gale which was then raging, the Weehawken sank at its anchorage inside the bar of Charleston harbor, with four engineers and twenty-six of the crew. Mr. Stow was on the vessel when it went down, but was so fortunate as to escape with his life. All his papers and funds were lost. After this disaster, he was transferred to the steamer Tristram Shandy, and remained with it until his death, January 5, 1865.
WILLIAM B. TIBBITS raised a company for the Second N. Y. V., which was mustered in as Company G. His rank as captain dated from April 23, 1861. He served with the old Second through all its eventful history, be- ing present at the battles of Big Bethel, Fair Oaks, Glen- dale, Malvern Hill, Bristow and second Bull Run, New Market Bridge, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. In October, 1862, he was promoted to the rank of major, on the recommendation of Gen. Carr. He was then the senior and one of the only two original captains left in regiment. He had been with the Second on every picket, march and reconnoisance, in every skirmish and battle. At Bristow he was especially distinguished, and he had been mentioned for gallant and meritorious conduct at Bull Run. His friends in Troy presented him with a sword. Being mustered out at the expiration of his term of service, in the summer of 1863, he at once set about
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raising a regiment of cavalry. Of this regiment, the Twenty-first N. Y. (Griswold Light), he was appointed colonel, with rank from November 20, 1863. So excel- lent service did he perform in the cavalry that Gen. Hun- ter recommended his promotion, and the letter to the war department was incorporated in general orders and read at dress parade to each command in Hunter's army. He was brevetted Brig. Gen. U. S. V. October 21, 1864. The list of cavalry battles in which he fought includes New Market, Piedmont, Lynchburg, Hillsboro', Snicker's Gap, Ashby's Gap, Kearnestown, Winchester, Martins- burg, Charlestown, Halltown, Ninevah, Rood's Hill and Liberty Mill. At the close of the war with the south, he was ordered to the west, and was employed for some time in duty on the plains. He was made a full briga- dier general, and brevet major general U. S. V. He was finally mustered out of the service of the United States, January 15, 1866.
CHAUNCEY TILLY first enlisted on the 19th of April, 1861, in Co. A, Twenty-fifth N. Y. S. M., for three months. This regiment went from Albany under Col. Bryan. Returning home at the end of his term of service, he then at once went to work assisting Capt. John Fryer to raise a company for the Forty-third N. Y. V., being promised a lieutenancy. Before the ranks were full, however, the regiment was ordered to Washington, and the resulting consolidation threw out a number of officers, among whom was Mr. Tilly. Being determined to go, however, he enlisted as first sergeant in Co. H, One Hundred Twenty-fifth N. Y. V., Col. George L. Willard. The regiment went immediately to the front at Martinsburg, Va., but after a few days there, took up their line of march for Harper's Ferry. The march was considerably accelerated by the fact that Stone- wall Jackson was in rapid pursuit. The One Hundred Twenty-fifth was among the garrison of Harper's Ferry so infamously surrendered by Col. Miles, commandant of that post. Their arms and spare clothing were ap- propriated by the rebels, and the men were paroled.
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After a few months in camp at Chicago, they were again ordered to the front and joined the army of the Poto- mac under Meade. At Gettysburg the regiment was stationed at the Round Top. After that battle it took part in pursuing Lee's army, being engaged at Wil- liamsport, Falling Waters, and other places. In all these affairs the rebels were defeated. Then came the desperate fight at Bristow Station, where again the One Hundred Twenty-fifth were on the winning side, and captured the famous Washington Battery of Virginia. After some further unimportant engage- ments the regiment went into the Wilderness with Grant. Here, on the 10th of May, 1864, Sergeant Tilly was shot in the left shoulder, and disabled from further service. The bullet he still carries in his shoulder, as a lasting reminder of his gallant service in defending his country, on the field of battle.
THOMAS TILLY enlisted as corporal in the Thirtieth N. Y. V. in 1861. He was appointed color sergeant and continued in that capacity until his discharge in the following November, on surgeon's certificate of dis- ability.
THOMAS TURNER was engaged in the war of 1812, serving at the battle of Plattsburgh on the staff of Gen. John E. Wool.
GEORGE W. WILSON raised a company which was in- corporated in the Second N. Y. V. as Co. E. of which he was made captain. He was with the regiment at Big Bethel, and was acting major at Fair Oaks and through- out McClellan's seven days' battles. After Malvern he received his commission of major, with rank from July 7, 1862. He was in command of the regiment at the second Bull Run and at Bristow. The shattered Second was then withdrawn to Alexandria ; and in the follow- ing October Major Wilson was compelled to resign by disease which had become chronic.
LUCIUS E. WILSON enlisted as private in the Twenty- second Regiment N. Y. volunteers, in May, 1861. He was
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promoted successively through the various non-commis- sioned grades, was commissioned second lieutenant, February 6, 1862, first lieutenant, July 21, 1862, and cap- tain, September 11, 1862. With the Twenty-second he was engaged in the second battle of Bull Run, at South Mountain, and at Antietam, and was honorably muster- ed out at the expiration of the term of service, June 19, 1863. Captain Wilson then raised a company of one hundred veterans, and with them joined the Second reg- iment N. Y. veteran cavalry, being mustered in as cap- tain of troop A, with rank from October 15, 1863. The Second regiment was sent to the department of the Gulf, and did gallant service under Butler, Banks and Canby. Captain Wilson was in command of his company in the Red River expedition, at Mobile, and in a hundred skir- mishes. He was mustered out with the regiment Nov- ember 8, 1865, and was given the brevet rank of Major N. Y. V., for gallant and meritorious services. He was wounded by a shell in the right leg and hip at the battle of Bull Run.
1
INDEX.
Albany, 11, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 37, 43, 57, 64, 73, 177-180. Anti-rent, 17-23, 24, 25. Argus, Albany, 21, 22, 71, 100.
Armory, new, 89, 102, 134-5, 179. Arms of T. C. C., 11, 51, 52.
Artillery, Albany Republican, 36 38.
Artillery, Schenectady Independent, 32, 33, 36.
Artillery, Troy City, 24, 25, 36, 37, 47, 135, 145.
Artillery, Troy Independent, 16.
Artillery, Troy Union, 12.
Artillery, Twenty-seventh Regiment, 26. Ball, 13.
Battery B, see Troy City Artillery.
Battery Fourth, see Troy City Artillery.
Battery, Montreal Field, 43, 44-95.
Bemis Heights, 65-68, 177.
Bennington, 30, 31, 43. Brighton, 74, 85, 178. Budget, Troy Northern, 10, 42.
Bye-Laws, old Corps, 9. Cadets, Albany Zouave, 79, 90, 105, 178-9.
Cadets, Pulaski, 16. Cadets, Tibbits, 74, 124, 135.
Camp, Peekskill, 105-123, 179.
Camp, Saratoga, 23, 24, 46-48. Captains, 139-148.
Catskill, 15. Cemetery, Oakwood, 40, 69, 77, 129. Charter of Troy Citizens Corps, 11. Colors, 55, 56,177.
Constitution of Old Corps, 8. Continentals, Washington, 42, 44, 122, 144, 145.
Corps, Albany Burgesses, 7, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 26, 32, 33 43, 44, 46-48, 126, 144, 145. Corps, Syracuse Citizens, 32, 33, 36. Corps, Tibbits Veteran, 74, 76, 98, 99, 124, 134, 135, 178, 179. Corps, Utica Citizens, 7, 32, 33, 36, 43, 77, 126. Death, First in Old Corps, 15.
Death, First in New Corps, 77.
ii
INDEX.
Decoration Day, 78, 80, 89, 177-180.
Election of Officers, 8, 54, 55. Encampment, G. A. R., 73, 177-179. Excursions, 14, 15, 16, 34, 37, 39, 40, 65, 74, 78, 81, 92. Executions, 27, 39. Fencibles, State, 15, 16, 17, 78, 79. Fines, 9. Fire, 4, 33, 34. Funeral, 15, 30, 31, 42, 44, 51, 69, 77, 88, 104, 124, 128, 134, 177-180.
Grays, Kingston, 42. Greens, Trojan, 8.
Guards, New York Light, 23.
Guards, Paterson Light, 123, 124.
Guards, Auburn, 32, 33.
Guards, Hartford Light, 26.
Guards, Lafayette Grenadier, 32. Guards, New York City, 34, 36. Guards, Poughkeepsie, 24.
Guards, Ransom, 98. Guards, Troy City, 12.
Hall, Fulton Market, 12, 51, 148.
Hall, Harmony, 45, 48, 56, 68, 79, 99, 177-179. Hall, Military, 12. Helderberg Campaign, 17, 23. Herald, New York, 122. Hudson, 14. Independence Day, 12, 15. 23, 134, 177-180.
Inspection, 68, 72, 79, 81, 88, 100, 123, 133, 136, 177-180. Fournal, Albany Evening, 26, 74. Fournal, Army and Navy, 70, 72, 120, 122. Kelly, 110. Mansion House, 12, 13, 23, 37, 38.
Members, lists of active, 155-168. Members, lists of honorary, 170-2. Montreal, 81-88, 92-99, 178-9. New York, 17, 34, 69, 75, 78. Observer, Troy, 105. Officers, lists of, 149-154. Old Guard, of New York, 75, 77, 78, 101, 103, 125. Old Guard, of T. C. C., 74, 75, 78, 82, 96, 128, 135, 169. Organization of old corps, 8.
Organization of new corps, 53. Parade, first of old corps, 12. Parade, first of new corps, 56. Parades, independent, 70, 79, 89, 134, 177-180. Parades, Record of, 177-180.
iii
INDEX.
Pay, for Helderberg services, 22, 23. Pay, for West Albany services. 64. Peekskill, 105-123, 179. Philadelphia, 16, 17. Presentations, 36, 37, 68, 90, 178.
Press and Knickerbocker, Albany, 101, 123. Quarters, 11.
Receptions, 34, 48, 49, 56, 68, 71, 76, 77, 89, 99, 100, 102, 123, 124, 177-180.
Resignation, 29, 44. Riflemen, Union, 16. Rifle Practice, 70, 74, 77, 173-6, 177-180.
Rifles, Washington, 36, 38. Riots, 13, 14, 40, 51, 52, 56-65. Saratoga, 23, 24, 39, 40. Seventh Regiment, 26. Syracuse, 31-33.
Telegram, Troy Morning, 80, 90, 100. Times, Troy Daily, 41, 42, 44, 68, 80, 88, 101, 102, 103, 107-111, 115-118, 121, 124, 144. Tompkins Blues, 16. Trenton, 17. Tribune, New York, 114. Troy House, 8, 13. Uniforms, 8, 29, 30, 45, 55, 74, 133.
War Record of Members, 181-204. West Albany, 56-65, 134, 177-180. Whig, Troy, 14, 21, 26, 61.
ERRATA.
On page 64, for Maj. John L. McEwen, read Maj. John S. McEwan. On page 94, for Capt. Cruger, read Capt. Conger.
On key to company picture, and page 172, for Henry P. Schuyler, read Herman P. Schuyler.
On page 128, for R. H. Squires, read Robert Squires.
On page 153, for Charles T. Sinsabaugh, read Charles C. Sinsabaugh.
On page 164, for Albert Sweet, read Albert Smith.
On page 173, for Edward A. Frear, read Edwin A. Frear.
On page 178, for John W. Morris, read John W. Morse.
On page 194, for Ninth Brigade, read Tenth Brigade.
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APR 75
N. MANCHESTER, INDIANA
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