USA > New York > Livingston County > Nunda > Centennial history of the town of Nunda : with a preliminary recital of the winning of western New York, from the fort builders age to the last conquest by our Revolutionary forefathers > Part 52
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Ephraim Walker, deacon, preacher, farmer, who lived near the county line in Nunda, served in this war.
John Waite, pioneer of Nunda village, was said by old settlers to be a veteran of the war of 1812.
Avery Walsworth of East Hill was another veteran of this war.
Lieut. William Richardson-who settled in 1820 was a veteran of this war.
William P. Wilcox of Wilcox Corners Nunda-was also a veteran of this war.
Lieut. David Baldwin, who lived in Nunda after 1820 and died here, was a pensioner of this war. It is a singular coincidence that there was a Lieut. David Baldwin of the Duchess Co. exempts, who was a soldier of the Revolutionary War ; and as our citizen was old enough to have been in that war also it is possible he was the man, but as his posterity do not make that claim we may conjecture that he was the father of our townsman.
Lyman Newton-who lived on First Street for many years, was another soldier of this war-he was not buried here.
William Hoffman, who lived on the Stillwell farm (and was at one time landlord and proprietor of the Eagle Hotel), better known as Col. Hoffman, was a soldier of this war, and also of the short (but profitable ) Patriots War in 1838. Hle located his bounty land in Illinois and named the place Nunda, Ill .; he is remembered as possessing a dashing looking military figure at our militia training. Silas Grover was his brother-in-law, and his son, William H. Hoffman was an officer of the Civil War. He married a sister of Mrs. E. O. Dickenson and died in Nunda, Ill. in 1905.
James Ackerman lived in Little Scipio, and is buried at Union Corners ; he was a soldier of the war of 1812. The Petries of Little Scipio are grandchildren.
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Jonathan Bailey, a pioneer of Burns and later of Portage-Nunda, was wounded in the battle of Lundy's Lane. He was a pensioner. He is the father of the late Jas. Bailey of Portage, and is buried at Pennycook.
John Creveling. Sr., father of John and Samuel Creveling, and of the late Fanny Kendall, was said to be a soldier of this war. His home was in the town of Mt. Morris. Floyd Creveling. Willard and Frank Kendall of this town are grand- children.
Reuben Weed, better known as Judge Weed, a pioneer of Grove-Nunda and afterwards a citizen of Portage, is said to have been a soldier of this war.
Maj. Allen was a citizen of Portage in pioneer days, whether an officer during the war, or later, is unknown to the writer.
Captain Elisha Smith, a pioneer of the town of Portage-Nunda, was a sol- dier of this war. He was also a charter member of the Oakland Lodge of Masons. He was drowned in the Caneseraga Creek, and was buried, with masonic services, at Hunts Hollow in 1860.
Jacob Goodemont-was a soldier of the war of 1812, and lived in Nunda near Dalton after the war and is buried in Snyders ( Union) Cemetery in the town of Nunda.
Moses Buno (father of Perry ) is said to be a drummer boy in 1812.
Capt. James Perkins and George Wilner of Portage-Nunda were veterans of this war.
SUMMARY OF THE WAR OF 1812
This war of the United States, forced upon the nation, in maintenance of our dignity and commercial rights, as a nation, though a necessity, does not compare in spirit or valor, with the other wars of our great Republic.
It was entered upon hastily, fought with undisciplined troops, mostly raw recruits, who had not even a conception of obedience, as an essential to successful achievement. Our militia especially from Western New York failed through inex- perience and insubordination. Recruits are not soldiers. they become so, whenever the organization acts as a unit, obedient to a leader's command.
As militia men, they stood on the boundary of New York and refused to invade the enemies country, willing to fight on the defensive, but unwilling to seize a glorious opportunity. Through this delay and failure to cross over and take possession, and through failure to co-operate with others, the war on land against Canada was badly bungled. The army and its supply train was stuck in the mud for weeks, giving the enemy ample time to fortify its position,, and consolidate its forces.
The victories on our northern frontier that were creditable to our forces were the brilliant naval fight of Com. Perry on Lake Erie, and the battles of the Thames, Lundy's Lane and Plattsburg.
Our Navy and Its Achievements
Our chief source of pride, was not wholly a gain, for though our losses were less than those of our adversary, these losses damaged us far more than their greater losses did the enemy, for with their great navy they had many others to take the place of every vessel captured or sunk.
The burning of the National Capitol, that could and should have been pre- vented : our seaboard harassed and blockaded : our merchant marine almost annihilated ; our limited navy of war ships sunk, captured or cooped up in port. is a part of this war we would gladly eliminate and forget.
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Fortunately American patriotism and pride is not left to famish, there is another and a brighter side of this story --
The brightest laurels of this war were won on the sea, in contention with the greatest navy of the world. Of thirteen deadly duels between ships of average equality of strength, the New Republic with its new infantile navy, won eleven. When the war was inaugurated, the navy of the United States consisted of but eighteen vessels, of these the largest was a forty-four gun frigate. Our very poverty and afflictions added to our strength. Our merchantmen, driven from the sea as nierchantmen were changed by their owners into privateers; if they could not carry goods, they could capture goods for themselves. and the prize money was more renumerative than freight receipts. One hundred and seventy of these were captured by the British, but 2.300 British merchantmen were taken by the priva- teers and 200 more by our cruisers.
Dismay spread through the entire maritime and commercial interests of Eng- land, it reached out like a pall covering all the monied interests. The press and parliament echoed the wail that rose, paramount to all desire to crush this insig- nificant but belligerent foe. The London Times is reported as saying of the Ameri- can ships "If they fight, they are sure to conquer ; if they fly they are sure to escape." But the navy was not the only cause of begetting a feeling of discontent and jeopardy in England that led to a friendly and advantageous settlement of hostilities. Three Generals, had been developed in this war, that knew how to fight with undisciplined troops and win ; was it this? or had the recruits become real soldiers ; if so, they made evident what good Generals can do with obedient troops, win victories-great enough to make Presidents of the valorous soldiers? Oh no, but of the Generals. who win. because they command wisely, and their commands are executed by men whose names are never mentioned and are, there- fore soon forgotten,-however, William Henry Harrison, Jacob Brown and An- drew Jackson, had, with the aid of their troops, won an immortality of fame. Thus American seamanship, and American pluck, won the ascendency-and these qualities are traditional to-day, in England especially, and to some extent in all the world. Well had it been for Spain if she had learned this lesson of a cen- tury ago-then the Philipinnes and Porto Rico would still have been hers, and Dewey would not have gained so easily a name among the immortals. Pardon friends, this digression, but the Spanish War is a corollary to the War of 1812, as the Civil War was to that of the Revolution.
The Great Wellington, covered with laurels, did not think it best to stain these laurels in an uncertain war of extermination against the Militia of America, entrenched as they would be in their mountain fastnesses, and commanded by men like Harrison, Brown and Jackson-extermination in America is only possible. if wrought by Americans. "He advises peace, and the opinion of the best Mili- tary Autocrat of the age admitted of no opposition." And so, the Conqueror of Napoleon helped the United States, as he had helped the world, by ushering in an Era of Peace. The great Warriors are, with few exceptions, the greatest Cham- pions of Peace.
Peace dawned upon the entire land ; and Western New York, and its extend- ing interests in Ohio, being the frontier at the time, advanced by leaps and bounds. We had not only conquered our English foe. but our former enemies, the Senecas, having become our allies, retired peaceably to their reservations. Rochester was
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founded, Buffalo rebuilt, and the Keshequa Valley became the habitation, not of transients, but of the forefathers of this present generation.
Noah Warren-the soldier of our second war with England, born July 27th. 1793, enlisted from the Scroon, Essex Co., N. Y., in Capt. Russell Walker's Company of 75 men. His brother, Silas Warren, (who was one of the first car- penters in Nunda) was a veteran of this war, (but this sketch does not tell me what Co. or Regt.). As soon as the Company was formed, it marched to Platts- burg. They were several days on the road owing to bad weather from daily rains. Provisions failing on the way he purchased a pidgeon pie, bones and all, for two shillings, which was substantial and satisfied hunger. Arriving at Plattsburg, they were assigned to the Regiment commanded by Col. Cooley with Maj. McNeil as Staff Officer. In the afternoon of Sept. 10th, 1814, at four o'clock, the Regi- ment was stationed at a place called Salmon River Valley, near a bridge on the Saranac River, with instructions to hold it at all hazards. That evening Capt. Walkers' Company marched to the fort on the east side of the lake some five miles distant, and drew back a piece of artillery to be used in defence of their position. They reached their camp about midnight. The next morning, Sunday. Sept. 11th, the battle commenced by a simultaneous attack of the land and naval forces, and a desperate fight ensued. Mr. Warren said he was awakened about two hours before daylight by the firing of musketry, and his regiment was drawn up in line of battle, the enemy soon came to the bridge and attempted to cross but the "boys" ( soldiers are always boys however old ) had removed the planks the night previous and the attempt failed. The British were driven back three or four times with great losses of killed and wounded and at last gave up the attempt. Col. Cooley's command was called on later in the day to reinforce a regiment that was hard pressed by the enemy, and soon turned the tables. The British retreated leaving their dead and wounded on the field. On Wednesday of the same week volunteers were called for to bury the dead, Capt. Walkers' Co. volunteered but before they had commenced their labor the order came for them to be discharged. Certainly a short but interesting experience for a would be hero, but the end of a war, however short, is always welcome to soldiers whose cause is won.
Concerning the service of Silas Warren, who probably participated in the same engagement being in the same part of the state, we have no authentic rec- ords. He removed from Nunda many years ago, and the first settlers of Nunda had no use for veterans of former wars except as Officers of Militia, hence we find most of them called Col., Major, Captain etc .. till we wonder who were "the men" who were not officers.
THE PATRIOT WAR, 1838-NUNDA TO THE FRONT WITH A COMPANY
This time of jeopardy, that has scarcely a trace in our State History, might well be passed over in silence, but for the circumstance likely soon to be forgotten. that Nunda Village a few years before its incorporation, had an "Artillery Com- pany" that went through some Military movements over one of the stores on the west side of the plasa. Some friction from the Canadian frontier, and an armed vessel prowling about the American shores of Lake Erie led to the calling out of some of these patriotic organizations, among them our Nunda Co .. which went to Black Rock and protected our interests against the landing of any hostile band.
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They were gone about two weeks, and some, and possibly all of them, received for their services, though they never fired a gun, or had one fired at them, 160 acres of land, in the territories or young states of the west.
The writer has sought in vain for information concerning this organization but found that all the documentary information concerning this and also the war of 1812 was forwarded to Washington, and unlike the records of the Revolu- tionary War, have not been returned to our State Capitol.
It seems a battalion of several companies must have gone from the county of Allegany, of which Nunda formed the northern town.
A few names have been collected and these I deem it right to transmit as they go to prove that Nunda has been in every war, since its settlement, and no one will dispute the fighting qualifications of all of its otherwise peaceful citizens. The Company was commanded by Capt. H. Osgoodby, who though an Englishman, would not have objected to aiding discontented Canadians in finding peace in the bosom of our "Young Republic." He received 160 acres of land, at least, as his recompense for his arduous services.
Lieut. Barton Saterlee, Sr .. of this Company did not go to the front, as he received by accident a serious flesh wound a few days before. He lamented the lost opportunity to gain a farm on the western frontier.
Olitan Messenger. of Oakland, was possibly the other Lieut., at any rate he went to this bloodless war.
It is possible, however, that the town of Portage, that included at that time the most of the town of Genesee Falls, with its flourishing village of Smith's Mills ( Portageville) may have had a company of its own, commanded by Capt. Henry Wells, and Lient. Messenger. Possibly Capt. Elisha Smith of Portage or Col. Greenlief Clark of Hunts Hollow had something to do with two weeks outburst of patriotism. The writer has in his possession the sword of his uncle, Henry
HOBBYVILLE
TAVERN"
TRAINING MILITIA
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Wells, who lived at the time of the patriot uprising, at Oakland, and was at one time a Major of Militia.
Amos Jones, a turner by occupation, (son of Henry C. Jones Esq. of Nunda ) was one of the gallant company.
Matt Jackson-one of our old line stage drivers-a brother of Leonard Jack- son, was certainly another.
Leonard L. Church-whose father, Capt. Church, owned the John Angier Farm from 1816 to 1846, was still another. Others were,
Benj. Butler-an uncle to Mrs. E. O. Dickenson, a blacksmith by trade, lived first house west of Craig's Warehouse on Buffalo St.
Chas. Russell-a brother-in-law of Capt. J. H. O., S. Britton, Cyrus Rose, and Wm. Martin.
Barney Hagaman-received his land warrant and gave it to his son, Wesley, who settled upon it. John White and Riley Parker of Grove-Nunda.
John Benton-he and Hagaman afterward lived in the town of Mt. Morris.
William Huffman-called Col. Huffman (owned Chandler Sturgeon-Mc- Master farm), went west soon after with Butler, and Nathan Sherwood, who married a sister of Butler. As all of these three and probably others settled in Illinois about the same time and called the place Nunda, Ill., it is probable they all belonged to this company and settled on bounty lands in Illinois.
THE MEXICAN WAR
The only soldiers from Nunda that I have any knowledge of were, Hillery Twist, George W. Flint, who afterward served in the Civil War, and Mel- vin Le Seur. This young man, at the age of 16, ran away from home and the Cooperville School to enlist in the service. He succeeded in getting aboard a ship with some General Officers and troops, probably regulars. His lack of age and lack of size stood in his way of enlistment and they threatened to put him on board a returning ship. He assured them he would take the next vessel bound for Mexico if they did; the General, either Scott or Taylor, took him under his especial charge and he was allowed finally, to enlist in order to draw his pay and rations. He served through the war, and re-enlisted in the regular army and at the time of the Civil War, by reason of his long service, was given, a commission in the Artillery and again served until the close of the war. He returned to Nunda during the Civil War, and either his position, or his romantic adventures, pro- cured him a wife, an estimable young lady, a niece of Isaac Bronson.
Lt. Le Seur was a half brother of the wife of Alfred Ervin, from whom this information is derived : though a veteran of two wars he is still living and proba- bly on the retired list of the U. S. Army.
*George W. Flint-also served in the Civil War, enlisting from Nunda ( East Hill) but died soon after the war, October, 1867, at Budsall and is buried at Hunts Hollow, N. Y. His daughter, Mrs. Benjamin Talmage, furnished the statement concerning his services.
*Hillary Twist, son of Thomas Twist, pioneer of Nunda-served as a vol- unteer during the Mexican War.
*Deceased.
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THE WAR OF THE REBELLION
The war waged by the Southern Confederacy, composed of eleven States. with a Military population of only 1,C64.193. to contend with the rest of the States and Territories, and to confront 4,559.872 of the same military class, was con- ceived of passion and jealousy, nurtured by sectional pride and ambition, born of the pangs of disunion and nursed by frenzy and fanaticism, grew with an abnormal vigor, blossomed into heroic valor. struggled like a handicapped giant, but per- ished in youth, for want of sustenance ; subdued by overwhelming power, that conquered from stern duty and necessity, while lost in admiration of a valor unequalled. though misdirected and unavailing ; and like a generous conqueror the nation welcomed back again to the family life and family love, its mistaken children, self exiled, though only half subdued, still less than penitent, humiliated. but not humble, asking nothing, but receiving everything,-forgiveness, affection. admiration, a place in the family circle. and the love and appreciation one brave American feels for another.
Only Americans can display such valor, only Americans know how to forgive.
The Bloody Cost of War
This war of stalwart heroes cost the nation a half million of the bravest men the sun ever shown upon. It accomplished two things-the death of slavery, in- cluding the emancipation of 4.000,000 slaves-a constant source of sectional fric- tion; and secondly, what conquerors and the conquered now alike rejoice in, the preservation of our National Union.
ervation of our National Union.
The Civil War was far greater than all of our other wars. it was the greatest war of the nineteenth century.
Let us try to imagine its cost in lives. We cannot do it, but we can try. We have most of us seen a regiment of soldiers. If we have not, we have seen the people of a country village of 1.CCO people. For convenience, let us count our losses in battles by regiments. One battle has been fought, and 1,000 men, alive and vigorous in the morning are dead at night :- few people ever saw 1,000 dead men at once, but a loss of 1.CCO men in a battle of the Civil War was not counted as a great battle, and there were 1,800 battles during this direful war. At Gettys- burg the losses to the Union Army in those three days of carnage were 3.070 killed. 14,479 wounded. 5.434 missing : aggregating as loss from the strength of the army 23.001. Can all this be comprehended. think of some city of 23.000 inhabitants, and think of the destruction or injury to every one of its citizens. Is it impossible to go to Gettysburg and see the 5,000 graves of heroes who perished from this gigantic life or death struggle of these magnificent armies? No, but this one great battle is not all. think of the many battles from Bull Run to Appo- mattox, thenk, or try to think of 1CO.CCO dead heroes, from the Union Army _lone. just those killed, or died of wounds, nay 110,070. one hundred and ten full sized regiments, why this would be an army alone. It is a vast army of dead-but this is not all !- it is not even half. the vast army of 250.000 men who died without a wound. from sickness, full 228.000 more than would have died at home from natural causes, then add the death list from every branch of the service, Regulars. Navy. Colored Troops. Indians, and from all causes and we have 359,528, who perished that the nation might live.
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How can all these individually live, as the heroes, the martyrs who died, and also besides these the no less valiant, who returned to civil life to share on equal terms with those who did not go at all, all the blessings that flow from a pros- perous and glorious reunited country, the greatest and best the world has ever known. How can each-name-be-preserved and its-fame-perpetuated. when the best records extant are faulty. Only town histories can know and tell what its own soldiers were, and where and how they served their country and its Flag, when the national life was imperiled. Would that there was a reliable town record of every soldier froni every town. It is possible to have just such a record. It is just to the soldier that his heroism be recorded, it is just to his kindred, that the life lost to them should not perish in oblivion ; it is just to the town, that its full measure of patriotism be acknowledged, as it is of every county and of every state. It is just to the rising generation, that these lessons of home patriots, taught by example, and inscribed in blood, should be object lessons to them, of the de- mands of patriotism on all who love their country. For these reasons we (for I must use every available help) will try to tell as well as possible the story of
NUNDA IN THE CIVIL WAR
The firing upon Fort Sumpter electrified the entire North and set into activity every drop of patriotic blood, that, turbid and stagnant, threatened to paralyze the national spirit and life. The echoes of that first shot, aimed at the nations life, and fired at the emblem of her glory, broke the lethargic spell of years. It rever- berated from the pines of Maine to the red woods of California. The mountains caught its vibrations and distributed them to the valleys. Even the little Keshequa Valley nestled in unconscious beauty and calm repose, in its foothilled cradle, was startled into intense activity and stirred up to intense vigor.
Something must be done at once, but who was there ready to brave the perils and share the risk of their temerity. A week was spent in desultory discussions of the situation, and a war of diverse opinions was waged with a genuine Nunda obduracy ; in the midst of the war of words, one man, Lester Barnes, hustled down to Rochester and enlisted in the 13th, the first Nunda man to be enrolled on the roll of the nation defenders. But the war of argument went on, some of the opinions advanced then, while they are now amusing for their very optimism, were only equalled for their fanatical zeal. The call for 75.CCO men brought these opinions to the front. "It is all we need and more too; with the regulars and . these volunteers, and the militia to look after things at the seaports, we can drive the Secesh into the Gulf of Mexico, in three months' time." While the Pessi- mists, generally-ultra-conservatists, and anti-war men-came much nearer to being prophets when they declared it would take every man of military age at the North to conquer every man of like age in the South-and while our fields would lack men to till them, the slaves would go on with the work in the South, as if nothing unusual was going on.
Day after day the war of words was renewed with other speakers-who should go, was the question to be settled: One of the few veterans of 1812, that lived here, was John C. McNair, whose patriotism" was as great as his age, "I'd go if they'd take me, and if I had a son that wouldn't go when others were going I'd disinherit him." "That's right. the young fellows ought to go, said a merchant, I think all these big lubbers here in school had better be exterminating rebels than
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conjugating latin verbs: dead rebels are of more consequence than the dead lan- guages." "They are waiting for some patriot like you to set the example, was the quick reply from a student." "Now all joking aside, said a newly married man who had married "well" and was living at ease, I think all the young single men could go as well as not, and should go, they have no families to provide for." "They would lose all the chances of marrying rich, was the stinging rejoinder." "I think all the married men should go" said a crusty bachelor ( who remained a bachelor). "Why so?" asked a listener. "Because this is a Civil War, a sort of family fracas, and the married men are already veterans in this kind of fighting." Thus by a timely joke most of the skirmishes during this week of unsettled opin- ions as to personal duty and individual patriotismi were settled. From the sublime to the absurd is only a short step. A telegram. to George MI. Osgoodby, Esq., asking if Nunda would raise a company of soldiers as a part of the New York's quota of 75,000 men. In three hours time our first war meeting was held. Friday. April 19th. The opportunity was all that was necessary ; the response was astonishing.
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