USA > New York > Cayuga County > History of Cayuga County, New York > Part 7
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In the meantime the Nineteenth Regiment had been reorganized as the Third Artillery and in February and March, 1862, about ninety recruits went forward under Lieutenants Allen, Boyle and Kirby, to fill its ranks to the desired strength.
In 1862 military districts were formed throughout the state, one of which comprised Cayuga and Wayne counties, and in it the One Hundred and Eleventh Regiment was raised.
Its Field and Staff officers were :
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Colonel, Jesse Segoine; Lieutenant-Colonel, Clinton D. Mac- Dougall; Adjutant, Henry H. Segoine; Surgeon, William Vosburgh ; Quartermaster, James Trulan.
The Company officers were:
Company A-Captain, Aaron P. Seely; First Lieutenant, Samuel B. McIntyre; Second Lieutenant, Ezra A. Hibbard.
Company B-Captain, John S. Coe; First Lieutenant, Jacob T. Van Buskirk; Second Lieutenant, John Tremper.
Company C-Captain, Ed. A. Thomas; First Lieutenant, Ira Jones; Second Lieutenant, Theodore Lamson.
Company D-Captain, Sebastian D. Holmes; First Lieutenant, Hasseltine S. Moore; Second Lieutenant, Erastus M. Granger.
Company E-Captain, Isaac M. Lusk; First Lieutenant, Andrew
D. Soverill; Second Lieutenant, John A. Lanig.
Company F-Captain, Benjamin W. Thompson; First Lieu- tenant, Robert C. Perry; Second Lieutenant, John H. Drake.
Company G-Captain, Lewis A. Husk; First Lieutenant, John I. Brinkerhoff; Second Lieutenant, Edgar J. A. Hueston.
Company H-Captain, Ezra H. Northrop; First Lieutenant, Frank Rich; Second Lieutenant, Reuben J. Myres.
Company I-Captain, Sidney Mead; First Lieutenant, Merrill W. Murdock; Second Lieutenant, Arthur W. Marshall.
Company K-Captain, S. A. Tremaine; First Lieutenant, George M. Smith; Second Lieutenant, A. B. Capron.
The One Hundred and Eleventh Regiment went to the front in response to a call for more troops in July, 1862. This was followed by another call for three hundred thousand more in August and the One Hundred and Thirty-Eighth Regiment was raised in the Cayuga-Wayne district, under command of Joseph Welling of Wayne County. Its official organization was as follows:
Field and Staff officers of the One Hundred and Thirty-Eighth Regiment: Colonel, Joseph Welling; Lieutenant-Colonel, William
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H. Seward, Jr .; Major, Edward P. Taft; Adjutant, William R. Wasson; Sergeant-Major, Lyman C. Comstock; Quartermaster, Henry P. Knowles.
The Company officers were :
Company A-Captain, James W. Snyder; First Lieutenant, James H. Hyde; Second Lieutenant, Rufus M. Campbell.
Company B-Captain, Truman Gregory; First Lieutenant, Nelson F. Strickland; Second Lieutenant, William E. Greenwood. Company C-Captain, Loyal W. Alden; First Lieutenant, Harvey Follett; Second Lieutenant, Marshall B. Burke.
Company D-Captain, Charles L. Lyon; First Lieutenant, Anson S. Wood; Second Lieutenant, Samuel C. Redgrave.
Company E-Captain, Selah Cornwall; First Lieutenant, Seth F. Swift; Second Lieutenant, George C. Stoyell.
Company F-Captain, Charles Burgess; First Lieutenant, Geo. W. Bacon; Second Lieutenant, Sullivan B. Lamereaux.
Company G-Captain, William Wood; First Lieutenant, Wm. Hawley; Second Lieutenant, Seymour Woodward.
Company H-Captain, John L. Crane; First Lieutenant, Tunis Vosburgh; Second Lieutenant, Daniel B. Harmon.
Company I-Captain, Hugh Hughes; First Lieutenant; Orson Howard; Second Lieutenant, Philip R. Freeoff.
Company K-Captain, Irwin Sawyer; First Lieutenant, Dennis E. Flynn; Second Lieutenant, Geo P. Knapp.
The military district of which Cayuga County was a part had now raised four full regiments and a battery of artillery, besides supplying many recruits to fill up old regiments, but still the quota was not complete, and, to prevent a dreaded draft, efforts were made to encourage volunteers. The stores of Auburn were closed at four o'clock daily in order that the energies of all might be directed toward filling up the required quota War committees were appointed to aid in the work, and flags of recruiting stations waved in all parts of the city. The supervisors of Cayuga County
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met and offered a bounty of fifty dollars for volunteers. Captain Charles C. Dwight, of the Seventy-Fifth, then in New Orleans, was communicated with, and offered the colonelcy of a new regiment. He reached Auburn, October 20, 1862, and by November 22nd the One Hundred and Sixtieth New York Volunteers were ready for the field.
The Field and Staff officers were :
Colonel, Charles C. Dwight; Lieutenant-Colonel, John B. Van Patten; Major, William H. Sentell; Adjutant, Gorton W. Allen; Surgeon, Cyrus Powers; Assistant-Surgeon, David H. Armstrong; Chaplain, William Pultman ; Quartermaster, Dighton H. Winans.
The company officers were :
Company A-Captain, William Potter; First Lieutenant, William J. Van Deusen ; Second Lieutenant, James B. Vaughn.
Company B-Captain, H. P. Underhill; First Lieutenant, L. L. Wheelock; Second Lieutenant, James Kelly.
Company C-Captain, B. B. Rogers; First Lieutenant, Robert B. Ennis; Second Lieutenant, James V. D. Westfall.
Company D-Captain J. D. Bunerd ; First Lieutenant, Myron H. Shirts; Second Lieutenant, E. H. Sentell.
Company E-Captain, Henry Moore; First Lieutenant, James Gray; Second Lieutenant, Nicholas McDonough.
Company F-Captain, Josiah C. Jewett; First Lieutenant, Gideon F. Moorey ; Second Lieutenant, Edwin Kirby.
Company G-Captain, Malcolm Wright; First Lieutenant, Hor- ace Silsby ; Second Lieutenant, A. S. Stillman.
Company H .- Captain, Daniel S. Vaughn; First Lieutenant, Charles R. Caltord; Second Lieutenant, Miles I. Jones.
Company I-Captain, Allen L. Burr; First Lieutenant, Newton Dexter; Second Lieutenant, Robert R. Seeley.
Company K-Captain L. B. Hunt; First Lieutenant, George L. Merrill; Second Lieutenant John H. Shaver.
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In April, 1863, John N. Knapp of Auburn was appointed provost- marshal for this military district. James M. Servis of Wayne was made ,commissioner of enrollment and Doctor D. R. Davis, of Seneca Falls, surgeon. An enrollment of the district was made, and on July 13, 1863, a draft was ordered to fill the places of the two-year men whose term of service would soon expire.
While the balloting for this draft was going on in Auburn the terrible Draft Riots were in progress in New York City, but there was no disturbance here. The result of the draft was about 2,000 conscripts, who must go to the front or purchase their redemption at a cost of three hundred dollars. Fifty so purchased their release.
The failure of the draft to provide sufficient soldiers led to another call for three thousand men, and another draft was made on October 17th. Cayuga County offered a bounty of three hundred dollars for volunteers, and issued bonds to raise the necessary funds. In this way sufficient recruits were obtained to fill up the quota from this district demanded by the draft.
Another call for troops came in February, 1864, and the quota of Cayuga County was filled inside of twenty days. Most of the recruits raised to fill the several calls of 1864 went to fill up gaps in old regiments.
On January 24, 1865, Captain John N. Knapp resigned the office of provost-marshal and was succeeded by Captain B. B. Snow, who began a last draft on March 15, at the Court House in Auburn.
The One Hundred and Ninty-Third Regiment was organized in camp in the spring of 1865. It was officered as follows:
Colonel, J. B. Van Petten; Lieutenant Colonel, John C. Gilmore ; Major, Alfred Morton; Adjutant, Thurlow B. Wasson; Quarter- master, Charles H. Bailey ; Surgeon, David H. Armstrong ; Chaplain, W. D. Chase. Captains; John Jones, Edwin C. Knapp, Wm. H. Porter, A. H. Preston, Joel Reed, James H. Hitchcock, Sidney W. Ainsworth, Orrin D. Staplin, Wm. L. Yeckley and Wm. H. Harris.
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Six regiments besides Kennedy's Battery were raised in this military district, namely the Nineteenth, the Seventy-Fifth, the One Hundred and Eleventh, the One Hundred and Thirty-Eighth, the One Hundred and Sixtieth, and the One Hundred and Ninety- Third.
The Nineteenth, New York Volunteers were mustered into the United States service at Elmira, and from there proceeded to Harrisburg, in command of Colonel John S. Clark. From Harris- burg, Colonel Clark took his regiment to Washington, leading his men through Baltimore in defiance of the hostile mob. The regi- ment then became a part of General Patterson's command in the army of General McDowell, and proceeded by way of Baltimore to Harrisburg, to Chambersburg to Hagerstown and Martinsburg. There Colonel Clark resigned from command of the regiment to ac- cept the position of aid-de-camp on the staff of General Bangs, and was succeeded by Colonel Seward. At the expiration of the three months for which they had enlisted the soldiers expected to return home, but although the men had been sworn into the United States service for only three months, the intent of the authorities had been that they enlisted for two years. So, when the time ex- pired those who were not willing, voluntarily, to serve out their time were coerced into service for the balance of the two years.
The regiment was sent to Hyattstown where it remained until September 24, 1861, when it was moved to Muddy Branch where a large number of desertions occurred during October and November. On December Ist only 425 effective men remained. In September, Colonel Seward had resigned and was succeeded by Major Ledlie.
On December 11, 1861, the Nineteenth was converted from infantry to artillery to form a part of a regiment, 1,900 strong, the design of which was to defend the capital.
To Washington therefore went the Nineteenth to be absorbed into the Third Regiment New York Volunteer Artillery. On March 22, 1862, the regiment was changed to light artillery and provided
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GEN. CLINTON D. MACDOUGALL
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with new uniforms. On the 24th they received marching orders. In April, Captain Ammon and his company distinguished themselves at the bombardment and capture of Fort Mason, which guarded the entrance to Beaufort harbor. On August 6th, Captain Wall and Captain Riggs also achieved renown by their defence of Washington, North Carolina. The Third Artillery did effective service in the expedition to Goldsboro, in connection with General Burnside's operations against Fredericksburg, Va.
When Colonel Ledlie was promoted to the rank of Brigadier- General, Colonel Stewart took command of the regiment and proved a most valuable officer.
When the regiment returned to Auburn in May, 1863, the members of the old Nineteenth having served the time for which they enlisted, Colonel Stewart applied for, and was granted, per- mission to recruit for the regiment, and about 300 were added to its strength. Subsequently the Third Artillery participated in many important engagements, although the batteries were sometimes widely distributed. Sixty-four battles in all are credited to Colonel Stewart's regiment.
The Seventy-Fifth New York Volunteers also saw a great deal of severe service and won imperishable renown during the war. The regiment was first sent to defend Fort Pickens, Fla., where the command arrived December 14, 1861. Opposite Fort Pickens, across the channel, stood Fort McRae, near which lay General Bragg with a strong rebel force, and the first service of the Seventy- Fifth was of a defensive character.
They remained there until August 31, 1862, when they embarked for New Orleans, arriving September 3d, They were placed with the command of General Butler and were brigaded under General Godfrey Weitzel. Then they went out on the celebrated "La Fourche Expedition."
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On January 10th, General Weitzel was sent out to capture the rebel gunboat Cotton, and in the enterprise the Seventy-Fifth lost Lieutenant, James E. Whiteside, and one private besides having sixteen wounded.
Next came the march through Louisiana and the desperate fighting against Fort Hudson where the Seventy-Fifth distinguished itself, bearing the brunt of a whole day's battle and suffering severely in both killed and wounded. When the town was taken the Seventy-Fifth led the victorious army into the rebel strong- hold, a position of honor won by its valor and heavy losses.
On August 31st, a column was sent out to regain possession of the seaports of Texas, and the Seventy-Fifth formed a part of the command. The expedition was unsuccessful. Then a descent into Texas by land was undertaken and the Seventy-Fifth was included in it, but the rainy season coming on forced the abandonment of the campaign.
Shortly after this the Seventy-Fifth was mounted and attached to the cavalry force of General Lee at New Iberia. This, however, gave the men no advantage as they were put on shipboard the following May to join the Department of the Gulf, as infantry. There the regiment was brigaded under Colonel Merritt, in the 19th, corps commanded by General Franklin. On July 13th, they sailed for Bermuda where they encamped close to the rebels.
On August 14th, the regiment was transferred with the Second Division to the Shenandoah Valley where they joined the army of General Sheridan and participated in the operations of the celebrated campaign of that famous general. The last battle in which the Seventy-Fifth was engaged was at Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864, although it did not return home until September, 1865.
Captain Kennedy raised an independent battery, but for want of guns and equipments was compelled to change it to an infantry company in the Nineteenth Regiment. Subsequently he succeeded
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in getting his company mustered out of the infantry and realized his original idea of an independent battery. He reported with his command at Washington in December, 1861. Here he received his equipments and was ordered to report to Captain Ayers of the regular army at Baltimore. The battery participated in the move- ments of the army to Alexander City, Fortress Monroe, Hampton City, Newport, Youngstown and Warwick River; at Lee's Mills the battery did effective service During the siege of Yorktown, Capt. Kennedy accepted the position of major in the Third Artillery, and his battery was placed in charge of Lieutenant Andrew J. Cowan, and continued in service with the army of the Potomac.
The One Hundred and Thirty-Eighth Regiment was recruited in the military district including the counties of Cayuga and Wayne. The Colonel, Joseph Welling, was from the latter county and the Lieutenant-Colonel, William H. Seward Jr., from Auburn, Cayuga county. The field and staff and company officers have already been mentioned.
The regiment left Auburn on Friday, September 12, 1862, and proceeded to Washington, where the men were destined to experi- ence a long term of garrison duty and become very familiar with the use of the pick and shovel, road-making being their first arduous duty in the line of service.
The regiment was incorporated into General Haskins' Division, Twenty-Second Army Corps, the duty of which was then the defence of Washington, and their various garrison duties gave the soldiers an inside view of nearly the whole chain of forts about the national capital.
Early in their fort life, men of the One Hundred and Thirty- Eighth became known as "Seward's Pets," not because William H. Seward Jr., was their Lieutenant-Colonel, but because his father, Secretary Seward made frequent visits to the regimental head- quarters.
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In the fall of 1862, the One Hundred and Thirty-Eighth was con- verted into the Ninth Heavy Artillery and eventually became noted not only for its size, but for the fighting qualities of its men.
During all of the year 1863 and on into May, 1864, the regiment was held in the forts about or near Washington, but in that month in became a part of the Sixth Army Corps and was ordered to the front.
On May 24th, Colonel Joseph Welling resigned his command of the regiment and was succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel Seward. The regiment was then a part of the Second Brigade, Third Division, Sixth Army Corps, of the Army of the Potomac. Colonel Keifer was Brigade Commander, General Ricketts Division Commander and General Wright, Commander of the Corps.
The Ninth Heavy Artillery reached the front in time to partici- pate in the fighting from June Ist to IIth about Cold Harbor, and drew the highest commendation from General Ricketts, and the whole corps was complimented by General Meade ..
From Cold Harbor the Sixth Corps took up the march to Peters- burg where the Ninth Heavy Artillery again did splendid service. But on July 6th, they were ordered back toward Washington to intercept General Jubal Early in his raid against the capital.
This brought them into the battle of Monocacy where, on July 9, 1864, General Lew Wallace with, at most, 5,000 men delayed Early for full thirty hours, but got his little column bruised and broken by the heavy division of Early's army-the army that had been Stonewall Jackson's. The terrible task thrown upon General Wal- lace came about in this way : Lee was occupying all of Grant's atten- tion while Early stole up the Shenandoah Valley with 25,000 men and forty field guns, to capture Washington. Wallace was ordered to hold him in check until re-enforcements could arrive and he did it.
During the battle General Ricketts was wounded and Colonel Seward, after receiving a bullet, had his horse shot under him, and his leg broken by the horse falling upon him.
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The historian Lossing says of this battle: "So ended the battle of Monocacy in the ultimate defeat of the few national troops there engaged but in triumph for the national cause; for the check given to the flushed invaders by Wallace in that gallant fight of eight hours which gave time for re-enforcements to reach Washington saved the capital. But for that check of thirty hours, the capital would have been Early's prize. In view of these circumstances the battle appears as one of the most important and brilliant of the war. "
General Grant in his memoirs says: "General Wallace contrib- uted on this occasion by the defeat of the troops under him, a greater benefit to the cause than often falls to the lot of a commander of equal force to render by means of a victory. "
In August the regiment with part of the Ninth Heavy Artillery was again headed south, under General Philip Sheridan, and on the 29th of that month took part in the battle of Winchester. The 19th of October the regiment considered the most important date in its history, for on that day was fought the great battle of Cedar Creek, in which the Union forces under General Wright were surprised by Early, and driven in confusion from camp and field. In that battle the regiment retired slowly and reluctantly, and when Sheridan came up in the afternoon and took personal command, drove the rebels into a disordered rout.
From Cedar Creek the regiment proceeded to Petersburg and participated in the operations around that stronghold until the surrender of Lee at Appomattox. The men returned home during the latter part of July, 1865.
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CHAPTER VIII.
Establishment of Free Schools-Fort Hill Cemetery-Improvements on the Outlet-Auburn Gas Light Company-D. M. Osborne Company-The Financial Reaction-Establishment of Letter Carrier System-Notable Modern Events.
In 1849 an act of Legislature established the system of free education to the pupils of all public schools in the State of New York, and the law aided very materially the efforts of those in Auburn who had been working for some years to improve the educational advantages of the children of the poor. The schools of Auburn are referred to at length, in a special chapter, in another part of this work.
The Fort Hill Cemetery Association was organized May 15, 1851, and incorporated under the state law of April 27, 1847. The first Board of Trustees was: Enos T. Throop Martin, Thomas Y. Howe, Jr., James C. Derby, Benjamin F. Hall, William C. Beardsley, Nelson Beardsley, Isaac S. Allen, Cyrus C. Dennis, Zebins M. Mason, John H. Chedell, M. S. Meyers and John H. Haight. The trustees were divided by lot into three classes, serving one, two and three years, respectively, so that each year there would be an election of one-third of the officials. Thomas Y. Howe Jr., and George W. Hatch made a conveyance of the hill to the trustees for the sum of one dollar, naming certain other considerations in the deed. The hill was consecrated as a cemetery July 7, 1852.
The work of laying out the cemetery in lots and improving it generally was then undertaken. The mound in the center of the fort, supposed to have been an ancient altar, was selected as the site for a monument, or cenotaph, to the memory of Logan, the famous Indian and friend of the white man. It was erected in 1852.
Modern names have been given to different parts of the hill, excepting the old fortification in which the mound builders are recalled by the name Fort Alleghan.
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Mount Auburn is the bold bluff to the right of Cayuga avenue as it enters the cemetery. Mount Vernon lies to the west of Fort Alleghan. The name suggests its origin. Mount Hope is situated on the southern declivity of the hill, and the three glens, Glen Haven, Glen Cove and Glen Alpine, lie upon its southern slope.
As far back as 1830 the mill owners of Auburn were considering plans for increasing the hydraulic power of the Outlet, by deepening the channel. They were also debating upon the practicability of storing up that power when the lake was at high water, that they might use it during the dry season. The surplus water accumulated in the spring, flowed away rapidly, and before the end of summer the stream became low and feeble.
In 1830, some mill owners determined to apply to the Legislature for an act to enable them to erect a water gate in the Outlet, near the lake, so as to maintain an average depth of twenty inches of water on the shallows, during the entire year. But the Auburn and Owasco Canal Company promising to deepen the Outlet at the lake, the matter was left to that corporation. Nothing was done, however, and conditions remained as they were until 1847, when the scarcity of water in the autumn became a serious question not only to the mill owners, but to the State Prison and the Erie Canal, of which the Owasco was a feeder.
An examination of the Outlet revealed several impediments in the channel and a serious obstruction at its head. This was a sand bar about thirteen hundred feet wide. The Auburn Woolen Company, William Beach & Company and Josiah Barber united in an effort to improve the water power of the stream. The bottom for a distance of one thousand feet above the dam of the creek was lowered four feet below the level of the dam; and at the same time an artificial channel through the sand bar was attempted, but the latter under- taking proved futile, as the sand assisted by the current rendered a permanent channel impracticable.
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In 1852 the problem was again attacked, and this time the aid of the Legislature was invoked. On April 9th of that year an act was passed appropriating the sum of seven thousand dollars for the re- moval of the sand bar at the foot of Owasco Lake and the improve- ment of the Outlet. Work upon the Outlet was commenced almost immediately and by the autumn of 1854, the value of the undertak- ing had made itself apparent by the supply of water contributed to the Canal at Port Byron, when the new cut at Owasco Lake was thrown open. In 1855 the Canal Commissioners completed the work of cutting through the sand bar. In 1868 further improvements were made.
In 1851, Thomas Y. How Jr., secured a charter to construct a system of water works for the city of Auburn. He proposed to bring the water from Owasco Lake, but met with so much opposi- tion because of the scarcity of water for power purposes in the dry season, that he never carried out his plan. In 1859, however, a char- ter was granted to the Auburn Water Works Company, but the di- rectors did not organize until 1863. In December of that year they raised the required capital, $100,000, and elected Edward H. Avery, president, and Albert H. Goss, secretary and treasurer.
The construction of the pump house, dam and raceway was completed in the spring of 1864, and the company was laying water mains in September, 1865.
The Auburn Gas Light Company was organized January 1I, 1850, with a capital of $20,000. The first officers were Captain George B. Chase, president; Benjamin F. Hall, secretary; Z. M. Mason, treasurer, and Thomas Hoadley, engineer and superinten- dent.
Illuminating gas was first manufactured in Auburn at the mills of the Auburn Woolen Company, by Thomas Hoadley and Michael Kavanaugh, and it is said that the success of the first trial of the gas led to the formation of the Auburn Gas Light Company.
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The company was prepared to light the city September 1, 1850, but that very night their factory burned down. They were in operation, again, however, by October Ist. In 1860 the company put up a plant for the manufacture of gas from coal. They had previously manufactured from "Whales Foots" and from rosin.
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