USA > New York > Staten Island > History of Richmond County (Staten Island), New York : from its discovery to the present time > Part 30
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In the course of the day a demonstration was made against the sutler's department, but was put down withont much trouble. About ten o'clock in the evening flames were seen is- suing from the stables adjoining the hospital department. The energy of the officers and men succeeded in saving some valu- able horses that were in these buildings, and also, by great ex-
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ertions, the hospital itself, which was at one time seriously en- dangered. The patrol guard was strengthened, and this effectually prevented any making their escape amid the confu- sion consequent npon the fire.
Squads of soldiers were detailed that afternoon to go to the different ferries and look ont for any deserters who might at- tempt to leave the island by the ferry-boats. One of the gnard at Stapleton landing, named Spellissy, while attending to this duty, attempted to arrest two young men whom he took to be deserters, but who claimed to have been honorably discharged from the service. In the scuffle which ensued one Donahue, a by-stander, came to the assistance of the young men, and after a hand to hand encounter with Spellissy broke from him and ran away, when the latter fired upon him, the ball making a wound in the thigh of Donahne, and also striking the knee of a little child in its passage. Spellissy was arrested, and barely escaping being lynched at the hands of the incensed populace, was confined in Richmond jail.
It would appear to be the fact that some grounds of complaint existed with the men, owing to their treatment and their fare. One who had inquired into the subject somewhat wrote: "All through the winter complaints have come to us from soldiers quar- tered at New Dorp and Tompkinsville that their bounties have been withheld ; and for a long time, at the latter camp ground, miserable fare has been loudly talked of, and on more than one occasion the men have demolished the cook-house where, they insisted, decayed food had been prepared for them. I have con - versed with a large number of these men, and discovered that they were not of the commoner sort, being very intelligent, and many of them sons of thrifty farmers in the northern and west- ern sections of this state ; consequently they know what decent treatment is, and felt that they had a right to expect it at the hands of the government or its officers. Hundreds of them have 'skedaddled' in disgust, and doubtless have borne to the ears of the community to which they belong, dismal tidings of the state of affairs in Uncle Samnel's camp, and pictured in their mental vision scenes to which they are likely to remain strangers, at least as far as they are able."
A small number of skeleton organizations, or parts of organi- zations, were brought together here and consolidated in June, 1863. Among these remnants were the "Tompkins," "H.
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Seymour " and "Davis" cavalry, the "Blair Rifles," "Sey mour Light Infantry," "Defenders," "Burnside Rifles, "Pratt Guard," and the " Westchester Light Infantry."
General Mcclellan was present at a grand review which took place at this camp September 8, 1863. There were about three thousand five hundred men in the various commands then or- ganizing here, and the occasion called out about eight thousand spectators. The affair was said to be one of the most brilliant military demonstrations ever witnessed on the island. General McClellan having taken a position, the troops marched in re- view before him, the following regiments taking part and mov- ing in the order named : Eleventh N. Y., Thirty-first, Duryea's Zouaves, Thirty-fourth, Ninth, Twelfth cavalry, Corning's Eighteenth light cavalry, Twenty-first cavalry (dismounted), Seventeenth, Thirteenth and some other regiments. After the column had passed the general addressed the soldiers, many of whom had been in the service with him, in the following lan- guage :
" My COMRADES-I am glad and sad and proud to meet you again. (Lond cheers). I am glad because we are all glad to meet old comrades and brothers in arms. (Renewed cheering). I am sad because I am reminded in seeing yon, of your brethren slain on our fields of battle. I remember, too, our last fighi, opposite Warrentown. I am proud because I call to mind all our battles from Yorktown to Antietam. I am proud because yon who are here are some of the old Army of the Potomac, on which I have looked with pride, and ever shall. (Tremendous cheering). When you return to your comrades say to them that their old commander has continued to watch their every battle with as much interest, feeling and pride as when with you, and that he will ever do so. (Cheers). I am also glad to know that so many of you are returning to the service. I thank you, comrades, for the kind welcome you have given me. I will not say good-bye again. We have said that once before, and I trust never to repeat it."
Early in November, 1863, four or five hundred men remaining, discontent arose and insubordination was manifest. This culmi- nated on the night of the 4th in the burning of the barracks. At about one o'clock of the following morning fire was dis- covered on the east side of the camp. The alarm was given by the firing of howitzers, and several apparatus companies came
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to the scene, Excelsior Bucket Company No. 1, Protection Hose, of Stapleton, and Neptune Hose, of Tompkinsville, being the first to arrive. The flames were extinguished, but not until all the eastern side and about one hundred feet of the northern side of the camp were destroyed. Unusual vigilance was exer- cised on the following night, but flames again appeared at about the same hour of the night, and before any available assistance could reach the spot the remaining part of the structure was burned to the ground. A few days later a plot was ex- posed by one of the men implicated in it, which had been planned for the purpose of burning the hospital which was filled with sick men. The man who exposed the plot had not the hardened heart to allow him to carry out the scheme of crime that he had engaged in, and he named the ringleaders, who were arrested and put in irons. On the following day General Canby ordered all the men except about forty cavalry to be removed to Governor's island. The camp was now de- serted except by the few men who remained to guard its ruins.
When the encampments of soldiers were first made on the island considerable alarm was felt for the safety of the inhabi- tants and the security of their property against the molestation of the troops. A police force was talked of and steps toward a regular organization, to be employed and paid by the public funds, were taken. There were differences of opinion, some believing that such a force was necessary and others arguing that it would be a needless expense, and that the camp regulations would be sufficient to protect the people against any serious damage or molestation. A line of sentries was stationed by the commandant of Camp Scott as far as Vanderbilt landing, about two miles from the camp.
Thus, as we have seen, now and heretofore in this article, the most vigilant effort was in many cases made to protect the people from the annoyances of the encamped army. But this could be but imperfectly done. The local and government authorities sometimes came into conflict, when soldiers who had been arrested and imprisoned for offenses against the civil law, were demanded by the officers of the military organizations to which they belonged to move with the organization to the seat of war. In this way many a guilty criminal escaped pun- ishment. This emboldened others to be more reckless in their
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offensive conduct, especially when it was known that their regiments were to move forward before a trial in the civil courts would be had.
One of the frequent manifestations of lawlessness was seen in the work of the incendiary torch. The frequency of fires in 1862 is thus referred to in a paragraph in a local paper at the time:
"FIRE NUMBER 26 .- Notwithstanding the general desire to efface party lines there is still a party on the North Shore which keeps up its organization and performs its labors with much diligence. We allude to the barnburners. These nota- ble individuals enjoyed themselves for the twenty-sixth time on Sunday morning, at half-past three o'clock (the usual hour for such fun), by setting fire to the barn of Mr. Henry Cornell on the Mill Road, Castleton. It was burned to the ground-loss about $300. The inhabitants all get awake in time to see the fire, but the incendiaries are generally supposed to be in- visible.
" Many of the people are said to be so used to the alarm of fire that when they discover it is not their barn they go to bed again."
Incendiary fires, burglaries, thefts, assaults, and drunken fights were of daily occurrence during much of the time. The expenses of the county for the services of constables and patrol- men for the year 1862 was eight thousand six hundred and forty- five dollars and twenty-one cents. About two thousand six hundred arrests for criminal offenses were made during the year. The bills of the justices of the peace for acting on these cases amounted to five thousand two hundred and twenty-three dollars and seventy-one cents ; making an aggregate of thirteen thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight dollars and ninety-two cents paid for preserving the public peace, which after all was continually in a precarious condition.
The summer of 1865 was notable for the frequency of assaults, robberies and other examples of ruffianism. Many of the per- petrators of outrages of this character upon the peaceable citizens, which occurred almost daily, were returned soldiers, who had been schooled amid scenes of war, and being without any principle of honor, were ready to practice theft and violence upon unprotected citizens in a land of peace. The island was overcome by a tide of ruffianism and crime that rendered life
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and property here decidedly unsafe. It was a publicly admitted fact that crime was enormously on the increase. Highway rob- beries, house breakings, violent assanlts and batteries, riots and other heinous offenses, almost without number, were committed. Any attempt to give a detailed list of specific instances wonld be a sickening task. Many arrests were made and the guilty parties were imprisoned in the county jail. But even here their bold defiance of law manifested itself in threats of using the political influence which some of them claimed to have to de- feat at the ballot box the public officials who should dare to bring them to punishment. Despite such threats, however, the grand jury at the next court of sessions, in September, found indictments against thirty-eight prisoners, nineteen of which were for assault and battery, four for burglary, two for assault with intent to kill, and the remainder for various crimes.
But the period of war is closed. Let us be done with the lawlessness, the riots, the contentions, the destruction of prop- erty, the ill feelings, the excitements, the sorrowings and all the train of skeleton forms that attend on a time of war. And how mean a recompense is the blare of martial music, the graceful evolutions of military parade, the glitter of dazzling uniforms and equipments or the gallant carriage of a command- ing hero on the field ! Let us pray kind Heaven that this fair island may not again be desecrated by the presence of an en- camped soldiery preparing themselves for scenes of carnage and destruction.
From the scenes in which men were engaged-the scenes in which their aim was to shed the blood of their fellow men, it is refreshing to turn a moment to the scenes in which honorable women were meanwhile engaged-the work of staying the crim- son tide, healing the wounds that men had made and relieving the sufferings that were the inevitable fruits of war. While the men were at work fanning the flames of passion to make them burn higher for the destruction of their fellows, the ladies were unobtrusively working away, preparing articles of use and comfort for the soldiers at the front or the sick and wound- ed in hospitals. Organizations were effected in the different villages, preparing articles of clothing, such as stockings, shirts, drawers, handkerchiefs, mittens, besides lint, bandages, blank- ets, preserves, and other little delicacies and luxuries. There were the "Mariner's Harbor Soldiers' Relief Society," com.
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posed largely of active young ladies, the "Ladies' Relief Society of New Springville," the "North Shore Soldiers' Aid Society at Factoryville," and others whose names or work are not before us now, but which were equally noble, self-sacrificing and worthy of grateful remembrance.
We will, in closing this chapter of war, append the following list of Staten Islanders who served during the War of the Rebellion, in Company I, One Hundred and Fifty-sixth New York State Volunteers :
Orville D. Jewett, Castleton, first lientenant ; captain ; re- signed 1863.
Clarence T. Barrett, Castleton, second lieutenant ; first lien- tenant ; adjutant ; served as aid-de-camp on staff of Major- General W. H. Emory, commanding Nineteenth army corps ; then on staff of Major-General E. S. Canby, commanding de- partment of gulf; captain and aid-de-camp, United States army ; brevetted major for gallant and meritorious services at the capture of Mobile.
Charles W. Kennedy, Castleton, first sergeant : second lieu- tenant ; first lieutenant ; captain ; served for two years on staff of Third brigade, Second division, Nineteenth army corps, as brigade commissary, and acting assistant adjutant-general.
Edward Steers, Castleton, sergeant ; first lieutenant ; served until the end of war.
William Cortelyou, Southfield, sergeant ; second lieutenant ; wounded at Cedar Creek ; served until the end of war.
Bennett H. Buel, Castleton, sergeant ; served until the end of war.
George G. Cadmus, Northfield, sergeant ; discharged for disability.
Charles T. Pine, Castleton, corporal ; discharged to accept commission on corps d' Afrique.
George Mersereau, Castleton, corporal ; sergeant ; served un- til the end of war.
Edward Haggerty, Northfield, corporal ; killed before Port- Hudson.
Nathan M. Barrett, Castleton, corporal color-guard ; served until the end of war.
William C. Simonson, Southfield, corporal ; sergeant ; served until the end of war.
.
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
Oscar Guyon, Southfield, corporal ; sergeant ; served until the end of war.
Albert P. Heal, Castleton, corporal ; served until the end of war.
John Vanderbilt, Castleton, corporal ; discharged to accept appointment as master of arms United States navy.
Thomas Steers, Castleton, corporal ; discharged to accept commission as assistant engineer United States navy.
John G. Bott, Castleton, private ; served until the end of war. William Bamber, Castleton, private ; corporal ; served nntil the end of war,
Robert Bell, Southfield, private ; died of disease in service.
Henry V. Buel, Castleton, private ; died of disease in service.
Edmund Blake, Castleton, private ; wounded at Winchester ; served nntil the end of war ; died from effects of wound.
James Brogan, Castleton, private ; served until end of war.
Nathan F. Barrett, Castleton, private ; sergeant-major ; sec- ond lieutenant ; served until end of war.
Abiel H. Burbank, Southfield, private ; died of disease in service.
Ebenezer Chichester, Castleton, private ; served till close of war.
Daniel Collins, Castleton, private ; served till close of war.
Dewitt C. Connor, Southfield, private; killed in action at Fort Bisland.
Edward Clary, Castleton, private ; wounded at Cedar Creek ; served until end of war.
Patrick Colbert, Castleton, private ; served until end of war.
Thomas F. Donnelly, Castleton, private ; sergeant ; served until end of war.
Richard Dawlin, Castleton, private ; wounded at Fisher's Hill ; discharged.
Albert G. Denton, Castleton, private : discharged for disabil- ity.
Daniel Elms, Northfield, private ; served until end of war.
Jacob N. Guyon, Southfield, private ; corporal ; discharged for disability.
Nelson Gilby, Southfield, private ; served until end of war.
Joseph Jacobs, Castleton, private ; served until end of war.
Bernard Jacobs, Castleton, private ; drum-major; served un- til end of war;
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
Albert Jones, Castleton, private ; died of disease in service. James E. Hood, Castleton, private ; discharged for disability.
Ira Mcveigh, Castleton, private ; wounded at Cedar Creek ; discharged.
Reuben S. Miller, Castleton, private ; served until end of war.
Philip J. Miller, Southfield, private ; corporal ; served until end of war.
Mark Mallett, Castleton, private ; taken prisoner at Cedar Creek ; discharged.
John Prosi, Castleton, private ; served until end of war.
Edward N. Pomeroy, Castleton, private ; discharged to re- ceive commission in corps d'Afrique.
Augustus W. Sexton, Jr .. Castleton, private ; discharged to receive commission.
William B. Smith, Castleton, private ; served until end of war.
Robert Stewart, Castleton, private ; served until end of war.
George Wackerhagen, Castleton, private ; discharged to re- ceive appointment as hospital steward United States army.
Thomas Wright, Castleton, private; wounded at Montesino Bayon ; served until end of war.
James Watson, Castleton, private ; taken prisoner at Cedar Creek ; died from exposure.
The death of President Garfield occasioned one of the most remarkable and general popular demonstrations of sorrow that has ever been witnessed here. The newspapers of the island were dressed in mourning. Memorial services were held by nearly every church and organization on Monday, October 26, 1881. In the north side villages a parade was organized. This was composed of Washington Engine Company No. 1, Port Richmond Engine Company No. 3, Lincoln Club of New Brighton; New Brighton Engine Company No. 4; Zephyr Hose Company No. 4; Aquehonga Hook and Ladder Company No. 1; Me dora Hook and Ladder Company No. 3; Metamora Council No. 650, American Legion of Honor; Continental Council No. 27, O. U. A. M. The line of march was taken along the shore road from the Pavilion hotel at New Brighton to Port Richmond, where a speaker's stand had been erected in the open field on Heberton avenue opposite the school house. Here appropriate services were conducted, consisting of singing and addresses, the latter by Rev. Jesse S. Gilbert and Hon. Erastus Brooks.
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Appropriate services were also held at the church of the Ascension, West New Brighton, at 11 o'clock, Rev. Mr. Cornell officiating in the absence of the rector. Services on the pre- vious Sunday at Trinity M. E. church had reference to the sub- ject, and similar services were held at the Moravian church at New Dorp. At the Reformed church memorial exercises were conducted on Monday at 2 o'clock by Rev. Dr. Brownlee, as- sisted by Rev. Dr. John Robinson and Rev. Mr. Vansant. The Rev. C. A. Frincke at the German Lutheran church, St. John's, conducted memorial services in German at the same hour. High mass was celebrated at St. Mary's, Clifton, by the Rev. John Lewis and the Litany of the Saints, in which is included prayers for all people, governors, rulers and officials, was recited in re- spect to the occasion, on the same day.
An elaborate service was conducted at St. John's, Clifton, which included the prescribed service, music, and addresses by Rev. Dr. Eccleston, the pastor, and Mr. W. W. MacFarland; while at Christ church, New Brighton, the liturgical and musi- cal services were supplemented by an address by Rev. George D. Johnson, the rector. At the Park Baptist church the pastor, being absent at the time, spoke with reference to the subject on the following Sabbath. At the Seamen's Retreat chapel ser- vices were held Monday afternoon and addresses were made by Rev. Drs. Kipp and Rockwell. At the Kingsley M. E. and St. Paul's Memorial churches, Edgewater, services were held on Monday, while on Sunday morning Rev. Dr. Rockwell, of the Presbyterian church, held a commemorative service. Masses were celebrated on Monday in St. Peter's, New Brighton, and St. Rose of Lima, West New Brighton; and in the latter church, after mass, prayer for the authorities, composed by Archbishop Carroll, of Baltimore, was recited. There were also services in St. Paul's M. E. and the South Baptist churches at Tottenville; in St. Joseph's at Rossville, and St. Mark's at Pleasant Plains. Rev. Mr. Cole, of Woodrow, delivered an essay on the life and service of President Garfield on the pre- ceding Sunday, and Rev. Mr. Morris, of Bethel M. E. church, gave a memorial sermon on the following Sabbath.
Nearly all these churches were draped, some on the inside, some on the outside and some on both. Heavy folds and cov- erings of black cloth were tastefully arranged on pulpits, chairs, tables, organs, railings, around windows, over doorways
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and arches and upon supporting pillars. Many residences, hotels and business places were also heavily dressed in mourn- ing, and in some cases bells were tolled at intervals through the day. Services at Stapleton Park were held under the auspices of Robert G. Shaw Post, G. A. R., and a large audience as- sembled. over which Mr. Justus O. Woods presided. Lenhart Post, of Tottenville, and the Staten Island Quartette Club, represented by thirty-five members, assisted in the exercises, and Ex-Congressman James W. Covert delivered an appropri- ate and touching address.
Probably the most destructive storm ever known on the island was that of September, 1882. Rain commenced on Wednesday evening the 20th, and continued nntil Saturday. Heavy rains fell during this time, and created freshets in many places, de- stroying property and rendering impossible the ordinary avenues of travel. The storm was accompanied by unusually high tides, which added to the aggregate damage along the shores. Wil- low brook was swelled to an alarming fullness. The culvert in the railroad embankment between Prince's bay and Pleasant Plains was not sufficient to give vent to the great body of water that accumulated above it, and on Saturday evening a breach was made and about thirty feet of the embankment was carried down the stream. The water by this time had risen so high as to cover many gardens and roads, and to fill many cellars, even covering the first floors in some houses. Out-houses and a nameless multitude of small articles were borne away on the seething flood. Blacksmith shops, barns and dwelling houses were undermined or otherwise damaged, as were also their con- tents, by the water, and a number of bridges were lifted from their foundations or carried away. Nearly two weeks elapsed before a temporary track could be laid across the breach so as to allow the passing of trains.
The railroad track was also badly damaged in several places in the vicinity of Richmond Valley. At the station the track was bent and torn, and a short distance below another washout occurred, while a train which had reached this point found it- self between two impaired spots, so as to be unable to pass with safety either way, in which condition it remained till Sunday afternoon. Several bridges were destroyed in the vicinity of Rossville and Green Ridge, and deep cuts were made in the roads in many places, which made them for the time impassable.
21
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
At Tottenville the railroad track and turn-tables were submerged, a brick wall in the rear of John Nelson's hotel was thrown down, and sidewalks and streets were badly disfigured, cellars filled and property destroyed. Near Huguenot the South Side hotel was damaged to the extent of about two thousand dollars value, by the undermining of its foundations, caused by the outburst of Arbutus lake. In Stapleton the streets were flooded, as were a large number of houses. At New Brighton the streets were deluged, and many houses that were considered proof against any ordinary flood were filled with water.
The stone wall that protects the causeway over which the road crosses the meadow at Sailors' Snug Harbor gave way, and the road was flooded so that the platforms of passing horse cars were under water.
At West New Brighton Broadway became a great river, its turbulent waters undermining a carpenter's shop belonging to David Pero, and another shop adjoining, cut out a great hole in the street near by, and flowed into the lower story of police station No. 2, to the depth of nine inches on the floor. The prisoners had to be transferred to the second story and the officers were obliged to sit up all night and watch them. The causeway between West New Brighton and Port Richmond was covered by two feet of water, and the torrent, as it swept over, took with it a cow, two pigs and a great quantity of miscellane- ons property. In this part of the island the story of demol- ished bridges, inundated floors and uptorn sidewalks and streets were on every hand too frequent to be particularized.
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