USA > New York > Yates County > History of Yates County, N.Y. : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers > Part 13
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Regimental and Line Officers .-- Colonel, Robert F. Taylor ; lieutenant-colonel, Joseph W. Corning; major, John S. Platner ; adjutant, John W. Corning; quartermaster, Henry N. Alexander ; chaplain, Augustus H. Lung ; surgeon, D'Estaing Dickinson ; assistant surgeon, Duncan MacLachlin.
Company A : Captain, Edwin J. Tyler; first lieutenant, Prince Wesley Bailey ; sec- ond lieutenant, Thomas H. Sibbalds. Company B : Captain, Henry J. Draime ; first lieutenant, Lucius C. Mix; second lieutenant, John J. Carter. Company C : Captain, Chester H. Cole ; first lieutenant, Robert H. Brett ; second lieutenant, James E. Steb- bings. Company D: Captain, Henry J. Gifford ; second lieutenant, William E. Roach. Company E: Captain, Wilson E. Warford; first lieutenant, John Gummer. Company F: Captain, James M. McNair ; first lieutenant, Henry A. Hills; second lieutenant, John F. Winship. Company G : Captain, George A. Gale; first lieutenant, George W. Marshall; second lieutenant, Byron F. Brain. Company H: Captain, Alexander H. Drake; first lieutenant, Otis Cole; second lieutenant, Sylvester Porter. Company I : Captain, Edward E. Root; first lieutenant, George Brennan. Company K: Captain, Patrick McGraw ; first lieutentant, Barnard Byrne; second lieutenant, Edward Carey.
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIXTH REGIMENT N. Y. V.
Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, received on the last of June, 1862, a communication signed by seventeen of the war governors of the North recommending him to " fill up all military or- ganizations then in the field that had become reduced by the unavoid- able casualties of the service, and to create new regiments for the defence of positions gained, by calling on each State for its quota of a body of men sufficient for such purposes." The President's reply in part was as follows :
"Fully concurring in the wisdom of the views expressed to me in so patriotic a manner by you in the communication of the 28th of June I have decided to call into the service an additional force of 300,000 men. I suggest and recommend that the troops should be chiefly of infantry. I trust they may be enrolled without delay, so as to bring this unnecessary and injurious civil war to a speedy and satisfactory conclusion."
The call for troops made as above by the President was dated July Ist and on the 2d a proclamation was issued by Hon. Edwin D. Mor-
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ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIXTH N. Y. V.
gan, governor of New York, for the raising of the quota of the State. Governor Morgan subsequently issued an order fixing the quotas of the several counties, and requiring a regiment to be raised in each senato- rial district, which for the time was re-named " Regimental District." For each district a war committee was appointed to take charge of the recruiting of the regiment of that district and to recommend the proper persons to officer such regiment. The war committee appointed by the governor for the Twenty-sixth Senatorial District held the first meet- ing at Geneva on the IIth of July, said committee being composed of certain prominent citizens from the counties of Ontario, Seneca, and Yates. From the last named county the members of the war com- mittee were as follows : Hon. William S. Briggs, county judge, Morris Brown, esq., Stafford C. Cleveland, editor of the Yates County Chroni- cle, Charles S. Hoyt, M.D., Meletiah H. Lawrence, esq., Hon. Darius A. Ogden, and Gen. Alexander F. Whitaker.
Recruiting immediately commenced, and on the 4th of August the rendezvous for the regiment to be raised in this district was opened at Camp Swift, Geneva. The position of commandant of this post was first offered to Hon. Charles J. Folger, of Geneva, and then to Hon. Darius A. Ogden, of Penn Yan. Each having in turn declined Hon. Eliakim Sherrill, of Geneva, was chosen and was commissioned colonel of the regiment upon its organization. War meetings were held in all parts of the senatorial district, particularly in our county of Yates, where great enthusiasm was manifested, and recruiting went on rapidly. Company A, recruited entirely in Yates County, was the first company in the new regiment to rendezvous at Camp Swift. The second was Company B, recruited principally in Yates County. Recruits from this county were also in Companies C, D, E, F, G, H, and K. On August 20th the regiment, which was called the One Hundred and Twenty- sixth New York Volunteers, was organized and on the 22d it was regularly mustered into the United States service.
On that date the One Hundred and Twenty sixth Regiment com- prised 39 officers and 956 enlisted men, or a total of 995. The regi- mental and line officers at the time were as follows :
Officers .- Colonel, E. Sherrill, Geneva ; lieutenant-colonel, James M. Bull, Canandai- gua ; major, W. H. Baird, Geneva; quartermaster, J. K. Loring, Waterloo; surgeon,
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HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
Fletcher M. Hammond, Penn Yan; first assistant-surgeon, Charles S. Hoyt, Potter ; second assistant-surgeon, Pierre D. Peltier, Canandaigua ; chaplain, T. Spencer Harri- son, Dundee ; sergeant-major, D. C. Farrington, Geneva; quartermaster-sergeant, John Stevenson, Seneca Falls ; commissary-sergeant, Richard Macey, Geneva; sutler, J. D. Cobb, Geneva.
Line Officers .- Company A : Captain, T. N. Burrill: first lieutenant, S. A. Barras; second lieutenant, G. D. Carpenter. Company B: Captain, W. A. Coleman ; first lieu- tenant, R. A. Bassett; second lieutenant, M. H. Lawrence, jr. Company C: Captain, W. Scott; first lieutenant, T. R. Lounsbury ; second lieutenant, A. W. Porter. Com- pany D : Captain, P. D. Phillips; first lieutenant, C. A. Richardson ; second lieutenant, S. F. Lincoln. Company E : Captain, H. D. Kipp; first lieutenant, George C. Pritch- ett; second lieutenant, J. H. Brough. Company F: Captain, Isaac Shimer ; first lieu- tenant, Ira Munson; second lieutenant, T. E. Munson. Company G : Captain, J. F. Aikins ; first lieutenant, Frederick Stewart; second lieutenant, S. H. Platt. Company H : Captain, O. J. Herendeen; first lieutenant, G. N. Redfield ; second lieutenant, A. R. Clapp. Company I: Captain, B. F. Lee; first lieutenant, G. Skaats; second lieuten- ant, G. L. Yost. Company K : Captain, Charles M. Wheeler; first lieutenant, H. C. Lawrence ; second lieutenant, I. A. Seamans.
The regiment left Geneva for the front August 26, 1862, and arrived at Baltimore the next day. By orders given by the veteran general, John E. Wool, who commanded the middle department, the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth proceeded to Harper's Ferry, reaching there the 28th. The regiment had been directed to report for instruc- tion and duty to Col. D. H. Miles, then commanding at Harper's Ferry, and which on its arrival was already occupied by the Thirty-ninth and One Hundred and Eleventh Regiments N. Y. V., the Thirty-second Ohio Volunteers, the Twelfth New York State Militia, the First Rhode Island Battery, and a portion of the Fifth New York Heavy Artillery. On the 13th, 14th, and 15th of September Harper's Ferry was invested by three divisions of the Confederate army commanded respectively by Generals McLaws, Walker, and "Stonewall" Jackson. Early in the morning of the 13th the One Hundred and Twenty- sixth Regiment ad- vanced from Harper's Ferry to Maryland Heights. It there received the main force of the enemy's attack, and made under very disadvanta- geous circumstances a brave and creditable defence. Its loss in this engagement was thirteen killed and forty-two wounded. Among the latter was Colonel Sherrill, who, receiving a severe wound in the face, was for some time disabled from active service. On the 15th the gar- rison at Harper's Ferry surrendered on parole. Any of the causes
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ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIXTH N. Y. V.
which are said to have brought about this disastrous result need not here be stated. Having marched to Annapolis the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regiment was transferred to Camp Douglas, Chicago. At this place were located for two months its far from desirable quar- ters, where the accommodations and sanitary arrangements were alike injurious to the health of all and fatal to many. Adjutant J. Smith . Brown, of Colonel Berdan's United States Sharpshooters, here joined on the 17th of November the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth, having ac- cepted the adjutancy of the same. The regiment was exchanged No- vember 19th and proceeding to Washington was re- armed. The winter of 1862-63 was passed in camp at Union Mills, Va., doing picket duty along the banks of the famous Bull Run. On the 27th of January, 1863, Colonel Sherrill, having sufficiently recovered, rejoined the regi- ment, which during his absence had been under the command of Lieut - Col. James M. Bull. The camp was moved March 2d to Centerville, Va., where the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth united with the bal- ance of a brigade comprising the Thirty- ninth, the One Hundred and Eleventh, and the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth New York Volun- teers, and commanded by Brig .- Gen. Alexander Hays, who had won distinction in the Peninsular Campaign. On the 24th of June the reg- iment joined the Army of the Potomac, then marching to intercept Lee, who was making a second attempt to invade the North. The One Hundred and Twenty-sixth now became a part of the Third Brigade of the Third Division of the Second Army Corps under Hancock. Brig- adier-General Hays was at this time assigned to the command of the Third Division, and was succeeded as commander of the brigade by Col. George Lamb Willard, of the One Hundred and Eleventh N. Y. V.
After a most fatiguing march from Centerville the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth arrived in the early morning of July 2d on the battlefield of Gettysburg. Toward night it took part along with the brigades in a glorious charge that resulted in the defeat and dispersion of the oppos- ing forces of Southerners. As this charge was being made Colonel Wil- lard, the brigade commander, was killed, while on the side of the enemy fell Barksdale, who had commanded a Confederate brigade at the taking of Harper's Ferry. During the terrific cannonading between the two armies with which began the engagement of the day following volun -
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HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
teers from the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regiment came forward and manned the guns in the batteries where the regular artillerymen had been killed or wounded. When in the afternoon a grand assault was made by the Confederates against the Federal lines the One Hundred and Twenty- sixth acted well its part toward the repulse of the foe. Five stands of colors were taken by the regiment on this occasion. Capt. Morris Brown, jr., of Yates County, captured with his own hands one of these standards, on which was inscribed " Harper's Ferry " and the names of eleven other battles. The surrender of Harper's Ferry was redeemed at Gettysburg. The brave Colonel Sherrill, who, when Colonel Willard fell, had succeeded to the command of the Third Brig- ade, was mortally wounded, expiring the next day, and most fittingly on the anniversary of American independence. Five other officers and fifty five enlisted men belonging to the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regiment were killed in this, one of the most important battles of the war, while seven officers and 161 enlisted men were wounded. Among the slain officers was Color-Sergeant Erasmus E. Bassett, of Yates County, who fell during the first day's fight while bravely carrying the regimental colors. An active part was taken by the regiment after the battle in the pursuit of the enemy.
From Gettysburg until the close of the war the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth participated in twenty different battles and skirmishes. In the autumn of 1863 the regiment won additional honor for its con- spicuous gallantry in the battles of Auburn Ford and of Bristow Sta- tion, which were fought respectively in the morning and afternoon of October 14th. Severe skirmishing also took place at Mine Run on the 27th, 28th, 29th, and 30th of November. The services of the regiment were again called upon in the grand reconnaissance made February 6, 1864, by the Army of the Potomac at Morton's Ford on the Rapidan. On the 24th of March Lieut .- Gen. U. S. Grant arrived and established his headquarters at Culpepper Court House: The regiment, having been transferred to Barlow's division, entered the spring campaign of 1864 with less than 300 men, of whoin 100 were on duty as provost- guard at corps headquarters. The Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan on the 4th of May and was afterward engaged in the follow- ing battles, in all of which the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regi-
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ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIXTH N. Y. V.
ment took part : May 6th and 7th in the Wilderness (in this battle Brevet Maj .- Gen. Alexander Hays was killed while gallantly rallying his brigade) ; May 10th at Po River; May 12th to the 18th at Spottsyl- vania, where the Second Corps, to which the One Hundred and Twenty- sixth Regiment belonged, made a grand charge on the enemy's works, capturing 400 prisoners, 20 guns, and 30 stands of colors, together with the Confederate Generals Edward Johnson and G. H. Stewart, who were taken to the rear and put under guard of colored soldiers. From the 23d to the 3Ist sharp skirmishing occurred along the North Anna and Tolopotomy Rivers. The One Hundred and Twenty sixth Regiment then took part in the terrible battle of Cold Harbor from the Ist to the 12th of June. On the 16th the regiment moved to the front of Peters- burg and in the engagement on that day Col. William H. Baird was killed. Heavy fighting also occurred here on the 17th and 18th. The Second Corps on the 2Ist advanced to the left of Petersburg and on the 22d was attacked by the enemy in force and on the left flank. The One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regiment was at this time commanded by Capt. Morris Brown, jr., of Yates County, who fell with others of merit in the heat of the action.
On the 26th of July the regiment was engaged in battle at Deep Bot- tom on the James and from the 14th to the 20th of August at Straw- berry Plains. Having aided effectually in the destruction of the Wel- don Railroad the regiment was attacked on the 25th at Reams Station. In the following spring of 1865 the One Hundred and Twenty- sixth Regiment participated in the assault made March 25th on the lines around Petersburg, just after the attack by Lee upon Fort Steadman. From the 29th to the 3Ist the regiment was engaged on the skirmish line along the Boydton plank road. When the retreat of Lee's army began the Third Brigade, in which was included the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regiment, was particularly active in the pursuit, and led by the gallant Gen. C. D. MacDougall charged (April 2d) and carried the enemy's entrenchments at Southerland's Station. The Confederates were again encountered April 7th at Farmville and at Appomattox on the 9th, where on that day Lee surrendered to Grant. The One Hun- dred and Twenty-sixth Regiment, having resumed its march, passed on the 7th of May through Richmond. Here it was greeted by the One
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HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
Hundred and Forty- eighth New York Volunteers, in which regiment Companies B, F, and I had been recruited in Yates County. This was the first time the two regiments had met while in the service. The One Hundred and Twenty- sixth Regiment proceeded to Washington and took part in the grand review held in that city on the 23d of May. Orders were received June 2d for the regiment to be mustered out and sent to the State rendezvous, and on the 3d the regiment was mustered out. The next day the men left Washington for Elmira, N. Y., arriving at that place on the 6th, and there meeting their former colonel, James M. Bull. The One Hundred and Twenty sixth Regiment, numbering at this time 221 men, received final payment and discharge at Elmira, June 16th and 17th, 1865.
The following is the muster roll of the One Hundred and Twenty- sixth on the mustering out of the regiment :
Officers .-- Major, J. Smith Brown, Penn Yan ; adjutant, John F. Randolph, Penn Yan ; quartermaster, John C. Stanton, Geneva; surgeon, Fletcher H. Hammond, Penn Yan; assistant-surgeon, Ferdinand M. Pasco, Red Creek; chaplain, T. Spencer Harri- son, Dundee. Company A : Captain, Ira Hart Wilder ; first lieutenant, Samuel Hughes. Company B : first lieutenant, Milo H. Hopper; second lieutenant ; Charles A. Garling- house. Company C : Captain, John B. Geddis; first lieutenant, Thomas R. Lounsbury ; second lieutenant, Jordan Snook. Company D: Captain, Ten Eyke Munson ; first lieu- tenant, Charles W. Watkins. Company E: first lieutenant, Henry M. Lee; second lieutenant, Clinton E. Pasco. Sergeant-major, Albert S. Andrews ; quartermaster-ser- geant, John Davis ; commissary-sergeant, Charles R. Lisk ; hospital steward, George W. Becker ; principal musician, Lyman E. Jacobus.
Muster-in roll of the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regiment New York Volunteers :
Company A .-- Truman N. Burrill, captain ; Samuel A. Barras, first lieutenant; George D. Carpenter, second lieutenant; Morris Brown, jr., orderly ; Samuel Wilson, first sergeant ; Charles Forshay, second sergeant; Wallace Betts, third sergeant; O. M. Paris, fourth sergeant; Daniel Kelly, first corporal; Smith Fuller, second corporal ; Barnard Gelder, third corporal ; Charles Stebbins, fourth corporal; David H Goff, fifth corporal; Smith Stebbins, sixth corporal ; Lot W. Rogers, seventh corporal; Charles Norcott, eighth corporal; William Beebe, drummer ; James McAllister, fifer. Privates : Richard M. Allen, Warren Allen, William Axtill, Oliver Baker, William Baker, Daniel J. Beyea, Henry Bilson, Levi P. Brizee, George Burch, James Burns, George A. Bying- ton, Alvah B. Chissom, Levi Cole, John Conklin, John Cummings, Eben B. Danes, William H. Dubois, A. R. Feagles, Daniel W. Finch, John H. Frost, John H. Garrison, Barnard F. Gelder, William Hainer, Francis A. Harford, John Harris, James Henderson, Abner Herries, William Herries, James R. Hibbard, William P. House, Neil Kelly,
.
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ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIXTH N. Y. V.
Russell A. Lincoln, Orson R. Linkletter, David Little, John C. Mace, Patrick Manly, John D. Maynard, George W. McKnight, Arthur W. Middleton, George Millis, Charles E. Moore, Henry O. Moore, Alexander Mosher, Lewis Murphy, Charles M. Nicholson, John J. Oakley, Alfred C. Olds, David H. Paris, Peter F. Paris, John W. Parker, Har- low F. Parsons, Lewis T. Partridge, Francis E. Pool, Robert H. Pool, William J. Pool, Charles H. Power, Calvin L. Reed, Sidney E. Rice, William Robinson, James Ryan, Albion C. Sheppard, Cyrus Sherwood, William H. Shoemaker, Spencer Slingerland, Charles W. Sterling, George T. Stevens, William W. Strobridge, Charles P. Strong, David D. Taylor, David E. Taylor, James Taylor, David O. Tears, Thomas Tobin, Isaac Traverse, Spencer Turner, Alexander Turner, Phineas Tyler, William R. Tyndall, Thad- deus B. Twitchell, John Vaughn, James E. Warner, Charles E. Waters, Martin Youngs.
Company B .- William A. Coleman, captain ; Richard A. Bassett, first lieutenant ; Melatiah H. Lawrence, second lieutenant ; Oscar C. Squire, first sergeant; T. Spencer Harrison, second sergeant; Erasmus E. Bassett, third sergeant ; Henry P. Cook, fourth sergeant ; Henry O. Childs, fifth sergeant; Edwin Jessop, first corporal ; Edward Knapp, third corporal; Martin V. McCarrick, fourth corporal; George Hays, fifth cor- poral; George Chapman, sixth corporal; Samuel A. Nichols, seventh corporal ; Henry S. Nichols, eighth corporal. Privates : William H. Armstrong, Charles W. Austin, Melvin Bunce, Rollin G. Beach, William P. Bowen, James F. Butler, James Badger, Oren Bates, Ansel Brace, Reuben Bullock, Nathan D. Beeden, John Blansett, James M. Booth, Moses U. Booth, Isaac Bellis, William Cassion, Edwin Coryell, Benjamin F. Chase, Isaac P. De Pew, Charles H. Dunning, George W. Davis, Oren Edgett, Rowland Le Roy Embree, Horace F. Ellis, John W. Finger, Mortimer Garrison, Charles W. Gay- lord, James H. Griggs, James K. P. Huson, Christopher Houghtailing, Will L. Hobart, William A. Hays, Amos V. Houghtailing, Charles M. Hyatt, Elsworth Haight, Egbert C. Hopkins, Frank R. Hamlin, Alexander H. Houghtailing, Charles C. Hicks, James E. Hicks, Joseph Hollowell, James H. Lathy, Luther C. Lott, Richard H. Miles, Nelson Millis, James H. Moshier, Edgar F. Millard, William McAllister, Anson Matthews, Thomas T. McCarrick, George Moore, Elias A. Norris, Peter M. Norman, John H. Os- born, Caleb J. Osborn, Charles R. Pinneo, Franklin J. Pettingill, David Perigo, Stephen C. Purdy, Orin Potter, Amos J. Potter, Andrew Putnam, Albert A. Quick, William Raymond, John N. Roney, Joseph B. Snyder, Orlando B. Smith, Albert S. Sprague, Wilber F. Stanton, Robert B. Sutton, Charles P. Stevens, Asa Sherwood, Charles A. Seward, Albert Thomas, Lewis Trimmer, George Tyler, Joseph R. Tuttle, John R. Tut- tle, William H. Thomas, James W. Updike, James E. Walker, Jerry Wall, Josiah Wolf, Richard Wheaton, David J. Wilkin, Luther Weaver.
Company C .- Albert F. Dow and Myron C. Morse, both transferred from Com- pany A.
Company D .- Henry W. Bradt, Charles W. Ford, Decatur A. Hedges, Albert A. Mur- dock, Eugene M. Smith.
Company E .- John H. Brough, second lieutenant; Fayette Green, first sergeant ; John F. Randolph, enlisted private and promoted corporal, sergeant, sergeant-major, first lieutenant, and adjutant, Charles E. Raymond, musician. Privates : Aaron H. Abeel, Jewett Benedict, Robert D. Blaurett, Albert L. Bogart, Jerome Brink, Taylor Brink,
19
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HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
James A. Creed, Jonathan Creed, Theron T. Dunn, Alonzo Harris, Franklin R. Knapp, John Olf, Edwin Palmer, Henry Runyan, Sherman W. Robinson, Stephen Walker, Henry Wilson.
Compang F .- James M. Barden, Eli R. Hazlet, and A. W. Shearman.
Company G .-- Frederick Stewart, first lieutenant ; De Witt C. Farrington, sergeant- major. Privates: William Bain, John Barron, Patrick Bulger, James Collins, John P. Culver. Daniel Day, John Dunnagan, Frank Dunnagan, John Duffy, Jacob Goodsell, George Henry, David J. Hoffman, Daniel Mead, James Place, A. J. Ralph, Milfred Rector, John Rector, James Snyder, Charles B. Shaw, James Toms.
Company H .-- Justus Cooley, jr., corporal; Abijah De Pew, private.
Company H .- William L. Criscaden, corporal; privates, George W. Erwin, James Norman, Hiram Wilson.
ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY- EIGHTH REGIMENT N. Y. V.
Important service to the nation was rendered during the great Civil war by the One Hundred and Forty- eighth Regiment New York Volun- teers, which was raised in the counties of Yates, Ontario, and Seneca, and organized September 14, 1862. At the time of its organization the field and staff officers were as follows : Colonel, William Johnson, Seneca Falls; lieutenant-colonel, George M. Guyon, Seneca Falls ; major, John B. Murray, Seneca Falls; adjutant, Henry T. Noyes, Starkey ; quartermaster, Albert Woodruff, Lodi ; surgeon, Henry Sim- mons, Canandaigua ; first assistant-surgeon, C. H. Carpenter, Phelps ; second assistant-surgeon, Frank Seeleye, Rushville.
In Yates County were recruited Companies B, F, and I. Of these the following' were the line officers: Company B: Captain, Hiram T. Hewitt ; first lieutenant, Hiram Struble; second lieutenant, George W. Waddell. Company T : Captain, Harvey G. Gardner ; first lieuten- ant, Melvin D. Wilson ; second lieutenant, Aaron J. Cook. Company I: Captain, Martin S. Hicks ; first lieutenant, Morgan. D. Tracy ; sec- ond lieutenant, John Cooley.
The One Hundred and Forty- eighth left the place of rendezvous at Camp Swift, Geneva, on the 22d of September. The regiment when it departed consisted of twelve companies. Ten being the required num- ber orders were received on the arrival of the command (by steamer via Seneca Lake) at Watkins directing two of the companies to return to Geneva. The two companies that returned became, on the 3d of Oc- tober, part of the Forty-fourth Regiment N. Y. V .. One of these two had
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ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-EIGHTH N. Y. V.
been raised in Yates County and was at first Company M of the One Hundred and Forty-eighth and later Company C of the Forty-fourth. Its line officers were as follows : Captain, Bennett Munger; first lieu- tenant, Elzer B. James ; second lieutenant. Charles Kelly. The One Hundred and Forty- eighth Regiment proceeded from Watkins by rail, arriving at Baltimore the next morning, and was there served with an excellent breakfast by the ladies of the city. The command went on to Washington, where it continued to drill for several days on Capitol Hill. It then left Washington, and going by transport by way of Fort- ress Monroe landed at Portsmouth, Va. From Portsmouth the reg- iment went by rail through the Dismal Swamp to Suffolk and was there stationed on guard duty in the rifle pits. Suffolk was then being put into a state of defence by the Union forces commanded by General Peck, of Syracuse. The One Hundred and Forty eighth after a few weeks moved from the entrenchments and encamped on Paradise Creek near Portsmouth. The whole regiment then relieved the Nineteenth Wisconsin and moved and went into camp, part in Portsmouth and part across the river in Norfolk. The different companies composing the One Hundred and Forty-eighth were for a considerable time on de tached duty, but were again collected together and were all encamped in the court-house yard in Norfolk and in other parts of the town. Here they remained until the opening of the spring campaign of 1864. The regiment then moved to Yorktown and became part of the Second Brigade of the Second Division of the Army of the James, under the chief command of Gen. B. F. Butler.
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