USA > New York > History of the One hundredth regiment of New York state volunteers > Part 24
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MAJOR GEORGE H. STOWITS.
Major Stowits was born in Montgomery county, in the valley of the Mohawk, November 10th, 1822. He is of German and Irish descent. He is self educated, being orphaned at an early age, and a teacher by profession. During the years of 1-50, '51 and '52, he pursued the elementary study of law, in the office of Arphaxed Loomis, Esq., Little Falls, N. Y. The practice of law was not in accordance with his tastes, and hence he devoted himself exchi- sively to the profession of teaching. In 1856, while teaching at Waterford, N. Y., he visited the schools of England, Ireland and Scotland, and became deeply interested in the free school law. non so heartily accepted by the people of the Empire State. Through the recommendation of the late Victor M. Rice and others. he came to Buffalo January 1st, 1861, as principal of Public School No. 10; appointed by Sandford B. Hunt, Esq., superintendent of schools. The call of Supt. Hunt was short: " No. 10 is yours. Come and take it." Ile came and took it, and, it is said, succeeded. As the fact of a civil war seemed certain, Maj. Stowits, with Samuel Slade. N. G. Benedict, P. Edwin Dye, and other teachers of the city. joined a military company for drill, under the direction of Cap.t. Carlin, of the United States Army, who subsequently became a major general, and served under Sherman in his campaigns and march to the sea. The Major resolved to add one more gun to the strength of the national army. Ile enlisted as a private, August 29th, 1862, and joined the One Hundredth Regiment, then stationed at Gloucester Point, Va. For a few weeks previous to leaving the city he attended a number of war meetings, and helped to aron-e the people to the needs of the nation. After reaching the regiment he was assigned to Co. " HI," Capt. P. Edwin Dye, formerly princi- pul of Public School No. 15 of this city, who was then absent from
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his company, which was commanded by Lient. Charles E. Wal- bridge.
He was appointed orderly sergeant of Co. " HI," December 4th, 1862, to rank from September 6th, 1862. IIe was commissioned second lieutenant April Isth, 1863, which fact becoming known to the teachers of Buffalo, he was duly presented with a complete outfit, as an officer; for which he responded in terms both grateful and appreciative. October 7th, 1863, he was commissioned first lieutenant, and in December accompanied Col. Dandy to Buf- falo from Morris island on recruiting service. Having been as- signed to Co. " K," commanded by Capt. Granger, he had charge of the company for most of the year, during the siege of Wagner, its reduction, the building of the forts, transfer to Virginia, battle of Walthall Junction and Drury's Bluff. In June and July, 1864, he accompanied Capt. Granger in the charges on the Grover and Phillips houses in front of the works at Deep Bottom. In August he was assigned to the command of Co. " A," and went into the charge with the regiment on a four-gun battery, August 14th, and also that fearful and disastrous assault on the enemy's works at Fussill's Mills, August 16th ; and was left to hold the picket line, with orders " till orerwhelmed," and for three hours held it, while the main body of the corps was miles away. The Major served a month with the regiment in the trenches before Petersburg, and had charge of the skirmish line when assaulted by the enemy, Oc- tober 7th, 1804, on the north side of the James river, near the Newmarket road. He was detailed acting assistant adjutant gen- eral, October 26th, on the staff of Col. II. M. Plaisted, commanding the brigade, and was wounded through the right arm in an ad- vance on the rebel works, October 27th, in front of Richmond, and sent to hospital at Fortress Monroe. He was commissioned cap- tain, Nov. 19th, 1864. He returned to duty December 16th, and continued at brigade headquarters till the close of the war. Ifc · was in the last fight of the First Division, Third Brigade, Twenty- fourth Army Corps, at Appomattox Court House, Col. G. B. Dandy commanding brigade. He was in command of the line, under the directions of Col. Dandy, in the assault of the enemy and their repulse at Hatcher's Run, on the morning of April 1st, and was in the charge of Fort Grige, Sunday, April 2d. 1865, when the brave and chivalrous Maj. Dandy gave his life for the entity of the Republic. He returned with the army to Rich-
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mond, and was commissioned major May 31st, 1865; resigned in June, and left for Buffalo and the resumption of a teacher's work. These are military facts. For himself as a civilian he is not al- lowed to speak.
LIEUTENANT GEORGE G. BARNUM, JR.,
QUARTERMASTER AND BREVET CAPTIAN OF ONE HUNDREDTH NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS. ·
Lieut. Barnum was born in the city of Buffalo, October 1st, 1943. His father, George G. Barnum, has long been known as a grocer and merchant of integrity, and his zeal in the cause of the unity of government and the extinguishment of rebellion needs no com- ment here. Lient. Barnum was educated in the public schools of Buffalo, and, full of the spirit of patriotism, enlisted at the age of nineteen, September 1st, 1862. Under the auspices of the Board of Trade he joined the One Hundredth Regiment, and was assigned to Co. "H," Capt. P. Edwin Dye. At this time the regiment was camped at Gloucester Point, Va. For the first seven months of his career as a soldier, Lieut. Barnum gave no certain proofs of the rare business qualifications he possessed. In common with all, his duty, as one of the rank and file, was always faithfully per- formed. However, during these months his liberal and generous spirit was well known among his fellow soldiers. His patriotic father and loyal mother were ever sending to their absent son many things not known in the list of soldiers' rations, and Lient. Barnum never seemed fully pleased till his friends shared his boun- ties. The writer bas often been a thankful recipient of substantial favors at his hands. His regular mail of newspapers, supplied by his father, was eagerly sought, and enjoyed by many. As soon as the regiment was encamped on Folly island, and Capt. Brown was detailed as acting quartermaster, knowing the father of Lieat. Bar- num, and the opportunities of his son for a business education, sent his name to the colonel commanding for detail as clerk and assist- ant. From that hour his energy was felt throughout the rezi. ment ; soon he was made quartermaster sergeant, and during the fall and winter on Morris island his duties, in consequence of the ill health of Capt. Brown, were those of quartermaster as well as
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quartermaster sergeant. He comprehended all, and his celerity and success in the issues of clothing and camp equipage, became proverbial, coupled with an accuracy rarely ever questioned. He was often three in one, such was and is the power he possesses as a natural business man. April 14th, 1864, he was commissioned as second lieutenant, and subsequently assigned to Co. "G." He was in command of his company on the night of the 1st of June, on the Bermuda front, when the whole line, from dark till daylight, kept up one sheet of flame, that the rebels might not get possession of our rifle pits. But his qualifications as a natural quartermaster were known, as Col. Walbridge's became known, and hence he.was called to assume its duties, as Capt. Brown had resigned and gone North. At times, he was both adjutant and quartermaster. Octo- ber 3d, 1864, he was commissioned first lieutenant and quarter- master, and continued to hold and discharge the duties of that office, and that to, under the orders of a colonel whose military culture as a quartermaster in the regular army was known to be good, until the regiment was mustered out, August 28th, 1865.
Both the officers and men of the regiment felt that their inter- ests were always safe in the hands of the young and trusty quar- termaster. Whether in obtaining supplies, or expressing their money to their friends at home, in the discharge of any duty, it was known that if the duty came within the range of possibilities, it was done to the satisfaction of all interested. Cool, clear-headed, prompt, vigilant and decisive, he was ever the courteous gentle- man, and the obedient soldier. He is now a citizen of Du Luth, a book-keeper and paymaster on the St. Paul and Superior Railway. Now, as he was wont to do in the army, he can and will perform the labor of three ordinary men. That the loyal and successful soldier will succeed in whatever he undertakes, is the wish of those who knew him at the front as well as those who knew him in civil life. The One Hundredth Regiment has the honor of producing . two able and efficient quartermasters, Lieut. Col. Charles E. Wal- bridge and Brevet Capt. George G. Barnum.
CAPTAIN OSCAR F. RICHARDS.
Capt. Richards was born in Champion, Jefferson county, Oeto- ber 28th, 1834. Previous to the rebellion he was a resident of
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Clarence, Erie county, though he had resided with his unele, Dr. A. N. Henderson, of Buffalo, and had been in the employ of Mr. O. E. Sibley, jeweller in this city. He had learned the trade of a blacksmith, having a taste for mechanics. It was not surprising that the enthusiasm which was felt at the opening of the rebellion should have influenced Capt. Richards, and induced him to enlist as a soldier, and unite his fate with that of the One Hundredth Regi- ment. He was assigned to Co. "G," Capt. Hinson, and was sub- sequently promoted to corporal, and continued in the active dis- charge of his duties up to the 31st of May, when, in that bloody struggle at Fair Oaks, he was shot, the ball passing into the right eye and coming out behind the ear, carrying the eye with it. it his fall he was supposed killed, but he subsequently walked four miles and lay upon the ground all night. His recovery from such a wound, under the circumstances, was marvelous. He had done all that he could for his country, save giving his life, and was dis- charged the service. Though disabled in the loss of so valuable a member as the eye, Capt. Richards fails not to keep up his interest in the progress of military affairs. We must not neglect to state that succeeding the recovery of Capt. Richards his many friends of Clarence, through the Rev. Mr. Ballou, presented him with a valu- able suit of clothing and other comforts, as a grateful testimonial for his patriotic services, and their hearty thankfulness for his re -- toration to comparative health when apparently near the shades of death. The address was full of kind and feeling sentiments, and the response of the Rev. Mr. Bartlett, of Clarence, for Capt. Rich- ards, was equally timely, pertinent and loyal, indicating a mutual agreement of all parties that they had performed a noble and gen- erous act. Capt. Richards is at this time in command of Co. " K." Seventy-fourth Regiment, composed of veterans of the One Hun- dredth Regiment. The associations of these heroes of the past are enjoyable occasions of real pleasure, and help to keep alive the real service in which they assisted to save the unity of a great nation.
LIEUTENANT ALFRED LYTHE, ONE OF THE PRISONERS AT ANDERSONVILLE.
The subject of this sketch is of English descent, a resident of this country since 1850, then in the years of childhood, and, save his
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life as a soldier, Buffalo has always been his home. His parents are of that class of steady, frugal and industrious English that are known, ever, for their reliable honesty and integrity, and the son is in all respects a true reflection of his worthy father and mother. Hle is in every sense an American. He enlisted at the age of nine- teen, August 30th, 1862. He became a member of Co. "HI," One Hundredth Regiment, joining it at Gloucester Point, Va. Lient. Lythe is still a resident of the city, engaged in the brick and tile manufacture near Cold Spring, where his parents reside. He is at present a lieutenant of Co. "K," Seventy-fourth Regiment, com- posed of veterans of the One Hundredth. He was one of the prisoners at Andersonville, and is also one of the publishing com- mittee of this work. He was an admirable soldier, faithful, patient and trusty; and but for the disaster at Drury's Bluff, May 16th, 1964, where he was wounded and taken prisoner, he would have been better known in the regiment, and would have received promotion for his many soldierly qualities. As a prisoner at Petersburg, Andersonville, Florence, and exchanged at Charleston, December 6th, 1864, we shall take him as a type, or representative, of over one hundred of the One Hundredth Regiment that suffered, and many of whom died, in the southern prisons named. We have the diary of Lieut. Lythe before us, as kept by him during his prison life, and which is more than corroborative of the cruelty and barbarous practices of Wirz and his assistants in that den of death at Andersonville. We would be pleased to make large ex- tracts if the limits of this book would warrant. The number con- fined, rations issued, daily deaths and treatments, all could not be rehearsed in a volume.
Lieut. Lythe with others taken prisoners at Drury's Bluff were kept at Petersburg for nearly two weeks, when they were forced into cars so crowded, that for seven days and nights, in their passage to Andersonville, they were only out one night and in removal from one train to another. At Andersonville, while in line in front of Wirz' headquarters, in a heavy rain, Lythe stepped from front to rear rank to allow a comrade to share his piece of oldl oil cloth blanket, when Capt. Wirz, with a revolver pointed in his face, tokl him to step back instantly or he would settle his hash for him. The stockade enclosed an area of many acres, tilled, at times, with more, and at others less, than thirty thousand prisoners. The daily deaths collected at the gate
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for burial were from sixty to seventy. Offers of freedom by taking the oath were spurned. One unlucky fellow consented. He was caught by his comrades, his head shaved, and the letter "T," in india ink, pricked in his forehead. Rations varied. Two ounces of bacon and a pint of corn meal for twenty-four hours. Rains were frequent and the sun very warm, so that the men slept in wet clothes oftener than otherwise. Tunneling for escape Was frequent, and the caught victims suffered severely. The "dead line" claimed its sacrifices almost daily. This line was twelve feet from the stockade. Any prisoner found near that line was shot by the sentinel on duty without warning. The daily arrival of prisoners, and rumors of parol and exchange, fed the hopes and kept the spirits of the men trom ultimate despair. They did not live, they stayed and died daily. With Alfred Lythe were three other prisoners of the same company, James Pixley, Thomas Rus- sell and Albert Tombers. Lythe had part of a rubber blanket. Pixley gave his watch for a piece of an old horse blanket, and. Tombers got four sticks while out carrying a dead comrade for burial, which, with the covering named, kept the rain and rays of the sun from them and added some little to daily comfort. Wood was scarce. Ninety men were allowed what one man could carry in on his back, which must last twenty-four hours. Four prison- ers were allowed to go out with one dead man. The living desired a chance to carry out the dead, and even quarreled as to their respective rights. As each dead prisoner was carried to the gate the expression. " There goes another dead man to be traded off for wood," was common, as cach prisoner under guard was allowed to bring in an nrinful of wood. Those too weak to carry wouldl sell their chances to the stronger for half the load brought in. The nearly naked would exchange their clothing with the dead, if bet- ter. The siek had but little or no care. Medicine at times was wholly exhausted. The day of exchange rolled round. They were sent off in detachments of one thousand cach. Those not able to walk were left. Lieut. Lythe had suffered much from his wound in the leg. Gangrene set in, and the rebel physicians de- cided to cut it off. Ilis friends went, leaving him behind, but an ac- cident on the railroad sent them back again. They left next day A pair of rough crutches was made, and Lythe made his way to the depot, reached Macon, then Augusta, and soon learned that nu exchange was then in progress. The prisoners were sent to Flor-
GEORGE S. HAZARD. Pres. Board of Trade from 1862 to1865.
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ence. The prison was three miles from the depot. Lieut. Lythe crawled there on his hands and knees. The sick and dying lined the road the whole distance. Many died trying to get there, others as soon as off the cars. Lythe was afflicted with scurvy and gangrene together. Finally a Dr. Clark said he could burn out the gangrene, which he did, and his foot improved, sleep was enjoyed and prospects of life were ahead. Rations, one and a half hard tack and four spoonfuls of molasses, with a shower of rain thrown in. Lythe could get no bandages for his wound and no medicine for scurvy. The farmers near sent a few biscuits and one gill of milk to make a poultice for his foot, but being hun- gry he went halves with the foot, eat one-half and made a poultice with the other. The detachment which Lythe accompanied to Charleston was half clothed and no clothes, and on their arrival, when their sight was greeted with the Old Flag, he says, " We could not cheer, the view was a weakening joy of sonl and body." That flag was the light out of southern darkness to the prisoner's northern home.
We cannot do justice to the clear truthfulness of this diary, which should be printed entire, but the expression, oft repeated relative to Capt. Wirz, "I hope to live to see the day that this fiend will swing," was fulfilled, and the demon was hung. The prison history of Lient. Lythe will answer as a description of the sufferings of that large number sent to southern prisons from the ranks of the One Hundredth Regiment.
GEORGE S. HAZARD.
George S. Hazard was born in New London, Connecticut, in 1810. He is a descendant of the Hazards of Newport, Rhode Island, so well and favorably known in New England. His education devel- oped n strong tendency for the activities of a commercial life ; and this desire increased with his years, till it became the leading trait of character and the basis of his life's work. The West is largely the reflection of New England. The stirring and active spirits of cistern homes were and are found all over the Great West. The subject of this sketch stopped nt Toledo, O., for several years, en- gaged in his favorite calling. In 1847 he arrived in Buffalo, and at ouce identitied himself with its commercial interests. A few years
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previous the Board of Trade had been organized, and the next year after his identification with Buffalo interests he was made one of the directors. March 12th, 1855, Mr. Hazard was made president, and from that time to his third election as president, April 14th, 1862, he had served the organization as director and trustee. In the summer succeeding his election as president, the Board of Trade, by resolution, July 29th, 1862, adopted the One Hundredth Regiment as the Buffalo Board of Trade regiment, and with money subscribed and arrangements perfected, commenced recruiting to preserve the regiment from consolidation. The pres- ident of the Board of Trade had the appointment of all officers, and recommended the same to the Governor of the State for com- mission, which was faithfully adhered to by Governor Morgan. though less by Governor Seymour, till finally commissions were is- sued direct upon the recommendation of the commanding officer of the regiment.
Mr. Hazard continued as president during the eventful years of 1862, '63 and '64, which was a testimony of honor, confidence and esteem which the Board of Trade seemed anxious to demonstrate. The additional labor imposed by the adoption of the regiment was of no ordinary character. Private interests, the responsibilities of so influential a body as the Board of Trade had become, with the varied obligations to the One Hundredth Regiment as an organization, and to individual members, all rendered the duty as a presiding officer, onerous as well as honorable. From the adop- tion of the regiment to its dismemberment he gave his special care in executing the will of the Board of Trade. They had with pride and patriotism provided largely in men and pecuniary aid. The sum of $19,046.47 had been given, which, with stands of colors, evidenced the liberality of that body of men. Hundreds of recruits were added to the ofttimes depleted companies of the regiment by the Board and its working president.
In October, 1864, Mr. Hazard and son made a visit to the regi- ment and the Army of the James. He partook of camp fare and spoke kindly words of cheer to the men on parade. Having visited the line of works on the north side of the James, and at City Point and in front of Petersburg. Mr Hazard returned to Buttalo with a more appreciative know ledge of the real life and endurance of the soldier.
The return of the veterans gave Mr. Hazard an opportunity to recount the scenes through which they had passed and to tender
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to them, the remnants of the original regiment, the feeling hospi- tality of the Board of Trade and the citizens of Buffalo.
Recently he has been abroad, and on the continent saw sights which so many Americans enjoy, in consequence of the cheapness and safety of travel, as well as of living among the denizens of the old world.
Mr. Hazard is still engaged in his favorite pursuit, and from his vigor and elasticity of constitution, bids fair to be seen on 'change, as ever, for a decade or two of years.
BUFFALO BOARD OF TRADE.
There has been no institution organized since Buffalo started in its career as a growing and enterprising city which can compare with the organization known as the Buffalo Board of Trade. Its history, condensed and intelligently brief, has just been given to the public in pamphlet form, by S. S. Guthrie, Esq., late president of the Board, and published by William Thurstone, the energetic and en- terprising secretary. This paper of Mr. Guthrie's is comprehensive in its brevity, and sets forth clearly the origin and growth of the es- tablishment of councils and boards of trade from the earliest times; their necessity and their principles, together with their needs and connection with the varied interests of a nation's growth. From the first meeting to form a Board of Trade, January 16th, 1844, to the present time, Mr. Guthrie has faithfully gathered and com- piled all statistics and facts, which from this date, through his valuable labor, will become a part of the history of Buffalo and its onward progress. This Board with its briarean arms stirs up the wide-spread fields of the far west, and gathers its rich products by transportation, elevation and depression, and sends them to the needy millions of this and other lands. As an organic power it is felt in almost every institution where pecuniary aid is requisite to further benevolent operations. Its liberality and patriotism was made manifest in its munificent donations to the war fund, the adoption of the One Hundredth Regiment, its bounteous hospital- ity to the returned soldiers, and the active zeal manifested in all enterprises which looked toward a saved and united government.
Succeeding the adoption of the One Hundredth Regiment, the Board secured the services of Orlando Allen, Esq., as an efficient
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aid in the perplexing duty of recruiting. Mr. Allen by his exact business habits, and his large acquaintance and personal interest in the success of the struggle, having given a son as a martyr to the cause, accomplished much in adding large numbers to the ranks of the One Hundredth.
ERIE COUNTY SAVINGS BANK.
Cooperative with the Board of Trade, and among the most use- ful institutions of Buffalo, is the Erie County Savings Bank. Man- aged by men of patriotism and intelligence, it was throughout the entire rebellion a beneficent power in favor of the govern- ment. No copperhead found lodgment in its direction. In 1861, when the first call was made by the national goverment for sub- scriptions to a stock loan, the Erie County Savings Bank offered par, while its great cotemporary offered only seventy-five cents. Whenever the Board of Supervisors of Erie county asked for money to fill our regiments, the Erie County Savings Bank ever responded, by advancing any amount required, taking the county bonds at par always.
On one occasion Majs. Lyon and Young of that Board called for $25,000, but had to admit that no vote had passed the Board au- thorizing the loan. Mr. C. P. Lee, the loyal secretary of the Eric County Savings Bank, reluctantly declined to make the advance. Mr. Lyon was at his wits end. Enlisting would cease on the mor- row unless money was forthcoming. In this strait he went to the house of William Wilkeson, Esq., one of the directors of the sav- ings bank that had declined the advance, as illegal and hazardous, and obtained from Mr. Wilkesen his check for $25,000, giving neither bond, note or acknowledgment. In the end he was paid . in full. The moral effect of the position held by the Erie County Savings Bank from the beginning to the end of the rebellion was a bulwark of power. Its secretary, Mr. Cyrus P. Lee, induced hun- dreds of depositors to withdraw deposits and invest in U. S. Bonds. With the author of this book he was constantly engaged in moving the people, soliciting aid, relieving the needy, and doing the work of a patriotic and loyal citizen.
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