USA > New York > Records of the 24th Independent Battery, N. Y. Light Artillery, U. S. V. > Part 8
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We have been told that he was discharged at the hospi- tal at Rochester, and is now living at Hamlin. .
172. RUSSELL, ENOCH J .- Enlisted at Rochester, Octo- ber 6th, 1864, for one year. Joined at Roanoke, Novem- ber 9th, 1864. Transferred to Third New York Artillery.
173. RUSSELL, JOHN A., Ticonderoga .- Enlisted Octo- ber 15th, 1861.
Re-enlisted as a veteran in January, 1864.
Was taken prisoner at Plymouth. He endured to the end the prison treatment, and was paroled.
Joined the Company in May, at Coanjock Station- clean, fat and healthy, never looked better.
Transferred to Third New York Artillery, May 25th, 1865.
174. RUSSELL, JOHN, Poughkeepsie, N. Y .- Enlisted September 27th, 1864.
Promoted corporal, November 18th, 1864.
Promoted sergeant, November 25th, 1864.
Transferred to Third New York Artillery, May 25th, 1865.
This man was wounded at the battle of Bull Run, 1861, where he had a part of his skull taken out, and drew a pension of $8 per month. Had served fourteen years in the regular service and felt away from home when out of the army. Thorough in discipline, he became a valua- ble non-com., always making the men keep themselves and their quarters in regular army style ; acted as orderly part of the time.
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175. SACKETT, WALTER, Albany .- Enlisted September 20th, 1864.
Transferred to Third New York Artillery, May 25th, 1865.
Joined October 12th, 1864, at Roanoke.
176. SAFFORD, PEMBROKE J., Perry .- Enlisted August 28th, 1862.
Mustered in, August 30th, 1862, at Buffalo.
Was taken prisoner at Plymouth and died at Ander- sonville Hospital, of chronic diarrhoea, June 12th, 1864. The number of his grave is 1,880.
It is noticeable that Rood and Safford, who represented that portion of Perry called "Buffalo Corners," in the Battery, should (after having been playmates, school- mates, and finally comrades in battle) have died within five days of each other.
Safford never appeared like a strong man; and yet he was able to endure a good deal of hardship.
If we may judge from the warm clothing and other things of comfort, that were sent to him from his home, we should conclude that they also thought him none too sturdy. He did not stay long with us after we reached prison ; and if it had been ordained by a wise God that he must be sacrificed, we think, what a kindness was there in making his stay in such a horror, brief.
177. SANFORD, L. J.
178. SECOR, ANDREW J., Rochester, N. Y .- Enlisted March 24th, 1864.
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Transferred to Third New York Artillery, May 25th, 1865.
A very good soldier. Punished once by knapsack drill one hour each day for a week, under Sergeant Rus- sell, for robbing a setting hen of her eggs, which was " against orders."
179. SHANK, LABAN H., Mount Morris .- Enlisted and mustered in, August 30th, 1862, at Buffalo, N. Y. Was taken prisoner at Plymouth, and died at Andersonville Hospital, of chronic diarrhoea, August 13th, 1864.
The number of his grave is 5,645.
Shank was a carpenter by trade, and was a man of utility in the Battery. He stood the test of a soldier's life with great endurance, until he reached Andersonville, but that proved too much, and his physical force yielded to the pressure sooner than many of the others.
180. SHELL, JOHN, Clarkson, N. Y .- Joined for duty, October 10th, 1861.
Discharged for physical inability, April, 1862.
181. SHEPPARD, NELSON .- Enlisted May 11th, 1863, at Plymouth, N. C .- a colored cook. Was taken prisoner at Plymouth, April 20th, 1864. Put in prison there and forced to trade hat, boots, watch, &c., with the rebels.
Owing to the fact that he had acted as guide on several raids our cavalry had made up towards Williamston, the inhabitants of that vicinity tried to see what they could do for Nelson, to repay his kindness. They accordingly got an order to whip him, which was done in the most
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approved style; the next day they dished up another dose, and for several days poor Nelson had to undergo chas- tisement. Was then put in a gang with ball and chain, and sent to Tarboro, N. C., where he got rid of the ball; was then sent to Weldon, to work on fortifications ; there he got rid of his chain and made his escape, joining the company at Roanoke Island, in the fall of 1864.
Was transferred to Third New York Artillery.
Nelson was very shy of rebels after his treatment at Plymouth. Whenever there was talk of rebels at Coan- jock, Nelson took his post near the swamp and kept his eyes pealed.
182. SHIRLEY, PHARES, Perry .- Enlisted September, 1862.
Mustered in at Buffalo, September 10th, 1862.
Was taken prisoner at Plymouth, and was sent to An- dersonville. He was detailed from the stockade to do duty in the hospital. On the morning of May 21st, he came up and made quite a long visit to the writer.
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Soon after his return to his own tent, he was sitting on his bunk, conversing with some of his comrades, when he suddenly fell over on his couch, and immediately expired. There was no post mortem examination, but he undoubt- edly died of heart disease. It was a sudden shock and sad calamity to his surviving comrades, for he was uni- formly kind and attentive to them all.
The following appropriate obituary appeared in the Western New Yorker, written by Rev. J. R. Page :
" It is not fit to suffer the worthy dead to go down in silence to the grave to make no note of their departure-and withhold the meed of
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praise due to their exemplary lives and their precious memory. In this connection, I want the privilege of paying a brief tribute of friend- ship, in your columns, to one of our noble Perry soldiers, who died a prisoner in rebel hands. *
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Born in our village (Perry) and having spent nearly all his life in it, Phares was widely known and universally regarded as one of our most promising young men. Gentle and accommodating in disposi- tion, proverbially truthful and upright in speech and act, free from the sins to which young men in particular, are so fearfully exposed, . he was a general favorite in our community, and, it is believed, he he has not left an enemy among all who knew him. Favored with a naturally amiable disposition, grace had made it increasingly attract- ive, and his profession of Godliness was habitually honored in practice. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, where his funeral ser- mon was preached last Sabbath, by the pastor, from 1st Kings, chap. II, verse 2. The theme of the discourse was the dying soldier's . legacy to each of his countrymen-' his unfinished work.'"
A copy of a letter to Phares' mother gives more par- ticulars of his death. It is as follows :
" ANDERSONVILLE, Nov. 15th, 1864.
" Dear Madam-I enclose you a lock of hair which I clipped from Phares' head. I suppose you have heard some of the particulars of his death. It was so sudden to us all, that it hardly seemed like death. An hour before, he sat in my tent with me, chatting of the times when we were boys playing 'Robin Hood,' and roving through Bailey's Grove-of school days-then of our late capture, and its strangeness, compared with those times. After awhile, he arose, saying, that he thought he was going to have a chill, as he felt very much like it. Twenty minutes after, one of the boys came rushing into the tent, saying that Phares was dying. I hastened to his tent only to find him dead. I had a surgeon called immediately, who pronounced his ailment-' heart disease.' If I am ever fortunate enough to reach Perry, I will tell you all.
Yours truly,
" J. W. M."
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183. SHOCKENSEY, TIMOTHY F., China .- Enlisted Au- gust 30th, 1862.
Was taken prisoner at Plymouth, and died at Ander- sonville Stockade, September 12th, 1864. The number of his grave is 8,595.
He left a wife and family to mourn his loss.
The sympathy of all who appreciate the sacrifice that a man with a family made, when he left his home to enter the ranks of our army, as well as the kindest wishes of all his comrades, is tendered to them.
184. SMITH, MASON C., Perry .- Enlisted August 28th, 1862.
Mustered in at Buffalo, August 30th, 1862.
Was appointed corporal at Newport Barracks.
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Was taken prisoner at Plymouth. The writer saw but little of him until we reached Andersonville. I was then called upon by one of the "battery boys," who in- formed me that Mason was very ill, and desired to see me. Upon visiting him I found him very low, with un- mistakable symptoms of typhoid fever. He recognised me for a few moments only, spoke of home, his mother, and of our old boy days, and then wandered off in mind to the insane dreams of a fevered brain. Even then, as we gathered about him, it appeared to us that to be allowed to be the first one to die in such a place, was a kindly boon of a wise God. He died the following morning, May 10th, 1864. The following obituary ap- peared in the Western New Yorker, when the sad ti- dings of his sad death reached his home ;
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OBITUARY BY REV. J. R. PAGE.
" Another noble sacrifice for our imperiled country. Last Satur- day, a letter was received from Lieut. George S. Hastings, who is a prisoner at Macon, Georgia, containing the brief sad line-' Mason Smith died, May 10th.'
" This much, and no more ! His health was quite poor at the time of his capture, and he, doubtless, sank under the long, weary march, and the increased hardships incidental to his captivity. Our com- . munity could mourn the loss of no young man more beloved or promising.
" He inherited the genial, quiet, kind spirit of his father ; had the same relish for literary pursuits and social enjoyments; was equally intelligent and uncompromising in his convictions, and bid fair to be a man of even greater usefulness and worth to society. He had been for several years an earnest, active member of the Presbyterian Church, deeply interested in the Sabbath school and prayer meetings ; honored by all his youthful associates for rare and moral courage, and manly adherence to what he regarded as the path of duty. For, rather would he right, all alone, than wrong, with the multitude.
. " He had just completed his second year at Hamilton College when the call for troops became too earnest for him to longer resist. Had he remained in college it is quite likely he would have returned to his home from the recent commencement, a graduate, in the very stage which brought the intelligence of his death. *
" The frequent letters received from him showed that he aimed to meet all his obligations, and maintain his integrity amid abounding temptations. His efforts were more successful in the opinion of others than in his own severer judgment. Very characteristic is the follow- ing extract from his last letter, save one-' In regard to my being corporal, I have only to say, it was nothing of my own seeking; I never curry favor of my officers-I simply do my duty-and what they see fit to give me, I take-even if it is no more than a corporalcy. Non-Commissioned Officers in the Twenty-fourth Battery are very precarious. To day you may be a sergeant, to-morrow a private. The company is full of men who once held a position in the battery.'" * *
The following appears in an obituary, written by the secretary of his college class :
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" As a class-mate, he was loved by us all. Few enjoyed the pop- . ularity that he was held in by all the class. Quiet, but determined, he was first in our sports and plans; and by his genial spirit, made all his friends.
" A true Christian and an earnest worker ; we can but mourn his sad fate, and join our grief with that of his bereaved family in the loss to them of an only son and brother; to us, of an honored and re- spected classmate."
185. SMITH, J. W., Kingston .- Enlisted September 29th, 1864.
Transferred to Third New York Artillery, May 25th, 1865.
Joined at Roanoke, October 17th, 1864.
186. STEVENS, GEORGE W., Fort Plain, N. Y .-- En- listed November 24th, 1861.
Re-enlisted in January, 1864, at Plymouth.
Taken prisoner at Plymouth, and sent to Anderson- ville.
Phelan informs us that he died at Florence.
187. STODDARD, SAMUEL .- He writes: "I enlisted September 5th, 1862, at Perry, N. Y. Was mustered in, September 10th, 1862, at Buffalo. Mustered out at Syracuse, N. Y., July 7th, 1865.
" I was not a prisoner. I barely escaped capture at Plymouth, N. C., April 20th, 1864. It happened in this wise: I left Plymouth in company with Sergt. Camp, April 3d, for Washington, D. C. Having fin- ished our business, we received orders to return on the 14th. We left Washington the same day, expecting to reach Plymouth on the night of the 16th, or on the follow-
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ing morning, but owing to the failure of connection at Norfolk, of about an hour, with the Chesapeake and Albemarle Line connecting Norfolk with Roanoke Island, we were detained at Norfolk until the following Monday, April 18th, the day after Plymouth was attacked.
"We were joined at Norfolk by Tom McGuire and Parmlee, who had been left behind at that point, sick, on their return from their veteran furlough.
" On reaching Roanoke Island, we found that we were just one hour too late to reach Plymouth, as the ram came down the river that night, and cut off all further communication with the place from our transports. We, however, were ignorant of this, and proceeded by the ' Massasoit,' to join the Battery at Plymouth. When about midway of the Sound, however, we hailed one of the gunboats, having on board the body of Capt. Flusser, and learned the situation of the garrison. We steamed on, notwithstanding, and joined our fleet, how lying in Chowan Bay, where we remained all night. On the morning of the 30th, we steamed up to the mouth of the Roanoke, and there, during the day, helped off refugees and some escaped prisoners who had found their way to that point.
" At night we were transferred to a propeller that had been trading in those waters, together with those picked up day by day, and several enlisted men that had arrived from New Berne that day, belonging to the Battery. Were sent back to Roanoke Island, then under command of Lieut .- Col. Clarke, Eighty-fifth New York Volunteers.
"On reporting to Col. Clarke, Sergt. Camp was de- tailed to the quartermaster's department, where he re-
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mained until he received his commission, in the following February, I think. This left me in command of our squad, which consisted of the two veterans above named and five recruits, and with them I was ordered to report to Capt. Barnum, of the Sixteenth Connecticut Volun- teers, stationed at Fort Reno.
" Here I remained for nearly a week, when I was de- tailed to report at headquarters, as clerk to the acting assistant adjutant general, and in which place I remained until about the first of June, 1865. During these months I had the opportunity of rendering some assistance to those self-denying ladies who were sent as teachers to the contrabands, as it was my privilege to do to some extent at Plymouth. I will mention another incident, which was of interest to me-a thing which comparatively few saw while in the army-a revival of religion, in which many were hopefully converted, both officers and enlisted men.
" I shall not soon forget the testimony of one of the Andersonville prisoners, who had returned for duty with his regiment. In speaking of the change he experiences in becoming a Christian, he said in words, as near as I can recall them : 'I have been, as you know, for some months a prisoner, in the hands of the Rebels at Ander- sonville, and I thought while descending the river to the point our exchange boat was stationed at, as I first caught sight of the old Stars and Stripes, that it was the hap- piest moment of my life; but I can assure you that this comparison but feebly expresses the joy which I now feel in becoming a child of God.'
"I was appointed corporal, October 11th, 1862, and
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was mustered out as such at the expiration of my term of service.
"Since my retirement from the service I have resided in New York City for three years, as a student of The- ology, at Union Theological Seminary, spending my va- cations, however, out of the city. My first vacation, during the Summer of 1866, was spent as an agent of the Freedman's Union Commission, and canvassed Rock- land Co., N. Y., collecting funds in behalf of that cause. During the vacation of 1867, I preached as stated supply of the Presbyterian Church at Stanhope, N. J., having been licensed to preach the Gospel, April 13th, 1867.
"On May 9th, 1868, graduated at Union Theological Seminary, and on the 20th of the same month was married to Miss Sarah E. Hoisington, daughter of the late Rev. H. R. Hoisington, many years a missionary of the American Board of Foreign Missions, and for several years principal of the Batticolla Seminary, Ceylon, where Mrs. Stoddard was born.
"In June, 1868, received a commission to labor as a home missionary, under the auspices of the Presbyterian . Home Mission Committee. I was sent to Holton, Kan- sas, which is now my field of labor, and present address."
188. STORMS, THOMAS S .- Enlisted at Tarrytown, No- vember 6th, 1861. Was in the Battery. Discharged, we believe, on account of some physical inability, and is now living in Tarrytown.
189. SUNDERLAND, CHAS .- Enlisted at Rochester, September 20th, 1864. Joined the Battery, November 9th, 1864, at Roanoke.
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He enlisted for the 108th Regiment Infantry, but was "lost in the wilderness," and the Battery claimed him.
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190. SUNFIELD, JAMES, Rochester, N. Y .- Enlisted October 9th, 1861. Re-enlisted as a veteran, at Plymouth, in January, 1864.
Was taken prisoner at Plymouth, and sent to Ander- sonville. He was one of those fortunate few who mirac- ulously escaped from the jaws of death.
He was reported as "absent at College Green Bar- racks, Annapolis." We have been told that he now lives in Rochester, N. Y.
191. THAYER, LEWIS P .- Enlisted at Rochester, Octo- ber 4th, 1864, for one year. Joined at Roanoke, Novem- ber 9th, 1864. Transferred to Third New York Artillery. .
192. TILTON, HENRY, Moscow .- Enlisted August 29th, 1862.
Mustered in at Buffalo, August 30th, 1862.
. Promoted corporal about October, 1863.
Was taken prisoner at Plymouth, and died at Ander- sonville Hospital, of gangrene, October 18th, 1864.
Tilton was one of three brothers who entered into the service of the United States. We believe he was the second one to go, and the second one to die. His brother had told him of severe war experience, but that did not deter him. When in his father's store his associates and he consulted over the proposition to go, and go together, he was one of the strongest advocates of the plan. It required much persuasion to gain his mother's assent (for
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WASHING AWAY THE ANDERSONVILLE STOCKADE.
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she could realize, perhaps far better than he, the possible sufferings that he might endure), yet, full of enthusiasm, and full of an earnest conviction that he was needed, he did gain it. And we know, too, that another dear one protested and pleaded; but the firm resolve of a convicted mind gained the mastery over the heart, and he bade them all a "good bye," satisfied that he had done right. An impression has been given to his friends that his suf- ferings from the disease of which he died, were extremely painful and severe. This is not true. The writer knows better than anybody else, because he constantly attended him, and had different physicians to visit him. Scorbu- tis made its appearance in his face. While he remained in the stockade, this disorder received little or no atten- tion. A large ulcer formed in the cheek. He affirmed that he had no sensation of pain from it, and that it was callous to the touch. When he reached the hospital and found friends, was decently clothed, comfortably shel- tered, and had received some palatable food, he volun- teered the remark that "He should soon get well, now that he could get something to eat."
He had been in the hospital once before, and had been returned to the stockade as well. We believe that the cause of his death was not gangrene, but debility, arising from want of food and want of shelter, before it was too late. He received all the comforts that his several friends were enabled to give, for all of which he was very grateful. We hoped to save him, but he was too far gone. Upon making the usual morning visit to his tent, after he had been there a few days, we found that his 'soul had passed quietly away during the night. 9
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The gracious God, who had given him rest in slumber, had carried him from that sleep to the eternal sleep which knows no waking. Will there not be rest in heaven for such a wearied, suffering martyr ?
193. TIRRELL, SAMUEL .- Enlisted at Leicester, January 5th, 1864. Reached Plymouth in time to participate in the battle, and be taken prisoner.
Ferguson writes that "Tirrell died at Florence, S. C."
194. TRUAIR, O. M., Mount Morris .- Enlisted Septem- ber 4th, 1862.
Quaker. Died or was discharged.
195. TURNER, ROBERT, New Hartford, N. Y .- Enlisted November 22d, 1862.
He came on to Newport Barracks with Lieut. Hastings, . having left Hamilton College in order to enter the service.
He was unusually bright and active, impulsively generous and kind, and very popular with the members of the Battery. So anxious was he to participate in a battle, that he used his strongest persuasive qualities with the officers to permit him to go with the section which was selected for the march to Kinston, Goldsboro' and Whitehall. He was killed at the battle of Whitehall.
The following account is given in " The Wyoming Times" :
" Monday morning the army re-crossed the bridge, it was a long, large bridge. Robert Turner, from Owego, had charge of men de- tached from the different batteries, to clear the town of stragglers, and send them forward to prepare material, and make preparations
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for burning the bridge and set fire to it. He accomplished the deed promptly, and received the approval of the Colonel. * * * (We believe this was the bridge on which Colonel Clark, of the Ninety- sixth New York, was shot and killed.) At the battle of Whitehall, Turner was standing at the head of a horse, when he was struck by a fragment of a shell, killing him instantly. The missile passed through his body near the heart. He was buried in his overcoat and blanket, even in the din and smoke of battle.
" He was a great favorite with all the men, and sad hearts gathered round his lonely grave. A short prayer was said, and there was just time to fill the grave as the command was given to ' forward.'"
196. VAN BUREN, SYLVESTER .- Enlisted February 15th, 1864.
He was taken prisoner at Plymouth, and was sent to Andersonville.
197. WARDWELL, EDWARD H., New Hartford, N. Y .- . Joined for duty, September 20th, 1862. Promoted second lieutenant, April 15th, 1863.
Resigned, August 30th, 1864.
Transferred to Signal Corps and absent from Plymouth.
198. WASHINGTON, GEORGE, colored cook .- Enlisted at Plymouth, May 11th, 1863. Lieutenant Camp says : "He was taken prisoner at Plymouth, April 20th, 1864. Put under guard and set at work collecting stores and carrying them into Fort William.
" While at work, the third day after capture, he gave the guard the slip, by jumping over the parapet into the ditch, near our quarters, thence into the swamp, on the upper side of the town, where he found a canoe, with a
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gun in it, which some person had left and gone ashore from. He got into it, paddled out into the creek, thence to the river, thence up the river, past the Fort and down Middle river, picking up in the swamp, oppo- site Plymouth, two refugees, N. Carolinians, and brought up safe and sound with our fleet, at the mouth of the river. Joined the company at Roanoke, and for some misdemeanor was sent for trial to New Berne, there got out and went on board steamer as coal heaver. From George, Lieutenant Camp got the first report of the killed and wounded, and fate of the Battery, in general, which he conveyed by letter to anxious friends at Perry."
199. WAYNE, JOSEPH, Hamlin, N. Y .- Joined for duty October 23d, 1861.
Discharged from hospital in June, 1862.
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200. WELCH, EDWARD, Perry .- Enlisted, August 27th, 1862.
Mustered in at Buffalo, August 30th, 1862.
Was wounded and taken prisoner at Plymouth, and . died at Andersonville Hospital, of chronic diarrhoea, August 8th, 1864.
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