USA > New York > Dutchess County > The "Dutchess county regiment" (150th regiment of New York state volunteer infantry) in the Civil War; > Part 15
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Of this regiment, which was designated the 150th New York State Volunteers, John H. Ketcham was unani- mously chosen Colonel. It may truthfully be said that he was utterly without military experience and training, but he was devoted unceasingly to perfecting himself in military tactics, and night after night busied himself in study. The departure of the regiment from Pough- keepsie for the front was an event long to be remembered, the ladies of Dutchess County presenting it with a set of colors.
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The first order called for its presence in Baltimore, and here in the winter of 1862 and '63 the regiment was en- camped, and during that entire winter Mrs. Ketcham was present and endured the privations and discomforts of camp life, thus giving companionship to her husband, and comfort and encouragement to those of the regiment who were privileged to meet with this rare and gifted woman. For more than two years following the muster of the regiment into the United States service Colonel Ketcham's life was merged in that of the organization which he so ably commanded, and the various events of that period are recorded in other chapters of this book.
It was on Argyle Island, in the Savannah River, near Savannah, that General Ketcham, who had by this time been promoted for conspicuous gallantry, received a wound which threatened his life. While standing upon earthworks which had been thrown up as a protection to his command a bullet struck him in the right thigh, within six inches of the trunk, and it was the opinion of the surgeon that amputation was the only means of saving his life. But with pluck and bravery General Ketcham declined to permit the amputation, and it is said of him he remarked that if necessary he would rather die than have his leg removed. After six weeks in the hospital he was able to be moved to New York, but from the effects of this wound he never entirely recovered, and he did not join his command again in active campaign service.
While at Atlanta, Ga., he had been promoted to be Brigadier-General by Brevet, and subsequently, for con- spicuous bravery, to the rank of Brevet Major-General. When he was finally mustered out of the service it was
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with full rank of Brigadier-General in the volunteer service.
While still at the front with his Corps in Georgia, he was nominated for the 38th Congress, and was elected by a large majority. He was subsequently re-nominated and elected consecutively to the 39th, 40th, 4Ist, and 42nd Congresses, and was unanimously re-nominated for membership in the 43rd. This was in 1872, the year of the memorable Greeley campaign, and the Democrats had placed in opposition to him at this election Hon. John O. Whitehouse, of Poughkeepsie. The struggle throughout the then 13th Congressional District of New York was one famous in the annals of State politics, and General Ketcham suffered his first and only defeat; being beaten in the District by a plurality of something like eight hundred votes.
General Grant, who was at that time President, ap- pointed him a Commissioner of the District of Columbia. His colleagues were ex-Governor William Dennison of Ohio, and the Hon. Henry T. Blow of Missouri. Gen- eral Ketcham was quick to see the possibilities of material development of the Nation's capital, and to the task of beautifying and remodeling the city he gave his best energy and unremitting labor.
At the conclusion of his four years' term Washington streets had been largely repaved with asphalt, dozens of small parks had been created, and the local government had been placed on a sure and firm foundation. Upon Gen- eral Ketcham's retirement from this post he received many letters of commendation from the leading citizens of the District, expressing regret at his resignation, and testifying to the ability, industry, and thoughtful con-
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sideration manifested by him in the faithful discharge of his duties, and he was the guest of honor at a banquet given him in commemoration of these services.
General Ketcham was recalled to serve his District in the 45th Congress, and was subsequently re-elected to the 46th, 47th, 48th, 49th, 50th, 5 Ist, and 52nd Congresses, when, owing to impaired health, he declined a unani- mous nomination which had been tendered him by the people of the District.
In 1894 he again entered Congress, and was subse- quently re-elected to the 56th, 57th, 58th, and 59th Con- gresses, and was the unanimous choice of his party for re- election to the 60th Congress when death came on November 4, 1906. In point of the length of service he was the dean of both branches of the National Legis- lature, having broken the record for long service.
Perhaps no other man in the public life of his time had so strong and warm a hold upon his constituents as did the subject of this sketch. For nearly fifty years he had been in their service and they had honored him as no other man had ever been honored in the National Legislature. Nineteen times they had nominated him as their repre- sentative in Congress, and no vote had ever been cast against him in any convention.
It was his highest ambititon to serve his District faith- fully and well, irrespective of party affiliations, and many are the incidents now told of his generosity and of the sacrifices that he made in the interests of his constituents. He was a man of warm impulses and of a tender and generous nature, always ready to help a friend or do a kind act for a neighbor, and he was known far and beyond the confines of his native State.
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JOHN HENRY KETCHAM.
Early in his Congressional life he became deeply in- terested in the postal service, and for many years was a member of the committee of postal officers and post routes in the National House. It was he who secured for the employees in the postal service fifteen days' vaca- tion each year, with pay, and he was largely instrumental in the legislation which has resulted in the free rural de- livery service throughout the length and breadth of this land.
His native State honors him, and with good reason, for he was one of her best products ; a manly, noble man in all the relations of life, and one who in his remarkable public career maintained himself throughout with dignity, propriety, and honor. The people of the 2 1st Congres- sional District, to a man, mourn his loss and realize that the void created by his death is one which it is impossible to fill.
In his domestic relations General Ketcham had been most fortunate and happy. On February 4, 1858, he was married to Augusta A. Belden, daughter of William H. and Sarah A. Belden, and of this union four children were born : Augusta A., Henry B., Charles B., and Ethel B .; the latter three of whom, together with his widow, survive him.
Of these his son, Henry B. Ketcham, was married September 12, 1889, to Sallie Bray Holman, daughter of Samuel K. Holman of Englewood, N. J., and they have three children, Henry H., Katherine H., and John B. Ketcham.
His other son, Charles B. Ketcham, was married in 1900 to Suzanne Brightson, daughter of George E.
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Brightson of Brooklyn, N. Y., and they have two sons, Howard and Gordon.
JOSEPH HUBERT COGSWELL.
PERSONAL NARRATIVE.
"He was born, he lived, he served, he died." That is about all there is to one's history. Fortunately for me, " the curtain has not been rung down " on the last act. I would fain let the few words above stand for my " Personal Narrative," but in an evil hour, at one of our reunions, I proposed that Dr. Cook, our (never-more- than-now) esteemed comrade and former assistant sur- geon, take charge of the necessary work in bringing out our regimental history. So when he lays down the law to me in the following words, which I quote from one of his recent letters,-" It does not matter why I want your personal sketch, but I want it and want it badly, and must have it!" what can I do but comply ?
I was born in a log house in Brighton, Monroe County, N. Y., September 2, 1828, in what is now a part of the city of Rochester, but I do not remember the " log house," as it soon gave place to a frame structure. My father was Samuel Olmstead Cogswell, of Richmond, Berkshire County, Mass., from which place he emigrated per Erie Canal in 1827, carting his belongings to Albany. He was the seventh in descent from John Cogswell, an English emigrant who settled near Ipswich, Mass., in 1635. A part of the one thousand acres given him in con- sideration of his establishing a woolen mill, was, in 1892, held by one of his descendants, Edward E. Cogswell, and quite a pretentious mansion was then existing,
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although 175 years old, of which I have a good picture.
My grandfather Cogswell and three of his brothers were Revolutionary soldiers, one of whom got his baptism of blood at Bunker Hill. My mother was Sarah Eliza Bloss, who was seventh in descent from the emigrant Edmund Bloss, 1634, and from the emigrant John Went- worth, 1639. Her father entered the service in 1776, while in his 17th year, serving through the war. He was the oldest son of the family. His father died of camp fever while with the army then in Westchester County, New York. As this recruit for the Revolutionary Army marched away from home, carrying his flintlock musket, all the family gathered at the dooryard gate to say "Good-bye," and his mother's parting injunction was,- " Joe, don't you get shot in the back !"
My great-grandfather Kennedy and four of his sons were of the Minute Men of Milton, Mass., and " got into the game " or " scrap " at Concord and Lexington. To give an insight to the character of the colonists of the Revolutionary period, and to show not only how patriotic but how religious their women were, when the Minute Men of Milton got their marching orders at this time they rallied at the public house kept by my great-grand- father, Andrew Kennedy. As they gathered, their mothers and sisters came to see them off. When about to start the absence of Mrs. Kennedy was commented on, but she soon appeared, calm and self-possessed. At once some anxious wife and mother said to her, "How can you compose yourself when we are all so anxious ? Don't you know you may never see your husband and sons again ?" Instantly she replied, " It is all right! I have been in the saddle room praying. They will all come
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back in safety." And they did. Possibly heredity had something to do with my entering the service, obeying, not the " Call of the Wild," but the " Call of the War."
I attended a district school and the Clover Street Seminary in my native town till 1847, when I went to learn the printing trade in Rochester, and "stuck type " for nearly two years, then taught school a while, read law a while (not enough to hurt me I hope !) and ex- ploited a store and saw-mill for a year and a half in Oswego County, New York. I spent a few months in Wisconsin early in 1853, looking after the interests of a Rochester nursery firm. The next three years I taught school in Clover Street Seminary, and carried on farming as a " side line." In June, 1858, I went to Poughkeepsie to represent the nursery of H. E. Hooker & Co., of Rochester, N. Y., and followed this business until the summer of 1862, when, on August 15th, I was author- ized by the Adjutant-General of the State to "Enroll Volunteers." This was the first direct "authorization " to enlist men for the regiment. Joining with Henry Gridley of Amenia, who had just graduated from Am- herst College, and James P. Mabbett of the Town of Washington, our efforts culminated in the muster of Com- pany A, Monday, September 8, 1862, at Albany, N. Y., with eighty-three men and three officers, as may be seen by the roll. My muster into the United States service as Captain of Company A, was on October 10, 1862. For subsequent promotions see the roll of Company A. From the same source time and place of muster-out can be found.
From September 14, 1865, to July 1, 1883, I was one
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of a firm which published the Titusville (Pa.) Morning Herald. May 8, 1869, I was appointed postmaster of Titusville by President Grant, and by successive re- appointments served till March 31, 1886, when President Cleveland, probably thinking seventeen years was long enough for a Republican to sell postage stamps and issue money orders, appointed a staunch Democrat in my place. For the next six years I was employed by the Standard Oil Co., and the Tidewater Oil Co., being located during the last half of the time in Boston. Since January 1, 1894, I have carried on an insurance and real estate agency in Titusville.
On August 16, 1853, I was married to Julia E. Brewster, at Clover Street Seminary, before mentioned. Our three children are all living. My wife died May II, 1903. Had she lived three months and five days longer we should have rounded out fifty years of married life. Many of the regiment will recall her devotion to the sick in our hospital at Belger Barracks in the winter of 1862-63. "A prudent wife is from the Lord." The wife who stayed at home and cared for the children during the war period, torn with suspense, wracked with anxiety, fearing dire tidings with every issue of the morn- ing paper, pursuing the humdrum affairs of every-day life, was the cross-bearer, burden-bearer, the ever-watchful, always-suffering, heroine of the war.
I have not been able to attend many of our annual re- unions, as the distance of a round trip was a thousand miles, aggregating sometimes, when I did attend, more miles than was covered by all the other officers present. As our numbers decrease those remaining should draw closer together, greetings should be heartier, the hand-
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grip of friendship firmer, and the farewells deeper and more tender. May we all hear at life's close the plaudit, " Well done, good and faithful servant."
ALFRED BAKER SMITH. By STEPHEN G. COOK.
Alfred B. Smith was born at Massena, St. Lawrence County, N. Y., November 17, 1825. His grandfather served as a soldier in the French, Indian and Revolution- ary Wars, and his father also served his country as a private in the War of 1812-14. The boy was born and passed his early days on a farm, from which the native timber was yet to be cleared. He was the eldest of twelve children, and much of his youth was spent in aiding his father to cultivate the farm. In winter he attended the district school, and later managed to enter Union College, from which he was graduated at the age of twenty-six, expecting to adopt teaching as his profes- sion. In 1852 he became Instructor of Mathematics at College Hill, the famous Poughkeepsie school of which Charles Bartlett was the head. While thus employed, he studied law in the office of James Emott, and when the latter became a judge, he resigned his position at College Hill to enter into a law partnership with Matthew Hall, now practising in Albany. Later, he was associated with Leonard B. Sackett, which partnership continued for a quarter of a century, and was only terminated by death.
In 1862 our late companion was largely instrumental in raising a Dutchess County Regiment, known as the 150th New York Volunteers, of which Governor Morgan commissioned him major. In October the command took
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ALFRED BAKER SMITH.
the field, and from that time until June, 1865, he was constantly with his regiment. From Gettysburg, where the 150th received its first baptism of fire, to Bentonville, fought nearly two years later, he was ever the same brave and faithful soldier, performing his duty in the many intervening engagements of the Tennessee and Atlanta campaigns, also participating with his regiment as a por- tion of the 20th Corps, in the famous march of Sherman from Atlanta to the Sea : through South and North Caro- lina and in the memorable grand review of the Union Armies in Washington at the close of the war. During this period of military service he was successively pro- moted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and Colonel of the regiment, and, later, Brigadier-General by Brevet.
General Smith filled many public positions in Pough- keepsie. He was appointed postmaster by President Johnson, and for thirty years was a member of the Board of Education, in which he always displayed a deep in- terest, being particularly proud of his work as a Commis- sioner of Education. He also served for several years as a director of the Poughkeepsie Lyceum, and for a single year as a recorder of the city. General Smith was originally a Democrat in politics, but in 1854, with eleven other men, he withdrew from that party, organizing the Republican party of Dutchess County. The little com- pany were called "The Twelve Apostles." While cherishing pride in his army career, and greatly enjoying his nine years' membership in the Loyal Legion, he at once entered upon the duties of citizenship, pursuing its peaceful ways for three decades with dignity, and winning the respect of his fellow citizens. He was an enthusias- tic Republican and a conspicuous figure at conventions
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and other meetings of the party. One of the latest ap- pearances in public-perhaps the very last-was to intro- duce in the Opera House, at the recent anniversary of Eastman College, General John B. Gordon, of Georgia, on which occasion he spoke eloquently of the gallant soldier of the South, who was his opponent in the Civil War.
When General Smith settled in Poughkeepsie, he soon became an active member of the Presbyterian Church, and it was while giving out a hymn at an evening prayer meet- ing that the sudden summons came, and in a moment his gentle spirit passed away. He was buried from the church, of which he was the senior elder, and his funeral was probably the largest that ever took place in Pough- keepsie. The remains were viewed during two hours by thousands of people, and were escorted to the cemetery by the 19th Separate Company. Three volleys were fired over the grave, and taps were sounded by the bugler of Hamilton Post. One son, Matthew J. M. Smith, sur- vives him.
HENRY ALGER GILDERSLEEVE.
Henry Alger Gildersleeve, son of Smith J. and Rachel (Alger) Gildersleeve, was born on his father's farm in the township of Clinton, Dutchess County, N. Y., August 1, 1840. He was educated at the district school at Shultzville, near his home, the Hudson River Institute, at Claverack, N. Y., and at College Hill, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. In 1857 he taught district school in Bull's Head District, Town of Clinton. He intended to enter Union College, but before he could carry out this plan the Civil War called him to military life.
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HENRY ALGER GILDERSLEEVE.
When the Dutchess County Regiment was organized he recruited a Company-114 men in all-received his commission as Captain of Company C, the color company, on September 17, 1862, and was mustered in with the regiment October 11th. Captain Gildersleeve served with the regiment in Baltimore, and participated in the battle of Gettysburg and the subsequent campaign in Maryland and Virginia. He was then ordered on special duty and rendered important services in New York and Albany in organizing recruits and drafted men and for- warding them to the several departments of the army.
In June, 1864, he applied to be sent back to his regi- ment, then with Sherman on his advance towards Atlanta. In response to this application he received an order direct- ing him to conduct a train load of soldiers from New York to Nashville, Tenn. On arriving in Nashville and turning over his command, he received a special order placing him in charge of fifteen hundred beef cattle, with instructions to drive them to Sherman's army, wherever it could be found. One hundred veteran soldiers and twenty herdsmen were placed under his command for the accomplishment of this somewhat hazardous under- taking. Nothing more serious occurred than several startling alarms, and in about two weeks' time the herd was turned over to the Chief Commissary, "all present or accounted for," and in good condition, near Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia. From this time until the close of the war Captain Gildersleeve continued to serve in Sherman's army.
He was made Provost Marshal of the Ist Division of the 20th Army Corps, on the staff of General Williams, where the duties were delicate, responsible and arduous.
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Later on he was promoted to the rank of Major of his regiment, the 150th New York State Volunteers, and in March, 1865, was breveted Lieutenant-Colonel United States Volunteers, by President Lincoln, " for gallant and meritorious services in the campaigns of Georgia and the Carolinas." In forwarding this commission to Colonel Gildersleeve Governor Fenton, of New York, sent with it a highly complimentary letter.
At the age of 25 he now began his civil career by choosing the profession of the law. In the fall of 1865 he took a seat in the office of Henry W. Johnson, 41 Wall Street, then a prominent lawyer in New York City, and at the same time attended the Columbia College Law School. Prof. Theodore W. Dwight, then at the head of this institution, took a special interest in the young soldier student, as he showed in a letter written in 1875 to the Army of the Cumberland reunion at Utica, N. Y. In May, 1866, Colonel Gildersleeve passed the regular examination, and was admitted to the Bar of the Second Department, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. From this time until his election to the Bench in 1875, he was a hard- working and successful lawyer in New York City. Always conspicuous for good judgment and impartiality, he was frequently named as referee by litigants, and in that capacity disposed of many important cases.
While devoting his attention to the duties of his pro- fession, Colonel Gildersleeve did not lose his interest in military matters. In 1870 he was chosen Lieutenant- Colonel of the 12th Regiment of the National Guard of the State of New York, and the same regiment chose as Major, S. V. R. Cruger, formerly his brother officer in our Dutchess County Regiment. During the Orange
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riots in New York City in 1871, Colonel Gildersleeve had command of the 12th Regiment, which was assigned to the defense of the State Arsenal at 35th Street and 7th Avenue.
Soon after entering the National Guard, Colonel Gildersleeve was deeply impressed by the ignorance of the guardsmen in the practical use of their rifles. To remedy this state of affairs, Colonel Gildersleeve helped to organize the National Rifle Association of America, the object of which was " to encourage rifle practice and to promote a system of aiming drill and target firing among the National Guard." Of this association Colonel Gildersleeve was one of the incorporators and directors, and for years he devoted much time and energy to its service as secretary, and later as president.
It was on the range of this association at Creedmoor, while preparing himself to instruct his regiment in rifle practice, that he acquired the skill in marksmanship which soon made him famous. Possessing in a high degree the natural qualifications of good eyesight, rare nerve, excel- lent judgment and application, he soon succeeded in carry- ing off many prizes in various competitions. In 1874 he first came into national prominence as a rifleman by his work as a member of the American Rifle Team in its first contest with the Irish team at Creedmoor. This exciting match the Americans won by a narrow margin.
Gildersleeve's work in this great contest had shown that he was in the foremost rank of marksmen. When, in the following year, it was decided to send a party of riflemen to Great Britain, and give the Irish a return match, he was unanimously chosen captain of the team. The party sailed from New York on the S. S. " City of
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Chester," of the Inman Line, June 5, 1875. They were received in Dublin with genuine Irish enthusiasm, and entertained with warm and generous hospitality. The match came off at Dollymount on June 29th in the presence of twenty thousand spectators, and resulted in a pronounced victory for the Americans. The American riflemen also took part in competitions in England and Scotland, and won many individual victories in brilliant style.
Colonel Gildersleeve's management of the expedition, his public speeches, and his individual skill in all the con- tests were eminently satisfactory to the members of his party, and to his countrymen at home. The victory stirred the American people to great manifestations of joy, and the team were received, on their arrival in New York, with demonstrations befitting the return of heroes from a successful war.
Colonel Gildersleeve in 1876 embodied the lessons of his experience in a book entitled, Rifles and Marksman- ship, which obtained wide circulation. Governor Dix offered him the position of General Inspector of Rifle Practice in the State of New York, but he declined the proffered honor.
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