USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > The heroes of Albany. A memorial of the patriot-martyrs of the city and county of Albany, who sacrificed their lives during the late war in defense of our nation 1861-1865 > Part 12
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A gentleman by instinet and education, possessed of a fine person and fascinating manners, a large heart and a true and genial nature, endowed with a rare intellect, enriched by varied and manly cultivation, he became the idol of every cirele in which he mingled, a cherished companion among his associates, the trusted depositary of the most sacred treasures of a well chosen friendship, the pride of his family and kindred, and a
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favorite with the public. As a public speaker, Col. JACKSON Was eloquent and forcible, and to rare conversational powers he added the pen of a ready and elegant writer. As a member of this bar, at which he had secured no indifferent reputation, we remember him as a brother without reproach. His warm hand, his beaming and manly face, will greet us no more. We shall miss him at the bar, in the halls of justice, from our social gatherings, in the public and private walks of life; but in the innermost shrines of our hearts. and so long as life lasts, we will cherish his memory, fragrant with every manly virtue, and free from every suspicion of dishonor. We will think of him for his noble qualities of head and heart, for the example he has left behind him, for the expectations he had realized, and the hopes he had inspired.
In all the relations of private life, and in all the varied and responsible positions with which he was trusted, he preserved to the last " the whiteness of his soul, and men weep for him."
It is, after all, as a patriot and soldier, and not as a lawyer, we meet to do him honor. True, the ranks of our profession have been invaded, and another link has been stricken from the bright fraternal chain which binds us together; a choice spirit has dropt from our circle, and passed forever away, and we confess our loss; but it is our country, and not our class, that is smitten by this bereavement. Brave of heart and strong of hand, loving his country and revering her insulted flag, he was among the first to respond to the call of the Nation, in the hour of her sudden and greatest peril. Though uneducated to the profession of arms, he brought to the duties of his high command, unwearied indus- try and all the acknowledged vigor of his mind, and at the time of his death had already become an accomplished and efficient officer; enjoyed the confidence of the Government and of his superiors in command; was rapidly rising in the opinions of the army, and had secured to the fullest extent the respect and love of his gallant regiment, which, under his discipline, had become, by common consent, one of the best and most efficient in the service.
Tried upon the field of battle, and found wanting in none of the stern requisites of a soldier. he had before him the promise
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of a brilliant and glorious future. In the inscrutable providence of God, the hand of death has overtaken him, and he is removed from the tumult of arms and the scenes of earth. But he has fallen in the career of duty and the path of fame, with his how bent, his feet to the field, and his armor on. To the patriot, the memory of such is sweet.
We give, also, the Proceedings at the Executive Chamber:
By direction of his Excellency, Gov. MORGAN, the members of his staff, present in Albany, met in the Executive Chamber, on the evening of November 12th, to take such action as might be deemed appropriate in regard to the death of Col. WILLIAM A. JACKSON, commanding the Eighteenth Regiment of New York State Volunteers, and formerly Inspector General of this State. who expired at Washington on the evening of the 11th instant.
The following members of his staff were present: Adjutant General HILLHOUSE, Inspector General PATRICK, Commissary General WELCH, Surgeon General VANDERPOEL, Quartermaster General VAN VECHTEN, Aide-de-Camp ARDEN, and Military Sec- retary LINSLEY.
On assuming the chair, his Excellency expressed, with great feeling, his deep sense of the sad occasion which had induced him to convene the members of his military family, and sug- gested that sneh action should be had as the melancholy event called for. He added, that the death of Col. JACKSON came upon us with peculiar force. That he had been an esteemed member of his staff, and was a much-loved citizen of Albany at the time he assumed the command of the regiment, and that it was eminently proper that this especial notice should be taken of his death, by himself and the members of his staff who were now present.
Whereupon, Com. Gen. WELCH, with the permission of his Excellency, submitted the following resolutions:
Resolved, That we have heard, with emotions of profound sorrow, of the death of a former associate, Col. WILLIAM A. JACK- soy, commanding the Eighteenth Regiment of New York Volun- teers, who was among the first to sacrifice honorable public posi- tion, professional honors and emoluments, and cherished personal
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associations, in defence of the flag of the country and the integ- rity of the Union.
Resolved, That in the death of this young soldier, who was endeared to us by those sterling characteristics of manhood, which he possessed in so eminent a degree, we are overwhelmed with grief, not only because an estimable friend and associate has been taken from us, but because the country, now passing the severest ordeal of its existence, has lost one of its able and zealous champions.
Resolved, That the loss of Col. JACKSON, so deeply felt here. in the city of his former residence, and so much to be deplored everywhere, calls for some public manifestation of the wide- spread sorrow which his early death has evoked.
Resolved, That his Excellency, the Governor, be respectfully requested to forward to the immediate relatives of the deceased, a copy of these resolutions, with an expression of our deep and unaffected sympathy with them in this, their great bereavement.
These resolutions were unanimously adopted.
GENERAL ORDER.
HEAD QUARTERS, FIFTH BRIGADE, 3 November 15, 1861. S
GENERAL ORDER, No. 13. The General commanding the Bri- gade. on his return, has heard with lively sorrow of the decease of Col. WILLIAM A. JACKSON, commanding the Eighteenth Regi- ment New York Volunteers.
Deprived, by circumstances over which he had no control, of the melancholy privilege of witnessing his last moments, or of being present at the funeral obsequies, the General commanding wishes at least to testify his profound sense of the loss to the service, experienced by the decease of this accomplished soldier and gentleman.
The high state of discipline and efficiency attained by the Eighteenth Regiment, is a testimony to the zeal and intelligence of the deceased, more honorable and complete than the most elaborate culogium. By order of Brig. Gen. NEWTON.
JAS. E. MONTGOMERY, Asst. Adj. Gen.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
John Wilson
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VI. COL. JOHN WILSON.
COLONEL JOHN WILSON, of the Forty-third Regiment Infantry, N. Y. V., son of JAMES and ANN WILSON, was born in Albany, N. Y., December 29th, 1838. His father was a native of Scotland, a man of sterling integrity and great benevolence, a useful citizen and sincere Christian. His mother was an American of Scottish descent. His maternal great grand-father served in the army of the Revolution, upholding bravely the cause of his adopted coun- try. He was a man of great physical strength, and power of endurance. He suffered much on board a prison ship near Brook- lyn. His son, a boy of seventeen years, also served and was wounded in the Revolutionary war.
JOHN WILSON received his education at the Albany Academy, which institution he entered at a very early age. He immediately commenced the study of the Latin language, in which his father was very desirous of having him proficient, as it was necessary to a scientific knowledge of the business, for which he designed to educate him. He studied the French language a number of years, and went farther than the course prescribed by the Academy. His father dying when he was sixteen, he suspended his studies and succeeded to his business of florist and nursery- man. In this he continued till he entered the army, giving up then a lucrative and prosperous business to devote himself to his country.
From his infancy he attended the Sabbath school established by his father, then the only Sabbath school in the section of the city where he resided. He was actively engaged in it till he entered the army, and was always interested in its success. He united with the Baptist Church in 1858, under the ministration
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of Rev. Dr. HAGUE. Hle maintained always a firm religious cha- racter, was charitable in judgment, and liberal in giving, espe- cially in private. Generosity was, from childhood, his distin- guishing characteristic. While he was in the army, he devoted one-tenth part of his income to charitable and religious purposes.
He entered the army as a Captain, having raised a company for the second requisition of troops in the summer of 1861. In about one week from the time he had resolved to give himself to his country, his company was raised. They marched to the barracks, on Saturday, August 3d, the first soldiers to occupy the barracks after the troops of the first requisition had gone to the field.
The following extracts from Col. WILSON's letters will give a view of his movements after he left Albany:
NEW YORK, September 18, 1861.
Dear Mother and Sisters-I arrived safely in New York on Tuesday, at two o'clock. It rained very hard when we came in, but ceased about an hour afterward, when the regiment arrived.
As soon as I stepped from the cars I proceeded to the Astor House, and soon after met the Colonel, who entrusted the dis- embarkation of our men to me. We landed safely, and fortu. nately it ceased raining, but it commenced soon after we had obtained our quarters in the Park barracks.
The officers are mostly quartered at the Astor and Lovejoy's Ilotel. I am very well at present, and trust this finds you all well. I cannot find out when the regiment will leave, as nobody seems to know anything about it.
I will write as soon as I learn anything definite. Our men are all well, but do not like the confinement in such barracks as those in the Park. Your son and brother, JOHN. CAMP CASEY, MERIDIAN HILL, NEAR WASHINGTON, D. C., - HEAD QUARTERS OF N. Y. FORTY-THIRD REGT., September 22, 1861.
Dear Mother and Sisters-I have just obtained an opportunity to write to you this afternoon. I am officer of the day, and as I
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am all alone in my tent just now, I feel like writing to you, to tell you how I like camp life.
The last letter I wrote you was from the Park barracks, New York. I said in my letter of Friday last, that we would move soon, and so it turned out, for with but three hours notice we were ordered, by telegraph, to Washington direct.
You may imagine what a commotion there was among the men, when at six o'clock Friday evening they were ordered to Washington, and to be ready to start by nine o'clock P. M. Well, we got under way at precisely half past one Saturday mor- ning, having waited from nine P. M., the evening before, for our baggage and equipments to be sent to the railroad depot, and our rations to be prepared for us, which latter, by the way, we never got, as they were by mistake left in New York.
You may think we were all pretty well tired waiting, but to add still to our troubles, we had to wait in New Jersey, at the depot in Jersey city, till four o'clock A. M. before the train could be got under way.
We arrived safely in Philadelphia at twelve o'clock M., and were received by the women of the city in grand style. They prepared a dinner for us free, and a good appetite we had for it, too, as we had had nothing to eat since the night before, except what food the men, at the supper table, had placed in their haver- sacks. As it was, they did very well, and complained but very little.
We took rail at one o'clock for Baltimore, and all through the streets of Philadelphia, as we passed in the cars, we were greeted by thousands of cheers and hurrahs. We reached Baltimore at eleven o'clock Saturday night, and immediately marched two miles to the depot of the railroad for Washington, and arrived in Washington four o'clock Sunday morning. We were all very tired, and immediately proceeded to have our supper of one slice of bread and one slice of pork per man, and a cup of coffee, after which we took a sleep of three hours duration, being called up for breakfast at seven o'clock.
At eleven o'clock A. M. we received marching orders, and pro- ceeded to encamp on the grounds we now occupy on Meridian
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Hill. There are, in all, about twenty thousand men encamped near us, and we have nothing but din, and the music of bugle and fife and drum all day. I am very well, having a fine tent, ground nice and dry, a good floor to the tent, and plenty of coats to cover me with. Write soon.
Yours affectionately, JOHN. HEAD QUARTERS OF FORTY-THIRD REGT., N. Y. S. V., ? MERIDIAN HILL, WASHINGTON, D. C., Sept. 27, 1861. 5
My Dear ANNA-I received your letter yesterday morning. I was very glad to hear from you and all at home, as I was afraid that any letter written to me at New York might not reach me here.
We are having a fine time here in camp-plenty of tent room, as I have taken two tents and joined them in one, end to end, and now we have a sitting room, and a sleeping apartment, with a curtain between. You should see our arrangements, and I am sure you would be surprised to find how comfortable we are. Even now it is raining quite hard, but our tents are covered with large canvass flies, and no rain can get near us.
We are all well, and are not troubled with any inconveniences complained of by many in camp, except the nights are very cold, especially towards morning, and the middle of the days rather warm. But we manage to overcome the former by overcoats and extra blankets, and the latter we avoid by keeping inside of our tents.
We hardly ever take off our clothes, except to bathe, as we must be always ready to spring into our places, even at the dead of night, fully armed and equipped. I shall soon get used to such a life, and I like it more and more every day.
I think there will be a grand battle some time next month, but I am afraid we cannot get ready to be there, but we may have a chance to be lookers on. *
I resigned all claim to the majorship of the regiment, as I find the field officers will have to pass an examination here, which I could not do, as I understand nothing of battalion movements.
COL. JOHN WILSON. 145
I shall have a chance of promotion before long, I think, and then I shall be Major. I am very well satisfied with my present posi- tion. Write soon, and remember me to all friends.
Yours affectionately, JOHN WILSON.
CAMP ADVANCE, Va., Sept. 29th, Sunday.
Dear Mother-I will write you a few lines, to-night, to let you know that we are on the sacred soil of Virginia. The enemy are some six miles from us. We are in the advance camp, and may have a chance to see action before long; but I am not afraid at all, myself. I keep in mind that verse you wrote in my Testa- ment-" He will give his angels charge over thee." I keep my Testament always in my breast pocket, and read it as often as I can. I think a battle is near, and I also think it will be a deci- sive one for our cause and freedom. I will write you again very soon. Give my love to all; KATE, ANNA, ELIZA and MARY, and to yourself. In haste.
Your affectionate son, JOHN WILSON.
FORT MARCY, Va., Oct. 30th, 1861.
My Dear Sister-I received your letter of the 25th, this mor- ning. I am now writing an answer to your inquiries (time, ten P. M.) I am at present with my company encamped within the above named fort, about three-fourths of a mile from Chain bridge, and three and a half miles from our regiment, being de- tached therefrom for the present, and sent here in command of the fort. I came here last Saturday morning at six A. M., to relieve Company A, of the Vermont Fifth, who have been here some three weeks. I am having a fine time of it now, as the company have all their tents nicely pitched within the breast- works of the fort-and mine stands at the head of the street, and, standing in my tent door, I can at one glance see the whole interior of the place. When I came, I brought nothing but a blanket and an overcoat, and the men brought only their over- coats, thinking we would have to stay but twenty-four hours. But we have had to sleep on the ground three nights, and that, too, through two frosty ones. But I am very well, and the men com-
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COL. JOHN WILSON.
plain but little of any sickness. Our tents came yesterday after- noon, and before night they were all up and occupied. I have a detachment of my company stationed as guard at Chain bridge, under Lieut. WILKINSON, of Company F, and with the fort and the bridge to care for, I have my hands full.
We have had two or three grand reviews lately, and this has kept us all busy getting ready for inspection, so that I have had no time to do anything outside of military affairs. Gen. HAN- COCK, the other day, congratulated Col. VINTON on the drill and discipline of the Forty-third, and, although we have been but one month " out," he confesses us superior to regiments out over four months. This is saying a good deal for us.
We had a set of colors presented to us, the other day, by SIM- EON DRAPER, of New York. They are very handsome, and ele- gantly mounted. Last Thursday, four companies of our regi- ment, or rather parts of four companies, under command of Col. VINTON, made a reconnoissance as far as Flint Hill, or about two miles from Fairfax. Our guide said, we were the first Union troops that had been on Flint Hill, since the battle of Bull Run. He said, also, that our Colonel was the most ambitious one he had met with, as we proceeded over half a mile further than he advised, and would have gone to Fairfax, had not our orders commanded us to go but to Flint Hill. Had we gone further, our Colonel would have had to bear the consequences, had any been killed. As it was, Company A went half a mile beyond, being thrown out as skirmishers. We drove the enemy's pickets before us about a mile, they running off at double-quick, after exchanging a few shots with us. We took eight prisoners, and then returned to camp, having walked in all about twenty miles. This recon- noissance has given us quite a name for courage, and we are already known as the " plucky little Forty-third."
But I must close my letter, with the wish that you will write soon, and all the others too; and don't mind if I do not write as often as I would like to, as I am very much engaged with com- pany affairs. Give my love to Mother, KATE, ANNA, MARY and yourself, of course. and r member me to all my numerous friends. Tell H. S. that I am sorry the articles were not sent, as any-
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thing from Albany seems one hundred per cent better, than any- thing bought here. Give her my regards and thanks for her kind endeavors. I have not received my box yet, and do not know what has become of it. Suppose it will turn up one of these days. I wish I had it now. Good night. JOHN.
Mr. WILSON wrote to his mother and sisters very frequently, giving a minute account of his daily life, and of matters of inte- rest that came under his observation. All his letters breathe the spirit of an earnest patriotism, and personal devotion to duty. Most of them possess a private and family interest, while a few contain matter suitable for publication.
The following letters give an account of the movements of his regiment near Williamsburg and City Point, Va.
CAMP NO. 11, IN THE FIELD, NEAR WILLIAMSBURG, VA., May 8, 1862. 3
My Dear Mother-I wrote a short letter to you yesterday to let you know that our regiment was safe, as it was held as a reserve, together with a few other regiments belonging to KEYES' Corps, and four or five batteries of regular artillery and two regi- ments of regular cavalry. We were very near the scene of action all day Monday, being separated from it by a strip of woods so dense as to prevent our seeing anything of the conflict. The firing all day was very severe, and once in awhile we had a few shells thrown toward us, but they did no damage. We have had a complete victory, as the forts of the enemy, eleven in number, are all ours, and many prisoners, the exact number I do not know.
I will give you a little account of our movements since Satur- day morning last: On that day we moved our camp nearer to the rebel works, and all Saturday night the firing on our imme- diate right was very heavy, and we expected every moment to be called to arms to repel the expected attack or sortie of the enemy. At daybreak, we were called out, and stood under arms for half an hour, were then dismissed, and breakfasted. At seven A. M. came an order to be ready to move immediately, to cross the
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(lam and take possession of the enemy's fort, directly in front of our division, as the enemy were reported to have evacuated York- town and the entire line of fortifications, from the York to the James river. We at once were ready, and drew no extra rations from our commissary, thinking we would but cross the dam and occupy the enemy's forts, or move but a short distance in advance of them, and he assuring us we could draw our rations there as well as in camp. We found the whole of the enemy's works deserted. and our only wonder was, as we filed through their works. that they evacuated them as they did, as they appeared almost invulnerable. We marched on, after we had passed this line of forts, very quickly, and found, as we went along, camp after camp deserted and the tents left, in the haste of the rebels to escape. At about four P. M., Sunday, we joined HOOKER'S Division, which had marched off from Yorktown, and were the advance of HEINTZELMAN'S Corps, and found that the First U. S. Cavalry, and their batteries of artillery, had had an engagement with the enemy some distance in front, overtaking the rear guard of the rebels in their retreat. They appeared to have had a severe time of it, and judging from the wounded carried past in ambulances, had been pretty well ent up. We expected an engagement every moment, and at five P. M. were drawn up in line of battle, on a place called " Whittaker's farm," a field skirted by woods, containing some two hundred or three hun- dred acres, and covered with a beautiful crop of wheat, a foot high. We remained here till six p. M., when a charge through the woods in front and towards the enemy's forts was ordered, and with a tremendous shout we started forward. We were halted, however, by Gen. HANCOCK, before we cleared the woods, he not knowing the exact position of the enemy, and being too good a General to risk our charging on any uncertainty. We remained all night in the woods, lying on our arms, my company being deployed in front of our regiment. It was anything but agrecable, as I had no overcoat, no blanket to lie down on, noth- ing but my pants, vest and jacket. The night being chilly, I was compelled to keep warm by pacing from tree to tree all night, no fires being allowed. as we did not know how many yards we
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were from the enemy. At three A. M., Monday, it commenced to rain, and before long we were all waked. At five A. M. we fell back to the commencement of the woods, to build small fires and warm ourselves. We remained in this position most of the day, expecting every moment to be ordered forward, although we had had nothing to eat, and it was raining hard all day; but the order did not come, as we (the Federals) held our own admi- rably, and defeated our adversary at every point. Our brigade lost but four killed and fifteen wounded, as far as I can learn. SICKLES' Brigade, on our left, was badly eut up, and lost many, killed and wounded. I took a walk yesterday morning all through the woods and over the field, where the fighting was the heaviest. I saw a great many of the rebels lying in the woods, dead, (our own men who had fallen having been buried,) and a sad sight it was, almost all the dead having been shot through the breast or head. They have all been buried, and the wounded all well cared for. I took a stroll through Williams- burg, and found quite a number of white families still living in the town, and any quantity of negroes, some of them very intel- ligent. It seems that when their masters retreated, they (the negroes) took to the woods, and returned as our army advanced. The town is a pretty country one, and is some three miles or more from the James river. It contains some very fine churches and dwellings, and is by far the prettiest place I have seen in the south. I found from the negroes that it must have had a popu- lation of eight or ten thousand at one time, being a very old town, and quite unique in appearance. The streets through the town are in an awful condition. Wagons sink in to the hubs, and drawing the heavy wagons, is very heavy work for the mules and horses. Gen. MCCLELLAN had his head-quarters at a large mansion in the town. I do not know how soon we shall move from this camp, and am in no anxiety about it, as we are pleasantly encamped in a wood, on high ground, and near a splendid cold spring of water. Indeed, it seems like another country here, from the old camp before Yorktown, as the country above that city is rolling and elevated, and the air pure and healthy. One report is, that we shall follow up the enemy, who
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