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 37
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As the war progressed, a call was made for more men, and Albany again nobly responded. Men were commissioned to recruit companies for the One Hundred and Thirteenth Regiment, and among the first to enroll his name and fill his company was Captain R. H. BELL, of Company F. He again went forth to fight for his country. He was a kind and courteous officer, and beloved and respected by his men. He made every effort to sus- tain the responsible position he held, and was ever at his post when duty called.
The regiment left this city August 19, 1862. Arrived at Fort Reno, and there remained on garrison duty until May 15, 1864. They then received marching orders, and left the fort on Sunday morning, and arrived at Belle Plain. They were engaged in the battle of the Wilderness, and on the afternoon of the 19th Capt. BELL received a very severe wound in the left leg, and was taken from the field.
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CAPT. ROBERT H. BELL.
Ilis leg was amputated, and the same day he was brought to Washington to the Army Square hospital. He lingered until the 20th of June, when his spirit took its flight to the other world. His body was embalmed and brought home, and was received by his former friends and associates. His brother firemen conveyed his remains to the Bleecker street Engine house, where it lay until the 27th of June, when the funeral services took place at two o'clock. His remains were then taken to the Cemetery for interment, followed by a large concourse of friends and citizens, who came to pay their last tribute of friendship and respect to the gallant dead. Hle left a wife and two children to mourn his loss.
453
CAPT. DAVID BURIIANS.
XLI. CAPTAIN DAVID BURHANS.
CAPT. DAVID BURHANS, of Company H, Forty-third Regiment N. Y. Volunteers, was born in the town of Bethlehem, Albany county, N. Y., June 24, 1840.
After the death of his father, which occurred on the 28th day of February, 1854, when DAVID was but thirteen years of age, the maintenance of the family devolved upon him and his elder brother, then sixteen years of age; and most faithfully did the noble boy perform his share of this duty.
His honesty and integrity soon secured to him a situation, as a messenger to carry the reports of the proceedings of the Legis- lature to the New York papers. Next, he obtained the appoint- ment of mail agent from New York to Troy. He continued in this service until the autumn of 1862, at which time he left this position for the tented field, at the head of a company, which he had raised almost entirely by his own perseverance.
On taking leave of his townsmen, they presented him, as a token of their regard, with a sword, which he carried with honor through every engagement of the gallant Forty-third. His com- mand also presented him with a valuable gold watch.
He served with his company and regiment, in the Army of the Potomac, in succession under Generals MCCLELLAN, BURN- SIDE, HOOKER and MEADE, and participated in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Rappahannock Station, The Wilderness, Spottsylvania, and other engagements previous to the battle of Po River, where he fell, in the front of that conflict, on the 10th of May, 1864.
He was a young man of unblemished reputation, and highly respected by all who knew him, for his many virtues.
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LIEUT. CHARLES W. HEALD.
XLII. LIEUT. CHARLES WESLEY HEALD.
LIEUT. CHARLES W. HEALD was born September 28, 1818, in Granville, Washington county, N. Y. His parents, Joux E. and OLIVE A. HEALD, were both descendants of Revolutionary heroes,
His early life was a continued struggle with poverty, and often in childhood he was but seantily supplied with the necessaries of life.
His father died when he was but a lad, yet young HEALD nobly struggled with adversity, and aided in the support of his widowed mother and the younger children.
His thirst for knowledge was very early developed. After exhausting the meagre facilities afforded by the common school, he, with a scanty wardrobe, went to Poultney, Vt., to secure an academie education.
After leaving Poultney, he commenced the study of medicine, but owing to interruptions to which he was subjected, by the necessity of working with his hands and teaching, to procure the means of sustenance, he did not finish the required course until he was about thirty years of age.
In 1848, he graduated at the Medical College, Castleton, Vt., and immediately commenced the practice of medicine at West Haven, Vt.
He had a trying field of labor, but was very successful, and obtained a high professional reputation. He had a robust frame, firm health, and was untiring in his duties, responding cheerfully to calls by night or day.
After a few years' residence in West Haven, he removed to Albany, in hopes of bettering his fortune. Here he found the profession full, and he had not patience to await the gradual
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LIEUT. CHARLES W. HEALD.
appreciation of his skill. He manifested also an instability of purpose, that in fact was his greatest enemy to success in life.
Changing his profession, he applied for and received a license as a local preacher from the Washington Avenue M. E. Church; but he soon saw, that the ministerial office was not his calling. Subsequently his attention was turned to the legal profession, and he graduated at the Law University of this city in 1857.
Mr. HEALD was a great reader, and his reading was so varied, and his memory so retentive, as to secure for him a familiarity with a most extended range of subjects. Few persons, with the limited advantages that he had enjoyed, were so familiar as he was with general literature. His library was well selected, and contained many rare books.
On the breaking out of the rebellion, Mr. HEALD, true to his patriotic instincts and antecedents, was among the first to offer his services in the cause of the Union.
He entered the army in May, 1861, as Second Lientenant in the Eighteenth Regiment N. Y. V., and served with the regiment in the famous battle of Bull Run. He was the first man who was heard to call in question the patriotism and military ability of Gen. MCCLELLAN. He believed that rebels should be treated with severity, and when Virginia slaveholders came into our camps hunting their run-away negroes, and were aided in their pursuit, Lieut. HEALD was most eloquent in his denunciation of such a course. He did not approve of that mode of suppressing the rebellion.
He was remarkably frank and ontspoken, and often declared that the war would never be a success, on our part, until a ditfer- ent system was adopted by those having control of our armies. His controversies were frequent and very spirited; and finding himself uncomfortable, he resigned late in the autumn of 1861, and returned to his home in Albany.
He soon, however, again entered the service, this time as a private in Eleventh Battery. His knowledge of medicine soon brought him to the notice of his surgeon, and he was made Hos- pital Steward. His health failing, he was honorably discharged. After remaining at home for a time, he enlisted again as a private
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LIEUT. CHARLES W. HEALD.
in the Second Artillery, Capt. DAWSON. Here, on account of his medical skill, he was much of the time detailed on service with the sick and wounded.
While in this company, he saved the lamented Capt. DAWSON from capture, if not from death. Overtaking the Captain on foot, disabled by the kick of a horse, the Doctor dismounted and gave his horse to the wounded officer, just at the approach of the enemy. The Captain escaped, while Dr. HEALD took to the woods, and after three days wandering, avoiding pickets, he reached the camp, having been several times fired on by rebel guerrillas. This most benevolent and heroic act, we have already referred to in the sketch of Capt. DAWSON.
Hle served in this company until the autumn of 1864, when, worn out and reduced almost to a skeleton by the chronic diarrhea (that scourge that during the war made more sad hearts than any other disease), he came home to die. He lingered, sur- rounded by his family and friends in Valatie, until the 14th of January, 1865, when death released him from his pains. He died a beloved and consistent member of the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Albany, and in the full hope of a blessed immortality.
Generous in spirit, faithful in the performance of every duty, cool and brave upon the battle field, he won the affection and esteem of all who knew him. Such, too, were his intellectual gifts, that he would have risen to eminence in any depart- ment of literature or science, had he devoted his life to a single pursuit; but so versatile was his genius, that before he could attain an exalted position in one calling, he would enter upon another.
His passion for books amounted almost to a mania. He hun- gered and thirsted for knowledge, and in its attainment every desire of his nature seemed to be satisfied. 7
He has left in manuscript many lectures on a great variety of subjeets, exhibiting much research and scholastic learning; but he has fallen. When the cause of human liberty demanded his services, his prospects for life, his passion for books, his family, were all laid on the altar of patriotism, and the name of CHARLES WESLEY HEALD adds another to the list of martyrs for freedom.
457
LIEUT. JAMES WILLIAMSON.
XLIII. LIEUT. JAMES WILLIAMSON.
LIEUTENANT JAMES WILLIAMSON was born in the town of Kil- marnock, in Ayrshire, Scotland, N. B., on the 2d of October, 1829. His parents were ANDREW and MARGARET WILLIAMSON. He was a very affectionate son and brother. At the age of twelve years, he was religiously impressed, and he always said that it was then that he received " the truth as it is in Jesus," although he did not make a public profession until he was in his nineteenth year. Then he united with the State Street Baptist Church, but afterwards associated himself with the State Street Presbyterian Church, when it was first organized. He was elected as one of the first trustees of the church, and was inti- mately identified with all its interests. He was ready to do any- thing for its welfare, and for the cause of Christ, that he ever ardently loved. When upon the battle field his thoughts ever reverted to the spot he so dearly loved.
His integrity and truthfulness, his open and manly adherence to principles, the large and generous sympathies of his heart for the suffering and the oppressed, won for him a large circle of friends. Although a native of a foreign land, which he always cherished with a loving heart, yet he was ever true to the gov- ernment and institutions of the land of his adoption. These he ever upheld when assailed, and he threw himself at last, with enthusiasm, into the contest when they were in danger. It was this devotion to his country that induced him to sacrifice all the pleasures and comforts of his loved home and the gains of a lucrative profession, in the hour of its peril.
He was chosen First Lieutenant in the Tenth Regiment of the New York State Militia, in the city of Albany, on the 8th day
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LIEUT. JAMES WILLIAMSON.
of July, 1861. Preparatory to the leaving of the regiment for the seat of war, it was changed to the One Hundred and Seventy- seventh Regiment New York State Volunteers. He then enlisted as First Lieutenant of company D, on the 14th of October, 1862. The regiment left Albany on the 16th of December, and arrived at their headquarters, at Bonnet Carre. on or about the 21st of January, 1863.
The first battle in which he was engaged was at Ponchatoula, on the 24th of March, 1863. The second and last battle in which he was engaged, was that at Port Hudson, on the 27th of May, 1863. Company D went in with fifty privates, one Corporal, two Sergeants and Lieutenant WILLIAMSON. There he was shot through the brain, while gallantly leading his men to the charge, and he died instantly. He was buried under the shade of an old tree. Two weeks afterwards his remains were taken up and conveyed to New Orleans. There they remained until the autumn of the same year, when they were brought home to the city of Albany, and arrived on the 15th of December. The funeral ceremonies were observed on the 16th of December, at the Albany Rural Cemetery, where his remains now rest.
Besides a numerous circle of warm friends, Lieutenant WIL- LIAMSON leaves an afflicted widow, who mourns the loss of a most devoted husband; but, as she trusts in the same Saviour who sustained him in the last hour, we believe they will yet meet to part no more.
To this brief record we gladly add the tributes to the departed from the State Street Presbyterian Church and the St. Andrew's Society of Albany, and an interesting letter from Colonel AINSWORTH.
At a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the State Street Presbyterian Church, held June 11th, 1863, the following memo- rial was ordered entered upon the minutes:
" Killed in battle before Port Hudson, May 27th, 1863, Lieut. JAMES WILLIAMSON, Co. D, One Hundred and Seventy-seventh New York State Volunteers (formerly Tenth Regiment, National Guards.)
1. The associates of Lieut. WILLIAMSON, of the Board of Trus-
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LIEUT. JAMES WILLIAMSON.
tees, of the State Street Presbyterian Church, have met this day to give expression to their sense of sorrow at the death of another of their number. Within two weeks of the time that Adjutant STRONG died in camp, Lieut. WILLIAMSON, his friend and com- panion in arms, has perished on the field of battle; and although we would bow in humble submission to these successive bereave- ments, yet we are filled with the deepest grief and solicitude.
2. JAMES WILLIAMSON was elected a trustee of this church at its organization-he was intimately identified with all its interests, and deeply concerned in its prosperity-with a clear head and a ready hand he thought an l labored for its welfare. He loved it with a strong and pervading love; and he looked back towards it from his distant field of labors with longing and regret. Knowing all this, and knowing that no church ever had a more faithful and vigilant trustee, we are deeply sensible of the loss we have sustained in his death.
3. Because he had become endeared to us all by personal friendship; because we appreciated his kind and hearty and unselfish nature; because we knew his uprightness in business, his benevolent disposition, and his pure and faithful Christian character; we loved him while living, and we mourn for him now that he is dead.
4. We rejoice that Lieut. WILLIAMSON possessed that patriot- ism which led him to volunteer for the defence of his country; that he was willing to devote a life so precious to a cause so holy, and that in the performance of his duties as an officer, he was enabled to render such noble service; and although the per- formance of these duties cost him his life, yet we cannot regret, as he did not withhold the sacrifice.
"To the wife, who has been left a stricken widow, by this bereavement; to all the relatives and friends of our deceased associate, and to the soldiers whom he led in battle, and who are now deprived of his faithful and capable oversight, we extend our heartfelt sympathies; and we pray God to give them that consolation which they need, but which the ministry of man is powerless to bestow.
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LIEUT. JJAAMES WILLIAMSON.
6. We direct that a copy of these minutes be transmitted to the family of the deceased and published in the papers."
R. L. JOIINSON, President.
JOHN C. MCCLURE, Secretary.
TRIBUTE TO THE LATE LIEUT. JAMES WILLIAMSON.
At a special meeting of the members of the St. Andrew's So- ciety of the city of Albany, held on the evening of June 15, 1863, the following preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted, viz :
Whereas, We have learned with sincere regret that Lieut. JAMES WILLIAMSON, one of our members, fell in battle before Port Hudson on the 27th of May, 1863, and being desirous that some memorial, expressive of our deep and lasting regard for him be entered on our minutes, therefore
Resolved, That we bear our cordial testimony to the numerous excellencies of our deceased brother in public and private life; his integrity; his truthfulness; his open and manly adherence to principle; the large and generous sympathies of his heart for the wants of the suffering and the wrongs of the oppressed; the purity of his character; the suavity of his manners and that fine combination of moral and Christian qualities which endeared him to those by whom he was intimately known.
Resolved, That we desire to express with feelings of admira- tion his ardent devotion to his country, which induced him, in the hour of its peril, to renounce the gains of a lucrative pro- fession, and the comforts of a loved home, at the call of patri- otism: and feel that in the death of this gallant officer, whose career has been thus briefly, though honorably closed, the nation has lost an ardent and devoted friend.
Resolved, That we record it with satisfaction that, though of foreign extraction, and always cherishing with a loving heart the land of his birth, he was, in the truest sense of the word, " an American;" affiliating himself in heart and soul with the Govern- ment and institutions of the land of his adoption, upholding them in the exercise of their functions, vindicating them when
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LIEUT. JAMES WILLIAMSON.
assailed, and throwing himself at last with his characteristic enthusiasm into the contest when these were imperiled; and we hallow his memory, and will resolutely defend that paternal gov- ernment under which it is our privilege to live, and to which we owe the enjoyment of all our social and civil immunities.
Resolved, That we tender our affectionate sympathy to the bereaved wife, and supplicate in her behalf the support of reli- gious consolation; to the numerous relatives and friends of the deceased; and desire also that his early and lamented death may be blessed to the members of our Society, in gathering up those solemn lessons of duty which it is designed and fitted to convey.
Resolved, That a copy of the resolutions be transmitted to the widow of the deceased, and that they be inserted in the daily papers of the city.
JAMES DUNCAN, President.
PETER SMITH, Secretary.
Letter from Col. AINSWORTH:
Mrs. WILLIAMSON:
Respected Madam-I beg you will pardon me for addressing you at this late hour a few lines respecting my friend and com- panion in arms, your dear lost husband. I feel it is due to community to perpetuate the memory of those who well perform their part in life, as an example to others that may come after them.
It was not my good fortune long to enjoy an intimate acquaint- ance with Lieut. WILLIAMSON. It commenced with his military life, a life brief and simple, not marked by uncommon incidents which attract the attention of the great world. He did not live long enough to achieve the high honors of rank to which his soldierly bearing, his talents, his industry, his manly and modest deportment, his spotless character, his love of truth and justice entitled him.
It seems as but yesterday I bcheld him in the morning of life, surrounded by every comfort which means and affection can give; stimulated by every motive of honorable ambition, as he
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LIEUT. JAMES WILLIAMSON.
saw the future bright before him, and, with a just reliance upon himself, looked forward to a useful and honorable carcer. But an imperiled country called him to other duties. He was among the first, when the sound of conflict reached us, to assume the profession of arms in defence of the Nation's flag; and with the brave men who went forth to the field of strife, he sought danger as a duty, and proved himself brave in battle as he was patient and submissive.
He was a Christian gentleman, a Christian soldier. He fol- lowed, with unfaltering trust, the path of duty to his God, and to his country, and leaves no enemy behind him. All who knew him, loved him, for his nature was gentle and genial. He was firm in honest purpose, quick to discover and defend the right, and incapable of wrong; and while it was no part of his ambition to win applause, he was entitled to and received the universal respect of his brethren in arms. When such men die, there is a melancholy pleasure in bearing testimony to what they were, and to do so is a sacred duty to the living and the dead.
His Captain being one of those who were left in New York on our sailing with the BANKS' expedition for New Orleans, and subsequently wounded in battle, when he was sent to the hospital in New Orleans, gave Lieut. WILLIAMSON command of the com- pany, most of the time, up to his death. On our arriving at New Orleans, we were ordered to march up the coast to Bonnet Carré, La., an important post on the Mississippi river, being one of the main defences of New Orleans. Large numbers of our men were soon prostrated with disease peculiar to that country and to camp life, and Lieut. WILLIAMSON, besides being the acknow- ledged friend of the individual members of the regiment, became an unwearied attendant upon the wants of the sick. His assist- ance was freely bestowed on all sides, regardless of danger from infection. With a rare skill, and a joyous and genial man- ner, peculiar to himself, he watched with and assisted in the care of the sick, and administered to the dying the consolation of that religion he had himself experienced.
The circumstances under which Lieut. WILLIAMSON closed his brief but honorable military career, were peculiarly painful and
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LIEUT. JAMES WILLIAMSON.
impressive to me, and his loss to the regiment deeply felt by all. He fell on that fearful day, the 27th of May, 1863, while leading his company amid a shower of iron hail, as the regiment charged upon the works of Port Hudson, being struck in the temple by a grape shot. He died as a soldier would prefer to die, on the field of battle, amid the smoke and flashes of artillery, the shouts of contending armies, and the roar of musketry, listening, as death steals over him, for the glorious shouts of victory. I doubt whether a braver or more heroic spirit has perished in our coun- try's conflict. "Peace to his ashes." Albany may well feel proud of such a patriotic hero, yielding up his life for their country. May He, who has promised to be the widow's God, be your consolation and abiding reward.
I have the honor to be, Yours, very respectfully, IRA W. AINSWORTH, Late Colonel 177th Regiment, N. Y. S. V.
ALBANY, July 4, 1866.
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LIEUT. WILLIAM H. POHLMAN.
XLIV. LIEUT. WILLIAM H. POHLMAN.
WILLIAM H. POHLMAN was born in the island of Borneo, Jan- uary 10th, 1842. He was the only surviving son of the late Rev. W.M. J. POIILMAN and THEODOSIA R., missionaries of the Ameri- can Board of Foreign Missions to China. His parents were devoted to the sacred cause of extending Christianity among the heathen.
He was also a nephew of the late Rev. JOHN SCUDDER, who went to India as a missionary in 1819, whose memory is warmly cherished in that country, as well as in the churches of America. Indeed, WILLIAM's ancestors, for several generations back, were distinguished for their piety, usefulness and high social position. Dr. NATHANIEL SCUDDER and Col. PHILIP JOHNSON were the grand- fathers of his mother. The former, an eminent and beloved physician, was unintentionally shot in the Revolutionary war, and was, it is believed, instantly killed. He died universally lamented, and his funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. JOHN WOODIIULL, D. D., who succeeded the Rev. WILLIAM TEN- NANT as pastor of the Freehold church, situated near the Mon- mouth battle ground. Dr. SCUDDER was an intimate friend of Mr. PRIME, the grandfather of the Messrs. PRIME, the distin- guished editors of the New York "Observer." As a token of affection for his friend, Mr. PRIME named one of his sons NATHANIEL SCUDDER.
Col. PHILIP JOHNSON fell a victim to his country's cause, in the fatal conflict on the 27th of August, 1776. Like his descendant, he was a zealous and courageous patriot.
The father of WILLIAM, the Rev. WILLIAM J. POHLMAN, the devoted missionary. when he offered himself to the American
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LIEUT. WILLIAM H. POHLMAN.
Board, said to them: "Appeals press home upon me from all quarters. Three worlds unite in urging me on. Heaven, earth and hell beseech me to go forth to the help of the Lord against the mighty. The heavenly host are looking with intense inte- rest, to see whether the command of Christ is obeyed by me. Multitudes, ready to perish, call me to make known to them the gospel of Jesus. Oh, then, send me, send me, send me. For necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel to the perishing heathen."
WILLIE's mother, THEODOSIA R. SCUDDER, was the youngest sister of the Rev. J. SCUDDER. She devoted herself, in her youthful days, to God's service. Her paternal grandfather .was a man of fervent piety, remarkably gifted in prayer, and rich in good words and work.
While the Rev. Mr. POHLMAN was in India, he lost his beloved wife by death, and found it necessary to send his children, WIL- LIAM and MARY, to this country, to the care of a favorite aunt, Mrs. MCCLURE. Perhaps there is no trial so severe to a mis- sionary as to part with his children. WILLIE was then three and a half years old. The ship being detained at Java Head two weeks, the father desired once more to look upon his loved ones, but the second parting was more trying than the first. WLLIE hung around his father's neck, weeping and wanting to go back to his Amoy home, and the dear father had to untwine those gentle hands, and go back to his desolate home to see the empty erib and the vacant chair belonging to the little ones. His only source of comfort was the mercy seat. He writes at this time: "I can add my testimony to the tens of thousands of God's people as to the all sufficiency of the grace of God, and the comforting influence of the holy spirit, under the most try- ing circumstances, and in times of the most bitter grief and anxiety of soul."
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