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 59
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On the 1st day of April, 1865, he was reported missing, since which time nothing has been heard of him.
He was a member of the Arbor Hill Methodist E. Church. He became connected with the church and school under the Rev. Mr. STRATTON's ministry, in the fall of 1860. He experienced religion at that time, and well do his friends remember how anxious he was about his soul. The night he went forward to the altar will never be forgotten by his mother. On arriving at home, he threw his arms around his mother's neck and said: " Ma, I have been up to the altar this evening to be prayed for; did I do wrong?" His mother told him no; that he was young yet, and that he would have to meet his companions, and that they would make fun of him. "Well, ma, I will pray God to help me through with it."
About this time a young men's prayer meeting was started on Sunday afternoons, before preaching, which has been kept up until the present time. He never missed a meeting.
752
HENRY SAYRE.
When he left the school to go with the regiment, a copy of the New Testament was presented to him by his teacher, which he took with him to the front, and kept it as his companion. The last letter he wrote was before Petersburg, when he ex- pressed a desire to come home. Ile wanted to see his mother. He asked his mother to pray for him, and requested her to ask the school to remember him. He was a member of the evening class, of which his mother was the leader, and he gave promise of being a very useful man in the church and to society. Though very young, he seemed always to be governed by a strong desire to do right in all things, and to discharge faithfully his duty in whatever position he was placed.
The motive that prompted him to go into the army was a desire to serve his country, and not from any mere feeling of adventure or excitement. His loss was deeply felt by his parents, and mourned by his many friends, to whom he had endeared himself by his uniform kindness. He was kind, affectionate; and all who knew him loved him.
CXXII.
HENRY SAYRE.
HENRY SAYRE was born in Lafayette, Sussex County, New Jersey, April 6, 1841. He was the son of DANIEL and REBECCA A. SAYRE, and from childhood was an affectionate and dutiful hoy. He was regular in his attendance at church and the Sab- bath school, and was a consistent member of the Washington Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church in Albany. It is worthy of remark, that probably no Christian denomination sent so many religious men to the war, as the Methodist Church. It is stated that thirty thousand of her members offered their lives upon the altars of their country during our late struggle. As a body, these heroes were inspired not only with strong Christian princi- ples and a pure patriotism, but also with a heartfelt opposition to slavery, that had caused the war. They believed in human
753
HENRY SAYRE.
rights, and in the freedom of all men, and they were ever found in the front rank of the armies that were battling for God and humanity.
Mr. SAYRE, like his other Methodist brethren, was full of piety, patriotism and zeal in the cause that he had espoused. For eight months he served his country in the State of Louisiana. The climate and the hardships to which he was exposed brought on the typhoid fever, of which he died May 19, 1863. He was a member of Co. B, One Hundred and Seventy-seventh New York State Regiment, and was aged twenty-two years, one month, and thirteen days.
His young and afflicted widow received the following letter, giving an account of the closing days of his life:
CAMP BONNET CARRE, LA., May 21, 1863.
Mrs. HENRY SAYRE, 208 Jay Street, Albany, N. Y.
Dear Madam-In sorrow I make the announcement of the death of your dear husband, HENRY SAYRE, of Co. B, One Hun- dred and Seventy-seventh Regiment New York State Volunteers. He died near one o'clock, 19th inst., after a lingering illness with typhoid fever. He had the best of medical care and attention. In fact, during all my acquaintance with the sick, I never have seen such care and attention as was given to him. Tent mates JOHN B. SLINGERLAND, SAMUEL JACKSON and JOHN E. BAILEY, are entitled to much praise for their determination to see he had the best of care. Night and day they watched his bedside con- tinually, ready to administer to his every want. Their untiring exertions and the best medical skill, however, failed to restore him, and he has gone forever from us.
I visited him often during his illness, and felt the greatest anxiety about his welfare. For from my first introduction to him by his old friend Lieut. BENNET, of my command, who spoke in kind terms of his many excellencies of character, he became greatly endeared to me, as he did to many other officers and members of the regiment, who with me, mourn his loss.
I asked him a short time before he died, if he had any word to leave for his wife. He said, " write her for me, and tell her
48
754
ROBERT A. CADWELL.
that my trust is in God." His request that I should write you is my apology for doing so. Undoubtedly the tidings that your bosom companion is no more; that he died in a land of strangers far away from his home and kindred, will fall with crushing weight upon your heart, already made anxious by his long absence from you. His aged, careworn mother, whom he so tenderly loved, must also be stricken down by this sad bereave- ment. But you both have the consolation of knowing that the departed was a true patriot and an earnest Christian, and that he died in a glorious canse and with the warm sympathies of all his comrades.
I trust, dear madam, that you may receive this sad intelligence with Christian fortitude, and with a confiding trust in the wisdom of God, who " doeth all things well."
Mr. SAYRE was buried on the 20th inst. in the Brigade Ceme- tery. He had what is termed a Christian soldier's burial.
With assurance of my warmest sympathy in your great afflic-
I am truly yours, M. L. FILKINS, Captain Co. G, 177th Regt.
The remains were, in May, 1864, brought home, and now rest in the sacred city of departed heroes, the Albany Rural Cemetery.
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CXXIII.
ROBERT A. CADWELL.
ROBERT A. CADWELL was born in Albany, 16th of April, 1845, and was the son of LEVI and ELIZA CADWELL. He was baptized in infancy in the North Pearl Street Methodist Church, and was early instructed in the principles and duties of the Christian religion. At the age of five years he became a member of the Sabbath school, and continued in it up to the time of his enlist- ment. He was a most affectionate child, and very quick to learn
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ROBERT A. CADWELL.
at home and at school. He was a great reader, and retained what he read or studied.
During a revival in the Sabbath school, in 1856, he was hope- fully converted, and was received to the church on probation. At the age of sixteen he removed to Brooklyn and engaged in business. While residing there he felt it to be his duty to do all that he could for his country, and on the 17th of March, 1862, he enlisted as a private in the Fourteenth Brooklyn Regiment. He was in the battle at Centerville, and in many other battles in which he distinguished himself for his coolness and bravery.
Under date of Upton Hill, Virginia, September 3, 1862, he writes to his fond mother : " We have had some very hard times here. We have been fighting for the last nine days, and the slaughter has been so great, that we have but one hundred and fourteen men left in our regiment. Our Captain, the Colonel, and fifteen other officers have been killed or wounded. I received nine shots through my pantaloons and my hat, but thanks to the Lord, none ever grazed my body. I am completely exhausted and can write no more."
In the terrible battle of Antietam, on the 17th of September, 1862, he was shot through the heart while his regiment was moving in line of battle towards the enemy. He fell and instantly expired.
His body, with hundreds of others, rests upon that field which was saturated with the precious blood of the martyrs, to the cause of human freedom. His soul has gone to its reward, in the heavenly world.
In a beautiful tribute to his character, his Sabbath school teacher says, that when a member of his class, ROBERT was punctual, attentive, intelligent, and could always be relied upon. He then adds, " His vacant place in the Sabbath school tells us he has gone: but we may meet him where there are ' no rumors of wars,' and we shall find his crown bespangled with stars, given to him by God, for being willing to sacrifice all things, even life itself, in defence of the principles of justice and humanity."
In the death of this promising youth, a widowed mother
756
JOSIAH DUNHAM.
mourns the loss of her only child. But she is sustained by the consolations and hopes of the religion of Jesus; and her afflic- tion has quickened her activity in laboring to bring the members of his Sabbath school class and others, to her Saviour.
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CXXIV. JOSIAH DUNHAM.
JOSIAH DUNHAM, the son of OSCAR and GERTRUDE DUNHAM, Was born in Albany, March 14, 1842.
Actuated by a pure patriotism, he enlisted in Company F, Forty-fourth New York Regiment, on the 2d of September, 1861.
He was at the siege of Yorktown, and in the battle at Hanover Court House. He was shot on the 27th of May, 1862, and died on the 29th of May.
Before the fatal moment that he received his death wound, he had given evidence that he was a child of God. As the hour of his dissolution approached, he prayed fervently for his relatives and friends at home; for his country, and then for his soul, that God would receive it to himself. Lifting himself in his bed, with a countenance radiant with peace and joy, he exclaimed to his tent mates: "Now, I am ready," and soon after he slept in Jesus.
JOSIAH loved to read his Bible; he loved to pray, and labored to live the life of a true Christian. Before entering the army, he attended the First Baptist Church in Albany, and was a mem- ber of the Sabbath school.
The following letter, from Capt. ALLEN, was received by the father of the deceased:
GEN. F. J. PORTER'S DIVISION, CAMP NEAR NEW BRIDGE, VA., June 4, 1862.
Mr. OSCAR DUNHAM:
Dear Sir-I have a melancholy though sacred task to perform, which I hardly know how to approach.
.
757
JOSIAH DUNHAM.
You have doubtless heard, ere this reaches you, of the severe battle of Hanover C. H. on the 27th of May; that the Forty- fourth New York was engaged and got badly cut up, and that Company F, in particular, suffered terribly.
Your son, JOSIAUI, was mortally wounded, and died on the 26th. I saw him the day after the battle, and it is in compliance with his request that I write to you. He was lying in a room with two other men, mortally wounded like himself. His eyes were closed and he was apparently unconscious; but when I took his hand and asked him if he knew me, he said, rousing up, but with a good deal of effort, "Oh, yes, I know you, Captain," but imme- diately relapsed into his former state. I thought it not best to excite him, and turned to another of our wounded men, when I was surprised to hear him call in quite a strong voice, "Captain." I immediately knelt beside him. "If anything should happen that I shouldn't stand it out, I want you to write to my friends." I promised to do anything for him in my power, and asked the address, and if there was any particular thing which he wanted said to you. He replies: "Tell them how I died, and give my love to my mother and sisters, and send them this picture. I want them to give it to the owner."
He died like a brave man, in a good cause, and his last thoughts were with his mother and sisters, and the friend he loved.
You have my warmest sympathies in your bereavement, and in your severe affliction. The manner and circumstances of his death will, I hope, be a consolation to you. I send the picture, as he requested, and as he also requested me to write to the owner, please allow her to read this.
I am, sir, very truly yours,
C. ALLEN, Captain 44th N. Y. Vols.
758
JOHN C. CALVERLY.
CXXV.
JOHN C. CALVERLY.
JOHN C. CALVERLY left Albany as a member of Company F, (Albany Co.) Forty-fourth Regiment N. Y. S. V., when that regi- ment left this city for the war. He was then eighteen years old. He was, with his company, always on duty from that time, until he was taken siek three weeks before his death. His whole heart was with the cause for which he had given his life. In several instances during his short term with his company, he was compelled to fall behind from fatigue during the march, but always doing so unwillingly, and always at his post again before a halt. He was on picket all night before he was taken with the sickness which resulted in his death. Fever was brought on by his over-exertion, and the unhealthy atmosphere of the Peninsula.
He died on the 6th day of May, 1862, on board the steamer " Ocean Queen," then used as a military hospital. His body was embalmed and sent to Baltimore, in charge of Corporal D. W. CHANDLER, who there delivered it to a brother of the deceased soldier. The remains were taken to Albany, and on the 14th day of May were buried in the Albany Rural Cemetery. The cause of his death is sufficient proof of his fidelity as a soldier; and the company of which he was a member, at the time of his death, in a series of resolutions, expressed their sincere regard for him as a citizen and comrade, and their appreciation of his many good qualities.
759
FERGUS MADDEN.
CXXVI.
FERGUS MADDEN.
OF this brave soldier the "Albany Times " thus speaks in con- nection with his comrade, Mr. SCAHALL:
Of FERGUS MADDEN we need not speak in terms of praise, his deeds are his best eulogy. Like SCAHALL, where he was most intimately known he was best loved and respected as a generous and true hearted friend, manly and straightforward in all his associations, of an irreproachable character and unsullied name. He was a member of the One Hundred and Twenty-second New York Volunteers, having enlisted in August, 1862. Possessed with a laudable ambition of gaining a position in the profession of arms, while in daily expectation of receiving a slight acknowl- edginent of his services in the field, he was captured on the 6th of May last, during the battle of the Wilderness.
As a prisoner of war he conducted himself, as he always did when conscious of having done his duty, with " complacency and truth and manly sweetness."
But a few months since, these young men were in the midst of an extended circle of friends and relatives, in the enjoyment of perfect health and all the comforts of a home, surrounded, as they were, by everything that tends to make home happy. But, true and patriotic, they fully appreciated the magnitude of the contest, and knew that strong arms and loyal hearts could alone avert the fearful calamities that threatened their country. With these were they liberally endowed, and these they have dedicated to their country's service. Neither died as soldiers wish to die, on the field of battle, amid the shouts of contending armies. They pined within the dreary walls of a southern prison, far from friends and home, the victims of a disease that slowly but surely preludes death. Not even were they allowed to die beneath the starry folds of the old flag they had borne victoriously through many a fight. It was, however, some mitigation of the horrors of death in their miserable abode, that two such friends as they were from boyhood up, should cheer each other in their
760
GEORGE W. SCHERMERHORN.
efforts to keep alive the spark of hope, and lighten the evils of the disease under which they lay prostrate. Both died in the morning of life, ere the flowers of carly manhood had yet bloomed and brightened, to promise a future of honor and suc- cess. Albany may well feel proud of the patriotic and heroic band of martyrs, who have yielded up their lives in the cause of liberty and union.
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CXXVII. GEORGE W. SCHERMERHORN, OF RENSSELAERVILLE.
GEORGE W. SCHERMERHORN was born in Durham, Greene county, New York, March 25, 1838. The names of his parents are DANIEL and LUCINDA SCHERMERHORN.
The only information that I have been able to obtain concern- ing him, is furnished in the following letter from his faithful Chaplain, the Rev. L. H. PEASE, addressed to Mr. ALLEN PECK: Mr. ALLEN PECK :
Dear Sir-Before this reaches you, you will probably have learned from other sources that you have been called to lay a costly offering on the altar of your country, one which will cause you deep sadness of spirit.
That select and esteemed regiment, the Forty-fourth, which left Albany a few weeks since with so much eclat, and so many hurrahs, has met a sterner and more relentless enemy than the rebels, even the king who wields his iron scepter everywhere, the king of terrors. And your son (Mr. SCHERMERHORN), has been called as one of the first fruits of the offering of the ELLS- WORTH regiment on the altar of liberty.
Soon after we left Albany, the measles broke out, and this, together with the great change in the manner of life at this season of the year, and the great exposures to which the men have been subjected while getting used to camp life, have caused us to be visited with more than usual sickness.
761
GEORGE W. SCHERMERHORN.
But not till this week have any died. This week five have died, four in our midst, and one in Calorama hospital, on the other side of the Potomac. The first, a son of EDWARD GARD- NER, of West Burlington, Otsego county, died on Monday eve- ning last, or rather Tuesday morning about one o'clock. The second, a son of Colonel E. BELCHER, of Newark Valley, Tioga county, (I think) died about nine and a half on Wednesday eve- ning, and on Thursday at about the same hour or a little later, your son GEORGE was called to bid adieu to earth.
About the same hour JOHN HINES, of Evans' Center, Erie county, was called away, and also a man by the name of WILSON on the other side of the river. A sad week, long to be remem- bered.
Whether your son has fought a good fight or not, the battle is over. He has finished his course and has been early called to fill a soldier's honored grave. But, though he died far from kindred and home, think not that he died unattended and friendless. We are all brothers in this regiment. I conversed and prayed with him a great many times during his sickness, and did every- thing in my power to lead him to Christ. A hospital in the camp is one of the worst places in the world, in which to pre- pare to die in. But, though no mother or sisters attended him in his last hours, the blessed Saviour was just as near as he could have been, if our young friend had been at home sur- rounded by friends; and the road to heaven is as short and straight from here, as there, and God will take care of his dust wherever it may lie.
His disease, in its later stages, was typhoid fever. He partially recovered, and came over from the hospital to the camp a little too soon, which was followed by a relapse. I cannot detail in this place, the particulars of the different conversations which I held with him. I repeatedly urged him to cast himself entirely upon Christ, and endeavored to explain to him how to do it; and more than once he affirmed that he did so. Whether he really did give himself away, God only knows.
The last conversation that I had with him was on the day that he died. I asked him, among other things, if he could put his
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GEORGE W. SCHERMERHORN.
trust entirely in Christ. "Yes, sir," he replied, " with perfect confidence." I prayed with him, and urged him to pray, and left him to see him here no more.
We must leave him in the hands of God; but let his surviving relatives beware how they put off repentance to that worst of all times to prepare to die, the death bed. And let them remember,
" Hearts like muffled drums are beating Funeral marches to the grave."
I was in favor of having his remains sent home; so also were many of his company. You can have them sent home now if you desire it, by making the necessary arrangements. It is true, no matter where our dust lies, God will take care of it wherever it may be; yet we have a preference. Many a soldier sleeps on this " sacred soil;" a soil too sacred now for the tread of slaves. And of some of these soldiers it may truly be said:
" Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note, As his corse to the cold grave was hurried, Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot O'er the grave where the hero lies buried."
But those uneoffined and unmonumental graves shall only make this whole land more dear in our sight, and nerve and gird our spirits for its defence and deliverance.
I trust you will never regret having sent your son forth. He could not have died in a more glorious canse, or fill a more honored grave. Rather be prepared to send another, if need be, to fill his place. And may He who is a very present help in every time of trouble, be better to you than sons or daughters. So may you profit by this affliction that you will have occasion to thank God through eternity, that it was sent. Accept, I pray you, the sympathies and kind regards of a stranger but a friend. Yours, truly, L. H. PEASE, Chaplain 44th N. Y. S. V.
HALL'S HILL, VA., Nov. 24, 1861.
763
WILLIAM SNELL.
CXXVIII.
WILLIAM SNELL.
WHAT we have been able to learn of this patriot is communi- cated in the following letter from one of his parents:
" WILLIAM SNELL, son of JAMES and ELIZA SNELL, was born in Albany, November 24, 1838. At the commencement of the rebellion, he felt it to be his duty to offer his services in defence of his country. Being a member of the Tenth Regiment, he voted, with the company, to offer their services to the Governor, and they were accepted. They were sent to New Orleans, and there he served as Quartermaster's clerk. After the battle of Port Hudson, they started for home, having been absent ten months. He arrived in Albany on the 1st of September.
" The regiment lost most of their men, and those who sur- vived were in a sick or dying condition. He remained home about three months, until he recovered from the fever, of which he had a severe attack. Very soon there was another call for three hundred thousand men to join the army. Our dear son returned to the war, giving as his reason for doing so that it was the duty of unmarried men to be foremost in the defence of their country.
" He went to Brooklyn and joined the Seventh Heavy Artillery, Company H, which was sent to Fort Reno, D. C. Being a ready writer, he was detailed for bookkeeper for the Colonel. While at Fort Reno his leisure moments were spent in teaching his comrades mathematics and war tactics.
"On the 2d of June, they received orders to go down to the front, to a place called Coal Harbor, near Petersburg. I need not inform you that the fight was terrific, and there fell several hundred of our men. Many were wounded, and those who remained, were captured.
" WILLIAM SNELL was among the captured. Three days after the battle of Coal Harbor, which was on the 3d of June, he was missing. Nothing further was heard of him until we were informed by the Second Auditor of the settlement of his affairs,
764
EDMUND HOLMES.
and we ascertained he had died on the 10th day of October, 1864, in a rebel prison. When he died, his age was twenty-five years, ten months and fifteen days.
"He corresponded with each of the family in turn until the 31st of May. His letters were very affectionate. He had a pleasing way with him, which gained friends wherever he went. Ile was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which his parents and sisters belong. While he was absent, he used to say in his letters that he was striving to attend to his religious duties.
" Ile was very strongly attached to the Sabbath school, and as a teacher, he was much beloved and respected. He was benevo- lent to the poor, and was naturally kind and sympathetic to those who were in trouble, and to the sick. We hope to meet him among the angels, where all tears shall be wiped from our eyes, and where parting shall be no more."
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CXXIX.
EDMUND HOLMES.
EDMUND HOLMES was born in Claverack, Columbia county, in the year 1835. He was the son of JOSEPH and CATHARINE HOLMES, From his childhood, he was noted for his truthfulness and his obedience to his parents.
At the time the war broke out, he was a shoemaker by trade, and had a wife and several children. His strong love of country led him to enlist July 17, 1862, in the One Hundred and Thir- teenth Regiment N. Y. V.
His regiment was stationed at Fort Reno, D. C., for nearly two years. In May, 1864, it received marching orders, and all through the battles of the Wilderness that regiment was ever distinguished for its bravery. On the 16th of June, many of the regiment were taken prisoners by the enemy, and among the number was EDMUND HOLMES. He was taken to Andersonville, Ga., where he remained until removed by death, August 21,
765
MINOT II. PEASE.
1864. His sufferings were very great, yet he never regretted enlisting for his country. A short time before he died, he spoke to a friend, who was with him, of his extreme exhaustion, and turning over upon his side he expired. He was buried where he died, and where many of our bravest and best are sleeping.
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