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 63
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We can beat any regiment drilling I have seen since we have
804
ALANSON S. HOFFMAN.
been here, and I do not except even the old regiments. Write soon and give me all the news. Give my respects to all.
Your son, ALANSON HOFFMAN.
The following letter, announcing his death, was received by his father from Lieut. LEGER:
BONNET CARRE, April 13, 1863.
Camp of the One Hundred and Seventy-seventh N. Y. S. Volun- teers, Second Division, Third Brigade, Defences of New Or- leans, Louisiana:
Died, April 13, at six o'clock in the morning, of typhoid fever, ALANSON S. HOFFMAN, Company -, One Hundred and Seventy- seventh Regiment N. Y. S. V.
Mr. HOFFMAN :
Dear Sir-It causes me much sorrow to be obliged to make the above announcement to you of the death of your son. I know it will cause you much sorrow, but it is so. God, in his infinite mercy, has chosen him for a greater sphere of happiness than is allotted on earth.
ALANSON was sick about three weeks, not dangerous, it was thought, until last Thursday, when he began to fail very fast. On Sunday he told me that he was going to die. I tried to encourage him, but he told me that he would not be with us long, and he appeared to be happy. This was in the evening. About half past five in the morning he inquired for me. I went immediately to see him. He recognized me, shook hands, and in a few moments passed away.
He had good care and attention, and good medical assistance, but all has failed, and the melancholy fact of his death remains to be communicated to his friends. I am glad to say that ALAN- SON died happy. While he has been connected with the regi- ment, we have been intimate friends. I often went to his tent, and, as a general thing, found him reading his Testament. This should be a great consolation to you and his friends at home. As for myself, I feel that I have lost a confidential friend, as well as brother soldier.
Respectfully yours,
Lieut. A. B. LEGER.
805
ALANSON S. IIOFFMAN.
The following letter was received after the death of young HOFFMAN from JOHN M. WHITBECK, his mess-mate and companion in arms:
BONNET CARRE, April 15, 1863. Mr. I. SHEAR.
Dear Sir-It is with a sad heart and unwilling pen that I sit down this morning to inform you of the death of our tent mate, ALANSON S. HOFFMAN. He died this morning about six o'clock, and is to be buried this afternoon at half past two. He was taken some three weeks ago with a diarrhea, and remained in his tent until about ten days ago, when he was taken to the hospital. A fever set in, and he began to fail very fast. He has had the best of care since he has been sick, and while he was at the hospital, he was taken care of by STEPHEN SCHERMERHORN, as good a man as could have been selected from our company.
His death has cast a gloom over our company, and I suppose it will in Coeymans Hollow. He was a boy that was liked by all, and I do not believe he has done a wrong to any man inten- tionally during his life.
He died happy, and I believe has gone to a home where there will be no more sickness, and where friends will meet to part no more. He told the doctor that he was not afraid to die. He told STEPHEN in the night that he could not live, " but," said he, "it makes no difference, Heaven is my home." I trust that this will be a consolation to his relatives and friends. He has made it a habit, since he has been here, to read his Testament every day, and I have not heard him speak a profane word since we left home. He was promoted to Corporal, but never served in that capacity. It was his dying request that the Rev. Mr. BIRCH should preach his funeral sermon.
From your friend,
JOHN M. WHITBECK.
The following letter was received by his father from Lieut. PETER A. HOFFMAN, of the One Hundred and Forty-third Illinois Volunteers, brother of the deceased:
FIDELITY, ILLINOIS, July 14, 1863.
Dear Father-I received your letter in due time, but little did I expect to receive the sad intelligence of the loss of an only
806
DAVID MCCULLOCH.
brother. Little did I expect, when we parted in Albany, that he would be the first of the family to depart this life; one so young and healthy, and apparently destined to live many years. But such are the ways of Providence, and it is our duty to sub- mit to God's will. The event may be intended for our benefit, as it teaches us the uncertainty of life, and warns us to be pre- pared for that day, when all shall be judged according to their deeds on earth.
Sad as it is, to lose a son and only brother, it would be unmanly to repine, when so many have sacrificed their lives in the cause of their country. It is a great consolation to know that he died in the defence of his country's rights, which is next to his duty to his God. He may have died alone in a strange land, without father, sister or brother to soothe him in his dying hours; his remains may be deposited far away on the banks of the Missis- sippi river, with nothing but a rude stone to point to his grave, yet to know that he died as he has died, is a far greater consola- tion to a lover of his country, than to have had him deposited in the most costly sarcophagus, attended with all the pomp and pride of royalty, if above his name should be written: " He died a traitor to his country."
Your only son,
PETER A. HOFFMAN.
CXLVII. DAVID McCULLOCHI, OF COEYMANS.
DAVID MCCULLOCH was the son of WILLIAM C. and MARY A. MCCULLOCH, and was born May 3, 1841. He was a kind boy, a dutiful son, and a generous and noble hearted brother.
While the traitors at the South were preparing to enter upon their treasonable work, DAVID often remarked that he was resolved to leave his home and fight for his country, whenever the Government should require his services. Accordingly, on the 1st of August, 1861, he enlisted in Company D, Forty-fourth
807
DAVID McCULLOCH.
New York Regiment. He fought bravely in the battles at Han- over Court House, Malvern Hill, Gaines' Mills, Antietam, Fred- ericksburg, Petersburg, second Bull Run, Gettysburg, and in fact, in every battle in which this gallant regiment was engaged, up to the battle of Mine Run, when he was for the second time taken prisoner.
He was first made a prisoner by the enemy about the 1st of July, 1862, while fighting in the battles before Richmond. After six days hard fighting he scorned to turn his back upon a foe that was seeking the life of his nation. His regiment having suffered severely was ordered to fall back. But either he did not hear the order, or not heeding it, he continued to fight, until he was surrounded and seized by the enemy. The first saluta- tion that he received was "Lay down that gun," accompanied by an oath, and an opprobrious epithet, usually indulged in by the southern chivalry on such occasions. He laid down one end of his gun, and placing his foot upon the center of the barrel be bent it, so that it could be of no use to the rebels. He then delivered the useless weapon to them.
Mr. McCULLOCH was kept in prison thirty days, and had he not had money with him to purchase food, he would probably have starved to death. How he escaped from the foe, we are not informed.
The second time that he was captured was about the beginning of the year 1864. Then he had sixty dollars in his pocket, of which the rebels at once robbed him. He was then carried to some prison, and now for over two years his friends have not heard directly from him. They suppose that he, like multitudes of others, died from neglect and starvation.
His officers and comrades award to him the highest praise for his uniform good conduct; his cheerfulness under privations and sufferings, and his noble bravery upon the battle-field. No danger seemed ever to intimidate him, and no amount of suffering cooled the intense ardor of his patriotism. He loved his country with an undying devotion. Just before leaving home, he remarked to his mother, that he would fight the enemies of his nation, while there was a drop of blood in his veins.
808
STEPHEN McCULLOCH.
It is sad, indeed, to think of such a hero passing from the light and happiness of his early home into the darkness and horrors of a southern prison, there to have his life worn away by the slow tortures of disease and starvation, and no friend to minister to him in the last hour ! But his history is that of thousands, whom American slavery has claimed for its victims.
CXLVIII. STEPHEN McCULLOCH, OF COEYMANS.
STEPHEN McCULLOCHI was the brother of DAVID, to whom we have just referred, and was born in Coeymans, Angust 25, 1845. He was a youth full of enterprise, ambition and intelligence. He had, too, a very affectionate disposition, and was beloved by all who knew him. He possessed the same spirit and feelings in regard to the war that fired the soul of his brother.
He enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Seventy-seventh New York Regiment. He never was in any very severe battle, but discharged every duty assigned to him with great faithfulness.
On one occasion he was sent down a river to secure some flat boats. The party were surprised by a guerrilla force and were fired upon. Instead of surrendering, STEPHEN, with others, leaped into the river, and swam to the opposite side. That night he slept upon the ground in his wet clothes, and took a cold, from which he never recovered. His system, heretofore very strong, had been previously reduced by a severe chronic disease, and his cold, with this, carried him rapidly to the grave. For a time he was delirious, and he died in this condition on the 14th of April, 1863. His remains lie buried at Bonnet Carré, Louisiana.
To the parents who thus gave up two sons for the country, the sympathies of a grateful nation should be cordially extended.
809
JAMES WILSON.
CXLIX. JAMES WILSON, OF COHOES.
JAMES WILSON, the son of DAVID WILSON and ISABELLA MILLS, was born at Lansingburgh, New York, on May 11th, 1846. He enlisted from Cohoes as a private in Co. H, in the One Hundred and Fifteenth Regiment New York State Volunteers, and was killed in the battle of Olustee, Florida, on February 20th, 1864.
Lieut. CLARK, in his work entitled " The Iron-Hearted Regi- ment," page 203, gives the following account of his death: " At the battle of Olustee, Florida, he behaved very gallantly, and fought with the coolness of a war-worn veteran, but sacrificed his life nearly at its close. The brave young soldier fired away his own sixty rounds of ammunition, and then sought a fresh supply from his dead companion's cartridge box. Having loaded his gun for the sixty-first time, he turned to Sergeant GOULD, and in his usual pleasant way said " ALF, which way shall I aim this time?" The words had hardly escaped his lips when a cruel shell burst in the ranks, and a piece struck him in the left thigh, shattering it in the most frightful manner. A large stream of blood spouted from the wound, and he fell to rise no more.
The boys carried him a short distance from the field, but he was fast bleeding to death and must soon die, so they laid him gently down at the foot of a tree. They took his Bible and a few little keepsakes from his pocket, to send to his widowed mother: then kneeling down on the ground they grasped his cold hands affectionately, and with tears in their eyes said ' good bye.' He looked up and sweetly smiled; it froze on his lips, and he closed his eyes in death."
810
SEBASTIAN PEARSE.
CL. SEBASTIAN PEARSE, OF WATERVLIET.
SEBASTIAN PEARSE was the son of RICHARD S. and EVE PEARSE, and was born in Watervliet, on the 26th day of November, 1840. He attended school until he was seventeen years of age, when he removed to Albany, and became engaged in the lumber business with his uncle JOHN WARD, Esq.
At the very first call for soldiers to defend the republic against the attacks of rebels, he, like so many others whom we have sketched, cheerfully offered his services, and enlisted in April 1861, in Company E, Third Regiment of New York Volunteers, under Col. TOWNSEND. He went to Fortress Monroe and re- mained with the regiment a short time, when on account of his superior intelligence and excellent character, he was transferred to the Signal Corps, and stationed at Fortress Monroe, under Capt. SEWARD F. HELPBURN. Here he remained until his death.
The following account of him appeared in the " Christian Intelligencer," soon after his burial:
"Died, at Fortress Monroe, August 22d, 1862, SEBASTIAN PEARSE of the Signal Corps.
" Mr. PEARSE was a young man of noble promise, and pos- sessed the unqualified respect of all who knew him. A year and a half ago, when the country made an earnest call upon her patriotic and loyal sons, he left his business which was opening before him prospects of speedy and lucrative advancement, and volunteered in the Third New York Regiment. He fought in the battles of Little and Big Bethel, through which he passed unscathed and with honor. Soon after he was detailed to the Signal service.
" He joined the army and remained in it only from a pure sense of duty. Nearly a year ago he was offered an honorable discharge on account of a tendency to vertigo, from which he occasionally suffered; but he scorned the idea of leaving his post. Ilis reply, on that occasion, displayed the whole principle
811
JOEL B. PITTS.
of his life as a soldier: 'I came here,' said he, ' to serve my country, and as long as my country needs my services, I shall remain.'
" During his last illness, his comrades, the officers and the nurses, vied with each other in their tender attentions to him. The Captain declared that he loved him as a brother, and the mourn- ing over his loss was universal.
Through the kindness of the members of the corps to which . he belonged, his body was embalmed and delivered to his friends. He was buried from the Reformed Dutch Church of Niskayuna, Rev. JOIIN A. DE BAUN, pastor, on the last day in August, 1862. A detachment of the Tenth Regiment New York State Militia, acted as pall bearers. A very large concourse of friends fol- lowed the remains to the grave, and mingled their tears with those of his bereaved, but not comfortless, parents. May the Almighty Father, whom they have long trusted and served, bind up their broken hearts, and may his rod and staff comfort them.
-
CLI.
JOEL B. PITTS
OF WATERVLIET.
JOEL B. PITTS, son of ISAAC B. and ALLAH M. PITTS, was born in Nassau, January, 1843. His mother died while he was an infant, and his father moved to Watervliet, Albany county, in 1845, and still resides there.
His health was never very good. He was always a kind and affectionate boy, and possessed a good character. He never pro- fessed religion, but from his last two letters we have reason to hope, that the many prayers offered in his behalf, were answered.
From the commencement of the war, he felt a great interest in it, and often expressed his desire to participate in it. But on account of his health and youth, his friends opposed it. He was told that when he was drafted it would be time enough for him to join the army.
812
ARTHUR HASWELL.
He was drafted, and, October 1st, he joined the Seventh New York Heavy Artillery, and remained at Fort Reno until May, 1864, when the regiment went out as infantry.
He was in several skirmishes, and in the battles of the Wil- derness and Coal Harbor. At the latter place he was wounded, June 3d, in his right arm and in his left shoulder. He laid most of the day in a pit used by a rebel sharpshooter. Late in the afternoon he went to the field hospital, and from there to the Columbian hospital, Washington, where the ball was removed from his neck. In six weeks he was so far recovered as to be able to go home on a furlough of sixty days. He spent most of the winter in the hospital.
During the winter the Surgeon talked of putting him in the Invalid Corps, but he opposed it, and said that he had rather go to his regiment, where he could do more good, and fight the rebels.
March 6th, 1865, he left the hospital at Washington, and joined his regiment at Baltimore. He was taken sick in a few days with fever, and, April 3d, went to Fort Federal Hill hospi- tal, where he died, April 13th.
He was delirious a week or more before he died, but lived long enough to realize our triumph; for he wrote in his Testa- ment, "Victory, victory over our rebel foes."
A Lieutenant, in writing of his death, said: "He was a good soldier, and I wish that I was as well prepared to die as he was."
- -
CLII. ARTHUR HASWELL, OF WATERVLIET.
ARTHUR HASWELL was born in the town of Schoharie, Scho- harie county, June 14, 1838, and was the sixth of a family of eight children. His parents were JOSEPH A., son of ARTHUR HASWELL, of Watervliet, and FRANCES, daughter of MICHAEL FRELIGHT, M. D., also of Watervliet, Albany county.
813
ARTHUR HASWELL.
Inheriting from his father an unbending integrity and intense love of country, he felt, from the beginning of the war, the injustice of the foes who had plotted the overthrow of the gov- ernment, and he longed to engage at onee in the conflict. Duties at home prevented this; but, as regiment after regiment took the field, the subject of his going was still renewed. His father gave, at length, the son on whom he leaned the most, to his country, and he enlisted as a private soldier in Company B, One Hundred and Seventy-seventh Regiment, at Albany, October 21, 1862.
He suffered much in the change of climate and hardships to which that regiment was subjected. At the time of their first active service, he was too ill to go with them, and felt keenly the deprivation. He mentions, in a letter to his mother, the last he ever wrote, that it was a hard sight for those who were left, to see the regiment go to its first active service without them, and hoped she would not think he had been unfaithful to his duty.
His family, who knew him best, in a home where much was required of him, cherish his memory as a son and brother of more than ordinary purity and faithfulness. Shielded by Divine Providence from temptation, in the comparative seclusion of a country home, he bore an unexceptionable moral character, and, during his short stay in the army, won the respect of both offi- cers and men. Although he lacked the buoyant temperament so necessary to the soldier, he was faithful and enduring, and, in his letters home, which were frequent, never complained of the hardships of army life.
An incident which occurred at the time of his leaving, will serve to show his decision of character. He was packing his knapsack for the last time, when he playfully remarked to his sister that the eanteen was intended for liquor, and asked if he should take it. She replied that it was best to do so, it might be necessary to life in case of being wounded and without help. His manner instantly changed, and in a firm, decided tone he said, " I will not take it."
His last illness was typhoid fever, and he was confined to the
814
ARTHUR HASWELL.
hospital three weeks previous to his death. On the afternoon of the 20th of April, his cousin, who was in the regiment, visited him, to whom he gave his Bible, pocket diary, and some pressed flowers, for his friends at home. This was his last interview with him. He was at that time cheerful, but did not expect to recover. He read his Bible much while in the hospital, and it is hoped that from its sacred pages he learned to trust Him who can save at the eleventh hour.
He died during the night of the 21st of April, 1863, and was buried at Bonnet Carré. His remains were afterwards brought home, and now repose in the Albany Cemetery.
The following is an extract from a letter written by Adjutant . STRONG, to his mother, April 21, 1863:
" In my letter to you of April 19th, I mentioned that ARTHUR ILASWELL, of Company B, was quite sick, and that I feared he would not recover. I am deeply pained to inform you that he died last night. We did not suppose he was so near his end. From the first, however, he seemed to give up, and it seemed as though he could not rally. Every attention was paid to him, but it was all of no avail. I trust and believe that he is gone to a better land, and that his spirit is now in heaven."
The following letter is from Captain MERRIHEW to ARTHUR'S sister:
BONNET CARRE, LA., April 23, 1863.
Miss ANNA HASWELL:
Dear Friend-The circumstances under which I now address you are painful to me, while to you they will be doubly so. It devolves upon me to communicate to you the sad intelligence of the death of your brother ARTHUR. He died in hospital yester- day morning, April the 21st, 1863, about two o'clock, of general debility. He was without any apparent disease until a day or two previous to his death, when he was attacked with diphtheria, which has proved so fatal with us. We did not consider him dangerously ill until he was attacked with diphtheria, when he commenced to fail very rapidly; and all the skill of our physi- cians here, could afford no relief, and he has gone to return to us no more forever.
815
GEORGE W. KILBOURN.
"He who doeth all things well," has seen fit, in His infinite merey, to take him away; and while it may seem hard that you should be called to mourn the loss of one so young, and full of promise, and so far. from friends and loved ones at home; yet you have the comfortable assurance, that he has gone to that better world, where sickness nor sorrows ever come.
You will please accept the heartfelt sympathies of the com- pany of which I now have the command, and of which ARTHUR was a most worthy and esteemed member. I can assure you that your brother had, while associated with us here, by his virtuous conduct, and his many amiable qualities, endeared himself to us all; and we feel that the place now made vacant in our ranks by his death, we may never expect to fill again.
I am very respectfully, your friend, E. H. MERRIHEW, Capt. Co. B. 177th N. Y. S. V.
CLIII. GEORGE W. KILBOURN.
GEORGE W. KILBOURN, son of JAMES and CATHARINE LIVING- STON KILBOURN, was born in the city of Albany, September 1, 1844. In his youth he was remarkable for his love of truth and sterling honesty. His parents and friends could say of him that they never knew him to tell a falsehood, or to do a dishonest act. He was a pupil of the Sabbath school attached to the church of which his parents were members, and always manifested a deep interest in the worship of God's house.
At the commencement of the war, our young friend was exceedingly anxious to enlist as a soldier in the defence of his country, and was only deterred from doing so by the conviction of his parents, that he was too young for such a service. As our national perils, however, increased, and the family felt that some one of their number should be given up to the service of the country, GEORGE was permitted to go. Prompted by the
816
JJACOB VAN ALLEN.
noblest impulses of patriotism, he enlisted October 10th, 1862, as Sergeant in Company D, of the One Hundred and Forty-fourth Regiment of New York Volunteers. Shortly after his enlist- ment the regiment was ordered to New Orleans, and from thence to Bonnet Carré.
Here our young friend was seized with the typhoid fever, and died April 12th, 1863, a little more than eighteen years of age. The deep affliction into which his whole family was cast by this sad bereavement, and their feelings under it, are best described by the father's own words:
"We miss his cheerful face and manly form in the home cir- cle; we miss him at the family altar, where, night and morning, he bowed with us before God. We no longer hear his voice, like sweet music, ascending in prayer, before he retires to rest. But we do not mourn as those who are without hope, for though he made no profession of religion, I believe he loved God and tried to serve Him. Often, unknown to me, after family prayer, and when he was about to lie down to rest, have I heard his voice in earnest supplication to his Heavenly Father."
A Lieutenant, who was sick with him in the hospital, and who was with him when he died, expresses in strong terms his con- viction that " GEORGE fell asleep in Jesus."
CLIV. JACOB VAN ALLEN, OF BETHLEHEM
JACOB VAN ALLEN, son of JOHN VAN ALLEN, was born in Beth- lehem, and in youth received a good education, at the district school of his native town. He was also connected with the Normal School at Albany, and with the Princetown Seminary. Afterwards he taught school in the winter and worked on the farm in the summer.
In July, 1862, when President LINCOLN issued his call for three hundred thousand volunteers, he enlisted as a private in
817
CHARLES VAN ALLEN.
Company E, Capt. N. H. MOORE, in the One Hundred and Thir- teenth Regiment of Infantry N. Y. State Volunteers. He was, at that time, thirty-one years of age, and a patriot in principle.
Mr. VAN ALLEN was a firm believer in American liberty, and was a sincere patriot. He went with his regiment to Washing- ton, D. C., where they were assigned the duty of guarding the approaches to that city. He died, while in the service of the United States, at Fort Reno, near Washington, November 13th, 1862, of typhoid fever. His remains were brought home and interred in the cemetery of the Dutch Reformed Church at Fura Bush, Albany county, N. Y. He left a widow and two children to mourn his loss.
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