History of the Dewitt guard, company A, 50th regiment National guard, state of New York Part 2

Very soon after becoming a member of the Company, he was elected their standard-bearer. His strong desire to become familiar with all the rudiments, and to become perfect, not only in the school of the soldier, but also of the Company and Battalion, led him to devote but little time to the duties of his new office. So anxious was he to learn, that with the Tactics for his drill-master, and a borrowed gun for an a.s.sistant, he would by himself combine the theoretical with the practical. We say without fear of contradiction, that to-day a man more conversant with the theory and practice of the science of military, cannot be found.

The 28th of May, 1856, he was elected and commissioned second Lieutenant, which office he filled until August 25th, 1862, at which time he was elected Captain. As a commanding officer Captain Blood could not be excelled. The time he had so studiously devoted in the earlier part of his military career to this object, he now discovered was of great use to him. Combine with this knowledge his splendid voice and fine military carriage, he was an officer of which his men were at all times proud.

When the Company volunteered and were mustered into the United States service, Captain Blood accompanied them; and through his exertions they obtained a very desirable position in the 58th Regiment National Guard.

It was his chief and constant aim to see that his men were at all times comfortable, and to see that they, as United States soldiers, had all they were ent.i.tled to.

Very soon after joining the army, Captain Blood was detailed from his Company and commissioned one of the court-martial of the Department of New York, before which court was transacted a large amount of business.

The compliments that were bestowed upon Captain Blood as a member of this court, by the Division and Post Commanders, and by other members of the court, must, indeed, have been very flattering to him. In his decisions (not one of which were ever set aside or annulled) he was prompt and discriminating, always tempering his judgment with that amount of clemency which he considered was best for the Government he represented, and for the unfortunate delinquents who appeared before him.

Notwithstanding he was so much of the time separated from his command, still he endeavored to be in camp with them every night, and a large portion of the time messed with them.

Captain Blood, as every person knows who is acquainted with him, was a strictly conscientious man, and still he always enjoyed the sports and harmless amus.e.m.e.nts of his men in camp, and at all proper times and occasions would join with them. It is needless for us to say, that each member of his Company became very much attached to him, not one of which but would have sacrificed their all for his comfort.

His door was always open and he was at all times glad to see his men, and his tent was Company Head-Quarters _indeed_. It was the remark of very many officers and others who visited Elmira during encampment of this Company, that Captain Blood was the most accomplished officer, and commanded the best Company of men, that a.s.sisted in garrisoning that post during the war.

The Captain always attended the religious services of the Regiment, and by this means exerted a beneficial influence over his men. His example was always that of an uncompromising christian, as well as a good soldier and true patriot.

Immediately following the Elmira campaign, Captain Blood was elected and commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of the 50th Regiment National Guard, and now holds that commission.

In this instance we see a private of Company A, by various promotions, reach the rank second in command of the Regiment, and undoubtedly in a short time will be in full command. No officer is more worthy the honor than Colonel Blood.

In civil life he is none the less honored, having filled public offices with equal success.

He has been not only a good soldier, a respected Lieutenant, honored Captain and esteemed Colonel, but is a citizen of the highest standing and respected by every one.

H. J. WILSON, Painter, enlisted January 1st, 1852. Mr. Wilson served his full time and received an honorable discharge as a soldier, but is still connected with the Regiment as a musician. It is the strong desire of every member of the Company, as well as of the Regiment, that his members.h.i.+p may be continued yet many years. Our excellent Band, without Wilson, would be like tinkling bra.s.s--of uncertain sound. The rich, full and expressive tones rendered by him on his powerful Tuba, fully prove him to be a musician of no ordinary talent.

JACOB SAGER, Clerk, enlisted January 1st, 1852. Was Company musician, which position he filled until his removal from the District. He was not only a good musician, but a gentleman.

CLARK WILSON, Machinist, enlisted January ----, 1852. Mr. Wilson was Company drummer for a time, but preferring a gun to a drum, took his place in the ranks; served some time; is now Chief Engineer on Seneca Lake.

HORACE ROOT, Brewer, enlisted March 17th, 1852. Mr. Root was always promptly on hand at the drills and meetings of the Company while a member. The record does not show how long he was connected with the Company; our recollection is some three years.

CALEB BABc.o.c.k, enlisted March 17th, 1852. His members.h.i.+p was short; very soon after becoming a member he left the place. He is now an officer on one of the New York and Liverpool Line of Steamers.

A. J. TERRY, Tobacconist, enlisted May 15th, 1852. Mr. Terry was a good member of the Company and a good citizen. He died a few years ago, after suffering the most excruciating torture of acute rheumatism.

JAMES C. MCCLUNE, Lawyer, enlisted June 3d, 1852. Mr. McClune always evinced the greatest interest in the welfare of the Company; he was one of its best workers, was a first-cla.s.s soldier, and was soon elected Corporal from which he was promoted to Sergeant, which office he held until November 29th, 1856, when he was removed by death. Upon receiving intelligence of his death a special meeting was called, when the following preamble and resolutions, offered by Lieut. King, were unanimously adopted:

"WHEREAS, The Supreme Ruler of the Universe has, in the exercise of His power and wisdom, seen fit to remove from our midst our esteemed friend and fellow soldier, Sergeant James C. McClune, therefore be it

_Resolved_, That we receive the sad bereavement as a mandate from Him who doeth all things well.

_Resolved_, That we offer our sincere and heartfelt condolence to the sorrowing family of the deceased, and we a.s.sure them that we will ever revere the memory of their son and brother.

RESOLVED, That as a mark of our respect for the character of our deceased comrade, we will attend his funeral, and escort his remains to their last resting place with military honors.

RESOLVED, That we wear the usual badge of mourning for the s.p.a.ce of six months.

RESOLVED, That a copy of these resolutions, signed by the Chairman and Secretary, be presented to the family of the deceased, and published in the village papers.

P. J. PARTENHEIMER, _Captain_.

WILLIAM GLENNY, _Sec'y_.

JAMES H. GREENLY, Merchant, enlisted June 3d, 1852. Mr. Greenly was in every respect a most estimable man, and as a soldier he had no superior.

Always manifested a lively interest in whatever conduced to the benefit of the organization. He filled all the grades of non-commissioned offices; was Orderly Sergeant at the time he removed from us. No member ever left, carrying with him more well wishes and kind regards, than Sergeant James H. Greenly. Success and prosperity attend him ever in all his undertakings.

JACOB WARSHASKI, Clothing Merchant, enlisted July 1st, 1852. Was a faithful and worthy member for a few years. Upon changing his residence was granted an honorable discharge.

MAJOR A. O. SHAW, Blacksmith. To name a day as the one on which the Major enlisted, is for us an impossibility, and we think it would be too much of a task for him, even, to find out the exact year, say nothing about the day. Suffice it to say, he has been honored with the t.i.tle of Major from the earliest recollection of the writer. He has seen the time when he had command of more musicians alone than this Company at any one time ever numbered as members. He always enjoyed being a military man, and we believe there could be no greater pleasure for the Major to-day, than to head a column of a few hundred men and march through the streets of Ithaca, as he has done in years gone by. He has received three honorable discharges, each being granted by reason of the expiration of his term of service. This would give the Major twenty-one years in the service, and how much he overran on time on each of the discharges, we doubt if he knows. At all events he was a member of the DeWitt Guard when the writer joined, (which was in 1855,) and served until last year before he received his last discharge.

He has always been, and is to-day, one of the most accommodating military men of our acquaintance. At any time the Company would like to have him turn out with them, he is always ready, and invariably refuses a single dime compensation. The Major has the respect, not only of the Company with which he has so long served, but of the whole community. As a citizen, his politeness and gentlemanly conduct attracts the attention of every person who meets him; and the various positions he has so long and creditably filled, is sufficient to show that he is properly appreciated by the community in which he resides.

MOSES R. WRIGHT, Lawyer, enlisted July 8th, 1852. Was connected with the Company but a short time; was a man of fine talent, and a lawyer of great ability. He died in this village June 6th, 1855.

L. S. BLUE, Boot and Shoe Merchant, enlisted July 8th, 1852. Mr. Blue served but a short time. Is now a resident of New York city.

JOHN PAGE, Shoemaker, enlisted July 12th, 1852. His members.h.i.+p was short.

D. M. OLTZ, Carpenter, enlisted June 23d, 1853. Was a good soldier and a good member of the Company; served for some time. His members.h.i.+p was dissolved by his removal to Canada.

J. B. HAMMOND, Jeweler, enlisted June 23d, 1853. Served faithfully as Company bugler until his removal to St. Louis.

MELVILLE WILKINSON, Clerk, enlisted July 4th, 1853. Was a good soldier while connected with the Company, and a better one after leaving it. He removed from the district after a members.h.i.+p of one or two years. Upon the breaking out of the war he enlisted in the 23d New York Volunteers; was soon commissioned Lieutenant; served his time; volunteered the second time, and was elected Captain in the 107th New York Volunteers.

He was a brave and true officer; was engaged in many battles; was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps; afterwards held a prominent position upon the staff of General c.o.xe, who commanded the Department of Ohio. At the close of the war he devoted his time to preparing himself for the ministry, and is now an Episcopal clergyman, located in Ohio.

THOMAS J. PHILLIPS, Miller. (Date of enlistment not recorded.) Mr.

Phillips was no ordinary soldier, as he most conclusively proved to a Bank President at the Seneca Falls encampment. He was always careful to know what his duty was, and then he was going to do it, let the consequences be what they might. He was always good natured, perfectly happy, and was poor society for those troubled with the _blues_. Never wanted much to do with a person who did not feel as good as himself. Was worth at the encampment spoken of above, more than some whole Companies.

Had the advantages of an early education and good bringing up, used to living well at home, and believed in living well in camp--_and did_. No person, although he might be President of all the Banks in Hungary, could pa.s.s the line when he was the sentinel. He was athletic, not only in person but in mind, and too much good cannot be said of him as a soldier and a citizen. The Company sustained a severe loss when Mr.

Phillips removed from among them, and became the proprietor of the Danby Spring Mills.

WILLIAM H. BROWN, Grocer, enlisted July 28th, 1853. Mr. Brown served his full time and received an honorable discharge. He always felt a deep interest in the welfare of the Company; particularly prompt to meet all the demands made upon him; always gave cheerfully, and has in many instances paid for others who could illy afford to pay for themselves; was always careful to have no one know that he paid obligations other than his own; always present at the drills and meetings of the Company, and altogether Mr. Brown was one of the _solid men_ of the Company. He has acted as Company Sutler at a number of encampments, and in this capacity has given the most perfect satisfaction.

LEONARD STODDARD, Carriage Maker, enlisted July 28th, 1853. His members.h.i.+p was short--removing from the district soon after joining. He was employed in the extensive establishment of William S. Hoyt, Esq., the largest carriage manufacturer in Western New York.

SAMUEL STODDARD, Wool and Leather Merchant, enlisted June 29th, 1854.

In the DeWitt Guard, as well as in every other organization or a.s.sociation with which Mr. Stoddard has been connected, he was, as he would term his best grade of wool, super extra. He was an old militiaman when he joined this Company, and had improved all the advantages to be derived from the Old Guard, which in an eminent degree qualified him for a good soldier in this, then new, Company. A peculiar trait in the military character of Mr. Stoddard was, he invariably attended the drills and meetings of the Company. Consider, with this fact, the large business carried on by him, which one would suppose would require his undivided time and attention, and we find he must have sacrificed a good deal for the interest he felt in this Company. He would forego other enjoyments for the sake of attending the weekly drills in which he took much pleasure, believing that this exercise was of vast good to him. He became a very proficient soldier; never would accept office of any kind, though besought with tears; his highest ambition was to be a _good_ high private; was one of the most liberal men in the Company, always contributing freely, and many times more than his proportion; was always in favor of paying promptly any demand made upon the Company, and opposed to obligations or debts acc.u.mulating against them, and we find it recorded in two or three instances where Mr. Stoddard moved that a tax of two or more dollars be levied upon each member to pay up deficits. He served his full time and was granted an honorable discharge. For the high standing of the DeWitt Guard to-day, they are in no small degree indebted to Mr. Stoddard. He has enjoyed the confidence of the community sufficient to be elected several times to positions of trust and honor. Long live Samuel Stoddard.

D. L. AVERY, Merchant, enlisted June 24th, 1854. Mr. Avery was a young man of fine attainments, and had every promise of a brilliant future. He manifested much interest in the Company, and although connected with them but a short time, yet sufficiently long to gain the esteem and respect of each member. His death occurred August 24th, 1854. That the loss of Mr. Avery was keenly felt by the Company, the following preamble and resolutions, which were unanimously adopted, will show:

WHEREAS, It has pleased Divine Providence suddenly to take away from our midst by death our much esteemed friend and fellow soldier D. L. Avery, thus depriving us of an active and valued member, and our citizens of one whom but to know was to esteem; and Whereas, The officers and soldiers of the DeWitt Guard feeling and duly appreciating the loss of our universally esteemed member of our corps, and being desirous of giving expression to a spontaneous sentiment of regard for our departed brother in arms, it is therefore unanimously

_Resolved_, That we do most sincerely mourn the loss of our late comrade, so suddenly and unexpectedly called away from our ranks by the stern and unrelenting King of Terrors, and that we tender to the partner, brother and sisters of the deceased our heartfelt sympathies in their irreparable loss.

_Resolved_, That we attend in a body to a.s.sist in the last sad duties and ceremonies of the funeral of our late brother, friend and fellow soldier, and that we wear the usual badge of mourning on all parades for thirty days.