H GENERAL HISTORY

Life through the eyes of Annie Dall, Student 1884-1887

By Lawrence Laliberte

“This Institution was founded in 1848 and has ever since been maintained as a school of high character. It was long and favorably known as ‘The Poughkeepsie Collegiate Institute’ and subsequently as ‘Cook’s Collegiate Institute.’ With the beginning of the academic year, in 1884, it passed under the control of the present Principal, whose purpose it is to make the school so thorough in its instruction, and so wholesome in its influence, that it shall be worthy of the unreserved confidence of parents who wish their daughters taught sound learning, true accomplishment, and correct habits an principals.”

The above description is the first paragraph of a promotional book for the school published for the 1896-1897 school year and provided a great deal of background information, including lists of graduates, their year of graduation and their hometowns. It also listed the course of study for each year. The school provided education from kindergarten through the twelfth year in two separate sections. Our young lady, Annie Dall, was enrolled in the Academic section whose curriculum followed the below structure:

Academic Grade.

First Year – Arithmetic and English Grammar (complete); Physical Geography; Rhetoric and Composition; Physiology (half year); English History (half year); Latin, French or German; Reading, Writing, Spelling.

Second Year – Algebra; General History; Physics and Chemistry; Latin, French or German.

Third Year – Geometry; Astronomy (first half year); Botany

(second half year); American Literature; History of Art; Review of English Grammar with Principals of English Composition; Latin, French or German.

Fourth Year – English Literature; Geology (half year); Civil Government (half year); Mental Science; Moral Science; Review of Arithmetic; Latin, French or German (optional).

The promotional book goes on to state “While a certificate of the Principal will give admission to the freshmen class at Vassar, students are advised to take their entrance examinations at the College.”

The school was located 324-326 Mill Street on the SE corner of Mill and Catherine “on one of the finest residence streets of Poughkeepsie, and has enclosed grounds for the use and enjoyment of pupils. The main building is heated by steam and all rooms are lighted with gas.

The most careful attention has been given to sanitation. The plumbing is of the best, the supply of water is abundant, and the drainage and ventilation as nearly perfect as possible.”

The school was operated by Samuel Buck and his wife, Clara, and listed 12 teachers in the 1896-1897 booklet. The following excerpts are taken from 25 letters written by Annie Dall to her cousin Clara, not to be confused with the Clara who is the school operator’s wife. The correspondence did not include the envelopes, so the last name of Clara cannot be determined, but she apparently lived in Witson’s, just outside of Sing Sing. Annie Dall was from Sing Sing and her best friend, also a student in the same grade, was Grace Bayles, also from Sing Sing. If it were not for the listing of previous graduates, we never would have known her last name. The phrase “Grace and I…” appeared repeatedly. It appears they were inseparable.

Based on the letters, Annie returned to the school as a sophomore in 1884 and continued until January, 1887, which would be her senior year. Unfortunately, the letters stop in January of 1887, so we do not get to experience the joys of her graduation.

Because the material is diverse and encompasses three years, the material is presented in the form of topics and then listed chronologically with comment, where necessary, at the end. Some topics overlap because it was necessary to maintain context (i.e.: the dinner menu served during a trip to a student’s home in Millbrook). This narrative example could have been listed under “Daytrips or Food.” In the end, Annie became Mrs. W.W. Graham who resided in Sing Sing in 1896.

1. Classes and lectures

October 25, 1884

“I am getting along finely in Algebra. I had to learn those three rules in Multiplication by heart. I guess you will remember what rules I mean.”

March 10, 1885

“Since Miss Capron’s illness there has been quite a change in the classes. And my dear Miss Martin is going away tonight. She has been very sick too and the Doctor says it is like committing suicide for her to teach, consequently, she leaves this evening. They have a teacher to take her class. She is from Germany, and of course, only teaches French and German.”

“How are you getting along in music? I took a lesson this morning. I can play in four chords. Of course it sounds very simple to you, but to me four chords means a great deal, for I am naturally dumb, and then as I do not care much for music.” (Figure 2). “It makes me laugh when I think of the French and German teacher, she is such a homely woman and she combs her hair so comical.”

May 2, 1885

“I have my final examination in English history Monday. I do not expect to pass, as I have the different reigns all mixed up.”

October 3, 1885

“I commenced German this week. I think it is a very fascinating study, but quite difficult and Geometry grows harder and harder every day.”

October 25, 1885

“I am getting along finely in German and enjoy the study better and better every day. I wish you could study it.”

December 15, 1885

“We had an examination this morning on the second book in Geometry. I emptied all my brains on the examination paper and then did not succeed very well. I guess the cause was I had very few brains to empty out.”

“We are learning a poem in the German class. When I come home I will be able to recite three stanzas of it.”

“I have just returned from the annex, after drumming away on the piano for a whole hour. I suppose you have several new pieces by this time. Clara, I do not think it is one bit fair for you to get so far ahead of me in Music. You must not learn so rapidly.”

“There were some educated horses went by this noon. Don’t you think that is quite wonderful? Just imagine horses demonstrating a proposition in Geometry.”

February 4, 1886

“The highest number of credits in Rhetoric examination was forty four and I got forty, only missing four questions. I am happy to think I passed. I took Music lesson yesterday and Prof. Putnam gave me a new piece. It is entitled “Evening Belle”. Of course I will take great pleasure in practicing it on account of the name.”

March 9, 1886

“I commenced Chemistry this morning and like it very much. Mr. Buck tried two experiments.”

June 1, 1886

“I have had two of my examinations and am happy to say I was successful in both. I have one more on Friday and then my suffering will be at an end.”

September 21, 1886

“Our German teacher is a very learned man. He teaches in one of the Military schools.- Warring’s.” [This would have been C.B. Warring’s School for Boys at the corner of Mansion and Smith streets. It was established in 1862. The site is now occupied by Warring Elementary School. The other military school in the area was the Riverview Military Academy, established by Otis Bisbee in 1857. It was located at Pine and Jefferson Streets].

October 12, 1886

“I have just finished my abstract for Mental, and really there is not one bit of wit or originality left in me. I am actually growing thin, from study and carrying so much dignity with me!”

November 18, 1886

“I had to write an essay this week on the tragedy of Richard III. It was no small undertaking let me tell you. Doubtless you have been in the same boat yourself – not on Croton Lake, but at Ossining. We had a written review today on Shakespeare. The seniors have to write compositions every week.”

December 10, 1886

“We are anticipating a good and interesting lecture this morning at the Opera House.” (Figure 3). [Probably the Collingwood Opera House, now Bardavon Opera House. It opened in February, 1869].

“Compositions are getting harder and harder. My subject for next time is “Life before the deluge.”

2. Daily Regimen and rules

September 24, 1884

“You said you did not understand what I meant by ‘silent hour’. Well we are all in our rooms studying at that time, and if you make any noise or go out of your room you get a black mark for it. Sunday we have a silent hour two hours long from two to four then we have Sunday school. We have two study hours, one from five until six the other half past seven until half past eight, at half past nine the gas is put out.”

“When it rains, we do not have to go out of doors; but we go down in the gymnasium and one of the girls plays a march and we march around the room.”

October 2, 1884

“The other night I trimmed my bang, and cut it so short I have very hard work to curl it.”

December 14, 1884

“Miss Martin just came around and told the girls (Allie, Dollie and Grace, not me) they were making too much noise. Last Sunday evening Grace got sent to her room for making so much noise. You know I am a good girl and never get into any ecrapis! It is well to have good opinion of yourself for if you do not, others will not have it of you.”

“I wear my hair up a great deal now, the girls think I look ever so much better, they say I look like you.”

October 3, 1885

“I am reading a lovely book. The title is ‘Little Woman’. Every Friday evening after supper we have mending hour. Last night I mended a hole in my under vest, also one in my stocking. You see I as very industrious. While we are mending, one of the teachers reads to us. The book she is reading is called “Dread.” Two characters in it are George and Harry and one of the girls name is Ann. I came laughing aloud last night, as Grace would look at me and smile every time one of those names were mentioned.”

“While we were in study hour last Thursday evening the cat came in the room. Grace caught it and held it on her lap during the hour. I never wanted to laugh more, it looked so comical.”

October 25, 1885

“The girls are all playing Hide and Seek and instead of my playing this childish game, I will devote my time to something higher – writing to you.”

October 31, 1886

“We seniors do not have to walk in the line any afternoon and can go on Main St. twice a week without permission.”

November 18, 1886

“Last Saturday, four of us went out and were a little late so we found the side door locked and so had to go down the kitchen way. We heard Mr. Buck’s voice near us but he has not “lectured” us yet, so I think he does not regard it as serious.”

“There goes the line by my window. How thankful I am that I am a senior and do not have to walk in line. I must close as one of the girls is ready for me to go for a walk.”

3. Day Trips

January 27, 1885

“No doubt Mama has told you about our sleigh ride, but I will mention the fact that we went to Hyde Park. Dose not the word “Park” bring happy thoughts to you? I know it does to me.”

“One of the senior’s has invited me to go home with her come Friday night and stay until Monday. I asked Mrs. Buck if I might go, and she was delighted to think I had been invited, as they are such nice people. This young lady lives at Milton and we have to sail on the Hudson to get to her home. I am anticipating a very nice time.”

“Mr. Buck was going to take us coasting this afternoon, but it is raining now, so I suppose we will postpone our ride. It has been beautiful sleighing in Poughkeepsie for some time.”

October 25, 1885

“Mr. Buck took the girls to West Point last Saturday. They all went with the exception of five girls. I being one that remained here. I am sorry I did not go to West Point as those that did go had such a lovely time.”

March 9, 1886

“I went down to Anna’s last Friday and I had the best time I ever had. I will give you a short account of my visit. Friday evening she had a progressive euchre party. There were four prizes given and I received the one for the poorest lady player. Saturday morning Anna, her brother and myself played cards again. In the afternoon, he took us for a long drive. We went to Newburg and drove around Washington’s headquarters. It is on a hill and the view from it is perfectly magnificent. On our way back, we called at Anna’s Grandmothers and had a pleasant call. In the evening, we played cards and had a good time in general.”

January 9, 1887

“One week from Saturday, I think Libby Smith is going to take all the seniors and her roommate out to her home in Millbrook. A distance of fifteen miles there and back. Her mother will have a sweet time preparing the dinner as they are two in the family and when she takes ten from the school it will make quite a party.”

January 23, 1887

“I wrote to you, I think, telling about the picnic I anticipated yesterday. The sleigh was here about nine yesterday, and Mr. Buck kindly tucked us in. There were eight of us, all seniors, excepting Libbie, and her roommate. If you could have seen the long faces in the windows when we drove off, and every one saying “how I wish I were a senior.” “Mother Canfield” bundled me up so I could not breathe. I know I must have weighed two hundred and over. We arrived at her home about noon after a jolly ride out there, and not one bit cold. We had a lovely turkey dinner and the desert was fine. I suppose you think it is simple telling what we had to eat, but it did taste so good, after our long ride of fifteen miles. Libbie has an elegant home, and her people are lovely too. Her baby brother is too sweet for anything. He wanted to know where we got the cat tails on the sleigh –meaning the plumes. We left there about four o’clock and arrived here in the early part of the evening. We sang every hymn (?) imaginable, for instance ‘In the Gleaming,’ ‘My Bonnie lies over the ocean,’ ‘Take back the Heart,’ and all those dear national hymns such as you find in Sunday school books. I do not know when I have enjoyed a day as much as I did yesterday. We all feel the effects today and have terrific headaches.”

4. Etiquette

March 10, 1885

“Will Daboll has a cousin at “Vassar” and he wishes me to see her as he is going to send us a card of introduction. He wants me to make him a visit this summer.” Figure 4).

April 25, 1885

“…yesterday I went out to Vassar to see Will’s Cousin. I had to wait forty minutes before they could find her. You know it is such a large building and so many in it, that it takes a long while to find a person. Miss P____ is a lovely young lady and took me around the grounds. She is coming here soon. One of my teachers went with me as she has a friend out there.”

March 9, 1886

“Mr. Bates wants to exchange photographs, but I guess I will wait a while as I think we are “rushing business” as it is. I am in a handkerchief and out a fan, as he kept my fan to have it fixed.”

December 10. 1886

“Last Wednesday evening, S. Monteser gave a German lecture here. All the Warrings were here, but it is not much satisfaction as we cannot speak to them –only take a look.”

January 9, 1887

“George called last evening, but to my disappointment, “Papa Buck” would not let us see him. He said “if he allowed it in one case, he would have to allow it in another and we know so many town boys that it would never do.” My heart sit still _____ Grace and I mad, Mr. Buck sent George’s cards up to us, but that was a poor apology when he knew the original was down stairs. It must make a fellow feel pretty cheap to come here and call, and then see Mr. Buck instead of the ones they want to, and be greeted by Mr. Buck’s ‘No’.”

5. Food

September 24, 1884

“It is noon now and I am waiting patiently for my dinner. Oh! I am so hungry. By the odor that I smell, I think we are going to have cabbage for dinner.”

December 14, 1884

“We had ice cream for desert today and I ate so much I can scarcely write.”

January 27, 1885

“George brought us a box of candy, and it was astonishing to see how it disappeared when we got upstairs. There were fifty seven girls in our room, and my, oh my how the candy went.”

“Helen says there is no danger at boarding school of lying awake nights from eating apple sauce and bread.”

March 10, 1885

“There was another new teacher came last night and Clara, all our “great Night Feasts” have come to an end, for she rooms next to me.”

“Grace had a box of apples sent her from home and I tell you what, they are just immense (excuse the slang).”

April 25, 1885

“One of the girls (Katie Kreischer) just brought us some cake and I can not write any more with cake in front of me. So must close with love to all Whitson’s.”

May 2, 1885

“One day last week Maggie Humphrey was in our room and we were all so very hungry. Grace went and asked Mrs. Buck if she could have some bread and butter, but instead of eating it in the kitchen, she brought it up, and, as you know we have a good supply of jelly on hand, Well, I tell you what, perhaps you think we did not relish that bread and jelly. When you are eating cake, smoked beef, eggs etc., just think of your poor ‘sister’.”

October 10, 1885

“The girls are waiting for me to help them make candy, so, I will have to bring this to a close.”

December 15, 1885

“Last night, we had oyster pie for supper and at eight o’clock I commenced to feel the effects of it. I had to be excused from study hour and when I reached my room, I caught Sam immediately. Well, perhaps you may have an idea that I was not sick. I do know how they fix oysters up here, but one thing, I do know, they do not agree with my constitution.”

February 4, 1886

“I have to sit at the head of the table. All the girls take turns. In the morning I have to dish the oat meal.”

6. Happenings

September 24, 1884

“Last night Grace and I had a trick played on us. Some of the girls made our bed into a Dutch bed.”

October 25, 1884

“We are very busy getting ready for next Friday evening, of course Mama told you we are going to have a “Mock Hop”. I am to take the part of Cinderella. I do not know how I shall dress yet. We are going to have Mrs. Jarleys wax works, Clara it is to be a grand affair for Prof. is going to have the floor of the gymnasium oiled where we will dance and have our refreshments.

“Did Mama receive a paper I sent with an account of that grand parade in? There is a parade goes by here about every week, in fact, about every night. Last night there was a St. John parade passed here and Clara, do you believe most everyone was drunk. They did not practice what they preached did they.”

“Last night, after nine o’clock, our attention was called to a fire. Prof. thought it was Vassar College. You can imagine it was a very large fire by that. One of the teachers was very much excited as she has a sister attending school there. [According to the Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle of Saturday, October 27, the fire was at the barn of a Mr. Moore, located at 121 Academy St.]. Lyndon Hall came near being burnt a few night since as this same teacher was out in the hall talking to one of the girls and said ‘ I guess I will go in my room for I see the gas is lit (you know we are not allowed to leave the gas burning when we leave the room). She went and found her lace curtains were all on fire, but she soon put it out. The curtain was very much damaged.”

January 25, 1885

“I wonder what Willie would say if he heard you sent me his photograph. By the way, is Will Graham’s picture wrong side out and bottom side up yet in my album?”

March 10, 1885

“Saturday afternoon there was a Missionary from Africa lectured here. She has been there for thirty years and she told us some very interesting things about the natives.”

April 25, 1885

“We have had very warm weather, one day it was 98o in my room and we had the blinds closed all day, and it was as cool in our room as we could make it.”

“Last evening, “Pumpkins” (the one I discussed with so much at Warring’s hop) went by, and he almost through his hat down in the street when he saw me. I bowed too, but could not help laughing.”

May 2, 1885

“There was a circus passed through the city today (it was not Barnum’s). Prof. Buck took all the girls that cared to go out to our singing teacher’s private singing rooms. We had a very good view of the circus, although it was not a very large one.”

“We had our last Musical we will have this year, last Friday. It was the best one we have had yet, but the day was stormy and we did not have a large audience as we expected. I was one of the ushers, and had the honor of ushering in Dr. Elmendorf, and Judge Elting, two noted men on Poughkeepsie. I will send you a program (Figure 5, next page).” [The circus was “American and Japanese Circus, Museum, Aquarium and Menagerie].

February. 4, 1886

“The other day Mr. Buck took us coasting. We had a large bob (sled) and it was great fun riding on that.”

October 25, 1885

“Those that did not go (to West Point) had their pictures taken. We had _____ in one we had on our aprons and _______ caps with brooms and dust pail in one hand. In another set, we were all “spooning” but that racket did not work as we all laughed before the pictures were taken in the sessions.”

January 7, 1886

“Wright, Grace and I went up in the cupula and we were writing our names. Grace and I undertook to write Helen’s name and he would not let us, he said “she was not there, and he did not want his name”. There was just room for three in this room. I do not know where I have had as much fun as I had yesterday. I am afraid Helen will be jealous, but Grace and I tried to take good care of him.”

March 9, 1886

“We are all anticipating a fine time this evening at Bisbee’s reception. I will finish this letter tomorrow and tell you what kind of a time I have tonight. Well, the long looked for “hop” came off last night and I agree with Mr. Bates in saying I had a heavenly time. I wish you could see my programme. It Mr. Bates, H. Bates, Mr. Bates, and so forth. I was with all the time excepting one set. We had to come ten minutes to twelve. I got very well acquainted with Harry No. 2 (I mean Bates).”

April 3, 1886

“…what a happy and lovely birthday I had. I never had so many tricks played on me before. …when I was sixteen. I feel very aged now that I have reached the age of seventeen.”

October 31, 1886

“Our ‘Mock hop’ (Figure 6), was a complete success. The gymnasium was trimmed beautifully, and all the costumes were very good. Grace was a Bisbee, and the suit was becoming of her, so much as sometimes I almost believed she was a real Bisbee. Your dress was just the thing, as no other girl had one like it.

There were fifty four at the hop, so you may imagine what a jolly time we had.”

November 18, 1886

“Tomorrow morning, we are to have our first senior reception, as one of the day seniors. We received our invitations this morning, and Mr. Buck kindly consented to our going. Probably we will wear morning dresses, but I would give “two cents” if my new dress was finished.”

“Last evening, all the music pupils went out to Vassar to a Musical entertainment, and the rest of us went to a lecture in the Baptist church. It was “An Evenings Ramble through Castles, Palaces, Cathedrals and Landscapes of the Old World” illustrated with stereopticon views. It was well worth going to see, as it was an education in itself. Rev. Mac Arthur was a fine speaker, and the views were wonderfully brought out on the canvas. The lights were all turned out in the church and we sat next to the Bisbees, but it was too dark to see their charming faces very well.” [The Baptist Church was located two blocks West on Mill Street at the SE corner of New Market. It is now occupied by Changepoint Church].

December 10, 1886

“George, Harpee and myself were invited out last evening. We had a jolly good time and perhaps you would be interested to know something about our morning’s enjoyment. Miss Trowbridge invited two of the Bisbees in and a friend, so there were an even number, eight of us. I must tell you what an elegant dinner we had. First course, turkey, turnups, two kinds of potatos, onions, celery and cranberries. Second course, mince pie. Third course, two kinds of cream. Fourth course nuts and fruit. After dinner, we played cards, and George Trowbridge and I cheated worse than Harry and I, if you can imagine such a thing. After all our cheating, we were not successful. Mr. and Mrs. Buck warned us we must be back at nine o’clock and for fear we would forget it, Mr. Buck saw us to the door and said “Now don’t forget the time.” Well we did not forget the time, but the boys would not start with us, so of course we were a little late. Each one of us had an escort home, but unbeknownst to our worthy Principal, in fact if he had been aware that “brass buttons and blue coats” were to grace the evening, I think he would have been slower to let us go.”

7. Letters and misc.

September 24, 1884

“They have changed the name of the school to Lyndon Hall. I like it much better don’t you? Be sure and direct my letters after this to Lyndon Hall.”

December 14, 1884

“You say you do not admire sealing wax on a letter. Well, it is all the style up here and all the girls have one, so I must have one too.”

January 27, 1885

“I undertook to write a letter on this paper, but what my pen caught and made spatter work. I hope you will excuse it, and consider every blot a kiss.” [The letters were written on five different varieties of paper that ranged from thin graph paper to a heavier, hard variety that did not take ink easily].

March 10, 1885

“George Bell was up to Pokeepsie not long ago, and he intended to call and see Grace and I, but when he got in the city he forgot the name of the school. I am awful sorry.”

April 25, 1885

“...the day Grace and I came up here, when we went in the Sing Sing depot who should be in there but George Bell, he went up as far as Fishkill with us. Grace and I could not get seats together and George talked to me all the way up there. We invited him to call on us as he would spend that night in Poughkeepsie, so at eight o’clock he came and we got out of study hour. Before he came, Grace and I went down and told Mrs. Buck we were going to have a call that evening, and it would be all right as Mr. Bayles left us in George’s care, well he did, and we did not tell a story. George stayed one hour and a quarter, and the girls are only allowed to have a call from a gentleman one half hour, but Mrs. Buck told him we were such vary good girls that she would consent for me to have a call longer than other girls but could not allow him to stay any longer as the bell had rung for us to be in our rooms, when the bell rang George asked us what it was, but we said it wasn’t anything but a bell, and they rang every half hour. How the poor fellow blushed when she told him to go. I told him if he would call on me when I was home, he would not get sent away. The next morning he paraded by the school, and Grace and I were in our window. Grace had quite a conversation out of the window with him, which is strictly forbidden to attract attention from the windows”

“Mrs. Buck asked Grace and I if we had ever been introduced to Kathie’s brother, and we owned up to it and said “yes”. I think I told you how Kate introduced us out on the street. He attends school at Bisby’s.” (sic.)

“I hope this letter does not get opened in the Witsone (Whitson) post office and Mr. Stirling read it.” [The Whitson Post Office was established in March, 1882, and closed in July, 1897. Service was taken over by Briarcliff Manor, which is just south of Sing Sing].

May 2, 1885

“One of the girls was taken sick last January and went home the other day. She came back and now she wears a diamond ring. Of course you know what that means.”

October 3, 1885

“Do not forget to tell Mama that I want one of her pictures.”

October 25, 1885

“The girls are all playing Hide and Seek and instead of my playing this childish game, I will devote my time to something higher – writing to you.”

“Mrs. Buck invited us in her private parlor to sing “College Lounge” and then we went down to the P. O. after the mail.” [At this time, the Post Office (Figure 7) was located in the City Hall on Main Street. In 1886, a new Post Office/Government building would open on Market Street at the corner of Union Street].

November 18, 1886

“I see Harry Bates most every day. It is a wonder he don’t stop hinting and come right out and ask to come down to Witson’s next week.”

December 10, 1886

“Grace and I had our pictures taken together. They are very good of Grace, but miserable of me. Good reason why I am not good looking in the first place, and therefore cannot take a good picture.”

“I bought a box of paper for Will’s Christmas and I hope it will suit you, price $1.50.”

January 9, 1887

“Josie Tuthill gave Grace and I each a beautiful shell for our Christmas. How appropriate at least for Grace – “Shelly.”

“One of my school mates who was here the final year I was, was married the other day. She makes the fourth one who has been married. Mrs. Buck read the account to us the other evening at tea, and ____ before we said “yes” to take up consideration that the account of the wedding would have to be read before the girls.”

8. Major Events

May 2, 1885

“One of the senior’s has invited me to go home with her come Friday night and stay until Monday. I asked Mrs. Buck if I might go, and she was delighted to think I had been invited, as they are such nice people. This young lady lives at Milton and we have to sail on the Hudson to get to her home. I am anticipating a very nice time. (Sophie D. Crook, class on 1885) Mrs. Buck said to tell Mamma I was going.”

9. On the Train

January 7, 1886

“I suppose Mama told you that Wright got left on the 9:02 but he did not on the 12:02. Grace and I came along but in Wilber’s care. He was very lively and kept us laughing all the way to Po’keepsie. When we got off the train Wilber said there was a girl looking at us as thou she knew us, and sure enough, it was Minnie Peck came on the same train and we did not know it. We introduced Wilber and asked him if he did not like the name Minnie. Wilber could only be with us ten minutes after we got to Po’keepsie, so when the train steamed off, Wilber had to go too.” [The 42-mile ride took 90 minutes from Sing Sing to Poughkeepsie (Figure 8), on the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad. Annie made many trips].

10. Out and About in Poughkeepsie

September 24, 1884

“Last Saturday Grace and I took a walk to Eastman’s Park; it is just lovely down there (Figure 9). Every Saturday the girls are allowed out for one hour without teachers. You can imagine how nice it seemed not to have a teacher watching.”

“About every time I have walked in the line it has been my luck to walk with a teacher.”

October 25, 1884

“…one of the teachers took the school down to Vassar Institute, (Figure 10) – not Vassar College, and one of the prettiest things that I saw in the Museum was two pickled babies. Just imagine they were two months old and not larger than a mouse. Please do not show this letter to anyone. I suppose I ought not to write such things in letters.”

March 10, 1885

“Saturday morning, I went to the skating rink, but not to skate. I saw a great many of the P.M.I. (Poughkeepsie Military Institute) boys that were here to hope, and the Major bowed to me. I think he is awful conceited for when he danced with me at the hop, he cut Mr. Warring on my program.”

January 7, 1886

“Minnie, Grace and I put for Smith’s, (Figure 11 next page), as we thought it would be our last chance in some time. We insisted on getting some candy. (After getting off the train and returning to the school.)” [Smith Brothers Restaurant was located on Market Street across from the Court House. The restaurant was most noted for their cough drops].

January 7, 1886

“Grace and I thought we were never going to see Wright again, but just as we were in the midst of putting our room in order, the servant came up and informed us that Mr. (Wright) Barnum was downstairs. We went down and Wright asked us to go to Vassar College. “Me and My Wife” did not know what to do. We were afraid Mr. Buck would not let us go, but we asked him and upon my word, he said we could go. This was about two o’clock when we started and did not get back here until six. We had a splendid time out there. When we took the elevator to go up on the third floor at Vassar, there were ever so many white skirts and etc. went up with us. Poor Wright, he wanted to laugh, but did not dare to. Wright said he wished we three could stay out there until June. He even went so far as to try and persuade Grace and I to go to Ithaca with him. He came back to the school with us and we invited Mr. Buck in and he took Wright around this wonderful city. I think it was very kind of Mr. Buck. Wright called in the evening and brought us a lot of candy.”

March 9, 1886

“One day last week, Fraulein invited me to go to Smith’s. I was going out that afternoon as we went in company. While we were eating our refreshments, there were six Bisbee’s came in the restaurant. I know two them, but it did not do any good as they were not the right one.”

[Bisbee’s refers to students at the Riverview (Military) Academy, Otis Bisbee –Principal.]

June 1, 1886

“I went for a walk with Fraulein this afternoon and we landed at Smith’s. We also visited there yesterday. Smith’s is quite a resort now, these warm days. Po’keepsie is to be lighted with electric lights this morning. The gas is to be turned off in the streets. You will not know the city, as it is changed quite a little since you were up here.”

October 31, 1886

“Once, when Harry passed me if asked me if I had been up to the new bridge lately (Figure 12, next page). I never saw so many Bisbees out, as there were yesterday, the streets were just blue with them.” [The bridge reference is for the railroad bridge, which was under construction, across the Hudson. It opened in 1888 and is now the Walkway Over the Hudson.]

January 9, 1887

“We went coasting yesterday down to Springside [Residence of the late Matthew Vassar at the foot of Academy St. Hill.] and had a jolly time even if it was “awfully” cold. Mr. Buck had two bobs and that meant we could go down every time. For a wonder, I did not get very cold as I was bundled up so much. We had a lovely time Friday evening at the Opera House. The concert was given by the Boston Star Company, and indeed was very entertaining. I believe you have heard Miss Hilda Brown read, and you know what a fine elocutionist she is.”

January 23, 1887

“Effie Porteous took Grace, Sadie Loomis and myself for a sleigh ride. We were out to the Asylum, (Figure 13), my future home if I do not pass my examinations and found out we had but a very few minutes to get back to the school before study hour. We were late, and had to make an open confession to Mr. Buck. He was “sweet as a pickle, I mean as sugar, and forgave us, not even taking time to scold us.” [The Asylum referenced is the Hudson River State Hospital, which opened in 1871.]

11. Personal

January 28, 1885

“No doubt you have heard through Helen that I have been quite sick as I wrote to her and told her that I have had(seen) the Dr. every day since Saturday. He says I have the jaundice, well whatever it is I know I am very sick if you could only see me. I am just as yellow as an orange. I am very weak and the least little thing makes me so nervous, and just think what I did yesterday. I tried to have my examination in bed, it was a very hard examination and in the condition I was in, it just upset me. I cried just as hard as I possibly could, and I could not get my breath just then the Dr. came in, he is very comical and tried to make me laugh, but there was no laugh in me. My teachers came in and took the papers away from me, and said I could have another when I got well. If I could only sit up for a few hours.”

“There are three or four girls sick in bed and of course you have to wait your chance for anything you want.”

March 10, 1885

“Since I have been here I have been unwell every two weeks and I have left it so long that I have ruined my health to a certain degree. Yesterday, I was in terrible agony, and had to go to bed and get medicine from the doctor. He says I must not take any exercise when I am so, as going up and down stairs is very injurious. I told Mrs. Buck and she has excused me from walking with the line. I am to walk for about five minutes in the yard. There are two of the girls in the same boat with me.”

April 25, 1885

“I have written (Mama) several times and asked her to send me a Cambric dress. I wanted it so I could take it to the dress maker’s yesterday, but she has not replied to any of my letters. I cannot write to her again until I hear where she is for I do not know where to address her letters. All the girls are getting new dresses, and, I have not had a new cambric in two years.”

October 10, 1885

“I am so happy to think I can come home next Friday, but please tell Mama she will have to write an excuse to Mrs. Buck. She can write one and enclose it in my letter. I thought I mentioned it to her.”

“They are very strict this year and we have to be very careful or we will get a mark, so if she wants me to come down, she will have to send a note to Mrs. Buck in my letter. I am just as homesick as I can be.”

March 9, 1886

“Grace went home last Friday and has not returned yet. No doubt you have seen her several times and if you see her again, just send her by express on the next train for I am very lonesome without my dear “wife”. I received a letter from George saying he was going to call last evening, but he did not put in his appearances , no doubt he will call this evening, but if he does, he will not see this “chicken” as I expect to be in Mr. Bate’s company [at] the time George will call.”

“George called last evening, as I expected, but alas! I did not have the pleasure of casting my green eyes on his beautiful countenance as I was in Harry’s company at the time he called.”

“As I was writing, Libbie came in and announced Mr. Bell was in the parlor, (Figure 14) and would like to see me. So I have seen the dear fellow after all. He looked very well. I guess he is enjoying good health.”

October 31, 1886

“Three of us had our pictures taken yesterday. I would send you one, but I only had one myself. We gave the extra one to Grace.”

12. The School

September 24, 1884

“I am just dead in love with the school, and all the teachers and scholars.”

October 2, 1884

“How do you like the name of the school? I think it is very pretty and so suitable too for there are so many halls in this building.”

“Last night in study hour, we all were very much frightened by some of the ceiling falling down in the schoolroom.” (Figure 15).

March 10, 1885

“Last Sunday night, one of the girl’s beds broke down, so she came around and slept with Grace and I. Her roommate has been mad at her ever since, and they have had quite a time. I have slept three a bed up here, and I have come to the conclusion I do not like it very well.”

September 21, 1886

“There are only twelve in the class of ’87. I expected more, but illness and one thing and another has prevented them from returning. The school is very large, especially the boarding department. There are three girls coming today, and then, every room in the house will be filled. I think the whole school must number about two hundred.”

13. Worship

March 10, 1885

“As of course you know, I have never united with the church, but Clara, I feel that I have had a change of heart and I think that I am a Christian.”

“Last Sunday evening I thought it was my duty to make a prayer in prayer’s meeting. I was afraid that I could not without making a mistake, but I prayed for strength to do it, and somehow the words came right to me today. When I had nearly finished, my voice faltered, but I went through it all right. I have requested to lead the meeting some time, a week from Sunday. I believe, but I do not know whether I could as there is a great responsibility in selecting the verses.”

October 25, 1885

“I should have to have you come and then you will be here to see Annie Dall transfigured into a “Sister of Charity.” Mr. Buck is going to hear Moody and Sanky who are to be in Poughkeepsie all this week. Last evening we heard Mr. Bliss. He is associated with Moody and Sanky and is an evangelist preach(er).”

December 15, 1885

“Clara, you do not know how happy I was last Sunday evening as I walked down into the water. I was a little timid at first but the happy thought that I was following Christ in his own overcome the timidity. My dear you do not know how happy I would be if you would only take this step. I think I have heard you say you have met with a change of heart and, oh, if you would come out and openly declare for Christ, I know you would be much happier. I thought when I saw so many at the church, I never could arise and give my experience but I know Jesus was with me and give me grace to do it and Clara, he will be with you too, if you only will do the same for him. You may think you can be just as good a Christian without joining the church, but has given us such a few laws that I think we ought to be willing to obey this one important command.”

April 3, 1886

“I went to a supper in the Baptist church and I never had such a nice time in the church before. I was introduced to several young men and one of these walked home with me. When we were ready to start, he said he wanted to introduce his mother to me so I had the pleasure of meeting “Mrs.” He asked me to go for a ride, but I am afraid that would not be in accordance with the rules of Lyndon Hall. I can go to the Baptist church tomorrow morning as it is communion Sunday.”

“I am going to join Mr. Bucks’ Sunday school class. Grace and I have been promoted from the other one.”

Lyndon Hall remained in operation until 1909 when the Bucks retired after 25 years in operation. Sometime thereafter, the building became the Henrick Hudson Hotel, (Figure 16).

They Were Passing the Time of Day: Railroad Laborers in Dutchess County

by John Desmond

When Henry David Thoreau lived at Walden Pond just outside Concord, Massachusetts, the tracks of the Fitchburg Railroad lay steps from his cabin. Thoreau occasionally rode a train from Concord into Cambridge to visit Harvard University, and he frequently walked the tracks into Concord to run errands. He became well-acquainted with the Fitchburg Railroad and especially with those who constructed and maintained it. In Walden, he acknowledges and compliments them:

We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us. Did you ever think what those sleepers are that underlie the railroad? Each one is a man, an Irishman, or a Yankee man. The rails are laid on them, and they are covered with sand, and the cars run smoothly over them. They are sound sleepers, I assure you. And every few years a new lot is laid down and run over; so that, if some have the pleasure of riding on a rail, others have the misfortune to be ridden upon.[1]

Thoreau’s playful metaphor comparing the laborers who built and maintained the railroad to the “sleepers,” that is the wooden ties on which the iron, and later steel, rails rested and depended upon for stability, paradoxically suggests his more serious theme that the railroad exploited these laborers. His assertion is correct: these Yankee, Irish, and, later, Italian men were manipulated, taken advantage of, and ill-used by the railroads that employed them. Similar exploitation occurred here in Dutchess County in the mid-Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries.

In his work Dutchess County Railroads, William Mc Dermott identifies the sort of jobs the railroad offered in Dutchess County in the Nineteenth Century:

While most of the jobs were laboring jobs, especially during the construction phase, freight agents, conductors, and station agents were among the “better” jobs. […] Laborers tended to be young, single men who often followed the laying down of the rails as it progressed north to Albany.[2 ]

To augment this view, in his narrative History of the New York and Harlem Railroad, E. Clarence Hyatt mentions “an interesting article headed ‘Reminiscences of Other Days’ and signed ‘A Veteran’ [that] was published in a newspaper at Chatham in 1888.” The “Reminiscences” article describes the sleeping conditions of laborers constructing the track of the New York and Harlem Railroad in 1848-49:

The inhabitants of the primitive and rural section between Dover Plains and Chatham were astonished to see many boarding houses (shanties) built of hemlock wood put up along the line of road, indicated by little, square, numbered stakes driven into the ground. These shanties accommodated from 25 to 50 Irish laborers, who used to work for 75 cents a day and their board. They used to sleep in bunks around the side of the room, and sometimes the shanty had a floor, but oftener the carpet was mother earth.[3]

Labor quarrels occurred at regular intervals. Dieter Friedrichsen chronicles one that arose while the Poughkeepsie and Eastern Railroad was being built from Poughkeepsie to Pleasant Valley in 1869:

In July 1869, the progress of the work was seriously interrupted. Walter Welch, subcontractor, financial comptroller, and [Poughkeepsie resident] swindled the men in his employ and various persons in the city and country out of more than $20,000.00 ($410,948.73 in 2021) and then disappeared. Not receiving their pay, the Irish workers threatened to destroy the grading and stonework they had done near Pleasant Valley. They cooled down before initiating their threat when it became known that Col. Smithfield of Pine

Plains, one of Welch’s associates, also disappeared. Despite Sheriff Kenworthy’s best efforts, the laborers’ revolt went into high gear and one of them, Jack McDonald, seized a horse and wagon, belonging to Welch, and refused to give it up. Company D of the 21st Regiment, under the command of Capt. William Haubennestel, was called in to Poughkeepsie to quell the riot and restore order. The property was recovered, and McDonald and others were arrested. It was never established whether the payroll was ever recovered.[4]

The offence appears less to be the act of swindling and more the act of interrupting the track work and snatching a horse and wagon. The wronged and thus angry laborers were arrested; the contractors and the payroll may have disappeared unhindered. In The Great Railroad Revolution, Christian Wolmar reports that “[t]he withdrawal of labor was a powerful weapon, and threats to strike were seen almost a declaration of war. Strikes represented a real threat for companies with enormous fixed assets on which they needed to obtain a return in order to satisfy shareholders.”[5]

Were the Poughkeepsie and Eastern Railroad not built, the money invested in it by the residents of Poughkeepsie, as well as the communities between Poughkeepsie and Pleasant Valley, would not result in a profit and would be lost. Thus, the strike had to be stifled, if not by the local police, then by the army.

Some railroad laborers chose not to follow “the laying down of the rails” but to settle down in communities near the tracks. Despite being manipulated, taken advantage of, and even illused by the railroads that employed them, some railroad laborers continued to work for the railroads in order to earn an income that would enable them to settle down, develop communities, and start families. McDermott points out that “[t]hose who chose to settle along the railroad route either continued as railroad laborers or picked up laboring jobs in iron mines or rock quarries or became farm laborers [or worked in] milk factories or creameries.”[6]

In Niwot Colorado: Birth of a Railroad Town, Anne Quinby Dyni describes the beginning of a settlement influenced by a railroad: “[f]ew records remain of those early buildings. [H]istoric photographs reveal stores and a few residences tucked among the trees. […] The stores were wooden or brick. […] [O]nly horse-drawn wagons and buggies travelled the roads[…].”[7]

Hopewell Junction is an example of a railroad settlement developed in the mid-1870s. The upper floors of the several shops along Railroad Avenue offered lodging for the single men working on the railroad. When single men married and started families, houses were built on the newly constructed streets surrounding the Hopewell Junction Depot. The depot itself turned out to be a meeting hall for the recent residents to discuss their newly created community. William N. Anthony published and edited The Hopewell Weekly News from January 5, 1899, to December 13, 1900. During the publication’s time, the Central New England extended its facilities at Hopewell Junction. Anthony described the impact the railroad laborers had on the hamlet in the January 5, 1900, edition of The Hopewell Weekly:

The men and horses necessary for the carrying on of the work have been boarded on the grounds and by people in and out of the village, this being a source of revenue that comes acceptable in the winter season. […] The construction of this big railroad yard naturally makes lively times in Hopewell Junction, and our merchants and others derive their share of the results of the improvement. The handling of so many cars here and the making up of trains when the yard is in full working order must necessarily make Hopewell Junction a more important railroad point than heretofore. All this requires more help, and probably a number of railroad men and their families may locate here.

Shortly after this passage, in the January 26, 1900, edition, Anthony encourages the laborers to make Hopewell Junction their home as well as their work place:

It is reported that a number of houses are to be built in Hopewell Junction in the Spring (sic). Undoubtedly this report is true. That our village needs more dwellings and business places is an undeniable fact, and the sooner the work is commenced the better it will be. There is a healthy outlook for the growth of the village, and our citizens who have land and means will no doubt find it a good investment to build, at least a few houses. Everyone should take an interest in the general improvement. Make it a pleasant and healthful place of residence. [8]

[1] Thoreau, Henry. Walden. Ed. Jeffrey S. Cramer. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2004, 90.

[2] Mc Dermott, William P. Dutchess County Railroads. Clinton, New York: Town of Clinton Historical Society, 1996, 14.

[3] Hyatt, E. Clarence. History of the New York and Harlem Railroad. N.p. n.p. 1898. Web. 9 Nov. 2020, 17.

[4] Friedrichsen, Dieter. “The History of the Poughkeepsie and Eastern Railroad 1832-1937. Salt Point: n.p., 2015, 5.

[5] Wolman, Christian. The Great Railroad Revolution. 2012. New York: Public Affairs, 2013, 231.

[6] Mc Dermott . Dutchess County Railroads, 14-15.

[7] Dyni, Anne Quinby. Niwot Colorado: Birth of a Railroad Town. Charleston, S.C.: The History Press. 2011, 39-40.

[8] Anthony, William N. Hopewell Weekly News, The. 5 Jan.-25 May 1899.Hopewell Junction, N.Y. 1899-1900.

Why Averasboro?

by Michael Boden, Ph.D.

Admittedly, when one thinks of the Civil War, Averasboro is not the first battle that comes to mind. The encounter was relatively inconclusive, fought as a preliminary episode to the much more significant and well-known Battle of Bentonville, and involved only portions of the theater’s major armies. But, for the 450 men of the 150th New York, the “Dutchess County Regiment,” under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Alfred B. Smith,[1] the fight was of tremendous significance. After the battle, veterans would write that Averasboro was “the longest, and in some respects, the hardest engagement our regiment was ever in.”[2] Coming from old hands of Gettysburg and the Atlanta Campaign, this expression possesses strong meaning. The Regimental history emphasized that “in history, it will not go down as a very important one [battle], but it was a very important one to Sherman’s Army.”[3] Given these sentiments expressed by the county’s participants, as well as the battlefield’s ease of access, Averasboro deserves study and attention.

Strategic and Operational Situation

By the time Sherman’s army rolled out of Savannah in January, 1865, following the December, 1864, completion of the March to the Sea, the general sentiment among not just the men of the 150th, but of the entire Army, was cautiously optimistic. In a postwar manuscript, Jeremiah Collins of Company G wrote that “The Army as a whole felt that the close of the war was near, but they feared if Lee slipped away from Richmond and joined hands with Johnston that it would make it hard for us.”[4] Nevertheless, confidence was high; Sherman’s army could make a very compelling case that it was the “best” in the war at this time, the soldiers were experienced, and they were used to winning.

The Southern forces opposing Sherman, on the other hand, were far from assured by this point in the war. When Confederate General Joseph Johnston took command of the hodgepodge of military forces arrayed in the Carolinas on 22 February, he knew that chances of a military outcome favorable to the Confederacy were slim, and that his best hope was prolonging the conflict enough to achieve “fair terms of peace.” There were some in the Confederacy that spoke of grandiose schemes of uniting Johnston and Lee to strike a devastating blow against Sherman and then Grant, but Johnston realized these views were not based on military reality.[5]

The campaign that ensued was plagued by very poor weather from the outset. Sherman’s departure from Savannah, initially scheduled for 1 January, was not completed until the first few days of February due to some of the worst flooding the region had ever seen. His Army was divided into two wings, the Left, under Major General Henry W. Slocum, consisting of the XX and XIV Army Corps, and the Right, under Major General Oliver O. Howard, with the XV and XVII Corps. The 150th was assigned to Colonel William Hawley’s Second Brigade of Brigadier General Nathaniel J. Jackson’s First Division, in Major General Alpheus S. Williams’ XX Corps.

Sherman’s plan of advance was fairly straightforward: he was going to march through the Carolinas, making those states (particularly South Carolina, the point of origin for the Confederacy in the minds of Federal soldiers) pay the same price as did Georgia south of Atlanta in 1864. He would arrive in Virginia to assist Grant in destroying Lee’s Army around Petersburg and end the war. Central North Carolina was to play a key role in this plan, for at some point he was to join forces with approximately 30,000 men under General John Schofield, veterans of recent battles in Tennessee and Fort Fisher. After the problematic start, by February 17th, Sherman had taken Columbia, South Carolina, and then, less than a month later, on March 11th, the Federal Army had marched into North Carolina and occupied Fayetteville, North Carolina.[6]

At the most, Johnson could only bring together approximately 30,000 soldiers to contest a force over twice this size. These troops, possessing a wide range of experience and quality, came from four distinct sources. First, there were the remnants of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, the force that had been the primary southern military organization in the Western theater since the beginning of the war. In late 1864, the Army had been shattered at the Battles of Franklin and Nashville, and only pieces of that force, commanded by Lieutenant General A.P. Stewart, perhaps 5,000 men total, were arriving in North Carolina to assist Johnson. Lieutenant General William Hardee brought garrison and coastal troops from Florida, Georgia and South Carolina numbering about 6,500 by March, and General Braxton Bragg brough another 5,000 from the North Carolina coast. While the former organizations were primarily untested, many of Bragg’s troops were experienced. Finally, the element that was perhaps the most effective and cohesive of Johnston’s troops was the Confederate cavalry, approximately 6-8,000 men under the talented and experienced co-leadership of Generals Joseph Wheeler and Wade Hampton.[7]

The Road to Averasboro

As Sherman arrived in Fayetteville, he allowed a brief pause in the march north, primarily so that he could catch his bearings and gain a better understanding of the situation. Sherman’s plan beyond Fayetteville was consistent with the campaign to date. The army’s next objective was the city of Goldsboro, 60 miles to the northeast, where Sherman would link up with Schofield, refit and march to Richmond. To confuse Johnson about his intentions, Slocum was to take the Left Wing of the Army and feint toward Raleigh before shifting directions toward Goldsboro. During the brief respite in Fayetteville, the experience of the

150th was indicative of that of the entire Army. The regiment arrived at about 9 in the evening on the 11th and was pleasantly surprised to receive mail, the first the men had received since leaving Savannah in January. They were able to rest and recuperate on the 12th before leaving the city on the 13th. The 14th, again, was spent in rest while the regiment waited for the rest of the Federal Army to assemble.[8]

Johnston’s necessary response was conceptually simple yet multi-faceted: he needed to buy time to discover Sherman’s direction and objectives, as there were multiple realistic courses of action open to the Federals. The first step was to consolidate the Confederate forces he had available around the town of Smithfield, approximately half-way between Raleigh and Goldsboro. Hardee was the main effort in Johnston’s endeavor, receiving the mission of screening the consolidation of the rest of the army. Johnston specifically wrote to Hardee that “it is very important…that your movements conform to Sherman’s when he leaves Fayetteville….It is important that you keep as near the [Cape Fear] River as you can without compromising yourself until Sherman’s course is developed.”[9] Hardee, in effect, had four components to his mission: buy time for concentration of Johnston’s army; determine the direction of Sherman’s advance; determine the strength of Sherman’s army; and, (as a supplementary mission) give his inexperienced troops an opportunity to demonstrate their military abilities.[10]

In order to achieve these objectives, Hardee chose to occupy a position at a point that blocked the Raleigh-Goldsboro Road about 5-6 miles south of the small town of Averasboro, where the Care Fear and Black Rivers were only a few miles apart, protecting his flanks. Occupying this position would force Sherman to attack.[11]

The Battle of Averasboro, 15-16 March

March 15th (the Spring Solstice) dawned as far too many of the days of the campaign had, with miserable weather, wind, rain and colder-than-average temperatures. Hardee spent most of the day posting his battle lines. He arrayed his 6,000 men in a three-line defense in depth, from south to north, each separated by 600-700 yards. The first and second lines, under the command of Brigadier General William Taliaferro (pronounced “Tolliver”), contained his more inexperienced troops, mostly garrison troops from the South Carolina and Georgia coast. His final line was under the command of Major General Lafayette McLaws, which contained a number of raw recruits, but also the South Carolina

Brigade of Brigadier General John D. Kennedy, which had spent most of the war fighting in the Army of Northern Virginia with an exceptional combat record.[12]

The Federal forces marching toward Averasboro were part of Slocum’s Wing, and were enacting the “feint toward Raleigh” aspect of Sherman’s order. In the forefront of Slocum’s march north was Jackson’s division of the XX Corps, to which the 150th NY belonged. Screening them were elements of the Federal Cavalry under Major General Judson Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick’s Cavalry, which had come out second best to Wheeler and Hampton on more than one occasion so far in the campaign, came to the first of Hardee’s lines about 3 in the afternoon, but faced heavy resistance and were unable to advance any further. After a few hours of heavy skirmishing, Taliaferro ordered the Confederate first line forward to drive the Federal Cavalry back. While Kilpatrick’s forces were able to dig in and hold their own, concern that a determined Confederate push could collapse his line caused him to ask for infantry support at 7:30 p.m. Slocum responded by sending Hawley’s Brigade, with the 150th, to support the cavalry. That force arrived about midnight and dug in to the rear of the cavalry, and sporadic skirmishing continued through the night.[13]

After a cold, wet and miserable night, the morning of the 16th saw no change in weather conditions. Slocum opened the engagement with the Confederate first line shortly after dawn, about 6. The initial attacks, though, were not pressed with vigor; Slocum focused on adjusting his lines, bringing up artillery and additional infantry forces in preparation for a decisive blow. By 10:30, he had arrayed about 12,000 men against the perhaps 1,000 Confederates in Hardee’s first line, and the ensuing assault, aided by a successful flanking maneuver around the Confederate right (Western) flank, caused Hardee’s troops to fall back to the second line. The withdrawal, given the conditions of the fight, was conducted with little panic, the Confederates regrouping successfully.[14]

The second phase of the battle began almost immediately, with Federal Cavalry attempting to flank the second line from the East. While the attempt was unsuccessful, it demonstrated to Taliaferro, commanding this line, that his overall position was in jeopardy. He therefore evacuated the second line to the final Confederate line, under McLaws, about 1 in the afternoon. This third line was sited on a very strong position, with most of Hardee’s forces well-entrenched and both flanks securely anchored, augmented by Wheeler’s cavalry. By mid-afternoon, Slocum had an advantage of approximately 26,000 men against Hardee’s 8,000, but was unable to overcome the Confederate positions. Sherman and XX Corps leadership received some criticism for their lack of aggressiveness in assaulting this final line; many of the participants felt that a more rapid attack on the Confederate position might have carried the day in a more emphatic victory. The Federals did, though, slowly and methodically develop their attack formation prior to the final advance, which was halted McLaws’ troops around 4:30 p.m.[15] The Wing Commander maintained steady pressure on the Confederate line as he brought up his other Corps, the XIV. He would not launch his final attack until that unit was in place.[16]

Map 2. The Battle of Averasboro, 16 March, 1865, 6 a.m. to 1 p.m., the fight for the first two Confederate lines. Map courtesy of the American Battlefield Trust (www.battlefields. org). The 150th NY occupied the area to the immediate north of the crossroads on the map identified by “Ward.” From there, the regiment advance to it’s position in Hawley’s Brigade as depicted on the map by 10:30 a.m., and then advanced to the North until 1 p.m.

By darkness, though, elements conspired against Slocum’s plan, as the rain, which had been sporadic, if heavy at times, during the day, resumed a consistent downpour, and further advance was not possible. Hardee recognized that his forces would be unable to resist an assault on this position on the following morning, and ordered a withdrawal at 8 p.m. By 4 a.m. on the 17th, the Confederates were gone, and Slocum occupied the final Confederate line.[17]

Map 3. The Battle of Averasboro, 16 March, 1865, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., the final Federal advance to the third Confederate line. Map courtesy of the American Battlefield Trust (www.battlefields. org). The 150th NY is located to the right rear of Hawley’s Brigade, and advanced to the point show on the map, roughly where 1LT Sleight was mortally wounded, from South to North between 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Both commanders claimed victory after the battle. Total casualties were relatively even, with the Confederates losing roughly 500 men (mostly from the first line), while Slocum’s losses totaled 682, of which 533 were wounded. Hardee was, in general, pleased with the performance of his force. Had had gained substantial clarity on Sherman’s force distribution, even if he was unable to clearly determine which direction Sherman was going. More importantly, perhaps, his inexperienced troops had, while vastly outnumbered, held up Sherman’s veterans by a full day, giving Johnston valuable time to consolidate the rest of his army. And, in the fighting itself, his novice troops performed well, providing a boost of morale and confidence going into the trying days ahead. For Sherman, the battle did not influence his overall plans in any substantial way. He still held key advantages over Johnston, and nothing that happened at the battle changed that dynamic. He now had about 500 wounded soldiers to care for (which challenged his logistical systems), and he was unable to dedicate his cavalry to destroying some of the North Carolina railroads in use by the Confederates, but other than being delayed by a day, there was no effect to his overall plan.[18]

The two armies, each in their entirety this time, would meet a few days later at the largest Civil War battle in North Carolina, Bentonville, from the 19th to the 21st, where Sherman would, after some touch-and-go moments on the first day, decisively defeat Johnston and pave the way for further Federal advance, connection to Schofield and, in little more than a month, the surrender of Johnston’s army.

The 150th New York at Averasboro

The 150th New York had been involved in a number of tough battles throughout the war, starting with the Regiment’s baptism of fire at Gettysburg, through the Chattanooga Campaign, and then the campaign for Atlanta and Sherman’s March to the Sea. But Averasboro was a defining experience. The action started for the Regiment at the outset of the fighting, on the evening of the 15th, and the men were actively engaged for over 24 hours, only really “relaxing” when the Confederate trenches were discovered empty on the morning of the 17th.[19]

The experience truly started for the 150th on the evening of the 15th, after a wretched day of marching north from Fayetteville in the pouring rain. By 2 in the afternoon, the Regiment, among the lead infantry elements of Slocum’s Wing, camped at the Old Bluff Church, amidst the tombstones, and tried to create a camp and warm some food, mostly unsuccessfully. At 8 p.m., though, just as the troops were settling down for the evening, Kilpatrick’s call for support was received, and the 150th, along with the rest of Hawley’s Brigade, marched four miles north, arriving in their support positions about midnight. Colonel Smith described the march in his diary by writing that his regiment “marched 4 miles over the most desperate bad roads. Got into camp at 12 midnight. Covered with mud and water, knees up. Rain pouring down.”[20]

Perhaps more eloquent were the words of Private Peter W. Funk, from Company F, who wrote:

“On March 15, 1865, we had marched through the rain most of the day and went into camp at night tired and wet to the hide. We put up our tents and had our fire blazing [at the Old Bluff Church] and began to think ourselves quite comfortable when the shrill notes of our Brigade and Division bugles broke the stillness of the camp and the cry of ‘the 150th fall in’ brough tents down quicker than they went in. We marched eight miles through the mud that was almost impassable, being up to our bodies in many places, and came up to General Kilpatrick’s line of cavalry breastworks and we learned that they had fought off the rebels all day and were scarcely able to hold their own and we had been sent to reinforce them.”[21]

Even Slocum himself wrote of the march that “Hawley’s Brigade…was sent forward late in the evening to support the cavalry…the roads were almost impassible.”[22]

The following day would be one of the longest in the regiment’s history. The men of the 150th would spend the rainy overnight hours close to the front lines, if not in continual contact, at least in the presence of enemy skirmishers. As the morning’s advance was scheduled for 6, the men of the 150th got very little sleep. From the time of that advance, the 150th remained in contact for the ensuing 10 hours, until late afternoon on the 16th.. Hawley’s Brigade suffered 144 casualties, the most of any Federal Brigade in the battle.[23]

Smith was assigned to the right (Eastern) end of the Federal line, and for most of the engagement for the first line between 6 and 11, the regiment was on the extreme right of the Federal advance. As other units arrived, they would fill in on the right of Hawley’s Brigade, so that the 150th eventually found itself in the middle of the advance toward the second line (See Map 1). Regardless of their battlefield position, veteran accounts are consistent with their accounts of the fighting. Three elements stand out in those reports: the weather, the continual and steady nature of the advance, and the occasional “rush” to assault Confederate positions. Private Funk wrote that “our men returned the [Confederate] fire with good effect, the two sides gaining and losing ground, as one side or the other would make a desperate rush and then receiving a deadly volley would fall back a short distance while the other would quickly advance a few paces. This way the fight continued the whole day till sundown…”[24] First Lieutenant Andrew J. Ostrum of B Company described how his company “brok [sic] camp at daylight the fight began at 7 am fought all day….Rained very hard in the afternoon.”[25]

Lieutenant David B. Sleight and the Cost of the Battle

The final act of the battle, the probing and attacks on the Confederate third line in the mid- to late-afternoon, provided both the last involvement of the 150th in the fight, as well as its most notable occurrence, the death of 1LT David B. Sleight, commander of I Company. Sleight was mortally wounded leading his company on the final push to the Confederate line. The exact circumstances of his death are not entirely clear, but certain aspects can be gleaned from both visits to the battlefield and from firsthand accounts. The ground over which the 150th made its final advance toward the Confederate third line was relatively flat, but there are gentle gradients in the fields over which the advance occurred. Accounts indicate that when “cresting” one of these gradients, the Confederates fired a volley which struck Sleight, most likely in his lower abdomen. He was carried from the field by his soldiers to the XX Corps hospital at the Oak Grove estate, located about a mile from the site of his wounding. En route to the hospital, he continued to give directions and circled.

150th would have advanced across road at approximately this position, and advanced roughly to the north. Lieutenant Sleight was mortally wounded during this advance, mostly likely from Confederate fire originating from the left of the treeline in the picture.[27] (Author’s photograph) orders to his Company, as well as instructions as to his personal effects, but passed away by the time he arrived. He was buried next to the manor house the following morning.[26] After the war, Sleight’s remains were returned to Poughkeepsie, and re-interred in the LaGrange Rural Cemetery, on Overlook Road.

Sleight’s death was notable and memorable for many reasons to the veterans of the 150th. Aside from being a Company Commander, he had the reputation as a brave and talented leader, and was an original member of the Regiment, joining in October, 1862. He had fought in every engagement of the Regiment without a wound until, arguably, one of the last bullets in the 150th’s last battle struck him. As a mark of how respected he was, after the war, the Poughkeepsie Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Post 331 was named in his honor. There is also significant insight into his wartime experiences. While he did not leave a traditional diary, there are numerous artifacts held by the Dutchess County Historical Society that bear his signature, including his personal log book. The book itself does not contain his personal thoughts or opinions, but there are letters in existence that do so, and the log offers a fascinating insight into the seemingly mundane issues that shaped the life of a company officer during the Civil War.[28]

Eulogies were extensive and heartfelt for Sleight. Perhaps the most poignant came from his Regimental Commander, Colonel Smith. Smith’s diary is concise, but when he wrote of Sleight’s death, one can feel the emotion in his words. The entry of the 17th states that, simply, “Sleight killed. Heavy fire. Lieutenant Sleight killed.” He writes a further 2-3 lines on the battle, then again “We all mourn loss of Lieutenant Sleight.”[29] Funk, not a member of Sleight’s I Company, wrote that “Lieutenant David B. Sleight was killed in the battle, leading his company in, as one may say the last fight of the war.”[30] John Platt, editor of the Poughkeepsie Eagle eulogized in the regimental history that Sleight was “held in the highest esteem by all who knew him before he went into the military service of his country, and his death was a huge shock to the whole community.”[31]

Beyond Sleight, there are other indications of the significance of the battle for the men of the 150th. An extrapolation of ammunition expenditures and personal reports from after the battle, indicates that the rate of usage was similar for the regiment at Averasboro (approximately 28.8 bullets per man fired) as it was for the regiment during its first fight, at Gettysburg’s much more familiar Culp’s Hill on July 3rd, 1863 (28.3 bullets per man). Admittedly, the calculus of such accounting contains numerous variables, but parallel tendencies can be readily identified.[32]

Sleight was not the only death from the regiment during the battle. Private John Cass, of A Company, was mortally wounded and died the following day at Oak Grove.[33] Cass was likely one of the dozens of soldiers who died at Oak Grove in that he was initially interred at the house before being removed to the Raleigh National Cemetery after the war.[34] Additionally, the following day, William J. Wallin of B Company was killed while “foraging,” although the exact circumstances of his death are unknown.[35] The number of 150th men wounded in the battle is less certain, with different accounts utilizing different standards in their determination, although most accounts indicate that the regiment lost approximately 20 men total on the 15th and 16th. The Poughkeepsie Eagle’s roster published on April 8th, 1865, seems to be the most accurate, showing 2 killed (Sleight and Cass), 8 severely wounded and 8 slightly wounded. Additionally, Lieutenant William Wattles of A Company was slightly wounded[36] while serving as an aide-decamp to the Brigade Commander (Hawley).[37] The Battle of Averasboro was clearly a “big” battle for the men of the 150th.

Conclusion

Averasboro marked the final battlefield experience for the 150th NY. While they would march to Bentonville, their service at that battlefield would be to occupy already-dug entrenchments as part of the XX Corps Reserve. They did not see any action. The occupied positions, though, are still there and accessible. The Regiment returned to Poughkeepsie shortly after the war, and the 450 men serving in the Regiment at that time were mustered out on the 8th of June, 1865.[38]

Visiting the Battlefield

Averasboro provides a unique opportunity to visit a battlefield where soldiers from Dutchess County fought. A number of factors facilitate such a visit. First, as noted in the above narrative, this was clearly a battle that mattered to the Veterans, many of whom cited this encounter as the toughest or most significant of the unit’s history. Second, the battlefield itself is very accessible, being close to I-95, and most of the key features of the battle can be viewed from various positions along North Carolina Highway 82 (NC 82). Third, a visit to Averasboro does not requite a “long” stay; the key features of the fight, and the 150th’s involvement, can be experienced in one or two hours, easily. Fourth, the battlefield is relatively undeveloped since 1865. While there have been changes, most notably the movement of the original Oak Grove House to a different location on the battlefield, the general landscape is largely unchanged, allowing the visitor to better grasp what soldiers fighting actually experienced.

When visiting the battlefield, there are five stops that provide the best opportunities to experience the action as it progressed. While the Visitor’s Center is listed here as the “fifth” of the five stops, one can easily start there before moving down to the Old Bluff Church (Site #1), particularly if arriving from the north. Each of these sites contains multiple signposts that assist the visitor in learning about the battlefield. In addition, there are a eleven highway markers and historical placards across the battlefield that, while not necessary specific “stops” on the tour, provide added insight. All of these sites are easily accessible from NC82, four of the five being directly on the road itself (Site #1 is a short distance off NC82, and well-marked).

Site #1: THE OLD BLUFF CHURCH. Start of the battle for the 150th on the evening of the 15th, and the location of their bivouac that was cut short by the call to assist Kilpatrick. The cemetery that surrounded the Church, amidst which the men of the 150th were trying to bed down when the orders to march came, looks much as it was in 1865. [Return to NC State Secondary Road 1802 and drive north for 2.7 miles, when the road splits. Follow NC State Secondary Road 1812 (the left branch) for a further 1.9 miles and pull into the wayside area to the East side of the highway. NOTE: After .9 miles, the road turns into NC 82.]

Site #2: WAYSIDE AREA #1. The southernmost wayside area represents the location of the 150th’s arrival to support Kilpatrick on the evening of the 15th, after the dismal march from the Old Bluff Church. The house to the east of the wayside area (private property) is the William Smith House, which served as a Federal hospital during the battle. The fields on either side of NC 82 to the immediate north of the wayside area are were the 150th would have been hunkered down on the night of the 15th, preparing for the coming battle on the 16th. [Return to NC 82 and drive north for 1.3 miles. Turn into the Wayside Area to the west of the road.]

Site #3: CONFEDERATE FIRST LINE (WAYSIDE AREA #2). Looking to the south, once can see the ground over which the Federals advanced on the morning of the 16th against the first Confederate line. The 150th advanced north from the trees in view to the south (far to near) on the eastern side of the road (the left side of the picture). There are a few items of interest at this stop in particular, particularly the remnants of the Confederate first line, as well as an historical marker commemorating the XX Corps that specifically notes the 150th NY. [Return to NC 82 and drive north for .9 miles. Turn into the Chicora Cemetery parking area to the east of the road.]

Site #4: CHICORA CEMETERY. The Cemetery, which is the final resting place for a number of Confederate soldiers who died in the battle, is located where the Confederate third line crossed the Raleigh Plank Road. In addition to the gravesites, there are a number of other artifacts for consideration, including a number of monuments and historical markers. If one stand in the parking lot, and looks to the southeast, the 150th advanced across the fields to your front, close to tree line extension closest to the cemetery, about ¾ of a mile distant. [Return to NC 82 and drive north for .3 miles. Turn into the Averasboro Battlefield Museum and Visitors Center to the west of the road.]

Site #5: AVERASBORO BATTLEFIELD MUSEUM. Closely behind the Confederate third line is the Averasboro Visitor’s Center, with Historical Markers, a Museum, numerous battlefield maps, artifacts, and collections documenting Averasboro and North Carolina in the Civil War.[39]

[1] Smith would be promoted to Colonel on March 24, 1865, just over a week after the battle.

[2] Rev. Edward O. Bartlett, The “Dutchess County Regiment” in the Civil War: Its Story as Told By its Members (Danbury, CT: Danbury Medical Printing Co., 1907), 156.

[3] Ibid., 157.

[4] Jeremiah Collins, “Reminiscences of Jeremiah Collins, Musician, Company G, 150th New York Infantry,” 1903. https://www.angelfire.com/ny4/ djw/150th.collins1903.html.

[5] Mark L. Bradley, The Battle of Bentonville: Last Stand in the Carolinas (n.p.: Savas Publishing, 1996), 27-28, 40; Daniel T. Davis and Phillip S. Greenwalt, Calamity in Carolina: The Battles of Averasboro and Bentonville, March 1865 (Eldorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2015), xviii.

[6] Mark L. Bradley, “Old Reliable’s Finest Hour: The Battle of Averasboro North Carolina, March 15-16, 1865” Special Issue, Blue & Gray, 2002. 6.

[7] Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes, Bentonville: The Final Battle of Sherman and Johnston (Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1996), 24-6; Bradley, “Old Reliable’s Finest Hour,” 4-5.

[8] Bartlett, 155.; U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (hereafter OR), 128 vols. (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901), Series I, Vol. 47, Pt. 1, 653. http://collections.library. cornell.edu/

[9] OR, Series I., Vol. 47, Pt. 2, 1375.

[10] Bradley, Battle of Bentonville, 115; Mark A. Moore, Moore’s Historical Guide to the Battle of Bentonville (n.p.: Savas Publishing, 2001), 10; Hughes, 33-4.

[11] Bradley, “Old Reliable’s Finest Hour,” 6.

[12] Hughes, 33; Bradley, Battle of Bentonville, 123; David, 31.

[13] Bartlett, 156; OR, Series I, Vol. 47, Pt. 1, 422.

[14] OR, Series I, Vol. 47, Pt. 1, 585; OR, Series I, Vol. 47, Pt. 1, 600; Bradley, Battle of Bentonville, 122-128.

[15] Smith, Mark A. and Wade Sokolosky, “No Such Army Since the Days of Julius Caesar:” Sherman’s Carolinas Campaign from Fayetteville to Averasboro, March 1865 (El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2017), 121-3.

[16] Bradley, Battle of Bentonville, 128-132.

[17] Ibid., 132.

[18] Hughes, 33-4; Bradley, Battle of Bentonville, 132; Bradley, “Old Reliable’s Finest Hour,” 18; Moore, 10; OR, Series I, Vol. 47, Pt. 2, 871; OR, Series I, Vol. 47, Pt. 2, 949.

[19] Bradley, Battle of Bentonville, 116-9.

[20] Alfred Smith, The Diary of Alfred Smith, 15 March, 1865. (Dutchess County Historical Society, Butts Library, Bookcase A, Shelf 2).

[21] Peter Funk, “A Civil War Soldier’s Diary, Company F, 150th N.Y. Vol.,” 40-1. Funk’s original diary is lost, but its contents were published as a weekly series from May 26 through August 18, 1932, in the Red Hook Advertiser. Funk was a resident of Red Hook, died in 1916, and is buried in the SW corner of the “Old” section of the Union Cemetery in Hyde Park.

[22] OR, Series I, Vol. 47, Pt. 1, 422.

[23] Bradley, Battle of Bentonville, 131-2.

[24] Funk, 41.

[25] Andrew J. Ostrum, The Diary of Andrew J. Ostrum, 16 March, 1865. (Dutchess County Histortical Society, Butts Library, Bookcase A, Shelf 2).

[26] Bartlett, 157, 329-331, 459; Ostrum, 16 March, 1865; Funk, 41; Smith, 16 March; OR, Series I, Vol. 47, Pt. 1, 653.

[27] Thanks to Pete Bedrossian and the 150th New York Historical Association (https://www.angelfire.com/ny4/djw/150th.histassoc.html) for insight that helped connect the disparate and/or vague accounts of Sleight’s death.

[28] Sleight Log Book. (Dutchess County Histortical Society, 150th NY Papers, Box 2).

[29] Smith, 16 March, 1865.

[30] Funk, 41.

[31] Bartlett, 330.

[32] Dutchess County Histortical Society, Richard Titus Papers, Box 2, File 5.

[33] Bartlett, 359.

[34] Smith, 188-9.

[35] Ibid., 379, 499.

[36] “List of the Killed and Wounded of the 150th Regiment.” Poughkeepsie Eagle, 8 April, 1865.

[37] OR, Series I, Vol. 47, Pt. 1, 638.

[38] Bartlett, 163-5.

[39] “Averasboro Battlefield & Museum,” accessed 19 April, 2022, https:// www.averasboro.com

The Henry Gridley Post 617, Grand Army of the Republic of Millerton, New York (1887-1933)

By Sean M. Klay.

For over 40 years, Henry Gridley Post 617 of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R) served the Civil War veterans of the village of Millerton and the town of North East. The post officially began operation when, on July 19, 1887, the Assistant Adjutant General of the G.A.R., in Special Order No. 95, officially approved the application for a charter for a new G.A.R. post in Millerton, thereafter known as the Henry Gridley Post 617 of the Grand Army of the Republic, Department of New York.[1]

Henry Gridley was born on September 17, 1836, to Noah and Emeline (Reed) Gridley. His father was a successful businessman who owned large amounts of real estate and was engaged in significant mining and iron manufacturing in the Harlem Valley.[2]

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Gridley’s family convinced Henry to complete his studies at Amherst College, where he was set to graduate the following year. Upon returning home, he jumped at the opportunity to assist in the recruitment and establishment of a company for the “Dutchess Regiment” which had recently been authorized. This company would later be designated Company A of the 150th NY Volunteer Infantry, and Henry was commissioned the company’s First Lieutenant. He served through some of the war’s biggest and most significant battles to include Gettysburg, Chattanooga, and the battles of the Atlanta Campaign.[3]

This final campaign would prove to be Gridley’s last. On May 4, 1864, Major General William T. Sherman inaugurated this campaign that would culminate in the capture of Atlanta on September 2, 1864, following 128 days of battles, skirmishes and marching.[4] On June 22, 1864, the 150th found itself supporting the Army of the Ohio, to which General Sherman assigned the task of turning the Confederate position on Kennesaw Mountain. The regiment took positions on an important ridge on Kolb’s Farm,[5] a few miles south and west of Marietta, Georgia. As John E. West records in his chapter “From Resaca to Kennesaw Mountain” in the book, The Dutchess County Regiment, “The ground in our front was for the most part open fields, with heavy woods on the opposite ridge, and a small ravine in the valley before us and slightly to our left.”[6]

In the immediate vicinity of the regiment’s position was a rail fence that Colonel John H. Ketcham, the regimental commander, immediately ordered his troops to use for material to create a breastwork, protecting them from enemy rifle fire.[7] West continues his account, “On they [the Confederates] came with a rush, advancing into the valley and then up the rise of ground in our front until we could almost see the whites of their eyes, when they received such a withering fire from our line and the two batteries at our left that they wavered and finally fell back to the ravine for shelter, leaving the space thickly strewn with their dead and wounded.”[8]

During this action

Lieutenant Gridley, commanding Company A, was actively directing the fire of his company against the Confederate attack on the Union position. At one point, Lieutenant

Gridley directed Private John Gollenbeck to fire at a prominent Confederate soldier holding the Confederate colors. Gollenbeck took aim and fired, killing the individual specified. At the same moment, Lieutenant Gridley was struck by a bullet near his heart and killed, becoming the first commissioned officer in the regiment to be killed in action. Initially buried near where he fell, his remains were later brought home by his father, and are now laid to rest in the family plot at the South Amenia Cemetery.[9]

Post Organizing and Installation of Officers

The first recorded meeting of the Millerton G.A.R. Post took place on September 9, 1887, following the approval of the Post Charter application by the G.A.R. Department of NY in July. Members from Millerton and North East were joined by members from Department of New York and their comrades from the O. H. Knight Post No. 58 in Lakeville, Connecticut. During this initial meeting the Post elected its first slate of officers. They were as follows:

• Post Commander: Seneca V. Humerson

• Senior Vice Commander: Michael Rowe

• Junior Vice Commander: James E. Myers

• Chaplain: Edward Saunders

• Officer of the Day: William Palmer

• Quartermaster: Charles Corey

• Adjutant: Dwight Stent

• Officer of the Guard: Charles Ford

The term for Post officers followed the standard calendar year. We do not know the terms of office for the initial Post officers (i.e. if they only served until the end of 1887 or were extended until the end of 1888), as many of the Post records have been lost.

The Post also established that meetings would be held on Saturdays at the local Webutuck Lodge, F.&A.M, where the rental payment was $50.00 a year paid in quarterly installments. Initial individual dues were set at $3.00 a year.[10]

Officers would be installed for their term of office during the first meeting in January. The installation of officers was generally conducted by a member or officer from a nearby G.A.R. Post. Following the formal installation ceremony, the Installing Officers were often given an opportunity to address the assembled Post members. Many of their remarks focused on common themes, such as staying the course of the organization’s mission, staying current on public patriotic events, and maintaining loyalty to each other. On other occasions, the installing officers would share their personal stories from the Civil War, or, as it was commonly referred to at the time, the War of the Rebellion.[11] In the early years of the Post, following the official meeting, where necessary Post business was conducted, the members would often retire to the Post Commander’s residence for a sit-down dinner provided by the Post Commander’s wife, assisted by other member’s spouses.[12]

After the organization of the Woman’s Relief Corps (W.R.C.) associated with the Henry Gridley G.A.R. Post 617 (they were officially designated as Henry Gridley Relief Corps No. 116 and can be most closely associated with the Legion and V.F.W Auxiliary organizations we are familiar with today), there would be a sit-down dinner in conjunction with the installation at the meeting hall itself. Period news accounts recorded that the veterans were often presented with small gifts by the ladies of the W.R.C. during these events.[13]

Tri-State Reunions and Clam Bakes

Beginning in August, 1889, for many ensuing years, the Post held an annual summer Clam Bake, with the first one held at the Nickel-Plate Rink on August 23, 1889. The August 15, 1889, edition of the Amenia Times stated “A good time may be expected and no pains will be spared on the part of the members of the Post to make it a success. Come out and give the veterans a lift and help encourage them in their good and charitable work of providing for one another.”[14] At this event, Comrades from the nearby Lakeville Post attended.[15]

During the 1890 Clam Bake, delegations from the Lakeville, Sharon, and Canaan, Connecticut, G.A.R. Posts joined in supporting their New York Comrades. From these joint events was born the initiative to hold an annual gathering of local tristate veterans, the culmination of which was the annual G.A.R. reunion held every February 22, George Washington’s Birthday, and hosted by one of the participating Posts.[16] The first of these official Tri-State Reunions was hosted by the Millerton Post in 1891.[17] According to the March 1, 1913, Harlem Valley Times, the event that year in Great Barrington had the participation of two Massachusetts, three Connecticut, and one New York Post (Millerton).[18]

The Post Commander of the hosting post was the chair for the event and would act as Master of Ceremonies. Often these events would have a visiting dignitary or a former high- ranking military officer as keynote speaker. The hosting post’s Adjutant (secretary) would read the mortuary report which announced the mustering out or the passing of Comrades since the previous gathering. Singing was a significant part of the formal portion of these gatherings, with popular war-time songs such as “We are Coming Father Abraham,” “Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! The Boys are Marching,” and “Marching Through Georgia” recurring favorites. A dinner was served between the morning and afternoon sessions and was prepared by each Post’s W.R.C. Weather would occasionally have an impact on attendance, as shown with the 1912 and 1913 gatherings. In 1912, 342 dinners were served by the Millerton Post’s W.R.C. In contrast with only 75 dinners served in 1913.[19] The Harlem Valley Times noted the 1913 issue: “Comrade Nelson Jones did not attend the reunion at Great Barrington last Saturday. He has not been feeling very well for a few days, and the weather was so extremely unpleasant, that he decided not to undertake the journey.”[20]

The afternoon sessions would begin around 1:00 p.m. with an agenda filled again with oratory and song. Before adjournment one of the other posts in attendance would offer to host the next gathering. Organized festivities would end around 3:00 p.m., when veterans and spouses would either return to their homes or settle in with friends for the evening before returning home the next day.[21]

Decoration Day

The holiday now known as Memorial Day, initially known as Decoration Day, was established by General Order 11 of the Grand Army of the Republic, which called for May 30 of each year to be set aside to remember the fallen and to decorate their graves beginning in 1868.[22] It is unclear exactly when the first Decoration Day was observed in Millerton, but we do know, according to newspaper records, that it was being observed by 1888. In that year, G.A.R. Post 617 organized its first Decoration Day observances introducing many of the practices that are followed today.[23]

The day would begin early with various details sent out to local cemeteries, including North East Center, Spencer’s Corners, and Coleman Station, to decorate the graves of those who had served not only in the Civil War, but in previous wars as well, with flowers. Accounts record one detail would travel to the South Amenia Cemetery to pay a tribute to the Post’s namesake First Lieutenant Henry Gridley, placing a wreath at his grave. An Amenia Times article covering the 1889 Decoration Day observances noted that “…thirteen young ladies dressed in red, white and blue to represent the original states went to South Amenia where Henry Gridley is buried, each young lady carried a banner, and around the grave of their comrade they held a service, and address was made by Rev. Oliver, the girls sang songs, and the strewed flowers on all soldiers buried there…”[24]

Upon return, participants would assemble for the procession that would leave from the Post headquarters (after 1904 this would be Benedict Hall, today known as the Millerton Movie

House) and proceed to Irondale Cemetery. Upon their arrival at the cemetery the Post, joined by the W.R.C. and the community at large, would form a square around the flagpole at what today is known as the Old Veterans Plot. Beginning in 1893 the Millerton Cornet Band would join in supporting the Post and community with their music.[25]

At the cemetery, the program would include the decorating each veteran’s grave with flowers, multiple recitations, poems, and singing, and always closing with the song “America.”[26] Following this service-of-sorts, the Post and community would once again return to the Post headquarters for a dinner served by the ladies of the community.[27]

Benedict Hall (today the site of the Millerton Moviehouse) was home to the Post from the building’s completion in 1904 until Post 617 surrendered its charter in 1924. Undated postcard. North East Historical Society Collections.

Memorial Sunday

1888 was also the first year the Post began the Memorial Sunday program as part of their Decoration Day exercises. The very first Memorial Sunday was held on June 3, 1888, at the Baptist Church with the sermon being conducted by the Rev. Andrew Grey, who preached “a very able sermon.”[28] In 1889, the service was conducted at the Methodist Church with a sermon by the Rev. William Oliver. Following the morning sermons, the Comrades from Millerton would join their Comrades in

Lakeville, Connecticut, many of whom had participated in the Millerton events, for similar exercises.[29]

County Veteran Association Meetings

Records indicate that by the early 20th century, a decision was made to have County Level G.A.R. association meetings that would rotate between the various county Posts. In 1911, it was the Millerton Post’s turn to host this grand meeting of the County Veterans Association. The September 11, 1911, edition of the Poughkeepsie Eagle noted that the “…invitation was not limited to members of the G.A.R. but to all veterans in the county.”[30] For those who were traveling from Poughkeepsie, rail transportation was not ideal, and that alternatively automobile transportation had been arranged for $1.50.[31]

The Saturday, September 30 edition of the Rhinebeck Gazette also contained a small advertisement for the meeting for the members of the John Armstrong Post 104 of the G.A.R. in Rhinebeck, noting the event would begin at 11:00 a.m. with a dinner served by the W.R.C. at noon and the afternoon meeting beginning at 2:00 p.m. The advertisement also noted that “…about eight comrades have already signified their intention of taking this trip with J.W. Quicks auto. The price will be reasonable.”[32]

Columbus Day Parade

For several years during the latter half of the nineteenth century, a Columbus Day parade was held in Millerton. The October 11, 1962, edition of the Harlem Valley Times noted that “in the early 1890s Millerton was famous for her fabulous Columbus Day Parade, which consisted of the famed Millerton Cornet Band, the Fireman, the old Soldiers, the Merchants, and Tradesman, as well 200 school children dressed to the nines.”[33] The article noted that the village was filled with hundreds of visitors from the surrounding towns for the event. The parade, once formed, extended from the “Baptist Church to the Terni Ford Garage.”[34] The parade for years had two Grand Marshals, Fred Dakin and W. H. Cook, the latter credited with starting the Columbus Day parade in Millerton. Following the Grand

Marshals, whom the article notes were “riding astride their handsome mounts,” came the Cornet Band and the “comrades of the Henry Gridley Post.”[35] The article went on to describe the participants, observing that “…most of the soldiers parading were veterans of the Civil war and it was said they walked with more dignity and gracefulness than any of the younger marchers.”[36]

Annual Post Inspections

Traditionally, during the month of October (with occasional exceptions to occur in November, such as 1914),[37] the Post was inspected by one of the representatives from the Department of New York. The inspectors would ensure that the records of the Post were in order and that the actions of the Post were in keeping with the regulations that governed the G.A.R. Following inspection, the inspecting officer was given the opportunity to address the Post.[38]

Many of the inspecting officers would each give similar speeches in that they would appeal to the members to stay true to the organization’s mission of service to their communities and their fellow veterans, as well as to remind them to keep the spirit of patriotism alive. Occasionally, a personal story would be shared alongside the call to action.[39]

The November 2, 1912, edition of the Harlem Valley Times contains the account of the Post Meeting held on October 26. That year Comrade John G. Harris of New Hamburg, New York, was the inspector for the county. When the floor was turned over to him he, like many others, opened his comments by making the traditional “…strong appeals to that spirit of fraternity that binds together in one common brotherhood all the members of the Grand Army of the Republic.”[40] Harris continued to charge them “…all to hold fast to the spirit of patriotism that led us all to follow the flag and defend the Union against all its foes during the dark days of the civil war. He asked us all to get closer together, to close ranks, touch elbows, and keep alive the spirit of comradeship for the few remaining years that may be given to us to stay here.”[41]

The article noted that what he said next got everyone’s attention:

The speaker then gave us a little of his own personal experience during the war of the Rebellion. Said he was born in the ‘old north state’ [North Carolina] and lived in the southeastern part not far from the Sound. That the succession or disunion sentiment was very strong there, and anyone who did not espouse the Southern cause was looked upon as a traitor to their native land. He had three brothers in the Southern army and said he never passed through a greater conflict than when he fought the great fight-the mental battle-with only God as a witness, that was to determine his attitude in the death grapple that was about to take place between the North and the South. His great grand-father fought under Washington in the war for independence, his grandfather fought with Jackson at New Orleans, and his own father marched and fought with Taylor in Mexico. Comrade Harris said he could not repudiate the record, the loyal record of three generations, and so he decided to cast his lot with the Union cause.

His attitude was not only detrimental, but defiant and dangerous to the Southern cause and one day a band of guerrillas came and arrested him, and with a few others who were considered enemies of the South, took them ten miles from home called a drumhead court martial, ‘tried and condemned them to be hung.’ They had the ropes all ready and were preparing to execute the sentence upon them when the captain, who had been absent, rode up stopped the execution, and after an examination set them free. Shortly after this incident a detachment of the Third NY Calvary came by the Harris home on their way to Newbern, NC that was then in the possession of Union forces and the boy Harris went with them, enlisted, and served in that regiment till the end of the war.[42]

The article that covered this account noted that the moral courage required to remain true to the flag during that time in the South must have been immense and, comparatively, how much easier it was for northerners to remain true to the Union, since unionist sentiment was so strong. After Mr. Harris completed his address the Post “moved and carried unanimously that the post tender the speaker a vote of thanks for this very interesting address we had just listened to.”[43]

Veterans Relief

A recurring phrase is found in the obituary or death notice listings in the papers of the era, in regards to the passing of a Civil War veteran, is “He leaves a wife and several small children in destitute circumstances.”[44] A major function of the G.A.R. was providing poor relief to veterans and their families, and this was documented as part of the year-end report the post would file with their respective departments. Documented in the Rhinebeck Gazette in both 1912[45] and 1917,[46] County Supervisors voted in both years to allocate county funds to specific G.A.R. posts for the purposes of poor relief. The disbursements were as follows for 1912:[47]

Armstrong Post of Rhinebeck - $400

Obed Wheeler Post of Amenia - $500

Henry Gridley Post of Millerton - $500

Ketcham Post of Wappingers Falls - $200

Howland Post of Matteawan - $500

C.N. Campbell Post of Pawling - $100

In 1917 the disbursements looked as follows.[48]

Armstrong Post of Rhinebeck - $250

Obed Wheeler Post of Amenia - $400

Henry Gridley Post of Millerton - $500

Ketcham Post of Wappingers Falls - $225

Howland Post of Matteawan - $100

Post Elections

The December meeting was the traditional time for the annual election of Post officers for the following year. Like many other local community events, the proceedings of these meetings were typically recorded in the newspapers of the day, at least until the start of America’s participation in the First World War. According to local papers, it appears that Post elections took place during the first of two monthly meetings in December. The records, unfortunately, don’t go into details such as if elections were contested or not. It appears reasonable to conclude that this didn’t happen often, if at all, as many of the same names recur frequently.

Post elections also had representatives from other posts or the Department on hand, ostensibly for the purpose of ensuring a fair election. In 1913, the election of officers was observed by John G. Harris,[49] and in 1915 was attended to by Berthold Myers.[50]

Annual Millerton High School Flag Replacement

Sometime after the start of the W.R.C. in 1906, an annual tradition began with the ladies purchasing a flag annually to replace the national flag flying in front of the Millerton High School.[51] Typically, this would take place as part of the annual Christmas school assembly and the Post Commander would present the replacement flag to the school principal on behalf of the W.R.C.[52]

New Year’s Ball

By 1889, the Millerton G.A.R. Post was hosting an annual New Year’s Ball every January 1, which was held at Barton’s Hall on the upper floor of the Brick Block Hotel, today’s location of Brick Block Auto Parts. The December 28, 1888, Amenia Times advertisement noted that “…it is hoped there will be a full attendance. Good music will be furnished on the occasion, and a bountiful supper provided. Come and enjoy yourselves and keep alive old memories.”[53]

The January 4, 1900, edition of the Amenia Times noted that that year’s New Year’s Ball had “…a good number present and a good time was enjoyed by all.”[54]

Highlights from Post Meetings

Newspapers at the turn of the twentieth century are interesting and provide numerous tidbits of information about individual day-to-day activities, in addition to the news of various groups and organizations. For example, “Comrade Benjamin Robertson of Wassaic came up to attend the regular meeting of the Post last Saturday.”[55] Or, from the same edition of the Harlem Valley Times, this note: “Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Hunt of Hillsdale visited friends in Millerton last Saturday and comrade Hunt attended the Henry Gridley Post in the afternoon.”[56]

In contrast, every now and then there was a more substantial write up that provides more detail, such as the following record from the May 17, 1913, edition of the Harlem Valley Times:

A Vigorous Veteran

Last Saturday May 10th, comrade Henry Books 85 years old drove over from Pine Plains to attend Post meeting.

It was cold and windy that day, and the drive over the mountains was most unpleasant, but comrade Brooks said he did not mind it. The round trip gave him a drive of twenty miles— pretty good for an 85 year old boy.

That spirit of devotion to duty, that sustained him during his service in the civil war, impelled him to take a drive of twenty miles to attend a meeting of his Post. This incident illustrates the spirit of the men who composed that mighty army that for four long years struggled to maintain the national integrity and. unity. May future generations emulate this unselfish devotion to the Union established by the fathers of this Republic.[57]

Regrettably we do not have much left in the historical record regarding individual Post meetings outside of special events. What items we do have are from secondhand accounts and sources, like the following narrative, recorded in the Pine Plains Register on May 23, 1929:

“Several items found in their [the Posts] records were unusual. One was where one Comrade was reprimanded for his actions unbecoming a Comrade and member of Henry Gridley Post. Another was when a motion was made that the trustees of the Post meet with the Trustees of the Lodge to confer in regard to the last clause in the lease “to keep the lamps clean.” A third when the members minus their badges in the meeting and “the Commander gave them down the banks for so doing and ordered that in the future no one should neglect to don them and in a conspicuous place, by all means in the Lodge rooms.”[58]

It does make one wonder as to the identity of the reprimanded Comrade. Unfortunately, we may never know.

“Mustering Out”

Within a few short months of the establishment of the Post, Peter Welch was the first member to pass away, after a brief illness at age 44 on November 23, 1887. Peter had only joined the G.A.R. a week prior to his death, yet the November 25, 1887, edition of the Amenia Times notes that “…the care and attention paid him by his comrades of that Post was untiring. His funeral was from the Presbyterian church in this village… The members of Henry Gridley Post turned out in a body, and several members of Knight Post of Lakeville were present.”[59]

Over the next decade the local newspapers would record several of the Millerton Post members who were mustered out upon their passing, such as Michael Rowe in November, 1891,[60] William Ferris in February, 1892,[61] Seneca Marks in April, 1896,[62] and Dwight Stent in October, 1898.[63] The local paper recorded that many of these funerals were “attended in a body” by the members of the Henry Gridley Post.

The second decade of the twentieth century saw several Post members passing, which is unsurprising considering many of these men were now in their seventies and the nation was observing the semi-centennial of the Civil War. The obituaries note, for many of these funerals, that the W.R.C. members, in addition to those of the Post, were in attendance, especially as the frequency of these events increased. Six more members would pass in the next twenty-one months, including Peter Cain in January, 1913,[64] Reuben Rossiter in February, 1913,[65] Nathan Reed in May, 1913,[66] Charles E. Prior in December, 1913,[67] John Wooden in April, 1914,[68] and Charles E. French in September, 1914.[69]

The report of Reuben Rossiter’s funeral was easily one that attracted attention from casual readers of the paper. Under the headline “A Remarkable Old Lady” is written the following:

The mother of Comrade Rossiter attended his funeral. She came over from Salisbury with her son Will, with whom she resides. She is 94 years old and unusually active for a person of that age. She manifested remarkable self control. Only once did she give way to her grief—that was just before the services began, and when the casket was being draped with the flag her son fought to maintain unsullied.

The sympathetic tear stood in every eye during that pathetic scene.

Kind sympathetic friends supported her while she wept, and after a little while she became calm again. During the rest of the service she controlled herself with Spartan fortitude. Truly she is a remarkable woman.[70]

Increasingly during this period, the papers observed that Union soldiers were mustering out of the G.A.R. at over 100 per day,[71] with over 4,000 recorded alone in April of 1913.[72] As the February 15, 1913, edition of the Harlem Valley Times recorded, “Grim death calls more frequently as the years go by. The union soldiers are being mustered out at a rate of more than 100 per day —over 36,000 pass away in a single year. Not many years hence the last living soldier of that mighty army that fought with Grant, and marched with Sherman, will receive his final discharge and be laid to rest in that ‘silent city of the dead.’ Then the Grand Army of the Republic will only be a memory.”[73]

As the May 17, 1913, edition of the Harlem Valley Times noted during this period, “Death is now decimating the ranks of the union soldiers almost as rapidly as did the rebel bullets during the war…At this rate it can be but a few years at most before the last survivor of that great struggle will be called to report to the Supreme Commander.”[74]

“Old soldiers never die, they just fade away…”

By the early 1920s the roster for the Henry Gridley Post was getting thin. At the conclusion of 1923, then-Post Commander Ward van DeBogart included a letter with the annual end-of-year report where he initiated a discussion about the requirements to surrender the Post Charter as the Post had six members left, with only two able to make meetings, as the others were either too old or infirm. [75] The reply from the Assistant Adjutant General, Department of New York, informed van DeBogart that the Post could maintain its charter as long as there were three members left.[76]

It was at this time that the W.R.C. decided to disband, formally doing so on February 6, 1924, after eighteen years of service. Of their remaining members eight (Miss Dorothy Bailey, Miss Libby Valentine, Mrs. Lillian Beaujon, Mrs. Sarah Bishop, Mrs. Elizabeth Haveley, Mrs. Mary Kaye, Mrs. Henriette K. Puff, and Mrs. Kathryn Delaney) took a ‘honorable discharge’ while seven (Mrs. Fannie Morgan, Mrs. Jennie Valentine, Mrs. Cecelia Barclay, Mrs. Frances Jones, Mrs. Eva Lawrence, Mrs. Julia Andrews, and Mrs. Dora Shaffer) transferred to other W.R.C.s, most prominently the Hamilton-Sleight Corps.[77]

Around this time the Post held its final in-person meeting, although the exact date of this meeting is not currently known. Their charter was never surrendered so, therefore, the post was never technically disbanded. The Post Charter, along with the other relics of the post, were turned over the newly established Millerton American Legion sometime after the latter organization was formed in 1927. The final member of the Post was its last Commander Ward Van De Bogart.[78]

Conclusion

During its forty-plus years the Henry Gridley Post left an impact on the Village of Millerton and the Town of North East in the form of patriotic observances, grave decorating, and community events. While few, if any, tangible artifacts remain, its legacy remains in the traditions it initiated. Unfortunately for all of us today it is assumed that the relics of the Post, which presumedly included that portrait of Henry Gridley given to the Post by his mother for their hall,[79] were lost when the Legion Post burned down in the 1960’s. The fire also, most likely, destroyed the G.A.R. Charter and many of the records which were referenced in the writing of the “Millerton Memories” columns that provided much material consulted in the composition of this article.

At this point you may be asking when did this Post finally end? If a date could be given, then perhaps no better date can be given then the one when the last member and Post Commander, Ward Van DeBogart, reported at last to the Supreme Commander, February 8, 1933.[80] Veterans themselves, the organizations they create, never die, but just fade away.

[1] Charter Application Post 617, July 19, 1887, Folder 14, Box 48, Grand Army of the Republic Department of New York Records, New York State Archives, Albany NY.

[2] Edward O. Bartlett, The Dutchess County Regiment: (150th Regiment of New York State Volunteer Infantry) In The Civil War, ed S. G. Cook and Charles E. Benton (Danbury CT: Danbury Medical Printing Co., 1907), 257.

[3] Ibid., 257-258.

[4] Shelby Foote, The Civil War: A Narrative, Red River to Appomattox, vol. 3, (New York: Vintage Books, 1974), 323.

[5] 150th NY Volunteer Infantry Regiment Monument, Gettysburg National Battlefield Park, Gettysburg PA.

[6] Bartlett, The Dutchess County Regiment, 93.

[7] Ibid., 93.

[8] Ibid., 94.

[9] Ibid., 258-259.

[10] “Millerton Memories: Henry Gridley Post No. 617, Grand Army of the Republic,” Pine Plains Register, May 23, 1929.

[11] “Grand Army Meets,” Harlem Valley Times, February 1, 1913.

[12] “Millerton,” Amenia Times, January 11, 1889.

[13] “Installation,” Harlem Valley Times, January 16, 1915.

[14] “Grand Army Clambake,” Pine Plains Register, August 15, 1889.

[15] “Grand Army Clambake,” Pine Plains Register, August 15, 1889.

[16] “Millerton Memories: Henry Gridley Post No. 617, Grand Army of the Republic,” Pine Plains Register, May 23, 1929.

[17] “Millerton Memories: Henry Gridley Post No. 617, Grand Army of the Republic,” Pine Plains Register, May 23, 1929.

[18] “Grand Army Reunion,” Harlem Valley Times, March 1, 1913.

[19] Ibid.

[20] Harlem Valley Times, March 1, 1913.

[21] “Grand Army Reunion,” Harlem Valley Times, March 1, 1913.

[22] Reference needed.

[23] “Millerton,” Amenia Times, May 25, 1888.

[24] “Millerton Memories: Henry Gridley Post No. 617, Grand Army of the Republic,” Pine Plains Register, May 23, 1929.

[25] Ibid.

[26] “Millerton,” Amenia Times, May 28, 1896.

[27] “Millerton Memories: Henry Gridley Post No. 617, Grand Army of the Republic,” Pine Plains Register, May 23, 1929.

[28] Ibid.

[29] Ibid.

[30] Veterans Day at Millerton,” Poughkeepsie Eagle, September 11, 1911.

[31] Ibid.

[32] “Headquarters Armstrong Post No. 104 G. A. R.,” Rhinebeck Gazette, September 30, 1911.

[33] “The Cracker Barrel” The Harlem Valley Times, October 11, 1962.

[34] Ibid.

[35] Ibid.

[36] Ibid.

[37] “Millerton Herald,” Harlem Valley Times, November 14, 1914.

[38] “Post Meeting” Harlem Valley Times, November 2, 1912.

[39] Ibid.

[40] Ibid.

[41] Ibid.

[42] Ibid.

[43] Ibid.

[44] “Death of a Soldier,” Pine Plains Register, May 1, 1896.

[45] “The Supervisors,” Rhinebeck Gazette, December 14, 1912.

[46] “The Supervisors: Farm Bureau Asks For $3,000 – Other County Business,” Rhinebeck Gazette, December 8, 1917.

[47] “The Supervisors,” Rhinebeck Gazette, December 14, 1912.

[48] “The Supervisors: Farm Bureau Asks For $3,000 – Other County Business,” Rhinebeck Gazette, December 8, 1917.

[49] “Henry Gridley Post Holds Annual Election,” Harlem Valley Times, December 20, 1913.

[50] “Grand Army Meets,” Harlem Valley Times, December 18, 1915.

[51] Harlem Valley Times, January 25, 1913.

[52] “Millerton Herald,” Harlem Valley Times, December 28, 1912.

[53] “Millerton,” Amenia Times, December 28, 1888.

[54] “Millerton,” Amenia Times, January 4, 1900.

[55] “Millerton Herald,” Harlem Valley Times, March 20, 1915.

[56] Ibid.

[57] “A Vigorous Veteran,” Harlem Valley Times, March 20, 1915.

[58] “Millerton Memories: Henry Gridley Post No. 617, Grand Army of the Republic,” Pine Plains Register, May 23, 1929.

[59] “Millerton,” Amenia Times, November 25, 1887.

[60] “Millerton,” Amenia Times, November 12, 1891.

[61] “Millerton,” Amenia Times, February 4, 1892.

[62] “Death of a Soldier,” Pine Plains Register, May 1, 1896.

[63] “Dwight Stent Dead,” Hudson Evening Register, circa 1898.

[64] “Civil War Veteran Passes Away,” Harlem Valley Times, January 11, 1913.

[65] “Mustered Out,” Harlem Valley Times, February 15, 1913.

[66] “Mustered Out,” Harlem Valley Times, May 17, 1913.

[67] “Mustered Out,” Harlem Valley Times, December 20, 1913.

[68] “Mustered Out,” Harlem Valley Times, April 18, 1914.

[69] “Grand Army Man Mustered Out,” Harlem Valley Times, September 26, 1914.

[70] “A Remarkable Old Lady,” Harlem Valley Times, February 15, 1913.

[71] “Mustered Out,” Harlem Valley Times, February 15, 1913.

[72] “Mustered Out,” Harlem Valley Times, May 17, 1913.

[73] “Mustered Out,” Harlem Valley Times, February 15, 1913.

[74] “Mustered Out,” Harlem Valley Times, May 17, 1913.

[75] Ward Van DeBogart to Assistant Adjutant General NY G.A.R. Isidore Isaacs, abt January 1924, Folder 9, Box 20, Grand Army of the Republic Department of New York Records, New York State Archives, Albany NY

[76] Assistant Adjutant General NY G.A.R. Isidore Isaacs to Ward Van DeBogart, January 12, 1924, Folder 9, Box 20, Grand Army of the Republic Department of New York Records, New York State Archives, Albany NY

[77] Millerton Memories, Pine Plains Register, May 30, 1929

[78] “Millerton Memories: Henry Gridley Post No. 617, Grand Army of the Republic,” Pine Plains Register, May 23, 1929.

[79] Ibid.

[80] Grave marker, Ward Van DeBogart, Irondale Cemetery, Millerton NY.