Yates County, NY, in the Civil War

By Rich MacAlpine

As Gleaned from the Yates County Chronicle, February 20, 1862

The Chronicle reported on the Union’s victories along the Tennessee River at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. “Thus we have at length the satisfaction of having something accomplished. The early disasters of the campaign are being atoned for. The power of the Nation is demonstrated. The rebellion is shattered and if these blows are rapidly followed up, will soon be overthrown.” When the news of the victories was received in Penn Yan… “There was a general clanging of bells, firing of guns, bonfires, hurrahs, and oath breaking exultations.” NOTE: The victorious General in those battles was little known Ulysses Grant, who was promoted to Major General as a result of his success.

“Capt. Durkee of the 14th Regiment of Infantry is a recruiting officer at Rochester and withal a great wag. He presents as a good reason for joining his regiment that it is commanded by Gen. Stone! Shades of the martyrs of Ball’s Bluff!  Boys, if you want to be sacrificed enlist with Captain Durkee by all means.”

“Company I of the 33rd Infantry Regiment, being the only Penn Yan company in the two years service and having served nine months of their time – the past five months of which in active service at the enemy’s lines in Virginia – take this opportunity to inform the people of Yates and surrounding Counties, that they have a regular Recruiting Officer at this Village who may be found at his office over N.R. Long & Co.’s Hardware Store, where he will be ever ready to explain the facts. No humbug Rifle, but the genuine Belgian Rifle, arranged to shoot fourteen hundred and fifty yards. Pay $13 per month and $100 Bounty pay to commence at once – no lost time.”

A letter writer to the Chronicle lamented the disbanding of the Congregational Church in Penn Yan a few years earlier. They built a wood frame church at the corner of Main St. and Chapel St. in 1841 and preached the gospel there for 16 years. “It is not known that so much as a single dollar was ever received from any person who sympathized with slavery or who drank or sold intoxicating drinks as a beverage.” Dwindling numbers and financial troubles led to the congregation’s decline. In 1857, they sold their building to the Methodists in Penn Yan. NOTE: That building served the Methodists well until the mid-1890s, when it was torn down and replaced with the imposing structure that is now on that corner.

By Rich MacAlpine

As Gleaned from the Yates County Chronicle, February 13, 1862

“It is rumored that John Bull and the French Emperor are looking and longing for a decent excuse to acknowledge the independence of the Jeff Davis empire. We have one most effectual way of preventing such interference or, at the worst, making it of no effect and that is by a decree of UNIVERSAL EMANCIPATION. That will bring the warm sympathy of the whole civilized world to our aid.”

An unnamed  member of Berdan’s Sharpshooters, then encamped in Washington, wrote a letter to “Friend Cleveland”, Editor of the Chronicle, describing his visit to the 33rd NY (Keuka Rifles) camped near Langley, VA. He walked 13 miles on muddy roads to see his friends from Penn Yan.

The sharpshooter described Langley as a small town with two taverns and a blacksmith shop and wrote  “… no one can visit the 33rd and fail to see what sacrifices our soldiers have to make, many of whom lived in luxury at home. Still I did not hear any complaining and those who have to perform picket and other duties do it without murmuring, notwithstanding the inclement weather. Lieuts Long and Howe appear to be favored with good health and are looking well and, as well as Capt. Root, are universally liked by the members of Company I, which is spoken of as having as good officers as any company in the regiment. The men in Company I make themselves as cheerful and comfortable as possible, surrounded as they are by prodigiously deep mud.”

A Sharps Breechloading Rifle

The author of the letter then complained that his company had not yet received the rifles they were promised at enlistment and as a result they had not yet seen action. He said the men … “are unwilling to accept any of the imported guns – not even the Enfield Rifle and, much less, the Austrian Rifle that we hear some croaking about as being already in the hands of the men – having enlisted with the promise in view that they were to be armed with the best with the best rifle ever made. Maj. Gen. McClellan takes the same view of the case and desires that we be armed with the superior weapon. In proof of which, during a recent interview between Col. Berdan and myself, ‘Little Mac’ smiled assentingly to the Colonel’s remark that he would march his men into the Potomac before asking them to take any inferior weapon.” The letter went on to say that the Sharp’s Rifles are on order with the War Department and expected to be received in 30 days. He ended by reporting that Herschel Pierce and his Dundee recruits arrived in the Langley camp with the 76th NY Infantry.

Editor’s Note.  Langley was reached by crossing Chain Bridge from northwest Washington and heading up a long hill.  The area is now part of McLean, VA, and famous for a topnotch high school.  It is also the home of the CIA.

By Rich MacAlpine

As Gleaned from the Yates County Chronicle, February 6, 1862

The Chronicle reprinted an article from The Scientific American relating to the cotton trade. Cotton manufacturers in the Northeast stockpiled cotton when Southern states began secession. After 10 months of war, those stockpiles were used up. The article stated, “It is estimated that there is not a stock of cotton on hand to keep our factories running two months. What, then, is to be done when this is all worked up? This is now a subject of serious thought to our cotton manufacturers.” Charles Beach of Penn Yan (listed in the 1860 census as a “pedlar”) answered the call and wrote a letter to the Chronicle outlining how cotton processing machinery could be adapted to process flax and turn it into “flax cotton.”

The Chronicle reported on “The Movements of the Army – It is evident that if ‘all is quiet on the Potomac’, it is not so in other sections. But there is an evident determination on the part of General McClellan to move forward with his army of the Potomac as soon as the condition of the soil will admit. The roads are so mixed up with deep mud and frost that it is impossible to move heavy ordinance.”

Herschel Pierce of Dundee, who had tried valiantly to raise a company of artillery in that village and fell short of the number needed, was back in town as a 2nd Lieutenant in Company A of the 76th NY Infantry (the “Cortland Regiment”). “The citizens of that village, as a token of the high appreciation of his worth, have presented him with means to purchase a Sword and Revolver.” NOTE: Pierce rose through the ranks to become Captain of his company in 1863.

“The Weather – The winter so far has been mild and pleasant. The snow is about a foot and a half deep and the sleighing is fine, except in some of the north and south roads the drifts are serious obstacles. The people seem disposed to improve the opportunity to do uptheir winter business.”

Editor’s Note. Here’s a letter written by Herschel Pierce, placed online by Brown and Michaels, a law firm in Ithaca.  Thank you, BPM Legal!

By Rich MacAlpine

As Gleaned from the Yates County Chronicle, January 23, 1862

A letter to the Chronicle reflected on how advances of recent years are now paying off in the Union war effort …. especially the invention of the sewing machine, telegraph, and the mower and reaper. Add to that the expansion of the railroad network in the decade before the war began, and the writer concluded that the war will be good for the Northern economy and devastating to the Southern rebellion.

“We learn from a private letter that J. Smith Brown of Penn Yan has been promoted from Sergeant-Major to be Adjutant in the 1st Regiment of Berdan’s U.S. Sharpshooters. In such a regiment, where the standard is so high, it is a great compliment to promote an enlisted man thus over all the Lieutenants. We feel confident that Mr. Brown will satisfactorily perform his duties. The Adjutant is second only to the Colonel in importance.”

The Chronicle reprinted an article from the Penn Yan Democrat – “Massa Cleveland has been absent on some secret mission ‘down east’ ever since the Albany lobby got together.” Editor Cleveland’s response? – “If the half-dozen low-bred backbiters, sneaks and drivelers who do the scribbling for the witless organ of Sham Democracy and Canal Grabbing were all to absent themselves for a long or short period, it would not be an event worth mentioning. Nothing they might do, except to utter an occasional syllable of truth, would excite any public interest.”

“Augustus Murdock, a son of Hiram Murdock of this village and a soldier of Company I, 33rd Reg’t (the Keuka Rifles) died last Saturday at the Camp of typhoid pneumonia. The body was sent home for burial and was expected on Tuesday. Augustus was a boy of good heart and we have no doubt a brave and trusty soldier. His father reached the Camp a few moments after he had breathed his last,” NOTE: Murdock was 22. He joined the company in Elmira.

By Rich MacAlpine

As Gleaned from the Yates County Chronicle, January 16, 1862

Weitzel Henderson of Jerusalem, a member of the Company A of the 50th Engineers, wrote a letter to the Chronicle: “We have not (as reported by the Penn Yan Democrat) received our Sharps rifles although new uniforms are on hand and have been distributed accordingly. But as for Sharps Rifles or ‘carbines’ or any other weapon more effective than the Harper’s Ferry muskets, they exist only in the hazy visions of the future! Moreover, Mr. Editor – If you have any more men in Yates County who think of enlisting with the idea of serving as gentlemen soldiers, or acting as Colonel’s clerk, or perchance as private secretaries to Gen. McClellan, just hint to them  that they better remain where their anxious mamas can lead them by their apron strings and with paternal eye watch their interests. Our cause demands men who are willing to know the worst and can school their souls to meet it; men whose hearts are fired – whose arms are nerved to hunt the Hydra of the Rebellion in his native jungles. These are the men that the times require. Those designing to become gentlemen soldiers better remain at home; the alcoves of some literary institution is a more appropriate sphere.”

Col. C.B. Stuart, from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

John McFarland of Branchport, also a member of the 50th Engineers, was sent home due for illness and also wrote a letter to the Chronicle about the state of his regiment: “The Regiment is commanded by Col. Charles Stuart of Geneva and is in good condition and spoken of highly by all who have had the privilege of visiting it. The Reg’t is camped on the left bank of the Potomac, near the navy yard in Washington. The site is a beautiful one and the camp is tastefully decorated with cedar trees brought from the Maryland shore. Gen. McClellan says it is the nicest camp on the whole line of the Potomac. Most of the soldiers are enjoying good health and seem determined on putting down this Rebellion and thus save our country. Especially is this the case in Company A under Captain Ford and Lieut. Robbins who are known to many readers of the Chronicle. They are good officers and do what they can to make the boys happy. Our fare is good. I wish you could see this Company march out to their meals. They are a healthy, robust set of fellows; have enough eat, drink, and wear and what more can a soldier expect? The Reg’t has never been in an engagement but are eagerly looking forward to a time when they can convince the dupes of Jeff Davis & Co. that the ‘mud-sills’ of the North possess some chivalry.”

Editor’s Note. Our Yates soldiers knew how to write!  Let us be thankful that they weren’t confined to “tweets.”  For more on the 50th Engineers, visit the excellent Blue Gray Review.

By Rich MacAlpine

As Gleaned from the Yates County Chronicle, January 9, 1862

Editor Cleveland gave this overly optimistic account on the state of the war: “Since the New Year began the contending armies have met in different places and the result has been the destruction of many rebel soldiers, a large amount of rebel property and an advance of Federal troops upon rebel territory.  Our troops have taken possession of the railroad from Savannah to Charleston and broken up the communication between those seats of Southern commerce and rebellion. While the Federal army is gaining strength and courage and advancing, the rebel army is daily becoming weaker and more and more demoralized and falling back and abandoning their defenses. A general gloom and despondency pervades the whole domain of secession. Destructive fires have been kindled by the incendiary in many places. The slaves have shown a strong tendency to mutiny and insurrection – the finances have become hopelessly deranged with a total loss of credit – a general murmuring against the measures of the Confederate Government and the arbitrary tyranny of Jeff Davis….. The year 1862 opens upon us with the horrors of war, but we trust it will leave us in the enjoyment of peace.”

Monument to the 50th Engineers at Gettysburg

The 50th Regiment of Engineers, with many men from Yates County, was kept busy shoring up the defenses around Washington. “A few days ago a trial of a new pontoon bridge, five hundred feet long, was made under the direction of the engineers corps of the New York Fiftieth Regiment near the Navy Yard. President Lincoln rode over it in his carriage, after which six twelve-pounder howitzers with six horses attached to each, and six caissons marched across causing a depression of only eight inches.”  (Editors note:  The 50th NY Engineers served in all the campaigns of the Army of the Potomac — from 1861 until the war ended in 1865.  The photo above is from the fascinating blog about monuments,  Draw the Sword.)

News from the Keuka Rifles (Company I of the 33rd NY Infantry Regiment) … “This company was mostly made up on volunteers from Penn Yan and surrounding area under the command of Captain Letts, who has resigned, and the following promotions have been made:  Edward E. Root – Captain, William H. Long – First Lieutenant, Charles Howe – 2nd Lieutenant.” And this: “To the Patriotic Ladies of Penn Yan – The members of Company I do hereby tender their sincere thanks for the Mittens and Stockings received from them.”

By Rich MacAlpine

As Gleaned from the Yates County Chronicle, January 2, 1862

“The year 1861 has vanished. All its promises, its hopes and opportunities are fled. It has been a year of great events and coming time will probably mark it as an important epoch in the history of human progress. As individuals we can judge for ourselves whether its time has been widely employed, whether we have advanced in the march of manhood and whether the world has been benefitted by our presence in the ranks of our generation of fellow men. The impartial historian will tell us bye and bye whether as a nation we have made the best use of our means and energy in our great struggle with a desperate and wicked rebellion. Whatever the decision, the case is closed, the record of 1861 is made up.”

There was a letter to the Editor from Harrison DeLong of Berdan’s Sharpshooters complaining of the lack of action in winter camp … “I suppose many up North are wondering why something is not done towards crushing out the rebellion, now that the cold weather has come on for which the Federal forces have been waiting! But it seems that McClellan’s grand army is enjoying a ‘masterly state of inactivity’ at present.”  DeLong was a printer apprentice for the Chronicle before joining the regiment.

The sniping between the Yates County Chronicle and the Penn Yan Democrat continued. Editor Cleveland of the Chronicle wrote “The organ of slave-driving democracy and canal grabbing virtue overruns with vulgar slang ….. It is all right for that mendacious vehicle of distraction to wallow in its native mire of blackguardism, but that will not help the character of its friends.”

Editors Note. Harrison DeLong was one of the most insightful writers among the Yates County Boys in Blue.  Some of his letters are in R.L. Murray’s Yates County Troops in the Civil War, available at the YCGHS.  After the war, DeLong appears to have relocated (p. 358) to Ohio, where, not surprisingly, he was a newspaper owner and editor.

By Rich MacAlpine

As Gleaned from the Yates County Chronicle, December 26, 1861

“Soldier Accidentally Shot – We learn by verbal report that a sad accident has occurred in the company of the Keuka Rifles, under command of Captain Letts.  A volunteer by the name of (William) Humphrey from Benton Center was accidentally shot by the discharge of a gun in the hands of Orderly Sergeant Howe. The ball struck a tree and glancing from that struck a flagstaff and glancing again hit the young man Humphrey and killed him. So goes the report.”

Earlier in 1861, the Democrats in Albany were able to seize control of the state Canal Commission. Since then, Editor Cleveland of the Chronicle referred to their journalistic and political competitor, the Penn Yan Democrat, as “the canal grabber’s organ”. Example: “Great in pretense of Unionism, but greater in its zeal for slavery, the cause of all Disunion – the Canal Grabber’s Organ.”

“Steamboat Change – (reprinted from the Ontario Republican Times) – We are informed that Captain Robinson proposes to transfer his steamboat H.B. Gibson to Crooked Lake. His design, as we understand it, is to haul the boat out of the water immediately after navigation closes and after taking out the machinery and cutting her in two at the center, to transport her by railroad to Penn Yan, whence she can be easily moved to the lake. She is then to be enlarged by an addition of a section in the center about thirty feet in length and otherwise improved to meet the requirements of her new position. There are many who will regret her removal, but as the business on Canandaigua Lake is scarcely sufficient to support two boats, it is manifestly for the interest of her owner to take her where there is more to be done.” Editor Cleveland of the Chronicle added, “If there shall prove to be business enough for two boats on Crooked Lake, we shall be glad of it. But if Captain Gregg (owner of the Steuben) is to be driven off to make room for the new enterprise, we doubt its success. The Captain has hosts of friends and it will be very difficult to steal them away.”  NOTE: It was an ambitious plan, but it never happened. The Henry B. Gibson was bought by Canandaigua interests and stayed on that lake.