They came from the gentle rolling hills which belong to the foothills of the Allegany Mountains. They had been born and raised on the hillsides and in the valleys watered by the multitudinous creeks which are the tributaries of the mighty Allegany. Flowing forty-six (46) miles through the county, it receives several tributaries of considerable size, those joining from the south being Four-Mile, Trout, Tunegawant, Red house, Tunesassa (or Quaker Run), and Split Rock Creeks; and those flowing in from the north, the Oswayo, Dodge's, Haskel's, Olean, Five-Mile, Mill, Great Valley, Little Valley, Cold Spring and Pierce's Creeks. Many of these streams gave their names to the towns which they passed through. The northern border of the county is formed by the Cattaraugus Creek, which also forms the northern border of the Towns of Yorkshire, Ashford, East Otto, Otto, Persia and Perrysburg. A considerable portion of the county adjoining the western border is drained by the Conewango Creek and its tributaries which have a tortuous course of about 26 miles in and out of the Towns of New Albion, Dayton, Leon, Conewango, Randolph, Napoli, and Coldspring. Six hundred and eighty-nine (689) of them enlisted from those towns and other Cattaraugus and Allegany County towns with similar terrain. One hundred and fifty-nine (159) of them hailed from Tioga and Tompkins County on the Finger Lakes to the east.
Their fathers and grandfathers had come to this land when it was covered by a forest from border to border. They had proceeded to clear the fields for small farms, using the rocks and stumps to fence their pastures. Soon they constructed roads and many villages and small settlements began to appear. The obituary of the mother of one of the Regimental Sergeants is illustrative: "…, the husband preceded her to the life beyond twelve years ago last June. They moved into Mansfield in 1836. Lived and passed on the same farm they took up in the wild state of nature, making them a home. There was born to them a family of ten children…"1 Most of these men had lived on this land all of their lives, swimming and fishing in the creeks and roaming the wooded hillsides as boys. They had watered their stock in the same creeks and tilled the fields. Thus, the land was dear to them as evidenced by a letter penned by one of the Privates to his father soon after their arrival in Virginia. "Father the land here is very poor. I would not give one acre of ours for four of this."2 While they were occupied with the business of soldering, they retained a great concern for the animals that had been their means of support in civilian life as suggested by the letter of a soldier to his younger brother while the Regiment was still encamped at Elmira: "…I am glad to know that Frank horse is getting along with his leg. Take good care of the horses and bee careful with them. Lime is good for Johns coff, keep some in his manger."3
They came from a way of life which was rich in things not measured in monetary terms. This is illustrated by another letter: "The 5th New Hamshire Regt. were out on picket last week and brought in 9 cows, 2 mules, 2 prisoners and one man got $40 in cash. He found it in a snuff box in a deserted house. That is more money than you ever had in yours isn't it Father."4 It is no accident that the cows and mules are mentioned before the cash.
The demographics of the Town of Allegany demonstrate that those who were not farmers were for the most part involved in some trade which serviced its farming community before they joined the Blue Army. Seventy-nine (79) were farmers, twenty-three (23) were carpenters, blacksmiths, barrel makers (coopers), harness makers and the like. Nine did not list an occupation. While similar information is not available for the rest of the County or Allegany, Tompkins and Tioga Counties, there is no reason to suspect that the breakdown would be any different for them. Their last regimental commander described them in a reunion address in 1890: "…men from the varied professions, also the mechanic, the artisan, the tradesman, and tiller of the soil, and nearly all were magicians. I think I hear you say, that's not very complimentary. Well, I can assure you it's a very high order of talent. As you all know, the discipline of the Potomac army was very strict; at times even severe. They were no sooner in camp after a march or a fight than orders came to police the grounds; the next day they must drill; and by the next day, they must appear on parade and for review, with white gloves and shoes blackened; and when ordered to move again the men were required, in addition to their sixty rounds, etc., to carry a full uniform, regulation cap, and army shoes. They would march for a day through a sparsely-settled country, pass but a few business places, and come into camp at night, about one-half with slouch or straw hats, and the other half with boots. I call this a high order of talent."5
The eight hundred and forty-eight (848) joined the regiment in August, September, and October, 1861 (some, primarily from Gowanda and Randolph, had been drilling as part of the 64th NYS Militia since 1853) forming eight Companies constituted as follows:
"A" Company, the Gowanda Guards, Captain Rufus Washburn, 82 officers and menIn an Army which had a huge rate of attrition, Company officers were perhaps the most expendable. Of these eight Captains, only Glenny remained in the unit as regimental commander when it was mustered out July 14, 1865 and he had spent several weeks in a hospital following a serious wound at Fair Oaks. Renwick and Washburn were discharged due to wounds in 1862 and 1863 respectively. Barstow and Fancher both died in early 1862. Everett, Maltbie, Battin, and Lake had all been discharged, disabled by early 1863. Pittinger served out his 3 year enlistment with the regiment but he suffered an episode of the ubiquitous soldier's disease which required hospitalization and a leave of absence which absented him from the Peninsular Campaign. A complete listing of all regimental officers appears in Appendix "A."
11893 Obituary of Delilah Woliver Harvey, mother of Sergeant Isaac Harvey of Co. C
2Letter of Henry Van Vlack to his folks from Camp California, Jan. 11, 1862
3Letter of George W. Van Vlack from Elmira, Dec. 8, 1861, to his brother Clinton Van
Vlack
4Letter of Henry Van Vlack to "Friends at Home" from Camp California, Jan. 23, 1862
5"New York at Gettysburg", by Lt. Col. William Fox, J.B. Lyon Co., 1890, p. 518-519
History of Cattaraugus Co., New York, 1879, edited by L.H. Everts
On August 15, 1861, the Adjutant-General's office of the State of N.Y. issued an order accepting the 64th Regiment, N.Y.S.M. as a portion of the twenty-five thousand (25,000) men called for by the Governor's proclamation of July 25, 1861, which had been issued in response to Lincoln's call for 300,000 more volunteers. The order authorized Col. Thomas J. Parker to proceed at once to the Volunteer Depot at Elmira with his Command, and to enter at once upon the work of recruiting the Regiment up to the prescribed standard.
Elmira is a town centrally located, on what is now called the Southern Tier of NY State, some one hundred and twenty miles as the crow flies from most railroad depots in Cattaraugus County. It is probable that few of the new soldiers from Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties had ever been there. The railroad fare round trip between Gowanda and Elmira was about ten dollars, a not insignificant sum in those days.6 Many had never traveled outside of their own county, except perhaps a trip to the "big" city of Jamestown in Chautauqua County to the west, or some may have ventured to Buffalo in Erie County to the north. One future hero and probably a few others had been "employed by...lumber manufacturers...to run the river down the Allegany and Ohio, to Pittsburg, Cincinnati and Louisville..."7
On August 27, 1861, Col. Parker traveled to Elmira where he was assigned to enlistment quarters at Barracks No. 3. In the meantime, Major Enos C. Brooks commenced the work of recruiting the Companies to the standard. He was assisted in this endeavor by those who would become the Captains of the Companies. Public meetings were held in every hamlet to arouse public spirit. Typical was one held at a church in Little Valley where one of the putative officers in "burning and eloquent strains...electrified the assembly and caused others to follow him by volunteering."8
On September 7, about 100 men from Gowanda and Randolph, who would form the nexus of Companies A and B embarked from Salamanca Station. Another large contingent left Cattaraugus Station shortly thereafter. Other smaller groups and individuals made the trip during the next two months. One of these described the process: "In the forenoon I was ploughing. I heard that a few young men in our town had enlisted. That forenoon I made up my mind to enlist. I went to dinner and put the horses in the barn. While eating my dinner I told my folks that I was going to enlist that afternoon. They was a little surprised and mother thought I better not go. I took an extra shirt and a few trinkets & tied them in a bundle, and bid all good bye, and started for Cattaraugus Station where I enlisted & started for Elmira, NY about six o'clock that evening & got to Elmira about nine o'clock."9
Life in barracks number three was not unpleasant for the putative warriors: "They pass the victuals in a large dishpan, such as potatoes, pudding, rice. Beef and pork is passed in pie tins, bread in a large close basket all ready buttered."10 Another remembered that: "Here we drilled and stood guard, and run the guards to go to the city, and run past the guards to get back into camp again when they did not catch us & put us in the guard house."9 The issuance of equipment was probably the most significant event: "...we have got all our equipment now except the Cap box. Perhaps it would be entertaining for you to hear what they were, but it would not bee so entertaining if you had to carry them all. First it is Gun, waist belt for bayonet, catriage box and belt crossing the left shoulder, then those darnd great knapsacks, then haversacks for carrying previsions, then the canteens, which hold three pints, then plat, cup, knife and fork. I believe that it is all though I may of forgot something. Yet you can guess they are well harnessed. Our guns are the Enfield Rifle. Well made and well sighted, creased barl, very sharp but not Sabor bayonet."10
However, by 1896, at least one Regimental survivor had a different recollection of the quality of the cuisine. "The first military meal will never be forgotten. We fell into line two abreast and marched two the eating house, a long building, with a cooking room in one end. Seated at the long rough board tables, some of the dishes served were not first class and would hardly do credit to a toney hotel. There was some complaint from the boys, which a few days afterward culminated in a row. Nearly three thousand soldiers gathered and tried to get at the cooks (all men), and but for the timely appearance of Colonel Parker, with his loud voice of command, it is hard to tell what might have happened. The colonel promised the boys the difficulty should not happen again and he would see to it himself, which he did."11
The Regiment's experience at Elmira was summed up in a sketch written for a reunion in 1892: "As a matter of cold fact the military history of this regiment began at Elmira. The four months spent at this place were delightful beyond description, good quarters, food fit for the gods, a camp ever favored by the attendance of sweethearts, wives and a great crowd of others of the fair sex ready and wiling to assume such relations, by reason, of course of their abundant patriotism. Withal there was an abundance of good hard work done, making the raw material up into soldiers. But strange as it now appears in looking back, there was deep-seated discontent pervading all, at the delay in permitting us to go down South and end the war."12
The farmers from the banks of the Conewango and Cattaraugus Creeks and the shores of Lake Cayuga, who so recently had stabled their teams for the last time already believed themselves to be one of the elite fighting units of the Blue Army. In a few short months, on the south bank of the Chickahominy in the Commonwealth of Virginia, they would begin to make it so. The journey was about to begin.
6Letter from George Van Vlack to brothers, Oct. 24, 1861
7Diary of Martin Sigman, p. 1
8History of Cattaraugus County, NY, 1879, edited by L.H. Everts, p. 273
9Ibid, p. 274
10Letter from George Van Vlack to brother Stephen, Dec. 8, 1861
11Eighth Annual Reunion at Franklinville, 1896, Memories of George W. Whipple, p. 46
12Fourth Annual Reunion at Salamanca, 1882, Historical Sketches, p. 3
