This photo was taken by my trusty camera on a visit to our State Archives in Albany this summer. It is one page from the 1897 report of GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) Post 632, Selah Cornwell based in Merrifield, Town of Scipio NY. Post 632 was one of many local Posts active in the years following the Civil War.

Selah Cornwell GAR Post 632

Between a recent donation from the owner of Scipio business St. John’s Memorials and another trip to the NYS Archives in Albany, I have gathered some more information about Scipio and Cayuga County in the early years.
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) records stored at the Archives are not complete, but there were several for Scipio, Union Springs, King Ferry and Auburn. I plan to share some of them in the weeks ahead, and of course will make them available at the Scipio Town Hall for anyone who is interested. Here are a few details about Scipio Civil War veterans who belonged to #632.

Yearly reports submitted by Post 632 of Scipio tell us who was an officer, how many members the Post had and what the dues were.

In 1895, there were 22 members reported with their Headquarters in Merrifield, Town of Scipio. Officers were Wm. C. Tripp, J. B. Hitchcock, Libeus Merry, Francis Flynn, W. M. Clark, P.T. Shorkley, M. M. Palmer, C. Sincerbox, T. C. Tallman and S. Williams.

June of 1897 shows the Post Headquarters listed as Association Hall, and there were 23 members; two members were lost by suspension leaving 21. Dues were $1.68 per capita.
Officers listed were: Wm. C. Tripp, W. M. Clark, J. B. Hitchcock, P.T. Shorkley, M. M. Parker, C. Sincerbox, S. Williams, T. C. Tallman, Libeus Merry and Francis Flynn.
They met the 1st and 3rd Saturdays in Morgan Hall.

For December of 1897, a report was filed showing 21 current members, and another two mustered in: John Muldoon, aged 72 and a resident of the neighboring town of Fleming and J. P. Northway, aged 52, born in Cortland and residing in Venice (which was formed off from Scipio in 1823).
John Muldoon was mustered in on December 30, 1862. He served as a Private in Company E of the 9th NY Heavy Artillery until his discharge on October 18, 1865 due to a surgeon’s certificate.
J. P. enlisted on January 7, 1864. He mustered in as a Private in Company H of the 16th NY Heavy Artillery. At discharge on November 29, 1865, he was a member of Company A of the 4th NY Cavalry. His discharge was due to General orders #144. Dues had been lowered to eight cents a member. Meetings were held the 1st Saturday of the month at Association Hall.
Officers listed were Morton M. Palmer, John P. Northway, William C. Tripp, Thomas C. Tallman, Pardon T. Shorkley, Chester Sincerbox, Leonard Williams, Wilbur C. Clark, Alonso A. Austin, James B. Hitchcock and Francis Flynn.

On June 28, 1902, 37 years after the end of the Civil War, Post 632 had just 13 members and they each paid eight cents for dues, so a total of $1.04 was collected. The roster of members was as follows:
Francis Flynn, J. P. Northway, W. M. Clark, P.T. Shorkley, M.M. Parker, Chester Sincerbox, Wm. C. Tripp, J. W. Jaquette, A. A. Austin and J. B. Hitchcock.

American's Creed

William Tyler Page, Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, wrote “The American's Creed” in 1917. It was accepted by the House on behalf of the American people on April 3, 1918.

Where were you?
Where were you 11 years ago? I had just arrived at work when I heard the news that changed our lives forever. We gathered to hear the news on a television, and in stunned silence watched as the second tower was hit. Wave after wave of broadcasts told us what was happening almost as it occurred. No one knew if this was the beginning of something or an isolated incident, and we were all fearful of what would happen next and where.
Washington DC then Pennsylvania appeared on the news and normally calm newscasters gave unguarded and personal accounts of what they saw. We heard report after report of strangers reaching out to each other, valiant men and women sacrificing their lives to save other. In the days and weeks that followed, people untouched personally gave deeply of their time and money to help those left devastated in the aftermath.
Today I participated in a remembrance ceremony in Auburn, NY at City Hall, at the monument erected last year to commemorate the 10th year since the attacks took place. Surrounded by military, police, fire and rescue personnel, politicians and civilians we once more renewed our pledge to each other and to our country:
“I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes. I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.”

BATTLE OF ORISKANY

BATTLE OF ORISKANY
New York State played a large role in the Revolutionary War. The Daughters of the American Revolution Owasco Chapter currently has 81 members; many of their Revolutionary ancestors fought in and are buried in New York.
Many of us have seen “Drums Along the Mohawk” with Henry Fonda and more recently with Daniel Defoe. The movie is an attempt to accurately portray life in central New York during the Revolution, and the brave men and women who defended their homes and families.
Of all the battles fought in the American Revolution, few, if any were as violent as the Battle of Oriskany. The National Park Service provides us with some details.
The Battle of Oriskany occurred on August 6, 1777, when the local Tryon County Militia attempted to come to the relief of the besieged Fort Schuyler (Stanwix). In 1777 Tryon County covered the area that now embraces the Counties of Fulton, Montgomery, Tioga, Ontario, Herkimer and Hamilton.
On July 30, 1777, the militia's commander, General Nicholas Herkimer, had ordered his men to begin assembling at Fort Dayton located in the modern Herkimer NY area. By August 4, around 800 of the militia were assembled and ready to begin the march to relieve Ft. Schuyler. General John Burgoyne was attempting to force General Philip Schuyler's army of some 1,000 men to abandon their positions along the Mohawk, opening the route to Albany. He selected Lt. Colonel Barry Saint Leger (1737-1789), to command the expedition. Between regular troops, Hessians and Indians there was a British fighting force of about 1,400 men.
Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer's Command consisted of the Tryon County, New York Militia. Along with his eight hundred men, Herkimer had between 250 and 400 ox carts filled with supplies for the besieged Fort. The column was almost one mile long.
The militia brigade was composed of four regiments, mostly of Palatine German immigrants or their descendants. The 1st (Canajoharie) Regiment under Col. Ebenezer Cox, the 2nd (Palatine) Regiment under Col. Jacob Klock, the 3rd (Mohawk) Regiment under Col. Fredrick Visscher, and the 4th (Kingsland-German Flatts) Regiment under Col. Peter Bellinger.
The battle of Oriskany was devastating on both sides. Losses on the Tryon militia side may have been as high as 500 killed, wounded, or captured out of the 800 engaged. The battle of Oriskany led to Gen. Herkimer's death and destroyed the Tryon County Militia Brigade as an effective fighting force for the remainder of the war. This made it impossible for the militia to effectively defend their settlements from the Indian and loyalist raids that would plague them for the rest of the war.
General St. Leger's claim to victory in his letter to General Burgoyne of August 11th, 1777 was true enough. He had stopped the attempt to resupply and relieve Fort Stanwix. The Americans' claim that they still held the field of battle is an empty boast, as they did not achieve their goal. But, that they broke the back of St. Leger's fighting force and gave the British Indian allies something to think about was a true victory. Through their heroic defense, in the worst possible circumstances, they were truly victors.

Thank a Veteran Today

We have a lot to be thankful for, and today is a good day to seek out a veteran and tell them that.
Maybe your veteran is your neighbor or someone you work with. Maybe it is an ancestor who fought in the Revolution, Civil War, or so many many more to preserve our freedom. Send a thank you to the VA Hospital. Visit the cemetery. Write a letter to the Editor for your local paper. "Like" a vet on Facebook. Or just sit on your porch, enjoying your freedom to do just that,while you look at the flag and reflect upon the meaning behind the day.
Thank you every one!

Scipio and British Aliens in 1812

I have done some research on Scipio and the War of 1812 as you can probably tell from my last couple of postings. June 18, 2012, marks the 200th anniversary of the tart of the War of 1812.
I obtained some information from the NYS Archives on Scipio during the War of 1812. There were Scipio residents loyal to the USA who fought in the War of 1812; some had already served their country in the Revolutionary War. They are a story I will write another day. Today, I’d like to tell you about the list I found of British aliens (non-citizens) who were required to register with the government due to the outbreak of the War of 1812. This was done per a notice from the Department of State dated July 7, 1812 regarding British aliens residing in the USA during the War of 1812.
Some Scipio men on that list are:
Timothy Reddy, aged 34 with 15 years in the USA, a tailor with a wife and 6 children. He had made no application for Naturalization, and was noted as being “in opposition to the administration.”
Joseph Varty, aged 55 with 1 year as a resident and a married farmer but no children. He had made no application for Naturalization and was noted as being “an inoffensive subject.”
Robert Wallace, age 50 and a 23-year resident, a farmer with four children. He had not applied for Naturalization and in the remarks it was noted he appeared “to be unfriendly to the administration.”
Edmund Wright, age 52 with 23 years in the USA, a distiller of whiskey with a wife and 5 children. He had made no application for Naturalization, but the comments reflect that he was reputed to be “an honest man with a respectable family, and a good friend to the American government.”
William McMillin, age 52 and 24 years in the USA. A farmer with no family and no Naturalization, he was noted as being “a stranger, but an inoffensive man.”
Patrick Brannan, age 66 and 12 years in this country. He had a wife and 4 children and was a farmer who made application for Naturalization in January of 1812. He was noted as being “a respectable subject and a good friend to the government.”
John Kellett, who was a 32-year-old farmer here for 6 years with a wife and 3 children. He had made no Naturalization application, and was noted as being “opposed to the present administration of the government.”
Thomas Cowen, who at age 34 had been here for 20 years. He was a farmer with a wife and 4 children. No Naturalization application, but noted as being “friendly to the American Government.”
Patrick McLaughlin, who was 28 years old and had been here for 5 years. He was a Distiller with a wife and child. He was noted as being “peaceable and well disposed.”
Lawrence Gaffany (Gaffeny?) who was 25 and had been in the USA for 9 years. A labourer with no family, he was noted as being “a respectable young man and friendly to the Government.”
John Flynn, age 22 and in the USA for 9 years. Also a labourer without a family, he was noted as being “peaceable and inoffensive.”
Joseph Bird was 27 and here for 1 year. A farmer but no family, he was noted as being “a respectable young man and inoffensive.”
Samuel Brannon, age 22 and here 12 years, had no family. It appears from the notations on the list that he was related to John Brannon, also on the list as age 18 with 12 years in the USA. Both were farmers, and the notes say the two young men are “sons of Patrick and friendly to Government.”

Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812

The USPS Civil War stamps I mentioned in my last blog got me thinking of an earlier Battle of New Orleans - in the War of 1812.
I had several older siblings and they all loved music. My earliest memories include the popular songs of the day playing on a radio in the background. Elvis, Fabian, the Everly Brothers, Ricky Nelson, and many more - I could probably sing along with them all today, and many of them take me back with startling clarity to a specific moment in time when I chance upon them today.
One of my favorite songs was “The Battle of New Orleans” sung by Johnny Horton, although when I was seven years old, I had no idea what he was really singing about. I just knew the song was loud and lots of fun to sing along to. Casey Kasem would tell us in his mellow radio announcer voice that this song made the charts for twenty-one weeks, hitting #1 on June 6, 1959, and staying there for six weeks. The song also reached #1 on the country single chart, and won a 1960 Grammy for both Song of the Year and Best Country & Western Recording. I guess I wasn’t the only one who liked it!
With Memorial Day later this month and the 200th anniversary of the onset of the War of 1812 right around the corner on June 18, 2012, I listened to the song again (I love the Internet) and this time, it takes on new meaning. Many Americans who fought for this country’s freedom in the American Revolution also bore arms in the War of 1812. Horton’s song is an extremely simplified and exaggerated account of the American victory at the Battle of New Orleans, which was fought on January 8, 1815 and was the last major battle of the War of 1812. The Americans did defeat the British in this battle (with about 70 casualties versus the British’s 2,000+), and the British did withdraw, but the battle was a bit more complicated than the song suggests!

The part of the song that was my favorite, next to the part about the alligators, goes like this:

“Yeah, they ran through the briars
And they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes
Where the rabbits couldn’t go
They ran so fast
That the hounds couldn’t catch ‘em
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.”

You may also recall that the War of 1812 was when Francis Scott Key penned his poem, The Star Spangled Banner, as the smoke cleared at the Battle of Fort McHenry in September of 1814. Professional flag maker Mary Pickersgill had sewed the flag under government contract in 1813. Fort McHenry was built prior to the War of 1812, and was named after James McHenry who was the U.S. Secretary of War from 1796 to 1800. Key’s poem officially became our national anthem by an order of Congress in 1931. The original flag that inspired Francis Scott Key is among the most treasured artifacts in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. Each of the 15 stars is about 2 feet in diameter, and the 15 stripes are about 24 inches wide. I had the opportunity to see it about ten years ago while it was being restored, a monumental undertaking. I didn’t really grasp the enormity and presence of this flag until that day; then my imagination let me see and hear it, flapping and snapping high atop the flagpole, watching over the fort as the battle raged.