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Brasher man, Potsdam infantry among many St. Lawrence County soldiers fighting in Civil War before Memorial Day was official holiday

Posted 5/26/14

By STAN MAINE Even though Memorial Day was not an official holiday in the Civil War, many St. Lawrence County soldiers, including a brave one from Brasher and an entire Potsdam infantry, were …

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Brasher man, Potsdam infantry among many St. Lawrence County soldiers fighting in Civil War before Memorial Day was official holiday

Posted

By STAN MAINE

Even though Memorial Day was not an official holiday in the Civil War, many St. Lawrence County soldiers, including a brave one from Brasher and an entire Potsdam infantry, were actively fighting in late May 1864.

The 60th NY Infantry was in General Hooker's 20th Corps in the Army of Cumberland of General George Thomas and one of three General William T. Sherman's Army groups.

Sherman's Armies started out from Chattanooga, Tenn. May 6, 1864 to capture Atlanta, Georgia. By late May, the 60th NY had fought and marched to Dallas, Georgia.

On May 25, the 60th and Hooker's 20th Corps was fighting against Confederates General Joseph E. Johnston at the Battle of New Hope Church. Hooker's Corps was intending to swing around the Confederates to get between Johnston's army and Atlanta.

Johnston's Army was quicker than Hooker's part of the Corps and had dug in trenches before Hooker's advance. A bloody battle stopped Hooker on the 25th but left the armies facing each other for days later.

The Union army's dug trenches in the woods around Dallas and eastward. In addition to that hot weather, the rain came down in buckets.

The weather and continual skirmishing and sharpshooting gave the soldiers the battle named "The Hellhole".

That red clay, in some places, filled up half the trenches with water. The mud would be enough to make the men miserable.

While stalled at the battle lines, some of 60th's Company I was advanced as skirmishers in the woods.

The squad was losing casualties from rebels sharpshooters in their front. Follett Johnson from Brasher, a member of Co. I, and a couple comrades discovered a sharpshooter who was behind a tree. The rebel sharpshooter had sent a few union buddies back to the hospital with his accurate rifle shots.

The squad had been pinned down behind their cover. Follett volunteered to draw him out and expose him in order for the Union sharpshooters. He said that his buddies were better shoot than he.

Follet stood up and his comrades delivered their deadly shots putting an end to the rebel sniper killings in that proximity for the day.

For this bravery, years later, Follett was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Follet survived the war and came back to St. Lawrence County.

Johnson eventually lived as a police officer in Massena. He died March 9, 1909 and is buried in Massena's Pine Grove cemetery.

By early June, the army shifted to the east and continued hard fighting towards Atlanta. They did not capture Atlanta until September 2, 1864.

In the east that late May and early June, the regiments from St. Lawrence County fought at the Cold Harbor on June 1 and 3, 1864.

In the Army of Potomac, the regiments 106th NY, 164th, Co D, 1st NY Light Artillery, 14th NY Heavy Artillery and 6th NY artillery were marching from the north towards that Virginia crossroad near Richmond, VA.

The army had fought several fights since the Battle of Spotsylvania. The Heavy Artillery were just recently connected with the Army of Potomac. The 14th NY was garrisoned in New York City until General Grant decided he need more troops to fill the ranks to replace his soldiers after the army had lost so many at the Wilderness and Spotsylvania.

The Heavys were surprised thinking that they were to man the forts instead of marching and fighting as infantry. Many other local regiments were in General Butler's Army of the James south of Richmond.

Commander General U S Grant asked help from the James. Butler sent the 18th Corps.

Included in that Corps was the regiments from St Lawrence County. They included the 142nd NY, Potsdam's 92nd NY infantry and several other Northern NY regiments from Clinton Franklin and Jefferson counties.

All these local soldiers ended up at The Battle of Cold Harbor on June 1- 8 and lost heavily in casualties.

The local newspapers were loaded with casualties listed from those regiments.

You can see the local Civil war timeline of those newspapers on the St Lawrence County Historical Association website at http://www.slcha.org/cwrt/60reunion/formal.php

Stan Maine is a St. Lawrence County expert on the Civil War.