A lonely grave on a distant hill

[Paul Goodman]

Some years ago, we lived in upstate New York and there was a small private cemetery on a hilltop near our home, about four miles outside the village of Maine in Broome County. One monument commemorated Pvt. William Wallace Lamb, Co. E, 109th NY Infantry, killed at Petersburg on June 17, 1864.

The photo was taken in 2002 and had been sitting in a box until recently when I dug it out while doing some research. I did some more digging and found a couple of photos of Private Lamb.

So often we see the grave of a soldier, but we never see the man. Here's an exception.

 

[scooter748driver]

Sobering to see pictures of the man with his whole life ahead of him and then to see his final resting place just a few years later. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Paul Goodman]

Sobering to see pictures of the man with his whole life ahead of him and then to see his final resting place just a few years later. Thank you for sharing.

Lamb left behind a wife, Harriet, whom he married in March 1861 when she was 16 and he was a few days shy of 24. Harriet lived until 1899 and died in Wisconsin. William and Harriet's son, George, was born in December 1861 and died in 1945 in Binghamton in Broome County.

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To stray from the main topic, the famous Confederate map maker and soldier, Jedediah Hotchkiss, was born and raised in the town of Windsor in Broome County.

 

[ErnieMac]

The 109th New York Infantry was part of Col. John F. Hartranft's Brigade of MG Orlando B. Willcox's Division of MG Ambrose Burnside's Ninth Corps. On June 17, 1864, the Ninth Corps made three disjointed attacks of which the assault by Willcox's Division was second and most northerly. The attack was planned as a frontal assault on the Confederate lines situated on the high ground behind Harrison Creek. The Chief Engineer of the Ninth Corps, Major James St. Clair Morton provided direction for the assault which consisted of Hartranft's and Christ's Brigade in a narrow column.

The column advanced under fire taking casualties from the onset. As the lead regiments approached within yards of the Confederate line Morton directed the column to turn right and continue the attack parallel to the Confederate lines. Subject to enfilade fire the attack disintegrated within minutes. The 109th New York suffered 140 casualties out of 179 men engaged. Why Morton acted as he did will never be known as he was killed during the action or shortly afterward.

Those who attended the Stones River - Franklin muster may remember Morton as the commander of Rosecrans' Pioneer Brigade. He was responsible for the construction of Fortress Rosecrans in Murfreesboro. After questionable performances during the Tullahoma and Chickamauga Campaigns he resigned his commission as Brigadier General of Volunteers, reverting to his Regular Army rank of Major and joining Burnside's staff.

 

[Paul Goodman]

Thanks for the details about Petersburg , ErnieMac. A bit more about the 109th NY Infantry can be found at this link to a page about the regiment on the NY Military Museum website.

https://museum.dmna.ny.gov/unit-his...LG7ohm95Rci-dQSXWPzv3R7lZxHF7uP4LMIn9FctXHhvc

 

[lupaglupa]

Wonderful that the family has two photos. Is the cemetery where Lamb is buried a family cemetery?

 

[Paul Goodman]

Wonderful that the family has two photos. Is the cemetery where Lamb is buried a family cemetery?

The small cemetery is referred to as Tiona Cemetery (after the road that runs nearby) or North Maine Cemetery. There are graves with names of families who lived in the vicinity in the 19th and early 20th century. A handful of graves date back to the 1820s, and a number pre-date the Civil War. William Wallace Lamb's father and mother, and a couple of siblings who died during childhood, are buried there. The most recent burial in the cemetery was not a Lamb, and, if I recall, occurred sometime in the 1960s. It was apparently done by some "special" arrangement. North Maine was a little settlement that had a post office which was located at the bottom of the road we lived on. The settlement ceased to exist long ago and was absorbed into the Town of Maine.

The cemetery itself is on land on which a mid-19th century house sits. Years back, my wife and I thought about buying the house, and that was when we learned that the cemetery conveyed with the rest of the property. Whether that's still the case, I don't know. The house was in rough shape and required more work than we could afford so we passed.

 

[lupaglupa]

I'm not sure I would want to own a cemetery either! Not because it's creepy (I love cemeteries) but because of the responsibility to maintain it etc. All cemeteries in New York are regulated by law.

 

[Karen Lips]

Some years ago, we lived in upstate New York and there was a small private cemetery on a hilltop near our home, about four miles outside the village of Maine in Broome County. One monument commemorated Pvt. William Wallace Lamb, Co. E, 109th NY Infantry, killed at Petersburg on June 17, 1864.

The photo was taken in 2002 and had been sitting in a box until recently when I dug it out while doing some research. I did some more digging and found a couple of photos of Private Lamb.

So often we see the grave of a soldier, but we never see the man. Here's an exception.

View attachment 461121



View attachment 461120



View attachment 461119

He was a handsome man.

 

[7thWisconsin]

I was born in Tioga County NY - Broome County is like next door!
Many commanders of the AoP made poor decisions and troop formations moved ineffectively by late June of 1864. The army was exhausted by the Overland Campaign.