suzenatale
Sergeant Major
- Joined
- May 25, 2013
On the North Side of Syracuse, near East Laurel Street, stands the city's only equestrian monument. Gen. Gustavus Sniper and his steed, "Bill," have gazed serenely but nobly down Salina Street since 1905.
In these days of debate over immigration laws, it might be appropriate to note that our only citizen so honored was once an immigrant himself. Also adding to this momentary call for attention to Sniper is the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and the final chance for patrons to view an exhibition at the Onondaga Historical Association Museum that reviews the history of immigration in Syracuse. The exhibit closes Sunday, Jan. 26.
Sniper was born in 1836 in the Grand Duchy of Baden, a sovereign nation at the time but now a part of Germany. He came to America with his family as a child. His father was a laborer, and Sniper began working in a local cigar factory by the time he was a teenager. He had a basic public school education, supplemented by some night courses. He was drawn to the military, joining one of the local home militia units, called the Syracuse Light Guards, in 1854. Service in other like units followed until, during 1859-60, he helped organize another, the Munroe Cadets....
In these days of debate over immigration laws, it might be appropriate to note that our only citizen so honored was once an immigrant himself. Also adding to this momentary call for attention to Sniper is the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and the final chance for patrons to view an exhibition at the Onondaga Historical Association Museum that reviews the history of immigration in Syracuse. The exhibit closes Sunday, Jan. 26.
Sniper was born in 1836 in the Grand Duchy of Baden, a sovereign nation at the time but now a part of Germany. He came to America with his family as a child. His father was a laborer, and Sniper began working in a local cigar factory by the time he was a teenager. He had a basic public school education, supplemented by some night courses. He was drawn to the military, joining one of the local home militia units, called the Syracuse Light Guards, in 1854. Service in other like units followed until, during 1859-60, he helped organize another, the Munroe Cadets....
http://www.syracusenewtimes.com/who-was-gen-gustavus-sniper/
There seemed to be interest in researching Charles Highgate http://civilwartalk.com/threads/charles-highgate-integration-in-the-union-ranks.104776/
So I thought perhaps some folks might want to do a bit of digging into Gustavus Sniper.
Here's some of what I've got so far.
http://www.joshualawrencechamberlain.com/185ny4.php
http://www.joshualawrencechamberlain.com/clippings185th.php
I've contacted the author of the above article, hopefully he can send me some of his sources.
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