# 2 - Buffalo - chartered 10/9/66.
Brigadier General Edwin Payson Chapin. Born August 16, 1831 in Waterloo, NY,
the youngest of six children of a Presbyterian minister; admitted to the NY bar
in 1851 and set up practice in Buffalo, where he was also a member of the
city's first famous baseball club, "The Niagaras." Other club members were BG
Bishop, George Love, and 116th NYSV Col. Higginson. Chapin was appointed
Captain of Co. A, 44th NYSV (Ellsworth's Avengers) Sept. 6, 1861; became major
of the 44th Jan. 2, 1862; WIA May 27, 1862 at Hanover Court House, VA; Lt. Col.
of 44th July 4, 1862. As of Sept. 5, 1862 he was Colonel of Erie County's 116th
NYSV and commanded a brigade in the 19th Army Corps from Feb. 9, 1863. Killed
May 27, 1863 by a sharpshooter at Port Hudson, LA, and appointed BG the same
day. Buried in Waterloo, NY; Buffalo's Chapin Parkway named in his memory.
# 9 - Buffalo - Chartered 1/1/70.
Brigadier General Daniel Davidson Bidwell. Born Aug. 12, 1819 in Black Rock, NY, he
was the heir to the lucrative commercial interests of Benjamin Bidwell, who founded
Buffalo's Banta & Bidwell Shipbuilding Company. Active in Buffalo's pre-war militia
and instrumental in organizing the city's first police force, he helped raise the
49th NYSV and was named its Colonel on October 21, 1861. General Meade personally
recommended his promotion to Brigadier General, which took effect Aug. 11, 1864.
Bidwell was mortally wounded in action on October 19, 1864, at the battle of Cedar
Creek, VA. He is buried in Section "K" of Forest Lawn Cemetery, where there is also
a memorial shaft dedicated to him.Bidwell Parkway, Bidwell Circle and the equestrian
statue in Bidwell Circle are all in his memory.
# 87 - Buffalo - Chartered 5/17/71.
1st Lt. John Wilkes Wilkeson, Co. K, 100th NYSV. Born Aug. 28, 1834, he was Bayard's
cousin and another grandson of "Judge" Samuel Wilkeson. He received his preliminary
education at Farmington, CT, and subsequently graduated from Union College. He
afterwards engaged in the study of law in Buffalo, and after his admission to the
bar, he moved to NYC and practiced law. When the rebellion broke out, he raised a
company of sappers and miners for Col. Baker's "California Regiment," but when his
company was not accepted, he returned to Buffalo and connected himself with the
100th NYSV. He was mustered in on Jan. 7, 1862 as 1st Lt., and was killed May 31, 1862
at the Battle of Seven Pines, VA. Awarded the brevet rank of captain and a certificate
of merit for courage ny the NYS legislature.
His cousin, 1st Lt. Bayard Wilkeson, 4th US Artillery, Battery G, was born on May
17, 1844, in Albany. His father, Samuel Wilkeson, became a famous wartime newspaper
correspondent and his grandfather, "Judge" Samuel WIlkeson, was a founder and mayor
of Buffalo. Commissioned as 2d Lt. in the 4th US Artillery on Oct. 22, 1861 and 1st
Lt. on Aug. 14, 1862, he was awarded the brevet rank of captain for his gallantry
and skill at the Battle of the Deserted House, Jan. 30, 1863, near Suffolk, VA,
where he commanded Battery D, 4th US Artillery. Awarded the brevet rank of major for
gallantry and meritorious service while in command of Battery G at Fredericksburg on
May 3, 1863. He was mortally wounded commanding his battery on July 1, 1863 at
Gettysburg. Awarded the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel for Gettysburg. He's buried
in section "H" of Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo.
# 9 - Buffalo - Chartered 4/28/80.
"Bidwell-Wilkeson" - was a consolidation of Buffalo Posts #9 and #87.
# 87 - Springville - Chartered 8/15/81.
Captain Charles C. Crary, Co. I, 116th NYSV. Born in 1842, was a rsident of Concord, NY;
Was mustered on Sept. 3, 1862, as 1st Sgt. of Co. F. Was promoted to 2d Lt. on Dec 3,
1862; promoted to 1st Lt. of June 5, 1863 and to Captain on Feb. 12, 1865; wounded
in action on Oct. 19, 1864 at the Battle of Cedar Creek, VA; was mustered out with
the regiment on June 6, 1865.
# 129 - Tonawanda - Chartered 10/24/79 to 1923.
Sgt. Winfield B. Scott, Co. D, 100th NYSV. Lived in Tonawanda, NY, and was mustered
in as a private in Co. D on Jan. 8, 1862; on Aug. 18, 1864, at the Second Battle of
Deep Bottom, VA, Sgt. Scott was in command of his company when he was instantly
killed by "friendly fire" during the shortfall of of a federal artillery barrage.
# 180 - Lancaster - Chartered 11/12/96. Major General George Stoneman. Born Aug. 22, 1823 in Busti, NY; attended West Point
with George McClellan and Stonewall Jackson, class of 1846; veteran of the Mexican
War and Indian fighting on the frontier; he escaped when Fort Brown was surrendered
to the Confederacy in Texas in the beginning of the war; appointed as Major of the
1st US Cavalry on May 9, 1861; promoted to brigadier general Aug. 13, 1861; from Aug.,
1861 to Jan., 1862, he commanded the Army of the Potomac Cavalry and then an
infantry division; promoted to Major General Nov. 29, 1862, he commanded commanded
the AOP cavalry in raids on General Lee's communications lines during the
Chancellorsville Campaign; was Chief of the Cavalry Bureau in Washington, DC, for
the latter half of 1863; he took field command in the west during Feb., 1864; was
captured during a July, 1864 cavalry raid from Kentucky into Tennessee and
southwestern Virginia, destroying salt works and lead mines there; also led
March-April, 1865 cavalry raid through North Carolina and Virginia; retired from the
US Army as a Colonel in 1871; held public offices in California, including Governor
from 1883 to 1887; he died in Buffalo on Sept. 5, 1895 and is buried in Lakewood,
NY. NOTE: This post was initially "#345 East Buffalo."
# 202 - Angola - Chartered 3/17/81.
Captain James Ayer, Co. K, 116th NYSV. Born Aug. 14, 1813, in Evans; "his whole life
was spent in his native town and no man was so universally loved and respected."
Elected Colonel of the 48th NYSM in 1838. "Called to bury his wife and two children
a short time before the war commenced...he was left with a large farm and two
motherless children, one eleven and the other eight years of age." Mustered as
Captain on Sept. 4, 1862; died of disease on May 22, 1863 in the regimental hospital
in Baton Rouge, LA.
Colonel John Eugene McMahon, 164th NYSV. Born in 1835 in Ireland, emigrated in 1839
to America; graduated from Fordham University in 1851; was NY Governor Seymour's
private secretary, 1852-53; established a law firm in Buffalo by 1854. Organized
Buffalo's 155th NYSV for the Corcoran Legion but most of his Buffalo men were
transferred to the 164th NYSV in a reorganization at Newport News, VA. He died of
consumption in Buffalo on March 11, 1863, was buried in Lackawanna's Holy Cross
Cemetery, his body was removed in 1905 by his widow to St. Agnes Cemetery in Utica.
Colonel James Power McMahon, 164th NYSV. Born in 1836 in County Wexford, Ireland;
emigrated to America with his brother, John; graduated from Fordham University in
1860. Mustered Nov. 7, 1861, as Captain of Co. K, 69th NYSV; served in Meagher's
Irish Brigade before helping his brother raise a regiment in Buffalo. Appointed Lt.
Col. of the 155th NYSV and Provost-Marshal of the Corcoran Legion on Oct. 21, 1862;
he succeeded his brother as Colonel of the 164th NYSV on Mar. 23, 1863. Was shot dead
on June 3, 1864 while planting the 164th's colors atop the Confederate breastworks
at Cold Harbor, VA; buried on the field but eventually placed next to John at Holy
Cross Cemetery. His body was subsequently removed to Utica in 1905.
# 220 - North Collins - Chartered 6/20/91 to 1925.
1st Lt. Samuel C. Noyes, Jr., Adjutant, 154th NYSV. Appointed 1st Lt. and Adjutant on
Aug. 19, 1862 at Jamestown, NY. He was shot dead while standing atop a breastwork and
encouraging his men to defend the "Buschbeck line" near Dowdall's Tavern at the
Battle of Chancellorsville, VA, on May 2, 1863. His father was a physician who came to
the village of North Collins in 1827. After the Noyes Post was organized on June 20,
1881, the veterans often discussed the possibility of obtaining a permenant meeting
place. In 1888, GAR member Enos Hibbard, owner of the old Noyes estate, donated a
portion of it to the post. The veterans donated logs, and built a cabin as their
first meeting hall. Four months after the North Collins Post was organized, S.C. Noyes
Post #232 was formed in Ellicottville, Cattaraugus County, on Oct. 13, 1881. Noyes
was living in Ellicottville and served on the town's enlistment committee during the
recruiting that led to the formation of the 154th NYSV. His death at Chancellorsville
was widely noted and mourned in his adopted hometown. It was natural for Ellicottsville's
Civil War veterans to name their post after the fallen Noyes. For 13 years, North
Collins and Ellicottsville's GAR posts shared the Noyes name. In 1894, soon after the
beloved surgeon of the 154th NYSV, Henry Van Aernam of Franklinville, died on June
1, Ellicottsville Post changed its name to honor him. It seems very likely that
Ellicottsville's veterans, knowing Samuel Noyes was already memorialized in the
North Collins post's name, were less reluctant to change their own name to honor a
recently departed comrade.
# 239 - Buffalo - Chartered 12/28/84 to 1919.
Brigadier General Albert James Meyer. Born in 1827, he graduated from the Buffalo
Medical College in 1851. Appointed on Sept. 18, 1854 as a Assistant Surgeon in the
"regular" US Army, he and E. Porter Alexander allegedly developed the "wigwag"
signal system. Named the US Army's Chief Signal Officer on June 27, 1860, a post
Congress created for him as a reward for his "wigwag" invention. He was later
promoted to Colonel on March 3, 1863; transferred to Canby's command in the West due
to his alleged feud with US Secretary of War Edwim M. Stanton. It was Stanton who
relieved Meyerof command when his Chief Signal Officer appointment expired during
July of 1864. Reverting to his previous rank of Major in the US Army, Meyer served
in the western theater and distinguished himself at Alltoona, GA, and in the
operations against Mobile, AL. He was reappointed Colonel and Chief Signal Officer,
US Army on July 28, 1866. He is acknowledged as the "founder" of the US Weather
Bureau. He died in 1880 in Buffalo, holding the rank of Brigadier General. He is
buried in section "X" of Forest Lawn Cemetery.
# 254 - Buffalo - Chartered 9/10/83.
Captain William Richardson, Co. H, 100th NYSV. Born in 1839 and enrolled as a private
in Co. D on Nov. 30, 1861, at Tonawanda, NY. He was promoted to 1st Sgt. on Jan. 1, 1862,
and to 2d Lt. on Jan. 13, 1863. Mustered on Aug. 12, 1653, as 1st Lt. of Co. G and
on May 21, 1864, as Captain of Co. H. He was shot down on July 27, 1864, at Deep
Bottom, VA. "He was advancing with the line of pickets and it is supposed, in an
effort to find skulking men, moved in front of his line, near the enemy, and was
shot. It was learned subsequently that he was not instantly killed, but died soon
after and was buried by the enemy. An attempt was made to recover his body but it
failed."
# 321 - Eden Centre - Chartered 3/25/98.
Chapin-Babcock.
# 398 - Akron - Chartered 9/10/83.
Major General John James Peck. Born Jan. 4, 1821 in Manlius (Onondaga County), he
graduated from West Point in 1843. Brevetted for gallantry as a Lt. with the 2d US
Artillery at the Battles of Contreras and Cherubusco during the Mexican War. He
resigned from the army on March 31, 1853, "commencing on a financially successful
business career in Syracuse, his wife's hometown." He was founder-manager of a bank,
president of that city's Board of Education, twice nominated for Congress, and a
delegate to the Democratic National Conventions of 1856 and 1860. He rejoined the
army when the war broke out and was appointed Brigadier General on Aug. 9, 1861. He
was promoted to Major General on July 4, 1862. He successfully commanded the Federal
defence of Suffolk, VA, during the 1863 seige by Confederate General Longstreet, but
was badly wounded. He was assigned to the Canadian Frontier on July 24, 1865.
Returning to civilian life, he organized and headed the NYS Life Insurance Company
from 1867. He died on April 21, 1878, and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Syracuse.
# 432 - Clarence - Chartered 12/14/83.
Captain Wallace B. Ransom, Co. B, 98th NY National Guard. A resident of Clarence, he
died at the age of 42 on July 12, 1870.
# 440 - Hamburg - Chartered 1/2/84.
Private Nathaniel J. Swift, Co. A, 116th NYSV. Resident of East Hamburg and son of
Orson Swift. He was wounded on May 21, 1863, at the Battle of Plain Store, LA, and
died at Baton Rouge on July 14, 1863, aged 25 years and 6 months.
# 478 - Colden - Chartered 5/12/84.
Corporal Chester Bishop, Co. B, 10th NY Cavalry. Companies A, B, D and E of the 10th
Cavalry were raised in Erie County and Bishop's story appears in the unit's history
written by N.D. Preston, published in 1892. A light-haired, hazel-eyed farmer
standing a tad under 5'5" when he joined Co. B at Colden on Oct. 1, 1861, Chester
Bishop had been born in Aurora in 1843. Although his mother was the granddaughter
of two Revolutionary War soldiers, "it was only after a long argument, added to
Chester's entreaties, that she yielded a reluctant consent to her eldest son's
enrollment." Hospitalized with mumps in Washington, DC, in late 1862, he re-enlisted
as a veteran volunteer during the winter of 1863-64. In return for re-upping, he
received a month's furlough as well as corporal's stripes. "Every soldier and
soldier's family remembers the glad home-coming," wrote his sister, Anna, about Chet's
furlough. "The change in Chester's appearance was quite marked. He left us a mere
boy...he returned matured, with the serious, candid manner of a thoughtful man. When
the last day of his stay came, we felt the bitterness of parting; and, although we
repeatedly assured him that we believed that he would come back, it was with tearful
eyes and sinking hearts that we saw him ride away. And we all felt that he thought
his return was very doubtful. The news reached us that on the 24th of June, 1864,
after an engagement at St. Mary's Church, VA, he was missing, supposed to have been
taken prisoner. After months of anxious suspense we and some of his comrades came
to the conclusion that he was killed.At the organization of the Grand Army post at
Colden his comrades honored his memory by naming the post for him - a compliment
which was greatly appreciated by his family, and especially pleasing to our dear
mother."
# 506 - East Aurora - Chartered 8/21/84.
Corporal Arthur F. Smith, Co. A, 116th NYSV. A resident of Aurora, NY, and eldest son
of Erasmus H. Smith; was wounded on May 27, 1863 as a volunteer member of the
"Forlorn Hope" which led the ill-fated US assault on Port Hudson, LA. He died on
June 10, 1863 of his wounds at New Orleans. "Cpl. Smith's funeral was held Sept.
13, 1863 at Potter's Corners" and his severely weathered grave marker is found at
the East Aurora Cemetery, where there is also an obelisk erected by the Arthur
Smith Post.
# 542 - Buffalo - Chartered 2/26/85.
Captain Elisha L. Hayward, Co. H, 21st NYSV. Born in 1838, he was mustered as Captain
on May 20, 1861 at Buffalo. He died of typhoid fever in a Washington, DC, hospital
on Sept. 9, 1862. He is buried in Section 8 of Forest Lawn Cemetery.
# 553 - Holland - Chartered 4/6/85.
Sgt. Robert Orr, Co. A, 44th NYSV. Born in 1837, he was a resident of Holland, NY,
and enrolled as a private on Aug. 8, 1861; was promoted on Sept. 6, 1861, to corporal,
and on April 1, 1862 to Sergeant. He was killed in action on Dec. 13, 1862 at the
Battle of Fredericksburg, VA. He is buried in Section 12 of Forest Lawn Cemetery.
# 592 - Alden - Chartered 6/30/97.
Sgt. Edward Eels, Co. C, 116th NYSV. Joined as Sgt. at Alden in Aug. of 1862, age 23;
died of chronic diarrhea on July 22, 1863, in a hospital at Camp Niagara,
Baton Rouge, LA.