When you are driving in Upstate New York you will often find Civil War monuments in the smallest of towns. This one is in Bainbridge, New York in the Central district. We used to call it the Leatherstocking District, but now we reject literary names for things being East, West, or Central. The monument is in an attractive square at the corner of Church Street and E. Main Street. The village has a population of 1,251.
Bainbridge is set on the Susquehanna River, which gave it an advantage in the 19th Century for trade. The village was settled in 1788 by Vermonters. These were the “Vermont Sufferers”. They had settled in what is now Vermont when it had been claimed as part of New York. When the state lost the fight it made land in Central New York available to those who stayed loyal to the Empire State.
When the Civil War broke out, there were 320 people living in Bainbridge, although another thousand lived in farms outside the village. The men formed Company H of the 168th New York Infantry Regiment. The unit became known as the Bainbridge Company. It included men from Goshen, Binghamton, and other areas abutting the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson Valley.
The 168th was a nine month regiment, mustering in in February 1863. The regiment participated in the pursuit of Lee after the Battle of Gettysburg and was mustered out in October, 1863 but it was not involved in any major battles.
Soldiers also joined other regiments recruited in Central New York.
The square is well maintained with several war memorials on it.
There are also park benches for taking in the scenery, and a gazebo. The front of the monument shows the implements of war and the dates of the Civil War 1861-1865.
The monument is inscribed:
Erected
In Memory Of Those Who Gave
Their Lives To Save Their
Country
By
The Hon Henry A. Clark
The monument also contains the poem The Bivouac of the Dead by Theodore O’Hara, a Confederate officer.
On the back is a depiction of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) medal. This group was the largest Civil War veterans’ organization in the country. When the monument was erected in 1904, the GAR was still active in many communities in the North.
Next to the monument is an attractive fountain.
The common is a nice place to sit and read about the Civil War.
Note: All color photos of buildings in this post were taken by Patrick Young except as noted.
