Ossining, New York is most famously known as the site of Sing Sing Prison. The entire town was also named Sing Sing but it was changed to Ossining to distinguish it from the prison in 1901. Ossining is an alternative spelling of the Native American Munsee language word for the place. At the time of the Civil War there were 6,766 people living there. The monument is located at 31 Pleasantville Rd, Ossining N.Y., near Briarcliff Manor.
There are, in fact, two Civil War monuments in Ossining. The other is called “‘The Kneeling Angel” and it is in Nelson Park at 61–99 Washington Avenue. The Kneeling Angel was put up in the 1870s and it was immediately subject to criticism. It had been designed by a group of local women and men criticized it for being feminine because it showed an angel mourning those lost in the war. A decade later, the new monument was put up. Today most local residents know about the Kneeling Angel, but the Pleasantville Road monument is virtually forgotten.
While the Kneeling Angel was an original design, the new statue would follow a design in common with hundreds of other small-town Civil War monuments across the country. The pinnacle of the monument would be a private soldier at parade rest. The National Fine Arts Foundry located at 218 E. 25th Street in Manhattan was chosen to cast it.
The statue is set in a small park in a suburban neighborhood. There are nice trees around the monument, two large sized bushes, the monument, and a piece of artillery in front of the monument.
On the front of the monument is a plaque with the names of local men who lost their lives in the Civil War.
Many of the men whose names appear on the plaque of the statue were soldiers of the 17th New York Infantry “Westchester Chasseurs.” The 6th New York Heavy Artillery is also overrepresented. According to some sources the monument was erected in 1884.
17th New York Infantry Regiment, the “Westchester Chasseurs”, was heavily recruited in Westchester. It was organized on May 14, 1861 and was one of the first volunteer regiments from New York State to be formed after the firing on Fort Sumter. For more than half-a-year the regiment was assigned to defend Washington. Later it became part of the Army of the Potomac and it participated in the Peninsula Campaign. The regiment was a two year regiment and it mustered out on June 2, 1883, after the Battle of Chancellorsville.
The 6th New York Heavy Artillery recruited Company I largely from Ossining. It was mustered in on September 2, 1862 as a regiment of infantry. Weeks later it the regiment was converted to heavy artillery.
The artillery piece is an 8 inch howitzer. This was used for siege operations or to defend a fort. Below is an 8 inch howitzer at Fortress Rosecrans near Murfreesboro TN
Below are the members of the community who died in the service of their country. The list separates the men as “officers” and “privates” and groups sergeants as officers.
At the Historical Marker Database they have transcribed the names of the dead on the monument.
Officers.
Charles C. Hyatt Capt. 12th U.S.I. • Franklin J. Davis 1st Lieut. 11th N.Y.C. • William Mattocks 2nd Lieut. Co F. 17th N.Y.I. • Charles S. Livingston Masters Mate U.S.N. • Leonard Cronk Sergt. Co I. 6th N.Y.H. Art. • Elijah Lamereaux Sergt. Co F. 17th N.Y.I. • Ward B. Hyatt Sergt. 6th N.Y.H. Art.
Privates.
John Acker Co. I. 95th N.Y.I. • Cassius Bishop 7th N.Y.H. Art. • Oscar Chapman Co C. 6th N.Y.H. Art. • Henry Crofut Co F. 17th N.Y.I. • Eugene Cypher Morrisons Battery. • John W. Dunne Co F. 17th N.Y.I. • William A. Frisbie 6th N.Y.H. Art. • Ezra M. Griffin Co H. 32nd N.Y.I. • Richard Hale Co F. 17th N.Y.I. • Robert Herrick 4th U.S. Art. • Martin Hyland Co A. 51st N.Y.I. • Jonathan Knight 6th N.Y.H. Art. • James W. Lent 6th N.Y.H. Art. • Charles McCord 6th N.Y.H. Art. • Eugene Marshall 6th N.Y.H. Art • Joseph McCormick 63rd N.Y.I. • Jesse A. Ma Co I. 65th N.Y.I. • William A. McKain U.S. Gun Boat Nyack. • James Mulkern Co F. 17th N.Y.I. • Harvey Nuskey 6th N.Y.H. Art. • Andrew J. Orser Co E. 51st N.Y.I. • Bartow W. Powell Jr. Co C. 5th N.Y.I.• Thomas Reilly Co B. 40th N.Y.I. • Lewis B. Reynolds Co F. 1st N.Y.I. • Augustus M. Schaffer Co F. 1st N.Y.I. • John Scully 6th N.Y.H.Art. • James E. Slater Co C. 6th N.Y.H.Art. • William Thorne Co F. 17th N.Y.I. • Harvey J. Weeks Co F. 11th Conn I. • Robert Wescott Co C. 32nd N.Y.I. • Sanford Williams Co H. 121st N.Y.I. • Michael Williamson Co E. 6th N.Y.I. • John Williams Co I. 95th N.Y.I.
The monument was dedicated on Decoration Day, today’s Memorial Day, on May 30, 1887.
For a monument that is approaching its 150th Birthday, the structure is holding up well. The local town keeps it clean and I did not see any refuse on the statue or in the park.
Just to answer your question: Yes it was raining.
All color photos were taken by Pat Young. To see more sites Pat visited CLICK HERE for Google Earth view.
Sources:
New York in the War of the Rebellion, 3rd ed. Frederick Phisterer. Albany: J. B. Lyon Company, 1912
The Union army: a history of military affairs in the loyal states, 1861-65 — records of the regiments in the Union army — cyclopedia of battles — memoirs of commanders and soldiers, Volume II: New York, Maryland, West Virginia and Ohio. Madison, WI: Federal Pub. Co., 1908.
Thanks to Rhea Cole, redbob, The Pennsylvania Line, Reconstructed Rebel over at Civil War Talk.
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