Southold is a developing town on Long Island’s hopping North Fork. Five decades ago it was a rarely visited remote rural community. Today, that is what makes it a favorite spot for vacationers to visit. With fishing, beaches, and vineyards as well as great farm stands, it is a place that preserves its rural history even as it moves confidently into the 21st Century. The town’s 1887 Civil War monument on Main Road is a reminder that 160 years ago Southold gave the Union Army 84 of its sons.
The monument stood across from the town’s Unitarian Church at the intersection of Main Street and Tuckers Lane for many years. Built in 1837, the Unitarian Church was a center of religious life before the Civil War, but the historic building was destroyed by fire in 2015. Below is a postcard from the early 1900s showing the monument and the Unitarian church.
According to local legend, the intersection was the scene of Shouthold’s “Liberty Pole” at the time of the Revolution.
In 1861, 21 local men volunteered for the army. In early 1862, recruitment slowed with only a few men volunteering. The recruitment of Company H of the 127th New York Volunteer Infantry in Southold in the Summer of 1862 spurred a new wave of enlistment. The men of Company H encouraged other young men to enlist, but by 1863 enlistments were down again. John Henry Young of the 127th New York State Volunteers wrote home about his anger at his fellows who refused to enlist:
“I was sorry to see the result of the late special town meeting. I was in hopes that this Draft would “fetch’em out” Is the whole town Copperhead? They seem to use every means in their power to prevent their young men from coming into the army. They
want to see the Rebellion crushed, but will not lend a helping hand or let any of their friends if they can help it. Aunt Polly is patriotic too and who will say she is not a fighting character! Then why not let one of her sons come to the War?” [June 22, 1864]
The 127th Regiment called itself The Monitors, after the famous Union ironclad that had debuted a few months before the regiment was organized. Men in Company H were reportedly called “Clamdiggers.”
For young men from Southold, the trip South to fight was the the first time they had ever been out of their native Northeast. Henry Prince from Southold wrote home “The North is desperately wicked as well as the South, but Slavery is a Curse.” He also wrote “I am sorry that we have so many Traitors at the North & even on L.I. …They are a curse to the country. Talk about the negro being a curse to the country, I think it is the rebellious white man.”
Southold was settled by English colonists in the mid-1600s and was part of the colony of Connecticut. The Town of Southold includes the Village of Greenport which was an important center for shipping Long Island goods to New England. During colonial days, Southold grew in agriculture, fishing, and coastal shipping. By 1860, the Town of Southold’s population had grown to 5,833. Some of the men from the town who served have their names engraved on the monument.
There are three panels listing those who served.
When I photograph Long Island monuments, telephone lines are always in the background.
More names of the sons of Southold are on the other side of the monument.
Not all Southold residents supported the war. Henry Reeves was the editor of the Republican Watchman, a Democratic newspaper, and he wrote forcefully against the Lincoln Administration and the war. On September 3, 1861 Reeves was arrested while on his way to the State Democratic Convention in Syracuse and jailed at Fort Lafayette where the Verrazano Bridge now is. He was released a month later and returned to his home in Greenport, but his fierce criticism of Lincoln was now moderated by his fear of jail.
Across the street from the monument is the hamlet’s American Legion Hall, where you can apparently play Bingo!
All color photos taken by Pat Young.
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