The Civil War and Dutchess County, New York Part II Dutchess County Historical Society 2016 Yearbook • Volume 95 Candace J. Lewis, Editor The Society is a not-for-profit educational organization that collects, preserves, and interprets the history of Dutchess County, New York, from the period of the arrival of the first Native Americans until the present day. Publications Committee: Candace J. Lewis, Ph.D., Editor Roger Donway, Deborah Golomb, Eileen Hayden Julia Hotton, Carla Lesh, Patty Moore and Melodye Moore Designer: Marla Neville, Main Printing mymainprinter.com Printer: NetPub, Inc. www.netpub.net Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook 2016 Volume 95 • Published annually since 1915 Copyright © by Dutchess County Historical Society ISSN: 0739-8565 ISBN: 978-0-944733-09-7 Cover: Firing Demonstration of the 150th New York at Gettysburg, 2003. Each Columbus Day Weekend since 2001 the 150th New York has presented a living history program at the Gettysburg National Military Park. This image shows the company firing from the area of Union line on July 2nd and 3rd, across the field toward the Confederate lines. This field is the one best known for Pickett’s Charge, July 3, 1863. Photograph. Collection of Pete Bedrossian. The Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook does not assume responsibility for statements of fact or opinion made by the authors. Dutchess County Historical Society P.O. Box 88 Poughkeepsie, NY 12602 845-471-1630 Email: [email protected] www.dutchesscountyhistoricalsociety.org This issue of the Dutchesss County Historical Society’sT ITLE iii yearbook has been generously underwritten by the following: Anonymous L In loving memory of Mildred Strain (1908-1986), a devoted supporter of the Dutchess County Historical Society. iv DCHS YEARBOOK 2014 Quaker Lane Farms Ruskey Lane, Hyde Park N In loving memory of Jim Smith (1946-2016), former Trustee and treasurer of the Dutchess County Historical Society. Lover of local history. We will miss him. TITLE v Shirley M. Handel L LTC Gilbert A. Krom X In memory of a beloved brother and fine soldier. vi DCHS YEARBOOK 2014 David Dengel Dennis Dengel N Enjoy this issue. Lou and Candace J. Lewis M TITLE vii • Court Reporting • Video Conferencing • Audio Transcription • Litigation Support www.babiarzreporting.com Raising the Bar ON LEGAL & BUSINESS REPORTING 845-471-2511 Poughkeepsie, NY 866-282-0671 White Plains, NY & Nyack, NY 845-565-1801 Newburgh, NY viii DCHS YEARBOOK 2014 Lou Lewis J. Scott Greer Veronica A. McMillan Corporate, Commercial ~ & Business Law; Construction Law; Joan Quinn Municipal Law; Dylan C. Harris Real Property Tax Law 510 Haight Avenue • Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 Phone: (845) 454-1200 • Fax (845) 454-3315 Visit our website at www.lewisgreer.com Table of Contents Introduction by the County Historian ..................................................... xi Letter from the Editor ......................................................................... xii FORUM: The Civil War and Dutchess County, New York (Part II) Maintaining the Link: The Letters of Platt C. Curtiss, 150th Regiment, New York Volunteers, “The Dutchess Regiment”...................... 3 by Eileen Mylod Hayden The Case and Times of Dred Scott ...................................................... 9 by John Barry A Tale of Two Sisters ......................................................................... 27 by Melodye K. Moore Colonel John H. Ketcham: The Cincinnatus of Dutchess County ................................................ 63 by Caroline Rogers Reichenberg Weapons used by the Rank and File of the 150th NY Volunteer Infantry ................................................... 73 by Michael Peets Songs of the 128th ............................................................................. 79 by Dean Thomas The Union Troops Get Milk—from Wassaic, New York.................... 91 by Arlene Iuliano Dutchess County, New York and Beaufort County, North Carolina during the Civil War ................................................ 101 by Peter S. Bedrossian Hope: The Inaugural Train Ride of Abraham Lincoln and the Hudson River Valley ............................................................ 107 by Anthony J. Czarnecki: Lincoln and the Magnolia Tree......................................................... 123 by Virginia Hancock Grief: The Funeral Train of Abraham Lincoln and the Hudson Valley ..................................................................... 125 by Candace J. Lewis ARTICLES: Miscellaneous Topics in Dutchess County History Judge Jane Bolin .............................................................................. 143 by David L. Goodwin A 1791 Hyde Park Farm Account Book .......................................... 155 by Jack Conklin ADDENDA Contributors ..................................................................................... 163 Call for Papers ................................................................................ 167 DCHS Trustees and Staff ................................................................. 169 DCHS: Review of the Year 2015 ...................................................... 170 DCHS Donors .................................................................................. 172 Municipal Historians and Historical Societies of Dutchess County .............................................................................. 175 Dutchess County Historical Society Membership ........................... 179 Introduction While the Civil War looms the largest of all the conflicts in our national memory, one might well ask why the topic merits two con- secutive years of treatment in the Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook. A brief look at this volume’s table of contents will easily answer that question: the conflict loomed so large in county life that it supplies a nearly inexhaustible source of material. The following pages offer insights that remind us how political disagreements and battles that took place far away from Dutchess neverthe- less had a direct impact on the residents who never left the county. Arlene Iuliano’s article provides a close look at local war industry, while Melodye Moore’s explores the complicated family ties between local residents and South Carolina. The remaining articles in the core Forum section treat more conventional aspects of the conflict with a Dutchess County spin, examining topics from the pre-war debate over slavery to Dutchess soldiers’ experiences below the Mason-Dixon Line. Notably, this volume diverges from Volume 1 through detailed treatment of the Lincoln trains, both inaugural and funeral, bringing coverage of the Civil War full circle. In addition, this volume offers two general history articles exploring county judicial history and agricultural practices, providing a nice touch of additional diversity. As with the installments that have preceded it, the 2016 year- book is a testimony to the strength and dedication of both the county history community and the staff of the Dutchess County Historical So- ciety who make this publication possible. — William P. Tatum III Dutchess County Historian xii DCHS YEARBOOK 2014 Letter from the Editor Now in 2016, the American Civil War is the main focus of our yearbook for a second year. In the contemporary United States, the subject of the Civil War continues to dominate books on history and animate large numbers of living history enthusiasts. Although no major battles of this war were fought in Dutchess County, New York, there was not a local family that was not touched by the war. These are the stories we have set out to tell, whether it be through letters from a soldier writing home, through the eyes of a county resident reading newspapers for information about the highly charged Dred Scott case, or through a business shaped by the new demands of the army for access to a supply of milk—to mention just a few. As in the past, the yearbook is divided into two sections; the first, the Forum section, is devoted to the topic of the Civil War, while the second, the Articles section, contains essays on topics of general history of the county. In the latter section, we have an essay on Judge Jane Bolin, the first African-American female judge appointed to the bench in America, and an essay on a family ledger begun in the 1790s. Why would a war fought over 150 years ago have such a hold on our in- terest today? Two reasons leap to our attention: 1) it was a war fought on both sides—the Union and the Confederacy—entirely by Americans (with tremendous loss of life); and 2) some of the problems of racial and geo- graphical strife characteristic of the 1860s are still with us today. In this volume, the writers address some of these issues, but the over-riding effort is to examine and present local narratives to better understand this most important period in our national history. — Candace J. Lewis, Ph.D., editor TITLE 1 FORUM M MAINTAINING THE LINK 3 Maintaining the Link The Letters of Platt C. Curtiss 150th Regiment, New York Volunteers “The Dutchess Regiment” by Eileen Mylod Hayden In this issue, as in the 2015 issue devoted to the Civil War and Dutchess County, we begin with letters from the front. In the previous volume, a father wrote home with sad news about the illness and death of his young soldier son soon after the battle of Gettysburg, the first engagement of the 150th Regiment in the war. In this issue, we hear from a soldier himself in letters that covered the entire war. ....C. Lewis, editor In every military conflict,