Lt. Col. Aaron B. Myer

 

 

 

I have included Lieutenant Colonel Myer here because George Bryan of Schaghticoke  mentions him frequently in his letters home to his friend Jennie Ackart.  Aaron was born in Westchester County in 1824, (or in Hudson, according to the History of the 125^th) and moved to Troy in 1827. His middle name was either Beekman or Bennett. The 1850 US Census for Troy listed him as a 27- year- old saddle and harness maker, with wife Julia, 22, born in Connecticut, and a son Albert L., age 4. Living with the little family were Julia’s parents, T.P. and Nancy Perkins. According to the History of the 125^th, he was an original member of the Franklin Hose Company, and was seriously injured by a wall falling on him in the Galusha fire of March 1845. He recovered to marry Julia that September.

By the 1860 US Census Aaron was a grocer with a personal estate of $1000. Son Albert, 14, was a clerk for his father, and the family had a second son, Francis, 4. Mr. Perkins had died, but grandma Nancy still lived with the family.

Meanwhile, Aaron had gotten involved with the Troy City Artillery, one of the local private militia companies. He was a Sergeant until 1861, then Captain until he enlisted in the 125^th. When the 125^th began to recruit, he raised Company B and became its Captain. He was promoted to Major in March 1863 and had a 30-day furlough about the same time. Aaron was slightly wounded at Gettysburg. According to the Division of Military and Naval Affairs website, the N.Y.S. Library owns some letters Aaron wrote home to Julia that summer in which he speaks of the extreme pain of his wound.

Aaron had three brothers in the war: 2^nd Lt. Robert Emmet Myer, also of the 125^th, and Captain Charles F. Myer and Thomas T.B. Myer, both of the 93^rd NY. Only Robert survived the war of the four brothers.

First N.Y.S. Muster card of Aaron B. Myer

 

 

Following the battle of Gettysburg, Aaron was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. He was wounded at the battle of the Wilderness on May 5, 1864 and died three days later. The Regimental History reports that he was leading part of the 125^th plus three other regiments, pushing the enemy a mile through underbrush until they were back in their earthworks. At that point he was shot, falling into the arms of Adjutant Merritt Miller and other comrades who carried him to the rear.  He survived for several days, but had been shot so high in the leg that it could not be amputated. His body was interred first at Chancellorsville, then moved to Troy’s Oakwood Cemetery.  His wife applied for a widow’s pension immediately.  An article in the Troy “Daily Times” reported his death and extolled his virtues as a prominent citizen of Troy. The Troy City Artillery met and did the same, voting to wear black armbands for a month in his honor and memory.

2^nd Muster Card of Aaron B. Myer

 

Illustration from the History of the 125^th.

 

                               

Tombstone of Aaron B. Myer at Oakwood Cemetery in Troy, thanks to Find-a-Grave

Aaron’s son Albert enlisted in the 11^th U.S. Infantry in the fall of 1865. He made a career of the Army, reaching the rank of Major by the Spanish American War, serving many years in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and ending his career as a Brigadier General at a post in Texas. He and his wife Wilhelmina, born of a Scottish father and Spanish mother, married in 1871 and had three children. Albert died in 1915 and she survived him.

Aaron’s widow Julia remained in Troy for the rest of her long life. Her mother lived with her until at least 1880, when Julia, 51, and her mother Nancy Perkins, 89, lived on Hoosick Street. Julia reported Aaron’s service to the 1890 Veterans Schedule of the census.  By 1900, Julia had moved in with her son Francis and his wife Margaret, who had no children. “Frank” was the foreman in a shirt factory. She lived until at least 1910.