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St. Valentine’s Day—An Interesting War Document—Noted Here and There.
While looking over some papers of the old Bank of Lansingburgh the other day Albert E. Powers found a petition, dated August 22, 1862, requesting the War Committee, which was appointed by the Village Trustees of the old town of Lansingburgh as a result of the outbreak of the Civil War, to take steps to fill the quota of the town of Lansingburgh, following the two calls of the President for 600,000 men. The document is interesting not only for its historical bearing, but for the signatures attached to it, which include those of about fifty representative citizens of the old town of Lansingburgh, nearly all of whom are now dead. The petition follows
To Albert E. Powers, Jonathan E. Whipple and Edward E. Pickett, War Committee for the town of Lansingburgh: Understanding that even at this late date the town of Lansingburgh has not furnished even one-half of its quota of volunteers under the two calls of the President for 600,000 men, and being desirous that our town shall do its whole duty, and also do it in a voluntary manner and not by a compulsory draft; wishing also to follow the example set us by almost every city, county and town in the Northern states, and by a liberal town bounty induce suitable men to volunteer for the service of the government; thinking also that the burdens of the war should be distributed equally among all our citizens, upon the rich as well as the poor; therefore, we, the undersigned residents and taxpayers of the town of Lansingburgh, do respectfully petition you, the Town War Committee, (having been especially appointed to further enlistment in this town and including among your number the Supervisor of the town,) to petition a public meeting of all the taxable inhabitants of this town to ballot to-morrow on the question of raising $6,000 upon the real and personal property of the town, and if adopted to ask the Legislature to legalize the same and authorize its collection. We also request you, if the voters of said town shall authorize the tax, to borrow on the credit of the town a sufficient amount of money not to exceed the sum of $6,000, to pay every volunteer from this town who enlists from this date, and is credited to the town on its quota aforesaid, the sum of $50, to be paid immediately on his being accepted by the United States.
We would further remark in connection that this tax will amount to only about thirty-three cents on each $100 of assessed valuation, and therefore upon a house and lot assessed at $500 the tax will amount to the sum of about $1.65, thus falling very lightly on each one in the community.
Lansingburgh, August 22, 1862.
At the public meeting the petition was acted on favorably, and the money was furnished by the Bank of Lansingburgh on a note of $6,000. Subsequently the note was paid from town funds by Supervisor Jonathan E. Whipple and the quota was filled.
The petition and note were signed by the following citizens:
F. B. Leonard, H. W. Knickerbocker, H. W. Day, A. Wing, John R. Haner, A. C. Snyder, E. Filley, John Rourke, John G. McMurray, Nicholas Weaver, John Holmes, Robert Dickson, S. Osborn, Daniel Fish, E. Adams, John S. Fake, Charles Clark, Anson Groesbeck, A. Walsh, William R. Barton, R. Harrison, M. Younglove, William Bradshaw, Charles Weaver, Alexander King, Alexander Kirkpatrick, M. S. Van Buskirk, James I. Adams, Gerritt Fort, Newton Adams, Ebenezer Wood, William A. Flack, Isaac G. Flack, Bedford Filkin, Ira E. Davenport, Joseph Fox, F. B. Fancher, J. M. Rice, William M. Lea, G. W. Cornell, Jesse Spicer, E. P. Pickett, S. V. Arnold, N. B. Powers, S. Brooks, D. H. Flack, Isaac Ransom, Thomas Moss, Charles J. Lansing, John Ames, Valentine Perry, Albert E. Powers and Jonathan E. Whipple.
Of these the only survivors are A. C. Snyder, Ira E. Davenport, William N. Lea, S. V. Arnold, N. B. Powers and Albert E. Powers.
Troy Daily Times. February 8, 1902: 2 col 6.