As Veterans Day approaches, I decided to take a stab at honoring one of our local veterans in my blog post this week. However, while attempting to decide just which local veteran to write about, I decided it would be impossible to focus on just one. I opted instead to write about a few from a singular group of our local veterans - the Civil War Vets - as I felt singling out just one of the vast list of local veterans would be very difficult. 

Lake Placid's population, like all towns in America, has been no stranger to the ravages of the many wars and conflicts our country has been embroiled in over the course of history. Several members of my family have served overseas, my father in World War II and my brother in the Vietnam conflict. My father spent more than a year in Kunming, China, serving as a radio technician and operator in the Army Signal Corps in the Pacific Theater during the height of the war. My brother served two tours of duty (the second one voluntarily) in Vietnam while serving in the Air Force. Many other family members have been involved in one conflict or another over the years, including several on my paternal grandmother’s side who served in the Civil War and the Spanish American War. Those Civil War vets are not buried in Lake Placid, however. Cemeteries, especially the oldest sections, have always fascinated me.

Local recognition

Our local North Elba Cemetery honors veterans with a special placard into which individual American flags are placed every Veterans Day. A stroll through the cemetery will give one a broad view of just how many locals have served in our armed forces. There are placards from as far back as the Spanish-American War on several graves. There are also several vets whose tombstones are engraved with information about the regimens they served in during the Civil War. This inspired me to focus on those vets I found from the  Civil War, about whom I knew nothing. All but one of the last names were unfamiliar to me, so I couldn’t just go to a family member and ask their stories. 

Walking around the North Elba Cemetery looking at the oldest sections and finding the veterans who served in the Civil War was incredibly interesting and enlightening. The end of the Civil War came almost 150 years ago. I found statistical information showing that the State of New York provided nearly half a million men during the war. This number amounted to over 20% of the population of men in the state! The average age for the soldiers was about 25 years. 

The statistics for New York’s support to the Civil War effort:

• 27 regiments of cavalry
• 15 regiments of artillery
• 8 regiments of engineers
• 248 regiments of infantry
• 4,125 free blacks from New York served in the Union Army

In addition, 3 whole regiments of “US Colored Troops” were raised and organized in the state - the 20th, 26th and 31st USCT's.

Lake Placid obviously had its share of soldiers in some of the divisions listed above. Since I had only recognized one of the last names, I went to the best place I know for information these days - the internet. There’s an amazing amount of information about Civil War divisions from New York State on the website of the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center. 

Luckily, someone had the foresight to engrave the names of the divisions in which these fine soldiers served during their service. Without it, I would never have found the information I was able to locate.

A well known Lake Placid name

One name I spotted with which I’m familiar belongs to Reuben Peck, a family name well known in Lake Placid. My inquiries about relations have not yielded anything at this point, but I’ll update if I find anything. Private Reuben Peck enlisted in February of 1865 and survived to muster out at the end of the war. He lived for 20 more years and died in 1905 at the age of 55. 

Others not so well known

Another couple of rows up I found a stone belonging to one Jeremiah Brittell. Mr. Brittell lived to the ripe old age of 75, a long life in those days, although there's an obvious discrepancy between the age on the tombstone and the obituary! Mr. Brittell had the most lengthy military record I found. I also found his obituary from the Elizabethtown Record.

A very young veteran

Henry Rich, who served in the 118th NY Regiment, would appear to have died during the Civil War conflict. The date of his death, at 18 years and 10 months on July 22, 1865, however was some two and a half months after the end of the war. I tried without luck to find an obituary in local newspapers. I suspect he may have been wounded in battle and died later of his wounds, given his age of only 18. 

Seeing the headstone of such a young soldier brings to the forefront the sadness of loss for such young people during most wars and conflicts. Making that ultimate sacrifice is something not everyone is capable of. It is because of these fine folks that we have successfully defended freedom for the past couple of centuries, both at home and abroad.   

Find out more

These are but a handful of the veterans buried in their final resting places at our local cemeteries. I found their stories fascinating and it's given me the desire to learn more about all these veterans who fought in battles such a long time ago. If you're looking to find out more about veterans you know, just start searching the internet with the information you do have and you'll be amazed at what you can find out. You can also find helpful folks and information at our local museums.  

Honor our vets

Lake Placid holds a Veterans Day Parade and ceremony every November 11th. It's a moving tribute to the vets who have served and to those who have given the ultimate sacrifice so we have the freedoms we enjoy today. Make sure you honor your veterans, either here in Lake Placid, or in your hometown, on Veterans Day this year. If you're planning a visit to Lake Placid check out our accommodations pages for some great packages.