History of the DeWitt guard, company A, 50th regiment National guard, state of New York

In Short

Published by the unit itself in 1866, this book details the origin and service of Company A of the 50th Regiment New York National Guard, known locally as the DeWitt Guard. It traces the organization from its 1851 founding as a self-funded militia through its federal service guarding draft substitutes at Elmira and fighting in the Civil War's major campaigns. Combining individual biographical sketches with collective operational narratives, it stands as an authentic, locally grounded testament to how ordinary northern citizens—merchants, tradesmen, and clerks—navigated military duty, wartime hardship, and civic responsibility.

The Story

The narrative opens in December 1851 with the formation of the DeWitt Guard in Ithaca, New York. Functioning initially as a self-supporting local militia, the company relies entirely on its members to purchase uniforms, furnish drill spaces, and pay organizational expenses, receiving only arms from the state. For a decade, the unit serves as a fixture of civic life, holding annual target shoots, hosting parade excursions to neighboring towns, and cultivating community fellowship under early leaders like merchant Arch. H. McNeil and bank cashier Philip J. Partenheimer.

When the Civil War erupts, the company's role changes dramatically. The narrative shifts from local drill routines to wartime mobilization as members enlist in various federal regiments or enter active national service collectively. Former members branch out across the Union forces: William Glenny recruits a company that joins the 64th New York Volunteers; others enlist in the 137th New York Volunteers, joining General Sherman’s advance through Georgia and participating in heavy engagements at Pine Knob, Peach Tree Creek, and the siege of Savannah, where soldiers like Sergeant Barnard help plant regimental colors under fire and raise the flag over Savannah's City Hall.

In September 1864, the company enters federal service directly as part of the 50th Regiment National Guard, deployed to garrison duty at the substitute rendezvous in Elmira, New York. Here, the narrative captures the grim realities of wartime guard duty. The soldiers manage lawless recruits and draft substitutes attempting to desert, maintaining strict discipline under difficult conditions. Detachments from the company escort these substitutes to the front line, enduring miserable transport conditions in overcrowded freight cars and aboard leaking, condemned steamboats with inadequate food and water.

Despite these hardships, the men maintain morale through camp entertainment, constructing outdoor stages lit by bayonet candles for minstrel shows and participating in grand reviews alongside thousands of regular and volunteer troops. Following their discharge from federal service, the surviving members return to Ithaca to rebuild their civilian lives. The book closes by detailing the establishment of a fine new armory and drill room—supported in part by local benefactor Ezra Cornell—leaving the company back in its home community, selling this history to discharge its remaining debts.

How It Unfolds

A civic company forms In late 1851, citizens in Ithaca organize Company A, electing officers, funding their own equipment, and establishing a disciplined local militia unit that doubles as a tight-knit community institution.

The call to federal service With the outbreak of the Civil War, members either enlist individually in volunteer infantry regiments or help raise new companies, bringing the militia’s training directly to the front lines of the Union army.

Battles in the Southern theater Members serving in active field regiments endure rigorous campaigns across Georgia and the Carolinas, experiencing fierce skirmishes at Pine Knob and Peach Tree Creek, marching to the sea, and occupying Savannah.

Garrison duty at Elmira The unit enters active U.S. service as a company, stationed at Elmira to guard draft substitutes, enforce order among unruly recruits, and manage the logistics of a major military rendezvous.

Escorting substitutes to the front Detachments endure grueling transport missions, herding substitutes to Baltimore and Virginia inside cramped freight cars and hazardous, poorly provisioned steamships.

Return to civilian life After being mustered out, the members return home to Ithaca, fitting up a new armory, resuming their trades, and publishing their company history to clear organizational debts.

The People

• Philip J. Partenheimer: Cashier of the Tompkins County Bank who serves as the company's first Captain for over ten years; a quiet benefactor who personally covers many company expenses and earns total respect from his men.
• William Glenny: A clerk and early company officer whose devotion to the Union leads him to recruit a volunteer company at Ithaca, eventually serving as Captain in the 64th New York Volunteers.
• Captain Blood: A deeply religious officer who leads the company during its Elmira encampment, known for mixing strict moral leadership with genuine care for his men before being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.
• Captain Esty: A leather company clerk who succeeds Blood as Captain; modest about advancement, he pours his own time and money into outfitting the drill room and securing target prizes for the men.
• Sergeant Barnard: A daring soldier who plants the regimental colors during the "Battle above the Clouds," serves as Post-Master in Alabama, and helps raise the Union flag over Savannah City Hall.

In Its Own Voice

"When traitors should thrust the bayonet at the nation's life, he would be found among those who were willing to peril their lives in its defence."

• Context: Describing the patriotic resolve of William Glenny as he sought permission to recruit a volunteer company after initial Union setbacks.

"There were only a few casks of water, and no provisions of any kind on board."

• Context: Recounting the severe neglect experienced by company guards and substitutes aboard a leaking, condemned transport ship bound for City Point.

"On the evening mentioned we built a staging of rather large dimensions... sticking bayonets in the ground with a candle placed in them to serve as foot-lights..."

• Context: Detailing how the soldiers improvised theatrical performances to maintain high spirits during their garrison duty at Elmira.

What It's Really About

Behind its straightforward biographical entries and campaign logs, the text explores the relationship between local civic identity and national military obligation. It demonstrates how nineteenth-century citizen-soldiery relied on existing social structures: local banks, dry-goods stores, and trade apprenticeships formed the backbone of military cohesion. The book highlights the quiet sacrifices of daily duty—paying for uniforms out of pocket, enduring filthy transport ships, or managing unruly draftees—showing that wartime service was as much an exercise in administrative persistence and community solidarity as it was a series of glorious battlefield achievements.

Why Read It Today

This history appeals to readers interested in primary-source Civil War history, micro-histories of small-town America, and the lived realities of 19th-century soldiering. Reading it feels like flipping through a carefully kept community ledger; it balances dry enlistment records with vivid, unvarnished anecdotes of camp life. The narrative carries no polished literary pretension, offering instead an authentic period artifact written by the very men who lived it.

Readers must navigate the era's uncritical prose, localized details that assume familiarity with 1860s Ithaca, and archaic phrasing. The entries candidly reflect period attitudes toward military draftees and draft substitutes—frequently referring to them as "a lawless set" or "refuse of all society"—providing an unfiltered window into modern Union social tensions. What stays with the reader is the deep sense of mutual reliance among these small-town mechanics, clerks, and merchants who funded their own unit, served together in camp and field, and ultimately printed their own book to pay off their armory's debts.