Troy's Participation in the Civil War
At the onset of the Civil War, Troy can be characterized as largely a working class city with a half native-born and half immigrant population. On February 19th of 1861, Abraham Lincoln passed through Troy on the way to his inauguration. He gave a speech to a crowd of around 30,000 people at Union Depot. Given that the population of Troy was about 40,000 at that time, this was quite a turnout! In the early days of the secession crisis, a few home guard units formed, including the Freeman Cadets and the Troy Citizens Corps.
The primary military unit in Troy was the 24th Regiment of the New York State Militia, whose officers included Colonel Joseph Carr, Lieutenant Colonel Kenyon, and Major George Steenberg. These men, along with citizens Isaac McConihe, John Griswold and Martin Townsend were among the most vocal and open organizers and supporters of Troy’s participation in the Union war effort and voiced strong opposition to secession. John Griswold, proprietor of the Rensselaer Iron Works, and John Winslow, proprietor of the Albany Iron Works, were involved in the promotion, investment in and construction of the new iron naval vessel the Monitor. They were the proprietors of the Albany Iron Works. Parts of the Monitor were manufactured in different locations, but the gun turret and some of the side panels for the Monitor were constructed in Troy.
When the Civil War began, ten enlistment offices were opened in Troy. Only six days after the bombing of Fort Sumter, Capt. John Armitage’s company was the first one officially accepted for enlistment in the state of New York. Citizens held rallies and collected thousands of dollars for the support of the families of the volunteer soldiers. The county fairgrounds were made available for the mustering of troops. At the onset of the war, Troy’s citizens were generally enthusiastic supporters.
By April 26th of 1861, the 24th Regiment of the state militia formally became Companies A-K of the 2nd Regiment of New York Volunteers. With Col. Joseph Carr in command, they consisted of thirty-seven officers and 752 men enlisted for two years of service. On May 18th they mobilized for Fort Monroe, Virginia. Additional volunteer soldiers from Troy consisted of companies B and I as part of the 13th Regiment of New York Volunteers on June 1st. A few weeks later, Company E of the 7th Cavalry Regiment also left Troy under the command of Captain Clarence Buel. In addition to providing soldiers, numerous manufacturers in Troy mobilized its industries to produce munitions and supplies for the Union. War materiel produced in Troy included shot and shell, mortar bombs, brass artillery fuses, Rodman steel rifled cannons, rifled brass cannons, artillery carriages, army and artillery wagons.
Additional home guard units also formed, including the National Guard and the Troy Ellsworths. The Black Horse Cavalry was also formed which included companies from Troy. They mobilized for the war front on November 22, 1861. But because at that time there was considered too many cavalrymen in the field, The Black Horse Cavalry was mustered out and returned to New York in March of 1862. In November of 1861, the 93rd Regiment of New York Volunteers included Company K from Troy, named the Morgan Rifles. In December, three more companies (H, I and K) from Troy became enlisted with the 104th New York Volunteers. They trained until March of 1862 at which time they were mustered in.
On Saturday, May 10th of 1862, a massive fire destroyed and devastated a large section of Troy. The fire was ignited by sparks from a locomotive which set on fire the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad bridge between Albany and Troy across Green Island over the Hudson River. Gale force winds caused the flames to spread east into the downtown business area of Troy. The fire spread rapidly, and efforts to combat the fire proved largely futile. The fire effectively cut off the north and south sides of town from each other, as there was no way to pass through the conflagration. The fire raged for about five hours until around six o’clock that evening. 575 buildings, numerous outhouses and barns covering a 75-acre area were destroyed. It destroyed an estimated three million dollars of property. This fire exacted a toll on the well-being of the citizens of Troy, many of whom lost all their belongings and were displaced in the fire’s wake. About five or six people were burned or died of smoke inhalation.
Rensselaer County responded to the call for more troops in July of 1862. The 125th New York Regiment was formed in Troy of men from the county. The 125th boarded trains for New York City at the end of August for a three-year enlistment. Soon after, another regiment was formulated, mustered and shipped out of Troy in September and October. This was the 169th New York Regiment, consisting mostly of Rensselaer County men, also for a three-year enlistment period. On May 14th of 1863, the 2nd Regiment returned to Troy from their two years of service. They had just fought at Chancellorsville the week before. The 2nd regiment had been reduced to 386 men, down from the nearly 800 which originally comprised it. The 2nd New York had fought extensively, including Big Bethel, Fair Oaks, Glendale, Malvern Hill, Bristow Station, 2nd Bull Run, Chantilly, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. Fighting in the Civil War had taken a hard toll on the citizens of Troy. Many had left and were killed in combat or died of disease. Many others had recently been summoned and left for three years of enlistment.
