The Roll Call The Binghamton Civil War Historical Society and Round Table
Transcription
The Roll Call The Binghamton Civil War Historical Society and Round Table
The Roll Call The Binghamton Civil War Historical Society and Round Table We meet third Tuesdays (except July & August) at American Legion Located in Hillcrest, NY at 7 p.m. President 1st Vice President / Hospitality 2nd Vice President / Program Director Secretary Treasurer Trustee Trustee Roll Call Editor Email Cliff Miller Dick Shiel 725-5654 798-0766 Joe Card 770-7330 John Goodnough Willis L. Platt Peg Relyea Brian Swartz Willis L. Platt wlplatt@stny.rr.com 204-0316 759-1513 240-7167 768-1894 759-1513 U. S. Mail Address: Binghamton Civil War Roundtable P. O. Box 2435 Binghamton, NY 13902-2435 TREASURER'S REPORT June 2014 Previous balance: Dues/Donations: (+) Expenses: Current balance: $5160.20 $74.50 $ 7.64 $5227.06 Regular Membership – $15.00 Family Membership – $25.00 Student (Junior) Membership – $10.00 Please make out checks to "Binghamton Civil War Round Table" Or (BCWHSRT). Mail your check to Willis L. Platt, Treasurer, 71 Shaw Road, Conklin, NY 13748 Members Paid for 2014 ………….55 Ackley, Alton, Blakeslee, Bogdasarian, +Buckley, Bundga, Card, Casella, Chier, Clutz, Crosby Jr, Cuculich, Dueul, *Duff, Edwards, English, Ferris, Gill, Gillette, Goodnough, Harting, Hotaling, Kline, Kristek, Marsh, McDonald, McGuire, McNerney Jr., *Meeredith, *Messersmith, Miller, Moravansky, +Natale, Ondreyko, Patch, Elieen & Dave, Platt, *Relea, Roth, +Schuster, Shaller, Shiel, +Slama, Snapp, Swartz, *Till, Wajcs, White, +Williams, Young Note: (+) Denotes New Member Note: (*) Denotes Family Membership Thank you for paying your dues. Members paid for 2013........52 Willis L. Platt, Treasurer www.bcwhsrt.org 1 October 21st MEETING Joe Card I was very pleased that all seemed to enjoy the wonderful talk by Dr. Diane Miller Sommerville from BU last month. I have a feeling we will be seeing her back again in the future! Now on to the present beautiful month of October— now I know that those gorgeous colorful leaves remind us that it will not be long until those orange and yellow hues are replaced by a bit of drab gray and dare I saywhite! However, it does remind us that our Round Table season has just begun, and that we should look forward to the future. The leaves are old friends to us here, and it reminds me that old friends are always welcome back! October gives us a chance to welcome back a good friend in Sue Greenhagen. We have had Sue talk to us several times over the years, and whenever she arrives here in Binghamton, she always brings two things. First of all, Sue always brings a program filled with great information and a lot of good research, and of course the second visitor that Sue brings is her wonderful and very entertaining sister Darothy. Now many times these two have both been part of great talks, but this time Sue says that Darothy will be assisting her this time as her heckler—a job she really enjoys! (I imagine that Cliff will welcome the help-HA HA) Sue is a retired librarian from SUNY Morrisville. She has helped the whole state of New York out with her outstanding website New York State and the Civil War. Sue is also the historian of the Village of Morrisville. She is currently involved with a series of talks in Madison County as a part of their recognition of the last year of the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War. She will be bringing one of those talks to Broome County. The program is entitled the “Sesquicentennial of the Battle of Cedar Creek”. Her talk will actually be two days after the 150th anniversary of the engagement in the Shenandoah Valley on October 19, 1864. This engagement was one of the key victories that helped ensure the reelection of President Lincoln. The battle would begin with a massive attack by Jubal Early’s Confederate forces, leading to a Union retreat, a famous ride by Phil Sheridan and then a shattering counter attack by union forces. Sue will give us a talk 1 CONTACTS: OCTOBER 21ST 2014 Page Volume 16 Issue 8 on this important battle keying on the 114th New York infantry. The regiment was recruited in Chenango, Cortland and Madison counties. Five of the companies were from as close to us as Greene, Oxford and Norwich. The regiment was formed in Norwich and went to war in September of 1862 via a canal boat ride to Binghamton and then to Baltimore. It later was sent to Louisiana where as part of the 19 th Corps it was involved in the siege of Port Hudson and the Red River Campaign. In July of 1864, the regiment was sent back to Washington where it took part in the 1864 Valley Campaign. Sue will tell us of the efforts of the men of the 114th on that October 19th 150 years ago. I am looking forward to this presentation—and I hope all of you will join with me on October 21 st to welcome back Sue Greenhagen!!!!!!!!!! * * * * PRESIDENT’S COLUMN Cliff Miller I'M PSYCHED! Yes, I'm psyched. Why? Because I'll be seeing a couple of long-time friends at this month's meeting, friends I haven't seen for far too long. I was extremely pleased when Joe told me who our speaker is this month. The great Sue Greenhagen will be talking about something of local interest - the Battle of Cedar Creek, two days after its 150th anniversary, with the local angle being the participation in that battle of Chenango County's 114th NY. Sue is bringing her sister, the irrepressible Darothy DeAngelo (she says she needs a heckler). I met those two women at the now-defunct Norwich Civil War Round Table. They are smart and funny, and a delight to be around. And they are not above pranking each other, or anyone else. We have been on numerous battlefield trips with the Norwich group, and I have worked a table with them at Pederboro in the past. I always enjoy their company, and I'm looking forward to seeing them. I hope you all can make it. Sue's Civil War web site is a wonderful resource http://localhistory.morrisville.edu/sites/ . See you at the meeting! * * * By John Goodnough As I sit down to write this column, the leaves are dropping at a good “clip” and the fall colors are just about at their peak. It’s time to begin putting away the summer outdoor things, and get the "tools" of winter ready for use. The first frost of the season hit my part of the county on Sunday, October 5, and that's an omen that more sustained periods of colder weather will soon become the norm. In the southern war zones 150 years ago, scores of men from our local hills, rolling farm lands, valleys, hamlets, towns and villages were serving in "Mr. Lincoln's Army." There are still several commemorative events being held to remember landmark occurrences from the last months of the Civil War, and highlights of a few of them are listed below, in case there are still any of our members who plan on getting out to visit such far-reaching points before the annual seasonal limitations discourage safe travel. Until October 19 at Plymouth Notch, Vermont. Last days of special programs and exhibits in the former hometown of past U.S. President Calvin Coolidge, honoring men from that region who served in the Union Army. Several buildings at Plymouth Notch house photos, artifacts, letters, period weapons and uniforms, and other artifacts from 1861-65. Civilian and military "living history" portrayals and ceremonies will round out the series of activities reflecting on the war's impact on that community. There's still a lot of opportunities for "leaf peeping" and some drives through scenic territory of Vermont and adjoining New England states. For more information, visit www.historicsites.vermont.gov. October 15 - 20 at Fairfax, Va. 150th Anniversary of the Cedar Creek battle that turned out to be the last major conflict of arms in the federal Shenandoah Valley Campaign. A series of programs, exhibits, Union and Confederate re-enactor camps, demonstrations, author researcher presentations, living history portrayals, sutler stations, period music and much more awaits visitors to this sesquicentennial event. On the 18th and 19th there will be a battle reenactment at Middletown, Va. For details access www.cedarcreekbattlefield.org. October 24 - 26 at Andersonville, Ga. Park Service staff and volunteer docents will escort visitors through exhibits depicting examples of Civil War military prison life, and re-enactors will discuss the daily activities and challenges that the incarcerated Union soldiers had to deal with as they languished in the large stockade area that proved to be the most notorious of the southern prison camps. For more information call (229) 924-0343 or visit www.gacivilwar.org/events. Page 2 * FROM THE SECRETARY'S TENT, 2 Committee Chair Bob Blakeslee informed us recently that circumstances beyond anyone’s control have forced the cancellation of the cemetery veteran gravesite illuminations for this year. We look forward to resuming in November 2015. Those of you who subscribe to the CIVIL WAR COURIER may have noted an article in the September edition that described the significance of Fort McHenry at the harbor of Baltimore, Md. during 1861-65, and the role played by Binghamton native and (then) Captain John C. Robinson as the fort’s commander in the early weeks of the war, before he went on to climb the military ladder to regimental, brigade and division command in the Union Army of the Potomac. We are clipping the article and will have it sleeved for perusal of members at a future Round Table meeting. Several members of the Round Table visited or ook active roles in the program and exhibits at the Civil War History Remembrance Day in Coventryville, Chenango County NY on Sunday, Sept. 28. The Coventry Historical Association sponsored the 10 th edition of its annual event on the grounds of the Coventryville Congregational Church. Weather was superb (in fact, a little too hot for those of us garbed in scratchy wool reenactor uniforms). Exhibits, demonstrations, period music and historical readings transpired during the day. The memory of a local soldier, Private John Shaver of Co. “E,” 89 th NY Infantry, was honored during a closing ceremony at the nearby Coventry Union Cemetery, with reenactor color guard, rifle salute, the blowing of TAPS and a benediction by the pastor of the church, witnessed by the public and several family descendants of Mr. Shaver – an event to cherish and remember by all who came. 3 Personal sketches, capsule biographies and other data on numerous Civil War soldiers who lived in Broome and fringes of contiguous counties are being researched and compiled by several members of the Round Table. This is an on-going project, realizing that Broome County alone processed approximately 4,000 men during the war, and counties such as Chenango, Cortland, Tioga and Delaware in New York, and neighboring Susquehanna and Bradford in Pennsylvania contributed likely over 8,000 combined. We are taking a long-range look at the material, and it could amount to a sizable product if basic data is collected to form a central database. We also have not completely dropped the idea of composing a documentary at some time later on. Several ideas for concepts of a memorial to remember the existence and role of former CAMP SUSQUEHANNA, on Binghamton’s south side, are being reviewed. The major drawback at this time is the availability of funds. Although our treasury has a good foundation of money reserved for the project, we remain far short of enough to warrant seeing a suitable monument procured, installed and dedicated. OCTOBER 1864 By John Goodnough In the eastern theater of the war, most attention was focused on the state of events before Petersburg, Va., major railroad and supply center deemed “key” to accessing the Confederacy’s capital at Richmond. The siege of the city, initiated by over-all Union commanding General U.S. Grant back in mid-June, saw a virtual stalemate between the armies of General George G. Meade and Robert E. Lee along a front that had extended for a total distance of well over 30 miles. Major attempts at breakthroughs had so far come to nought; the last debacle was along the segment known to many participants as the Pegram/Elliott Salient, and after the detonation of approximately 8,000 pounds of black powder beneath a stretch of it on July 30, quickly came known under such monickers as “The Mine Explosion” and “The Crater,” respectfully describing the action itself and the gaping hole in the landscape resulting from it. Near the end of September the principal action had been initiated anew at nearby New Market Heights and Poplar Springs Church, Va., highlighted by intense action that most people from the north came to know as the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm. Confederate General A.P. Hill’s troops managed to barely beat back the Union assaults; however his losses in manpower further stretched the availability of gray- 3 Other Notes Officers and trustees of the Binghamton Civil War Historical Society and Round Table met for a business session on the evening of Wednesday, September 24. Attendees gave reports on the various operations such as secretarial, treasury, programs, membership, newsletter, research, special projects and events, website that combine to accomplish our mission. As readers will see from the treasurer’s notes elsewhere in this edition, we are on a “sound” financial footing, and our membership numbers are pleasing. Treasurer and Membership Chair Willis Platt has recently informed us that the sponsors of the hockey games at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena have invited us back to set up a Civil War theme exhibit during a game evening late in February 2015. This will be our second endeavor at that location, and more details will be forthcoming in these pages as the date of our participation approaches. Page November 14 - 15 at Gettysburg, Pa. Various sponsors will hold such events as the annual President's Remembrance Day, the Lincoln Forum, memorial exercises, a dinner and ball. Visitors will also be able to attend the Lincoln Address commemorative at the National Cemetery, and all exhibits at the National Park Service Civil War Museum will be open to the public. As there are several "cooks in the kitchen" regards sponsorship, we suggest you use "key words" and access the local Gettysburg tourism and NPS sites for the latest information. Virtually every day of the siege saw small arms and artillery fire exchanged between the opposing sides along the growing front. As parts of fortifications were battered by continual hits from shot and shell, details of men were sent out to scrounge more materials for restoring integrity of rifle pits, artillery emplacements, bombproofs and covered ways used by men for accessing the forward lines. Occasionally rebel commanders sent out groups of men on the same types of missions, and there were several reported incidents where men of opposing sides collided in the field; often the encounters resulted in men being wounded, killed and captured. In the fall of ’64 Union soldiers caught off guard in the spaces between lines often ended up at such prison camps as Andersonville in Georgia and Salisbury in North Carolina. Such had been the lot of several men from Broome County and vicinity who were members of the 155th NY Infantry and captured during the sporadic fighting in the vicinity of the Petersburg lines back in August. By October they were “sitting out” the war at Salisbury. Anthony Gillespie of Co. “F” had been promoted to Sergeant in the spring; he was captured in action at Reams’s Station, Va. on August 25th. Other members of the company, Privates 4 After trying to cause as much damage and havoc as possible against General Sherman’s forces in and around Atlanta, Confederate General John B. Hood had decided to completely vacate the region and carry offensive actions to the precarious federal supply corridor along the route of the Western & Atlantic Railroad, that ran for nearly 140 miles between Atlanta and Chattanooga. Sherman had left token forces at key locations along the line, so as not to seriously weaken his supply line for the federal troops in and around Atlanta. While the 20th Corps occupied the city, “Uncle Billy” ordered elements of other units to follow Hood back north, and was present during many of the ensuing clashes . Hood was not the only direct contender. Rebel leader Nathan Bedford Forrest and his mounted men were also wreaking destruction and nipping at the flanks of Sherman’s troops. Knowing how vital the railroad was to Sherman’s being able to hold Atlanta, Hood and Forrest destroyed stretches of tracks and other railroad facilities at every opportunity. Early in October there were some skirmishes and light to heavy actions at such places as Big Shanty and Acworth, Ga. Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who had made a recent trip to the war’s western theater to encourage such leaders as General John B. Hood, was on his way back to Richmond via points farther south. On the 3 rd he stopped at Columbia, SC, and in an address to a crowd that had formed there, told the assembly he predicted Sherman’s efforts in Georgia would come to failure and ruin. On the 5th, another element of Sherman’s troops repulsed a heavy assault on a federal garrison at Allatoona, Ga., inflicting substantial casualties on Hood’s forces. On the high seas, another rebel raider was taken out of circulation during October. The CSS FLORIDA, after capturing nearly 40 U S. ships since the end of March, was brought to bay on the 7th by USS WACHUSETT in the neutral harbor of Bahia, Brazil while the captain and other key members of the Confederate ship’s crew were visiting points of interest on shore. The Lincoln administration realized more heartening news when they learned, on the 13th, that the Maryland legislature narrowly passed a new state constitution abolishing the practice of slavery. A form of terrorism erupted on the northern home front when elements of Confederate civilian and military intruders came down across the St. Lawrence River on the 19th and raided the Vermont town of St. Albans. The perpetrators succeeded in “withdrawing” about $200,000 from local banks, wounded several citizens and killed at least one before escaping and 4 Grant and his subordinates had also reviewed ways to deny Lee’s forces vital supplies for waging war. The Union general ordered several sorties and forays of infantry and cavalry, accompanied by elements of light artillery, to sever railroad arteries essential to the Confederacy’s access to Petersburg and Richmond. In southwestern Virginia federal forces targeted such facilities as salt mines and lead shot works, with only marginal successes. In many cases, as federals destroyed rebel manufacturing and supply operations, local civilians and slaves impressed into manual labor for the southern war effort rebuilt many of the facilities and had them running again within weeks after their damage or destruction. Michael Golden, and Michael Sullivan, were captured the same day. Gillespie and Golden managed to escape in the spring of ’65, but Sullivan died in prison during January ’65. All had joined the regiment at Binghamton in September of 1862. Page clad men to occupy the rebel lines. In essence, the federals gained more ground by October 2. After the fierce fighting experienced at Poplar Springs Church, several Broome County soldiers were reported missing. A check of the rolls of the 179th NY Infantry, for instance, found several captured in action. They included Private Charles Baker of Co. “F,” who had enlisted at Vestal, and Private Isaac B. Hill of Co. “K,” from the Town of Sanford. Baker and Hill had only been with the regiment since early September. Baker was paroled in the spring of ’65, processed as a returning prisoner of war, and mustered out at Elmira on June 21, 1865. Hill’s fate has yet to be uncovered. Other recent enlistees of the 179th were Private John B. Fisher of Co. “K” who hailed from the Town of Barker. He had been wounded in action on Sept. 30 th at Poplar Springs Church and later (Nov. 3, ’64) died in a military hospital at Beverly, NJ. Private Edward Higbee had enlisted at Union on August 29 th, and was in the same company when wounded on Sept. 30 th, however he recovered and returned to duty, serving until muster-out on June 8, 1865. As October wore on in the western theater of the war, Union and rebel forces clashed at several more points as Hood marched his army northerly. Actions took place at New Hope Church, Dallas, Resaca, Buzzard Roost Gap, resulting in more casualties among the men of Sherman and Hood. A temporary setback for the federals resulted during seesaw fighting at Dalton and Tilton, Ga. on the 13th. For a short time Hood’s men took a hold on the W&A Railroad in the vicinity, but were soon driven away by federal reinforcements. General James Longstreet, known by many as Lee’s “Old War Horse” and among the most trusted of subordinates, was lately recovered from his earlier war wounds, and on the 17th resumed command of his old corps, now serving in the defenses of Petersburg. Grant kept up trying to find ways to break through the rebel lines near Petersburg before winter. Another attempt at cutting off a major rail line supplying Lee’s forces fell apart at the running battles described variously as Jerusalem and Boydton Plank Roads, and Hatcher’s Run, Va. Assaults on points along the South Side Railroad included many men from Broome County, NY and vicinity. At the Second Battle of Fair Oaks on the 27th, over 100 men (mostly relatively new recruits) of the 89th NY Infantry were captured in action. Lack of coordination was blamed for the cumulative failures during debriefings as the calendar was ready to flip over into November. The combined “butcher’s bill” for both sides was nearly 1,800 men. Occasionally some of the smallest triumphs caused jubilation in the north. One such was the escapade of Navy Lieutenant William B. Cushing in the Roanoke River harbor of Plymouth, NC on the 27 th. The Confederate ram ALBEMARLE was berthed there with a portion of its crew aboard when some crewmen on deck watch detected the approach of an open boat bearing unfamiliar men in murky darkness. Before much preventive action could be undertaken, the 5 Near the end of the month, Sherman’s troops had virtually driven Hood’s forces into northeastern Alabama. The last skirmishes between elements of Sherman’s expeditionary force and Hood’s men were at Goshen and Ladiga, AL on the 28 th. The bulk of the federals turned east and south to return to the vicinity of Atlanta; Sherman left nearly 40,000 men for General George H. Thomas and others as bolsters to the occupation forces at such places as Chattanooga and Nashville. Military hospitals were expanded and made ready to receive more sick and wounded soldiers at such places as Nashville, TN and Jefferson (aka Jeffersonville), Indiana. Politics seemed to be foremost on the minds of many northern citizens while the October days of the Petersburg siege and the occupation of Atlanta rolled by. Lulls in skirmishing and actions allowed many men from the posts or positions in the field to write letters to the folks back in Broome County or send unofficial reports to editors of local newspapers. On the subject of politics and the coming presidential election, the BROOME WEEKLY REPUBLICAN carried an item from the field, written by Captain James Hazely of the 89th NY Infantry. The article was subtitled “A Card from Capt. Hazely,” in which the newspaper’s editor makes preliminary remarks, to wit: “We publish today a card from Capt. Hazley of the 89 th, denying the statement made by one Mandeville, a fifer in his Company, that the brave and fighting 89th will vote for McClellan. The Captain is a fighting man and a gallant officer. He bears an honorable record in the army. He went into the army like many others, a Democrat; but he cannot vote with a party which declares the War a failure (or) is in favor of an immediate cessation of hostilities and submission to the rebels. McClellan must stand on that platform along with Pendleton and Seymour, who have done what they could to deprive the soldiers of their rights and of their privileges of voting at all! Capt. Hazley and his regiment will vote as they fight, for the Union, and will support Lincoln and Johnson, the friends of the country and the friends of the soldiers. It will be found that those soldiers who vote for McClellan are generally sneaks who preferred lying in camp to exposing themselves in field of battle, and with McClellan were fond of grand parade, but avers to hurting the rebels or themselves! The true, fighting men, like Capt. Hazely, don’t go (for) Little Mac!” Next is a reply from Hazely, received by the REPUBLICAN: “I saw in the Binghamton DEMOCRAT a few days ago a statement signed by John E. Manderville* to the effect that the 89th Regiment would vote for McClellan. Now I would state that this Mr. Manderville is a member of my Company – that he is a fifer, never shouldered a musket, and was never under fire in the Regiment, and furthermore that the 89th Regiment will not vote for McClellan, but will vote as they fight, for the Union. 5 That same day down in Virginia saw the intense Battle of Cedar Creek. The federal commander of the Army of the Shenandoah, General Phil Sheridan, had been attending meetings in Washington, D.C., and by the late evening before the battle had returned to get some sleep at Winchester. Learning of the heavy fighting at Cedar Creek, he mounted his famous warhorse, Rienzi (aka “Winchester”) and galloped the approximately 20 miles to find large elements of his forces retreating near Middletown, Va. Many men on the fields that day remembered glimpsing the General waving his hat as he rode around the troops to initiate a semblance of order and rationality, causing the tables against the rebels to be turned late in the day. Out of the annals of the event came the famous poem “Sheridan’s Ride,” that many of our grandparents had to learn verbatim for recitations in school history classes during “kinder, gentler” times. federal attackers under Cushing had affixed an explosive device (then called “torpedoes”) on the rebel warship’s lower hull, and successfully detonated it. Cushing and only a small portion of his men escaped. The loss of the ship was a severe blow to the Confederacy’s naval effort. On the last day of the month, Union naval forces occupied Plymouth. Page returning to Canada. INTERIM REPORT ON THE CAMP SUSQUEHANNA MEMORIAL PROJECT JAMES HAZLEY Capt., Co. B, 89th Reg.” Another ray of happiness came to President Lincoln and his close federal government officers at Washington, D.C. as the month closed. On the 31 st Nevada, until recently a small territory in the west, became the Union’s 36th state. *According to his record in the New York State Adjutant General’s Reports, John E. Manderville (aka “Mandeville”) was age 21 when he enlisted Sept.10, 1861 at Nineveh, near the Broome/Chenango County line, to serve for three years. He was mustered in as a musician in Hazely’s Co. “B” on Sept. 28, ’61, and had gone through virtually all the campaigns, skirmishes, actions and battles of the 89th to date. He had reenlisted as a veteran on January 14, 1864. Apparently he was still “tootling” his fife when Hazely wrote this missive to the REPUBLICAN; however many of Manderville’s other superiors apparently thought enough of him to promote him to the rank of Sergeant later (May 1, ’65). He served with the occupation forces in Richmond in his latter days with the regiment, and was mustered out there with Co. “B” on August 3, ’65. * * * Over the summer the design of the proposed memorial park has been has been completed and an estimate obtained .The estimate is appropriately 10,000 dollars. This is if far more than what we presently have set aside. So we must now determine how to raise the additional funds or alter the design. Anyone who has any idea on how to rise the additional funding please contact us. Concept drawings of the current proposal will be available for review and discussion after the meeting on the 21st. * The Binghamton Senators has again asked us to hold a Civil War Night display on their hockey game on February 27, 2015. Last year it was a great success. Additional will be made available and details are finalized. CIVIL WAR VETERAN’S ILLUMINATION * ITEMS OF INTEREST * * * CIVIL WAR NIGHT Committee Chair Bob Blakeslee informed us recently that circumstances beyond anyone’s control have forced the cancellation of the cemetery veteran gravesite illuminations for this year. We look forward to resuming in November 2015. THOMAS ALTON With great sadness we need to report the passing of Tom Alton, at the age of 88 he died unexpected at Wilson Hospital on October 5, 2014. * * * * Tom served in the Army Air Corp from 1944-1945. He graduated from Virginia Tech University and worked for IBM for 32 years. He was an active volunteer for many organizations and was a long time member of our Round Table where he once served as our Treasurer. The funeral was held on October the 10th. CIVIL WAR TRUST Tom will be missed by all who were fortunate enough to know him. * * * www.civilwar.org. Page 6 * The money from our BOOK RAFFLE goes to support the “CIVIL WAR TRUST”. If you are not a member of the “Civil War Trust” you should consider joining. Their web site is 6 Directions to Hillcrest American Legion Coming from Binghamton take the Brandywine (Rte. 7) and then onto I-88. .Take the Chenango Bridge Exit (the very first exit on I-88). Stay in the left lane of the exit and at the light make a left. At the very next light make a left—this is almost immediately after the turn,( be careful don’t get back on !-88). Once you are on this rd., the American Legion is less than a half mile on your right. From Syracuse, take I-81 South to Exit 6 (Rte. 11), take a left at the first light onto Rte. 12, continue on Rte. 12 for about ½ mile and make a right onto Rte. 12a. Continue for about a mile—at you second light make a right on to Chenango Street(Labeled Service Road) the American legion will be less than a half mile ahead on your right.* The primary income to cover the operational expenses of our Round Table comes from MEMBERSHIP. It would be great if each current member would sign up a new member. Binghamton Civil War Historical Society and Round Table Please make out checks to “Binghamton Civil War Round Table”. (BCWHSRT) Mail your check and attached form to: Willis L. Platt, Treasurer 71 Shaw Road Conklin, NY 13748 USA Page 2 Annual Dues are $15.00 Student Dues are $10.00 Family Dues are $25.00 2