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Patriotic
Duty
After the defeat of
the Union Army at Bull Run (July 21, 1961), James left the oil fields and
returned home to enlist in a local regiment. On September 2, 1861 he enrolled
in the newly created 64th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment or "Cattaraugus
Regiment." He agreed to serve three years and was mustered in as
the 2nd lieutenant of Company A on November 13th. After receiving some
basic training, the volunteers left for Washington, D. C. on December 10,
1861. In a letter to his sister Helen on December 9, he expressed
his feelings about fighting in the war:
Nothing can be more foreign to my whole nature-
to my ideas of the ends and purposes of this life, than contention and
bloodshed and yet I rejoice at the prospect of soon meeting my fellows
amid the wild tumult of a battlefield. There is no hesitation, no wavering,
no vacillation, but instead a purpose and a trust complete itself in the
justice and rightfulnefs of my course, in the triumph of the cause I am
laboring to advance and in the loving care of Him who doeth all things
well. READ
LETTER
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