JOHN
ELSEBOUGH
139th New York Infantry
5th New York Heavy Artillery
Coram
John Elsebough
Private, 139th New York Infantry, Company H
Corporal, 5th New York Heavy Artillery, Company I
John Elsebough was
born in Germany on December 20, 1836. After immigrating
to America, he settled on Long Island and found work as a
farmer. He and his wife, Abbie, lived in Smithtown. She
died, however, in 1860. The following year, John married
his second wife, Katherine Walsh, on October 8, 1861.
John and Katherine
moved to Coram. They had a farm on the east side of the
Coram-Mt. Sinai Road. They were blessed with their first
child, Josephine, on August 29, 1862.
John
Elsebough sitting on left, wife Katherine seated at
right, at their Coram home.
A week before
Josephine's birth, John enlisted with Company H of the
139th New York Infantry on August 22, 1862. He was
twenty-five years old at the time, stood five feet seven
inches high, had hazel eyes and black hair. The 139th was
organized in Brooklyn. After a short training period, the
men were sent to Washington, D.C. They soon moved on to
Fortress Monroe in Virginia, where John and the others
participated in drilling and training exercises.
Elsebough soon came
down with a series of illnesses that eventually led to
his discharge. He was in the camp hospital suffering from
malarial fever from February 12 until March 29, 1863. In
April, he returned to the hospital, this time with
typhoid and malarial fever; he remained there until June
23. He returned to active duty on July 21, 1863, but was
sent to the hospital four days later, again suffering
from fevers. On August 18, 1863, he returned to the
hospital with chronic diarrhea. After all this, the
regimental surgeon, Dr. J. Thompson, found him incapable
of continuing to be a soldier and ordered him discharged.
The doctor wrote that Elsebough had should be discharged
because of:
excessive debility brought on by repeated attacks of
Bilious remit fever. He has been in the hospital ever
since October 1862, with the exception of about a week.
He would be useless in the Invalid Corp.
Elsebough was just
one of many who suffered terribly from poor and
unsanitary camp conditions. He was discharged and sent
home on August 18, 1863. After returning home, Elsebough
regained his health. Despite the fact that he had a
family and, technically, had served his time, he must
have felt strongly about the war-or about fulfilling what
he still felt was his obligation. As soon as his health
returned, he enlisted in the army again.
On January 2, 1864,
Elsebough became a Corporal in Company I of the 5th
Regiment in the New York Heavy Artillery division. He
joined the regiment when it was stationed at Harper's
Ferry, Virginia, as a reserve division. The regiment
performed guard and picket duty, and was responsible for
strengthening fortifications and earthworks.
Members
of the 5th New York Heavy Artillery, with their
headquarters in the background.
On July 4, 1864,
Confederate forces, led by General Jubal Early, attacked
the regiment. Although the Confederates attacked with
superior numbers, Union forces held their position and
forced the enemy to retreat.
On July 29,
Elsebough and members of his battalion were assigned to
General Sheridan's command. Grant was sending Sheridan
into the Shenendoah Valley to drive out the Confederates
and remove any further threat to Washington, D.C. On
August 12, 1864, the battalion engaged in a brisk fight
with the Confederates, who retreated to Fisher's Hill.
The 5th was part of a plan that relentlessly pursued and
eventually destroyed Early's forces. On August 23, they
attacked again at Halltown. The 5th met severe
resistance, but succeeded in driving the enemy back. The
regiment lost nine men that day, and thirty-four men were
wounded. On September 3, Elsebough's regiment encountered
the enemy at Berrysville. They lost two men and several
were wounded in this attack.
The next day, they
marched to Summits Point where they put up breastworks.
They remained in position until September 17, when Grant
visited and inspected the regiment. Two days later, the
5th advanced to Winchester, Virginia, where the men
engaged in battle. They charged the enemy and drove them
from the woods. In fierce hand-to-hand combat, they
forced the Confederates to retreat. The battalion
suffered nine dead and forty wounded.
This constant
fighting was beginning to take its toll on the battalion.
The men were tired, and they had lost many of their
comrades. But they had to push on. On September 22, they
attacked the enemy again at Fisher's Hill. Charging up
the hill, they captured four forts and the artillery in
those forts. They then followed the enemy to Cedar Creek,
where they engaged the enemy on October 13. The
Confederates launched a counter-attack. Under tremendous
pressure, the 5th held their position; they lost ten men
and eight were captured.
On the morning of
October 19, an undetected enemy force attacked and
surprised the battalion before they could get into
position. Confederates captured 262 men in this attack.
The 5th was reduced to 125 men; Elsebough was one of
them. The battalion was ordered back to Harpers Ferry and
remained there for the rest of the war.
When John Elsebough
received his discharge on July 19, 1865, at Harpers
Ferry, Virginia, he returned home to Coram. He and
Katherine had three more children: Amelia, born in 1870;
George, born in 1873; and Henry, born in 1875.
Elsebough was an active community member and took a
strong interest in the Coram Methodist Church. He also
was a member of the G.A.R. Post in Port Jefferson.
The Elsebough home on the Coram Mt.
Sinai Road in Coram.
John Elsebough died
on February 8, 1916, of Brights disease, which affected
his kidneys. He was buried in the cemetery at Coram.