Monroe Oakley

Allegiance: Union

Highest Rank: Private

Units: Company I, 13th New York Volunteer Infantry; Company E, 140th New York Volunteer Infantry;

Occupation: Laborer/Boatman

Buried: Rapids Cemetery, Rochester, NY

In April of 1861, Monroe Oakley was a 19 year old laborer and boatman working on the Erie Canal in Rochester. Oakley was described as 5 feet 6 inches tall, having a light complexion, with blue eyes and brown hair. When the war broke out many Rochesterians quickly rallied to the flag and the cause of liberty. Volunteers flocked to new regiments being formed.

Monroe Oakley was one of the many of young men who rushed to serve his country after Fort Sumpter was fired upon and the hostilities started. Monroe lived with his parents in Gates, New York. Gates at that time included the old Third ward or what now is the southern section of Rochester. His father had some reservations about his son joining the army and leaving home. However as he was of legal age and felt the patriotic desire to defend the flag and the Union, Monroe, against his father’s wishes, joined a local regiment being formed in Rochester, . He left home and in early May with the 13th New York Volunteer Infantry.

The 13th New York Infantry was organized in Rochester and led by Isaac F. Quinby, a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Rochester. Monroe was mustered into Company I under Captain William Tully on May 14, 1861. His term of enlistment was to be 3 months, which it was felt would be enough time to defeat the rebels and be home by fall. He trained with his regiment at Camp Chemung in Elmira, which was later the site of the infamous prisoner of war camp at Elmira, and was sent to Washington, DC in June.

The young soldiers, many of whom had never traveled very far from their rural hamlets, were now free to explore the Nation's capitol. They swam in the Potomac, not far from the Washington Monument whose construction had been halted for the duration. They visited the Capitol building, whose uncompleted dome offered a grand view of the city and surrounding area. It was hard for the new soldiers to believe they were looking down upon hostile armies and lands that would later be the scene of bloody battles .

Oakley would have visited all these sites as well as the Treasury Building and Patent Office. Here Oakley would have seen the uniform worn by Washington when he gave his Farewell Address and the sword he carried in battle. This was a favorite and sacred spot visited by many of the young soldiers. One soldier of the 21st regiment from Buffalo described it well:

"I then visited the Treasury Building and the patent office, only next to the Capitol in grandeur of design and finish, and worthy, especially the latter, of a much longer visit. Here we saw the uniform worn by Washington at his resignation of the command-in-chief, and the sword he always wore in battle, an antiquated looking weapon, evidently of oriental make, and plain enough in appearance. One of the gentlemanly attendants was so kind as to open the cabinet which contained it, and allowed us to handle the sacred relic. It was not without emotions of awe and reverence that I grasped the blade the hero's hand had wielded, and then how fervently I wished that hand were not dust to-day, and that from it this blade might flash once more defiance to the foes of liberty."

Soon Oakley's regiment was committed to battle. The first great battle of the war was fought at Bull Run on July 21,1861. The 13th was in the middle of this engagement and lost 58 men either killed, wounded or missing. The regiment became know as the Bloody Thirteenth after the battle, due to their heavy losses.

When the Paymaster paid off the Regiment in August there appeared to be some confusion in the ranks as to whether they had taken an oath and signed up for three months or two years. Many of the men had enough of the southern climes and were ready to go home. On August 2 his regiment was federalized into US service and the men were politely told that they had to stay another 2 years. Some units actually mutinied and a show of force was needed to convince them that they had to stay longer. Many officers resigned their commissions and many enlisted men deserted rather than spend 2 years in the army.

It appears that at this point Monroe may have became confused with the term of his enlistment.

Monroe like many of his comrades suffered from poor rations and unsanitary conditions in camp. His medical records indicate that he was reported sick on June 14th and later on July 30th with diarrhea. He was treated and returned to duty.

In his affidavit for application for a pension in 1899 he attested that he was sworn in for 3 months. He stated he was taken sick after the battle of Bull Run and was sent home by the regimental surgeon, Dr. George Avery. From Monroe's post war affidavit the leave appeared to be officially sanctioned as he left for home with his Lieutenant, Michael McMullen.

Monroe returned home to Rochester and did not rejoin his regiment. He may have assumed that his time was up and that he was discharged from service. Perhaps while he was in the infirmary he did he not get the word of the additional 2 years of duty now required. The official record states that he deserted prior to August 31, 1861 and they had no record of his whereabouts or of his discharge. Later his pension would be denied by the government due to his disappearance. The official record of the Pension office stated:

The charge of desertion cannot be removed and a discharge cannot be granted in this case upon any evidence before this department. No application for relief has been presented

Monroe stated in his application for pension that he was sent home and did not return to military service until a year later, in August, 1862, when he enlisted into the 140th NY Volunteers which became known as the Rochester Regiment.

The 140th New York Volunteers were formed in Rochester in August of 1862 and commanded by Colonel Patrick O'Rorke, a West Point Graduate, who came from humble Irish origins born in Rochester's Little Dublin or Irish section of the city. The 140th were later Zouvave troops who wore uniforms patterned after the French Colonial troops and consisting of baggy blue pants, short blue coats, turban and fez.

Monroe was enrolled in the 140th on August 22nd in company E commanded by Captain Monroe Hollister. There was no confusion this time when he enlisted for three years. The regiment was organized at Rochester and was initially trained at Camp Fitz John Porter, which was between Cottage Street and the Genesee River.

September found the regiment in Arlington Heights, Virginia defending the Capitol. This time Monroe had no time for sightseeing in the Capitol. The 140th was placed in reserve and patiently awaited their call to battle. The call came in December and the Regiment joined in the infamous mud march where General Burnside attempted a dramatic winter campaign to skirt around the flank of the Confederate forces at Fredericksburg.

Burnside planned to follow the Rappahanok to Bank's Ford where they would again cross the river on pontoon bridges and move against Lee's flank.

It seemed like a good plan when they marched out of camp on January 20th with regimental colors flying and bands playing. It was a clear day as the troops marched past Fredericksburg and began to follow the banks of the river. However their spirits were dampened when it began to rain after dark and it kept up throughout the night. The men tried to warm themselves around smoky fires made with wet wood. By morning they awoke to more rain and a miserable mess of mud. As one union soldier described it " Many a shivering frame crawled out from beneath their wet blankets and frail cloth tents the next morning but that same moistness and dreariness still existed all around." Horses, wagons, artillery, and men all became stuck in a sea of sticky knee-deep mud.

The army continued to plow on in the mud, however by the end of the second day Burnside realized the hopelessness of it all and reluctantly called the operation off. The men of the 140th and other regiments began the return march to the positions they had left.

As they retreated, their biggest enemy became the mud. Horses and mules were literally swallowed up in the mire and many sank to their deaths. The soldiers themselves dropped from exhaustion and many died. Many Union soldiers having enough of inept leadership and disorganization chose to skedaddle and head for home. Another Union soldier described the route "There is a grait many of our boys desirting some are very lucky to get home wile others get caught and brought back again". The casualties from this operation were comparable to a small battle. To make things worse the Confederates on the other side of the river watched with great interest as the Union army crawled home. One soldier wrote a very descriptive account of this mess to his mother.

It has been something over a week since I have written a letter home and during that period has transpired the winter campaign No. 2. although followed by defeat, yet it is freighted with no important result to the Union army. There is a good reason for this failure. and it was fittingly explained by the rebels. when they exhibited from across the river a large door upon which was the inscription "Burnside Stuck in the Mud".

Monroe and the 140th would return to camp and clean the mud from their guns and equipment.

During this time Monroe continued to have health problems; his diarrhea flared up again in October and November. In December and January he was detached from the regiment and was on duty in the hospital as a nurse. However he would have been put back to his role as infantryman when the regiment moved into battle.

On February 3, 1863 he was reported absent without leave from the regiment's camp at Henry House, Virginia.

Monroe went home again and remained in the Rapids area or the general area of the Genesee river around Plymouth and Brooks Avenues. He stayed with his family until August of 1863 when he was summoned for the draft. For some odd reason his name must have surfaced in the process of the draft and he was arrested as a deserter and thrown into jail.

The same thing that happened while he was in the 13th seemed to happen again, with Monroe under the impression he was officially discharged from the 140th. Perhaps he felt he was discharged due to his poor health. He was placed under arrest by the Provost Marshall and sent back to camp. The local Provost Marshall received a $10 reward for capturing Monroe.