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Writer's pictureDeb Hall

A Hero's Burial Memorialized - Another Civil War Story Depicted in Art

In August of 1862, over 1000 men from Wayne and Cayuga Counties answered Lincoln's second call to arms in an effort to save the Union. These men, young and old, were among 10's of thousands to volunteer for battle. Local men, some mere boys of less than 18, marched off to war. Many did not return. The conflict was later dubbed the costliest and deadliest war ever fought on American soil, with some 620,000 of 2.4 million soldiers killed and even more injured.

Today, historical societies are seeing a surge of interest in the "War of the Rebellion," and Wayne County Historical Society is one of them. In addition to the research being done to identify soldiers and descendants of the 111th NY Regiment which came from Wayne and Cayuga, and the monument that is being erected in Lyons, NY, in honor of their roll at Gettysburg (see True Valor), we present another story: the story of John Disbrow which we call "A Hero's Burial".

John Disbrow (misspelled Disbro in some records) was a 16 year old boy from Galen, NY who followed his brother Robert (NY 27th Infantry, 1861) into war one year later. He lied about his age and joined Co D of the 111th. We learn of young Disbrow in a letter sent home from Manley Stacey of Lyons. In October of 1862, Stacey writes home from Camp Douglas regarding the battle at Harpers Ferry, Bolivar Heights, and includes the following commentary about John Disbrow.

You ask me about Disbro, I guess I can tell you as much as any one, about him, as I stood near him when he fell, and helped bury him. It is a mistake, his being shot by one of his own Company, as after he was dead, one of our Balls were tried to put into the hole in his head, & [it] would not go. It was a Pistol Shot from a horse Pistol, in all probability by some of the Rebel Cavalry, as we have no such arms. It is almost positive that, he was shot by one of the Rebel Cavalry which attacked us in our Rear. It would be dreadful to think of his being Shot by one of his own comomrades. It is universaly [sic] acknowledged that he was shot by some of the Rebel Cavalry.

He lived about 15 minutes after he was found the Sunday night of the Battle, The next morning I took a Squad of men, some of our Friends, and went down to bury him. We dug his grave, in the most retired and Shady place that we could find, right at the foot of a large Oak . We buried him, wrapped up in his Blanket and Overcoat & Cap with the hole in it. I cut his name on a Board, like This J Disbro Co, D 111 Regt, and placed it at the head of his grave, So that he could be found, if wanted.

It was this gesture, of a thoughtful burial, and the kindness with which the Corporal Stacey and his men extended so early in their tenure to bury a gentle young boy, that moved the Wayne County Historical Society and lead researcher, George McGraw, to produce a limited edition print of what that burial scene might have been. The original artwork (19" x 14") was created by Gary Casteel of Gettysburg, PA.


Gary Casteel and Deb Hall holding the original artwork at Casteel's shop.

Casteel is a nationally known sculptor and artist of Civil War-era monuments. He also produces "conte" drawings, which are historically significant pencil and chalk drawings on colored paper in use before photography could be printed in the newspaper, similar to a chalk courtroom drawing still done today. A conte drawing would be submitted to the news publisher, which would then be copied by an engraver onto wood blocks. The dark or light contours of the drawing would guide the engraver to the depth of cut so as to depict the drawing accurately when printed.

A limited edition of forty (40) of these signed and numbered prints are now available for sale at the Wayne County Historical Society as part of a fundraiser to continue this kind of local Civil War research. The prints are signed by Gary Casteel and come unframed with the printed story of "Disbrow Brothers" included. (PDF of the full story here.)

It is now almost 160 years since the final surrender at Appomattox Court House, VA and still, Americans have conflicting opinions about what that war, that civil war, did to our nation. No one denies, there was a necessary and awesome good to come of it: the freedom of millions of enslaved people. Unfortunately, it was mired with innocent bloodshed on both sides that will forever leave a stain on our national pride. However, not to be forgotten, there is a story for every man who served, who survived or died, and these stories continue to be discovered in diaries and letters from the war, once buried in grandparents chattel, tucked away for three or four generations by folks who didn't talk much about it. If you have information, photos, letters, diaries, or other ephemera to share regarding other union soldiers from New York, and Wayne County in particular, please contact us at info@waynehistory.org. We look forward to adding these stories to our Military Memories collection so that we never forget. ###

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