Illness Sent New Yorker Home

Charles St. Andrews enlisted in the U.S. Army as a private in August 1862 and was a member of the 142nd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. His regimental commander was Colonel Newton Martin Curtis, who later won the Medal of Honor for his actions at the second battle of Fort Fisher. Charles was disabled due to illness in early 1863. After performing guard duty in sleet and freezing rain at Upton Hills, Va., he spent time in the regimental hospital. When he continued to have seizures, Charles was sent to Pleasant Hospital in Washington City. In May 1863 he was sent home on a surgeon’s certificate of discharge. Eventually, Charles was mustered out in Raleigh in June 1865. He applied for a veteran’s pension in the 1880s. Col. Curtis came to testify for Charles at the pension hearing. Charles was a member of the Ransom Post #354, Grand Army of the Republic, in Ogdensburg, N.Y., and was an active member until his death in 1894 at the age of 55. The Grand Army of the Republic and the Sons of Union Veterans conducted his funeral service.