ALBERT F. DREW -- 97thWHERE WAS HE? - Albert F. Drew enlisted in the 83rd Infantry inPlattsburgh on July 3, 1863. He received \$300 for enlisting as asubstitute.Albert's Muster Roll Abstract is unusual. It says, Deserted October 20,1863. Surrendered under President's Proclamation of April 17, 1865. hebacklash from generals and the public alike, President Lincoln made aneffort to pardon those guilty of crimes of desertion or absence withoutleave. Congress\' amendment of the basic draft act directed thepresident to issue the Proclamation Offering Pardon to Deserters, onMarch 11, 1865 (12). He called upon the act to put into effect a 60-daygrace period for deserters to return to their posts and thereafter begranted an immediate and full pardon. This pardon would be granted onthe condition that they serve the Union cause for the rest of their termof enlistment in addition to a period of time equal to that which hadbeen lost by desertion.Almost as soon as he surrendered, he was transferred to the 97thInfantry and sent to hospital. He was mustered out on July 24, 1865,from Augur General Hospital near Alexandria, VA which was originally aconvalescent hospital attached to Fort Ellsworth and came back toClinton County.On July 5, 1867, Albert was married to Margaret Clark, and they raisedseveral children in the Ellenburg/Altona area while he worked as anagricultural laborer. Finally, Albert got his own farm. In 1890, theVeterans Schedules say he was in the military for 2 years and 12 days.Albert died in June 1925 and was buried in the Sheldon Hill Cemetery inEllenburg Depot. Margaret followed him to the grave in September. One oftheir children, Pearl, who was born in 1886, married a minister, Rev.Robert E. Featherstone, and died in Watertown in 1976.Despite the fact that it looks like Albert didn't spend any time in thefield, he was granted an Invalid's Pension in 1885, and Margaretreceived her Widow's Pension for two months before she died. Maybe itwas his surrender to the 83rd Infantry that made him eligible for apension againThe picture is from the website, Civil War Washington,https://civilwardc.org/data/places/view/216
