ALEXANDER LABAR – 50(th) ENGINEERSGOOD WITH TOOLS AND MACHINERY - Alexander Labar’s parents were EdwardLabar and Rosalie Defrane who came to New York from Canada to work inthe Town of Au Sable. Edward supported his family as a carpenter.Alexander was working as a miller’s apprentice in 1860 and three yearslater was working as a machinist in New Jersey where he was drafted. InFebruary of the next year, he enlisted in the 50th Engineers in Buffalo.Alexander joined the regiment while they were supporting the troops inVirginia. The 50th Engineers were at The Wilderness, Spotsylvania and inthe Petersburg arena. In May and June 1864, the main work of theregiment was that of laying bridges at various points between theRapidan and the James, notably one 2,010 feet long, across the James. Atthe Siege of Petersburg, the regiment was in demand at all points forwork on construction and repair on the fortifications, and it alsoassisted in destroying railroads.He was promoted to be an artificer with his own team of men. In thespring of 1865, they joined the Appomattox Campaign and were dischargedat Fort Barry, VA, near Alexandria.By 1883, Alexander and his wife and children had lived in Buffalo andthen moved to Chattanooga, TN, where he worked in the Chattanooga Carand Foundry Company, a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock.Alexander applied for an Invalids Pension in January of 1894, and byJune of the same year, his wife claimed her Widows Pension. He wasburied in the Chattanooga National Cemetery. When his wife, Sarah, diedin 1920, she was buried in the same plot. In 1961, a new stone from theGreen Mountain Marble Company in West Rutland, VT, replaced the old oneon their grave.
