BRUSH MELANCTHON WEBB -- 16th INFANTRY and 2nd VETERAN CAVALRY DIED IN HIS SECOND REGIMENT - In 1850, young Brush Melancthon Webb was living in Saranac with his family. His father, Melancthon, was a gate tender on the plank road and Brush was working as a clerk. Four years later, he married Orissa Keeler in Vermont. Before he went to war in 1861, Brush and Orissa had three children. Brush enlisted in the 16th Infantry on May 2, 1861, under the name Melanethon B. Webb, and was mustered in as a corporal two weeks later to serve for two years. During the time he was with the regiment, he served in Virginia and Maryland, and was in such battles as Fairfax Court House, Gaines' Mill, Antietam, Marye's Heights and Salem Church. Brush was mustered out on May 22, 1863. He came home and enlisted again in Plattsburgh within two months. The 2nd Veteran Cavalry was recruiting in July 1863, and he was mustered in as a private in Saratoga Springs. The regiment patrolled Washington for the rest of the year. In the spring of 1864, they were put on transports to sail for Louisiana and the Red River Campaign. After the Campaign, the regiment moved east to patrol along the Mississippi. By the end of July they were at Morganza, LA. Brush became ill, and he was left behind at the hospital there when the regiment moved south. He was buried near the hospital tents in a makeshift cemetery.There are two memorial markers in Brush's name in Vermont. One is on the back of his sister's gravestone in the Essex Junction Village Cemetery in Essex Junction with the correct date of death. The other is in the Lakeview Cemetery in Burlington with an inscription date of 1868 which reflects the date when his death notice was published in the Burlington Free Press. Orissa died in 1902 and was buried in the Burlington Cemetery with his stone.
