CASSIUS and EMERSON FERRIS – 96th and 118th INFANTRYBROTHERS KEPT MOVING WEST - Two boys were born to Samuel Ferris and Ann Eliza Bennett in the mid-1840s – Cassius Samuel in 1845 and Emerson and Emerson William in 1847. Both brothers joined the 118th Infantry and then were transferred to the 96th Infantry.Cassius was the first to enlist. He enlisted in Plattsburgh in December 1863. McClellan’s retreat to Harrison’s Landing had been achieved and the regiment had marched to the mouth of the James for the winter. He joined the regiment while it was at Newport News, preparing to go upriver to Petersburg and Richmond.By April 1864, Emerson had joined his brother in the 118th, although they were mustered into different companies. They fought in the Seven Days’ Battles and Cold Harbor, then stayed in the area until the end of the war. When the 3-year men went home, Cassius and Emerson were transferred to the 96th Infantry and were finally mustered out on June 13, 1865.By 1869, the brothers had moved to Wisconsin. Cassius later moved to Minnesota where he died in 1919 after two marriages and having several children. Emerson followed the same path and sometime after 1900, he moved to Marshfield, OR, on the Pacific Coast, dying in 1915.
