CHARLES EDMUND BEACH – 14th VT INFANTRY and 2nd VETERAN CAVALRYFOUGHT FOR VERMONT AND NEW YORK - When he was seventeen years old, Charles Edmund Beach who was born in Essex County, NY, enlisted in the 14th Vermont Infantry which was a nine months' infantry regiment. It served in the Eastern Theater, predominantly in the Defenses of Washington. The 14th was a member of the 2nd Vermont Brigade. He was in the regiment from October 21, 1862, to July 30, 1863.On the afternoon of July 2, the 14th double-quicked to the rescue of a Union battery that was threatened by an attack by Confederate General A. P. Hill. The 13th, 14th and 16th Vermont regiments played a pivotal role in the Union repulse of Pickett's Charge on the afternoon of July 3rd. The 13th and 16th regiments flanked James L. Kemper's brigade as it approached the copse of trees on Cemetery Ridge, then the 16th wheeled about, and joined by the 14th, stopped the advance of Cadmus M. Wilcox's brigade, capturing hundreds of Virginians.Charles enlisted in the 2nd Veteran Cavalry in Keeseville a few months later in Keeseville. After a few months in the Defenses of Washington, the regiment went to Louisiana and the Red River Campaign in the XIX Corps under Major General William B. Franklin. When the ill-fated campaign ended, the regiment stayed in the South and spent the rest of the War in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Alabama. When Charles mustered out on November 9, 1865, he returned to Clinton County.He married and was widowed three times and supported his families by working in banking or as a bookkeeper both in New York and Vermont. In his final years, Charles lived with his daughter daughter’s family in Florida.The Burlington Free Press of November 22, 1934, carried his obituary - ST. PETERSBURG, Nov. 21. - Charles Edmund Beach, 89, active in G.A.R. Circle here and in Vermont, died this afternoon at his home here. He suffered a stroke November 13.A direct descendant of the Puritan life of John and Priscilla Alden, Mr. Beach served for three years in the Civil War with the Vermont Infantry and the 2nd New York Veteran Cavalry.He was selected treasurer of the Vermont Soldiers' Home in 1914 and held that office until he came here in 1923. He was a charter member of the local Vermont Tourist Society.His only survivors are his daughter, Mrs. C. R. Hutchinson, her husband and two granddaughters. Mr. Beach was commander of the local G.A.R. Post for eight years. He held several national offices in the organization and was a former commander of Vermont and Florida Departments.Charles’ first wife was buried in Warren, VT, under a stone bearing both their names. His second wife was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Keeseville and the third wife was buried in the Lakeview Cemetery in Burlington, VT, in her family’s plot - he joined her there when he died.
