EDWIN B. BULLIS – 118th INFANTRYDIED AT 38 YEARS OLD - Three weeks before the 118th Infantry left Plattsburgh for Washington on September 1, 1862, Edwin B. Bullis, enlisted. He was a 21-year-old bloomer working in Black Brook when he enlisted with 26 other men in Black Brook. Two days after his enlistment, he was promoted to corporal on August 21st. Four of this group died – 3 of disease and one in action – and one of them deserted.The regiment finally arrived at Fort Ethan Allen on the south side of the Potomac across from Washington in late October, after a short stay in Baltimore. In February, they moved to Camp Adirondack northeast of the capitol.By the end of April 1863, the 118th was at the end of the Virginia Peninsula at the Siege of Suffolk and were in the filed until the end of July and moved toward Portsmouth, Newport News and Williamsburg. In the field again by March 1864, they spent the next seven months fighting around the Petersburg and Richmond area sustaining over 400 casualties. In May he was promoted to sergeant and about a month later, he was wounded in the hand at Cold Harbor. At the end of October, they had 89 men captured at 2nd Fair Oaks.The regiment spent the winter in the camps in the vicinity of New Market Road close to Richmond and entered the city at its fall. According to John Cunningham, the author of, “Three Years With the Adirondack Regiment,” the regiment’s history, “The city was burning, and consternation and alarm prevailed. Our troops began fighting the fire, tried to stop the looting and did their best to restore order and to calm the frenzied citizens. It was pitiful that it dampened the thrill of victory. Lincoln visited the City on April 4th and was followed about the city by crowds. The 118th camped in Manchester across the river from Richmond until June 14th when they boarded a steamer for New York. Edwin was mustered out as a 1st sergeant.Edwin went back to Black Brook and continued his work as a bloomer. He died on July 7, 1879, at age 38, and was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Keeseville. His wife, Sarah, started receiving her Widow’s Pension in October. She died in 1924, and they are buried under the same stone.
