ERI A. TENANT -- 118th INFANTRYTEN MONTHS AND TEN DAYS' SERVICE -- Company B of the 118th Infantrywas made up of men from Chazy, Ellenburg and Saranac. It was under thecommand of Captain Levi Dominy and his 1st lieutenant, John Carter,recruited Eri A. Tenant on July 30, 1862, to be a private for 3 years.Eri, who was born in Chateaugay, was living in Ellenburg when heenlisted with his wife, Hannah Copp, and two sons, Harvey and Pliney. Amonth later, the regiment left for Washington by steamer fromPlattsburgh.They spent two days in New York on the way to the capital, and onSeptember 4th were in Baltimore where they were dispatched to guardthe Thomas Viaduct about ten miles away at Relay House, MD. TheBaltimore and Ohio Railroad was the only railroad coming from the north,so it was important to guard it from cavalry or other raids from theenemy. They named their encampment, "Camp Wool," in honor of GeneralWool who was in command at Baltimore. The 118th camped in theWashington area for the winter and suffered from the cold and snowyweather.On April 12, they received orders to be prepared to move, the sick weresent to local hospitals and their large tents were turned in and 2-mantents were issued. On April 20th, they boarded the transport, "Utica"and embarked for Fortress Monroe with orders to relieve Suffolk, VA. Bythe 23rd, they were encamped near Suffolk and sleeping in the mud andrain under their "dog" tents. The siege of the city finally ended inearly May.Before the regiment left for the engagement at Antioch Church about 15to the west of Suffolk, Eri became ill and was sent to hospital. He diedof typhoid fever on July 8, 1863, at the Regimental Hospital in Suffolkwhere he was buried.His widow, Hannah, started receiving her Widows Pension of \$12 inSeptember. She later applied for pensions for Harvey and Pliney who eachreceived \$2 a month. She later remarried in Massachusetts.
