GEORGE G. DOUGLASS and AUGUSTUS DOUGLASS -- 26th CAVALRY5 MONTH AND 26 DAY ADVENTURE -- In January 1865, two young men fromChazy enlisted in the 26th Cavalry in Plattsburgh and were musteredinto Company G. The 26th was also known as the 1st Frontier Cavalryand was formed to guard the northern border. George G. Douglass was astudent born in Canada and shaved a year off his age so he could enlist.Augustus Douglass gave his true age of 18. He was a farmer, born inChazy. Both were 5' 5" tall.This regiment, under Col. Burr Porter, was organized in the States ofNew York, Massachusetts and Vermont, under special authority from theWar Department, to serve for one year. The New York contingent consistedof 5 companies, and under the rulings of the War Department, the fieldofficers of the regiment were appointed by the governor of the State --Governor Reuben Fenton, at that time.The first company, L, Capt. David A. Piercy, was recruited, and February24, 1865, mustered in the United States service at Malone; the second,Company H, Capt. Henry E. Turner, was recruited, and February 22, 1865,mustered in the United States service at Watertown; the third, CompanyK, Capt. Edgar Hinkley, was recruited, and February 24, 1865, musteredin the United States service at Buffalo; the fourth, Company G, Capt.Pliny Moore, was recruited, and February 11, 1865, mustered in theUnited States service at Plattsburg; and the fifth, Company I, Capt.Newton H. Davis, was recruited, and February 22, 1865, mustered in theUnited States service at Malone.Both men survived their tortuous ordeal at the Plattsburgh Barracks andmustered out on July 6, 1865, after having served a little over 5months.Augustus returned to farming, married Eliza and had a child. He wasburied in the Riverview Cemetery in Chazy when he died in 1889. Oneproblem with his stone, is that is says he was in the 118th Infantry,not the 26th Cavalry. There is a Douglass in the 118th, but it's nothim.George moved to Worcester, MA, and died there in 1934, 10 years afterhis wife Mary F. Barnard died.
