HENRY LYMAN SUMNER -- 96th INFANTRY, 16th and 3rd PROVISIONALCAVALRYMOVED TO OHIO - After the American Revolution, Henry Lyman Sumner'sancestors gradually migrated westward. By 1851, Henry, who was born inNew Hampshire, was living in Beekmantown with his wife, CatherineMcFadden. By the time he enlisted for the first time, he had threechildren.Henry's first enlistment was with the 96th Infantry. He enlisted inChazy in November 1861, and was with them until February 1863, when hewas discharged for disability at New Bern, NC.Within a few months, Henry enlisted again. This time, he joined the16th Cavalry in Plattsburgh as it was forming a new regiment. Hebecame the commissary sergeant for Captain James McPherson's Company G.All the men in the regiment were given \$25 of the \$100 bounty due tothem -- the rest given when they mustered out. They were also given a\$2 premium for enlisting. For some reason, Henry was reduced in rank inJanuary 1864, but he remained with the regiment in northern Virginiauntil they were consolidated with the 3rd Provisional Cavalry inAugust 1865. He was finally mustered out from Camp Barry just outsidethe northeastern limits of the District of Columbia, on September 21,1865.The family moved to Ohio in the early 1880s where he supported hisfamily as a sailor and painter. Henry spent a period of time in theVeterans Hospital in Dayton, OH, before he died of chronic cystitis atage 53 in October 1886 in Cleveland. Catherine and family moved backEast and by May 1887, she had remarried. She died in 1907 as the wife ofJonas Moore.
