JAMES ARMSTRONG -- 153rd INFANTRY44 YEARS OLD AND READY FOR A FIGHT - James Armstrong was taller andolder than the average soldier. He was 44 years old when he joined the153rd Infantry in Mooers on August 31, 1862. He must have towered overmany of his comrades -- a tall dark-haired Irishman at 6' 1". Threecompanies of the 153rd mustered in Plattsburgh the other sevencompanies mustered in Fonda. He began as a private in September and waspromoted to sergeant by the end of October. The regiment was firststationed at Alexandria as provost guard, and during most of the year of1863, did garrison and guard duty about the capital.In March 1864, they joined the Red River Campaign in Louisiana, wherethey lost their first men. Ty May, they were back in Washington and lostmore blood in Virginia -- Opequan and Cedar Creed being their mostdeadly engagements. The regiment continued to serve in the ShenandoahValley until April 1865, when it moved to Washington. In May, theyparticipated in the Grand Review on Pennsylvania Avenue. James wasdischarged on June 12, 1865, at Finley Hospital in that city, andreturned to farming and raising a large family in Mooers Forks.His obituary in the Plattsburgh Sentinel of July 31, 1885, reads:"Mr. James Armstrong, generally known as \"Jimmy Amp,\" died Monday ofthis week. He was another of our old settlers and served in the lateWar. He was a good soldier, and much esteemed by his fellow comrades inthe army. He has long been a member of the M. E. Church, and muchdevoted to the cause of religion. Though he may have erred and strayedaside at times, yet his whole life proved to the world and all who knewhim that his heart was full of love, and veneration for the cause ofChrist and the advancement of his kingdom. He has been a great suffererfor several months, without much complaint, only waiting to be calledover the river to his reward. He laid down his armor and went to hisrest in peace. A very large assemblage or friends and neighbors met topay their last respects to him they knew so long. A very able andappropriate sermon was preached by Rev. D. B. McKenzie, in the church inthe \"Bush,\" a church which the deceased was largely instrumental inhaving erected in his own settlement a few years ago. His remains wereinterred at the Covey Hill Cemetery."The Armstrong Bush, where James settled, was in Mooers, near Covey Hill,which was on the Canadian side of the border. Maybe there was a changein burial plans, because there is a stone in the Mooers Forks UnionCemetery indicating the gravesite of James who died on July 27, 1885, at65 years of age, and Mary Jane, his wife, who died on May 3, 1912, aged85.
