JAMES B. CHRISTIAN -- 16th INFANTRY and 2nd VETERAN CAVALRYWILLIAM WALLACE CHRISTIAN -- 16th INFANTRY and8th WISCONSIN INFANTRY2 BROTHERS 3 REGIMENTS - In May 1861, less than a month after the firstcall for troops, James B. Christian, Jr. and William Wallace Christianenlisted in the 16th Infantry in Saranac. Sixteen other men from theSaranac area enlisted with them to serve for 2 years. They mustered inin Albany a couple of weeks later and James was assigned to Company Ewhile William was in Company C. Five weeks later, after leaving theircamp at Bethlehem near Albany, they left for Washington.On July 16, 1861, the 16th, with 40 rounds of ammunition and 3 days'cooked rations in their packs, formed in line on the Alexandria andFairfax Pike and marched to Annandale where they stayed overnight. Fromdaybreak to 8:30 am they found obstructions in the road, but nosoldiers. At 11am they found pickets and exchanged shots. Continuing on,about 3 miles from Fairfax Court House, they had a skirmish, and it washere that John S. Allen of the 18th Infantry was the first Northern NewYorker to fall in the Civil War. They joined McDowell's troops atFairfax Court House about a half a mile away and stayed the night aftereating the booty they found in a camp abandoned by the 5th AlabamaRifles.And so the regiment moved on to some of the most famous battles in thewar -- 1st Bull Run, Gaines' Mill, and Malvern Hill among others inVirginia. They were at Crampton's Gap and Antietam in Maryland inSeptember 1862 and were back in Virginia at Fredericksburg in December.During 1862, they had over 200 casualties.They came out of winter quarters and went straight to Marye's Heightsand Salem Church just west of Fredericksburg. Their battle there on May3rd and 4th, garnered 154 more casualties just 3 weeks before they werescheduled to be mustered out at the end of their 2-year term. Williamwas wounded and taken prisoner on May 3, 1865, but war paroled fromLibby Prison 12 days later.Both brothers went on to further military careers. James joined the 2ndVeteran Cavalry and ended up fighting in Louisiana, Alabama and Florida.William surprisingly joined the 8th Wisconsin Infantry, and also foughtwith the Department of the Gulf.Both brothers are buried with their extended families in theIndependence Cemetery in Saranac. James died in 1908 and William in1915.
