JAMES WILSON DYER -- 96th and 118th INFANTRYMUSTERED OUT IN 1866 - In December 1863, nine men, including JamesWilson Dyers, enlisted in the 118th Infantry in Beekmantown. He wasborn in Alburgh, VT, in 1841, the son of William Wilson Dyer and AgnesYoung, both immigrants from Scotland. James' mother died in 1851 and hisfather remarried and raised another family in Bombay, NY. James left hiswife, Mary Ellen Perrigo, and 4-month-old baby Ella at home in Franklin,NY.James and his companions joined their regiment while they were in campat Newport News, VA, at the mouth of the James River and weredistributed among several companies.The regiment stayed within twenty miles of Newport News until they goton transports to take the voyage upriver to be closer to Petersburg andRichmond. On May 6th, they disembarked at Bermuda Hundred, and by the26th had received 199 casualties. At Drewry's Bluff in mid-May theyleft 40 killed in action and 15 mortally wounded.From the beginning of June to the end of October, they were in severalmore major battles and sustained 274 more casualties.From November 1864 to April 1865, the regiment was in camps in thevicinity of the New Market Road just east of Richmond and on April 3rdentered the city of Richmond. The 118th mustered out there on June13th, but the men who still had time to serve, like James, weretransferred to the 96th Infantry and were finally mustered out onFebruary 6, 1866, at City Point, VA, near Petersburg.He came back to Franklin County and farmed until he retired. His wifedied in 1882, and was buried in the Union Cemetery in Vermontville NY,The last we hear of James in this world is in the Malone Palladium ofMarch 28, 1889 -- "James W. Dyer, an old veteran and comrade of the G.A. R., is very sick with Bright's Disease. No hopes are entertained ofhis recovery."He was buried beside his wife in the Union Cemetery after he died on May9, 1889.
