JOHN BLANCHARD -- 34th and 95th INFANTRYZELOTUS BLANCHARD - 34th INFANTRY 18th CAVALRYBOTH MEN RE-ENLISTED - On May 22, 1861, two Blanchard men from FortCovington enlisted in the 34th Infantry in Champlain expecting toserve two years with the regiment. John and Zelotus were mustered intoCompany D which was recruited in Champlain as privates about a monthlater. They left the state for Washington on July 3rd after organizingin Albany.The 34th fought in Maryland along the Potomac in 1861. The next yearthey fought in Virginia for a few months and had 97 casualties at FairOaks. In September the regiment had 154 casualties at Antietam whereZelotus was wounded in the left shoulder and right wrist. He was treatedat the Hoffman Farm Hospital at Sharpsburg, MD, then at hospitals inFrederick, MD and Philadelphia, PA. He spent several months in hospitalsbefore rejoining his company and they mustered out onIn August 1863, both men enlisted again. John chose the 95th infantryand was wounded at Laurel Hill, VA, in May 1864. He rallied and wasmustered out with the regiment on June 16, 1865 in the field inVirginia. Zelotus was mustered into the 18th Cavalry, but deserted atCamp Stoneman, VA, three months later.Both returned to Franklin County where John was in the 1890 VeteransSchedules. The notation was that he had never recovered from his wounds.Later, he and his wife moved to Massachusetts. After several admissionsto veterans hospitals, he died in Dayton, OH, in December 1926. He isburied in the Confidence Cemetery in Georgetown, OH.Zelotus may have moved to California. There is a notice in the StocktonDaily Independent in June 1868 asking about his whereabouts. Apparently,he came back to New York and was involved in a law suit in 1870, butafter that he seems to have disappeared.
