JOHN L. BULLIS -- 96th INFANTRYOVER 4 YEARS WITH THE 96th - Captain Joseph H. Nichols personallyrecruited John L. Bullis in Peru to be in Company C of the 96thInfantry in November of 1861. They organized at the Plattsburgh Barracksand left for Washington on March 11, 1862, to spend three years in theArmy. They stayed in the capital with the Army of the Potomac and wereat the Siege of Yorktown in mid-April.From Yorktown they fought their way up the Virginia Peninsula. They werein 10 battles between April and the beginning of July and sustainedabout 150 casualties, most of them at the first Battle of Fair Oaks andduring the Seven Days' Battles.Starting in December 1862, they were ordered to North Carolina and spentthe next year there. In January 21, 1864, John re-enlisted as a veteran,and two months later, in April 1864, the 96th was transferred to theArmy of the James. Their next battles were in the Petersburg/Richmondarea and during the next few months received more than 300 casualtiesincluding 103 at Chaffin's Farm and 52 more at the Second Battle of FairOaks.After staying in the area through the winter, the regiment was at theFall of Petersburg on April 2, 1865. They stayed until February 6, 1866and were mustered out at City Point. In all, John was in the Army for 4years, 2 months and 10 days.He returned to Schuyler Falls and his parents, Hiram Bullis and Mary AnnBenson. For a while, he worked in Clinton County and by 1878, he wasliving in Hudson, NH, with his wife, Josephine, and son, Leon. Johnremained in New Hampshire for the rest of his life and died in Henniker,on September 23, 1928, of pneumonia and general debility at age 83.
