JOSEPH and NAPOLEION SLATER -- 2nd VETERAN CAVALRYONE BROTHER DIED IN LOUISIANA - In 1864, two brothers from Jay, NY,enlisted in the 2nd Veteran Cavalry in Plattsburgh. They were the sonsof Chauncey Slater and Margaret Kenedy. Both were assigned to Company Mwhich was the last company formed and the last to leave SaratogaSprings. Joseph Slater was one of the original enlistees for the companyand had been in Louisiana for nine months before his older brother,Napoleon Bonaparte, joined him.Joseph was in the Red River Campaignbetween March and May and after a summer of skirmishing and scoutingalong the Mississippi, the regiment needed replacement troops. They hadalready had 75 casualties in the field and many men were affected byyellow fever and other illnesses and were unable to fight. Napoleonarrived in Louisiana in late September of 1864 and was there when hisbrother died in a collection of tents called the regimental hospital inMorganza on November 4, 1864. He was probably buried in the hospitalgrounds. Strangely, no record of his burial can be found.In 1870, his mother, Margaret, applied for and was granted a pensionbased on his service. Sadly, she died in the same year. In 1875,Chauncey, his father, started receiving a pension and died in 1880 aftergetting it for 5 years.Napoleon, who was appointed blacksmith on October 1st, continued withthe regiment and without his brother. In all, he was in the military forI year 4 months and 13 days and saw action in Louisiana, Mississippi,Florida and Alabama. He mustered out at Talladega, AL, on August 24,1865.The Elizabethtown Post of July 12, 1894, carried his death notice --"Death of Napoleon Bonaparte Slater. Napoleon Bonaparte Slater, thewell-known Au Sable Forks blacksmith, died at his residence on theClinton County side of the river at Au Sable Forks Monday morning, agedabout 60 years. He is survived by a widow, two sons and a daughter.Funeral services were held yesterday at 10 o\'clock a. m. Deceased was abrother-in-law of Wm. H. Palmer, of this village." He was buried in theFairview Cemetery in Black Brook. His wife, Mary Palmer, was buried withhim four years later after having received her Widows Pension for lessthan a year.
