LYMAN THOMAS NAY -- 16th INFANTRYNAME ON SARANAC MONUMENT - In September 1861, almost 60 men enlisted inthe 16th Infantry in Plattsburgh. Lyman Thomas Nay, the son of RobertNay and Amanda Thomas of Saranac was one of them.The regiment, known as the First Northern New York Regiment, had been inexistence since May 15th, and had already had a round of recruitment inAugust, mostly due to illness and desertion. This second group ofrecruits joined their regiment after the fighting had finished for theyear in October.They spent the winter close to Washington on the south side of thePotomac, and after a couple of minor engagements, were put on transportsto go to Yorktown on the Virginia Peninsula. Starting in early May, theArmy of the Potomac including the 16th Infantry, started the march upthe peninsula.During the first of the Seven Days' Battles at Gaines' Mill, Lyman wasone of the seventeen men who were mortally wounded. Forty-one other menwere killed in action and one hundred and seventy-three men werewounded. It was to be the most bloody battle of the 16th's history.Records show that Lyman was taken prisoner and died the same day. He wasburied on the battlefield.His name is on the Civil War monument in the Independence Cemetery inSaranac and his parents are buried there.
