MARTIN VAN BUREN DOUGLASS -- 9th CAVALRYDIED WORING FOR THE RAILROAD - On October 3, 1961, a young baggagemaster, Martin Van Buren Douglass, was recruited into the 9th Cavalryin Rouses Point. The regiment, made up of twelve companies, organized inAlbany and left for Washington at the end of November.He left his parents, George and Perlina Douglas, at home on their farmin Chazy and, with 45 men from the Rouses Point area, left to serve forthree years.Martin's Company M was detached with from the regiment with three othercompanies and serve in artillery batteries around the capital until thenext spring and the other companies served as train guards with the Armyof the Potomac. In April 1862, a month after Martin heard about thedeath of his father, the regiment was consolidated on the VirginiaPeninsula at the Siege of Yorktown.After the siege, the regiment went on General Pope's Campaign andreturned to northern Virginia and the capital. By this time Martin hadbecome disabled and was sent to the Armory Square Hospital inWashington. He was discharged for disability on November 21, 1862.Martin came home and resumed his work on the railroad. In 1863, he wasliving in Oswegatchie and was placed on the Draft Rolls but was nevercalled up. Sadly, Martin died in November 1864, and was buried in theDouglass Cemetery on the Altona/West Chazy Town Line.In 1877, Perlina applied for a pension based on Martin's service. Shereceived it until she died in 1895 and was buried in the same cemeteryas her son and husband.When the McLellan's from Champlain transcribed the gravestones on May5th and September 1, 1940, they recorded the inscription on Martin'sstone as -- "In manhood\'s morn I left my home, To fight my Country\'sfoe. Midst death and danger long to Roam and taste a Soldier\'s woe."When we went to photograph the stone, it couldn't be found -- eitherburied or fallen on its face.
