MELANSON SHUBAEL BURDICK -- 153rd INFANTRYDIED IN SOCORRO, NM - Melancton Shubael Burdick was 44 years old and adeputy sheriff when he was enrolled in the 153rd Infantry on October 8,1862. In 1842, he was married to Maria A. Moore in Chazy, the town ofhis birth. Melancton was commissioned as a 1st lieutenant in Company Gon October 23, 1862. Six months later he was promoted to captain on May1, 1863.The regiment spent several months in Washington doing provost and guardduties before they were sent to Louisiana for the Red River Campaign.Melancton was one of 30,000+ Union men under General Nathanial P. Banks.The campaign lasted 14 months, but the 153rd was there for only 3 monthsbefore the regiment was ordered back to Maryland to confront GeneralJubal Early and participate in defending the capital.Before the 153rd went into the field again, he was resigned by reason ofphysical disability on August 24, 1863.He returned to Chazy and later moved to Illinois with his wife andchildren. By 1870, they were farming in Malta, IL. About 10 years later,Melancton started receiving an Invalid's Pension while living in Kansas.After he died in February 1895, his wife started receiving her Widow'sPension. Maria applied for the pension on March 21st while living inSocorro, NM, where her husband had died. She received the pension forthe next 7 years.In the Riverview Cemetery in Chazy, there's a monument commemorating himand Maria who lived until 1902. The bodies must have been brought backto Melancton's hometown.
