OSCAR and PETER BROOKS -- 175th INFANTRYSAME ADVENTURES IN THE ARMY - Oscar and Peter Brooks, who were born inEssex, NY, the youngest of three brothers enlisted in the 175thInfantry Plattsburgh on August 30, 1864, to serve for one year. Theywere part of a group of almost 100 men who enlisted in Plattsburgh thatAugust and September.The regiment had just come back East from serving four months inLouisiana on General Nathanial Banks' Red River Campaign. They needednew recruits because so many men had died or become disabled - mostlyfrom yellow fever.The new men went straight to the Shenandoah Valley, and on October19th, had their first engagement at Cedar Creek. After the close ofthe Valley Campaign, they proceeded to Savannah with General CuvierGrover\'s Division. The 175th joined the Campaign of the Carolinas andnear Goldsboro, NC, and on April 13, 1865, seven men were captured inaction including Oscar and Peter. They were soon paroled and weremustered out with their detachment on June 5th in Albany, NY.The brothers returned to New York, and by 1870, the extended familyincluding their parents, Peter Brooks and Parmelia Herreaux and theirbrother, John, and Peter's wife and children had established themselvesin Erie County, PA. Peter and Oscar remained in northern Pennsylvaniauntil they died. Peter died in 1905 and was buried in the SpringfieldCemetery in East Springfield, PA. Oscar died in 1915 and was buried inthe Center Cemetery in Connaut, OH, a few miles to the west, just overthe state line. John, the third brother, continued to travel westwardand was buried in Michigan.
