ROBERT WATSON -- 16th INFANTRYWOUNDED IN THE LEG AT CRAMPTON'S PASS - The 16th infantry was musteredin Albany in May1861 with companies from Clinton and St. LawrenceCounties and one company from Franklin County. Company K was recruitedin West Chazy and Mooers and all the men were personally recruited bytheir captain, William Wallace Wood, who was from West Chazy.Robert Watson, who was born in Ireland in 1813, was one of the men whojoined Company K. He gave up his job as a mason, left his wife, AlmiraAdams, and six children at home and traveled by train for Albany withColonel Thomas A. Davies and 10 officers including a Drum Major and aFife Major, and almost 1,000 men.At first, they trained near the capitol in Washington and then were sentacross the Potomac to Alexandria They were held in reserve at the firstBattle of Bull Run, returned to Alexandria and stayed in the local areauntil the spring of 1862.The 16th was at the Siege of Yorktown in April 1862, then fought theirway up the Virginia Peninsula Their bloodiest battle was at Gaines' Millon June 27th where they had 231 casualties. After three more battlesnear Richmond, they were put on the steamboat "New Brunswick" and sailedback to Alexandria.In August, the regiment was sent on the Northern Virginia Campaign andreturned to Alexandria to prepare for the Maryland Campaign. They joinedother regiments on the east side of South Mountain and fought their wayover the mountain at Crampton's Pass. Robert became one of the 16th's65 casualties at the Pass. He was wounded in the right leg below theknee and sent to hospital on September 14th and discharged fordisability on March 9, 1863, in Washington.Robert returned to Mooers and his work as a mason. In later life, he andhis wife lived with a daughter in Swanton, VT, and another daughter inMoriah, NY. He died in Moriah in 1895 and his wife was buried with himin the Moriah Union Cemetery in 1901.
