ROBERT WILKINS - 118th INFANTRYFULFILLED HIS MILITARY OBLIGATION - George Washington Wilkins and hiswife, Fanny Jaquish, came from Vermont to farm in Jay, NY. Their secondson, Robert, who was born there in 1833, enlisted in the 118thInfantry in Black Brook on August 11, 1862. He left his wife,Marie-Francoise Lamoureux at home with their first three children andtown relief in the amount of \$219.88 and mustered into his regiment inPlattsburgh on August 30th.Robert and 8 other privates left Plattsburgh for Washington in earlySeptember expecting to serve for three years in Captain John Stone'sCompany K. They didn't reach a battlefield until April of 1863, whenthey were put on ships and sent to Hampton, VA, to start their 80-miletrek up the Virginia Peninsula to Richmond under General McClellan.The 118th fought until the end of July with minor casualties and thenwere ordered to garrison and guard duty for several months at Yorktown,Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Newport News, VA, where they spent the winterof 1863/64.They took part in the campaign against Richmond in 1864 with Gen.Butler\'s Army of the James. Their captain, John Stone, was killed atDrewry's Bluff on May 16th where it lost 199 in killed, wounded andmissing in the operations before Petersburg. They fought through the endof October where 111 more casualties accrued at Fair Oaks.The winter was passed to the east of Petersburg and on April 2,1865, theregiment entered the city with no casualty. Robert was mustered out onMay 22, 1865, at Albany after 2 years 9 months and 11 days in themilitary.Robert returned to Black Brook and farmed for the rest of his life. Hiswife died in 1909 and was buried in St. Matthew's Cemetery in BlackBrook. He joined her there in 1912. Unfortunately, his stone notes hewas in the 166th Infantry. That regiment never went to the field. Theycould not recruit enough men and the regiment was discontinued. All fourmen recruited were transferred to the 176th Infantry in November of1862, Robert was not one of them.
