ROBERT WILKINS - 118th INFANTRY FULFILLED HIS MILITARY OBLIGATION - George Washington Wilkins and his wife, Fanny Jaquish, came from Vermont to farm in Jay, NY. Their second son, Robert, who was born there in 1833, enlisted in the 118th Infantry in Black Brook on August 11, 1862. He left his wife, Marie-Francoise Lamoureux at home with their first three children and town relief in the amount of $219.88 and mustered into his regiment in Plattsburgh on August 30th. Robert and 8 other privates left Plattsburgh for Washington in early September expecting to serve for three years in Captain John Stone's Company K. They didn't reach a battlefield until April of 1863, when they were put on ships and sent to Hampton, VA, to start their 80-mile trek up the Virginia Peninsula to Richmond under General McClellan. The 118th fought until the end of July with minor casualties and then were ordered to garrison and guard duty for several months at Yorktown, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Newport News, VA, where they spent the winter of 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 at Drewry's Bluff on May 16th where it lost 199 in killed, wounded and missing in the operations before Petersburg. They fought through the end of October where 111 more casualties accrued at Fair Oaks.The winter was passed to the east of Petersburg and on April 2, 1865, the regiment entered the city with no casualty. Robert was mustered out on May 22, 1865, at Albany after 2 years 9 months and 11 days in the military. Robert returned to Black Brook and farmed for the rest of his life. His wife died in 1909 and was buried in St. Matthew's Cemetery in Black Brook. He joined her there in 1912. Unfortunately, his stone notes he was in the 166th Infantry. That regiment never went to the field. They could not recruit enough men and the regiment was discontinued. All four men recruited were transferred to the 176th Infantry in November of 1862, Robert was not one of them.
