SIDNEY WELLS -- 83rd, 96th and 97th INFANTRY PRISONER OF WAR FOR 7 MONTHS - There are three Muster Roll Abstracts belonging to Sidney Wells. The first is for his muster into the 96th Infantry in Plattsburgh on October 8, 1861, to serve for 3 years. He was in the regiment for only 6 months before he deserted at Washington, DC. Just over a year later, Sidney enlisted again. He enlisted in the 83rd Infantry in Plattsburgh on June 7, 1863 for 3 years and was with the regiment in the Army of the Potomac for about a year and then was transferred in the field to the 96th Infantry. From June 1864 to August he was in the 97th Infantry. In mid-August the 97th was at the Battle of Weldon Railroad also known as the Battle of Globe Tavern. During this engagement, 92 men were taken prisoner. Sidney and seven of the men with whom he had enlisted in Plattsburgh were taken south to spend time at Libby and Belle Isle prisons in Richmond. Seven months later, Sidney was paroled on February 23, 1865, from Richmond, VA. He was mustered out from hospital at Annapolis, MD, on June 15, 1865, and returned home. Sidney lived in northern New York for the rest of his life. In 1890, he applied for and received an Invalid's Pension and three years later, married Josephine Facto, a widow with several children. In 1895, they had one child together, Rebecca. He died in 1926 and was buried in the Pine Ridge Cemetery in Saranac Lake. Josephine died in 1930 and was also buried there. When Rebecca died in 1957, she was buried with her parents.
