THEOPHILUS WELCOME -- 118th INFANTRY WOUNDED AT DREWRY'S BLUFF - Theophilus Welcome (Theophile Bienvenue or Tuffield Welcome) was born in Quebec and was living in Chazy when he enlisted for the Civil War. He was mustered into the 118th Infantry in Plattsburgh when he was 18 years old on December 5, 1863. For his enlistment he got a town bounty of $300. He met up with his regiment while they were in winter quarters in Newport News and was assigned to Captain Henry Ransom's Company I. The regiment started up the Virginia Peninsula to fight in the battlefields around Petersburg and Richmond. Things went well for Theophilus until the middle of May when the 118th participated in the 3-day Battle of Drewry's Bluff starting on May 14, 1864. Three of the men from his company were killed. His captain was shot through the arm and the lung and eventually had his arm amputated . Theophilus was shot in the hand on the last day of the battle and was sent home on a furlough to recover. While he was on his furlough, he decided not to return to the battlefield and was listed as a deserter. In May 1899, a letter written by Charles Luther Hagar, the 118th's Chaplain was quoted in the Plattsburgh Daily Press -- "The enemy attacked our entire line about 4 o'clock on Monday morning. Concealed by a dense fog, they were enabled to approach us with comparative safety.They were driven back at various points, but at length outflanked us. We were obliged to retire to our inner line of defense. Burnham's Brigade, of which our regiment formed a part, fought nobly. At one time, the rebels raised and waived a white flag, when the order was given to our men to ceased firing. Soon after, they poured in a volley and charged upon us. Our loss was very heavy." Theophilus went back to Quebec to live. In 1880, he filed for a pension, but it was never processed.
