WILLIAM R. WEBSTER -- 34th INFANTRY44 YEARS OLD AT ENLISTMENT - When he was 44 years old, William R.Webster enlisted in the 34th Infantry in May 1861 in Champlain with 71other men. The 34th, the \"Herkimer Regiment,\" included one fromClinton County and was mustered into the U. S. service at Albany June15, 1861, for two years. It left the state for Washington on July 3rdfrom Albany where it was mustered.They stayed in their encampment at Kalorama Heights until July 28th,then marched westward to Seneca Mills where they were assigned to Gen.Stone\'s brigade. The regiment moved westward on the Potomac untilmid-October and stayed at Camp McLellan near Poolesville, MD, untilFebruary 1862.In May 1862, the regiment moved to Washington in the 2nd Corps of theArmy of the Potomac and got on boats bound for the Virginia Peninsula.After the Siege of Yorktown, the regiment had one minor engagementbefore it got to Fair Oaks (Seven Pines) on May 31st. During thisbattle, William was wounded and was sent to hospital. He rejoined hisregiment in February 1863 while they were at Falmouth, VA, just north ofFredericksburg. While a prisoner, he missed the Seven Days' Battles,Antietam, 34th's bloodiest battle, and the Battle of Fredericksburg.After a few forays, early in the year, the 34th remained in Falmouthuntil the Chancellorsville Campaign. In early April the regiment movedto Banks\' Ford and was active at Chancellorsville but suffered nocasualties. On the 18th of April the regiment broke camp. From this timeuntil the expiration of its term of service on the 8th of June 1863, itwas in no serious engagement. On the 8th of June the men left for homeand were escorted to their railroad cars by the 82nd New York and the1st Minnesota. They proceeded to Albany via Washington. Upon theirarrival there an invitation was extended to them by the citizens ofHerkimer County to visit Little Falls before being mustered out. It wasaccepted, and the 27th of June fixed upon as the day. The arrangementswere carried out, and the event was a joyous one. On the 30th of Junethe regiment was mustered out and the men returned home, sustaining aproud record. The regiment went out 786 men strong and they mustered outonly 400 of their original number.There are no other records for William. Maybe he went back to Canadaafter his time in the military.
