WILLIAM WALTON -- 77th INFANTRYSAD FEW MONTHS FOR THE WALTON FAMILY - According to his Muster RollAbstract, William Walton, was born in Bloomingdale, NY. He enlisted inthe 77th Infantry in Keeseville on October 1, 1861 and was mustered intoCaptain Franklin Norton's Company I three days later. He joined othermen who had been recruited in Keeseville, Black Brook and Saratoga whoexpected to serve for 3 years.After organizing near Bemis Heights on the Hudson River near SaratogaSprings, the regiment left to join Casey's Division of the Army of thePotomac on November 28th. April of 1862 found them at the Siege ofYorktown and then they began to fight their way up the VirginiaPeninsula. After the Seven Days' Battle in June and July, the took ashort break at Harrison's Landing before embarking on the MarylandCampaign in September under General George McClellan. On September 14th,they were at Crampton's Pass with no casualties and three days later,they were at Antietam, their bloodiest battle yet -- 32 casualties.They started 1863 with the Battles of Marye's Heights and Salem Churchin early May and had 12 deaths, 41 injured and 30 captured or missing.Gettysburg and more fighting in Pennsylvania, Maryland and northernVirginia followed. Some time before they went into the field again in1864, William was promoted to corporal.1864 began with the 3-day Battle of the Wilderness, quickly followed bybattles around Spotsylvania Court House. For the next 2 weeks they werein engagements in the local area and on May 10th, William, who had madeevery single muster since he was enlisted, was killed in action at theLandron Farm near the star in the illustration. With him were sevenother men who were killed in action and 8 men who received mortalwounds.William died less than two weeks after the death of his mother, JaneRork, who came from Ireland when she was about 2 years old. His father,Rufus was left to mourn two members of his family shortly after anotherson, Nathan, of the 118th Infantry, died on December 23, 1863, inhospital in New Jersey.
