WILLIAM WHEELER -- 16th and 2nd PROVISIONAL CAVALRYA WANDERER - Like many people in the 1800s, the border between Canadaand the United States was thought of as invisible. William Wheeler wasborn in Russeltown Flats, Quebec, and he and his family travelled backand forth across the border for the rest of their lives.Russeltown is about fifteen miles north of Mooers on the northern sideof the border. William was living in Mooers at the time and was drafted.He went to Plattsburgh to enlist in the 16th Cavalry when he wasthirty years old. He enlisted on New Year's Day in 1864 and was musteredin as a corporal in Company A on January 4th, for a town bounty of\$300 and a county bounty of \$200.The regiment had been in existence for only a few months when Williamjoined them in Washington while they were in winter quarters. When theroads had dried, the 16th renewed their patrols in northern Virginiaalong the Potomac with the Cavalry Brigade of the XXII Corps of theDepartment of Washington DC -- in Mosby's Confederacy. In November, theregiment was transferred to the 1st Separate Brigade in the XXIICorps. Until April 8, 1865, when they had their last engagement, theyhad 11 men killed in action, 8 mortally wounded and 28 wounded, however,those captured by the enemy numbered 134.The 16th Cavalry mustered out on August 17, 1865, and, because hestill hadn't fulfilled his 3-year commitment, he was transferred to the3rd Provisional Cavalry with men from the 13th Cavalry. The newregiment continued to patrol the area for another month before they weremustered out a Camp Barry in the northeastern outskirts of the capital.William returned to Mooers Forks his wife, Ada Larrabee, and daughterAlice who was born in New York. Their second daughter, Luella, was bornin Quebec. He started receiving an Invalids Pension in 1866. The familylived in several places -- Quebec, western New York, Decatur, KS, andStratford, ON, where he died in 1877 and was buried in theAda went to Illinois to live with relatives and applied for a Widow'sPension there in 1890. Later, she moved back to western New York. Theirdaughter, Luella, died in Portland, OR, in 1942.
