ALEXANDER
MONSELL
65th New York State Volunteers
Private
Company E
Middle Island
Alexander Monsell
65th New York State Volunteers, Company E
Middle Island
Alexander Monsell was born on October 6, 1840. He was one
of eleven children born to Nathaniel and Maria Monsell,
who lived on a farm on East Bartlett Road in Middle
Island. Two of their sons, Alexander and Nathaniel,
served in the military during the Civil War.
Monsell house on Bartlett Road in
Middle Island.
Alexander was mustered into the service
on August 24, 1861, when he was twenty-one years old. He
was part of the 65th Regiment, which was organized at
Willet's Point in New York. They left for Washington,
D.C. on August 27, 1861.
The regiment was stationed at Camp
Middleton during the month of September. This was the
first time that most of the enlisted men were away from
home for an extended period of time. It was a lonely time
for many of them. They wanted to hear from home as much
as possible, as Alexander's letter to his sisters from
Washington illustrates:
Dear sisters one and all. I will
inform you that I have not forgotten you. Some of you
rote and never sent anything. But when you get this I
want to see something from you all… Mary L Downs has
never rote to me … I did not think she would forget
me for I have not forgotten her. I have not much time to
write her. I have to briton my butons and plate for to
drill everything has to be clean here… You must
write all you can think of for I want to hear all about
what is going on if I am not there… Goodby give my
love to all my friends and send word to the rest.
This from your brother
Alexander Monsell
While at Camp Middleton, they received an
important visitor. President Lincoln reviewed the
regiment. Monsell wrote home about this event. His
sister, Jerusha, recounted his story to local historian,
Thomas Bayles. Bayles wrote:
Alexander and his troops were
reviewed by President Lincoln, who shook hands with them
all. When Lincoln came to Alexander, who was 6ft. 3
inches tall he asked him how tall he was. When Alexander
replied, President Lincoln said that was his own height
and that he always liked a tall boy.
While it was exciting to shake the hand
of President Lincoln, Monsell and others grew weary of
training and waiting. They were eager to fight in this
war, despite the danger involved. Monsell wrote about
this in another letter to his sister:
I received your letter this afternoon
and was glad to hear from you. It is not much use for me
to try to write for I can't. I don't know as you can read
it. I have not got any table or stand to write on. I have
to lay it on my knee and you can judge for yourself how
pleasant that is to write. We are all waiting for to
fight. I suppose that you might think that strange, but
that is what we are all wishing for. When we marched to
the field, it was if we were going somewhere to play, but
after all that is hard play… You must not forget to
write… This from your brother.
Monsell never did get that chance to
fight in the war. He became sick and died from an
undisclosed illness at Camp Cochran hospital on December
7, 1861.