EDWARD
and ALBERT BAYLES
139th New York Volunteers
Company A
Middle Island
Edward and Albert Bayles
139th NYS Infantry Company A
Middle Island
Edward and Albert Bayles were born in
Coram just over two years apart. Albert was born on June
14, 1839, and Edward was born on December 16, 1841. They
were the sons of Richard and Harmony (Swezey) Bayles. The
boys were seven and five when their father died in 1846.
His death drew the family closer. A third son, Richard,
was born eleven days after their father's death.
Edward Bayles, photo
from the collection of Mr. Donald Bayles.
For the next fourteen years, the boys
lived on the family farm with their mother and
grandparents. When their mother died in 1860, the boys
went to live with their uncle, Edward Swezey, in Middle
Island. The Swezey home was located on the north side of
Middle Country Road, across from what is now Bartlett
Pond Park.
Swezey House on Middle
Country Road in Middle Island
The Civil War began in 1860 and forever
changed their quiet Long Island lives. The brothers,
along with their friend from Coram, Oscar Oakley,
enlisted in the Union Army in 1862. They joined Company A
of the 139th New York Volunteers. This regiment was
organized at Fort Greene in Brooklyn; here, the boys were
drilled and trained. They also had the opportunity to
interact for the first time with men from all over the
state. Albert, who was a teacher, was often amazed at
what he saw and heard. The brothers were raised with
strong morals and religious convictions. In a letter
home, Albert wrote, "It seems to me, I have never
heard so much profanity in all my life."
In September of 1862, the regiment moved
by steamboat from Brooklyn to Washington, D.C. In a
letter to his grandmother, Edward wrote that they toured
the city of Washington and the house where "Uncle
Abe" lived. He pointed out to her that the public
buildings looked "so far ahead" of anything
around Middle Island.
In October, the 139th was moved to
Fortress Monroe, Virginia. Much of the time was spent
marching, drilling and picket duty. The brothers thought
army life was boring, but this down time did allow the
troops to make observations and write home about what
they had seen. In a letter home, Albert's comments about
some Southerners who passed through camp each day
reflected the thoughts of many Northerners: "I wish
you could see some of the ways the poorer class have of
getting about. Everyday many carts with mules attached
pass through. The people are peddling potatoes, milk and
turnips. They are white, yet they speak almost like
Negroes. They are very ignorant to all appearances. They
act quite different from our people at the North."
Uncle Edward asked the boys about the
impact of President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.
Albert replied that he could not really answer that
question satisfactorily. He commented that some soldiers
heralded it as a means of peace; for others, it meant
renewed war. Some soldiers felt that they were fighting
for the Negro, but Albert pointed out that all agreed
that "the negro must not go north."
The brothers and their regiment spent
Christmas and the rest of the winter at Fortress Monroe.
The boys tried to make good use of their free time, and,
true to their upbringing, this meant they attended many
religious services.
Fortress Monroe,
Virginia, photo from the National Archives.
In late March of 1863, the 139th moved to
Camp West at Williamsburg, Virginia. On April 12, the
139th saw its first action. A massive force of
Confederate cavalry was pursuing a unit of Union cavalry.
The Bayles brothers were among the troops manning two
twelve-pound cannons in a bunker facing the wood line
where the action was taking place. After the fleeing
Union forces went by, the two cannons opened fire and
drove the rebels back. The artillery was then ordered to
open fire on the nearby town where the rebel infantry was
hiding. The jubilation of the Union forces was
short-lived. As Albert wrote, "the picture had two
sides[,] for our firing soon brought out the other
fellows in the shape of 3 or 4 cannons as large as ours
which they placed on a rise of high ground under cover of
a large white house. Before we were aware of it we found
ourselves under a well directed fire of their
artillery." The monotony of drills and training was
replaced with the whistling of cannon balls and flying
sand. Edward and Albert knew they were in danger of being
hit. Two shells ended up landing in their little pen. One
did not explode; they dug it up and fired it back at the
Confederates. Despite the close calls on this bloody day,
the brothers survived.
Albert later described the charging
Confederates and their famous "rebel yell." He
wrote, "The yells and screams of the rebels on the
first morning sounded to me almost as bad as the
whistling shells. I can't think of anything with which to
compare it. Bartlett's dogs give you some idea."
From May to December 1863, the 139th
camped at Williamsburg. Like many other soldiers, the
Bayles boys became homesick, especially when there was a
lull in the action. Edward lamented in a letter home,
"I suppose Grandfather and Uncle Edward are getting
ready to plant corn. How I would like to take a look
around there for a day or two. I think home would look
pleasant to me right now… I expect Middle Island
will be so changed when we come home that we shall hardly
know the place. Richard (their younger brother) tells us
that there will be various manufacturing establishments
there soon."
In February 1864, the 139th left for Fort
Ringold. In March, the unit moved to Northwest Landing,
where it was reinforced. In May, they were sent to
Yorktown where they began operations against Petersburg
and Richmond. At Proctor's Creek, Albert wrote home that
the unit lost 60-70 men. "The attack on our line
began at 11 P.M. and lasted thirty-five minutes. It was
the most terrible thing we have seen for so short a time.
The sight and sound resembled heavy thunder. They say our
men buried 263 of their dead."
The Regiment was then attached to the
Army of the Potomac under General Grant. The unit was
sent to Cold Harbor, Virginia, to join in fighting
against rebel forces led by General Robert E. Lee. The
139th, now under the command of General William Smith,
immediately moved into position to attack. This was June
2, 1864.
Albert had recently received news from
home: back in Brookhaven Town, a tax was instituted to
raise money to pay for substitutes so that there would be
no more local men sent to war. In his reply, Albert
wrote,
It seems impossible that Brookhaven
Town should be so very careful to keep back all the rest
of the young men from a struggle vital to all what is
suffering. If this awful war can be stopped. Why they are
asleep, dumb it seems to me, taxing to the last cent for
fear that one more shall go to the fight and suffer for
the cause. I don't blame anyone for not wanting to come,
no indeed. I know too much of this life already. But, it
is no use for them, than for us, to give up everything,
the prospect of life itself, and take the life handed,
than any other for the sake of ending so cruel a war.
Why, I can't see what chance we or you will have even
after the war if the country is to be drained so just to
keep a few from danger. But perhaps I don't feel as I
ought to.
On the eve of battle, these thoughts
filled Albert's mind. He didn't want to consider that
anyone was trying to buy his way out of "the
cause."
As the soldiers waited, the weather
closed in and a heavy rain delayed the attack. The
Confederates were in a strong defensive position. Lee had
his forces entrenched, waiting for the coming open field
assault. Soldiers were observed writing notes and sewing
names and addresses to the backs of their coats. They
seemed to acknowledge the folly of this attack, and
wanted loved ones to be aware of what had happened to
them.
At 4:30 A.M. on June 3, the Army of the
Potomac began its march toward the Confederate lines. The
Confederates opened fire and Union soldiers fell like
bowling pins. During this charge, Albert was shot down.
Edward tried to reach his brother, but was killed by a
sharpshooter in the process.
Within half an hour, 7000 Union soldiers were either dead
or wounded. Soldiers listened to the haunting cries of
the wounded as they lay on the field of battle. No one
could help them because, for some unknown reason, Grant
refused to ask for a truce to gather his wounded. Some
speculate that if he had asked for even a temporary
truce, it would be interpreted as an admission of defeat.
Whatever the reason, the wounded were left on the
battlefield for four days. On June 7, four days after the
battle began, the Union forces were finally able to get
their wounded. It was too little, too late. Nearly all
who had fallen succumbed either to their wounds or
exposure to the elements.
Two friends who witnessed the death of
Edward and Albert wrote to the Bayles family. Sgt. Oscar
Oakley, their friend from Coram with whom they enlisted,
wrote the following:
I will try to give you all the
particulars concerning Edward and Albert's death… We
were massed together and the order was forward and on
those gallant troops charged through a piece of woods up
to the enemy's works scattering them in all directions.
It was in this charge that Albert was shot, the ball
passing through his left arm and into his side. All that
he said was "take me away." I think that Eddie
could have been with us at the present time if he had not
taken it as hard for the loss of his brother. He could
not be kept back from him and he was killed by a
sharpshooter.
David Beale, a friend from Patchogue,
wrote, "I was laying within six feet of them when
they were killed but could not take anything from them so
what was in their pockets was not taken at least by us.
All their books and clothing was packed and stored at
Norfolk."
Grant would later recall the attack at
Cold Harbor as a horrible decision which he always
regretted making. This was little consolation to the
Bayles family, who lost two members that day.
Edward and Albert were buried near the
battlefield. The Union dead were later exhumed and moved
to a National Cemetery one mile away. Edward and Albert's
bodies were never identified. They are two of the 889
unknown soldiers of the Army of the Potomac who lost
their lives at Cold Harbor. Two monuments with the boys'
names on them were placed in the Union Cemetery at Middle
Island. Edward and Albert lived-and died-as brothers and
as best friends.
The Edward and Albert letters were
transcribed by Mr. Donald Bayles in 1985. They can be
found in the Thomas Bayles Local History Room at the
Longwood Public Library.