JEFFERSON COUNTY NEW YORK CIVIL WAR SOLDIERS' BIOGRAPHIES

Charles Watson Sloat

Union Soldier - Distinguished Service

Charles Watson Sloat was born October 10, 1840, the son of John Sloat and Lydia Doane and at the age of 21 enlisted in Watertown, NY., on October 12, 1861 in the 94th New York Volunteer Infantry, Company H. for 3 years. He enlisted as a private. Within months he was promoted to sergeant and on June 19, 1863 promoted to second lieutenant. Charles participated in the battles of Cedar Mountain, the second battle of Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietiam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorville, Mine Run, Gettysburg, Cold Harbor and the assault and siege at Petersburg. He was captured at Gettysburg for a short time then released and continued to fight until his discharge on December 18, 1864. He returned to Watertown, NY., and lived there until his death, August 23, 1924. Burial was in Brookside Cemetery, Watertown, NY.

The Watertown Daily Times Tuesday, May 27, 1913
HIS MEMORIES Of GETTYSBURG - ONE SOLDIERS EXPERIENCES
SOMEWHAT BRIEF STORY BY CHARLES W. SLOAT

Veteran of 94th Infantry Taken Prisoner on First Day of Fight But Was Paroled After Battle.

The following paper on the battle of Gettysburg was ???? before the battle, are of all Soldiers who charge into battle, written by Charles W. Sloat, a veteran of the 94th New York Infantry who participated in the battle.

I am to remember for you over a space of 50 years the part my regiment, the 94th NY, took in the campaign into Pennsylvania in 1863 and who participated in one of the Worlds greatest battles, the battle of Gettysburg, who's adventure in itself was so damaging on the morale of the North, could have been wished in connection to the situations all of Vicksburg, it marked the limit of the highest hopes of the southern confederates and foretold its final hours as a separate nation. The confederate commander, Gen. Lee,who had stood during the winter of '62 and '63 across the road of the Union march to Richmond, and had to his credit the defeat of Burnside at Fredricksburg and Mine Run, and of his successor, Hooker, at Chancellorville, in June, '63, boldly struck camp, and made for the Shenandoah valley and for an invasion of the Northern States. It would be tiresome for you, as it was to us foot soldiers at the time, to follow his northern march, and our strenuous endeavor to head him off, before he could work too much havoc among cities, towns and and homes of our own. Probably the march of troops in war meant more to the welfare of the world and the destinies of free institutions, than did that of the hordes of both sides, struggling northward on those burning days of the summer of 1863. Rumor, of which there was usually an abundance in the army, had so far failed to keep the boys in the ranks posted as to the movement and location of Lee's army, and on the evening of June 30 some 15 miles out from Gettysburg, on the Emmetsburg road. It seemed to be a historical fact that neither Meade nor Lee were looking for trouble at Gettysburg, so when on the morning of July 1 Buford's cavalry discovered a considerable body of enemy not very far distant in a northwesterly direction from the peaceful village, it found both armies with forces badly scattered. Of these the First and Eleventh corps were the nearest to the scene and hurried orders were sent for their presence there. The First, our corps, out on the Emmetsburg pike was the first to start. Wadsworth's Division, leading these two corps, as I remember the situation, had spent the night of June 30th on or near the Emmetsburg road, and probably about eight to twelve miles from Gettysburg. At this time, the evening of June 30th, to the rank and file of the army, there was nothing to indicate the stirring times so near at hand and not until the middle of the forenoon of the 1st of July was there much to disturb the usual orderly march of troops. At this time the rapid movements of aides and orderlies and the tense order of company and line officers of " close up men," was indication to all that war was about to again present her dread front. The occasional bark of a field piece, and the rattle of musketry on the road ahead, were the nerve trying sounds that greeted us. Gettysburg lies in a more than usual fertile valley and is some 40 miles a little north and west of Baltimore, and some 70 miles from Washington. A place of then, perhaps, 2500 people, until this invasion of rebel hordes, it must have been the very example of peace and rural happiness. Its placidity was about to be rudely changed to the very opposite all that noise and confusion could create. On the west side of the valley, and about one half mile from the village runs a range of hills, not of great height, but enough to mark the western boundry of the valley called Seminary Ridge, on the northermost extremity of which is called the Lutheran Seminary. It was on the plateau of this ridge and in front of the seminary building where the battle of the first day began and it was, perhaps, some 100 rods in front of the building where Geo. Reynolds was killed. It was in the cupola of the seminary that Reynolds found Gen. Ruford of cavalry fame and said "John, what's the matter? " In reply, John said, "The devil is to pay, which is no doubt so."

It must have been about the time of this genial intercourse of these seasoned warriors, that the 94th regiment back on the Emmetsburg Pike near the farmhouse of N. Cordon? got the urgent orders to take to the fields on the left to hurry forward to the assistance of their comrades at the front. As yet we had seen nothing of the village and we who had not access to the maps, knew no more of where we were, then we were in the State of Pennsylvania. On our arrival in front of the seminary, the battle for the moment had somewhat subsided, and after the usual delay, incident to uncertainty as to where we would be needed most, we were marched to a slope of the ridge looking towards the town and ordered to lie down. Unless there is a substantial earthwork in front of him, the order to lie down is the most unwelcome one a soldier gets. I think he is much less nervous when marching towards the enemy.

I remember that while lying on this slope, of having my nerves as badly tried as they have ever been in battle. From some battery, some distance away, the rebels had gotten our range and were dropping an occasional shell uncomfortably near. A few rods north of this point was the grade, a cut and embankment, of a prospective railroad. the western end of the cut had already been the scene of desperate fighting and at the moment was in the hands of the Union forces. It now became time for our brigade and regiment to go forward and we were ordered across the grade of the railroad and through a considerable wood, and joined our right to the left of the eleventh Corps, which had established its lines north, and about a mile from the village.

On getting to the farther, or northern, edge of the woods, we were in position to see the operations of the enemy in that quarter. Their skirmish line had been advanced towards the wood, to within some 40 rods and for the moment, were seeming to be waiting advance of the main line. We were ordered to advance and drive them out, which we proceeded to do. At the same time, a large body of troops were seen approaching from the northern slopes. They were in line of battle and seemed to be moving with the easy confidence of hardened victors. It is known that they constituted Rhodes' division and in great strength. Its march proved so powerful that the lines of the Eleventh and right of the First, and finally the whole of the Union force was pushed back, and through the town.

I, personally, have never dwelt with pride upon what I saw of our action at that time. We should, no doubt, have been over whelmed in the end, but after the march of Rhodes' men began there was practically no fight put up by the Union forces on the first day of the battle, unless, possibly, by the artillery. The retreat was akin to panic. The 94th had, for the moment, by the slight wounding of Col. Root, had been in command of its captain and of Major Moffat, who, in absence of orders, simply drifted back through the woods. At the point where the railroad cut went through the hills and of that in which our advance began, at about 4 p. m. my company found itself seeking a way to Gettysburg. The only available track was that of the railroad grade, which was completely filled with our army, foot, horse and artillery. A mouse would have found cramped traveling. The regiment had gone into line of battle as they came in sight of the enemy, at the northern edge of the wood, which formation was maintained by facing about on the retreat. The regiment at that time had only about 400 men with it, but it's line of battle was so extended that its left end was considerably nearer the village than the right and right center, which was at the railroad cut and grade which it found so congested and impassable. Further retreat towards the seminary was seen to be cut off by a line of the enemy, which was already well on its way to the village. The men of this line, that could be easily seen, were jubilant over their expected victory, which at that moment seemed assured. The writer saw an officer leading them, his hat held aloft on his sword, and shouting. "Come on, men, we've got 'em now. "

Seeing the futility of further attempts to escape in that direction, the order was given to the remnant of the regiment in the cut, some 60 to 80 in number to face about and be readv to receive the line of the enemy, which we knew to becoming behind. But before anything could be done, a voice was heard from the bank above "Hold on there, Yanks, we'll treat you well," and thus ended, for the time, the fighting career of the left wing of the 94th New York Volunteers.

A considerable number of the other wing of the regiment succeeded in getting through Gettysburg, and were finally formed upon Cemetery Ridge and became part of the line that successfully resisted the onslaughts of the following day of battle. The interest which st??ches to soldiers that have become prisoners of war is not of a thrilling nature, so as this paper has already become too long, I will, in as few words as possible, tell what became of us. The capture was made by a North Carolina regiment, commanded ,as we understood by a Col. Dan??? W???her, a relative of one of President Wilson's cabinet, also from North Carolina, I am able to say. A body of us prisoners were assembled on the knoll overlooking the field towards the village, when one of our batteries from the cemetery opened on us with shell which was unpleasantly frequent in their delivery. Our captors said to us "Well, you'd better get out of here; you don't want to be shot by your own men." We were marched to the rear of their line and corralled in a field near some farm buildings. We had plenty of company, there were some 4,000 in this squad. The next day we were in one long line and addressed by the Confederate commissary of prisoners, who explained an order issued by our government, which announced that paroles on the field would not be recognized, and that men so paroled would be returned to their commands. However, command of the 94th did accept the paroles and when the battle was over were retained at Gettysburg for a time to assist in the care of sick and wounded until such time as their cases could be determined, the final result being that we were returned and took part in most of the further operations of the Army of the Potomac, and those who re-enlisted were allowed to take part in the final campaign, the result of which was Appomatox, the 50th anniversary of which was celebrated April 9 of this year. Your superintendent honored me by an invitation to talk to you of Gettysburg. You have seen my capture on the first day of the battle, that my opportunity of observation of that field as a whole was greatly curtailed, as that like all the rest of you I am dependent upon history for the operations of the following day. I did see something of the rebel army and of their way of doing things in my short stay with them, in a way they were our brothers, but the influence of the environment of most of them made them a mighty interesting lot, and their outfit was so curious a character as to make us wonder to their efficiency. Their wagon trains, comprising their transportation facilities, were made up of all sorts of vehicles, and showed the straits to which they were put to keep themselves in the field.

The participants in that great war are rapidly passing on, but as one of them, I should feel that I had been remiss in duty if I did not lend my voice to warn against the resort, except in the direst neccessity to the arbitrament of war. War is looked upon as a dreadful thing, but If you have not met it face to face, you cannot appreciate its awful mien. "Let us have peace. "

Watertown Daily Times
Thursday, August 23, 1924
FALL FATAL TO CHAS. W. SLOAT
WELL KNOWN BUSINESS MAN AND VETERAN DIES
FRACTURED LEG ON MAY 19
Had Been Confined To His Bed Since That Time - long Prominent In Civic Affairs. Charles Watson Sloat, 83, died at his home, 406 Franklin street, at 11 this morning following an illness of long standing, death being directly the results of a fall which Mr. Sloat suffered on May 19 at his home at which time he suffered a fractured right leg. Mr. Sloat suffered a stroke about four years ago and for a time he was partly paralysed. He recovered from the effects of the stroke and had been in good health up to the time he fell about ten weeks ago. Since the fall he has been confined to his bed nearly all of the time. His condition showed marked improvement during the last three weeks and he had been critically ill only a few days. The seriousness of the fall was enhanced by Mr. S1oat's advanced years.

Charles W. Sloat was one of the best known and most highly respected citizens of the city, having been a prominent lumber dealer in the city for many years. He was also prominent in the affairs of the city, having served on the board of education and the old public works board. He was for many years the senior member of the lumber firm of Sloat and Greenleaf of this city. He was also a veteran of the Civil war. Mr. Sloat was born in this city Oct 10, 1840, the son of the late John and Lydia Doane Sloat, and had spent practically all of his life here. On his 21st birthday, Oct. 10, 1861. he enlisted as a private at Watertown in Company H of the 94th New York volunteer Infantry. Shortly after his enlistment he was made a sergeant and on June 19, 1863, he received the commission of second lieutenant, which rank he held until the expiration of the three year enlistment term, he being discharged from the Union forces in December, 1864. He was taken prisoner by the Confederate forces during the first day's fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg. He was also engaged in the battles of Cedar Mountain, the second battle of Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietiam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorville, Mine Run, Gettysburg, Cold Harbor and the assault and siege at Petersburg. He was paroled soon after his capture at Gettysburg. Mr. Sloat told many interesting stories of the war of the rebellion. In 1914 there appeared an article in The Times in commemoration of the birthday of Lincoln which was written by Mr. Sloat. In the article the former soldier told an interesting story of seeing the war president review the Union forces under Pope, at which time Mr. Sloat saw Lincoln. In the article Mr. Sloat paid a high tribute to Abraham Lincoln and vividly described him riding a horse as he passed down the long columns of soldiers.

Mr. Sloat was married in Clinton, N. Y., on June 17, 1868, to Miss Ada L. Budlow of that village. After his marriage he returned to this city and entered the lumber business. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Sloat, all of whom survive him.
Mr. Sloat received his education in the schools of the city. He was a student at the Stone school house on Bradley street and also at the old Institute on the present site of the State street school. He first went into the lumber business with his uncle and later on March 30, 1876, he organised the lumber firm of Sloat and Greenleaf and continued to be senior member of the business for a number of years. About eleven years ago his son, Wallace B. Sloat, entered into partnership with his father and the business later became known as the firm of Sloat and Son. Mr. Greenleaf, the former partner of the firm, died about two years ago. The firm of S1oat and Son is one of the best known in the city and for many years has done an extensive business in lumber and mill work, paints, glass, roofing material and all kinds of builders' supplies. The mill and offices of the company are located at 408-420 Mill street.

June 17, 1918 was the golden anniversary of the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Sloat and the occasion was celebrated by a reception to old friends and relatives at their home. Rev. William P. Payne who married them 50 years ago previous was present at the reception. Mr. Payne was pastor of the Clinton Universalist church at the time he married Mr. and Mrs. Sloat. Last October Mr and Mrs. Sloat were the guests of honor at a family dinner party in honor of their birthdays which fell near together. Both were at that time in the best of health.

Mr Sloat is survived by his widow, Mrs. Ada B Sloat, two daughters, Mrs C. E. Pierce and Miss Helen M. Sloat, all residing at the family home 406 Franklin street and by one son, Wallace B. Sloat of 327 West Main street, this city. The funeral services will be held from his late home, 406 Franklin street Sunday afternoon at 2. Rev. Harry Westbrook Reed, pastor of All Souls Universalist church officiating. Burial will be made in Brookside cemetery.

Sources:
Jefferson County NYGenWeb, US Civil War Service Records, "Electronic," for Charles W. Sloat
Jefferson County NYGenWeb, CITY OF WATERTOWN CIVIL WAR VETS FROM 1890 CENSUS
Jefferson County NYGenWeb, Brookside Cemetery Records, Watertown, NY. for Charles Sloat
Newspaper - The Watertown Daily Times - TUESDAY, MAY 27, 1913
Our Country And Its People - A Discriptive Work On Jefferson County, New York - Edited by Edgar C. Emerson The Boston History Company Publishers, 1898
Biography of Charles Sloat Newspaper - The Watertown Daily Times - Thursday, August 23, 1924

Return to Jefferson County NYGenWeb page

Return to Jefferson County Civil War Index page

If you have any questions or comments about this page, please contact: Nancy Dixon

http://jefferson.nygenweb.net/cwbsloat.htm updated March 7, 2009