The reader will remember that Elmira had been designated as the point of rendezvous for volunteers from the central and western portions of the State. Battalions, Companies and squads flocked hither daily, and were consolidated into regiments. In this manner the 12th, 13th, 19th, 21st, 23rd, 26th and 27th, among other regiments, were formed. The plan and arrangements for consolidation were to a certain extent left with the various commands, each one being permitted to select and act upon its own regimental organization.
On the 17th of May the officers of eight of the previously described Companies met and decided upon forming themselves into a regiment, the two other Companies afterwards joining them. On the 21st the organization was rendered complete by the election and appointment of the following field and staff officers:
- Colonel—Robert F. Taylor, Rochester.
- Lieutenant Colonel—Calvin Walker, Geneva. Resigned at Camp Lyon.
- Major—Robert J. Mann, Seneca Falls. Resigned at Camp Griffin.
- Adjutant—Charles T. Sutton, New York City. Resigned at Hagerstown.
- Quarter-Master—H. L. Suydam, Geneva. Resigned at Camp Lyon.
- Chaplain—Rev. G. N. Cheney, Rochester. Resigned at Camp Lyon.
- Surgeon—T. Rush Spencer. Resigned at Camp Granger.
- Assistant Surgeon—S. S. Mulford, Cherry Valley. Resigned at Stafford Court House.
The regiment was designated as the Thirty-third New York State Volunteers, and assigned to barrack number five, at Southport, where it remained until the departure for Washington.
The entire change in the mode of life occasioned some uneasiness, at first, on the part of the men. They were not made up of the refuse material of our large cities, “the scum that rises uppermost when the nation boils,” but had come from homes supplied with every comfort. A few days, however, served to inure them to the change, and they learned to sleep soundly in the rude hammocks, and thrive on the plain bill of fare.
As a general thing they were supplied with wholesome and nutritious food; but an occasional oversight would occur, when, woe to the unlucky purveyor. On one occasion some meat was sent to them, which, imparting a suspicious odor to their olfactories, the boys immediately collected, and bearing it away to a prepared receptacle, deposited the stuff with all the funeral pomp and ceremony which formerly attended the burial of Euclid at Yale College. The funeral oration abounded in not the most complimentary allusion to the Commissariat, who, improving on the wholesome advice administered, ever afterwards furnished the Regiment with beef that would pass muster.
The principal event connected with the sojourn of the Thirty-third here, was the reception of a splendid banner from the patriotic ladies of Canandaigua. The Regiment being formed into a hollow square, Mrs. Chesebro, of Canandaigua, stepped forward and presented the flag to Colonel Taylor, in the following felicitous remarks:
“Colonel Taylor, and Members of the Ontario Regiment: In behalf of the wives, mothers and daughters of Canandaigua, I ask your acceptance of this Regimental Banner. On the one side is the coat of arms of our noble Empire State; on the reverse, the Seal of old Ontario, adopted by your forefathers shortly after the Revolution, in 1790. And who—seeing the sudden transformation of her peaceful citizens into armed soldiers—can doubt the loyalty and patriotism of the men of Ontario? Soldiers! in assuming the name of a time-honored county as the bond of union for this Regiment, you assume to emulate the virtues which characterized the pioneers of civilization in Western New York, and like them, let forbearance and moderation actuate your motives and temper your zeal. Let the thought that brave hearts at home, have, with more than Roman heroism, parted with those most dear to them, inspire each soul to acts of courage, and nerve each arm to deeds of daring. And though ‘the pomp and circumstance of war’ are, to woman’s timid nature, but other terms for death and desolation, this banner is the assurance of our sympathy with the cause of Liberty and our Country. Bear it forth with you in the heat of battle, where each soldier may fix his eye upon it, and if it comes back riddled with bullets and defaced with smoke, we shall know that a traitor has answered with his life for every stain upon it. Bear it forth, as you go, followed by our best wishes, and our earnest prayers; and may the God of Battles preserve and bless you, and crown your efforts and those of all our brave defenders of the stars and stripes with speedy and signal victory! Take it, and may God’s blessing go with you and it.”
Colonel Taylor responded: