On the 8th day of June he was commissioned and mustered as second Lieutenant of Company D, vice Lieutenant Whitmore resigned. Was engaged the 2d and 3d days of July in the battle of Gettysburg. Was in command of troops that guarded the wagon trains from Nashville, Tenn., to Bridgeport, Ala. Also marched and guarded a wagon train to Chattanooga; arriving as far as Wauhatchie halted for the night, comfortably rolling themselves in their blankets preparatory to a good night's rest. About eleven o'clock firing was heard upon the picket line, when they were ordered out and soon in line, which had hardly been done before they received a sharp volley of musketry from the rebels. The fight lasted until three o'clock of the next morning. The killed, wounded and missing of the 137th Regiment in this engagement was ninety men. Lieut. Bishop also participated in the famous fight at Lookout Mountain, and that of Ringold, Ga.
May 2d, 1864, he commenced the great Georgia campaign with Gen. Sherman; was engaged in the battle of Resacca from the 12th to the 15th of May, and on the 25th in the battle of Dallas Wood; the next engagement was at Pine Knob on the 15th of June; had continued skirmishing until the 20th of July, when occurred the battle of Peach Tree Creek, Ga., after which they rested until the 23d, when they moved in front of Atlanta; marched into the city Sept. 2d at twelve o'clock, after a campaign of over four months.
October 24th Lieut. Bishop was commissioned and mustered first Lieutenant of Company D, vice Lieut. C. C. Kellogg resigned. October 25th he was sent out with a foraging party; were out four days and returned with five hundred wagon loads of forage. November 1st started for home on a twenty days leave of absence, and eight of the days were occupied in getting there; upon his return he found the Regiment at Savannah. January 27th he was ordered to the hospital, being wholly unfit for duty; was detained there twenty days: was again with the Regiment at Raleigh, N. C., where orders were received to be ready forthwith to march for Richmond, the Confederacy having succumbed to the government of the United States. Passed through Richmond the 11th of May, crossed the Rappahannock at U. S. ford the 15th, and arrived at Alexandria on the 19th. May 23d he received an order stating that he was honorably discharged from further service by reason of physical disability; arrived at his home in Ithaca June 20th, 1865.
No more worthy soldier or respected officer ever enlisted or commanded a Company, than Lieut. A. L. Bishop; and a more honorable record than his cannot be produced—always ready to do his whole duty to his comrades and his country.
J. H. Terry, Lawyer, enlisted August 4th, 1862. Had belonged to the Company but a short time when he enlisted in the United States service, and was elected Captain of a Company organized in this village. We have been unable to obtain his war history. He is now engaged in his profession at the West.
B. R. Williams, Junior Editor of the Ithaca Citizen and Democrat, enlisted September 3d, 1862. Captain Williams, while connected with the Company, was one of its most useful members, and it gives us pleasure to be afforded this opportunity to acknowledge our obligations, and also to accord to him the honor which is his due.
He was permitted to remain as a private in the Company but a very short time before he was elected Corporal, and by promotion reached the position of Sergeant, in which capacity he enlisted in the United States service with this Company in September, 1864; there, after a short time, the Company were deprived of his services by reason of his accepting a position upon the staff of Col. R. P. Wisner, which, however, did not separate him from his former associates. Captain Williams, by his many acts of personal kindness toward the members of the DeWitt Guard while in the service, and particularly toward the officers, in rendering them the most invaluable assistance in arranging and closing up their account, was entitled to and received their most hearty thanks. He rendered very many acts of kindness officially which were in no way connected with the duties of his office, but it seemed to be a pleasure for him to do any thing for the officers and men of his former Company. He was constantly on terms of the most perfect friendship with the officers and men of the Regiment, and was a particular favorite with all.
While a member of the Company he filled the office of Secretary, and we are permitted to copy extracts from his minutes which we do on another page. Very soon after returning from Elmira, he was commissioned Captain of Engineers in the 50th Regiment, National Guard. Notwithstanding his promotion, he still insists upon retaining his membership in the DeWitt Guard, against which not one objection is known to exist; it is the strong desire of every member of the Company that he may continue such, as long as they are in any way connected with said institution.
M. L. Thompson, Speculator, enlisted September 8th, 1862. Removed from the District soon after enlisting; sought his fortune in the oil wells of Pennsylvania, which adventures, we are pleased to state, have been successful.
George E. Halsey, Druggist, enlisted September 23d, 1862. Served with the Company until he represented himself in the United States army by substitution, when he withdrew from this Company. Is proprietor of the celebrated Fountain Drug Store of this village.