08/14/2026
A little information about Cayuga County fighting in the Civil War. Weedsport had several veterans!
They were called cowards. Then Gettysburg happened.
The 111th New York Infantry mustered at Auburn on August 20, 1862, drawing most of its men from Cayuga and Wayne counties. It departed the following day.
Just 26 days later, its first campaign ended in mass surrender.
At Harpers Ferry, Stonewall Jackson’s forces surrounded the Union garrison. Outnumbered and running short of long-range artillery ammunition, the senior Federal commanders surrendered approximately 12,500 troops.
The inexperienced soldiers of the 111th had no voice in that decision—but they inherited its shame. They and several sister regiments were branded the “Harpers Ferry cowards.”
Paroled and sent to Camp Douglas in Chicago, the men remained there until exchanged in December. They later guarded Washington, drilling and waiting for another chance.
That chance came at Gettysburg.
On July 2, 1863, the 111th entered battle with George Willard’s all-New York brigade. When William Barksdale’s Confederates smashed through part of the Union Third Corps, Willard’s men counterattacked and helped stop the breakthrough.
That evening, the 111th occupied Cemetery Ridge near the Bryan farm. It held that ground through the following day and Pickett’s Charge.
Colonel Clinton MacDougall was wounded. Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Lusk assumed command—and was also wounded. Captain Aaron Seeley became the regiment’s third commander of the battle.
Of the 390 men engaged, 249 were killed, wounded, or missing:
58 killed
177 wounded
14 missing
Nearly two out of every three men.
Gettysburg did not make them brave. It proved they had been brave all along.
The 111th later fought through the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and Appomattox. By the time it mustered out on June 4, 1865, the regiment had participated in 22 major engagements and lost 404 men during its service. Not a single coward among them.
Sources:
New York State Military Museum — 111th Infantry Regiment
National Park Service — The Fall of Harpers Ferry
Stone Sentinels — 111th New York at Gettysburg
Photo: 111th New York Monument at Gettysburg (Getty Images)
