SIDNEY H.
RITCH
127th New York Volunteers
Company B
Middle Island
Sidney H. Ritch
Private, 127th New York Infantry, Company B
Middle Island
Sidney H. Ritch was born May 27, 1840, in
the village of Port Jefferson. After his mother died when
he was four years old, Sidney was sent to live with his
uncle and grandmother in Middle Island. As he got older,
he worked briefly as a seaman. In 1859, though, he
returned to Middle Island and apprenticed as a carpenter.
On August 15, 1862, Ritch joined the
127th New York Volunteers, also known as the Monitors.
This unit was formed under the leadership of Colonel
William Gurney, who, on July 10, 1862, was given the
authority to raise a regiment for a period of three
years. He recruited mainly from New York City, Brooklyn
and Long Island. These men were mustered in on September
8, 1862, on Staten Island.
After a few days, the 127th was sent to
Baltimore. Ritch wrote that this is where he received his
"last good meal," but was still stirred on by
patriotism, moving on to the defense of Washington with
visions of great battles and glory. It seemed that Sidney
Ritch was a bit of a dreamer, and a man who had high
expectations. While in Washington, Ritch wrote that he
expected to be invited into Lincoln's parlor, where they
would get a private interview with "the old
man." They would smoke some of his cigars, listen to
his jokes and then be ushered into elegant sleeping
quarters. Despite never meeting Lincoln, Ritch still
looked for the best in every situation. He and the
regiment slept in a field with the "canopy of
heaven" over their heads, "the verdant
earth" for their beds, and a blanket for cover.
After a short time, however, reality set
in. Morale dropped and his patriotism depreciated as he
marched forward and observed the arrival of ambulances
with wounded Union soldiers. Then came the long winter,
with the 127th camping just outside of Washington at
Arlington Heights.
In the spring of 1863, Ritch and the
127th began the long march south. He began to hear tales
of the horror of war from members of the 7th regiment.
The he saw it for himself, when he witnessed a deserter
shot as he sat on his own coffin; his body was then
placed in the coffin for immediate burial. Ritch
described the moment:
We were called out to witness the
shooting of a deserter, a member of another regiment. The
regiments formed a hollow square, and an ambulance
approached with the victim, who calmly sat upon his
coffin, while twelve men with loaded muskets were drawn
up before him. Clear and startling rang out the command
to fire, and the next instant the poor wretch was
writhing in the agonies of death. A few moments more, and
the cold clay closed over the scene.
The message was not lost to Ritch, who
realized that this was to be an example for the men of
his regiment.
Execution by firing
squad.
The unit marched south to Boonsboro,
Hagerstown and Greenfield, and was involved in the
Peninsula Campaign. Ritch remembered seeing arms and legs
scattered and the "other guy" getting his head
blown off. He was sad that it happened, yet relieved it
wasn't him. The 127th did suffer its share of casualties,
especially heavy during the Battle of Fort Wagner.
The unit spent the winter of 1863-64 at
Coles Island, where Ritch was appointed as company bugler
on December 14, 1863. While there, the regiment received
the good news that that Savannah had fallen and that
General Sherman was advancing south to the sea, with
Confederate General Beauregard in retreat.
The 127th moved to Charleston, South
Carolina, in August of 1864. Somehow, Ritch lost his
Springfield rifle; the army charged him a six-dollar
fine.
In November, the unit was assigned to
support General Sherman as part of an expeditionary force
that was supposed to cut off the Charleston and Savannah
Railroad at Grahamville, South Carolina. This would
prevent the movement of Confederate troops and supplies.
Ritch and his comrades moved to Hilton Head, where they
were held in reserve.
On November 28, they pushed off with
5,000 men and 500 sailors and marines on Federal gunboats
bound for Boyd's Landing up the Broad River. There were
several miscalculations and navigational errors and the
troops became lost. They finally arrived the next day and
began their seven-mile march westward. The commander made
a wrong turn; they ended up losing a day that would be
extremely costly during the Battles of Honey Hill. It
allowed the Confederates time to bring up troop
reinforcements to heavily fortify the high ground.
When they reached the battleground, the
men of the 127th hit the dirt in front of the 3rd N.Y.
Battery and remained there all day. The men regarded
their position as most trying because they were not
allowed to fire a shot, yet had to take all the fire the
enemy could bring in. Honey Hill was a terrible loss. The
32nd and the 355th U.S. Colored and the 54th and 55th
Colored Massachusetts units took many of the heaviest
casualties.
While continuing to support Sherman with
the railroad campaign at Deveaux' Neck, Ritch contracted
kidney disease as a result of exposure during the fall
and winter campaigns of 1864-65. This forced Ritch into
light duty at Colonel William Gurney's headquarters on
Morris Island. Rather than just feeling sorry for
himself, Ritch formed a glee club to entertain the men.
I organized a class in singing, which
I drilled in the quartermaster's tent once a week. One
dozen books were presented to us from a friend in New
York City, and four men were selected to form a
quartette, viz.: George Reeves, Van Buskirk, Youngs and
myself. We received our appointments from Lieutenant Col.
Wolford.
Another soldier, Private Henry Prince,
mentioned the glee club in his diary: "A large
hospital tent served as a chapel, and services were made
interesting by the glee club with its leader Sidney H.
Ritch, of Co. B." He referred to Ritch again while
in Beaufort, South Carolina:
Part of the regiment was assigned
provost duty and lived in a house in town. Pickets and
patrols were sent in all directions. The men were kept
busy in various ways but had their evenings for leisure.
The glee club that had been formed on Morris Island sang
in the soldiers' chapel, aided by the ladies who taught
the freedmen. One night the drum corps serenaded the
town, to everyone's delight. Lincoln was reelected. The
men had sent in their ballots while on Morris Island.
Gurney detached Ritch on May 4, 1865, to
the camp post office at Charleston, South Carolina. Ritch
seemed to really enjoy his time in Charleston, especially
being able to interact with civilians on a regular basis.
He wrote:
I formed some pleasant
acquaintances-of course, the most agreeable of them were
with ladies, with excellent vocal talents. Many enjoyable
moonlight excursions have I whiled on the pleasant
bay… We took possession of one of the finest and
largest churches in the city, and soon established a fine
choir of mixed voices.
Street in Charleston
during Union occupation. Saint Michael's church, is at
the end of the street.
Ritch was discharged in Charleston on June 30, 1865. He
returned to Middle Island and resumed work as a
carpenter. His passion for music continued, and he was in
charge of the chorus at the Tabernacle Church in
Greenpoint. While there, he met Mary Collyer, who was
from Ossining, New York. They were married at the church
on March 23, 1867.
Sidney and Mary lived in Yaphank for a
while. They later moved to Riverhead, where Ritch pursued
a writing career. In 1885, he became a member of the
Suffolk County Historical Society in Riverhead. Around
the turn of the century, the Ritch family moved to New
Jersey.
Sidney Ritch died of pneumonia on March
10, 1906, in Passaic, New Jersey.