New-York tribune., 1899-12-31
A FAMILY or PATRIOTS.
HOW THE vEsPERs. OF VERMONT GAVE
THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY.

THEIR LlNE Els FOX NOb-'''Ni'
Washington Dec 80 (SpeciaD-A singular case OF
Inherited patriotism and sacrifice OF the men oi
family for their country's defence has come oelore
the War Department for consideration. whlch EN-
nhasIzes a notable defect in the laws lntenoeu "
reward herosm and devotion to duty IL Is c"'e
that appeals strongly TO the authorizes VINO us
nize the high moral obligation OF crlppleo veteran
whose father. grandfather and great -grahuia'"ei "
vave their lives TWO to preserve the Union ana one
N eecure American independence. and VINO mas
now g,ven the lives Of his sons. his sole means
Of support to free Cuba and achieve the ues'iiS
of the United States The simple record OF iacts
as presented to the War Department Is as ioho"s'
owen r. Vesper eighteen years oio' enhS'eu III
Nav 1851 as private In Company f. "a vermont
Infantry In September OF the same year MS aged
f,tber enlisted as a recruit in the same company
10 he with his only son. In 1867, whhe the teei'e'
was in the Chckahomny swamps. near hlchihonu'
the father succumbed TO the Vlclssltuoes vi INC
srduous campaign and died at Harrison's Landing
inst after the Seven Days battles. The boy became
ono n, the best soldiers in the regiment. serving
through the Antetam and Fredericksburg cam
paigns Burnsdes mud march. the Chancehorsvlne
and Gettysburg campaigns. and back throusn vi"
einia to Rappahannock Station. Vesper was always
conspicuous in the celebrated Sd Vermont whleh
went into service in 1861 with over one Thousand OF
the hardest Green Mountain men, and after receiv-
ING three thousand recruits during the war was
mustered out in July. 1865, with total strength Oh
three hundred and fifty. OF whom only forty-hve
left home with the command at Lincolns first call
There was not a soldier in the regiment whose
services were not distinguished and meritorious,
and heroism was such commonplace matter with
the Vermonters that officers were not called upon
TO be continually sending in reports TO headquar,,
ters OF conspicuous instances. Vesper re-enlisted
AZ veteran volunteer, and on May D. 1864. at the
wilderness. he lost his right arm above the elbow
in action and in consequence was transferred 10
the Veteran Reserve Corps and served until the
close OF the war On his return home he married,
and two sons born to him. With the assist
ance of his devoted wife. and In spite of his own In
hrmlty by dint of diligence night and day he edu-
cal ted the boys. and just as they reached manhood
and were becoming the sole dependence of their
parent the Spanish War began. The old martial
spirit transmitted from the grandfather and
father asserted itself and they joined the I'd
Massachusetts, going through the battles at Sant-
ago with that regiment. There the younger Paul
died I'm the infected camps on August 10. and his
elder brother Lieutenant Harry J. Vesper died
on the transport Mobile on the way home. only two
days out from Montauk Point and was buried
at .
Thus has a family OF patriots been annhilated
in their country's service owen Nespers great
grandfa her was a soldier Of the Revolution under
Washington. His grandfather. soldier Of the
War of 1872 taken prisoner by the British. and
buried at Harrison's Landing. lie gave his own
right arm at the Wilderness and then gave his two
in the Spanish wal.