, 1906-01-23

Engineer George DeForest OF this
city has received from his mother in
New York a copy of a photograph TAX
en- of his fathers military trappings,
which are now the property of the mill
tary bureau of the state Of New York,
in a case made especially for them and
displayed in the capitol building at AL
bany. The mementoes were formally
presented to the state by the heirs of
Colenel j. ]. DeForest of New York,
and will be kept at Albany perma-
nently.
The S contains the coal worn by
Colonel DeForest at the time he was
wounded at the battle of Seven Pines,
Va, May 81, 1862, the bullet striking
him in the left side, near the heart, the
coat having the hole made by the bull
let and still containing the blood that
flowed from the wound, the garment
having been taken from the person of
the colonel at the time and never again
donned. A small tag pinned to the
coat marks the bullet hole.
There are three swords in the case.
One of them a a sword used by Col
onel DeForest while he was a men,
Der of the New York state militia long
before the war. The hilt is finished
with the head of an eagle in brass, a
pattern superseded during the war with
a palmer n handler hilt. Another
sword. is the service sword worn by the
gallant commander while he was at the
head of the Eighty-irst New York vol
unteer infantry, first as lieutenant col
|onel and afterwards as colonel. This
sword he wore at the time the body OF
President Lincoln was taken through
Albany to Springfield, ILL.,, Colonel De
Forest being a guard in the military
detachment at the capitol at the time.
The hilt still bears the bit of crepe
placed there at the time.
The third sword was one presented
to him at the time of his commission
as lieutenant colonel of the Eighty
first at the breaking out of the wal by
the Odd Fellows and Masons of his
town. The blade of this sword was
lost when the wounded colonel was TAX
en- from the field at Seven Pines and
was not found. The two orders replac-
ed it with a blade as nearly like the
first as could be.
In the case are the colonel's shoul-
der straps, with the spread eagle mark
ing the rank; a revolver given him by
his friends, his belt and sash and other
trappings of war, The coat was at the
state house at the TIME OF the death
of the colonel, March II, 1904, and the
keeper of the bureau asked The family
to leave it there and add he other
things. He agreed to have a ase
made, and in view of the fact the broth
ers and widow consented, SO that now
all are there for all time.
Colonel DeForest was in the state mi
litia at the time of the breaking out
of the war. When the call for troops
CAME ne was eleCIeu COlOuel VI luo
Eighty-irst New York, but the secre.
tary of war wanted a West Point man
to command the regiment, SO he ap-
pointed Colonel Rose and Mr.. DeForest
became the lieutenant colonel. Colonel
Rose was taken i'll early in the year
1861 and was ill a great deal of the
time, so that Lieutenant Colonel De.
Forest was in command of the regi-
ment from the first, practically. At the
battle of Seven Pines, when he was so
desperately wounded, his %gallantry was
called to the attention Of the war de-
partment, and when he was able to re.
turn to his regiment he was made col
onel, commanding it to the emf Of the
war. He belonged only to the Eighty
first and held but the two positions,
Lieutenant colonel and colonel, which
accounts for the urgent request thas
his military belongings be added to the
excellent military record possessed by
the state of New York.