This post was written by library volunteer Gail Denisoff.
For the tenth year, the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation is honoring past and present Schenectady County service members through the Hometown Heroes banner program. Hanging from Memorial Day to Veteran's Day, these banners recognize brave men and women from Schenectady County who have answered the call to serve.
The Schenectady County Historical Society often nominates a candidate from Schenectady's past for a banner. This year we have nominated two brothers from Schenectady County who served during the Civil War. Jacob and Martin DeForest were not the only members of their family to enlist, however. Five DeForest brothers joined the Union effort. All five were wounded in battle with at least one later succumbing to his injuries. The DeForest brothers were not strangers to military service. Both their grandfather and great-grandfather fought under George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Below are brief biographies and service details for the DeForest boys, Schenectady County’s band of brothers.
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| Portrait of Jacob DeForest in military uniform. From the DeForest Family File at the Grems-Doolittle Library. |
Jacob J. DeForest, born in Rotterdam, Schenectady County, on October 10, 1820, was the oldest of the 12 children of Jacob and Anna Schermerhorn DeForest. He was educated at the Schenectady Lyceum under the tutelage of Rev. Dr. Huntington, then taught a winter term of school in Rotterdam. Soon after, he apprenticed himself with James A. Van Voast, a prominent carpenter and builder in Schenectady. Following the completion of his apprenticeship in 1844, he moved to Albany where he worked as a successful contractor in his own businesses.
Jacob had a lifelong interest in the military and was commissioned as an engineer of the 25th Regiment of the 11th Brigade, 3rd Division, of the State of New York on December 28, 1855. At the outbreak of the Civil war in April of 1861, at the age of 40, he was placed in charge of a recruiting center in Albany and served until the following August during which time 30 volunteer regiments of New York were recruited and organized. He was then sent to Oswego, where he organized the 81st Regiment of NY Volunteers.
On February 19, 1862, Jacob was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the 81st Brigade and on July 1 promoted to colonel. The regiment became part of the Fourth Corps of the Army of the Peninsula under the Command of General Keyes and a part of McClellan’s Army of the Potomac Peninsular Campaign. On May 31, 1862, he was shot through the left lung at the battle of Fair Oaks, Virginia. Jacob was sent to Douglas Hospital in Washington, and then furloughed home to recover. He rejoined his unit on September 1 and sent to North Carolina where he participated in the unsuccessful Siege of Charleston. Because of his disability from his earlier wound, Jacob was hospitalized again and mustered out September 1, 1864, although retained command of the regiment until the end of the war. After the war, he was on the staff of former New York Governor Morgan for a time and was one of the escorts who accompanied the remains of President Lincoln through the state. Soon after, he returned to work the family farm in Duanesburg, NY, and was active in community affairs, especially regarding school and educational matters. He was a friend of Horace Greeley during the abolition movement and a longtime member of the Masons and Odd Fellows.
Jacob J. DeForest had three wives, the last surviving him, and 12 children, 5 of whom died at birth or as young children. In the summer of 1903, he supervised the building of a new home at Cady’s Corners in Rotterdam, where he died on March 14, 1904, at the age of 83. He is buried at Prospect Hills Cemetery in Guilderland.
Portrait of Bartholomew DeForest in military uniform. From the DeForest Family File, Grems-Doolittle Library.
Bartholomew Schermerhorn DeForest was born in Rotterdam on February 9, 1823, the second child of Jacob and Anna DeForest. He worked as an architect in Albany before enlisting on August 26, 1862, at the age of 39. He obtained the rank of First Lieutenant, was assigned to the 81st New York Infantry, and served as Quartermaster from September 1, 1862, to September 19, 1864. He was injured in battle and mustered out with a discharge disability on September 19, 1864.
Bartholomew married Elizabeth Walker in 1847 and had two daughters. The family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, after the war where Bartholomew continued his architectural career. He died in Cleveland on April 30, 1886, at the age of 63 and is buried in Vale Cemetery in Schenectady.
John Teller DeForest was born December 27, 1830, the sixth child of DeForest family. He worked as a carpenter in Albany with his brother, Jacob, before enlisting in Oswego on September 23, 1861, at the age of 31. He was assigned to the 81st New York Infantry. He rose to the rank of Captain before being injured in battle and mustering out on August 10, 1864, with a discharge disability.
John was married to Emeline Stevens and had a son. He died of complications of his wartime injuries on May 25, 1866, at the age of 35, in Oswego and is buried in Mount Adnah Cemetery, Fulton, Oswego County.
Portrait of William DeForest in military uniform. From the DeForest Family File at the Grems-Doolittle Library.
William Freeman DeForest was the eighth child of the family born on April 28, 1836, in Rotterdam. He enlisted at the age of 26 on January 25, 1863. He was assigned to the Second New York Calvary with the rank of Sergeant. He was wounded at Ashby's Gap Virginia and mustered out with a discharge disability on September 4, 1864.
After the war, William moved to San Francisco and worked as a trader. In the 1870s he was an agent for the Eureka Hair Company. He married Maggie Cosgrove in San Francisco in 1878 and died there some years later.
Portrait of Martin DeForest in military uniform. From the DeForest Family File at the Grems-Doolittle Library.
Martin J. DeForest was the ninth child of the family, born on June 23, 1839, in Rotterdam. He enlisted in the 25th Regiment of the New York State Militia on September 21, 1861 at the age of 22. He reenlisted in the 81st Infantry, New York Volunteers, and served with that regiment throughout the war. He was severely wounded in his left leg on June 3, 1864, at the Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia, resulting in the amputation of his left foot. He was discharged with the rank of Captain on October 23, 1864, because of his injuries. In 1865, he was appointed Second Lieutenant, 3rd Regiment of the Veteran's Reserve Corps, and worked in the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Land, discharged in 1868.
Martin married Harriet Carmichael in 1866 in Sparta, Westchester County. He worked as a clerk in the Registry Department of the General Post Office of New York for 40 years, living in Brooklyn. He died on February 8, 1908, leaving a second wife and four children. He is buried in Sparta Cemetery, Westchester County.
There is some evidence that a sixth brother may have briefly served in the Union Army. Richard DeForest was the 12th child of the DeForest family, born on August 9, 1844, in Rotterdam. He enlisted at the age of 19 on May 31, 1862, as a private in the 25th Infantry of the New York State Militia. He mustered out in Albany less than four months later on September 8, 1863. Richard died at Cady's Corners, Rotterdam on April 22, 1869 at the age of 24.
The brothers of the DeForest family served the Union faithfully throughout the Civil War risking life and limb. They are part of a proud heritage of Schenectady military heroes.
The Schenectady Hometown Heroes banners will be up along State Street from Washington Avenue to Veterans Park until Veterans Day. More banners can be found along Clinton Street between Liberty Street and Union Street. Please visit https://downtownschenectady.org/portfolio/honoring-the-2024-hometown-heroes/ for more information on the program and 2024 banners. The banners for Jacob and Martin DeForest share a pole on State Street near the corner of Washington Avenue.