By Vicky House
Correspondent
GREENE – On September 7, 1862, ten canal boats filled with 1,000 men, left Greene, NY to go off to fight in the Civil War.
On September 7, 2012, exactly 150 years later, the Greene Historical Society and the US Post Office will host a special Pictorial Postmark commemorating that day.
When President Lincoln, on July 2, 1862, issued a call for 300,000 men to serve three years, the 114thRegiment NYS Volunteer Infantry was formed in Chenango and Madison counties.
A “Citizens’ Regimental Committee,” made up of well-known and influential gentlemen, was formed to aid in recruiting a regiment. The ten companies, composing the 114th Regiment, were raised and organized in separate towns and communities. Farmers, doctors, lawyers, merchants and even clergy , with distinct histories previous to their consolidation into a regimental organization, signed up to fight the War of the Rebellion.
Canal transportation was secured as far as Binghamton for the Regiment and all the towns along the canal held ceremonies for the men of the 114th. Such was the case in Greene when early on Sunday morning, Sept. 7, 1862, the men were suddenly aroused by the report of cannon fire, which the good people of Greene were firing as a parting salute. A short delay at this village, long enough for the ‘Greene boys’ to bid good-bye to their friends and homes, and then onward again to an unknown destination and destiny.
The idea for the Pictorial Postmark came about when the staff of the Chenango County Historical Museum asked art students from the different school districts, along the old canal route, to paint a mural of their own interpretations of the canal and how it was vital to their respective communities. The students of the Greene Middle/High Schools depicted one canal boat, loaded with soldiers of the 114thRegiment, leaving for the war with three white horses, Dixie, Dolly and Dandy, providing the tow. The mural also includes images of a hotel, forwarding and storage building and the Lyon Iron Works which made and provided cannon balls during the war.
A Pictorial Postmark features words and graphics related to a specific event. The image used for this postmark will be made available on the day of the Pictorial Postmark, Sept. 7. A special postcard with the mural painted by the students and teachers of Greene Middle/High Schools on the front, a Civil War Commemorative Forever Stamp and the Pictorial Postmark on the back will be available for sale that day and on September 8.
