JEFFERSON COUNTY NEW YORK
CIVIL WAR SOLDIERS' BIOGRAPHIES
LUTHER KIEFFER
Union Soldier - Distinguished Service
Anthony Kieffer brought his family from Germany around 1832 to settle eventually in what is now the Town of Clayton next to the present Town of Orleans border with their children, including their son Luther, "a lad of twelve." The 1850 census finds the Kieffer family with son Luther already married to Polly95 Rouse, and away from home. Luther's career as a forty niner, land speculator and finally an army officer in the Civil War shows us an intelligent, capable, active young man. The diary which he kept during his war service shows him as a loving husband and father. The use of English in the diary proves that the German immigrant boy who learned English at twelve became a fluent writer of the language at maturity.
In 1861 handsome Captain Kieffer and his two sons went off to the war. Neither he nor his eldest son ever returned, and the second son, Theodore, only came home to die. Her parents sorrowed with their sorrowing daughter, Polly(Rouse) Kieffer.
According to a brief biography of Luther, pension records in the National Archives show that he participated in the Mexican War of 1845 as a company grade officer. In 1848, always adventurous, he succumbed to gold fever and went with his brother John and his wife's relatives to the gold fields of California. Luther Kieffer answered the call to arms 31 Aug 1861 and recruited a company (Battery D Company) of the First New York Volunteer Artillery, also known as the 1st New York Light Artillery, or 1st NYLA. Many young men of Jefferson county belonged to that unit.
In 1863 Luther came home to raise another company, this time in the 14th NYHA, another outfit largely from Jefferson County. This time sons William278 and Theodore280 joined him. Capt. Kieffer was busy raising his company in Watertown, and then went down to Binghamton to see to the mustering in. At the Battle of Cold Harbor, he and their son William278 were killed, and Theodore280 so badly wounded that he came home to die about a year later. Gramma Joles told the story from the perspective of Stone Mills.
Laura Baltz, known better by her married name, Gramma Joles, told more of the story of Captain Kieffer. Gramma Joles's half sister, Elizabeth, lived with the Luther Kieffer family, and in that tight knit community, Mrs. Joles heard all that went on. She reminisced:
When the Civil War broke out, [Elizabeth's] husband inlisted for 3 years. Then Uncle Luther, as we all called him enlisted and got the two boys to inlist. Aunt Polly (Luther's wife) felt very bad when 3 of them went to the war. The reports that came back to us at that time was that Luther and William were captured as prisoners and were in some Rebel prison. Mrs. Kieffer expected that when the war was over they would be sent home and anxiously awaited their coming with great hope. But time went on after the war and no return of father and son. The truth came at last that they were killed in battle. Discouraged and very sorrowful Mrs Kieffer, having a hard time managing the farm, decided to go to the lands in the West that her husband had purchased and this accounts for the trip of the family to the Middle West.
Long after the war, another version reached the Kieffer family. This time an eye witness who had known Luther Kieffer and his family in Stone Mills took the time to write Dr. Alonzo Kieffer, Luther's son. In 1904 D. A. Phelps was the pastor of the Methodist church at St. Lawrence Corners, some eleven or twelve miles from Stone Mills as the crow flies. He wrote Dr. Kieffer that he had known the Kieffers before the war, all of them coming from the Town of Clayton:
We were placed on picket about noon of June 1st 1864 between Totopotomy Creek and Bethesda Church, near Cold Harbor, in fact we always spoke of that day as our Cold Harbor fight. About dark our picket line was attacked and a few men killed and wounded, we lost at that time two killed and one badly wounded out of our company. The line was driven back and after it became quite dark was rearranged.
At daylight next morning June 2nd. we saw in the edge of the woods about fifty rods in our front the rebel works that had been thrown up during the night, the day was extremely hot and we waited patiently until noon expecting to be relieved at that time, but no relief came. About three P.M. we received notice that the main line had withdrawn and also to hold the line until dark before falling back to the main line, soon after receiving these instructions we heard a bugle sound in our front and at once the rebel line of battle swarmed over their works and advanced upon us, your father who was in command of the pickets at this point gathered up all the men on that part of the line and hurried us back toward our own works, only one man was wounded while we were falling back to the works, Chas. D. Miller of Co. I; he was wounded in the fleshy part of the leg above the knee, when hit he jumped out of the ranks and cried Oh. Oh., your father said to him that is nothing, perhaps more to encourage the men than the thought that it was a slight wound, Miller kept along and was saved from the fate of a rebel prison.
We were soon in the works, your father halted the men to learn how much of a force was coming upon us, and to learn the condition of things in general. As we entered the works I passed your father and took my place three or four rods to his right, a volley of two was fired and by that time, not three or four minutes having elapsed after we entered the works before your father saw that a heavy force was advancing and very near us, upon this discovery he called out, "boys, take care of yourselves," and we started from the works on the run, in the mean time the enemy had been swinging well around toward our left, and when we left the works they poured in upon us a most terrefic and deadly cross fire, the air seemed literally filled with bullets, twice or three time while I was running I put my foot down on the very spot where a bullet had thrown up the dirt in front of me, I must have had a charmed life at that time for I was the hindmost man at that point and no one near me, and no doubt many muskets were leveled at me and fired, I have often made the remark that I did not see how even a butterfly could have escaped from that place without being winged. It was at this time and place just after he had left the works with his men that Captain Keiffer fell but was not killed. Comrade Tufford of Co M said as he passed him the Capt. held up his gold watch for him to take with him, but Tufford was hard pressed to stop even for a moment to take the watch, your father probably understood that he would fall into the rebels hands and that they would take everything from him, perhaps he understood the seriousness of his wound.
Your brother William was hurrying off by the side of Sergt. Cratzenburg, and he said to Sergt. C. "I am going back to see if I can help father" Cratzenburg said "Do not go you can do nothing for him," but William turned back and probably was killed near where your father fell. He sacrificed his life at that time to give assistance to his wounded father, a loyal affectionate son. William was about my own age and we had formed a close and warm friendship.
I learned that your father was cared for as a prisoner and died the next day not far form the place where he was wounded. I believe this is a very correct account of the death of Capt. and Sergt. Kieffer.
Sergt. Cratzenburg lost an arm and was taken prisoner in this fight, out of 119 men our Co. took on picket the night before we lost all but 37 in a very few minutes of time, Co. M no doubt suffered equally as severely. Sometime after I returned from the war I heard your mother received from some one in the south the pocket diary that had been your father's but never learned whether the report was true or not, I have always been anxious to learn as much of every incident connected with your fathers and your brothers death as possible for I missed them and have always mourned their sad death in the enemies hands.
When I enlisted I supposed I was going with Capt. Kieffer, as he had my enlistment papers, but was with some others assigned to Co. I. I became quite well acquainted with the Capt. and William at Rochester and later had frequent little visits and conversations with the Capt. while on the march from the Wilderness to Cold Harbor.
At the Wilderness he said to me "you will always remember this first breastwork you are helping to build," and I have not forgotten it. He also told me how to care for my feet on the long hard marches so that they would become toughened and not so badly blistered by marching, this last as we sat resting late one afternoon after a long and weary march. I have never forgotten these comrades for a single day, so it seems, since last I saw them at Cold Harbor.
Luther Keiffer's wartime diary survives in the hands of some of his descendants. From it we learn of the often boring life in the camps protecting Washington, D.C. Started in January 1862, it was probably a Christmas present from home. He served on a court martial, read news and artillery tactics, wrote letters home and to the editor of the American Stock Journal, keeping up with the latest in agricultural affairs he hoped to go back to after the war. He attended to paying his troops. Since he mentioned studying and recitation, it would seem that there were regular classes he attended.
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Nancy Dixon
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