George Washington Tillotson

Age 31 years. Enlisted November 5, 1861 at Greene to serve three years; mustered in as Corporal, Co. H, November 11, 1861.

A week after the battle he wrote

"...when the real tug of war comes it is easy to pick out the cowards. The morning of the 17th when the rebels were shelling us out several of the boys run out of the ranks so far that they didn’t find the regiment again for several days. Three of our company ran away and some of other companies. George Sherwood has not got back to his company yet. For my part I kinder liked to hear the shells come wham bang and then hear the pieces scatter around us, for all I knew that if any of them hit a fellow they would hurt. Where a shell bursts directly over head there is not much danger of it but if it bursts twenty rods ahead of you then look out for the pieces. Some of our regiment were taken prisoners in the battle of the 17th and paroled by the rebels. Two of our company that were missing we have found out since were slightly wounded were taken and paroled leaving only one of our company not accounted for. but he is probably taken prisoner. His name is James Mayhew the two paroled is Frank Bacon and Mills Davis from Greene and brother to Hank and Moses that deserted. Our killed were Stephen M Scoville from Greene, and Corporal Linus Morse. We had one Sergent one Corporal and 9 privates wounded Chandler T Preston was wounded or scared but worse scared than wounded for something touched his hip not enough to break the skin and I really thought he was kilt ..."

He was promoted Sergeant, no date, and discharged December 18, 1864, at Chaffin’s Farm, VA.

Basic information from State of New York1. Further details from family genealogists. His letter of 24 September (transcript, pdf) to his wife Anne Elizabeth June is in the Gilder Lehrman Collection.

2/10/1830; Smithville, Broome County, NY

4/04/1918; Greene, NY; burial in Sylvan Lawn, Greene, Chenango County, NY