Bath in Steuben County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Bath National Cemetery
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., July 29, 2020
1. Bath National Cemetery Marker
Inscription.
Bath National Cemetery. .
Soldiers' and Sailors' Home , In 1872, the New York legislature passed an unfunded bill to create the New York Soldiers' and Sailors' Home. The Grand Army of the Republic, a Union Army veterans group, raised money to construct the first three buildings. The State Home served its first meal on Christmas Day 1878.
The campus grew to contain more than 100 structures on almost 400 acres. In 1906, the population reached 2,187. By 1928, the death rate of aging Civil War veterans reduced the resident population to 192.
[Illustration caption reads] , The New York Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, from the Home's letterhead, 1881.
In 1929, the federal government assumed responsibility for the facility and it became the Bath Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. It was the last of eleven National Homes designated since 1865.
The National Homes were merged with the U.S. Veterans Bureau and Bureau of Pensions to form the Veterans Administration (now the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) in 1930.
National Cemetery
[Photo caption reads] , Postcard view of the 1894 monument and cemetery, 1911.
The first burial was Pvt. William C. Terrell in 1879. By 1912, an estimated 4,225 Civil War veterans lay in the cemetery, including former members of U.S. Colored Troops. Among those interred here is Pvt. Robert Knox Sneden, who chronicled the Civil War in colorful drawings and maps.
Sneden served in the Army of the Potomac as a topographical engineer. In November 1863 he was captured and spent thirteen months in Confederate prisons, including Andersonville, Georgia. After his December 1864 release, the army discharged him. Sneden returned to New York City and compiled a memoir and scrapbook of images documenting his military service. He entered the State Home in 1904, and died there in 1918 (Section J, Row 11, Grave 14).
[Illustration caption reads] , Rebel Battery in the Potomac River, 1862, by Pvt. Robert Knox Sneden.
Medal of Honor Recipients
Five Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor are buried in the cemetery. First bestowed in 1863, it is the highest award for military valor in the U.S. Armed Services. For acts above and beyond the call of duty, 1,522 individuals who served in the Civil War received the medal.
[Photo caption reads] , Civil War Army Medal of Honor.
Pvt. George M. Grueb, 158th New York Infantry, was commended for gallantry at the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm, Virginia, September 29, 1864 (Section A, Row 2, Grave 3). [Grueb's headstone lists rank as Cpl.]
Sgt. John Kiggins, 149th New York Infantry, saved men from friendly fire at Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, November 24, 1863 (Section H, Row 32, Grave 9).
Pvt. George Ladd, 22nd New York Cavalry, captured a Confederate color guard, flag, and horse at Waynesboro, Virginia, March 2, 1865 (Section C, Row 6, Grave 6).
Sgt. Charles E. Morse, 62nd New York Infantry, seized the colors from a wounded sergeant and, though soon injured, carried them during the battle of the Wilderness, Virginia, May 5, 1864 (Section J, Row 4, Grave 24).
Seaman James Roberts, U.S.S. Agawam, was among the crew of a powder boat detonated near Fort Fisher, North Carolina, December 23, 1864 (Section I, Row 26, Grave 2).
Soldiers' and Sailors' Home
In 1872, the New York legislature passed an unfunded bill to create the New York Soldiers' and Sailors' Home. The Grand Army of the Republic, a Union Army veterans group, raised money to construct the first three buildings. The State Home served its first meal on Christmas Day 1878.
The campus grew to contain more than 100 structures on almost 400 acres. In 1906, the population reached 2,187. By 1928, the death rate of aging Civil War veterans reduced the resident population to 192.
[Illustration caption reads] The New York Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, from the Home's letterhead, 1881.
In 1929, the federal government assumed responsibility for the facility and it became the Bath Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. It was the last of eleven National Homes designated since 1865.
The National Homes were merged with the U.S. Veterans Bureau and Bureau of Pensions to form the Veterans Administration (now the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) in 1930.
National Cemetery
[Photo caption reads] Postcard view of the 1894 monument and cemetery, 1911.
The first burial was Pvt. William C. Terrell in 1879. By 1912, an estimated 4,225 Civil War veterans lay in the cemetery,
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including former members of U.S. Colored Troops. Among those interred here is Pvt. Robert Knox Sneden, who chronicled the Civil War in colorful drawings and maps.
Sneden served in the Army of the Potomac as a topographical engineer. In November 1863 he was captured and spent thirteen months in Confederate prisons, including Andersonville, Georgia. After his December 1864 release, the army discharged him. Sneden returned to New York City and compiled a memoir and scrapbook of images documenting his military service. He entered the State Home in 1904, and died there in 1918 (Section J, Row 11, Grave 14).
[Illustration caption reads] Rebel Battery in the Potomac River, 1862, by Pvt. Robert Knox Sneden.
Medal of Honor Recipients
Five Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor are buried in the cemetery. First bestowed in 1863, it is the highest award for military valor in the U.S. Armed Services. For acts above and beyond the call of duty, 1,522 individuals who served in the Civil War received the medal.
[Photo caption reads] Civil War Army Medal of Honor.
Pvt. George M. Grueb, 158th New York Infantry, was commended for gallantry at the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm, Virginia, September 29, 1864 (Section A, Row 2, Grave 3). [Grueb's headstone lists rank as Cpl.]
Sgt. John Kiggins, 149th New
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., July 29, 2020
2. Bath National Cemetery Marker
York Infantry, saved men from friendly fire at Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, November 24, 1863
(Section H, Row 32, Grave 9).
Pvt. George Ladd, 22nd New York Cavalry, captured a Confederate color guard, flag, and horse at Waynesboro, Virginia, March 2, 1865 (Section C, Row 6, Grave 6).
Sgt. Charles E. Morse, 62nd New York Infantry, seized the colors from a wounded sergeant and, though soon injured, carried them during the battle of the Wilderness, Virginia, May 5, 1864 (Section J, Row 4, Grave 24).
Seaman James Roberts, U.S.S. Agawam, was among the crew of a powder boat detonated near Fort Fisher, North Carolina, December 23, 1864 (Section I, Row 26, Grave 2).
Location. 42° 20.842′ N, 77° 21.033′ W. Marker is in Bath, New York, in Steuben County. Marker is along San Juan Avenue, on the left near the Bath National Cemetery administration building. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Bath NY 14810, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker,
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., July 29, 2020
3. Cpl George M. Grueb
Grueb received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company E, 158th New York Infantry, for gallantry at Chapin’s Farm, Virginia, September 29, 1864. Grueb died in 1893 and is buried in Section A, Row 2, Site 3. From Bath National Cemetery website
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., July 29, 2020
4. Private James Roberts
Roberts received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy for actions on board the U.S.S. Agawam, December 23,1864. Roberts also served in the U.S. Army, Company K, 8th Connecticut Infantry. Private Roberts died in 1908 and is buried in Section I, Row 26, Site 2. From Bath National Cemetery website
Photographed By Mira Earls, January 5, 2023
5. Bath National Cemetery
This is a section of the cemetery displaying the Wreaths Across America display in 2023 January.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., July 29, 2020
6. Bath National Cemetery Entrance Sign
Credits. This page was last revised on October 26, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 2, 2020, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 289 times since then and 41 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 2, 2020, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. 5. submitted on January 6, 2023, by Mira Earls of Cortland, New York. 6. submitted on August 2, 2020, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Editor’s want-list for this marker. Photos of the other Medal of Honor recipient headstones. • Can you help?
