JAMES E.
GOOD
127th New York Volunteers
Private, Company E
Yaphank
James E. Good
127th New York Volunteers
Private, Company E
Yaphank
James E. Good was born in England in
1820. After arriving in America, he settled in Yaphank
and worked as a farmer. He and his wife, Amelia Tillosen
Good, did not have any children.
Stirred by patriotism and the desire for
adventure, he enlisted in the Union Army at the age of
forty-two on August 21, 1862, at Huntington Center. On
September 8, 1862, he joined Company E of the 127th New
York Volunteers.
The 127th was under the command of
Colonel William Gurney, who received authority to raise a
regiment on July 10, 1862. Good was among the many Long
Islanders who answered his call to enlist. The regiment,
also known as The Monitors, was sent from Staten Island
to Washington, D.C., by cattle car. They camped outside
the city on September 10, 1862. They were assigned to the
defense of Washington.
Company E was assigned picket line duty. The pickets
stretched from the Potomac to the Leesburg Pike. October
and November were difficult times for the men to be
outside all the time, with heavy rains and early
snowfalls. Good, while on picket line duty, was involved
in several skirmishes with the Confederates. The unit
eventually moved to a new position on Upton's Hill, near
Fairfax, Virginia. This enabled them to control some of
the high ground.
On or about November 15, Good was
involved in a skirmish somewhere between Upton's Hill and
Anandale. The night was extremely dark and the men were
easily separated. During the skirmish, Good fell into a
fifteen-foot ravine and was rendered unconscious. When he
regained consciousness, he somehow made his way back to
his company. Unfortunately, this fall took a toll on him,
and he was never the same again.
When his unit moved out, Good was left
behind and was detached to the Invalid Corps. In March of
1863, Good was transferred to the Fairfax Seminary
Hospital. He was gravely ill. He complained of severe
back pain and a hip injury. He ended up with one leg
shorter than the other, probably from the fall into the
ravine. He had also contracted chronic hepatitis and
Bright's disease as a result of exposure. He was
eventually transferred to Georgetown Military Hospital,
where he was diagnosed with heart disease.
James E. Good was discharged on March 27,
1864. He returned home to Yaphank. Life was not easy.
Unable to work from the injuries and illness, James Good
ended up at the County Poor House in Yaphank. After being
treated by two local doctors without responding to
treatment, Good was admitted to the Soldiers and Sailors
home in Bath, which is in Steuben County in New York. He
eventually returned to Yaphank, where he died on January
4, 1889.