CARTER, ICHABOD

ICHABOD CARTER

133rd New York Infantry

Company A

Private

Yaphank

Ichabod Carter

133rd New York Infantry

Private, Company A

Yaphank

Ichabod Carter was born in 1829. He married his wife, Amanda, on August 25, 1851. The couple settled in Yaphank and lived there until 1871. They had five children: Parker, born in 1854; John, born in 1856; Alvin, born in 1858; Benjamin, born in 1861; and Frederick, born in 1874.

During the early years of the war, Carter was not needed to fight because he was married and had four children. As enlistments fell, however, the government instituted a draft. On May 11, 1863, Carter was drafted along with 201 men from Brookhaven Town into the Union Army.

Carter was mustered in on September 23, 1864, in Jamaica on Long Island. From there, he was sent to Hart's Island, New York, for training. When he was drafted, Carter was thirty-five years old, had blue eyes, auburn hair and was five feet ten inches tall.

Carter trained at Hart's Island until October 14, 1864, when he was assigned to Company A of the 133rd New York Infantry. He was sent to join the regiment in Cedar Creek, Virginia. As soon as he arrived, Carter was given orders to dig rifle pits. By this time, there were only seven months left in the war, so the 133rd was involved in only minor skirmishes with the Confederates. The regiment finished out the war by serving in the defense of Washington.

After the war, Carter returned to his family in Yaphank. He suffered from piles, and claimed on his application for a disability pension that it was a result of digging rifle pits, hard marching, and exposure. He was sent to the regimental hospital where he was treated by the regimental surgeon.

In 1871, the Carter family left Yaphank and began a long series of moves to different states. The first stop was Delevan, Minnesota, where they operated a farm for three years. Next, they went to the Dakota Territory where they homesteaded. In 1878, Mrs. Carter died and the family moved to Sioux City. In 1882, Carter married Jane Newcomb. Their marriage was short-lived, ending in separation. Carter took a third wife, Mary Craig, in 1892. Unfortunately, Mary died three years later.

Carter then moved to Elm Springs, Arkansas, in 1895 and took up farming again. He moved one last time to Dover, Delaware, where he worked as a storekeeper. He met and married his fourth wife, Mary Tasker.

On February 8, 1902, Carter died in Dover of a heart ailment.