GOOD, JAMES
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.