The following email with information about Colonel Barnum and Corporal Edward Fay was received from Lee Miller, boazz@bluefrog.net, on Tuesday 13 July 2004.
(Apparently OMDHS stands for Onondaga Masonic Districts Historical Society.)

Greetings,
 
Thank you for posting the 149th Inf website. As a resident of Onondaga County and an Archivist, I find your site an interesting addition to some of the history of our county.
 
Below please find two extracts for Col Barnum and Edward Fay from our archives:
 

Edward C. Fay, Onondaga, is a grandson of William Fay of Great Barrington, MA, who was a soldier in the War of the Revolution, in which he served seven years. For his services he received a military tract in the town of Onondaga, where he settled in 1796, bringing with him his sons, Aaron and Augustus. The latter resided in this town 74 years and died there. He had five sons, one of whom, Orris P., was born and lived here until his death, aged 73, in 1891.

Edward C., our subject, was born in 1843, and enlisted in Co. E, 149 th NY Vols, in 1863. He was wounded at Chancellorville, and still carries a bullet in his left shoulder. He was honorably discharged 4 Feb 1864. His wife was Lottie C. Hazzard, and they have two children: F. Sinclair Fay, MD, of Syracuse, and George E. Fay, a trained nurse of Bellvue Hospital, New York.

[Family Sketches, pg. 302, "Onondaga’s Centennial," edited by Dwight E. Bruce, Vol. II, The Boston History Company, Publishers, 1896]

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Syracuse Lodge No. 102 and Central City Lodge No. 305

Barnum, Henry A.: Born 24 Sep 1833, Jamesville, NY; died 29 Jan 1892, New York, NY, age 58. He was a Member of Syracuse Lodge No. 102, but apparently affiliated with Central City Lodge No. 305. He was also a Companion (# 103 in their Register) of Syracuse Chapter No. 70, RAM, having been proposed 11 Mar 1859, MM 26 Apr, PM, 27 Apr, MEM 27 Apr and Exalted a RAM 29 Apr 1859.

He received a good education and was a teacher, lawyer, member of the bar and a local militia man. He joined the army and was elected Captain of the 12th New York Infantry. Barnum’s company fought at First Manassas (21 Jul 1861), and he was promoted to Major in Nov 1861. At Malvern Hill (1 Jul 1862), he was severely wounded and presumed dead. A body, believed to have been his, was buried and a funeral was held for him at his home. He had been shot through his body by a rifle bullet. His wound was continually annoying, and, interestingly, he placed a steel rod through his body for a photograph for his pension claim (photo copy on file in the Archives of the OMDHS). His hip bone in on display at the National Health & Medicine Museum).

He was later captured and imprisoned at Libby Prison and eventually exchanged. At Gettysburg he was Colonel of the 149th New York Infantry, which he had established. He fought with Brig. Gen. George Greene’s Brigade on Culp’s Hill. After Gettysburg he fought at Lookout Mountain, where he was again wounded. He took part in the Atlanta Campaign and was brevetted Major General. Following Atlanta, he commanded a brigade in the famous "March to the Sea." He was the first officer to enter Savannah in Dec 1864. Barnum was appointed full Brig. General on 31 May 1865. He also won "The Medal of Honor" for his action on Lookout Mountain. He became, successively, the New York Inspector of Prisons, New York Harbormaster and Deputy Tax Commissioner.

[ref: Munn, Sheldon A., Freemasons at Gettysburg , Thomas Publications, Gettysburg, PA, 1993.]

See also Onondaga Historical Assn. Files for photo, from a 1962 bulletin, showing him returning the colors of the 149th Regiment of the New York State Volunteers to Syracuse. Reproduced in the Herald American (Metro, pgs. B1 & B2) article of Sunday, 14 Jun 1998.

Regards.

Lee

Archivist, OMDHS, Liverpool, New York