There are Civil War monuments across this country dedicated to those who fought and defeated the forces of rebellion and slavery. Here in Syracuse, there is one such equestrian statue dedicated to General Gustavus Sniper who, over the course of two stints of service, rose through the ranks to be commander of the 185th New York Volunteers. The statue is located north of downtown at Schlosser Park on North Salina Street just before the intersection with North State Street, across from Rocky’s News and Cigars.
Born in Baden (present day Germany) in 1836, his family moved to Syracuse when Sniper was a child. In 1854 he joined a local militia and began his military training. When war broke out, Sniper initially wanted to form his own company, but was beaten to the punch by other enthusiastic volunteers, so he joined the 101st NY Volunteers and was given the rank of captain. The regiment joined the Army of the Potomac and Sniper saw action throughout the year 1862, though not much success. The 101st was there as Lee’s army drove the federal forces back from Richmond and also during the devastating defeat at Fredricksburg. At the end of the year, the regiment was merged with another unit and Sniper, along with the other officers, was mustered out. He went home, got married, and started a family.
Sniper could not just sit on the sidelines, though, and as the war dragged on through 1863 and 1864 there was still a high demand for manpower in the Union army. A new regiment, the 185th NY Volunteers, was formed and Sniper was commissioned as a Lieutenant Colonel and made second in command. The unit left Syracuse in September 1864 and joined the Army of the Potomac during the siege of Petersburg. The commander of the regiment was soon promoted to a brigade command and Sniper was promoted to Colonel and took his place, remaining as commander for the last few months of the war.
On March 29, 1865 the 185th saw some of its heaviest action fighting under the (confusingly) 185th brigade commanded by General Joshua Chamberlain (yes, the famous one). Grant wanted to press on Lee’s right flank, but the federal forces were being pushed back. Chamberlain turned to Sniper to mount a counter offensive and during the fighting the color-bearer (the guy who holds the flag) was wounded, the next soldier to take the flag was killed, the next was shot in the hand, and the next was wounded in the foot. Finally the flag was taken by Sniper, shouting to his soldiers “Men of the 185th, Forward!” Leading from the front, Sniper and his men were able to overrun the Confederate position. Soon after Lee had to abandon Richmond and Petersburg, with the 185th participating in the mop up operations that ultimately led to the surrender at Appomatox on April 9th.
After the war, Sniper was popular with Syracuse’s German-American community and served in the state legislature and some other local offices. He died in 1894.
So the Confederate sympathizers and Southern heritage aficionados can obfuscate and dissemble all they want defending monuments to traitors and losers. I take unapologetic pride every time I pass by Syracuse’s monument to an actual patriot who, not once, but twice volunteered to fight against the forces of rebellion and slavery.
Anyone else have a local monument dedicated to the winners you want to share with the rest of us?