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Sources


C.W. Soldiers

Belgian Civil War soldiers

 
Medals of honor Staff and special Units Regulars Navy old soldier's home DRaft
• Eastern Branch, in Togus Maine (1866)
• Northwestern Branch, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1867)
• Central Branch, in Dayton, Ohio (1867)
• Southern Branch, in Hampton, Virginia (1870)
• Western Branch, in Leavenworth, Kansas (1885)
• Pacific Branch, in Santa Monica (LA), California (1888) 		• Marion Branch, in Marion, Indiana (1888)
• Danville Branch, in Danville, Illinois (1898)
• Mountain Branch, in Johnson City, Tennessee (1901)
• Battle Mountain Sanatorium, in Hot Springs, South Dakota (1902)
• Bath Branch (formerly the New York State Soldier & Sailor Home),in Bath, New York (1929)
• Roseburg Branch, Roseburg, Oregon
 

the old soldier's homes: Bath

The New York State Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home was established in 1879 by the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), Dep’t of New York. When this veteran organization unsuccessfully petitioned State legislature for funds, the G.A.R. appealed to the citizens of New York State, reminding them of the sacrifices suffered by their veterans.
The Soldiers’ Home was located in Bath, Steuben County which won the honor with its inducement of 220 acres of a working farm, proximity to rail road and river, the services of the Davenport Institute for Orphaned Girls.
On June 13, 1877, the GAR semi-annual encampment was held in Bath to coincide with the cornerstone laying ceremony. No fewer than 20,000 people attended including twenty reporters. On April 8, 1878, the Grand Army of the Republic Soldiers’ Home of the State of New York was transferred to the state and renamed the New York State Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home. On Christmas Day, 1878, the first 25 Civil War veterans admitted to the Soldiers' Home sat down to a banquet.  Billed as the greatest event of the year 1879 in the Conhocton Valley, the formal opening of the New York State Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home took place on January 23, 1879. The G.A.R. held its 13th Dep’t Encampment also to coincide with the opening. With a peak population of 2,100 veterans in 1907, by 1911, over 14,000 veterans had been admitted to the Soldiers' Home.

Belgians soldiers in the Soldier's Home, from the censuses:

1880: Francis Van Eck: married, 54 y.o., a confectioner suffering from hernia
          Peter Gaes: married, 57 y.o., a tailor, suffering from wound
1900: none
1910: none
1920: none

 

 

 Belgians soldiers in the Soldier's Home, from the Soldiers' Home Registers:

Name

admission

discharge

cause of discharge

John Scott

1879/01/31

1879/04/14

at request

Peter Gaes

1879/10/13

1880/06/15

→ to Central

Francis Vaneck

1880/04/26

1884/05/27

→ to Southern

Henry F Meyers

1900/03/19

1900/06/25

→ to Central

Henry F Meyers (1)

1904/02/04

1909/04/10

from Central; buried Home Cemetery

Peter Albert

1921/04/21

1922/04/18

from Pacific;  → to Pacific

 in Bold date of first admission and date of last discharge.

(1) He is not a Belgian as far as I have collected information. Henry Meyers was an alias. His name as recorded in its pension index was Schumer Bennett or Shumer Benjamin. His nearest relative, from the Home registers, was Matthew Schumer, his brother, living in Detroit, Michigan. The censuses states than Matthew, and surely Henry/Benjamin, was from Prussia, Germany.  He died on May 19, 1903 in the National Home.