Historic Sword Returns Home toPutnam Valley After 162 Years

From left are Putnam Valley Town Councilwoman Sherry Howard, Supervisor Alison Jolicoeur, and Councilmen C. J. Brooks and Christian Russo, with Lt. George Hyatt’s sword and scabbard. Contributed photo.

Contributed Article

A special presentation at a recent Putnam Valley Town Board meeting marked the closing of a historic mystery – one left unsolved for the last 162 years.

During public comment at the end of an otherwise typical meeting, Putnam Valley resident Michael Bennett stepped forward with a large parcel, from which he drew a Civil War-era sword and scabbard. The sword had last been seen in Putnam Valley when presented by the town to a young Civil War officer departing for Virginia in March of 1864.

George Doughty Hyatt was a Putnam Valley native who enlisted as a lieutenant in Company E of the 6th New York Heavy Artillery, a regiment designated as artillery but which served more as an infantry unit toward the end of the Civil War. A commemoration took place in Putnam Valley, in which the sword was presented to Hyatt with the best wishes of his town.

The inscription on the sword reads: “Presented to Lt. George D. Hyatt by his Friends of New York, March 3, 1864.”

Hyatt was sent down south to join the regiment in the Siege of Petersburg, where he was involved in several engagements and, according to a tribute written by the men of the unit, he demonstrated “coolness and bravery” and “won for himself the confidence and respect of all who knew him.”

He soon became ill – likely from an outbreak of typhoid that was running through the camps – and was sent to the Fifth Army Corps hospital at City Point, Va., where he languished for 12 days, finally succumbing to his illness July 26, 1864. He was 27 years old.

Hyatt’s remains were returned home, quite probably on a train that brought his casket to the Peekskill Railroad Depot, the present location of today’s Lincoln Depot Museum. From there he was brought to the Old Church Yard Cemetery across from the Methodist Church on East Main Street in Shrub Oak, where he was buried in a family plot.

But whatever became of the sword?

Presumably, Hyatt took it with him to Virginia. Was it lost after he was sent to the hospital? Was it stolen? Was it returned home, but lost by the family over the generations? Where is it now?

The answer was likely to remain a mystery – if not for a curious local historian and author who was researching the 6th New York Heavy Artillery as a possible subject for a new book.

Daniel Weinfeld of Hartsdale, a board member of the newly forming Odell House / Rochambeau’s Headquarters Museum in Greenburgh and author of “The Jackson County War: Reconstruction and Resistance in Post-Civil War Florida,” makes it a habit to regularly search the internet for any new bits of information that may pop up regarding his areas of study. One day, a simple Google search of the term “6th New York Heavy Artillery” revealed a sword for sale with a reputable antiques dealer… in Petersburg.

The sword was a Presentation Grade M1850 Foot Officers Sword with a blade, manufactured by Clauberg of Solingen, Germany, featuring the image of an eagle on one face and an ornate “US” on the other. On the scabbard was the engraving to Hyatt.

Weinfeld contacted his friend and fellow Civil War Round Table coordinator Michael Bennett, who also serves as a director with the Lincoln Depot Museum in Peekskill. Bennett immediately recognized the local significance, as the 6th NYHA was largely composed of men from Westchester, Putnam, and Rockland counties. But a quick search online stopped him cold.

“This man was from Putnam Valley – where I live; where I’ve raised my family,” he said.

The Hyatt family home and farm were likely along present-day Mill Street, near the border between Putnam Valley and Shrub Oak. “He traveled the same roads I do every day,” said Bennett. “He visited many of the same places, climbed the same mountains, and saw the same landscape – although where we see forested hills today, Hyatt likely saw open farmland… very, very rocky, farmland.”

Bennett contacted a few of the museum’s board members and following additional discussion and research, including confirmation of the sword’s presentation to Hyatt, as documented in William S. Pelletreau’s “1886 History of Putnam County, New York,” the sword was purchased.

Before being sealed into a display case, however, Bennett knew there was one more thing he had to do. On April 15, he formally returned Hyatt’s sword to Putnam Valley – symbolically presenting it to Town Supervisor Alison Jolicoeur and the Town Board, who accepted it on behalf of the town that had first presented it to the young officer as he left for war more than 162 years ago.

The sword is the featured artifact in a new Civil War display at the Lincoln Depot Museum, highlighting the local men who served in units like the 6th New York Heavy Artillery – nicknamed the Anthony Wayne Guard. Visitors are encouraged to drop by and see the sword, and remember the sacrifices that were made to defend and preserve the Union.

The Lincoln Depot Museum is located at 10 South Water St., Peekskill, and is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Nov. 22. For more information, visit www.LincolnDepotMuseum.org.

On May 2 at 2 p.m., the museum will present “The Boys from Westchester and Putnam: The Big Six, the 6th New York Heavy Artillery in the Civil War,” with special guest Weinfeld. In addition to the battles, hear the story of Hyatt –including where he served, and what he left behind. Admission is $10 for the general public, or free for museum members.