Sylvester P. Mason was born on about 1815 in Danube, Herkimer, New York. His father's name was George Mason.On June 23, 1834, at the age of 19, Sylvester enlisted in the U.S. Army in Albany New York.
Sylvester is noted as having blue eyes, light hair, a fair complexion and a height of 5'6". His occupation is listed as a Clothier. A clothier is a person that makes, sells or deals in clothes or cloth.
He is enlisted in the 5th infantry Company D under Captain Morris. After 3 years, his enlistments on June 23, 1837, at Fort Winnebago in Portage Wisconsin.
Sylvester reenlisted on May 20, 1840, under Lt. Sibly at Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin with 5th infantry E.
At the time of reenlistment, his occupation is listed as a soldier. He is noted as having blue eyes, light hair, a fair complexion and a height of 5'11 3/4".
Only two years after he reenlisted he was reported as a deserter on October 25, 1842. Five days after being reported as a deserter, on October 30, 1842, he married Nancy Osmer in Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan.
Sylvester was apprehended on September 12, 1844, at Fort Gratiot in St. Clair County, Michigan and received a court martial on November 5, 1844, for deserting.
At this point, it sounded like his military career was over, although, he did take a break from his military career to start a family. From 1848 to 1859, Sylvester and Nancy had four children, 3 sons (Robert, Silas, and Perry) and 1 daughter (Amelia).
On August 15, 1862, Sylvester reenlisted in Company C of the Michigan 25th Infantry regiment.
The 25th regiment was a volunteer regiment that fought in the Civil war. Sylvester was mustered in on September 11, 1862, and mustered out on February 24, 1863, at Bowling Green, KY with a rank of Corporal 2nd class.
Sylvester returns to Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan. He and his wife Nancy have two more children, Mary May, and Martin Mark Mason. Martin Mark Mason is my maternal second great grandfather.
Lesson Learned: We all have great men in our past! I see Sylvester as a great man, a hero who fought for our county. Just like us, those great men are also human. Yes, Sylvester was labeled a deserted, but I would like to think that he deserted because he met the women he was going to marry. With this post, I honor my 3rd great grandfather, Sylvester P. Mason.
Amazing work.
Thank you for your research; as well as for telling his story in a way that show him as more that just statistics on a page. His son Silas is my paternal second great grandfather.