Letters to Home – Robert Verplanck in the Civil War
This article originally appeared on the Poughkeepsie Public Library District website.
Here in the Local History room we have some original letters from a soldier who saw action during the Civil War. Not only did he witness men fighting and dying but he also witnessed the breaking down of racial barriers for the benefit of the war effort. Robert Newlin Verplanck was born at Mount Gulian on November 18th 1842. Of course all of you local history nerds will know that Mount Gulian is a fabulous historic site located in Fishkill and well worth a visit (when the Covid 19 crisis is over that is). Verplanck was fortunate enough to be the son of William Verplanck and Anne Newlin Verplanck and was therefore a descendent of Gulian Verplanck, one of the Rombout Patent owners (in other words, they had some money). Read more...