Civil War Sgt. John Ferguon Pratt’s great-granddaughter, Viola Silverman,
right, thanks State Senator David
Carlucci for facilitating her Civil War relative’s medal for his
serivce in the Union Army.
NEW CITY – John Ferguson Pratt was a sergeant in the Union Army
under General Ulysses S. Grant during the American Civil War. He served
from 1863 to 1865 and was wounded on the battlefields of Virginia.
He then transferred to Veterans Reserve Corps in June 1864 and was honorably
discharged in July 1865.
He died in 1892 at the age of 72, 15 years before a service medal was
presented to those who fought in the Civil War.
On Wednesday, State Senator David Carlucci (D, New City) presented Pratt’s
great-granddaughter, Viola Silverman of Sparkill with the Civil War medal.
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this,” said
Silverman in accepting the medal while standing alongside her daughter-in-law
and two grandchildren. “Genealogy can be very difficult,”
she quipped while detailing the research that went in to finding her great-grandfather’s
burial place and service record. Silverman contacted Carlucci’s
office in December 2017 and has since been working with him to make sure
her ancestor, who never received military benefits for a headstone, receives
the recognition he deserves.
Pratt received $2-per-month pension for his injuries suffered in the war.
His grave in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn remains unmarked. Carlucci
is working with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Silverman to have
a headstone to mark his grave.
