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Mexican War, Gold Rush, San Francisco Vigilante, Civil War


kanemono
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Alonzo Coy was born in New Hampshire in 1815. With his brother, he owned the H.C. & A. Coy Trucking Establishment, 32 South Market Street, Boston, Massachusetts, which they sold in February 1843. Coy was elected captain of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts in 1844. Also known as the Washington Light Guard, it is the oldest chartered military company in North America. He served in the War with Mexico with the 1st Massachusetts Regiment. The regiment remained in rear-area garrison duty through most of the war, finally arriving in Mexico City after the fighting had ended. Coy then traveled west to take part in the California Gold Rush. He was a charter member of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance, formed in 1851. The committee was formed in response to rampant crime and corruption in the municipal government of San Francisco, California. The Vigilance Committee was one of the most successful organizations in the vigilante tradition of the American old west. A secret number was given to each of the members of the committee as a countersign which was used to gain admission to the meetings. Coy was number 382. He was elected Captain of the San Francisco Eureka Light Horse Guard in 1853. The Eureka Light Horse Guard was organized on June 26, 1852, in San Francisco. At the first election, Alonzo Coy was elected captain. Their first public appearance was at the celebration of Independence Day 1852. Although a newly organized unit, the corps made a striking appearance dressed in their new uniforms and mounted on splendid horses. Coy returned to Suffolk, Massachusetts, and established a catering business with his wife Emeline. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Coy was appointed first lieutenant and quartermaster in the 11th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment. Coy’s wife of twenty-seven years, Emeline, died on April 14, 1862.

 

First Lieutenant Alonzo Coy shot himself through the brain at these headquarters on September 20, 1862. A few days since his business led him to Washington, DC, where, while riding upon one of the street cars he had stolen from his pocket, promissory notes to the amount of nearly $1,000. Since which time, he had appeared unusually depressed. Yesterday he was quite ill, and his illness, together with his loss, doubtless overruled his customary firmness, and to some degree unsettled his mind. About noon, Major Tripp of the Eleventh Massachusetts passed the door of his tent and entered a house standing near, the deceased saluting and speaking in a cheerful tone as he passed. Immediately afterward Major Tripp heard the report of a pistol, the major rushed into the tent and found his friend lying with the blood flowing from both temples. The pistol, a heavy revolver, lay upon the floor, having fallen from his grasp. He was, probably, one of the most efficient quartermasters in the army, and his death has cast a gloom upon the spirits of all who knew him.New York Times, September 26, 1862.

Alonzo Coy was included in an exhibit “The Emotional Toll of War”at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick. Maryland.

 

Ambrotype of Alanzo and Emeline Coy, a pair of Lieutenant’s Smith Patent Shoulder Straps, a Suffolk Odd Fellows watch fob and chain named to Alonzo Coy consisting of a 1851 Cent inlaid with a silver circle which is engraved with the open eye symbol of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1851 and Coy’s Committee number 382. Attached to the fob is a chain drive watch engraved “ Presented to Alonzo Coy by the Washington Light Guard for Best Shot May 22, 1842”. Model 1840 Ames saber which is marked Cabotville and the Mexican War date of 1848 with its scabbard and leather wrist knot.

 

Suffolk Odd Fellows watch fob with a silver circle engraved with the eye symbol of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance and 382

 

Alonzo and Emeline Coy

 

Coy’s presentation watch and chain

Watch fob with 1851 penny

 

 

 

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Very sad story of someone who was a rarity back then...he had lived on both coasts of the United States! I can rather sympathize with his plight at the end...his wife had passed on and he had just lost about $25k (in 2016 dollars). Not to mention the stress of the war, which had to be considerable. A shame! :(

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This is like the avalanche of PTSD we're seeing in the returning vets from Iraq and Afghanistan- it's hard to tell just what apparent "straw" will be the one that breaks the "camel's back!" There is certainly an accumulative effect to the circumstances, and the price of warfare is harder and harder to assess! We all have inherited a great gift in America, but also at great sacrifice! Still this is amazing group that tells an amazing story!!

 

David

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milcollector

Very sad story.

 

I have always had an interest in pocket watch and am

curious who the maker is ?

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