I wasn’t planning on uncovering a piece of Civil War history that day.

I had taken one of my dogs to the vet just for a routine visit. While I waited, I remembered hearing there was a really old cemetery nearby. I had a little time to kill, so I figured I’d check it out. Don’t worry my dog did not leave the car and I was right next to the car while it was blasting the AC before anyone comes after me! Back to the story…. I expected a few moss-covered stones, maybe a Revolutionary War-era grave or two. What I didn’t expect was to stumble across the resting place of a Union Army sergeant.

“Adolph Olivia, Sergeant, Co. G, 95th Reg’t N.Y.V., Died March 1888.”

The stone stood tall and sharp one of those beautiful zinc “White Bronze” markers. I assume this was a replacement headstone, but I snapped a photo and went home wondering: Who was this man? What was his story? How can I give this man the honor he deserves?

Turns out, it was a story worth telling.

From Paris to the Potomac

Adolph Olivia was born Adolphe Antoine Olivie in 1842 in Paris, France. Like many immigrants in the 19th century, he crossed the Atlantic in search of something better and settled in New York. In November 1861, with the Civil War raging, Olivia enlisted in Company G of the 95th New York Volunteer Infantry also known as the Warren Rifles.

And he didn’t enlist as a private. He mustered in directly as a Sergeant which was rare for new recruits. Whether due to prior experience or pure leadership potential, Olivia was given immediate responsibility.

Baptism by Fire

The 95th New York trained through the winter of 1861–1862 and headed to Washington, D.C., by spring. They were first assigned to the defenses of the capital but quickly joined the fighting in Virginia.

Their first major engagement came at the Second Battle of Bull Run in August 1862, where the 95th suffered heavy losses. 113 casualties in that campaign alone.

The regiment regrouped in time for South Mountain and the bloodbath at Antietam in September 1862. It continued fighting at Fredericksburg in December, although it was held in reserve and avoided the worst of that Union disaster.

By the end of the year, Olivia had seen serious combat and likely, serious trauma. It’s unclear whether he was wounded, sick, or both, but on January 13, 1863, he was discharged for disability while in Baltimore. His war was over. He had served just under 14 months.

The Regiment Marches On

Though Olivia returned home, the 95th kept fighting. They went on to fight at:

Chancellorsville (1863) Gettysburg, where they suffered 115 casualties. The Wilderness, where they lost 174 men. Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg as well.

They were present for the final campaign and were at Appomattox Court House when Lee surrendered in April 1865.

By war’s end, over 250 men of the 95th had died in battle or from disease. While Olivia wasn’t there for those later battles, he was one of the regiment’s original noncommissioned officers; part of the backbone that held it together in its formative days.

A New Life in New York

After the war, Adolph Olivia returned to civilian life. He married Emma Nichols, and they eventually had several children: Lillie, Jennie, Viola, and a son named William Adolph Olivia, born in 1880.

In the 1870s, Olivia worked and lived in Manhattan before moving to Hauppauge, Long Island, in the 1880s. He remained active in veteran affairs in 1880, and he even signed a petition to Congress demanding fair bounty payments for Union soldiers.

He was, by all accounts, a quiet but proud veteran who built a modest life after a brutal war.

A Tragic End in a Historic Storm

In March 1888, a massive snowstorm slammed into the Northeast. It became known as The Great Blizzard of 1888, and it paralyzed New York with wind, snow, and freezing temperatures.

Adolph Olivia was caught in it.

According to local accounts, he became disoriented in the blizzard, fell over a fence he couldn’t see, and was impaled on the pickets. He died of his injuries soon after; a brutal and unexpected end for a man who had survived war.

He was around 46 years old.

Legacy in Stone

Olivia was buried in Hauppauge in a cemetery tucked just off the road; the one I visited by chance after taking my dog to the vet. His grave is marked with a zinc White Bronze headstone, etched with his name, unit, and the year he died.

He didn’t die in battle. He didn’t become a general. But he served, he came home, and he lived a full life after the war. And in that quiet cemetery, with no fanfare, he’s still remembered thanks to a well-preserved grave and a story that now gets to be told again. From one NCO to another, thank you for your service, Sergeant.

Sources

New York State Military Museum: 95th New York Infantry History

New York Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts Adolphe A. Olivie Find A Grave: Sgt. Adolphe Antoine Olivie

46th Congress U.S. Senate Documents, 1880 – Equalization of Bounties

Historical summaries of the Great Blizzard of 1888 95th NY Roster (Company G), compiled records