Newspaper Accounts Orsemus B. Boyd

Boonton--The town's centennial celebration this year coincidently marks an important 100th anniversary for members of a five-generation old Boonton family.

In 1867, Orsemus Bronson Boyd, Civil War hero and cavalry officer whose family settled here, graduated from the United States Military Academy.

Several of his descendants still living here are planning to visit West Point May 25 to participate in ceremonies celebrating that graduation 100 years ago. Among them is Francis Orsemus Boyd of 510 Reservoir Drive, a grandson of Orsemus B. Boyd.

Referring to the book written by his grandmother, Mrs Orsemus Boyd, "Cavalry Life in Tent and Field" and other military data, Boyd recalled that his grand- father, whose life reads like a script for a John Wayne movie, was disgraced and honored during his military career.

Orsemus Boyd, he said, enlisted in the Army at 16 to fight in the Civil War. Because of his bravery he was made lieutenant at 18, and while an officer he commanded a company in which his older brother and father were enlisted men.

In 1863 his brother was killed and Orsemus returned home to receive a congressional appointment to the Military Academy.

While at West Point the young Civil War veteran was unjustly accused of stealing money. Because of the charge, none of the other cadets would associate with him.

A military historian states that Orsemus Boyd "was forced to live under a cloud for 10 long years" and was "ostracized by every officer in the Army."

He was finally exonerated when a classmate (John Joseph Casey) confessed to the thievery on his deathbed.

Orsemus Boyd spent 15 of the last 18 years of his life in the cavalry on frontier duty in the Southwest. Twice promoted , Capt Boyd died in 1885 in Grafton, New Mexico while on a hunt for the Apache Indian Chief, Geronimo.

After her husband's death, Mrs. Boyd left the southwest with the couple's three children and traveled throughout Europe for a few years. On their return, the Boyd family settled here on an expansive estate named Alancourt.

Mrs. Boyd's book, which deals with the experiences of her life in the Southwest, was published in 1894.

* * *
Alancourt encompassed all the land now bounded by Old Boonton Road, Monroe Street and the New Jersey City Reservoir.

The vast estate was periodically subdivided and small parcels were sold for building plots. Little remains to remind one of Alancourt. The coachmen's house is now a one-family residence at 416 Boyd Street and the carriage barn, converted into living quarters, is located on property owned by Francis Boyd's brothers, Henry S. and James L. Boyd on 135 Boyd Street.

(Below) Francis Orsemus Boyd, Boonton grandson of Civil War hero Orsemus Bronson Boyd, holds a book about his antecedent which was written by Orsemus's wife entitled "Cavalry Life in Tent and Field."

Francis Orsemus Boyd holding the book "Camp Life in Field and Stream"

Ancestors of Orsemus B. Boyd

Capt. Boyd's "Coventry"

Unjustly Accused Officer Discredited Detractors
by Art Hopper
Rockland County Journal-News Staff Writer, 1967

Of the 63 cadets who were graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1867, none lived a more colorful life than Orsemus Bronson Boyd, unjustly accused of theft by his fellow cadets and almost completely ignored by them for two years.

He died a captain in the field at Grafton, New Mexico in 1887 at the age of 41,
after being completely cleared.

None of the relatives of graduates of the Class of 1867 returning to West Point
tomorrow will be prouder than Francis Orsemus Boyd of Boonton, New Jersey,
a grandson of Captain Boyd. The grandson will serve as adjutant of the 67 day
centennial of the descendants of the class of '67, when more than 150 converge on West Point from 26 states.

HIS GRANDFATHER was an example of the integrity stressed at the academy because he chose to remain there and face daily persecution rather than admit to personal dishonor.

Enlisting for the Civil War at the age of 16, Capt. Boyd so distinguished himself in action that at the age of 18 he was in command of a company in which his father and older brother served as enlisted men. He was later appointed to the academy.

At West Point the cadets proposed to put the recruit through the "course of
sprouts" common to freshmen at the academy. The young commissioned officer, resenting the insults connected with the proceedings, rebelled. He became unpopular with the cadets, and his troubles began.

He was unjustly accused of stealing money and drummed out of the grounds
by his fellow cadets. During the proceedings he was forced to parade with a
placard bearing the words "Coward, Liar, Thief" across his chest.

Boyd was found guilty in a cadet kangaroo court and almost completely
ostracized during his remaining two years at the academy. He was not even
permitted to stand with the group for a class picture but was made to stand
alone to one side.

Later it was learned that a cadet named John Joseph Casey, who headed
the investigating committee and "discovered" the planted evidence, was the one who had stolen the money.

SHORTLY AFTER graduation Orsemus Boyd married Frances Anne Mullen of
New York, who later related her experiences as a cavalry officer's wife in a
book, "Cavalry Life in Tent and Field."

Mrs. Boyd attributed her husband's determination to serve in the cavalry rather
than the artillery, and to go west, to his desire to escape as far as possible
from the scene of his unfortunate experiences.

Now, 100 years later, descendants of Capt. Boyd will return to West Point to
celebrate the centennial of his class, proud of the cadet of '67 who put honor
above personal comfort and welfare.

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