29 July 1898
Funeral of Hamilton Fish Jr. of the Rough Riders
The New York Times: July 29,1898  12:1-2

HAMILTON FISH'S FUNERAL 
BURIED WITH MILITARY HONORS AFTER IMPRESSIVE SERVICES AT ST. MARK'S CHURCH               
       With the military honors appropriate to his rank, Sergt. Hamilton,
FISH, Jr., of Troop L of the Rough Riders, who was one of the first American
soldiers to fall in the advance against Santiago, was buried in the Fish
family plot at Garrison's-on-the-Hudson yesterday afternoon.  Funeral
services were held at St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal Church, in this city,
just before noon.  These services, although of a simple character, were made
impressive by the participation of many of the dead soldier's military and
college friends and by the uncommon demonstration of public interest which
the services evoked.               
      A crowd of several hundreds of people assembled in the vicinity of the
quaint little church in St. Mark's Place, near Second Avenue, early in the
forenoon, although the time set for the services to begin  was 11:30
o'clock. This crowd swelled rapidly, and when the uniformed members of
Squadron A who had been detailed to act as escort and pall bearers reached
the church they found an eager but orderly multitude sufficiently large to
fill the church ten times over.  A strong detail of policemen, under
Inspector CROSS and Capt. DELANEY, established a cordon aroundthe church,
thereby preventing any obstruction of the approaches.               
      Owing to the limited capacity of the building, it was necessary to
restrain the general public until after the funeral party and invited guests
were seated.  Only a few hundred other persons were admitted, and the
remaining thousands contented themselves withpeering through the iron fence
of the venerable churchyard, or watching from across the street the platoon
of Squadron A men who, with the exception of the pall bearers, remained
outside the church throughout the services.
      A delegation of nearly seventy-five members of the Delta Psi, the
college fraternity to which Hamilton FISH belonged, marched into the church
about 11:15 o'clock and took seats reserved for them on the right of the
main aisle.  The front pews on the left of the main aisle were reserved for
members of the family, and pews in the centre of the church were assigned to
the wounded members of the Rough Ridersand the Seventy-first Regiment, New
York Volunteers.                 
      There were about a dozen of these wounded boys in blue in attendance,
including Sergt. Joseph KLINE of Troop L, Rough Riders, who was shot in the
knee, Edward CULVER of the same troop, who was shot through the body, and
Corp. G.H. SEAVER of the same troop, who was shot through the right leg. 
The latter proudly remarked that he hadcharge of the ration squad to which
Hamilton Fish belonged.Other Rough Riders present were Basil RICKETTS of
Troop K, who limped into church with a wounded hip, and Mason MITCHELL, also
of Troop K.  There were also the following wounded members of the gallant
Seventy-first: George FEATHERSTONE of Company F, Fred C. KUEHNLE of Company
D, Richard A. BEAVAN of Company C, and E. J. ALBERSOF Company E.  Nearly all
of these soldiers were in a disabled condition, and they received much
sympathetic attention from the feminine portion of the crowd in the streets.
When the members of the family reached the church it was11:30 o'clock, and
the sweet-toned organ was softly murmuring 'Asa's Death,' by Grieg.  The
coffin containing the bodyof the dead soldier had been placed in the
vestibule of the church on Thursday evening.  A large American flag
completely covered it.  As the mourners entered the vestibule the eight
members of Squadron A, detailed as pallbearers, raised the casket to their
shoulders and passed into the church.  Three clergymen were at the portal to
escort the funeral party to the chancel.  Thesewere the Rev. Walter E.
BENTLEY, curate of St. Mark's; the Rev. William Montague GEER, vicar of St.
Paul's; and the Rev. William H. VIBERT, vicar of Trinity Chapel.  The names
of the bearers were 
Private William ADAMS, 
Private Arthur CORLIES, 
Private Stacy RICHMOND,
Private Philip J. STILLMAN, 
Private O. Z. WHITEHEAD, 
Private W. Albert PEASE, Jr., 
Private Joseph CARSON,
Private Alexander L. WARD.                 
      Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas FISH, the parents of Sergt. FISH, followed the
casket, and with them were ex-Speaker Hamilton FISH with Mrs. Lloyd BRYCE
[,] Gen. Lloyd BRICE with Mrs. Hamilton FISH, the Misses BRYCE, ex-Mayor
Edward COOPER, and other close friends of the family.                 
      Organist Edward MULLIGAN played the funeral march from 'Siegfried' as
the procession moved up the aisle.  Other music during the service was the
funeral march from Beethoven's 'Eroica' symphony,'Lamentation,' by
[Guilmant?], and the communion by Batiste.  The vocal parts were sung by the
choir,comprising Mrs. CORNELL, soprano; Miss Clara A. JEWEL, alto; A.
WARNER, tenor;and John C. DEMPSEY, basso.               
      While the choir sang 'Rock of Ages' the members of the Delta Psi
performed their peculiar ceremony of laying evergreen upon the coffin of
their dead comrade.  A fraternity procession was formed up the main aisle
and down one of the side aisles, and as each man passed the flag-covered
casket he dropped a spring of evergreen upon it, the whole forming a thin
layer the entire length of the lid.                
The Floral Tributes                
      There was a profuse and beautiful display of floral tributes in the
chancel.  Completely covering the pulpit were five wreaths ‹ one large one
of pond lilies, another of lilies of the valley and purple im[m?] ortelles,
and two of white and pink roses.  Along the top of the pulpit was a border
of pink roses.  On the font was a rich wreath of white roses with myrtle,
tied with red, white, and blue ribbons, and at the base of the font were
clusters of white roses.  The lectern was adorned with three wreaths of
roses and autumn leaves, and along the chancel rail were several handsome
wreaths and clusters of white, red, and pink roses.  Directly in the centre
was one large wreath of white lilies.  Near by was a wreath of white roses,
tied with white ribbons, on which small American flags were imprinted.  The
names of the donors of these numerous mementos were made known only to
members of the family.  The flowers were distributed among the hospitals in
this vicinity.  The duties of usher were performed by the following personal
friends and former school associates of Hamilton FISH, Jr.-- 
Dr. D. W.WYNKOOP, 
Hamilton Fish BENJAMIN, 
Julian BENJAMIN, 
Leon M. LAWSON, 
H. Evelyn PIERREPONT, 
C. R. SWORDS, 
R. M. MILES, 
Arthur O CHOATE, 
Alfred COOLEY, 
L. C. NESBIT, 
Richmond TALBOT, 
R. L. MORRIS, 
Beverly ROBINSON, 
J. H. PRENTICE, 
W. S. GURNEE,third, and William ROGERS.  
Among the occupants in the pews in the
body of the church were 
Bishop and Mrs. Henry C. POTTER, 
Schuyler HAMILTON,
Gen. Wager SWAYNE, 
Thomas C. PLATT, 
E. N. TAILER, 
Perry TIFFANY, 
George L.RIVES and wife, 
John C. COWDIN, 
William HARRIMAN, 
E. H. HARRIMAN, Jr., 
John J. McCOOK, 
Cyrus Field JUDSON, 
the Rev. Granville G. MERRILL, rector of St.Mary's Church, at Tuxedo; 
Rhinelander STEWART, 
Daniel WORDEN, 
Police Magistrate CORNELL, 
Major John J. McCLINTOCK, 
Mr. and Mrs. Van Horn STUYVESANT, 
Fulton CUTTING, 
Mr. and Mrs.William R. STEWART, 
Mrs. Robert BACON, and James Brown POTTER.  
There were several soldiers present other than the wounded heroes 
from the Cuban battlefields.  All soldiers were
promptly admitted to the church and furnished with seats.               
      After the services in the church the body was borne out to the hearse
by the military pall bearers, the escort platoon from Squadron A standing in
the street meanwhile at present arms.  The escort consisted of fourteen
privates, in command of Sergt. JONES.  This is the regulation detail for the
funeral of a Sergeant of the cavalry such as Hamilton FISH, Jr., was.  The
members of the escort platoon besides Sergt. JONES were 
Lamont DOMINICK, 
E.Victor LOEW, Jr., 
Walter A. PEASE, 
E. A. BRINCKEROFF, Jr., 
Edward OLMSTEAD,
J. H. BROOKFIELD, and 
Privates HOPKINS, 
THAIN, 
WATSON, 
SMITH, 
KEMEYS, 
CARY,
FOX, and BATES.  
Escorted by this military detail on foot, the hearse and
mourners' carriages proceeded through Tenth Street to Fifth Avenue, thence
to Forty-third Street, and through that street to the Grand Central
Station.  Two special cars had been placed at the disposal of Mr. Nicholas
FISH, and these took the body and the funeral party to Garrisons, leaving
Grand Central Station at 2:0[6?]  P.M.               
The Ceremony At the Grave                
      The internment was in the FISH family plot, in which several
generations of the Fish family are buried.  The brief religious ceremony at
the grave was conducted by the Rev. Dr. W. Thompson,rector of St Philips
Church of Garrisons. After he had pronounced the benediction [, ?] the
military escort fired the regulation salute of three volleys over the grave
[, ?] Trumpeter BATES sounded 'taps', the signal for 'lights out,' and the
funeral of Sergt. Hamilton FISH, Jr., was over.

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