Portrait of a soldier 303The only other men the regiment lost in
the Carolinas campaign were 19 foragers
whom Confederate cavalry and guerrillas
captured.
Several days after the army reached
Goldsboro, North Carolina, Edgerton
announced to his mother, 'I am so sick of
soldering that my patriotism is below par.'
Fortunately, the war did not last much
longer. In April, Sherman's army advanced,
and just as quickly it halted for negotiations.
By the end of the month, the Confederates
had surrendered, and the 107th New York
began its march for Washington, DC. On
24 May, it proudly participated in the Grand
Review along Pennsylvania Avenue, with the
President, Grant, Shennan, and others in
attendance. Three and a half weeks later,
Wilbur Edgerton had purchased a new suit of
civilian clothes and began work in a store.
He received an honorable discharge on
18 June 1865.
In the years after the war, Edgerton tried his
hand at a variety of occupations. He graduated
from medical school and practiced in Kansas
and Missouri. Eventually, he gave that up for
jobs as a merchant and a banker in Wheeling,
Missouri. The father of three children, he
became a prominent member of the
community, even serving as mayor of the
town. Fittingly, he died on Armistice Day (now
called Veteran's Day), 11 November 1931.