The original and new headstones for James Stillwell,
son of George who fell mortally wounded at Fair Oaks
George Stillwell (1811 - 1901) is a native of the town of New Utrecht, Kings County, his birthplace being within the limits of the present village of Fort Hamilton, although at the time of his birth, February 9, 1811, Fort Hamilton was a thing of the future. He was the son of Thomas Stillwell, a direct descendant of Nicholas Stillwell, who was an immigrant from Hull, England, in 1638. His mother was Catherine Bennet, a descendant of William Bennet, who came to America about 1627, and, in partnership with John Bentyn, purchased from the Indians about 930 acres of land in Gowanus, part of which is now included in Greenwood Cemetery. Colonel Stillwell became a resident of Brooklyn in 1828, and after serving an apprenticeship in a New York iron foundry, he began business for himself in Brooklyn and for many years was an active business man in the iron railing, grate, and fender trade. During his apprenticeship he joined the 27th Regiment, N. Y. S. M., now the famous 7th Regiment, N. G., S. N. Y., in which he served through his term of enlistment. In 1832 he was on duty during the Arthur Tappan abolition riot, and he also served with his regiment during the Forrest-Macready riot at the Astor Place Theatre. He is now the oldest surviving member of the regiment and is known as its "patriarch." He is a life member of the War Veterans' Association and a member of the 7th Regiment Veteran League. At the beginning of the war he raised a company of one hundred young men who joined the 1st L I. Regiment, the 67th N. Y. Volunteers, and were mustered into service on June 20, 1861, as Company B of that regiment. He was in the Peninsula campaign and at South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburgh, and at the battles of Seven Pines and Fair Oaks, where his regiment lost one-third of its numbers, among them a son of Colonel Stillwell, a brave boy, who had left school to enlist in opposition to his father's wishes. As the senior officer of his regiment, Captain Stillwell was in command for a great part of the time, and was successively made major, lieutenant-colonel, and brevet colonel. He is one of the oldest members of the Grand Army in Brooklyn, having been first a member of Rankin Post, No. 10, of which he was junior and senior vice-commander ; then he became a charter member of Mallory Post, No. 84, of which he is a past commander and the present chaplain. He was one of the organizers of the Society of Old Brooklynites, of which he is now a trustee and a member of the executive committee. He is president of the Society of the Survivors of the 1st Long Island Regiment, 67th N. Y. Volunteers, and takes a keen interest in the welfare of the survivors of the civil war.
(Source: The Eagle and Brooklyn: Volume 2, Henry Ward Beecher Howard Arthur N. Jervis - January 1, 1893, Brooklyn Daily Eagle Publisher)
George Stillwell is buried at Green-wood Cemetery (Section 155, Lot 26490)
