Following the first battle of Bull Run, Colonel Charles B. Stuart was given authority to recruit a regiment in Elmira. Initially an infantry regiment, it became the 50th New York Engineers on October 22, 1861. Though the regiment built roads, battery positions and forts, it is best remembered for bridge building. The 50th was attached to the Army of the Potomac and saw action at Yorktown, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Rappahannock Station and were at Appomattox Court House to witness the surrender of General Lee and his army.