Augustus George Hance Graham was born to English parents Sir Bellingham Graham  the 7th Baranhoet Norton Conyers of Yorkshire, England and Emma Cottam, daughter of Rev. Robert Cottam & Fanny Maynard;on September 26th, 1841 at Honfleurs Calvados, France on the coast of the English Channel in France. He came from good parentage, his father Agustus H. Graham was born Halifax, York, England was a Vice Admiral of the Royal Navy and his great grandfather, Sir Reginald Graham was knighted by Charles I, King of England, for valiant service.

 

Graham was said to have recalled events of the French Revolution of 1848 and saw the streets of Paris run red with blood. Afterwards he was then taken to England to live with an Uncle, George Cattam, but grew restless at age 18 and enlisted in the British Army where he was stationed in Ireland in 1843. When his regiment was transferred from Kingston, Ireland to Canada, when he was just 20, Graham deserted the British Army with a friend on November 1, 1863 and crossing Lake Ontario, entered the United States. Forty-eight hours later, according to  the Report of the Adjutant-General for New York, he is listed as having enlisted at age age 21 as George Graham  at Albany, NY as a Private in the Union Army at Albany, New York,; mustering into Company E of the 41st New York Volunteer Infantry on November 5, 1863. He did so, it is said, not under his name, but under the name of Andrew B. Combs. Combs who lived in the 10 Ward of Albany, New York had been sequestered for service and didn’t want to go to war, so Graham agreed, for a price, to go in his place as a substitute; for which he was paid $300 (US).  On the Regimental Return for 1863, however, he was listed as one George Graham, age 19, occupation, clerk. So the story relating to Andrew B. Combs may be in error. He may have taken Combs place, but according to the Report of the Adjutant-General for New York, he did so under his own name.

 

The 41st New York Infantry Regiment was organized at Yorkville, New York and was mustered in on June 6, 1861. It left New York for Washington, D. C. on July 8th, attached to the 2nd Brigade, Runyon's Reserve Division, McDowell's Army of Northeast Virginia.

It saw duty in the Defences of Washington, D. C., till April, 1862, then participated in operations in the Shenandoah Valley from May through August. On June 8th it participated in the Battle of Cross Keys and was at Sperryville and Centreville until August 1862. It then joined Pope's Campaign in Northern Virginia from August 16th through September 2nd  and participated in the Battle of Groveton on August 29th, the Battle of Bull Run on August 30th, the  Battle of Chansellorsville from May 1st through the 5th, the Gettysburg Campaign from June 11th through August 1st, the Battle of Gettysburg from July 1st through the 3rd and the Siege operations against Forts Wagner and Gregg, Morris Island, and against Fort Sumter and Charleston, South Carolina from August 8th through September 7th. In August 1864 the 44th returned to Washington, D. C. and remained there till September 27th, when it returned to the Shenandoah Valley on September 27th and participated in the Battle of Cedar Creek on October 19th. The 41st then was moved back to Washington, D. C. and later to Bermuda Hundred, Virginia; where, according to the  Report of the Adjutant-General for New York, Graham was dishonourably Discharged on February 13, 1865. His unit went on to participate in the  Siege operations against Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia from December 1864 through April 1865 and was there for the fall of Petersburg on April 2nd. Its last duty was with the Dept. of Virginia until December 1865. 

At this point there develops a serious controversy. The Company’s Muster-Out Roll states that on December 9, 1865 at City Point, Virginia that the “Substitute remained in the service on muster out of the 41st Regiment, N.Y. Vols., June 10, 1864, promoted Corporal October 23, 1864; Regimental Order No. 73, reduced to ranks February 13, 1865; dishonourable discharge”.

But, other records reveal that a General Court Martial was convened on January 8, 1865 at the Headquarters of the Defence of Bermuda Hundred Army of the James, Department of Virginia and North Carolina and Corporal George Graham was charged and found guilty of “cowardice and leaving his post without permission”. Graham was sentenced to three years hard labor, but the sentence was said to have been rescinded and he was released at the “Hard Labor Prison” in Norfolk, Virginia and ordered returned to his Company on August 15th; and “honorably” discharged in September. So at this point, one is not sure which documented entry is correct. As stated earlier, even records of the Adjutant General’s Report of New York states he received a “dishonorable” discharge and it is known he was never able to acquire a military pension; although he did try on several occasions.

 

After the war, the “Lancaster”, a twenty-five gun screw sloop that had been decommissioned in 1867 and re-commissioned on August 26, 1869; and had sailed for the South Atlantic by way of  Funchal, Madeira to operate with the Pacific Squadron. She arrived at Rio de Janeiro on January 6, 1870 and served as flagship of the squadron. She took part in fleet drills in the North Atlantic and was in the force concentrated at Key West, Florida to prevent a break out of war with Spain after they had the seized an American filibustering steamer, “Virginius”, and executed a part of her crew. After diplomatic efforts resolved the controversy peacefully, the “Lancaster” had  returned to the South Atlantic and apparently at one of her stops at Montevido, Uruguay, Graham discovered her and decided to sign aboard; as she was destined to return to the states.  

 

On May 3, 1871, Graham again enlisted in military service, with the United States Navy for a period of two years at Montevido, Uruguay. How he got to Uruguay or what he was doing there is unknown; it’s assumed he was a seaman aboard another ship at the time. In any event, he went aboard the USS “Lancaster” as a Landsman. Upon reaching Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in September however, Graham, for reasons of his own, deserted again.

 

He made his way back to England to see friends and his mother; Emma Cordry who had married a second husband in 1844, Henry Louis Cordry in Boulogne, France. He learned though that his family had departed for Australia. Following after them, Graham arrived in Sydney, Australia in late 1871. He discovered his mother had actually been in Australia since 1861 as had his two half-brothers; Henry born in 1848 and Ernest born in 1850.

 

Graham never married, but resided with his mother Emma Cordry at  14 Gerard Street, Alexandria, New South Wales. He tried, unsuccessfully for a numbers of years to obtain a pension from the United States, giving his address as “The Australian Mission” in Newtown, Sydney. Augustus Graham died on November 29, 1919 and was buried in the Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney, New South Wales; grave No. 1655, Section H in the Independent Section; still trying to acquire his rightly deserved pension. After many years his descendant, Maureen Goddard, working with Mr. Roy Parker, arranged to acquire a headstone from the American Veterans Administration in Washington D.C. and placed it on his gravesite.