A Civil War soldier's grave and his headstone were under a Long Island church. But for years, no one knew exactly where. Now it's time to honor his dedication to congregation and country

Removal of  floor exposed headstone for John Codman Pollitz (Trinity Episcopal)

A Long Island church on June 2 will rededicate the grave of a young Union soldier whose headstone rested beneath the floor of the church for more than a century only to be uncovered last year during a renovation project.

Parishioners at Trinity Episcopal Church in Roslyn, New York, knew that Pvt. John Codman Pollitz’s final resting place was incorporated within the current building during construction in 1906.

But most of them had no idea where; there was no recorded location.

That changed last summer, when the congregation fixed a longtime problem: The floor of the nave had been deteriorating and sinking. During the floor-replacement project, rotting wooden joists were removed and Pollitz’s headstone was exposed; it was lying flat in a crawlspace area.

“My assumption was that the headstone was too high standing up for the crawlspace. I believe they simply laid it down on that same spot” during the 1906 construction, said longtime church property manager Mike Callahan.

Bell was used during soldier's funeral (Courtesy of Trinity Episcopal Church)

The stone indicates Pollitz died at age 19 on Jan. 7, 1863, in New Bern, N.C. The immigrant was serving with the 44^th Massachusetts Infantry, a militia unit, and died following a brief illness. Before he enlisted, the young man served as Trinity’s first Sunday school superintendent.

An expert used a radar device that pinpointed an area that likely held a coffin. The church decided to leave the soldier’s grave alone. “Why disturb it? There is no need to,” said church member Karl Hansen.

The headstone was removed; church leaders are trying to determine where to place it in the nave.

(Courtesy of Trinity Episcopal Church)

According to a June 1914 article in the The New York Times, a dying Pollitz asked comrades to ensure his body was sent to Roslyn, where it was to lie in the shadow of the belfry. “With his army pay he had bought a bell as a gift to the parish, and its arrival and his death were so close together that it was tolled for the first time at his funeral,” the article said.

For decades, the instrument has rested on a stand inside the church, an affixed plaque indicating the soldier’s grave lies beneath the church.

The congregation will dedicate Pollitz’s final resting place following Sunday services. The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War will conduct a ceremony. A new plaque marks the spot on the floor under which Pollitz rests.

“He was a member of the church over 100 years ago,” Hansen told the Picket. “He was a founding member. He was a soldier, a veteran. … He served his country.”

Young soldier died during wave of illness

The Pollitz family immigrated from Northern Island in the 1840s. Otto, the patriarch, built two houses and raised his family, according to a local history. The boy taught Sunday school for the Episcopal congregation in Roslyn starting in 1859, a decade before Trinity parish was founded, according to a recent article by the Episcopal News Service.

The congregation worshipped in a chapel, a “dream come true” for Pollitz, according to a 2007 church newsletter.

It’s believed that the young Pollitz was living in Boston and barely 18 when he joined up with the 44^th Massachusetts, ostensibly in summer or fall of 1862. The regiment, which took part in skirmishes and sieges across eastern North Carolina before it was mustered out in June 1863, was in Newberne (New Bern), for several months before its transfer to Plymouth, N.C.

A history of the 44^th Massachusetts detailed disease and illness that stalked the troops during campaigning and at their quarters: Dysentery, malaria, dysentery and meningitis, among others. It recounts the loss of several soldiers, including Pollitz, who served in Company F and died on Jan. 7, 1863.

Construction last summer (Trinity Episcopal Church)

“Having been previously well, he came in from guard in the morning, was sent to the hospital, and died the same afternoon. This sudden fatality naturally produced much consternation in the regiment. Quinine rations were issued as a prophylactic measure, and Surgeon Ware was untiring in his efforts to determine the cause of the epidemic.”

The surgeon said barracks were built near a fetid swamp. Losses to a “fever” accounted for 12 deaths over two months. The New York Times said Pollitz died of “camp fever.” Church members believe it may have been dysentery.

His remains were sent north to Long Island. “Shortly after his burial, February 1, 1863, the bell was taken down and another put in its place. John Pollitz’s bell was inverted, filled with dirt and flowers, and stood by his grave for many years,” the church newsletter states.

The Pollitz grave rests under this new floor marker (Trinity Episcopal Church)

During its brief time in service, Pollitz’ bell was “sweet in tone,” The Times article said. But it was lowered when it gave out a note that indicated it was damaged.

In 1914, the bell was moved and restored after church officials discovered the grave under that floor while investigating a break in the foundation walls, according to The Times. The congregation for 100 years following had only a general sense of the grave’s location.

There was a surprise concerning the bell: “It was struck with a sledge hammer and gave out a sweet, pure, true tone. The conclusion what that is must have been the missing clapper that had been cracked.”

(Courtesy of Trinity Episcopal Church)

Remembering a parish hero

Today, Trinity Episcopal church sees 40 to 50 parishioners and visitors on Sundays, well below the hundreds that attended a half century ago. But members keep true to their calling and remember the generations that worshipped there before.

“It is considered Gatsby country,” Callahan told the Picket, making a reference to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.” Part of the novel refers to "West Egg" and "East Egg" with one setting in Great Neck, not far from Roslyn.

The area is hilly and wooded, with mansions perched next to Hempstead and Manhasset bays.

The Rev. Clark with the Pollitz marker

The Rev. Margaret Peckham Clark took a new assignment recently and supply priests are serving the congregation for the time being.

Neither Hansen nor Callahan are aware of any Pollitz descendants living in the area.

Clark termed Pollitz a child of the parish, according to Callahan.

The grave has “never been recognized or honored in the modern day. We are taking this opportunity to honor his service.”

Update: Read about the June 2 ceremony: 

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2019/06/in-silent-camping-ground-of-dead-sons.html