He joined Company G of the 147th New York Infantry as a substitute for a drafted man who did not wish to serve. Stratton was fortunate to miss the fighting that the 147th experienced at Gettysburg the month before he enlisted, but he endured his fair share of combat in the vicious Overland Campaign during the spring and summer of 1864. The 147th New York was part of Maj.
Warrens V Corps of the Army of the Potomac. The V Corps saw some of the most severe fighting at the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Courthouse, and Cold Harbor as the Union maneuvered toward Richmond.
The V Corps and the 147th also participated in the early fighting at Petersburg when Grant decided to make the Cockade City the focus of his attention. During the June 18, 1864 attacks on the Petersburg defenses, Strattons arms were both shattered by a Confederate solid shot cannon ball. The horrific injury required the immediate mid-humerus amputation of his arms. Sent to recover in an Alexandria, Virginia hospital, Stratton received a promotion to sergeant and obtained an official disability discharge on October 3, 1864. At least ten different images of Stratton show the damage the war inflicted upon his body.
Eight of those photographs are among those in the collections of Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier. After the war Stratton relocated to Brooklyn New York, where he married Julia Elizabeth Johnson in 1865. Alfred and Julia had three children (two survived to adulthood) and he served at the Washington Street Episcopal Church. He later became rector of the Epiphany Episcopal Church in Washington DC. Stratton died in 1874 at age 29 and rests in peace at Washingtons Mount Olivet Cemetery.
The item "Civil War-original cdv Private Alfred A. G 147th New York Mint" is in sale since Tuesday, September 15, 2020. This item is in the category "Collectibles\Photographic Images\Vintage & Antique (Pre-1940)\CDVs".The seller is "bailcomish52" and is located in Plainville, Connecticut. This item can be shipped to United States.