James R. Tanner

James R. Tanner (April 4, 1844 – October 2, 1927) was an American soldier and civil servant. He is best known for having lost both his legs below the knee at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Serving during the rest of the war as a government stenographer, he was present at the death of Abraham Lincoln and took notes that are the most comprehensive record of the events of the President's assassination. He later served as the United States Commissioner of Pensions, and helped reorganize and incorporate the American Red Cross.

Early life and military career Tanner was born on a farm near Richmondville, New York, on April 4, 1844. He worked on the farm most of the year and was educated in the local public schools, graduating from high school at the age of 16. He took courses at a business school for a year, (The title "Corporal" stuck with him for the rest of his life as a nickname.)

With the Union army in retreat, Tanner was left behind to be cared for by a local farmer's family. He was captured by Confederate forces. Paroled after 10 days, he spent several weeks recovering in Fairfax Seminary Hospital before being sent home to New York. He learned to walk with artificial limbs. For his service and injuries, he received a Civil War Pension.

Civil wartime service Tanner won a position as deputy doorkeeper for the New York State Assembly, and loosen rules so that veterans could more easily qualify for pensions led to an investigation by Secretary of the Interior John Willock Noble, Tanner's superior. President Harrison then requested his resignation. He resigned on September 12, 1889. Many attempts had been made in the previous decade to create an old soldiers' home in the state, but none of these efforts bore any fruit. Tanner was determined to see one built by the state. He enlisted the help of the Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, a noted abolitionist and firebrand preacher, and held an organizing meeting in Brooklyn which raised $13,000 ($). Tanner then criss-crossed the state numerous times, making speeches and holding rallies. Tanner's efforts were so successful that in 1879 the New York State Legislature appropriated money for a 600-bed Soldiers' Home in Bath, New York.

Tanner was also a member of the Union Veteran Legion, and was elected national commander of that association as well.

Legacy In May 2014, cemetery officials formally redesignated the Old Amphitheater as the James Tanner Amphitheater. Tanner is buried in Section 2, Grave 877, near the amphitheater.