Lemuel Wales was born around 1820, possibly in New York. He served in the Mexican American War under General Winfield Scott. He helped organize Companies A and B of the 1^st New York Mounted Rifles, and he received a commission as a captain in the regiment on July 24, 1861. He resigned a month later, on August 31, 1861, with the intention of “applying for duty at the Headquarters of the regiment.” As he explained, “I cannot nor had I any intention of faltering at this critical time in my feeble defense of the Union and Constitution.” He died sometime after 1861.

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