USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Woodbury > History of ancient Woodbury, Connecticut : from the first Indian dead in 1659 to 1872, Vol. II > Part 42
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73
At the close of the address, Mr. A. N. Lewis made a response for the ladies, and introduced Mr. Trowbridge as the chairman of the evening.
In this response, which was a poetic one, occurred the follow- ing beautiful passage :-
"I envy you, soldiers, your welcome to-night ; Fair cheeks have grown fairer, eyes dimmed have grown bright At your coming-all welcome you here, And would, if'twere proper, most heartily eheer, In the midst of my speech ; not at what I'm reciting, But for you-your bold deeds, your marching and fighting, Of which we, your admirers, are proud and delight in! Yes, soldiers! brave veterans of 'Company I,' I dare to assert, what none can deny, Of all the battalions that rushed to the fray, There were none that knew better to fight and obey, There were none that loved better the battle's dread noise, Than ' the 2d' -- especially Woodbury boys."
" 'Tis well, on a festive occasion like this, To think of the loved ones whose faces we miss. Black bonnets and dresses are worn here to-night For those who went in, but came not from the fight ! Tall pine trees are rustling, magnolias wave, Over many a hero and soldier-boy's grave ! From the ' Father of Waters' to Potomac's strand, Ay, down to the banks of the far Rio Grande, The soil of the South is dotted with graves Of nanieless, yet noble and canonized braves ! "
" Prayer was then offered by the Rev. Mr. Purves.
" The Chairman then introduced William Cothren, who, by ap- pointment of the ladies, gave the welcoming address :
1287
.
HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
ADDRESS-BY MR. COTHREN.
" SOLDIERS OF ANCIENT WOODBURY :- It has become my pleas- ing dnty, at the request of the ladies who now receive you, and speaking their sentiments as well as my own, to give you a hearty welcome home. This beautifully decorated room, these tables, groaning under the weight of refreshments, the happy faces of worth and beauty you see all around you, all testify with mute eloquence the deep fervor of this, your joyous welcome. We welcome you as patriots, who for love of country went forth to endure all the privations of the camp, in the tented field, and to meet the shock of battle, to save your imperiled country. Some of you went forth from the humbler pursnits, some from higher walks, all with great hearts throbbing with the desire to save and protect the vital interests of liberty and humanity. You went forth as only lovers of their country can do, to battle for the right, perchance to die.
" We well remember that fair May morning in 1861, in the very opening of the great rebellion, when the first company of our Woodbury patriots, in the red uniform, went forth, with earnest zeal, amid the hurrahs of the men and the waving of handker- chiefs by our honored ladies, bound to the front, to pass to battle, promising as they went, with solemn vow, to go to the defense of our nation's capital through the streets of Baltimore, where, just then, the northern martyrs in the cause of liberty, had freely of- fered their lives in the defense of their country. I see here now a remnant of that patriotic band who went to the war from my grounds, and from whom I, a childless man, parted as from my own children. The members of Company E, of the glorious old 5th, will never be by us forgotten. Boys, with earnest emotion, we greet you. With full hearts we welcome you home. Nor can we ever forget, while reason holds its throne, that beautiful morn of the Christian Sabbath, when there were anxious hearts, and a hurrying to and fro. When the peaceful stillness usually devoted to prayers and praise to God, was broken by the notes of war, the shrill ery of the fife, and the fierce rattle of the drum; when religious services were suspended in all our churches, and every citizen was ready to aid the warrior, marching to the relief of the thrice beleagured capital of his country. Oh, there were sad and hurried partings from wives and children, from kindred and
1288
HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
friends, when Company I, 19th Conn Vols., departed for the war, that beautiful summer's day. While terrors thickened, the heavenly Father seemed to smile on the saddened earth. Well do I remember the sad foreboding with which one of that patri- otic band, one ever to be remembered, parted from his wife and children. Solemnly he said, the tears streaming from his eyes, I shall not survive this war; never again reside in Woodbury ; but it is my duty to go, and I will die fighting for my country. Sadly prophetic words. He died from wounds received at the battle of Winchester. Do his comrades need that I speak the name of Sergeant Walter J. Orton ?
" Another noble spirit I must also mention, as I hurry over the record of our heroes. Young, with all the better aspirations we know in life, of high intellectual, social and moral qualities, libe- rally educated, and beloved in the home circle, he felt it his daty, leaving all his advantages, to go forth and do his share for the sal- vation of his country. He met his fate, and ascended to his God from Cedar Mountain, dying instantly on the field of battle. I speak the name of Lieut. Henry M. Dutton.
" And there was another nople spirit, reared and educated by the honored man and soldiers' friend during all this dreadful war, who this evening, by the appointment of the ladies, so fitly pre- sides over these ceremonies. He served as a private in the three months campaign, and again in the glorious 11th Conn. Vols, rising by merited promotion for deeds of valor on the battle-field to the post of Adjutant, and A. A. A. G. of his regiment and brigade, and gave up his young life in the great cause, dying from wounds received at the battle of Cold Ilarbor. A pure and pat- riotie soul passed thus to heaven.
" All were worthies. Time would fail me to speak of their merits individually. I must hurry, that you may enjoy other pleas- ures in store for you. Others besides those I have mentioned in the companies went by squads, and singly joining all the various regiments of our State; but they all went for the same great pur- pose, and did well their duty in the broad field of conflict to which they were called.
"Soldiers of Woodbury ! Survivors of forty-three pitched bat- tles, survivors of 262 enlisted men, who left your homes in our midst to vindicate the honor of our country, and preserve onr free institutions, we greet with grateful hearts your glad return. Saviours of your country, forever hail !
1289
HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
" No time is left me to name in detail the glorious battles in which you have triumphed. Your country and the friends of lib- erty have not forgotten them. You could not well forget the snc- eessful battles in which the illustrious 'Old fighting Sixth ' parti- eipated. You will never forget those bloody carnivals of death and ghastly wounds at Cold Harbor, where you lost eighteen of your number; at Winchester, where you lost twenty-six out of seventy-eight ; at Fisher Hill, where you lost twenty-nine out of about fifty men, in killed and wounded, who went into battle. You cannot well forget how you stood like a wall of fire around threatened Washington for many weary months. You will never forget your marches under the illustrious Grant, your forced marches in the Shenandoah Valley, under the glorious Phil. Sher- idan, nor how you snuffed out Jeff. Davis' last attempt to erect his throne in the capital city of the Union. You never will for- get the most splendid march in all history performed by you, of over 100 miles in twenty two maching hours, ending in Lee's sur- render, the elose of the war, the establishment of peace. Such is but part of the history of your company in the famous 2d Conn. Artillery.
" And you, our old and first beloved of Company E, in the war-worn 5th, who rushed early to the war, you will never forget, nor shall we, your many bloody and victorious battle-fields, nor that splendid, unparalleled march under the intrepid, perse- vering, victorious Sherman, from Washington to Nashville, from Nashville through all the Atlantic States, to the sea, helping in Lee's surrender and forcing that of Johnston. A soldier who has fought under Sherman may count himself truly blessed. In the fame of Sherman and his troops, our ancient town has a right to take, as she does, a modest and becoming pride. His ancestor in the Sherman line was born in this very street, in a house now standing just above the hall in which we are assembled.
" Soldiers all! you will never forget the fifty dead heroes of your number, nor the forty-seven other comrades, who this day bear honorable scars received in the service of your country. You will never forget the forty-three decisive battles, whose names are inseribed on the dear old flag hanging yonder, for which you and your dead comrades have so bravely fought. Give three times three, for yourselves, for posterity, for history.
" Brave men ! ye have wrought well, gladly we greet you here. But you are not all here in bodily presence. We sadly miss the
1290
HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
familiar faces of the heroic dead. Those dear forms, dear to us, and dear to their families beloved, have ' fallen out,' one by one, on the hurried march, on the southern hills and plains, in loath- some prisons, in the deadly camp, by the more merciful missile of death in all your glorious campaigns. If, as orderly sergeant, I should call the names of this proud roll of honor, (here exhibiting the names of the deceased soldiers,) not one would respond in voices audible to human ears. Roll of honor! Let their names be spoken with heads uncovered by all the living present. These fifty martyrs have stood between us and desolation and horrors indescribable. These names are indellibly engraved on the tablets of our hearts. Did I say this glorious list, was not here ? I re- call the words. It is a pleasure to me to believe that in the dis- embodied form they are present, and look down kindly on these our efforts to do fitting honors to their manly deeds, and those of the servivors present, and that if permitted by an All wise Crea- tor, they would whisper to us, in spirit voices, their approbation of our reverence and veneration. It is a beautiful thought, that those war-worn spirits are guardian angels still to us in time of peace, as before they were our bulwarks in battle. Happy is the lot of the children of the soldier here to-day. Long shall they and the succeeding generations point with pride to the heroic deeds of their fathers, and trace, with becoming affection their lineage to the heroes of this hour.
" There is another class here to-night whom we greet kindly, tenderly, affectionately. It is the widows and orphans of those who have fallen in this great contest for human liberty. We would cherish you all in your future lot in life. We would cher- ish you for the good acts of those you held most dear, and whom, amid tears, you gave to your country.
" And now, soldiers, returned to us thus happily, thus honora- bly, we will only add the devout aspiration, that in resuming the avocations of civil life, you may be blessed in all your lawful un- dertakings, and may still continue to show the same high and en- nobling qualities in the arts of peace as you did in the arts of war; and may still be, as in the proud past, heroes in the defence of liberty and law."
" At the conclusion of Mr. Cothren's address, the soldiers and their guests partook of the banquet of good things prepared by the fair hands of the ladies, which were worthy of the joyful occa- sion."
1291
HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
Patriotic and appropriate speeches were then made by Capt. Eli Sperry, first Captain of Company I, and by James Huntington, Esq. Other gentlemen were invited to speak, but courteously waived the privilege, that the boys, so long without the sight of pleasant faces, or the sound of gentle voices, might have the more time to look at the one and to listen to the other, and revel in at- tractions very opposite to " hard tack."
" The exercises were kept up till a few short hours 'ayant the twal,' when all separated to their homes, well pleased with the evening's entertainment."
Thus have we recounted, at some length, the brave and self- sacrificing conduct of our brave men in the field. But there were indispensable dnties to be performed, and sacrifices to be borne by those who remained at home, in order to provide for and sus- tain the vast armies of the union. The absolute cost of this war will never be known, or correctly estimated. It is only by ob- serving the contributions of each little town and hamlet, where they are known, that we can draw an inference of the grand total.
Woodbury was not behind any other town, in proportion to its number of inhabitants, of which the writer has heard. The ladies of the town, more if possible than the men, seemed to be imbued with the patriotic desire of foreseeing and providing for the wants of our brave volunteers. From the first hour of the forma- tion of the " Woodbury Reds," till the close of the war, their labors were assiduous and unremitting. It has been already stated, that under their anspices, in good part; the preparation of that company to take the field cost at least $1,000. Ever after, during the continnance of the war, they were making up boxes of good articles and sending to our soldiers in the field every de- sirable thing of which they could think, and often packages of great value. They raised money by fairs, sociables, and private contributions. They added everywhere the labor of their own hands. They became connected with every association formed for the benefit of the soldier, and rendered efficient aid to all. In the autumn of 1862, they became connected with the New Haven Soldiers' Aid Society, formed under the anspices of Alfred Walk- er, who greatly distinguished himself by his zealous efforts for the welfare of the soldiers. That society furnished the materials for garments necessary for the comfort of soldiers, and our ladies
29
1292
HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
" made them up," and returned them to the Society, to be for- warded to their several destinations. During that fall, they sent this society, $246.20, in cash, besides all the garments they manu- factured. As a specimen of their benefactions, while doing this, in the month of December, 1862, they sent to Woodbury soldiers sixty-four pairs of mittens, cash valne estimated at $32.00, which were distributed as follows :- forty-one pairs to the 19th Conn., eight pairs to the 5th, and fifteen pairs to the 8th and 11th. Jan. 6, 1863, they sent $20 worth sf supplies to the 5th Conn .- $30 worth to the 8th and 11th-$25 worth to the 19th, and $40 in cash-besides 820 worth, in addition, to the New Haven Society. They also sent money and supplies to the United States Sanitary Commission, and numerous private boxes to individual soldiers. As a specimen of what they were doing during the year 1863, it may be mentioned, that they manufactured for the New Haven Society 12 surgical shirts, 126 pairs of drawers, 12 sheets, 63 shirts, 65 skeins of yarn and 12 flannel shirts. To the Sanitary Commission they sent 78 cushions, 10 fans, 23 ring-pads 113 hand- kerchiefs, 1 feather pillow, 20 linen towels, 1,374 yards of ban- dages, 23 rolls of bandages, 16 lbs. dried currants, 30 gals. black- berry cordial, 22 needle-books, 3 bottles of wine, 2 hospital quilts, a large quantity of sage, hops, dried peaches, jam, jars of fruit, 14 lbs. mixed rags, bundles of old clothes, 1 linen coat, together with $163.84 in money. And so they went on, those noble-heart- ed women, during the whole war.
" On Thanksgiving day, 1864, with final victory close at hand, the United States Sanitary Commission sent to the soldiers in the field a dinner, consisting, among other things, of six hundred tons of turkeys, in number about 200,000. Connecticut furnished her full share of these. For one day, at least, in camp and field and hospital, the quiet bird which plain Ben. Franklin wished to see inscribed upon our armorial field, stood forth supreme, and effectnally superseded the proud " bird of freedom." 1
It is estimated that the ladies were enabled to send, in money and articles of use to the soldieus, in the value at least of $5,000.
The town, as a corporation, paid to volunteers, substitutes, and for recruiting expenses, $47,231.39. In addition to this, military subjects of the town paid for their own substitutes $10,300.00 In a thousand other ways than has been recounted in this history,
1 Crofut & Morris, p. 472.
1293
HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
the people were called on to pay expenses that became necessary on account of the war. So that, there is not the slightest doubt, the people of Woodbury paid not less than $100,000, as their quota towards the suppression of the rebellion, or about one twelfth of its grand list at the commencement of the War. In this estimate, no account is taken of the increased taxation neces- sary to pay our part of the State and national taxes for the support of the military expenses of the nation. It is by such re- views as this that we begin to appreciate the money cost of the abolition of slavery, and the overthrow of the slaveholders' re- bellion.
During the existence of the war, the following persons furnish- ed, or helped to furnish substitutes for themselves :-
Lewis H. Atwood,
Henry C. Judson,
Wheeler Atwood,
Hermon W. Judson,
Roderick Atwood
James H. Linsley,
George M. Allen,
George B. Lewis,
Henry M. Allen,
John H. Minor,
George P. Allen,
Nathaniel D. Minor,
Willard P. Abernethy,
Truman S. Minor,
Stanley E. Beardsley,
Charles D. Minor,
Henry C. Buckingham,
Edward F. Nichols,
Charles N. Booth, was draft- ed and paid commutation of $300.
Omar E. Norton, Newell Osborn,
Jesse B. Burton,
Albert C. Peck,
Nathan B. Burton,
Samuel F. Peck,
James G Curtiss,
George E. Pierce,
Walter S. Curtiss,
Benjamin S. Russell,
Sheldon B. Castle,
Samuel B. Scott,
Samuel D. Castle,
William Smith,
Oliver Cowles,
Herman W. Shove,
David Cowes
Henry P. Summers, Homer S. Tomlinson,
William Cothren,
John J. Fowler,
Ambrose H. Wells,
Edgar Galpin,
Truman E. Wheeler,
John Galpin,
Frederick Ward .- 49.
William S. Isbell,
Since the close of the war, an organization of the soldiers who
John S. Nichols,
Horace D. Curtiss,
Robert Peck,
1294
HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
served in the union armies has been formed, called the "Grand Army of the Republic." This is not a political organization, but simply an association for mutual aid, and for keeping alive the re- membrances and patriotic feelings which led them to battle for their country. Under the auspices of these associations, for the most part, but in Woodbury, under the auspices of the ladies, a beautiful custom has been introduced, of decorating the graves of their deceased comrades on the 30th of May, annually. The cer- emonies usual on these occasions are, a procession, and the deek- ing of the graves profusely with the bright spring flowers, after which, speeches, poems, and patriotic songs follow.
This enstom was first observed in Woodbury in 1869, and has since been continued. In 1870, under the direction of Deacon P. M. Trowbridge, who, during all the war was preeminently the soldiers' friend, the ceremony was made very beautiful. After the procession and decoration of the graves, prayer was offered by Rev. Gurdon W. Noyes, pastor of the 1st Congregational church. An original hymn, written by Mrs. Emily G. Smith, was then sung. Then followed short addresses by Rev. John Purves, of St. Paul's Church, Colonel N. Smith, the writer, and others. To give an idea of the nature of the addresses on these occasions, the remarks of the author on " Decoration Day," 1870, are re- corded here :-
The vernal season of the year has come, with its flowers and its perfumes. Beauty gleams forth from every side. The carol of birds at early dawn and dewy eve, fill the melodious air. The old earth itself is tremulous with joy. The manly heart, the tender bosom throbs with great emotions. Human nature, for the hour, is ennobled, and kindly sympathies encircle all with a vast compre- hensiveness. We are in this beautiful valley, with its lovely out- look-heaven's chosen place for the dispensation of munificent gifts ! We are standing in this silent, peaceful city of the dead ! It is the votive hour. It is the day of sacred memories! With uncovered heads,
Come we with our offerings, All our dear and holy things,
to decorate the lowly graves of the tried, the true and the brave. It is a sad but pleasing duty. Beautiful and graceful is the act, when blooming, youthful forms, strew these graves with flowers,
1295
HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
cheered on by the approval of an entire community. How appro- priate to revive in each revolving year, with the fragrance of flow- ers, and the fragrance of a perennial honor, a fond remembrance of those we loved in life, who wronght well, and have ascended into glory. In doing this, we prove the saying true :-
" On the cold face of death the roses are blending, And beauty immortal awakes from the tomb."
We come with our floral offerings, and tributes of praise, to honor the heroic men who gave their lives for us ; who stood like a wall of fire between us and our foes; who saved the nation's life. We come to honor the men who went out from our pleasant hills and sweet valleys, leaving fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, wives and children, the endearments and comforts of home, -all that men hold dear in life, to battle for the right, to execute the will of God, to wipe out a glaring iniquity from the face of the earth. No venial men were they. All that loving friends and kind government could do for them, was a mere trifle, compared with the great sacrifices they willingly made. No malice, no thirst for blood, no love of carnage entered their manly bosoms. They went forth with high resolve, influenced alone by a stern and hon- est sense of duty. They endured toils and privations and suffer- ings which no tongue can tell, and no pen can adequately describe. " On the perilous edge of battle," the muskets of their foes puffing sulphurous death and deadly missles into their faces ; amid the storm of shot and shell; in the desperate charge, steel clashing with steel, while, each second, comrade dropped silently, or moan- ingly down in the death agony ; in the exhausting march, in the hasty bivouac, resting on their arms in the dense woods, or upon the open plain ; in the loathsome hospital ; in the horrid prison pen ; these gallant men breathed out their lives in a noble cause, and obtained a martyr's crown.
We miss these gallant men from our social gatherings, and from our firesides. We hear no more their pleasant greetings in the bustle of active life. It is a sad and yet a glorious roll-call we make here to day. Barnum, the gentle of soul, yet bold as a lion ; Dut- ton, the chivalrous, dashing and patriotic, yielding up his life in the deadly charge, and heat of battle at Cedar Mountain ; Orton, the faithful and trne, victim of Winchester's bloody field ; Whit- lock, the genial and the brave; the soldierly Hurd, Flushmen and Galpin ; the patient and modest Briggs and Wheeler, who receiv-
1296
HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
ed their death wounds at Cold Harbor; time fails me to charac- terize all-these are but types of the whole patriot band, who served their country during these four dark, lurid years of civil war, and gave their lives for ther country. With palpitating hearts we call the roll of our honored dead to-day. We place their names on our ROLL OF HONOR, and treasure them in our heart of hearts. We miss these more than fifty stalwart forms, but we garland their memories. We magnify their fame. Well have they earned the guerdon we so gladly accord to them, while they find other and more glorious employment on the heavenly plains. We will teach our children and children's children their honored names, and hand them down to the latest posterity.
" He never dies,
Who, when the battle's won, lays down His armor, and takes furlough of his God." Memories bright shall guard their fame, Spread it from shore to shore, The cypress droop above their graves, Softly whispering evermore.
In 1866, the people of the town began to agitate the question of erecting a suitable monument to the memory of the brave men who had died in the war of the rebellion. A public meeting was called by the Standing Committee of the two political parties, and an association formed to lead in the enterprise, which took the name of the " Woodbury Soldiers' Monument Association." The following officers were appointed,-who devoted themselves zealously to the work, often to the great detriment of their pri- vate business, till their labor became a success :
President,-Lewis Judd.
Vice Presidents,-Rev. John Purves, Rev. George Little, Rev. John Churchill, Rev. Mr. Pullman, and Rev. Wm. T. Bacon.
Executive Committee,-Thomas Bull, R. J. Allen, James Hun- tington, David C. Porter, and P. M. Trowbridge.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.