USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Plymouth > History of the town of Plymouth, Connecticut : with an account of the centennial celebration May 14 and 15, 1895 : also a sketch of Plymouth, Ohio, settled by local families > Part 8
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98
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
Gen. Erastus Blakeslee.
CHAPTER VII.
THE CIVIL. WAAR.
There Were no More Loyal or Brave Soldiers Than the Sons of Plymouth, Several of Whom Gained Honorable Distinction, while Others Met Untimely Deaths at the Front and in the Very Heat of Battle-Roster of Those Enlisting or Belonging to the Town.
I N the civil war Plymouth may well be proud of her record. Her sons were scattered in nearly every Connecticut regi- ment and some also in regiments from other states. Co. D. 21 Connecticut Heavy Artillery, had fifty-three local men. Co. I. Ist Connecticut Heavy Artillery, was principally made up of Plymouth men and many more were in the First Cavalry. C. V. From the beginning of the war until Lee surrendered these brave, loyal soldiers were to be found in all the principal con- flicts. In several instances their gallant services were so far recognized as to receive deserved promotion. The three princi- pal commanding officers of the Ist Connecticut Cavalry were identified with this town, viz., Brevet Brigadier General Erastus Blakeslee, Major L. P. Goodwin (who for a considerable time commanded as ranking officer), and Brevet Brigadier General Brayton Ives, who belongs to one of the oldest families. Another plucky figliter was Colonel Augustus H1. Fenn. now judge of the Connecticut Supreme Court, who lost his right arm at the battle of Cedar Creek, and in seven weeks reported for duty. Major William B. Ells commanded the 3d Battalion at Cold Harbor, and was made a cripple for several years by a shot wound in the leg. Lieutenants Franklin J. Candee and Horace Hubbard were killed at the Opequan Creek battle. They belonged to the 2d Artillery, which was in the hottest of the fight. Edward P. Smith, of Co. I, Ist Artillery, was the first Plymouth soldier who died in service, and his funeral was largely attended by people from far and near, his remains having been sent to Terryville embalmed.
When President Lincoln issued a call for 300.000 more men after the disastrous Peninsula campaign, Litchfield county voted to raise an entire regiment. L. W. Wessells was made Colonel a .: d the regiment went into camp at Litchfield August 21, 1862. Plymouth united with Watertown to raise a company, the recruiting officers being A. H. Fenn, W. H. Lewis, Jr .. and
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HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
Capt. Eugene Atwater.
-
101
THE CIVIL WAR.
Robert A. Potter. Plymouth furnished fifty-three men, Water- town eighteen, and Harwinton thirteen. Wm. B. Ells, then 2d Lieutenant of the Ist Connecticut Artillery stationed at Fort Richardson, was chosen Captain, W. H. Lewis, Jr., ist Lieu- tenant, and Robert A. Potter, 2d Lieutenant. The regiment was the 19th C. V. It was presented with a beautiful stand of colors by Mrs. William Curtis Noyes, of Litchfield, and on the IIth of September was mustered into the service of the United States for three years. The battalion, consisting of SSo men and officers, left on the 15th for Washington. It moved on to Ales- andria where it remained until the middle of January following.
It was while at this point that Arthur G. Kellogg of Co. C. died on the 10th of November, 1862. His was the third death that occurred in the regiment. The health of the soldiers con- tinued to grow worse, and as there were reports of neglect and harsh treatment of the sick, Governor Buckingham sent Dr. S. T. Salisbury of Plymouth, to investigate, who reported that every - thing was being done that was possible for the men.
The regiment was removed to Washington to do defence duty, and in the fall was changed into an artillery regiment. recruiting its number to I,Soo men by the following March. Up to this period the following Plymouth men had died :
Burritt H. Tolles, January 12, 1863, fever, buried in Terry - ville ; Charles J. Cleveland, January 30, 1863, fever, buried in Terryville ; George H. Holt, February 26, 1863, diphtheria, buried in Terryville; Franklin W. Hubbard, April 10, 1863. typhoid fever, buried in Terryville ; Josiah J. Wadsworth. Sep- tember 19, 1863, spotted fever, buried in Hartford; Corporal Wesley F. Glover, December 28, 1862, typhoid fever, buried in Woodville; George A. Hoyt, fifer, June 6, 1863. fever, buried in Plymouth; Eben Norton, June 12, 1864, fever, buried in Plymouth.
On the 20th of May, 1864, the regiment joined the Army of the Potomac near the Spottsylvania Court House and were assigned to duty in the 2d Brigade, ist Division, 6th Corps. The 21st of May the enemy was met and a series of marches were begun which culminated at Cold Harbor, Inne 1, 1864. In this engagement the regiment had 114 killed, 197 wounded. 15 missing and 3 died in prison. The rebels plied the position with musketry and swept it with grape and canister. Major Ells was wounded almost by the first fire. Colonel Kellogg. proud of his men. was in advance of the foremost line, his towering and conspicuous form making him a target, and he too fell in the very beginning of the fight pierced by a dozen bullets.
The Plymouth company was in the third and rear battalion and suffered less severely than some of the other companies, the casualties resulting as follows :
Killed-Philo A. Fenn, shot in the head by sharpshooters. June 12, while on duty as sharpshooter : John Murphy, shot in heart ; George Comstock, real name George Brooks. Petersburg. June 22.
Died of Wounds -George L. Beach, Cold Harbor, thigh.
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HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
Redoubt B, Near Fort Alexandria, Va.
Officers, Second Conn. Heavy Artillery.
193
THE CIVIL WAR.
died at Washington, June 14, 1864, was hit by bullet which was afterwards taken out and put on his coffin at funeral; Thomas Mann, calf of leg, died at Washington, June S.
Wounded - Quartermaster-Sergeant David B. Wooster, thigh, slight, afterwards killed at Fisher's Hill; Justin O. Stoughton, shoulder and back ; Chauncey Culver, side and breast, severe ; Wallace E. Beach, arm; George T. Cook. shoulder; Zelotes F. Grannis, head ; Major Wm. B. Ells, leg. severe.
Corporal James R. Baldwin, of Co. E, from Winsted, who for some time previous to his enlistment had resided in Plymouth. and was a brother of the late N. Taylor Baldwin, was missing in this engagement and is believed to have died in a rebel prison.
On the 20th of June the regiment was in the trenches in front of Petersburg. Here Matthias Walter, of Plymouth, was wounded by a sharpshooter and John Grieder was fatally wounded by a piece from a three inch shell.
On the 22d of June there was a skirmish with Hill's rebel division. Corporal Charles E. Guernsey was wounded in the shoulder and thigh and died on the 2Sth. It is supposed he was shot by the carelessness of one of his own comrades. George B. Hempstead, of Co. B, a former clerk in the store of B. H. Hem- ingway, in Terryville, was shot in the right breast, the ball lodging in his watch. He also died on the 28th.
The next engagement was the bloody battle of the Opequan. Here Hiram T. Coley was killed, as was Ist Lieutenant Franklin J. Candee, who while lying on the ground raised his head to look at his watch, and was picked off by a sharpshooter. Second Lieutenant Horace Hubbard had his back fearfully torn by a shell and lived but a short time.
The wounded were Corporal Henry N. Bushnell, neck, severe ; Corporal David A. Bradley, neck ; William Lindley, finger ; Henry Tolles, head ; Corporal Ira H. Stoughton, hip, canister ; Emery B. Taylor, thigh ; Seeley Morse, thigh : George H. Bates, side and back, shell, severe.
The next battle was on the 22d at Fisher's Hill. Quarter- master David B. Wooster was killed, and Charles L. Bryan and Swift McG. Hunter were slightly wounded.
Then the memorable battle of Cedar Creek, October 19. came. The Plymouth men killed were Corporal Edward C. Hopson, Corporal William Wright, Abner W. Scott. and Charles R. Warner. Walter Oates was missing and doubtless died in a rebel prison. Captain Augustus H. Fenn lost his right arm at the shoulder.
The regiment participated in no other battles, but belonged to the Army of the Potomac until mustered out August 18. 1865.
Probably all of the older residents will recall the history of Dorence Atwater, who kept the records of Andersonville prison. He is a son of Henry Atwater, of Plymouth, and when a boy was a clerk in the store at Terryville. Colonel A. H. Fenn in writing of Mr. Atwater says he "has better claims to enduring remembrance than that of any other person from the town of
104
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
Surprise at Cedar Creek.
Explosion of the Mine at Petersburg.
105
THE CIVIL WAR.
Plymouth who went into the war." The details of his life would read like a romance. At the age of sixteen, on the out- break of the war, he enlisted in the first squadron of Connecticut Cavalry, afterwards attached to the Harris Light Cavalry of New York. He served for nearly his full term, participating in the hard campaigning and sharp battles that command experienced and was finally captured and taken to the terrible Andersonville prison pen, where so many brave Connecticut boys met their death. He was an excellent penman, and for this or some other reason he was detailed there for work in the surgeon's office of the hospital department, where it was a part of his duty to keep a record of the dead, their regiments, number of their graves. etc. While doing this he managed to keep an extra copy of the record for his own use, and this he brought away with him when he was paroled, concealing it under his clothing. Arriving at his home in Terryville, wasted almost to a skeleton by sick- ness, induced by army exposure, he was for a while dangerously ill. Meantime the war department heard of the valuable records and summoned him to Washington and purchased a right to copy the records, which were of invaluable service to the government and to friends of soldiers in determining the fate of many missing men. His carefully kept list contained the names of thirteen thousand soldiers dead. His rolls were copied according to agreement, and when Miss Clara Barton, the noble friend of Union soldiers, went on her expedition to Andersonville after the war to identify and properly mark the graves of the dead. Atwater was detailed for service with her, and his records were placed in his possession and were the only reliable records obtainable for identification of the graves. The details of Mr. Atwater's subsequent experiences with the war department show the most cruel case of injustice of a government towards one of its faithful servants of which we have any knowledge. We will not enter into the particulars of the experience now. He was made to suffer a cruel wrong which to this day has never been righted in the war department.
In 1868, still suffering in health from his hardships. he was appointed United States Consul to the Seychelles Islands, in the Indian Ocean. Three years later he was transferred to the United States Consulate at Tahiti, in the South Pacific. He was a faithful and valuable official in both positions. and only resigned after he had served over a score of years. He married a Tahitian lady, and by this marriage is allied to the royal family. Her father was an English gentleman. for many years in business in Tahiti. Mr. Atwater still makes it his home in the South Pacific, coming to San Francisco once or twice a year.
The following extracts from a report written by Miss Clara Barton, published in 1866, will be interesting in connection with the above :
" Having, by official invitation, been placed upon an expedi- tion to Andersonville, for the purpose of identifying and marking the graves of the dead contained in those noted prison grounds. it is perhaps not improper that I make some report of the cir-
106
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
The Battle of the Crater.
Upton's Brigade at Bloody Angle.
107
THE CIVIL WAR.
cumstances which induced the sending of such an expedition. its work, and the appearance, condition, and surroundings of that interesting spot, hallowed alike by the sufferings of the martyred dead, and the tears and prayers of those who mourn them.
"During a search for the missing men of the United States Army, commenced in March, 1865, under the sanction of our late lamented President Lincoln, I formed the acquaintance of Dorence Atwater, of Connecticut, a member of the ed New York Cavalry, who had been a prisoner at Belle Isle and Anderson- ville twenty-two months, and charged by the rebel authorities with the duty of keeping the Death Register of the Union Prisoners who died amid the nameless cruelties of the last named prison.
" By minute inquiry, I learned from Mr. Atwater the method adopted in the burial of the dead ; and by carefully con- paring his account with a draft which he had made of the grounds appropriated for this purpose by the prison authorities. I became convinced of the possibility of identifying the graves. simply by comparing the numbered post or board marking each man's position in the trench in which he was buried, with the corresponding number standing against his name upon the register kept by Mr. Atwater, which he informed me was then in the possession of the War Department.
" Assured by the intelligence and frankness of my informant of the entire truthfulness of his statements, I decided to impart to the officers of the Government the information I had gained. and accordingly brought the subject to the attention of General Hoffman, Commissary General of prisoners, asking that a party or expedition be at once sent to Andersonville for the purpose of identifying and marking the graves, and enclosing the grounds ; and that Dorence Atwater, with his register, accompany the same as the proper person to designate and identify. The sub- ject appeared to have been not only unheard, but unthought of ; and from the generally prevailing impression that no care had been taken in the burial of our prisoners, the idea seemed at first difficult to be entertained. But the same facts which had served to convince me, presented themselves favorably to the good understanding and kind heart of General Hoffman, who took immediate steps to lay the matter before the Hon. Secretary of War, upon whom, at his request, I called the following day. and learned from him that he had heard and approved my prop- osition, and decided to order an expedition. consisting of materials and men, under charge of some government officer. for the accomplishment of the objects set forth in my request. and invited me to accompany the expedition in person-which invitation I accepted.
" Accordingly, on the Sth of July, the propeller Virginia. having on board fencing material, head-boards, the prison records, forty workmen, clerks and letterers, under command of Capt. James M. Moore, A. Q. M., Dorence Atwater and myself. left Washington for Andersonville, via Savannah, Georgia. arriving at the latter place July 12th. Having waited at
IOS
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
Burying the Dead.
Cemetery at Andersonville.
109
THE CIVIL WAR.
Savannah seven days, and then resumed the journey by way of Augusta, Atlanta, and Macon, the entire party reached its desti- nation in safety about noon on the 25th of July.
" We found the prison grounds, stockade, hospital sheds, and the various minor structures, almost in the same condition in which they had been evacuated ; and care is taken to leave these historic monuments undisturbed, so long as the elements will spare them.
" There is not, and never was, any town or village at this place except what grew out of its military occupation. Anderson Station, on the railroad from Macon to Eufala, was selected as a depot for prisoners, probably on account of its remoteness and possible security, and the prison itself, with the buildings which sprang up around it, constituted all there was of Andersonville.
" The original enclosure of nineteen acres was made in the unbroken woods; and the timber was only removed as it was wanted for the necessities of the prison. The enclosure was made in January, 1864, and enlarged during the summer. to twenty-five and three-quarter acres-being a quadrangle of 1,295 by 865 feet. The greatest length is from north to south, the ground rising from the middle towards each end in rather a steep, rounded hill-the northern one being at once the highest and of the greatest extent. A small stream, rising from springs a little to the eastward, flows across it through a narrow valley filled with a compost washed down by the rains. The enclosing stockade is formed of pine logs, twenty feet in length, and about eight inches in diameter, sunk five feet in the ground, and placed close together. This is again surrounded by two successive, and precisely similar, palisades-a portion of the last of which is gone. It seems never to have been completed. The two inner walls remain entire. Within the interior space, at the distance of about seventeen feet from the stockade, runs the famous dead- line, marked by small posts set in the ground, and a slight strip of pine board nailed on the tops of them. The gates, of which there are two, situated on the west side, were continuations of the stockade, enclosing spaces of thirty feet square, more or less, with massive doors at either end. They were arranged and worked on the principle of canal locks. Upon the inner stockade were fifty-two sentry boxes, raised above the tops of the palisades. and accessible to the guard by ladders. In these stood fifty-two guards, with loaded arms, so near that they could converse with each other. In addition to these, seven forts mounted with field artillery, commanded the fatal space and its masses of perishing men.
" Under the most favorable circumstances, and best possible management, the supply of water would have been insufficient for half the number of persons who had to use it. The existing arrangements must have aggravated the evil to the utmost extent. The sole establishments for cooking and baking were placed on the bank of the stream immediately above, and between the two inner lines of palisades. The grease and refuse from them were found adhering to the banks at the time of our visit. The guards.
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HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
Dorence Atwater.
Andersonville Stockade, Showing the Dead Line.
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THE CIVIL WAR.
to the number of about 3,600, were principally encamped on the upper part of the stream, and when the heavy rains washed down the hill sides, covered with So,ooo human beings, and the outlet below failed to discharge the flood which backed and filled the valley, the water must have become so foul and loathsome, that every statement I have seen of its offensiveness must be con- sidered as falling short of the reality. And vet, within rifle-shot of the prison, there flowed a stream fifteen feet wide and three feet deep, of pure, delicious water. Had the prison been placed so as to include a section of the 'Sweet Water Creek,' the inmates might have drank and bathed to their hearts' content.
" The cemetery, around which the chief interest must gather, is distant about 300 yards from the stockade in a noith- westerly direction. The graves, placed side by side in close continuous rows, cover nine acres, divided into three unequal lots by two roads which intersect each other nearly at right angles. The fourth space is still unoccupied. except by a few graves of ' Confederate ' soldiers.
"No human bodies were found exposed, and none were removed. The place was found in much better condition than had been anticipated, owing to the excellent measures taken by Major-General Wilson, commanding at Macon, and a humane public-spirited citizen of Fort Valley, Georgia-a Mr. Griffin. who, in passing on the railroad, was informed by one of the ever-faithful negroes, that the bodies were becoming exposed. and were rooted up by animals. Having verified this statement. he collected a few negroes, sank the exposed bodies, and covered them to a proper depth. He then reported the facts to General Wilson, and requested authority to take steps for protecting the grounds. That patriotic officer visited Andersonville in person, appointed Mr. Griffin temporary superintendent, and gave him such limited facilities as could be furnished in that destitute country. It was determined to inclose a square of fifty acies : and, at the time of our arrival, the fence was nearly one-third built-from old lumber found about the place. He had also erected a brick kiln, and was manufacturing brick for drains to conduct the water away from the graves, and protect and strengthen the soil against the action of heavy rains. We found Mr. Griffin with a force of about twenty negroes and a few mules, at work on the grounds. I have understood that that gentleman furnished the labor at his own cost, while General Wilson issued the necessary rations.
"The part performed by our party was to take up and carry forward the work so well commenced. Additional force was obtained from the military commandant at Macon for completing the enclosure and erecting the head-boards. It seems that the dead had been buried by Union prisoners, paroled from the stockade and hospital for that purpose. Successive trenches, capable of containing from 100 to 150 bodies each, thickly set with little posts or boards, with numbers in regular order carved upon them, told to the astonished and tear-dimmed eye the sad story of buried treasures. It was only necessary to compare the
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HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
The Battle of Winchester.
Union Breastworks at Cold Harbor.
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THE CIVIL WAR.
number upon each post or board with that which stands opposite the name on the register, and replace the whole with a more substantial, uniform and comely tablet, bearing not only the original number, but the name, company and regiment, and date of death of the soldier who slept beneath.
"I have been repeatedly assured by prisoners that great care was taken at the time by the men to whom fell the sad task of originally marking this astonishing number of graves, to perform the work with faithfulness and accuracy. If it shall prove that the work performed by those who followed, under circumstances so much more favorable, was executed with less faithfulness and accuracy than the former, it will be a subject of much regret- but fortunately not yet beyond the possibility of correction. The number of graves marked is 12,920. The original records. captured by General Wilson, furnished about 10,500 ; but as one book of the record had not been secured. over 2,000 names were supplied from a copy (of his own record) made by Mr. Atwater in the Andersonville prison, and brought by him to Annapolis on his return with the paroled prisoners.
"Interspersed throughout this Death Register were 400 numbers against which stood only the dark word " unknown.' So, scattered among the thickly designated graves, stand 400 tablets. bearing only the number and the touching inscription ' Unknown Union Soldier.'
"Substantially, nothing was attempted beyond enclosing the grounds, identifying and marking the graves, placing some appropriate mottoes at the gates and along the spaces designed for walks, and erecting a flagstaff in the center of the cemetery. The work was completed on the 17th of August, and the party took the route homeward by way of Chattanooga, Nashville, and Cincinnati, arriving at Washington on the morning of August 24th.
"For the record of your dead, you are indebted to the fore- thought, courage, and perseverance of Dorence Atwater, a young man not yet twenty-one years of age; an orphan ; four years a soldier ; one-tenth part of his whole life a prisoner, with broken health and ruined hopes, he seeks to present to your acceptance the sad gift he has in store for you ; and, grateful for the oppor- tunity, I hasten to place beside it this humble report, whose only merit is its truthfulness, and beg you to accept it in the spirit of kindness in which it is offered.'
COMPLETE ROSTER OF THE SOLDIERS ENLISTING FROM OR
BELONGING TO PLYMOUTH.
Erastus Blakeslee, enlisted October 9, 1861, Co. A, 1st Regt., C. V. Commissioned 2d Lieutenant Co. A, October 18, 1861 (not mustered). Mustered Adjutant. Promoted Captain Co. A, March 28. 1862. Promoted from Captain Co. A to Major, December 18, 1863. Lieutenant-Colonel, May 31. 1864. Wounded June 1, 1864, Ashland, Va. Promoted Colonel, June 6, 1864. Discharged October 26. 1864, time expired. Promoted Brigadier-General, by brevet. March 13, 1865.
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HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.
Brayton Ives, enlisted June 21, 1861, Co. F, 5th Regt. Promoted from Adjutant, September 25, 1861. Appointed A. A. G., U. S. Vols., May 14, 1862. Promoted Lieutenant-Colonel, November 1, 1864. Colonel, January 17, 1865. Brigadier- General, by brevet, March 13, 1865. Mustered out, August 2, 1865.
Augustus H. Fenn, enlisted July 16, 1862. Promoted Captain Co. C, from 1st Lieu- tenant Co. K, April 13, 1864. Wounded October 19, 1864, Cedar Creek, Va. Promoted Major 2d Regt., Heavy Artillery, January 20, 1865. Lieutenant- Colonel, by brevet, April 6, 1865. Mustered out.
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