USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Andover > Andover: symbol of New England; the evolution of a town > Part 27
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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
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orous Dr. Samuel H. Taylor, principal of Phillips Academy, and some of the more eloquent Seminary professors did not have a larger share in these early proceedings. James S. Eaton, one of the Academy instructors, did at least raise his voice, and occa- sionally one of the Seminary faculty would speak or pray at a town gathering; but with the exception of Professor Stowe, no representative of the town's three private educational institu- tions took much part in these preliminary arrangements. Their record improved as the tension heightened.
Immediately following the President's Declaration of War some of the more active young men in the community organized a military company which was promptly chartered by Governor John A. Andrew and received the name of the Andover Light Infantry. The original enrollment included seventy-nine volun- teers, who were drilled daily by Captain Samuel C. Oliver, of Salem. Officers were elected as follows:
Captain
Horace Holt
First Lieutenant
George W. W. Dove
Second Lieutenant
Charles H. Poor
Third Lieutenant
Moses W. Clement
Fourth Lieutenant
Orrin L. Farnham
With the exception of Dove, these were all from old Andover families, descendants of veterans of the French and Indian Wars and the Revolution. The Puritan stock had not died out.
At the first meeting of the Committee of Twenty-Five, on April 22, Peter Smith proposed that a subscription paper be opened "here and now"; and John Smith, the more taciturn brother, in a short but very welcome speech, pledged the firm of Smith, Dove, and Company for 3,000 dollars. A special commit- tee authorized to make solicitations reported on May 4 that 9,144.25 dollars had been raised. Two days later, at a legal town meeting, with Professor Stowe as moderator, it was formally vot- ed to provide each volunteer with a uniform not exceeding 14 dollars in cost and an additional bonus of 17 dollars; to remit his
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poll tax for the current year; to pay to the family of each volun- teer, except commissioned officers, eight dollars a month; to pay the enlisted men the sum of fifty cents for each day's drill, not exceeding in all sixty days; and finally to borrow and appropri- ate 8,000 dollars for these purposes. These were all practical measures, intended to lessen the financial sacrifice of the sol- diers. The money already raised by private subscription was to be used hereafter as "an emergency fund, for such measures of relief as the Committee of Twenty-One may see fit hereafter to adopt." On May 6, the town chose as its official committee of national defense the three selectmen, Asa A. Abbott, William S. Jenkins, and Benjamin Boynton; the town treasurer, Edward Taylor; and three citizens, William Chickering, John J. Jenkins, and Jedediah Burtt. This committee named as its chairman Wil- liam Chickering and as its clerk William S. Jenkins. A certain rivalry in the good intentions of the citizens was doubtless quite healthful.
Once started, Andover went "all out" for the cause. A succes- sion of demonstrations aroused and maintained the loyalty of the townspeople. On May 4, the Ballard Vale Company flung to the breeze "a splendid flag of ample dimensions, with a stream- er seventy-five feet in length." Hundreds of persons were pres- ent, and addresses were delivered by several gentlemen, inter- spersed with the singing of patriotic songs. The Academy boys on their own formed a company of Ellsworth Guards, captained by John Hanson Thompson, of the Class of 1861; and for the members the young ladies of Abbott Academy made uniforms, consisting of gray caps and suits of blue trimmed with red. A similar unit of Havelock Grays was recruited in the Seminary. On May 19, Professor Stowe preached a sermon before the An- dover Light Infantry, on the text, "Endure hardship as a sol- dier." The church on this occasion was crowded to its utmost capacity, many not being able to gain admittance. The house- wives of the town had cooperated by providing for the Light In-
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fantry an amazing number of shirts, flannel drawers, towels, stockings, handkerchiefs, hats, and needle cases, two for each of the members. Seldom have soldiers been outfitted more hand- somely on the way to the wars.
On the evening of June 4 a large and beautiful flag was un- furled over the Seminary Chapel, with appropriate ceremonies, including an eloquent prayer by Professor Edwards A. Park, a presentation address by Professor Phelps, an oration by Profes- sor Stowe, and the singing of a "Banner Song" written for the oc- casion by Mrs. Stowe. Clearly the Seminary folk were now com- mitted to the Union. On the following day, when another flag was raised over the Mansion House by its proprietor, Mr. Bod- well, the Guards and the Grays, who could have had few dull moments, were again present and carried on an exhibition drill on the training field. The Andover Light Infantry, resplendent in their new uniforms and executing intricate maneuvers, drew round after round of applause from the spectators. On June 22, in front of the South Church, the students of Phillips Academy presented to the Light Infantry a white silk banner with the coat of arms on one side and a pine tree, with an inscription, on the other. Among the large number present at the ceremony was ex- President Franklin Pierce, once a "Northern man with Southern principles" but now a devoted supporter of the Union. He was paying a visit to his friend, Judge John Aiken.
These parades and ceremonies, though not without thrills, were conducted without any serious danger to the participants. The hour now arrived for business of a grimmer nature. On the morning of June 24 the Andover Light Infantry assembled at the town hall, where they received their bounty from the town and enjoyed the traditional "generous collation." They were then drawn into line and addressed by Mr. Cogswell, before be- ing escorted to the depot by the Ellsworth Guards, the Havelock Grays, and a cheering throng of citizens. From there they were transported to Fort Warren, where, on July 5, they were mus-
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tered into the military forces of the United States as Company H, 14th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. The dis- astrous reverse to the Northern troops at Bull Run took place on July 21; and on August 7 the 14th Regiment left for Wash- ington and presumably the front. On January 1, 1862, the name of the Andover unit was changed to Company H, ist Heavy Artillery.
In her short story, The Oath of Allegiance, written years after- ward and published in 1909, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps described the mood of the Andover which, as a girl in her teens, she knew in Civil War days. It was, she remembered, a time "of great pur- poses and small hopes ... of grand deeds and dark dreams." It was a time "of glory and madness, of love and despair ... of the greatest motives and the noblest achievement, the truest praying and the bitterest suffering, that our land and day have known." For her, the death of the young man whom she loved was a deep personal tragedy, from which it took her years to recover.
The complete roll of the unit as it left Fort Warren is printed in The Record of Andover in the Rebellion and includes the names of many of Andover's oldest and best-known families. Horace Holt, the captain, ended as a lieutenant-colonel. Moses W. Clem- ent, a second lieutenant, was also promoted and became a cap- tain in a colored regiment. From one of the enlisted men, Ser- geant E. Kendall Jenkins, I heard in 1914 the story of the forma- tion and training of his company; and although he was then over eighty, he stood as straight as a pillar, and his eye sparkled as he related the adventures of himself and his companions.
For many tedious months these soldiers saw no action, being assigned to garrison duty in the fortifications south of Washing- ton along the Potomac. The men who had impulsively "joined up" to save the Union now found themselves doing routine jobs no more dangerous or romantic than those which they could have performed at home, and their letters to their families and friends complained bitterly of boredom. Major Holt concluded a formal report under date of January 9, 1864, as follows:
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With regrets that the First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery cannot show upon her records an equal share of gallant deeds upon the battle-field with other Massachusetts regiments, and hoping yet that we shall have an opportunity of relieving an equal number of worn- out heroes from the front, and they have an opportunity of resting from long-continued hardships behind these breastworks in Arling- ton Height, or some place equally safe.
Major Holt was soon to have his desire gratified. As the spring of 1864 opened, Grant's Army of the Potomac started the cam- paign of attrition which was to wear down the Confederacy and bring victory to the North. There in Virginia, in the so-called "Wilderness"-a grim and sterile "No Man's Land"-took place some of the most frantic and stubborn fighting of the war. After the costly engagement at the "Bloody Angle," Grant called for fresh troops to fill up his depleted ranks; and on May 15, the entire Massachusetts Regiment, including Company H, was ordered to the front, arriving just in time to participate in the Battle of Spottsylvania. Its chief action occurred on May 19, when for several hours the First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery faced almost unassisted Rhodes's Division of Ewell's Corps, hold- ing the enemy in check until reinforcements could arrive. The combat was far more sanguinary than the skirmishes which ear- lier Andover men had had with the Indians or the British. It was often hand-to-hand, with no mercy shown by either side, and the ground was strewn with corpses. Those who survived never forgot the scene. To them, it was "Hell on earth!"
On May 21, when the rumor spread to New England of a ter- rific battle in which some Andoverians had lost their lives, the selectmen hurriedly called a meeting in the town hall. No ac- curate information had then been received, and the gathering dispersed after listening to the inevitable succession of speeches. It was already evident, however, that the news was bad; and on May 26, when another meeting was arranged, it was voted to send to Washington a "commission," consisting of the Rever- end J. W. Turner and Mr. Joseph Abbott. Arriving in the Na-
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tional capital on a Saturday evening, these gentlemen spent Sun- day visiting the various hospitals to which Andover victims had been assigned. The casualties had been very high. Out of ap- proximately eighty combatants in Company H, eight had been killed and buried on the battlefield. Here are their names:
Private Samuel Aiken Private Granville K. Cutler Private James Eastes Sergeant Edward Farmer Private Jonathan A. Holt Private Bernard McGurk Private Charles W. Ridley Private James Rothwell
Three Andover men were fatally wounded at Spottsylvania and later died in the hospital: Private Epaphrus K. Bryant, Lieu- tenant Charles Carroll, and Lieutenant Orrin L. Farnham. Eighteen others were wounded less seriously and eventually re- covered, although several suffered disabilities which troubled them the remainder of their lives. Three from the company were captured, of whom two, Private Charles P. Barnard and Ser- geant George S. Farmer, died in Andersonville Prison.
Not all the dead were native of the town. Samuel Aiken was born in Dundee, Scotland, and Bernard McGurk was an Irish- man. But to the townspeople they were all heroes, whether, like Jonathan Holt, their families had been in the town for genera- tions, or, like Granville K. Cutler, they had moved there recent- ly from other communities.
Long before this sacrificial battle, President Lincoln, on July 1, 1862, had called for three hundred thousand volunteers to serve three years or until the end of the war, the quota assigned to Andover by the Commonwealth being fifty-two. At meetings of citizens to encourage the enlistment of recruits, it was voted to pay each serviceman a bounty of 100 dollars from the town
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treasury, to which Peter Smith and John Dove agreed to add five dollars to each man enrolled. On August 7, it was announced that the full quota had been reached. It included men from almost every occupation-farmers, cordwainers, mill operatives, even one bookseller and one medical student.
When, on August 4, 1862, the President ordered still another draft of three hundred thousand militia to serve nine months, the citizens at a special town meeting voted to raise their quota by furnishing volunteers rather than conscripts. One of their resolutions, passed on August 25, declared that the townspeople "would deem it a dishonor and a stain upon their patriotism to send soldiers raised by conscription for the defense of Liberty and the Union. The town's quota of twenty-three "nine months' men" was filled in September, each soldier being paid a bounty of 100 dollars.
It is evident from the Records that Andover was throughout this period true to its traditions. In the spring of 1863, following the defeat at Fredericksburg, the "Copperheads" were flourish- ing and the North was in a mood of despondency. On April 13 a meeting of Andover citizens was held for the purpose of form- ing a "Union League." Resolutions were passed calling atten- tion to "many manifestations in the Northern States of a defiant and factious spirit of opposition to the Administration and of sympathy for the cause of the Rebels." In no uncertain lan- guage the town expressed its attitude:
We deplore the existence of this treasonable spirit. We denounce the expression of any sympathy with the rebellion as reckless, in- solent, and wanton approval of the greatest crime in history; and holding these manifestations to be dangerous to the well-being of the Republic, and to the cause of civil liberty throughout the world, we unite in declaring that we will not give aid or support to any per- son, circulate or encourage the publication of any book or paper, or approve of or countenance any public appeals which are employed in defending the Rebellion, or any of the steps thereto, or attacking the
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Administration, or any of the measures it has adopted for carrying on the war,-a war brought about solely by traitors and rebels, and which must be continued till the final suppression of the rebellion.
This was comprehensive and caustic language which no one was likely to misconstrue; and it expressed a mood of loyalty and defiance which, coming from countless other communities in the North, made the outcome of the war inevitable. The Andover Union League was duly formed, with Francis Cogswell as Presi- dent and with the object of encouraging and disseminating pa- triotic sentiments through public addresses and printed publi- cations as well as social intercourse.
A good deal of confusion developed regarding the men en- rolled from the town. Some men received the bounty and never joined their assigned unit; indeed "bounty jumping" became a rather profitable business among a disreputable group. Not a few, it must be admitted, deserted long before reaching a battle- field and were never heard of again. Often names were mis- spelled or reported inaccurately. The usual clerical mistakes did not help clarification. Under the circumstances, the town fathers could only do their best to keep up-to-date; and on and as of July 1, 1863, they reported that Andover had in uniform 287 men, of whom 258 were "three years' men" and 29 "nine months' men." This was 61 more than the quota assigned by the Common- wealth. When the President, on October 29, 1863, issued still another call for three hundred thousand volunteers to finish the job, Andover quickly filled its assignment of 38. In its pride, the town wished to avoid having the "draft" procedure put into op- eration within its limits.
On July 21, 1864, a detachment of soldiers from Company H, who had just been through still more rough fighting at Cold Harbor, arrived home from the front, their three-year term of enlistment having expired. They were greeted at the railroad station by a vast assemblage of citizens and students. The Phil- lips Academy brass band, which seems to have flourished in war
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time, led the procession up the hill to the town hall, followed by the selectmen, the local clergy, and the committee of reception. To the delight of everybody, the troops brought back with them their own drummer, George B. Clark, who was said to have per- formed with extraordinary skill and vigor. After the tired and hungry veterans had enjoyed their final "collation" at the town's expense, Mr. Cogswell addressed them in words of welcome and praise. Then they went to their families. It was a big day for Andover.
Actually, after Gettysburg and Vicksburg, in July, 1863, there could be little doubt as to the result. Other battles had to be fought and thousands had to die before the Confederate surren- der, but the victory was won, and many Andover soldiers parad- ed down Pennsylvania Avenue before being discharged and sent back to Massachusetts. According to the town Records, Andover furnished on official quotas 503 men for the Army and 50 for the Navy. In addition, some 46 miscellaneous recruits claiming An- dover as their residence were, for one reason or another, omitted by the selectmen. The total number from the town was 599. Ac- cording to official figures, Andover furnished an excess over quotas alone of 114 and a surplus of 163 beyond what it was sup- posed to supply. On any computation, the accomplishment was highly creditable to the self-sacrifice and loyal cooperation of the townspeople.
The records as finally compiled showed that fifty-three men registered from Andover were entitled to have their names on the Roll of Honor. They lost their lives in many different ways and their mortal bodies were returned to earth in various places. Some of them suffered accidents, like James H. Bailey, who fell from a parapet at Fort Albany, Virginia, and died on September 14, 1861. The first soldier to be killed in action was apparently Amos Whittaker, on June 27, 1862, at Gaines' Mills, Virginia. William H. Luke, who died of wounds received at Second Bull Run, August 29, 1862, was brought back to the North Andover Burying Ground. Enoch M. Hatch, a private in Company H who
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survived Spottsylvania, was killed, June 16, 1864, in front of Petersburg and buried hastily at night on the campground. Wil- liam Russell, fatally wounded at Cold Harbor, died on July 11, 1864, and was later laid to rest in the South Parish Cemetery. Jo- seph Chandler, a victim of disease, March 10, 1863, was buried in the West Parish graveyard. The mention of these names means little today, after the lapse of nearly a century, but they were once very real people, and their premature loss shocked the com- munity. In the correlation of the records, dates were often jum- bled, and careless errors in identification were unavoidable. In short, this was like all wars since the siege of Troy, and before. But the town did its best to honor its dead, whoever and wherever they were.
Nothing has been said regarding the large number of Phillips Academy and Andover Theological Seminary alumni who en- gaged in the war effort, registering from other communities; and it would be impossible to catalogue them here. Two such men, however, deserve rather special mention. Isaac Ingalls Stevens, of the North Parish, was a descendant of the first pro- prietor, John Stevens, so often referred to in this narrative, and a nephew of the enterprising "Captain Nat" Stevens, whose story has already been related. Born in 1818, Isaac attended both Franklin and Phillips academies, and later West Point, gradu- ating in 1839, the first scholar in his class. He took part in nearly every operation in the Mexican War, until he was wounded at San Cosme; and he wrote a book entitled Campaigns of the Rio Grande and of Mexico. In March, 1853, at his own solicitation, he was appointed governor of Washington Territory and leader of the Northern Pacific exploring expedition. Unfortunately he was by temperament both impatient and autocratic, and made bitter enemies, but his energy and assurance carried him along. When the Civil War broke out, he at once offered his services, but his critics prevented him from securing the rank which his talents and record deserved. After three months of mortifying disappointments, he was appointed colonel of the 79th High-
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landers, New York Volunteers, and in due course, although not without discouraging delays, was promoted to be brigadier- general and major general. Finally, on September 1, 1862, at the Battle of Chantilly, he charged the flank of the Confederate Army with a small force of nine regiments. When his troops wavered under a withering fire, he seized the Stars and Stripes from a fallen color-bearer crying, "Highlanders, my Highland- ers, follow your General," and dashed forward against over- whelming numbers of the enemy. As a terrific thunderstorm burst upon the battlefield, a bullet struck him in the temple and he fell, the standard still grasped in his hand. It was later stated that his charge at just that moment had averted an overwhelm- ing disaster to the Union Army. He was only forty-four years old when he was killed.
Andover today may claim a share in the exploits of General Stevens, even though he belongs by birth to the North Parish. His accomplishments were great enough for both townships. An- dover would also like to claim William Francis Bartlett, born in Haverhill but a graduate of Phillips Academy in the Class of 1858, who emerged from the war a major general at the age of twenty-five. Although his sympathies had been largely with the South, he left Harvard College in 1862 to join the Fourth Bat- talion of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and from that time until his death hardly had a quiet moment. Scott H. Paradise, recounting his career, describes him as "wounded in four out of the five battles in which he took part, thrice leading his troops against the enemy despite the handicap of a wooden leg, cap- tured and confined at Libby Prison, urged in the same year to accept in Massachusetts the nomination for Lieutenant-Gover- nor by the Democrats and the nomination for Governor by the Republicans." He died on December 10, 1876, in his thirty- sixth year, never having fully recovered from his injuries. His statue has a place of honor in the Hall of Flags in the Massachu- setts State House, and he has been called the Commonwealth's "most distinguished soldier." No one, not even General Joseph
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Hooker or General Benjamin F. Butler, deserves this title more.
Most of Andover's leading families had representatives in the Northern Army. William Marland, grandson of the pioneer manufacturer, had a brilliant military career, beginning as a sergeant and ending as a brevet major. Peter D. Smith, son of Peter and Esther Smith, was wounded at Spottsylvania and then discharged for disability. Frederick W. Stowe, Professor Stowe's son, was wounded at Gettysburg and discharged as a captain. George H. Taylor, son of the principal of Phillips Academy, was mustered into service in November, 1863, and was eventually promoted to first lieutenant.
Several colored men from other areas were induced by An- dover's unusually high "bounty" to become "representative re- cruits from the town," which means simply that they were listed from Andover to swell its quota. Typical was Peter Boston, of Loundes County, Mississippi, who was mustered in at Vicksburg, Mississippi, on October 11, 1864, as a private in the United States Colored Cavalry and a "representative recruit" for Francis Cogswell. Most of these men enlisted too late in the war to see any action.
Throughout the conflict the town had granted generous aid to the families of volunteers, and in addition to appropriations voted by the taxpayers, subscriptions had been made from pri- vate sources. No case of genuine need was left unrelieved. After the Confederate surrender, the town prepared to consider and meet all the legitimate claims of veterans. Ultimately requests to the total amount of about 30,000 dollars were presented by returning soldiers. Not until many months had passed could all these be passed upon, but in the end everybody was treated with fairness and generosity.
For Andover these were memorable years, but there was little or no real privation. The routine affairs of daily life, the mar- riages and births and reunions, were carried on as usual. Indeed it was a period of exceptional prosperity for those who remained at home, for the mills were busy with war orders and wages were
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