USA > Massachusetts > Historical sketch of the old Sixth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, during its three campaigns in 1861, 1862, 1863, and 1864 : containing the history of the several companies previous to 1861, and the name and military record of each man connected with the regiment during the war > Part 3
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I do not know how much damage we did. Report says, about forty were killed, but I think that is exaggerated : still it may be so. There is any quantity of them wounded. Quite a number of horses were killed. The mayor of the city met us almost half way. He said that there would be no trouble; and that we could get through, and kept with me for about a hundred yards; but the stones and balls whistled too near his head, and he left, took a gun from one of my company, fired, and brought his man down. That was the last I saw of him. We fought our way to the cars, and joined Col. Jones, and the seven companies that left us at the other end of the city; and now we are here, every man of the old Phalanx safe and sound, with the exception of a few marks made by brick-bats, and all we want now is a chance to go to Baltimore, and clean out all the roughs there. If Col. Jones would march his command there, we would do it. There are five or six of the regiment missing, and all of the band. I am in hopes that most, if not all of them are alive. Where a man in Baltimore showed his pistol, axe, or palmetto flag, he was about sure to drop.
ANOTHER TESTIMONY.
A. S. Young, a member of the band, after relating that one of the musicians had left the car to consult with Gen. Small, of the unarmed Pennsylvanians, says :-
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As he was returning, he was set upon, and driven into the car, followed by a number of the roughs. We fought them off as long as we could; but coming thicker and faster, some crawling from under the cars, others jumping from the tops, they forced their way in, in spite of our utmost exertions. The door was then partly thrown open by the exertions of our men inside, and partly torn open by the mob outside ; and we attempted, by leap- ing from the car, and running in all directions, to escape from the mob. We were obliged to leave everything behind. Music, in- struments, coats, caps, knapsacks, and haversacks. On our way we saw squads of police, who took no notice of us, evidently regarding the whole thing as a good joke. The writer of this saw and spoke to two of them, and was told to "run - run like the devil ;" and he did. They could do nothing: they would take care of our property, but could do nothing for us. After running in this way for a half mile, as near as we could judge, we were en- countered by a party of women, partly Irish, partly German, and some American, who took us into their houses, removed the stripes from our pants, and we were furnished with old clothes of every description for disguise. We were treated here as well as we could have been in our own homes. Everything we wished was furnished, and nothing would be taken therefor; but we were told that it would be an insult to offer it.
Under the protection of four hundred policemen, these unarmed musicians were able to reach the station, and take the cars back to Philadelphia.
A GALLANT STANDARD-BEARER.
Timothy Crowley, the standard-bearer of the regi- ment, bore himself gallantly on that trying day. He
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might have rolled up his colors, and have escaped the position of prominence which otherwise would subject him to the greatest danger. But, no; he unfurled them to the breeze, and bore them on, and, like the white plume of Henry of Navarre, they became a guide and inspiration. Without music, they could only look on that, and follow where it led. All sorts of missiles flew at him ; but "left," "right," "left," "right," he kept his face to the front, and his colors proudly flying, and the detachment attended it onward. The most con- spicuous object that day, his was courage of a high order, that carried him on with proud defiance, and en- abled him to " stand by the flag," that he had sworn to defend. Mr. Crowley afterwards distinguished himself, as will be seen on a subsequent page.
The recipient of a splendid revolver, shortly after, from the honorary members of the Watson Light Guard, he returned a handsome acknowledgment, in the course of which he said : -
Thus far, I have only done what I deemed to be my duty, in this hour of peril and treachery to our time-honored flag. In the hour of adversity and oppression, that flag afforded a home and protection to those whom I hold dearer than life itself, and I trust that their descendant will not forget his duty, and help to strike an effectual blow in defence of the laws and insti- > tutions under and by which he has been nurtured into man- hood.
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INCIDENTS ON THE MARCH.
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Chaplain Babbidge relates that Crowley and his aids, Marland and Stickney, were
The target for many a missile; for the mob knew that to disgrace the regiment it was only necessary to down with the standard. Paving-stones flew thick and fast, some just grazing their heads, and some hitting the standard itself. One stone, as large as a hat, struck Marland, just between the shoulders, a terrible blow, and then rested on his knapsack. And yet he did not budge. With a firm step, he went on, carrying the rock on his knapsack for several yards, until one of the sergeants stepped up and knocked it off.
Many hand-to-hand fights were had. As private Bry- ant, company C, was marching along in the ranks, he was struck to the ground by a piece of plank, thrown from a window. Lieut. Jepson stooped down to assist him to his feet, when a gigantic rough seized him by his sword- belt, and drew him into the crowd. Before he could ex- tricate himself his company was some ways off, and Lieut. Jepson only got away by giving the fellow a blow, with his sword, in the face. The weapon was a "regulation" sword, more for ornament than use, or the brute's head would have been cloven. The blow was hard enough, however, to bathe the sword in blood ; and, as new and better sabres were given to the officers on their arrival in Washington, the blade was never cleansed, and the traitor's blood remains to-day on the weapon, telling the story of the conflict.
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As the column was moving on, a brawny rough rushed out with a secession flag attached to a pole, calling the Massachusetts men, "nigger thieves," and employing other similar epithets, when Lieut. Lynde, of company L, left his place, and driving the hilt of his sword into his face, knocked him on his back. Then tearing the rag of treason from the stick to which it was at- tached, he buttoned it beneath his coat and resumed his position with his company, as though nothing had occurred.
Victor Lorendo, a musician of company L, a boy of seventeen, was in the car with the band, when the mob burst into it, and he was just able to get under the train and make his escape into the country, where, tearing off the stripes from his pantaloons, so that he might not be known, he succeeded in getting to Philadel- phia, and thence to Boston, incognito, whence he walked out to Stoneham. He had been reported as dead.
Hiram P. Marston, of company L, since a gallant captain in the Massachusetts 33d, displayed admirable coolness. A ruffian fired at him, when Marston pursued him into a grain store, and gave him the contents of his rifle across the counter ; and, as the rear of his company came up, he was seen standing by the curb, loading his gun, as though firing at harmless game.
These are but a few of the many incidents that might be procured, could the scattered members of the regi- ment be conferred with. A statement of what each man experienced and saw that day would be a thrilling story.
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The wound of Capt. Dike was a severe one, though far less serious than would have been deemed probable. The ball passed through his thigh, very near the artery. He was able to hobble to the sidewalk, and happened to be at the door of a public house. He entered, and was carried by a kind friend, a stranger, -Dorsey, a tobac- conist, a Union man,- to a distant room, where, unknown to others, he was carefully nursed and cared for. He had scarcely left the bar-room in which he sought refuge, when it was filled with the ruffians, who, had they known his whereabouts would have murdered him. Indeed, the landlord answered their inquiries for him by assuring them that he had left. Here he remained in a helpless condition for more than a week ; and, meanwhile, he was fully believed to have been killed by the mob. Those who were in Stoneham at the time can remember what few others can ever realize, - the terrible excitement caused among the people of that patriotic town by the tidings of the death of their townsman. . No subsequent events of the war created so profound a sensation, either there or anywhere else in the region of the state repre- sented by the regiment, as did the occurrences of that initial day in the history of the war.
THE KILLED AND WOUNDED.
The killed and wounded during the day were as follows :
KILLED.
Addison O. Whitney, Co. D. Luther C. Ladd, Co. I).
Sumner H. Needham, Co. I. Charles A. Taylor, Co. D.
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WOUNDED.
Capt. John H. Dike, Co. L.
Harry G. Jewell, Co. I.
Geo. Colgan, Co. K.
Henry Gardner, Co. K.
Chas. B. Stinson, Co. C.
Wm. D. Gurley, Co. K.
Serg. W. H. Lamson, Co. D.
Geo. T. Whitney, Co. K.
Serg. John E. Ames, Co. D.
Chas. L. Gill, Co. L.
Alex. George, Co. D.
Daniel Brown, Co. L. Henry Dike, Co. L.
Chas. H. Chandler, Co. D.
Ed. Coburn, Co. D.
Horace W. Danforth, Co. L.
Geo. W. Lovrein, Co. D.
Stephen Flanders, Co. L.
Ira W. Moore, Co. D.
John B. Fortier, Co. L.
. Daniel C. Stevens, Co. D. Wm. R. Patch, Co. D. Daniel B. Tyler, Co. D.
John W. Kimpton, Co. L. James Keenan, Co. L.
James S. Moody, Co. L. Julian Putnam, Co. L.
Wm. G. Withington, Co. D. Serg. George G. Durrell, Co. I. Ephraim A. Perry, Co. L.
Victor G. Gingass, Co. I.
Andrew Robbins, Co. L.
Michael Green, Co. I. -
Wm. H. Young, Co. L.
Four killed, and thirty-six wounded; the particulars of which will appear further on.
THE HEROIC DEAD.
The heroic dead who fell, and whose blood rendered the pavement of Pratt Street immortal, are four.
CHARLES A. TAYLOR came to Boylston Hall on the morning the regiment left, and enlisted in company D. He was a stranger to all, and represented himself as a fancy painter by profession, about twenty-five years old, and was of light complexion and blue eyes. Such was the haste with which the companies were organized,
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Lt. Leander F. Lynde, Co. L. Lt. James F. Rowe, Co. L.
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and the lack of system with which the books were kept, in those first days of the war, that his loss was not even known until his overcoat was received by Capt. Hart. The gentleman who sent it, saw him fall, and testifies, that after he fell the brutes who killed him crushed him with clubs and rocks, so that almost all trace of humanity was beaten out of him. He did not wear a uniform, and so was taken for a civilian ; and was therefore buried in Baltimore. No trace of his family or friends has ever been discovered by the ofcers of his company or regiment ; though a box was received for him from Boston, a short time after the regiment left Baltimore.
LUTHER CRAWFORD LADD, of company D, son of John and Fanny, a native of Alexandria, N. H., re- siding in Lowell, was a young mechanic of only seven- teen years. He was born Dec. 22, 1843. He was full of patriotic ardor ; and when the call was made for the first volunteers, the earnest solicitations of his friends could not induce him to remain behind. While gallantly marching along the streets of Baltimore, he fell bleeding on the pavement; and the last words his comrades heard him utter, were, " ALL HAIL TO THE STARS AND STRIPES." .
The murderer of Ladd was probably a drunken, disso- lute wretch, residing in Williamsport, Md., named Wrench. He afterwards often boasted of the deed, and rejoiced in having killed that "boy soldier who shouted for the
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Stars and Stripes when he fell." In the summer of 1862, he was engaged in a quarrel, and discharged two bar- rels of a revolver at a man he intended to kill; but missing his aim, he was shot through the heart, and in- stantly died.
ADDISON OTIS WHITNEY, company D, -son of John F., and Jane B.,-was born in Waldo, Me., Oct. 30, 1839, and had lived in Lowell about two years. He worked in No. 3 spinning-room, Middlesex Corporation. He had been a member of the City Guards about a year and a half, and was a young man held in high esteem . by all who knew him.
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SUMNER HENRY NEEDHAM was born in Bethel, Me., . March 2, 1828, and had lived in Lawrence about twelve years. He was a corporal in company I, having been a member about five years. He was an upright man. He is supposed to have been the first mortally wounded on that day. After he fell, he was conveyed to the Infirmary, where he lingered till April 27, when his spirit took its flight for a happier world.
As Needham was getting out of the car, he placed his hand on the shoulder of private J. S. Knights, of company I, and said, " We shall have trouble to-day, and I shall never get out of it alive. Promise me, if I fall, that my body shall be sent home." Knights smiled at the apprehension as not well grounded, but assured his friend that whoever suffered would be well looked after ;
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saying which, they fell into their places, and the two never met again. L
FUNERAL HONORS AND CEREMONIES.
The body of Taylor was buried in Baltimore ; but the remains of Ladd, Whitney, and Needham were brought to Boston, in charge of Merrill S. Wright, who was de- tailed by Col. Jones for that purpose. They arrived in Boston at 5 o'clock, on the afternoon of May 2, and were escorted from the station of the Worcester Railway by the Independent Corps of Cadets, and the Brigade Band, accompanied by Gov. Andrew and staff, Gen. Schouler, and others. They were draped with the Amer- ican colors, and received with military honors, and es- corted to the Vassall tomb under King's Chapel. The buildings along the route were clad in mourning ; and flags everywhere were at half-mast. The mayors of Lowell and Lawrence were entreated by Gov. Andrew that the Massachusetts Executive might assist in the funeral services of the heroic dead ; and the obsequies were arranged in mutual conference.
On the 3d of May, the body of Needham was con- veyed to Lawrence by a Committee of the City Govern- ment, and placed in the City Hall, where it was viewed by thousands of people. The services were solemn and impressive.
The City Hall was appropriately draped ; the seats
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were filled ; and every inch of standing room was occu- pied. On the rostrum were the clergy of the city; and an eloquent sermon was preached by the pastor of the deceased, Rev. G. S. Weaver, of the Universalist Church, assisted by Rev. C. E. Fisher, of Lawrence Street Congregational Church ; Rev. W. L. Jenkins, of the Unitarian Church; Rev. Henry F. Lane, of the First Baptist Church; Rev. C. M. Dinsmore, of the Garden Street Methodist Church; Rev. Daniel Tenney, of the Central Congregational Church; and Rev. George Pack- ard, of the Episcopal Church, in the devotional exer- cises.
As this was the funeral of the first soldier killed in the war, a brief extract from the discourse may well be printed here.
The text was in Hebrews, xi. 4. " He being dead yet speak- eth." The orator said : " He speaks from that scene of conflict, with a silent yet terrible eloquence, which is heard all over our great country, and which stirs the moral indignation of twenty millions of freemen at home, and ten times that number abroad. That blow that broke in upon his brain, struck upon the con- science of a nation. That wound has a tongue, speaking with a trumpet of thunder, among the Northern hills, and along the Western prairies. The blood spilt from it is the seed of a mighty harvest of patriots, who will pour upon rebels the indignation of their outraged sonls. His shattered form calls, from its coffin, upon an outraged country, to arouse in its might, and crush out the reckless and imperious spirit of treason which has reared it- self against our prosperons land, and our beniguant form of gov-
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ernment. Yes, being dead, our brother calls upon us, his neigh- hors and friends, to stand up in our patriotism and manhood, and maintain and defend the honor of that country for which he gave his life. He calls upon our state to prove that her sons are worthy descendants of the blood of Plymouth Rock and Lexing- ton ; upon our country to prove that her people are worthy of the institutions under which they live."
In the beautiful cemetery in Lawrence lie the re- mains of Needham, under a granite monument of chaste design and finish, on which is recorded the following in- scription : -
By the City Government of Lawrence this monument is erected, to endear to posterity the memory of Sumner H. Need- ham, of company I, Sixth Regiment, M. V. M., who fell a victim to the passions of a Secession mob, during the passage of the regi- ment through the streets of Baltimore, marching to the defence of the nation's capital, on the memorable 19th day of April, A. D., 1861. Aged 33. A loyal North, in common with his widow and an only child, mourn his loss.
A. D. 1862.
On the base of the monument is the word -
NEEDHAM.
Monday, May 6, Mayor Sargent and the City Gov- ernment, and a detachment of the Richardson Light Infantry, escorted the bodies of Ladd and Whitney to Lowell. The Mayor, President of the Common Council, and Alderman J. P. Folsom, and Messrs.
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Keyes and Norris, of the Common Council, were the Committee of Arrangements. This committee received the remains of the soldiers, enclosed in metallic coffins and sealed in boxes, of the Executive of the Common- wealth, and placed them in state in Huntington Hall. Thousands of people were unable to gain admission to witness the funeral obsequies, which were as follows : -
1. Dirge - Brigade Band.
2. Reading of Scriptures - Rev. C. W. Homer.
3. Prayer - Rev. Dr. Cleaveland.
4. Anthem - St. Anne's Choir.
5. Discourse - Rev. W. R. Clark.
6. Original Hymn, written by Rev. C. W. Homer - Read by Rev. J. J. Twiss, and sung by St. Anne's Choir."
7. Prayer - Rev. D. Mott.
8. Benediction - Rev. Frederic Hinckley.
The pall-bearers were Lieutenants W. E. Farrar, G. E. Dana, Edward S. Hunt, Surgeon W. H. Bradley, James Francis, H. H. Fuller, David Hyde, and Capt. Temple Tebbetts. The city authorities caused every token of respect and reverence to be manifested ; and the people of Lowell and vicinity, in immense numbers, participated in the solemn ceremonies of the day.
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The orator, in the course of his address, said : -
" Thus early in life these sons of aged, pious parents have fallen L __
in the service of their country, on a day precious to every American patriot, - the eighty-sixth anniversary of the first blood spilled in the struggle for our liberties at Concord and Lexington. Their spirits are gone to God who gave them, and who administers his awards with impartial and unerring regard to the fidelity with which his creatures shall have discharged the trusts he has committed unto them. Henceforth, the heroes of Concord, Lexington, Bunker Hill, and Baltimore, shall blazon . together on the pages of their country's history, like the stars in the flag whose honor they died to uphold."
The funeral hymn is as follows : -
Before thy throne, great God, we bow ; Humbly we bend the sorrowing head, And ask Thy pity, while we now Commit to earth our Patriot Dead !
Our Patriot Dead ! for them we claim A place in mem'ry's holiest shrine : A sacred treasure shall their name Be handed down to coming time.
In Freedom's cause these first fruits sleep ; In peril tried they proved true men ; And, while we o'er their ashes weep, Their martyr-seed springs up again.
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Their glorious death shall make us brave ; We wipe away the falling tear ;
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'Tis hallowed ground - the soldier's gravet- 'Tis sacred dust reposes here.
Choose we with them the patriot's part ; Our country's cause doth loudly cry ; Be this most dear to every heart, - The noblest lot to do and die.
The body of Ladd was conveyed to Alexandria, where other services were celebrated, after which it was returned to Lowell.
On the 8th of May, Mayor Sargent addressed a letter to the father of Whitney, communicating the unanimous desire of the people of the city that his son's remains should be finally deposited in Lowell. Mr. Whitney replied with great decorum, assenting " with feelings of gratitude and melancholy pleasure."
The bodies of both Ladd and Whitney were deposited in the Lowell cemetery, one of the finest burial-places in the world ; but, as will appear on a subsequent page, they were destined to be removed to a more fitting resting- place.
The Commonwealth, in conjuction with the City of Lowell, has erected a beautiful monument to the mem- ory of LADD and WHITNEY. The Legislature appro- priated $2000, and Lowell expended some $2700 more. It is of elegant design and finish, as will be seen by the photograph in this volume. A full description, and the particulars of the consecration, will be found at the close of this book.
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The remains of TAYLOR are unmarked by any memo- rial ; and it cannot here be said whether their place of burial is even known. If it shall never be ascertained where he was laid, let his memory be sacred in all loyal hearts, and his noble deeds stand forever as his honor- able epitaph.
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THE RESULT.
The ashes of these proto-martyrs consecrate the soil in which they repose, and hereafter their graves will be the shrines to which men shall resort to obtain inspirations of liberty. And has not their blood sanctified the soil it drenched ? But four years have passed since they laid their lives down, on the pavements of Baltimore, and that city has not only become one of the most loyal in the land, but Maryland has wiped the stain of slavery from her fair escutcheon, and now stands forever free ; and the gigantic treason which struck them down has been "crushed, and once more peace and a united republic are the possession of the American people. Who shall say that the pure blood of those heroic men who fell in her streets on the immortal Nineteenth of April, 1861, did not contribute gloriously to that great end, and wash out the dark stains of years of oppression and violence ? " The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." Thus the Nineteenth of April is twice hallowed in the memory of every child of Massachusetts,
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who will experience new emotions of patriotic pride as he remembers the deeds of 1775 and 1861. And, as though to teach us that one state must not be the exclusive custodian of the honor of that great day, we are reminded, that, while the native state of TAYLOR is not known, LADD was born in New Hampshire, and WHITNEY and NEEDHAM in Maine. Thus at least three states share the honor of the day. If Massachusetts sent these heroes forth, they drew their first inspirations of patriotism from Maine and New Hampshire.
ARRIVAL IN WASHINGTON.
On reaching Washington, the regiment was welcomed with great joy by the national authorities, who were fearing an immediate assault from the enemy. They were the first armed force to come to the relief of the capital ; and their presence was of itself a defence, though their position was one of great danger and importance, for the enemy was supposed to be within a short distance, and all connection with the North was cut off for several days. They were quartered in the Senate Chamber and adjoining rooms and halls, and on their first night in Washington were able, for the first time since leaving home, to sleep. Their long and eventful march had indeed been checkered. Féted by friends during the first part of their journey, and assaulted by their foes during the last part, they were
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glad at length to rest in the quiet of their stately quarters. It will be long before the Senate Chamber presents a sight like that which greeted the eye of the spectator during the nights of the last of April. The colonel was accustomed to sleep in the Vice President's chair, with sword and equipments on ; the rest of the officers and men were prostrate all over the floor around him, each with sword or musket within reach ; the gas-lights turned down to sparks, and no sound but the heavy breathing of sleepers and the hollow tramp of sentinels on the lobby floors. Thus the gallant fellows slept on their arms for several nights. The iron ornaments, and rough and polished ashlers, and barrels of cement that lay about the capital, were speedily extemporized into formidable barricades ; and soon everything was in readi- ness for an attack, which, though confidently expected, never came.
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