USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Shelburne > History and tradition of Shelburne, Massachusetts > Part 23
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Early in January, 1861, Governor Andrew issued his historical "General Order No. 4" to the State Militia. Each unit was to drop all members who could not, or would not, render active service, to fill their places and to bring the organizations up to full war strength with men ready to respond to an emer- gency call. Also, new units were to be recruited wherever possible. On Feb. 4 the local company (Company H, Tenth Massachusetts Infantry, of which more later) met and agreed almost unanimously to conform. Apparently nearly everyone who possibly could stayed with the unit.
In view of the quotation from the Franklin Demo- crat in the preceding column, it is only fair to insert that that paper announced its full support of all activi- ties to preserve the Union, in its issue of April 19.
On receipt of the news from Fort Sumter the town was aflame. A flag was hoisted over the militia's armory on April 18 and a salute of thirty-two guns was fired. On April 19 the two towns held meetings and each voted five hundred dollars for uniforms and equipment. On the 22nd a large and highly enthusi- astic public meeting was held ; Hon. Carver Hotchkiss presided, F. J. Pratt was secretary, and the speakers listed were Rev. W. F. Loomis, Rev. E. H. Gray, Mr. E. Maynard and a Mr. Thayer. Several of the more prosperous citizens pledged their means, so far as might be necessary, for the support of the families of volunteers. Finally, some fifteen hundred dollars was subscribed to purchase revolvers, bowie knives and similar articles for the use of the members of Com-
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pany H, a gesture which indicated that the patriotic sentiments of the gathering were far superior to its knowledge of current methods of warfare.
A more practical demonstration occurred in May when Company H went on a three-day trial march with full equipment, camping down for the two nights in Ashfield and Conway, respectively. Presumably the outfit carried its own rations, but in actuality most of the food consumed on the march was provided, fresh from their ovens, by the good housewives along the route. One of them is quoted as warning a group of soldiers that if they backed out they would never get another piece of Buckland pie. This company left on June 14 for Springfield where it, with the rest of the regiment, was formally mustered into Federal service.
ACTIONS TAKEN IN TOWN MEETINGS
The business of the Shelburne town meetings, both annual and special, for the next four years had to do very largely with war matters.
A special town meeting called on July 3, voted to authorize the Selectmen to "pay, in accordance with an Act of the Legislature providing for the families of the volunteer soldiers in the town of Shelburne" an amount not specified, presumably from funds pro- vided by the State. Also, it voted to "authorize and instruct" the Selectmen to borrow a sum of money not to exceed one thousand dollars to pay such ex- penses already incurred for such support, including reimbursement of people who had already contributed to it. An attempt to rescind this vote at a special meeting in August was defeated.
The annual meeting of 1862 ( March 3) voted to abate poll taxes of men in service. A special meeting was called later (July 24) to take action on a call by the Government for volunteers for nine months. Governor Andrew had asked Shelburne to furnish twenty-two of these. The town voted, 120 to two, to pay a bonus of $125 to each volunteer. It author- ized the Selectmen to borrow the $2750 needed for this purpose, but evidently there was some question about the legality of such a vote. This difficulty was resolved when the 120 men who voted "yes" agreed personally to indemnify the Selectmen against any liability they might incur in borrowing that money in the name of the town. This agreement to indemnify carried the interesting stipulation that if the guarantors were called upon to indemnify, the shares of the $2750 which each would pay would be in the same ratio as their taxes. A committee was chosen to secure others to participate in that pledge and to "use their influence in obtaining enlistments." Its members were Oscar Bardwell, S. B. Fiske, H. S. Greenleaf and George P. Carpenter.
Similar actions were taken at subsequent town meet- ings, annual and special, throughout the four years. Whenever calls came for volunteers, committees were appointed to obtain enlistments and funds were appro-
priated for bounties and for the expenses of those com- mittees. The device described above, of having private citizens pledge themselves to indemnify the town offi- cials in case their borrowings proved illegal, was used several times, but there is no record that the guarantees were ever called for.
The calls for volunteers became more and more difficult to meet. The government called for three- year enlistments in December of 1862, and the town increased its bounty offering to $200. Later in the war men could obtain bounties from the town and other sources for $325. Shelburne was not entirely free from the disgrace of bounty-jumpers which plagued the State and nation, but it had comparatively few. The draft finally was enacted and went into effect in 1863 and was calmly accepted by the town, which was assigned a quota of forty. A Shelburne resident, J. E. Streeter, who had been blind for several years, was called upon to draw names of draftees from this county.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Women were of course excluded from town meet- ings in those days but not from all war activities; in fact, as in all the wars this country has fought, they were invaluable. Shortly after the outbreak of the war they met and organized a "Soldiers' Aid Society" which met to knit, sew, scrape lint, make bandages and prepare personal comforts for the men. Mrs. W. W. Carpenter, whose husband was later wounded, was elected President and Mrs. E. Smead, Secretary. Calls began to come through from the hospitals and were met promptly. Fairs were held to obtain funds for the purchase of materials. The amount of other work which the women did as individuals cannot even be estimated.
In this connection Shelburne became the source of a supply of army uniforms. Mrs. Zebulon Field had been trained in the tailoring trade and was experi- enced in it. No record is available, but it is known that, with the help of women to whom she could turn over the less difficult parts of the work, she produced a very considerable number of uniforms. Incidentally, the rather primitive sewing machine that she used is now in the possession of her granddaughter, Mrs. Alice M. Ware.
Joel Thayer, a local storekeeper, happened to have on hand an unusually large supply of cotton cloth. In view of the shortage of such goods that developed early in the war, it was a matter of comment that this excess stock was most fortunate for the community and the army and presumably for Mr. Thayer, him- self.
Referring again to the activities of women in the war, Shelburne has a claim for at least a slight share of credit as the birthplace of Mrs. Belle Reynolds. She was the daughter of J. M. Macomber, at that time principal of the Franklin Academy. Taken to
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Illinois at an early age, she married a young man who served as officer throughout the war in the 17th Illinois Volunteers, an outfit which saw particularly hard service up and down the Mississippi Valley. She joined her husband in camp the first summer of the war and remained with him until its close. She underwent all the hardships of military life in camp, on the road, and behind the battle lines, and made herself invaluable in helping with the wounded in hospitals and even in the open field. She carefully kept a diary, and the excerpts quoted from it in Moore's "Women of the War" are terrifying but fascinating reading. After the battle of Pittsburg Landing, she was telling of her experiences before an informal gathering on a river steamer, which included Governor Yates of Illinois and some of his staff. Someone remarked that she deserved a commission more than half the officers. The Governor took this in all serious- ness, sent at once for a blank, filled it in with signa- tures and seal, and commissioned her, major. The excellent portrait of this remarkable woman, printed in the book just mentioned, shows a strong, refined and kindly face, with enough quiet courage for any ordeal.
THE SHELBURNE SELECTMEN
Enough has been written in the preceding pages to indicate the responsibilities placed on the towns for the conduct of the war. The burden naturally fell most heavily on the Selectmen, and it seems only fair that their names should be mentioned here. These men were elected annually at the town meetings in March, and the years in which they served are given after their names: John A. Andrews, 1864; Amasa Bardwell, 1860-1865; R. B. Bardwell, 1862-1863, 1864, 1865; Ira W. Barnard, 1861, 1862, 1863; Pliny Fiske, 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865; Harry Wells, 1860; E. M. Whitney, 1860, 1861.
SHELBURNE MEN IN THE ARMED SERVICES
The statement is made in William Schouler's "History of Massachusetts in the Civil War," pub- lished in 1868, that Shelburne furnished one hundred and eighty men for the war, a surplus of twenty-two over and above all demands. Such lists necessarily vary, as will be shown below, but that figure, even though adjusted later, indicates the patriotism of the town and its devotion to the Union cause.
Most of the men who entered the war at its start were already enrolled in Company H of the Tenth Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. This unit was organized in 1857 under Halbert S. Greenleaf as captain. Ozro Miller, the first lieuten- ant, succeeded Greenleaf as captain and held that position when the regiment was mustered into Federal service. (Officers in State units were elected by the men until they were mustered into Federal service.) This company was the oldest in the regiment and so held the post of honor and of danger at the right of
the line. It was composed mostly. of men from Shel- burne, Buckland, and near-by towns and was known to be well trained. It probably contained more Shel- burne men than any other single unit. It saw little active service for over a year. Then, at the battle of Fair Oaks it suddenly met overwhelming odds and suffered heavy losses; ten men from Franklin County were killed and nineteen wounded. Henry C. Sever- ance of Shelburne was the first from his town, and the first from his regiment, to be lost; five men of that name were in service, bearing up the character- istics and the traditions of an historic Shelburne family. Shortly after this, at the battle of Malvern Hill, Ozro Miller, by then serving as major, was badly wounded and was captured, dying a few days later in Libby Prison.
Another unit which included a considerable group of Shelburne men was the Fifty-second Infantry. This outfit was recruited during the war in Franklin and Hampshire Counties. One of its organizers was Captain Greenleaf, and when it was completed he was made its colonel.
Most of the other Shelburne men were scattered through various other organizations, including some in other states, making it extremely difficult to com- pile a complete list.
It is perhaps only fair to the families who would be interested in the lists below, and also to those who print them here, to indicate how they were compiled.
First, it seems to the writer that such a local his- tory as this should include all those who had close connections with Shelburne, its families, its industry and its history, even though their places of enlistment and their legal residences at the time may have been elsewhere. An attempt has been made to do this. Second, there is in the State archives or the Town Office no official list of residents of Shelburne in serv- ice. The nine-volume lists published by the Adjutant General's office are arranged by regiments and com- panies and not by towns. Places of enlistment, muster- ing and legal residence are given when known but are frequently missing, and out-of-state enlistments are of course not given. Finally, unofficial lists vary in value according to the purpose and the accuracy of the com- pilers and the information available to them.
The best list this writer has seen is a hand-written volume in the Shelburne Town Office which shows every indication of painstaking care. Its introductory paragraph, omitting phrases not applicable to this war, is as follows:
"Compiled by William O. Taylor, in 1896, from published 'Records of Massachusetts Volunteers,' Regi- mental Histories, Official Papers, Town Records, and [lists] in the State House in Boston, the record of the 'Soldiers of the Rebellion' is believed to be rea- sonably correct and complete . .
The Taylor lists as he wrote them follow, except for a few minor changes due to later information. In these lists the rank at the time of discharge, if above that of private, is indicated. Also, casualties are shown
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as follows: K, killed in action; W, wounded ; DW, died of wounds; D, died in service, presumably of illness; P, taken prisoner; DP, died in prison; Des, deserted.
Charles F. Alden, Corp. Ethan H. Allen Henry T. Allen, Corp. Lewis P. Alexander Henry Atkins (Des) John E. Austin (W) Marcus E. Austin Frank D. Bardwell (W) William R. Bardwell Carl Bauer (Bower ?) Alfred Biroot Antoine Bishop Alvin Blackwell
Elijah M. Briggs (K) Pliny H. Briggs Albert Brintz John W. Birmingham Henry T. Brown Charles Buckley James Burke William Butler John R. Campbell (K) Walter W. Carpenter, 1st. Serg. (W) Hubbard Carleton (D) Michael Carr ( P, Des) William Carroll (Des) Amariah Chandler (W) Charles H. Clarke (W) James Cody
Josiah S. Coleman (W) Philip C. Collins (D) Edward P. Conant (W) Pierce Culliston Harry D. Culver (D) Dexter A. Daniels, Corp. Samuel F. Daniels Henry Daufen (Danfer ?), Corp. (W) Lewis Daufen Alonzo Day Josiah P. Day James W. Dean
Henry W. Dodds (W, DP) Charles B. Dole (DP) Thomas Dowling Amasa Dunham Peter Ely, Corp.
Josiah S. Emerson (K) Chauncey L. Emmons (DP) Sidney T. Estee (W) Elisha W. Fay (K) John Ferris (DP) Henry G. Fish Giles E. Fletcher Stephen Ford, Corp.
Ansel T. Foster
William H. Foster
John A. Franklin (W, P) Callman Frink
Chauncy Gale, Serg. Theodore E. Galer (DP) Peter Gottstein
William H. Gragg George I. Green
Halbert S. Greenleaf, Col.
Thomas Gregg (Des)
Johannas Grieble ( Griebel )
Jacob Haigis, Serg.
John J. Hall
Emory H. Hawks
John Henry (D)
Nathaniel Herrick, Corp. George F. Hill
Charles H. Hodge
Phineas P. Hormer
Charles D. Hotchkiss
Augustin Hovey, Serg.
Silas C. Hunter
Moses Johnson
Frederick Jones (Des) William Kelley (Des) Bernard Koelman Charles P. Lamb
Chauncey M. Lawson Benjamin F. Leland, 2nd. Lieut. (K) Thomas Lewis William Lightfoot Webster R. Long Daniel Lynch
James L. Lyons, Serg. (P) Charles H. Marshall Joseph Martin Lewis W. Mason
Henry G. Maynard, 1st. Serg. Preston C. Maynard John McCann Robert McFarland John McGinley Thomas McIntire James McLane
John McSherry
James W. H. Meacham, Serg. (K) Joseph C. Merrill Ozro Miller, Maj. (W, DP) Frederick O. Morton John J. Murphy Edward P. Nally, Serg. (W) Charles Nan
Edwin C. W. Orcutt (Des) Cullen C. Packard
William A. Parmenter
James H. Payne, Corp.
Charles O. Pelton
Charles Perry
Daniel S. Pheteplace
George R. Pierce, Corp. Joseph P. Pond
Charles A. Pratt
Chester A. Pratt
Edward Ward
Dexter D. Ware
Robert A. Prouty
Alfred L. Putney
Nahum S. Putney (K)
William Reed Marcus W. Rice
Walter H. Rice
Joseph Robinson (P)
Charles Russell (DW)
Charles W. Russell (K)
Noble D. Sackett
Gilbert St. Antoine (K)
Christian Schlenker, 1st. Lieut.
Harvey C. Wright
Everett E. Severance (K)
Henry C. Severance (K) John F. Severance
John Yale, Corp. Amasa York Mallory York, Corp.
Joseph C. Severance, Corp.
John Younie
Mr. Taylor has compiled two other lists. One is of men from other towns who for one reason or another enlisted here, and that is of no interest in this book. The other is of Shelburne residents or former residents who enlisted elsewhere and such names very properly belong here.
Jarvis S. Allen, Capt. James H. Comstock (D) Samuel Fiske, 2nd. Lieut. (DW) Joseph R. Gould, Capt. (K) William E. Hart (DW) Henry M. Kellogg, Capt. (K) John Kellogg, Col. (D)
Jonathan Macomber (K)
Michael D. Shea, Corp. Henry C. Sinclair John B. Slate (W, P) George A. Smead James Smith Edward C. Sparhawk
George F. Steele Adolph Stemple
Elliot O. Stevens William Streeter, Maj. (W) Gilbert D. Streeter (P)
Silas Nims, Serg.
John Norton
Patrick Sweeney (DW)
Dennis Sweeny
Alfred E. Sweet, Corp. John Sweet Asa Tilden (DP)
Albert Tolman
Henry Tracy, 1st. Lieut.
Henry C. Utley (DW)
Morris Vincent, Corp.
Garrison A. Vosmus Charles Wadsworth John F. Walsh
Charles Warren
Benjamin D. Waterman
John M. Wells, Corp.
William Wells, Corp.
Charles R. White, Serg. James M. Williams (W, DP) George W. Wilson (W) James E. Wilson, Corp. Chandler J. Woodward, Capt.
Julius M. Marshall Asa C. Merrill (K)
Darwin C. Merrill (P) Solomon F. Merrill
Edward F. Morton Francis F. Nye (D) T. M. Nye (K) Melvin Severance Orlando C. Sweet David A. Wilson
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Lot M. Blackwell, Corp. S. Marston Blackwell Samuel H. Blackwell, 2nd. Lieut. Charles Boyd (Des) James L. Bragdon (P) William Brice
George B. Pratt
Sylvester M. Ware
The abnormally high percent of casualties in this group may indicate that many more Shelburne men enlisted in other towns and even in other states. It is understandable that their names might not be reported unless brought to attention by death, promo- tion or some other reason.
Still another list should be included here. The "History of the Connecticut Valley" published in 1870 by the firm of Louis H. Everts of Philadelphia, lists (in Volume II) the names of the twenty-six who died in the war as inscribed on the Soldiers' Monu- ment ; and also of one hundred and two described as "those furnished by Shelburne for service in the army." Any list compiled so soon after the war is necessarily inaccurate and Mr. Taylor includes fifteen of these names with those who, according to him, had no connection with Shelburne except to enlist here. It may be assumed, however, that the immediate con- temporaries of these fifteen may have known of some connection with the town. Of the one hundred and twenty-eight listed in that history, one hundred and four are also in the preceding lists and the remainder are given below :
Franklin Allen ( Des) Charles F. Powers (W)
Jacob Bringolf (K)
Rodney MI. Powers, Jr.
Burnam H. Buddington
Lewis G. Pratt
Alfred Burdick, Capt.
D. W. Reed
T. E. Caler (K)
Charles W. Ruppell Andrew Sawyer
George B. Carter Addison Goodnow
Robert Sheehey
David Henry ( Heney?)
Luther J. Smith
George MI. Lander (K) Charles W. Stone
William Levy ( Levey?)
John Tonio
Asa C. Merrill (K)
J. A. Pittsinger
James M. Warner George O. Wilder
Six other names appear from sources which indi- cate that they belong in these lists.
Rev. W. F. Loomis, who was mentioned early in this chapter, is buried here and is listed in the veter- ans' burial records as having died in service.
William P. Mehan is mentioned in a letter from the State Adjutant General's office as dying in service.
Finally a small book in the Town Office gives, with- out explanation, the names of four other men not listed elsewhere:
John W. Birmingham Casper Condert
Dexter A. Daniels Henry A. Howard, Serg.
Evidently towns and cities helped each other in filling quotas, if they happened to have a surplus. At one time eight men were "procured" at Boston and at another, five were transferred from Bernardston, and Shelburne paid their bounties. Those shortages must have been temporary, however, and the "loans" repaid, for the over-all record confirms Schouler's statement that Shelburne exceeded its quota for the war.
There is also a record of five men who enlisted but were "rejected" in a few days, presumably for physi- cal unfitness; and of six men who managed to get the
bounty, at that time (1864) $325, and to avoid even reporting for enlistment.
Some brief comments may be in order. First, these lists are not official, or legal, records of residence. They are for anyone interested in Shelburne and its people. The purpose has been to include everyone who had any reasonable connection with the town, and in doubtful cases the names have been included. Omis- sions, if any, are unintentional and deeply to be regretted.
Second, the number of men who died in service, other than from wounds, is disproportionately small in view of the conditions in the Army Medical Corps. A possible explanation may be found in the large number of men recorded as "discharged for disability" (not shown here) ; sick men may have been sent home to die.
Third, of all men listed here, only one, William Levy, ever served in the Navy and he for only part of his service.
In the election of Nov. 8, 1864, Abraham Lincoln received 268 votes as against 28 for his opponents, and John A. Andrew, 204 against 29.
SOLDIERS' MONUMENT
Friends and relatives of the soldiers killed in the war, filled with sorrow and mourning their terrible loss of young manhood, planned to erect a Soldiers' Monument to express their respect for those who had gone.
As a result the town of Shelburne voted March 7, 1867 to borrow a sum not to exceed $2,000.00 for the erection of a suitable monument to the memory of the men of Shelburne and Buckland who had fallen in the late struggle for freedom and that the matter of a monument to the soldiers who had fallen during the rebellion be referred to the committee to perfect a plan for a monument, recommend a site and report at a later meeting. The committee was Major Wil- liam Streeter, Zebulon W. Field and D. O. Fiske.
After considerable negotiation a contract was made March 20, 1868 with the Mitchell Granite Co., of Quincy, Mass. for the construction, lettering and polishing of a monument at a cost of $1,846.73 - delivery to be made June 15, 1868, on car in Quincy. Some additional expense was later incurred. Corre- spondence concerning details continued for several
weeks. At last the work was completed, ready for transportation. Estimates were received as to cost of carrying the monument from the yard at Quincy to the depot in Charlestown, thence via the Fitchburg Railroad. The Boston and Albany offered to deliver the monument via the Fitchburg and Worcester Rail- road at Fitchburg. The Connecticut River Railroad was consulted - all in an effort to complete the work within the town's appropriation. At last, October found the committee urging that the monument be delivered before cold weather.
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When received, the monument was found to be stained and discolored and the committee refused to accept it although about a thousand dollars had been paid on account. There then ensued further corre- spondence about cleaning it - the assurance that a monument from the same block of granite had been approved by a Steubenville, Ohio committee and found satisfactory. It was not until the following year that an expert was sent, after various chemicals had been tried, and finished the cleaning of the monument.
Meanwhile a suitable location had been discussed. Opinion favored erection on the lot of the Baptist Church. After overcoming objections on the part of some members of that body, a plot of land was deeded to the town for said purpose.
Accordingly, the town voted July 28, 1868 "that
The inscriptions on the monument follow :
In Honor of the Fallen Soldiers of Shelburne Killed or Died of Wounds - 14 Died in Rebel Prisons - 5 Total of 26 From All Causes
GETTYSBURG AND FREDERICKSBURG WILDERNESS AND PORT HUDSON FAIR OAKS AND PETERSBURG ANTIETAM AND MALVERN HILL
10th Reg. Company H
Charles B. Dole Charles W. Russell Josiah S. Emerson John R. Campbell
33rd Illinois Volunteers Capt. Henry M. Kellogg
27th Reg. Company B Chauncey L. Emmons Patrick Sweeney Theodore E. Galer Philip C. Collins
the monument be located in the grounds of the Baptist Society north of the Church provided that the Society make the best title which they are able to give." The deed given provided a circle of land twenty feet in diameter and a sidewalk six feet wide from River Street to Main Street, stipulating that if the land were not used for this purpose that it should be returned.
The monument was hauled from the station with horses and set up at this location - the weight being twelve tons.
Later, public opinion veered again and favored a location in Arms Cemetery where the present beauti- ful circle permits Memorial Day Exercises to be held with fitting honor to the brave souls of Shelburne who gave their lives to save the Union.
10th Reg. Company H
Major Ozro Miller Lt. Benj. F. Leland Henry C. Severance
Asa C. Merrill
N. Smith Putney
Elijah M. Briggs
Jacob Bringolf
Elisha W. Fay
James M. Williams
Silas Nims
Henry C. Utley
Col. John Kellogg
31st Reg. Company B Asa Tilden George M. Lander
34th Reg. Henry W. Dodds
52nd Reg. Company E Nathaniel Herrick E. Everett Severance Henry D. Culver
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