USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Ashburnham > History of Ashburnham, Massachusetts : from the grant of Dorchester Canada to the present time 1734-1886 with a genealogical register of Ashburnham families > Part 32
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defensive proportions and several of them are still preserved among the treasured relies of the war. There was con- siderable talk of procuring a revolver for each man of the company, and indeed, suggested by emphatic votes passed at an informal meeting of the citizens, a large number was purchased before it became apparent that a military company could not enter the field of active service in the capacity of a movable arsenal. One revolver was finally presented to each officer and the remainder was sold. In this procced- ing the town in its corporate capacity took no part except to express an emphatic dissent ; but with greater wisdom and a more attentive regard for the future necessities of all con- cerned, the selectmen were instructed to provide for the needy families of the men in the service. During the con- tinued progress of the war, this proposal was faithfully executed and large sums of money from the treasury of the town and of the State were expended in the relief of the families of the soldiers.
The Twenty-first Regiment was recruited in July and August, 1861. Company G of this regiment, composed largely of men from this town, entered Camp Lincoln in Worcester, July 19, and with the regiment left for the seat of war August 23. The record of this gallant regiment is a prominent feature of the reports of the Adjutant-General and its history has been published in an interesting and anthentic narrative by Captain Charles F. Walcott. The regiment was assigned to the Burnside expedition to North Carolina and there participated in the battles of Roanoke, Newbern and Camden. In the summer and autumn of 1862 they participated in the campaign in Virginia and there inscribed on their colors the sanguinary lines of Manassas, Chantilly, South Mountain, Antietam and Fredericksburg. The casualties in these engagements will be noted with the
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several individual records. In the spring of 1863 the regi- ment rendered efficient service in Tennessee and in this campaign the battles of Blue Springs and Campbell's Station and the siege of Knoxville were inscribed on their banners.
About the time General Grant assumed command of the armies of the United States, the regiment joined the army of Virginia and shared the arduous service and honors of that decisive campaign. In August, 1864, at the expiration of the term of service, those who had not reenlisted were honorably discharged and the veterans who had engaged to serve during the war were transferred to the Thirty-sixth and subsequently to the Fifty-sixth Regiment. They re- mained with the army in Virginia and shared the glory of the capitulation of the rebel army.
The following list contains the names of the men from Ashburnham who served in the Twenty-first Regiment. Nearly all of them were members of the Ashburnham Light Infantry, were mustered into the service in July, 1861, and were members of Company G.
Captain Addison A. Walker, the senior captain of the regiment, was the commander of the Light Infantry at the beginning of the war. To the governor he promptly tendered the service of a disciplined and efficient company. In Janu- ary, 1862, the regiment sailed for North Carolina. Captain Walker, on account of sickness, was left at Annapolis. Sub- sequently he was detailed on recruiting service for several months. He then joined the regiment at Newbern, North Carolina, but being detailed on special service he could not be assigned to the command of his company. At this time General Burnside tendered him a position on his staff, but impatient at the restraints and embarrassments of the situa- tion he resigned May 13, 1862. From the first he enjoyed the respect of his men and the confidence of his superior officers.
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First Lieutenant Alonzo P. Davis was a veteran in the Light Infantry, of which he had been an officer several years. He resigned in January, 1862.
Second Lieutenant Samuel A. Taylor was promoted first lieutenant, January 24, 1862; captain, May 28, 1862; resigned. January 13, 1863. He was subsequently a second lieutenant in the Fourth Heavy Artillery.
Sergeant Asahel Wheeler was promoted second lieutenant, January 24, 1862 ; first lieutenant, May 28, 1862; captain. January 14, 1863 ; resigned, April 25, 1863. He was sub- sequently a captain in the Sixty-first Regiment.
Sergeant Charles H. Parker promoted first lieutenant, May 28, 1862; resigned, March 2, 1863. Wounded severely while in command of the company at the battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862.
Corporal George E. Davis was an adjutant and sergeant- major ; promoted first lieutenant, April 26, 1863; he reën- listed and was honorably discharged, August 30, 1864, at the reduction of the regiment.
Sergeant Joseph II. Whitney promoted to sergeant-major, July 21, 1862, and second lieutenant, October 30, 1862; resigned, February 23, 1863.
Sergeant Samuel C. Lesure reenlisted, and in a reorgani- zation of the regiment was discharged as a supernumerary, September 24, 1864. ·
Sergeant M. Thomas Russell was discharged on account of disability, May 8, 1862.
Corporal Lorenzo HI. Gilbert promoted first sergeant, January 2, 1864; reenlisted and was honorably discharged, September 24, 1864. He was wounded in the service.
Corporal Harrison C. Cheney promoted sergeant and acting sergeant-major and discharged at expiration of term of service, August 30, 1864.
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Corporal Charles G. Lawrence reenlisted ; was wounded at Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864.
Corporal Charles Henry Puffer reenlisted ; was promoted to sergeant and killed at Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864.
Corporal Henry II. Martindale reenlisted.
George F. Puffer promoted corporal and sergeant ; reen- listed and was honorably discharged, September 24, 1864.
Jonas W. Dwinnell promoted to corporal and discharged on account of wounds, January 22, 1863. He was wounded and suffered the loss of an arm at the battle of Fredericks- burg.
Erastus MeIntosh promoted corporal ; reenlisted.
Alfred Piper promoted corporal ; discharged on account of disability, October 16, 1862.
Frank J. Litch, wagoner, discharged at expiration of term of service, August 30, 1861.
Peter Archambeau discharged on account of disability, May 25, 1863.
Joseph B. Brown discharged on account of wounds, May 7, 1863.
Merrill Farwell discharged on account of disability, August 4, 1862.
James M. Garnet was transferred to Company HI, Octo- ber 20, 1861 ; promoted to sergeant ; reënlisted and honor- ably discharged, September 24, 1864.
George G: Hadley was wounded at Camden, North Caro- lina, and discharged on account of wounds, December 4, 1862.
James P. Hare was wounded at Chantilly ; discharged on account of wounds, January 16, 1863.
George W. Lawrence reenlisted.
Washburn Lewis discharged on account of disability, March 18, 1864.
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James MeIntire died at Newbern, North Carolina, April 21, 1862.
Ezra M. Merritt discharged on account of disability, August 9, 1862.
George E. Page killed at Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862.
Calvin Pindar reenlisted.
William Pratt wounded at Antietam and discharged on account of wounds, November 25, 1862.
Eugene A. Puffer wounded at Antietam ; discharged on account of wounds, March 27, 1863.
Robert N. Shaw discharged on account of disability, November 29, 1862.
Ransom G. Stowell discharged on account of disability, May 8, 1862. He subsequently served in the Fifty-third Regiment.
George M. Wetherbee discharged at expiration of term of service, August 30, 1864.
James E. Whipple reenlisted.
Charles H. White, musician, reenlisted.
Frank B. Whitmore discharged at expiration of term of service, August 30, 1864.
Merrick Whitney, Jr., discharged on account of disability, January 26, 1863.
George W. Wilson discharged on account of disability, September 20, 1862.
Waldo Dwinnell enlisted January 5, 1864, and was assigned to this company; he was taken prisoner at the battle of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864, and died in Ander- sonville Prison in September.
Frank G. Kibling enlisted January 4, 1864, and died in hospital at Camp Nelson, Kentucky, February 22, 1864.
Sylvester F. Oliver enlisted January 5, 1864, and was
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HISTORY OF ASHBURNHAM.
transferred to Thirty-sixth Regiment. He died January 29, 1865.
Henry E. Thomas enlisted December 31, 1863, and was killed in battle of Cold Harbor, June 2, 1864.
Hosea Wallace enlisted July 23, 1862, and was discharged with the regiment, August 30, 1864.
Lemuel Whitney enlisted in Company A of the same regi- ment, August 14, 1862, and was discharged with the regi- ment, August 30, 1864.
James H. Willard was an original member of company H, and was discharged, August 30, 1864.
Fernando C. L. W. Thayer enlisted in January, 1864, and was assigned to Company A. He was transferred with the veterans to the Thirty-sixth Regiment.
While the regiment was in Tennessee in December, 1863, a large part of the men reenlisted for the war. The. vet- erans were granted a furlough of thirty days and were per- mitted to visit their homes. When the regiment was dis- missed at the expiration of term of service, the veterans were transferred to the Thirty-sixth Regiment. In this connection their continued service is stated. They remained with the army in Virginia until the regiment was disbanded at the expiration of term of service. They were then transferred to the Fifty-sixth Regiment and were honorably discharged with that regiment, July 12, 1865. The service was long and the record honorable. The veterans who counted twice on the quota of Ashburnham were, George E. Davis, Samuel C. Lesure, Lorenzo H. Gilbert, Charles Henry Puffer, George F. Puffer, Charles G. Lawrence, Erastus MeIntosh. Charles HI. White, George W. Lawrence, Henry H. Martin- dale, James M. Garnet and James E. Whipple.
Calvin Pindar enlisted on the quota of Ashburnham and reenlisted on quota of Clinton. Lyman F. Thurston of
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Holden, Luther E. Stewart of Clinton, Henry C. Perkins of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, Frank Lumerzette of Holden and Timothy Donovan of Worcester, on reenlist- ment, were assigned on the quota of Ashburnham. The veterans who were credited to the quota of this town antici- pated a bounty which they did not receive.
After the transfer to the Thirty-sixth Regiment in 1864 there were several casualties which have not been stated. Sylvester F. Oliver died January 29, 1865 ; Waldo Dwin- nell was taken prisoner at the battle of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864, and died within the rebel lines in September fol- lowing ; Frank Lumerzette died of wounds. August 12, 1864 ; Henry C. Perkins was transferred February 11, 1865, to the Veteran Reserve Corps, and James E. Whipple was discharged on account of disability, January 19, 1865.
In the Twenty-first Regiment, associated with and one of the men of Ashburnham, was Colonel Joseph P. Rice. He early manifested a military spirit and ability to command. He had been an able and popular commander of the Ash- burnham Light Infantry, and at the outbreak of the war he was colonel of the Ninth Regiment of militia to which the Light Infantry belonged. In this service he had enjoyed the respect and confidence of his associates. In the begin- ning of the war he early tendered the service of his command to the governor and was greatly disappointed that his regi- ment was not accepted. Ready to enter the service in any capacity he was commissioned a captain in the Twenty-first Regiment and assigned to the command of Company H. In February following he was promoted to major and to lieu- tenant-colonel, May 16. He was a soldier in the best use of the term, and to bravery and courage he united manliness of character and genuine kindness of heart. At the battle of Chantilly, September 1, 1862, while advancing beyond 29
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HISTORY OF ASHBURNHAM.
his command, to determine whether a force in his front were friends or enemies, he was shot through the body by a musket-ball and died instantly. The intelligence of his death was received with sudden grief and unfeigned expres- sions of personal sorrow. At a meeting of the town, November 4, 1862, the following resolutions were unani- mously adopted :
Resolved, That as citizens of Ashburnham we desire to express our deep sense of the loss we have sustained in the recent death of Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph P. Rice at the battle of Chantilly, and our appreciation of the lasting obligations under which we rest for the great service he has rendered us and his country in the time of need, and to show, as far as in us lies, a becoming respect for his memory.
Resolved, That in the death of Colonel Rice we mourn the loss of one who has been to us a friend and a townsman faithful to every delegated trust, discharging all the duties imposed upon him with a generous disregard of self and in such a manner as to entitle him to our warmest admiration and respect.
The best and wisest laws that have governed and fostered civilization often have been the crystallization of some rule of action which the people practised by choice a long time before they were required to yield a willing obedience to statute. In the same manner an humble and subordinate officer in the discharge of duty in a limited field has often employed methods of procedure which subsequently have been grasped and dignified with the authority of a policy in the conduct of national affairs. The officers of the army, who were the first to come into immediate contact with the institu- tion of slavery and the attending embarrassments, originated and early put in practice the liberal policy which was finally adopted by the Government.
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In the autumn of 1861, while the Twenty-first Regiment was in Maryland, in accordance with a practice then prevail- ing and encouraged in the army, the officers were expected to return to the owner any slave who might be found in their vicinity. Captain Walker, faithfully representing the senti- ment of the men from Ashburnham under his connoand, was the first officer who refused to perform this service. On an occasion when Captain Walker was officer of the day, the dignified personage of Governor Hicks applied to him for the recovery of a slave then within the lines of the regiment. The governor was met with a decided refusal, from which he appealed with effect to the colonel of the regiment. The colonel ordered Captain Walker to find and deliver the fugitive to the expectant owner. To this Captain Walker replied that he did not enter the service for an opportunity of hunting slaves and politely requested his superior officer to detail some other captain to perform this servile duty. Then every captain in the regiment was in turn detailed for this work and every one followed the example of Captain Walker. The negro finally escaped. Had the fortunes of this slave been less fortuitous, the events of the day were the harbinger of the freedom of his race.
The large number already named, who entered the service in 1861, did not exhaust the patriotic impulse of the town. Immediately after the departure of Company G, Twenty- first Regiment, twenty men enlisted in Company F, Twenty- fifth Regiment. They were mustered into the service at Worcester in September and left for the seat of war, October 31, 1861. This organization has an excellent record. It was a part of the Burnside expedition and was retained in North Carolina until the decisive campaign in Virginia. It then participated in the battle of Cold Harbor and other engagements near Richmond. In October, 1864,
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HISTORY OF ASHBURNHAM.
the reenlisted veterans and the later recruits formed a bat- talion of four companies and remained in the service until July 13, 1865. Three recruits, credited on the quota of Ashburnham, subsequently were assigned to this regiment and will be named in later paragraphs.
Frank A. Davis, Michael FitzGibbon, Francis H. Morton and Carlos P. Ward were veterans in this regiment. Davis and FitzGibbon were discharged at the close of the war in July, 1865. Morton was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps, and Ward, whose original enlistment was not credited to the quota of this town, died at Newbern, North Carolina, November 14, 1864.
Corporal Augustus S. Rockwood, Corporal John A. Spaulding, Octavius W. Brown, Harvey Clark, Lincoln Wallace and Martin Burgess were discharged at expiration of term of service in October, 1864. Burgess was a member of Company I, and Rockwood was wounded.
Stephen C. Hastings, musician, was honorably discharged August 30, 1862, at the reduction of the band, and Francis J. Barrett was killed at Cold Harbor, Virginia, June 3, 1864.
The remaining eight were discharged on account of dis- ability as follows : Sergeant Oliver D. Wilder, March 12, 1863 ; James L. Walker, April 6, 1863; Luther Clark, March 12, 1863 ; Parley MeIntire, May 20, 1863; Orin Morton, January 31, 1863; Charles E. Smith, May 26, 1862; Joshua T. Stowell, August 7, 1862, and Michael Thompson, April 27, 1863.
In this regiment and in Company I, was Henry K. Samp- son who was originally credited on the quota of Royalston. He reenlisted on the quota of this town in January, 1864, and was discharged in July, 1865.
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The remaining enlistments, during the year 1861, included Samuel D. Holt who enlisted on the quota of Readville in the Twenty-fourth Regiment. December 4, 1861, and reenlisted on the quota of Ashburnham and was promoted corporal in January, 1864; he continued in the service until January, 1866 ; Bartholomew Coughlin, who enlisted December 6, in the Twenty-ninth Regiment and died 1862; Pascal Brooks enlisted November 1, in Thirty-second Regi- ment and died October 1, 1862, at Sharpsburg, Maryland ; Francis S. Willard enlisted November 1, in Thirty-second Regiment and died in Virginia, February 5, 1863 ; Leroy A. Howe enlisted November 6, in Thirty-second Regiment and was discharged on account of disability, November 29, 1862 ; Charles F. Leathers, a veteran, enlisted November 1, in Thirty-second Regiment, promoted to corporal, reenlisted January 5. 1864, and was dismissed with his regiment. June 29, 1865 ; Marcus L. Ward enlisted October 30, 1861, in Thirty-second Regiment and was discharged on account of disability, February 26, 1863 ; John Hare enlisted Novem- ber 7, 1861, Thirtieth Regiment, died at Ship Island, Mississippi, March 8, 1862; George G. Farwell enlisted November 2, 1861, on the quota of Fitchburg, in Thirty- second Regiment ; he reenlisted January 4, 1864, on quota of this town and was killed June 18, 1864.
In 1862 there was a call for three hundred thousand men. The quota of Ashburnham was twenty-seven. In the Thirty-fourth Regiment, which left the State August 15, there were five men from this town. They enlisted in July. Sergeant Charles Wood was promoted to second lieutenant, May 15, 1865, and discharged with his regiment; Walter O. Parker, musician, was discharged with his regiment, June 16, 1865 ; Sumner W. Black died at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, November 10, 1863 ; Alfred Castle was discharged
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on account of disability, February 11. 1865, and Martin V. B. Grimes was discharged on account of wounds, February 16, 1865.
The Thirty-sixth Regiment was recruited in July and August and left the State September 2. This organization contained, at this time, twenty-three men from this town. It will be noted that a few of them were temporary resideuts at the date of enlistment.
Of the twenty-three in this service, nine were honorably discharged with their regiment, June 8, 1865, as follows : Sergeant Charles W. Whitney promoted to second lieu- tenant, November 13, 1864, Sergeant George N. Duncan, Sergeant Charles I. Fish, Chester B. Gale, Francis H. Perkins, Frank S. Learned, John C. Lawrence, Cyrus W. Nickerson and Joseph Oaks.
On account of disability the following six were discharged : Thomas H. Ryan, March 11, 1863; Sergeant Waldo A. Foster, May 30, 1863; Corporal John B. Harty, date unknown ; John L. Finney, January 13, 1865; Mitchell Larby, no record ; Edward Sibley, April 12, 1865.
The individual record of the remaining men is as follows : Sergeant Joseph Hames died of wounds, June 4, 1864 : Corporal Frederick Biron died of wounds at Knoxville, Kentucky, January 11, 1864; Corporal Max Hoffman was killed at Petersburg, Virginia, June 17, 1864; Otis Metcalf and Edward B. Merriam were transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps ; Dennis Murphy reenlisted and was trans- ferred on the quota of Hardwick to the regular army ; Charles W. Allard was left in the hospital at Worcester and there died, September 15, a few days after the regiment left the State. The record of the remaining man from Ash- burnham is exceptional. Charles Sherbert deserted April 27, 1863.
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The Thirty-sixth Regiment was an organization of good repute. In the army in Virginia, in Mississippi and the siege of Vicksburg and later in Virginia, in the closing yet sanguinary service of the war, it has left an honorable and gallant record.
In the autumn of this year the Fifty-third Regiment was recruited under the call of the President for men to serve nine months. In this organization Ashburnham was repre- sented by twenty-seven officers and men. Of this regiment, George HI. Barrett, who had been an officer of the Light Infantry, was lieutenant-colonel. The regiment was ordered to the South and rendered efficient service in Louisiana under General Banks. The organization was mustered out September 3, 1863.
In this service four died of disease, one was killed in action and two were discharged on account of disability. Henry A. Marble died at New Orleans, May 19; Rinaldo Shattuck died May 8, at Brashear; Stephen C. Whitney died February 20, at New Orleans ; James M. Woodell died June 7, at New Orleans ; Russell Whipple was killed at Port Hudson, June 14; Corporal Orange E. Howe was dis- charged February 25 and William M. Young was discharged March 12, 1863. The remaining twenty-one completed the term of enlistment and were returned to their homes in September, 1863 : Lieutenant-Colonel George H. Barrett, Sergeant William D. Capron, Corporal Spencer Frost, Cor- poral William Wallace, Corporal Ransom G. Stowell, Francis S. Balcom, Marshall H. Bourne, Aaron G. Buttrick, David M. Cushing, Edwin J. Cushing, Lewis Glazier, Thomas M. Howard, Charles B. Jones, James F. Lincoln, Horace O. Mansfield, Angustine May, Francis H. Merriam, Francis A. Munroe. Hobart W. Piper, Harvey J. Rice, Frederick R. Whipple.
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HISTORY OF ASHBURNHAM.
Colonel Barrett was commissioned captain of Company I, and promoted to lieutenant-colonel, November 10. He was in command of the regiment at its departure from the State and remained in the service until the regiment was dis- charged.
These numerous enlistments filled the quota of 1862. At this time the town met and passed the following resolution :
Resolved, That we recognize the devotion and disinterested services of all our fellow-townsmen who have gone out from among us to engage in the service of the country, and that the town clerk be requested to collect and enter upon the town records the names of all our townsmen who have been or may hereafter be killed or otherwise lose their lives in the service of their country in putting down the present unholy rebellion.
The generous impulse of the several towns which tendered temporary relief to the families of the soldiers was sustained and continued by the State and through the war the generous measures adopted by the Commonwealth were faithfully executed by the towns. The continued action of the citizens and of the town officers of Ashburnham was in full accord with a generous and comprehensive system of benevolence.
The enlistments of 1861 and 1862 called a large propor- tion of the men of suitable age into the service. The quota of 1863 was filled with less alacrity and a draft was ordered. This peremptory demand for troops was general throughout the North, and Ashburnham shared with other towns a new experience of the war. Sixty-four men from this town were drafted. Of these a considerable number were discharged on account of disability and of those held for service, several furnished substitutes or paid commutation. The names of those who entered the service in response to this imperative command will appear in the subsequent paragraphs in the
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list of those who entered the service. The names of the drafted men are as follows :
John D. Hapgood
Franklin S. Oliver
Charles F. Rockwood
Osmore A. Brigham Timothy O'Keif Walter Lawrence
Granville B. Gilchrist
Irving Brooks Jona. E. Goodwin
Albert F. Johnson
David S. Brown
Willard P. Drury
Wendell P. Clark
William Dalrymple
Frederick Wilder
Hiland Hall
Benton Adams Robert N. Shaw
William Briggs
Ed. W. Weston
Alexander Morse
George F. Potter
William W. Lane
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