History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 117

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co
Number of Pages: 1034

USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I > Part 117

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Some trouble about the Phalanx being summoned as a company to join a New York regiment in Brook- lyn, N. Y., is explained in the issue of the Budget for June 7, 1861. The delay in being ordered out served to break up the company. A portion of it, however, volunteered, and left town on June 10 and 11, 1861, for the scene of service, the first sec- tion, under Sergt. John P. Crane, being accompanied to their quarters in Boston by an escort. This section expected to join a New York regiment. The second, and much smaller detachment, expected to join the 5th Massachusetts regiment in Washington. An ac- count of the proceedings at their departure and the lists of their names are to be found in the Budget for June 14, 1861. As before, those who went to New York to join a regiment of that State experienced great dissatisfaction, while the Washington party ex- perienced greater success.

On Wednesday, June 19, 1861, was a famous "training day" in Woburn. What was left of the Phalanx turned out for a target shoot, and before that parade was ended, late in the afternoon, the Stoneham Gray Eagles unexpectedly visited Woburn under Capt. J. P. Gould, a regularly educated mili- tary officer. This company surprised the Woburn people by their excellence in plain and fancy drilling,

of which they gave an exhibition, and their coming excited great enthusiasm. Cf. Woburn Budget, June 21, 1861. On the 18th, ten more members of the Phalanx had left town for Washington, to recruit the Fifth Regiment, after the manner of the eleven who went the week before, and who had succeeded in join- ing the regiment.

The troubles of the "Yonkers Squad," or the thirty-seven men who went to New York to join the volunteers of that State, are detailed in communica- tions in the Woburn Budget for June 21, 1861. Most of these men joined the First and Fifth Massachusetts

1 In the issue of the Budget for May 3, 1861, is a long letter from the lieutenant of the Stoneham company, describing the events of the 19th of April, etc., and in the Woburn Journal for April 27, 1861, are other in- teresting letters from members of the Stoneham company on the same subject ... The papers from this time forward are full of letters from the

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Regiments. There were twenty-seven of the Phalanx in the Fifth Regiment on June 24, 1861. A list of the names of the Woburn soldiers to date is presented in the Budget for June 28, 1861. An attempt to revive the Phalanx, consisting of forty members only, by the departure of members, was made at this period, but it was not successful, and on July 6, 1861, it was dis- banded by an order from the State. Attempts were immediately made to raise another company. This company was the Woburn Union Guard.

In the battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861, the Fifth Regiment took part, and consequently, the Woburn men in it. But one was hurt and he not seriously- Robert Pemberton. In the Budget for Aug. 2, 1861, is an account of the reception of these men and others in Woburn, on the close of their term of three months' service, a celebration being held on Wednesday, July 31st, previous.

WOBURN UNION GUARD .- This company was or- ganized at Woburn, July 27, 1861, and Samuel I. Thompson was chosen captain, and John P. Crane, first lieutenant. This company was soon sent into camp. Though not large in numbers, it was deter- mined to go, if they could be received, and recruit on the field. Strong efforts were made to get a position in some regiment and they were successful. The command was first attached to the Nineteenth Regi- ment, then encamped at Lynnfield. The number of men was about forty. On Wednesday noon, Aug. 7th, the company assembled in the Town Hall, which for a week past had been used as a drill hall, and marched from there directly to the depot, where they took the cars at 1.15. A large concourse of citizens accompa- nied them there. This was the first detachment of soldiers from Woburn that left town as a company. Their names are given in the Woburn Budget for Aug. 9, 1861. A description of the camp is given in the Budget for Aug. 16, 1861. The company was soon afterwards transferred to another regiment, and on September 16th was attached to the Twenty-second Regiment, Col. Henry Wilson's, and left for the seat of war Oct. 8, 1861. The majority of the company were Woburn men, and the company had been ren- dered efficient by a camp duty of two months at Lynnfield before their departure. Before this com- pany had left, talk was made of forming a second. company from Woburn, and on Sept. 27, 1861, the report was that twenty-nine names were upon the en- listment paper; at that time it was estimated that with this proposed company, Woburn would have as good as three companies in the field, because, besides the two companies not yet gone, there were about seventy-five other Woburn men then serving in other regiments.

An account of the departure of the Woburn Union Guard to the war is given in the Budget for Oct. 11, 1861, and also a roll of the men's names. There were 104 men in the company, of which number Woburn sent forty-seven. There were six Woburn men in

the Twenty-second Regiment besides those in this company, whose regimental designation was Co. F. These were E. Hackett, commissary sergeant, J. K. Richardson and Alonzo Teel, in Co. D, and Cornelius and Thomas Connolly and Patrick Kelly in Co. G. A letter from one of the members of the Union Guard, giving an account of their journey, is published in the Budget for Oct. 25, 1861. As the career of this com- pany is very fully described by one of its members, John L. Parker, in his " History of the. Twenty-sec- ond Regiment," it is not necessary to go any further with it here. Mr. Parker joined the company at the front, and began letters in his paper, the Woburn Budget, in the issue for Dec. 13, 1861, which were continued for some time, giving a very minute account of the doings of the company from day to day. A full list of all persons in any way connected with the army or navy from Woburn was published in the same paper for the first time on Jan. 10, 1862. The total number of persons engaged in the service then had been 269. Among them were one surgeon, S. W. Drew, 9th Regt .; one major, E. Burbank, 12th Regt .; two captains, J. W. McDonald, 11th Regt, and S. I. Thompson, 22d Regt .; two first lieutenants, J. P. Crane, 22d Regt., and Cyrus Tay, 1st Battalion ; and one assistant surgeon U. S. Navy, S. W. Abbott. To the list of commissioned officers thus given were added later, G. W. Batchelder, lieutenant 19th Regt .; John Wallace, captain or lieutenant of receiving-ship "Ohio;" and E. F. Wyer, first lieutenant 1st Bat- talion. In the battles before Richmond at this period the casualties to Woburn soldiers were numerous, and lists of those injured were given in the Budget for July 11-18, 1862. In July, 1862, enlistments re- ceived a new impetus from a call for troops by the General Government, and an attempt was again made, and successfully, to raise a full company from Woburn. This company was the Woburn National Rangers.

The brave Captain Samuel I. Thompson having received a fatal wound in battle, and experienced imprisonment by the enemy and a release and transportation to Baltimore, died there in the pres- ence of his wife, and his body was brought to Wo- burn for interment. A tribute was paid to his bravery and ability in the Budget for August 1st, and an obituary and arrangement for his funeral procession appeared in the Budget for August 8, 1862. For account of his funeral see Budget for August 15, 1862.1

The first death of a soldier of Woburn birth among the Woburn volunteers in the war was that of a mem- ber of Captain Thompson's company, viz. : Andrew J. Harris, who died of disease March 2, 1862, aged nineteen years. In the same battle in which Captain Thompson received his fatal wound, was killed his son, Corporal F. W. Thompson, aged seventeen years.

1 Cf. Thompson Memorial, pp. 172-174.

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

John P. Crane succeeded S. I. Thompson as captain of this company in. August, 1862. The Union Guard was reduced by losses to nine members (per Towns- man of June 24, 1864). The return of the Twenty- second Regiment is the subject of an article in the Woburn Journal for October 15, 1864. But one per- son belonging to the regiment-Charles Day-arrived in Woburn, and the celebration that had been pre- pared was all in his honor.

The Twenty-second Massachusetts Regiment was one of the leading infantry regiments, in point of numerical loss in the Union armies, during the war. Its total in killed or died of wounds was 216. It can fairly claim the honor of having encountered the hardest fighting in the war. Its per cent. of loss was 15.5, while the highest per cent. stated was 19.7. Its Juss in killed at Gaines' Mill was 84. Company F's loss in killed and died of wounds during its service was,-officers, 1; men, 20; total, 21. Died of disease, accidents, in prison, erc., men, 10. Total enrollment, 131. Its list of battles is a long one, including Gaines' Mill, Malvern Hill, Gettysburg, Wilderness and Spottsylvania. It was stationed for a time at Hall's Hill, Va., and in March, 1862, commenced ac- tive service in the Peninsular army. Bealton, Va., was its winter-quarters afterwards. The Thirty- second Regiment, in which was a number of Woburn men, appropriated its remnants. Cf. Fox, Regi- mental Losses, etc.

During the term of the Twenty-second Regiment in service, John P. Crane was made captain and William R. Bennett first lieutenant, the latter having been second lieutenant. Both of these officers were of Woburn.

In the Thirty-second Regiment Woburn had three captains-Cyrus Tay, John E. Tidd and Joseph S. Wyman-all of whom had been lieutenants.

WOBURN NATIONAL RANGERS .- This company of 101 men was raised in Woburn in the space of fif- teen days, and sent to camp. The election of officers resulted in the making of John I. Richardson cap- tain, Luke R. Tidd first lieutenant and James Mc- Feely second lieutenant. On August 5, 1862, the company started for camp at Lynnfield. A roll of this company was published in the Budget for August 29, 1862. At this time L. F. Wyman was second lieutenant of the company, Mr. McFeely having re- signed, and the company had 5 sergeants, 8 corporals, 2 musicians, 1 wagoner and the regulation number of privates. This company was attached to the Thirty- ninth Regiment (three years' troops), and left with the regiment for Washington on September 6, 1862. Its company letter was K. A history of this company by one of its members is published in the Budget for September 4, 1863.1 To this time two members only had died. This company suffered much in the bat- tles of May, 1864, and a large number of the company

were made prisoners August 19, 1864. The Journal for October 8, 1864, stated that this company then numbered for duty, 10 privates, 5 corporals and 2 ser- geants. A reception at Woburn of Co. K, 39th regt., is mentioned in the Journal on June 3, 1865. On June 6 and 7 the members of Co. K, 39th, arrived, and on June 8 Co. B, 11th regt., arrived in town. See Journal for June 10, 1865, in which a particular roll of Co. K, man by man, is published.

A history of Co. K, 39th, was printed in the Journal for June 17, 1865. The company and regi- ment both sustained unusually heavy losses by deaths in Confederate prisons. The deaths in the 39th dur- ing the war (279) included 102 in the enemy's prisons, the regiment having lost 246 men captured in the bat- tle at the Weldon Railroad .- Fox. Its first destina- tion was Washington ; 2d, Arlington Heights ; 3d, Edward's Ferry, etc. It remained in the vicinity of Washington for some time, and afterwards joined the Army of the Potomac. Its principal battles were Spottsylvania, Va., May 8-13, 1864, and Weldon Railroad, Va., August 19, 1864. According to the local paper, June 10, 1865, the company's death losses were 6 killed; died of wounds, 6 ; of disease, 5 ; in prison, 13.

During the term of service of this company Luke R. Tidd became captain, Luther F. Wyman 1st lieut., Charles K. Conn 1st lieut., William McDevitt 1st lieut., George E. Fowle 1st lieut., Oscar Persons 2d lieut., George H. Dennett, 2d lieut., all of Woburn.

THE NINE MONTHS' COMPANY, OR THE WOBURN MECHANIC PHALANX .- On August 14, 1862, the formation of another volunteer company from Wo- burn was begun. This was to be a company of nine months' men, and it chose for its commissioned offi- cers, W. T. Grammer, capt .; C. S. Converse, Ist lieut. ; W. A. Colegate, 2d lieut. It was enrolled also as a part of the volunteer militia of the State, and was to be known as Co. G, 5th regt. Lists of the names en- rolled are given in the Budget for August 29, 1862, and September 12, 1862, the company having left for camp at Wenham, on the 10th inst., preceding. A roll of honor of Cos. K, 39th regt., and G, 5th regt., was published in the issue of the Budget for October 3, 1862.

The local war spirit was kept up in a measure at this time by such organizations as the Riffe Club (Nov. 15, 1861); the Woburn Brass Band (July 18, 1862); Soldiers' Aid Societies (1863); a juvenile ·

military company at the Warren Academy, furnished with muskets by the trustees (June 5, 1863), a pre- cursor of the more recent High School battalion ; the Woburn State Guard (Aug. 28, 1863), an organization of old men, of which T. J. Pierce was captain.,2 and war meetings (Dec. 1863, etc.).

The Phalanx returned from their term of service and were received in Woburn on June 26, 1863. For

2 A roll of this company was published in the Journal for Aug. 13, 1864. The captain was T. J. Pierce, and the Ist lieutenant Charles Carter, aud the 2d lieutenant E. F. Poole.

1 Cf. Townsmun, March 4, 1864.

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an extended account of their reception, see the Wo- burn Budget for July 3d, following. The company left Woburn nine months previous, with one hun- dred and one men, and every one of them returned safe home again, withont a wound or a loss of a man or a life. The nine months' term of the Fifth Regi- ment, beginning September, 1862, was expended in active service in the Department of North Carolina, at Newbern, etc. Co. G was detailed on February 21, 1863, as garrison for Forts Hatteras and Clark, at Hatteras Inlet, where it remained till the return of the regiment to Massachusetts.

ONE HUNDRED DAYS' COMPANY, OR THE WO- BURN MECHANIC PHALANX .- On July 6, 1864, on a call for 100 days' men, the Phalanx voted to recruit the company to its full number .- Townsman, July 8, 1864. Fifty-eight men were recruited by July 15th' and a roll of 100 days' Woburn men was published in the Townsman for July 22, 1864. Sixty of them had already left town for camp the day previous. The roll of the company as an organization was published in the issue of the above paper for July 29th, the company having left for the seat of war July 28, 1864. William T. Grammer, who commanded the company when it went into camp, was made major of the regi- ment. The commissioned officers of the company were C. S. Converse, capt .; E. F. Wyer, 1st lient. ; and C. E. Fuller, 2d lieut. There were fifty-three Woburn men in the company, and the company went to Baltimore, where the regiment went also, and was stationed there, or in that vicinity, during its term of service. Letters from members to the local papers give an idea of the character of that service. It was not especially dangerous. The com- pany arrived home November 8, 1864, at 7 A.M., and a reception was accorded them by the Woburn citi- zens. See Journal for Nov. 12, 1864. Two of the company died during its absence, of disease, and an- other of the same cause, soon after its return. Edwin F. Wyer was made adjutant of the regiment during its term, Charles E. Fuller 1st lieut., and Montressor S. Seeley, 2d lieut.

THE HARRIS GUARD .- First mentioned in the Journal for October 15, 1864, as recruiting at Gal- loupe's Island, in Boston Harbor, as a company in the 11th regt., hailing mostly from Woburn and An- dover. The company was Co. B, and its captain was William R. Bennett, of Woburn, and 2d lient., John L. Parker, of Woburn, both formerly of Co. F, 22d regt. An account of the doings of this company, in a letter from one of its members, appeared in the Wo- burn Journal for March 25, 1865. It arrived home on June 8, 1865, and a history of it was given in the Journal, June 17, 1865. See also issne for June 10, 1865.

This company left Gallonpe's Island October 31, 1864, and reached the front, at Petersburg, November 4. Immediately its active duties, under fire, com- menced. It was in the famous Weldon raid, and fre- quently in battle the whole of its stay in the field.

Among the field officers of the 11th regt. was James W. McDonald, major, Woburn, promoted from captain, having previously been 1st lieut. John L. Parker was promoted to 1st lieut. in this regiment, and Charles A. McDonald, of Woburn, was a 2d lieut. in it.

In December, 1862, was chronicled the death of Major Burbank, of the 12th regt. He was wonnded at the battle of Antietam, and died of his wonnds in hospital. His remains were brought to Woburn for burial. Funeral from the Unitarian Church. Cf. Woburn Budget, December 5, 1862, and January 23, 1863.

In July, 1863, occurred the draft mentioned in the Budget under date of July 10th; the Budget extra of July 14th, containing the names of 104 men drafted in Woburn-list repeated in issue of July 17. On account of the draft riot in Boston, at this time, the Phalanx was assembled, to be in readiness for action, if needed, and examinations of conscripts are alluded to in the Budget for August 14, and September 4, 1863. The funeral of Capt. William M. Buckman, a soldier in the war, occurred about this time, from the Baptist Church, his body having been brought home. See Budget issues for November 13 and 20, 1863. War meetings to fill quota were frequent during the winter of 1863 and 1864, and the names of those in last quota from Woburn were published in the Townsman for February 19, 1864, and Journal for January 9, 1864; also lists of Woburn soldiers on duty with their regi- ments, in Townsman for March 18 and 25, 1864. In the spring of 1864 the 59th regt. had on its rolls some 30 men from Woburn, including one lieut. and two sergts. See Townsman for April 22, 1864, for their names, and Townsman for April 29th, following, for their departure.1 The Townsman notes a training and inspection of the Woburn State Guard, 67 gnns, in the streets of Woburn, under their captain, Thos. J. Pierce, in the number for May 6, 1864. But deeper anxiety was to rest upon the town from the effects of the war than from anything that had yet occurred. In an extra of the Townsman for May 17, 1864, in- tended to explain the situation of the draft in Wo- burn of 31 men, whose names are given, was pro- claimed the news that 41 or more Woburn men were killed, wounded and missing in the recent bat- tles in Virginia, and a list of names was given. This was followed by an article on the Woburn men in the

1 The 59th Regt. was in action before Petersburg, Va., June 17-18, 1864, when its aggregate in killed, wounded and missing was 74. Its total deaths in the service Was 184 .- Fox. The lieutenant in this regi - ment from Woburn, George J. Morse, was killed in battle May 12, 1864- Woburn furnished three majors in the service-Grammer, 5th ; Mc- Donald, 11th ; and Burbank, 12th. The medical profession was repre- sented by three members-Drew, Abbott (army and navy) and Jameson, -all surgeons, ranking as majors. Among the captains, not mentioned elsewhere in this sketch, may be named T F. Page, A. W. Persons, O. B. Darling, and others ; but an attempt at further specific tion might Jend to errors and omissions, so the writer will be pardoned if be refers the reader for further information to Barrett's list, mentioned in a note at the end of this section.

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

recent battles, in the issue of the Townsman for May 20th. The casualties, though bad enough, were some- what overstated. The matter of the losses in battle was continued in the Townsman for May 27, 1864. The draft was further treated in an article on May 20, 1864, and in an extra of the Townsman for May 21 the announcement was made that the quota was filled by 30 men procured by the town's agents at Washing- ton, and their names were given in a following num- ber of that paper. During the summer of 1864 many of the three years' regiments returned at the expiration of their term of service, and their members, many of them, did not re-enlist, but continued to remain at home. The papers of the time are full of the sub- ject. War meetings, however, were renewed, and recruiting, after the departure of the Phalanx for 100 days' service, was vigorously prosecuted in Au- gust, 1864, in view of a threatened draft. A corrected list of enrolled men in Woburn was published in an extra of the Townsman August 31, 1864, and a list of volunteers, under the recent call, in the Journal for September 10, 1864. Capt. John I. Richardson, who commanded Co. K, 39th regt., when it entered the war, and who was honorably discharged, for ill-health, died at his residence, in Woburn, October 1, 1864, and an account of his funeral is given in the Journal of October 8th, following.

Woburn shared in the general rejoicing at the end of the war, but military items continued to appear in the local papers till long after peace had been accom- plished. Soldiers constantly returned from the seat of action throughout the summer of 1865, and the interest in them did not wholly abate. As a final echo of the war spirit, on June 6, 1865, an election of offi- cers was held in the town for the " 64th unattached company infantry, Mass. volunteer militia." The company was duly commissioned, and 98 men had signed the roll before June 10, 1865, when an account of it was given in the Journal. Its captain was John Powers; 1st lieut., James Shehan ; 2d lieut., John Murphy, but nothing further was done to perfect it.

NOTE .- In the foregoing cursory sketch of Woburn's doings during the Civil War of 1861-65, the news- papers on which we have mainly relied for facts have been the Woburn Budget and Townsman. The Wuburn Journal for the same period may also be consulted with profit for the same purpose. The annual town reports contain also considerable information con- cerning military expenses, and the names of men sent into the service-e. g., 1862, pp. 28-34; 1863, pp. 28- 39; 1864, pp. 39-46; 1865, pp. 54, 57, 58, etc .; 1866, pp. 38-42. Lists of wounded soldiers and of prisoners and missing during 1864 were published in the report for 1865, pp. 18-19; and the names and sketches of the soldiers who had died from 1861-65 from Wo- burn are published in the report for 1865, pp. 20-30; also 1866, p. 15. Other subjects connected with the war, such as recruiting expenses, etc., are mentioned in the report for 1865, pp. 65, 89-93. The expenditures

of the town incident to the late war are enumerated in the report for 1870, p. 19, also the number of men raised for the army and navy during that time. The number of the latter was 775. Number killed in bat- tle, 21; died in Confederate prisons, 17; died of wounds, 17; died of disease, 27 ; total deaths, 82. The report of the committee on the soldiers' monument was presented in the annual report for 1870, pp. 98- 125. It contained a history of the enterprise, a de- scription of the monument, the inscriptions, the exer- cises at its dedication, Oct. 14, 1869, and the addresses. A roster of the soldiers and sailors from the town in the war, compiled by Albert P. Barrett, was published in the Woburn Journal, beginning March 27, 1880. This publication of Mr. Barrett's may be consulted with profit by all who desire to in- form themselves of the military record of individuals.

LIBRARIES .- THE WOBURN PUBLIC LIBRARY.1- The Woburn public library was founded through the liberality of the Hon. Jonathan Bowers Winn and his only son. The father had been a country school- master and possessed a genius for finance, which he later developed in the prosecution of the leather in- dustry, in which business he made for himself and others connected with him a fortune of considerable magnitude, much of which was bequeathed for be- nevolent objects. An only daughter, the wife of the Hon. Edward D. Hayden, late a member of Congress, died a number of years before her father, and the only son, Charles Bowers Winn, unmarried, survived the father but a short time, and died, the last member of his father's immediate family, at the early age of thirty-seven. The family of Winn had been promi- nent in the annals of the town from the time of its first settlement, and the first-born child recorded in Woburn was Increase Winn, born December 5, 1641. Many were the offices of a civil and military nature which the members of this family held in the town ; and when the munificent donations of Jonathan Bowers and Charles Bowers Winn are included in the estimate, no family can be said to have done so much for Woburn as this old and well-known family of Winn.

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 117

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co Number of Pages: 1034

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co
Number of Pages: 1034