USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Needham > History of Needham, Massachusetts, 1711-1911 : including West Needham, now the town of Wellesley, to its separation from Needham in 1881, with some reference to its affairs to 1911 > Part 37
USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Wellesley > History of Needham, Massachusetts, 1711-1911 : including West Needham, now the town of Wellesley, to its separation from Needham in 1881, with some reference to its affairs to 1911 > Part 37
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In these varied services each man was to receive £II per month, in sadly depreciated currency, and in July, 1779, £17 were also voted to each man. John Slack, Capt. Caleb Kingsbery, Capt. Aaron Smith, Capt. Robert Smith and Jeremiah Daniell were chosen "to Set what Sum of Money the Town Shall Allow to a man that may be Drafted or
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Goes Volentary into the Publick Service of the war for the Town of Needham when Called for in ye Enfuing year". At the town meeting on July 26 Capt. Robert Smith was excused from this committee, and Aaron Smith, Jr., Jonathan Gay and Isaac Goodenow, Jr., were added. They were to act under a vote similar to that of May 6, 1778. In order to pay the "Charges of the War the Laft year" £3000 were voted. Colonel McIntosh and others advanced money to pay the soldiers, and in July, 1779, the town appropriated £4000 for war expenses, and added £3000 in October. On August 2, 1779, Capt. Ebenezer Fuller, Michael Metcalf and Aaron Smith, Jr. ("Hawk Aaron") were chosen "to Confider and Say what Allowance thofe Officers Should have That were Mentioned in the laft Report of ye Committee". In October and November the selectmen granted ninety-three orders for services and money advanced on account of the war, the amounts varying from £1 to £33.
VOTES OF THE TOWN AND ORDERS OF THE SELECTMEN FROM 1780 TO 1783 INCLUSIVE, RELATIVE TO THE WAR
On May 29, 1780, Aaron Smith, Jr., Eleazer Fuller, Josiah Newell, Esq., Enoch Parker and Amos Fuller were chosen to hire men for the ensuing year, if any were needed, with authority to draw on the town treasury, and to borrow money when necessary. Amos Fuller declined to serve, and on June 16 the committee was increased by adding Samuel Alden, John Slack, Jr., and Robert Fuller, Jr. Three men had been chosen in May to examine the accounts of the com- mittee to hire soldiers. At the June meeting £30,000 were voted, to be raised by a rate, in order to hire the men re- quired, and on July 17 another £30,000 were placed at the disposal of the committee. These large sums illustrate the great depreciation of the Continental Currency.
On October 12, 1780, Josiah Newell, Jr., Lieut. Silas Alden and Moses Man were selected "to Procure the Beef Laid on Said Town", and £16,000 appropriated, which sum
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was increased by £23,000 in December. On July 9, 1781, Timothy Newell, Ensign Josiah Upham and Capt. Isaac Goodenow were assigned to this task, and £220 in hard money "or paper Equilent" voted, to which £13, 6s., 4d. were added later. Our selectmen drew many orders to pay for this beef which cost from three pence to five pence per pound. Some of it was bought in Roxbury, and Stephen Bacon had charge of the money to pay for it.
On December 27, 1780, a new committee to hire men was named, and it consisted of Lieut. Oliver Mills, Samuel Daggett and Timothy Huntting. Aaron Smith, Jr., Capt. Moses Bullard, John Ayers and Capt. John Bacon were added to this committee in January, 1781. On January 29, 1781, however, the town proceeded to choose a new committee "to Procure the men that are now Called for" "in ye beft and Cheapeft Manner they can". This com- mittee included Samuel Fisher, Capt. Moses Bullard, Moses Man, Capt. John Bacon, Isaac Goodenow, Jr., Lieut. Enoch Kingsbery and Capt. Robert Smith, and £550 in hard money, to be raised by a tax, were placed at their disposal. The same committee, with the addition of Aaron Smith, Jr., was re-elected on July 9, 1781, and £180, hard money, appropriated, with authority to borrow under the vote of December 27.
These various war committees were refused compensa- tion at the time, but later successfully petitioned the town for pay. A large sum was paid to the members of the numer- ous "War Committees" at the rate of three shillings per day per man for actual service.
The record book in which the expenses of these committees were recorded, as well as all other payments by the town on account of the War of the Revolution, is of great value, as the entries furnish evidence of military service not found in the State Archives.
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FROM THE STATE ARCHIVES
"To the Honble Council of the Mafsechufetts Bay
I was derected By the Brig !. of the County of Suffolk to detach ten men from the firft Regt in the County of Suffolk and one Lieut: to guard the Continental Stors; Agreable there to I have ordered Liut Enoch Kingfbury to go with the guard
I am your Honours Moft humble Sert
Wm MeIntafh July 1777
The town refused on October 19, 1779, to compensate Lieutenant Kingsbury for guarding these stores, or for a similar service. On March 4, 1778, Colonel McIntosh informed the Council that he had detached eighteen men with a lieutenant and a fifer "to take Bofton Long Ifland Properly Equiped". Archives, Vol. 43, p. 306. The Coun- cil on August 2, 1779, called on Colonel McIntosh for infor- mation as to what he had done under a certain Resolve. Archives, Vol. 199, p. 350.
The story of the part taken by the men of Needham in the War of the American Revolution or in the Civil War might be extended into a volume of some size, particularly if the personal experiences related in the applications for pensions or recorded in private journals and letters were included. We know what the women did in the time of the Civil War, and may be sure that they did no less, and per- haps suffered more, in the weary years of the earlier struggle. This chapter may seem unnecessarily long, and yet only the essential facts and a few of the more important muster- rolls are referred to or quoted.
In the War of the American Revolution, as in the Civil War, Needham was represented by her sons in the quotas of other towns, perhaps of other Provinces, but the names of these men are not known to the writer.
Joseph Ware of Needham served under Capt. Samuel
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Ward in Gen. Benedict Arnold's expedition against Quebec, and kept a journal, which was printed, in part at least, in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. VI., 1852.
CHILDREN'S SUBSCRIPTION TO BUNKER HILL MONUMENT
At the suggestion of the Bunker Hill Monument Association the town appointed a committee on November 1, 1824, to receive the subscriptions of children toward the monument. The committee consisted of Peter Lyon, Esq., Elisha Lyon, Esq., Capt. Jonathan Gay, Capt. George Smith and George Fisher, and the money raised was "to be placed to the name of Lafayette". Several citizens of Needham contributed $5 each, and doubtless the children gave something.
CENTENNIAL OF THE BATTLES OF CONCORD AND LEXINGTON
On March 1, 1875, the town chose Warren Dewing, Solo- mon Flagg and George K. Daniell, all sons of soldiers of the War of the American Revolution, as delegates to the Cen- tennial commemoration. The citizens were invited by the town to accompany the delegates, and the invitation was availed of by the venerable William Eaton, son of a soldier of the Revolution, and three hundred others, in addition to the principal town officers. The town furnished the delegates with a banner, which cost $122, and has been preserved.
In 1898 the town made an appropriation to place bronze markers on the graves of its soldiers who served in the War of the Revolution, and appointed the selectmen and George K. Clarke a committee to carry the vote into effect. Twenty- nine such markers were obtained by Mr. Clarke and placed on graves in the old burying-ground on Nehoiden Street, and these graves have since been annually decorated by Galen Orr Post, G. A. R., with flags and flowers, most of the flags remaining in place for the greater part of the year following Decoration Day. In 1899 the veterans of the Civil War in Wellesley marked the graves of fourteen sol-
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diers of the American Revolution in that town, formerly West Needham. Later the graves of Josiah Ware, a Need- ham soldier, and of Cyrus Pratt, a Newton soldier, were similarly marked in the old burying-ground in Wellesley. On April 19, 1911, there was a flag-raising on the College grounds at Wellesley in memory of the West Needham militia, who went to West Cambridge in consequence of the Lexington Alarm on April 19, 1775, and on July 4, 1911, Mrs. Henry F. Durant unveiled a granite shaft erected to their memory. This is a handsome and costly monument, and it bears an inscription on a bronze tablet. It stands near the site of Bullard's Tavern at the College gate. There was a brief address by Mrs. Durant, and appropriate exer- cises in the town hall. Mr. Perkins was the orator of this occasion, and his speech is said to have been admirable.
Charles Dana Burrage of Needham was president of the Sons of the Revolution of Massachusetts in the years 1907- II, and George Kuhn Clarke was vice-president of the Newtowne Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, from March, 1903 to March, 1904, and its president from March, 1904 to March, 1905.1
WAR OF 1812
In a note to the Rev. Thomas Noyes's address, delivered when the company of Exempts was disbanded, is the state- ment that the following "have died of wounds or sickness, viz. Joseph Childs, Benjamin Cheney, Levi Lincoln, Nathan Kingsbury, Joel Smith, Eliakim Smith, Jonathan Kings- bury, Jun. John Gurney, Luke O'Brien and Mark O'Brien". Only three others are named in this note as having served
1 There are two distinct organizations of the male descendants of the Revolu- tionary soldiers. The Sons of the American Revolution number about eighteen thousand, and the Sons of the Revolution less than seven thousand. The female descendants of the Revolutionary soldiers are also divided. The Daughters of the American Revolution number about seventy thousand, and the Daughters of the Revolution some six thousand. None of these organizations have had many members from Needham, although numerous residents of the town are eligible to them.
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in the war: - William Vose, Henry Dewing, Jr., and Jere- miah Woodcock, and it says "the former of whom was sent home in consequence of sickness; the latter, in consequence of wounds". From other sources of information it appears that John Hastings and Isaiah Woodcock were also in this war, and that Woodcock was wounded in the shoulder. Joel Smith, who was killed, was a son of Capt. Robert Smith of the Revolutionary War. The selectmen's orders show that Josiah Hastings and Isaiah Fisk had $21.69 each for service for three months and three days in 1814, Joseph Ayers, Joseph Hagar, Joseph Bullen, Galen Bowditch and Timothy Stevens $16.53 each for two months and eleven days as soldiers. Joseph Kingsbury did duty at Fort Warren for two months and eleven days and also received $16.53, and David Kingsbury was at that Fort three months and three days, for which service he was paid $21.69; all in the year 1814. Isaiah Woodcock, who was born in 1786, was wounded at the Battle of Bridgewater, and survived but eighteen days, never returning to Needham. His brother, Jeremiah, contracted disease in the service, and died in 1823; it is said in consequence of this sickness.
Mr. Henry Michael McIntosh wrote that he heard his father say that during the War of 1812 his father, Major Ebenezer McIntosh, was employed to team flour for the army from Albany to Boston, and that the trip took about two weeks. It was feared that the teams, which the Major had hired into the service, would be attacked, and perhaps captured, the danger being considerable at a certain ferry, but they got through to Boston without difficulty.
EXEMPTS. WAR OF 1812
The company of Exempts was organized on September 22, 1814, with seventy-nine members. Daniel Ware was captain, Major Ebenezer McIntosh was lieutenant and Lieut. Moses Garfield was the ensign. The four sergeants were Capt. George Smith, Lieut. Lemuel Kingsbury, Capt.
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Jonathan Fuller and Capt. Artemas Newell. Aaron Smith was the clerk, the Rev. Stephen Palmer and the Rev. Thomas Noyes were chaplains, Isaac Shepard, Esq., quarter- master, Dr. Isaac Morrill, surgeon, and Elisha Flagg and Ellis Stedman were respectively the fifer and drummer. The sixty-five privates included Col. Alden, Capts. Ephraim Bullard, Timothy Bullard, Nathan Dewing and Michael Harris, Lieuts. William Fuller, Fisher Mills and Ephraim Ware, Ensigns Ebenezer Bird and Asa Cheney. Also Deputy-Sheriff Nathaniel Bullard, Deacon Asa Kingsbury and Benjamin Slack, Esq. Joseph Fisher was the oldest member of the company, and although but in his eightieth year, is called in a note to Mr. Palmer's sermon, "the oldest man in the town". The company adopted a Constitution consisting of thirteen articles, with a patriotic preamble. From the introduction to "A SERMON PREACHED BEFORE THE MILITARY COMPANY OF EXEMPTS, IN NEEDHAM, ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1814. BY STEPHEN PALMER,
CHAPLAIN OF SAID COMPANY. PUBLISHED BY REQUEST. DEDHAM: PRINTED AT THE GAZETTE OFFICE. 1814." we learn that the two militia companies of the town, Capts. Elisha Lyon and Ebenezer Fuller, paraded on November 17, 1814, with the Exempts. "These companies being united with the company of exempts formed a respectable battalion, which made quite a martial appearance. The company commanded by Capt. Fuller bore a very elegant standard, which had been presented by the ladies in that part of the town. The music was of a superior kind. The firings and military evolutions, performed after public service, evinced military skill and gave much satisfaction - But what was still more gratifying, all appeared to be of one heart and one mind." Political feeling as to the war had been bitter, and it was in the presence of what was believed to be a great and common danger that this company of Exempts was formed, and Mr. Palmer preached eloquently to them broth- erly kindness, unity and devotion to their country. This
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discourse was presumably delivered in the East Meeting- house. From a prefatory note to "AN ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE WEST PARISH IN NEEDHAM, BEFORE THE MILITARY COMPANY OF EXEMPTS, IN SAID TOWN, AT THEIR DISBANDING, ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 1815. BY THOMAS NOYES, ONE OF THE CHAPLAINS OF SAID COMPANY. PUBLISHED BY RE- QUEST. DEDHAM: PRINTED AT THE GAZETTE OFFICE. 1815." it appears that the Exempts "paraded at eleven o'clock near the centre of the town, where they were joined by the other two companies, under the command of Captains Fuller and Lyon - forming a battalion they marched to the West meeting house, where they attended religious exercises; after which they retired to the common and performed a number of evolutions, and then the three companies par- took of a handsome entertainment provided by Mr. Flagg. Sociability and friendship characterized all the proceedings of the day. The company of Exempts being disbanded, all the citizens retired to enjoy the blessings of peace". This pamphlet of sixteen pages includes the names of the men who represented Needham in the War of 1812. Mr. Palmer's sermon, with names of the members of the company of Ex- empts, etc., is a pamphlet of 154 pages. The Exempts drilled from time to time, and from March I to September I they met for that purpose from 2 to 5 in the afternoon, and the rest of the year from I to 4. Lewis Jones, who died Novem- ber 4, 1872, aged ninety-four years, was the last survivor of this company; Enos H. Tucker, who died November 15, 1868, outlived all of his comrades but Mr. Jones.
Several anecdotes are told of Mr. Noyes: He is said for years to have used the same opening prayer, or first part of the long prayer, and the boys in the gallery were wont to mutter it in advance of the minister. Mr. Noyes wore in the summer a long calico robe, or gown, which he tied in a knot behind his back when he raked hay, in which employ- ment he excelled. The late Honorable Enos H. Tucker related other anecdotes of this minister.
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The Civil War
In a town history it seems impracticable to attempt so great a theme as the Civil War. Needham furnished more than two hundred men, not all of them citizens it is true, but her sons helped to fill the quotas of other towns, cities and distant States. "Needham in the Civil War" would be an appropriate title for a volume which might contain two or three hundred pages and not exhaust the subject. The first reference to this war in the town records is the record of the meeting on April 29, 1861, Marshall Newell moderator, at which $15 were voted to each man "who shall Enlist or join a Military organization for the defence or protection of our Country". Two thousand dollars were appropriated, and Edgar K. Whitaker, Claudius B. Patten, Benjamin G. Kimball and Calvin Perry chosen a "Military Committee" to procure volunteers, provide clothing and other supplies both for the enlisted men and for their fami- lies, and to secure a suitable headquarters for the examina- tion and drill of recruits. Artemas Newell made a fiery address, and the selectmen were authorized to draw orders on a "War Appropriation" of $8000. On July 24, 1862, the town voted a bounty of $100, later increased to $200, which was to be good for thirty days, and on August 21 another bounty of $200 was voted to men who volunteered for the nine months' service to fill the town's quota. At a meeting on September 16 the selectmen were authorized to procure volunteers, and the town voted to pay State Aid to the families of soldiers. At the annual meeting on March 2, 1863, George K. Daniell was the moderator, and had pre-
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sided the previous July, but Marshall Newell was pre- eminently the moderator of the period of the Civil War. At this meeting, March 2, a bounty of $100 was voted to volunteers who shall have served in the United States Army for three years, and have not already received such bounty. Soldiers discharged for disability were to receive "in pro- portion to the time they may be so disabled", not exceeding the amount of $100.
A like sum, $100, was to be paid to the family of a man who died in the service, and if the soldier left a wife, or any child under the age of twelve years, an additional $100 was to be given to them. On March 7, 1864, the town directed the selectmen to petition the General Court to make valid the vote of the town of March 16, 1863, which was to pay a bounty to soldiers who had enlisted without any. On April 14, 1864, the town appropriated $2875 "for the pur- pose of refunding the amounts advanced by individuals, and paying expenses incurred in raising recruits under the call of the President dated October 17th 1863". At the same meeting $2250 were voted to enable the selectmen to fill the quota required by the order of March 14, 1864, no recruit to cost the town more than $125. Extra aid was also authorized when the families of soldiers were in need. On August 4, 1864, the town voted $125 "for each recruit en- listed on any Quota called for by the President, at any time between the first day of March 1864 and March Ist, 1865". In May, 1865, the town voted money to reimburse individuals who had contributed for the purpose of filling the town's quota under requisitions during 1864, and on March 5, 1866, voted further aid to the families of deceased soldiers.
The military expenses of the town during the Civil War amounted to $20,000, and a large debt was incurred. The aid extended to the families of volunteers was $4300 for the year 1863 alone, but such expenditures were largely, if not entirely, refunded by the Commonwealth. The town had an efficient board of selectmen during the war, and made
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no change in its membership from 1861 to 1865, inclusive. No man could have done more than did Galen Orr to ob- tain men, and to properly provide for them. These duties required much energy and considerable travelling, and by his efficiency Mr. Orr made the War Record of Needham one to be proud of. Securing recruits was only one of the many duties, connected with the War, that devolved upon him, and he performed them all well. His colleagues, Silas G. Williams and Augustus Stevens, the former always a Democrat, shared with Mr. Orr the honor of rendering able service for years in a great epoch.
The number of soldiers from Needham under the first call, 1862, was forty-one. There were thirty-three of the Three Years Men, and sixty-three of the Nine Months Men, who received a bounty of $200 each.
War meetings were held at the expense of the town in Nehoiden, Village and Maugus Halls, the latter then owned by the Maugus Hall Association.
The splendid patriotism called forth by the Civil War excites our admiration, but there were non-combatants whose minds were unbalanced by the excitement of the time, and who yet had no disposition to enlist. Needham was not free from these individuals, and in the West part of the town there was hostility, now not easily understood, to a clergyman of the highest character, who was later a personal friend of President Lincoln. The charge was that the minister "opposed the War", meaning that he had spoken of the evils attending war, and deplored the neces- sity of it between Christians. The pastor resigned. There were a few instances showing a similar disposition in the East part of the town.
SOLDIERS' LETTER
The original of this letter was preserved with the town papers until about July 1, 1897, when it was lost together with other documents, of perhaps equal value and interest.
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For particulars see the Needham Chronicle for July 3, 1897, from which paper the letter is quoted.
"Near PETERSBURG, VA., Dec. 30th, 1864.
Mr. Orr
Sir We the undersigned members of Co. I 35th Regt. Mass. Vols. do hereby pray the Town of Needham through you that while you are in the enjoyment of the many Bless- ings that kind Providence has bestowed on you that you will remember the Soldiers in the field, and while you sit around your fireside with none to molest or make afraid, the Soldier is exposed to privations and death in many ways. When our Regt. left Mass. Needham was represented by nine men in Co I now there is but two left three have joined the Army in the other world three have been dis- charged for disability and one was taken Prisoner Sept. 30
Therefore if the Town of Needham thinks they can afford to remember us with a few of the good things of life they will be thankfuly received. And as we soon expect to smoke the Pipe of Peace with our enemys we Pray you to send us some tobacco, as we have not been paid the past four months tobacco is very scarce here at present, and our duty is very hard here now we are in the trenches every second night and living on Salt Pork and hard tack is very wearing on us to say nothing about the shells and minne balls that we have to dodge, therefore it takes some tobacco to keep our nerves steady
We hope you will think favorable of this and answer at your earliest Conveinence
We remain respectfully yours Geo. L. Knapp S. S. Wheeler
Co. I 35th Regt. Mass. Vols. CITY POINT VA."
On the back is endorsed "Call for tobacco by soldiers in the army, Dec. 1864. 2 lbs. delivered ".
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NEEDHAM'S SOLDIERS IN THE CIVIL WAR
Unless otherwise indicated all of the men whose names are in the following pages enlisted for three years. The dates of enlistment and of muster into the United States service vary from two or three days to three or four weeks, and the date which immediately follows the number of the regiment is that when the soldier was mustered into the ser- vice. There are some instances where that date is missing, and the date of enlistment is substituted, but in such cases the word "enlisted" is inserted.
Infantry
Adams, Stephen W., Co. F, 40th Reg., Sept. 3, 1862, transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps Dec. 3, 1863; wagoner. Not in the town books.
Ambler, Artemus C., Co. C, 23d Reg., Sept. 28, 1861, mustered out Oct. 13, 1864.
Avery, George, Co. B, 22d Reg., enlisted Sept. 2, 1861, discharged for disability June 28, 1862.
Avignon, Peter, Co. I, 56th Reg., Feb. 4, 1864, died Aug. I, 1864, at Andersonville, Ga. Not in the town books.
Badloe, Louis, Co. I, 56th Reg., Feb. 4, 1864, died at An- dersonville, Ga., Aug. 9, 1864. Not in the town books.
Bailey, Walter, Co. K, 44th Reg., Nine Months, Sept. 12, 1862, mustered out June 18, 1863.
Barnes, Daniel, Co. B, 45th Reg., Nine Months, Oct. II, 1862, mustered out July 7, 1863.
Batcheller, Holland, N., Co. B, 39th Reg., Aug. 20, 1862, discharged by order of the War Department May 5, 1863.
Belcher, Charles H., Co. C, 43d Reg., Nine Months, Sept. 24, 1862, mustered out July 30, 1863.
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