History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 144

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1534

USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 144

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Thus the financial status of the infant republic was wellnigh desperate. Yet faith and hope were strong.

June 14, 1777, the flag of the stars and stripes had been adopted. Though harassed and depreciated, the immortal Washington was

" Patient of toil, serene amidst alarms, Inflexible in faith, invincible in arms."

In that year, too, Lafayette had brought his sword, his youthful enthusiasm, and his loyal devotion to the American cause. Jan. 30, 1778, France and the United States signed two treaties,-one of friendship and commerce, the other of defensive alliance; and this alliance, embroiling England with France, event- ually rescued our independence from the countless dangers that beset it.

June 13, 1778, the British Commissioners-the Earl of Carlisle, William Eden, and Governor John- stone-communicated to Congress proposals as a basis of peace, an extension of colonial trade ; no military force to be quartered in any colony without the con- sent of its Assembly ; an arrangement for sustaining the Continental bills of credit and their ultimate dis- charge ; a representation of the colonies in the Parlia- ment of Great Britain, and of the British government in the colonial assemblies. In short, King George offered almost everything short of total independence ; but Congress peremptorily refused to treat unless the independence of the States was first acknowledged or the troops withdrawn. This was three days after the incorporation of our little town. Five days later, on the 18th of June, Philadelphia was evacuated by the British.

Thus, amidst the mingled hopes and fears of Ameri- cans, Foxborough began its existence as a town. The inhabitants of the territory embraced in it had already evinced their willingness to share in all patriotic perils and sufferings. When enlistments were first called for, Lieut. Timothy Morse recruited twenty-four men in the crowded bar-room of the old tavern at Wren- tham for three years' service. My grandfather, Ezra Carpenter, was at work in a ditch on the land now owned by his son, Daniels Carpenter, when the min- ute-men were first summoned by the alarm, upon the news of the battle of Lexington. He dropped his tools, ran for his musket and knapsack, seized a parcel of bread and meat, bade good-by to his friends, and started to join his company at Wrentham ; but, failing to find it there, he continued his march alone to Ded- ham, and there joining other comrades, they continued on and overtook the company at Roxbury.

He was at the siege of Boston, and there, while ` doing guard duty, had a narrow escape from a cannon-

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ball, that came so near to him that he lost a portion of his shirt from his back and was thrown headlong to the ground, and reported by the soldier on guard with him as having been killed. He lived to the age of eighty-nine, and the speaker has often listened with boyish enthusiasm to his stories of Revolutionary service, protracted for three years. He was, doubtless, a soldier of Putnamn's at Long Island ; he certainly crossed the Delaware, under Washington, on the mem- orable Christmas-eve of 1776, and on Christmas morn- ing, at eight o'clock, rushed in with his comrades upon the surprised and sleepy Hessians, confused with the last night's debauch. They had thrown their fresh- baked bread into the " horse-pond ;" but it was, never- theless, rescued on the points of bayonets, and proved, after a shaving process, a savory morsel to the half- starved Americans. This Foxborough soldier and his comrades, a number of whom lived and died within my remembrance, but of whose particular history I have no knowledge, wintered in 1776-77 at Morris- town, in comparative comfort; but in 1777-78 the distress in the winter quarters of Washington's army was terrible, and the old campaigners often dwelt upon its details. Dec. 10, 1777, the army went into winter quarters at Valley Forge. Eleven thousand soldiers were quartered in log huts, each containing fourteen men. For want of shoes, all the late marches had of blankets, many of the men were compelled to sit up all night before the camp-fires. More than one- : quarter were unfit for duty, because barefoot and otherwise naked. Provisions failed ; more than once there was famine in the camp.

Such was the service and suffering of the Foxbor- ough soldiers in the Revolution. As there were, of course, no records until after 1778, we are unable to find the responses the town would, if in existence, have made to the stirring appeals of James Otis, John Adams, Hancock, and Samuel Adams, ad- dressed to the little rural municipalities ; but we find, in the very first warrant issued for a town-meeting, dated June 12, 1778, " Article 5th : to see if the town will carry on the war by way of a rate, or act or do anything thereon they shall see fit;" feeling and assuming, as it were, the whole responsibility of carrying on the war. As the grandson of a Revolu- tionary soldier, I may be pardoned for expressing the gratification I have experienced in serving as your rep- resentative upon the commission which has deposited the noble statue of Samuel Adams in the capitol at Washington as the gift of Massachusetts to the nation and her tribute of admiration to him, often called " the pilot of the Revolution."

It is said and claimed that Uriah Atherton, of Foxborough, cast at Sharon the first cannon of the Revolutionary war.

The Revolutionary patriots of Foxborough bore the names of Boyden, Billings, Carpenter, Forrest, Harts- horn, Howe, Morse, Everett, Pettee, etc .; in all twenty-four in number.

The same names reappear, in the war of 1812, among the thirty-eight men furnished by the town to the light infantry company which reported at Rox- bury, serving fifty-six days in and about the forts of Boston Harbor. Daniel Everett was its captain ; Asa Plympton, lieutenant ; Amos Morse, ensign. Of the soldiers of 1812, four are still living,-Alexander Boyden, Francis Carpenter, Daniels Carpenter, and Lyman Comey,-whose united ages are quite three hundred and thirty years.

July 2, 1812, the town voted " to make up to the soldiers detached from the militia in Foxborough and inhabitants of Foxborough, with the government pay, twelve dollars per month for May, June, July, Au- gust, September, and October, and ten dollars for No- vember, December, January, February, March, and April, if they are called into active service."

Aug. 22, 1814, it was voted " to make up to the soldiers of the last detachment, and all who may be de- tached in Foxborough previous to March next, eigh- been marked with blood from wounded feet. For lack | teen dollars a month each, and each five dollars bounty." At a meeting Nov. 7, 1814, the part of the vote about bounty was reconsidered.

It may be worth while to note that in 1815, at the close of the war, one hundred and fifty-two votes were thrown for Governor; and, in the absence of statistics showing the number of inhabitants of the town at that time, we are led to infer that Foxbor- ough had a large representation of soldiers in the war of 1812. Foxborough furnished one man to the Massachusetts regiment in the Mexican war, whose name was Henry Hunnewell; but, as it is well known, that war was not popular in this region. Time passed and brought us to the Presidential elec- tion of 1860, and its immediate consequences, culmi- nating in the fall of Fort Sumter. The deadening spirit of compromise and submission, which domi- nated in the large commercial cities in the winter of 1860 and 1861, had a palsying effect upon the patri- otism of the country ; but, with the outrage to the flag, American manhood flamed forth. Fort Sumter fell on Saturday, April 13, 1861. On Monday, April 15th, Col. A. B. Packard, of Quincy, commanding the Fourth Regiment Massachusetts Militia, received orders to appear at Boston on the following morning with his command. The adjutant, Henry Walker, of

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Quincy, sent them at once to the several companies by special messenger, who reached the last company (Company G, of Taunton) in a driving storm of wind and rain, beating up Capt. Gordon at 3 A.M. of the 16th of April. Company F, of the Fourth, was known as the "Warren Light Guard of Foxbor- ough." It was organized under the act of Jan. 22, 1776, and in 1861 was said to hold the oldest charter in the State, granted upon petition, all similar having disbanded. In 1854 it was changed from an artillery into a light infantry company. In 1857 its location was changed from Norton to Foxborough. Its name was, of course, in memory of the martyr of Bunker Hill, whose brother, Judge Warren, resided in Fox- borough in the house that his lineal descendant, our worthy citizen, Henry G. Warren, now owns and oc- cupies. The son of Gen. Warren was buried in the old burying-ground, but his remains were removed some years since.

In April, 1861, David L. Shepard was its captain, Moses A. Richardson and Carlos A. Hart its lieuten- ants,-all of Foxborough. Alvin E. Hall, of Fox- borough, was sergeant-major of the regiment.

The Fourth Regiment was prepared to march on the 16th, but no transportation could be furnished until the 17th, and it was quartered for the night in Faneuil Hall. As it was, it left the State for the seat of war before any other regiment. On Wednesday, the 17th, it left Faneuil Hall at three P.M., and marched to the State-House, where Governor Andrew made one of his most inspiring addresses. He said, " It gives me unspeakable pleasure to witness this array from the good old Colony. You have come from the shores of the sounding sea, where lie the ashes of Pilgrims, and you are bound on a high and noble pilgrimage for liberty, for the Union and Constitution of your coun- try. Soldiers of the old Bay State, sons of sires who never disgraced their flag in civil life or on the tented field, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this noble response to the call of your State and your country. You cannot wait for words. I bid you God-speed and an affectionate farewell." Col. Pack- ard modestly responded : "Your Excellency, I am scarcely able to speak. All I can say is, we will en- deavor to do our duty." Governor Andrew replied, " I know you will endeavor, and I know, colonel, you will succeed." The Fourth embarked at Fall River on the steamer " State of Maine" the same night, and arrived in New York in the afternoon of the next day. The boat was improperly ballasted, and her captain did not consider her safe to carry troops, so that Col. Packard telegraphed to Governor Andrew for instruc- tions. He replied, " If the captain says he can carry

Capt. Shepard received his orders at nine o'clock P.M., and immediately notified officers and men to report at the armory, at the Cocasset House, as early as possible on the following morning. The members of the company were scattered well over the town and out of town, but a large number reported equipped for duty at about ten o'clock. It was a solemn moment of parting. Excitement was intense. | your men, go on ; Massachusetts must be first on the " Esquire" Bird,-as he was known and called by all, ground." After a short delay, reballasting the steamer, she proceeded to Fortress Monroe, about the safety of which much anxiety was felt, as it was insufficiently garrisoned and dangerously situated. Governor Andrew's order, issued from the office of the Adjutant-General, April 17, 1861, directed " Col. Packard, of the Fourth Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, to proceed to Fortress Monroe, by steamer to be pro- vided, to enter into the service of the United States as United States Militia, and, on being joined by Col. Wardrop's regiment (Third Massachusetts Volunteer Militia), he will take command of them also." and of whom it could be truly said, if it could be said of any man, " an honest man is the noblest work of God,"-inspired with patriotic zeal and fervor, made a most feeling and eloquent address to the soldiers who had been called to defend the honor of their country, to which Capt. Shepard fittingly replied in behalf of the company. There were a number of our young men who volunteered to don the uniforms of members of the company, who had families, and to " fall in" and follow the fortunes of the company, and did so. The company were followed by a large num- ber of friends and citizens to East Foxborough, where they took the train for Boston, and promptly reported The steamer left New York at nightfall, and was about thirty hours on the way. Capt. Shepard was ordered to take charge of the boat. Only two com- panies were allowed to remain on deck. The rest were sent below under a guard ; the fear being that, if the men were allowed to rush to and fro, the in- adequately-ballasted steamer might capsize. Arriving at Fortress Monroe at an early hour on the morning of Saturday, the 20th, and seeing no flag flying from at the State-House. The same readiness was evinced throughout the entire regiment. At Quincy, Adjt. Walker beat the drum for recruits. One man said, "I want to see my wife." "No time for leave- taking," said the adjutant; "fall in." "Do you want an Irishman ?" said one. "Do you believe in the old flag ? If you do, fall in." So he fell in, and marched in his shirt-sleeves.

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it, "we spent," says an officer of the Fourth, "an when you don't know who is around ; but I confess hour of anxiety lying off and on, doubtful who held I felt rather more secure and at ease within the walls of the fortress. But this is a digression, for which I beg pardon, and will return to our record. the fort. But at length the glorious banner of the| stars and stripes was unfurled, and she landed her precious freight. We found some two hundred and Four companies as a battalion, united with some Vermont and New York troops, under Maj. Win- throp, participated in the unfortunate affair at Big Bethel, where plenty of pluck was exhibited, but little or no capacity. Company F was not ordered, but volunteered to go into the fight, and did go, in- stead of Capt. Bumpus' company, of Braintree. It is said that history repeats itself, but history would make a great blunder to repeat the battle of Great Bethel, if we can believe what is recorded of its generalship on our side. The Fourth was the only organization which marched into camp that night in regular order at shoulder arms. fifty regulars, worn out with watching, who heartily welcomed us. The fortress was almost defenseless. We spent the next month in guard and fatigue duty, mounting guns, and storing provisions." The uni- forms became so threadbare that the men, many of them, were obliged to wear their overcoats on parade, to cover their new raglan style of pants. As the regiment was the first to leave Massachusetts, it was also the first to reach the actual seat of war, and the first mustered in the service of the United States. It was mustered into the service April 22d. The Third and Fourth Massachusetts saved Fortress Monroe, whose value to the Union cause was beyond The news of this battle created an intense excite- ment and feeling through the State, as the report first came that the Fourth Massachusetts was " all cut to pieces." all price; for, had it fallen into the hands of the enemy, no one could estimate the cost in treasure and blood to have regained the same.

May 27th the regiment went from the fortress to Newport News, and fortified it.

It was at this time, under a commission from the town, that the writer visited Fortress Monroe as bearer of kind messages and remembrances from friends at home, and to provide for the needs and comfort of our soldiers. Reporting to Gen. Butler, who was then in command, I obtained a permit, and accompanied the general and staff to Newport News. The stern realities of war were still in the future, and when we landed, instead of finding the troops forti- fying, or watching the enemy, who was said to be near at hand, behind intrenchments, the scene was more like an old-fashioned muster-field,-a regular holiday show. One of our soldiers, and about the | first one I saw, had embarked in the butchering busi- ness, and was skinning a pig, shot on " Uncle Sam's farm." Another had gone into the horse and mule business, and was ready to swap or trade on most favorable terms, as he had purchased cheap of a contra- band, in the absence of his master. Another had made an investment in the wood and live-feather busi- ness, and had borrowed a hand-cart to bring his goods or merchandise to camp, and was quite willing to throw in the meat of the poultry, and wood to cook with, if he could only have the feathers returned in good order for the filling of a bed. I had no occasion to complain of my rations during my visit, which will always be held in pleasant remembrance for the hearty welcome received. I don't know how I should have felt if I had been " armed and equipped as the law directs ;" for a musket is a good thing for courage

July 3d the Fourth, with the Third Massachusetts, were ordered to occupy Hampton, which they partially fortified.

July 17th they left Hampton for Fortress Monroe on their way home, having served their time of enlist- ment. The regiment was mustered out July 22d at Long Island, Boston Bay. They received high praises for their service from Col. Dimmock, the commandant of the fortress, and from Gen. Butler, who said in a farewell, " You have done your duty well. You have all along been in the advance at Fortress Monroe, at Newport News, at Hampton." I have dwelt with particularity upon its service as a three-months' regiment because of the stirring patri- otism, promptness, and magnetic energy with which it was rendered at an awful crisis of our history. On its return to Foxborough, Company F, with full ranks, was warmly received ; an address of welcome was made by E. P. Carpenter. But the service of the Fourth Regiment did not end here. When, in the early summer of 1862, Gen. Banks retreated down the valley of the Shenandoah, Governor An- drew called for more troops (May 26th), the Fourth Regiment was again ordered out. Lieut .- Col. Walker, the late adjutant, read the order at Quincy on his way to the railroad station. He drove through the coun- try and caused alarm-bells to be rung. In forty-eight hours the regiment had eight hundred men in Boston. But they were not wanted, as the alarm had passed, and so they returned home.

In July, 1862, came the call for two hundred thou- sand nine-months' men. Lieut .- Col. Walker at once

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tendered the Fourth Regiment, the first offered, and, | Maj .- Gen. D. N. Couch, at Taunton. It was mus- being accepted, went into camp at Lakeville in Au- tered into the service June 15, 1861, and mustered out July 5, 1864. Upon its standard will be found a long list of battles in which it was engaged. Of this regiment, on the 5th of May, 1864, the first day of the Wilderness, Col. Briggs, of the Tenth, writes, " Men fell like leaves in autumn : yet the regiment stood firm, never wavered, till, the ammunition being expended, it was promptly relieved by Lieut .- Col. Harlow and the Seventh Massachusetts. Would I could sound a note to his praise, than whom none is more worthy !" gust. Company F did not lose its identity as a Fox- borough company, though we find but a small num- ber of the three-months' men upon the roll-call, as many of them had enlisted in other regiments, and the company was recruited for the most part with new members. They went into camp with C. F. Howard as captain, and Moses A. Richardson, of Foxborough, and Benjamin H. Richmond, of Norton, lieutenants. The company were mustered into ser- vice September 23d. Capt. Howard was commis- sioned major, and sworn or mustered in as such Some Foxborough soldiers served in the " Immor- tal Sixth Regiment," when called to serve one hun- dred days. December 16th, which necessitated the election of another captain. On the election of First Lieut. William R. Black, of Company G, Taunton, as cap- tain, Lieut. Moses A. Richardson resigned, and Ben- jamin H. Richmond, of Norton, was elected first lieutenant, and Isaac H. Bonney, of Foxborough, second lieutenant. Foxborough is accredited with forty-seven men in this company. Dec. 25, 1862, the regiment left camp for New York, and thence went to New Orleans. It was in the first Port Hudson expedition, when the noble old Farragut ran by in the " Richmond ;" Col. Walker was put in command at Brashear City, whence, May 28, 1863, the regi- ment was again ordered to Port Hudson.

June 14th, Capt. Bartlett, of Company K, led the ` the regiment at Lynnfield, in command of Capt. Hart, storming party, and was killed on the very slope of | the enemy's works, gallantly leading. Four officers of the Fourth were in the advance, of whom one was killed and two wounded. The regiment lost every fifth man. Ten Foxborough soldiers in Company F laid down their lives in patriotic devotion to their country. Their names are found enrolled with the " heroic dead" in Memorial Hall, and will be held in grateful remembrance when your name and mine shall be forgotten. The regiment was mustered out Aug. 22, 1863, most of the men having been in ser- vice eleven months. Gen. Emory said, " It was one of the best regiments in my whole division. It was well disciplined. It was remarkable for its camp, po- lice, and sanitary discipline. I remember signalizing it before the whole division at Baton Rouge, on ac- count of its extreme excellence in these respects." If you would learn more of the history of this regi- ment, call upon the living witnesses now before you, for their testimony would be the whole history of a Massachusetts regiment, that rendered invaluable service to the country, and gained imperishable laurels for itself.

Foxborough men are found enrolled in the Seventh Massachusetts, raised by that distinguished officer, 1

Eight companies of the Eighteenth Regiment were recruited chiefly in Norfolk, Plymouth, and Bristol Counties. Col. James Barnes, of Springfield, com- manded it. It was mustered Aug. 27, 1861. Fox- borough had a number of representative soldiers in this regiment, who have a good record, and two of Company I are registered with the " heroic dead."

About forty men are credited to Foxborough upon the roster of the Twenty-third Regiment, commanded by Col. Kurtz. Company K was recruited by Capt. Carlos A. Hart, in this town, and was known as the " Foxborough Company." It went into camp with with John Littlefield and Benjamin F. Barnard, lieu- tenants. The regiment left camp for Annapolis, Nov. 11, 1861, and was mustered out at Readville, July 12, 1865. It went with Gen. Burnside to Roanoke Island. It fought its first battle Feb. 8, 1862, which lasted two days; twenty-five hundred prisoners were cap- tured in the two days' engagements. It was at New- bern, Goldsborough, and in other engagements in North Carolina; and at Drury's Bluff, Cold Harbor, and the other terrific battles of Grant's campaign of 1864, in Virginia. Col. John W. Raymond, the last commander, says of this regiment, "In closing my narrative of the regiment, I cannot refrain from speak- ing a few words in commendation of both men and officers during the time I had the honor to command them. Their excellent conduct while in camp or gar- rison, their courage and bravery under fire, their vigi- lance and fidelity at all times displayed, entitle them to the highest praise, and have won for them the ap- probation of all who have been in command over them. Rest assured that the Twenty-third Regiment, as an organization, never brought discredit upon their native State ; and I shall count it the highest honor of my life that I have been privileged to command it."

Such words, coming from Col. Raymond, are com-

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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

mendations that every soldier of the regiment may | Elisha White were constituted a committee to pur- well be proud of, and its record needs no further in- | chase clothing and supplies for volunteers, and to meet the various wants of their families.

dorsement to make it equal to the best.

One Foxborough soldier perished in Company A of the Twenty-fourth Regiment, in which a number enlisted, which fought from Roanoke Island to Peters- burg. It was not mustered out of service until Jan. | agent to obtain them. 20, 1866. On the 27th, Governor Bullock received its colors and said, " I welcome you home. But all have not returned. Eight officers of the line and two hundred and ten enlisted men have fallen in battle and by the casualties of war. It only remains that I 1 should now transfer your colors to the great compan- ionship in which they shall henceforth be preserved, and that, in behalf of a grateful people, I should greet and honor your return."

We had representatives in the Fifty-sixth Infantry, which left Massachusetts March 21, 1863, which em- blazons heroic service upon its flag at Spottsylvania, North Anna, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, the Weldon Railroad, and the pursuit of Lee.

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History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 144

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1534

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1534