USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > North Brookfield > History of North Brookfield, Massachusetts. Preceded by an account of old Quabaug, Indian and English occupation, 1647-1676; Brookfield records, 1686-1783 > Part 39
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SECOND PRECINCT-NORTH BROOKFIELD.
Tennessee till March 21, when it commenced its march over the Cum- berland Mountains, to Nicholasville, Ky., a distance of 198 miles, where it arrived April 1. On April 2, it took cars for Annapolis, Md., reached there April 6, and went into camp. Here provisions were plenty, new clothing was drawn, everything was comfortable, neat and clean, and the boys were joyous in the expectation of being allowed a rest of several weeks, after the hardships they had endured through the winter ; but they were permitted to remain only a few days, being ordered to break camp, and take up their march south ; they went to Alexandria, thence to Fair- fax Court House, thence to Bristow, thence to Catlett's Station, from thence to Bealton, halting a day or two at each of these places, and on May 5, 1864, crossed the Rapidan, and on the 6th the Regiment was engaged in the Battle of the Wilderness, where it charged the enemy three times and sustained a heavy loss. It was also engaged May 7 and 8 without loss ; on the 8th and 9th marched to Chancellorsville, about nine miles east from the Wilderness, and on the 15th marched southerly fifteen miles to Spottsylvania Court House, where on May 12, it was en- gaged in the terrible battle at that place, in which the Regiment suffered severely ; Capt. Bailey and First Lieut. Daniels being killed, Capt. Morse badly wounded, twenty enlisted men killed, and fifty-six wounded. Here on this day fell one of our own brave boys, Louis D. Winslow. The Regi- ment remained near this place till May 21, when it crossed the Po and North Anna Rivers and was almost daily engaged skirmishing with the enemy. June 3, the Regiment was engaged in the battle at Cold Har- bor ; its loss in this battle being two officers wounded, (Capt. Burke and Lieut. Passage,) eight enlisted men killed, thirty-seven wounded. After this battle the Regiment remained in this vicinity and was engaged in occasional skirmishes till June 12, when it commenced its march to the James River, which it reached near Harrison's Landing on the night of the 14th; remained in camp there during the 15th, and on the night of the 15th, and day of the 16th, was on the march to Peters- burg ; arrived there on the evening of the 16th, and at daybreak on the 17th charged the Rebel works, completely surprising the enemy, captur- ing 4 cannon, 600 prisoners, over 1,500 muskets and equipments, and a large amount of ammunition. In this charge Capt. Holmes was mor- tally wounded ; of enlisted men three were killed, and fifteen wounded. The next day the brigade in which was the Thirty-sixth supported the First Division, and this Regiment lost one officer killed, Capt. Buffum, enlisted men killed, one; wounded, seven. The Regiment remained in the rifle-pits before Petersburg from June 18 to August 19. July 30 the Rebel fort was blown up and an assault made ; but the Thirty-Sixth remained in the riffe-pits ; where its loss from June 18 to August 19, was enlisted men killed, 5 ; wounded, 14. August 19 the Regiment
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WAR OF THE REBELLION.
marched 5 miles to Weldon Railroad, and remained in camp there, doing picket duty till September 27, when it broke camp and marched to the vicinity of Petersburg, and from thence to Poplar Spring Church, Va., where it took part in the charge on the Rebel works, at Pegram Farm, September 30. The first line of works was taken, but in attempting to carry the second line the Union forces were repulsed with considerable loss, and among the killed was one of our own heroic men, Lyman H. Gilbert. The Regiment remained in line through the day of October 1, expecting an attack from the enemy, but none being made, it moved forward about a quarter of a mile, and established a new line near the Boisseau house at Pegram Farm, losing in this movement six enlisted men, wounded. It remained in Pegram Farm Camp, excepting little movements for the purpose of deceiving the enemy, till November 29, 1864, when the Regiment was ordered to march and occupy Fort Rice, in front of Petersburg ; here it remained till April, 1865, doing picket duty, and watching the movements of the enemy. On April 3, the Rebels having during the previous night evacuated their lines around Petersburg, our troops, including the Thirty-Sixth, were early in motion, and, passing through Petersburg, followed them twelve miles. On the 4th, 5th, and 6th, the march was continued after the retreating army of Gen. Lee, reaching Nottaway Court House, forty-five miles from Peters- burg, on the 6th. Here the Regiment was detailed to guard a supply train to army headquarters. After marching two days and nights without sleep, and stopping only twice, just long enough to make coffee, they arrived at Rice's Station on the South Side Railroad, on the morn- ing of the 8th ; here the Regiment was relieved, and went into camp. April 9, it marched to Farmville, ten miles in advance, on South Side Railroad, relieved the guards and took charge of prisoners. Lee having surrendered April 9, on the evening of April 26 the Regiment embarked at City Point on steamer Vidette, and at daylight the next morning sailed for Alexandria, Va., where it arrived on the 28th, and went into camp. Here it remained until mustered out at 6 o'clock A.M., June 8. It left Alexandria the same afternoon with orders to proceed to Readville, Mass. It arrived there on the evening of June 10, and pitched its tents for the last time. Although the Regiment when it left the State numbered 1,040 strong, and several hundreds from time to time had been added to it while in the field, it had been so reduced by death, wounds, sickness and other causes, that during its last campaign it averaged only about 300 men present for duty. When mustered out, 233 men, present and absent, whose term of service did not expire till October 1, 1865, were transferred to the Fifty-Sixth Regiment, Mass. Vols. ; of these 203 were re-enlisted veterans from the Twenty-First Regiment.
During its service the Regiment took part in the following engage-
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SECOND PRECINCT- NORTH BROOKFIELD.
ments : Fredericksburg, Vicksburg, Jackson, Blue Springs, Campbell's Station, Siege of Knoxville, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Cold Harbor, Poplar Spring Church, Hatcher's Run, and many other less im- portant fights and skirmishes. Probably no regiment which left our State had a more varied and trying experience than the Thirty-Sixth, although the Fifteenth, and perhaps some others, suffered more severely in battle. It was filled with brave and gallant men, ever ready to follow the flag wherever duty called, and, if need be, sacrifice themselves in its defence ; and our State and country will regard with gratitude and re- spect those who survived the perils of the war and were permitted to return, and will ever honor and cherish the memory of their fallen com- rades, the heroic men who died that their country might live. On Tuesday, June 13, the entire Regiment visited Worcester, and the little band of bronzed and hardy veterans presented a strange contrast to that Regiment which nearly three years before, with full ranks, marched the same streets on their journey to the front. The city was gayly decorated, and flags were flying in all directions. A bountiful collation was pro- vided by the city, and His Honor Mayor Ball addressed the veterans in eloquent words of welcome and congratulation. The same flag which had been presented to the Regiment on the day it left the city, now soiled and rent, and its staff shattered, was carried at the head of the column and is now preserved in the State House in Boston, with the flags of the Massachusetts Regiments. It is a matter of pride to the Regiment that in all its arduous service, and on many hard-fought fields, it never lost a color or a flag. The reception and ovation was all that could be desired, and will ever be remembered with pride and pleasure by those who par- ticipated in it. On Monday, the 19th of June, 1865, the Regiment assembled as a body for the last time at Readville, and received its pay and final discharge.
FORTY-SECOND REGIMENT.
A brief history of the 42d Regiment nine months' Mass. Vols. will not only be interesting to the relatives and friends of North Brookfield soldiers in this Regiment, but it is due to the men who served in it ; that those who, in after years, shall read this record, may know why there is no account of any battles in which the men in it, who went from this town, were engaged.
The Regiment was recruited at Camp Meigs, Readville, Mass., and the men who composed it went chiefly from Boston and its immediate vicinity. It was commanded by Col. Isaac S. Burrill, of Roxbury. As there was likely to be too much delay in filling it from that vicinity, Col. Burrill obtained an order for the transfer of three companies from the 5Ist Regiment, then recruiting at Camp Scott,Worcester, to his regiment ; and Cos. E, F, and K, were thus transferred.
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WAR OF THE REBELLION.
The Regiment left Camp Meigs, Nov. 21, 1862, went to New York, was ordered to Camp N. P. Banks, at Union Race Course, East New York, and, on the evening of the 22d, marched out there, a distance of nine miles, arriving at 9 o'clock, on a cold, stormy night ; no provision had been made for it, and it bivouacked in the streets, sheds, and wherever the men could find a place ; went into camp next day, and remained there until Dec. 2d, when it broke camp, and marched to Brooklyn. Thence it embarked on four transport steamers, the Saxon, Quincy, Shetucket and Charles Osgood. The Quincy sailed from New York on the night of Dec. 4, 1862, and the others the next morning, all in Gen. Banks's expe- dition, with sealed orders, -not to be opened until out at sea, - to report at Ship Island, Pascagoula Bay, about seventy-five miles east of New Orleans. The Saxon proved to be the only seaworthy transport of the four. Three companies, D, G, and I, with Col. Burrill, and Adjt. Davis, Quartermaster Burrill, Surgeon Cummings and Chaplain Sanger of his staff, were on this boat, arriving at Ship Island on the 14th, and at New Orleans on the 16th, and the same day proceeded to Carrollton on the Mississippi, 12 miles above New Orleans, and occupied Camp Mansfield under command of Col. Burrill. On the 19th he received orders to immediately re-embark on the Saxon and proceed with the detachment under his command to Galveston, Texas ; there to land and take post ; and was advised that the rest of his command would be ordered to follow him, on their arrival at New Orleans. The Saxon arrived at Gal- veston on the 24th. Commander Renshaw of the blockading fleet off Galveston, and the commanders of all the gun-boats then in the harbor, who met and consulted with Col. Burrill on his arrival there, unani- mously advised him to land at once, and take up quarters in a building on Kuhun's wharf, assuring him that he could safely do so, and that the gun-boats were perfectly able to repel any attack that might be made upon him. On the morning of the 25th, a landing was made in accord- ance with the above plan, and the stars and stripes were thrown to the breeze and greeted with hearty cheers by the troops. Barricades were erected, both at the building and at the approaches to the wharf, reconnoissances were made, a large picket force established, and every possible precaution taken for the safety of this little force of about 250 men. About three o'clock on the morning of January 1, 1863, the pickets were driven in by the artillery of the enemy, who were advancing in force. Col. Burrill instantly formed his men behind his barricades on the wharf, and at the same time signalled to the gun-boats that the enemy was upon him. The enemy opened fire with artillery, which was responded to by our gun-boats. Two or three attempts were made to charge on, and capture our position before daylight, but each attempt was repulsed by Col. Burrill's little force, whose fire was so effective as to
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SECOND PRECINCT-NORTH BROOKFIELD.
drive the enemy from some of his guns. Soon after daylight, four rebel gun-boats and a ram were seen making for our fleet, and they captured the Harriet Lane, after a short, but fierce and determined engagement ; at eight o'clock a flag of truce was raised by the enemy on the Harriet Lane and on shore ; this was responded to by our fleet, and finally by Col. Burrill on the wharf. Col. Burrill at once despatched Adjt. Davis to the fleet to learn the cause of the truce, and also to get the gun-boats to come to the wharf and take off his command, as the enemy was seen to have overwhelming odds against him. The rebel force was under command of Gen. Magruder, who sent an officer demanding a surrender. Col. Burrill asked for an hour's delay before answering the demand ; this was refused, and he was assured that he would be attacked by the entire force of the enemy of 5,000 men and 31 pieces of artillery. Feeling that it would be folly to delay, and needlessly sacrifice his men, Col. Burrill decided to capitulate. On offering his sword to the officer, he was desired to keep it, in respect to the brave and able defence he had made with his little force against one so overwhelming ; and in respect to their courage and bravery, Gen. Magruder ordered that all private property, of the privates as well as officers, should be respected. The prisoners taken were Col. Burrill, Surgeon Cummings, Chaplain Sanger, all the officers of companies D, G and I, and 244 enlisted men, also Lieut. B. P. Stowell of Co. K. Col. Burrill's loss in killed and wounded was slight, while the loss of the enemy in killed and wounded, (by their own account,) was between three and four hundred. Adjutant Davis, from the deck of the gun-boat on which he was standing, saw Col. Burrill and his command marched off, prisoners of war; he there- fore remained on board, and immediately sailed with the fleet to New Orleans, and reported to Maj. Gen. Banks the result of the unfortunate expedition. The prisoners were sent to Houston, Texas, January 2d, and on the 22d the enlisted men were paroled and returned to New Orleans, but were never exchanged. They remained in parole camp at Camp Farr till the expiration of their service, and returned home with the rest of the Regiment ; but the officers (excepting Chaplain Sanger) were all kept more than a year after the return of the Regiment. In consequence of the foregoing facts the 42d Regiment was practically broken up, and was never permitted to perform service under its regi- mental officers.
Owing to the miserable condition of the transports the remainder of the Regiment did not all arrive in New Orleans until Jan. 14, 1863, forty-one days after leaving New York, and two weeks after Col. Burrill and his command, who went on the Saxon, had been captured. The remaining companies, under Lieut. Col. J. Stedman, were attached to the Second Brigade, under command of Col. Farr, of the 26th Mass.
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W'AR OF THE REBELLION.
Vols. Most of the officers were put on detached service in New Or- leans, and elsewhere, and the different companies assigned to various guard and provost duties, as the service from time to time demanded. Some companies were in several battles, and several men were killed, and quite a large number wounded, but Co. F, in which were all the North Brookfield men, was never engaged in any battle, but they were always ready and willing to perform faithfully every duty to which they were assigned, and the Adjutant General in his report of 1863, makes honor- able mention of services rendered by officers and men, and to this report reference may be had for a full history of the Forty-Second Regiment.
FOURTH REGIMENT CAVALRY.
North Brookfield was represented in this Regiment by thirteen men. The Regiment was composed of the Independent Battalion, formerly Third Battalion, First Regiment of Cavalry, Mass. Vols, and two new Battalions recruited in Massachusetts. At the time of the organization of the Regiment the First Battalion under command of Major Stevens of Cambridge, was stationed in South Carolina. The Second Battalion, under command of Major Keith of Boston, left the State for Hilton Head, S.C., March 20, 1864, and the Third Battalion, under command of Major Cabot of Brookline, also sailed for Hilton Head, April 23, 1864. Lieut. Col. A. A. Rand of Boston was in command of the Regi- ment. It consisted of twelve squadrons, each one hundred strong, and was fully recruited and organized about March 1, 1864. The Regiment was soon ordered to report at Fortress Monroe to Major General Butler, commanding the Department of Virginia and North Carolina. The different Battalions of the Regiment were ordered from time to time to various places in Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida, doing efficient and valuable service during the campaign of 1864. It was engaged at Gainesville, Florida, Drury's Bluff, and at several of the engagements in front of Petersburg and Richmond. At the opening of 1865, the Regiment was divided as follows : Two companies were stationed at Jacksonville, Florida ; two at Deveaux Neck, S.C .; two at the headquarters of the Twenty-Fourth Army Corps ; two at the head- quarters of the Twenty-Fifth Army Corps before Richmond ; one at Williamsburg, Va., and one at Harrison's Landing, Va. The headquar- ters of the Regiment, with two companies, were at Vienna, Va., attached to the headquarters of the Army of the James. Parts of the Regiment were engaged with the enemy at Picolata Road, Florida, February 4, also at Manning, Dingley's Mills, Swift Creek, Camden, Waterbury, and Deep Creek, S.C., on the 8th, 9th, 18th, 19th and 20th of April. When the Army of the James moved from its winter quarters, March 28, 1865,
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SECOND PRECINCT- NORTH BROOKFIELD.
companies F and K remained attached to the Twenty-Fourth Army Corps and took part in the engagements of that Corps while in pursuit of the Rebel Army of Northern Virginia. Companies E and H re- mained with the Twenty-Fifth Army Corps before Richmond, and were the first troops to enter the city, April 3. The guidons of these com- panies were the first Union colors carried into Richmond, and raised by Union troops ; they floated from the Capital building until a large flag supplied their place. That part of this Regiment attached at this time to the headquarters of the Army of the James (companies I, L, and M), commanded by Col. Francis Washburn of Lancaster, Mass., marched with them to Burkesville, some seventy miles southwest of Richmond, at the crossing of the Richmond, Danville and South Side Railroad, where they arrived on the night of April 5. Early the next morning, in accord- ance with orders received the previous night, Col. Washburn, with two Regiments of Infantry and a part of his own force of Cavalry, started to destroy High Bridge, eighteen miles distant, and of great importance to the retreating Rebel army. The bridge was reached about noon of the 6th, but a short time before they arrived there, Brevet Brig. Gen. Theo- dore Reed arrived, with orders to hold, and not destroy, the bridge. He took command. It was soon found that the enemy was there in strong force, with cavalry and artillery, and had thrown a large body of troops between him and the Army of the James. Thus cut off, the only alternative for Gen. Reed was to charge, and if possible cut through the enemy. Two desperate charges were made, but in vain. Of the twelve officers engaged at this time, three were killed, and five severely wounded, and the little band was hemmed in and overpowered by two divisions of Cavalry - Rosser's and Fitz Hugh Lee's- the advance of Gen. Lee's Army. In this battle Gen. Reed was killed, and Col. Washburn mortally wounded. The latter died only a few days after, at the house of his brother, J. D. Washburn, in Worcester. Col. Washburn was one of the most fearless men that ever fought on the battle-field ; he was here fighting with an odds of eight men to one against him, in a hand to hand fight ; he might have escaped with his cavalry but refused to leave the infantry as long as there was the slightest chance of rescuing them ; accordingly he made a third charge, and while crossing sabres with a Rebel officer whom he had nearly disarmed, he was shot in the head by another, and after he had fallen received a terrible sabre cut upon the skull, which finished his work. He was two days a prisoner in the hands of the enemy, and notwithstanding they extolled his gallant bravery, they did nothing for his wounds and robbed him of his horse, his sword and his money. In regard to this heroic man, Hon. E. B. Washburn of Illinois, a very remote relative, while on a visit to the scene after the battle, wrote as follows: "I have seen Col. Washburn of the
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WAR OF THE REBELLION.
Fourth Mass. Cavalry at the hospital at Point of Rocks. I cannot refrain from testifying to his unsurpassed gallantry and prowess in the action in which he was wounded, which challenged the admiration of both armies. Gen. Grant and Gen. Ord both bore testimony to his daring courage, and expressed to me the greatest anxiety for his speedy recovery. Your State may well be proud of such a noble son." Lieut. Gen. Grant, as soon as the intelligence of his death was received, paused amid his vast labors, and wrote with his own hand a letter to the family of the deceased, expressing his sympathy in their loss, and admiration for his gallant and heroic conduct. Sad indeed it seems that this brave man should be stricken down and not permitted to join in the shouts of victory and final triumph which rang through the land only three short days after he fell ; but he lived to hear the joyful news before going to his reward, and he and thousands of others with spirits as brave and true, who have sacrificed their lives upon their country's altar, will know they did not die in vain. Although the battle at High Bridge resulted in so great a loss in officers and men to the Union forces, the desperate fighting there inflicted great damage upon the Rebel forces and secured important results to our army. A Rebel Colonel, Inspector General on Lee's staff, said to Gen. Ord, after the surrender, "The cutting off of Lee's army at Appomattox Court House was probably owing to the sharpness of that fight; so fierce were the charges of Col. Washburn and his men, and so determined their fighting, that Gen. Lee received the impression that they must be supported by a large part of the army, and that his retreat was cut off." Acting under this impression, he halted his army, and gave what the Inspector General calls " stampeding orders." By the delay of Gen. Lee's retreating army in this fight, Gen. Sheridan and Gen. Ord were enabled to come up with their forces and cut off the retreat directly south, and consequently Lee was obliged to make a detour by way of Appomattox Court House. Confederate Gen- eral Rosser concurs in this opinion, and states that the importance of that fight has never been appreciated. That Lieut. Gen. Grant and Gen. Ord appreciated its importance and confirmed the principal facts stated above, is shown by Lieut. Gen. Grant's Report of the Armies of the United States, an extract from which is given, in connection with the history of this Regiment, in Adjutant General Schouler's Report of 1865, page 660. Soon after the surrender of Lee the detachments were assembled at Richmond, Va., and the Regiment performed various guard and courier duty, until November 14, when it was mustered out of the service. It received its final discharge at Galloupe's Island, Boston Harbor, November 26, 1865.
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SECOND PRECINCT- NORTH BROOKFIELD.
STATISTICAL TABLES OF NORTH BROOKFIELD).
1820. - Population .
1,095
Number of ratable polls
dwelling-houses .
barns
143
tan houses
2
66
pot and pearl ash houses
2
grist mills .
5
66
saw mills
5
cotton and woolen factories
2
.6
COWS .
930
horses
101
oxen .
156
swine
372
acres of tillage land
641
bushels wheat
IOI
66
rye
443
60
oats
5,032
Indian corn
5,470
66 barley .
12.4
barrels of cider made .
610
tons English hay
655
acres meadow
1,045
tons meadow hay
841
66
acres pasturage .
3,483
66
acres woodland .
1,838
66
" unimproved land
3,391
unimprovable land
1,570
66 covered with water
300
1840. - Population
1,468
Number of ratable polls
397
dwelling houses
222
66 tan houses
I
754
acres English mowing
268
152
STATISTICAL TABLES.
375
Number of grist mills .
2
66
saw mills .
5
carding machines
3
woolen factories
1
66 spindles
144
66 COWS
623
66
horses
I79
.6
oxen .
165
swine
246
sheep
384
bushels wheat
73
rye
303
oats
6,630
66
Indian corn
5,166
66
66
barley .
50
acres English mowing
1,586
66
tons of English hay
1,45I
66
acres meadow
953
66
tons meadow hay
820
acres pasturage .
5,446
" woodland .
1,827
66
" unimproved land
1,935
66
unimprovable land
348
in roads
186
Amount of money at interest
$56,035
1885. - Population
4,20I
1886 .- Number of polls
Number of dwelling houses .
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