USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Acton > History of the town of Acton > Part 21
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The annual town meeting of 1861 fell on April first and one can gather from the business transacted no inkling of the great events just in the offing. The assembled citizens voted to make such improvements as seemed necessary at the cemetery; to appropri- ate one hundred dollars for board for visiting teachers that should attend the institute to be held under the direction of the state board of education, and to light and heat the town house free of charge; and to spend a sum not to exceed seventy five dollars to repair the so called Assabet Road from Faulkner's Mills to Stow line. For the enlightenment of the modern reader it should be here stated that at this time the town of Maynard was non-existent but the busy little village that was to become Maynard was known as Assabet. It was further voted to prohibit cattle, horses, sheep or swine from feeding upon the highway or any common lands and that the field drivers be instructed to enforce the ordinance. This was the last vain effort of the contingent which for years had tried to get free pasturage.
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While Acton men were considering these mundane matters on April Fools Day of 1861 President Lincoln was rejecting one of the maddest schemes of the nation's history. Certainly no more appro- priate day could have been picked by cabinet member Seward to propose that in order to unite the North and South the United States pick quarrels with France, Spain, England and Russia and, after appointing Seward as prime minister, sail into a conflict of conquest and glory.1
How could Acton men know that as they debated about cemeteries, and pigs, and school teachers, power mad men in high places were conniving for a four year civil war in which Acton youth would bleed and die and starve in rebel prisons.
Eleven days later bedlam broke loose. Fort Sumter was fired upon and forced to surrender on April 12th. On the 15th Lincoln issued his call for seventy five thousand volunteers. The news came to Acton by telegram in the late evening and the town's amazing response was due to two things. In the first place the Davis Guards were already functioning as a trained militia unit, and secondly Captain Daniel Tuttle, while not a man of war, was a man of energy and a loyal citizen. He was forty seven years old and exempt from military service. He was in addition a Breckenridge Democrat which meant that he believed that so long as the South did not violate the law of the land she had a right to her slaves and should be let alone. Lastly he had a huge and prosperous farm2 and a large family of children most of them young.
The author well remembers the captain in his declining years. Even then his voice was powerful enough to be heard a hundred yards in normal conversation and his idioms were homely and pointed. One can well imagine that during the campaign of 1860 his opinions were unpopular and occasioned many a hot argument around the pot-bellied stove in the village store.
But firing on the flag at Sumter was decidedly something else than village debate. It was barefaced treason and when the orders came for him to assemble his company and report in Lowell there was but one thing to be done. Despite the fact that his command was dis- persed through several towns the bells were rung and messengers sent in all directions. Equipments were forwarded, wagons procured, overcoats provided (it was a chill and raw April night) and at half past seven the next morning Capt. Tuttle with one hundred per cent of his company of fifty two men3, some of whom had to be reached in Stow, Littleton, and Boxborough, reported to Colonel Edward F.
1 Morison & Commager, The Growth of the American Republic, vol. 1, p. 647.
2 So long as he controlled the farm all the extensive meadow land between Newtown Rd. and Nagog Hill Rd. was cleanly mowed by hand each year to provide hay for the large dairy.
3 For muster roll see Appendix XIX.
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Jones of the 6th Massachusetts Regiment that Co. E of Acton was on hand, fully equipped, and ready for duty.1 Although the men could not be aware of it that bleak morning a strange combination of circumstances was to make them the first company of the first regiment of the Union Army to arrive in Washington in response to Lincoln's call for volunteers.
The field and staff officers of the Sixth were Edward F. Jones, of Pepperell, colonel; Benjamin F. Watson of Lawrence, lieutenant- colonel; Josiah A. Sawtell, of Lowell, major; Alpha B. Farr, of Lowell, adjutant; James Monroe, of Cambridge, quartermaster; Charles Babbige, of Pepperell, chaplain; Norman Smith, of Groton, surgeon; Jansen T. Paine, of Charlestown, surgeon's mate; Rufus L. Plaisted, of Lowell, paymaster; Samuel D. Shattuck, of Groton, sergeant-major; Church Howe, of Worcester, quartermaster-sergeant; John Dupee, of Boston, commissary-sergeant; Frederick Stafford, of Lowell, drum major; William Gray, of Acton, hospital steward. The Sixth had a full staff and regimental band.
The regiment was composed of Company A, "National Greys", of Lowell; Company B, "Groton Artillery", of Groton; Company C, "Mechanics' Phalanx", of Lowell; Company D, "City Guards", of Lowell; Company E, "Davis Guards", of Acton, Daniel Tuttle, Captain; William Chapman, George W. Rand, Silas Blodgett, Aaron S. Fletcher, lieutenants; Company F, "Warren Light Guard" of Lawrence; Company G, "Worcester Light Infantry," of Worcester; Company H, "Watson Light Guard," of Lowell; Company I, "Light Infantry," of Lawrence; Company K, "Washington Light Guard", of Boston; Company L, "Light Infantry", of Stoneham.
At one o'clock on the same day the regiment arrived in Boston where it was accorded a tremendous ovation by the cheering crowds as it marched to Boylston Hall where its headquarters were estab- lished. At eleven o'clock on the forenoon of the 17th it marched from Boylston Hall to the State House where it received new rifled muskets in exchange for smooth bores. The Governor made a short speech and presented the regiment with a new set of colors.
The train ride from Boston to New York was one long orgy of wild acclaim. At several places the bells were rung and artillery fired. The regiment reached New York at sunrise on the 18th. The march down Broadway to the Jersey City Ferry is described as one of the grandest and most effective scenes ever witnessed. The wildest enthusiasm inspired all classes. Strong men wept unashamed and implored the blessings of Heaven upon the regiment and the State which had placed it at the extreme forefront of the Union forces. A gentleman who was an eye witness wrote, "I was always proud of
1 Fletcher, p. 283.
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my native state; but never until now did I fully realize how grand she is."1
There seemed to be something of the supernatural in the fact that this grand old regiment, made up of the men of Acton and Middlesex, should have reached Baltimore on the morning of April 19th. The city was bitter against the Union and against the men who came to defend it. The streets were filled with angry mobs as the blue clad soldiers arrived. As the railroad facilities of Baltimore were then arranged it was necessary that the eleven cars be horse drawn across the city from one station to the other. This gave the angry crowd a priceless opportunity. Missles of all sorts were hurled through the windows. Acting under orders the soldiers bore the insults patiently until all but two cars had run the gantlet. These two, becoming separated from the rest due to damage done to the tracks, had to be evacuated and the soldiers, in solid column, marched toward their destination amid a shower of rocks and diverse debris. They increased their step to the double-quick, which seemed to further infuriate the mob to the point where pistol shots were fired into the ranks and one soldier fell dead. It was obvious that patience had ceased to be a virtue. The order to fire was given and in conse- quence several of the mob fell, either dead or wounded.
Amid such scenes the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment reached the station and passed out of the city having had four killed2 and thirty six wounded none of whom were local men since the Acton company had been in the cars first to cross the city. Thus eighty six years to the day the descendants of those Acton men who were under fire at Concord Bridge found themselves in the vanguard of the Union Army in the streets of Baltimore.
Of the four who were killed, Charles Taylor was buried in Bal- timore. No trace of his family or friends ever came to light. Need- ham was buried in Lawrence; Whitney and Ladd in Lowell. The funeral services over the bodies of these first matyrs of the Rebellion were imposing. In each city granite monuments today commemorate their supreme sacrifice.
It has been a mystery to many how it came about that a regiment from Massachusetts happened to reach Washington in advance of those of nearer states. In an address delivered before the Grand Army3 Mr. Luther Conant clarified this point and went on to give an excellent summary of the part played by the men of Acton through- out the war. The portions of that speech that are not repititious of what has been said above will be given herewith.
1 Schouler, History of Massachusetts in the Civil War, p. 72.
2 Addison O. Whitney, Luther C. Ladd, Charles A. Taylor of Company D. of Lowell and Sumner H. Needham of Company I of Lawrence.
3 Fletcher, p. 284.
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In obedience to General Order No. 4, issued by Governor Andrew, January 16, 1861, requiring the militia of the state to be forthwith put into a state of efficiency, the Davis Guards drilled every week during the winter and recruited its ranks to be ready to answer any call. On the 19th of January, at a meeting of the field officers and company commanders, at the American House in Lowell, it was unani- mously voted to tender the services of the Sixth Massa- chusetts Regiment to the Governor and the Legislature when such services shall become desirable for purposes con- templated in General Order No. 4.
On the 23rd of January the Legislature proffered to the President of the United States such aid in men and money as he may require to maintain the authority of the National Government. This resolution was forwarded to the Presi- dent on the same day.
The result of this act of volunteering was that the Sixth Regiment was the first regiment called and General Butler was the first to receive a commission as a general officer of volunteers.
The circumstances of the transmission of the order are given in detail. The proclamation of President Lincoln call- ing for seventy five thousand men, and convoking an extra session of Congress was dated April 15th, but did not reach Boston until the 16th and was not received in Albany until the 17th, receiving from the Governor of New York on the 19th the response by telegram to the President that the Sev- enth New York would start for Washington that evening.
In the meantime Governor Andrew had received on the 15th a telegram from Senator Henry Wilson of Massachu- setts announcing the call for troops.
The Governor at once issued his Special Order No. 14, commanding the colonels of the Third, Fourth, Sixth and Eighth Regiments forthwith to muster their commands in uniform on Boston Common, and sent it by special mess- engers. Colonel Jones, who was in Boston, received his orders first and issued orders immediately by telegraph to the Lowell and Lawrence companies and then took the four o'clock train on the Fitchburg Railroad to carry the order to the companies in Acton and Groton to assemble in Huntington Hall in Lowell on the morning of the 16th at seven o'clock - uniformed and ready to proceed to Washington.
Colonel Jones, on his trip to Groton, met Captain Aaron
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C. Handley in the railroad station at South Acton, who im- mediately started with the order to Captain Tuttle.
Late in the afternoon of the 15th Captain Daniel Tuttle was chosen in town meeting to an important office. On being requested by the moderator to be sworn as usual he declined for the reason that he was liable to be sent out of the state with his company any day.
At two o'clock in the morning of the 16th the bells of the town house and church were rung, calling the people of Acton to witness the departure of that military company which was the first in this or any other state to leave home in response to the President's call.
After leaving Baltimore at about two o'clock of the 19th the regiment reached Washington late in the afternoon and was received by General McPowell of General Scott's staff, and was assigned quarters in the Senate chamber at the Capi- tol, where it remained about twelve days.
The regiment, aided by a part of the Eighth Regiment and a battery, the whole under the command of General Butler, then went back and reopened the route through Balti- more, staying there some ten days, and were detailed to guard the junction of the main track of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at the Washington branch, at the Relay House, where it remained until the expiration of its service.
The regiment was mustered in at Washington on April 22nd, discharged August 2nd, being absent from home about 115 days. The term of service, though brief, is as- sured a high place in history. This regiment was the first to leave home and the first to be attacked. It received a vote of thanks from the first session of the Thirty seventh Congress for the alacrity with which it responded to the call of the President, and for the bravery and patriotism dis- played on the 19th of April on the march through Baltimore.
In his order dismissing the regiment Governor Andrew said: "Its gallant conduct has reflected new lustre on the Commonwealth, and has given new historic interest to the 19th of April. It will be received by our people with warm hearts and generous hands." Of the fifty two men who went out under Captain Tuttle, twenty seven are now living.
The remainder of Mr. Conant's speech, having to do with the part played by Acton men during the rest of the war is given in full in Appendix XV. It will be sufficient here to say that of the two hun- dred and sixteen men credited to Acton, eighteen died while in service, either killed in battle or victims of disease. This does not include
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natives or residents of the town who enlisted elsewhere, who died in service. The complete list of Acton dead is given in Appendix XVI. In Appendix XVII will be found those Acton men who survived. In addition to the foregoing there were some sixty odd others who due to the bounty in the latter part of the war or for reasons not disclosed enlisted to Acton's credit. The data concerning them will be found in Appendix XVIII. It will be noted that several of these were from New Orleans. Doubtless they were prisoners of war who re-enlisted on the spot because of the bounty, and never set foot in Acton.
On April 27, 1861, just twelve days after the departure of Company E and the Sixth Regiment for Washington, Acton held a town meeting the like of which never had been seen. It was specially called and unusual things were afoot - so much so in fact that the ladies of the town who so desired were assembled in the lower hall. Before article two of the town warrant came up for consideration a committee of three, namely, Simon Hosmer, John Fletcher, Jr., and Nathaniel Hapgood was appointed by the moderator Mr. Luther Conant, to invite the awaiting ladies to the upper hall and escort them thereto.
Thereupon article two was read as follows: To see if the town will appropriate a sum of money as a contingent fund for the assistance of the needy families of the Acton Davis Guards now in the service of the United States or pass any vote or votes thereon.
The immediate reaction to the article was the preparation of a set of resolves and the passage of several votes all of which are embraced in the copy of records given below.
"WHEREAS, a part of the Southern States have rebelled against the Union, formed a confederacy and taken up arms with the treasonable design of subverting the authority of the Federal Government, therefore resolved, That the citi- zens of Acton, one and all, whatever may have been their former political opinions, will unite and rally around the Constitution and the Flag of our Union and be ready to imitate the noble example of our fathers who shed their blood in defense of our religious and civil liberties.
2. Resolved, that it is the duty of every citizen to come forward in the present crisis of our affairs and do all in his power to assist in maintaining the rightful authority of the national government and preserving unimpaired our con- stitutional liberties.
3. Resolved, that the soldiers of the Acton Davis Guards, starting like their namesakes in 1775 at a minute's warning with the 6th regiment, being the very first to respond to the President's call, armed and equipped for the defense of
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the National Capital, have honored themselves and the town, shown by their gallant conduct that they are true lineal de- scendants of Davis, Hosmer and Hayward, men who were not afraid to go and who fought and fell in defense of our liberties.
4. Resolved, that the town of Acton appropriate five thou- sand dollars for the benefit of the families of soldiers in the town of Acton who were or may be hereafter engaged in the service of the United States to protect our govern- ment, the said appropriation to be entrusted to a committee chosen by the town to be by them distributed among said families as they may deem expedient.
After singing "My Country 'tis of Thee" and giving cheers for the Union and for Capt. Tuttle and his company "now in Washington" the resolutions were adopted.
It was then voted to choose a committee of five persons to take charge of the money thus appropriated by the town and to take care of the families of the soldiers "who have enlisted or may hereafter enlist from the town in the service of the United States." Also voted that said committee purchase pistols for the use of the Davis Guards to be kept by them so long as they retain their organization as a company, to be kept in their armory when not in actual service with their other state arms and to be sent to the company as soon as they can be procured. Also voted that said committee procure ammunition and make such provision for the said soldiers as they may deem ex- pedient. Also voted that W. E. Faulkner, Oliver W. Mead, Daniel Wetherbee, David Handley and Moses Taylor be the committee."
By the middle of July the town began making preparations for the reception of the Davis Guards on their return home at the expiration of their three months enlistment. At a town meeting held July 16 it was voted that a committee consisting of the selectmen and two representatives from each school district be empowered to make all necessary arrangements. The personnel of the committee was Zoheth Taylor, Alden Fuller, Jonas Putney, selectmen, together with James Keyes, Daniel Fletcher, David Handley, Daniel Wetherbee, Oliver W. Mead, John M. Miles, James Billings, Benjamin Priest, Luther Conant, Luther Piper, Cyrus Fletcher and William Schouler.1
The committee was instructed to procure either the Lowell Brass Band or Hall's Band of Boston and arrange to entertain at a dinner the wives of the men of company E together with the companies then formed in town. In addition a cold collation was to be prepared
1 The William Schouler on the committee is not to be confused with William Schouler who was Adjutant-General of Massachusetts during the Civil War. The Acton Schouler ran a print works in the old pencil factory for several years.
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for the general citizenry and a supply of powder was to be provided for as many field pieces as might be thought proper for use on the day of the reception. Acton has always enjoyed hearing guns go off. The committee was to draw on the town treasury for whatever expenses were incurred.
From Fletcher we get a comparatively full report of the celebra- tion.1 The Davis Guards arrived at South Acton at eight thirty on the morning of Saturday, August 10, 1861. A large crowd had assembled to give them welcome. After the usual cordial greetings a procession was formed and proceeded to the Centre in the following order: Colonel Winthrop E. Faulkner, chief marshal, assisted by Henry Wilder, James Wetherbee, and John H. Sanborn; National Band of Worcester; Union Guards, Captain Aaron C. Handley, fifty men; Liberty Guards, Captain S. Willis, forty men; Drum Corps; Hayward Guards, Captain Daniel Jones, sixty two men; Lowell Brigade Band (this band barely escaped alive at Baltimore) ; Davis Guards, Captain Daniel Tuttle, fifty two men; Concord Artillery, Captain Prescott, fifty four men; Detachment of Concord Artillery, with field pieces, Captain M. Hobson, twelve men; Chief Engineers of Concord Fire Department; Hook and Ladder Company, Charles Stowell, foreman, ten men; Independent Engine Co., Jonas Melvin, foreman, sixty men.2
A short distance out of the village of South Acton the procession was augmented by a large number of the citizens of Acton and adjoining towns who had been organized for the purpose under the direction of Mr. Samuel Hosmer. Upon the arrival of the military they fell into column in the rear and thus proceeded into the Centre. When the procession arrived at the speaker's stand a common prayer was offered by Rev. Alpha Morton after which Dr. John M. Miles, on behalf of the town, welcomed the returning soldiers in an eloquent address. Response to this was made by Dr. Harris Cowdrey on behalf of Captain Tuttle.
Colonel Faulkner made a brief address. At about half past twelve the companies formed into line and marched to the monument where three cheers were called for and heartily given to the American flag, and at the same time a beautiful new banner was run to the top of the flag pole by Willie Boss, from which point, as if by magic, it unfurled full sized into the air. The band played the "Star Spangled Banner", after which Hon. Charles Hudson of Lexington delivered a very able address.
After an intermission of an hour sentiments were offered by the
* Fletcher, p. 284.
2 It is a matter of interest that in the parade Acton had two hundred and four men in line that were members of units that had seen or were to see service. The population of the town in 1860 was 1726.
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toast-master, Oliver W. Mead and brief addresses were made by Rev. James Fletcher of Danvers (a native of Acton), Hon. E. W. Bull, George Stevens, John White (a member of Davis Guards and an Englishman who fought under the stars and stripes in the Mexican War), Hon. James M. Usher of Medford, George Brooks of Concord, Capt. Phelps, of Lexington, and Lieut. Bowers of the Concord Rifles.
There were about three thousand persons present. The route of the procession was profusely decorated with flags and mottoes as was the new store of James Tuttle & Co. at South Acton.1 Over the armory appeared, "Davis Guards not afraid to go"; in the town house, "God defend the right"; on the monument, "Union, Davis, Hosmer, Hay- ward"; at Capt. Daniel Jones', "Welcome home"; at Lieutenant Jonas Blodgett's, "Honor to the brave"; at Hon. John Fletcher's, "First to go"; at E. S. Buffum's, "Safe Return"; and over J. Fletcher and Sons' store, "Through Baltimore".
A detachment of the Concord Artillery fired a national salute upon the arrival of the Guards at South Acton and also as the procession reached the centre of the town.2
In December of 1861 the town made another gesture for the benefit of the soldiers. It was voted that the selectmen be a committee to receive any moneys that the soldiers saw fit to send them for safe keeping, the same to be deposited and bear interest at six per cent.
The school report for the year ending as of February 1862 points out the dire need for new buildings, particularly in the east part of town, but cites the war as a reason for deferring action. It was at this time that the reports of the selectmen, the town clerk, and the school committee were first combined in a single pamphlet. An item of passing interest in the school report is that the teachers for the first time received four dollars and seventy five cents per week. Apparently at about this time also the state passed laws making it compulsory for the towns to arrange for a school superintendent.3 In any event Acton voted on April 7th to engage a superintendent at a salary not to exceed forty dollars per month "pursuant of state statutes".
By July of 1862 the war fervor had cooled to the point where it became necessary to offer some inducements aside from base pay. In consequence Acton, on July 16th voted to pay a bounty of one hundred dollars to each volunteer on the day he was mustered in. The
1 Exchange Hall, erected in 1860.
2Even wars have their moments of humor. Two aged residents once related years ago how on the day of the celebration a member of the Davis Guards who was full of spirits to the point of effusiveness, and was no paragon of intelligence under the best of conditions, was queried as to whether he would re-enlist. "By crackey! I guess not", said he, "you never saw such fellers as them Rebs, they jest ez soon shoot at a feller ez not".
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