USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Freetown > History of the town of Freetown, Massachusetts : with an account of the Old Home Festival, July 30th, 1902 > Part 6
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18
LIEUT. CHESTER W. BRIGGS
CHESTER WOOD BRIGGS, son of Capt. Franklin and Sally ( Hathaway ) Briggs, was born in Freetown, May, 1841. He received his education in the town schools and at Myricks and Peirce Academies. He taught school sev-
84
eral years. He enlisted in Company G, 3d Regt., M. V. M., in 1860; was appointed corporal in 1861. He went forward with the "Minute Men" April 15, 1861, and served three months as corporal at Fortress Monroe and vicinity, taking part in the destruction of the Norfolk Navy Yard. Mustered out on Long Island, Boston Harbor, July 22, 1861, he helped to raise the 22d Unat- tached Co., Mass. Vols., and was commissioned 2d Lieutenant of the com- pany. Mustered in Aug- ust 18, 1864, he served one hundred days.
Lieut. Briggs taught school again after the war and served in town office. In 1874 he went to Bos- ton and engaged in the hide and leather busi- ness, carrying it on suc- cessfully until 1890, when he returned to Assonet in poor health. He died July 31, 1891.
CAPT. JAMES W BURR.
JAMES WASHINGTON BURR, son of Captain James and Chartley ( Chace ) Burr, was born at Assonet Village, Freetown, Mass., January 27, 1816. He became a mar- iner and was for several years engaged in the coasting trade. Later he engaged in the freighting of rough rice, cotton and other goods between the ports of Savannah, Darien, or Brunswick, Ga., and Charleston, S. C. For this purpose he usually sailed from Assonet, in ballast, in September, and returned in May. During the summer months he would overhaul, paint and put his schooner in proper condition for the next season's work in the south ; and if conditions were favorable, make a few coaling trips
85
between Philadelphia or Baltimore and some New Eng- land port.
He was in Charleston harbor with his vessel during the bombardment of Fort Sumter in April, 1861. During the Civil War he became a pilot in the U. S. Navy, and served on several U. S. vessels in southern waters. After the surrender of Charleston, S. C., he piloted Admiral Dahlgren to Fort Sumter and assisted in replacing the " Stars and Stripes " over that fort.
The Southern carrying trade for Assonet vessels, in which several were engaged at the time, ended with the commencement of the Civil War. After the war Captain Burr removed to Fall River, Mass., where he engaged in the meat and produce business. He married Phebe Rathburn Phillips, daughter of James and Phebe ( Porter ) Phillips, who died at Fall River, Mass., June 28, 1891, aged 72 years. They had two sons, Job Pierce Burr, who died October 26, 1844, aged one year and seven months; and Frank Washington Burr, who is a resi- dent of Fall River, Mass., at the present time.
Captain Burr died at his residence on Oak street, Fall River, Mass., August 3rd, 1893.
CAPT. DARIUS A. CUDWORTH
DARIUS A. CUDWORTH, son of Luther and Betsey ( Phillips) Cudworth, was born in Freetown, April 1, 1836, and was educated in the public schools in the town. In
86
1858 he went to Missouri to engage in railroading. At that time Missouri was a slave State, and society not con- genial to Yankees. Yet there was an element of union- ism even there, and in 1861 the nucleus of a Union regi- iment was formed in Linn County, where Cudworth re- sided, and which he joined. Recruiting was slow there, for all the native born men went into the southern army, but the regiment was finally filled, and became the 18th Mo. Vol. Inf., in March, 1862, and Mr. Cudworth was mus- tered in as 1st lieutenant and regimental quartermaster. The regiment went South at once to Island No. 10, in the Mississippi, and thence up the Tennessee River, and was engaged in the battles of Pittsburg Landing and Shiloh, April 6 and 7, 1862, losing 600 men and officers in killed, wounded and missing. Also it participated in the cam- paign and capture of Corinth, Miss. At the battle of Corinth, Oct. 3 and 4, 1862, Lieut. Cudworth was at- tached to the Staff of Gen. John McArthur as Division Quarter Master and Aide-de-Camp. In the winter of 1863-64 they took part in the occupation of middle Ten- nessee and helped to rebuild the railroad from Nashville to Decatur, Ala. ; and in the spring of 1864 joined Sher- man's Army, south of Chattanooga, and took part in the battles of Reseca, Dalton, Kenesaw Mountain and siege of Atlanta. On July 22, 1864, before Atlanta, Gen. Veach's division, to which Lieut. Cudworth was attached, with Gen. Sweeny's division, under Gen. Granville M. Dodge, held in check the great flanking force of the rebel, Gen. Hood, which prevented a serious disaster to the Union forces : it was in the flanking movement that routed the Rebels out of Atlanta, and in the engagement at Jonesborough, Ga., where Hood's army was again de- feated. . He went with Gen. Sherman on the March to the Sea and through the Carolinas. They met and defeated Hardee's army, near Beaufort, N. C., the last of March, 1865. This was the last battle in which the 18th Mo. Vols. were engaged, and here Lieut. Cudworth received a
87
commission as Captain of Company K, which had been issued some months before. His term of service having expired, he was was honorably mustered out March 27, 1865, and after a brief visit to his parents at the old home he returned to the West where he has lived ever since. For many years he has been successfully engaged in the real estate business in St. Paul, Minn. Capt. Cudworth married Cordelia A. Mills, of Brookfield, Mo., September 27, 1869. Their children ;- Donna Mills, born October 20, 1870; Frank Barrows, July 4, 1872; Adda Blossom, Dec. 5, 1873; Luther Phillips, July 11, 1876; James Wal- ter, May 27,1878; Roger Logan, Dec. 27, 1886.
JOHN MILTON DEANE, son of John and Lydia ( Andros ) Deane, was born at Assonet Village, Freetown, Mass., January 8, 1840. His grandfather, Thomas Andros, was a soldier of the American Revolution. His education was obtained from the Water Street District School, the Assonet Academy, the Myricksville Academy, and the Foxboro English and Classical School. At the age of 19, he began teaching school at Berk- ley Common, and later taught for several terms at the South District of Assonet Village, being engaged there at the breaking out of the war of the rebellion.
He had enlisted in the Assonet Light Infan- try, Co. G, 3d Regt .. Mass. Vol. Militia, in September, 1858, was appointed Sergeant and Company Clerk in Aug-
LIEUT. JOHN M. DEANE, At Parts, Ky., 1863.
88
ust, 1860, and was elected Third Lieut- enant in September, 1860, at the annual muster of the regi- ment at Wareham, Mass.
Leaving his school he responded to Pres- ident Lincoln's call for troops April 15, 1861, and served three months at Fortress Monroe, Va., as Sec- ond Lieutenant of his - company. He took part in the destruction of the Norfolk Navy MAJOR JOHN M DEANE. Major 29th Regiment, Mass. Veteran Volunteer Infantry, 1865. Yard on the night of Department Commander, 1897, Dept of Mass , G. A. R.
April 20, 1861, and was for a few weeks in command of the guard kept at Fort Calhoun-the Rip Raps-in Hampton Roads. He was mustered out with his regiment at Boston, Mass., July 22, 1861, and again took up teaching at the South school.
He was appointed by Governor John A. Andrew a Second Lieutenant in the 29th Regt., Mass. Vols. June 1, 1862 ; was promoted to First Lieutenant December 29, 1862 ; to Adjutant of the regiment November 1, 1863 ; to Captain June 8, 1864 and to Major May 15, 1865.
He served as Acting Assistant Adjutant General at the Military Post of Paris, Ky., from April to September. 1563, and was on detached service at the Draft Rendez- vous, Boston Harbor, from September, 1863 until May, 1864. In January 1864, he took a large detachment of re- cruits to the 54th and 55th Mass. Regiments-colored- then encamped on Morris Island, South Carolina.
89
He served on the staff of Major General O. B. Wil- cox from April until his muster out in August, 1865, being appointed Prevost Marshal of the First Division, 9th Army Corps April 25, 1865, Prevost Marshal of Georgetown, D. C., May 20, 1865 and Prevost Marshal and Pass Officer, District of Washington, July 11, 1865.
In accordance with the following communication he was commissioned Major of U. S. Volunteers, by brevet, to date March 25, 1865.
WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, 1 June 15, 1865.
SIR :- You are hereby informed that the President of the United States has appointed you for gallant and meritorious service in the attack on Fort Steadman, Va., a Major of Vol- unteers, by brevet, in the service of the United States, to rank as such from the twenty-fifth day of March, one thousand, eight hundred and sixty-five. Should the Senate at their next session, advise and consent thereto, you will be commissioned accordingly. Immediately on receipt hereof please communi- cate to this department, through the Adjutant General of the Army, your acceptance or non-acceptance, and with your letter of acceptance, return the oath, herewith enclosed, properly filled up, subscribed and attested, and report your age, birth- place and the State of which you were a permanent resident.
EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War.
Brevet Major JOHN M. DEANE, U. S. Volunteers.
Captain Deane's gallantry in action at Fort Steadman, Va., was reported to Major General John G. Parke, com- manding the 9th Army Corps, by the Inspectors' Depart- ment of 1st Division of that Corps. General Parke in a com- munication to the War Department, dated May 29, 1865, recommended that Capt. Deane be made a Major of U. S. Volunteers, by brevet, for gallantry in action. The rec- ommendation of General Parke was approved and for- warded to the War Department by Major General George G. Meade, commanding the Army of the Potomac, June 1, 1865, whence the appointment was made June 15, 1865.
90
In accordance with the following communication he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor :-
RECORD AND PENSION OFFICE, WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, March 8th, 1895. S
MAJOR JOHN M. DEANE,
Late 29th Massachusetts Volunteers, Fall River, Massachusetts.
SIR :- I have the honor to inform you that by direction of the President, and in accordance with the Act of Congress approved March 3, 1863, providing for the presentation of Medals of Honor to such officers, non-commissioned officers and privates as have most distinguished themselves in action, the Assistant Secretary of War has awarded you a Medal of Honor "For most distinguished gallantry in action at Fort Steadman, Virginia, March 25, 1865, in serving with other volunteers, a previously silenced and abandoned gun, mounted en barbette, at Fort Haskell, being exposed to a galling fire from the enemy's sharpshooters." The medal has been forwarded to you today by registered mail. Upon receipt of it please advise this office thereof.
Very respectfully, IV. F. AINSWORTH, COL. U. S. ARMY, Chief Record and Pension Office.
Adjutant General William Schouler of Massachusetts, in his report for the year 1865, pages 404 and 405, con- cerning the battle of Fort Steadman, Va., says: "Among the other officers honorably mentioned for good conduct on this occasion were Captains Clarke, Browne, Deane, Pizer and Lieutenants Joslyn, McQuillan and Scully." "Captain Deane, in the latter part of the fight, showed great gallantry at Fort Haskell."
Colonel Gilbert P. Robinson, 3rd Maryland Infantry, commanding 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 9th Army Corps, in his report of the battle of Fort Steadman, Va., to Division Headquarters-Serial No. 95, War of the Rebel- lion Official Records of the Union and Confederate
91
Armies, pages 334 and 335-says : "I have the honor to mention the following officers and enlisted men for praise, for deeds set against their names, and to reiterate the eulo- giums of their regimental commanders.
Twenty-Ninth Massachusetts Veteran Volunteers :-
Captain John M. Deane, commanding the regiment after the capture of Major Richardson, and Lieutenant Henry C. Joslyn captured while on picket and escaped through the ranks of the enemy in an audacious dash, ex- posed to every danger; worked a gun in Fort Haskell during the latter part of the engagement, only leaving it to charge back to Battery No. 11; Sergeant William H. Howe, Company K. and Private Levi B. Gaylord, Com- pany A. for working barbette guns in Fort Haskell side by side with Captain Deane and Lieutenant Joslyn, after all but two of the artillery detachment had been killed or wounded."
In the battle of Fort Steadman, Va., before daylight, Captain Deane captured and disarmed a captain of the 4th North Carolina regiment; and later in the day, in the charge back from Fort Haskell to Battery No. 11, he cap- tured and disarmed the major of the 4th Georgia regiment. The latter also had in his possession and delivered to Cap- tain Deane a carpet bag, containing clothing and other articles belonging to Captain George D. Williams of the 29th Mass. regiment, which he had taken from Captain Williams' quarters.
Major Deane has the revolvers and belts of both the above mentioned Confederate officers in his possession at the present time. Neither of them carried a sword.
His military service, covering nearly forty-two months, was both variable and honorable. It consisted of life in garrison, camp and field, and on the transport ; of duty on the campaign and in the seige; of service as a line, staff and field officer. He commanded his regiment in the field from March until June, 1865.
92
His service took him into thirteen different States, and required thousands of miles of travel. He served and fought in the Second, Fifth and Ninth Army Corps; with the Army of the Potomac and with the Army of the Ohio. He served under Grant, Mcclellan, Burnside, Hooker and Meade as Commanding Generals; and under Sumner, Hancock, Burnside, Sedgwick, Wm. F. Smith, Warren, Wilcox and Parke as Corps Commanders.
MA
RESIDENCE OF JOHN M DEANE, WATER ST. Erected 1896-7. Front View.
His discharge paper gives him the credit of having been engaged in twenty battles. For more than nine months in the seige of Petersburg he was constantly un- der the fire of the enemy's artillery, and most of the time within range of their mortar batteries and musketry.
From November, 1564 until the evacuation of Peters- burg by the enemy in April, 1865, he was in the trenches near Fort Steadman, the nearest point to, and within easy
93
speaking distance of the enemy's main line of works, where artillery duels and mortar practice were daily and nightly indulged in, and where sharpshooting and picket firing was a pastime.
He was never obliged to quit the field on account of sickness, and was never wounded, although twice hit by fragments of shells and twice by bullets.
After his muster out and final discharge from the army in August, 1865, he resumed teaching in the south district. In May, 1866, in connection with Mr. Alonzo
< 243555-
RESIDENCE OF JOHN M. DEANE. EAST VIEW.
Hathaway of Freetown, he engaged in a general merchan- dise business in Fall River, under the firm name of Hatha- way & Deane. Mr. Hathaway retired from the firm in March 1872, since which time the business has been conducted by Mr. Deane. He has always divided his time between Fall River and his native village of Assonet, to which he is very much attached.
November 20, 1866, he was married to Mary Gray Pearce, a grand-daughter of Freetown, born at Norwich,
94
Connecticut, November 26, 1846, and at the time a resi- dent of Assonet Village. Their children are Milton Irv- ing, born April 30, 1868 - served as Gunners' Mate with a detachment of Company F, Massachusetts Naval Brigade, of Fall River, on the U. S. Monitor Lehigh during the Spanish-American War; Richard Boynton, July 12, 1869; Charles Learned, August 25, 1871 ; Anna Louise Andros, July 28, 1877 ; and Wallis Pearce, May 2, 1881.
He joined Richard Borden Post No. 46, Department of Massachusetts, Grand Army of the Republic, of Fall
RESIDENCE OF JOHN M DEANE. WEST VIEW.
River, Mass., in 1885, and has served his Post five years as its Commander. He was a National Aide de Camp in 1890; Assistant National Inspector in 1894; Department Aid de Camp in 1888, 1894 and 1900; member of the De- partment Council of Administration in 1889; Chief Mus- tering Officer of the Department in 1890; Assistant Quar- termaster General of the Department in 1892; Junior Vice Department Commander in 1895; Senior Vice Department Commander in 1896, and Department Commander in 1897.
95
MARY GRAY DEANE, daughter of Abner Tompkins and Sarah Read (Briggs) Pearce, was born at Norwich, Conn., November 26, 1846.
In 1853, she re- moved to Providence, R. I., and in 1865 to Assonet Village, Free- town, Mass., where she was married to Major John M. Deane, Nov- ember 20, 1866.
She was educated at the city schools of Providence, R. I., and at the Ipswich Female Seminary, Ipswich, Mass.
After her marriage she removed with her husband to Fall River, Mass., where she be-
MARY GRAY DEANE. President of Dept of Mass , Woman's Relief Corps, 1892 came interested in church and benevolent work.
She is a charter member of Richard Borden Woman's Relief Corps No. 106, of Fall River, organized in May 1888, and served that Corps the first four years of its existence as its President, since which time she has been its Treasurer. In 1890 she served as National and Depart- ment Aide ; in 1891 as Department Inspector; and in 1892 as President of the Department of Massachusetts Woman's Relief Corps. In 1893 she served as Department Coun- sellor; in 1894 as Special Department Aide; in 1896 as Assistant National Inspector; in 1897 as Chairman of the National Executive Board, W. R. C .; in 1898 as Depart- ment Patriotic Instructor; in 1899 as National Inspector, and in 1902 she is again serving as Special Department Aide. She is a member of Quequechan Chapter, Daugh- ters of the American Revolution.
-
96
HUMPHREY A. FRANCIS was born in Fall River, Mass., August 6, 1834, and educated in the public schools of that city. He went to Assonet in November, 1851, and there learned the edge tool makers' trade
of John Crane at the "Old Forge." Decem- ber, 1854, he enlisted in Company G, 3d Regt., 2d Brig., Ist Div., M. V. M. He was appointed Corporal in 1555; First Sergeant and Company Clerk February 4, 1856 ; Second Lieutenant, Sep- tember 5, 1860. He en- tered the U. S. service as First Lieutenant, April 15, 1861, served at For- tress Munroe, Va., and was honorably dis- charged at the end of his term of service, July 22, 1861.
LIUET. HUMPHREY A FRANCIS.
He was employed at the rifle factory in Assonet, 1862-77, and removed to Taunton June 10, 1877, where he was employed at the A. Field & Sons' Tack Works for 25 years. At present he is employed by the Atlas Tack Works, Fairhaven, Mass., as foreman of the blacksmith department. He held the office of Town Clerk for several years in Freetown, also other prominent positions.
He is a member of Post 3, G. A. R. of Taunton, Mass., and is a Royal Arch Mason.
He married Sybil A. Thresher of Assonet, October 21, 1856. Their children :- Ralph H., born April 19, 1858; Wayland L., February 10, 1860.
CHARLES RUSSELL HASKINS. son of Russell and Mercy ( Hathaway ) Haskins was born in Freetown July 25, 1843.
97
He had few advantages in early life, except the good pub- lic schools of Freetown. He became a railroad employe soon after his school days were over. In February, 1857, he joined Company G, 3d Regt., M. V. M. On April 15, 1861, he responded to the "Minute Men's" call, going with his company to Fortress Munroe and taking part in the destruction of the Norfolk Navy Yard, April 20, 1861. May 23, 1861, General Butler, commanding at Fortress Monroe, sent a body of Union troops across Black River, and occupied Hampton, Va. Several of Company G men, with others, were detailed for guard duty at the Hampton end of the bridge, one of them being Charles R. Haskins. During the night he heard a noise in some shrubbery near his post, and saw an object crawling towards him. He challenged, but received no reply. He challenged again and cocked his musket. At the click of the lock three ne- groes sprang up and separated, and one cried out, "Good God! Massa, he cock 'em! Don't shoot, don't shoot!" Haskins ordered them to halt, and told them if they moved an inch he would let daylight through them, and then called the Corporal of the Guard, David B. Hill, of Com- pany G, and he in turn called the Lieutenant of the Guard, Cephas Washburn, Jr., of Company A, and both were soon at Haskins' post and found the three trembling slaves, who stood uncovered and offered profuse apologies for the manner of their approach and begged piteously to be taken inside the Yankee lines, "for old massa" would send them to New Orleans if he got them again. On being asked why they separated when they sprang from the ground, they replied : "So that massa hit but one if he shoot." Evidently they had carefully planned to escape from slavery and were quite well posted in regard to the trouble between the North and South. They were taken to the guard house and kept until morning when Haskins escorted them to General Butler's headquarters. Butler complimented Haskins and presented him with a photo- graph of himself, after putting his autograph on it. Soon
98
after the owner of the three slaves appeared at headquar_ ters and with great assurance demanded the immediate return of his property. While the Virginia slaveholder with great dignity, was talking about his constitutional rights, General Butler was adroitly asking questions. " Have these slaves helped to dig the entrenchments over in Hampton ?" asked General Butler. "They have, " replied the Virginian. "Then I declare them to be con- traband of war and I decline to give them up." They were at once set to work building an oven inside the fort- ress. Thus originated the name of "contraband," as ap- plied to slaves. Later Charles R. Haskins served with distinction as a Sergeant in Company H. 40th Regt., Mass. Vols. until the close of the war.
After the war he had a long career as a prominent railroad official. He was a member of the G. A. R. and a Knight Templar. He died in 1900 and was buried with Military aud Masonic honors in Assonet cemetery.
LIEUT URIAL M. HASKINS.
URIAL M. HASKINS, son of Cyrus and Susan Haskins, was born in Pennsylvania, April 19, 1843. While a child his parents moved back to Berkley, Mass., his father's native town, and later they moved to Freetown, where Urial learned the tack maker's trade at the "Old Forge." He en- listed in Company G, 3rd Regt., M. V. M. in 1858. He was appoint- ed Corporal in 1860. He responded to Lin-
99
coln's call April 15, 1861, and gave up his Corporal's warrant to have a comrade go who would not do so as a private. He par- ticipated in all the events with his com- pany at Fortress Mon- roe, during its three month's service. He enlisted in Company A, 3rd Mass, Vols., September 23, 1862, and served as a Cor- poral in that com- pany through the campaign in North ELBRIDGE LAWTON. Chief Engineer, U. S N. Carolina. He assist- ed in recruiting the 22d Company, Unat. Mass Vols. Aug- ust, 1864, and was commissioned First Lieutenant of that company. Detailed Acting Assistant Adjutant General at Readville for a few weeks, he afterwards was appointed Adjutant of the Battallion stationed there and served as such during the remainder of his service. After the war Lieut. Haskins again took up tack making, working in Vir- ginia and other States, but for the last twenty-five years has lived and worked at his trade in Taunton, Mass. He has been in the City Government as Coucilman, and is a member of Post 3, G. A. R. He married Ethalana F. Briggs in 1871. Their children :- Susie E., born Janu- ary 1, 1872; Eva M., August 3, 1874; Gertie L., July 1, 1877; Ada A., January 24, 1879.
ELBRIDGE LAWTON, son of Job G. and Polly (Strange) Lawton, was born in Freetown in August, 1826. He had the distinction of being in the United States service longer than any other Freetown man. He entered the U. S.
100
Navy as 3d Asst. Engineer, in March, 1848; served on the coast of Mexico in the " Waterwitch ;" was made 2d Asst. Engineer in September, 1849; promoted to 1st Asst. Engineer in February, 1851, and became Chief Engineer in 1856. He was on duty at different times on Coast Survey Steamers Bibb, Saranac and John Hancock; Behr- ing Straits Surveying Expedition.
In 1862-63, on the "Roanoke," "Colorado," "Minne- sota" and "Mississippi" he was Fleet Engineer of Admi- ral Farragut's Squadron, and at the capture of New Or- leans. He had charge of the building of the machinery of the "Madawaska," 1865-66, and was on special duty at Bridgewater, Mass,, 1867-69. Chief Engineer at Boston Navy Yard 1869-71 ; Chief Engineer at Mare Island Navy Yard, 1871-76 ; Chief Engineer at New York Navy Yard, 1877-80. He was ordered to Anapolis as one of the Board of Visitors in 1880, but was too feeble to go. In the Spring of Iss1 he was retired for disability incurred in line of duty. He married Matilda Durham, Baltimore, Md .. in 1852. Died in Boston, July, 1889, leaving a wid- ow, daughter and son. He was fearless and uncomprom- ising in the discharge of his duty ; loved and respected by his fellow officers and those under his authority. His memory is a legacy and inspiration.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.