USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Holland > History of the town of Holland, Massachusetts > Part 23
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J. H. W.
David Clapp, Jr., age 26 yrs. Enlisted Aug. 27, 1862, and served in Co. G, 46th Mass. Infantry. Discharged July 29, 1863, at Springfield, Mass. Expiration of service.
J. H. W.
Capt. George Harison Howe, born in Wales. Age 22. Enlisted at Monson, Mass. Aug. 26, 1862, served as first lieutenant of Co. G, 46th Mass. Infantry. Discharged July 29, 1863. Expiration of service. Enlisted Nov. 2, 1863, and was com- missioned first lieutenant of Co. - , 57th Mass. Infantry. Commissioned Capt. of Co. - , in same reg't. Jan. 25, 1864. Killed July 30, 1864, in an assault on Petersburg, Va.
J. H. W.
Sergt. Jason Lewis, age 21. Enlisted at Springfield, Aug. 15, 1862. Mustered in Sept. 25, 1862. Service Co. A, 46th Mass. Infantry. Discharged at Springfield, July 29, 1863, at expiration of service.
J. H. W.
William Lilley, age 27, enlisted at Medway, Mass., Aug. 23, 1864, into Co. B, 4th Mass. Heavy Artillery. Discharged June 17, 1865, expiration of service. He was born in Union, Conn., 1837. Father, John Lilley; Mother, Hannah (Co- vey) Lilley. His paternal grandfather was a Revolution- ary soldier. He died Oct. 6, 1914, aged 80, and was buried in Holland.
J. H. W.
John Lowns, age 34, enlisted Nov. 1, 1862, and was assigned to Co. B, 42d Mass. Infantry. Discharged Aug. 20, 1863. Expiration of service. Of him it is written that he served to the credit of Holland in the 42d Mass.
J. H. W.
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HOLLAND'S MILITARY HISTORY.
Burnett E. Miller, age 21. Enlisted at Springfield, Mass., Oct. 15, 1862, and served in Co. A, 46th Mass. Infantry. Dis- charged July 29, 1863. Expiration of service, at Spring- field, Mass.
J. H. W.
Henry M. Moore, age 22, enlisted Aug. 28, 1862, and served in Co. G, 46th Mass. Infantry. Discharged May 28, 1863, on account of disability. Born in 1840.
J. H. W.
Julius Warren Rice, born Oct. 14, 1830, son to Warren and Eliza Rice. Co. K, 1st Reg't. Conn. Heavy Artillery. En- listed at Brookfield, Mass., May 23, 1861, and mustered in same day as corporal. Promoted to Sergt. Jan. 11, 1863. Re-enlisted as veteran Nov. 26, 1863. Mustered out Sept. 25, 1865.
Charles F. Roper, Co. G, 46th Mass. V. M. Mustered Oet. 15, 1862, for 9 mos. Age. 18. Re-enlisted Co. A, 2nd Mass. Heavy Artilery. Mustered July 28, 1863, for 3 yrs. Age 19. Residence, Lake Pleasant, Mass.
J. B. H.
Salem T. Weld, Leader of Band, 22nd Mass. Infantry. Age 31. Born in Holland, but enlisted at Westboro.
Merritt A. Towne, age 23. Enlisted at Worcester, Mass., Feb- 24, 1862, and was assigned to Co. F, 15th Mass. Trans- ferred July, 1863, to 14th Veteran Reserve Corps. Dis- charged Feb. 24, 1865, expiration of service. He was born in Union, Conn., in 1839. Father was Hiram Towne, mother Betsy (Wales) Towne.
J. H. W.
Corp. Albertus H. Walker, age 17. Enlisted Aug. 27, 1862, and served in Co. G, 46th Mass. Infantry. Discharged May 29, 1863, to re-enlist. Re-enlisted May 29, 1863, and was assigned to Co. D, 2nd Mass. Heavy Artillery. Dis- charged by reason of muster out of service, by virtue of special Order No. 154, Part 3. Headquarters Dept. of North Carolina Army of the Ohio, Raleigh, N. C., Aug. 16,
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THE HISTORY OF HOLLAND, MASS.
1865, at Smithville, N. C., Sept. 3, 1865. Corp. A. H. Walker was born in Union, Conn., Aug. 30, 1845, of James MI. Walker and Mary Hiscock Walker.
J. H. W.
Corp. James H. Walker, aged 20. Enlisted Aug. 28, 1862 and served in Co. G, 46th Mass. Infantry. Discharged May 29, 1863 to re-enlist. Re-enlisted May 29, 1863, and was as- signed to Co. D, 2nd Mass. Heavy Artillery. Discharged at Smithville, N. C., Sept. 3,1865, mustered out by virtue of Special Order No. 154, Part 3. Headquarters Dept. of N. C. Army of the Ohio, Raleigh, N. C., Aug 16, 1865.
J. H. W.
Corp. Newton E. Wallace, age 20. Enlisted Oet. 15, 1861, and was assigned to Co. I, 27th Mass. Infantry. Discharged Oet. 29, 1864. Expiration of service. Corp. Newton E. Wallace was born in Holland in 1841.
J. H. W.
Harris C. Wallis, age 44. Enlisted Aug. 27, 1862, and served in Co. G, 46th Mass. Infantry. Discharged July 29, 1863. Expiration of service. Died in the west. Born in Holland in 1818.
J. H. W.
Corp. Henry W. Webber, age 20. Enlisted Aug. 27, 1862 and served in Co. G, 46th Mass. Infantry. Discharged July 29, 1863. Expiration of service at Springfield, Mass. Corp. Henry W. Webber was born in Holland in 1842. Father, James Webber ; Mother, Delphia Parsons Webber. Resides in Worcester, Mass.
J. H. W.
Edward F. Carpenter, Co. G, 42nd Mass. V. M. Mustered July 21, 1864, for 100 days. Age 19. Residenee, Falmouth Heights, Mass.
J. B. H.
Joel Henry, Co. H, Ist Mass. Heavy Artillery. Mustered August 18, 1864, for 3 years. Age 35. J. B. H.
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HOLLAND'S MILITARY HISTORY.
William C. Lynn, Co. B, 2nd Mass. Heavy Artillery. Mustered September 3, 1864 for 3 years. Age 20. Transferred January 17, 1865, to Co. E, 17th Mass. Infantry. J. B. H.
The Holland Chapter, Vol. 2, Evert's History of Connecti- cut Valley, gives a list of a part of the names of Holland soldiers who, we know, were in Massachusetts Regiments. Its list in- eludes the names of
Anson Williams, native of Union, Conn., Co. F, 4th Mass. Heavy Artillery. Age 34, quota of Brookfield. He died in Wales, Mass.
J. B. H.
Unknown - Carpenter, Aug. 20, 1864. 3 Discharged June 17, 1865.
George W. Bagley, Musician Co. H, 9th Vermont Infantry, quota of Craftsbury, Vermont, July 7, 1862. Mustered out June 13, 1865.
J. B. H.
Nathaniel Alexander, Co. C, 15th Mass. Infantry. Age 40, quota of Lancaster, Mass. Died April 4, 1891. Enlisted Dec. 17, 1861. Discharged Oct. 15, 1862, for disability.
Salem T. Weld, Leader of Band, 22nd Mass. Infantry. Age 31, quota of Westboro, Mass.
J. B. H.
John E. Grout, Co. H, 57th Mass. Infantry. Age 33. From Spencer Dec. 19, 1863. Discharged July 1, 1864.
Alexander B. Murdock, Co. I, 27th Mass. Infantry. Mustered Sept. 20, 1861, quota of Ware, Mass., for 3 years. Age 35. Died, Andersonville, Ga., Feb. 8, 1865.
J. B. H.
(22)
*
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THE HISTORY OF HOLLAND, MASS.
In the town records bearing date May 1, 1863, we find the following note :- "A list of those that are now or have been in the service of the United States :-
John Anderson
Henry Moore
Henry Bennett
Julius Rice
Baxter Bennett
Charles F. Roper
Albert Back
Merritt A. Towne
George Barnes
Newton Wallis
David Clapp, Jr.
Harris C. Wallis
Charles Clapp
James Henry Walker
Clement B. Drake
Albertus Walker
James Groves
Henry W. Webber
George A. Haradon
Here are nineteen of the names to be found in the fore- going list and the war only about half over.
THE CIVIL WAR OF 1861-1865.
How the Town of HOLLAND Responded. Address by J. BRAINERD HALL.
Survivor of Co. B, 57th Massachusetts Infantry.
Member of George H. Ward Post 10, Grand Army of the Re- public, Worcester, Mass.
The Society of the Army of the Potomac.
New England Society, Survivors of Southern Military Prisons. Late Colonel Gen. William S. Lincoln, Command 18, and
Adjutant General Massachusetts Department, union Veterans Union.
Memorial Sunday, May 25, 1913.
Fellow Citizens of Holland :
You have gathered here this morning, because it is the Lord's Day and His house ; also, in accord with the time honored custom, for the people of this nation, to meet to prepare the way-as it were-for the approaching Memorial Day. The soldier's Sabbath Day, a day when a grateful people of a
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HOLLAND'S MILITARY HISTORY.
redeemed union of states, assemble in large numbers to pay Honor to those who fought and those who died during the Civil War of 1861-1865, or since, for One Country, One Constitution, One Flag, also to
"Thank God for deeds of valor done! Thank God for victories won! That such as you need never know, The anguish of those days of woe: For time and peace, old wounds have healed, And flowers now strew the battlefield."
It is not my purpose at this time to discuss or consider the causes which led up to the Civil War; a war so different from any of the greater wars in the world's history ; a war that called out and developed a depth of patriotism, a devotion to principle and a sense of duty, never before witnessed; a war that called millions into service.
Think, realize if you can, the magnitude of that struggle; the loyalty and courage of those millions, as they unhesitating- ly marched to the outer ridge of the battlefield and into the jaws of death, and for what? That this nation should not be dissolved; that the union of state should be preserved.
My desire this morning is to give you as complete a pen picture, as far as it is possible at this remote period from that war to draw, of the part Holland had, when they heard the agonizing cry of the nation, and its response,
"We are coming, Father Abraham."
then, if time will permit, to draw a few object lessons of the war and Memorial day.
The United States census of 1860 tells one that the popula- tion of Holland that year was 419; by the records at the State House, Boston, we learn that there were in the town in 1861, 100 male persons who were 21 years old or more, while the number who were of the military age was much less.
We find that many, very many of those who were promi- nently identified with the Town during those stirring times of
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THE HISTORY OF HOLLAND, MASS.
1861-65, are no more. This makes the task of securing any- where near a complete roster of Holland's sons in the war, a difficult one, yet there are some who still recall, that
"Long ago, on a summer's day, Over the hills they marched away- Kinfolks, friends, and the boys we knew In childhood's blossoms and fields of dew, Changed in that hour to full-grown men, When the song of the bugle rang down the Glen With its wild appeal and its throb and thrall, And they answered 'yes' to their country's call.
"We watched them go, with their guns agleam, Down past the Mill and the winding stream, Across the meadows with clover deep, By the old stone wall where the roses creep. We watched them go until they climbed the hill And they faced about, as the drums grew still, And they waved their caps to the vale below
With its beating hearts that loved them so."
Those who thus marched away enrolled as of Holland, to- gether with sons of the town, counted on the quota of other places, in alphabetical order, are :-
1. John Anderson 15. Clement F. Drake
2. Nathaniel Alexander 16. John Franklin
3. Alber Back 17. James L. Groves
4. George F. Bagley 18. Josiah E. Grout
5. George Barnes 19. Josiah B. Hall
6. Baxter C. Bennett 20. George A. Haradon
7. Henry H. Bennett
8. Isaac L. Burley
9. John C. Burley
23. George H. Howe
10. Orson L. Burley
11. Edward F. Carpenter
12. Charles J. Clapp
26. John Lowns
13. David Clapp 27. William O. Lynn
14. Charles D. Cutler
21. John Harding
22. Joel Henry
24. Jason Lewis
25. William Lilley
2S. Burnett E. Miller
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HOLLAND'S MILITARY HISTORY.
29. Henry M. Moore 35. Newton E. Wallace
30. Julius Warren Rice 36. Harris C. Wallis
31. Charles F. Roper 37. Henry W. Webber
32. Merritt A. Towne 38. Salem T. Weld
33. Albertus H. Walker 39. Anson Williams
34. James H. Walker
Not all these men were born in Holland; but the majority of them were. And those who were not born in Holland were those in whom Holland had a deep interest for one reason or another, which entitled them to a place on the roll.
By the Town records it appears that John Wesley Williams was drafted in 1863; Albert William Webber, Rev. John Car- penter and James Madison Frizell were drafted in 1864, and paid the Commutation fixed by the government in lieu of per- sonal service. Charles Ballard was also drafted in 1864 and procured a substitute who served in the Navy.
A present resident of Holland is Wm. Lilly, veteran of Co. B, 4th Mass. Heavy Artillery. At the age of 27, he was mus- tered for one year, quota of Medway, Mass.
Prompted by many predictions that by reason of life in the army, the survivors had become unfitted for a return to civil life, Gen. Schouler, Adjutant General of Massachusetts, in December, 1865, sent a letter of inquiry to the Mayor of each city and the Selectmen of each town, for their opinion of the returned men who had been the life blood of the nation when it most needed a friend. A fair sample of a majority of the answers follows:
"The habits of the returned soldiers are as good and even better than when they entered the army."-(Signed) William A. Webber, Chairman Selectmen of Holland.
On March 8, 1881, Hon. John D. Long, Governor, approved an act of the Massachusetts Legislature, by which in this Com- monwealth, the 30th day of May each recurring year, was made a legal and public holiday. On May 30th that year, Gov. Long said to the Boston Posts of the Grand Army, that Massa- chusetts by recent enactment "has made the day you celebrate to be ONE OF HER HOLY DAYS, a day sacred to the mem- ory of her patriot dead, and to the inspiration of patriotism to
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THE HISTORY OF HOLLAND, MASS.
her living; henceforth she emblazons it upon her calendar of the year, with the consecrated days that have come down from the Pilgrim and Puritan, with Christmas day and the birthdays of Washington and American Independence."
Friday of this week is the next recurring May 30th. On that day at Lima, Peru; Montreal, Dominion of Canada, and at Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, where are Posts of the Grand Army of the Republic, as well as all over this broad union of states, the solemn roll of the muffled drum, and the re-echoing silvery notes of the bugle will be calling all who believe in American Freedom, to pause in their daily labor and reverently visit and decorate the graves of those men; who, I do not think it is unreasonable to believe, have, for what they did and for what they dared in that war, been promoted to some one of God's many mansions.
My Friends: On Friday
"In reverence tread near the spot where they lie And deck them with garlands the fairest; Let tears like the dews that are wept from on high Refreshing its verdure, the rarest; For nearest to heaven of all earth is the sod Where dust of our brave boys reposes, And nearest their souls to the great throne of God When death their proud history closes."
"So true was their worth and their deeds so sublime Their fame brighter grows in the fiction of time, And shows in its glow that shall ever increase A nation united in sweetness of peace."
These two annual recurring memorial days are great days of remembrances. Did you ever stop on Memorial Sunday or Memorial Day and look backward down the vista of years gone by and recall those trying times of 1861-65? It is hard to realize that it is more than 52 years ago that the tocsin of war rang ont from the battered walls of Sumter; that nearly as long ago, in the blush of his Insty young manhood, Clem. F. Drake was the first of the sons of Holland to leave the quietude of the home eirele to actually battle for the life of this nation.
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HOLLAND'S MILITARY HISTORY.
It is more than 48 years ago since the red curtain of war was rung down at Appomattox; quickly followed by the order to about face, and the homeward march for some of us from the ensanguined front became a reality.
By the solemn services of these two May days of each reeurrng year, the people all over this land are in no uncertain manner reminded that whatever stability of government we have; whatever protection to our lives, property and homes, we today enjoy; whatever blessings of education and the comforts of the Christian religion we have, is by reason of this being a nation redeemed by those who fought and those who fell in the civil war.
The monument of Liberty and Protection began in the war of the Revolution; was nearly completed in the civil war; the war with Spain added the capstone, and from it floats "Old Glory" forcing all nations to acknowledge that we are the most wonderful as well as powerful of them all.
It was four long years of war, and why ? Those who went forward in that war, from the South as well as the North, were the flower of the youth of this nation, and it was American manhood, American courage, American endurance, American skill, continually pitted against American manhood, courage, endurance and skill.
"Go, tell the Spartans, thou that passest by, That here, obedient to their laws, we lie." -Simonedes, translated by Sterling.
are the words upon the monument at Thermopylae, where 300 were slain as they guarded the pass, while the bulk of the army retreated to safety.
Each monument upon the battlefields of this great republic is entitled to have emblazoned upon it a greater, grander eulogy, to-wit :
"Traveler; tell to the world that we fell not in obe- dience to law, but to the promptings of Patriotism, Loyalty and Love of Country."
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THE HISTORY OF HOLLAND, MASS.
Could those you today, and on Friday next will honor, speak to you, one feels sure they would ask you to rejoice that they were considered worthy for the sacrifice they made. But for the death of those men, the flag of our country would today be a despised emblem of the past; now, the sun never sets on the stars and stripes while carrying liberty and protection to the whole world.
"There are flags of many lands There are flags of many hues; But there is no flag quite so grand As our own Red, White and Blue."
As you on Friday stand by those passionless mounds, pause for a moment and think of
the graves of which no man knows!
Uncounted braves, which never can be found;
Graves of the precious 'missing' where no sound Of tender weeping will -be heard, where goes No living step of kindred.
But nature knows her wilderness;
There are no missing in her numbered ways; In her great heart is no forgetfulness,
Each grave she keeps, she will adore, caress, We cannot lay such wreaths as summer lays,
And all her days are Decoration days."
United States Senator Bradley, on a reeent Memorial day at Arlington National Cemetery, described a scene he witnessed on a Memorial day in his native state, and as follows:
"In a seeluded spot in a Kentucky Cemetery, was noticed a grave on the headstone of which was rudely carved the words 'A FEDERAL SOLDIER.' An aged lady kneeling by it, seemingly in silent prayer; as she arose she placed a wreath of flowers upon the grave.
"Is that the grave of your son ?" a gentleman asked. With tears coursing down her withered cheeks, she said,
"No! My boy was a Confederate soldier and died in a Northern Prison. I was unable to bring his remains home; he sleeps among strangers.
.
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HOLLAND'S MILITARY HISTORY.
On every Decoration day, a sainted northern mother, who has a soldier son sleeping somewhere in an unknown grave in southern soil,
'Places flowers on the grave of my boy.'
It may be her boy is buried here, and as long as God gives me strength I shall eome every Decoration day and place flow- ers on that grave.
In the 83 National Cemeteries there are 152,103 just sueh unknown "FEDERAL SOLDIERS" graves. To their mem- ory ; to the memory of the "precious missing" who sleep some- where in the star lit abby, pause on Friday next and stand uneovered a moment in silence to their memory.
Remember they were mostly boys of 1861-65, and when I say boys, I speak advisedly. Comparatively few today realize that it was not the Regular army and the men of the loyal north that fought that war to a finish.
Five of the Holland volunteers were but 18 years old. Five were 19; Four were 20, and six were 21 years old when mus- tered into the military service of the United States.
In the entire State of Massachusetts, of those mustered into the United States service as Massachusetts volunteers, three were 12 years old; 7 were 13; 49 were 14; 92 were 16; 253 were 16; 548 were 17; 13,633 were 18; 10,001 were 19; 8,964 were 20; and 14,290 were 21; a total of 47,840 not over 21 years of age.
The records of the War Department show that in the entire Federal Army, 25 were but 10 years old when they were mus- tered in, and that 1,387,267 were not over 18 years when they entered the service and only 634,583 of the 2,778,304 mustered into service were over 21 years old when mustered.
Thus, my friends, you will see, as I have already said, it was the flower of the youth of those days who bared their breasts to the storm of shot and shell and the cruel saber eut. It was the boys of 1861-65 that fought the good fight that kept the faith, that added to liberty; that inereased opportunity; that advanced justice; that served mankind in the greatest war that ever shook a continent. It was the greatest not only in numbers, but also in the good it accomplished for all mankind.
Thus far, the pages of history have failed to tell the full meaning of that war and its results. Except on occasions like
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THE HISTORY OF HOLLAND, MASS.'
this, the present generation seldom stop to think what that war accomplished; what it made possible.
That war demonstrated that for all time the American citizen soldier is always ready when duty calls; that he is the bulwark of the Union of States; its means of protection; its safety in time of need.
That war settled great questions when Presidents as well as Congress had failed, and it settled them right. If the settle- ment had not been then, think you it would have been ratified as it has been by our common country ?
That war made each one of you a living legatee of every Union soldier, their wills were written with the blood of not far from 364,116 who fell in defense of this Union, and was probated in the Court of War. In that war they saved the land for which they died; saved it for you and your children's ehil- dren; saved it for the millions yet to come.
By reason of that war we are today a united country, and seditional discord of half a century ago has passed and gone, never to return; already since the surrender at Appomattox, since brother was slain by brother, has the call to Patriots gone forth. The south as well as the north, the east and the west, responded as one man, and those who once wore the gray, as well as their sons, have given undisputed proof that they are full fledged Americans, and Old Glory is theirs forever more. Yes! we heard the death knell of sectionalism from the Heights of San Juan Hill, when neither the foe or the burninng July sun of a tropical day, could wither the love for one Flag, one Country, one Constitution.
As the crimson tide of battle rolled back, there in the em- brace of death lay sons of those who once wore the blue as well as the gray. Soon after, in one of the Southern states, one of the dead of that battlefield is taken to his last resting place ; just look where they are about to lay him; read the inscription upon a rude stone nearby ; it tells where sleeps a Confederate soldier wrapped in his confederate gray, and, about him, the flag for which he fought.
By the open grave stands the once young wife, now an aged mother; twice life has been darkened to her by its sad pilgrimage to this hallowed spot. Now it is the son, who, on
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HOLLAND'S MILITARY HISTORY.
her last visit was a babe at her breast. As the casket is opened, that all that is earthly may receive a mother's kiss, her tears bedewing, not the grave, but the stars and stripes. By the ashes of a confederate father, they lay away all that is mortal of a Union Soldier. Side by side we leave them, the blue and the gray, father and son, batlied with a devoted wife's and mother's tears, they will sleep till summoned to answer the final call.
"There we leave them, Father and Son,
Quietly asleep in the city of the dead.
Under the one the Blue-under the other the Gray,
Under the Laurel the Blue-under the Willow the Gray. Under the Roses the Blue-under the Lillies the Gray.
Under the sod and the dew
Wet with the rain the Gray-wet with the rain the Blue.
With a touch impartially tender Sadly and yet without upbraiding The generous deed was done And banished forever was our anger
When they laureled the graves of our dead.
So under the sod and the dew we leave them Waiting the Judgment Day.
Love and tears for the Blue. Tears and love for the Gray."
These two annually recurring May days are brimful of great, grand and sad remembrances. I have already described an unknown grave in Kentucky. Another incident in a nearby city comes to my mind. Being a newspaper man, I was watch- ing my Comrades, loaded with the choicest flowers of spring- time. They were on their way to the Cities of the Dead. The street was deeply lined with women and children, many of them widows and orphans of my fallen comrades.
"Daughter! look at the man in command of the next com- pany ; he was with your father at Andersonville when he died." I heard a woman remark to the young lady by her side. What an object lesson that was to her. What an object lesson to all who look at that moving column of battle-scarred veterans. How grandly, at the tap of the drum, my comrades touched
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THE HISTORY OF HOLLAND, MASS.
elbows that day; the veteran sway was just as in 1861-1865, except for a waver all along the line; it was not the outcome of old age as much as the consequential results of the strenuous service they had rendered for you and yours. It was because those men by reason of service rendered their country.
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