USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Medford > History of the town of Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement in 1630 to 1855 > Part 19
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Fred W. D. Holbrook. Moses C. Hovt. Joseph P. Hubbell.
193;
HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
Edward Ireland.
Franklin Richardson.
Edwin Ireland.
Milton F. Roberts.
Alfred Joyce.
William H. Rogers.
Samuel W. Joyce.
George J. Rugg.
Winslow Joyce.
Albert A. Samson ..
Henry S. Joyce.
John H. Senter.
Coleman C. Kenrick.
John H. Simpson ..
Otis V. Litchfield.
William B. Southworth.
Robert Livingston.
James Thompson.
John A. Maning.
Aaron Tucker.
Bernard McNamara.
Augustus Tufts.
Peter D. Meston.
William A. Walker.
Thomas O. H. Mitchell.
Benjamin Walker.
William H. Northey.
Alvin W. Osborn.
Lemuel Webb.
John L. Prouty.
James L. Whitaker.
Wallace St. C. Redman.
Charles A. Richardson.
Jophanus. H. Whitney.
The day fixed upon for the departure of this company for camp was the 25th of August; and because of the patriotic and magnanimous response which its members had made to the call of the government, the citizens of the town felt called upon to give them a public expression of their admiration and gratitude.
The farewell was simple, but deeply impressive. At an early hour a large number of men and women gathered in the square to receive the company when they should leave the armory ; and cheer upon cheer greeted the volunteers. when they made their appearance. At the place appointed for the public services, prayer was offered by Rev. Edward. C. Towne, after which Thomas S. Harlow, Esq., delivered an address, expressing the feelings of the citizens toward the men who, in the darkest hour of the Union cause, had. the second time, for so long a term, tendered their services. to the country.
At one o'clock P.M., the guard, escorted by the town: authorities, and a large procession of citizens, took up their line of march for the Malden station of the Boston and Maine Railroad, and from thence took cars for their camp at Lynnfield. Later, while at camp in Boxford, the Thirty-ninth Regiment was organized; and the Medford company (Company C), together with companies from Woburn, Roxbury, Taunton, Danvers, Natick, Somerville, Quincy, Dorchester, and the South Shore, made up the or- ganization, which was placed under the command of Col. P. S. Davis, an experienced officer of the State militia.
Henry P. Wayland.
Benjamin F. Merritt.
Henry H. Tyler.
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
!Early in September the regiment was ordered to Wash- ington ; and, after a brief stay in the vicinity of that city, it was sent to Edwards Ferry, on the Maryland side of the Potomac River, and was kept on guard service along the river throughout the fall and winter, with winter quarters at Poolesville. In April it was ordered again to Washing- ton, where it rendered most efficient service as part of the provost-guard of the city, and attracted especial attention for the excellence of its discipline and drill.
On the 9th of July, 1863, the demand for fresh troops at the front sent the Thirty-ninth Regiment to join the Army of the Potomac, which was then in the vicinity of Funkstown, Md., under the command of Gen. Meade. The regiment was attached to the third brigade, second division, First Army Corps. About this time Samuel W. Joyce, a member of Company C, died at Middle- burgh, and was buried there.
The rest of the summer was passed in movements along the line of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. In the fall of that year the Mine Run campaign was opened, and Company C was the first company in the regiment that was placed under fire. On the 28th of November this company was on the line of skirmishers ; and Benja- min Dow, a Medford volunteer, was severely wounded.
In December the regiment went into winter-quarters at Mitchell's Station, Va., and soon made for itself the neat- est and pleasantest camp in the Army of the Potomac. The status of the company, Jan. I, 1864, is given as follows :-
Two sergeants, six corporals, two musicians, and thirty- one privates, present for duty; one sergeant, two cor- porals, and sixteen privates, sick and absent ; Second Lieut. I. F. R. Hosea transferred to Company E, on de- tached service; Captain absent and sick; Lieut. C. W. Hunson temporarily in charge of the company. About that time Corporal Champlin died in the hospital. The company was kept so busy with picket and other detached services, that its representation at one of the dress parades consisted of an orderly sergeant and a single private. On the 25th of the next March the First Corps was merged into the Fifth Corps, and the regiment became a part of the first brigade, second division, and Fifth Army Corps ; and the next day they left their pleasant winter- quarters at Mitchell's Station, for a new camp about a
195
HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
mile beyond Cedar Run, and on May 3 advanced into that desolate section of country called the Wilderness. Two days later the series of terrible battles began. For the first three days of the conflict, Company C was not actually engaged in fight ; but on the fourth day, May the 8th, it was in the hottest of the affray, fighting desper- ately, where success seemed almost hopeless. Corporal Simpson was badly wounded; Sergeants Turner and Mor- rison slightly wounded ; Henry R. Hathaway, Alfred Joyce, and Stephen Busha were among the missing. The last named was never heard of afterwards.
May IO was a day of great slaughter. Sergeant Stevens, and Privates Beirne and Harding were instantly killed. The two latter were found with their faces literally torn off by a shell, but with their hands firmly grasping their muskets.
On May 12, when the corps was near Spotsylvania, Edward Ireland was instantly killed, and Henry Ireland wounded in the arm. Shortly afterwards Robert Living- ston, another member of Company C, who was last seen on picket, was reported missing, and never returned. He was doubtless killed at his dangerous post of duty.
By the middle of June the troops were moving in the direction of Petersburg and Richmond.
The 17th of June was signalized by a severe conflict before Petersburg, an affair that marked the beginning of a protracted struggle in front of that well-nigh impreg- nable city. On the 6th of July, Col. P. S. Davis, beloved by all his command, and popular among his brother offi- cers, was killed by a shell, while sitting outside his tent, reading a letter from home. Every man of his regiment was filled with inexpressible sorrow by this event ; for he was not only an efficient officer, but an unselfish patriot, and a true Christian gentleman. His loss at that time, when the fortunes of the war were in the hands of such brave and skilful leaders as he represented, was felt to be a great calamity.
In August the corps was stationed along the Weldon railroad, where it had previously been on duty ; and in a severe action on the 19th of August, several Medford men were taken prisoners.
In September the Thirty-ninth Regiment was placed in Gen. Sheridan's command, and took part in the ad- vance against Petersburg. In this way the Medford boys
196
HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
of Company C were in at one of the closing struggles of the war, and shared in the glory which the fall of Peters- burg secured to the Federal army.
April 4 the conditions of final surrender were signed at Appomattox. The volunteers who had then developed into bronzed and victorious veterans, with work in the field completed, turned their faces homeward ; and on the 2d of June the Thirty-ninth Massachusetts was discharged from the service. The men started for home without delay ; and in Baltimore, where three years before they had been coldly received, they enjoyed a grand ovation. That was the beginning of a series of splendid receptions given them all along the route to New England.
In the town records for the year ending Feb. 1, 1866, we find the following statement touching the preparation made for the return of the veterans :
" At a meeting of the citizens held at the Town Hall, May 17, to take measures for the suitable reception of our returning veterans, John Stetson was chosen chairman, and Parker R. Litchfield secretary. A committee con- sisting of Gen. Samuel C. Lawrence, Capt. Charles Cur- rier, Capt. Benjamin F. Hayes, Joseph L. Goldthwait, Esq., and Daniel W. Lawrence, Esq., was appointed to make the necessary arrangements, and raise the requisite funds."
On the Ioth of June our company returned to their homes. They were received at the depot in Boston by the selectmen and a large delegation of Medford citizens, and under the escort of the Lawrence Rifles. Brig .- Gen. Samuel C. Lawrence acted as chief marshal. The com- pany, with its escort, proceeded to the Boston and Maine Depot, where they took a special train for Medford.
Arriving at Park Street, a procession of citizens was formed, under the same escort ; and amidst the booming of cannon and the ringing of bells, they marched through the principal streets to West Medford, and from there to the Armory of the Lawrence Rifles, where a collation was served, and each veteran was presented with a beautiful bouquet. Along the line of the procession the citizens displayed flags and mottoes, furnished refreshments, and loudly cheered the war-worn heroes ; and many a tear was shed by those, who, three years before, bade adieu to loved ones of the company, who were now sleeping in unknown graves.
On the afternoon of the 13th a more extended recep-
197
HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
tion was given to the same company, of which the follow- ing report was published in the " Boston Advertiser" of the 14th, and afterwards copied into the town records : -
RECEPTION IN MEDFORD.
. Yesterday afternoon the citizens of Medford gave the veterans of the Lawrence Light Guards, Company C, Thirty-ninth Regiment, a glorious reception home. A procession was formed in front of the Town Hall in the early part of the afternoon, in order as follows : - Gilmore's Band. The new Lawrence Rifles, Capt. Hayes. Engine and Hook-and-Ladder Companies. Board of Selectmen. Body of Citizens. Army and Navy Association. The returned Veterans, Capt. Hutchins.
The procession, under the chief marshalship of Brig .- Gen. S. C. Lawrence, who was assisted by Capt. Charles Currier, J. L. Gold- thwait, D. W. Lawrence, and Capt. B. F. Hayes, marched through the principal streets of the town to the Green Mountain Grove. As the veterans passed along, they were greeted with cheers and the waving of handkerchiefs. The houses in the streets through which they passed displayed, in very many instances, flags and streamers, with mottoes of welcome.
At Green Mountain Grove -a delightful retreat - the veterans were seated, and the formal exercises of the reception began. Brig .- Gen. Lawrence presided ; and after prayer by Rev. George M. Preston, a choir of about five hundred fine singers from the public schools, under the lead of Mr. Henry G. Carey, sang a song of welcome, beginning, " Oh, 'twill be a happy time." Mr. Nathan W. Bridge, chairman of the board of selectmen, in behalf of the town, welcomed the veterans home in a short and touchingly eloquent address.
Capt. Hutchins briefly responded. After expressing the thanks in behalf of the company, for the cordial manner in which they had been received, Capt. Hutchins stated that the company left Medford three years ago, numbering ninety-seven men and three officers; it has come home with thirty-two men and two officers. Twenty brave fellows have died, of whom eight have been killed in battle, eight have died in rebel prisons, and four have died of disease. One officer and twenty men have been discharged the service, and nine trans- ferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps. These figures show that the company has done its duty. No man, said the speaker, ever faltered when called upon to face the enemy, and no man has tried to keep out of the fight. They have nobly fought, and performed their duty. [Cheers.]
After music by the band, James M. Usher was introduced. He referred to the time when the company first went out to the war on the 15th of August, 1862. They have been, he said, through all the great trials of the war, and have borne themselves nobly. He had been informed that no man had been placed in the guard-house, or been put under arrest for improper conduct, during the whole time that the regiment had been out. He was glad, also, to state that this company was among the few that had been so fortunate as to retain
198
HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
its original organization throughout the whole period of the war. The children sang, " Yes, the boys are now at home," after which Private James A. Hervey of the Guards, being introduced, made a short eloquent speech. More singing was had by the children, and more patriotic speeches by Rev. Charles Brooks, Thomas S. Harlow, Esq., Hon. E. C. Baker, Rev. B. H. Davis, and Rev. Henry M. Loud; and the exercises closed with " America," in which all joined in singing, accompanied by the band, and the benediction by Rev. Mr. Hooker.
The day closed with a substantial collation under the shade of the trees, served by the patriotic ladies of the town. The stores were generally closed in the village during the afternoon, and the children of the schools had a holiday. The company has been transferred to its old regiment, - the Fifth, - and now holds the same letter and number which it did before the war.
The Lawrence Light Guard still retains its organization as Company E of the Fifth Regiment, and holds an hon- orable position in the brigade to which it is attached. It has had for its commanders since the war, Capts. I. F. R. Hosea, W. W. Manning, J. H. Whitney, Charles R. Daw- son (lieutenant commanding), George L. Goodale, H. J. Newhall, and J. E. Clark. No matter how long these pleasant times of peace may last, the perpetuation of this corps should be an object of tender solicitude to our peo- ple, and our young men should consider it a duty and an honor to enroll themselves in its ranks.
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
199
CHAPTER VII.
MILITARY HISTORY CONTINUED.
THE MEDFORD LIGHT INFANTRY.
THE volunteers for three years had just departed for the seat of war, when a call was made for volunteers for nine months' service. At a town-meeting, held on the 15th of August, 1862, a bounty of two hundred dollars was offered to each man who should volunteer to fill the required quota. So promptly did Medford men respond to that call, that the company was full on the 23d of September, and on that day was mustered in. It had been organized under the name of the Medford Light Infantry.
The following account of the departure of the com- pany to Camp Lander, Wenham, is copied from the town records : -
"The Medford Light Infantry, consisting of ninety-six men, met in the Town Hall at one o'clock P.M. on the twenty-second day of September, 1862, and subsequently in the square, where prayer was offered by Rev. George M. Preston.
" At two o'clock P.M. they took up their line of march, accompanied by the Boston Brigade Band, and escorted by the selectmen, a cavalcade, and procession of citizens on foot, under the direction of Thomas S. Harlow, Esq., chief marshal, to the Eastern Railroad station in Somerville, where they took passage for Camp Lander. On their arrival there, they partook of a bountiful collation fur- nished by the liberality of our citizens."
ROLL OF THE MEDFORD LIGHT INFANTRY, COMPANY F, FIFTH REGIMENT, MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS.
Charles Currier, captain.
Alfred Haskell, Ist lieutenant. Elisha N. Pierce, 2d lieutenant.
James F. Ginn, Ist sergeant. George W. Williamson, sergeant. David O. Floyd, sergeant.
A
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
Francis A. Lander, sergeant. Charles Russell, sergeant. George M. Teel, corporal. Lyman N. Lee, corporal. Everett Newhall. Edwin C. Burbank.
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Hartshorn, Hollis. Hervey, Frank. Howe, Humphrey B.
Harding, William. Jones, William E.
James, John. Keen, Atwell C.
Josiah W. Parker.
George N. Kimball
Kimball, Isaiah W.
Augustus G. Baxter.
Locke, James D.
Silas F. Wild.
Litchfield, Joseph D.
Charles H. Prentiss, musician. Lucius C. Woolley, musician. Charles C. Pierce, wagoner.
Adams, Samuel.
McGillcuddy, Daniel.
Adams, Joseph. D.
Bagley, Alonzo J.
Mckinney, Andrew.
Brown, Hiram.
Means, George W.
Butters, Andrew.
Miller, George W.
Bragdon, George W.
Mathews, Ebenezer B.
Black, Lewis.
Oliver, Samuel F.
Burbank, William H.
Baker, William H. S.
Bresnahan, Jeremiah.
Paye, Ephraim C.
Clark, Goram B.
Peak, Horatio N., jun.
Currell, Eldridge G.
Powell, John F.
Currell, Eldridge G., jun.
Powers, James M.
Curtin, Andrew.
Rich, Stillman.
Denham, David A.
Reed, Alvin R.
Davis, Samuel.
Smith, Frank B.
Darling, Theodore.
Sampson, George H.
Dwyer, Thomas.
Stimpson, Alden M.
Fett, Jacob.
Stephens, Alfred.
Farley, Thomas.
Stock, Henry.
Garner, James.
Sanborn, John H.
Gilson, William.
Towle, Daniel.
Gee, Nathaniel.
Towle, Sydney M.
Gould, Thomas.
Tay, Francis J.
Gray, Arthur W.
Wood, Dexter T.
Howard, James.
Willis, Calvin W.
Hayford, Seth.
Walker, Judson. White, John M.
Harding, Stephen.
Wheeler, William N.
Hines, Ira.
Lawrence, William. Lord, Stephen.
Mason, Edward H.
McAleer, James.
O'Connell, Michael.
O'Brien, Michael.
Curtin, Francis.
Riley, Michael.
Hooker, David S., jun.
After a month passed in Camp Lander, the Fifth Regi- ment, of which the Medford Light Infantry formed a part, was ordered to the front, and embarked on the steamer "Mississippi " for Beaufort, N.C., Oct. 22, 1862. The trip was prosperous, and the steamer reached its destination in four days. Before the regiment had been on Southern soil twenty-four hours, it was ordered to prepare to move ;
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
and Goldsboro' and the Wilmington and Sheldon Railroad were the objective points. The intention was to cut off rebel supplies, communication, and transportation of every description ; and in the brisk and determined work that ensued, the Fifth Regiment had an important part. The campaign was successful ; and, that it might be properly commemorated, the regimental flags were inscribed as follows : Kingston, Dec. 14, 1862; Whitehall, Dec. 16, 1862; Goldsboro', Dec. 17, 1862. On returning to New- bern, where the camp was then located, the first part of the winter was spent in the erection of Fort Pierson, so named in honor of the colonel of the Fifth Regiment.
The first notable expedition that followed had for its object the reduction of the rebel works at Washington, N.C. It was begun April 20, 1863, and its entire success secured a most important point for the army. But the crowning event of the nine-months' service was the cap- ture of the Confederate stronghold at Moseley Creek. In the reconnoitre that preceded the grand attack, which occurred about the first of May, Col. Pierson accom- plished a brilliant feat. The situation of the rebel works was peculiar, and they could not be successfully assailed unless the attack were made from both sides at the same time. By admirable strategy this was effected, and the victory was complete. The service of the regiment was practically ended with this achievement. Soon after, it returned to Fort Pierson, and was ordered back to Massa- chusetts, its term of service having expired.
On their arrival at Boston, June 26, the nine months' men were duly honored by a grand reception, in which the citizens of Medford were represented. In Charlestown a collation was served for them ; and then the Medford com- pany were escorted to the town line, where they were received by past and active officials, citizens, members of the fire-department, and the National Lancers of Boston, Capt. Slade.
The veterans made an extended march through the streets of the town, and, then passing into the Town Hall, were formally received by Gen. Samuel C. Lawrence in an admirable speech, full of patriotic sentiment and warm congratulation. Capt. Charles Currier happily responded for his company, and the formal services ended with an elaborate and elegant collation, served by the ladies.
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
MEDFORD VOLUNTEERS IN OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
The service of volunteers from this town in other organ- izations of the Union army deserves equally honorable mention. Under the various calls of the government, the quotas of Medford were promptly filled, and the men, as they were enlisted, were attached to different branches of the service.
In the Fifteenth Infantry, there were thirty Medford volunteers ; in the Fifth Cavalry, twenty; in the First Cavalry, eighteen ; in the Seventeenth Infantry, sixteen ; in the Twenty-eighth Infantry, seventeen ; in the Twenty- fourth Infantry, six; in the Thirteenth Infantry, five ; in the Second Heavy Artillery, four; in the First Infantry, four ; Fifth Infantry, three; Second Cavalry, three ; Twenty-ninth Infantry, three; Fourteenth Battery, three ; Eighth Battery, three; First Infantry, three ; Nineteenth Infantry, three; Nimm's Battery, two; Twenty-first In- fantry, two; Twentieth Infantry, two; Light Artillery, two; Eleventh Infantry, two; Second Infantry, two; Six- teenth Infantry, one ; Mozart's Regiment, one ; and one in each of the following organizations, the Thirty-second In- fantry, Sixth Battery, Twenty-second Infantry, Fifth Bat- tery, Eighth Battery, Eighteenth Battery, Second Battery, Fourteenth Infantry, Eleventh Infantry, Thirty-eighth In- fantry, Tenth Infantry, Thirtieth Infantry, Forty-fifth In- fantry, Eleventh Battery, First Heavy Artillery, Ninth Heavy Artillery, Fifty-fourth Infantry, Fourth Cavalry, and Ninth Infantry.
There were also three Medford men in a New-York regiment, one in a Vermont regiment, and ten in other branches of the Federal service.
Besides these, Medford had fifteen "ONE HUNDRED DAYS' MEN" who were enlisted to fill a quota called for in the latter part of 1864. Of these last named, thirteen were assigned to the Fifth Regiment of Infantry, and two to the Sixtieth Infantry.
It would be difficult and impracticable to follow these men in their camp and field duties : their individual ex- perience is so merged in the history of numerous organi- zations. But those who were reported had an honorable record, and they rendered loyal and valuable service to the cause.
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
PRISON EXPERIENCES.
One of the saddest things of which the historian of the Great Rebellion has to write is the experience of North- ern soldiers in Southern prisons.
In the attack made on the Weldon Railroad, Aug. 18 and 19, the following named members of Company C were captured : Capt. Hutchins, Lieut. Hosea, Sergeants Eames and Morrison, and Privates Frank Curtis, Milton F. Roberts, Edwin Ireland, William H. Rogers, and Benjamin Ellis. We have a thrilling account of the experience of these men, and it may well stand to represent the treatment which our soldiers received in rebel prisons.
The capture of the men just named was effected by a shrewd flank movement, made by a rebel division. The men captured in that way were first deprived of every thing they had which would have enabled them to pur. chase food and comfort in the places to which they were to be sent, and then they were marched to Petersburg and Richmond.
They remained nine days within the walls of Libby Prison, when they were rejoiced to hear of their contem- plated removal to Belle Isle, where, as one of the men wrote at the time, " if no better food is to be had, we shall at least get plenty of air." Their food at Libby was ex- ecrable, - " small in amount, and occasional," as the same prisoner described it ; and when our Medford boys reached Belle Isle, to which they were driven like sheep to a slaugh- ter-house, they did not find their "bill of fare " improved in quality or quantity.
They had rations dealt out to them twice a day. The amount to each man was usually a piece of coarse corn bread about an inch and a half square, to which was some- times added, as a luxury, a thin slice of fat bacon, rancid and maggoty.
About the Ioth of October a large number of prisoners, including those from Medford, were removed to the notori- ous prison at Salisbury, N.C., having been given, before they started, a paltry allowance of bread, which, as they were told, was their "three-days' rations." They arrived at their destination in a most pitiable condition ; and when they saw the state of things in their new place of confine- ment, some of them, already weak and sick, lost heart. The occupants of that prison were then mainly Southern Union-
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
ists, principally from Tennessee ; rebel deserters and cut- throats ; Northern non-combatants, correspondents, and officers and men, that had been captured by privateers. At one time there were nearly ten thousand men within the limits of that horrible place.
About a week after arriving there, the prisoner who wrote as already quoted, from Libby and Belle Isle, made the following record : "We are fast becoming emaciated, and more or less mentally diseased. We seem to be dead to our usual feeling as men ; and those who give way to despondency soon find an end to their earthly sufferings."
As the cold weather approached, some of the prisoners asked to be allowed to go into the forests around the prison, and cut trees with which to build log-houses for protec- tion ; but they were refused with most insolent words and curses. Their keepers seemed to enjoy their unmistakable miseries, and delighted in augmenting them. They hated the very name of Yankee, and Massachusetts men were specially obnoxious to them : indeed, they seemed intent upon destroying in prison those they had not been able to destroy in the field. In the diary of one of our Medford men, this record was made: "Men are dying around us at the rate of forty-seven a day, a mortality that would sweep away every soul in dear old Medford in five months."
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