USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Municipal history of Essex County in Massachusetts, Volume II > Part 39
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In all the wars to the end of the Civil War, this town had furnished 340 soldiers. In the Spanish-American War in 1898-1890, Essex filled her quota without any trouble. In the World War, three laid down their lives for the cause of world-peace: George F. Lendall, Stephen H. Meuse and Laurence E. Perkins. Essex did its full share in the various depart- ments of war work at home, and "went over the top" in its government bond purchases in several drives.
Danvers in Various Wars-Not long after the incorporation of original Danvers began the storm of discontent throughout all the colonies. These years sifted out the hearts of men with crucial test. What was styled the "writs of assistance" were issued in 1761; the odious stamp act was pased in 1765, when Franklin wrote, "The sun of liberty is set." American merchants agreed to non-importation until its repeal. New taxes and the act for the enforcing quartering troops by citizens in 1767; the refusal of Boston to furnish quarters; three years of constant irritation and a massacre in the streets of Boston, March, 1770; the "Tea Party", December, 1773; the Boston Port Bill; the first Continental Con- gress ; John Hancock's Provincial Congress at Cambridge, and its meas- ures for committees of safety and minute-men, 1774; then Lexington, war, independence, the United States of America.
Danvers kept pace with all the events. How well its citizens grasped the situation of the times and how forcibly and well they expressed them- selves it has been left on the records for any to read who will. They came together after the passage of the stamp act; Thomas Porter was their representative in the General Court.
It was between five and six o'clock on the morning of April 19, 1775, that the engagement took place on Lexington Commons. The British arrived at Concord, some six miles beyond, about nine o'clock. By that
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time the alarm had reached Danvers, sixteen miles away. It met with instant response. Two companies of minute-men and three companies of militia, from 150 to 200 men, hurried to the scene of action. Learning of the retreat from Concord, the object was to reach Cambridge soon enough to cut off the British from effecting a return. To this they went on a run, and in a few hours they were in the midst of action. Few well men could be found in Danvers that day ; at New Mills not one.
The women who were left alone at New Mills gathered at the house of Colonel Hutchinson to watch and wait together. A reliable account says: "To their anxious vigil news of the fight came on the evening of the 19th. Were the men safe? Most of them. Were any hurt? Some. Were any -? Yes, young bride of a few weeks, your husband, Jotham Webb, was one of the first martyrs to Liberty. Six others, only one more than twenty-five years old, lost their lives, out of the men who went out from Danvers. Henry Jacobs, Samuel Cook, Ebenezer Goldwaite, George Southwick, Benjamin Dalan, Jr., and Perley Putnam. Nathan Putnam and Dennison Wallace were wounded ; Jos. Bell, missing."
On the evening of the 20th several men on horseback drove to the house where the women waited, escorting a horse-cart which bore a precious burden. On the kitchen floor of that house, which is still stand- ing, the dead were unrolled from the bloody sheets, and the next morn- ing were taken away for burial. Danvers suffered more than any other town after Lexington. The corner-stone of the monument at the corner of Main and Washington streets, Peabody, was erected in commemoration of the dead, April 20, 1835, the sixtieth anniversary of the fight. Gen. Gideon Foster, who led the way to Lexington, took part in the exercises, and a number of the survivors of the battle were present. Of the differ- ent companies in which soldiers of Danvers were members were these: Hutchinson's, Page's and Flint's.
In 1814, during the second war with England, sixty men, mostly too old to be of regular military age, banded together and formed themselves into a company in defense of the Stars and Stripes. The officers were Samuel Page, captain; Thomas Putnam, lieutenant; Caleb Oakes, ser- geant; John Endicott, sergeant; John Page, clerk; Richard Scidmore, drummer; Stephen Whipple, fifer; Ephraim Smith, fugleman.
It appears that the citizens of Danvers anticipated trouble with the South after President Lincoln's election, and had called a town meeting a week before Fort Sumter was fired upon. This meeting was called to see about raising a company of militia, as well as money, in case of war. Arthur A. Putnam presided. The matter of being first to enlist in this proposed company was looked upon as an honor, and it was borne off by Nehemiah P. Fuller, who stepped forward to volunteer, but it later ap- peared that one Ruel B. Pray had signified that he was to enlist first, and really had put down his name ahead of Fuller. This company was called the Danvers Light Infantry. The officers elected were as follows: Capt.
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Nehemiah P. Fuller ; First Lieut., William W. Smith; Second Lieut., Ruel B. Pray ; Third Lieut., William W. Gould; Fourth Lieut., D. W. Hyde. A few days later another company was recruited in Danvers; Capt. Arthur A. Putnam was elected to command.
In about two months the first company, Danvers Light Infantry, was transferred to the 17th Infantry. The Putnam Guards were trans- ferred to the 14th Infantry. The first military funeral of the war in Danvers was that of Thomas A. Musgrave, of Capt. Fuller's company, who died August 9, 1861, at Camp Lynnfield. The entire regiment marched to the Universalist church.
Danvers furnished, in all, 792 men for the Civil War, a surplus of thirty-six over and above all demands. There were forty-four commis- sioned officers. The total amount of money raised on account of the war, exclusive of State aid, was $36,596.
When the Spanish-American War came on, Essex county, through its National Guard and otherwise, furnished her full quota of men, as is shown by the records of the various towns.
During the recent World War, the people of Danvers were fully up to the standard in which they were found in all previous wars. From first to last, the people gave of their means in way of government bond sales, Red Cross work, and in enlistments of men even to above her de- manded quota. Some enlisted away from home, and hence were not cred- ited to Danvers. Of the scores of brave boys who went forth into this conflict, the following have been inscribed on the "roll of honor" or memorial of the town: Ludwig Carmichael, Arthur F. Drapeau, Hadley M. McPhetres, Harry E. Little, Raymond F. Knowlton, Ernest A. St. Hilaire, Merritt H. Barnes, Frank A. Small, Ralph W. Lane, Marcus A. Jordan, Dexter E. Woodmen, Herbert W. Staples, Robert Nangle. These perished that Democracy might become world-wide.
Salem's Military History-Salem's fame rests not only upon her mili- tary record, for she has had forts and artillery and tramping armies, but also on account of her peaceful state all down through the almost three centuries of history. When other sections of the country, to which she has been allied, have been in war and needed her help, no city or town has been more ready and willing to assist than Salem. As was written by a local observer many years ago: "In every Indian skirmish, and on every smoke-wreathed field known in our history, from the taking of 'Sassacus his fort' to Bunker Hill and Gettysburg, or firing their guns on the ocean in all latitudes, have stood men of Salem, patriotic, brave and enduring. Their blood has wet the sod from the Chapparal of Mexico to the shores of the great lakes, and their shattered bones lie fathoms deep in every sea."
It was really in Salem where the Revolution began, when the Gen- eral Court, the same year, formed itself into a Provincial Congress, and later, adjourning to Concord, appointed officers independent of the crown
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and proceeded to procure arms and ammunition. Here also, says one his- torian, occurred "the first actual collision with the British troops, which though without bloodshed, resulted in their retirement without the accomplishment of their purpose."
One year before the "Lexington Alarm," Salem had been making ready for any emergency that might come. After Lexington, no com- promise seemed possible. Men everywhere arranged to enter an army to fight to the bitter end. A lady wrote from Salem in June, 1775: "The men are listing very fast; 3 or 400 are gone from here." A few men were present at Bunker Hill, but most of the company did not arrive soon enough. Lieutenant Benjamin West, a gallant young officer from Salem, was killed at Bunker Hill, about the breastworks.
The naval part in which Salem engaged throughout this war was of much importance, and kept the English navy busy watching the move- ments. At last peace came to the Colonists, and all was tranquil until 1812, when war was declared against England the second time by this country. For three years forty vessels, practically all men-of-war-ships, cruised from Salem, heavily armed, and manned by skilful seamen; this does not include over one hundred letter-of-marque trading vessels, which also took a hand in fighting as well as in trading.
As was the case in all previous times, Salem had her part in the Civil War, waged between the North and South from 1861 to 1865. This is not the proper place in which to discuss the causes of that four- year conflict ; sufficient to say, slavery was back of it, and the right of one State in the Union to secede from the others had to be tested on many a hard fought battle field. Salem shared with other New Eng- land towns in her anger at the South for firing on the Union's own fort, with the Union's own guns and powder. Five days after Sumter was fired upon, a meeting was called in Salem, at Mechanics Hall, at which Mayor S. P. Webb presided. It was there determined to stand by the Union, come what might. Several thousand dollars were subscribed on the spot for immediate use in organizing and for carrying out anything the government at Washington might deem wise. The following day the Salem company of Light Infantry, under Capt. Arthur Devereux, number- ing sixty-two muskets, left Salem for Boston, where it was made a part of the Eighth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers. Within five days, two hundred men left Salem for Washington at the call of President Lin- coln.
But Salem saw ahead and believed more men should be sent to other parts of the Southland, and hence went about recruiting companies of soldiers. It was not hard to get enlistments "for three years or the war," and at an Irish patriotic meeting, forty men enlisted on the spot. The Salem City Council appropriated $15,000 at its first meeting after Sumter fell. The years of war went steadily on, men were wanted and men were had ; money was needed and money was forthcoming-anything
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to save the flag and the Union. When the final report was made, in round numbers, it was discovered that Salem had sent forth 2,760 pri- vates and 340 commissioned officers, making a total of 3,100 men. Of the great number of "killed, wounded and missing," from out the more than three thousand soldiers from Salem, let the years of eternity disclose the facts.
The next war in which Salem was called upon to make her offering and sacrifice was that of the War with Spain in 1898-99, when Cuba gained her freedom from the Spanish yoke of four hundred years' burden. As most of the men demanded in that war were from organized militia or National Guard companies, the local work of mustering and recruiting in Salem was easier accomplished than in previous wars. No authority in way of corrected military reports as to men serving and of the death lists having been provided by the State of Massachusetts, further mention of the service in the Spanish-American War cannot here be given.
Of the recent World War, government reports have not yet been compiled, and the local authorities failed to retain a copy of the enroll- ments, war activities, etc. for Salem, only little can therefore be said in interesting detail about the part Salem took in the struggle.
The following war activities in Salem, as shown by their different department records, had officers as follows: Food Administration-James C. Poor, Essex County Director; Arthur H. Phippen, Salem Food Direc- tor. Fuel Board-Alvah P. Thompson, chairman, Salem Chamber of Commerce. Legal Advisory Board-Robert W. Hill, chairman, Masonic Temple; Charles A. Salisbury, Probate officer, Superior Court; William H. Hart, District Court. Liberty Loan Committee-Henry M. Bachelder, chairman, City Hall; Edmund G. Sullivan, secretary, Chamber of Com- merce. Public Safety Committee-Arthur H. Phippen, chairman, City Hall. Public Service-George W. Pitman, chairman, Salem Chamber of Commerce. American Red Cross -- Rev. Edward D. Johnson, chairman, Salem Chapter; Annie L. Warner, executive secretary, Salem Chapter, Masonic Temple. War Chest-George W. Hooper, president; D. A. Donahue, treasurer; A. B. Towers, clerk, Salem Five Cents Savings Bank Building.
It may be said that in each and every call for men and dollars, Salem went to the standard set, and in most cases "over the top", as did many of her brave sons over the seas, when seeking to silence the power of the great foe before them.
Military History of Lynn .- Every good law-abiding citizen is inter- estedd in the history of the military movements in which his people have been connected. In the nearly three centuries since white men first looked upon the fair and valuable domain known as Essex county, Mas- sachusetts, and the town of Lynn, so historic in its day and generation, there has been need of many trained soldiers, and they have always been forthcoming. That sacrifices have been made to carry forward what has
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been deemed just wars, goes without saying. The first wars were occa- sioned by the savage Indian tribes, and later the white race fought be- tween themselves. White men here in New England first taught the untutored savage the art of using a gun, and such an act was about the worst thing they could have offered the red-skin. Military skill was naturally in high repute among the early fathers in New England. Plymouth had her Miles Standish and Lynn had John Humphrey, the first major-general of the colony, who settled in Lynn in 1634. From that time to this, many are the military characters of which this sketch is all too short to narrate.
It was early in 1630 that a military company was organized here under Captain Richard Wright, with Daniel Howe as lieutenant, and Richard Walker as ensign. This company was provided with two iron cannon. At the breaking out of the Pequot war, in 1636, Captain Nathaniel Turner of Lynn commanded one of the companies detailed for service in that war. Among the Lynn soldiers in the Pequot war was Christopher Lindsey, who kept the cattle of Mr. Dexter, at Nahant. He was a laboring man, and in his honor the elevation of land there was called Lindsey's Hill. It was in 1638 that the Ancient and Honorable Artillery was organized in Lynn. Among the first members were Will- iam Ballard, Joseph Hewes, Daniel Howe, Edward Tomlins, Nathaniel Turner and Richard Walker.
The last great struggle of the red man commenced in 1675, in what is termed the King Philip War, in which Lynn was not especially inter- ested, only as it being of general interest to New England. Thomas Marshall was then captain of the Lynn company, and had been a resident here forty years. He kept the tavern near Saugus river many years. Lynn did her full share in that memorable war. Much space cannot be given here for details in these early wars in which Essex county took part. The towns have ample records, where one interested can obtain the salient facts concerning the Indian wars and the French and Indian as well as the Revolutionary struggle. However, a few facts should here be narrated.
Several Lynn men were present at the battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775, the opening battle of that long struggle. Four of these men were killed-Abedenego Ramsdell, William Flint, Thomas Hadley and Daniel Townsend. April 23, that year, a committee of safety was formed in Lynn. At first it consisted of Rev. John Treadwell, minister of the First Parish, Rev. Joseph Roby, minister of the Third Parish, and Deacon Daniel Mansfield. An alarm company was organized and three night watches were established. Colonel John Mansfield's regiment marched to Bunker Hill, but arrived too late to render assistance. Lynn fur- nished in that war for independence two colonels, three captains, five lieutenants, five sergeants, six corporals, and about one hundred and sixty privates. Lynn was poor at that date, and business prostrate, yet she
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voted in 1770 to each company of soldiers furnished for the expedition into Canada, fifteen pounds sterling to each man. In 1780 she voted as much money as would purchase 2,700 silver dollars to pay off the soldiers.
The War of 1812 was necessarily a naval combat, but it occasioned much distress and business depression. The gallant contest between the English frigate "Shannon" and the American frigate "Chesapeake," June 1, 1813, was witnessed by crowds of the people of Lynn, who not only climbed the hills, but also clung to the housetops. At about that time there were three well-uniformed and equipped companies in Lynn- Lynn Artillery, organized in 1808; the Light Infantry, organized in 1812; and the Rifle Company, organized in later years. The gallant Lieutenant Mudge, of Lynn, lost his life in the Seminole, or Florida War, about 1835. The Mexican War, which commenced in 1846, continuing two years, asked for men from Lynn, and she furnished twenty volunteers.
The Civil War, or the Rebellion of the Southern States, opening with the firing on Fort Sumter, April 12, 1861, and lasting more than four years, called from Lynn and all Essex county a large number of men, many of whom sacrificed life on the altar of the country. In five hours after President Lincoln called for 75,000 men, Lynn had two full com- panies ready for duty. Early the day following they left for the seat of war. These two companies formed a part of the Eighth Massachusetts Regiment of Infantry, and were styled Company D and Company F. The former, the Lynn Light Infantry, was commanded by Captain George T. Newhall and the latter by Captain James Hudson, Jr. The regimental officers belonging to Lynn were: Timothy Munroe, colonel; Edward W. Hinks, lieutenant-colonel ; Ephraim A. Ingalls, quartermaster; Roland G. Usher, paymaster ; Bowman B. Breed, surgeon; Warren Tapley, assistant surgeon ; Horace E. Munroe, quartermaster-sergeant. In all that dread- ful struggle, Lynn furnished 3,274 men, 230 more than her quota. The principal victories were celebrated by the ringing of bells, by bonfires and other demonstrations. Many who were the "loyal blue" lost their lives-some on battlefields, some starved in prison-pens, beneath a South- ern sky, while others died of disease. The Lynn cemeteries hold many of the forms of Union soldiers, while a greater share were buried in the far-off Southland. In 1873 a beautiful monument was erected in City Hall Square. It is a solid bronze allegorical cast made at Munich, Bava- ria, and its cost was over $30,000.
Coming down to the Spanish-American War in 1898-9, it may be said that Lynn furnished more than nine hundred men, and almost one hundred are now buried in the city cemeteries. The veterans of that war keep up an organization, similar to the old Grand Army of the Re- public.
When war was declared by Congress and President Wilson in April, 1917, Lynn, with all other parts of Essex county, commenced to do its full share in sending to the scene of action men as fast as transports could carry them over seas.
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The various Liberty Loan campaigns or "drives" resulted as follows: First, no quota, $3,348,450 subscribed; Second, quota, $4,730,000, $4,691,700 subscribed; Third, quota, $2,917,500; $3,391,550 subscribed; Fourth, quota $4,545,000, $4,577,550 subscribed. Among the committees for these "drives" the following served for the "fighting" or Fourth Lib- erty Loan drive: Charles A. Collins, chairman; Charles F. Sprague, vice- chairman ; Mrs. John H. Hollis, chairman of the women's committee, "and 100,000 more."
The War Chest work was great, and resulted in much good. The following organizations made up the "Chest": Young Men's Christian Association, Red Cross Society, Knights of Columbus, and Salvation Army. The War Chest Committee was as follows: Mr. Edward S. Underwood, Charles A. Collins, C. Fred Smith, Dr. F. W. Perkins, Rev. John Sheridan, Mrs. John H. Hollis, Mrs. Daniel C. Goss, Mrs. Charles A. Collins, Mrs. John Adams, George R. Beardsell, Adolph Ackerman, Charles S. Sanborn and Harrison P. Burrill. The exact amount of money raised by this budget is not yet audited, but the author personally knows that it runs into tens of thousands of dollars, and all was placed where it would supposedly do the most good. The work carried on in the public schools was also a wonderful accomplishment. Prof. Haseltine, in his chapter on "Public Schools of Lynn" in this work, makes special and im- pressive mention of this feature on the part of children and teachers.
In front of the City Hall stands a large granite rock, in which, is securely imbedded a heavy bronze tablet bearing in plain raised letters the inscription of the names of those who sacrificed life for their loyalty to the flags of the allied forces in the recent war. The heading of the inscription reads thus :
"Soldiers, Sailors and Marines Who Died for Their Country in the War Against Germany, Austria and Hungary."
Their names follow :
Anderson, Ernest C.
Carter, Richard C.
Anderson, Theodore
Chamberlain, Joseph W.
Andrews, Cecil E.
Chase, David
Fitzgerald, James
Austin, J. Frank
Chase, Edward F.
Fleet, Chester A.
Baker, Francis P.
Chesley, Louis Albert
Flemiken, John
Balcom, Horace V.
Ciampa, Pasquale
Ford, Frank Fowler, George Freeman, Frank F.
Bangs, Edward Wilson
Clark, Fred A.
Baston, Edgar H.
Collier, Raymond
Bazinski, Joseph
Conneroy, William H.
Frey, Rollin W.
Beaupre, Joseph D.
Cosgrove, James J.
Furlong, Francis J.
Berube, Thomas H.
Crozman, James Elmer
Gagnon, Rene J.
Bird, Everett E.
Currier, Rowland L.
Gardner, Clyde H.
Boissonneau, A. A.
Curtis, Fred L., Jr. Deicman, Thomas J. Dolley, John H.
Goss, Roy E. Griswold, Merwin L. Grover, William A. Hall, Archie C.
Burdette, Ralph M. Burke, Frank L. Burrill, George F.
Doolan, Patrick Draper, John Dunn, Frank J.
Hannify, Francis M.
Burrus, Frank K.
Ethridge, Geo. F.
Hanrahan, Daniel J.
Buttimer, George A.
Faretti, Carlo F.
Harris, Harold H.
Caldwell, Calvin A.
Farrell, John J.
Hobbs, Joseph Henry
Call, James C.
Featherstone, Charles D.
Hudson, Charles A.
Gormeley, Owen J.
Borginski, Joseph
Buchanan, Mathew L.
Feeney, George Francis Fiske, Crowell G.
WASIT.NG SCHOOL
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School Auxiliary
WORKING FOR WORLD WAR SOLDIERS, LYNN
MILITARY HISTORY
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Hurd, Arthur B. Hurley, John H.
McCartin, Patrick J.
McDonough, Thomas L. McGloin, Edgar J.
Rice, Melvin F. Richard, Marcel E. Robinson, Aubrey E.
Jordan, Albert F.
Kavanaugh, Eugene M.
McGlue, John R.
Ryans, Robert M. Sacron, Benjamin Saubders, Clayton F.
Kennedy, Arthur J.
Kiley, William E.
Minard, Asa Raymond, Jr.
Kinane, James R.
Mitchell, Lester
Shaw, Ed W. Shea, Earl W.
Kourtis, Peter
Morisette, Cyril P.
Shelton, Harold
Lane, George A.
Morrelli, P.
Smith, Samuel
Långdell, George W.
Morrisey, Charles A.
Southworth, R. O.
Lathe, Harold W.
Munroe, George
Stephens, William J.
Law, Harold A.
Murphy, Frank
Stevens, Raymond Stewart, Guy D.
Leslie, Frank
Nelson, Leroy E.
Taylor, Stephen H.
Lilegren, Karl A.
Noonan, Thomas E.
Thomas, George E.
Lindsey, Andrew B.
Oreghva, Joseph
Thorpe, John Reynolds
Lindsey, Stanley H.
Parker, Albert
Timmons, Basil D.
Lundburg, Elmer H.
Parker, Wilfred
Tulloch, John S.
Maag, E. F. C.
Paylor, George F.
Walsh, Francis A.
Mace, Lawrence R.
Peckley, Joseph G.
Walsh, William H.
Madden, Robert L.
Philips, Ralph
Watson, Edward O.
Magrane, Francis J.
Pickman, Ed J.
White, William L.
Malady, John J.
Preston, Harold C.
Wilkins, Lloyd E.
Mallinson, H. L.
Purdon, Frederick W.
Wood, Benjamin Clifford
Marks, E. Milton
Puzzo, Charles
Worth, Charles E.
Morrison, L. J.
Quinn, John T.
Young, Walter H.
McCarthy, Charles J. Reen, John J.
In the recent World War, Lynnfield proved herself equal to the task of responding to the numerous calls for both men and money. The various "drives" were met with the same promptness as in the other towns of Essex county, and the final result of the war was gratifying to all within her borders. The sad part was the loss by death of three of her brave sons, who fell in the strife-Willard James Freeman, Benja- min Lincoln Mitchell and John Farrington Lammers.
Gloucester's Military Record .- The first call for service by a mili- tary company in Gloucester was in 1675, during the Indian War. These eight men were the first called: Andrew Sargent, Joseph Clark, Joseph Somes, Joseph Allen, Jacob Davis, Vincent Davis, Thomas Kent and Hugh How. When the return was made, they all signed before the words: "due want warm clothing, and must have new coates." Thir- teen others served from Gloucester in the first Indian war. These twenty-one persons represented about one-third of the male citizens of the town capable of bearing arms. In 1676, when the Indians were committing depredations at Andover and other near-by places, Glouces- ter was put in a state of defence; a committee of General Court reported "Cape Ann has made two garrisons, besides several particular fortifica- tions."
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