USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Melrose > The Melrose memorial : the annals of Melrose, county of Middlesex, Massachusetts, in the great rebellion of 1861-'65 > Part 10
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THE MELROSE MEMORIAL.
tening to the spirit of the following lines, finally acceded to his request :
"Can you selfishly cling to your household joys, Refusing this smallest tithe to yield, While thousands of mothers are sending boys Beloved as yours to the battle-field ? Can you see my country call in vain, And restrain my arm from the needful blow ? Not so ; though your heart should break with pain, You will kiss me, mother, and let me go."
And, with others, - among whom was his bosom friend and companion, Charles W. Shelton, - he enlisted at the war meeting held Monday evening, July 28th, 1862, was sworn into the United States' service, Aug. 4th, at Boston, and sent to "Camp Cameron," at Cambridge, a rendez- vous for recruits for the regiments then in the field.
Previous to this time, when the Fourth Battalion of In- fantry offered its services to the Government for a short term of enlistment, young Barry entered its ranks ; but as it was not deemed best to accept any troops for so short a time, its services were rejected.
On the 13th of August, he was ordered, with other recruits, to the seat of war, passing through and spending a day in Washington ; and joined his regiment, then on the Rapid Ann River, Va., on the 18th, a short time pre- vious to the battles of "Groveton," " Second Bull Run," and " Chantilly," which ended the campaign under Gen- eral Pope. The exigencies of the service were such at this time that recruits were at once sent to the front, and into active service, many of them young and without pre- vious drill or military experience of any kind whatever ; this was the case with young Barry and his companions from Melrose that enlisted in this emergency.
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WILLIAM FRANCIS BARRY.
The day after he joined the ranks, according to his let- ters home,
" Those fallen leaves that keep their green, The noble letters of the dead,"
his regiment marched twenty-three miles, during which many of the most experienced gave out ; but the raw recruits bore up manfully under the severe trial.
The Thirteenth participated in the engagements on the Rappahannock River, from Aug. 20th to the 24th ; Thor- oughfare Gap, on the 28th, when he says, "Three men were shot down near me"; and in the disastrous battle of " Second Bull Run," on the 30th, when, according to his pocket diary, " The bullets whistled like hail, and a round shot struck within three feet of me and threw dirt all over me ; but I came off without a scratch"; and in a letter written while in camp at Hall's Hill, Va., four miles from the capital, he says :
We went on to the field on the double quick and with hur- rah. I never was so excited in my life as then. On the Bat- tle-field I felt just as cool as a man could be. I was n't fright- ened at all until we got some ways back on the retreat. I was helping to carry off a wounded man. The bullets, shell and shot struck all round. A person feels much more fright- ened at thinking of the danger after he has been through it than when he is in the midst of it.
Of the day after this battle, he says in his diary :
Centreville was the most mixed up place that ever I saw. Artillery, cavalry, ammunition, ambulances, hacks, and every- thing under the sun. Every house, barn and place of shelter crowded with wounded. Men of every regiment in the field, hunting and inquiring for it, - nobody knew anything.
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THE MELROSE MEMORIAL.
Then came the Maryland campaign, with its hard marches, the "Battle of South Mountain," and ending with the "Battle of Antietam." The last entry in his diary is dated September 8; but a letter to his brother Royal, found on his body after he was killed, was dated Ridgeville, Md., Sept. 12, five days previous to the battle ; and the following extract from this, his last letter, gives a slight idea of the hardships incident to this campaign :
The recruits joined us three days ago ; they stand it very well so far. Yesterday we marched about eight miles ; day before, seventeen ; the first was a pretty hard one ; the day was sultry, and the sweat poured off in streams. Near the end of the march we got pretty well used up. My shoulders got so sore that it was hard work to tell which to put the gun on. When we went into camp for the night it was raining, and it rained all night. I woke up in the night several times, and found my feet in a pool of water ; I would draw them up and go to sleep again.
On the fatal day, the 17th of September, the Thirteenth Massachusetts was in the thickest of the fight, during the carly part of the day, and suffered severe losses in killed and wounded. Young Barry fought as well and as brave- ly as the oldest veteran, until he was shot directly through the heart. His friend, Charles W. Shelton, writing from Keedysville, Md., on the 19th, two days after the battle, after very touchingly alluding to their intimacy, his sorrow at his death, and his deep sympathy for his afflicted mother, says :
He was Willie Barry on the battle-field. The coolest, brav- est, noblest of the many patriots who that day gave themselves a sacrifice to Liberty and Country !
His body was buried on the battle-field. Through the
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WILLIAM FRANCIS BARRY.
kind exertions of Mr. Stephen W. Shelton it was ex- humed and brought to Melrose; and on the 29th of September, very interesting and appropriate funeral cere- monies were held in the Baptist Church, the Rev. Mr. Edmands delivering the commemorative discourse ; after which all that was mortal of brave young Willie Barry was laid at rest in Wyoming Cemetery.
" So prompt at duty's call, So dauntless and so brave ; - To shield his bleeding Country's life. His blood, his life he gave. " Rest, Soldier, Patriot, Friend ! In your young manhood rest ; - Your Country's blessing o'er your bier, Her flag above your breast. * *
" A grateful land uprears Her tribute to your praise : Yours are the holiest of her tears, The greenest of her bays."
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THE MELROSE MEMORIAL.
JOHN PARKER SHELTON.
Private in Co. A, Thirteenth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers ; killed at the " Battle of Antietam," Sept. 17, 1862.
" How sweetly they sleep, who have died for their country, And never will wake for the combat again,
But mantled with glory, they peacefully slumber, And rest from their toil in the graves of the slain."
John Parker Shelton was the only son of John and Ann (Kendall) Shelton, and was born in Boston, June 8th, 1844.
He graduated as a medal scholar from the Chauncy School, in Boston, about the time of the breaking out of the Rebellion ; after which he entered as clerk in a whole- sale clothing house in that city, where he was at the time of his enlistment, Aug. 7th, 1862. Most of our young men who went to the war during its first years were of our best families, of good education and of high character ; enlisting from a true sense of duty and pure love of coun- try ; not from the novelty of the occupation or mere love of excitement, or for pecuniary gain, but only and solely to save our land from Treason's grasp. Thus was it with young Shelton. He enlisted at a time when our regi- ments and batteries had been depleted by many battles, skirmishes and marches, just after the terrible blow and disheartening result of the Peninsular campaign, while General McClellan and his army were at Harrison's Land- ing on the James River.
" He gave the tribute of a tear To those fond hearts who held him dear, And southward turned - a volunteer - The oft-told story.
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JOHN PARKER SHELTON.
To right the wrong, wipe off the shame, He cared not that the trump of Fame Should sound aloud his humble name- In tropes of glory.
For Union, and for equal laws, For Liberty - the grand old cause ; How could he speak these names and pause, Faltering, uncertain ? He knew not what Fate had in store, Nor cared her purpose to explore, But calmly waited on, before Her awful curtain."
With others who had enlisted in the Thirteenth at this time he was forwarded to his regiment, and joined it at Mechanicsville, near Washington, after the defeat of our army under General Pope; when the "Second Bull Run Battle" had been fought, and Lee's invasion of Maryland had begun. Ten days afterward the great " Battle of An- tietam " took place. Young Shelton's action in this, his first and only battle, is so well told by his friend and com- panion, -Ambrose Dawes, -that his letter concerning him is here introduced :
NEW YORK, July 4, 1867.
Mr. E. H. Goss :
Dear Sir : - It is with great pleasure, not, indeed, unmixed with sadness, that I comply with your request to give you some account of the last hours of our mutual friend and neighbor, John P. Shelton. The noble courage, heroic devotion and pure patriotism of that young life, nipped as it was in the bud, cannot be too highly appreciated. During the few short days he was with the regiment he endeared himself to many, and his vivacious temperament did much towards keeping up the spirits of his companions during that dark hour when " Bull Run " was lost, and before " Antietam " was gained.
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THE MELROSE MEMORIAL.
Enlisting with no other thought but love of country, he went forth to fight the good fight, leaving behind him everything which makes it " life to live," and carrying nothing with him but the prayers of dear ones to shield him from the bullets of the enemy. I remember his coming to me just upon the eve of the battle, - perhaps ten minutes before it opened, - looking very pale, - as we probably all did, - and saying that he felt very strangely, and as if he should never return from that field alive. I clasped his hand in mine, and encouraged him as well as I could, for I felt no fears of that kind myself, and we marched together into the fight. Some little time after the bat- tle commenced, he turned to me, his face flushed with excite- ment, and said : " I am hit in the foot, but shall stick to it and have another pop at them." We advised him to quit the field in vain. This was the last time I saw him. Soon after I saw young Barry fall with a bullet through the forehead. I went up to him, but he was dead, and drawing him behind a tree out of reach of bullets, we left him. Then I received a slight wound, and from loss of blood, being too weak to fight any more, left the field. Shelton remained till the regiment was ordered to the rear, to make room for re-enforcements, after fighting nearly three hours, and then, instead of selfishly look- ing out for himself, he volunteered to help a dying comrade off the field, although he himself could use but one foot. Thus slowly helping this poor fellow out of danger, a bullet hit him in the spine, which caused paralysis in the lower limbs.
He was taken up, in a dying condition, in a blanket, by four men, one a member of our regiment, and sent, by mistake or from necessity, to one of Sedgewick's Hospitals instead of Hooker's, and thus was lost track of. Being informed that he had repeatedly asked to sec me, I hastened to where he had been left ; but unfortunately he had been removed to some other place ; and although I travelled from hospital to hospi- tal I could not find him. We know that he lived but about forty-eight hours, and expired with no friends around him, in
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JOHN PARKER SHELTON.
one of the most uncomfortable places on earth, - a field hos- pital. You know the rest ; how his body was found and brought home to his bereaved and heart-broken parents, and buried in the beautiful cemetery at Wyoming. No better man, no more generous spirit fell in the war. He gave his life freely in the cause of duty. Why regret that he died such a glorious death ? Rather envy him that he died for his country in the cause for which Reno, and Mansfield, and Wadsworth, and Reynolds, and last, but not least, the Martyred Lincoln, laid down their lives. Let us hope that they did not die in vain ; that their blood may be sanctified to our country, and from their ashes rise the Phoenix, Liberty and Union, forever and ever. And now, my dear sir, I thank you for allowing me the privilege of testifying to the noble life and glorious death of my truest friend and companion.
I have the honor of being, Very Respectfully, Your Obedient Servant, AMBROSE DAWES.
As is intimated in the above letter, no definite informa- tion concerning young Shelton was obtained by his sor- row-stricken family for nearly three weeks after the battle. As soon as the sad tidings were telegraphed, Mr. Simon G. Cheever, - an intimate friend of the family, - started immediately for the battle-field, using every exertion to find him, or learn aught of his situation ; issuing descrip- tive posters and scattering them throughout the region, and making all possible inquiries ; but to no purpose ; no trace of him was learned. Nothing was ascertained until a letter was received from Surgeon S. G. Palmer, of Gen- cral Howard's Division, who wrote from head-quarters, in camp near Harper's Ferry, Oct. 2, - the battle was Sept. 17th, - stating that young Shelton died of his wounds at the hospital on Hoffman's Farm ; - in the rear of that portion of the battle-field where Sumner's corps, -to
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which the Thirteenth Regiment belonged, -was engaged, and where about a thousand of the wounded had been brought ; - and that he had been buried in a pleasant spot beneath a walnut tree, by the side of many others, about an eighth of a mile from the farm house; at the same time sending home what few effects were found upon his body. When these facts were learned, his cousin, Mr. Stephen W. Shelton, and his brother-in-law, Mr. George W. Copeland, at once proceeded to the battle-field and brought his body home. He was buried in Wyoming Cemetery on the 16th of October, the funeral services being held in the Baptist Church. An appropriate ser- mon was preached by the pastor, Rev. Mr. Colby, and he was assisted in the solemn ceremonies by the Rev. Wil- liam H. Munroe, rector of the Episcopal Church.
As has been said, "Antietam " was young Shelton's first and only battle ; he had not been in even a skirmish before; and it is the testimony of all, - officers and pri- vates, - that he fought well and manfully, -the bravest of the brave, - on that bloody field. Would that he had not been called to render up his young life so early in the great conflict !
" There is a tear for all that die, A mourner o'er the humblest grave ; But nations lift the funeral cry And freedom weeps above the brave.
" For them is sorrow's purest sigh O'er ocean's heaving bosom sent ;
For them are tears in every eye ; All earth becomes their monument.
" A theme to crowds that knew them not, Lamented by admiring foes, Who would not choose their glorious lot, Who would not die the death they chose ? "
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OUR " ROLL OF HONOR."
JONAS GREEN BROWN.
Private in Co. E, Fiftieth Massachusetts Regiment ; died at Baton Rouge, La., June 18, 1863, of disease con- tracted in the service.
Jonas Green Brown, son of Joseph and Keziah (Gerry) Brown, was born in Melrose, June 20, 1824.
In August, 1862, when the President called for three hundred thousand more troops, to serve for nine months, Brown enlisted in Captain Littlefield's South Reading Company, Fiftieth Regiment, of which Carlos P. Messer, of Haverhill, was Colonel. The nucleus of the Fiftieth was the Seventh Massachusetts Militia Regiment, and it was composed of companies from Essex and Middlesex Counties. The Colonel and Lieutenant-Colonel, - John W. Locke, of South Reading, - were Captains in the three months' service when the Rebellion broke out. The Fiftieth was sent into the " Department of the Gulf," and assigned to the command of Acting Brigadier-General N. A. M. Dudley, First Division, Third Brigade, Nineteenth Army Corps, and was encamped at Baton Rouge. On the 14th of March it accompanied Major-General Banks' expe- dition to the rear of Port Hudson, which was undertaken for the purpose of allowing Admiral Farragut, with his two war steamers, " Hartford" and " Albatross," to pass the batteries. This object was successfully accomplished, and the Fiftieth returned to Baton Rouge. It was after- wards actively engaged in the "Siege of Port Hudson," and, after the surrender of that stronghold, was encamped within its fortifications ; but previous to the siege, and while at Baton Rouge, Brown was attacked with diar- rhœa, - May 17th, - and died June 18th, 1863.
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THE MELROSE MEMORIAL.
An extract from Captain Littlefield's letter to the widow, -indorsed by Lieutenants Warren and Draper, - testi- fies to the regard in which Brown was held by his officers and fellow-soldiers :
We feel that an all-wise Providence has in His, to us some- times mysterious dispensations, seen fit to take from our num- ber a brother soldier, whom we esteemed for his virtues and respected for his personal worth ; while from you He has taken a loved partner and support, and from your children a kind father and protector. No words can express to you what we feel in our hearts for his afflicted family, and we can only point you to Him who has said, " Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." Hoping that you will bring your wounded, broken heart, with all its burdens and sorrows, to Him who has said He will be the widow's God, and the Father to the fatherless, I subscribe myself,
Yours in affliction, S. F. LITTLEFIELD, Captain Co. E.
16
OUR "ROLL OF HONOR."
BENJAMIN LYNDE.
Private in Co. K, Thirty-Eighth Massachusetts Regiment ; died at Baton Rouge, La., Aug. 18, 1863, of disease con- tracted in the service.
Benjamin Lynde was the oldest son of George and Har- riet (Favor) Lynde, and was born in Melrose, Aug. 14, 1831.
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At the time of his enlistment, August 1862, he was pursuing his occupation as a farmer. He was the brother of George Warren Lynde, who enlisted the year before in the Seventeenth Regiment.
The Thirty-Eighth Regiment was sent into the "De- partment of the Gulf," where it participated in the "Siege of Port Hudson," and various battles and marches in Lou- isiana. In the summer of 1863, Lynde was attacked with the chronic diarrhoea, and during the long and wearisome march through the "Teche" country, he was hardly able to keep his place in the ranks, and was often advised to go to the hospital ; but he would not listen to such advice, and persevered much longer than he ought, performing every duty incumbent upon a well man. After a rest at Alexandria, he recovered somewhat, but after passing through the "Siege of Port Hudson," he became worse, and on the 18th of August, while the regiment was lying at Baton Rouge, he died. His comrades placed a head board at his grave, giving his name, age, residence, reg- iment, company, and date of death, and he sleeps in a soldier's grave on the distant banks of the "Father of Waters." He left behind a wife to mourn his loss.
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THE MELROSE MEMORIAL.
GEORGE JAMES MORSE.
Private in Co. A, Thirteenth Massachusetts Regiment ; 2d Lieutenant in Second U. S. Colored Troops; Ist Lieutenant in Co. G, Fifty-Ninth Massachusetts Regi- ment ; killed at the "Battle of Spottsylvania," May 12, I 864.
" With sword on thigh, 'to do or die,' I march to meet the foe."
" A nation's tears will greet the dead, Whose blood for Freedom's cause was shed."
George James Morse-brother of Sidney Bradford Morse- was the oldest son of George H. and Sarah (Bird) Morse, and was born in New York, Dec. 7, 1842.
He was one of the earliest of our citizens to enlist. On the 19th of April, - with his brother Sidney, - he joined the Fourth Battalion of Rifles, which offered its services to the government for three months' service, but being refused for that period of time, was soon afterwards recruited to the Thirteenth Regiment of three years' troops.
During the fall and winter of 1861-2, he experienced the fortunes of the Thirteenth on the upper waters of the Potomas, engaged in many severe skirmishes, hard marches and arduous picket duties ; followed by the campaign of General Pope, ending with the battles of " Groveton," "Second Bull Run," and "Chantilly."
While at Warrenton, Va., before the hard fighting of this campaign commenced, he says, in a letter to his mother :
To-day ends our first year in " Uncle Sam's " service. Two years more at the farthest, and our troubles and privations will
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GEORGE JAMES MORSE.
be over, and we can return to our homes with the proud con- sciousness of having done our duty, and spent the best years of our lives in our country's service.
At the "Second Bull Run Battle " he narrowly escaped with his life. Two bullets pierced his knapsack ; his can- teen and rifle-sling were both shot away ; and his right hand was shattered by a musket ball, on account of which he was sent to the hospital at Philadelphia. Amputation of his hand was at first thought necessary; but it was saved, and he soon afterward received the appointment of a clerkship in the hospital where he was confined. It was while here that his much loved brother, Sidney, died. Poignant was his grief at the sad tidings, as will be seen by the following letter to his mother, written with his left hand :
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 19, 1862.
My dear mother : - Last evening I received your letter, an- nouncing the departure of my beloved brother to the spirit world. May God give us strength to bear with our affliction, and make us better because of it. I feel it deeply, - more so than I can express ; but I find comfort in the reflection that he is in a better world, where we shall all meet again. He " has fought the good fight," and died in the service of his country !
Although so young in years, he was old in experience, and has given up his young life to the best cause that has engaged the attention of our countrymen since the days of the American Revolution. He was beloved by all who knew him. No one knows the pain and anguish I suffer ; but it is softened by the remembrance that what I could do for him was cheerfully and gladly done. He little knew that many a time I had given him the last cracker, and knew not where to get more. But I am thankful it was in my power to do so. For fifteen months we were together, - and, so far as I was able, I feel that I have
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THE MELROSE MEMORIAL.
done my duty by him. This comforts me ; and now I only look forward to that time when I shall meet him in that life where there are no wars, " nor rumors of war," but where all is peace and love. And, oh, what a joyful meeting it will be ! Father, mother, brothers and sisters, all united in one happy family, - never more to part !
After recovering from this wounded hand, and having been discharged from the Thirteenth Regiment, he was commissioned, for valor displayed and meritorious services rendered, 2d Lieutenant in the Second United States Vol- unteers, - colored troops, -in the "Department of the Gulf." Here he participated in the sieges of "Vicksburg" and " Port Hudson."
On the 5th of July, during the "Siege of Port Hudson," where he was forty-three days in the trenches, he was wounded in the head ; and before he could be taken from the field he received a sun-stroke. Soon afterwards a malarial fever seized upon him, and it was the decision of the surgeon, that the only hope of saving his life was for him to leave that region, and return home ; and at his positive command, he tendered his resignation, which was accepted, and he was sent North. He arrived at his home in Melrose, in September, in a very dangerous condition ; so much so, that no one that saw him at the time sup- posed it was possible for him to live ; but God had other work for him yet to do, and with constant and tender care he began slowly to recover.
In less than two months after arriving home, and while yet convalescent, he learned that J. Parker Gould, his for- merly much esteemed and honored Major of the Thir- teenth Regiment, had been commissioned Colonel of the Fifty-Ninth Regiment Massachusetts Veteran Volunteers, and at once determined to enlist under him ; and, rising
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GEORGE JAMES MORSE.
from his sick bed, he penned a note to Colonel Gould, soliciting an appointment. Parents and friends, thinking his health not sufficiently established, endeavored to dis- suade him from entering the service again so soon.
But his answer was: "I enlisted at first, because I felt it to be my duty ; the same cause still exists, and the same necessity for action ; and if my life is spared, and I am needed, five years from this time will find me in the field, for while this war lasts, that must be my home."
He received a commission, Oct. 22, 1863, as 2d Lieu- tenant in Co. G, and, as soon as his health permitted, was ordered on recruiting service for his regiment, and sent to Woburn, Stoneham, and other towns. Dec. 14th, he was ordered to the camp at Readville ; and on March 4th, he was promoted to Ist Lieutenant.
During the latter part of April, 1864, the Fifty-Ninth Regiment was hurried off to the seat of war, in order to join in the final campaign under General Grant. It left Readville April 26th, and arrived in Virginia just in sea- son to cross the Rappahannock with the grand army, and entered into the "Battle of the Wilderness," without rest, only ten days after leaving the State. Here Lieutenant Morse was wounded in the head by a falling tree ; but he remained from his regiment only a very short time, returning with bandaged head to take command of his company, the Captain of which had retired.
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