USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Amherst > The history of the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, pt 2 > Part 13
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Sept. 3, 1865.
Aug. 25. 1864. Edward P. Dickinson, Amherst, Co. A. June 2. 1865. July 11, 1865.
Sept. 12, 1864. Robert Hock, Co. A.
Trans. Dec. 16, '64, to 17th Mass. reg't, Co. H.
Aug. 25, 1864. Henry C. Lovett, Co. A. June 2, 1865.
July 19, 1864. Thomas F. Murphy, Ireland, Co. K. Sept. 3, 1865. June 16, 1865.
July 15, 1864. Redmond Welch, Co. B.
THIRD HEAVY ARTILLERY.
May 31, 1864. James Kelly. Nov. 14, 1865.
TWENTY-NINTH UNATTACHED COMPANY, HEAVY ARTILLERY.
Sept. 12, 1864. Henry C. Dickinson, Amherst. June 16, 1865.
THIRTEENTH BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY.
July 30, 1864. John Kennedy. July 28, 1865.
Dec. 30, 1864. Nicholas Stankoff. July 28, 1865.
FIRST CAVALRY.
Sept. 17, 1861. John W. Howland, Amherst, Co. C. June 26, 1865. Serg't, Sept. 17, '61. 2d lieut., Jan. 16, '64. Ist lieut., Nov. 13, 64. Brevet. capt't. Re-enlisted Jan. 1. '64.
Aug. 13, 1862. Edwin H. Pierce, Amherst, Co. B. June 26, 1865. Corp'l. Re-enlisted Dec. 29, 63. Aug. 18, 1862. Edward P. Gray. New York City, Co. A. Nov. IS, 1864. Serg't Dec. 23, '63. Trans. to Veteran Reserve Corps, Aug. IS, '63.
Dec. 27, 1864. Cephas B. Bolio, Holyoke, Co. E. Jan. 27, 1865. Died at Gallop's Island, Boston Harbor.
Dec. 27, 1864. William E. Hobart, Amherst, Co. H. June 26, 1865. Bugler. Dec. 27, 1864. G. W. Shattuck, Winchester, N. H., Co. H. June 26, 1865.
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518
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
Dec. 27, 1864. Andrew J. Ufford, Moodus, Conn., Co. H. June 26, 1865. Bugler.
Aug. 18, 1862. Byron H. Williams, Norwich, Co. C. Sept. 21, 1863. Discharged owing to disability.
SECOND CAVALRY.
Sept. 15, 1864. Charles Dow.
FOURTH CAVALRY.
July 13, 1864. Henry Casson, Prussia, Co. H. Nov. 14, 1865.
July 14, 1864. James Kelly, Ireland, Co. I. Nov. 14, 1865.
July 14, 1864. Dennis McSweeney, Ireland, Co. I. Nov. 14, 1865.
Sept. 12, 1864. Samuel W. Richards, Jr., Co. I. Nov. 14, 1865.
Dec. 28, 1864. Charles Smith, Co. B.
Nov. 14, 1865.
FIFTH CAVALRY.
Sept. 12, 1864. Charles Turner, Co. B.
Oct. 31, 1865.
Corp'l.
Jan. 9, 1864. Samuel Freeman, Conn., Co. A. June 21, 1865.
Bugler.
Jan. 29, 1864. Jarvis W. Jackson, Amherst, Co. B. Oct. 1, 1865.
Died in hospital at Brazos, Tex.
Jan. 29, 1864. Windsor Jackson, Amherst, Co. B. Oct. 31, 1865. Jan. 29, 1864. Howard E. Paxon, Hertford Co., Md., Co. A. Oct. 31, 1865. Jan. 29, 1864. Joseph J. Solomon, Westhampton, Co. D. Oct. 31, 1865. Took part in assault on Petersburg, June, '64.
Jan. 29, 1864. Lorenzo Sugland, Westhampton, Co. D. June 17, 1865.
Jan. 29, 1864. Charles H. Thompson, Northampton , Co. E. Oct. 31, 1865. Jan. 29, 1864. Christopher Thompson, Hatfield, Co. D. Oct. 31, 1865. Jan. 29, 1864. Henry Thompson, Worthington, Co. D. Oct. 20, 1865. Died in hospital at Brazos. Tex. Jan. 29, 1864. John Thompson, Hatfield, Co. B. March 13, 1864. Died in camp at Readville, Mass.
Sept. 12, 1864. Charles Waters, Co. A. Oct. 31, 1865.
Sept. 12, 1864. William Williamson, Co. B. Oct. 31, 1865.
FIRST BATTALION FRONTIER CAVALRY.
Jan. 2, 1865. Samuel H. Burke, Co. D. June 30, 1865. SIXTIETH REGIMENT. Aug. 1, 1864. Myron D. Clark, Co. G. Nov. 30, 1864.
1
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519
NAVAL SERVICE.
VETERAN RESERVE CORPS.
Dec. 23, 1864. James W. Bryant, 11th reg't. June 28, 1865. Discharged owing to disability.
Sept. 10, 1864. John Manning, Ist Heavy Art. Nov. 17, 1865.
Sept. 12, 1864. Bernard McGuirk, 13th reg't. Nov. 14, 1865.
Sept. 13, 1864. John Moran, roth reg't. May 5, 1865.
July 7, 1864. John Rush.
Nov. 17, 1865.
Sept. 10, 1864. David Witherell, 13th reg't.
Nov. 17, 1865.
Sept. 12, 1864. Frank Wood, 13th reg't.
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
Sept. 13, 1861. George B. Cooley, Palmer, 44th Ill. 1864. 2d lieut., June 7, '62. Ist lieut., Dec. 18, '62. In battle of Pea Ridge, Ark., Perryville, Ky., Stone River, Tenn. and Chickamauga. Wounded in battle of Chickamauga.
Dec. 7, 1861. Henry M. McCloud, Amherst, 12th Conn. Oct. 1, 1864. Corp'l, June 1, '62. Serg't, March 10, '63. Lieut., Aug., 63. Trans. to U. S. engineers' corps, Feb. 10, 64. Took part in many battles and skirmishes.
Aug. 23, 1862. Henry M. Cooley, Amherst, 14th Conn. Serg't.
--- Erastus Coy, 15th Ill.
Sept. 3, 1861. Lyman E. Moody, South Hadley, Michigan Sharpshooters. May, 1861. Charles F. Russell, Amherst, 3d Ill. Cavalry. I865. June 20, 1861. Chas. B. Adams, Middlebury, Vt., 67th N. Y. Sept. 17, 1861. Died at Brooklyn, N. Y.
Dec. 4, 1861. Reuben Miles, Manchester, Conn., 12th Conn. July 15, 1863. Died of disease contracted in service.
1861. Samuel White, East Machias, Me., 5th Wis. May, 1864. Corp'l, serg't, 2d lieut., capt. Mortally wounded in battle of Spottsylvania.
Feb. 2, 1863. Thomas Henderson, Sunderland.
Surgeon at Laurens Hospital, Mo.
NAVAL SERVICE.
Feb. 13, 1865. Edward H. Adams, Middlebury, Vt. Surgeon's steward. Served on steamer " Wachusett."
June, 1861. William B. Miles, Amherst. 1864.
Master's mate. Served on steamers "Bricknell," " Roanoke" and "Granite."
Sept. 16, 1864. Frank S. Beaman.
July 1, 1864. Charles P. Boynton.
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520
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
1863. William Burns.
June 29, 1864. William Challiner.
July 27, 1864. James A. Colter.
June 30, 1864. John Fitzsimmons.
June 29, 1864. Thomas Gleason.
Sept. 10, 1864.
Samuel Hay, Staten Island, N. Y. July 20, 1866. Served on gunboat "Colorado " and steamship " Susquehanna."
July 27, 1864. John Hudson.
1863. Peter Johnson.
July 16, 1864. Thomas Keefe, Ireland. July 22, 1865. Served on sloop of war " John Adams."
July 29, 1864. Uranus Lawry, Newport, Me. April 21, 1866.
Served on steamers " Monadnock " and " Constellation."
July 7, 1864. John Lear.
1863. Frank Martin.
July 16, 1864. Patrick McCallum.
July 2, 1864. Charles McGinley.
July 8, 1864. John Nelson, Germany. Served on ship " Sabine."
July 6, 1867.
Aug. 9, 1862. Henry L. Newell, Amherst, Served on steam sloop " Ossipee."
Sept. 8, 1863.
June 30, 1864. James Pierce.
July 28, 1864. Stephen C. Scott, Machias, Me. Served on steamer " Circassian."
July 2, 1867.
Aug. 17, 1864. Cornelius White.
July. 4, 1862. William V. Cutter, Amherst. Served on steamers " Merrimack " and " Mississippi," Ist mate.
ALPHABETICAL LIST.
Adams, Sylvester H.
Ball, Nelson O.
Bell, George H.
Albee, Charles I.
Bardwell, Henry J. Beston, Dennis
Allen, Benjamin P.
Barrows, Ashley W. Beston, John
Anderson, William
Bartlett, Edward Beston, Patrick
Bartlett, Joseph F.
Bliss, William L.
Baker, Asahel
Bartlett, Lewis A.
Bolio, Cephas B. Bolio, Charles C.
Baker, Charles C.
Bartlett, Milo A. Barton, Austin
Bolio, Levi M.
Baker, James A.
Barton, Charles H. Bolster, Frank E.
Ball, Edwin W.
Barton, George H. Boltwood, Edmund
Ball, Henry C.
Barton, Morrison Bowman, James
Ball, John D.
Bell, Frederick R.
Bowman, Henry
Baker, Ezra
£
1
ALPHABETICAL. LIST.
521
Bowman, Truman Boynton, Henry E. Brown, Perez R. Bryant, James W. Burke, Samuel H.
Fahay, William
Fales. William B. Finnemore, Charles A.
Fish, Dyer B. N. Fish, Francis W.
Fisher, George L. Fisher, Homer L. Flanders, Moses L.
Freeman, Samuel
Franklin, Benjamin R.
Kelley, James, Ist
Kelley. James, 2d
Kellogg, Albert H.
Kellogg, Benjamin F.
Kellogg, Charles F.
Kellogg, James B.
Cooke, George E.
Grover, Joseph
Gunn, Cephas W.
Gunn, Charles S.
Haling, Horace Hardaker, James
Haskell, Lewis R.
Hastings, Henry B.
Cushman, John E. Cutter, Ptolemy P.
Dennison, Ami R. Devine, Thomas
Dickinson, Amariah
Dickinson, Chester, Jr.
Dickinson. David L.
Hervey, Edward P.
Hill, Dwight N.
Hills, John
Hobart, George M. Hobart, William E. Hock, Robert Holden, Freeman L. Hopkins. William J. Horton, Wesley W. Howes, Charles O. Howes, George E. Howland, John W. Hubbard, Henry
Maloney, Michael
Manley, Edward W.
Manning, John
Matthews. Charles
Matthews, Francis J.
McDonald, John McGuirk, Bernard
McSweeney, Dennis Miles, Marcus T. C. Moran, John Moran, Thomas Mullett, Charles D. Munsell. Charles C. Murphy, Thomas F.
Jackson, Jarvis W. Jackson. Sanford Jackson, Windsor Jennings. Francis N.
Jennings, William Jennings, William H. H. Johnson, Ebenezer M. Johnson, Eli H.
Johnson, George L. Johnson, Martin S. Johnson, Silas O. Johnson, William F. Jones, George
Church, Spencer, Jr. Clapp, Charles Clark, Myron D.
Glazier, John A. Goodale, Charles L.
Clark, William S.
Graves, William O.
Cook, Benjamin O.
Cook, Austin S.
Gray, Edward P. Grover, Frederick
Cooke, Willard S.
Conkey, Benjamin F. Connors. John
Cowles, Watson W. Coy, Henry Crossman, Barton E.
Kellogg, Justin P. Kelsey, Ezra Kendall, Henry C. Kennedy, John King, Peter, Jr. King, Warren F. Latham, Alonzo W. Latham, William W.
Leggett, John A. Leggett, William F. Lincoln, Rufus P. Loomis, Richard B.
Lovett, Henry L. Lovett, Murray B. Lovett, Wheaton Lyons, Edward
Dickinson, Edward B. Dickinson, Edward P. Dickinson, Eli O. Dickinson, Francis E. Dickinson, Francis H.
Dickinson. George Dickinson. Henry C. Dickinson. John W. Dickinson, Levi P. Dickinson, Willard R. Douglass, Henry F. Dow, Charles Doyle, Michael Draper. George A. Dunakin, Charles
Edson, Levi
Hastings, Joseph C. Hastings, Willard D. Hawes, James F. Hawley, Henry E. Hayward, Charles E. Heald, Charles A.
Cates, Albert
Champlin, Jason
Cannon, Owen
Casson, Henry
522
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
Newell, George W. Nutting, Freeman E.
Sanderson, James K. Sandling, John Schartz, Frederick
Taft, Ethan A. Taumann, John
Taylor, Alexander
Scott, George W.
Taylor, Joseph K.
Sears, Arthur
Thayer, Josiah
O'Connor, Cornelius
O'Toole, Patrick F.
Packard, Henry C.
Shoals, John
Thompson, Christopher
$ Parmenter, George H. Parsons, John D. Paxon, Howard E.
Simonds, J. Franklin
Thompson, Henry
Skinner, J. Leander
Thompson, James Thompson, John
Percival, Erasmns W.
Skinner, Lyman W. Slate, George E,
Tufts, George H. Turner, Charles
Phelps, Lyman D. Pierce, Edwin H.
Sloan, George W.
Turner, Charles F.
Pierce, James A.
Sloan, Timothy
Tyler, Mason W.
Plumb, Henry C.
Slocumb, Robert
Smith, Charles
Ufford, Andrew J.
Preston, James A.
Smith, Charles C.
Preston, Simeon E.
Smith, Charles V.
Vinton, Medad
Prince, Henry B.
Smith, Francis B.
Prouty, Edward W.
Smith, William J.
Waters, Charles
Welch, Farrell
Welch, Redmund
Richards, Joseph
Solomon, Joseph Spaulding, Charles B. Spear, Asa A. Spear, George P.
Wheeler, George
Riley, Charles
Spear, James W.
Wheelock, James
Roberts, Albert
Spellman, Timothy
Wheelock, John P. W.
Roberts, George H.
Stankoff, Nicholas
White, John
Roberts, James W.
Stanley, Edward H.
White, William H.
Roberts, Norman
Stearns, Frazar A.
Williams, Byron H.
Rolph, Edward M.
Stearns, John
Williams, Solomon H.
Rush, John
Storrs, Charles L.
Williamson, William
Russell, Dwight
Storrs, Samuel J.
Wilson, Robert
Rust, Jacob L.
Stowell, Warren M.
Witherell, David
Sugland, Lorenzo
Wood, Frank
SaLois, Michael
Woodworth, Charles L.
O'Callahan, Edward O'Callahan, Jeremiah
Sears, Henry B.
Thayer, Lyman R.
Shattuck, George W. Shea, Patrick
Thayer, Samuel M. Thompson, Charles H.
Skinner, Linneus C.
Potwin, Edwin H.
Putnam, George L.
Westcott, Stephen R.
Richards, Samuel W., Jr.
When, on April 15, 1865, news was received in Amherst of the assas- sination of President Lincoln, the general feeling of sorrow was manifested in many ways. The church bells were tolled, flags were displayed at half-mast, houses were draped in mourning and business was almost entirely suspended. Special services were held in Grace Episcopal church in the afternoon, Rev. Dr. Parker delivering a solemn and impressive address. On the following Sabbath, the ministers in all the churches made the president's death the theme of their discourse. On Wednesday, May 19, the day of Lincoln's funeral, all the places of business were closed, and stores and private residences were draped in mourning. At II A. M. the
523
THE GRAND ARMY POST.
church bells began tolling, and at noon a union service was held in the First Congregational church. An immense audience gathered. Addresses were made by Rev. Dr. S. P. Parker and Rev. H. L. Hubbell and prayer was offered by Prof. J. H. Seelye.
Under date of Feb. 7, 1867, the Express announced that a meeting of the "returned soldiers " of the town and vicinity had been held in the Academy building the evening of the 5th, to consider the expediency of establishing in the town a " Union of Army and Navy Veterans." About 25 were present, and the project having been carefully discussed it was the general sentiment that such a union should be formed. The meeting was adjourned one week; the Express contains no minute in regard to any action taken at the adjourned meeting. Sometime during the year 1867, E. M. Stanton Post No. 36, of the Grand Army of the Republic was organ- ized in Amherst. The records of the organization have been destroyed, so it is impossible to state with certainty the precise date of organization or to give a list of the first officers. Among the early commanders of the post were Charles L. Storrs, Jairus L. Skinner and Edmund Boltwood. Meetings were held in the Amherst house until 1869, when more conven- ient quarters were secured in Phoenix Row. In 1875. the place of meeting was in Union block, which was destroyed by fire March 13, 1876. The post next occupied quarters in the second story of a building owned by Harvey White, situated on Pleasant street. This building was burned Jan. 3, 1879, the post losing all its furniture, its charter and its records. These successive disasters caused discouragement to the members and loss of interest in the organization. The post was reorganized in IS32 as E. M. Stanton Post 147, G. A. R. Its regular meetings are held in the district court-room the first and third Wednesday evenings of each month. It has done excellent work in the care of the sick, disabled and needy comrades, and for many years has had charge of the public exercises of Memorial- day. In 1889, Henry H. Goodell, Henry M. McCloud and Dr. D. B. N. Fish were appointed a committee to prepare a list of soldiers who served on Amherst's quota during the war. After a considerable expenditure of time and money the list was completed, and the names were engraved on marble slabs to which has been accorded a post of honor in the tower of the town hall building. .
In January, ISS9, the E. M. Stanton Woman's Relief Corps was organ- ized and a charter secured. The first officers were elected Jan. IS, Mrs. Henry Adams being chosen president. Meetings are held in Pacific hall the first and third Wednesday evenings of each month. An organization of the Son of Veterans was formed in Amherst during the 'Sos, but its existence was brief.
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524
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
. CHAPTER LVIII.
AMHERST COLLEGE .- ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT STEARNS .- GIFTS AND BEQUESTS .- COLLEGE BUILDINGS .-- NEW DEPARTMENTS .-
. THE COLLEGE IN THE WAR .- THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY .- JULIUS H. SEELYE ELECTED PRESIDENT .- GIFTS TO THE COLLEGE .- MEMBERS OF THE FACULTY .- THE LIBRARY .- PHYSICAL CULTURE. -THE "AMHERST SYSTEM." -- GREEK LETTER FRATERNITIES.
Edward Hitchcock resigned the presidency of Amherst College July II, 1854. At the annual meeting of the board of trustees held Aug. 7. Rev. William A. Stearns was chosen president of the college and professor of moral philosophy and Christian theology. William Augustus Stearns was born in Bedford, March 17, 1805. His father and both his grand- fathers were ministers of the gospel. He was prepared for college at Phillips Academy, Andover, was graduated with honor at Harvard College, in the class of 1827, and at Andover Seminary in the class of 1831. After teaching for a short time at Duxbury, he was ordained, Dec. 14, 1831. pastor of the church at Cambridgeport, of which he remained in charge until summoned to the presidency of Amherst College. The inauguration ceremonies took place Nov. 22, 1854. Far different were the auspices attendant on his inauguration from those which had greeted his predeces- sors in office. When Dr. Moore assumed the presidency, Amherst College was an experiment, the exponent of an educational theory with little beside faith to sustain it. President Humphrey was installed in office in shadow of the death of his predecessor, a loss which was thought by many at the time to mean the death of the college as well. President Hitchcock came to the rescue of the institution when it was deeply burdened by debt and its chances for existence were problematical. President Stearns assumed the presidency of a college firmly established and possessing a substantial endowment, no longer dependent for its support on the contributions it could secure from the public from time to time.
The history of the college during the administration of President Stearns was one of growth and development. Possessed of fine executive abilities, he also had, to a marked degree, the faculty of interesting others in the work of the institution over which he was called to preside. This resulted in a series of donations and bequests to the college amounting in the aggregate to nearly SSoo,ooo. Among the most notable of these gifts were the following : By Dr. W. J. Walker, $100,000, to which was added
525
.......
COLLEGE BUILDINGS.
$40,000 raised from other sources as a condition of Dr. Walker's gift, by legacy from Dr. Walker in 1866, $144,976 ; by S. A. Hitchcock, for schol- arships and kindred purposes in 1872, $100,000 ; by Samuel L. Williston in 1871, $50,000 ; . by W. F. Stearns, donation for College church, $46,000 ; by scholarships, $35,000 ; by grants of the Legislature, 1861-63, $27,500 ; by John Tappan, in 1864, $25,000 to endow the Samuel Green professor- ship; by Dr. W. J. Walker, $25,000 to endow the Walker professorship of mathematics and astronomy. At the beginning of President Stearns' administration there was not a single scholarship in existence at the college ; before its close there were more than fifty, varying in annual income from $40 to $300 each and distributing each year over $4,000 among the students. In addition to these scholarships many prizes were established in various departments.
During the administration of President Stearns six new buildings were added to the college property. The first to be erected was the Apple- ton cabinet, built in 1855, at a cost of $10,000. The same year a lecture- room was built as an appendage to the Woods cabinet, at a cost of $1,000, the gift of Luke Sweetser. In 1857, the Nineveh gallery, another "annex " to the Woods cabinet, was built at an expense of some $600, the gift of Lieut. Enos Dickinson of South Amherst. Here were placed on exhibi- tion the sculptured slabs taken from the palace of Sardanapalus, and seals, cylinders, bricks and coins, collected at Nineveh and Babylon by Dr. Henry Lobdell, a graduate of the college in the class of 1849 and a mis- sionary to Assyria. Williston hall was erected in 1857 at a cost of $15,000, and the same year the East dormitory was built, at like expense, to take the place of the North dormitory which had been burned to the ground the winter preceding. The Barrett gymnasium building was erected in 1860 at a cost of $10.000, the fixtures costing some $5,000 more. It was named in honor of Dr. Benjamin Barrett of Northampton, a liberal con- tributor toward its erection. Walker hall, the most expensive and preten- tious building on the college grounds, was completed in October, 1870, its cost being about $130,000. The larger part of this sum had been donated by Dr. W. J. Walker, in whose honor the building was named. Its corner- stone was laid June 10, 1868, and it was formally opened Oct. 20, 1870. The corner-stone of the College church was laid Sept. 22, 1870, and the building was completed at a cost of, $70,000. In 1867, the college trus- tees purchased the old meeting-house of the First Congregational church, and christened it College hall ; its cost to the college was $12,000.
It was not alone in additions to its resources, its buildings and appa- ratus, that Amherst College showed marked development under the admin- istration of President Stearns. Existing departments were strengthened and new ones developed, the curriculum enlarged and valuable additions
.526
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
made to the teaching force of the institution. Dr. Stearns was an earnest believer in physical education : it was largely through his influence that the trustees voted at their annual meeting in August, 1860, to establish a department of physical culture in the college. John W. Hooker, M. D., of New Haven, Conn. was the first professor to have charge of the depart- ment but was connected with the college only a few months. He was succeeded in 1861 by Dr. Edward Hitchcock, Jr., under whose direction the department of physical education and hygiene has become famous throughout the country. The exhibitions in gymnastics are greatly enjoyed by the public, being witnessed by thousands of visitors every year. The compulsory use of a wise system of physical development has exercised a most beneficial influence upon the health of the student body. To Dr. W. J. Walker must be accorded the honor of founding at the college the department of mathematics and astronomy, endowing a professorship. instructorships and prize scholarships. To the charge of this department. which he still retains, William C. Esty was appointed in 1863. The appointment of E. P. Crowell as professor of Latin, in 1358, secured to the college the services of one who has ever maintained his department in the front rank, and who, in recent years, in the face of physical disability that might well have daunted any man, has continued those services which have gained constantly in value. The department of chemistry grew and prospered, at first under the care of Prof. William S. Clark, who gave up his position to accept the presidency of the Agricultural College, and later in charge of Prof. Elijah P. Harris, who, appointed to the professorship in 1868, has since maintained for the department a high standard of excel- lence. Benjamin K. Emerson, a graduate of the college in 1865. was elected by the trustees in 1872 to the professorship of geology and zoology. a position he still retains with honor to the institution. During the admin- istration of President Stearns the department of rhetoric was in charge of Rev. Thomas P. Field, Prof. James G. Vose and Prof. L. Clark Seelye. the latter at present president of Smith College. In 1858, Edward Tuckerman was appointed professor of botany, but devoted little time to the work of the class-room, occupying himself more particularly in the study of lichens, in which branch of botanical science he was recognized as high authority. Prior to the administration of President Stearns the college offered no optional studies. In 1859-60, elective studies in the several departments were offered to the senior class.
It was during President Stearns' term of office that the war for the preservation of the Union was fought. No truer patriot ever lived than William A. Stearns, and few were called upon to offer a more costly sacrifice upon the altar of patriotism. From the outbreak of the struggle until its glorious ending he took an active interest in the enlistment of recruits,
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527
AMHERST COLLEGE IN THE WAR.
presided at patriotic meetings, and, early in the conflict, gave to the Union cause a brave young life to be sacrificed at the battle of New Berne. When the first rebel gun was fired against Fort Sumter, Professor Clark gave up all thought of college duties to devote his attention to sterner problems on the field of battle. Three sons of Prof. Charles B. Adams were among those who enlisted in the Union armies. With such a president and such professors it is small wonder that Amherst College students were prompt to offer their services to their country. In 1860, the college catalog con- tained the names of 220 students ; during the war no less than 78 under- graduates of the college were enrolled in the Union armies. On the Sun- day following the fall of Fort Sumter, a form of enlistment was drawn up and signed by some 50 or 60 of the students, the list being headed by the name of Frazar A. Stearns, son of the president. Their services were not accepted at the time, but a system of military drill was adopted by the students under the direction of Luke Lyman of Northampton. afterwards colonel of the 27th Mass. regiment.
From the class of '62, 30 men enlisted for the war ; the classes of '61 and '63 each furnished 23 men ; 15 enlisted from the class of '64 and 21 from the class of '65. Of those enlisted from the class of '65, six died in the service, four from mortal wounds received on the field of battle. The classes of '63 and '64 lost each four men in the service. Of grad- uates of the college, 195 entered the service, of whom six had been tutors at the college. Of the 247 graduates and undergraduates, 95 enlisted as privates. Amherst College furnished to the service 35 chaplains and 30 surgeons. At the close of the war the list of college men included three brigadier-generals, nine colonels, twelve lieutenant-colonels, nine majors, 25 captains, 17 first lieutenants, 17 second lieutenants and many minor officers. Many of the undergraduates returned to college at the close of the war and completed their course. By vote of the trustees, the names of all undergraduates who died in the service were enrolled among the graduates in their respective classes. A fitting memorial to the fallen heroes of the war is found in the chime of bells in College church, pre- sented to the college by the late George Howe, Esq. of Boston, in special memory of his son, Sidney Walker Howe of the class of '59, who was killed at the battle of Williamsburg, May 5, 1862.
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