USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Warwick > Warwick, Massachusetts; biography of a town, 1763-1963 > Part 13
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Thus lady fortune frowned on Warwick and bestowed her favors on its neighbors, Orange and Northfield. Denial of this
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means of transportation was held an added blow and the de- crease in the town's population was accelerated. The railroad soon brought to an end the stagecoach lines that had run through Warwick from Brattleboro to Worcester. As towns located on this now all-important mode of transportation began to flourish, Warwick soon found it could not compete with them. Its indus- tries began to leave and its prosperous days were a thing of the past.
In 1845 Cobb had listed the industries then operating. Three shops manufactured chairs, those of Isaac Baker, Russell Brown and William Kilburne. Two years earlier a large chair shop owned by Atwood and Childs in the north end of the town at the corner of the old Winchester and Robbins roads had been completely destroyed by fire. Cobb writes that 1500 chairs besides stock and machinery were consumed, which shows the size of the industry. Alexander Blake made pails, Melzar Wil- liams wove and dyed cloth. Reuben Fisher manufactured glue. Asa Wheeler made axes and tools. There were four blacksmith shops and one wheelwright shop. Four tanneries owned by Wil- liam Russell, Calvin Delvee, Charles Stevens and Nathaniel E. Stevens cured the hides of animals. Two grist mills, one owned by Josiah Conant and the other by Amory and Jonathan Gale, ground the town's grain. Nine sawmills continued to consume the forests and disgorge lumber, shingles, clapboards, chair and pail stock. Three cabinet shops turned out a variety of articles. Five men were listed as making shoes in home workshops. There were numerous skilled carpenters and journeymen.
The town now boasted three churches, three stores, a tailor and two milliners and dressmakers. Doctor Amos Taylor was the sole resident physician, having served this vital need for about 30 years and to continue until 1865.
The next few years was to see a drastic change. Melzar Wil- liams closed his clothing shop and dye house in 1847 after 25 years of operation. He then bought the Warwick Inn only to sell it a few months later at a loss.
Reuben Fisher had built his glue shop about 1831 on the Athol road just west of the present Newcomb house. He also
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bought the Samuel Moore sawmill site and water privileges on the Northfield road in 1841. He built a new mill and installed a rotary machine for the manufacture of shingles. William Bass worked for Fisher and later acquired the mill. Fisher also started a shoe shop. Shortly after 1855 he closed down his glue shop and moved to Brattleboro, opening a glue shop there. The glue fac- tory in Warwick was to continue operations on occasions until about 1875. The shingle mill of Calvin Delvee on Grace Brook north of Tannery Hill was destroyed by fire in 1848 and was not rebuilt. Apparently he gave up his tannery business about the same time. The Russell tannery on the Winchester road shut down about 1855, and by 1860 Nathaniel E. Stevens owned the remaining two. He soon shut down one and operated the other on Grace Brook until about 1875.
Alexander Blake, brother of Jonathan, had a sawmill with what is known as an up-and-down saw as early as 1825. It was located on Moss Brook, north of the junction of the Quarry and Flagg roads. This mill cut and sawed the wide boards that are in the backs of the pews in the Unitarian church. He manu- factured pails and a variety of articles such as broom and hoe handles. He lost his son Warren in the war, and in 1870 Albee and Burt bought out the business.
The three chair shops in existence in 1845 soon gave up the struggle. Isaac Baker, located at the south end of what is now Wheeler's Pond, failed that year. Ephraim Lake took possession of the shop and began to manufacture brushes. James S. Wheeler and Damon Cheney took over the business before 1850. Wheeler was sole owner in 1870, then his son followed and continued the business until 1872. The business prospered and grew until the entire area acquired the name "Brush Valley." The chair shops of Brown and Kilburne were not operating in 1850.
A most illuminating note in Cobb's diary in 1852 reveals the change made by the failure to be located on the railroad. Five years before, the tavern had been sold to a company of five War- wick men for $1500. Now business had fallen to such a degree that they were willing to sell it to Lemuel Scott for $800.
This was one of the last items in William Cobb's diaries. The
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old gentleman, now 83 years of age, had maintained an active interest in town affairs to the end. Plagued by family troubles, financial reverses and the infirmities of old age, he put down his now trembling pen and was laid to rest in 1853. We are grateful for his comments which add so much color to this picture of the first half century of Warwick life in its better years.
Interest in the two militia companies had declined with the decreasing population. In 1852 some 50 men petitioned the state for approval to form a single company to be known as the Warwick Light Infantry. A charter was granted for a period of five years allowing them such recompense as other militia com- panies received upon performing the duties required by state law.
The company, under the leadership of captains James Stock- well, Edward Mayo and Henry Mallard, was active from 1852 to 1857, but its charter was not reissued and all militia activity ceased. Henry Mallard, the last captain of the militia company was a selectman and prominent citizen. Lemuel Scott had ac- quired the tavern in 1853 where he and Mallard opened a store, Scott succeeding Cobb as postmaster. Both Mallard and Scott were in the prime of life, and when both fell victims of typhoid fever within three days of each other in 1858 the town was deeply shocked. The death of these popular men was mourned by everyone.
The support of the town's paupers had become an increasingly heavy burden. We note that in 1853 the town appropriated $1500 for this purpose while only $700 was raised for schools. The practice of placing these unfortunate people in the care of persons who bid to support them for the lowest amount had been followed for many years. Despite the belief that this was the cheapest solution to this problem it had not proved to be so. Gradually many became convinced that it would be better to place these unfortunates together in one place where they could receive better care and contribute partially to their own support.
After several earlier attempts had failed, the town voted to authorize the selectmen, Ibri Baker, Clark Stearns and Henry Mallard, to investigate possible farms to be used for this purpose.
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Five farms were examined, the cost studied and the report stated that it was the belief of the selectmen that $300 a year could be saved in the cost of supporting the poor if either of two farms was purchased. Edward F. Mayo, James Stockwell, Sylvanus Atwood and Hervey Barber were added to the selectmen to investigate several other farms offered, of which they were author- ized to purchase one.
As a result the Asa Bancroft farm (now the Anderson Farm) on the Winchester road just south of the state line was bought in 1856 for $2700. Tools, stock and furniture were bought. A man and wife were hired for $175 a year to manage the farm and care for the inmates under the supervision of the Overseer of the Poor.
Thus the almshouse or "Poor Farm" began an existence that was to last until 1906. On the whole it was successful, cutting the cost of supporting the poor nearly half. It provided a com- fortable home for the aged, and the products of the farm mate- rially aided in providing food.
The same year of 1856 the inhabitants of the center school district built a two room schoolhouse on the common land where the second church had once stood. During the war Colonel Will- iam McKim, the husband of Marie Antoinette Wheelock, pre- sented the school with a bell. It had been captured in the South where it had been destined to conversion into war material for the Confederate Army. Sent North and hung in the schoolhouse cupola, it summoned the children to school and sent them joy- ously home until the building burned in 1929.
The year 1856 is known for the small-pox epidemic that claimed victims in many of the towns of this area. A prominent citizen, Deacon Sylvanus Ward, his wife and daughter died within a few days from this disease and were buried in what is still known as the small-pox cemetery on their home farm on Hastings Heights now owned by Glenn Matthews.
During the previous 15 years Warwick had seen many changes take place due to the coming of the railroad age. But with the establishment of the new boot factory better times seemed to be promised.
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Few realized that the development of the steam engine was to make such a drastic change in the speed of transportation. The day of the sailing vessel and the horse drawn stagecoach was past. And with this change life as it had been lived for centuries was to change tremendously.
Agriculture was the chief occupation of the country towns. Local industries were mainly a seasonal affair when labor could be spared from the farm. The principal concerns of the people were the everyday problems. The town was divided by the per- petual disputes over local politics, public affairs, town meetings, temperance, anti-slavery agitation and the everlasting little law- suits in which young lawyers pleaded eloquently at length before the village "squires." Life in the old town was cheerful. There was always on hand an ample supply of village wit and always "characters" to keep the town in an uproar. There was much rough and tumble entertainment and the village store, the black- smith shop and the tavern provided a theatre where concerts, storytelling, discussions and gossip were always at hand.
Few foresaw the war clouds gathering on the horizon; a war that was to shake the nation to its foundations and from which a united nation was to emerge, destined to lead the world.
11 REBELLION YEARS, 1861-1865
WE FIND NO EVIDENCE that Warwick was especially concerned with the national issues that were gradually bringing a rift between the northern and southern states. Occasionally orators would visit the town and deliver speeches on the evils of slavery, but the people were too immersed in the problems of everyday affairs to become agitated about events far removed. No militia company had existed in the town for several years and apparently military spirit was at a low ebb.
Nevertheless this seemingly dormant spirit of patriotism became as intense as in the days of 1776. With the fall of Fort Sumter and the President's call for volunteers it would seem that the town awoke to the realization of the crisis facing the nation. Volunteer
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regiments were being recruited in many sections of the state, and the recruiting officers found Warwick a fertile field for their endeavours.
Three days after the surrender of Fort Sumter on April 13, 1861 William Lawrence enlisted in the 5th Mass. Volunteer Militia. Promoted to Color Sergeant and assigned the honor of carrying his country's flag, he wrote home to Warwick these words: "One thing is certain; the colors of the regiment will be in their place as long as the bearer lives." On July 21 near a little stream in Virginia called Bull Run William Lawrence became the first boy from Warwick to die for the flag he carried. Another Warwick man, George Spencer, had laid aside his black- smith tools and was engaged in the same battle, with the 11th Regiment.
Alexander Cooper, Artemus Ward and James H. Fuller took part in the disaster at Balls Bluff, Virginia, Oct. 20, 1861, as members of the 15th Mass. Regiment. Cooper had a most inter- esting life and an outstanding war record. An Englishman, he had come to Warwick to work in the tannery as a currier of hides. He married a local girl and they had several children. Now 36 years of age, he left his family to fight for his adopted country. He was discharged from the 15th Regiment for dis- ability May 12, 1862 and returned home to reenlist with 12 other Warwick men in the 36th Regiment as orderly sergeant. He was dicharged October 12, 1864 as the result of wounds received in action. After the close of the war he volunteered with a group of veterans to assist in erecting the soldiers' monu- ment to honor their dead comrades. While lifting the heavy stone the derrick broke, and the stone in falling killed Cooper. The incident is inscribed on the base of the monument.
Doubtless the heroic death of Lawrence, the actions of these men, and the disastrous rout of the Union forces spurred War- wick's men to rush to their country's aid. From a study of the military records we find that in the fall of 1861 many enlisted in several regiments, usually in groups to serve in the same com- pany.
Frederick A. Williams enlisted in the 13th Mass. Regiment on July 16, 1861. He was killed at the second battle of Bull Run.
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In September Francis L. Fuller, George E. Cook, Charles A. Jones, Francis L. Moore, Lyman D. Mason, George R. Sever- ance and Lewis P. Atwood joined the 21st Mass. Regiment in Company A. The regiment served almost all of its time under General Burnside. First in the expedition to North Carolina, then in the Army of the Potomac, it was heavily engaged at Chantilly, Antietam and Fredericksburg. In 1863 it went with Burnside to Kentucky and Knoxville, Tennessee. In 1865 it was part of his 9th Corps from the Wilderness to Petersburg.
James Delvee, Henry H. Manning, Rufus L. Jennings, Monroe L. B. Partridge and Royal Stimpson joined Company G of the 24th Mass. Regiment October 1, 1861. This regiment served in North and South Carolina and Florida during 1862 and 1863. In May, 1864 it was ordered north to Virginia. Under General Butler it was heavily engaged in the battles of Drurys Bluff and Deep Bottom. It spent the winter in front of Petersburg and entered Richmond on April 8, 1865.
Corporal Henry Manning underwent almost unbearable ad- ventures which are told in the regimental history, and later published as a book by the regimental chaplain entitled "The Captured Scout." Manning volunteered to enter the Confederate lines before Petersburg and scout the strength of General Beaure- gard's army. The Confederate forces were then weak, and Butler should have had no difficulty in capturing the city. But Manning was captured and Petersburg, then heavily reinforced, was not to fall until ten months later at the cost of thousands of lives. Manning escaped execution as a spy and eventually was sent to Andersonville prison. Several attempts at escape failing, in des- peration he joined the Confederate army in the hope of being able to desert to the Union army. He surrendered at the first opportunity and was sent to a northern prison where he finally made contact with his old regiment. He rejoined his regiment and was promoted for bravery but, his health ruined because of his hardships, he was discharged. After the war he studied for the ministry until his health again failed and he died September 4, 1868.
Henry H. Cook and Dwight S. Jennings joined the 1st Mass.
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Cavalry band as musicians and were discharged when the band was dispensed with after one year's service.
Nathaniel H. Pond and Alphonso B. Rayner enlisted in the 25th Regiment, Company I, and Jairus Hammond in the 26th Regiment. The 27th Regiment, Company B, included six men from Warwick: Miles S. Cushing, Joseph Drake, Leander S. Jillson, Harwood L. Proctor, Dwight H. Stone and George D. Townsend. All of these regiments were mustered in the fall of 1861 for three years of service. The 25th and 27th regiments served in the same area during most of the war, first in the Carolinas and later, in 1864, they were with Butler's army in the vicinity of Petersburg where they suffered heavy losses.
Benjamin F. Hastings, 30th Regiment, Company E, and Will- ard Packard in the 31st Regiment, Company B, enlisted in 1861 and both were to die of disease on board transports the following year.
The 32nd Regiment, also raised in 1861, included three men from Warwick: Alonzo Scott, Theodore C. Putnam and Henry Witherell. They were in the desperate assault on Mary's Heights at Fredericksburg, and fought stubbornly in the Devil's Den at Gettysburg. The regiment suffered severe casualties at Spotsyl- vania, Bethesda Church, Cold Harbor and Petersburg in 1864, but the survivors were present to accept the arms and colors of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox April 9, 1865.
Four men and a 16-year-old boy, William Dugan, residing in the northern end of Warwick and thus, having more intimate contact with Winchester, preferred to enlist with their friends in the 5th New Hampshire Regiment. Joseph M. Adams, Amory S. Gould, Charles B. Lawrence (whose brother William had been killed at Bull Run) and Oren B. Curtis all joined Company F.
Under the leadership of an aggressive Colonel, Edward E. Cross, who was distinguished for his red beard and hair, the regiment soon won the name "The Fighting 5th." Always in the forefront in battle, it suffered heavy casualties at Fair Oaks, Glendale and Malvern Hill in May of 1862. Attached to the Army of the Potomac, it performed gallantly at Antietam and in the futile assault on Mary's Heights at Fredericksburg. It was
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heavily engaged at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Cold Harbor and Petersburg. One hundred and seventy five men of its original enrollment were killed.
On July 28, 1862 the town voted to give a bounty of $100 to the first 13 volunteers to enlist in the regiments then authorized by the state for three years' service. A month later a similar bounty was voted to be given those enlisting in the regiments raised for nine months' duty.
In midsummer of 1862 two regiments, the 34th and 36th, were recruited in the western counties of the state. Andrew J. Curtis, Albert L. Hunt, Joseph W. Sawyer, Royal Stimpson and Seth A. Woodward joined the 34th. The major part of their service was in the Shenandoah Valley under Generals Sigel, Hunter and Sheridan.
George S. Jones was the only Warwick man in the 35th regi- ment recruited in the eastern end of the state. This regiment was associated closely with the 36th regiment in its service.
The 36th Regiment had the largest contingent of Warwick men within its ranks, 13 in all. In Company G were Jesse F. Bridges, George B. Cobb, Alexander Cooper, John Farnsworth, Ebenezer Goodwin, Alfred E. Houghton, Lafayette Nelson, Amos A. Taylor, Sylvester T. Underwood and Joseph A. Williams; Co. D, Franklin Pierce; Co. H, Elliot D. Stone; Co. K, Joseph E. Putnam.
From October, 1862 to March, 1863, the regiment cam- paigned in Virginia but saw little serious fighting. It was then sent to join Grant's army engaged in the siege of Vicksburg, and attached to Sherman's corps. This corps' assignment was to pro- tect Grant's rear and prevent the Confederate army under Gen- eral Johnston from relieving General Pemberton, besieged in Vicksburg. After the fall of Vicksburg Sherman defeated Johns- ton at Jackson, Mississippi, July 16, 1863.
The regiment then marched north to Kentucky. There were few casualties from battle but the regiment suffered severely from long marches in extremely hot wet weather. When they reached their camp at Crab Orchard, Kentucky, there were only 68 men fit for duty out of 1040 mustered a year previously.
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The regiment then joined the Army of the Ohio under Gen- eral Burnside and with him were besieged in Knoxville, Tennes- see, from November 17 to December 4, 1863. Rescued by General Sherman, they remained in Tennessee until ordered east to join the Army of the Potomac in March, 1864.
With Grant they crossed the Rapidan River on May 4 as part of the 9th corps under General Burnside. Severe casualties were suffered in the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Be- thesda Church, Cold Harbor and the siege of Petersburg.
Following the surrender the regiment took part in the grand review parade in Washington and was mustered out on June 8, 1865.
On October 18, 1862 the 53rd Regiment was mustered for a period of nine months' service. Ten men and boys from War- wick all joined Company H: Sergeant Henry H. Jillson, Corporal William H. Mason, Warren H. Blake, John B. Caldwell, James M. Chapin, Edward N. Coller, Peter Dyer, Charles W. Higgins, Henry W. Kidder and Jacob S. Rayner. Three of these boys were only 18 years old and three more were 19.
The regiment was sent to the lower Mississippi River valley and was engaged in only one battle, the assault on Port Hudson. Rayner died as the result of a wound in this fight and the diseases prevalent in the area caused the death of Blake, Caldwell, Chapin and Coller. The remainder returned home sick at heart.
We have tried to record briefly the service rendered by men and boys who joined the army in groups in answer to their country's call. This has been done in the hope that some knowl- edge of the sacrifices they made will help us to remember them with gratitude and honor. Our limited pages prevent us from a description of the service rendered by those who enlisted singly in other units. We give only the names and the organizations to which they belonged, knowing a complete record can be obtained from published official records: George Adams, 11th Regt., Hen- ry S. Butler, 3rd N. H. Regt., R. Harding Barber, 53rd Regt., Edward S. Davis, 39th Regt., Joseph W. Ellis, 3rd N. Y. Cavalry, George N. Jennings, 3rd Heavy Art., Benjamin Hast- ings, 30th Regt., Sumner Lincoln, 6th Vermont Regt., George
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W. Mason, 40th N. Y. Regt., Charles E. Randall, 6th N. H. Regt., Simond P. Shepardson, Jr., 61st Regt., Levi E. Switzer, 6th Mass. Battery and William Weeks, 3rd. N. H. Regt.
The town clerk's register of soldiers adds the names of 12 more men who received a bounty of $450 each to act as substitutes for men who were drafted. The men drafted paid $300 and the town paid the remainder in order to fill its quota. None of the men secured in this way were residents of Warwick and their names are not included in the foregoing lists.
After a careful search of all available official records we find that Warwick can justly claim to have furnished 99 men, includ- ing substitutes, as their contribution to the war.
Of the 79 men claimed by Warwick as actual residents, 27 men gave their lives in defense of their country. Their names are inscribed on the tall granite monument erected by the town in the center of the cemetery in 1866. We give the names as they are recorded :
William H. Lawrence
Franklin Pierce
Francis L. Moore
John B. Caldwell
Levi E. Switzer
Warren H. Blake
Frederick Williams
Joseph W. Sawyer
Willard Packard
Alexander Cooper
LaFayette Nelson
Leander S. Jillson
Edward N. Coller
M. Stanley Cushing
Seth Woodward
Monroe L. B. Partridge
Henry H. Manning
Joseph Drake Edward S. Davis
James D. Delvee
Charles Jones
James M. Chapin
Jas. Henry Fuller
Benjamin Hastings
Jacob S. Rayner, Jr. S. P. Shepardson, Jr.
Joseph W. Ellis
Surely the sacrifice made by these men places the town of War- wick high on the honor roll of towns and cities who paid a heavy price to preserve the Union.
The war dragged on and the casualty lists began to arrive back home with the names of the dead and wounded; next let-
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ters, describing the hardships endured and the inept military leadership that discouraged the common soldier. The war that began with fiery patriotic speeches, uniforms and bands and the cry "On to Richmond" had lost its glamor. Soon it became a deadly serious business and many, sick at heart, wanted to see any end to the sad affair. Peace at any price !
But the war must go on and the ranks must be filled, so, first bounties were offered to secure enlistments, and then when that failed in some states a draft was ordered.
Despite the fact that the town had seen its population steadily decreasing for the past 30 years due to the loss of industries and emigration to the west, it supported the prosecution of the war with true patriotic feeling. The assessors' valuation records show a decrease in population from 932 in 1860 to 909 in 1865. But what is truly astonishing is the decrease in the valuation of pro- perty from $342, 556 in 1860 to $220, 657 in 1865. Nevertheless they repeatedly voted to give bounties approved by the state to secure volunteers for the army. As a result of the war the town was to fall heavily in debt, a debt that was not to be paid entirely for about 20 years.
On April 1, 1864 the town "voted to raise $1500 for bounties for soldiers who have or shall volunteer in the town's quota, also to authorize the Selectmen to cause the quota of the town to be filled with volunteers in advance of any draft."
Town clerk Edward F. Mayo gave the above figures to be found in Adjutant General Schouler's History of Massachusetts in the Civil War, Vol. II, and adds that Warwick furnished 99 men for the army which was nine men over and above all demands made by the state.
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