USA > Maine > Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume I > Part 32
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abled the army to occupy the long coveted Boydton plank road. For conspicuous gal- lantry in the action of this day General Cham- berlain received from President Lincoln the brevet of major-general. Suffering from ac- cumulation of wounds, he was suddenly sum- moned on the second day after, to take com- mand of our extreme left on the Boydton road, with two brigades and two batteries of artil- lery to repel an attack which was then begin- ning. Two divisions of his corps on his right were soon thrown back in great confusion from an advanced position they were endeav- oring to maintain against a vigorous assault of the enemy, and while General Chamberlain was rallying these troops and reforming them in the rear of his own, he was asked by the commanding general to throw forward his command and attempt to stem the torrent then sweeping the front, and if possible regain the field lost by the other two divisions. General Chamberlain assented, and while the engineers were trying to bridge the stream in our front. he and his men dashed through it in the very face of the enemy, and gaining a foothold on the opposite steeps, drove the rebels back to the field of the former struggle. While press- ing them back upon their works, General Chamberlain was ordered to halt and take the defensive as a matter of precaution. Seeing, however, that his men were much exposed, and that the enemy's strong position could be carried by a tactful maneuver, he solicited per- mission to make an assault, which he did with rapid and complete success, carrying the works, capturing a battle flag and many pris- oners, and effecting a lodgement on the White Oak road. At the battle of Five Forks on the following day, General Chamberlain had com- mand of two brigades on the extreme right- the wheeling flank. In the midst of the battle, when the rebels made a furious attempt to regain their works by a flank attack, putting in every man of his own command and a mass of skulkers and fugitives from other com- mands on a new direction to break the force of this onset, he led the charge, leaping his horse over the parapet, already wounded by a rifle ball. His command captured 1050 men, nineteen officers and five battle flags-one half the captures of the division. On the next day he was ordered to take the advance and strike the South Side railroad. Here he encountered Fitz Hugh Lee's division of cavalry, which he drove across the railroad, intercepting a train of cars from Petersburg with several military and civil officers, and routing the enemy from the position. In the subsequent
pursuit, General Chamberlain had the advance nearly all the time, capturing many prisoners and vast quantities of material. At Jeters- ville, on the Danville railroad, he went to the assistance of our cavalry which was severely attacked on a cross road. In the final action at Appomattox Court House, when, having marched all night, he came up with our cav- alry, which was heroically holding its ground against Stonewall Jackson's old corps of in- fantry, he double-quicked his men in to re- lieve the cavalry, and forming under General Sheridan's eye, pushed forward against the enemy. The other troops forming on his left, the foe was driven before them to the town, when the flag of truce came in and hostilities ceased. General Chamberlain was present at the conference preliminary to the surrender, and being assigned to his old command-the Third Brigade, First Division-was appointed by the commanding general to receive with his troops the formal surrender of the arms and colors of Lee's army, April 12, 1865. Im- mediately afterwards, assigned to the com- mand of division, General Chamberlain occu- pied a line twenty-five miles out from Peters- burg on the South Side railroad for some time. This division had the advance in the triumphal entry of the army into Richmond, as also the advance of the Army of the Po- tomac in the final review in Washington. When the army was broken up he received an assignment to another command intended to go to Mexico, but the active operations of the field now being over, he applied to be relieved from duty that he might have the surgical treatment which his wounds required, and was mustered out of service January 16, 1866.
In the arduous and trying campaigns through which he passed, General Chamber- lain made a record honorable to himself and to the state. During his period of service he commanded troops in twenty-four battles, eight reconnaissances, skirmishes without num- ber, and with advance and rear guards in con- tact with the enemy upwards of a dozen times. With his own command alone he fought sev- eral independent engagements, every one of which was successful against superior num- bers. His captures in battle number 2,700 prisoners and eight battle flags, no portion of which can be claimed by any other command. He was six times struck in action by shot and shell, three times narrowly escaping with his life. Immediately after the surrender of the rebel army, General Chamberlain was made the subject of special communication to head- quarters of the army by Major General Grif-
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fin, his corps commander, in which this officer urged General Chamberlain's promotion to the full rank of major-general, for distinguished and gallant conduct in the battles on the left, including the White Oak Road, Five Forks and Appomattox Court House, where, says General Griffin, "his bravery and efficiency were such as to entitle him to the highest commendation. In the last action, April 9, his command had the advance, and was driving the enemy rapidly before it, when the an- nouncement of General Lee's surrender was made." The recommendation was cordially approved by General Meade and General Grant, and forwarded to Washington for the action of the government, where assurances were given that the promotion should be made. General Chamberlain was rarely absent from field of duty. He had but four days' leave of absence. At all other times when not in the field, he had been either ordered away for treatment of wounds, or president of a court- martial by order of the War Department. But no part of his record reflects greater satisfac- tion than his relations with the men under his command. He made it a point of duty and of affection to take care of his men. He never ordered troops into positions that he had not first personally reconnoitered, and though his losses in killed and wounded have been severe, they were never made in retreating. The noble and faithful men entrusted to his care never in a single instance failed to execute his orders or to carry out what they deemed to be his wishes, although unexpressed. In all the various fortunes of the field he never left one of his wounded in the lines of the enemy nor one of his dead without fitting burial.
On returning to his native state and the paths of peace, General Chamberlain quietly resumed his professorship in Bowdoin Col- lege. He was not long allowed to remain there, however. In recognition of his dis- tinguished service and ability, he was elected governor of the state, by the largest majority ever given for that office. He was re-elected the three following years and left the guber- natorial office with an enviable record. His administration marked an epoch in the ma- terial advance of the state. Soon after leav- ing the office of governor in 1871, he was elected president of Bowdoin College and dis- charged the duties of that office for twelve years. He resigned in 1883, but continued his lectures on political economy until 1885. He was professor of mental and moral phi- losophy from 1874 to 1879. In 1876 he was
commissioned major-general of state militia, and was in command at the capitol during the political troubles in January, 1880, when his determined stand against minatory move- ments ended the opposition of a turbulent fac- tion which threatened civil war. In. 1878 he was appointed commissioner to the Universal Exposition at Paris, France. For his service here he received a medal of honor from the French government. In the following year the United States government published his report on the, Exposition, embracing the sub- ject of education in Europe. This received remarkable commendation from all quarters. In 1867 Governor Chamberlain received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Bowdoin College, having already received the same from Pennsylvania College in 1866. During the years 1884 and 1889 he was engaged in railroad construction and industrial enter- prises in Florida. In 1900 he was appointed by President Mckinley surveyor of the port of Portland, and has since filled that position. As a writer, lecturer and orator, Governor Chamberlain has no superior in the state. He has given numerous lectures and public ad- dresses, with a wide range of topics. In 1876 he delivered at the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia an elaborate public address en- titled "Maine; her place in History." On in- vitation this was repeated before the Legisla- ture of Maine in 1877, and afterward pub- lished by the state and given wide circulation. He wrote a remarkable series of papers on the Spanish war, and has since given valuable ad- dresses on historic places and events in Maine, and many tributes to historic personages, the last being one on Lincoln Memorial Day in Philadelphia, which is considered remarkable for its truthfulness and eloquence. He has held many offices of honor, among them that of president of the Webster Historical Society, vice-president of the American Huguenot So- ciety, president of the Society of the Army of the Potomac, commander of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and commander of the Grand Army of the Republic in the state of Maine. He is now president of the Chamberlain Association of America, and of the Maine Branch of the National Red Cross. He is also an active member of many literary and scientific so- cieties.
The home of General Chamberlain is in Brunswick and amidst the classic shadows of Bowdoin College. It is a historic spot, and was formerly known as the old Fales house built by Captain Pierce in 1820. By others it
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has been called the Longfellow house, as it was here that the poet brought his young bride in 1830, and for some time he made his home. Fales was the second owner of the place, and it was during his occupancy that the Long- fellow occupation occurred. At that time he was professor of modern languages in Bow- doin, and in after years he was often heard to say that those were the happiest years of his life. The property finally passed into the pos- session of Rev. Dr. Roswell D. Hitchcock, and was purchased from him by General Cham- berlain in 1861. At that time the present owner was the professor of modern languages in Bowdoin and his financial ability was by no means equal to his good name and high standing in the community as a man of honor. For this reason the president of the principal local bank came to him and assured him that he could have all the money he wanted, to conclude the purchase. In this manner the old house passed into the hands of the young college professor and has since been one of the most charming homes in Maine.
On returning to Brunswick after the civil war, with the stars of a major-general on his shoulders, and being soon governor, he found the old house would hardly. hold his visitors. It was enlarged by simply raising it and putting another story beneath it. Thus the original house remained intact, only it was one story higher, while the lower portion was built more up to date. It is now a very spa- cious mansion, containing no less than twenty full-sized rooms.
It is doubtful if there is another house in all Maine beneath whose roof so many dis- tinguished guests have been entertained. Gen- erals Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, McClellan, Porter, Warren, Ayers, Griffin and Howard have all partaken of its hospitality. Its walls have echoed the brilliant conversation of Sumner, Wilson, Schurtz, Evans, Fessenden, Bradbury, Morrill Frye, Hale and Blaine, and others famous in our national history. Hosts of literary men have been its guests. It was here that Longfellow came in 1875 when he delivered his famous "Morituri Salutamus," and while here he occupied the same rooms that had been his in earlier days. The old poet was affected to tears as the flood of tender recollections came sweeping over him. This home is filled with antique furni- ture, much of which is connected with prom- inent persons of the past, rare and valuable paintings and statuary, and relics of the civil war, far too numerous to be paticularized here. On the wall of his favorite office is a
tapestry picture of the General's old war horse, Charlemagne, that carried him through nearly all of his battles in the civil war. Three times he was shot down, but, like his master, rallied and went on. Once on a headlong charge a bullet aimed at close range square at the general's heart was caught by his horse's neck and then struck the General a glancing blow in the left breast, inflicting a severe wound, but leaving him his life. At the close of the war the horse was brought home to Brunswick, where for many years he was the playmate of the children and pet of the fam- ily. On his death the faithful animal was given an honorable burial at the General's sea- side cottage, "Domhegan," in Brunswick, and an inscription cut in the rock above his grave, which is kept with loyal care.
The library and study are two interesting rooms in the old mansion. Here are more than two thousand volumes of well chosen books, and by the cozy open fire the old war- rior reads and meditates. There are many valuable trophies of war in this room as well as objects of literary and historic interest. Connected is a small "den" containing more books, and on the wall hangs a rebel battle flag captured by General Chamberlain in a racing charge just before Appomattox. Just above this flag is a huge cavalry pistol with a history. In the famous charge on Little Round Top, General Chamberlain was met by a rebel officer with sword and pistol in hand. One barrel was discharged full at the Gen- eral's head. Although but ten feet away, the bullet missed its mark. The officer, who be- longed to the Fifteenth Alabama Regiment, then rushed at the Union leader with his sword. General Chamberlain met him, and, being the more expert swordsman, soon had him at his mercy. Seeing that the case was hopeless, the confederate officer surrendered both sword and pistol to Chamberlain and gave himself up as prisoner. Many other war relics are here. The cap and sword of Gen- eral Griffin, who commanded the Fifth Corps, are in this room. At the battle of Five Forks, General Griffin lost his sword, and General Chamberlain instantly rode to his side and offered him his, which was accepted and used during the remainder of the war. General Chamberlain quickly replaced his weapon by taking the sword of a fallen South Caro- lina officer, which he wore until the close of the war. Several years later General Chamberlain received his own sword and the division flag from the War Depart- ment at Washington. General Griffin's cap
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and the division bugle which had sounded all the battle calls of the war were sent at the same time to the Brunswick hero who had last commanded that splendid division.
In the main library the great flag of the division hangs from the ceiling, while on one wall is the last flag surrendered by Lee on the field of Appomattox. The personal flag of General Chamberlain, bearing the red maltese cross, is also here, dimmed by battle smoke and torn by shell and bullet. A precious me- mento is this, and even dearer to its owner than the bust of Grant, by Simmons, that stands close by. Over the fireplace in this library are the stars of the first flag of the old Twentieth Maine regiment, first commanded by General Ames and then by Chamberlain. Here, also, serving as a match box, is the base of a shell that burst at the General's feet in the battle of Gettysburg. It was a conical shell and it shows that when it exploded five pieces flew off into the faces of Chamber- lain's men. In an adjoining closet is the coat that General Chamberlain wore when he was shot through the body in front of Petersburg and promoted by Grant. Another coat bear- ing the stars of a general has the left breast and left sleeve torn and shredded by shot or shell at the battle on Quaker road in the final campaign of the war.
General Chamberlain married, in Bruns- wick, December 7, 1855, Frances Caroline Adams, who was born in Boston, Massachu- setts, August 12, 1826, and died in Bruns- wick, Maine, October 18, 1905. She was the daughter of Ashur Adams and Amelia Wyllys Adams, of Boston, and was a lineal descen- dant of Mabel Harlakenden, the "Princess of New England." The children of this mar- riage are Grace Dupee and Harold Wyllys. Grace Dupee was born in Brunswick, October 16, 1856, and married April 28, 1881, Horace Gwynne Allen, who is a distinguished lawyer in Boston. The children are :
I. Eleanor Wyllys, born in Boston, Decem- ber 13, 1893; Beatrice Lawrence, January 24. 1896; and Rosamund, December 25, 1898. 2. Harold Wyllys Chamberlain, born in Bruns- wick, October 10, 1858, and graduated at Bow- doin College in 1881 : studied law in Boston University, and successfully practiced in Flor- ida for four years.
He has since interested himself in elec- trical engineering and has invented val- uable improvements in that line, which he is now applying in practical work in the city of Portland.
When our heathen ancestors JENNINGS adopted the christian faith they assumed christian names as evidences of their conversion. On account of the prominence in the carly church of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, the nanie Johanan or Johannes, afterward shortened to lan, lohn, or John, became a favorite. When the Saxon suffix ing, signify- ing son, was added, it gave the patronymic Ianing, or Janing, that is, John's son, which finally became' Jennings, which form has pre- vailed for many centuries, though its orthog- raphy shows more than thirty variations in the early records of Massachusetts. The men of this race have usually been tall, strong, hardy and energetic, have taken an active part in the wars of New England and the Republic, and have been successfully engaged in many of the pursuits of peace. Fifty-five were patriot soldiers in the revolutionary war from Massa- chusetts. One of the first two Englishmen who ever descended Lake Champlain was a Jennings. A colonial governor of New Jer- sey, the first governor of Indiana, a governor of Florida, and other men of prominence have borne this patronymic. Several of the name settled in Massachusetts in very early times; but who was the immigrant ancestor of this family, or when or where he settled in New England, is not within the knowledge of the present generation. Freeman, the historian of Cape Cod, says: "It is impossible after much investigation, to give so satisfactory account as we would wish, of the Jennings family." Their earliest history probably perished with the early town records which contained it. Freeman adds: "The Jennings family, long time prominent and highly respectable in this town (Sandwich) have become extinct here; but lands are still called after their name."
(I) John Jennings, the first of the family of whom there is authentic information, was living at Sandwich in 1667, and died there June 18, 1722, "at an advanced age." On "23, 2 month, 1675," John Jennings was among the sixty-nine residents of Sandwich" who were able to make it appear that they had just rights and title to the privileges of the town." July 4, 1678, the name of John Jen- nings was not on "the list of those who have taken the oath of fidelity." August 18, 1681, the town voted John Jennings and two others "All the bog meadow, leaving out the springs for the neighborhood," near Dexter's Island. June 25, 1702, the name of John Jennings ap- pears on the "record of inliabitants of the town
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of Sandwich entitled to their share in the divi- sion of lands as per vote of March 24, 1702." July 16, 1708, John Jennings, cordwainer, was appointed administrator "on all and singular the goods and chattels, rights and credits of John Jennings your son some time of Sand- wich aforesaid, mariner, who it is said died intestate." This John, born "3, 12, 1673," is said to have been a captain in the English merchant service, and to have died in foreign parts. May 15, 1690, John Jennings and Sam- uel Prince were elected constables. The con- stable at that time was a person of some im- portance, as he was the town's financial rep- resentative, being tax collector and treasurer. John Jennings held various minor town offices and seems to have been occasionally paid money by the town for various services. The fact that John Jennings was a witness to the wills of two Quakers, Lydia Gaunt, 1691, and Isaac Gaunt, 1698, and the further fact that the inventory of his estate shows that he had at the time of his death "Quakers' books as we suppose may be valued by that people two pounds," make it seem that he was undoubt- edly one of those just men whose influence prevented any harm ever coming to the Quakers of "the Cape," though they were cruelly persecuted in some other parts of New England. John Jennings died intestate and his son Isaac administered his estate, the inven- tory of which amounted to forty-five pounds fifteen shillings six pence. He seems to have been an honest and honorable man who minded his own business and was sometimes called in to help other people with theirs. John Jen- nings married (first) June 29, 1667, Susanna ; (second) Ruhamah ; the surname of neither be- ing now known. His children by Susanna were: Remember (or Remembrance) and Ann; and by Ruhamah: John, Isaac, Eliza- beth (died young), Elizabeth and Samuel. These children, as shown by the Sandwich records, were born between September 17, 1668, and February 28, 1685.
(II) Samuel, youngest child of John and Ruhamah Jennings, was born in Sandwich, February 19, 1684-85 (O. S.), and died there May 13, 1764, in the eightieth year of his age. He was impressed into the British navy, and in escaping from it had the adventure which he narrates in a letter to his pastor, Rev. Dr. Stillman, which was printed and published with the following "Advertisement": "The writer of the following Letter was a person of good understanding, of great sobriety and uprightness, and sustained a very fair charac- ter to his death, which was in the year seven-
teen hundred and sixty-four, in advanced age. He bore on his body the marks of the terrible assault herein related ; the particulars of which he often repeated, and the following letter was found among his papers and is published by his son to perpetuate a remembrance of this signal Providence." The letter is as follows : "Honored Sir : According to your request, when I was at your house above a year ago, I have now taken in hand to give you an ac- count of that disaster which befel me in the West Indies, which was after the following manner. It was in the year 1703, I think in the month of October, that I was impressed on board a frigate, in Carlisle Bay, called the Milford, which was a station ship for the Is- land of Barbados; and after about four or five months continuance on board said ship, I became exceedingly restless about my way of living ; and I shall give you some of the rea- sons that made me so. And first, I observed that many times when men were sick of fevers and other distempers, they were beaten to work, when men that were drunk were easily excused, though they were commonly a third of our number when there was work to do. And one time, being sick myself of a fever so that my legs would scarce carry me without help of my hands, I was commanded up to work; I told the officer I was sick and could not work; he said I lied, and thereupon drove me, with several others in the same condition, upon deck (some of whom died the next day), then I went to the captain and told him that I, with some others, were beaten to work, though we were sick and not able to work: He said we were rascals, and the doctor said we were not sick; whereupon we were forced to stay on deck some time, and had now and then a blow, but did not and could not work. Sec- ondly, I observed that industry and idleness were equally rewarded with blows; for they would begin at one end of a parcel of men pulling at a rope, and whip till they came to the other end, without minding who pulls and who does not. And thirdly, I found that my continuance in such a wicked family had brought me to smack of their familiar sin, viz., swearing, though I was but very awkward at it, and my conscience would always menace me for it. And I found also that the desire of strong drink had gained somewhat upon me, though I was not drunk with it at all, and had totally left the use of strong drink before I left the ship. Now the consideration of these and some other difficulties which I found in this place I lay obnoxious to, made me un- dertake that dangerous way of escape by
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