USA > New Hampshire > A history of the Eleventh New Hampshire Regiment, Volunteer Infantry in the rebellion war, 1861-1865, pt 1 > Part 18
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There was very little straggling by the men. and at last we found ourselves in the land of plenty, though in rather poor condition. Our loss in battle or skirmish during our stay in East Tennessee had been very small indeed, considering the amount of exposure to the enemy's fire ; but exposure otherwise had ruined the constitutions of many of our brave comrades, who were left in the general hospitals as we journeyed through the cities to our destination, and who, while the spring flowers were yet blooming, were quietly resting in their soldier graves.
BIOGRAPHIC SKETCHES.
CHAPLAINS.
One of the most useful men in the service was the regimental chaplain. Chaplains who performed duty in both the regiment and hospital rendered much service,
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. FRANK K. STRATTON.
for which in reality they received but few thanks; and yet how much they did towards making the army effect- ive ! Faithful, as they had opportunity. to the men of the regiment to which they were assigned, filling the position of postmaster, aid-de-camp, commissary, or quartermaster, present upon the field of battle to assist in caring for the wounded, laboring in the hospitals by night and by day, writing messages from the dying sol- dier to the loved ones at home who would never clasp his warm hand again, assisting in burying the dead, remain- ing often upon the field of battle, after the carnage had ceased, to assist the wounded and dying, and often taken prisoner while doing such duty and languishing for months in a rebel prison .- doing all this as an officer with no rank, his status in the army never yet defined, with no authority save that which arises from a personal respect for them : yet how much good they accomplished in a quiet, unostentatious manner, reaping their reward largely in the consciousness of having been faithful to all the trusts committed to them. The chaplains of the Eleventh were conspicuous examples.
Rev. FRANK K. STRATTON was born in Albion, Me., educated at Tilton Seminary and Boston University. At the time of his appointment as chaplain of the Eleventh New Hampshire Regiment he was residing in Hampton. He began to lose his health on the march from Pleas- ant Valley to Fredericksburg. After the battle of Fred- ericksburg he obtained a furlough for thirty days, which was extended, and he returned to the regiment as it was on the eve of departure from Newport News, Va., for Kentucky. Being unable to do much duty with the regiment, because of continued illness, he resigned May 5, 1863, and was honorably discharged from the ser-
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ELEVENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE.
vice for disability, returning to his home at Kittery, Me. Since leaving the service he has been assigned as a preacher at Great Falls and Rochester, N. H., Melrose, Boston, Springfield, and Chelsea, Mass., and Norwich, Ct. ; and was, at last information, in Saugus, Mass.
Rev. EDWARD T. LYFORD was born in St. Albans, Somerset county, Me., May 6. IS37. His parents both being dead, he was left at fifteen years of age to take care of himself. At the age of seventeen he commenced learning the trade of a carpenter in Lowell, Mass., and at twenty began a course, of study preparatory to enter- ing the ministry. He attended school at New London academy, and completed his studies at Madison Univer- sity, Hamilton. N. Y. He was ordained pastor of the Baptist church in Deerfield. May 6, 1862, where he remained until he was commissioned chaplain of the Eleventh Regiment, August 30, 1863. He joined the regiment at Crab Orchard, Ky., September 14, 1863, remained with it until the close of the war, and was discharged June 5, 1865. After his discharge from the service he again engaged in the work of the ministry, and August 1, 1865, he became pastor of the Baptist church in Seabrook, where he remained two years and a half. He then became pastor of the church in Row- ley, Mass., where he preached two years, when, from ill health, he became unable to labor. In 1870 he was elected a member of the legislature from Rowley, and in May, 1874, having in a measure regained his health, he assumed the pastorate of the Baptist church at George- town, Mass. Here he remained four years. In May, 1879, he became pastor of the church in Billerica, Mass. He preached there until 1883. when he became pastor of the church at Goffstown Centre, where he still resides, though able to preach but very little since ISS6. At
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EDWARD T. LYFORD.
that time he was elected a representative to the legis- lature from Goffstown, a position which he filled with much honor to himself and credit to his constituents. I quote his words :
" My first experience in the army was in the East Tennessee campaign, and all the scenes we there passed through made a deep and lasting impression on my mind. It was at Knoxville that I first saw a man killed, and I can recall very distinctly the feelings I had as I looked upon his lifeless form. When we first com- menced intrenching at Knoxville I did not feel satisfied to stand by and look on, so I took a pick and worked with the boys throwing up breastworks, and thus gained a little experience in the life of a soldier. I was never entrusted with a command but once while in the service. It was during the siege of Knoxville. Every officer in the regiment had been on duty night and day for several days, and was quite worn out, and to give them an opportunity to get a little of the much needed sleep. I volunteered to go on duty two reliefs, from six o'clock at night until twelve, -- so that for six hours I had command at the breastworks in front of the regiment; and it was just after I was relieved that the movement commenced that ended in the assault upon Fort Sanders.
"In my experience as army chaplain I met with many sad scenes and some amusing incidents. While engaged in active campaign it was seldom that I found an oppor- tunity to have any religious service with the regiment ; hence, when an opportunity occurred, I tried to improve it promptly. On our march toward the Wilderness we reached Bristoe Station, I think, on Saturday night. On Sunday morning I thought it a good opportunity to have a service with the regiment. and accordingly the church call was beat, and a goodly number came to- gether for worship. I had read the Scriptures and
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offered prayer, when, without any premonition. there was a volley, and a shower of bullets came over our heads : my audience immediately vanished, and my ser- vice was thus abruptly terminated. A new regiment had been relieved from picket duty, and were ordered to discharge their pieces into a certain hill, but instead of firing into the hill they fired over it into our camp.
" The saddest part of my experience was while on duty at the field hospital. where I was compelled to witness the intense sufferings of the wounded, and where I had to minister to the dying. At Spottsylvania, on the 12th of May, 1864, our division hospital and that of the Third Division were located at the same place and near together. At the close of the engagement that night we had 1,300 wounded men to care for, and the scene was beyond description. The dead and dying were on every hand, and work as diligently as we could, it was impossible to care for all as they deserved."
Until the end of the war Chaplain Lyford was ever found at his post of duty, faithful. true, and brave, doing all in his power to promote the efficiency of the reg- iment, and caring for the needs of the men. all of whom held him in high esteem.
The mail service of the regiment was most faithfully performed while under his care.
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CAPT. GEORGE N. SHEPARD.1
George N. Shepard was born in Epping, August 14, 1824, upon a farm still owned. but not occupied, by him, having been in the family for four successive generations, it having formerly been owned by .Asa Harriman, from
1 This sketch was received too late for insertion in regular line, so is placed herc.
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GEORGE N. SHEPARD.
whom Colonel Walter Harriman, of the Eleventh Regi- ment, was the fifth generation in the line of descent. Captain Shepard received his education in the schools of Epping. and in Franklin academy at Dover and Hampton academy at Hampton. Was a teacher several years in his native town, in Manchester, and in Wisconsin ; then resumed farming, in connection with land surveying.
In August, 1862, he assisted in raising a company for the Eleventh Regiment, of which company he was com- missioned first lieutenant September 4, 1862. Captain Bacon having been detailed June 8, 1863, as judge- advocate upon the staff of General Sturgis, division commander, Lieutenant Shepard remained in command of Company A until May 30, 1864, when he was mus- tered as captain of Company I, which company he com- manded until the war closed. when he was mustered out with the regiment June 4, 1865.
At the battle of Pegram farm, September 30, 1864, all of the officers of the regiment outranking him being disabled, he assumed command of the regiment, and by order of General Griffin. commanding the brigade, was in command most of the time until relieved by Colonel Harriman, November 29. 1864. Captain Shepard was wounded at Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, on the left side. by a spent musket ball, but was able to take command of his company (A), Captain Bacon being wounded. He was again wounded at Cold Harbor by a Minié bullet below the left hip, while in the act of mak- ing a charge with his regiment on the open field to silence a battery supported by riflemen behind breast- works. He then was in command of Company I. Ser- geant C. C. Paige, of the same company, marching by his side, had his right arm shattered. He remained in command of his company during the day and night fol- lowing, and then was compelled to receive hospital
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treatment, rejoining his company again August 20, 1864. With the exception of the battles at the Shand House, June 17, 1864, and at the Crater. July 30, 1864, he was with the regiment in its entire campaigns and battles, performing every duty assigned him in the most faithful manner.
Shortly after the war he engaged in trade at West Epping. where he still resides. Captain Shepard repre- sented the town of Epping in the legislature in IS60 and 1862, serving one session on the Committee on Educa- tion, (General) S. G. Griffin. chairman. In 1874 he was appointed postmaster at West Epping, which office he still holds. Ile has been a member of the school board of Epping several years, a portion of the time as chairman. He is justice of the peace, and does much business in settling estates. writing wills and convey- ances, and assisting the men of the regiment in securing pensions, no veteran leaving him unbefriended when in his power to give assistance.
LIEUT. GEORGE P. DEMERITT.
George P. Demeritt was born in Durham, September 15, 1842, his father dying the same year. One who knows him intimately says of him,-" The boy lived on the old farm with his mother till the war broke out. In stature and build he offered a strong contrast to his brawny associates, but the cool head. quick strength, and unquailing nerve gave him place with the best."
He enlisted in August. 1802. as a member of Company K, Eleventh New Hampshire Volunteers. He was with the regiment at Fredericksburg, Va., thence in the Mis- sissippi campaign, and July 25. 1863, he was commis- sioned a second lieutenant of Company K. He bore a
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GEORGE P. DEMERITT.
prominent part in the siege of Knoxville, and at its close he was detailed on duty at General Willcox's head- quarters, Ninth Army Corps, serving with him three months, when General Potter assumed command, and he remained under General Potter at Second Division head- quarters until the war closed, and was mustered out of the service in July, 1865. The following speaks for itself :
HEAD-QUARTERS, 2D DIV., 9TH A. C., OFFICE PROVOST MARSHAL, Jan. 30, 1864.
To His Excellency Joseph A. Gilmore, Governor of New Hampshire:
SIR : I have the honor to commend to your favorable notice Sergeant George P. Demeritt. Company K, Eleventh New Hampshire Volun- teers. He has been in charge of the provost guard at these head- quarters since April last ; has always been faithful in the discharge of his duties, and otherwise exhibited the qualifications requisite for a good officer. While being on duty at these head-quarters in obedience to orders from the general commanding shows the high appreciation of his capacity, faithfulness. and worth, his absence would naturally dimin- ish his chance for promotion with his regiment.
I feel constrained to make this recommendation in view of the fact that he has already been commissioned as second lieutenant in his reg- iment, but cannot be mustered because the companies are below the minimum.
I cannot but feel that promotion in his case would be a just reward for valuable services. I have the honor to be,
Very respectfully, Your ob't serv't, J. B. SMITH, Major and Provost Marshal, 2d Div., 9th .1. C.
At the close of the war Lieutenant Demeritt returned to his home, and then became a resident of Dover, where he has since resided, being a merchant until ISS2. He has served two years in the city council, three years as overseer of the poor for the city, six years as collector of taxes, and has been twice elected a county commissioner for a term of three years each. He has also held high
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positions in the Masonic fraternity, of which he is an honored member, fulfilling his duties with great accept- ance to all; and all of these positions show the high esteem in which he is held by those who know him.
LIEUT. JOHN E. CRAM.
John E. Cram was born in Raymond. April 11, 1842. He lived for a short time in Epping, and then returned to Raymond, where he has since resided, being a farmer by occupation. He received his education in the schools of Raymond and Epping. Ile enlisted August 13, 1862, as a member of Company B. Eleventh Regiment ; was mustered into the service August 28, 1862, and was appointed first sergeant of the company at its organiza- tion. March 2. 1864. he was commissioned second lieu- tenant, and later was commissioned first lieutenant and assigned to Company B. Lieutenant Cram was with his regiment at Fredericksburg on the march through Ken- tucky, and in the Mississippi and the East Tennessee campaigns, futilling his many duties with great accept- ance to the officers and men of both his company and regiment.
At Spottsylvania. May 12. 1864, amid the roar and crash of that terrific battle, Color-bearer Daniel S. West being shot, Lieutenant Cram seized the colors before they touched the ground. Immediately after he took the colors, the officer in command of the Eleventh Regiment ordered it to fall back to a place of protection, which order was reluctantly obeyed. Lieutenant Cram, with his colors. remained half way between the regiment at its halting-place and the line from whence it came. and at once the regiment advanced to its colors and then to the line of attack. This act of Lieutenant Cram was a
Fraternally yours Jev. B. Pingnie Capt. Co:G: 11th Jr. 86
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GEORGE E. PINGREE.
most gallant one; he inspired the heroic men of the Eleventh Regiment with his undaunted courage, and they fought desperately through the day.
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About twenty minutes after taking the colors, Lieuten- ant Cram was most severely wounded, and was tenderly borne from the field. He was the fourth color-bearer shot in the regiment up to the time of that battle, six being the entire number shot during that terrible day. Lieutenant Cram was taken to a hospital in the field, and thence to Lincoln hospital in Washington, D. C. From there he obtained a leave of absence to go to his home, upon a surgeon's certificate to report to his hospital when able for duty. His wound proved a very serious matter, and, being unfit for duty in the field, he was ordered to New Haven. Conn., for recruiting duty, from which place he was discharged from the service, October 19, 1864. He returned to his home in Raymond, where. as stated, he still resides. For his gallant deeds at Spott- sylvania, Lieutenant Cram was commissioned first lieu- tenant July 25, 1864, but, being unfitted for duty in the field, was not mustered.
CAPT. GEORGE E. PINGREE.
George E. Pingree, son of Joseph and Polly Pingree, was born in Littleton, April 29, 1839, and received his schooling at Littleton and Lisbon, N. H., and Reading, Mass. He worked at farming in his boyhood, then four years in a general store at Reading, Mass., one year in an organ factory, and one year driving an ice-wagon in New York city. He enlisted as a private in Company G, Second Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, from which he was discharged August 9, 1862, on account of wounds received in the battle of Williamsburg, Va., May 5, 1862.
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ELEVENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE.
He was with the Second Regiment, when, with loaded muskets, it marched through Baltimore on its way to Washington, where it was attached to a brigade com- manded by Colonel (afterwards General) A. E. Burn- side. He was in the battle of Bull Run, fighting from IO o'clock a. m. until 4:30 p. m., and then marched forty miles to Washington, reaching there during the next forenoon, with absolutely nothing to eat or drink.
He then accompanied his regiment to Bladensburgh, where it was brigaded under General Hooker; after which he went down the Potomac, and worked in the trenches and on the forts at Yorktown under McClellan, thence to Williamsburg, fighting from daylight until dark, much of the time hand to hand. He was there wounded by a volley from the Fourteenth Louisiana, the ball passing through his right arm between the wrist and elbow. He was taken from the field to Fortress Monroe. thence to Hampton Roads hospital, and from there to his home in New Hampshire. He was commissioned captain of Company G. Eleventh Regiment. New Hamp- shire Infantry, September 4, 1862.
He was still suffering severely from his wound, but his patriotism and great love for his country overcame all obstacles, and he went marching on with the mighty hosts whose tread was heard throughout all the loval North, and which carried great dismay to the Confeder- ates. At the battle of Fredericksburg he was knocked senseless by a piece of shell, but soon rallied. A piece of the same shell instantly killed George W. King of Company G. He was with the regiment in Kentucky, and in the Mississippi campaign. On the return to Ken- tucky his wounded arm began to assume a serious change. and. being advised that it would require ampu- tation if he remained in the field, he was ordered to Cincinnati, where he was detailed on court-martial for a
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CONVERSE G. MORGAN.
couple of months. He was afterwards transferred to the command of Company I in the Fifth Regiment, Veter- ans' Reserve Corps, and ordered on duty at the prison camp at Indianapolis, where the regiment was disbanded in the fall of IS65. He then reported for duty to General R. K. Scott, at Charleston, S. C., May 1, 1866, where he was placed in charge of several counties in the interest of the Freedmen's Bureau. His duties were to endorse all contracts between whites and blacks, issue provisions to poor whites and blacks and to planters, taking a lien upon their crops. to assist in establishing schools, settling disputes, etc. He was honorably mustered out of the United States service, January 1, 1868; remained in South Carolina until the fall of 1869, when he went to Indianapolis ; thence to Rock Island, Ill., where he became night editor of a journal, and then entered the employ of the Moline Wagon Company ; then a travel- ling salesman ; then in the newspaper business again ; then book-keeper for the Moline Malleable Iron Works for several years ; then a salesman again through Min- nesota and the Dakotas until January 8, 1891, when he removed to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he still resides as president and manager of a large manufactur- ing interest. As in the field, so in all of these varying positions, he has been most faithful in the discharge of every duty. His engraving, so generously contrib- uted, is a valuable addition to the history of the regiment in which he bore a conspicuous part.
CAPT. CONVERSE G. MORGAN.
Converse G. Morgan was born in Canaan, January 6, 1827. He was for many years a merchant, and the town-clerk of Hanover. He removed to Enfield in 1856,
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where he resided until his death, following the business of a merchant, and, a portion of the time, of a hotel keeper, and for many years was post-master. In August, 1862, he felt it his duty to enter the army, as many of the young men of Enfield said to him, " If you will be our captain, we will go with you." In one week his company was full, and on September 4, following, he was commissioned its captain. He participated in the battle of Fredericksburg, and was a brave and faithful officer.
In April, 1863, while the Eleventh was in camp for a few days at Mount Sterling, Ky., Captain Morgan was detailed one day as captain of the pickets. doing duty on the turnpike above the main village of the town. During the afternoon he, with two or three comrades, made a call at a house near by the picket post for the purpose of procuring something else to eat than pork and hard-tack. No orders against this had been issued to the troops. At the house visited, he found the general (Ferrero) com- manding the Second Brigade, with some members of his staff, in conversation with the ladies of the house. Gen- eral Ferrero reported Captain Morgan as deserting his duty as an officer in charge of the picket, and recom- mended his dismissal, not only to punish him, but, as was thought by many. to gratify his enmity to the Eleventh Regiment, which he had shown upon several occasions.
The following is the order by which Captain Morgan was dismissed from the service :
HEAD-QUARTERS. DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO.
CINCINNATI, O., April 18, 1863.
GENERAL ORDERS,
No. 45.
Captain Converse G. Morgan, Eleventh Regiment New Hampshire Volunteers, is. for renewed neglect of duty while on picket, after having
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CONVERSE G. MORGAN.
been previously reprimanded for the same offence, dismissed from the service, to date, April 10, 1863, subject to the approval of the President of the United States.
By command of Major-General Burnside,
LEWIS RICHMOND, Assistant Adjutant-General.
Official :
W. T. ANDERSON, Assistant Adjutant-General.
WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, February 18, 1864.
SPECIAL ORDERS,
No. 78.
[EXTRACT.]
34. So much of General Orders, No. 45, series of 1863, from Head- quarters Department of Ohio. as dismissed Captain Converse G. Mor- gan, Eleventh New Hampshire Volunteers, to date, April 10, 1863, for renewed neglect of duty while on picket, after having been previ- ously reprimanded for the same offence, is hereby confirmed.
By order of the Secretary of War, E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General.
Official :
E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General.
Captain Morgan had the sympathy of the entire regi- ment in the persecution that followed him, and it was considered an outrage upon the regiment. He applied to have the order of dismission revoked, which was finally done by the following order :
WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE.
WASHINGTON, May 10, 1867.
SPECIAL ORDERS, No. 240. [EXTRACT.]
2. By direction of the President, so much of General Orders, No. 45, April 18, 1863, from Head-quarters Department of the Ohio, as dismissed Captain Converse G. Morgan, Eleventh New Hampshire Volunteers, ". for renewed neglect of duty while on picket, after having
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been previously reprimanded for the same offence" (confirmed by Special Orders. No. 78, paragraph 34, February 17, 1864, from this office), is revoked, and he is hereby honorably discharged from the service of the United States, to date from April 10, 1863, the date fixed in the said order of dismissal. He will receive no final payments until he shall have satisfied the Pay Department that he is not indebted to the government.
By order of the Secretary of War, E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General.
After his dismissal. Captain Morgan was appointed a clerk in the Paymaster-General's Office, Washington, D. C., which position he held four years, until his rein- statement ; then he returned to Enfield, and resumed in a measure his former business. He remained here, a large part of the time in feeble health, until his death, which occurred at Enfield, November 1, ISSO.
CAPT. ORLANDO W. DIMICK.
Orlando W. Dimick was born in South Braintree. Mass., September 3, 1839, and at two years of age removed with his parents to Lyme, where he passed most of his life before entering the army.
His education was chiefly obtained in the district schools of Lyme, and in Kimball Union Academy at Meriden where he prepared for college. He entered Dartmouth college in 1861, leaving it at the close of the first year to enter the army. He was commissioned first lieutenant of Company H, Eleventh Regiment New Hampshire Volunteers, September 4, 1862 ; was pro- moted to captain, received his commission July 22, 1864, and was assigned to the command of Company F, being mustered out of the service June 4, 1865.
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