USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Littleton > History of Littleton, New Hampshire, Vol. I > Part 53
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War Annals.
his wounds he was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps, and mustered out July 8, 1865.
Not counting the time of William L.'s substitute, which is an unknown quantity, the family during the war gave to the cause a service aggregating eleven years, nine months, and seventeen days. The younger brothers by their honorable service, the heroic death of one and the enduring sacrifice of the other, far more than atoned for the idiosyncrasies of the elders, and gave the family a position that will be honored while the war records of the town endure.
When men were being enlisted for the First Regiment by Colonel Rowell, among those who applied for enrolment was Charles R. Coburn, then a mere lad less than thirteen years of age, but stout and brave of heart, and with a frame that gave indi- cation of the strength and endurance that were to characterize his subsequent career in the service of his country. The Colonel, knowing his age, denied his request; the youth protested and in- sisted, but without avail ; he was told to wait until he had reached the required age for enlistment, but declared he would not do so, as the war would have ended long before that time. Disgusted, but not disheartened, by what he regarded as a perverse and useless interpretation of the law, he was forced to abandon his design for a time. As the lengthening months passed away and disaster at- tended our arms, the increasing demand for men brought about a change, and the construction of the law became very elastic, and when Captain Farr was recruiting his company for the Thir- teenth Regiment, Master Coburn was warmly welcomed to its ranks.
He was then but a few days more than fourteen years of age, - to be exact, fourteen years and twenty-seven days. Despite his years he was a sturdy youth, and from the first, one of the best soldiers that carried a musket through the Virginia campaigns. He ren- dered a willing service, discharged every duty, participated in every battle in which his regiment was engaged up to the day he was put out of duty for a time by wounds received in the battle that resulted in the capture of Fort Harrison on the 29th of Sep- tember, 1864.
During the operations before Petersburg the men were on con- stant duty and under fire nearly all the time. The position of color-guard was one of more than usual danger on this account, and, even in so good a regiment as the Thirteenth, men were not particularly anxious for the position, but Private Coburn sought promotion that he might have in charge the colors of the regi-
476
History of Littleton.
ment. For this purpose he was given a Corporal's warrant June 10, 1864, and assigned to duty with the color-guard.
The affair at Fort Harrison is, in part, thus related by one who was present : 1 -
" The Thirteenth entered upon the assault formed in column by divisions closed in mass, and was the third regiment from the front. The first shot received from Fort Harrison struck among the color- guard of the first regiment in the column. The third shell that hit the Thirteenth exploded so closely to Wentworth's face that his eyes were injured by the concussion, flash, and glare, and he was knocked over and thrown several feet. During the charge seven men were wounded in Co. B. Sergt. David W. Bodge of B, color-bearer, carried the national colors in the charge, but was badly wounded soon after the Regt. deployed in line of battle. The colors passed from one man to another in the color-guard, as the bearers were severally shot down, finally coming into the hands of Color Corporal Charles R. Coburn, who was the last man of the color-guard shot during the charge. He had climbed upon the parapet of Fort Harrison, where he was severely wounded, and rolled over within the fort."
Many a soldier has been immortalized "in story and in song " for an act of daring less valiant than that of Corporal Coburn, of Littleton.
By a curious juxtaposition of names Lieutenant Thompson fol- lows the above descriptive paragraph with the statement that " Thomas S. Wentworth was sixteen years old, February 28, 1862, and enlisted on August 18, 1862. One of the youngest, if not the youngest, of the boys in the Regt. who served as sol- diers." As a matter of fact Corporal Coburn was more than two years younger than Sergeant Wentworth. The inference of the historian of the regiment is excusable for the reason that, at the time of his enlistment, Master Coburn, that he might escape ques- tioning and consequent possible trouble, gave his age as eighteen years, and it so appears on the rolls of the regiment.
It has been stated that Judge John Henry Hardy, of the Muni- cipal Court of Boston, was "the youngest enlisted man who carried a gun from his native State " in the Civil War.2
Judge Hardy was born in Hollis February 2, 1847, and en- listed in the Fifteenth Regiment September 12, 1862, and was mustered out August 13, 1863. He was, therefore, 15 years 7 months and 10 days old at the time of his enrolment, or 1 year
1 Thompson's History of the Thirteenth Regiment, statement of Sergeant Thomas S. Wentworth, p. 464.
2 Granite Monthly, Vol. XIV. ( May, 1892) p. 250.
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War Annals.'
6 months and 13 days older than Master Coburn at the time of his enlistment.1
It is possible, but not probable, that among those who were enrolled in the ranks and who carried a gun, there may have been one who was younger, at the time of enlistment, than Charles R. Coburn.2 Certainly we have been unable to find a record to sustain such a claim.
Mr. Coburn died suddenly at his home in this town November 16, 1898. The final summons came when no friend or comrade was present to receive his last message as he passed into realms of light beyond the river.
There were others who won renown in battle, who have re- ceived scant notice here. They are reserved for consideration in connection with their services as citizens. The fabric of their political, social, and military lives was so interwoven and extended beyond the period here considered that they could not be treated separately without injustice to each.
The town was fortunate at the time in having at its command the services of James J. Barrett as Agent, Eli D. Sawyer and others of capacity as Selectmen. Mr. Barrett was a shrewd conservative manager of affairs, who looked sharply after his own business, and gave the town the benefit of his ability at many a critical period. It is true that when his personal interests were in conflict with those of the town he was apt to have the best of the affair. Still his services, on the whole, were of great value in securing men in times of gloom, and in keeping the debit and credit side of the ac- count with the State in favor of the town. When that account was finally closed, it was found the town had exceeded its quota by twenty-nine men. There were but two towns and two Concord wards that furnished a larger number of men in excess of its quota than did the town of Littleton. This creditable result was largely due to the energy and business ability of Mr. Barrett.
The original recruits, with rare exceptions, were young men of excellent standing in the community, possessing a fair education and all the elements that combine to make the good citizen.3 The men who marched and fought in the Second, Third, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, Thirteenth, and Fifteenth Infantry, and the Cavalry regi- ments, were among the best of the soldiers who offered their lives
1 Charles R. Coburn was born July 10, 1848; enlisted August 6, 1862, and was mustered out with his regiment July 21, 1865.
2 The number of nien furnished by the State during the war was 33,937. This presumably includes re-enlistments.
3 Sergeant Batchellor, of Company D, Thirteenth Regiment, stated in one of his letters, that there was not a man in his company unable to read and write.
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History of Littleton.
on the battlefields of the Civil War. The men in the Heavy Ar- tillery had no opportunity to display their fighting qualities, but the material was as good in some respects as any that we enrolled. Opportunity does not make the soldier, but, to a larger extent than in any other profession, it is his way to fame. So the men of some regiments share a glory that is denied to others; but the town that sent them forth holds their name and fame in equal rever- ence, like a mother who loves and cherishes the memory of all her children with equal intensity.
In all wars a few great figures stand apart, towering above the mass, on which the gaze of the people rests through the centuries. To after times these chieftains fought the battle, gained the vic- tory, or went down in defeat; their acts, words, and plans crowd the pages of history, while the men who filled the ranks of war, the sappers and miners of the trenches, who manned the guns and precipitated their mass upon the foe, who were maimed or slain in the contest, slumber in the silent dust and their very names have perished. Not such is to be the fate of the humble heroes who fought in the Civil War. Nation, State, and town have united to preserve the memory of these " village Hampdens" from the tooth of time, by enrolling their names in their archives.
In our State no one has contributed more to this patriotic work than a citizen of this town, Albert Stillman Batchellor. He was among the first to recognize the importance of securing all attain- able information relating to the men who enlisted in the State, and preserving it in suitable form for the benefit of posterity. In private and public life he has labored to this end. With the exception of the first legislative act, he has been the author and most active agent in procuring the enactment of all subsequent legislation that resulted in compiling and publishing Adjutant- General Ayling's invaluable record of the soldiers and sailors of the State in the war of the Rebellion.1 As a member of the Governor's Council in 1887-1889, with John C. Linehan, he was a member of the committee to supervise the revision of the rolls, and, in the report of that committee, marked the way for many of the excellences in which that record surpasses those of most States. He was also instrumental in securing the appointment of Lieut. Chauncey H. Greene both as indexer of the records and papers in the State Treasurer's custody and as agent of the town to prepare the list of soldiers and sailors credited to the town, together with that of others, native and sometime residents, for
1 For these acts see Session Laws of 1885, chap. 12; 1885, chap. 75; 1887, chap. 40.
C. H. GREENE.
479
War Annals.
General Ayling's Register. The same material, somewhat ex- tended, was recorded by Lewis B. Heald in the volume presented to the town by Harry Bingham for that purpose. This Register is as nearly complete as care and labor could make it, and is believed to contain the name of nearly every man who has been connected with the town who served in the army or navy. Judge · Batchellor has also taken great interest in the preparation of regimental histories, and has contributed, directly or indirectly, to many of them. All the acts of the legislature providing State aid to these works, except the naval act of 1901, which is appar- ently superfluous, were drafted and advocated by him. Probably no single individual, certainly no one in private life, in this State has done more to perpetuate the memory of " the man who carried a gun " in those years of peril.
While we have been generous to lavishness in voting largesses and in providing for the material wants of these men and their widows and children, we have been oblivious to all else. Their trials, sacri- fices, and dangers, their wounds and the glorious death of not a few, demand something more from their townsmen. The spirit of materialism, now dominant, will pass away, and then shall be ushered in the reign of sentiment, and under its benign and peace- ful sway the town will erect an enduring memorial to the memory of her heroic sons who offered their all upon the flaming altar of their country.
ATTORNEYS & COUNSELLORS &t LAN C N. & E.D.Rand, Office on Main St. Woods & Binghams, Office on Main St. J. Farr Office on Main St. W. J. Bellows, Office on Main St. PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS Adams Moore M.D. WD Burns M. D. Ralph Bugbee Jr. M. D. J.L. Harriman M.D. T.E. Sanger M. D. Homeopathic
Business Directory
WHOLESALE & RETAIL DEALER. IN FLOUR C.C. Wilder
MANUFACTURER & DEALER INBOOTS & SHOD S Alonzo Weeks APOTHECARY & DRUGGI ST F. Hodgman
MERCHANT TAILORS & CLOTHING DEALERS S.Hunt & Co. DEALER IN MILLINERY & FANCY GOODS
WATCH MAKER & JEWELER F. Hodgman
M. H. Everett). L. Tyler
Miss Ruth Foster
Mrs Alley
ARTIST IN AMBROTYPES & PHOTOGRAPHS O. C. Bolton
DEALERIN HATS, GAPS & FURS F. Hodgman
FIRE & LIFE INSURANCE ACENT J. J. Barrett STAGES to FRANCONIA MOUNTAINS By J. Clough & Co. STAGES to WHITE MOUNTAINS By Russell & Brackett
Mrs. H. Wetherby .
DEALERŠ IN BOOKS, STATIONERY &c. H. W. Rowell V.N. Bass DEALERS IN LUMBER Www. Condon W. C. & C. W. Brackett R. D. & H. S. Rounsevel H. C. Redington & Co. LIVERY STABLES F. W. Emerson H. L. Thayer Jason Clough
HARNESS & TRUNK MAKERS
T. Stevens
A. Coburn BOOT & SHOE MAKER S. U. Gibson TIN & SHEET IRON WORKERS H. B. Smith & Co.
DEALER IN CATTLE, SHEEP, &. E. C. Kim ball
PAINTERS & OLAZIERS Burton & Norton CARPENTER & JOINER E. D. Dunn
WHEELWRICHT & CARRIAGE MAKER J.W. Merrill
CARRIAGE & SLEIGH MANUFACTURERS Quimby & Weller
SASH, BLIND, & DOOR MANUFACTURERS Holmes, Dow & Fitzgerald C. H. & H. H. Lovejoy
Maj. JL Grill
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DEALERS IN DRY GOODS, GROCERIES & HARDWARE Eastmar, Tilton & Co. Depot Store Otis Batchelder
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481
Annals.
The Legislature, at its June session, in 1862, enacted a law " to aid in the defence of the country." This act authorized the Gov- ernor and Council in general terms to raise the troops called for by the President. Another act passed at the same session was entitled " An Act authorizing cities and towns to aid the families of volunteers, and for other purposes." These acts cured the de- fects, or illegal transactions of towns in making appropriations, and those of their officers and agents in making expenditures for the purpose of raising troops and in providing for the maintenance of the families of volunteers. It further authorized towns to raise money for these purposes, and provided that the State should assume these obligations, and reimburse the towns for all moneys raised and expended in accordance with the provisions of these acts.1
The first action of the town to facilitate the raising of volun- teers was taken at a town meeting held August 16, 1862. Cyrus Eastman was elected moderator, and the following vote was unanimously passed : -
" Voted, That the sum of eight thousand dollars be raised for the support of volunteers, and the Selectmen be authorized to hire the same on the credit of the town ; and that the sum of one hundred dollars be paid to each volunteer who may enlist previous to the 25th inst., which sum is to be paid when mustered into service."
The meeting was then adjourned to the 25th instant, at which time, as the quota was not filled, the limit for the payment of bounties was extended to the first day of September, and the meeting adjourned to that date. At this second adjourned meet- ing the time was again extended to the 15th instant, and it was also voted : -
" That the town will pay a bounty of seventy-five dollars each to such persons, residents of Littleton on or before the 15th inst., as may enlist and be mustered into the service of the United States in New Hamp- shire regiments to the number of twenty persons, under the call of the President for a draft of 200,000 men for nine months, and that the Selectmen be instructed to pay the same upon their being mustered into service."
1 The various acts of the Legislature covering the raising of troops during the war were as follows : -
Session Laws June Session, 1861: ch. 2479, pp. 2435-6; ch. 2480, pp. 2437-8. Session Laws of June Session, 1862: ch. 2583, pp. 2581-3; ch. 2584, pp. 2583-5; ch. 2645, pp. 2636. Session Laws of June Session, 1863 : ch. 2112, pp. 2695-6. Ses- sion Laws of June Session, 1864: ch. 2864, pp. 2817-19; ch. 2866, pp. 2820-21; ch. 2868, pp. 2822-4; ch. 4023, pp. 3049-53. Session Laws of August Session, 1864 ch. 4026, pp. 3057. Session Laws of June Session, 1865 : ch. 4067, pp. 3113-14. VOL. I. - 31
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History of Littleton.
The meeting was then dissolved, as it was presumed that its action would speedily result in procuring the required number of volunteers. But it was found necessary to warn another meeting, which was held on the third day of December, at which the bounty of seventy-five dollars was again voted to the men required to fill the demand, it having been found that twenty men were not sufficient for that purpose.1
The men enlisted at this time for three years joined the Thir- teenth Regiment, and those for nine months' service became members of the Fifteenth Regiment.
At the annual March meeting in 1863 the only action taken in reference to the soldiers was the adoption of a vote exempting them from taxation for that year.
It was not until the following August that it was necessary .to call a town meeting to consider the matter of enlistments. The meeting was held on the tenth day of September, made choice of George B. Redington as moderator, and adjourned without other action to September 26. When the meeting reconvened, it passed the following vote : -
Resolved, That the Selectmen of the town be authorized to borrow a sum of money not exceeding $12,000, to be paid to drafted men of Littleton, or their substitutes, agreeably to the law passed June Ses- sion, 1863, not exceeding three hundred dollars to each man so drafted, or his substitute, ten days after they are mustered into the service of the United States."
The sum of $25,000 was raised at a meeting held on the first day of December, 1863, over which Josiah Kilburn presided as moderator, and the Selectmen were instructed to pay to each man enlisting to the credit of the town, under the pending call for troops, a bounty of $300, and also to cash the State and United States bounties. The meeting adjourned to the first Saturday of January, when it was dissolved.
The town debt in March, 1864, was, in round numbers, $50,000, and the average rate of interest seven per cent. At the annual meeting George B. Redington, Cyrus Eastman, and Samuel A. Edson were appointed a finance committee to fund this debt by issuing bonds to run not exceeding twenty years, bearing interest not to exceed six per cent per annum.
1 In addition to the bounty paid by towns, the State paid to men enlisted in regi- ments numbered from the Second to the Eighth inclusive a bounty of ten dollars ; from the Ninth to the Fourteenth, fifty dollars. In 1864 the State paid the follow- ing bounties : For men enlisted for one year's service, $100; for two years' service, $200; for three years' service, $300. The total sum paid by the State in bounties to her soldiers during the war was $2,775,000.
483
Annals.
At a meeting adjourned from February 20, held after the annual town meeting was dissolved, thie Selectmen were given power to raise money on the credit of the town for the purpose of filling the quota of the town under the pending call of the President, and all calls that might be made during the municipal year. Just how much money was raised and expended under this vote is not known, but several thousand dollars were used in procuring volunteers and substitutes who were credited to the town.
The Selectmen found many obstacles in the way of obtaining funds under the vote of March 8. The debt of the town, while large, was not relatively in excess of that of other towns in the State, and its credit was still good ; but lenders doubted the legality of the authority vested in the Selectmen, and with the character- istic caution of the financier withheld their funds. To make the way clear, a town meeting was held on the tenth day of August, 1864, in which it was voted " to raise fifty thousand dollars for the purpose of paying bounties to volunteers, drafted men, or sub- . stitutes, to fill the quota of this town under the recent call of the President of the United States, or any future call which may be made agreeably to an Act entitled An Act to facilitate the raising of troops, approved July 16, 1864."
At this meeting the Selectmen were added to the finance com- mittee previously appointed to fund the debt of the town, and the transactions of that committee ratified and confirmed. The meeting was adjourned to Saturday, August 20, when the Selectmen were instructed " to pay a bounty of five hundred dollars to men en- rolled in town for one year's service," and " one thousand dollars to men wlio may enlist for three years." This action was taken to furnish men in response to a call issued by the President, March 14, for 200,000 men.
Another call for 500,000 troops was made July 18, 1864, and the Selectmen warned a town meeting to provide ways and means for filling the quota of the town under it. This meeting was held at the old town-house on tlie 29th of August, 1864; Charles W. Rand acted as moderator. It was a time of gloom and excitement, and the meeting was largely attended. Elderly and conservative men advised moderate action ; young men and the fathers of sons liable to draft were for radical action; as one of the speakers expressed it, " it was blood against money." A resolution had been suggested, but was not before the meeting, authorizing the Selectmen to borrow $30,000. One of the conservative leaders stated that the town debt was so large that it was feared the credit
484
History of Littleton.
of the town was already exhausted. The meeting was not in a mood to be governed by moderate advice, and the younger element had matters its way.
It was voted to raise $30,000 for the purpose of paying boun- ties to volunteers, substitutes, or drafted men ; the bounties to the several classes to be as follows : to volunteers either directly or as substitutes, for one year, $100; for two years, $200; for three years, $300. To all who had been inhabitants of the town for three months preceding, voluntarily enlisting for one year, $700; for two years, $850, and for three years, $1,000; to all drafted men mustered into the service, $200; and it was finally voted to pay to each resident volunteer an additional sum of $250. This was the last vote taken, except that of adjournment, and in- creased all bounties voted that class, without reference to length of service, by that amount. It is evident that no question of money was to stand between the enrolled men and a draft. To ensure funds for the payment of these sums, the following vote was passed : -
"Voted that the Selectmen of the town assess immediately a tax to collect said sum of Thirty Thousand Dollars, and place the list and war- rant in the hands of the collector with instructions to collect the same as soon as he can legally do so. And that the Selectmen of the town are hereby authorized to borrow on the credit of the town, and give the note of the town therefor, a sum of money not exceeding Thirty Thou- sand Dollars for a time not exceeding ninety days, and apply the same in payment of the bounties this day voted to be paid, said borrowed money to be paid by the money collected on said tax."
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