USA > New Hampshire > History of the Twelfth regiment, New Hampshire volunteers in the war of the rebellion > Part 58
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After the war he resumed his practice at Meredith for some years, and then removed to Franklin, where he soon established an enviable reputation, and is well known as one of the best-read physicians of the old school and one of her most prominent citizens. Hle has been a member of the State Medical Society, president of the Central District Medi- cal Society, and a member of the Board of Education, of the city of Franklin. Having by nature a good memory to assist, and a large fund of wit from which to draw, he was always a welcome visitor around the camp-fire in the army, as he has been in the social circle at home, and will be, I trust, when he goes to join the vast army of comrades that are now "marching on."
ASST. SURG. SAMUEL P. CARBEE.
This, the youngest son, among the ten children, of John Il. and Anna ( Powers) Car- bee, was born in Bath. June 14. 1836. His grandfather, Joel Carbee, was of Scotch-Irish descent, and was a soldier of the Revolution. His brother, William, a captain of Company II, Twenty-fourth lowa Volunteers, was killed at the battle of Champion Hills, Miss., May 22, 1863.
Dr. Carbee, when an awkward, overgrown farmer's boy, loved reading books better than picking rocks, and stored his mind, while his body grew, with common English, and an academic sprinkle of the classics, until he became a teacher himself. Deciding to be a dis- ciple of Esculapius, he commenced and continued the study of medicine under the instruc- tion of the famous Crosby family until he left his chosen path of peace to join the rugged ranks of war. For the first year or more of his army life he served on detached duty as clerk in the commissary and medical departments, acting a while as hospital steward. After receiving his commission as assistant surgeou (see roster) he was all the time with the regiment, except from May to December, 1864, when he was detailed for service at Point of Rocks Hospital, Va., acting as chief executive officer there for most of that time. Ile was present at the battles of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg. Wapping Heights, Swift Creek, Relay House, Drury's Bluff, Cold Harbor, Siege of Petersburg, and Capture of Richmond, and is said to have been the first Union surgeon to enter the city at that time ; also, as believed, at the battle of Fort Harrison.
After the war he attended lectures at Dartmouth Medical College, receiving his diploma there in November, 1865, and commencing practice in Haverhill, where, for nearly thirty years, he has so faithfully and successfully performed the duties of his calling as to establish an enviable reputation as a physician, and win the confidence and respect of the community. But most of all to his credit and praise it may be said that his best skill and energies have always been at the command of the poor as well as the rich, and many can bear testimony that he has oftener refused than demanded his pay. lle is and has been prominently connected with medical societies, now being president of the New Hampshire Medical Society ; was fourteen years on a pension board of examiners for his county, and has often received the political preferment of his party in local matters, being, in 1884, one of the nominees, as county commissioner, to lead the Republican party of Grafton County to victory for the first time for nearly twenty years.
Married, September 30. 1885, to N. Della, daughter of Lyman Buck, of Haverhill. ( No children.) Ile is tall and of prepossessing exterior, and was, when in the army, the largest commissioned officer of which the regiment coukl boast, excepting Major Savage.
485
New Hampshire Volunteers.
COMPANY A.
This company was raised principally in the towns of Alton and New Durham, these two towns furnishing eighty men, of which the former contributed fifty-nine and the latter twenty-one, nearly all of whom were enlisted by George D. Savage, who was soon afterward commissioned major of the regiment. The rest of the men came from the towns of Wentworth, Bartlett. Thornton, Allenstown, Dover, Lincoln, Exeter, Plymouth, and Loudon, of which seven, or nearly half, were residents of Wentworth, or were counted on her quota.
The company, before going into camp at Concord, rendezvoused at Alton Corner when necessary to meet for drill or otherwise, and it was there that it first met and organized by the election of its officers, includ- ing sergeants and corporals. Moses H. Savage, of Alton, was elected captain, and James M. York and Nathan Chesley, of Alton, were chosen as first and second lieutenants, and afterward commissioned as such : and Hiram Mooney selected as first or orderly sergeant .. The other sergeants were Frank F. Frohock, John Colomy, James Sleeper, and Samuel G. Colbath. The corporals were Moses Twombly, George P. Miller, William P. Watson, Leroy A. Clough, Charles M. Evans, William B. Stott, Ivory Stillings, and George F. Davis. Charles H. Canney and Ira M. Rollins produced music for the company from the fife and drum, as it marched into the state house yard at Concord on the fifth of Septem- ber, IS62, to be mustered into the United States service as the first company to be sworn in as such of the Twelfth New Hampshire Volunteers.
486
History of the Twelfth Regiment
LIEUT. MAIIEW C. BATCHELDER.
Gladly aud proudly the pen traces out the record of a soldier so worthy a name in his- tory as the subject of this sketch. That he enlisted as a private and served in the ranks nearly half of the time he was in the service makes him all the more deserving of praise.
Son of Ira and Sally ( Robinson) Batchelder, and born in Windham, Me., September 1, 1836. Married Angeline Gilman, sister of Charles M. Gilman (see sketeh), April 10, 1855, and his only children, Charles W. and Albert M., are both living. A strong constitution and rare good luck, with a manly determination to stand in the front line of duty so long as able, permitted him to be present for duty with his regiment all the time from muster-in to muster-out, except when disabled by a wound in the side from a shell in front of Peters- burg. And nothing can show better this officer's conseientious devotion to duty than the fact that though a piece of the shell struck him hard enough to cut through his sword-belt, chafe-pad, eoat, vest, pants, and under-elothing, and make such a serious contusion on his left side that he never fully recovered from the effects upon his spleen and kidneys until his death, which it was largely the cause of ; yet in only twenty days he left the hospital and reported to the regiment for duty.
Two brothers, Henry A. and Frank A., fought for the Union in the Tenth and Twelfth Maine Regiments ; the former serving for three years, and losing an eye at the battle of Cedar Mountain.
Ile worked in the powder mill at New Durham, before enlistment, and at shoemaking and in box-mill most of the time after discharge. Quiet and unpretentious, he was the last to proclaim any of the real prowess that he, by nature. possessed. He was always patient in well doing, and seemed only ambitious to do his whole duty, and content with nothing less.
Place the flag, indeed, each year upon his grave, for of such men were they who resecured and extended its privilege to proudly wave -
"O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."
CHARLES H. CANNEY.
Ilere he is with the musician's stripes upon his coat, and with his fife to his lips, just as he looked when marching in front of the line at "dress parade."
Son of William and Paulina ( Edgerly ) Canney ; born at Tuftonborough, May 13, 1837, and died at Farmington, May 2. 1892, and buried at Ayer, Mass., where he formerly lived. Married, in 1856, to Julia Ann Boynton (deceased), and had by her four children, George W., Orin W. (died in infancy), Harry E., and Cora P. Married again, in 1881, to Jane W. Nixon.
At the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Cold Harbor, Siege of Petersburg, and Cemetery Hill. He was leading a packed mule of the supply train that was overrun by the Eleventh Corps, when Jackson made his famous attack at Chancellorsville, and was there captured. In Libby and Belle Isle about three months, and then paroled and sent to Annapolis, Md., where he was sick some time, and his wife went down and took care of him. The state records (see roster) do not do him full justice, as it does not give reason for being " missing " at Chaneellorsville.
CORP. LEROY A. CLOUGHI.
Among the few from the regiment who unfortunately fell vietims of exposure and starvation in Southern prisons is the subject of this sketch. Ile was the son of Daniel and Sally Il. (Caverly) Clough, and was born in Alton, March 6, 1838.
Married about two years before enlisting to Emily Thurston, of Alton ; no children.
In most of the regular battles of the regiment, except perhaps Gettysburg, when he was disabled from duty on account of being wounded in the wrist at Chaneellorsville, where he fought on the color guard. After capture (see roster) he was sent first to Libby Prison,
187
New Hampshire Volunteers.
B. B. I .. 5-93.
LIEUT. MAHEW C. BATCHELDER.
D. D. D. 5-7 CHARLES H. CANNEY.
DB. DB. D. 5-9. CORP. LEROY A. CLOUGH.
G. BK. D. 5-1I. THOMAS N. DAVIS.
488
History of the Twelfth Regiment
and from there to Salisbury, N. C., where he died of typhoid fever. His testament and pocket-book were brought home by Ira L. Stockbridge, of the First New England Cavalry, who was a prisoner with him when he died, but his body was never sent home.
.I. B. Higgins, of his company, afterwards chaplain, in a letter of condolence to his parents, says : " He won the respect of all who knew him by his Christian integrity and upright character. Ile enlisted as a soldier of the cross in 1859, and joined the Freewill Baptist Church at Gilmanton Iron Works in August. 1862, about the time of his enlist- ment into the army of the Union. His record is bright, and he died a martyr to freedom. His comrades speak of him in the highest terms as equaled by few among the best."
THOMAS N. DAVIS.
Son of Noah and Sarah ( Noble) Davis ; born in Lee, September 25, 1812.
Brother, Arthur W., in New Hampshire Heavy Artillery: father in War of 1812; and grandfather, Thomas Noble, enlisted under Stark in the Revolution, and died on the march to Bennington. In Fredericksburg and at Chancellorsville ; was wounded in right temple by musket ball, and in right shoulder by shell. Rejoined regiment at Point Lookout. but sent to hospital at Williamsburg, Va., and never was with regiment afterward. Con- sidering his age when he enlisted, and his patriotic lineage, he left a name and record in history worthy of preservation.
CORP. GEORGE F. DAVIS.
Son of Thomas N. Davis (see sketch) and Elizabeth Canney (Seawood).
In most of the battles of the regiment, as believed. except Chancellorsville and Cold Ilarbor, he being ou picket when the regiment charged the rebel works in the last named battle.
Married Mary J. Alexander, October 14, 1879. Children, Melissa F. and Mary E.
Farmer and shoemaker before enlistment, and now a farmer in the new state of Wash- ington. Post-office address, Ellensburg, Wash.
Ile was one of the " best shots " in his company, and was detailed for some time as a sharpshooter. He was also an excellent forager, and never would go hungry " for con- science sake " when in the enemy's country.
SERGT. JULIUS A. DAVIS.
Son of Daniel E. and Sally P. (Place) Davis, and grandson of Asa Davis and Jacob Place, both in the War of 1812, the latter in the battle of Lundy's Lane. Born in Alton, August 30, 1835. Removed to Pittsfield a few years after the war, where he now resides. By occupation a farmer. Married Lydia Jane Sleeper, sister of Eben G., of the same com- pany, of Alton, July 7, 1856, and Allen M. is their only child. In all the battles of the regiment, except Cold Harbor, Cemetery Hill, and part of Siege of Petersburg.
The fact that he faced the enemy in so many battles shows that he was no " coffee- cooler." nor troubled much with " shell-sickness." He had an eye open for the apprehen- sion of deserters, and was chiefly instrumental in bringing Joseph Sharp, of his own company, to justice .*
ORLANDO F. DAVIS.
The picture of this soldier was taken in the winter of 1864, when stationed in the provost marshal's office, Albany, N. Y. (For family record see sketch of his brother, Julius A.) Like so many others, his service in the regiment ended at Chancellorsville, where he was wounded in head by musket ball and left for dead upon the field. Promoted to sergeant when in Veteran Reserve Corps,t and had command of a company at Wash- ington at the time of Early's raid. He was there, also, when Lincoln was assassinated, and had charge. part of the time, of the guard over the conspirators at the old arsenal prison.
* See page 261. et seq. t See incident, page 454.
48g
New Hampshire Volunteers.
C. B. D. 5-7. CORP. GEORGE F. DAVIS.
B. B. I .. 5-10. SERGT. JULIU'S A. DAVIS.
B. B. I .. 5-7. ORLANDO F. DAVIS.
B. D. D. 5-103 . DAVID ELLIS,
490
History of the Twelfth Regiment
Married January 13, 1857, to Lorinda F., daughter of Elisha Sleeper, of Alton, and sister of Eben G. (see sketch). Married again January 22, 1870, to Harriet M. Buxton, sister of George W. Dearborn (see sketch). Children, both by first wife, Oscar E. and Egbert W.
Farmer before and after the war until obliged to work indoors on account of his wound ; since which has worked at different trades and places, being for fourteen years shipping clerk for a wholesale firm at Boston, Mass.
" .A good man and soldier," says one of his comrades of him, and if this were not true he would not now be, as he is, president of the regimental association.
DAVID ELLIS.
This stout and sterling member of Company A was born, lived (except when in the army), and died close under the shadow of Mount Belknap, in the town of Alton. He was not ambitious to climb the heights of fame, but never flinched from duty.
In Fredericksburg and Chaneellorsville, and so severely wounded by musket ball in Jeft elbow in last named battle that his arm was amputated a month later at Mt. Pleasant Hospital, Washington, at which place he was discharged. Ile bad two brothers in the Union army, John S. and Jonathan. His grandfather, Jacob Ellis, was in War of Is1.
Married in 1845 to Mary Jane Ellis, of Alton.
llis standing as a soklier was firm and unwavering, and his record, though brief. was good, and such as make it much regretted that more is not known of his family relation- ship, especially of his children.
CILARLES E. FIFIELD.
Son of Charles N. and Betsey HI. (Nutter) Fifield, and was born in Dover, December 6. 1842. Married September 29. 1867, to Clara J., daughter of Isaac L. Stockbridge. of Alton, where they now reside, near the Alton Bay shore of our beautiful, mountain-hemmed lake.
Though fortunate enough to escape, except on the " inud march." service in the ranks, yet he was present for duty most of the time until the end. lle was for some time on detached service in brigade quartermaster's department, and acted for a while as forage master.
His grandfather was in War of 1812, and his great-grandfather, Benjamin Webster. in the Revolution.
By occupation a shoemaker, and a well known and respected member of M. Il. Savage Post, No. 49, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he is a l'ast Commander.
JOIIN IT. FIFIELD,
A younger brother of the last and a native of the same town. was, like him, lucky enough to escape the harder part of a soldier's life, acting most of the time as waiter or orderly for Major Savage and supernumerary assistant when or wherever needed, being in this way almost as necessary to the service as if he carried a gun in the ranks. Being young, bright, and jovial, and good hearted with all, no one seemed to envy him his easy lot, and no one thought of finding fault with "Johnny Fifield." But the reader must not think from what is written that he never smelt gunpowder or heard the sound of shot or shell. At Chancellorsville he had a narrow escape from rebel hands, and was exposed to their fire in other battles.
Since the war he has been interested in the turf, owning several fast horses, one of which, named " Screw Driver," has won him a good deal of money.
Married soon after the war to Clara .J., daughter of Joel Young, and their children are George II. and Charles L. lle has for several years been the proprietor of the " Fitield House." and is one of AAlton's most enterprising citizens.
491
New Hampshire Volunteers.
B. I. L .. 5-6. CHARLES E. FIFIELD.
B. I. L. 5-5. JOHN H. FIFIELD.
B. D. D. 5-10. SERGT. FRANK F. FROHOCK.
G. D. L. 5-S. CHARLES M. GILMAN.
492
History of the Twelfth Regiment
SERGT. FRANK F. FROHOCK.
This soldier was born in Gilford, April 2, 1826, and died of typhoid fever at Point Lookout, Md., October 9, 1863, while enlisted in the service of his country. He was in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. and was wounded slightly in arm at Chancellorsville and severely at Gettysburg.
lle was the son of Daniel and Esther (Leavitt) Frohoek, and his grandfather, Thomas Frohock, was in the Revolution, and helped throw up and defend the redoubt on Bunker's IFill.
lIe was a good soldier, and instead of being buried in an unknown grave, like so many killed on the field, his ashes mingle with the soil of his native town.
CHIARLES M. GILMAN.
This soldier, the youngest of the seven children of Moses and Abigail (Hurd) Gilman, was born in Alton, and was nineteen years old when he enlisted. His father was a promi- nent man in Alton for many years, and his great-grandfather. Moses Gilman, served for some time in the Revolution.
IIe was killed in the battle of Chancellorsville by a bullet through the head while the regiment was lying in line of support before advancing into the woods .*
His paternal ancestors came from England and settled in Exeter, and their names prominently appear in the early history of that town. Though he enlisted and died a private. he is spoken of by his comrades as calm and capable, and bnt for his untimely death would have probably arose to the rank of command before the end of the war.
GEORGE W. HAM.
One of the eleven children of Samuel and Jane (JJenness) Ham, who was born in Alton, September 8, 1843, and died of black measles December 13, 1862. while his regiment was under fire at Fredericksburg. Charles II. Piekering, of Company B, died the same day, and was buried in the same grave at Falmouth, Va.
This soldier was of Scotch descent, his great-grandfather, John, who is believed to have been in the Revolution, being one of three brothers who came to this country and settled in Portsmouth. Ilis grandfather, Thomas, was in the War of 1812. His brothers, Moses and William P., served in the Eighth and Fifth New Hampshire Volunteers respectively.
CHAPLAIN JOSIAHI B. HIGGINS.
This true hearted soldier of the regiment first joined the ranks of the living at Liver- more, Me., January 19, 1830, and was discharged by death at Canterbury, May 16, 1878. Ile was married May 1, 1852, to Eliza M. Cobb, and had two children, Josiah B., Jr., and Phebe E., who died young. llis wife survived him a few years, dying in 1895, and leaving only one survivor of the family. Ile had one brother, Franklin M., in the army, who served in Company B, Fifth New Hampshire Volunteers, and was mortally wounded at Freder- icksburg, Va.
The following sketch was sent to the author by his son :
Chaplain Higgins was converted in 1850, and baptised the next year at Biddeford, Me., by Rev. J. L. Sinclair. He became deeply interested in Christianity and the Sabbath school work at Bartlett. He was ordained in February, 1865, at Alton. by a special council called for that purpose, and was soon after appointed chaplain of the Twelfth Regiment, in place of the lamented Ambrose.
ยท See page 79.
493
New Hampshire Volunteers.
0
G. D. D. 5-5. GEORGE W. HAM.
II. D. L. 5-S. CHAP. JOSIAHI B. HIGGINS.
G. L. L. 5-7. JAMES M. JONES.
494
History of the Twelfth Regiment
After the war he preached at Barnstead and Wolfeborough, and moved to Canterbury in 1867 and became the minister of the Free Baptist Church there for three years. The rest of his ministerial labors were at Canterbury Centre, and preaching to the scattered brethren at Northfield at the same time. He spent much of his later life with feeble and destitute churches, getting nor asking but a small salary, and ofttimes without any at all.
As a inan he was cool and deliberate, persistent in what he thought was right, and useful, industrious, and prudent in all his efforts and habits. Ile maintained himself and family chiefly by manual labor. Ile was a kind husband. indulgent father, and was patriotic and highly esteemed by his fellow citizens. As a Christian he was sincere and devout. Hle cherished personal piety and practiced personal effort in his Christian work. His emotional manifestations were of a subdued, tearful character rather than noisy and ephemeral. Like Thomas, he wanted the proof ; then he would say, " My Lord and my God." As a minister he excelled in finding fields of destitution and want, where he bestowed the best efforts of his life. He was a reliable minister ; his preaching was expos- itory, thorough, spiritual, and was not in vain.
Extracts from his diary while in the war are now being printed by his son in the Laconia Democrat.
JAMES M. JONES.
Sammel and Elizabeth ( Rollins) Jones, who lived and died in Alton, raised a family of eight children, and three of the six boys served in the Union army. Two of these were members of the Twelfth, while the other, Sammel E., enlisted in the Eighteenth New Ilampshire Regiment.
The subject of this sketch, the oldest of the family, was born in Altou, January 18. 1836 ; was reared upon a farm, but had worked several years before enlisting at shoemak- ing. He safely faced the shells of Fredericksburg, but was killed by one on the battle-line at Chancellorsville. He lived and remained standing long enough after he was hit to take from his pocket his wallet and testament, but fell dead with them in his extended hand while in the act of giving them to Sergeant Sleeper, who stood near by.
Ile married Maria S. Perkins, of Alton, March 25. 1555, and their children are Simeon, Charles II. W., Mary L., and James M. ; a twin sister of James, born while their father was in the army, died soon after. He told some of his comrades that he knew he should be killed in that battle, and when a bullet struck between him and O. F. Davis, next to him, chided him for speaking lightly of it when lying, as it seemed to him, already in the shadow of death.
CHIARLES H. JONES.
Brother of the foregoing, and still among the living, is he whose picture appears here.
Born in Alton, June 6, 1810, and was the third child. Married to Ann E., daughter of Ezekiel Flanders, of Alton, May 20, 1860; children, Charles A. (deceased) and Ida M. Married, second time, to Julia A., daughter of Dudley Longee, of Gilmanton, and all his children by this wife, viz., Lizzie A., Della M., George II., Flora B., Fannie E., Maud N., and Mabie, are still living, except George H., who was killed on the railroad July 30, 1890.
He, like many others in the regiment, was taken sick on the march to Falmouth, Va., and discharged for disability soon after reaching there. He is a shoemaker by trade and a good neighbor and citizen. The picture from which the engraving was made was taken a year or two after the war.
495
New Hampshire Volunteers.
G. B. D. 5-6. CHARLES H. JONES.
G. L. L. 5-9. ALBERT D. JONES. .
B. D. L. 6-0.
CHRISTOPHER C. JOY.
B. B. L. 5-S. SERGT. THOMAS E. LAWLER.
496
History of the Twelfth Regiment
ALBERT D. JONES.
This soldier, a cousin to the last two, was the son of Nathaniel W. and Mary (Watson) Jones, and was born in Alton, May 10, 1841.
One of his three brothers, George W .. enlisted in Company A, Fourth New Hampshire Volunteers, and died of small pox on Morris Island, S. C.
Went through the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville safely, but breathed his last about midnight on the field of Gettysburg. Darins Garland claims that he was wounded in side, laying open his bowels, and that he helped him back a piece but was obliged to leave him. But Sergeant Lawler, who had a better chance of knowing,* writes :
"I found Dana Jones on the field (referring to his moonlight search over the same). Ile was shot, as near as I can remember, with a rifle ball in the left breast. He knew he was to die. He knew me, and was more than glad to see me. Ile did not seem to have much pain. Ile prayed, and seemed reconciled to die. He said nothing about his family or friends, and I said nothing to him about them. Ile died abont 12 o'clock, as quietly as if falling asleep."
He was one of the brave and stalwart members of Company A, and the evidence of one of his officers is, that " he was a most excellent soldier." Hle belong's to the roll of honor
CHRISTOPHER C. JOY.
Born' in New Durham, September 2, 1836. Son of Samnel and Watey (Pettigrew) Joy Wounded at Gettysburg by ball in chest, and lived until 2 o'clock the next morning.t " When it was daylight," says Sergeant Lawler, "I took his watch and afterward sent it to his wife by John Colomy. He seemed to be suffering much from pain when I found him. I got him some water, placed him on a blanket, and did what I could to help and comfort him. He died at last, like Jones, who lay dead near by, so easily that I thought lte was going to sleep."
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