USA > New Hampshire > History of the Twelfth regiment, New Hampshire volunteers in the war of the rebellion > Part 63
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547
New Hampshire Volunteers.
D. B. D. 5-63.
NATHANIEL CAYES.
B. B. L. 5-6. CHARLES W. CHENEY.
B. B. F. 5-7 . CORP. AARON CLARK.
B. B. L. 5-S. CHARLES F. CORLISS.
548
History of the Twelfth Regiment
EDMUND COPP. +
Among the many who died in camp at Falmouth, Va., during the winter and spring of 1862-3, was he whose straight-forward look and honest countenance, as here portrayed, plainly bespeaks the soldier and the man.
Ilis father, after whom he was named, married Dorothy Rowan and of the six boys and six girls born to them, four of each lived to grow up, and two sons and two danghters still survive.
His brother, Dr. Jason Copp, was in the Mexican war, and his grandfather Copp was a soldier of the Revolution. One of his sisters became the wife of William Ladd, of Company G. He married Cynthia Ann, daughter of Ira Sanborn, of Meredith, December 2, 1858; and their only child, Willis Herbert, now resides with his mother in the same house where he was born about three years before his father's enlistment, and in the same town where his father was born on the 27th day of October, 1834, and where his ashes now repose.
Ile died March 4, 1863, of fever brought on from exposure on picket when sick and unable to be out.
AMOS DAMON.
Though this veteran was in his forty-ninth year when he enlisted, yet he went with and came home with the regiment, performed duty most if not every day while gone, and is living to-day, at the age of eighty-three, with a fair prospect of enjoying a short journey into the nineteenth century.
Born in Malden, Mass., May 31, 1814. Ilis father, of the same name, married Nancy Standish, who was a direct descendent, in the sixth generation, of Miles Standish and the mother of the subject of this sketch.
Ile was united in marriage, November 25, 1841, to Clarissa Batchelder, and his chil- dren are, Marinda, Otis S., Clara, and Laura A. Two sons older than Otis died in infancy.
In battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Cold Harbor. Acted as fifer until Chancellorsville, after which he was employed most of the time as surgeon's assistant on the field, or as nurse and ward-master in hospital, where he proved to be one of the most vigilant and faithful in the service. At Gettysburg for three days and nights with scarcely any sleep or rest, and until no longer able to stand, he assisted the surgeons at the amputation tables, where, to use his own words, " limbs were piled up like stacks of grain." Ilis military record, like his life, is an honorable one, and without spot or blemish.
CHARLES N. DRAKE.
This special favorite of the daughters of Themis, whose thread of life they would not allow the rebel shot and shell to cut, though perforating his body and shattering his limbs on the field of Gettysburg, was born in Bristol, September 30, 1839, and is the oldest child of Philip S. and Harriet (Locke) Drake, who had two more sons and one daughter. The family of Drakes, to which this veteran belongs, are of English descent, and his more re- cent ancestry were among the first settlers of New Hampton.
llis great-grandfather, on his mother's side, Captain Cutting Favor, is said to have been the first white man that ever slept in the town of New Chester, now Hill.
In Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. In the last battle, a grape shot shattered his right leg, and soon after, while lying on the field between the lines, a minie bullet passed through his body, piercing his left lung, very near the heart. He was carried to the field hospital, some time during the night, and his leg amputated the next day in the afternoon.
Married September 9, 1862, to Harriet A. Rollins, of Bristol, whose father, Samuel H., was a colonel in the state militia. Their children, Irena M. and William R., both died young. Well might Dr. Bliss, in charge of Camden hospital in Baltimore, endorse upon his discharge the words : " His record is good," for they but faintly express the heroism and fortitude of this brave son of Mars.
549
New Hampshire Volunteers.
B. Bk. D. 5-10. EDMUND COPP.
B. B. D. 5-53. AMOS DAMON.
B. B. D. 5-73. CHARLES N. DRAKE.
55
History of the Twelfth Regiment
HARVEY W. DREW.
Of the seven children of Asa and Sarah C. (Wells) Drew, all but one of the four boys were volunteers in the Union army, enlisting and serving in the same company.
Ilarvey W., the oldest child, was born in Bristol, September 2, 1834, and has been twice married ; first to Elizabeth L., daughter of Mitchell H. Page, of Bristol (who had five sons in the army), by whom he had Ehmer E., Nellie, Pearley A., and Dollie; and second, to Ruhama W. Alexander, December 25, 1891.
In the battles of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Petersburg, and Bermuda Hundred, serving at Gettysburg in the Fourth New Jersey Battery.
Ilis occupation, most of the time before and after the war, a blacksmith.
ITe died in Alexandria, Angust 5, 1895, and was buried in Bristol. Ile was a good soldier and respected citizen.
IRA C. EVANS.
Jonathan and Olive A. (Cutting) Evans had four children and one of them, whose youth ful face can be seen here, was born in IFill, April 16, 1841. He entered the service as a druni- mer, and was one of the few musicians who led the regiment at his departure from and re- turn to the city of Concord, where he then and now resides. He was present at all the battles and with the regiment all the time, except at Bermuda Hundred, when he was detailed to work as printer at Norfolk, Va., where he remained about four months, having worked at the business in Concord before enlistment and ever since his discharge.
Ile was elected a few years ago Public Printer, being then, as now, at the head of a large printing establishment, is owner and editor of the Veterans' Advocate which he has pub- lished for many years, and is one of the most active and best liked business men of the city. He is engaged, at present writing, in printing the history of this regiment, and deserves the thanks of all its survivors, and especially of the author, for the exercise of much pains and patience in his part of work.
Married to Helen G., daughter of George L. Rowe, of Concord, August 3, 1865, and the names of his two children are Mabel F. and Ira L.
CHARLES W. FARNIIAM.
Was born July 26, 1841, and was the only son of Joseph and Cyrene ( Wells) Farn- ham, who had four daughters, who are still living.
Hle was in Fredericksburg, and killed instantly by minie ball at Chancellorsville. Not married. One of his sisters, Eliza E., married Daniel II. Sanborn, of Bristol, who was in the late war.
The subject of this sketch is spoken of by his comrades and acquaintances as a good soldier and a very nice man.
BVT. LIEUT. JOSEPH P. FELLOWS
Was born in Wilmot, March 13, 1839, and is the son of William H. and Mary J. (Gove) Fellows, and the husband of Adeline J. (Kimball) Fellows, whom he married De cember 7, 1865. He was most of the time in the commissary and quartermaster's depart- ments. and was fortunate enough to escape battle.
Ilis grandfather and great-grandfather, on his mother's side, were in the 1812 and Revolutionary wars, respectively. A blacksmith by trade and lives in Manchester.
His brother, Henry A., was one of the best soldiers in the regiment (see roll of honor). He fought heroically at Chancellorsville and after his death wound at Gettysburg, he would not accept of an excuse from the surgeons, but walked about twenty miles with his arm severely wounded, and several ribs broken by a shell in that battle. Ile was a man of good habits, and his death soon after, from the effects of his wounds, added another to the long list of the brave and noble dead.
55I
New Hampshire Volunteers.
B. B. L. 5-7. HARVEY W. DREW.
B. A. I .. 5-9.
CHARLES W. FARNHAM.
B. B. L. 5-21. IRA C. EVANS.
0
H. B. D. 5-73 . BVT. LIEUT. JOSEPH P. FELLOWS.
552
History of the Twelfth Regiment
CORP. JERE L. FLAGG.
Son of Ralph E. and Lucinda B. (Bullock) Flagg, born in Groton, March 25, 1836, and one of ten children. One of his two brothers, Rodney, served in the Twenty-second Massachusetts Volunteers, and was wounded several times, dying from the effects thereof in California, soon after the war.
In all battles of the regiment, and injured by being run over by a horse at Gettysburg. Married July 4, 1860. to Louisa M. Mann, whose maiden name was Edison, daughter of Austin Edison, of Randolph, Vt. (No children.)
Farmer and carpenter, and for the last fifteen years a prominent member of the fire de- partment, of Lowell, Mass. The fact that he participated in all the battles of the regi- ment, and came home with it, at the end of the war, is honor enough for any man to be proud of.
CAPT. BLAKE FOWLER.
This officer was born in the town of Sanbornton, in 1804, and was consequently fifty-eight years old, when he enlisted as a volunteer in Company C, and commissioned its captain, being the oldest man in the regiment.
Ile was the son of David Fowler, and was. for some years, the mate of a merchant vessel running between here and the West Indies.
He was at one time a captain in the state artillery and of the " Alexandria Guards" of the old Thirty-fourth Regiment New Hampshire Militia.
lle enlisted the greater part of his company and was chosen its first leader, and com- manded until taken prisoner near Warrington, Va., on the march to Falmouth, Va., where he rejoined the regiment in the spring of 1863.
He was the father and son of a veteran in two wars. (See sketch of Dr. Fowler.) He died at the same house in Bristol where he had lived for sixty years.
LIEUT. JOIIN E. FULLONTON.
Prof. John Fullonton, D. D., who was for many years at the head of the New lamp- ton Literary and Biblical Institute, is father of this soldier ; and his mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth M. Elliott, gave him birth February 22, 1844. His great-great-grandfather came from England, and was one of the first settlers of Raymond, and his son, JJeremiah, inherited his estate and married a descendent of Thomas Dudley, colonial governor of Massachusetts, and one of the famous Dudley family of English history.
In Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and then clerk at General Graham's head- quarters, until commissioned second lieutenant, in First United States Volunteers, and at once selected by General Marston as one of his aides-de-camp, acting as such until the close.
After the war, he was for several years clerk in the war and interior departments, and subsequently acted, for a while, in a similar capacity at a military post in Arizona. From there he wandered off upon a prospective tour to California, contracted a disease of the lungs, from which he died soon after returning to his father's house at Lewiston, Me.
June 9, 1873, he married Etta Mooney, and their only child, Robert D., is still living.
Thus, early in life's march was he halted by the dread messenger, and another brave, kind. and generous-hearted member of our regimental family was ordered to report to the Great Commander.
DEARBORN GRAY.
Ilere is another one of the " old guard," who, though without title or rank, is one the muse of history delights to honor by placing his name upon her fadeless record of the brave and faithful heroes of the Union army.
Though in humble circumstances, and scarcely known outside of his neighborhood, he really deserves greater praise and honor than many about whom whole chapters of eulogy have been written, for of him it can truthfully be said, he was brave from principle and not pride, and true to duty without favor or hope of reward.
553
New Hampshire Volunteers.
B. B. L. 5-S. CORP. JERE L. FLAGG.
G. G. L. 5-7.
CAPT. BLAKE FOWLER.
B. B. L. 5-S. LIEUT. JOHN E. FULLONTON.
554
History of the Twelfth Regiment
Son of Shem and Hannah W. Gray, and born in Alexandria, where he now resides. Married November, 1856, to Eleanor, daughter of Asa Kendall, of Hebron, by whom he has had nine children, viz., Edgar A., Nellie M., Willie K. (deceased), Carrie L., Tamson H., Jennie B., Minnie M., one died in infancy, and Mabel B.
In every battle and skirmish of the regiment, but Gettysburg and Wapping Heights, where he was disabled from being present from wound received at Chancellorsville ; also, wounded in the battles of Drury's Bluff and Cold Harbor.
Ilis brother, John A., was a member of Company 1, Eighth New Hampshire Regi- ment, and died of disease in the service, at Manchester, January 26, 1862.
BVT. CAPT. EDWARD F. GORDON.
This officer, one of the eleven children of John C. and Sally (Robinson) Gordon, was born in New Hampton, June 14, 1842, and the grandson of Josiah Robinson, who fought in the Revolution.
IJe had the advantages of the public schools up to within a period of about five months prior to his enlistment, this time being spent in the employ of the government at the United States Armory, at Springfield. Mass. Here, as a young mechanic, he held a lucrative position, for the reason that there was then a large demand for war supplies of all kinds. But thinking more of his country than himself, he left his position and enlisted as a private for three years.
lle was in the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and a wound received at the latter, losing his little finger, was the cause of his not being in Gettysburg, which was the only battle in which he did not participate with his regiment till the close of the war.
While disabled as above, he and a comrade was put in charge of a small company of furloughed soldiers, armed with a brass cannon, without ammunition, and quartered near the state house, at Concord.
This war measure, adopted by the state authorities, provoked some criticism, but con- tinned till after the draft was over. and all the furloughed soldiers returned to their several regiments.
In the campaign of 1864, he went through all the battles without receiving a wound.
Immediately following the battle of Cold Harbor, he was promoted to sergeant-major, followed by other commissions (see roster). While quartered at Danville, Va., he was ab- pointed post commissary, and had in charge large quantities of government stores, from which he was required to issue rations, to all hungry ex-rebels who would take the oath of allegiance to United States government.
March 28, 1866, he was married to Unice C., daughter of Elder John llook, so well and favorably known, of Coucord, where he has so long resided. Children, Alice N., John (deceased), and Edward A.
Since then he has been engaged, principally, in manufacturing and mechanical pur- suits. He has invented and patented many new and useful improvements in machinery, and has designed various machines which have been and are being sold nearly all over the world. He has been employed, also, as mechanical engineer, and has recently brought out some new and valuable mechanical appliances.
He is now, and has been for some time, at the head of the mechanical school, of Con- cord, a place which he, both by nature and experience, is so well fitted to honorably and usefully fill.
Fearless, whether on the sanguinary field or elsewhere, in defense of the right, and his head and hand as ready, as his heart is willing, to assist in every good cause, may he go forward in the future, as he has met the demand upon him in the past, in his work of aiding mankind.
555
New Hampshire Volunteers.
H. B. F. 5-6. DEARBORN GRAY.
B. B. I .. 5-S.
BVT. CAPT. EDWARD F. GORDON.
Bk. Bk. D. 5-1 I. WILLIAM P. HARLOW.
5,56
History of the Twelfth Regiment
WILLIAM P. HARLOW.
This noble-hearted soldier lived but little more than a month after he enlisted to de- fend his country's flag. But little is known of this soldier's history.
Ile was born in Essex, Mass., in 1839, and died of typhoid fever, at Washington, D. C., October 16, 1862. He was married January 1, 1862, but left no children.
A comrade says : " He was beloved by all who knew him."
MILES HODGDON.
Born in Sanbornton, May 8, 1828. Son of Chase and Hannah P. (George) IIodgdon, and great-grandson of Josiah George, who fought under Washington.
In ambulance corps until January, 1863, when he was taken sick, and never did any duty in the army afterward.
Married first to Sarah B. Sleeper, of Alexandria ; and second, to the widow of W. B. Welch (see sketch) December 9, 1886, with whom he is now living in West Concord. Ilis children by his first wife were Charles G. and George S.
A farmer by occupation, both before and since the war, and a good citizen and neigh- bor.
CORP. MOSES B. HOWE.
Son of Lyman C. and Saphronia (Bartlett) Howe, and born in Bradford, November 16, 1833. Two brothers, Micah C. and George L., in the late war.
Married Susan E. Boardman, of Bridgewater, January 31, 1858. Children, Frank, Lyman (died in infancy), Jennie II., and Elva E.
lle was a farmer before enlistment, and a barber after discharge, until stricken down by Bright's disease of which he died, October 16, 1877. A full record of this soldier is not available.
CORP. JOHN H. INGALLS.
One of the eleven children, and the youngest of the four sons of Gilman, Jr., and Sarah L. (Roberts) Ingalls.
Born in Bristol, April 16, 1841, and died there of chronic diarrhea in 1863, a few months after he was discharged on account of that disease.
All his brothers were in the army. Gustavus W. served in the Third New Hamp- shire, as a member and leader of what afterward became famous as the "Third Regiment Band"; Ilorace L., who first enlisted in the First New Hampshire, and is said to have been the first man to enlist in Grafton county, afterwards served in the Eighth and Eighteenth until the end of the war ; and George 11., who played in the band with his brother for a year or more in the army, but could not enlist, as he was anxious to, because of the loss of a leg before the war. Many of the children were natural musicians, and all were patriotic.
CORP. HARTWELL KEATON.
Son of James and Jane (Nowel) Keaton, born in Charleston, Me., in 1822, and a brother of Robert Keaton, who enlisted in the navy and never returned or was accounted for.
Ile married, in 1845, Fanny Gould, and his children by her were George E., who served three years in the Massachusetts Ileavy Artillery, Charles H., and Mary H. His second wife, Mary Fowler, was married to him in July, 1866, and his children were Alvah E. and Frank F.
557
New Hampshire Volunteers.
G. Bk. D. 5-S. MILES HODGDON.
Bk. Bk. D. 5-1I. CORP. MOSES B. HOWE.
B. S. L. 5-9. CORP. JOHN II. INGALLS.
B. B. L. 5-S3. CORP. HARTWELL KEATON.
558
History of the Twelfth Regiment
In Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Drury's Bluff, Cold Harbor, and Capture of Rich- mond. Hit and stunned by piece of shell at Chancellorsville, after he had given the rebels sixty rounds from his cartridge box and when he recovered found himself a prisoner in their hands, who confined him in Libby and Belle Isle prisons abont two months. A team- ster when he enlisted ; he was detailed as such after his exchange and acted in that capac- ity till the end of the war.
"Good " with a double underlining is the capitalized adjective that one of his comrades used to briefly and emphatically describe his qualities as a soldier, and he is equally deserv- ing as a citizen and a man.
LEVI B. LANEY.
Though no title of rank is attached to name, think not that he does not well deserve one, nor that he was not in every way competent to wield the sword as well as use the gun.
One of the seven children - all boys but one -of John and Nancy (Sleeper) Laney, and was born in Bridgewater, now Bristol, August 16, 1828.
ITis first wife's maiden name was Elizabeth B. Smith, and he married Margaret A., daughter of Benjamin Huntington, of Weare, November 3, 1858, who died a few years ago, leaving him alone in the world, his only child dying in infancy.
In all the battles of the regiment, except Gettysburg, until Cold Harbor, where he was so severely wounded in right shoulder as to disable him for life.
Ile was also slightly wounded by musket ball in left ariu at Chancellorsville, where he was captured and held prisoner at Richmond. Va., most of the time in Belle Isle, for twelve days.
Ilis occupations have been teacher, mechanic, and farmer. Much could be said to the credit of this man. both as a soldier and citizen, and the public estimate of his ability and in- tegrity appears from the fact that he has been elected to several town offices, and run far ahead of his party ticket for county commissioner. He has been president of the Twelfth Regiment association, which shows that he is appreciated and honored by his comrades, as he has been by his neighbors and friends.
LIEUT. JAMES C. NELSON.
Son of Rev. William and Dolly S. (Elliott) Nelson, and born in Plymouth, November 24, 1838. ITis father was a captain in War of 1812 and his brother was in the late war. In battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.
Commissioned first lieutenant in Thirty-second United States Colored Troops, March 30. 1864 (see roster), and resigned September following, on account of sickness.
Farmer and blacksmith before enlistment and after his discharge, until lie decided to expound the gospel of salvation to cold-hearted sinners, instead of longer pounding hot- heated iron for a living, and was ordained a Free Will Baptist minister, at Whitefield, September 4, 1882. He has held pastorates at Gilmanton and Woodstock, where he now resides.
Married to Margaret E. Ilook, some years after the war, by whom he has six children.
SERGT. THOMAS E. OSGOOD.
It gives us pleasure to next introduce to the reader, the venerable, veteran sergeant of Company C, with his benign countenance and patriarchal beard, which was gray when he enlisted, and now as white as snow. Ile is one of the oldest survivors of the regiment, being born at Hebron, June 26, 1814.
The youngest, but one, of the seven children (two sons) of Timothy and Deborah (Pierce) Osgood. who lived when Bible names and precepts were much more comnon than now.
559
New Hampshire Volunteers.
D. B. D. 5-6. LEVI B. LAVEY.
B. Bk. D. 5-83. LIEUT. JAMES C. NELSON.
DH. B. D. 5-73. SERGT. THOMAS E. OSGOOD.
560
History of the Twelfth Regiment
In the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Swift Creek, and Relay House. Wounded in right arm by ninsket ball at Chancellorsville, and in left leg by piece of shell, at Relay House. He was long and dangerously sick in hospital from last wound, though all resulted from a mere contusion, and never able to return to the regiment again.
Married November 26, 1848, to Sylvia Lovejoy, of Piermont, who died December 13, 1858, leaving him with five small children, Timothy, Betsey .J., Clara S., Deborah P., and Joseph L .. all of whom are still living. Of a philosophic turn of mind, with clear and un. yielding convictions of duty, his influence, both by precept and example, has always been on the right side ;* and, although constant and consistent in his Christian work and faith, he neither believes in the election of the good nor the rejection of the wicked,* but in a common brotherhood for all. lle declines to believe in a Creator less kind and forgiving than many of his creatures.
Since the above was written he has gone to test the realities of his faith, having peace- fully breathed his last at Bristol, October 16, 1896, where he had lived most of the time since the war.
He was a carpenter by trade, and the line by which he worked was no straighter or truer than that by which he lived.
JOHN F. PHILLIPS.
We here present a picture of one of the tall and stalwart men of the regiment, who still survives to welcome, with a strong grip and vigorous shake, any of his okl comrades who may visit him at his home in Alexandria, where he was born, June 23, 1842, being the only child of Alvah and Ruth A. (Sleeper) Phillips, and bearing the same name as his grand- father, who, according to family tradition, was all through the Revolutionary War.
lle was himself in three great battles of the late Rebellion, viz., Fredericksburg, Chan- cellorsville, and Gettysburg ; and though sick and excused from duty, after the last named, kept along with the regiment and when asked by the colonel, while approaching the enemy's lines at Wapping Heights, what he expected to do withont a gun, at once exhibited his good grit and ready wit by promptly responding : "I can quickly get a gun when I need one." He was wounded on left side of forehead, at Chancellorsville, by minie ball, which still leaves its mark.
lIe was married to Sarah A. Pattee, of Alexandria, July 4, 1859, and to Sarah A. Fer- rin, of Plymouth, November 30, 1881, and of his ten children, Alvah B., Etta R., Ilenry C., Arthur J., Mary F., Willie A., Levi H., James C., Lon B., and Jason F. - all but the last by first wife - only four are now living.
This soldier is of English descent and his grandfather, above mentioned, was but twelve years old when he enlisted. Ile was sent home on a sick furlough from Point Lookout, Md., when but a mere skeleton, and was unable to walk or stand, and never returned.
Now, and for many years, he has been a store keeper, and one of the leading men of his native town, though but a green farmer's boy when he enlisted. True and reliable, gen- erons and brave ; he is sound to the core and every inch a man.
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