USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Rindge > History of the town of Rindge, New Hampshire, from the date of the Rowley Canada or Massachusetts charter, to the present time, 1736-1874, with a genealogical register of the Rindge families > Part 22
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In accordance with the provisions of this vote, a com- mittee of five was chosen, who performed their duties with great faithfulness, and fully carried out the foregoing pledge of the town. Their labors will be referred to in another section of this chapter.
Previous to this meeting, eight young men, without waiting for any promises of assistance from the town, had enlisted into the First New Hampshire Regiment, which was raised for three months. They were honorably discharged with their regiment, on the ninth of August. They were : George W. Cragin, Henry E. Burritt, Henry E. Ballou, Oliver S. White, Albert S. Murphy, Hercules W. Raymond, Charles Brown, and Otave Demone. The service which they were called upon to perform was not extremely ardu- ous, nor were their experiences in any manner remarkable ; but as the first to enlist, who were soon to be followed by many others of equal courage, they merit especial mention.
The enlistments of three years' men during the year were numerous, and included many who had families dependent upon them for support. These they confidently left to the generous care of the town, and joined the grand army, hastening to the scene of activities. Several of the
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men in the First Regiment immediately reenlisted, from this and other towns.
In the first New Hampshire Battery were Horace C. Bennett, Oscar I. Converse, George W. Cragin, and Andrew S. Ballou. They were mustered into service for three years, September 26, 1861, and remained in service until the expi- ration of the term of enlistment, except Oscar I. Converse, who was discharged, on account of disability contracted in the service, May 26, 1863. George W. Cragin reënlisted, December 26, 1863, and remained in the service until the close of the war. The battery was continuously with the army in Virginia and in Maryland, and rendered good service, participating in many battles, and sharing the hardships of several campaigns.
The Sixth Regiment was raised in the autumn of this year, and contained thirty-six men from this town, thirty- four of whom were in Company K, which was recruited from this vicinity. Ebenezer H. Converse, who had ren- dered active and efficient service in raising a company, and under whose leadership the volunteers were promptly enrolled, was commissioned captain of the company in which this town was so fully and honorably represented. He accompanied the regiment to the seat of war, and continued in command of his company until his resignation, which occurred in April following.
A few days before the regiment left the State, a large number of the citizens of Rindge were assembled in the Town Hall, to witness the presentation of a sword to Capt. Converse. On the eve of the departure of so many citizens of the town, and in the midst of many solicitous prayers for their personal safety, the occasion was memorable. Stephen B. Sherwin, Esq., who was present with words of unqualified patriotism whenever his townsmen were assem-
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bled to discuss the grave issues of the times, while presiding at this meeting suddenly expired in his chair. The event cast an additional shadow over the sadness of the hour.
These volunteers joined the regiment at Keene, Novem- ber 28, 1861. By anticipating other events, considerable repetition will be avoided by giving some account of their service in this connection.
Ambrose Butler.
Promoted sergeant; wounded at Petersburg, June 17, 1864, and discharged on account of disabil- ity, Dec. 17, 1864.
Deserted.
Promoted sergeant, June, 1863, and detailed as commissary of the Ambulance Corps. Mustered out at end of three years.
Killed at Bull Run, Va., Aug. 29, 1862.
George M. Cram.
Wounded at Bull Run, Aug. 29, 1862. Discharged on account of wounds, Dec. 1, 1862. Gunshot wound in the face.
Augustus A. Chamberlain.
Discharged for disability, June 18, 1862.
Henry H. Davis.
John A. Durant.
Discharged for disability, April 1, 1863. Reenlisted into Veteran Reserve Corps, Jan. 1, 1864.
Christopher C. Demary.
Received a gunshot wound in the hand, at Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 13, 1862. Discharged on account of wounds, March 17, 1863.
James Fitz.
Reënlisted for the war, Dec. 30, 1863. Mustered out with the regiment, July 17, 1865.
Charles F. Gibson.
Mustered out at the end of three years.
Henry E. Burritt. Morton E. Converse.
Cyrus J. Clapp.
Discharged for disability, March 24, 1863.
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Paul Greenleaf.
John Hecker.
Mustered out at the end of three years.
Discharged for disability, June 16, 1863.
John W. Hastings.
Joshua T. Hunt.
Jairus W. Hodge.
George S. Kimball.
Howard Rand.
Promoted to sergeant. Killed at An- tietam, Md., Sept. 17, 1862.
William H. Rugg.
Died of disease at Annapolis, Md., Jan. 20, 1862.
Killed at Bull Run, Va., Aug. 29, 1862.
Reënlisted, Jan. 4, 1864, for the war. Promoted to first sergeant. Re- ceived a gunshot wound in the face at the battle of Spottsylvania Court House, May 12, 1864. Trans- ferred, on account of wounds, to Veteran Reserve Corps, Jan. 20, 1865, and mustered out, July 15, 1865.
Justin S. Richardson.
Henry H. Sherwin.
Accidentally wounded. Discharged on account of wounds, Sept. 26, 1864.
Erastus D. Hall.
Killed at Bull Run, Va., Aug. 29, 1862.
Discharged for disability, Oct. 25, 1862.
Discharged for disability, Jan. 29, 1863.
Died of disease at Annapolis, Md., Jan. 17, 1862.
John I. Reynolds.
James E. Richardson.
Reënlisted for the war, Jan. 4, 1864. Taken prisoner at Poplar Grove, Va., Oct. 1, 1864. Soon after re- leased, promoted to corporal, June 1, 1865; sergeant, July 1, 1865. Mustered out, July 17, 1865.
Discharged for disability, April 10, 1862.
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HISTORY OF RIND GE.
Nathan Smith.
Reënlisted Jan. 4, 1864. Taken pris- oner at Poplar Grove, Va., Sept, 30, 1864, and died within the rebel lines, at Salisbury, N. C., Jan. 7, 1865.
Walter W. Smith.
Reënlisted, Jan. 4, 1864. Taken pris- oner, May 6, 1864. It is supposed that he was exchanged, and that he was lost at sea, on the voyage to the Union lines.
Willard Simonds.
Deserted at Newbern, N. C., July 21, 1862.
Edward P. Stratton.
Died of discase at Annapolis, Md., Jan. 13, 1862.
David Stowe.
Discharged for disability, Sept. 27, 1862.
Josep Shaffee.
(Generally spelled Chaffee on Rindge records.) Reënlisted Jan. 4, 1864. Promoted to corporal. Killed near Petersburg, Va., July 21, 1864.
Thomas R. Todd.
Reenlisted Jan. 4, 1864. Died of wounds received near Bethesda Church, Va., June 3, 1864.
George A. Whitney.
Received a gunshot wound in the hip, at Bull Run, Va., Aug. 29, 1862. Discharged, on account of wounds, Oct. 31, 1862.
Thomas S. Whitney.
William L. Whitney.
Leonard P. Wellington.
Wounded May 6, 1864. Mustered out at end of three years. Discharged for disability, Dec. 26, 1862. Discharged for disability, Feb. 23, 1863.
Two others were members of Company E, in the same regiment : Almon F. Nutting was wounded at Bull Run, Virginia, August 29, 1862, and discharged on account of the wounds received January 21, 1863; and James W. Russell, who reënlisted for the war, February 11, 1864, and was mustered out with his regiment July 17, 1865.
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These men enlisted from lofty motives, rather than for bounties, and at a time when their country needed precisely such service as they cheerfully and heroically rendered. The foregoing record of death and of wounds most elo- quently proclaims their valor. They left the State on the twenty-fifth of December, a day in the Christian calendar crowned with memories of peace and brotherhood, rather than of the stern realities of war. Soon after their arrival at Washington, their regiment was assigned to Burnside's expedition, and on the ninth of January embarked for Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. Meanwhile there had been considerable sickness among them, and three of their number were left at Annapolis, where they died soon after. Before their return from North Carolina, their regiment was several times engaged in action, and Camden was early inscribed upon their colors. In July, 1862, they were ordered to scenes of greater activity and danger, and with deplorable loss they shared the fortunes of the memorable battle- ground of Bull Run, three of their number being killed, and several severely wounded. Three days later, they more successfully met the enemy, at Chantilly, and soon after were ordered to the defence of Washington. They were at South Mountain, and again their ranks were depleted at Antietam. The campaign in Virginia and Maryland proved the qualities of the regiment, and the men from Rindge won equal honors with their comrades. The record of the military service of these men will be continued in a subsequent portion of this chapter.
The year of 1861 was one of disappointment and disaster. The reverses in the field, however, only served to awaken renewed zeal, and to provoke a firmer determi- nation in the minds of the people that the rebellion should be suppressed, and that order and law should again be
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HISTORY OF RINDGE.
supreme. The town, having sent more than its proportion of men to the war, was now at liberty to fulfill its pledge to support the families of the soldiers. Near the close of the year, the citizens again assembled in legal meeting. Having heard the report of the war committee, they accepted of all that had been done, and instructed the committee to proceed in the further relief of the families of the volunteers. The number who had enlisted from this town into New Hamp- shire regiments, during the year, was forty-eight, and that number was credited to the town on a subsequent adjust- ment of the quota. In addition, several had enlisted in regiments raised in other States, and Samuel Henry Stearns, in September, had entered the Sixth United States Cavalry for three years. He was with his regiment, participating in many battles, until in an engagement with the enemy, a few days after the battle of Gettysburg, he was wounded and made prisoner. He remained within the rebel lines until the thirtieth of August, when he was exchanged. Soon after, he was detailed as general clerk in the hospital at Annapolis, where he remained until the expiration of the term of enlistment. A journal kept by him while in a rebel prison, is a most thrilling story of hunger and suffering. A few others from this town experienced the same inhuman treatment while in the hands of the enemy.
The number of men from which additional recruits were to be raised had been greatly reduced during the eventful year already passed ; the price of wages materially increased ; and the reverses in the field, no doubt, had some influence on the minds of the people. Whatever may have been the prevailing cause, it was soon evident that volunteers to fill renewed calls for men were not so promptly at hand. As in other towns, the policy of paying bounties was now proposed. In August of this year the town voted to give
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each volunteer for three years, who should count on the town's quota, the sum of one hundred dollars, in addition to the State bounty, and one hundred and fifty dollars, including the State bounty, if any was thus paid, to each volunteer for nine months. The quota of the town was soon filled, and perhaps if no bounty had been offered there would have been no lack of volunteers. In either event no regret has ever been expressed that the town was permitted to make this poor return to the men who offered their services, and in many instances gave their lives, in the defence of an imperiled nation.
The Ninth New Hampshire Regiment was recruited for three years, in the summer of this year. The names of nine from Rindge were entered upon the rolls. They were in Company I, and were mustered on the fifteenth of August.
George J. Allen.
Charles B. Brooks.
Samuel W. Fletcher.
William A. Kemp.
George F. Gilmore. George Stearns.
Julius Stratton.
Charles W. Symonds.
Marshall P. Wood.
Wounded severely, June 2, 1864, and subsequently discharged.
Discharged for disability, May 21, 1863.
Promoted sergeant. Accidentally wounded in camp. Discharged on account of wounds, Jan. 1, 1863.
Died of disease, at Camp Nelson, Ky., Feb. 29, 1864.
Mustered out at end of three years.
Promoted corporal. Died of disease, at West Philadelphia Hospital, Dec. 24, 1862.
Died of disease, at Cincinnati, Ohio, Aug. 11, 1863.
Wounded at Petersburg, Va., July 30, 1864. Taken prisoner, and, after exchange, was mustered out at expiration of term of service. Mustered out at end of three years.
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HISTORY OF RINDGE.
There were three from this town in the Fourteenth New Hampshire Regiment who were mustered for three years, on the twenty-third of September. Of these, Henry A. Smith died at Poolsville, Maryland, January 7, 1863, and his brother Charles M. Smith, January 12, 1863. The remaining soldier in this regiment was Flavel L. Tolman. From first sergeant he was promoted to second lieutenant, March, 1863; to first lieutenant in October following ; to captain in January, 1864; and to major in December of the same year, and was discharged with his regiment, July 26, 1865. His promotion was rapid, but not unmerited.
In the Sixteenth, a nine months' regiment, were James B. Perry and Marion W. Converse. They enlisted October 23. Their regiment was ordered to New Orleans, where the men suffered very much from diseases ineident to the climate. Marion W. Converse was promoted to corporal, and died June 4, 1863. James B. Perry was promoted to first sergeant, suffered considerably from sickness, and was mustered out with his regiment, August 20, 1863.
Those in the Ninth Regiment, previously named, were early called into action. They arrived at Arlington Heights on the twenty-eighth of August, and with little opportunity for drill and discipline they gallantly met the enemy at South Mountain, on the fourteenth of September, and at Antietam a few days later. On both of these occasions they acquitted themselves with credit, and their coolness and steadiness under fire was like that of veterans. Much of the time, during the remainder of the war, they were in the same brigade with the Sixth Regiment. Together they shared the fall campaign in Virginia, and the disastrous fortunes of the battle of Fredericksburg.
In the spring of 1863, those that remained -thirteen in the Sixth, and six in the Ninth -accompanied their regi-
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ments to Kentucky, and in June they joined the army, under General Grant, in the operations against Vicksburg. In this vicinity, they were in several engagements, and endured, uncomplainingly, the heat of the climate, and, at times, the malaria of the locality in which they were sta- tioned. In August, they proceeded to Tennessee and Kentucky, to close the arduous campaigns and toilsome marches of the year. Seldom have any soldiers performed greater service in the same length of time. In the spring . of 1864, their regiments were transferred to the army in Virginia. Their decimated number participated in the battle of the Wilderness, and in the severe service which imme- diately followed. In November, the term of enlistment of the men in the Sixth expired. At this time, of thirty- six who joined the regiment only eight remained, four of whom had reenlisted for the war, and remained in service, while four returned to their homes. There were seven reënlistments, but previous to this date two had been killed, and one was a prisoner within the rebel lines, where he soon after died. The names of the persons in these classes can be found in the individual account of each man from Rindge in this regiment, which has already been given. In the Ninth, but two from this town were left in the ranks. It will be seen that, in these regiments, of forty-five men, . four had been honorably discharged for other than physical causes, two had deserted, and but six remained in the service, and of these, one was transferred soon after to the Veteran Reserve Corps, on account of wounds previously received. A sad story of wounds, of sickness, and of death, has been their history. This little remnant, all that was spared from so many stalwart forms, together shared the fortunes of the siege of Richmond and the subsequent successful movements, until, amidst thoughts of home and
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HISTORY OF RINDGE.
a speedy return to their families, they were permitted to behold the final overthrow of the rebellion.
The quota for 1863 was not so promptly filled, and a draft was resorted to. This peremptory method of filling quotas had thus far been avoided. There were very few towns whose quota was filled at this time. The draft was general throughout the State, and this town proved to be no exception. Fifteen were thus selected and held for service, although others were drawn who were discharged upon an examination. Each of the drafted men held for service furnished a substitute, except one, who, under a provision of the laws, paid three hundred dollars as commutation. The town, however, during the year, voted to pay three hundred dollars to each volunteer, or to each man who furnished a substitute, and thus the drafted men suffered little, if any, pecuniary loss. The names of the men who furnished substitutes are as follows : -
Clovis M. Converse.
Willard G. Jones.
Conrad R. Converse.
Prucius W. Manley.
Eben B. Cutter.
Augustus F. Symonds.
Henry S. Drury.
Albert H. Thomas.
William A. Hale.
J. Warren Wilder.
Lyman Hall. John A. White.
David L. Hubbard.
Henry C. Whitcomb.
James B. Robbins paid commutation. A few months later, Lyman Hale was drafted, and furnished a substitute. None of these substitutes were from Rindge, and their names are omitted.
Still the devouring vortex of war was unsatiated, and the cry for men to fill the decimated ranks was continued. In July, 1864, Oscar I. Converse was commissioned second lieutenant, and was assigned to Troop G, in the First New Hampshire Cavalry. In the same regiment were four soldiers from Rindge : Elmer F. Rice, enlisted in March,
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and died at Camp Stoneman, May 16, 1864; Darwin A. Smith, enlisted in April, was made prisoner at Ream's Station, June 22, and, after exchange, died from the effects of prison fare, at Annapolis, Maryland, September 18, 1864 ; John L. Webster, and Sargent A. Webster, enlisted in March, and were mustered out, July 15, 1865. The regi- ment served in Maryland and Virginia, and won an enviable record. Lieut. Converse was promoted first lieutenant, June 10, 1865, and mustered out with the regiment. In · February following, he was commissioned second lieutenant in the regular army, being one of the five appointments to the army, upon its reorganization, accredited to New Hamp-
shire. He was assigned to the Fourteenth United States Infantry, and in May was promoted to first lieutenant. While upon service in Arizona, he was severely wounded, in an engagement with the Indians, and for meritorious conduct on the occasion was breveted captain. October 19, 1868, he was retired from active service, on account of wounds received in action.
Reuben A. Buzzell, who had been in the service previous to his removal to Rindge, enlisted in August of this year into the Veteran Reserve Corps. The six volunteers last named received from the town a bounty of three hundred dollars each.
During the autumn, and in January, 1865, the town also furnished twenty-four substitutes for enrolled men, and twelve hired recruits. To each of these a town bounty, ranging from three hundred dollars to seven hundred and twenty-five dollars, was paid. The names of these soldiers are omitted, for the reason that none of them were citizens of Rindge, or in any other manner associated with the history of the town. To say that they were elevated to
D
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HISTORY OF RINDGE.
the average standard of "bounty jumpers," that haunted recruiting offices during the last year of the war, leaves no possibility of derogation. With little exception, the town has no pride in their military career.
In March, 1865, the last quota of the town was filled, by the enlistment of George W. Lawrence and William H. Parsons. They were assigned to the Eighteenth Regiment, and were mustered out, with a portion of their regiment, July 29, 1865. To these a bounty of one thousand dollars was paid. At this time towns were paying extravagant bounties, to volunteers. In some instances fifteen hundred dollars were paid to men who fortunately arrived at the seat of war in season to return, as a kind of citizen escort to the war-worn veterans.
Three surgeons from this town were in the service. Dr. J. Homer Darling, for a few years a resident physi- cian of Rindge, was appointed assistant-surgeon of the Fifty-first Massachusetts Regiment, and was mustered into the service November 2, 1862. He served in that capacity in Virginia and in North Carolina, until the summer of 1863, when he joined the Army of the Potomac, where he remained until his regiment was mustered out, at the expiration of term of service, in July of this year. Of this regiment, Dr. George B. Jewett, a native of Rindge, was surgeon. While in the service, Dr. Darling was present at the battles of Kinston, Whitehall, and Golds- borough. Soon after his return from the army, he was tendered an appointment of assistant-surgeon in the navy. The appointment was accepted, December 3, 1863. He was immediately ordered to the United States steamer "Clyde," then cruising in the Gulf of Mexico. After fifteen months' service he was transferred, at his request, to the United States bark "Pursuit," and was honorably
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discharged, with the thanks of the Navy Department, in December, 1865.
Dr. Josiah Abbot, for more than twenty years a physi- cian in this town, was appointed, October 24, 1864, assistant- surgeon of the Thirteenth Regiment United States Heavy Artillery, then stationed at Smithfield, Kentucky. In this capacity he served, being much of the time on detached duty, until the following spring. In April, he was pro- moted to surgeon of the 119th United States Colored Troops, stationed at Camp Nelson, Kentucky. He immedi- ately joined his regiment, where he remained, witnessing much of sickness and disease, until honorably discharged, on resignation, in September, 1865.
Dr. George J. Norcross, who had but recently received his diploma, in 1865 was appointed assistant-surgeon of the 99th United States Colored Troops. He immediately joined his regiment, at Tallahassee, Florida. In November, he volun- tarily went to the town of Marianna, to visit an officer who requested medical attendance. While there he was pros- trated with pneumonia, and ended his brief but honorable career, December 5, 1865.
Not a few of the young men of this town were absent at the time the first calls for soldiers were issued. Without returning to their homes, in many instances they promptly enlisted into the service from the place of their temporary abode. The information has not been secured to insure a complete list, or to furnish particulars, of the service performed. Of these, George W. Bradish and Amos S. Metcalf were killed; Jonas W. Sawtell, William A. With- ington, and Daniel W. Allen died of disease; and Charles I. Chadwick, Amaziah Sawtell, George H. Sherwin, Daniel H. Lovejoy, Hubbard M. Lovejoy, Ivers E. Pollard, Osborne A. Whitney, John H. Moors, Alvin Gardner, Mortimer
k
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HISTORY OF RINDGE.
M. Stowe, and John H. Harwood, were also in the service. From the first, the town was prompt in making liberal appropriations for bounties, and for the relief of families. The people at no time grumbled over the sacrifice which was made, and all were united in an earnest effort that men and means might not be withheld, and that the war be prosecuted to a successful issue. The war committee, chosen in May, 1861, consisted of Jason B. Perry, Reuben Ramsdell, Alison Lake, John P. Symonds, and James B. Robbins. They paid to the families of volunteers above four thousand dollars, and the sum of six hundred dollars to several persons discharged from the service on account of disability. In the end, the State reimbursed the town for a considerable portion of this amount, but the system was inaugurated, and a large sum was paid, before the State made any proposition to assume the payments made by the town. After two years of service, Mr. Ramsdell resigned; Mr. Symonds died in December, 1863, and Mr. Lake in November, 1864. The final report of the committee was made to the town, by Col. Perry and Mr. Robbins, in March, 1866.
The town paid more than $30,000 for bounties, beside the increased incidental expenses of the period, and upwards of $1,000, disbursed by the war committee, which was not assumed by the State. The selectmen, during this impor- tant period in the town's history, were : -
Martin L. Goddard, '61. Jason B. Perry, '63, '64, '65.
Benjamin Hale, '61, '62. Joseph S. Wetherbee, '63, '64.
Zachariah F. Whitney, '61, '62, '63. Ezekiel Cudworth, '64, '65.
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