USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Fitzwilliam > The history of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, from 1752-1887 > Part 23
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2. Resolved, That we fully coincide in the views expressed in a Re- solve passed by the House of Representatives of our State in 1850, as follows : " That the people of this State are bound by no compact, ex- press or implied, to suffer the introduction of Slavery into territory now free ; and that they are unalterably opposed to the erection of any Ter- ritory without its prohibition, by positive law."
3. Resolved, That our State Legislature be requested to instruct our Senators and Representatives in Congress, upon no consideration or con- dition whatever, not even the preservation of the Union, to give their assent to any Bill, permitting, allowing, or even tolerating Slavery in that territory which was declared to be forever consecrated to Freedom by the Missouri Compromise Act of 1820.
4, Resolved, That these Resolutions be entered upon the Town Records
276
HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
and that a copy of the same be sent to our State Legislature and to each member of our delegation in the Congress of the United States.
These resolutions, after an address by Ephraim Parker, a native of Fitzwilliam, and recently from Missouri, were adopted by a vote of one hundred and twenty to seven.
That this bold and determined opposition to the repeal, in any manner or degree, of the Compromise in question, caused the defeat of the measures proposed for that purpose there can be no question. Nebraska was made a free State, and the friends of human freedom breathed more freely.
But the old antagonism, favored by the condition of the great political parties of the country, continued, and com- promises could do nothing effectual to allay it. The fire was only smouldering-it was by no means extinguished.
The election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency, in 1860, and his inauguration, March 4th, 1861, hastened on the struggle.
The outbreak of the Rebellion, which to most appeared so sudden and unexpected, was, after all, only the natural order of events, when we consider the strength and violence of human passion. The time comes when the underground fires that have been burning for generations must burst forth. But the explosion in this case was none the less fearful for this reason.
The bombardment of Fort Sumter, a fortress of the United States in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, carried consternation to the hearts of all our loyal countrymen. The attack upon this fort, which was made April 12th, 1861, was the signal of war ; and when, thirty-six hours later, the heroic Colonel (afterward General) Anderson surrendered his little garrison to the rebel hosts that confronted him, the great struggle had commenced in earnest. Pouring into Virginia, an army of rebels at once threatened Washington, and soon troops from Massachusetts, dispatched in haste for the rescue of our national Capital, were assailed and shot down in the streets of Baltimore. All was commotion in the insurgent States, and soon the rebel cause seemed to have gained the most fearful proportions. These events, that followed one
277
THE PATRIOTISM OF THE TOWN, 1861.
another in quick succession, aroused the patriotism of the North, and in every town there was a determination to sup- port, at all hazards, our Government against the mighty com- bination that was threatening its destruction. Fitzwilliam was not lacking in this hour of trial, for the men, women, and children in every part of the town hastened to raise and honor the glorious flag of our Union, and to determine upon the course of action that duty and safety demanded.
At a town meeting legally called and held May 9th, 1861, J. J. Allen, Jr., offered the following preamble and resolutions :
Whereas several States of the Union have wickedły joined in a rebel- lion against the rightful authorities thereof, with the avowed intention, by armed resistance to the laws, to subvert the government and estab- lish for themselves a Confederacy based upon the central idea of human slavery, and
Whereas the Governor of New Hampshire has, in obedience to a req- uisition from the President, called out a portion of the Militia of this State to aid in suppressing the insurrection and in the support of the gov- ernment, and
Whereas it becomes all legal persons and constituencies to properly show their devotion to the glorious institutions of our country, which have made it prosper as country never prospered before,
Therefore
Resolved, That this town views, with approbation and pride, the pa- triotism and spirit of those citizens who have volunteered to enlist from this town ; and that any expenditures which may have been made by individuals for the comfortable outfit of such volunteers be reimbursed to said contributors from the treasury of the Town.
Resolved, That any such soldier from this town who has already en- listed and has a family dependent upon him for support, shall receive, either personally or by his said family, from the treasury of the town, a sum which, together with what may be paid him by the government. shall be equal to one dollar and twenty-five cents per day, exclusive of rations, for the time he may honorably discharge his duties in the service.
Resolved, That the Selectmen be, and they are hereby authorized and instructed to purchase twenty-two Revolvers for the use of the soldiers now, or hereafter to be enlisted from this town, the intent being that upon the expiration of the term of enlistment of said soldiers, such weapons shall pass to their successors, if any such there be, if not, they shall revert to the town.
These resolutions appear to have been adopted.
It was then voted that the town make the pay of each and
278
HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
every soldier who has enlisted and has not a family dependent upon him, equal to the sum of twenty dollars per month, ex- clusive of rations.
It was voted also " That the town furnish suitable India- rubber blankets for the soldiers who have enlisted," but this action was so amended that the cost of the blankets was to be deducted from the amount to be paid to the soldiers.
The selectmen were then directed to carry out these provi- sions, and for this purpose empowered to hire a sum of money not exceeding one thousand dollars.
Before the date of the town meeting at which the resolutions given above were adopted, viz., May 9th, 1861, the President of the United States had issued a call for seventy-five thousand soldiers to enlist for the space of three months, it being the opinion of those in authority and of the loyal people generally, that this time would be amply sufficient for putting an end to the Rebellion.
The first enlistments in Fitzwilliam were made under this call and were eighteen in number.
The names of these men will be given under the head " First Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers," but it may be stated in this place that Willard A. Newton has the honor to be the first man who enlisted as a volunteer from Fitzwilliam.
Of the eighteen men who enlisted under the first call for volunteers as mentioned above, seventeen were mustered into the service.
According to the vote of the town each of these men was furnished with a revolver, the whole costing three hundred and forty-seven dollars and fifty cents.
All of these men, with the exception of Mr. Wheeler (who served in a Vermont regiment), received from the town as bounties sums varying from twenty-five dollars and seventy- five cents to twenty-seven dollars each, the whole amounting to four hundred and forty-six dollars.
At a meeting of the town, November 9th, 1861, on motion of A. A. Parker, Esq., it was
Resolved, That the sum of three hundred Dollars be, and the same is, hereby appropriated to the aid of the wife and the children under six-
ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE EARLY VOLUNTEERS. 279
teen years of age, of any inhabitant of the town of Fitzwilliam, who as a member of the volunteer or enrolled militia of this State, may have been mustered or enlisted into the service of the United States, and for each parent or child, who, at the time of his enlistment, was dependent on him for support ; provided that such persons are indigent and stand in need of such relief. And the Selectmen are authorized to borrow on the credit of the town a sum not exceeding three hundred dollars and apply so much thereof as may be needed for the purposes aforesaid.
At an adjourned town meeting a week later, a statement of expenditures having been made by the selectmen, A. A. Parker, Esq., offered the following resolution, which was adopted :
Resolved, That the sum of three hundred and sixty-five dollars and thirty-eight cents be raised to defray the expense already incurred in the purchase of Revolvers and Blankets for the soldiers of Fitzwilliam en- listed into the service of the United States, and the Selectmen be author- ized to hire said sum on the credit of the town.
Subscriptions made in aid of the volunteers who enlisted in the service of the United States at the breaking out of the war, the town voted at the annual meeting in March, 1862, to refund.
In the selectmen's report to the town at the annual meeting, March 11th, 1862, the only account of expenses occasioned by the war is as follows. Paid soldiers' families.
Mrs. Nathan Morse $33.50
Paul Martin. $13.00
Elihu Morse 46.59
Lucius Whitcomb 28.00
Mrs. Asa B. Fiske
31.00
Frederic Lawrence
38.00 Sarah Cass. 14.00
Total $204.09
May 17th, 1862, the town appropriated four hundred dollars in aid of the families of volunteers, under provisions precisely similar to those adopted for the same purpose at the town meeting, November 9th, 1861, and which are recorded above.
August 22d, 1862, the town adopted the following :
Resolved, That a Bounty of one hundred and fifty dollars be paid to each volunteer from this town who shall hereafter be enlisted and mus- tered into the service of the United States in any regiment of volunteers heretofore raised in this State during the present rebellion ; that a Bounty of one hundred dollars be paid to every such volunteer so enlisted and mustered in any regiment of volunteers now being raised in this
280
HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
State, and that a Bounty of fifty dollars be paid to each volunteer from this town under the recent call for 300,000 troops to serve nine months unless sooner discharged.
Provided however that said bounties shall not be paid unless such volunteers shall have enlisted or made known their readiness to enlist before any draft for the description of force they propose to join shall be actually made and they shall be accepted and mustered in as a part of the quota of the town.
It was then voted to adopt the following preamble and reso- lutions :
Whereas an act was passed at the last session of the General Court entitled " An Act in addition to and Amendment of the Act Authorizing cities and towns to aid the families of Volunteers and for other pur- poses, " passed June Session, 1861, which act restricts the provisions of the previous act in some particulars and extends them in others, therefore
Resolved, That the resolution adopted at the town meeting held May 17, 1862, appropriating four hundred dollars in aid of the families of Volunteers be, and the same is hereby rescinded.
Resolved, That the sum of five hundred dollars be, and the same is hereby appropriated for the purposes authorized by said act of the last session of the General Court, to be applied by the Selectmen as the same shall in their judgment be needed.
The selectmen were then authorized to borrow the money needed to pay the bounties specified in the above-mentioned resolution, to pay the bounties and to procure volunteers.
At an adjourned meeting held August 29th, 1862, the se- lectmen having made a statement of their action in procuring volunteers, it was
Resolved, That the volunteers for the new three years' Regiments be paid twenty-five dollars each, and the volunteers for nine months be paid Fifty dollars cach in addition to the amount already voted.
Resolved, That the Selectmen be, and they are hereby authorized and instructed to pay the wife and the children under twelve years of age of all volunteers in the regiments formed, under the recent requisitions for 300,000 men for three years and 300,000 men for nine months, four dollars per month, each, in addition to the bounties heretofore voted ; the whole amount so paid not to exceed twelve dollars per month for any one family ; and this payment to continue so long as the volunteer re- mains in the service.
Voted, That the Bounties, exclusive of the aid to their families, be
281
APPROPRIATIONS FOR SOLDIERS' FAMILIES.
paid to the Volunteers on being mustered into the service of the United States.
At the annual meeting, March 10th, 1863, the sum of eighteen hundred dollars was appropriated, or so much of it as should be needed to aid soldiers' families.
At the same meeting, March 10th, 1863, the selectmen's re- port showed disbursements, on account of the war, as follows :
Charles II. Woods, enlisting volunteers $25
Bounties to three years' men 1800
" nine months' " 2100
Paid to soldiers' families 1043.50
Total, $4968.50
As the soldiers' names to whom these bounties were paid, and the amount which each soldier received will appear in the tables annexed, where the names of all the men who enlisted will be presented in their regiments and companies, no more particulars respecting these soldiers are here required.
The families aided during the year closing March 10th, 1863, were as follows :
Elihu Morse $134.04
Stillman S. Stone. $40.00
Lucius Whitcomb.
106.46
George A. Smiley
60.00
Nathan Morse 110.50
Jefferson Richardson 48.00
Asa B. Fiske. 94.00
Loammi B. Underwood 9.50
Paul Martin .
28.00
Charles R. Monroe. 32.00
John L. Church
45.00
Amos T. Town. 48.00
Asaph Whitcomb.
48.00
James M. Ingalls. 32.00
John B. Fiske 40.00
Elisha Harkness 48.00
Frederick Lawrence 24.00
Leander Richardson 14.00
Daniel P. Osborn
42.00
Joseph H. Ramsdell
40.00
Total $1,043.50
September 13th, 1863, the town voted
to pay to the men now drafted of this town who have been or shall be mustered into the United States service, or to the substitutes of the said drafted men, who have been or shall be mustered into the United States service, three hundred dollars, each, ten days after being mustered into said service.
December 21st, 1863, the town adopted the following :
Resolved, That the Committee duly appointed for the purpose of fill- ing the quota required of the town of Fitzwilliam, are authorized to pay
282
HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
each citizen who will enlist and be mustered into the service of the United States the sum of three hundred dollars, in addition to the bounties offered by the Government of the United States and the State of New Hampshire.
Resolved, That if the Committee fail of procuring citizens to fill the quota as required of said town, then they are authorized to hire men to fill up said quota, at a reasonable price, provided the sum of money re- quired for each man does not exceed three hundred dollars in addition to the bounties of the United States and the State of New Hampshire.
Resolved, That the Committee of the town are authorized to cash the bounties offered by the Governments of the United States and the State of New Hampshire, in the payment of their contract with all the volun- teers that are mustered into the United States service to fill the quota of Fitzwilliam, provided such bounties are legally transferred and assigned to the town of Fitzwilliam.
The committee appointed by the town to carry into effect the resolutions adopted at the meeting of December 21st, 1863, consisted of George L. Stearns and Phillip S. Batcheller, and they were authorized to appoint another member of their com- mittee.
Amos J. Blake, Esq., was appointed upon this committee. Provision was also made for borrowing a sum of money, not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000), to carry into effect the resolutions above-mentioned.
At the annual town meeting, March 8th, 1864, it was voted
That all veteran soldiers of Fitzwilliam who have re-enlisted for three years or during the war, and can be allowed on the quota of this town on any call of the President, be paid, as Bounty, the sum of Three Hill- dred dollars each, provided they have not received any extra pay or bounty from this or any other town or State.
At the same meeting, March Sth, 1864, the report of the . selectmen showed disbursements on account of the war, as follows :
Bounties paid to three years' men $9,724
" drafted 1,200
Paid balance due three months' men 265
" to aid soldiers' families. 1.313
$12,502
283
APPROPRIATIONS FOR SOLDIERS' BOUNTIES.
The soldiers' families aided during the year closing March Sth, 1864, and the amounts received by each were as follows :
George A. Smilie $149.00
Jefferson Richardson $42.00
Elihu Morse. 140.00
J. Lovell Church. 47.33
Nathan Morse. 127.75
Abraham H. Richards 48.00
Daniel P. Osborne. 120.00
Asa B. Fiske 24.00
Asaph Whitcomb.
98.67
Julius O. Stone. 16.00
John B. Fiske 88.00
Paul Martin . 16.00
Amos T. Town. 72.00
Robert Nixon 12.00
Samuel S. Stone
90.25
Elisha Rugg
8.00
James M. Ingalls.
48.00
Lucius Whitcomb
6.00
Charles R. Monroe
48.00
Elisha Harkness
48.00
Total
$1,313.00
At the same date among the assets of the town the follow- ing important items may be found :
Due from United States Government for bounties advanced . $4004
from State for State aid . 1136
Total, 85140
June 18th, 1864, the town adopted the following :
Resolved, That the Selectmen are authorized to pay to each soldier of Fitzwilliam who has been drafted since May 1, 1864, to fill the quota of the town, or who has furnished a substitute, the sum of three hundred dollars as a bounty, to be paid in ten days after he has been accepted and mustered into the service of the United States.
July 23d, 1864, the town adopted the following :
Resolved, That the Seleetmen of the Town of Fitzwilliam be author- ized and instructed in behalf of the town, to pay the sum of one hun- dred dollars as a bounty, for each one year's man, two hundred dollars for each two years' man, and three hundred dollars for each three years' man, who shall be mustered into the service of the United States, as a volunteer to fill the quota of this town, under the present call of the President for five hundred thousand men.
The same bounties were offered for substitutes of enrolled men, while at the same time the town voted to pay
to any drafted person of said town who may be held to service under the present order for a draft, who shall serve in person, the sum of two hun- dred dollars, or to his substitute the highest sum the law authorizes.
284
HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
September 5th, 1864, the town adopted the following :
Resolved, That the Selectmen are authorized to pay four hundred dollars as bounty to any person who has been an inhabitant of Fitzwill- iam for three months, and has enlisted on the quota of said town under the last call of the President and actually mustered into the service of the United States.
Resolved, That the town does hereby appropriate as bounty to each soldier, except to those enlisted from insurgent States, who shall be mus- tered into the service of the United States, to fill the quota of Fitzwill- iam, under the last call of the President, whether such soldier shall have voluntarily enlisted, or volunteered as a substitute for a drafted or enrolled man, the sum of one hundred dollars for each one year's man, two hundred dollars for each two years' man, and three hundred dollars for each three years' man, and in the same proportion for any term of service, the above specified bounties of one hundred, two hundred, and three hundred dollars are hereby declared to be in lieu of the bounties voted by the town, July 23, 1864.
January 16th, 1865. The town voted
to pay the sum of two hundred dollars to each volunteer, the same being a citizen of this town that has or may enlist and be mustered into the service of the United States for the term of one year prior to the 2d Tuesday of March, 1865.
At the annual meeting, March 14th, 1865, the action above mentioned of January 16th, 1865, was restricted to such as helped to fill the quota of Fitzwilliam.
At this meeting, March 14th, 1865, the town repeated its offers of bounties to men serving one, two, and three years, of one hundred, two hundred, and three hundred dollars, as it had done July 23d, 1864, but the offer was under a new call of the President for three hundred thousand men.
A bounty of two hundred dollars was pledged to each drafted man when mustered into service, and also a bounty of one hundred dollars for each year's service was offered to any per- son who should be mustered in under the same call, as a part of the quota of Fitzwilliam.
April 10th, 1865, the town voted
to pay the sum of two hundred dollars additional bounty to the sum al- ready voted, to the seven men who last enlisted in the service of the United States to fill the quota of Fitzwilliam under the last call of the President, provided that no one of the seven men shall receive in all, as bounty, a sum exceeding five hundred dollars.
REPORTS OF THE SELECTMEN, 1865 AND 1866. 285
At the annual meeting, March 14th, 1865, it appeared from the report of the selectmen that disbursements on account of the war had been made during the year covered by the re- port, as follows :
Paid bounties. $2400
" balance due three months' men 155.25
" for furnishing substitutes S100
To aid soldiers' families. 1562.05
Total, $12,217.30
Soldiers' families were aided during the year closing March 14th, 1865, as follows :
Robert Nixon. $144.00
John A. Platts. $34.00
George A. Smilies 144.00
Levi N. Lillie 36.00
Daniel P. Osborn. 144.00
Joseph E. Harkness 34.00
Nathan Morse 120.00
H. H. Boyce. 24.00
Elisha Rugg 96.00
Elisha Harkness 40.00
J. Orlando Stone. 100.00
Abraham HI. Richards. 144.00
Samuel S. Stone. 96.00
Lewis K. Ward
96.00
Elisha Morse.
2.05
Paul Martin. .
68.00
Daniel H. Reed
70.00
Total $1,562.05
In the same report, among the assets of the town, these items appear :
Dne from United States Government.
$3118
.. State for State aid 1244.05
$4362.05
It would appear from the appropriations of the town during these long years of painful suspense and immense sacrifices at home, in the army, and in the hospitals, that a liberal policy toward the soldiers and their families was pursued from the be- ginning.
At the annual meeting, March 13th, 1866, the report of the selectmen shows the following disbursements on account of the war, which happily had been brought to a close the previous year.
Bounties paid . $3500
John B. Fiske. 40.00
Darius H. Whitcomb. 96.00
John II. Streeter. 34.00
286
HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
The soldiers' families aided during the year closing March 13th, 1866, were as follows :
George A. Smilie $64.00
Elisha Rugg. $47.73
Nathan Morse. 40.00
Nathan C. Carter 47.57
Robert Nixon ..
72.00
Orvis Fisher. 47.14
Stillman S. Stone
27.73
Daniel P. Osborn 33.00
Julius O. Stone 65.20
Sylvester Boutwell. 31.48
Darius H. Whitcomb 54.00
Ora Holman
47.14
Henry HI. Boyce.
18.00
Robert McDonald
15.00
Joseph E. Harkness
24.00
John A. Platts
12.00
Lewis K. Ward.
47.20
Abraham II. Richards 57.00
Total
$750.19
The United States Government owed the town at the date given above three thousand one hundred and eighteen dollars, and the State four hundred and forty-six dollars and nineteen cents.
In 1865 the town had appointed the three resident clergy- men of the place a committee to keep a record of Fitzwilliam in suppressing the Rebellion, but they had declined the ser- vice. Accordingly, March 8th, 1870, the town voted :
That a Committee of three be chosen to collect facts in regard to the enlistment, service and death of Soldiers in the late War, of or from this Town, and make report of the same, which report shail be recorded in the Records of the town.
The committee chosen for this purpose consisted of Captain Jonathan S. Adams, George A. Whittemore, and John M. Parker. The chairman, Captain Adams, it is understood, did a large part of the work involved in collecting and arranging the materials of this important report, and appears to have been thorough and painstaking from the beginning to the end of his labor.
Messrs. Whittemore and Parker were in the service of the country, the former as assistant quartermaster, with the rank of captain for a period, while the latter served nearly three years in the field and was first lieutenant of his company when mustered out of the service. In a voluminons report of this nature, there is always a liability to mistakes, but this is deemed to be as reliable as the circumstances would admit of.
All the most important facts set forth in this report are here given, and the order observed in arranging them has been gen-
SOLDIERS IN THE FIRST AND SECOND REGIMENTS. 287
erally followed, while a few corrections have been made and some additional facts incorporated.
FIRST REGIMENT N. II. VOLUNTEERS. SOLDIERS FOR THREE MONTHIS WHO RECEIVED BOUNTIES.
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