USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > The heroes of Albany. A memorial of the patriot-martyrs of the city and county of Albany, who sacrificed their lives during the late war in defense of our nation 1861-1865 > Part 35
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From Petersburg he was transferred to the horrors of the Libby prison. Of that prison, a friend of the Captain writes: " No pen has ever yet described, no heart, except it were walled within, has ever yet conceived the terrible sufferings that have been endured in that den of misery. A prisoner in the hands of an enemy, defiant, imperious, cruel ! To know that the weakened body will be denied the common necessaries of life, and the prostrate spirit be trodden under the heel of tyranny! Waiving all physical suffering, what loneliness of spirit; what longings for active life; what agonies of suspense for the absent and loved ones, have our brave men felt as prisoners of war! All this was endured by the Captain without complaint. His forti- tude was equal to his extremity."
His last act was to write to his beloved young wife, and two of his letters came the day after the news of his death.
He died in Libby prison, of typhoid fever, September 10, 1864, at the age of thirty-two. His remains were consigned to the earth by the hand of traitors, in the prison burying ground.
Capt. KENNEDY was greatly beloved by his officers and men, and when the tidings of his death reached them, many a veteran
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CAPT. JAMES KENNEDY.
turned away, to hide emotions which are the involuntary tribute to the memory of the good.
Of him it can be truly said he was among " the bravest of the brave," and had it been his fortune to have been called to a higher position, he would undoubtedly have enrolled his name on the brightest pages of the Nation's history. It should be mentioned that a commission, promoting him to the rank of Major, was made out, but it arrived too late. He was dead when it arrived.
In the death of this pure patriot and noble hero, a wife mourns the loss of a devoted husband, a little daughter of a fond and indulgent father, and a large circle of relatives and friends of one honored and respected as a citizen and soldier.
423
CAPT. HARMON N. MERRIMAN.
XXXI. CAPTAIN HARMON N. MERRIMAN.
CAPT. HARMON N. MERRIMAN, son of TITUS L. and SUSAN MER- RIMAN, was born in Franklin, Susquehanna county, Pa., Septem- ber 19, 1819. At the early age of fourteen, he made a public profession of his faith in Christ, and united with the Presbyte- rian church of his native town. While with his parents, and a few years subsequent to his removal from them, Mr. MERRIMAN's occupation was that of an artizan; but shortly after becoming a resident of this city he studied law, and was successfully engaged in its practice when called by his country to enlist in her defence. Mr. MERRIMAN was a member of the Fourth Presbyterian church of this city, and was for about eight years a teacher in its Sab- bath School.
In the organization of the Tenth Regiment he took an active and very efficient part; and Company H, of which he became the Captain, was largely enlisted by his influence and exertions.
This regiment left our city for New Orleans in the month of December, 1862, and it was almost immediately, upon its arrival in that city, called to a perilous service. It was engaged in the earliest assault against Port Hudson, that made May 27, 1863, and it was while gallantly leading his company in that charge that Capt. MERRIMAN received a wound, which, although not at the time supposed to be fatal, proved to be such in the end. He was carried from the field of battle, and was for a short time an inmate of the Military hospital at Baton Rouge. From thence he sailed in the steamer "Thomas A. Scott" for his home. His meloncholy decease or, board of that steamer, together with the circumstances of his burial, are thus related by Rev. J. FORD SUTTON, the General Superintendent of the United States Chris-
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CAPT. HARMON N. MERRIMAN.
tian Commission for the Department of the Gulf. In a letter addressed to the afflicted widow, and dated at sea, July 16, 1863, steamer " Thomas A. Scott," he says :
" It becomes my painful duty to announce to you the death of your husband. Capt. II. N. MERRIMAN, who died at sea yesterday morning at six o'clock, on board the . Thomas A. Scott,' bound for New York. I first saw Capt. MERRIMAN the night before his death. I went into his state room and inquired after his health. He said : 'I am all right, but very weak from the effect of my wound.' I remarked that we-that is, the ship's company and myself, had just been holding a short religious service on the quarter deck. He replied : 'Iheard you, and should like to have been with you.' Seeing that he was very weak, I gave him a little wine, thinking to pursue the conversation further. But the wine was too strong, and the servant had to be called in to dilute and administer it to him, and the conversation was broken off. I intended to have talked more with him the next morning in regard to his religious feelings. But alas! he had been called away half an hour before I came out of my state room. He evidently died of exhaustion from the effect of his wounds. He was full of hope that he would reach home, where he thought he would soon recover.
But the Lord came when he least expected him. * *
" At half past nine o'clock in the morning of the day on which he died the body was brought upon the quarter deck, wrapped in the American flag, and solemn and appropriate funeral services were performed. After that we buried him in the deep-in the Gulf of Mexico, with many tears of sorrow for the loss of our fel- low-soldier, and with warm tears of sympathy for his widow and fatherless children, mingled with many prayers that God would indeed be . the father of the fatherless and the widow's God.'"
The annexed notices of Capt. MERRIMAN's death, taken from the Albany Evening Journal and the Albany Morning Express, are just tributes to his memory :
" We are pained to hear of the death of Capt. MERRIMAN, of this city, from wounds received before Port Hudson. This intel- ligence will be the more saddening from the fact that he was
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CAPT. HARMON N. MERRIMAN.
convaleseing, and might soon be expected home. He was on his way home, accompanied by Brigade Surgeon BLAISDELL, of Coey- mans, when on the second day out he died, and his body was consigned to the deep.
" Captain M. labored with great zeal to effect a prompt organ- ization of the Tenth when called into service, and shared in all its toils and battles until he was wounded, gallantly leading his company in one of the earliest assaults against Port Hudson. He was an ardent patriot, and has given his life to his country. His name will be associated with the heroes of the time, and be placed prominently upon the long roll of our fellow-citizens who, like him, have shed their blood for the Union and the prin- ciples of Freedom, Humanity, and Justice."
From the Albany Morning Express :
" Dr. BLAISDELL, of Coeymans, late Surgeon of the Seventy-fifth Regiment New York Volunteers, arrived in this city yesterday morning. The doctor left New Orleans a week ago Friday on the steamer 'Scott,' in charge of thirty-four wounded officers and sixty-one privates. Among the former was Capt. HARMON N. MERRIMAN, of the One Hundred and Seventy-seventh (Tenth) Regiment, wounded before Port Hudson. Soon after the sailing of the vessel, it became apparent to the doctor that the Captain was failing rapidly, and the Captain himself was perfectly sensi- ble of his situation. He expressed a great desire and hope that he might be spared to reach home and again see his family, but was fully prepared for death. Dr. B. informs us that he never met a man who seemed possessed of so firm a spirit and deter- mined will. He conversed freely of his affairs, and even consulted the doctor as to the propriety of saving his body, and returning it to his family. He died on Tuesday morning last, in the full enjoyment of all his faculties. It was at first decided to preserve the body and bring it home; but an examination of the ship's stores, showed that it would be impossible to do so, as there was scarcely a sufficient quantity of ice on board for the use of the sick and wounded during the passage, and many other necessary articles could not be procured. It became necessary, therefore, that the remains of the gallant soldier should be committed to
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CAPT. HARMON N. MERRIMAN.
the deep. During the day all hands were summoned for the funeral ceremonies. The Episcopal service was performed with great solemnity, after which the body was given to the wide waste of waters. Dr. BLAISDELL says it was the most melan- choly duty he ever performed, and had there been the slightest chance of saving the remains, they would have brought them to this city."
427
CAPT. JOHN A. FEE.
XXXII.
CAPTAIN JOHN A. FEE.
JOHN A. FEE was born in Albany, January 16, 1837. When the guns which were fired against Sumter echoed through the north, and were awakening responses in the hearts of the loyal, Capt. FEE was at once aroused. Seeing the true position of affairs, and comprehending something of the vastness of the struggle upon which we were entering, he saw that lives would have to be given, and blood poured out, before peace would again smile upon our land.
Conceiving it to be the duty of every man, who had the inte- rests of his country at heart, to give his services to the country in the hour of her need, he would immediately have taken part in the struggle, if the earnest persuasion of friends had not deterred him. Restless under this restraint, and impatient at being a spectator only of scenes in which he desired to be a par- ticipant, he enlisted in October, 1861, in the Ninety-first Regi- ment N. Y. S. V., then forming in Albany. He was at once appointed Orderly Sergeant of his company.
Upon the filling up of the regiment, they were ordered to ren- dezvous at Governor's Island, New York Harbor, and after a few weeks detention at that place, they were ordered to Key West, Florida, where he remained until September, 1862.
While at Key West, by his gentlemanly manner, his soldierly bearing and strict attention to duty, he was called the model war- rant officer of that post. He secured the approbation of his offi- cers to such a degree, that a petition was sent to Gov. MORGAN, signed by every commissioned officer in the regiment, asking that a commission be given Sergeant FEE. He was immediately appointed Second Lieutenant in the Forty-eighth Regiment N.
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CAPT. JOHN A. FEE.
Y. S. V., then holding Fort Pulaski and Tybee Island, Ga. Join- ing this regiment a stranger to all, by the exercise of those social qualities with which he was so eminently gifted, he soon sur- rounded himself by a circle of friends, and became one of the leading spirits of the regiment.
He remained at Tybee Island, where his company was sta- tioned. until his regiment was sent to join the expedition under Gen. SEYMOUR, in which was fought the battle of Ohuistree. After the battle, Lieut. FEE was complimented for his bravery in action. Returning to Tybee Island, he remained there (upon the resigna- tion of his Captain) as commandant of the post until April, 1863. While in command of Tybee Island, he received a special letter of thanks from the commander of the district, for preventing a vessel, supposed at that time to be either the " Alabama" or " Florida," from entering the harbor of Savannah, then held by the rebels. Discovering her approach in the gray mist of the morning, he gave her such a warm reception with his thirty-two pounders that she quickly retreated.
The regiment being ordered to join Gen. GRANT, they united with the Army of the Potomac in April, 1863. At that time Lieut. FEE received his commission as Captain. In the actions that ensued, Capt. FEE became conspicuous for his bravery among a regiment of brave men.
Never absent or sick when an engagement was about to take place, he was with his company as their leader in every engage- ment in which it took part. He was always careful, too, of the interests of his men, ministering to their comfort when sick or wounded.
Modest, almost to a fault, in regard to his own actions, the part he took had to be learned from others.
The following extracts from a letter, received from the Orderly Sergeant of his company, after Capt. FEE's death, will show the estimation in which he was held by his company and regiment. He writes:
" We arrived in Virginia April 23, and from that period until June 30, the day on which Capt. FEE received his death wound, the regiment had been marching, picketing, skirmishing, driving
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CAPT. JOHN A. FEE.
the enemy from his works and occupying them; night and day exposed to the incessant and unerring fire of his sharpshooters, so that one could scarcely hold his finger above a certain eleva- tion, without the certainty of having it shattered. Through all this, Capt. FEE was the cool, intrepid and skillful commandant of his company, ever among the foremost in the fight, inspiring his men to deeds of heroism by his noble example and gallant words of cheer; and well do they sustain in the regiment the reputation which he and they so well have won.
"The first battle in which the Forty-eighth was engaged in Virginia, was fought at Chester Hill, on the Petersburg and Richmond railroad. We landed at Bermuda Hundred on the 6th of May, bivouacked that night, and the next morning took up the line of march. The day was excessively hot, and the roads a mass of blinding dust. About two P. M. we came up with the enemy, and engaged him, the fight lasting about three hours. Our regiment took up a position in a broken field, to reach which we had to cross a deep ercek, penetrate a piece of woods, and climb a steep embankment on the other side of the railroad, exposed all this time to a very heavy fire. In the same field, and within short range, was a portion of STONEWALL JACKSON'S famous old brigade. They had with them a battery of light field pieces, and the work began a fair, stand-up field fight. Neither side would yield an inch. We kept them to their work while our troops were destroying the railroads and bridges. The object of the expedition having been accomplished, we received orders to retire.
" On that day Capt. FEE acted with his accustomed gallantry. Always exposed, and never flinching from the stern work before him, he added another leaf to the laurels he had already won. The Forty-eighth lost heavily, and our company lost twelve men.
" Our next engagement was at Drury's Bluff, fought May 16. We captured the enemy's outer works, and moved forward towards his next line, which was of the most formidable charac- ter. Our line was thin, and our flanks were exposed. They charged us six times in quick succession, and in great force, and each time they were bloodily repulsed. At length they massed
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CAPT. JOHN A. FEE.
their forces on our right and left, and succeeded in crushing in both flanks. An entilading fire was the result, which it was im- possible to withstand. A few moments before our flanks were turned, Capt. FEE was selected by the commanding officer of the regiment to take his company and reconnoiter the enemy's posi- tion in our front. While doing so, he had one man killed and five wounded. When we returned, our line was abandoned, and the enemy had advanced beyond it on the right and left. It was a critical position, and capture appeared inevitable; but owing to Capt. FEE's coolness and skill, and the confidence his men reposed in him, we succeeded in rejoining our regiment with a loss of only eight or ten men.
" Our next engagement was the battle of Coal Harbor, fought June Ist. On that day we marched twenty-seven miles; men died from exhaustion and sunstroke on the march. We arrived at the scene of action at the very crisis of the battle, and when victory was in the balance. Heated, weary and foot-sore, we formed line of battle. At once the order was given, " for- ward, double quick." The brigade dashed on with wild and deafening cheers, through the crashing of musket balls, grape and cannister, and solid shot. There was between us, where we formed our line, and the enemy's works, a ploughed field, half a mile in width. Beyond, and bordering that, was a narrow belt of woods, which we made penetrable, though one might suppose a bird would find it difficult to work its wings there. Emerging from these woods, the enemy, behind strong breast works, con- fronted us. We lost heavily before reaching this line of works, but the boys never wavered and never flagged for a moment. Although death was holding a high carnival there, they kept right on; climbed the hill crested by the works; mounted these, and either killed, captured, or put to flight their occupants. They also repulsed every attempt on the part of the enemy, to recover their fine position. In this battle, Capt. FEE was conspicuous for his bravery: earning and receiving the thanks of his com- mander, and the admiration of his men. It was by such reckless bravery as he displayed in this battle, that has secured his high position in the regiment. We remained at Coal Harbor three
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CAPT. JOUN A. FEE.
or four weeks; all the time at the front, picket firing and skir- mishing, with occasional charging, when the army changed its base, and by a flank movement we arrived in front of Petersburg. From that time until Capt. FEE's death, we occupied the front line of works. The day on which Capt. FEE received his wound, June 30, there was a general charge to be made along the whole line. We were outside of our works, to within a hundred yards of the enemy's works. While getting into position, Capt. FEE, and five of his company, were killed or wounded.
" Capt. FEE was wounded through the right arm and body by a rebel sharpshooter; the ball in its course completely shatter- ing the bone of the arm.
" The surgeon of the regiment, it is said, failed to treat the wound properly. Instead of removing the arm, which should have been done, or at least the splinters of bone, he merely bound up the wound. In that condition, Captain FEE was removed to Chesapeake hospital, Fort Monroe. He continued to suffer from the 30th of June until the 11th of July, when one of the splinters of bone, working its way out of the arm, severed one of the arteries, and he nearly bled to death. When it was decided that the arm must be removed, nature had suffered so severely from loss of blood, that it was thought if attempted at that time, the patient would die in the operation. Two days afterwards it was decided that the operation should be performed. When asked by the surgeon in charge, if he had courage to stand the operation, his answer was, 'I have courage to stand any operation you have courage to perform.' The surgeon said to a relative of his afterwards, 'I never, in all my experience, saw a man exhibit such courage under intense suffering, as that shown by Capt. FEE.'
" After the removal of his arm, the surgeon saw he must die. Although a man of strong constitution, nature could not stand such drafts.
" During the day preceding his death, and until within a few hours of that event, he was conscious, and supposed he was going to recover. A few hours before his death, he became delirious, and continued so until about an hour before he died,
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CAPT. JOHN A. FEE.
when consciousness again returned. During this delirium, he was again on the battlefield, again in command of his company Now they were charging the enemy, and now shouting when they were driven. Then the sharp, clear notes of command would ring out in that abode of sickness and death, and then some low, murmured words of prayer would come from his lips.
" Within a short time of his death, consciousness having re turned, he became aware that he was dying; but he expressed no regret, and manifested no shrinking from the foe whom he had met on so many battle fields. He said he would like to live to see the end of the war, but if otherwise ordered he was willing to go.
" The only anxiety evinced by him, was in regard to his mother. Ile feared that she would grieve too much for his loss; that she would feel too bitterly his death when he was gone. But he committed her to the care of Him in whom he himself trusted. Having given directions in regard to his effects, and having sent messages of love to each of his absent relatives, he calmly awaited the call of the Great Commander, whose summons we must all obey. Almost his last words were, 'I have given my life for my country.'"
433
CAPT. EDWARD B. CARROLL.
XXXIII. CAPTAIN EDWARD B. CARROLL.
THIS brave young officer was born in the county of Tipperary, Ireland, on the 24th of March, 1840, of poor, but worthy pa- rents. The family emigrated to this country in 1850, and since that time have resided in Albany.
When the rebellion broke out in April, 1861, their younger son, MICHAEL CARROLL, entered the army in defence of the Union on the 19th of that month, and was honorably discharged in September, 1862. He was a color-bearer in one of the New York Regiments.
The subject of this notice, the only other son of this family then living, entered the Sixty-third Regiment New York Volun- teers as a private in Company K, in September, 1861. This regiment was composed of Irishmen, and was attached to the famous Irish Brigade commanded by Gen. THOMAS F. MEAGIIER. Young CARROLL continued with this regiment through all the campaigns of General MCCLELLAN in Virginia, and fought in almost every battle of the Peninsula and at Antietam. He was several times slightly wounded; but he was severely wounded at the battle of Fredericksburg. In the winter of 1863, on recommendation of his superior officers, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant. After the recovery of his wound received at Fredericksburg, he joined his regiment in time to take part in the battle of Chancellorsville. After this fight, owing to the terrible destruction in the ranks of the Sixty-third Regiment, several of the companies were consolidated; when he, with some other officers, were mustered out of service, and he returned to Albany to visit his parents.
There he remained till March, 1864, when he again joined the
28
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CAPT. EDWARD B. CARROLL.
Sixty-third Regiment as a private, and was at once promoted to a Second Lieutenancy. Shortly after, for valor on the field, he was promoted to a First Lieutenancy, and then to a Captaincy. He passed through the bloody campaign under General GRANT from the Rapidan to Hatcher's Run, where he was killed in bat- tle on the 3d of April, 1865, only a few days before the surren- der of General LEE'S army.
Hle had been in more than twenty-five battles and skirmishes; and after being several times wounded, he fell at the head of his command while charging the enemy at Hatcher's Run. He was mortally wounded by a bullet that struck him in the forehead.
Capt. CARROLL was a silversmith by trade, and was an indus- trious and exemplary young man. From childhood he was a good boy, and delighted to assist by his labor his parents, and did much to make them comfortable and happy.
His parents are Roman Catholics, and he adhered to the same faith. Without fortune or influence, except what his good char- acter gave him, he rose from a private to the position of Captain in the celebrated Irish Brigade, where all were brave, and where he was highly esteemed and greatly beloved.
435
CAPT. DOUGLASS LODGE.
XXXIV. CAPTAIN DOUGLASS LODGE.
THE late Captain DOUGLASS LODGE was born in Albany, New York, September 22d, 1842. His parents were from Scotland, and came to this country in the spring of the same year. He received a liberal education in the public schools and academy. In the year 1857, he became anxious to enter the Navy, and was appointed from this (fourteenth) congressional district, to the Naval School at Annapolis, Md. After being there a little over a year, he became tired of the school, on account of its monotony and the overbearing spirit of students from the Southern States, who were in the majority. He returned home and engaged in business in a commercial house. So rapid was his proficiency, and so superior his business qualities, that in less than two years he was sent out to travel for the house.
When the rebellion broke out, and the Government called for the first seventy-five thousand men to put it down, he was among the first to offer his services. Enlisting as a private in company B, Twenty-fifth Regiment, he served his full term of three months and aided in building Fort Albany, on the Virginia side of the Potomac, across from Washington. Soon after the return of the Twenty-fifth Regiment, he re-enlisted in the Forty-third Regi- ment New York State Volunteers, for three years or during the war, and was appointed Third Sergeant in company A. In September, 1861, he was promoted to the office of Quartermaster Sergeant, and he served in that capacity with credit to himself, until April, 1862, when he was commissioned as Second Lieu- tenant. The regiment was then in active service with the army under General MCCLELLAN, in its marches across the Peninsula. During this time he was promoted, on account of his bravery, to
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