USA > Rhode Island > Memoirs of Rhode Island officers who were engaged in the service of their country during the great rebellion of the South. Illustrated with thirty-four portraits > Part 41
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RICHARD A. BRIGGS.
to his regiment, still suffering from the effects of his wound. On reporting for duty, he was placed in command of the army gun-boat George Washing- ton. On the 8th of April, 1863, while on a reconnoitering trip through Coosaw river, the boat was blown up by a rebel shell striking her magazine. After this disaster, Lieutenant Blanding received a sick leave, and returned to Providence. He was then detailed as inspector in the provost-marshal gene- ral's department, and ordered to report to Captain Silvey, United States artil- lery, then in Providence. He remained in this position until August 19th, 1863, when he received an appointment as first-lieutenant in the twenty-first regiment of the veteran reserve corps.
In March, 1866, Lieutenant Blanding joined his regiment at Grenada, Mississippi, where he discharged the duties of assistant sub-commissioner in the bureau of refugees, freedmen and abandoned lands; an office of great perplexity and responsibility, but which he filled with firmness and excellent judgment. Here, on the 30th of April, he was basely murdered without cause for provocation. Lieutenant Blanding had been invited to a walk after supper, and had proceeded but a short distance, when a pistol was placed near his head, and, without a moment's warning, three shots were fired at him, each taking effect. He died next morning at ten o'clock. The deed was perpe- trated in the heart of the city, near the corner of the public square. This brutal aet excited universal indignation among the loyal inhabitants of Gre- nada. The civil authorities immediately took the matter in hand, but so great was the power exerted by a band of outlaws, then holding a reign of terror, that though the instigators of the murder were believed to be well known, no witnesses could be procured to appear against them before the grand jury.
Thus, at the early age of twenty-five years, and with an honorable career opening before him, Lieutenant Blanding fell a martyr to the cause of human freedom, leaving a wife and children, and a wide cirele of friends to mourn his untimely end. His remains were sent to Providence, and buried with military honors.
RICHARD A. BRIGGS.
ICHARD A. BRIGGS, son of Richard Briggs, was born in the town of John- ston, Rhode Island, and received his education chiefly at the East Greenwich Seminary. Previous to the war he was employed in a manufacturing establishment. On the 16th of October, 1862, Mr. Briggs was
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commissioned as a first-lieutenant in the twelfth regiment of Rhode Island volunteers, Colonel George H. Browne, which took its departure on the follow- ing day for the seat of war. On reaching Washington, the regiment was brigaded in General Casey's division, of the army of the defences of Washing- ton, and established its camp near Fairfax Seminary until the 1st of December, when it took up the line of march for the front, at Fredericksburg, Virginia. It reached Falmouth on the 10th, and was there brigaded with the seventh Rhode Island in the first brigade, General Nagle, second division, General Stur- gis, of the ninth army corps. On the morning of the 12th, it crossed the Rap- pahannock to Fredericksburg, where it passed the night, and early on the morning of the 13th formed in line of battle and marched to the front, where the fighting had already begun. The twelfth regiment was much exposed in this battle, and company A, that of Lieutenant Briggs, particularly so, as stated by one of his brother officers. Here he fell, mortally wounded from a shot from a rebel sharpshooter. His body was recovered during the night, brought off the battle-field, and sent to his friends in Rhode Island.
An officer who had served with Lieutenant Briggs, thus speaks of him in a private letter announcing his fall: "Mr. Briggs came among us an entire stranger, but his genial nature soon gained him many friends, and he became very popular with his men. Whether on the march or in camp, he was ever a welcome companion, sharing in all the hardships of the campaign without murmuring. He was generous, too, to a fault. In the severe battle where he lost his life, his company lost heavily from the fire of sharpshooters. We all feel his loss, for he had endeared himself to us by his manly course of action, and his gallantry."
STEPHEN HENRY SOUTHWICK.
TEPHIEN II. SOUTHWICK, son of Josiah and Phebe R. Southwick, was born in Newport, R. I., December 20th, 1838. His trade was that of a car- penter, which he pursued until the year 1859, when he was induced by a friend to remove to the state of Indiana. He opened a store in Paoli of that state, and was rapidly winning his way to popularity and prosperity when the notes of war rang through the country. Abandoning his business, Mr. Southwick at once devoted himself with great activity to enlisting men, and was so successful that thirty-five men were raised in one day in a town con-
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BENJAMIN E. KELLY.
taining but five hundred inhabitants. When the company was completed it became a part of the twenty-fourth regiment Indiana volunteers. The posi- tion of first-lieutenant was offered to Mr. Southwick, but he modestly declined it and accepted a commission as second-lieutenant. The regiment entered the service under General Pope, and was subsequently under Generals Halleck and Lew Wallace. In December, 1861, Lieutenant Southwick visited Newport on a furlough, and was married to Miss Carrie A. Tew. A vacancy having occurred in the regiment during his absence, he was promoted on his return to the first-lieutenantcy of his company. He joined his men in time to soothe the remaining hours of his intimate friend, William Clegg. who was also a native of Newport, and the son of John H. Clegg. This faithful young soldier was in his twenty-fourth year, and was universally esteemed in the regiment. His body was sent to Newport, and he now has a resting place in the beautiful cemetery of his early island home.
In April, 1862, the twenty-fourth Indiana became a portion of the third division of the combined armies of the west. On Sunday, the 6th of April, the first battle at Pittsburg Landing was fought. On the 7th, the battle was renewed, and on this day the twenty-fourth Indiana occupied a portion of the field to which the fiereest fire of the rebels was directed, yet they charged so gallantly that the enemy removed their guns and fell back. In this san- guinary fight, Lieutenant Southwick was struck by a grape shot and instantly killed. Such is the brief record of one of Rhode Island's sons, who nobly died at his post. Ile reposes in a soldier's grave. far away from his home, in the field which witnessed the valor of his deeds.
BENJAMIN EDDY KELLY.
IEUTENANT B. E. KELLY, son of Ebenezer and Sophia P. Kelly, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, February 9th, 1842. At the time of the out- break of hostilities between the north and the south, he was quietly pursuing his studies at the high school in Providence. Althoughi hardly past the days of boyhood, the news of the capture of Fort Sumter was like an electric shock to his inborn sentiment of patriotism; and, disregarding all the endearments of his home, he obeyed the call which came from his sense of duty, and enrolled himself as a private in company C, of the first regiment of
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Rhode Island volunteers, being the only pupil from the high school in that regiment. When the regiment returned to Rhode Island after its three months' term of service had expired, Mr. Kelly again enlisted in battery G, Rhode Island artillery, acting as sergeant-major of the battery. During his connection with this battery, he went through the Peninsular campaign under McClellan, and, under the same leader, afterwards particularly distinguished himself in the Maryland campaign, at the battle of Antietam. Riding in advance and cheering on his men, full of enthusiasm and regardless of dan- ger, his horse was shot under him in the very heat of battle, and he narrowly escaped falling into the hands of the enemy. For his gallant conduct on this bloody field, and in other battles in which he had borne a conspicuous part, he was highly commended by his superior officers, and was promoted to a lieutenantcy in the battery. At the storming of the heights of Fredericks- burg, by General Sedgwick, May 4th, 1863, Lieutenant Kelly's first engage- ment after his promotion, he was severely wounded in the side by the explo- sion of a shell. He survived his wound only about twelve hours; yet with the consciousness that he could not live, he uttered no regrets, but met death with the bravery of a hero and the faith of a Christian.
At the time of his death, Lieutenant Kelly had but just passed from youth to manhood. His character in its maturity, was developed and mani- fested in the service of his country. At the family fireside, he is remembered only for the kindness and affection which marked his boyhood, and for an assiduous attention to his duties, which gave promise of a useful and honorable life. But on the rolls of the army his record is noble and brilliant, and the unsolicited testimony of his comrades in the war bears witness to his unshrinking devotion to his duty at all times,-to his bravery in every hour of danger, and to the cheerfulness with which he gave his life when his country claimed the sacrifice.
JOSEPH ALLEN CHEDEL, JR.
OSEPH ALLEN CHEDEL, JR., was born in Providence, June 24th, 1841. His father, Joseph Chedel, was a native of Vermont. His mother was the daughter of Francis Stowe, and was born in Providence. At an early age, Joseph entered a public school in his native city, at which he continued until he reached his fourteenth year, when his father removed to Barrington, where
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LORENZO D. GOVE.
he completed his education. At seventeen, he returned to Providence, and after being in an apothecary store for three years, commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Timothy Newell. A few months after, Dr. Newell having accepted the appointment of surgeon in the first Rhode Island cavalry, Mr. Chedel was induced to accept the place of hospital steward in the same regi- ment, for which he was well fitted. He entered the service on the 31st of January, 1862. His prompt and faithful performance of the duties of his office, together with his freedom from those demoralizing habits which are so apt to fasten themselves upon the soldier, separated as he is from the moral influences by which he is surrounded at home, attracted the attention and won the respect of all his fellow officers and soldiers. Colonel Duffie, after assuming the command of the regiment, repeatedly urged Mr. Chedel to accept a commission as lieutenant. He finally yielded to the colonel's solicitations, and was accordingly commissioned as second-lieutenant, on the Ist of Janu- ary, 1863. Ile was engaged in the battles which took place at Kelly's Ford and Brandy Station, Virginia, in the former of which actions he especially distinguished himself in the crossing of the river. He fell in the retreat at Middleburg, on the 18th of June, 1863. In this desperate engagement his regiment lost two hundred in killed, wounded, and prisoners, out of a force of three hundred engaged. From November 12, 1862, to the time of his death, Lieutenant Chedel was the correspondent of the Providence Press. He was remarkable for the steadfastness with which he adhered to his conscientious convictions, for the scrupulousness with which he performed what he believed to be his duty, and for the regard which he always manifested for the rights of others. Such qualities could not fail to produce respect and esteem on the part of his associates, and the light in which they regarded him is well expressed in the letter of the chaplain of his regiment announcing his death, by one short sentence, which might well serve as his epitaph-" He was loved by us."
LORENZO D. GOVE.
IEUTENANT LORENZO D. GOVE, was commissioned a first-lieutenant in the first regiment of Rhode Island cavalry, October 15th, 1861; and pro- moted to a captaincy, July 15th, 1862. He was killed in a picket engagement near Leesburg, Virginia, November 1st, 1862.
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RHODE ISLAND OFFICERS.
FREDERICK METCALF.
IEUTENANT FREDERICK METCALF, son of Colonel Edwin Metcalf, was born in the city of Providence, September 20th, 1847. At the outbreak of the rebellion, he was a student in the high school of that city, preparing for a collegiate course. Though so young, he soon displayed the spirit so com- mon among our students, and made every effort to enter the military service as a volunteer. When the tenth Rhode Island regiment was raised, in the summer of 1862, he enlisted with older school schoolmates, but was rejected by his captain, (Governor Dyer,) who deemed it improper to accept a mere boy in the absence of his father. This, however, did not dampen his ardor, nor diminish his strength of purpose, and Governor Smith, on the 21st of Septem- ber, 1863, without hesitation granted him a commission as second-lieutenant in the third Rhode Island volunteers, (heavy artillery,) and he joined his regi- ment, then under the command of his father, and was mustered into the service of the United States, on the 1st of October following, being attached to com- pany K. His company was then at Hilton Head, South Carolina, but was soon ordered to Fort Pulaski, Georgia, where he served some months as post- adjutant, until May 27th, 1864, when he was mustered as first-lieutenant, having been promoted by commission from Governor Smith, dated May 6th, and joined company B, then at Hilton Head. He was there chiefly engaged in instructing officers and soldiers of colored regiments in the service of heavy ordnance.
In August, 1864, he was attacked by one of the fevers common in the south, and, on the 19th of that month, being then supposed to be convalescent, was removed for better care and treatment to the officers' hospital in Beaufort, South Carolina. Here he was considered to be recovering, but symptoms of typhoid fever appeared on the 27th, and he died on the 28th of August, in the seventeenth year of his age. Ilis funeral was numerously attended. The body, enclosed in a metallic coffin and suitably draped, conducted by an unus- ually large escort of artillery, was laid with full military honors in the Army Cemetery, in the suburbs of the city. Though Lieutenant Metcalf had served scarcely a year in the army, he had shown unusual ability, and carned one pro- motion in the field. He had won the respect of his superiors, and the regard of his brother officers, and gave promise of a useful and honorable career .*
*Stone's " Rhode Island in the Rebellion."
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THOMAS H. CARR.
HENRY HOLBROOK.
ENRY HOLBROOK, son of Benjamin and Mary Holbrook, was born in Men- don, Worcester county, Massachusetts, June the 10th, 1833. At the age of ten years he was left an orphan. He lived with an older brother in Worcester, where he attended school until he was eighteen, when he went to sea. Ile followed the sea until the spring of 1855, when he abandoned it, and determined to seek a living on shore. The following year he enlisted as a private in the tenth United States infantry, and was with that regiment when it escorted Governor Cummings to Utah. He returned home with an honorable discharge in December, 1861, having served his country for five years. Mr. Holbrook could not long remain quiet when his country was tak- ing up arms to crush the rebellion, and on the 17th of March, 1862, but two months after he had left the regular service, he again enlisted as a sergeant in the third regiment of heavy artillery, then being raised in Providence. His military qualities soon commended him to his officers, and on the 28th of November he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the same regiment. On the 3d of April, 1863, he was promoted to a first lieutenant, which posi- tion he filled to the entire satisfaction of his commanding officer. In an engagement with the enemy on Morris Island he received a severe wound, from which he died on the 21st of August, 1863. Lieutenant Holbrook was an excellent disciplinarian, and a brave officer. His brother, M. T. Holbrook, was lieutenant-colonel of the one hundred and seventy-third New York vol- unteers, and colonel by brevet.
THOMAS H. CARR.
HOMAS HI. CARR was the son of Samuel and Mary T. Carr, and grandson of the late Colonel Jeremiah Olney, of Providence, a distinguished officer of the revolutionary army. He was born in Providence, on the 2d of May, 1826, and received his education at Plainfield and Uxbridge seminaries. Previous to the war he was engaged in mercantile pursuits. He entered the military service on the 7th of November, 1861, as second lieutenant in the second regiment Rhode Island volunteers. On the 24th of January, 1862, he was promoted to a first lieutenant. He was with his regiment in its various
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RIIODE ISLAND OFFICERS.
campaigns and its many hard fought battles, escaping without a wound. After two years of active service his health became impaired and he returned home on sick leave. He was too much reduced by disease contracted in the line of duty to rally, and died on the 1st of January, 1863. During his whole term of service Lieutenant Carr bore the reputation of a brave, efficient and worthy officer and soldier.
JAMES ADDISON WADE.
IEUTENANT JAMES ADDISON WADE, son of Laban C. Wade, was born in John- ston, on the 16th of March, 1841, and received his education at the com- mon schools of his native town. Fired with the same patriotism which had roused so many of the young men about him to lend their aid in suppres- sing the rebellion, young Wade, then but twenty years of age, came forward and enlisted as a private in the second regiment of Rhode Island volunteers. When a call was made for more men for a longer term of service, Mr. Wade availed himself of the inducements offered, re-enlisted, and was transferred to the seventh regiment Rhode Island volunteers on the 26th of December, 1863. Having proved himself an excellent soldier he was commissioned by Governor Smith a second lieutenant in the third Rhode Island cavalry, on the 24th of June, 1864. He served with his regiments in all their campaigns and battles, and in the action at Sailor's Creek, in Virginia, on the 6th of April, 1865, received a mortal wound, of which he died in three days after. Lieutenant Wade had not joined the cavalry regiment in which he had been commis- sioned, (that regiment being in Louisiana or Texas) at the time he received his wound.
DARIUS J. COLE.
ARIUS J. COLE, of Providence, enlisted as a sergeant in company B, in the seventh regiment Rhode Island volunteers, on the 6th of September, 1862. He was promoted to a second-lieutenant in the same regiment, July 1st, 1863, and was killed in the battle of Spottsylvania Court House, Virginia, May 13th, 1864.
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FRANCIS B. FERRIS.
GEORGE WHEATON COLE.
BORGE WHEATON COLE, son of Captain George A. Cole, was born in Provi- dence, Rhode Island, June 1st, 1840. He graduated from the Providence high school in May, 1856, and two years later entered the sophomore class of Dartmouth College. At the beginning of the war he received an appointment as master's mate in the navy, and on the 17th of July, 1861, was ordered to the sloop-of-war Iroquois. This vessel was employed in the blockade service until April, 1862, when she took part in the engagement at forts Jackson and St. Philip, on the Mississippi river. At the capture of Fort Jackson, April 24th, Mr. Cole was killed by a cannon ball while bravely serv- ing his gun against the enemy. He was highly complimented by his captain for the gallantry he displayed in this action. The following account of his death is taken from a book entitled, "Heroic Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War in America :"
" BOYS, NEVER MIND ME." The following incident came to us from an eye witness, who was on board the Iroquois during the bombardment of Fort Jackson. It is a fine example of gallantry and heroie self-abnegation, and deserves to preserve for the gallant sailor, a bright page in the history of the period :
Midshipman or Acting-Master Cole, we are unable to say which, was engaged in superintending the men while loading a gun. A grape shot came through the side of the Iroquois while he was thus engaged, and cut him down. It passed through his body aad almost cut him into two. As he reeled back and fell, some of the gun's crew quitted it and sprang towards him. Motioning them away, he partially raised himself, resting upon his right arm on the spot where he had fallen : "Boys, never mind me," he faintly ejaculated. "But you must be carried below, sir," replied one of the men. "No! what is the nse ? I'm going. Look - look after the gun." He again fell baek, and the men returned to their work. As he heard the report, he once more looked up. " Did it hit her ?" "Yes, sir." The answer had fallen upon deafened ears. Seareely had he shaped the last question, than he had rolled backwards upon the deck, dead. Such a death as this, is worthy of a niche in the memory of every true patriot.
FRANCIS B. FERRIS.
RANCIS B. FERRIS, son of Dr. P. W. and Susan A. Ferris, was born at Provi- dence, Rhode Island, December 29th, 1830. He was educated at Provi- dence, and in September, 1856, removed to Princeton, Illinois, where he practised dentistry till April 25th, 1861, when he received a commission as captain of company I, twelfth Illinois volunteers. He was wounded April 6th, 1862, at the battle of Shiloh, and, twelve days afterwards, died at Paducah, Kentucky.
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RHODE ISLAND OFFICERS.
WILLIAM P. AINSWORTH.
APTAIN WILLIAM P. AINSWORTH enlisted from and was born in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, in 1825. He was the son of William Ainsworth, Esq., of New Ipswich, New Hampshire. He studied civil engineering with Mr. Starkweather, of Nashua, and, at the time of the breaking out of the rebel- lion, was chief clerk and treasurer of the Nashua and Lowell Railroad. He raised a company of cavalry in New Hampshire, which was consolidated with several companies of the first Rhode Island cavalry, and was commissioned by Governor Sprague as captain, on the 3d of December, 1861. He participated with his regiment in the various battles and campaigns in which it was engaged, and was killed at the battle of Front Royal, Virginia, on the 30th of May, 1862.
CLARKE E. BATES.
LARKE E. BATES was born in Warwick, Rhode Island. Previous to the war he was employed in a manufacturing establishment. He entered the service in the second regiment as a private, in June, 1861, and was soon after made a sergeant. For his gallantry he was promoted to a second lieu- tenant, and commissioned as such February 22, 1863. In the battle of Salem Heights, on the 3d of May of the same year, he received a wound in the leg and was obliged to undergo amputation. He lingered from the effects of the wound and amputation till the 18th of July, following, when he died. Lieu- tenant Bates always sustained among his associates the character of a brave and efficient officer.
JAMES FARLEY.
AMES FARLEY, of Providence, enlisted as a private in the fourth regiment of Rhode Island volunteers, September 9th, 1861, at the age of twenty-one. He was promoted to a second lieutenant on the 31st of March, 1864, and died from wounds received while on picket, near Petersburg, Virginia, on the 26th of July, 1864.
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WILLIAM H. PERRY.
SYLVESTER G. HILL.
YLVESTER G. HILL, of the thirty-fifth Iowa regiment, was killed in front of Nashville, on the 15th of December, 1864. Colonel Hill was born in East Greenwich, June 10th, 1820. Being left an orphan at the early age of four years, he was compelled to work his way upward, and did so most successfully. He learned the trade of a cabinet-maker in his native village, and, when nine- teen years old, emigrated to the west, locating first in Cincinnati, and afterwards in Muscatine, Iowa, where for thirteen years he was a leading and highly respectable citizen and successful man of business. In the opening of the rebellion, Mr. Hill was with difficulty restrained by his friends from joining the Iowa first; and, in 1862, when the call for troops was made, he raised a company for the thirty-fifth regiment, and was appointed colonel. From that time till his death, he was constantly in active service as regimental or brigade commander. He was in the Vicksburg campaign, had his second son killed by his side on the Red river expedition, marched five hundred miles in the late Missouri campaign after Price, and finally fell a martyr to patriotism, in helping to achieve the glorious victory over Hood, in Tennessee. In every relation of life, Colonel Hill seems to have reflected honor upon his native state, and at last he adds another to the heroie Rhode Island spirits who have sealed their devotion to their country with their blood. The colonel leaves a wife and nine children to mourn his loss. His eldest son served a three years' term in the seventh Iowa regiment.
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