USA > Vermont > Rutland County > Middletown > The history of Middletown, Vermont, in three discourses, delivered before the citizens of that town, February 7 and 21, and March 30, 1867 > Part 11
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The Kilburns never returned. George was wounded in action at Cold Harbor, and died of his wounds July 9th, 1864. James died of sickness, at Washington, August 22d, 1864. George was twenty-six years old at the time of his death, and James was twenty-two. They were good soldiers; so say their officers, and their reliable comrade, James Granger. They were in several actions, and faced the " music," like brave soldiers. They were brothers and were sons of Truman Kilburn. The father, as Middletown people very well know, has had a large family, but has done very little himself for the support of his family. It is, therefore one cause of sadness, that the mother of these sons, and her younger children, should be deprived of the aid of those two industrious and kind-hearted young men.
- There were two enlisted from Middletown into the 12th Vermont regiment. They were Charles II. Granger and Delet B. Haynes. The regiment was mustered into the service October 4th, 1862,
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and mustered out of the service July 14th, 1863. Granger and Haynes enlisted into company K, known as the " Rutland Light Guard." Charles H. Granger was the third son of the Rev. Calvin Granger, and Delet B. Haynes was the oldest son of the Rev. Aaron Haynes, a Baptist clergyman, then residing in Middletown. Both served out their time faithfully, and returned again to their homes. They were never in any action, but, as they said, "it was not their fault." Their regiment was never called into any action while in the service.
Middletown sent seven brave, sturdy fellows in the fourteenth regiment. They were, Homer H. Southwick, Reuben Spaulding, George Spaulding, Erwin Hyde, William Cairns, Eliphalet Eddy and John Louis Southwick. The two Spauldings, Hyde and Eddy served their time ; Cairns was killed at the battle of Gettysburg, in which they all participated, except Louis, who was discharged April 21st, 1863, by reason of an accidental discharge of fire arms, which so injured one of his hands as to render him incapable of doing further service. Eddy was wounded, at Gettysburg, in the arm by the bursting of a shell, and has drawn a pension since he left. the service, but has now nearly recovered the use of his arm. Homer H. Southwick was a sergeant of company B, and Erwin Hyde and Reuben Spaulding were corporals. Southwick had charge of the ambulance corps at Gettysburg, and performed his duty faithfully and well. He was a good soldier, and so were they all, and with the exception of Eddy and Cairns they are all now in Middletown engaged on farms and in shops, as they were before the war -- the same industrious, peaceful, useful citizens. Eddy has removed to Michigan. Cairns sleeps on the field at Gettysburg ; he was an Irishman, but was a young man of intelli- gence and character, and volunteered, as he said, because he felt that it was his duty so to do. May he be remembered as one of the brave boys who sacrificed his life to save the American Republic.
We have now spoken of all who enlisted " to the credit of the town ;" that is, those named were counted to make up, and did make up, the quota of Middletown, but they were not all who gave their aid in the great struggle. The country had the services of
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others, and to them we owe a debt of gratitude, and let us here acknowledge it.
Andrew Perry, Obadiah Cole and John S. Bateman, went from Middletown and enlisted to the credit of the town of Poultney. Perry, after a short period of service, was sick, and received his discharge, and returned home ; Cole and Bateman served to the end of the war.
There were seven from Middletown who enlisted into regiments out of the state. These were William and Henry Clift, Joseph Cary, Robert Parks, William Grover, Martin V. B. Woodworth and Horace Green. William Clift enlisted in an Iowa regiment for three years, and served his time ; Henry into the 111th New York regiment ; both were good soldiers, and left the service under the assurance from their officers that they had been faithful servants.
Joseph Cary we have been able to learn but little about. He was not long a resident of the town. He, with Parks, Grover and Green enlisted into what was known as the " Harris Light Cav- alry," as early as August, 1861: They were enlisted at Fair- haven, but the regiment was a New York regiment, or became such afterwards. Of those four, three died, two of sickness, and one from a wound received while in an engagement. Parks died of the measles. He went into the service a strong, healthy, reso- lute young man, but after a few months took the measles which resulted in his death. He was a son of Robert Parks, Esq., of Wells, had not lived in Middletown over two or three years prior to his enlistment, but had lived there long enough to gain the respect of those who knew him.
William Grover was a son of Calvin, and a young man of good character. IIe made a good soldier, and was a good length of time in the service, but death from disease finally terminated his . existence, and another patriot boy was lost to the service of his country.
Horace Green was the youngest son of Aden H. Green, Esq., deceased, and a half brother of Aden II. Green of the tenth Ver- mont. His mother's maiden name was Margaret Bigelow ; she was the eldest daughter of Rev. Henry Bigelow. Horace was in .
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Kilpatrick's cavalry, and was one of the most daring soldiers in the army. He was wounded on the Danville Railroad, in Vir- ginia, in June, 1864, and died in Middletown the December fol- lowing.
Rev. M. M. Martin preached his funeral sermon, from which we make the following extract :
"Horace Green, whose death has called us together to-day, enlisted into the United States service on the 30th of August, 1861. He was in nearly every battle and raid in which the army of the Potomac was engaged from that time until he received the wound that caused his death. On the 29th of June, 1862, Gen- eral Wilson with his command was on his return from a raid on the Danville Road, when they met the enemy and at twelve o'clock at night a portion of the cavalry was thown out as skirmishers. Our friend was among the number, and was shot though the head. Our forces were obliged to retreat and leave their wounded on the field. His orderly sergeant was wounded and left on the field with him, and to him, Horace, was indebted to the lengthening out of his life, and his return home. When the enemy were about to bury Horace alive, the pleading of sergeant Nesbit saved him. They both remained five days on the field without food or drink. He died on the 21st of December, 1861. Thus another name is added to the list of brave martyrs to our country's cause."
It is surprising that the wound which Horace received had not killed him instantly, and still more surprising that he could, under the circumstances, have survived five days without food or drink. A minnie ball went through his head back of his eyes, and destroyed his sight so that he was not able to see afterwards. When he came home he seemed well ; he walked about as he was led or guided by some friend, and cheerfully conversed with his former friends and acquaintances. We had the pleasure of con- versing with him two or three times. He evidently had the entire possession of his mental faculties. Ilis recollection was good, and as he talked of the incidents of his childhood and youth in that lively and cheerful manner with which he was wont to do, we could hardly realize that he had received so terrible a wound. He died
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suddenly, and with him departed the last representative of the Bigelow family in Middletown.
Martin Van Buren Woodworth, a son of John Woodworth was born the fourth of March, 1841. IIe enlisted in a New York regiment in the early part of the war. He was wounded by a shell, near Petersburg, Va., December 13th, 1862, and died the 29th of the same month. Martin, when a boy, was awkward and ungainly in his appearance, but as he approached manhood he seemed rapidly to develop a more than ordinary intellectual capac- ity, and good traits of character. He was really, at the time of his enlistment, a promising young man. His father was poor ; had a large family; and of course was unable to do but little by way of educating his children ; but some of them have "made their mark " in spite of pecuniary embarrassments, and we had every reason to suppose that Martin would, if he had been spared, but he was sacrificed with others to save the nation.
Now then, citizens of Middletown, shall we not hold in grateful remembrances those young men who, on their country's call, boldly went to the rescue ! Thirty-six of the fifty-one or fifty-two who volunteered returned-the most of them after a long period of arduous service-and now a larger portion of that number are again in your midst, tilling your farms, at work in your shops, are members of your churches, are among your active and useful citi. zens. As we mingle with them in the business of life, shall we forget that those men have periled their lives for us, and our pos- terity. It is not claimed that they have any more rights as citi- zens in the community than others, but, as long as they live, they should be made to know and feel that their townsmen acknowledge their services to their full extent, in the war of 1861; anything short of that from their fellow citizens, would be base ingratitude. And will you not honor the names of the dead ? Sixteen young men from the little town of Middletown go to make up the long list of martyred heroes in the war of 1861. Let those names be honored and cherished in your memories, and their noble deeds be recorded for an example to this and succeeding generations.
To the foregoing we will only add a poem written by Mrs.
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Catharine Southwick, the wife of Sergeant H. H. Southwick. She is a daughter of Mr. James Germond, deceased.
The poem was written by Mrs. Southwick without any intention of having it published, but at the solicitation of the writer of this history, she has given us permission to use it, and now we give it as a literary specimen from the town ; also as a fitting tribute to our fallen heroes.
IN MEMORY OF OUR HEROIC DEAD.
Shall we forget that noble band Who, with a willing heart and hand, Went to obey our country's call, And freely yielded up their all ? Ah ! no ; the mem'ry of them still Doth ever cause our hearts to thrill With grief ; for we remember well The hour we bade them all farewell. The first sad news that reached us here, Since we had shed the parting tear, Was our friend Parks was cold in death ; So shocked we were we held our breath, And thought how short had been the time Since we received from him a line. Freighted with words of hope and cheer. We claimed him as a friend sincere, And mingled tears were freely shed, For him among our country's dead. And Grover, one of that brave band, Fell far from his own native land ; He suffer'd in that sad defeat, When from Manassas troops retreat ; His weary life he there laid down, And changed it for a victor's crown. Another in that list we find,
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Who now is dead, but first was blind, Our noble Green, poor sightless boy, And yet he seem'd so full of joy, Amid his suffering and his pain, We hop'd that he might see again ; But soon a gloom was o'er us cast, We heard that he had breath'd his last ; He's not disturb'd by cannons roar, With him life's battles now are o'er. The next to swell the list of men, Whose regiment was number ten, Was Dayton, but a slender youth, Devoted to the cause of truth ; He scarce had reached a stranger-land, Ere he was stricken from their band ; A mother's pride, a mother's joy, How grieves she for her soldier-boy. Young Holton, too, gave up his life, Before he scarce had join'd the strife, And on a far-off southern shore ' He sleeps a sleep that wakes no more. Of Thompson, who, alas ! can tell, Of what he died and where he fell ; We ne'er shall know till that great day, When prison walls shall fall away, And captives shall go forth and reign Beyond the reach of death and pain. Then Barce, while he was homeward bound, Surely a soldier's grave he found, And though he fell so far away, Is sleeping now 'neath kindred clay ; For friends conveyed his body home, And laid it in its native tomb. The Kilburn boys their graves have found, The first, 'twas said, died of a wound ; The second suffer'd fever long, Then went to sing a victor's song ; Their bodies rest far from their home, All quiet in a soldier's tomb.
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And still another in this list,- We hope that we no name shall miss ;- Our friend and neighbor, Ford, has gone, While aged parents for him mourn ; The prop of their declining years, . For him they shed their bitter tears, But meekly bore the chastening rod, Believing 'twas the hand of God. The last among those ranks who fell, Was our friend, Buel, known so well ; How aged parents felt that stroke, As they the mournful tidings broke To her, his sad and weeping wife, That he had fallen in the strife ; Thou need'st not mourn for him as lost, For he fell bravely at his post. In the ninth regiment was one Whose earthly race was early run ; Young Coleman's sufferings were great, He shar'd with them a prisoner's fate ; His life, his all, he freely gave, He sleeps among the good and brave. A smaller company went out,
Of nine months' men, all brave and stout ; Disease and death walked in their van, But they survived, all but one man. At Gettysburg brave Carns did fall, A victim to the cannon's ball ; Though none can trace his lowly bed, He sleeps among our honor'd dead. The seventh regiment had three, Who, after a long voyage at sea, Fell, and were laid by stranger-hand In graves beneath the burning sand ; Griswold and Heap, and Higgins, too, Have prov'd themselves to country true ; For near Miss'ippi's rolling tide, They nobly fought and nobly died. Young Schollar and the Hubbard's went,
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We cannot name their regiment ; But they have shar'd the same sad fate, And kindred feel their loss is great ; They rest, but the brave deeds they've done, Have lasting honors for them won. A Woodworth fell, we know not where, Of honor, he deserves a share ; For he hath sacrificed his life, A victim to the deadly strife ; His cold remains, to kindred dear, Are sleeping in the church-yard here. We now desire, before we close This tale of war, with all its woes, To speak our gratitude of heart To those who bravely took a part In this great struggle for the right,
And labor'd with their mind and might. God save you and reward you all, Since you obey'd your country's call ; And when this transient life is o'er, May you join brave ones gone before ; Your deed of honor and renown, Shall win for you a fadeless crown.
C. B. SOUTHWICK.
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APPENDIX.
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Since the foregoing was written, Henry Clark, Esq., the Secre- tary of the Vermont Senate, has furnished me with some items from the State Records, which are important in connection with the history of Middletown, and which I herewith append ; also I find on reading the proof sheets from the printer, that some few important items written by me and read to the people in Middle- town, either by my carelessness or the printers, (probably mine,) have not been printed. Among them is a biographical sketch of Doctor Eliakim Paul. As that part of the original manuscript has been mislaid or lost, and as I have no time to procure dates, etc., I must hastily supply it the best I can.
Doctor Eliakim Paul is the son of Stephen Panl, who died in Wells some twenty years since. He was a farmer, and lived from an early day in that part of Wells, formerly known as the " Lillie neighborhood." Eliakim, when a boy, worked on a farm, but from a, misfortune, when a child, he was made a cripple for life ; and for that reason became a physician. He received his diploma at the Castleton Medical College in 1822, and immediately bought out Dr. David G. MeClure, then in practice in Middletown, and from that time to the present Doctor Paul has been a practicing physician here, and, a portion of the time, the only physician. For a period of full forty-five years, a little over one half of the time since the town had a corporate existence, Doctor Paul has traveled over the hills and valleys of Middletown and vicinity, administering to the wants of the sick. He has deservedly had the reputation of being a good physician, and hundreds of us who have had his services in the healing art, will not forget his prompt and faithful attention to us when we have called on him. Doctor Paul has represented
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Middletown in the Vermont House of Representatives eight years, and been town clerk eight years, and has, from the time he became a resident of the town, fully identified himself with its interests. He will be remembered as one of the most useful citi- zens of his time. Doctor Paul has had three children, Sabra R., Emmet and Daniel W. Sabra married Edwin Copeland, and has recently died ; Emmet died in 1845, at the age of nineteen ; Daniel W. graduated at Harvard College, studied law, and was for some years in partnership with Edwin Edgerton, Esq., at Rut- land, but is now in successful practice in St. Louis.
Doctor Paul's health has been poor for some little time past, so much so that he has nearly relinquished the practice of his pro- fession.
There are now two other physicians in Middletown, Doctor O. F. Thomas and Doctor S. H. Haynes, and each are doing a good business. Doctor Thomas has been in practice since about 1836, but several years of the former part of the time in Western New York. Doctor Haynes has been in practice since about 1841.
I find that I have said nothing of the part the citizens of Mid- dletown took in the war of 1812, and indeed I have been able to gather but little information on that subject. There were several who enlisted and served in that war ; only one (John Woodworth) to my knowledge survives. He was wounded at Fort Erie, and now draws a pension of ninety-six dollars a year. He had a large family, but none are now residing in Middletown, except his oldest daughter Mary. He has one son, Andrew J., who now resides in Philadelphia, and is a man of good business capacity, and has, as I am informed, accumulated a good deal of wealth. He gave the town of Middletown, a short time since, the sum of about one thousand dollars-it being what the town had expended for the support of an unfortunate insane sister who has been at Brattleboro for several years, -and also to relieve the town from her future support, made provision for the same.
This example is worthy of record, not only to preserve a gener- ous act, but to show what a young man without means may do if he will. It is hardly twenty years since A. J. Woodworth came to school to me. He was then poorly clad-a bashful unpretend-
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ing boy -- yet he seemed to be resolute and determined in what he undertook to do, and, withal, was generous and kind hearted.
At the time of the battle of Plattsburgh a company of militia volunteered from Middletown, but they only got as far as Castleton when they were informed that the battle was over; they then returned. David Thomas is the only survivor of that company now living in Middletown ; he went as drummer. .
THE ACT OF INCORPORATION.
At an adjourned session of the General Assembly of the State of Vermont, held at Bennington the third Thursday in February, 1784, on Friday afternoon, February 27th, the following record is made :
A petition signed by Joseph Spaulding, and fifty others, inhabit- ants of the northwest corner of Tinmouth, northeast corner of Wells, southeast corner of Poultney, and southwest corner of Ira, setting forth that the mountains, &c., around them are so imprac- ticable to pass that it is with great trouble and difficulty that they can meet with the towns that they belong to, in town and other meetings, &c., and praying that they may be incorporated into a town, with the privileges, &c., was read and referred to a com- mittee of five, to join a committee from the Council, to take the same under consideration, state facts and make report. The members chosen were Mr. Whipple, Mr. Moses Robinson, Mr. Jewett, Mr. Taylor and Mr. Cogsell.
On Monday, March 1st, 1784, the following record appears on the journal of the House :
The committe, Mr. Whipple, Mr. M. Robinson, Mr. Jewett, Mr. Taylor and Mr. Cogsell, with the Committee of the Council, appointed on the petition of Joseph Spaulding, and fifty-two other inhabitants of Wells, Tinmouth, &c., brought in the following report :
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" That it is our opinion that the petition be laid over until the next session of Assembly ; and that this assembly appoint a dis- interested Committee, consisting of three persons, at the cost of the petitioners, to go on the premises, state facts, and make report to the next session of Assembly."
The aforesaid report was read and accepted: Whercupon,
Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to nominate three persons for said committee, and make report. The members chosen were Mr. S. Knight, Mr. Whipple and Mr. Cogsell.
On the opening of the afternoon session of that day the follow- ing record was made :
Mr. S. Knight, Mr. Whipple and Mr. Cogsell, the Committee appointed to nominate a disinterested Committee, on the petition of Joseph Spaulding, of Wells, &c., brought in the following report, viz :
" That they beg to nominate Mr. Moses Robinson, of Rupert, Mr. Nathaniel Blanchard, of Rutland, and Brewster Iligley, Esq., of Castleton, for said Committee." Whereupon,
Resolved, That the aforesaid Moses Robinson, Nathaniel Blan- chard and Brewster Higley, be, and they are hereby appointed a Committee, agreeable to the report of the Committee who took said petition under consideration, and that they make their report of the facts and their proceedings at the next session of the Assembly. And that Mr. Robinson appoint the time and place for hearing the parties, and notify the other members of the Com- mittee, and the parties, to attend accordingly.
At the next session of the General Assembly, held in October at Rutland, the Committee made their report of the facts, accom- panied with a bill incorporating certain territory of the towns of Wells, Poultney, Tinmouth and Ira, into a town under the name of Middletown.
HOPPE
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