Chapter XXX: Appendix: Reunions of the Regiment

The feelings of fraternity which grew out of participation in common dangers and hardships naturally gave rise to a desire on the part of the surviving members of the regiment to occasionally meet each other in a purely social way, exchange greetings, and renew the old and strongly-cemented friendships of army life.

THE FIRST REUNION.

The first of these reunions took place in Boston in June, 1870. A small number of comrades assembled at Evans’s Hall, Boston, May 30, 1870; the meeting was called to order by Sergeant John B. Smithers of Company B, and it was voted to form a temporary organization. Captain Charles Brady was elected President, and Hospital Steward John Hardy, Treasurer, _pro tempore_, whereupon the meeting adjourned till June 17, following, at the same place.

On the 17th of June, 1870, the meeting again assembled, Captain Brady in the chair, and a permanent organization was effected as follows:--

_President._--General Joseph H. Barnes.

_Vice-Presidents._--William H. Osborne, Company C; Sergeants B.
B. Brown, Company B; Samuel C. Wright, Company E; William H.
Burns, Company I.

_Secretary._--Lieutenant John Lucas, Company B.

_Corresponding Secretary._--John J. Ryan, Company B.

_Treasurer._--Hospital Steward John Hardy.

_Executive Committee._--Colonel Thomas W. Clarke; Captain
William D. Chamberlain; John J. Ryan, Company B; Sergeant John
B. Smithers, Company B; Corporal Martin L. Kern, Jr., Company D.

Some discussion was had concerning the rolls of the regiment, and Colonel Clarke and Lieutenant-Colonel Willard D. Tripp were appointed a committee to revise the regimental roll prepared by the Adjutant-General. At this meeting it was announced that comrade William H. Osborne was engaged in collecting material for the history of the regiment, and Sergeant Hodgkins, Company B; Lieutenant Henry A. Hunting, Company K; and Daniel B. Perkins, Jr., of Company H, were chosen a committee to assist in the matter.[249]

This meeting was not largely attended, but nearly every company was represented by one or more members.

SECOND REUNION.

In pursuance of a call published in several of the Boston papers, the Association met at the Sherman House, Boston, May 13, 1871. Officers were chosen for the ensuing year, as follows:--

_President._--General Joseph H. Barnes.

_Vice-Presidents._--Lieutenant-Colonel Willard D. Tripp; Major
Samuel H. Doten; William H. Osborne, Company C; Sergeant B. B.
Brown, Company B; Colonel Henry R. Sibley.

_Recording Secretary._--Lieutenant John Lucas.

_Corresponding Secretary._--John J. Ryan, Company B.

_Treasurer._--Captain George H. Long.

_Executive Committee._--Colonel Thomas W. Clarke; Lieutenant
J. O’Neil; Samuel W. Hunt, Company D; Sergeant-Major George H.
Morse; Sergeant Samuel C. Wright, Company E.

At this meeting, which was largely attended and of unusual interest, a very valuable paper was read by the President, reviewing an account, written by one Henry Coppee, LL. D., of the battle of the Mine, July 30, 1864, and embracing a particular statement of the facts concerning the transfer of the non-re-enlisting members of the regiment to the Thirty-sixth Massachusetts Regiment.

A vote of thanks was passed to comrades Ryan, Smithers, Captain George H. Taylor, and Lieutenant Lucas, for the interest they had taken in bringing about the reunion of the regiment.

It having come to the knowledge of the meeting that Major-General Ambrose E. Burnside was then in the city, a committee composed of Colonel Clarke, Lieutenant-Colonel Tripp, Captain Long, Adjutant Braden, and comrade Ryan, was chosen to wait on the General, and extend to him the kind greetings and regards of the members of the regiment Action was taken concerning a regimental badge, and Colonel Clarke was appointed a committee to prepare a design for it. This was the first time that the Association dined together, a fine dinner being served at the Sherman House.

THIRD REUNION.

This was Company H’s day; the Association assembled at Monument Hall, Charlestown, May 14, 1872. Colonel Clarke reported a design for a regimental badge, which was adopted. It was a rough bronze medal, stamped with the figures of an upraised right forearm, grasping in the hand an uplifted sword; beneath this a row of cannon-balls, and under all the figures “29.”

OFFICERS FOR 1872-73.

_President._--General J. H. Barnes.

_Vice-Presidents._--Major S. H. Doten, Colonel H. R. Sibley,
Major Charles T. Richardson, Captain W. D. Chamberlain,
Lieutenant J. Lucas.

_Recording Secretary._--J. J. Ryan.

_Corresponding Secretary._--Lieutenant-Colonel W. D. Tripp.

_Treasurer._--Captain George H. Long.

_Executive Committee._--Major S. H. Doten; Sergeant S. C.
Wright, Company E; Colonel T. W. Clarke; Captain Charles A.
Carpenter; Emery Jaquith, Company C.

Lieutenant-Colonel Tripp presented the Association with the two large printed volumes entitled, “The Record of Massachusetts Volunteers,” for which a vote of thanks was tendered him.

It was voted to hold the next reunion at Plymouth. A committee of ten, consisting of one member of each company, was chosen to prepare a perfect roster of the regiment.[250]

FOURTH REUNION.

PLYMOUTH, May 14, 1873.

The meeting assembled in Grand Army Hall, and after listening to the reports of its Secretary and several committees, proceeded to choose officers for the year 1873-74.

The officers elected were as follows:--

_President._--General J. H. Barnes.

_Vice-Presidents._--Major Samuel H. Doten; Surgeon George B.
Cogswell; Adjutant H. A. Braden; Sergeant John H. Hancock,
Company H; Sergeant G. Townsend, Company I.

_Recording Secretary._--J. J. Ryan, Company B.

_Corresponding Secretary._--J. S. Manning, Company K.

_Treasurer._--Colonel T. W. Clarke.

_Executive Committee._--Captain W. D. Chamberlain; Corporal
H. E. Hay, Company I; Captain A. A. Oliver; Sergeant George
Townsend, Company I; Sergeant J. F. Smith, Company H.

An act of soldierly love for a dead comrade distinguished this meeting from all that had preceded it; indeed, from all that have since been held.

During the latter part of the war, a certain well-known foreigner, with the aid of the friends and relatives of our dead soldiers of this and other States, established in the city of Boston a portrait gallery, which was known as the “Gallery of Departed Heroes.” The friends of Major Charles Chipman had contributed liberally towards an elegant oil-portrait of this worthy soldier of the regiment, which, with a costly frame, had been placed in the aforenamed gallery. Through improper management, leading to the pecuniary embarrassment of the originator, all the portraits in the gallery had become heavily mortgaged, and shortly prior to this meeting, the several mortgages had been foreclosed, and the property not being of a generally saleable character, much of it had fallen into the hands of the mortgagees, including the portrait of Major Chipman.

Previous to this reunion, Sergeant Samuel C. Wright, whose love for his comrades, living and dead, is as pure as refined gold, redeemed at his own expense Major Chipman’s portrait, and brought it to Plymouth with the purpose of eventually presenting it to the widow and family of the deceased. The comrades would not suffer him to bear the whole of this burden, but, at this meeting, generously contributed each one his share of the expense incurred, and then, by an unanimous vote, granted the fine portrait, as a token of their love and esteem, to Mrs. Chipman and her children.

The portrait was soon afterwards sent to the donees, accompanied by a touching letter from the President of the Association.

This reunion was the first that was attended by the wives and lady friends of the comrades, and was one of great enjoyment, the citizens of Plymouth doing all in their power to contribute to its success, and by their many acts of kindness, reviving the memory of the unselfishness and flowing bounty of 1861.

Dinner was served at the Samoset House, at which the Plymouth Band, and many of the first citizens of the town, were in attendance.

FIFTH REUNION.--LYNN, MAY 14, 1874.

OFFICERS.

_President._--General J. H. Barnes.

_Vice-Presidents._--Major S. H. Doten; Colonel Henry R. Sibley;
Surgeon George B. Cogswell; Wm. H. Osborne, Company C; Sergeant
G. Townsend, Company I.

_Secretary._--J. J. Ryan, Company B.

_Corresponding Secretary._--Sergeant Samuel C. Wright, Company
E.

_Treasurer._--Colonel T. W. Clarke.

The business meeting was held in the hall of General Lander Post, G. A. R., at the close of which the comrades and their ladies took carriages and drove to the Relay House, Nahant Beach, where a fine dinner was served. Captain D. W. Lee acted as toast-master for the occasion, and sentiments were responded to as follows: “The President of the United States,” by letter from General Banks; “The Day we Celebrate,” by Surgeon Cogswell; “The Army of the Union,” by General Barnes, who closed by offering this touching sentiment: “Our Heroic Dead: God keep their memory green.” This was responded to by all the comrades, who rose in token of respect to their memory. The other sentiments were, “The State of Massachusetts,” responded to by the band; “The Twenty-ninth Massachusetts Regiment,” by Colonel Clarke and W. H. Osborne. Corporal A. B. Fiske of Company K closed the literary exercises by an eloquent speech.

“The company then spent some time strolling on the shore, enjoying the fine water views and pleasant weather. The day had been warm, and closed like a superb mid-summer day, calm and still, giving the water the appearance of a sheet of silver.” At half-past six o’clock the members took the carriages and drove to the Lynn depot, taking the evening train to Boston.

SIXTH REUNION.

The sixth reunion was held at Downer’s Landing, Hingham Harbor, September 17, 1875. The comrades and their families, to the number of about one hundred, assembled at the Boston wharf of the Hingham Steamboat Company quite early in the morning, took the boat for the Landing, where, upon arrival, a business meeting was held, and officers for the year 1875-76 chosen, as follows:--

_President._--General J. H. Barnes.

_Vice-Presidents._--Wm. H. Osborne, Company C; Corporal Alonzo
B. Fiske, Company K; Sergeant W. B. Standish, Company E;
Sergeant Geo. Townsend, Company I; Sergeant J. B. Smithers,
Company B.

_Recording Secretary._--Sergeant Sam’l C. Wright, Company E.

_Corresponding Secretary._--H. E. Stewart, Company K.

_Treasurer._--Colonel Thos. W. Clarke.

_Executive Committee._--Colonel H. R. Sibley; Lieutenant John
Shannon; Captain D. W. Lee; Lieutenant J. O’Neil; Lieutenant J.
Lucas.

Comrade W. H. Osborne was called upon to report what progress he had made in writing the history of the regiment, and when he had reported, Colonel Sibley offered a resolution, which was passed, pledging the assistance of the comrades in publishing the work.

The cold and windy character of the day tended to render this meeting of the regiment less successful and interesting than those of former years.

SEVENTH REUNION.--AMERICAN HOUSE, BOSTON, May 15, 1876.

The Association met at one o’clock, P. M., and chose officers and transacted business.

OFFICERS ELECTED.

_President._--General J. H. Barnes.

_Vice-Presidents._--Major Chas. T. Richardson; W. H. Osborne,
Company C; Sergeant Geo. Townsend, Company I: Colonel H. R.
Sibley; Captain Lebbeus Leach.

_Recording Secretary._--Sergeant Sam’l C. Wright, Company E.

_Corresponding Secretary._--H. E. Stewart, Company K.

_Treasurer._--Colonel T. W. Clarke.

_Executive Committee._--Colonel H. R. Sibley; Lieutenant J.
O’Neil; General J. H. Barnes; Captain D. W. Lee; Colonel Thos.
W. Clarke; Sergeant Sam’l C. Wright; Wm. H. Osborne; Corporal
Geo. W. Allen, Company C.

A vote of thanks was extended to comrade Wm. H. Osborne for his services in writing the regimental history, and also for his invitation to the Association to hold its next meeting at East Bridgewater.

At 3 o’clock, P. M., the Association, with its invited guests,--among whom was Governor Rice,--sat down to dinner. Colonel Clarke acted as toast-master, and the first toast, “The President of the United States,” was proposed, and a letter read from Collector Simmons in response to the sentiment. “The Commonwealth of Massachusetts” called out Governor Rice, who was received with cheers, and who said, in the course of his remarks, that he considered it a greater honor to have been a faithful soldier of the Union than Governor of Massachusetts; and also, that if the Association found any pecuniary difficulty in publishing the history of the regiment, to call upon him, in which case he would gladly aid the worthy undertaking. Letters were read from Governor Hartranft of Pennsylvania, Mayor Cobb, and others. Speeches were made by the President, Colonel Clarke, Major Doten and Corporal Fiske.

About eighty comrades were present.

EIGHTH REUNION.

The eighth reunion was held at East Bridgewater, June 18, 1877, two hundred, including members and their families, being present.

The day was one of the most lovely in June, and was keenly enjoyed by the visiting comrades, their wives and children, who strolled about the quiet, shady streets of the town, visited the soldiers’ monument upon the common, which bears the names of a number of the dead of the regiment, and walked through the adjacent groves. The citizens of the town met them everywhere with smiles and words of welcome, and at one o’clock provided them with a bountiful dinner in the lower hall of the Town-house, where a large committee of the ladies of East Bridgewater were in attendance to wait on the tables and testify by their presence and numerous attentions their respect for these veterans of the war.

At the close of the enjoyments at the table the company assembled in the main hall to listen to some fine singing by members of the East Bridgewater Musical Society. After this came speaking, in which several of the townspeople and comrades took part.

The whole meeting was conducted in a pleasantly informal manner, and was, for that reason, all the more productive of enjoyment and profit. Nineteen new members were added to the roll of the Association, and in view of the deep interest taken by the wives of the members in the meeting, they were, by vote, made honorary members of the Association.

While the business meeting was in session in the morning, Captain Leach, whose absence all had been regretting, suddenly came into the hall. The members all rose in their seats and gave him three hearty cheers, to which warm welcome the brave old Captain, now slightly bowed by the weight of seventy-seven years, responded by choking words of gratitude and thanks.

One of the saddest and bravest chapters in the history of the old regiment was brought freshly to remembrance by a fine photograph, suspended in front of the speaker’s desk, of Major Charles Chipman, Lieutenant Burgess, and the three standard-bearers, Grosvenor, Tighe, and Willis, who lost their young lives on the 17th of June, 1864.

The officers elected for the year 1877-78 were:--

_President._--General J. H. Barnes.

_Vice-Presidents._--Major C. T. Richardson; W. H. Osborne,
Company C; Sergeant George Townsend, Company I; Colonel H. R.
Sibley; Captain Lebbeus Leach.

_Treasurer._--Colonel T. W. Clarke.

_Recording Secretary._--Sergeant S. C. Wright, Company E.

_Corresponding Secretary._--H. E. Stewart, Company K.

_Executive Committee._--Colonel H. R. Sibley; Lieutenant J.
O’Neil; General J. H. Barnes; Captain D. W. Lee; Sergeant S. C.
Wright, Company E; Colonel T. W. Clarke; William H. Osborne;
Corporal George W. Allen, Company C.

The author sincerely hopes that the Secretary of the Association will have the pleasure to record the proceedings of many future meetings of his comrades, and that none will prove to be seasons of less joy and gladness than this, the eighth annual reunion.

PARADE OF THE REGIMENT,

SEPTEMBER 17, 1877.

The beautiful and costly monument erected by the city of Boston in memory of its heroic dead of the late war was dedicated with imposing ceremonies on the 17th of September, 1877, which was the fifteenth anniversary of the battle of Antietam. The monument, one of the finest in the country, is erected on a little hill on the Boston Common, at the foot of which stood the famous Old Elm, destroyed by wind, February 15, 1876. There was once a powder magazine on the hill occupied by the monument, which, during the siege of Boston, was the site of a British fortification bombarded by Washington. In the war of 1812, a body of troops designed to protect the town was encamped about this very spot.

On the side of the monument, facing the south, cut in bold, square letters, is the following inscription:--

TO THE MEN OF BOSTON
WHO DIED FOR THEIR COUNTRY
ON LAND AND SEA IN THE WAR
WHICH KEPT THE UNION WHOLE
DESTROYED SLAVERY
AND MAINTAINED THE CONSTITUTION
THE GRATEFUL CITY
HAS BUILT THIS MONUMENT
THAT THEIR EXAMPLE
MAY SPEAK
TO COMING GENERATIONS.

Honorable Charles Devens, Attorney-General of the United States, delivered the oration; and General Augustus P. Martin of Boston acted as Chief Marshal. Colonel Henry R. Sibley of the Twenty-ninth Regiment was honored with the command of the Suffolk County Division of the Grand Army of the Republic.

At a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Twenty-ninth Regiment Association, held September 1, 1877, it was voted to parade as a regiment on the occasion of the dedication of the monument, and General Joseph H. Barnes was chosen to act as Colonel and Commander, Colonel Thomas William Clarke as Lieutenant-Colonel, Major Charles T. Richardson as Major, Lieutenant Henry S. Braden as Adjutant, and Captain D. W. Lee as Quartermaster. On the 7th of September, General Barnes issued a circular letter addressed to the comrades of the regiment, inviting them to parade on the 17th, and requesting them to assemble at 29 Pemberton Square, Boston, at 9 o’clock in the morning of that day.

One hundred and fifty comrades responded promptly to the invitation of their old commander, dressed in dark clothes and wearing their corps and regimental badges. Sergeant Samuel C. Wright, who was wounded in four different battles, was assigned to the proud position of National color-bearer. General Barnes, Colonel Clarke, Major Richardson, Lieutenant Braden, and Captain Lee, were handsomely mounted; elegant wreaths of choice cut-flowers adorning the necks of their fine horses.

The procession moved at a little past 12 o’clock, and the regiment took the position assigned it, in the Second Division, commanded by Colonel Edward O. Shepard; in which also marched the First, Second, Sixth, Ninth, Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth, Twenty-first, Twenty-fourth, Twenty-eighth, Fortieth, Forty-third, Forty-fourth, Forty-fifth Massachusetts Veteran Infantry regiments; also, the Massachusetts Veteran Batteries under Colonel O. F. Nims, the hero of many a battle-field; several Army and Navy Associations; the Third Massachusetts Cavalry; Massachusetts members of General Hooker’s “Old Brigade,” under General Gilman Marston; also the Second New Hampshire Infantry; “Maine Veterans in Massachusetts”; Ninety-ninth New York Infantry, under Colonel David W. Wardrop, and the “Survivors of Rebel Prisons.”

The route of the procession was very extended, and the parade was not concluded till nearly dusk. The day was warm and fine, and it seemed as if every town and city in Massachusetts had emptied their entire population into the streets of Boston. Business in the city was wholly suspended, and the buildings along the route of the procession were tastefully decorated with flowers and bunting. The gay plumes and gaudy uniforms of the militia attracted their usual share of attention; but when the veterans went by, with war-like tramp, carrying the shreds of old war flags, many eyes were wet with tears, and many of the adult spectators gazed with half-quivering lips upon these remnants of the Nation’s Grand Army of Freedom. The presence in the column of Generals McClellan, Hooker, Burnside, and many other old heroes of the war, tended greatly to increase the enthusiasm of the vast throngs of people along the sidewalks, and when a pause was made, hundreds gathered about the carriages in which these soldiers were riding, and greeted them with cheers and gifts of bouquets of fragrant flowers.

The Twenty-ninth made a fine appearance; its mounted officers riding at the head of its column, and the orderly arrangement of its ranks, reminded one forcibly of the bygone days, when it marched in review before its commanding generals; while the earnest, bright faces of the boys showed plainly enough that they had caught again the old spirit that so often, from 1861 to 1865, led them to triumph over the dangers and toils of the war. Captains Leach and Chamberlain, and Surgeon Cogswell, all of whom are somewhat infirm, and were unable to march, and several of the disabled members of the regiment, rode in a carriage in the immediate rear of the regimental column.

The Boston “Home Journal” of September 22 published a very extended and complimentary article concerning the Twenty-ninth Regiment, entitled “Who Are They Now, and Where Are the Rest of Them?” The first part of this question was answered in a manner that must cause its living members and their many friends the keenest satisfaction, while the inquiry, “Where Are the Rest of Them?” which we only have space to quote, touches most tenderly the sweetest and the saddest chords of a soldier’s memory:--

“Where are the rest of them? Half of the living men of 1861
were in the line. The other half are scattered. All parts of
the State sent up their contribution. Every New England State
sent up its quota. From Maine to Oregon, from the great lakes
to the Gulf of Mexico, the residue of the living three hundred
are scattered. About seven hundred are dead. The killed in
action; the men who died of wounds; the men who died of disease
while in the service; the men who died, after their discharge,
of disease contracted in the service; the men starved to death
in rebel prisons; the men incurably weakened by famine and
malaria at Knoxville and Vicksburg and Jackson,--they have all
gone. It was the strongest of them that we saw on Monday, the
best constitutions, the hardest muscles, the toughest fibres,
and all of them were prematurely aged, and the boys’ faces
which most of them wore at the time of enlistment, have now no
trace of youth in them. To an old comrade, this age, this worn
look, was inexpressibly sad, but sadder yet it was to think of
the long roll of dead comrades, and how they died.

“And yet, on every man’s face, at some time in the day, in
the presence of some old and loved friend, there momentarily
returned the transfiguration of youth, and the faces of
1861,--a flash and play of the “battle light” of an earnest,
honest, human heart, full of enthusiasm, love, and duty. This
was recognizable, and invariably was recognized, no matter how
worn and gray the older face and hair might be.

“To have returned to the Commonwealth at least two hundred
good citizens, with characters educated by hardships and
trials, and by the friendships of the valley of the shadow of
death, into a willing and intelligent acquiescence in the rule
of law, and the importance of preferring the common weal to
mere individual pleasure and profit, is not the least credit
of that old regiment; and if the military service has merely
succeeded in teaching the necessity of orderly and systematic
organization, and the ability to govern one’s self, as it has
in most instances everywhere, the work of the war can never be
undone, and never should be.”

FOOTNOTES:

[1] There is but one other military body that can claim a share of this honor, to this extent; viz., Capt. P. A. Davis’s company of Lowell, an independent company of infantry called the “Richardson Light Guards,” afterwards organized as the Seventh Massachusetts Light Battery. This company was mustered originally May 21, 1861.

[2] Chap. 222, Acts of 1861.

[3] Adjutant-General’s Report, 1861, page 7.

[4] Letter of Captain Tyler.

[5] This vote was faithfully carried out, each original member of the company receiving three months’ extra pay, amounting to $30.--AUTHOR.

[6] The commission of Captain Bates described him as a “Captain of Company C, Third Regiment of Infantry, Second Brigade, First Division of the Militia of this Commonwealth,” and was dated May 4, 1861.

[7] This sermon was afterward printed in pamphlet form, with the motto, “Stand by the Flag!” and circulated among the volunteers at Fortress Monroe, Va.

[8] “Sandwich Advocate,” April 22, 1861.

[9] Letter in “Barnstable Patriot,” May 21, 1861. This flag was for a time carried by the company, and is now in the possession of Mr. Samuel Wells Hunt of Sandwich, an honored member of that company, who has taken great pains in preserving from forgetfulness the record of the deeds of his comrades.--AUTHOR.

[10] So called (as the author has learned, from an ancient tradition among the inhabitants of that region) from the fact, that, about the year 1609, the starving colonists of that place were succored by the timely arrival of a fleet of vessels, laden with provisions, under the command of Admiral Newport of the English navy. The worthy admiral brought the pinched colonists _good news_, and in honor of the event, and as an expression of their gratitude, they called the place _Newport’s News_.

[11] “First Year of the War,” by Pollard, page 77.

[12] General Butler’s report to Lieutenant-General Scott, published in New York “Tribune” of June 14, 1861.

[13] Letter to the New York “Tribune,” June 14, 1861.

[14] General Butler’s report to Lieutenant-General Scott, printed in New York “Tribune” of June 14, 1861.

[15] Statement of Adjutant Walker, “Mass. Military Record,” page 158.

[16] Statement of same officer, ibid., page 169.

[17] Some fellow, in a spirit of fun-making, had filled the cartridge-box of an unsuspecting comrade with white beans; an incident that greatly amused the inspecting officer, and led him to inquire of the soldier if he had mistaken his cartridge-box for his haversack.

[18] Also called Union Coast Guard.

[19] These facts were related by the father and mother to members of the Battalion, and were afterwards substantially admitted by the officer referred to, to whose credit be it said, that he “very deeply regretted it.”--AUTHOR.

[20] As an example of the discipline at this time enforced in the department, we will state in brief the sentence of one of these unfortunate soldiers. By the sentence, he was to forfeit all pay and allowances during the remainder of his term; to be confined, at hard labor, during that time on one of the Tortugas islands; to wear a twelve-pound ball attached to his right ankle by a chain three feet long; and for a certain number of days in each year be kept in solitary confinement on bread and water.--AUTHOR.

[21] Colonel Pierce was commissioned December 13, 1861.

[22] “Charlestown Advertiser,” December 28, 1861.

[23] At the proper time the bond was awarded to Sergeant John H. Hancock, who gave one of his arms to the country, and who was a brave and deserving soldier.

[24] Brigadier-General of the militia.

[25] This court-martial was composed of the following officers: Colonel Brown, Twentieth Indiana; Colonel Schley, Fifth Maryland; Colonel Dyckman, First New York; Colonel Von Schack, Seventh New York; Lieutenant-Colonel Holland, Fifth Maryland; Lieutenant-Colonel ----, Twentieth Indiana; Lieutenant-Colonel Keller, Seventh New York; Lieutenant Dale, Judge-Advocate.

[26] Report of Captain Van Brunt

[27] General McClellan’s “Report and Campaigns,” page 150.

[28] Formerly, this engine was the property of the Old Colony Railroad Company of Massachusetts, but had been purchased by the Government.

[29] Now Major Twenty-fourth United States Infantry.

[30] The Count makes a mistake as to the composition of this brigade, though the Twenty-ninth Regiment, which was a part of the brigade, can still claim a share of this high compliment.--AUTHOR.

[31] General Sumner’s testimony before the Joint Committee of Congress on the conduct of the war. See Report on the “Conduct of the War,” Part I., page 364.

[32] “Peninsular Campaign in Virginia,” page 293.

[33] The net losses of the Army of the Potomac, from June 20 to this time, amounted to 15,249 men, of whom 1,582 were killed, 7,700 wounded, and 5,958 missing. The loss of the Confederates during the seven days amounted to 20,000 men, to which should be added 5,000 rendered unfit for service from various causes.--_History Civil War in America, by the Compte de Paris, Vol. II., pages 147, 148._

[34] General McClellan’s Report.

[35] General McClellan’s Report, page 382.

[36] General McClellan’s Report, page 382.

[37] Charles C. Whitman, a very brave soldier.--AUTHOR.

[38] Corporal Tribou lost his left foot by a cannon-ball while carrying the State colors; he was a good soldier. Corporal Allen, who was likewise a well-drilled and gallant soldier, received a very dangerous wound in the head, from which he has never fully recovered. Lieutenant Atherton, a brave man and true, who was afterward commissioned a First Lieutenant, received a severe wound in one of his arms. Corporal Samuel C. Wright was one of the brave volunteers to pull down the fence on the morning of September 17.--AUTHOR.

[39] The Author does not know what finally became of the four missing ones, though he believes they all afterwards joined their company, and were all wounded while entering the fight. The full name of one of the latter soldiers is not known to me. The names of these men, as they appear in the above list, were taken from the “New York Herald” of September 19, 1862.

[40] Soldier’s diary.

[41] “Rebellion Record,” Vol. VII., pp. 407, 408.

[42] Pollard’s “Third Year of the War,” pages 161, 162.

[43] Adjutant-General’s Report, Massachusetts, 1863.

[44] Irving’s “Life of Washington,” Vol. III., p. 354.

[45] Soldier’s letter.

[46] Diary of Preston Hooper, Company C.

[47] Lieutenant Long was severely wounded, losing a portion of the ulna bone of his right arm. He was promoted to Captain, June 8, 1864, and discharged for this wound, October 8, 1864. He was subsequently commissioned in the Veteran Reserve Corps, and served to the end of the war.

[48] “Burnside and Ninth Army Corps,” pages 409, 410.

[49] The author has been unable to learn that any others actually engaged in this brave exploit, and, though several slightly different versions have been given him, he has chosen this as being in his opinion the correct one. This statement is based upon that of three very reliable soldiers of the regiment, who were present and witnessed the affair.--AUTHOR.

[50] James Liffin was mortally wounded, and died July 29, following.

[51] Letter of General Burnside to General Meade, dated July 26, 1864.

[52] Report of Committee on “Conduct of the War,” Vol. I., pp. 11, 12, 1865.

[53] Report of Committee on “Conduct of the War,” Vol. I., pp. 11, 12, 1865.

[54] The following recommendation was sent forward for Colonel Barnes’s promotion:--

“HEADQUARTERS THIRD DIVISION, NINTH ARMY CORPS,}
September 13, 1864. }

“Captain JOHN C. YOUNGMAN, A. A. Gen., Ninth Army Corps.

“CAPTAIN: I have the honor to forward Brigade
Commanders’ lists of recommendations for brevet.

“I beg permission to add my own recommendation in favor
of ... Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph H. Barnes, Twenty-ninth
Massachusetts, lately commanding brigade, First Division, Ninth
Army Corps, for distinguished gallantry and success in action,
at Blick’s House, Weldon Railroad, resisting enemy’s attack on
Ninth Corps’ right.

“Very respectfully, your ob’d’t serv’t,
“(Signed) O. B. WILLCOX, Brig. Gen. Com’d’g Div.

“Official: W. V. RICHARDS, Capt. and A. A. A. G.”

[55] Report of Fifty-ninth Regiment in Report of Adjutant-General, 1865, page 595.

[56] Horace Ripley, an excellent soldier.

[57] The “Lost Cause,” page 692.

[58] The author does not vouch for the statement, that the regiment held the last muskets of the armies of the Potomac and Sherman, as he believes there were regiments of both of these armies, that were mustered out even later than the Twenty-ninth.--AUTHOR.

[59] On page 337, the number of officers transferred from the Thirty-fifth Massachusetts to the Twenty-ninth Regiment, is erroneously stated as eleven.--AUTHOR.

[60] Resigned.

[61] Promoted Surgeon, August 7, 1862. Discharged for disability, March 15, 1864.

[62] Appointed January 4, 1862.

[63] Mustered March 18, 1864. Discharged May 15, 1865.

[64] Mustered May 27, 1863. Discharged as Assistant Surgeon, July 29, 1864.

[65] Mustered July 31, 1862. Promoted to Surgeon First Mass. Regt. Cavalry, July 6, 1863.

[66] Mustered August 20, 1862. Resigned February 27, 1863.

[67] Mustered July 20, 1863. Transferred to Nineteenth Mass. Regt., Dec. 7, 1863.

[68] Mustered September 26, 1864. Expiration of term, July 29, 1865.

[69] Promoted to Colonel.

[70] Appointed Assistant Quartermaster Volunteers.

[71] Resigned July 31, 1861. Captain Ninety-ninth New York Volunteers.

[72] Promoted to First Lieutenant.

[73] Promoted to Second Lieutenant.

[74] Promoted to Sergeant.

[75] Promoted to First Sergeant.

[76] Promoted to Corporal.

[77] Promoted to Hospital Steward.

[78] Promoted to Captain.

[79] Promoted to First Sergeant.

[80] Promoted to Sergeant.

[81] Promoted to Corporal.

[82] Promoted to Principal Musician.

[83] Promoted to First Lieutenant and Adjutant.

[84] Promoted to Commissary Sergeant.

[85] Resigned July 18, 1861.

[86] Mustered as Ensign. Promoted to First Lieutenant.

[87] Unjustly reported as a deserter.

[88] Promoted to Second Lieutenant.

[89] Promoted to Sergeant.

[90] Promoted to First Lieutenant.

[91] Promoted to Corporal.

[92] Promoted to First Sergeant.

[93] Promoted to Corporal.

[94] Promoted to Sergeant.

[95] Appointed Musician.

[96] Transferred to U. S. Battery.

[97] Mustered as Ensign.

[98] Promoted to Second Lieutenant.

[99] Promoted to Sergeant-Major.

[100] Promoted to Sergeant and Color-Sergeant.

[101] Promoted to Sergeant.

[102] Promoted to Corporal.

[103] Transferred to U. S. Battery.

[104] Promoted to First Sergeant.

[105] Appointed Musician.

[106] Promoted to Corporal.

[107] Promoted to Sergeant.

[108] Promoted to First Sergeant and Brevet Second Lieutenant.

[109] Appointed Bugler.

[110] Promoted to Major.

[111] Promoted to Captain.

[112] Mustered as Ensign. Promoted to First Lieutenant.

[113] Promoted to First Lieutenant.

[114] Promoted to Hospital Steward U. S. A.

[115] Promoted to Sergeant.

[116] Promoted to Principal Musician.

[117] Commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel U. S. Colored Troops.

[118] Promoted to Corporal.

[119] Promoted to Second Lieutenant.

[120] Wrongly reported as a deserter. Entered United States navy, and received an honorable discharge.

[121] Promoted to First Lieutenant.

[122] Promoted to Brevet Major.

[123] Appointed Adjutant.

[124] Mustered as Ensign.

[125] Promoted to Second Lieutenant.

[126] Promoted to Sergeant.

[127] Promoted to Corporal.

[128] Promoted to First Lieutenant.

[129] Promoted to Sergeant.

[130] Promoted to Corporal.

[131] Promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel.

[132] Promoted to First Lieutenant.

[133] Promoted to Captain.

[134] Transferred to U. S. Battery.

[135] Promoted to Second Lieutenant.

[136] Appointed Musician.

[137] Promoted to Corporal.

[138] Promoted to First Sergeant.

[139] Transferred to Veteran Reserve Corp.

[140] Wounded June 17, 1864. Lost an arm.

[141] Promoted to Sergeant.

[142] Promoted to Captain.

[143] Wounded at White Oak Swamp, June 30, 1862.

[144] Promoted to Corporal.

[145] Promoted to Sergeant.

[146] Promoted to Corporal, and made Color-Corporal.

[147] Promoted to First Lieutenant.

[148] Promoted to Major.

[149] Promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel.

[150] Promoted to First Lieutenant.

[151] Promoted to Captain.

[152] Promoted to Second Lieutenant.

[153] Promoted to Sergeant.

[154] Reported “Absent without leave,” but he afterwards returned to duty.

[155] Wrongly reported as a deserter; received an honorable discharge.

[156] Wrongly reported as a deserter.

[157] Did not desert as reported.

[158] Received an honorable discharge; wrongly reported as a deserter.

[159] Promoted to Second Lieutenant.

[160] Improperly reported as a deserter.

[161] Promoted to First Lieutenant.

[162] Promoted to Sergeant.

[163] Promoted to Corporal.

[164] These two soldiers enlisted in the autumn of 1861; but were rejected, as being too young, by Captain Ames, U. S. A. Mustering Officer. They were taken as orderlies by Colonel Pierce to Newport News, and afterwards, by his order, placed on the rolls of Company G.

[165] Killed March 25, 1865; Fort Stedman.

[166] Promoted to Colonel U. S. Volunteers.

[167] Promoted to Captain.

[168] Promoted to Second Lieutenant.

[169] Promoted to First Sergeant.

[170] Promoted to Sergeant.

[171] Commissioned in U. S. Colored Troops.

[172] Transferred to U. S. Cavalry.

[173] Erroneously reported as a deserter; was wounded at White Oak Swamp, and received an honorable discharge.

[174] Promoted to Corporal.

[175] Promoted to First Lieutenant.

[176] Promoted to Corporal.

[177] Promoted to Quartermaster Sergeant.

[178] Erroneously reported as a deserter.

[179] Promoted to Sergeant.

[180] Promoted to Captain.

[181] Mustered as Ensign.

[182] Promoted to Second Lieutenant.

[183] Promoted to Corporal.

[184] Promoted to Sergeant.

[185] Killed at Malvern Hill, Va., July 1, 1862.

[186] Promoted to Sergeant.

[187] Promoted to Brevet Brigadier-General.

[188] Promoted to Captain.

[189] Mustered as Ensign. Promoted to First Lieutenant.

[190] Promoted to First Lieutenant and Adjutant.

[191] Promoted to Second Lieutenant.

[192] Promoted to Sergeant.

[193] Promoted to First Sergeant.

[194] Promoted to First Lieutenant.

[195] Promoted to Corporal.

[196] Sergeant in Howard’s U. S. Battery.

[197] Promoted to Sergeant and Color-Sergt.

[198] Promoted to Corporal.

[199] Promoted to Second Lieutenant.

[200] Promoted to Sergeant.

[201] Corporal.

[202] Discharged by order of War Department.

[203] Sergeant; discharged by order of War Department.

[204] Killed March 25, 1865.

[205] Died of wounds, January 2, 1865.

[206] Died February 13, 1865, of disease.

[207] Report of J. J. Dana, Major and Quartermaster U. S. A., Brevet Brig. Genl. Roll of Honor No. XIV., page 134.

[208] Wounded September 17, 1862.

[209] Buried in National Cemetery at Hampton, Va. Row 12. Section C. Number of grave, 25.

[210] Buried under name of “Sergeant William H. Hamer,” in Fredericksburg National Cemetery, Va. Terrace Section No. 8. Number of grave, 167. Body removed from Beverly’s Farm, Spottsylvania County.

[211] Buried in National Cemetery at Point Lookout, Md. Number of grave, 63.

[212] Buried in Richmond National Cemetery, Va., under the name of “T. Hall.” Number of grave, 1,272.

[213] Buried in Poplar Grove National Cemetery, Va. Division D. Section D. Number of grave, 218.

[214] Buried under name of “William Murphy,” in National Cemetery at Fredericksburg, Va. Terrace Section No. 4. Number of grave, 290. Originally buried on farm of Harris, Spottsylvania County, Va.

[215] Buried in National Cemetery at Andersonville, Ga. Section C. Number of grave, 1,290.

[216] Buried in Poplar Grove National Cemetery, Va. Division D. Section D. Number of grave, 215.

[217] Buried in National Cemetery at Camp Dennison, Ohio, under name of “C. D. Hudson.” Number of grave, 240.

[218] Buried in Poplar Grove National Cemetery, Va. Division A. Section C. Number of grave, 103.

[219] Buried in National Cemetery at Hampton, Va. Row 9. Section B. Number of grave, 39.

[220] Buried in National Cemetery at Hampton, Va. Row 3. Section D. Number of grave, 4.

[221] While in command of the Fourteenth New York Heavy Artillery Volunteers.

[222] Buried in National Cemetery at Hampton, Va. Row 9. Section B. Number of grave, 23.

[223] Buried in National Cemetery at Hampton, Va. Row 20. Section B. Number of grave, 17.

[224] Buried in Poplar Grove National Cemetery, Va. Division A. Section C. Number of grave, 102.

[225] Buried in National Cemetery at Hampton, Va. Row 1. Section E. Number of grave, 27.

[226] Buried in National Cemetery at Chattanooga, Tenn., under the name of “G. T. Peckham.” Section H. Number of grave, 159. Originally buried at Loudon, Tenn.

[227] Buried in National Cemetery at Hampton, Va. Row 1. Section E. Number of grave, 1.

[228] Buried in National Cemetery at Andersonville, Ga. Section T. Number of grave, 3,898.

[229] Wounds received at White Oak Swamp, Va.

[230] Buried in National Cemetery at Andersonville, Ga. Section B. Number of grave, 2,908.

[231] Wounded June 17, 1864.

[232] Buried under name of “G. Record,” in National Cemetery at Hampton, Va. Row 14. Section D. Number of grave, 48.

[233] Battle of the Mine.

[234] Buried in National Cemetery, Mount Olivet, Frederick City, Md., under the name of “Joseph Tresgate.” Number of grave, 250. Wounded in battle of Antietam.

[235] Battle of Fort Stedman.

[236] Buried in Camp Nelson National Cemetery, Ky., under the name of “Edward Wilber.” Section D. Number of grave, 50.

[237] Buried in Linden Grove National Cemetery, Covington, Ky. Section C. Number of grave, 104.

[238] Buried in National Cemetery at Andersonville, Ga. Section O. Number of grave, 11,080.

[239] Buried in Knoxville National Cemetery, Tenn. Section 6. Number of grave, 98.

[240] While carrying the flag. Buried in Poplar Grove National Cemetery, Va. Division D. Section D. Number of grave, 220.

[241] Buried in Knoxville National Cemetery, Tenn. Section 7. Number of grave, 54.

[242] Buried in Mount Olivet National Cemetery, Frederick City, Md. Number of grave, 834.

[243] Buried in Knoxville National Cemetery, Tenn. Section 4. Number of grave, 161.

[244] Buried in National Cemetery at Andersonville, Ga. Section G. Number of grave, 2,414.

[245] Buried in Lexington National Cemetery, Ky. Circle 12. Number of grave, 531. Originally buried at Lexington, Ky.

[246] Buried in National Cemetery at Knoxville, Tenn. Section 4. Number of grave, 143.

[247] Buried in Camp Nelson National Cemetery, Ky. Section D. Number of grave, 51.

[248] While carrying the colors. Buried in Poplar Grove National Cemetery, Va. Division A. Section C. Number of grave, 216.

[249] This committee never discharged its duties.--AUTHOR.

[250] This committee never did its duty.--AUTHOR.

[Transcriber's Note:

Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original.]