Casualties of the 13th M.V.I.

Introduction

Mr. Ed Welch compiled this list of '13th Mass' casualties at the battle of Gettysburg using the Massachusetts State Adjutant General's Report, 1865.  Compiling lists such as this is a big job, fraught with small errors which continually creep into the data.  I have pasted Mr. Welch's list directly onto this page, but modified and checked each listing for additional information. Soldiers names highlighted in red, are those who were killed outright or died from their wounds.   I  cross-reference the names of those killed or died of wounds with other sources, starting with the roster in the regimental history, "Three Years in the Army" by Charles E. Davis, Jr., Boston, Estes & Lauriat, 1894.

Davis's roster is comprehensive but contains several errors and omissions.  These were corrected to the best of his ability when new information came to him.  Corrections to the roster were printed in the "Thirteenth Regiment Association" Circulars.  Most of the roster corrections, including revised lists of those killed in the various battles, can be found in Circular #8, December, 1895.   Several additional minor omissions are corrected in Circular #9, December, 1896.  One soldier, Louis Edward Granger of Company A,  had his half-page long list of war-time accomplishments printed in Circular #10.   This completed the roster corrections as far as the 'Association' was concerned.  Without these references quite a few important errors exist in the regimental history roster as published in the aforementioned book.

 Another source given preference on this page, is the list of '13th Mass' soldiers killed from the book titled, "These Honored Dead: The Union Casualties at Gettysburg" (1996) by John W. Busey.

 Mr. Busey's methodology was painstaking.  He secured his information from six primary sources: State and regular army registers of deceased soldiers; regimental and superior unit casualty lists for the battle; State Adjutant General's Office compilations of soldiers which served during the war from most Northern States at the engagement; Union hospital records; a register of original burial sites of Union soldiers on the battlefield compiled by Mr. J.G. Frey of Gettysburg; and two listings of burials in the Soldiers' and Evergreen Cemeteries at Gettysburg, one compiled by Mr. Edmund Raus in 1977, and one by Mr. David Wills in 1864.   All of this material was carefully examined and cross-referenced so preference was given to his work, when any discrepancies arose.  But generally, it only complimented the work of Mr.Welch.  

Of  those soldiers killed at Gettysburg, I have posted images of the five men I have in my collection.

So many men of the regiment were either killed, wounded, or captured, that I thought this page was a good place to post some random portraits of soldiers not yet pictured on this site.  Visitors can see from the quantitative list of men, how few are represented.  There are still many stories and images to be discovered.

I would like to thank Mr. Scott Hann for the portraits of Company B men; Mr. Tim Sewell for Roland Morris, and Mr. Art Rideout, for finding the image of Herschel Sanborn for me.  I have attempted to include additional information, when known for all the killed soldiers, and brief biographies when possible,  for soldiers pictured here.  Any new biographical information is welcome so I would encourage readers to contact me.

Proud descendants Lisa Munn Haynes and Nancy Martsch provided me with notes and information about their ancestors, Thomas Jefferson Munn, Company A;  and John Best, Company G;  respectively.  Descendant Nate Grove provided family lore regarding his ancestor Frank A. Gould of Southboro, Mass.  Art Rideout greatly assisted me with genealogical and military searches from the National Census records and other sources.  Woburn Public Library Archivist Mr. Thomas Doyle enthusiastically responded to my request for biographical materials on Huntington Porter.

Page Lay-Out

Most of the fighting and losses in the regiment occurred on July 1st.  This page begins with a list of killed on that day. Then a list of wounded, then a list of captured men.  This is followed by a short list of casualties on July 2nd and July 3rd which is found near the bottom of the page.  Finally there is a list of soldiers buried at the National Cemetery at Gettysburg.

The placement of images and soldier biographies on this page may seem random, yet there was a logic to it.  They are placed under the list on which they are included.  This means biographies of soldiers buried at the National Cemetery are at the bottom of the page, under pictures of their grave stone markers.  

Readers however can use the highlighted links to jump around the page to view pictures and notes as desired.

One grave error should be mentioned up front.  Buried in the Gettysburg National Cemetery are the remains of  Private George F. Leslie, Company G, who died of wounds received at the battle of Antietam. Although the roster says he was mustered out in March, 1863, evidence is found that he died shortly there after at a hospital in New Jersey, and is buried at the National Cemetery under the wrong name.  See the section on this page titled, 'Some Grave Mistakes' [pun intended] for more information.

PICTURE CREDITS:  Images of Charles Leland, Edwin Field, Albert Lynde, James Young, John MacMahon, Charles Collins, Joseph Morrill, and Elias Hodge were given to me by Mr. Scott Hann.  Roland Morris, George Fred Ford and Rollin T. Horton, are from the collection of Mr. Tim Sewell, a descendant of 13th Mass soldier James Lowell.  Mr. Art Rideout found the image of  H. A. Sanborn on-line.  The image of Charles A. Clement, and William Wallace Davis are from the Army Heritage Education Center at Carlisle, PA;  Thomas Jefferson Munn was provided by his proud descendant Lisa Munn-Haynes.  John Best was provided by proud descendant Nancy Martsch. Charles E. Horne was provided by Mr. Stephen Heinstrom of Stoneham, Massachusetts. Huntington Porter's portrait was provided by Woburn Public Library Archivist Tom Doyle.  There is an excellent on-line exhibit at the library website of other Civil War veterans from the town of Woburn. The portraits of Warren I. Stetson and Zoheth B. Woodbury can be found, with others in the book, 'History of the Town of Berlin, Worcester County Mass., From 1784 to 1895' by William A. Houghton; Worcester, Mass. Blanchard & Co. Printers, 1895.  Other portraits including Charles R. Dale, Edwin Buswell, Algernon Auld, and Sanford K. Goldsmith, were discovered digitally at various auction houses or from friends.  ALL IMAGES have been edited in PHOTOSHOP.

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List of Veterans Who Attended the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg

Field & Staff. - Elliot C. Pierce

Company A. -  Charles F. Adams, Rollin T. Horton, Walter E. Swan, J.W. Fiske, Dennis J. Walker, George A. Tainter, John Shaw, George E. Jepson, and Henry Kellog.

Company B. -  W. H. H. Howe, W. H. H. Pierce, George H. Hill, Alonzo C. H. Laws, James A. Young, Charles N. Richards, Michael G. Ayres and Herbert Bent.

Company D. - Samuel D. Webster and S. F. Cushing.

Company E. - Bartlett C. Waldron, Joseph W. Macrae, George Lehman, and John Callahan.

Company G. - Wilmot K. Pratt and Stephen W. Lufkin.

Company I. - Moses P. Palmer.

Company K. - William R. Warner, Austin C. Stearns, Lyman Haskell, George W. Clifford, and C. W. Comstock.

This list was supplied by Sam Webster, of St. Louis, and is as near correct as it was possible in the confusion to obtain. -Printed in Thirteenth Regiment Association Circular #26, December, 1913.

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List of Casualties Reported in the Boston Traveler, July 10, 1863.

Carolyn Wainwright, Thirteenth Massachusetts descendant of Abel B. Hastings, Co. I, sent me the following comprehensive list of casualties reported in the Boston Traveler.  The list was sent to the Massachusetts Adjutant General's Office by Lt.-Col. N. Walter Batchelder, and appears to be the most comprehensive and accurate list on record.

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Killed, July 1st 1863.

In the following lists, the ages given are the age of the soldier at the time of enlistment.  Generally, this was July 16th, 1861 when the 10 companies assembled were sworn in the the service as the 13th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.  Other recruits joined the unit, most notably in August and September of 1862, when about 150 new recruits came into the ranks.  The records of soldiers who died of wounds is given in the Notes and Photos Sections following the list.  Other records of those soldiers who died at Gettysburg are found in the 'Wartime Burials' Section of this page.

Notes & Photos

Pictured below left to right, are, Private Charles E. Leland, Company B; Color-Sergeant Roland Morris, Company C; and Private Edwin Field, Company B.  Leland and Field were both from Chelsea, Massachusetts.  The images of Leland and Field came to me through Mr. Scott Hann.  The image of Roland Morris came to my by Mr. Tim Sewell.

Private Charles E. Leland enlisted in the 4th Battalion of Rifles a couple months shy of his 17th birthday, so he would have needed his parents signature to enlist.  Some of his letters appear throughout this website, including the last one he wrote home.  An older friend of the family serving in the same company, George Worcester, looked after Charles as well as he could, and in one letter to the family thought Charles might have a chance at getting an officer's commission in one of the black  regiments being organized in Massachusetts.  Charles was tragically killed in action July 1st, shortly before his 19th birthday.  He is buried in Walpole, Massachusetts.

Color Sergeant Roland Morris, of Company C, was the much lamented carrier of the National Color, at the time he fell. Much about him has already been posted on this website.  His comrade, George Jepson immortalized Morris in his long article titled 'Gettysburg,' which included the eye witness account of Morris's death as told by 1st Lieutenant Jacob A. Howe.  Morris was a student at Heidelberg when the war broke out, and he hurried to catch a steamer to the states so he could enlist.  He went into the 4th Battalion of Rifles, as many other Boston boys did.  Jepson describes Morris as 'an attractive young fellow of great popularity among his comrades.' This must have been so, for he is frequently remembered in the surviving stories of the 13th Massachusetts veterans, who chose to model their monument at Gettysburg in Morris's likeness.  In a letter written July 13th, 1863, to Colonel Leonard from an un-identified '13th Mass' staff officer, the author tells the Colonel, "Mr. Morris left this P.M. with the body of his son."  The Morris family had another son who survived the war.  William D. Morris was a 24 year old 2nd Lieutenant in  the 22nd Mass., Company B; a regiment that was organized in part by Senator Henry Wilson of Natick.  After a couple of engagements with this regiment on the Peninsula, Lt. Bill Morris resigned and was discharged from the service on June 14, 1862, after he had been wounded in action. The roster of the 13th Mass., gives the following record for Roland B. Morris:  Age, 22; born, Nantucket, Mass.; architect; mustered  in as priv., Co. C, July 16, 1861; killed, July 1, '63; color sergeant when killed.   You can read more about Morris,  here, and also here.

Private Edwin Field enlisted at age 20, so he would be about age 22 when he died July 2nd.  Thirteen of his letters are preserved in a government pension file.  In June, 1890, Charles Field, Edwin's 89 year old father, was "without means, income or support other than that derived from a daughter, herself an invalid."  He looked to the government for assistance via a pension Congress offered to Dependant relatives of Union soldiers.  Because he lost his only son in the war "to whom he might have looked to for support," an application was made.  A previous application for help from Charles mother, about the year 1883 was rejected, on the grounds that "we were not dependent upon the soldier at the time of his death."  Seven years later, she was gone, and things must have been pretty hard for the surviving members of the family when they applied again. I do not know if Mr. Field's pension request was successful, [I do not have the complete file], but what I have shows Mr. Field still trying in February, 1892.  He would have been 91 years of age.

With forethought that the family might one day want to apply for a pension, Edwin's sister Susie gave 13 of Edwin's war-time letters to a friend and legal expert for safe keeping in 1884.  All of the letters were written from camp, shortly after the regiment was paid off.  In them, Edwin declares the amount of money he is mailing to the family.  Like other soldiers he would dutifully set aside a generous portion of his meager wages to send home.  There is little in these letters that suggests the hardships and arduous campaigns Edwin suffered as the war dragged on. 

 The paymaster always arrived during quiet times in camp.  Edwin's letters are always positive in attitude and nothing was written  to suggest any regret of his decision to enlist.  However with context, an inevitable weariness of war can be detected  creeping into the private soldier's correspondence after the repeated failures and excessively grueling campaigns of 2nd Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.

In October, 1861, he wrote his sister from Williamsport, Maryland, "our boys are anxious for a fight and hope we shall have it before a great while."  High hopes are expressed in May, 1862;  "the takeing of New Orleans was a big thing as it gives us the whole control of the Mississippi river   there will not be but two more battles before this war will be closed."    Following McClellan's failures on the Peninsula, he writes in June, "I do not think we should get home by the fourth of July the way things look now..."   After the defeat of 2nd Bull Run and the bloody battle at Antietam, he still didn't complain much:  "about half the companies have been commanded by sergents + corporals - it is true a great many of our officers have been wounded but the majority of them have been sick lofeing around Washington under the pretence of being sick when there is any fight going on but I hope that we shall not see any more of it."  The next letter jumps to January, 1863, following Burnside's infamous 'Mud March."  But ever positive Edwin, after describing the mess, and stating, "I still have not got over it yet," continues with hopeful optimism, "I am quite sure it would have been a successful move if it had not been for the storm."  He remained loyal to the cause to the end, describing the regiment's beautiful camp near White Oak Church following the Chancellorsville campaign.  He wrote, "I do not know but we shall have to remain in camp all summer unless they hurry the Conscripts out which I hope will be done & that immediately."  The entirety of this letter is posted on this website.  The others I hope to post one day.  But that is the last  we hear from poor Edwin.  

My appreciative thanks are extended to Mr. Peter Winfrey for transcribing Edwin's letters, as the handwriting is very difficult to read.

Pictured left to right are Corporal Herschel A. Sanborn, Company G, and Charles A. Clement, Company C.  I want to thank Mr. Art Rideout for finding Sanborn's likeness at the ancestry website. 

Corporal Herschel A. Sanborn was in Company G. He is listed in the roster as being a farmer, age 22, upon enlistment, which puts him at about age 24 when he was killed. I don't have a lot of source materials specific to Company G, but there is the record of Lieutenant William Warner's battlefield experiences.  Warner saw Sanborn fall, and  gives us a very brief glimpse of the young man's  final moments. 

"In Company G, which I was stationed with, I noticed Corporal H. A. Sanborn who had just returned to [the] Regiment, on recovery from a wound at Antietam, as he was struck, he turned to the rear, & stood as if hesitating a moment and then fell." 

Sanborn's wound at Antietam goes unmentioned in the roster contained in the regimental history, Three Years in the Army.  But he is listed on Lieutenant Charles B. Fox's carefully compiled list of casualties for that engagement.  I want to thank Mr. Art Rideout for finding Sanborn's likeness. 

Private Charles A. Clement is listed as Killed at Antietam in the regimental roster that was published in "Three Years in the Army" by Charles E. Davis, Jr. --  Davis corrected this error, and included Clement in a revised list, but  this was only published in Circular #9, December, 1895.  The roster states that Clement was age 21 when he enlisted in the 4th Battalion of Rifles, Company C; with his occupation listed as printer. That would make him about 23 at the time of his death.   He was born in Andover, Massachusetts.  He died on September 30, 1863 at Letterman Hospital, Gettysburg,  from a chest wound received July 1st.  That is all the information I have on Private Clement.  The photograph is in the collection of the Army Heritage Education Center at Carlisle, PA.

Records for those soldiers buried in the national cemetery are included on this page in the section titled, 'Wartime Burials.'   The others who were killed or died of their wounds are listed here. The following information is from the regimental rosters, and other sources when mentioned.

Private John S. Fiske, age, 23; born, Lowell, Mass.; trader; mustered in as priv., Co. C, Aug. 6, '62; killed, July 1, '63.     Fiske enlisted in the summer of 1862; one of about 150  recruits that joined the regiment that summer.   His funeral notice was printed in the Chelsea Telegraph & Pioneer.  In part it states, "He was the first volunteer from North Chelsea, and Sergeant Cody of his Regiment, in writing the particulars of his death, said, "Our much beloved and esteemed friend, and brave comrade, was wounded in a glorious cause, and died nobly defending the stars and stripes, and doing his part to restore this once glorious Union."  The newspaper transcription will be posted on the next page of this website.

Private James H. Stetson, age, 19; born, Medford, Mass.; clerk; mustered in as priv., Co. C, July 16, '61; killed, July 1, '63.

Private George A. Atkinson, age, 25; born, Amherst, N.S.-, shoemaker; mustered in as priv., Co. F, July 16, '6l; killed, July l, '63.  Atkinson is identified as the hero (?) of the story of General Hartsuff and the baked beans, as told by Company F comrade Charles Roundy.  Its a hilarious story with Private 'Greasy Cook' Atkinson at center stage, growling at Major-General Hartsuff's request for a sampling of freshly baked beans,  'not by a damned sight, I am not feeding every damned tramp that comes along.”  The story can be read on this website here.  George was a member of the Okommakamesit Engine Company, of the Marlborough Volunteer Fire Department,  like many of his comrades from Marlborough that enlisted in the 13th Mass.  Sadly, George like many others did not survive the war, but the story of Hartsuff and the baked beans will live forever.  His name is memorialized on the Civil War Soldiers' Monument in Marlborough, along with Corporal John M. Russell of Company I.

Private Sylvester A. Hayes, age, 33; born, Milton, N.H.; shoemaker; mustered in as priv., Co. H, July 16, '61; killed, July 1, '63.  William Warner commented on the death of Private Hayes in his memoirs, which is the only insight I currently have on this member of the 13th.  Warner wrote, "In Company H,  S. A. Hayes, a middle aged man (who had been detailed as Teamster until within a short time) was shot & cried out, "Who will take care of my children now?"  Hayes was probably 35 at the time of his death.

Private Charles W. Andrews,  age, 19; born, Claremont, N.H.; carpenter; mustered in as priv., Co. I, July 28, '62; killed, July l, '63.   Charles Andrews was one of the recruits of '62. One of his letters, dated April 14, 1863, is posted on this website.  It is an extremely well written and interesting letter.  He wrote, "It is thought that we will march tomorrow.  And Hooker means to put us through a course of sprints which will take a great deal of labor to perform but we are able to perform many tasks if this war can be settled  by any help of ours." Five more of Charles Andrews letters are on file at the Gettysburg National Park Library, which I have since copied, and will hopefully be able to add to the site when I update. Charles was about 20 when he died.  The letter is posted here.

Corporal John M. Russell, age, 20; born, Marlboro', Mass.; shoemaker; mustered in as priv., Co. I, July 16, '61; killed, July 1, '63; promoted to corporal.  

Mrs. Otis Russell of Marlborough, Mass., lost two sons in the war, Corporal John M. Russell, and his older brother Benjamin F. Russell.  The family was a large one, with 17 children.  They lived in a home which today houses the Marlborough Historical Society.  Three of the sons enlisted in the 13th Massachusetts Volunteers.  Lauriman Russell, an engineer by profession, was the oldest son.  He was age 33 upon enlistment. Benjamin was age 23, and John was age 20, when they joined the Marborough Rifle Company which became Company I of the 13th.  Benjamin and John were both active members of the Okommakamesit Engine Company, Volunteer Fire Department, in Marlborough at the time of their enlistment.  They were both likely involved in the taking of the John Brown Bell from the Harper's Ferry Engine House in 1861, with the idea to send the bell home for the use at their fire house, which at the time was without a bell.   During their service, both Benjamin and John were promoted; Ben to Sergeant and John to Corporal.  Ben was wounded at the battle of Antietam, but John died first.  John was wounded in the left lung and killed the first day at Gettysburg, while Ben was still lingering in a hospital in Washington, D.C., still suffering from his Antietam wounds.  Benjamin finally succumbed to his wounds on October 25, 1863, more than a year after he received them.  Both brothers are buried in Massachusetts; John is at Brigham Cemetery in Marlborough.  Both their names are memorialized, with others from the town that gave up their lives during the war, on the town Civil War Soldiers Monument, dedicated in 1869.  Their Marlborough Comrade Captain Charles F. Morse of the 13th Mass. presided over the ceremonies at the monument dedication.  Older brother Lauriman Russell, who sketched many maps of  areas along the C & O Canal for military use in 1861, mustered out of the regiment in December, 1863.

Sergeant Willard Wheeler, age, 25; born, Hopkinton, Mass.; bootmaker; mustered in as priv., Co. K, July 16, '61; killed. July 1, 63, at Gettysburg appointed sergeant, March 1, '63.  

Lieutenant William Warner, and Sergeant Austin C. Stearns saw Sergeant Wheeler fall on July 1st, and both mentioned it.  Warner noted, "Sergeant Wheeler of Co. K, was almost the first man I saw struck. - He fell over backwards, a ball having ploughed his forehead..."  Sergeant Stearns went into much more detail in his memoirs.  Austin Stearns wrote, "The first thing I saw was Sergeant Wheeler laying on the ground but a short distance away.  There being so much noise and din, I could not tell by looking at him how bad he was hurt, for I could hear no sound.  I went up and spoke to him, but received no answer.  I saw that he was shot through the head, the bullet striking him in the left temple, and the blood and brains were oozeing out.  While looking at him he took his left arm and put it up to his forehead and tried to wipe it, made a low gurgling sound with his lips at the same time."   Sergeant Stearns even sketched a little picture titled "Death of Wheeler" for his manuscript.  Stearns left a very complete chronicle of Company K in his excellent memoirs, "Three Years with Company K" for those interested more in Sergeant Wheeler and others from this company.

Private John F. Weldon, age, 19; born, Portland, Me.; harness-maker; mustered in as priv., Co. A, July 29, '61; Dec. 16,'63, died of wounds received at Gettysburg, July 1, '63.

The book 'These Honored Dead', by author John W. Busey, states that Weldon Died of Pyemia at Portsmouth Grove Rhode Island,  December 16.

Private Charles Stone, age, 19; born, Shelburne, Vt.; shoemaker; mustered in as priv., Co. I. July 16, '6l; wounded, July 1, '63, at Gettysburg; died of wounds, Oct. 4, '63.  The book, 'These Honored Dead' adds that Private Stone was shot in the right knee joint and died October 8 at Letterman Hospital, Gettysburg.

Private Horatio A. Cutting,  age, 44; born, Attleboro', Mass.; bootmaker; mustered in as priv., Co. K, Aug. 1, '62; died of wounds received at Gettysburg, July 22, '63.  

Five soldiers in company K died of their wounds received at Gettysburg.  They were all present at the Church Hospital on Chambersburg Street.  Sergeant Austin Stearns mentions everyone in his memoirs.  According to Stearns, Private Horatio Cutting was wounded in the head, yet still living.  As Stearns wrote, "All the boys were in as good spirits as could be expected, and were all pleased to know that the old flag was still in sight.  With the exception of [Harvey] Ross they were all in the same room, the vestibule of the church."

Private George E. Sprague,  age, 27; born, Grafton, Mass.; shoemaker; mustered in as priv., Co. K, July 16, '61; died of wounds received at Gettysburg, July 15, '63.  

As noted with Private Cutting,  Sergeant Austin Stearns met up with his wounded comrades of Company K, at the Christ Church hospital in town.  He wrote that Private G. E. Sprague was wounded in the chest.  "Cutting, Gould, O'Laughlin, and Sprague all died in a few days."

George Sprague was wounded in the right lung and forearm; he died July 15 at First Corps Hospital and was buried in the Presbyterian Graveyard, Gettysburg; later removed and buried in Shrewsbury.

His pension file shows George married Mary Wheeler of Grafton on January 30, 1859.  He was a 25 year old shoemaker, and she was 18 at the time.  His parents were Ebenezer and Mary Sprague.  Mary’s parents were Caleb B. and Lucy M. Wheeler.  The Sprague’s had a son born on November 15, 1859; Frederick S. Sprague.  After George’s death Mary received a pension for about a year, until she re-married Charles E. Freeman, age 20 on July 8, 1864.  It was his first marriage, and her 2nd, at age 23.  The pension money of $8.00/month was transferred to Mr. George H. Eastabrook of Worcester, Mass., who was appointed legal guardian to the child Frederick.  Mr. Eastabrook continued receiving the government allowance through June 25, 1875, when Frederick was 16 years of age.

Records for the rest of those soldiers killed is given in the section 'Wartime Burials' on this page.

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Wounded, July 1st 1863.

Those whose names appear in red died of their wounds.  I have come across some soldiers whose records in town histories or similar sources report them having been wounded.  There are also some men in the regiment that may have died shortly after they were discharged for disability, and are not included as having died of wounds.  The stories of these Gettysburg  soldiers will be addressed on the next page of this site, titled, 'Aftermath of Battle.'

Selective Notes and Photos

The soldiers pictured here did not die from wounds, but all of them are included on the wounded list above.  I have chosen to post pictures here, of 13th Mass soldiers not yet included on this site, with the exception of John Best, whose family portrait from which this close-up was taken, is posted on another page.  Pictured in the first row, left to right are Private Thomas Jefferson Munn, Company A, Corporal John Best, Company G, and 1st Lieutenant Charles E. Horne, Company G.

Thomas Jefferson Munn, age, 24; born, New York City; watchcase-maker; mustered in as private, Co. A, July 16, 1861; transferred, May 1, 1864, to Veteran Reserve Corps; wounded at Gettysburg; residence, Melrose Highlands, Mass.  

So reads the roster of the 13th Mass.  'Jeff' was the pseudonym Munn used when acting as war correspondent for his brother-in-law's newspaper, The Boston Investigator.  A few of his extremely well written letters from this newspaper survive and prove that Jeff was an intelligent and literate fellow. The first letter is a lengthy account of the regiment's trip to the front in August, 1861.  The enthusiastic send off the volunteers received in Massachusetts, coupled with the cheering welcome and collations prepared for them in New York City and Philadelphia caused 'Jeff' to reflect, 'Somehow, to be a Bostonian, seems to be a recommendation everywhere, and reminds one of the old Pagan passport – “I am a Roman citizen!” which, you know, was thought to be a title equal to that of a king.'  The letter continues at length, detailing the first difficult marches over the mountains of Western Maryland in extreme heat, vividly described, so that the fatigue and physical discomforts of the newly minted soldiers leaps off the page; the reader is almost gasping for breath and seeking a shady spot to rest in empathy with the boys of the 13th.  

Marching was the topic of interest seven months later when T.J. Munn wrote home from Manassas, “We have marched 94 miles since we left Winchester - rather a long journey by foot.  We are still looking southward, and expect to march 20 miles in that direction to-day. I stand the fatigue pretty well, but it is rather hard to get used to it, and some of our comrades sink under it, and that is the end of their hardships.  Last night one of our men died of pneumonia, caused by our long marching, getting heated, and then sitting on the damp ground."  It's lamentable more of his letters are not to be found.  T.J. Munn was wounded in the leg at the Battle of 2nd Bull Run,  August 30, 1862,  but quickly recovered and soon returned to active duty.  The next news I have from the Investigator is a notice by the editor that 'Jeff' was badly wounded at the battle of Gettysburg.   His pension file shows he was shot through the leg and hip.  Lieutenant Robert Bruce Henderson assisted Munn off the battle-field.  It took many months convalescing before 'Jeff' recovered from his wounds, first at the Soldier's Hospital in Philadelphia, and then another six months at his sister's home in the same city.  No doubt having family close by aided his recovery.  In March, 1864, Private T. J. Munn transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps and served out his term as an Orderly at the Soldiers Hospital. The proud visage depicted in the photograph above, is Veteran Thomas Jefferson Munn, G.A.R. member of  U. S. Grant Post 4, Melrose.  He lived a long life and attended several of the 13th Regiment Association Re-union dinners in Boston; in December of 1892, 1896, 1898, 1900, 1906, and at the 50th Anniversary dinner in June, 1911.  Thomas Jefferson Munn went to that Final Muster on April 9, 1914. His passing was announced in Circular #27.   The photograph, newspaper articles, and biographical notes on his life were provided to me by his proud descendant, Lisa Munn-Haynes.

John Best, age, 25; born, Boston; shoemaker; mustered in as private, Company G, July 16, 1861; mustered out as corporal, August 1, '64; promoted to corporal, May 1, 1863; wounded at Manassas, August 30, 1862; at Gettysburg July 1, 1863, and at the Wilderness, May, '64; residence Stoneham, Massachusetts.  

As the record states, Corporal Best was wounded three times in the service.  As a veteran, he was proud of his record and remained a faithful member of the Thirteenth Regiment Association throughout his life.  His descendants have carefully preserved some of John's military record from official documents and war-time diaries.  One notable passage relates John’s visit to Washington early in the war.  In October, 1861, while the '13th Mass' was picketing the Potomac River in Western Maryland, John obtained a pass from Colonel Leonard to visit his wounded brother, Able Seaman William James Best.  William had sailed with Naval Commander James Harmon Ward's newly organized Potomac Flotilla, which was organized to protect the Chesapeake Bay against Confederate naval and land forces.  Commander Ward was the first naval officer killed in the war.  On June 27, 1861 he received a fatal bullet wound in the abdomen while sighting the bow gun of his flagship Thomas Freeborn.   John Best's brother William, was wounded in the same campaign.  William Best's left leg was amputated below the left knee.   

John located his brother recuperating in a hospital near the city and spent the day with him.  After the visit John took the opportunity to spend the night of October 2nd at a nice hotel, where he enjoyed a 'tip-top bed and a hot bath.'  The next day he toured the public buildings in D.C., viewing the House of Representatives, the Senate Chamber and the original Declaration of Independence.  He noticed that part of the Patent Office building was partitioned off as a hospital and contained 300 beds for sick and wounded soldiers.  After a pleasant leave of 3 days he returned to camp.   His brother was out of the war, but John would continue to serve faithfully in the Army of the Potomac's bloody campaigns for another 3 years.  His diary entries reference the regiment’s frequent skirmishes with the enemy along the Potomac River in the winter of 1861-1862.

When the hard service began in the Spring of '62, John’s diary entries became less frequent and very short.  He was present with the regiment at the battles of Cedar Mountain, Thoroughfare Gap and 2nd Bull Run.  John was captured at the latter engagement and guarded for 2 days by a detachment of the 16th Virginia Cavalry from which he escaped.  He was again re-captured by a detachment of Extra Billy Smith's Virginians, and started to Richmond. Further details unknown.  At Gettysburg, Best was wounded in the left arm and found himself once more a prisoner behind enemy lines.  When the Yankees took possession of the town on July 4th, John was once again among friends.  He recovered from his wounds at a field hospital at Gettysburg, and later  rejoined the regiment at some point in time before the start of Grant's Overland Campaign in the Spring of 1864.  Best was promoted Corporal on May 1st 1864 just before the army's advance into the Wilderness. John was wounded a third time on May 6, 1864.  The wound was in the right thigh, and the 3rd finger of his left hand was amputated.  He was again captured at this time, but he was supposedly present with the regiment at the Siege of Petersburg, for he returned home with the unit and was mustered out at Boston on August 1, 1864.   John brought home with him an interesting relic, a wooden canteen carved with his name and that of a private in the 19th Georgia Regiment, inscribed "We drunk from the same canteen." 

John Best and family settled in the  hometown of Stoneham, Mass. where he at  times presided as Commander of the J. P. Gould Post 75, G.A.R. of that town.  He was also a delegate to the National GAR Encampments at San Fransisco, CA, Columbus, OH, Milwaukee, Wis., and Detroit, Michigan.  John Best attended nearly all of the Thirteenth Regiment Association Re-union dinners in Boston in the post-war years.  In the 29 years between 1892 and 1921 he was absent only  4 or 5 times.  Best was also a pall-bearer at the funeral of his friend and Company G comrade, Huntington Porter;  see Porter's biography on this page.  John Best died September 5, 1925.

Charles E. Horne, age, 21; born, Farmington, N.H. shoemaker; mustered in as 4th sergt., Co. G. July 16, '61 mustered out as 1st lieut., Sept. 18, '64; promoted, 1st sergt., Jan., '63, to 2d lieut., July 1, '63, and 1st lieut., March, '64: wounded at Gettysburg, July 1, '63, and at Spotsylvania C.H., May 8, '64; at latter place lost right arm; was also taken prisoner and confined in Libby until Sept. 8, '64; residence, Stoneham, Mass.    

Several of Charles Horne's war-time letters exist and I have transcriptions of a few, written in 1864, which will subsequently be posted on this site.  Though Charles was wounded at Gettysburg it was not as serious as the wound he would receive on May 8, 1864.  His biography is found in the book,  'History of Stoneham, Massachusetts,' by William Burnham Stevens, published in 1891.  Here are some excerpts.

Charles Edwin Horne, is a native of Farmington, N.H., where he was born September 25, 1838, and is the son of Peter M. and Mary E. (Pendexter) Horne.  He attended the common schools at Farmington and the academy at Wolfboro, N.H., and assisted his father about the farm during the same time.  In the spring of 1858 he came to Stoneham and went to work in the shoe shop of W. F. Knowles to learn the trade.  He was employed by Mr. Knowles and others until the war broke out, when he enlisted in Co. G, Thirteenth Regiment Mass. Vol. Infantry, from Stoneham.  He was mustered into the service as a sergeant July 16, 1861, and served three years in the various capacities from sergeant to first lieutenant.  He was wounded slightly at the battle of Gettysburg, and lost his right arm from a wound received at the battle of Spottsylvania Court House, May 8, 1864, where he was also taken prisoner and confined in Libby Prison, at Richmond, for about five months.  He was then paroled, came home and was discharged in September, 1864, his regiment having been mustered out while he was in prison.

In 1866 he was appointed to a position in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and was employed there about ten years.  He was appointed Postmaster of Stoneham by President Grant and held the office for nearly sixteen years, until he was removed by President Cleveland.  In 1887-88 he was Collector of Taxes of Stoneham, and for the past five years [1887-1891] has been on the Board of Assessors, of which he is now chairman.  Mr. Horne was married in Bethel, Maine, October 20, 1875, to Miss Addie C. Stevens, a native of Bethel, but a resident of Stoneham at that time. They have had one daughter, who died in January, 1890.

Charles Horne and John Best were most likely friends and both of them attended the funeral of their popular Company G, comrade Huntington Porter; see Porter's photo and obituary on this page below.

Charles Follen Adams;   age, 20; born, Dorchester, Mass.; clerk; mustered in as priv., Co. A, Aug. 7, '62; mustered out, Aug. 7, '64; wounded at Gettysburg, July 1, '63, and transferred to V. R. C.; residence, Boston, Mass. (Charles F. Adams 1842-1918 was a very famous poet under the name YAWCOB STRAUSS.)

Adams' witty letters are sprinkled throughout this website.  He gained fame as an author after the war, as his record in the roster of the 13th MA declares.  He was profiled in a 1913 feature article of the Boston Sunday Globe, which conatained stories of several New England soldiers' experiences at The Battle of Gettysburg.

Boston Sunday Globe, July 29, 1913

Some more fine looking soldiers from the 13th are pictured here; William Wallace Davis, of Company G, and Edwin Buswell,  of Company C.

William W. Davis; age, 20; born. Reading, Mass.; clerk; mustered in as priv., Co. G, Aug. 12, "62; mustered out, Aug. 22, '63; wounded at Gettysburg, July 1, '63, .and taken prisoner; appointed 1st lieut. 59th Mass.; wounded at Petersburg, '64; lost an arm; residence. Reading, Mass.

The following synopsis of Lieutenant Davis's life is from "Biographical sketches of the class of 1863; Dartmouth College,"  by John Scales, 1903. p. 521-523.

William Wallace Davis joined the '13th Mass' as one of the recruits of ’62.  He left Dartmouth College (class of 1863) a year early to enlist.  He followed the regiment through the battles of South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.  His Dartmouth College biography, states he was badly wounded at Gettysburg, but does not give details.  He was captured by the enemy but re-captured on July 4th when the Confederates pulled out of the town.  Davis returned to his hometown of Reading, Massachusetts for a couple of months to recuperate from his wounds.  

“In the Fall of 1863, as soon as he was able, he re-enlisted in the 59th Massachusetts Regiment and was appointed First Lieutenant.”  

On July 30, 1864, in the same charge upon the Crater at Petersburg, that mortally wounded Colonel Jacob Parker Gould of the 59th, Lieutenant Davis was badly wounded.  His left forearm was amputated. His military service ended and he returned home.  In the succeeding years he held many jobs.  In 1865, he was elected Representative from Reading in the Massachusetts legislature, then clerked for a time at the Boston Customhouse. 

“Later he was engaged as salesman in a retail boot and shoe store in Boston, which position he held for seven years.  Returning to Reading, he engaged in the business of land surveyor and civil engineer, which he continued, with good success up to 1890.”  

Since that time he turned his efforts to farming and various local civic duties.  Lieutenant Davis married in 1865 and had two sons and  two grandsons by the year 1903.  Davis attended nearly all the Thirteenth Regiment Association annual re-union dinners, right up to his death in August, 1913.  He is also mentioned attending the funeral of his Company G comrade Huntington Porter; see Porter's biography below, on this page.

Edwin P. Buswell; age, 24; born. Concord, N.H.; printer; mustered in as priv., Co. C, Aug. 7, ''62; mustered out, Oct. 7, '63; wounded, July 1, '63.

A single Cd'v identified as Edwin P. Buswell has been offered for sale on the Internet, with a copy of the same image on file at the Army Heritage Education Center in Carlisle, PA.  Mr. Art Rideout discovered the following information regarding Edwin P. Buswell.   He is found on the 1850 census living with his parents, Edwin W. Buswell, 1813-1897, and Harriet C. Sanders, 1817-1877, and a brother Frank, 1849 - 1909, and sister Emma1847-1911.  That is the only census where he is found. His parents and siblings are also found in the 1865 and 1880 census. His mother died in Boston and his father and siblings died in Brooklyn, N.Y.   The only additional information found is that Edwin P. Buswell applied for a military pension in January, 1864. The fact that he is not heard from again suggests he may have died shortly thereafter.

John F. Klenert; age, 31; born, Wolfartsweier, Germany; shoemaker; mustered in as private, Co. I, July 16, 1861; mustered out as sergeant, July 16, 1864, New York; promoted to corporal, Nov. 1, '62; sergt., June 24, '63; wounded at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863; residence (1894) Nashua, N.H.

His obituary from 13th Regiment Association Circular #30, September, 1917 says:

John F. Kenert, a veteran of the German War of Rebellion in 1848 and the United States Civil War, died, aged 90, at his home, 4 Billingham Street, West Somerville, Feb. 4, 1917.  He was born July 23, 1826, in Wolfarsswier, Germany.

He came here in 1852 and worked as a shoemaker.  He served in Co. I 13th Massachusetts Volunteers, and was wounded and left for dead at Gettysburg.  After ten months in the Fort Schuyler Hospital in New York harbor he was made an orderly sergeant in the 117th Company Veterans' Reserve Corps of New York City.  He was a member of the John A. Rawlins Post 43, G.A.R.

Upon his 90th birthday Mr. Klenert said:  "I am opposed to any species of barbarity and I consider submarine warfare on merchant ships barbarous.  The common people of Germany did not want this war and they don't know what they are fighting for anyway.  The military element is alone responsible for the terrible carnage."

Thomas J. Downey;  age, 22; born, Roxbury, Mass.; carpenter; mustered in as priv., Co. E, July 24, '61; transferred, March 30, '64, to V.R.C.; residence, Roxbury, Mass.

A newspaper article in the Boston Sunday Globe, July 29, 1913 profiled several Massachusetts men regarding their experiences at the Battle of Gettysburg.  Downey was one of these.  His story, reproduced here, seems to be a little embellished.

Boston Sunday Globe, July 29, 1913.

In this colorful account Private Thomas J. Downey, Company E, recalls some of his experiences at the battle. However, I very much doubt he met General Longstreet at the Church Hospital.

 FOUND A FRIEND AMONG HIS CAPTORS

Thomas J. Downey, a Wounded Prisoner, but an Old Roxbury Boy, Among Louisiana Tigers.

Thomas J. Downey, now living with his daughter at 1 Ingleside st. Roxbury, at Gettysburg had a varied experience.  He was wounded, taken prisoner when the Confederates captured the temporary hospital and was accosted by a Confederate soldier whom he had known in boyhood in Roxbury.

Mr. Downey enlisted in Co. E, 13th Massachusetts Infantry, and took part in the hard campaign prior to Gettysburg, which had reduced the regiment to 360 men.  Mr. Downey was only 18 years old at the time of the battle of Gettysburg.

“Our regiment was in the 1st Corps and in the same brigade with the 12th Massachusetts,” said Mr. Downey.*  “The 1st Corps opened the fight on July 1.  Soon after the infantry went on the firing line I was with my regiment on open ground.  There were no trees or walls for protection and we were firing at the Confederates, who were advancing along the road that led to the Theological Seminary.

“While I was standing up loading my rifle a piece of shell struck my knapsack, tore off my blanket and knocked me about 10 feet.  I got up and kept on firing until a bullet caught me in the right knee.  The wound disabled me, but I did not leave the line immediately.  I stayed with the boys until we were ordered to retreat.

“The fire of the Confederates got too hot for us, as they greatly outnumbered us at that point.  When we retreated I believe only 60 of the 360 men of the 13th came out.

“When we began to retreat I went to the hospital, which was in a Lutheran Church in Gettysburg. The hospital was crowded and I shared a pew with a man who was more seriously wounded than I; he had the seat and the cushions and I the floor.

“When the rebels outflanked us and got into Gettysburg they took the hospital in which I was and made us all prisoners.  That night a big man with a full beard came into the hospital and asked if any Massachusetts men  were present.  I spoke up and he came over to me.  He asked me where I lived, and I said in Roxbury, near Boston.  Then he asked whereabouts in Roxbury, and I said I used to live on Tremont st.

“He looked at me a moment and then he said:  “Say, aren’t you Tommy Downey?”

“Yes, that’s my name,” I said.  He asked me if I did not remember him, and after I had looked at him closely I said:  “Yes, you’re Mike Follen, and you used to live near me on Tremont st.”  I had it right and he told me he belonged to the Louisiana Tigers and had been fighting under Stonewall Jackson.  He had enlisted in New Orleans.

“I saw Pickett’s charge from the belfry of the Lutheran Church.  I heard the sharp firing and went up a flight of narrow, wooden stairs into the bell tower.  The cannonading was terrific and just as I got to the tower Pickett’s charge began.  It took place right beneath my eyes, and I saw those brave fellows come on and drop in their tracks under the volleys from our men.

“The bullets were coming so thick about the tower that I started down the stairs, when a young rebel officer called out, “Here you  ––––– –––––– of a Yank.  Come down here!’  I obeyed and when I reached the lowest step he drew his sabre and pistol and pressed the muzzle of the pistol against my ear.

“Just then Gen. Longstreet appeared and the young officer looked at the general.  He didn’t say a word, but I could see by the expression on his face that he was asking the general whether he should shoot me.  The general looked at me intently and then slowly shook his head.

"I never saw Mike Follen after the night he left to join his regiment.  He afterward became sheriff of the county in which New Orleans is located, and he was the sheriff that saw to it that John L. Sullivan had a square deal when he fought Paddy Ryan.  Mike was bound to stand by a Boston boy.”

*The 12th Mass. Vols. were in Baxter's Brigade.  After Baxter's Brigade defeated Iverson, the 12th MA, though their ammunition was exhausted, was ordered to hold the point of the line. This statement comes from Col. B. F. Cook of the 12th MA in this same newspaper article.  That is when the 13th MA & 104th NY advanced. The troops eventually got all mixed up together near Mumasburg road. ––B.F. 

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Captured, July 1st 1863.

Pictured are Private George F. Ford and Sergeant Rollin T. Horton, both of Company A.  These images are courtesy of Mr. Tim Sewell.

George Fred Ford; age, 19; born, Boston; clerk; mustered in as priv., Co. A, Aug. 16, '62; mustered out, Aug. 1, '64; was detailed as clerk at headquarters; residence, Carson City, Nevada.

Mr. Herbert Rickards maintains a Find A Grave memorial [#5128668] to Private George F. Ford on the website 'Find A Grave.' The memorial includes a war-time photograph of Private Ford in uniform, with a backmark from Kingman & Bradford, Greenfield, Massachusetts. The photo of Private Ford was found in a family album sold to a local antique dealer in Carson City, Nevada, and is now part of Mr. Rickard's personal collection.  All other information was obtained from the National and State Archives.

After the War in the 1870's, George Ford moved to Nevada and became a merchant there.  He ran a small General store in Carson City until his health failed him around 1895 and then he was looked after by his friends and family until his death on March 30th 1898 at age 55; (Cause of death Heart Attack). The US Government Pension Dept. was paying him a pension of $19 a month at the time of his death.

He was a member of the Gen. Custer Post No. 5 Grand Army Of  The Republic and he was laid to rest in the Family Plot near the G.A.R. Section of the Lone Mountain Cemetery in Carson City, Nevada. His stone used to have an angel holding a lamp on top of it but it was stolen by vandals some years before.

Rollin T. Horton; age, 17; born. Clarendon, Vt.; baker; mustered in as priv., Co. A, July 16, '61; mustered out as sergt., Aug. 1, '64.  He was promoted to Full Sergeant on May 1, 1864.

Sergeant R. T. Horton's name is found among the attendees at the Regimental Association's Re-union dinners in 1890, and 1892.  He also attended the 1890 G.A.R. encampment in Boston and his name is registered with other members of the regiment who dropped in to meet with old comrades at the room reserved for this purpose at Young's Hotel.  Thirteenth Regiment Association Circular #26 lists Sergeant Horton as one of the '13th Mass' veterans who went to the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.  Rollin married May McMann on November 18, 1866 in Boston, Massachusetts. Together they had six known children: Clinton J., Percy R., Ethel M., Frederick H., Susan M., and Hopkins.

After the war he was a member of G.A.R. Post # 191 (Gettysburg) in Boston, MA. In his final years he resided at the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Chelsea, Maine.  He died Nov. 29, 1914, and is buried in Togus National Cemetery, Togus, Maine.  Mr. John Arsenault maintains a Find A Grave Memorial to Horton, from which much of this information comes.  For more information see Find a Grave Memorial #2868065.

More Photos and Notes

Pictured below, left to right, are Privates Albert Lynde,  James Young, and Sergeant John MacMahon, all of Company B.  I am indebted to Mr. Scott Hann who generously donated to me 80 black & white glossy photos of Company B men, from his collection.  Biographical research on these men was dilligently performed at my request, by Mr. Art Rideout, [g.g. grandson of William H. H. Rideout, Company B].  Without his efforts many of the biographies on this page would be non-existant.

Albert Lynde; age, 20; born. West Brookfield, Mass.; marketman; mustered in as priv., Co. B, July 16, '61; mustered out, Aug. 1, '64; wounded, June 20, '64.

Described as a Market Man upon enlistment, or someone who buys and sells goods at a market, Albert Lynde may have embarked on a post-war career as a seaman.  Some genealogical information is found for the Lynde family.  He was born 20 miles west of Worcester, on December 11, 1841 in West Brookfield, Mass, the son of Lieutenant Nathaniel Lynde and Eunice P. Bissell Lynde.   His father was a veteran of the War of 1812. Albert had 3 syblings, all of them quite older.  His brother, Ebenezer Bissell Lynde, b. 1823, was a Massachusetts State Senator, 1877-1879.  His marrried, older sister Ellen, died in 1861 at age 27; and he had another sister Eunice who was born in 1831.   In 1850, the family was still living in West Brookfield, MA, but not much else is found in the vital statistics for Albert Lynde, outside of his service record above, except that he was captured July 1st at Gettysburg.  The 'Ancestry' website gives his death as, 'at sea, 1900, Salawesi Tengah, Indonesia, hence the assumption he was a sailor.  He would have been about 59 years of age at the time given for his death.

James A. Young; age, 18; born, Boston; fisherman; mustered in as priv., Co. B, July 16, '61; mustered out, Aug. 1, '64; wounded at Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, '62; residence, Newport street, Dorchester, Massachusetts.

James A. Young attended many of the Thirteenth Regiment Association annual re-union dinners in Boston, but his attendance was sporadic and spread out over many years.  He is listed as being present in 1891, 1897, 1898, 1901, 1904, 1908, 1910, 1913, and 1918.  He also attended with others of the regiment, the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

John MacMahon; age, 21; born, Youghal, Ireland; clerk; mustered in as priv., Co. B,' July 25, '61; mustered out as sergt., Aug. 1, '64; wounded, Aug. 30, '62; appointed acting asst.-paymaster U.S. Navy, Nov. 11, '64; asst.-paymaster, July 23, '66; past asst.-paymaster, Dec. 10, '67, and paymaster in '77; died, Sept., '93. 

No other biographical information was found on John MacMahon.

Some more Company B, boys, pictured below, left to right, are Privates Charles H. Collins, Joseph M. Morrill, and  Corporal Elias O. Hodge.

Charles H. Collins; age, 18; born, Southboro', Mass.; provision dealer; mustered in as priv., Co. B, July 16, '61; mustered out, Aug. 1, '64; deceased.

Charles Collins health after the war must not have been too good.  A resident of Southboro before the war, and probably immediately afterwards, he was admitted into one of the earliest homes for disabled veterans in Togus, Maine.  The home opened with its first resident in November 1866.  Full occupancy was less than 400 persons until a building expansion began in 1868, in order to accomodate 3,000 veterans.  Charles was admitted in 1869 at age 27.  It was probably not too much of a cheerful place to live.  The home was operated like a military camp.  A 100 bed hospital facility was added in 1870, although, "the medical care was limited even for the standards of the day."  Charles died 10 years later, September 1879, of Bright's disease, [an inflammation of the kidneys] at age 37.  Information on the Togus, Maine Veterans Hospital was found on a website for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Note: Rollin T. Horton of Company A was also a resident of the Soldiers Home in Chelsea, and is buried in the National Cemetery at Togus, Maine.   Obituaries in the Regiment Association Circulars show that several of the 13th Mass Veterans eventually resided here during their last days.

Joseph M. Morrill; age, 20; born, Peacham, Vt.; marketman; mustered in as priv., Co. B, July 16, '61; mustered out, Aug. 1, '64.

Joseph Morrill attended the 1890 G.A.R. encampment in Boston, and rendezvoused at Young's Hotel with fellow members of the '13th Mass' during that event.  Next mention of him in the circulars is a re-union dinner which he attended in Boston, August, 1904.  His passing, (date unknown) is listed in the 1918 Regiment Association Circular #31.  No other biographical information on Morrill was found; the name being common in Vermont at the time of his birth.

Elias O. Hodge; age, 23; born, Marlow, N.H.; leather-cutter; mustered in as priv., Co. B, July 16, '61 mustered out as corp., Aug. 1, '64; promoted to corp., April 5, '63; taken prisoner, July 1, '63; exchanged, May 1, '64; rejoined regiment, June 6, '64; residence, Detroit, Michigan.

Corporal Hodge was the son of Roswell and Elizabeth Redding Hodge.  He was born on October 1, 1838 in Marlow, New Hampshire.  The family lived in Groton, Mass. in 1850.  In 1860 Elias was working at a shoe factory in Pepperell, Mass.  He must have had some means and a good character with an interest in the militia, as he was a member of Company B, of the 4th Battalion of Rifles, Boston.  After his service in the war he married Nancy M. Locke of Hopkinton, on December 23, 1865.  She was 22 years old, and he was 27.  They were still living in Hopkinton in 1870, his occupation is listed as boot maker.  By 1880 the couple had moved to Detroit, his occupation still listed as boot maker.  Whether Elias attended any of the early re-unions with his comrades from the 13th Mass is unknown.  The Regiment Association Circulars do not begin until 1888.  Charles was a grocer by the year 1900 still living in Detroit, Ward 6.  His wife Nancy passed away on May 16, 1910 at age 66.  Elias was listed in the census of that year as a Grocery Proprietor, living in Detroit, Ward 10.  He passed away September 29, 1917.

Pictured below are Sergeant Warren Israel Stetson, Company I, Private Algernon Auld, Company C, and Corporal Zoheth B. Woodbury of Company F.   Stetson and Woodbury were both from Berlin, Massachusetts.  A town history contained their portraits.

Warren I. Stetson; age, 17; born, Marlboro', Mass.; farmer; mustered in as priv., Co. I, July 16, '61; mustered out as sergt., Aug. 1, '64; deceased.

Some biographical information on Sergeant Warren Israel Stetson is found in the town history of Berlin, Massachusetts,* where this image comes from.  He was the son of William Stetson of Marlboro, Mass, and enlisted at a young age in Company I of the '13th Mass.'  He was wounded in the forehead by a piece of shell  at Spotsylvania in 1864.  In 1868, he moved to Berlin, Mass. where he was forman at Parker's Shoe Shop in that town.  He is listed as a Machinist by trade.  He married Clara T. Richmond, of Nashua, N.H. but no date is given.  They had 5 children, Grace W. Stetson, b. August 17, 1869; Frederick R. H. Stetson, b. Jan. 20, 1871; Florence E. Stetson, b. May 21, 1878; Blanche M. Stetson, b. June 26, 1879, and a son Roy who lived less than two years, b. June 16, 1884, d. Feb. 10, 1886.   Sergeant Warren I. Stetson's death was announced in Thirteenth Regiment Association Circular #1.  He died March 19, 1887.  His family removed to Worcester from Berlin, in 1892.

*History of the Town of Berlin, Worcester County, Mass. from 1764 to 1895, by William A. Houghton.  F.S. Blanchard & Co. Printers, Worcester: 1895.

Algernon S. Auld; age, 21; born, Boothbay, Me.; clerk; mustered in as priv., Co. C, Aug. 7, '62; mustered out, Aug. l, '64; residence, 236 Princeton street. East Boston.

Algernon Sidney Auld was born August 3, 1841 at Boothbay Maine, to parents Jacob Auld and Eunice Beath Auld.  The family is found living in Boothbay, Lincoln, Maine in the 1850 census.  Algernon's future wife, Arletta M. Wentworth, was born that year.  By 1861, young Auld was living in Boston, with his occupation listed as clerk.  He joined the '13th Mass' in the summer of 1862, as one of the new recruits.  He returned with the regiment to Boston in July, 1864, when the regiments 3 year term of Federal service expired.  According to letters of Warren Freeman, another recruit of '62, the government tried to hold these recruits over for another years service, since they had only been with the unit 2 years at the time of expiration.  Apparently Private Auld ignored this, as Freeman also writes that the recruits of '62 were promised upon enlistment that they would be able to return home with the regiment.  It is well Auld returned to Massachusetts at this time.  Several of the recruits were forced to remain in the service and transferred to the 39th Mass.   When Sergeant Freeman finally wrangled his discharge in September, 1864, the officer who mustered him out of the service said "They had no right to hold you."  Between 1865 and 1870, census reports show bachelor Algernon Auld still working as a clerk in Boston.  He married Arletta Wentworth on October 30, 1873 in  Boston.  His occupation changed over the years from 'book keeper' in 1880, to dry goods dealer, in 1900, and marine engineer in 1910.  Although Algernon Auld lived in East Boston, he never attended the re-union dinners of the 13th Regiment Association.  He was however a member of Post #23 G.A.R.  His death on May 12, 1910 at Chelsea, Mass., was recorded in Circular #23.

Zoheth B. Woodbury; age, 19; born, Marlboro', Mass.; shoemaker; mustered in as corp., Co. F, July 16, '61; mustered out as sergt., Aug. 1, '64.

I know what you're thinking, what if this picture is the wrong Zoheth B.Wodbury?  Chances are it is not.  Like Sergt. Stetson above, a little bit of biographical information on Sergt. Woodbury is found in the town history of Berlin, Massachusetts.*   Zoheth was the son of Israel Woodbury of Bolton, Massachusetts.  As stated in the roster, he enlisted in Company F, at age 19.   During his service he participated in the engagements at Thoroughfare Gap, Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, (where he was taken prisoner), Wilderness, and, Spotsylvania. His service left him partially deaf from exposure to a cannon explosion. After the war he took up his residence in the town of Berlin, Massachusetts.   He married Sarah Ann Hale on November 19, 1865.  They had a son Zoheth H. Woodbury born January 2, 1875.  Zoheth made his living as a shoemaker.  He was a charter member of Post 54, G.A.R. in Berlin, Massachusetts, founded in June, 1868.   He did not attend any of the Thirteenth Regiment Association re-union dinners in Boston, probably because of his deafness, but probably  chose to socialize with other veterans of the regiment at his hometown G.A.R. post in Berlin.   His death on September 30, 1914 was announced in Association Circular #30.

*History of the Town of Berlin, Worcester County, Mass. from 1764 to 1895, by William A. Houghton.  F.S. Blanchard & Co. Printers, Worcester: 1895.

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Missing, July 1st 1863.

All men listed as missing were not at roll call at dusk of July 1st on East Cemetery Ridge.  All missing men eventually returned to the regiment.

George H. Lehman;  age, 19; born, Roxbury, Mass; painter; mustered in as priv., Co. E, July 16, '61; transferred to V.R.C.; wounded, July 1, 63, residence, Lynn, Mass.

George Lehman was included on Lt.-Col. Batchelders list of casualties, listed as missing.  An interview with Lehman appeared in the Boston Sunday Globe, the same feature referenced above, with Charles Adams and Thomas Downey, in 1913.

Boston Sunday Globe, July 29, 1913

WOUNDED, BUT ESCAPED CAPTURE

–––––––––––––––––––––

George H. Lehman in Hottest of the First Day’s Fighting, Walked to Emmetsburg When Wounded.

George H. Lehman of 145 West Canton st. now employed as an electrician at the Charlestown Navy Yard, was a sturdy young man of 21 years, 50 years ago.  Although he had seen hard service as a private in Co. E, 13th Massachusetts Infantry, Mr. Lehman weighed 180 pounds when he went into the battle of Gettysburg.  Mr. Lehman had the advantage of knowledge of how to take care of himself, and, as he says, he never failed to get enough to eat.

“On the night of June 30 we were at Emmetsburg, camped at Marsh Creek, 14 miles from Gettysburg,” said Mr. Lehman.  “About 8 a. m. on July 1, we got orders to start for Gettysburg at double quick.  We covered the 14 miles at a dog-trot and it was the roughest road I ever traveled, up and down hill, with dust up to our ankles.

“My recollection is that we reached the line of battle at Gettysburg about noon.  The 12th Massachusetts had been ahead of us and they had been through some hard fighting before we arrived.   They had lost many of their men and when we lined up in the position they had been holding the able-bodied men of the 12th staid with us.

“It was hot work from the first minute.  The rebels were coming up the road in column of fours just as fast as they could come.  There seemed to be a swarm of rebels stretching out farther than we could see.

“The boys all knew that there were fully five of the Johnnies to every one of us, but that only made our boys fight harder.  We were firing just as fast as we could reload and aim, and our men were falling fast.

“The rebels aimed at the men nearest the colors, so the men who were about the colors are hit first.  Our company was stationed to the left of our colors and as rapidly as the men near the colors were hit we moved up.  Our color bearer, brave Charlie Morris, was killed.   Our regimental monument at Gettysburg, by the way, is a soldier in full uniform, and the figure was modeled after Morris.

“So many of the color company had been killed and wounded that our company, the next one to the colors, had moved up to the position about the regimental flag.  I was close to the colors when a bullet struck my left leg.  It was only a flesh wound and I kept on fighting.

“About 2:30 or 3 p. m. I was wounded again, and this time the ball shattered a bone in the right leg.  That put me out of action and I was ordered to the rear to the field hospital.  I had been able to bandage my right leg with a towel and stop the flow of blood and I could just barely walk.

“Before I was hit and was ordered to the rear I knew that we would have to retreat.  But the boys did not want to retreat.  When it was impossible to hold the position longer and the officers ordered them to retreat the boys had to be driven back before they would stir.  In all my experience I never saw such heroic spirit as the men of the 1st Corps showed that first day at Gettysburg.

“As soon as Stuart’s Cavalry rode away I told Kelly to run up the road and intercept Buford’s Cavalry and tell the general which way the rebels had gone.  He did so and pretty soon we heard the Union Cavalry in pursuit, attacking Stuart’s rear.”*

Mr. Lehman on returning to Massachusetts applied for a commission in the 59th Massachusetts Infantry, but the examining surgeon declared that the wound made further service impossible.

*I can't figure out this passage as it relates to Lehman's story.––B.F.

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Casualties on July 2nd & July 3rd

Pictured is Lieutenant Sanford K. Goldsmith.  He was wounded in battle July 2nd.

Sanford K. Goldsmith, age, 19; born, Milton, N.H. clerk; mustered in as priv., Co. C, July 16, '61 mustered out, Jan. 6, '64; commissioned 1st lieut., 59th Mass.; residence, Andover, Mass.

Biographical information on Captain Goldsmith was found in the book, Abraham Mooar of Andover, and His Descendants, by George Mooar, Boston; 1901.  Sanford K. Goldsmith was the son of Daniel P. and Rebecca King Goldsmith born in Wilton N.H., January 22, 1842.  He enlisted as private in Company C, when the 4th Battalion of Rifles was organized in Boston.  In January, 1864 he mustered out of the 13th to be commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the 59th Regiment, M.V.I., Colonel J. P. Gould's new command.  Goldsmith was soon appointed 1st-Lieutenant.  The following year in March, 1865, he was breveted captain for gallantry at Fort Steadman, where he was wounded, and commissioned captain a few weeks afterward.  During his service with the 13th, he was taken prisoner at the 2nd Battle of Bull Run, and wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg.   After the war he settled in Andover, Mass., for many years, and was employed at the Boston Custom House.   Sanford married Olive Francis Mooar, June 1, 1865, and the couple had two children that survived; Oswald Francis, born in 1869, and Louise Stevens born in 1874.  Their first child, Sanford born, 1868, died at nearly 8 years of age, in 1876. Captain Sanford was very active in the Thirteenth Regiment Association and attended nearly every re-union dinner, with the exception of  4 or 5 meetings, between 1888 and his death in 1920.  In 1917 he was President of the Association.  Sanford belonged to Boston, Post 113 of the G.A.R.  He attended the 1890 G.A.R. encampment in Boston and registered at the room in Young's Hotel, set aside by the Association for veterans of the regiment to gather during the event.  In the latter part of his life he retired to St. Albans, Vermont.

Wounded, July 2, 1863

Captured, July 2, 1863

Missing, July 2, 1863

Wounded, July 3rd, 1863

Private Church is the only fatality listed for July 3rd.  But the roster lists Private George S.Wise and Corporal Edgar A. Fiske as July 3rd casualties so I have placed their names here along with several others listed in the roster as being wounded that day.  

In a letter written to Massachusetts Governor John Andrew, Lt.-Col. Batchelder of the '13th Mass'  concluded his description of the action on July 3rd with this sentence, "Our Division entrenched itself and remained doing sharpshooting Pickets duty which has added several names to our casualty list."  Many of the men listed below were originally included on the list of wounded for July 1st, but the regimental roster specifies these men were wounded on July 3rd.  It is readily seen that they are from the same three companies, D, E, & G, lending credence to the statement.

Private Edward Church,  age, 28; born, Derby, Conn.; carpenter; mustered in as priv., Co. E, July 16, '61; killed, July 3, '63.  

Reports from the Massachusetts Adjutant General's Office remark that Private Church was wounded at 2nd Bull Run, and then again at Gettysburg.  Data states he was shot in the left shoulder and breast, and died at the 2nd Division, 1st Corp Hospital, Gettysburg.  The book, 'These Honored Dead' repeats much of this information in its listing:

CHURCH, Edward (Pvt.) Co. "E": Wounded in the left shoulder and chest 3 July and died the same day at 2nd Division, I Corps Hospital; buried in Presbyterian Graveyard, Gettysburg; 28, Roxbury.

Pictured below is a portrait attributed to be Corporal Charles R. Dale, Company G.

Charles R. Dale; age, 19; born, Matagorda, Tex.; currier; mustered in as priv., Co. G, July 16, '6l; mustered out, Aug. 1, '64; wounded, July 3, '63; residence, Stoneham, Mass.

Mr. Art Rideout found the following biographical information on Private Dale.  Charles R. Dale was born in Matagorda County Texas to Charles Dale and Isabel Plunket on July 22, 1841.  The census record for 1855 & 1860 show him living in Woburn, Massachusetts.  Charles was wounded at the battle of Antietam, and at the battle of Gettysburg.  After the war, Dale  married Matilda M. Eastman, (1844-1908) on September 26, 1866 in Melrose, Mass.  They had no children. Charles filed for an invalid pension in July, 1871.  I did not find Charles listed as attending any of the Thirteenth Regiment Association re-union dinners, yet it is possible he attended the Stoneham G.A.R. gatherings.  A veterans census shows the couple living in Watertown, Mass. in 1890 and in Stoneham, in 1900. Charles death is recorded in the town of Stoneham, on Jan. 6, 1903.  He fractured his neck which suggests a fall.  His age was 61 years and 5 months.  Matilda filed for a widow's pension in April, 1904.  She died of pneumonia on January 8, 1908 at age 63.  Both of the Dales are buried at Lindenwood Cemetery in Stoneham.

Pictured is Private Huntington Porter, Company G.  This photo is part of a digital exhibit of Civil War Veterans from the town of Woburn, posted at the Woburn Public Library, website,  by Mr. Tom Doyle, Archivist of the library.  Click here to see the exhibit, (you will be leaving this website).

Huntington Porter; age, 22; born, Lynn, Mass.; clerk; mustered in as priv., Co. G, July 16, '61, mustered out, Jan. 30, '64; wounded, July 1 '63; residence, Boston, Mass.

Mr. Tom Doyle, Archivist of Woburn Public Library provided me with several newspaper articles on the life of Huntington Porter.  The newspaper obituary found in the 'Woburn News,' July 28, 1899, was full of information about his life and military career, which I will quote from here.

"Huntington Porter was a native of Lynn, his birth occurring on April 29, 1839.  He was the son of Oliver and Aurora Freeman (Stimpson) Porter.  He was in the seventh generation from Richard Porter who settled in Weymouth in 1635.  His childhood was passed in the city of his nativity.  When Huntington was nine years of age his father removed to Waterford, Me., where for 35 years he conducted a grocery business.  In those days, every grocer sold liquors, and Huntington used to say his father was the second grocer in Maine to give up this branch of the business from principle.

"Young Porter attended the public schools in Waterford and assisted in his father’s store.  Later he went to Stoneham and entered the currying shop of William Tidd.  Then he was employed in the grocery store of Aaron Hill of that town until the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion, when he enlisted in the Stoneham Company –G. 13th Infantry Massachusetts Volunteers – and marched away.  He served in the various campaigns which followed, often on special duty at head-quarters.  When Lee marched north he was ordered back to his regiment and took part in the battle of Antietam.  He was at Gettysburg, and was very near the gallant Gen. Reynolds who was killed in the first day’s fight.  In this battle Porter was wounded in the ankle and his foot was amputated in the field hospital.  The wound did not heal and a second amputation at the knee joint was necessary.

"This necessitated his retirement from the army, and he returned to Stoneham where he remained a short time.  In February, 1866, he came to North Woburn and engaged in the currying business first with a man named Tidd, and later with Mr. Freeman Leslie.  In 1871 he opened a cigar store at the Centre in the store now occupied by Thomas Moran, upholsterer, No. 304 Main street. When the Allen Block was built he took the store now occupied by Belcher, and there he conducted a successful business for several years.  It was a popular resort for the young men of nearly thirty years ago.  In 1883, Mr. Porter was appointed to a position in the Boston Custom House, and by faithfulness and clerical ability rose to the rank of triplicate invoice clerk.  In May, 1898, ill health compelled him to retire."

Huntington Porter married Ella Frances Poole in April, 1871.  From the Thirteenth Regiment Association Circulars  it is found he attended the regimental re-union dinners in Boston in 1891, January, 1894, and December, 1894, December 1895, in which year he was elected one of the 'at-large' officers of the Thirteenth Regiment Association, and December, 1896.  He sent his regrets that he could not attend the event in December 1898, which is the last time he is mentioned in the circulars.  He became ill that year and died at his home, "No. 92 Pleasant street at 4.15 a.m. Thursday, July 27, aged 60 years, 2 months, 28 days.  He had been in failing health for a year and more, but was confined to his bed only three weeks.  Consumption following bronchial trouble was the cause of death."  A number of the 13th boys were on hand to see him off.  The August 5th newspaper report of his funeral stated the following:

"The funeral procession was escorted to the grave in Woodbrook by members of Post 161, under command of Com. E. F. Wyer.  In the line were the following members of G Company, 13th Mass., Captain Charles E. Horne of Stoneham, Wallace W. Davis,* J.R. Bancroft, James McKay, W. K. Pratt, R. C. Tolman and Orn Green of Reading.

"The pall bearers were:  Capt. George H. Parker and John Best of G Company, 13th Mass., and Major H.C. Hall, John Maloney (Company E, 98th NY Vols), S.V.C. E.W. Junkins, and Past Commander George E. Fowle of Post 161 GAR."

*William Wallace Davis, Company G, '13th Mass.'

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Wartime Burials

Pictured below is the stone marking the Massachusetts section of the Gettysburg National Cemetery.  The list following is soldiers of the '13th Mass' buried here.

Gettysburg National Cemetery

Old South Cemetery, Gettysburg, Pa.

Loudon Park Cemetery, Baltimore Maryland

Pictures and Notes

Below are pictures of '13th Mass' stone markers at Gettysburg National Cemetery.

George S. Wise; age, 18; born, Boston; printer; mustered in as priv., Co. D, July 16, '61; died of wounds, July 12, '63, received at Gettysburg.

The book, 'These Honored Dead' adds that Private Wise, received a gunshot wound in the leg and died July 14, 1863, He was initially buried in Peter Conover's field; Gettysburg, Pa., and re-interred at the National Cemetery. 

SamWebster of Company D, the same company as Wise, was not engaged on the lines during the battle but he was present at various places during the battle at Gettysburg.  Sam was a 17 year old drummer.  He wrote in his diary July 4th, "Reg’t lays in the strip of woods to the left of the cemetery.  Dead horses abound.  Some sharpshooting from the lines in front.  Lt. Jo Stewart’s cup was shot through as he raised it to his mouth.  He said it was a “close shot” and drank the rest of the coffee.  Jack Leonard has been on piquet line nearly the whole time of the fight.  Wise was shot in the thigh, by a sharpshooter, and is badly hurt.  Joe Kelly is acting Orderly Sergt.  Only seven of us left."

Private Edwin Field; age, 20; born, Chelsea, Mass.; clerk; mustered in as priv., Co. B, July 16, '61; killed, July 1, '63.

Edwin Field's biography is at the top section of this page, where his picture is posted, here.

Private Michael O'Laughlin; age, 21; born, Ireland; shoemaker; mustered in as priv., Co. K, July 16, '61; died of wounds received at Gettysburg, Oct. 8, '63.  [Both the pension file and Adjutant General of Massachusetts state the date of death November 8, 1863].

In his memoirs, Private Austin Stearns of Company K, mentions O'Laughlin at the Church Hospital on Chambersburg Street.  Stearns wrote:

"In the afternoon while [I was] in the church with the boys, the surgeons came around to make an examination of Mike O’Laughlin’s wound; he was shot through the knee, and the bone was badly smashed.  They gave it a pretty thorough looking over, and concluded it must be taken off.  Mike cried like a baby when the surgeons made their decision, and plead his poverty and an aged Mother that was dependent on him as a reason why he could not part [with] it.  I pittied him, as did all the surgeons, and they promised to wait a few days before taking it off, but poor Mike, he lost his limb and his life as well." 

Author John W. Busey writes in his book, 'These Honored Dead' :  Left leg fractured; died November 8, at Letterman Hospital and buried the next day "at the cemetery."  The Massachusetts Adjutant General Report agrees with this.

Mike O’Lauglin’s lament for his elderly mother was justified.  Immediately after Mike’s death, his mother filed for a pension and her family situation was not good. 

Mike was one of five children of Patrick and Margaret O’Laughlin.  His father was dead and the old lady, age 65 lived “on very small means in a ruinous cottage which is barely a shelter from the weather,” in the town of Shrewsbury Mass.  She was too old and infirm to earn anything herself, and had relied on her son Michael, for her support, for the past 3 or 4 years.  His mother told the pension office that her son John was feeble minded and required care and attention himself, that her son Patrick has been married about a year and has a wife and child and cannot possibly do more than support his own family and that her daughters Margaret and Mary were out of work, and that Mary’s health was not good.

When Michael enlisted Mrs. O”Laughlin received 50¢/week aid from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for about a year, until her son Patrick was married.  From then, she received Massachusetts aid in the amount of  $1/week. 

Daughters Mary and Margaret provided a sworn statement, February 23, 1864, to support their mother’s claim for a pension.  In it they stated that brother John was weak minded and could earn his living but certainly no more, that their brother Michael who died in the service, did for many years assist their mother very much, mostly in money; that for the last year she has depended on him entirely.  None of the family can read or write, so they kept no account of the times when he sent the money or most of the sums, but they remember at one time he sent home $15.00, at another $20.00 and at another $35.00 for her support. The volunteer Privates' salary was $13.00/month so Michael sent home to his mother  5 ¼ months pay.

Its nice to know Margaret was successful in her application and received a pension from the government at $12/month through March 4, 1890, when it is presumed the old lady passed away.

Private Frank A. Gould; age, 20; born, Clinton, Mass.; mechanic; mustered in as priv., Co. K, July 16, '61, died of wounds received at Gettysburg, July 1, '63.

Although Frank A. Gould has a stone marker and is supposedly buried at the Gettysburg National Cemetery, family lore claims his remains were removed to Southboro, Massachusetts and buried there.

The carefully researched book "These Honored Dead" says this:  

Gould, Francis A. (pvt) Co. "K"; Wounded in the hip 1 July; died 14 July and buried in the Presbyterian Graveyard, Gettysburg; (A-36 Massachusetts Plot)(another source provides evidence that his remains were brought to Southborough, Mass. and buried there);  born at Lancaster, Mass. 28 July 1841; son of James E. and Harriet Gould; Southborough.

I know of two of Private Gould's war time letters that exist.  The first letter dated Williamsport, Md., December 29, 1861, was once owned by Mr. Kirk McHugh and carefully researched by him.  In the letter to his Uncle Jonathan, Frank Gould writes about his enlistment, the trip to the front, the early marches and skirmishes of the regiment at Harper's Ferry, and worries about his friends in the 15th Mass, captured at the Battle of Ball's Bluff.  He also asks his uncle what he thinks of the Mason and Slidell affair.  All in all a very interesting 4 page letter.   Here is a short portion: 

"As I have an optunity to wright a few lines I will improve it by writing to you. I have been thinking of righting to you for a long time but have not seen eny good chance before now. I left West Boylston the first of last April and went down home to Southboro. I staid at home Just a week. When I enlisted into the Company at Westboro, We drilled every day for 7 or 8 weeks when we was attached to the 13 regt. Col. Leonard at Fort - Independence The 29 of June we went to the Fort in Boston Harbor. We staid their first one month when we started for the seat of war."

The second letter of Frank Gould is in the Antietam National Battlefield Park Library files for the 13th M.V.I.  I do not have a copy of that letter.  In 2001 a great-great nephew of Gould's contacted me and said that family lore believed Gould was wounded at Gettysburg, July 1st, and that he laid on the battlefield through the night, when he was brought to a field hospital and died the next day. After Gould's death the family had the body removed and buried in Southborough, Mass.  

It is possible that Gould was removed to a field hospital on July 2nd.   Austin Stearns actually saw Gould with other wounded comrades from the regiment at the Christ Church Hospital on that day.  But Stearns does not mention when Gould arrived.

 "On the morning of the 2d I was astir early, and did what I could to make Harvey [Ross] comfortable, then went down and saw the other boys, and with Charlie Fay started out on the street to see and hear what we could and if possible get something to eat.  It was still quite early but there were soldiers moving around."

Stearns  returns to the church much later and continues:

"I then went into the church to see the boys.  I found there in addition to Ross, Serg’t  M.H. Walker wounded in foot, Privates G. E. Sprague in chest, M. O’Laughlin, in knee, Frank Gould in hip and back, Horatio Cutting in head, Albion Vining in foot.  Cutting, Gould, O’Laughlin, and Sprague all died in a few days.  All the boys were in as good spirits as could be expected, and were all pleased to know that the old flag was still in sight." [End Quote]

 On October12, 2016, I called the Southborough Rural Cemetery, in Worcester County, Mass.  They have in their records Frank A. Gould, who was interred at the cemetery July 14, 1863; Section 3, Lot 20.

Private John M. Brock; age, 21; born, Mexico, Me.; shoemaker; mustered in as priv., Co. H, July 19, '61; killed, July 1, '63. 

 I have little source material on Company H, but Brock's death was seen by Lt. William Warner and recorded in his memoirs.  Warner saw Private Brock fall in battle right after Private S. A. Hayes.  Warner wrote,  "In same Company J.M. Brock, a tall slim young man with very black hair & dark features fell & I recall vividly the ghastliness of his face, contrasted with his dark hair,  as I noticed him for a moment."  The book, 'These Honored Dead' states Brock was wounded in the heart and killed.

Coporal Prince A. Dunton; age, 20; born, Hope, Me.; farmer; mustered in as priv., Co. H, July 16, '61; died of wounds received, July 1, '63.

To this record author John W. Busey adds in his work, "These Honored Dead", that Corporal Dunton was shot in the hip and foot, July 1st and died the same day at Christ Church Hospital, where he was buried.  Corporal Dunton enlisted from the town of Natick, where much of Company H was organized.  

At least one of Corporal Dunton's letters survives as a transcription in the archives at Antietam National Battlefield. In the letter dated September 24, 1862, Dunton tells his friend how he re-joined his regiment at Hall's Hill, after the disastrous defeat of 2nd Bull Run.  Its a terrific description of the Battle of Antietam as experienced by the '13th Mass.'  

"They was in the Bull Run fight and lost 125 men in killed, wounded and missing.  They also lost all their knapsacks. They looked pretty rough to what they did when I left them. The company I belong to lost 10 men in the fight. The regiment had orders to march soon after."

After detailing the march and fighting at South Mountain, and other things, Dunton wrote of his experience at Antietam:

"About half past 5 in the morning our skirmishers was sent forward and came in contact with the Rebels.  Our division under General Ricketts was the first to move forward.  We opened fire on them about 6 o’clock.  They froged into us hot and heavy but we gave them as good as they sent.  Our Brigadier General Hartsuff was the first man hit.  He was wounded in the side.  We was under fire two hours.  Our regiment lost in killed and wounded 150 men.  My company had 4 killed and 9 wounded.  I fired 28 rounds and came out of it without a scratch.  One ball had just grazed my shoe.  The men that stood each side of me both got shot.  I do not see how any of us got out alive."

The entire letter can be read on this website here.

Corporal Edgar A. Fiske; age, 25; born, Millbury, Mass.; carpenter; mustered in as Corp., Co. E, July 16, '61; promoted to sergeant; killed, July, '63.

I have very little information on Company E, and Corporal Edgar Fiske.  Author John Busey wrote in 'These Honored Dead', that Fiske, from Roxbury, where Company E was organized, was 'Severely wounded in three places and killed July 3rd.'

Whether it was the same position on the picket line of July  3rd, or not , I have this story from Sgt. Austin Stearns Memoirs, 'Three Years in the Army':  "Comstock of K, [Private Charles Comstock] during the days of fighting was out on the skirmish line.  The officer in charge of them cautioned him when he went out, telling him that there had been several men shot at the post he was going to."  This story of Comstock's experiences on the picket line will continue on another web page, but perhaps this is where Fiske was killed on July 3rd.

Private John Flye; age, 29; born. New Portland, Me.; blacksmith; mustered in as priv., Co. K, July 16, '61; died of wounds received at Gettysburg, July 26, '63.

Austin Stearns recalls the following about Flye:

"On going back towards the church I saw a rebel ambulance standing before the door with several of our Surgeons standing besides it earnestly talking. On getting near I heard they were talking about some one in the ambulance.  On looking in I saw there, dressed in a rebel uniform and very weak from the loss of blood, John Flye, the first man of our company hit.  I told the surgeons that I knew that man, that we were of the same company, and they immediately ordered him to be taken in.  Flye was left on the field, and the rebs finding him, and seeing his cloths covered and growing stiff with blood, had exchanged his pants for one of their own and brought him in.  The surgeons, seeing him in grey, could not believe he was a union soldier.  Flye died in a few days."

The date of John Flye’s death is July 26, 1863.  His wife Harriet writes, ‘when my husband died, I was with him at Gettysburg Pa.  That after he died I returned to Roxbury, Mass. where I had been while my husband was in the army.’

Harriet applied for a Widow’s Pension in December, 1863.   Her lawyer, Horatio Woodman  of Boston was successful in helping her obtain it.  The pension for $8.00/month was granted in February, 1864.  About the same time, a Mr. Alphonso Sawtell of Augusta, Maine applied for a pension as legal guardian of John Flye’s minor child by a previous marriage.

Documents submitted show in January, 1849, John married Miss Rachel Jane Bragg at Augusta, Maine.  Their son, John, was born April 9, 1850.  The marriage ended in divorce at Boston, in May, 1857.  Mr. Sawtelle of Augusta was appointed the legal guardian of their child in Probate Court.  Mr. Sawtelle also stated that at the time of his claim, Fry’s former wife was re-married to a Mr. William H. Brock. His pension claim was consolidated with Harriet’s.  The amount rewarded to Mr. Sawtelle, is unknown; as those documents are in a different file than those I have for Harriet.

Things seemed to have proceeded well for a while but on May 27, 1867, a Pension Agent suspended payments to Harriet.

On September 11, 1867, her lawyer, Horatio Woodman wrote a letter to the Commissioner of Pensions.  “Sir, I procured for Miss Harriet Fly, widow of John Fly, pr. Co. “K” 13th Mass: Vols: a pension, …dated Feb’y 15 1864.

'She comes to me to-day saying that further pay’t is refused at our agency, because, a widow, claiming under a prior marriage, has applied to your office for a pension.  Mrs. Fly, a Massachusetts woman, is of excellent character, and believed, and believes herself entitled.  It seems the other claimant has been three times married…”

So, once again Harriet had to re-establish her right to a widow’s pension. New documents were submitted between September and December, 1868, in which she wrote; “…when I was married I was told by my said husband John Fly that he had a former wife but that she had been divorced from him, and therefore under those circumstances I knew I could marry him.”  She also re-submitted a statement that she is the widow of John Fly and that she has not re-married since the death of her husband, and that any statement made to the effect that I have re-married…'is false in every particular.'

A copy of the 1857 divorce record of John and Rachel Fly, was among the pension file documents.

On May 7, 1869, the Pension Agent resumed Harriet’s payments.

Private William H. Gage; age, 21; born, Pelham, N.H.; hatter; mustered in as priv., Co. H, July 16, '6l; died at Baltimore, of wounds received July 1, 63.

I have very little source material from the men in Company H.  John Busey's book, 'These Honored Dead', adds a little bit of detail to Private Gage's record:  'Wounded in the leg, July 1.  Died of gangrene at a Baltimore Hospital Aug. 20; Age 21.'

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Some Grave Mistakes

In addition to Frank Gould, who is not buried at Gettysburg as marked, there are some other anomalies for the regiment at the National Cemetery.  There are some '13th Mass' casualties from the Battle of Antietam buried in the Gettysburg National Cemetery, close to their comrades who died at Gettysburg, -- but not in the same row.  They are Charles Wellington, and Charles Trask, and, particularly vexing, Private George F. Leslie, Company D, whose grave is mis-marked, as G. F. Leonard; an error carved in stone.

When the National Cemetery at Gettysburg was organized, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts decided it wanted its own section, reserved for the burial of Massachusetts soldiers.  Consequently, three Massachusetts soldiers, (2 from the 13th Mass, and one from the 12th Mass) who died from wounds received at the battle of Antietam, and were buried in Chambersburg, Pa., were re-interred at Gettysburg.  They include Privates Charles A. Trask, and Charles H. Wellington of Company K.   The roster in "Three Years in the Army" states that Privates Trask and Wellington died on the same date, October 2nd, 1862.   The Massachusetts Adjutant General Reports record the same.  However, in a September 7, 2009 video presentation by Gettysburg Battlefield Guide Roy Frampton, on the website 'Gettysburg Daily,' historian Frampton states that Wellington and Trask were removed with other wounded soldiers to a hospital in Chambersburg, PA.  That Wellington died, October 5, 1862, and Trask died the next day, October 6, 1862.  I do not know the source of that information.  

Poor Private Leslie who lies beneath a stone marker with the wrong name, died July, 1863. This information comes from careful research done by Jane Snoot, at the website 'Find A Grave.'  The Massachusetts Adjutant General's report, and the '13th Mass.' roster only state that Private Leslie was discharged from the service on March 17, 1863.  Consequently he is not listed as one of the regiment's fatal casualties. 

George F. Leslie; age, 20; born, Saxonville, Mass.; clerk; mustered in as priv., Co. D, July 16, '61; mustered out, March, '63, at Newark, N.J.; wounded at Antietam, Sept. 17, '62; deceased.

On the website, 'Find A Grave,' researcher Jen Snoots, stated she believes 'G.  F. Leonard,' is actually, George F. Leslie, 13th Mass., Company D.  I believe she is correct.  Besides Colonel Leonard, the only other soldier on the roster with the name Leonard is Andrew Leonard of Company D, who gained an officers commission in another unit.  Ms. Snoots writes:

"George F. Leslie was a 20-year-old clerk residing at Saxonville, Massachusetts, when he enlisted as a private on June 25, 1861. He was mustered into Company D, 13th Massachusetts Infantry, on July 16, 1861. Private Leslie was wounded in action at Antietam, Maryland, September 17, 1862. Private Leslie was hospitalized at Newark, New Jersey, where he was medically discharged for wounds on March 17, 1863.  He died a few months later in July 1863."

"Gettysburg National Cemetery/Massachusetts: No. 100. Leonard, George F. (no rank, no company), 13th Massachusetts (no date of death or interment).
(Source: Roll of Honor: Names of Soldiers who Died in Defense of the American Union. Vol. XVII. Page 86. United States Army Quartermaster Corps. Washington, DC, Government Printing Office, 1868)

"Record added [Find A Grave] Sept. 7, 2008."

Charles H. Wellington; age, 23; born, Holden, Mass.: bootmaker; mustered in as priv., Co. K, July 16, '61; died of wounds received at Antietam, Oct. 2, '62.*

Charles A. Trask; age, 20; born, Starke, Me.; shoemaker; mustered in as priv., Co. K, July l6, '61; died, Oct. 2, '62, of wounds received at Antietam.*

To revisit the Battle of Antietam, when Company K left the field that day, only 3 men were standing, of the 35 men who went into the battle with Capt. Hovey.**  Austin Stearns in his memoirs makes brief mention of Privates Wellington and Trask, both whom received mortal wounds in the battle.  "At the stack [haystacks behind the lines] were Sergeants Greenwood shot through the shoulder, Fay through arm, Cordwell hit on head with piece of shell, Corp'l Davenport through the foot, and Private Trask with a mortal wound in side and back by a piece of shell.  ...Duke Wellington mortaly wounded and left on field, Cap't  Hovey wounded and gone on with many others."

The roster in Austin Stearn's memoirs adds, that Wellington and Trask, both died at Chambursburg, PA, from  wounds received at Antietam.

*Another source says Wellington died October 5th, and Trask died October 6th.  See paragraph above, in this section.
           **Westboro Transcript. October 4, 1862.

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© Bradley M. Forbush, 2016

Page Updated October 18, 2016.