1875 In October, the first general reunion and encampment of New Hampshire civil war veterans is held at the Riding Park in Manchester. The Association is formed. Brown's Cornet Band provides the entertainment. The band's key musicians were former members of the 3rd Regiment band and its predecessor, the Fisherville Cornet Band of Penacook, NH.
1878 The NHVA holds its second reunion and encampment, its first at "Weirs Landing". (Weirs Beach was called Weirs Landing until the 1885 reunion, when the reunion began taking place "At Weirs" or at "The Weirs".) Brown's Cornet Band once again provides the entertainment.
1879 The Boston, Concord, & Montreal Railroad made land available to NHVA at the Weirs for 43 years. Railroad cleared trees, graded a few road ways and built a dancing pavilion (Southern end of the grove). Tents housed the members and were set up in camp streets parallel to Lakeside Ave. Larger tents were used to house the Headquarters and Kitchen facilities.
1880 Lowell building erected at the top of New Hampshire Ave. First floor was an open reception area, second floor was a dormitory with partitions. Original colors were straw with dark green and white trim and a green roof.
1881 The NHVA is incorporated by the State, an appropriation is made to erect 5 barracks ringing the top of the grove. A Simple headquarters building next to the Lowell building serves as the Association Headquarters.
1882 Seating areas are placed in the hillside grove area. A speakers stand and pavilion are also built. The Sanborn Memorial is created and plans for the headquarters building and Dining pavilion are begun. Veterans of the Third Regiment Band and its successor, the Hilton Head Post Band, meet at the Weirs, and form an alumni group, the First Veteran Band Association of NH.
1883 The 5th Regiment building is constructed next to the Lowell building. The 1st Floor consisted of a large reception area, with the 2nd floor partitioned into sleeping area. The original color was off-white with dark green trim and had a brown roof. Individual Regiment associations begin to make plans to construct their own buildings on plots allocated to them.
A large arc sign bearing the name of the Association is erected on New Hampshire Avenue.
1884 The 3rd Regiment & First Band building is constructed, the first NHVA building to be constructed on Lakeside Avenue. 3rd Regiment & 1st Band had an open area on the first floor, which could be divided into two rooms and an open 2nd floor which also could be divided. 1/3 of the building was used by the Band, the rest by the 3rd Regiment. The original colors were dark yellow with dark green trim.
1885 Headquarters Building and 7th Regiment buildings are completed on Lakeside Ave. Other smaller barracks may have been built to house the veterans.
The Headquarters Building had a large meeting room with offices to sides and rear on the 1st floor, a large meeting room with smaller rooms to the rear, and the 3rd floor housed a dormitory and storage. The original colors were: deep buff for the 1st floor, the 2nd & 3rd floors were lighter shades of buff, the trim was in different shades of brown and the roof was brown. The porch floor was brown, with the ceiling a light blue, the pillars and brackets were chrome yellow and red, the cresting dark red with old gold.
The 7th Regiment had a large reception area on the first floor. The 2nd floor had several sleeping areas and a ladies reception room. The original colors were bright terra cotta with bronze trimmings on the first floor, dark yellow with green trim on the second floor, the gable ends were canary yellow.
1886 The 2nd Regiment and Manchester House (Grand Army of the Republic) are built to the right and rear of the Lowell Building. The huge Dining Pavilion occupies the area in front and to the right of these structures out to Tower Street.
1887 The 16th Regiment Building is constructed on Veterans Ave. southern end. Next to the 16th is a new pavilion and smaller storage building. On Lakeside Ave., at the southern end, the 1st Cavalry built their Headquarters.
The 16th Regiment building had a large reception area with three smaller rooms on the first floor. The second floor had 2 large sleeping areas and two smaller rooms in the front towers. The original colors were bright yellow with greening blue and red trim. The roof was dark slate.
The Cavalry building had an open reception area with a nest of three fireplaces on the first floor. The second and third floors were dormitories. The original colors were two shades of blue trimmed in yellow - cavalry uniform. The roof had a light and dark slate checkerboard pattern
1888 The 9th and 11th Regiments work together to construct their building on Lakeside Ave. between the Cavalry and 7th Regiments building. On Veterans Ave, opposite the 16th Regiment, the 15th Regiment finishes their building.
The 9th and 11th Regiment building had two large reception areas that were separated by folding doors with fireplace on each end of the first floor. The second floor was divided into two section, subdivided into three rooms. The third floor was a dormitory. The gables were painted straw with vermilion trim, the main body of the building was a darker straw. The roof was dark slate
The 15th Regiment building's first floor was divided into two areas. The second floor was divided into three rooms. The building was painted light orange with bright red trim. The roof was light slate and the basement was brown stone.
1889 One of the temporary barracks next to the 5th Regiment is converted to use by the 8th and 13th Regiments.
1891 On land below the 15th Regiment the National Veterans Association of NH constructed the largest and most detailed building. This group was made up of NH veterans who were not in the individual regiments raised in NH. The building was sometimes referred to as the tramps building.
1892 A map of the Weirs showing the location of many of the buildings is published in Boston by D.H. Hurd & Co.
1893 Below the National Veterans Association building and above the Cavalry Headquarters, the 14th Regiment constructed their building. The road was now named Cavalry Avenue, and marked the southern boundary of the property.
1894 A beautiful civil War Soldier statue and water trough in honor of Laommi Bean of the 8th Regiment was erected at the base of New Hampshire Ave.
1896 Berdan's Sharpshooters and the Heavy Artillery Companies constructed the last of the large buildings. This building sat at the western boundary of the property in an area with the state barracks. This seems to be the last of the large buildings constructed.
This construction period is sometimes referred to as the High Victorian period. Most of the buildings were very colorful with ornate details. Sometimes called the Queen Anne Camp Style, using a "balloon" construction style with sweeping roof lines and wrap around porches, they were and are beautiful to behold. Many of the buildings boasted running water and sewer, long before other "camps" in the area. Most featured large open areas on the first floors with fireplaces and water closets. The second and third floors would consist of dormitory style sleep areas which could, in some cases, be broken up into smaller more private areas with partitions.
1924 A large fire struck The Weirs, destroying the Weirs Hotel, 3rd Regiment Building, and damaging a few of the other barracks.
1931 A lightning strike destroyed the Civil War Soldier statue and water trough honoring Laommi Bean of the 8th Regiment.
1938 When the devastating Hurricane of '38 roared through NH, over 200 large trees were brought down, destroying the 8th & 13th Regiment Building, National Veterans Association Building, Speakers Stand, Convention Pavilion, and a few smaller structures. The 14th Regiment Building, Cavalry Building, Dining Pavilion, and other buildings suffered some damage from the storm. The State made another appropriation to help the Association clean up and repair after the storm.
1950's & 60's Records seem to indicate the Dining Pavilion, Speaker's Stand, Dance Pavilion, and other buildings were removed for public safety reasons.
The front buildings were repainted during this time using surplus military paint, hence the various shades of gray, blue gray and off-white
1970's & 80's Records seem to indicate fires destroyed three of the old state barracks and separate fires damaged a few other building.
1990's Separate and suspicious fires destroyed the 16th Regiment Building and the Berdan's Sharpshooters Building. The 2nd Regiment Building was taken down for public safety reasons.
The 1990's also harkened the newest efforts to save this distinct piece of NH's cultural history. Structural repairs - foundations, roofs, windows, upgraded electrical wiring, plumbing, and grounds work. Cosmetic improvements of painting and landscaping are ongoing. What has been accomplished may not show outwardly, but lays in the foundation of a long term plan to maintain the NHVA's holdings for future generations of veterans and the citizens of New Hampshire.
The postcard below dates after 1924 (no 3rd Regiment building) and possibly after 1931 (no statue)
One of the two cannons on the lawn of the NHVA headquarters. Initially, the cannons were kept in a shed at the rear of the HQ and "trotted out at Reunion week only." But in 1933, the cannons were "polished, moved down in front of the headquarters, and placed on cement foundations for permanent display." Since 2000, this cannon has been fired annually during the Association's yearly August gathering. Photo taken October 6, 2007.
Early annual gatherings, known as encampments, were named after individual New Hampshire veterans, all heroes of the Civil War. Both survivors and the fallen were named. For those individuals who survived the War, to be named was a tremendous honor. Souvenir ribbons, with the image of that year's hero, were sold at each encampment. Over the years, these ribbons have become very desired collectibles.
Below is a list of these encampments and heroes, and a picture gallery of the souvenir ribbons. A brief biography of each hero follows.
Typically, the encampments were 4 day affairs, beginning on a Tuesday and ending on a Friday during the last week of August.
The portraits of six of these heroes hang on the first floor of the NH State House. These heroes have bios on the NH Division of Historical Resources and are linked in the table below. One, Commodore George H. Perkins, even has his own statue at the State House.
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|
|
DATES
|
|
| John G. ("J.G") Foster | 1875 | October 12-14 | 1st |
| ? | 1878 | ? | 2nd |
| Nathaniel "Natt" Head | 1879 | August 25-27 | 3rd |
| James K. Lane | 1880 | Aug 31-Sept 2 | 4th |
| ? | 1881 | ? | 5th |
| Evarts W. Farr | 1882 | Sept 12-15 | 6th |
| Richard Ela | 1883 | Sept 11-14 | 7th |
| William P. Ainsworth | 1884 | August 26-29 | 8th |
| Oliver W. Lull | 1885 | August 25-28 | 9th |
| Haldimand S. Putnam | 1886 | August 24-27 | 10th |
| Timothy B. Crowley | 1887 | August 23-26 | 11th |
| George H. Chandler | 1888 | August 28-31 | 12th |
| Edward E. Cross | 1889 | August 26-31 | 13th |
| ? | 1890 | August 26-29 | 14th |
| Henry W. Fuller | 1891 | August 25-28 | 15th |
| Aaron F. Stevens | 1892 | ? | 16th |
| Orlando W. Keyes | 1893 | August 22-25 | 17th |
| Mason W. Tappan | 1894 | August 28-31 | 18th |
| Alexander Gardiner | 1895 | Sept 3-6 | 19th |
| Chas W. Pickering | 1896 | August 25-28 | 20th |
| William I. Brown | 1897 | Aug 31- Sep 3 | 21st |
| Frederick M. Edgell | 1898 | Aug 23-26 | 22nd |
| John G. Jenness | 1899 | Aug 22-25 | 23rd |
| John W. Thompson | 1900 | August 21-24 | 24th |
| Harriet P. Dame | 1901 | August 27-30 | 25th |
| Alvah S. Libbey* | 1902 | August 26-29 | 26th |
| Ira C. Evans | 1903 | August 25-28 | 27th |
| D. Arthur Brown | 1904 | August 23-26 | 28th |
| ? | 1905 | ? | 29th |
| John C. Linehan | 1906 | August 28-31 | 30th |
| George H. Perkins | 1907 | August 27-30 | 31st |
| William Pitt Moses | 1908 | August 25-28 | 32nd |
| Edward E. Sturtevant | 1909 | August 24-27 | 33rd |
| John L. Thompson | 1910 | August 23-26 | 34th |
| Simon G. Griffin | 1911 | Aug 29-Sept 1 | 35th |
| ? | 1912 | ? | 36th |
| John J. Railey | 1913 | Aug 26-29 | 37th |
| Charles E. Buzzell | 1914 | August 25-28 | 38th |
| Dana W. King | 1915 | August 24-27 | 39th |
| Augustus D. Sanborn | 1916 | August 22-25 | 40th |
| ? | 1917 | ? | 41st |
| ? | 1918 | ? | 42nd |
| Mortier L. Morrison | 1919 | August 26-29 | 43rd |
| Martin A. Haynes | 1920 | August 24-27 | 44th |
| Natt Shackford | 1921 | August 23-26 | 45th |
| ? | 1922 | ? | 46th |
| Lewis W. Aldrich* | 1923 | August 21-26 | 47th |
| Dudley, Smith, Taylor & King | 1950 | August 21-26 | 75th |
John G. Foster: Short bio to go here
Nathaniel "Natt" Head: From Hooksett. A successful business person and state legislator, was appointed Adjutant General of the State of New Hampshire in 1864, where he was responsible for organizing and maintaining the State's records of NH regiments (wartime correspondence, biographical histories, and the like); and in honoring the living and memorializing the dead. Most importantly, he assisted veterans in their return to civilian life. Otis F.R. Waite, in his Civil War history, said of Head, "His constant and unwearied devotion to the "Boys in Blue" secured for him their highest respect and esteem and won for him the enduring title of "The Soldier's Friend.""
Waite's book, published in 1870, preceded Head's greatest accomplishment. Head served as Governor of New Hampshire from June, 5 1879 - June 2, 1881. Click here to see a photo of General Head and to read Waite's account. Post #72 of the NH Dept. of the GAR, in Fitzwilliam, was named after Head.
James K. Lane: Corporal in Company G of the 11th Regiment. According to Leander Cogswell, in his history of the 11th regiment, Lane was "mortally wounded" on May 12, 1864 at the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse with the "colors" (NH state and/or US flags) in his hands, and died four days later. Some of the most savage fighting of the Civil War took place at Spotsylvania on May 12, 1864, in an exposed Confederate salient first called the "Mule Shoe" and later, after the massive casualties were counted, recalled as the "Bloody Angle".
Evarts W. Farr: From Littleton. First Lieutenant in Second Regiment, where, in fighting at Williamsburg, VA, his right arm is shattered by a Minie Ball, and amputated. The Minie Ball was a large-caliber rifle bullet that was the Civil War's most lethal weapon. However, Farr continued to fight. After recuperating, he joined the 11th Regiment, where as Major, he bravely led a charge at Fredericksburg. Farr died while serving NH as a US congressman in 1880. His bio can be read in Leander Cogswell's history of the 11th regiment.
Richard Ela: Captain, Third Regiment; killed at the Battle of Drury's Bluff, near Richmond, VA; commanded Sharpshooters.
William P. Ainsworth: From Nashua. Captain, Company M of 1st N.E.Cavalry.
Oliver W. Lull: From Weare. Prior to the war, a Lieutenant of the Governor's Horse Guards. A Lieutenant Colonel in the Eighth Regiment, he was a valued assistant to two Generals. Killed on May 27, 1863, while leading the charge storming the extensive Confederate earthwork fortifications at Port Hudson. The charge failed miserably. The Union army then began a long, 48-day seige, which ultimately led to the fort's surrender. A detachment of the Governor' s Horse Guards performed the military honors at Lull's funeral. The Guards paraded at NH ceremonial functions from 1860-1865 before becoming defunct. Only half its members survived the Civil War. The remaining members could not pay for the Guard's expenses for which the state of NH had never contributed a dime. The Horse Guards were revived in 2000 by Governor Jean Shaheen and now are a department of the NH Army National Guard. Click here for Lull's bio in Otis F.R Waites book, NH in the Great Rebellion.
Haldimand S. Putnam: Short bio to go here
Timothy B. Crowley: Short bio to go here
George H. Chandler: Short bio to go here
Edward E. Cross: From Lancaster. Commanded the 5th Regiment's 1st Brigade, Caldwell's Division, at Gettsyburg. In the fighting of the second day he was mortally wounded in the woods near Devil's Den, on the Union left. Click here for Cross's bio in Otis F.R Waites book, NH in the Great Rebellion. Post #16 of the GAR, in Lancaster, was named after Cross. The 5th Regiment was widely admired for its bravery and was often referred to as the "Fighting Fifth".
Henry W. Fuller: From Hooksett. An 1859 Harvard law school grad, Fuller began his military career with Company I of the First Regiment. He later transferred to the Sixteenth Regiment, where he was promoted to Colonel. Beginning on November 23, 1863, he led the Seventy-Fifth United States Colored Infantry, based in New Orleans.
On May 22, 1863, the Bureau of Colored troops had been established. Although the Union army was willing at the time to recruit "colored" troops as enlisted men, they were much against them becoming combat officers. By the end of the Civil War, there were only eighty-seven African-American officers in the Union Army, while 178,000 "colored" troops had been recruited. The Union army offered freedom for those who enlisted, as well as an opportunity to fight against slavery, but little chance for advancement. Instead, white men like Fuller were given leadership positions over the black troops.
Fuller remained in New Orleans for two years after the war, then moved back to New England. Living in Roxbury, MA, he was elected for two terms as a Representative and one term as a Senator to the Massachusetts state house. Click here for Fuller's bio in Luther Townsend's History of the Sixteenth Regiment.
Aaron F. Stevens: Short bio to go here
Orlando W. Keyes: Captain, 12th Infantry, Company E, killed in the battle of Chancellorsville. Served as First Lieutenant under Natt Shackford (see below). Enlisted most of the men from Holderness. "When the fatal ball struck him, he was in the act of cheering his men forward by swinging his sword above his head."
Mason W. Tappan: NH Congressman from 1855-1861, he enlisted and was a Colonel in the 1st Regiment. Following the war, he was NH's Attorney General from 1876-1886. Notable for his hardline speech made in Congress on February 5, 1861, "The Union As It Is and the Constitution as Our Fathers Made It" in which Tappan stated his belief that no compromise should be made with the South, as that would require amending the Constitution. Click here for Tappan's bio in Otis F.R Waites book, NH in the Great Rebellion.
Alexander Gardiner: He volunteered in the Fourteenth New Hampshire Volunteers, and was appointed Adjutant [a lower ranking officer who helps a higher ranking officer with administrative affairs]. After seeing service in Virginia the Regiment went to New Orleans, when it was attached to the Nineteenth Corps, with which it returned to take part in the final struggle in Virginia. Gardiner was promoted to the command of the 14th Regiment, and was killed at its head while leading his men to the charge at the victorious battle of Winchester. (Harpers Weekly, November 5, 1864.) Click here for Gardiner's bio in Otis F.R Waites book, NH in the Great Rebellion.
Charles W. Pickering: Captain Pickering was a New Hampshire native whose naval career started when he was only 7 years old. His career spanned nearly five decades, from 1822-1867. During the Civil War, he was a Captain of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. He was the first Captain of the USS Kearsarge*. Pickering's greatest claim to fame was as commander of the USS Housatonic, which was blown up off Charleston on the night of February 17, 1865, by a torpedo fired from the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley**. This was one of the most famous incidents in Naval history, as it was the first time a submarine had successfully sank another ship. As the Hunley attacked, Pickering appeared on deck and fired buckshot from a double-barreled shotgun at the sub. “I thought of going forward myself to get clear of the torpedo,” he reported, “but, reflecting that my proper station was aft, I remained there, and was blown into the air the next instant from where I stood on the port side abreast of the mizzenmast.” Surviving the Housatonic's sinking, Pickering subsequently took command of the Vanderbilt, and participated in the capture of Fort Fisher.
*Under command of its second Captain, John Winslow, the Kearsarge battled and sank the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama off the French coast on June 19, 1864. Launched from Liverpool on July 29, 1862, the Alabama was aided by auxiliary steam power, which gave her a huge advantage in speed and manueverability over solely sail-driven ships. For nearly two years the Alabama rampaged throughout the Atlantic, capturing, burning or sinking nearly seventy Union merchant marine vessels, who, hopelessly outmatched by the Alabama, usually gave up without a fight. The Alabama finally met her match in the Kearsarge, which not only had steam power, but an equally powerful set of armaments.
**The Hunley and its crew did not survive the engagement with the Housatonic, sinking on the way back to base . The sub was found at the bottom, just outside of Charleston Harbor, in 1995. It was raised in 2000, and currently is undergoing conservation and preservation.
William I. Brown: Was attending Brown university when the war broke out, and joined a military company composed of college students known as the University Cadets, being the first to sign the roll. He afterwards began recruiting for the Ninth New Hampshire Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteers. He filled various positions from second lieutenant to major, was in the battles of South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Spottsylvania, and was killed at Fort Stedman in March, 1865, a short time before the close of the war. (Wayside Jottings, Rambles Around the Old Town of Concord, N.H., by Howard M. Cook, 1910)
Frederick M. Edgell: A teenage hero of the Mexican-American war, Edgell recruited most of the 100-plus men of the 1st Independent Battery, NH Volunteer Light Artillery in 1861 from the Manchester area. Appointed First Lieutenant, he was 2nd in command of the Battery, and fought at Bull Run, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. Promoted to Captain, he lead the Battery into battle at Gettysburg. In late 1864 was promoted again, to Major, when in a purely ceremonial move, his Battery was attached to the Heavy Artillery, even though the Battery remained a Light Artillery detachment in the field until the end of the War. Post #76 of the GAR, in Orfordville, was named after Edgell.
John G. Jenness: Short bio to go here
John W. Thompson: Of Nashua. Member of 1st Regiment. Second Lieutenant, Company E.
Harriet P. Dame: First, and only, woman to be honored by an annual NHVA encampment. First woman to have her portrait hung in the NH State House. A nurse, she defied her superiors in Concord to follow the Second Regiment, beginning with the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, and continuing until the end of the war. Although she would take no official title, she was "in charge" of the nursing efforts at countless battles, both directly on the field of war, as well as in the hospital tents at the rear of the battlefield action, where she administered to the wounded. According to Rev. Adams, Chaplain of the Second, "Her name could hardly be mentioned in a NH regiment without calling forth the response, 'I owe my life to Miss Dame'...All the Granite State regiments spoke her name and referred to her acts with equal pride." After the war, she worked nearly 30 years in Washington, D.C. as a pension clerk for the US treasury, where she distributed funds to disabled Civil War veterans, among others. Click here for Dame's bio in Otis F.R Waites book, NH in the Great Rebellion.
Alvah S. Libbey: Captain, Company G of the First NH Heavy Artillery. Later an important Wolfeboro official. His portrait can be seen here.
Ira C. Evans: Enlisted as a drummer in Co. C, Twelfth N.H. Vols., and was present at all the battles in which the regiment was engaged...[in] May 1864, he became principal musician of the regiment, and was mustered out of the service in June, 1865. Upon returning home...he was the founder and publisher of the the Veteran's Advocate, a monthly paper devoted to Grand Army interests...he was very popular with his Grand Army associates, and with the public at large. Published many books about the War, including histories of the 7th, 8th, 12th, and 15th Regiments. (Granite State Monthly, Volume XXXII, January-June, 1902)
D. Arthur Brown: Short bio to go here
John C. Linehan: Linehan played the B-flat bass, an upright tuba that was the largest and lowest-pitched member of the traditional brass band. He was a founding member of the Fisherville Cornet Band, formed in 1858. (The town of Fisherville was renamed Penacook in 1883.) In 1861, seven members of the Fisherville band were recruited to serve as the core of the Third Regiment Band. Linehan enlisted on August 16, 1861. Initially, each NH regiment had its own band of up to 24 musicians. By July, 1862, the regimental bands were deemed too expensive and unwieldy, and more compact, 16-member brigade bands (a brigade consisted of four regiments) were formed. From February 1863 to July 1865, the Hilton Head Post Band (technically the Second Brigade Band, 10th Army Corps, NH Volunteers), stationed in Port Royal, SC, incorporated seven of the former members of the Third Regiment Band, once again incuding Linehan. After the war, Linehan was one of the founding members of Brown's Cornet Band.
However, Linehan's greater claim to fame was as an author. He became an authority on the early history of the Irish in New England and wrote many articles, as well as a book on the subject. (At age 9, Linehan had immigrated to the US from County Cork in Ireland.) During the 1890's he was the State Insurance Commissioner of NH. Linehan was active in veteran's affairs; he was a G.A.R. commander, a director of the Gettsyburg Battlefield Memorial Associaiton, and he was President of the NHVA from 1885-1886.
George H. Perkins: Had a long and distinguished naval career. During the Civil War, as commander of the monitor Chickasaw, "...his aggressive and effective conduct during the August 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay was a major factor in the capture of the iron clad Tennessee." (Wikipedia entry-click here for more info.)
William Pitt Moses: Enlisted in May, 1862, and was assigned to the Ninth...as commissary of the camp...During his term of service, he was several times detailed as acting brigade and division quartermaster...winning the high commendations of his superiors by the energy and efficiency with which he executed the duties pertaining to his department. In the famous march of the regiment across the Cumberland mountains, in March, 1865, Quartermaster Moses accomplished what had been declared at head-quarters as an impossibility, —the safe transmission of his teams over the treacherous mountain roads of early spring. (History of the Ninth Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteers in the War of the Rebellion. Edited by Edward O. Lord, 1895.)
Edward E. Sturtevant: First man from New Hampshire to enlist in "our second war for independence" and was also the first man to recruit under the President's call for seventy five thousand "three month" men...in a few days, by his own personal influence and example, he enlisted two hundred and twenty six men...received a commission as Captain in the First Regiment...later transferred to captain of Company A of the "Fighting Fifth"...and later promoted to Major... his command was [often] nearest the enemy...From South Mountain to Antietam, and again in McClellan's advance on Charlestown, he led the skirmish line...he loved this dangerous service. He entered the batle of Fredericksburg acting as Lieut. Colonel, where he was finally fatally felled by a "minnie ball". (Bio in New Hampshire in the Great Rebellion, by Major Otis Frederick Reed Waite, 1870.)
John L. Thompson: Commissioned in 1861 as a First Lieutenant in the first all-New England cavalry regiment. Continued to serve in the cavalry, fighting at Gettsyburg in 1863, while also raising in the ranks. In July 1864, took command of the First New Hampshire Cavalry while at Harper's Ferry, then fought bravely with General Philip Sheridan's forces in the Shenandoah Valley. (New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources - click here for more info.)
Simon G. Griffin: Rose from being a private to the rank of Major General, the highest rank obtained by a New Hampshire soldier during the civil war. He was never wounded during the war, even though seven of his horses were shot out from under him. Fought with Grant at Vicksburg and with Sherman in Mississippi in 1864. After the war, was elected five times to the NH legislature and served the last two terms as Speaker. Click here for Griffin's bio in Otis F.R Waites book, NH in the Great Rebellion. Click here for additional Griffin info.
John J. Railey: Short bio to go here
Charles E. Buzzell: Short bio to go here
Dana W. King: A Captain in the 8th regiment, known for surviving one of the Souths's worst prisons. In fighting near Sabine Pass, in Mississippi in 1864, his forces were caught by surprise and overwhelmed. King was captured and imprisoned at Camp Ford, near Tyler, Texas, for over six months. His first hand account of privations at the largest Confederate prison west of the Mississippi can be read in horrifying detail here. King later served as the Treasurer of the NHVA.
Augustus D. Sanborn: From Franklin; enlisted in the 1st as a private, then later served in Company G of the 5th Regiment, fighting with Edward Cross. Promoted to Captain. Survived the war. Later seen in a photo visiting a memorial marker at Gettsyburg where Colonel Cross fell. (My Brave Boys, to War with Colonel Cross and the Fighting Fifth, by Mike Pride and Mark Travis, 2003.)
Mortier L. Morrison: From Peterborough. Quartermaster Sargeant of the 13th Regiment. Enlisted on August 31, 1862, and discharged on June 21, 1865. After the war, he returned to Peterborough, where he operated a paper mill for a few years, then became a banker. He was politically active in local and state government; he was elected representative to the NH House in 1879, 1881, and 1915. He was also active in various civic groups, including the GAR.
Martin A. Haynes: Haynes fought as a Private for three long years in every engagement in which his 2nd Regiment took part, and never once during that long period, "did he respond to the surgeon's call or was one day off duty". Promoted to Colonel after the War. Author of the History of the 2nd Regiment New Hampshire Volunteers: Its Camps, Marches, and Battles. Published in 1865, the book was a personal narrative of Hayne's experiences during the War. One of the founders and first presidents of the NHVA. Commander of the NH GAR in 1881-1882. Elected to Congress in 1882 and 1884. Resident of Lakeport. Publisher and Editor of the Lake Village Times, where in 1871, he named Paugus Bay. Click here for a brief bio on Wikipedia. Click here for a more extensive bio, written by John C. Linehan, the 1906 encampment hero. According to Linehan, at the Weirs, Haynes "effectually dampened the ardor of the gamblers and the blacklegs [a cheater at cards] who attempted to ply their vocation by marching one of their number who defied all control down to the steamship wharf and pitching him overboard, kit [suitcase] and all."
Natt Shackford: Captain in Company E of the 12th. Shackford was a resident of the Weirs, and was a long-time Secretary of the NHVA. In his History of the 12th Regiment, Asa W. Bartlett said of Shackford, "Although he went through (or until cut down) every battle of importance the regiment was engaged in, except the Siege of Petersburg, and was seven times wounded, and twice killed ( ! ), yet he is still among the liveliest of the living, standing as erect as ever..."
Lewis W. Aldrich: Corporal, 9th Regiment, Company I; wounded in the Battle of South Mountain, near Frederick, Maryland.
Bibilographical Listing of NH Infantry Regiment Histories
|
REGIMENT |
|
ORIGINAL
PUBLICATION DATE |
PUBLICATION LOCATION |
ORIGINAL
PUBLISHER |
| 1st Regiment | Stephen G. Abbott | 1890 | Keene | Sentinel |
| 2nd Regiment | Martin A. Hayes | 1865 | Manchester | Charles F. Livingston |
| 3rd Regiment | Elbridge J. Copp | 1911 | Nashua | Telegraph Publishing |
| 3rd Regiment | D. Eldredge | 1893 | Boston | E.B. Stillings |
| 3rd Regiment | D. Eldredge | 1899 | Washington | ? |
| 4th Regiment | John G. Hutchinson | 1913 | Manchester | John B. Clarke |
| 5th Regiment | William Child | 1893 | Bristol | R.W. Musgrove |
| 6th Regiment | Lyman Jackman | 1891 | Concord | Republican Press Association |
| 7th Regiment | Henry F. W. Little | 1896 | Concord | Ira C.Evans |
| 8th Regiment | John M. Stanyan | 1892 | Concord | Ira C.Evans |
| 9th Regiment | Edward O. Lord | 1895 | Concord | Republican Press Association |
| 9th Regiment | William Marvel | 1988 | Wilmington, NC | Broadfoot Pub. Co. |
| 10th Regiment | Josiah G. Davis | 1890 | Manchester | John B. Clarke |
| 11th Regiment | Leander W. Cogswell | 1891 | Concord | Republican Press Association |
| 12th Regiment | Asa W. Bartlett | 1897 | Concord | Ira C. Evans |
| 13th Regiment | S. Millett Thompson | 1888 | Boston | Houghton, Mifflin |
| 14th Regiment | Frances H. Buffum | 1882 | Boston | Rand, Avery |
| 15th Regiment | Charles McGregor | 1899 | Concord | Ira C. Evans |
| 16th Regiment | Luther T. Townsend | 1897 | Washington | Norman Elliott |
| 17th Regiment | Charles N. Kent | 1898 | Concord | Rumford Press |
| 18th Regiment | Thomas L. Livermore | 1904 | Boston | Fort Hill Press |
| New Hampshire In The Great Rebellion | Otis F.R. Waite | 1870 | Claremont | Tracy, Chase & Co |
| Berdan's Sharpshooters* | C.A. Stevens | 1892 | ? | ? |
