Friday, February 28, 1862
The regiment rejoiced over the news of the arrival of Colonel William Raymond Lee, Major John Revere, and Surgeon Edward Revere in Boston on parole. The terms of parole did not allow them to rejoin the regiment until their exchange for Confederate officers of equivalent rank.1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 67.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Regiment Leaves Camp Benton
Tuesday, February 25, 1862
The regiment broke camp, leaving Camp Benton nearly five months after their arrival. Their destination was Poolesville, Virginia, en route to Washington, D.C.1
References:
1James Spencer, "Record of James Spencer," Association of Officers of the Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment, Reports, Letters and Papers Appertaining to Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, vol. 1, p. 56, Twentieth Massachusetts Special Collection, Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts.
The regiment broke camp, leaving Camp Benton nearly five months after their arrival. Their destination was Poolesville, Virginia, en route to Washington, D.C.1
References:
1James Spencer, "Record of James Spencer," Association of Officers of the Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment, Reports, Letters and Papers Appertaining to Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, vol. 1, p. 56, Twentieth Massachusetts Special Collection, Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Oliver's Story - A Gift from the Home Front
Thursday, February 20, 1862
The women of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the hometown of Oliver Stanton Bates of Company A, sent a package to Camp Benton for the welfare of the soldiers. In gratitude the Pittsfield soldiers penned a letter of appreciation, which appeared in the Berkshire County Eagle newspaper:
References:
1"To the Ladies of Pittsfield," Berkshire County Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts), 20 February 1862, p.2, col.2.
The women of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the hometown of Oliver Stanton Bates of Company A, sent a package to Camp Benton for the welfare of the soldiers. In gratitude the Pittsfield soldiers penned a letter of appreciation, which appeared in the Berkshire County Eagle newspaper:
To the ladies of Pittsfield: We the subscribers, soldiers of the 20th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, Company A, tender our sincere thanks for the interest taken by you in our welfare, in sending by express a large box containing blankets, stockings, etc., which we received yesterday and distributed for our comfort. We hope to repay you by a safe return to greet you with the assurance that we have tried to do our duty as soldiers, in assisting to put down rebellion and preserve our glorious Union. May God protect you in our absence, and shield you from the ravages of war, and make your hearts glad at some future period by the return of your friends that you hold dear. Remember us in your absence with your prayers and we remain yours, etc.1
References:
1"To the Ladies of Pittsfield," Berkshire County Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts), 20 February 1862, p.2, col.2.
Journey of the Captives - Release of Sixty-Five Prisoners
Thursday, February 20, 1862
The regiment received the joyous news of the release and exchange of sixty-five prisoners, including Lieutenant George Perry. They arrived at Fortress Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, and from there continued their journey to Boston. After several days of furlough they rejoined the regiment.1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 67.
The regiment received the joyous news of the release and exchange of sixty-five prisoners, including Lieutenant George Perry. They arrived at Fortress Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, and from there continued their journey to Boston. After several days of furlough they rejoined the regiment.1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 67.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Regimental Matters - Commissions
Tuesday, February 11, 1862
The regiment announced the commission of two officers from inside its ranks. Second Lieutenant Arthur R. Curtis received the rank of First Lieutenant, and William F. Perkins received the rank of Second Lieutenant.1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 77.
The regiment announced the commission of two officers from inside its ranks. Second Lieutenant Arthur R. Curtis received the rank of First Lieutenant, and William F. Perkins received the rank of Second Lieutenant.1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 77.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Letters from the Front - Nathan Hayward
Sunday, February 9, 1862
Doctor Nathan Hayward wrote a letter to his father concerning the inauguration of a bathhouse, a major achievement in his efforts to maintain cleanliness in camp to ward off disease and infection among the regiment. He scheduled weekly bathing for the soldiers on Saturday and intended to employ the bathhouse for washing clothes every other day of the week.
He described the layout of the bath house in detail:
Hayward indicated that his attempts to maintain cleanliness and hygiene among the regiment had been successful, as only one soldier had died from disease alone since the inception of the regiment.1
References:
1Nathan Hayward, "Letters," Association of Officers of the Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment, Reports, Letters and Papers Appertaining to Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, vol. 1, p. 358-62, Twentieth Massachusetts Special Collection, Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts.
Doctor Nathan Hayward wrote a letter to his father concerning the inauguration of a bathhouse, a major achievement in his efforts to maintain cleanliness in camp to ward off disease and infection among the regiment. He scheduled weekly bathing for the soldiers on Saturday and intended to employ the bathhouse for washing clothes every other day of the week.
He described the layout of the bath house in detail:
I had all the hospital stores removed from the storehouse, which has a floor and fireplace, into a new log building adjacent. A barber’s shop was partitioned off in one corner and a stove placed in it; a sink communicating with the drains on the outside of the building, and plenty of nails driven into the logs around, for hanging up clothes, and the requisition of four camp kettles from the quarter-master and thirty wash-tubs made of half barrels, with two barrels with handles for bringing water, completed the primitive of this regimental temple of Hygeia.
Hayward indicated that his attempts to maintain cleanliness and hygiene among the regiment had been successful, as only one soldier had died from disease alone since the inception of the regiment.1
References:
1Nathan Hayward, "Letters," Association of Officers of the Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment, Reports, Letters and Papers Appertaining to Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, vol. 1, p. 358-62, Twentieth Massachusetts Special Collection, Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Regimental Matters - Lowell Returns
Saturday, February 8, 1862
First Lieutenant James Jackson Lowell, wounded in the leg during the engagement at Ball's Bluff, returned to the regiment. He was the first of the officers wounded at Ball's Bluff to recover from his injuries.1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 77.
First Lieutenant James Jackson Lowell, wounded in the leg during the engagement at Ball's Bluff, returned to the regiment. He was the first of the officers wounded at Ball's Bluff to recover from his injuries.1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 77.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Journey of the Captives - The Release of the Hostages
Wednesday, February 5, 1862
Colonel Lee and Major Revere were released as hostages from Henrico County Jail and rejoined their comrades at Ligon Prison. Adjutant Charles Peirson had worked relentlessly on their behalf in Washington, D.C. and after his meetings with General McClellan and other government officials he was successful in changing the status of the Confederate privateers from pirates to prisoners of war, which changed the fate of Colonel Lee, Major Revere, and their fellow hostages in Richmond.1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 67.
Colonel Lee and Major Revere were released as hostages from Henrico County Jail and rejoined their comrades at Ligon Prison. Adjutant Charles Peirson had worked relentlessly on their behalf in Washington, D.C. and after his meetings with General McClellan and other government officials he was successful in changing the status of the Confederate privateers from pirates to prisoners of war, which changed the fate of Colonel Lee, Major Revere, and their fellow hostages in Richmond.1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 67.
Letters from the Front - Henry Abbott
Wednesday, February 5, 1862
In a letter to his father from Camp Benton Lieutenant Henry Abbott expressed his frustration from the cessation of military activity during winter. "I am horribly afraid we shan't see any more service & that the fighting will all be done in the rear of the Southern Potomac army. ... If a fellow should go through the war & never be in any thing but that murderous little skirmish where we got licked, it would be outrageous. But such seems the prospect now."1
References:
1Robert Garth Scott, editor, Fallen Leaves: The Civil War Letters of Major Henry Livermore Abbott (Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press, 1991), 100-101.
In a letter to his father from Camp Benton Lieutenant Henry Abbott expressed his frustration from the cessation of military activity during winter. "I am horribly afraid we shan't see any more service & that the fighting will all be done in the rear of the Southern Potomac army. ... If a fellow should go through the war & never be in any thing but that murderous little skirmish where we got licked, it would be outrageous. But such seems the prospect now."1
References:
1Robert Garth Scott, editor, Fallen Leaves: The Civil War Letters of Major Henry Livermore Abbott (Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press, 1991), 100-101.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Letters from the Front - Nathan Hayward
Sunday, February 2, 1862
Doctor Nathan Hayward wrote a letter to his father about life at Camp Benton during the winter of 1862. He had received the joyful news of the parole and arrival of Adjutant Charles Peirson in Washington and hoped that Peirson would visit Camp Benton shortly.
He wrote that there was not much to write about during their winter at camp, except the weather. He observed that the weather had been unfavorable during the last three weeks, and that it was vital to be fastidious in maintaining the sanitary conditions of the camp during episodes of damp weather. The men had been confined to their tents, making them sluggish. He noted that "the privates will confine themselves to their tents in bad weather, and neglect airing their bedding, besides stopping every crevice in their tents, to the prevention of ventilation, if they are not interfered with; and being men of mechanical pursuits, with little mental cultivation, they become more than ordinarily sluggish and indolent in bad weather and confine themselves to eating and drinking and sleeping for occupation."1
References:
1Nathan Hayward, "Letters," Association of Officers of the Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment, Reports, Letters and Papers Appertaining to Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, vol. 1, p. 362-64, Twentieth Massachusetts Special Collection, Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts.
Doctor Nathan Hayward wrote a letter to his father about life at Camp Benton during the winter of 1862. He had received the joyful news of the parole and arrival of Adjutant Charles Peirson in Washington and hoped that Peirson would visit Camp Benton shortly.
He wrote that there was not much to write about during their winter at camp, except the weather. He observed that the weather had been unfavorable during the last three weeks, and that it was vital to be fastidious in maintaining the sanitary conditions of the camp during episodes of damp weather. The men had been confined to their tents, making them sluggish. He noted that "the privates will confine themselves to their tents in bad weather, and neglect airing their bedding, besides stopping every crevice in their tents, to the prevention of ventilation, if they are not interfered with; and being men of mechanical pursuits, with little mental cultivation, they become more than ordinarily sluggish and indolent in bad weather and confine themselves to eating and drinking and sleeping for occupation."1
References:
1Nathan Hayward, "Letters," Association of Officers of the Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment, Reports, Letters and Papers Appertaining to Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, vol. 1, p. 362-64, Twentieth Massachusetts Special Collection, Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts.
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