Oliver Stanton Bates was born in Ellington, Chatauqua County, New York on April 7, 1840, the seventh child of Josiah Dwight and Eliza (Stanton) Bates. His family origins were in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where Oliver returned as a young man, taking up residence in a local inn and learning the trade of harness making. On August 8, 1861, at the age of 21, he enlisted in the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He served in Company A for the entire length of his military service.1
The events of Oliver's service are listed below in chronological order. His life story will unfold with the story of the Twentieth Massachusetts, and the events of his military service will be updated on this page on the sesquicentennial anniversary of the event.
Enlistment:
August 8, 1861
January 1864 - returned to service after wounding at Gettysburg
March 18, 1864 - reenlisted for three years additional service as a veteran volunteer
Engaged in battle at:
Ball's Bluff, Virginia: October 21, 1861
Yorktown, Virginia: April 7 - May 4, 1862
Fair Oaks, Virginia: May 31, 1862
Glendale, Virginia: June 30, 1862
Antietam, Maryland: September 17, 1862
Fredericksburg, Virginia: December 11, 1862
Fredericksburg, Virginia: December 13, 1862 - Wounded in action
Fredericksburg, Virginia: May 3-5, 1863
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: July 2-3, 1863 - Wounded in action; suffered severe wounding
Wilderness, Virginia: May 5-6, 1864
Laurel Hill, Virginia: May 10, 1864
Spotsylvania, Virginia: May 12 - 19, 1864 - Wounded in action on May 12 at the Bloody Angle
North Anna River, Virginia: May 24 - 26, 1864
Totopotomoy Creek, Virginia: May 31, 1864
Cold Harbor, Virginia: June 2-9, 1864
Petersburg, Virginia: June 18, 1864
Jerusalem Plank Road, Petersburg, Virginia, June 22 -24, 1864 - Severely wounded by shell shrapnel on picket duty; left leg amputated at knee joint
Alexandria, Virginia: Died of his wounds at Slough Barracks Hospital, August 19, 1864
Follow Oliver's journey with the 20th Massachusetts Regiment during the Civil War under the posts labeled Oliver's Story on the Home page.
References:
1 Compiled service record, Oliver S. Bates, Pvt., Co. A, 20th Massachusetts Infantry; Carded Records, Volunteer Organizations, Civil War; Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780s-1917, Record Group 94; National Archives, Washington, D.C.; Oliver S. Bates (Pvt., Co. A, 20th Massachusetts infantry, Civil War), pension no. 132528 , Case Files of Approved Pension Applications ..., 1861-1934; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
