The History of the Twenty-ninth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry / in the Late War of the Rebellion

ROLL OF COMPANY G.

The following soldiers originally composed this Company, enlisted in the autumn of 1861, and were mustered into the United States service, December 31, 1861:—

Joined in 1862.

Joined in 1864.

ROLL OF COMPANY H.

The following soldiers originally composed this Company, enlisted in the autumn of 1861, and were mustered into the United States service, January 13, 1862:—

Joined in 1862.

Joined in 1864.

ROLL OF COMPANY I.

The following soldiers originally composed this Company, enlisted April 17, 1861, and were mustered into the United States service, May 14, 1861:—

Joined in 1862.

Joined in 1863.

ROLL OF COMPANY K.

The following soldiers originally composed this Company, enlisted April 20, 1861, and were mustered into the United States service, May 22, 1861:—

Joined in 1861.

Joined in 1862.

Joined in 1863.

Joined in 1864.

A list of soldiers whose names are not borne upon the foregoing rolls, some of whom are known to have served, and others are reported as having served in the Twenty-ninth Regiment for short periods during the last few months of the war:—

THE DEAD.

NOTE.

In deciding what names should appear upon the rolls of the dead, I adopted this rule, which is that of the Pension Department in the matter of granting pensions: First, those who died in the service from disease, wounds, or injuries contracted while in the service and in the line of their duties as soldiers; second, those who died after their discharge from the service, of disease, wounds, or injuries contracted while in the service and in the line of their duties as soldiers.

I feel confident that the following rolls, under the rule mentioned, give the names of all the regiment’s dead, and that the name of no soldier appears upon them which ought not to be stated, though I regret that in several instances I have not been able to give the place and date of death.

Having had access to the rolls of the dead prepared by the Quartermaster-General of the United States Army, I have made a careful search for the names of all members of the regiment borne on these lists, and where I have been able to find their place of burial have stated it opposite their names, hoping that the information may not only prove comforting but useful to their friends and relatives.

The several company rolls of the dead show a total of one hundred and seventy-three, including the Chaplain. Of these, twenty-two only found a Christian burial at their homes; thirty-five are shown to have been identified and buried in National Cemeteries; leaving one hundred and sixteen who rest, and probably must forever rest, in unknown graves. All of the comrades, five in number, who died at Andersonville, Ga., were identified, and their graves suitably marked by a marble block; but the name of comrade Theodore W. Dearing of Company H, who fell a victim to the filth and exposure at Salisbury, is not found in the long list of 3,538 Union soldiers buried at that place. Such is also the case of Minot E. Phillips and Levi Trumbull of Company H, who suffered martyrdom at Belle Isle, Va., and Isaac S. Hill of Company K, at Florence, S. C. The facts in regard to the management of the three last-named prison-pens relieves one of all wonder at not finding the name of the soldier for which he may be searching. Over 5,000 Union soldiers were originally buried at Salisbury, in thirteen long trenches, “without coffins or boxes, and without any means of identifying them (except sixteen belonging to the Masonic Fraternity), ... who died while confined in the Salisbury prison and in the hospitals near the ‘stockade,’ during the Rebellion. The burial of these soldiers in so inhuman a manner was done by one Sergeant Harris, under the orders of Major Gee, both of the rebel army. Out of nine or ten thousand soldiers confined there, over five thousand fell victims to the cruelty of the Rebels then in charge, by starvation and disease.”207

As further showing how the rules of civilized warfare were disregarded by the enemy, Major Dana, who makes the above report, says, that in the Lutheran Cemetery, near the principal prison-pen, were buried fourteen Union soldiers, “who, upon taking the oath of allegiance to the Rebel Government, were admitted into the Rebel hospital, where they afterwards died.” It seems by this, that the only way by which a Union prisoner at this loathsome and accursed place could secure the medical treatment which common humanity would extend even to a savage, was by forswearing allegiance to his Government. Among the unfortunate fourteen, however, not one belonged to the Twenty-ninth regiment.

The grave of William H. Murphy of Company B, and that of Sergeant Wm. T. Hamer of Company A, who were killed in the battle of Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864, and buried on the field under the names of “William Murphy” and “William H. Hamer,” were found, and their bodies afterwards removed to the National Cemetery at Fredericksburg, Va. None of the other members of the regiment killed in that battle were found and recognized by those who gathered up the dead for burial. This is not in the least surprising, for the sad words, “Unknown United States Soldier,” were placed upon the headboards of many hundreds who fell on that bloody field. Large numbers who were killed in this battle were not buried at all until General Sherman marched through the country in May, 1865, when an agreement to that effect was made by that officer with one Mr. Sandford, who resided near Spottsylvania Court-house. “It was no unusual occurrence” says Assistant-Quartermaster Moore of the United States Army, who had charge of the work of removing the dead from this place, “to observe the bones of our men close to the abatis of the enemy; and in one case several skeletons of our soldiers were found in their trenches. The bones of these men were gathered from the ground where they fell, having never been interred, and by exposure to the weather for more than a year, all traces of their identity were entirely obliterated.”

In the National Cemetery at Knoxville, which is one of great beauty, ornamented with trees and shrubs, and situated about three-fourths of a mile north of the city, were found the graves of four members of the regiment; namely, Orrin Fields and Sergeant Henry G. Smith of Company I; Sergeant John F. Smith of Company H; and Corporal Gilbert T. Litchfield of Company K. In the cemetery are two graves, marked “Sergt. John F. Smith, Co. H, 29th Mass.,” the date of death of one being given November 29, 1863, and of the other, March 11, 1864. How this mistake arose, or what the explanation of it is, I am unable to say, but mistakes of a similar character appear throughout all the rolls of the Quartermaster-General. For instance, Frank Hall of Company B, buried in the Richmond National Cemetery, is buried under the name of “T. Hall, Co. D, 29th Mass.,” but the date of his death is given correctly, and this was one of the means by which I recognized him. In the Mount Olivet National Cemetery at Frederick City, Md., was at one time buried a soldier whose grave was marked, “Charles F. Adams, Private, 29th Mass., Co. D, date of death Oct. 2, 1862.” No such soldier ever belonged to Company D, or any other company of the regiment. In the same cemetery is buried a soldier whose grave is marked, “Walter W. Horner, 29th Mass., Co. D,” and another called “Benj. Godfrey, Co. H, 29th Mass.” There were no such soldiers in the regiment. Again, in the Knoxville Cemetery is a grave marked, “George Gault, Co. I, 29th Mass., died Mar. 4, 1864.” This is also an error.

In the Hampton, Va., National Cemetery, were found the graves of seven members of the regiment, and in the same yard the graves marked respectively, “Patrick Cain, Co. K, 29th Mass.; P. Finnigan, Co. A, 29th Mass.; C. C. Hadden, Co. C, 29th Mass., and J. C. Williams, Co. H, 29th Mass. Vols.” The names of neither of the three last-named soldiers are found upon the rolls of the regiment, though it is probable that “C. C. Hadden” is Charles H. Hayden of Company C, who died in that department. Mistakes of this nature frequently occur throughout the rolls of the Quartermaster-General, not only in regard to the Twenty-ninth, but other regiments also, leaving in the minds of those familiar with the subject, very grave doubts as to even the general correctness of these lists.

Author.

THE DEAD.