Second Lieut. George Lewis was born near Summit, in the town of Coventry, R. I., Nov. 1, 1831. His father, Benoni E. Lewis, in early life was a farmer, but afterwards became a carpenter and builder, doing business mainly in the villages of Harrisville, Quidnick, and Anthony. Sarah Lewis, the mother of Lieutenant Lewis, was the only daughter of the Hon. George and Martha (Stone) Hawkins, and a niece of the late venerable Rev. Richard C. Stone, “who with each of his nine children,” says the Bunker Hill (Ill.) Gazette, “have taught yearly in high schools, colleges and universities, from two to thirty-one years each.” His grandfather Hawkins in early life passed through the subordinate military ranks till he held a major’s commission. He was a representative in the General Assembly from 1819 to 1829, and senator from May, 1829, to 1831. For over forty years he was deacon in the Rice City Christian Church, of Coventry, R. I.
In early youth Mr. Lewis attended the public schools at Rice City, in Coventry, and at Sterling, Conn. In March, 1841, his parents moved to the Crompton Mills, in Warwick, R. I. Here George was employed in the cotton mill as a back-piecer in the mule room. He afterwards went to live with his uncle in Coventry, working in the shingle mill and on the farm, except in the winter months, when he attended the public school.
About the first of April, 1848, at the age of sixteen, George was apprenticed for three years to his uncle, Jason Lewis, then of Phenix, to learn the carpenter’s trade. He afterwards left his uncle’s employ, and worked for his father, who had commenced the same business, continuing with him most of the time until the summer of 1852. In September of that year he moved to Providence, R. I., and worked for several firms until the spring of 1854. He was then employed by Cyrus T. Eddy & Company, with whom he continued the greater portion of the time until September, 1861, when he entered the service of his country as a private in Battery E, First Rhode Island Light Artillery.
He was mustered into the service Sept. 30, 1861, and participated in all the battles in which his battery was engaged. He was wounded slightly May 3, 1863, at the battle of Chancellorsville. He was promoted to lance corporal May 29, 1863; corporal Sept. 4, 1863; re-enlisted Feb. 1, 1864; lance sergeant April 9, 1864; sergeant Oct. 20, 1864, to date from October 4th; second lieutenant March 31, 1865; assigned to Battery H, May 29, 1865; never reported or mustered as such; mustered out of service June 14, 1865.
After the close of the war Lieutenant Lewis resumed work for the same firm with whom he was employed before entering the army. He continued with them until February, 1866. He then went to Worcester, Mass., where he was employed as foreman in the carpenter shop of the “Earle Stove Company.” That company not succeeding in business closed their works in June, 1869. In July of that year Mr. Lewis entered the employ of Spicers & Peckham (now the Spicer Stove Company), the well-known and successful stove founders of Providence, R. I., with whom he is still (1894) employed, having had charge of their carpenter shop for over twenty-four years.
Mr. Lewis is a member of Slocum Post, No. 10, Grand Army of the Republic, and is also connected with the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Historical Society. He has served as a vice-president of the First Rhode Island Light Artillery Veteran Association.
He was chosen historian by his comrades to write the history of Battery E, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery. He labored with untiring zeal and ability to further this object, and the imperishable record he has been instrumental in preserving to the archives of the State will ever redound to his honor as a soldier and patriot.
First Sergt. George Messinger, the son of Eli and Ann J. (Roberts) Messinger, was born in the city of Providence, R. I., March 27, 1842. At the commencement of the Civil War, he was attending a private school in that city, preparatory to entering Brown University. With all the ardor and patriotism of youth, and imbued with a strong desire to serve his country in her hour of peril, he offered his services and was mustered into service as a private in Battery A, First Rhode Island Light Artillery, June 6, 1861. He participated with his battery in the first battle of Bull Run.
The battery was subsequently ordered to the Upper Potomac, and was stationed at different points between Harper’s Ferry and Washington. At the time of the battle of Ball’s Bluff one section of the battery to which Private Messinger had been assigned was stationed near Poolesville, Md. It was dismounted and crossed the Potomac on a scow, but took no active part in the engagement, and the next day recrossed the river and returned to its old camping ground.
About this time Private Messinger was seriously attacked with typhoid fever and pneumonia. His father, who had enlisted in the same battery, was detailed to attend him during his illness. His mother also came on from Providence, R. I., to render her assistance. He was removed to the house of Mrs. White, the mother of the well known (Confederate) Gen. Harry White. Private Messinger after becoming convalescent was granted a furlough, and returned to Rhode Island. On regaining his health he was detailed on recruiting service in Providence.
Company Clerk George Messinger.
Battery H was then organizing in that city, and Private Messinger was transferred from Battery A and promoted to first sergeant of Battery H. The battery was subsequently ordered into camp near Mashapaug Bond, in Cranston, R. I. At this time frequent drafts were made upon the battery for recruits to serve in the batteries already in the field. Sergeant Messenger combined with his other duties that of drill master, and was kept constantly employed in that capacity until the battery left its camp and proceeded to Washington in October, 1862.
His career from that period until the termination of the war was closely identified with the history of the battery. In October, 1863, while the battery was stationed at Fairfax Court House, Sergeant Messinger was wounded by the accidental discharge of his revolver, the ball passing down his leg on the inside of his boot, entered his heel, and went through and lodged in the heel of his boot. It being in a vulnerable spot, he suffered considerable inconvenience from his wound.
Soon afterward, entirely unsolicited on his part, an application was made for him for a commission, which was signed by all of the officers of his battery and by the colonel and major of his regiment. The application was supposed to have been forwarded to the governor of Rhode Island, but nothing was ever heard from it, and in January, 1864, Sergeant Messinger re-enlisted as a veteran and received the customary furlough of thirty days.
While at home on his furlough he had strong hopes that he might receive a commission from the governor. One day while reading a newspaper he was astounded to learn that a commission had been granted to a personal friend of his, but whose service as a non-commissioned officer was of a very recent date. Feeling aggrieved at this treatment he had received he went to the governor and requested that his application for a commission might be returned to him. He was greatly astonished to find that no application or recommendation had ever been received, and it was not until sixteen years later that he learned what had become of the papers that had been forwarded to the governor.
It may be well to state here that his friend who received the appointment was assigned to Battery E, in the very position which Sergeant Messinger had anticipated might be allotted to himself. In the very first battle in which this officer took part after he had joined his battery he was killed, so that Sergeant Messinger has good reason to congratulate himself that he did not receive the coveted commission at that time.
And now we are able to inform our readers what became of those papers. It seems there was a soldier well known in the battery (now deceased) whose name we do not desire to make public, who cherished an enmity against Sergeant Messinger because he had appointed him a corporal at Camp Mauran against his wishes. He only held the position a short time, then returned to the ranks, and was appointed mail carrier for the battery. He was present in the officers’ quarters to take the mail the morning the captain sent the papers to Rhode Island, and heard the captain express the desire that the papers might soon bring Sergeant Messinger his commission.
The mail carrier afterward said to Sergeant Messinger that he determined at that time that he (Messinger) should not have the commission if he could prevent it. He took the papers from the mail bag and destroyed them. No wonder they could not be found in the governor’s office, and that Sergeant Messinger did not receive appointment to the position which he was so well qualified to adorn.
After Captain Allen took command of the battery, Sergeant Messinger was appointed company clerk, and served in that capacity until the muster out of the battery. He settled all the affairs of the battery for Captain Allen in a manner creditable to himself and to all concerned. Even to this day there is no member of the battery who is more highly esteemed and respected than he, and no one who takes a livelier interest in the welfare of his comrades. He has had the opportunity and privilege of visiting many of the members who are scattered over the country, and they always find him ready to extend a hearty welcome to all; and no deserving comrade ever found him turning a deaf ear to his plea for help in time of need.
He is at present engaged in the manufacture of pottery at East Brookfield, Mass. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic in his town, and is an honored citizen of the community in which he lives. He is one of the committee on the publication of the History of Battery H.
Lieut. Hezekiah Potter, son of Christy and Lucius (Smith) Potter, was born in Pawtucket, R. I., on the 1st day of July, 1834. His parents subsequently removed to Providence, R. I., where he received his education in the public schools of that city.
Previous to the War for the Union he was engaged in the wholesale grocery business, first with his brother in the city of Syracuse, N. Y., and afterwards managed the same business for A. & W. Sprague with marked success for about five years. He was subsequently connected with William Sheldon in the same capacity.
In August, 1862, he was enrolled as private in Battery H, First Rhode Island Light Artillery. He was afterwards promoted to the rank of quartermaster-sergeant in this battery March 28, 1864. On the 21st of October, 1864, he received a commission as second lieutenant, and was assigned to Battery E. He was mustered into the battery on the same day of his arrival, Nov. 11, 1864. Although a man of few words he won the respect and esteem of all the members of the battery. He was cool and self-possessed under fire, and was always found reliable in every position he was placed. He participated with the battery in the almost daily conflicts with the enemy in the intrenchments before Petersburg, and was present at the final and successful assaults on the enemy’s lines, April 2, 1865. He was mustered out of service June 4, 1865.
First Sergt. John P. Campbell.
After the close of the war he was employed for several years with Hubbard & Aldrich, wholesale grocers, in Providence, R. I. He has since been employed in various kinds of business.