A Civil War Weekend

Memorial Day was created by the widows and daughters of the Civil War so it's fitting that the three posts this weekend will about Easton and the Civil War.

By the end of April, Washington had been secured by the arrival of the short term regiments like the 4th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment with its large complement of Easton men. Hopes for an early end to hostilities had begun to fade so the Lincoln administration called for volunteers who were willing to enlist for three years service.

Chaffin's History of Easton says that the Second Massachusetts Regiment was "the second enlistment of men from Easton" and "the first loyal regiment raised for three years service in the war." Chaffin called the Seventh Regiment that enlisted in Taunton in April and May "the third enlistment of volunteers" from Easton. On the other hand the Twelfth Massachussetts Regiment is generally considered to be the first of our state's three year regiments to enlist and it had half a dozen Easton men in it. The argument comes down to dates of formation versus mustered in date which was the date a regiment was officially accepted by the U. S. Army. We'll look at all three regiments this weekend and talk about the 12th's special relationship to Memorial Day in Easton.

Company H of the 2nd Regiment was mustered in May 25, 1861 with 19 Easton men. David Ambrose Middleton won the exalted rank of corporal and most likely the good natured barbs of the company including James McCready who grew up in the same shovel company boarding house with Middleton. Corporal Middleton did not stay in the army long. Instead he resigned and became one of a handful of Easton men who served in the Navy. His biography will be printed in the latest edition of the Historical Society's Reminiscences.

The 2nd Mass trained at Brook Farm in West Roxbury. As with all the early regiments the patriotic citizens of Boston took a great interest in the men and the ladies of Boston presented the unit with its colors. Basic training lasted for a month before the men shipped for Hagarstown, Maryland. They joined General Patterson's brigade at Martinsburg, Maryland on July 12th. In 1861 the regiment did picket duty on the upper Potomac River near Frederick, Maryland with occasional skirmishes with the enemy. Heavy action would follow in 1862 as the unit would be involved in opposing Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley, fighting with General McClellan on the Peninsula and participating in the Battle of Antietam. You can see a re-enactment of the 2nd at Antietam in the movie Glory where Captain Robert Gould Shaw played by Matthew Broderick is wounded in the battle.