|
The War of the Rebellion — The Great Civil War
President Lincoln, on July 4, 1862, called for three hundred thousand troops. Massachusetts created nine new three-year regiments (from the 33rd to the 41st regiments), contributing fifteen thousand troops to the war effort. The following month, on August 4th, the President issued a call for an additional three hundred thousand troops to serve nine month tours and to be raised by draft if necessary. Massachusetts responded by activating seventeen of its state militia regiments thus enabling the state to meet its quota of 19,090 troops. By war's end, in 1865, more than 300 Milton townsmen had served the Union cause and some 30 of "our fallen heroes" are memorialized in Teele's The History of Milton. The Journal of Charles W. Cook
The transcript has been researched and footnoted and includes the military abstracts of the soldiers referenced in the journal with a short sketch of the Cook family. In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the battle of Antietam, we've published it here. The Letters of George Henry Moulton
Inspired by similar projects of the Massachusetts Historical Society, we emailed to interested members each of Moulton's letters, transcribed and footnoted, on its 150th anniversary. Occasionally, we filled in with research and Moulton's records from the National Archives. The gentle but persistent pace of the emailed letters, spanning almost three years, gave the recipients a personal, direct understanding of the era. You can partake of that experience, too: the transcribed letters, our research, and Moulton's records from the National Archives can be found here, indexed chronologically. Start at the beginning; you will find it hard to stop. Researching at the National Archives
At left is the jacket of George Henry Moulton's Compiled Military Service Record. The documents inside complement his letters by giving the Army's perspective: musters, a hospital stay, clothing, and pay reconciliation. As described in Claire's fourth article, though, it was in the unfiled records outside this jacket where she found the CMSR card most valuable to us: his enlistment description, which remains our only source of what the young man looked like.
The program included music of the Civil War period performed by Emma Jean Moulton and ended with a ceremonial reading by Selectman John Michael Shields of the names of those from Milton who sacrificed their lives in the Civil War. George's Island Historical Tour On September 8th, 2012, we toured the Civil War-era Fort Warren with Mike Doyle, Milton Historical Society historian and Department of Conservation and Recreation Park Ranger Supervisor. If you missed it, George's Island is open through October with tours of Fort Warren every day. It's best to buy your ferry tickets ahead of time, either online or by calling Boston's Best Cruises at 617-770-0040 (look over the schedule at bostonharborislands.org/ferry-schedule-spring-fall). The islands host many events, so check their calendars, and you might catch things like Civil War-era baseball games played with original rules and uniforms, music concerts, and even beer tastings.
|
The first call to arms was received from Washington, by telegram, at the Massachusetts Governor's office on the 15th day of April 1861. It asked for 20 companies (fifteen hundred soldiers) to be sent forward at once. Many believed the 'Rebellion' would be short lived and the federal government would prevail, but by the summer of 1862 the Union's 'Army of the Potomac' had failed in its objective to capture Richmond.
George Henry Moulton of Milton kept his commitment to "serve out" his "Three Year Enlistment," and over the course of it wrote to his family 
For anyone researching the millions of stories of Civil War soldiers, the 
On Thursday, November 10, 2011, at 7pm, at the Milton Council on Aging, 10 Walnut Street, we presented our first commemoration of Milton's participation in the Civil War, in honor of Veterans Day and all veterans. Our historian, Dennis M. (Mike) Doyle gave an interactive lecture on the experiences of Milton soldiers, interspersed with readings from letters and journal entries. As Mike recounted the paths of the Boston Cadets, the 35th, and the 38th Massachusetts Volunteers, each member of the audience was given the identity of one of the Milton soldiers in those groups, learning only at the end the fate of the soldier. For those who wish to learn more, the journal of Charles Cook of the 35th, and the letters of Henry Moulton of the 38th will be released by the society (see above). The Boston Cadets, before being sent out as line officers, served together at Fort Warren on Georges Island. The New York Times recently ran an article about