Revised Register Of The
Soldiers And Sailors Of New Hampshire
In The War Of The Rebellion 1861-1866.

Prepared And Published By
Authority Of The Legislature,
By Augustus D. Ayling, Adjutant General.

Concord: Ira C. Evans, Public Printer. 1895.

INTRODUCTORY

[Transcribed by Dave Swerdfeger]




Soon after assuming the duties of Adjutant General, in 1879, I realized the necessity for a careful revision of the records of New Hampshire soldiers in the Wall or the Rebellion, as printed in the Reports of the Adjutant General in the years 1865 and 1866.

These Reports compare favorably with those of other states published at the close of the war, and are, perhaps, as correct as it was possible to make them at the time and under the conditions then existing. They wee found, however, to contain numerous errors and failed in many instances to give some of the most important particulars of a soldier's record.

Attention was called to the importance of such revision, and the urgent necessity for it, in my Annual Reports for 1883 and 1885, and in the latter year the Legislature made provision for the undertaking. The several Acts under which the work has been carried forward are as follows:

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE PUBLICATION OF A RECORD OF NEW HAMPSHIRE SOLDIERS & SAILORS IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION

Section 1. The Adjutant General shall, as soon as practable after the passage of this act, under the direction of the Governor and Council, prepare and publish a record of all soldiers and sailors who served in the War of the Rebellion from the State of New Hampshire; such record to contain the name, residence, date of enlistment, to what city or town assigned, date of muster in, rank, promotions, wounds received, date of discharge, muster out or death, date and plce of death since discharge orpresent residence and such other facts as shall make the same, as far as practicable, a complete and concise military record of each soldier or sailor so serving; and for this purpose the Adjutant General is authorized to employ such clerical assistance as may be necessary.

Sect. 2. Two thousand copies of said record shall be printed by the state printer and distributed as follows, namely: One copy to each city and town in the State, one copy to each public library in the State, one copy to each Post of the Grand Army of the Republic in the state, fifty copies to the New Hampshire Historical Society, and the remainder to be placed in the custody of the trustees of the state library, who are hereby authorized to exchange the same for similar publications by other States, and to dispose of the same at cost of paper, printing and binding.

Sect. 3. For thepurpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this act, a sum not exceeding twelve hundred dollars is hereby appropriated annually for two yers, commencing September 1, 1885, to be expended under the direction of the Governor and Council, and the Governor is hereby authorized to draw his warrant on the state treasurer for the said amount.

Sect. 4. This act shall talke effect upon its passage. --- From Pamphlet Laws of 1885, chapter 12.

AN ACT IN AID OF AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE PUBLICATION OF A RECORD OF NEW HAMPSHIRE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.

Section 1. The selectmen or assessors of each town and city shall, at the same time they distribute the blank inventories for the assessment of taxes for the year 1886, also distribute such blanks as may be seasonably provided by the Adjutant General for the purpose of collecting the information required by the provisions of the act "to provide for the publication of a record of New Hampshire soldiers and sailors in the War of the Rebellion," approvedJuly 23, 1885, and every person having such information shall make answer in writing, so far as possible, to such questions as may be in such blanks, and the same shall be returned and delivered to said selectment or assessors before the fifteenth day of April, as is provided by law for the return of inventories of taxable property. The papers returned to the selectmen or assessors, under the provisions of this act, shall be returned to the office of the Adjutant General by them within thirty days after said fifteenth of April.

Section 2. Any officer or person violating the provisions of this act shall be subject to a fine of fifty dollars for each offense, to be recovered in an action of debt by the Adjutant General, and all sums ofmoney so recovered shall be applied in carrying out the provision of said act of Jul 23, 1885. ---- From Pamphlet Laws of 1885, chapter 75.

AN ACT IN AID OF CHAPTERS 12 AND 75 OF THE SESSION LAWS OF 1885, TO PROVIDE FOR A RECORD OF THE NEW HAMPSHIRE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.

Section 1. The record of the soldiers and sailors of this State, to be compiled under the authority of said acts by the Adjutant General, shall contain a statement of the number of men required and the fumber furnished for the War of the Rebellion by each town in the State under each call; and said record shall also contain the names of all men recruited under the first call of 1861, for three months, whether they were organized into the first regiment of volunteers, mustered out of service without being sent out of the State, or were re-enlisted for a longer term of service. Selectmen of towns and the mayors of cities as may be required shall cause such information concerning soldiers and sailors who are or have been residents of their respect w as may be required for the purposes of this act, and of the acts of which this is an amendment, to be collected and forwarded to the Adjutant General, subject to such penalties for default as are provided in said chapter 75 of the laws of 1885.

SECT. 2. For the purpose of the continuation of the work required by said acts, a sum not exceeding fifteen hundred dollars is hereby appropriated annually for two years, commencing September 1, 1887, to be expended under the direction of the Governor and Council, and the Governor is hereby anthorized to draw his warrant on the state treasurer for the said amount.

SECT. 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage. —From Pamphlet Laws of 1887, chapter 40.

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE RECORD OF THE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.

 SECTION I. For the purpose of continuing and completing the revision of the rolls of the soldiers and sailors of New Hampshire in the War of the Rebellion now in progress under the provisions of chapter 12 of the Laws of 1885, and chapters 40 and 75 of the Laws of 1887, the following appropriations are hereby made, viz.: Five thousand dollars for use in procuring necessary copies and abstracts from the war, navy, and other departments of the federal government, and five thousand dollars for the work of revision in this State; provided, that no part of said sums shall be expended except so much as shall be found necessary for the proper prosecution of the revision, and that said sums shall be expended under the direction of the Governor and Council. The Governor is hereby authorized to draw his warrant on the state treasurer for amounts above stated.

SECT. 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage. — From Pamphlet Laws of 1889, chapter 3.

 AN ACT TO CORRECT A CLERICAL ERROR IN THE ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE RECORD OF THE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, PASSED AT THE PRESENT SESSION.

That whereas in lines five and six of section I of the act entitled "An act to provide for the completion of the record of the soldiers and sailors of New Hampshire in the War of the Rebellion," approved July 17, 1889, reference is made to "chapter 12 of the Laws of 1885, and chapters 40 and 75 of the Laws of 1887," and whereas said reference should be to chapters 12 and 75 of the Laws of 1885, and chapter 40 of the Laws of 1887; therefore,

SECTION I. Said act approved July 17, 1889, is hereby amended so that instead of reading "chapter 12 of the Laws of 1885, and chapters 40 and 75 of the Laws of 1887," in the fifth and sixth lines of the act as engrossed, the reading shall be as follows, viz.: "chapters 12 and 75 of the Laws of 1885, and chapter 40 of the Laws of 1887."

SECT. 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage. —From Pamphlet Laws of 1889, chapter 68.

 AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE IMMEDIATE COMPLETION OF THE REVISED RECORD OF NEW HAMPSHIRE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.

 SECTION I. The revised and corrected record of New Hampshire soldiers and sailors in the War of the Rebellion shall be completed and published by the Adjutant General forthwith, in accordance with the provisions of law already enacted to govern the preparation and publication of the work. Such statistics of regimental losses and other summaries of facts shown by said record as the Governor and Council may deem appropriate, shall be at once prepared and incorporated in the work. For the purposes of this act, a sum not exceeding eight hundred dollars, to be expended under the direction of the Governor and Council, is hereby appropriated out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, but the appropriation shall not be available for any part of said clerical work not completed within six months after the passage of this act.

SECT. 2. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed, and this act shall take effect upon its passage. — From Pamphlet Laws of 1893, chapter 17.


Under the authority of the foregoing, the work was commenced and has been pushed as fast as was practicable. Accuracy rather than rapidity has been the governing idea, and no efforts have been spared to make each individual record accurate and complete. Nothing has been taken for granted or without verification, when possible, and the records as they appear are practically official.

The plan adopted of having the names in each regiment alphabetically arranged, instead of by companies, is a new departure and has not been followed by any other State, as yet; but it will, I think; commend itself by the ease and rapidity with which a soldier's name, with his full record, can be found.

Under the old plan if an officer was promoted or transferred to another company, or a soldier received a commission, it was necessary to look in two or more places to trace him, and every additional promotion or transfer necessitated a further search in order to learn his whole military history.

In this work, the complete record of an officer or soldier, in a single regiment, is given in one place, regardless of the number of promotions he may have received, or of the different companies in the regiment to which he may have been transferred; if a man served in two or more regiments, a cross reference showing the fact appears with his record in each regiment. In addition to the military record of each man, the Register shows the birthplace, age at enlistment, residence at enlistment, and when possible the town where credited on quota; which information, constituting an interesting and important part of a soldier's history, has not been given in full in the publications of this or any other State, thus far. The last known post-office address of each surviving soldier is given whenever it could be obtained, and the dates and places of death of those who have died since muster out or discharge.

It has been deemed advisable, although the acts providing for the work do not require this, to preface the register of each organization with a short sketch, by its own authorized historian, as in most instances, or by some prominent member thereof.

The official dates of the muster in and muster out of each organization are also given; the several brigades, divisions, and corps to which it was attached are shown, and a summary which is made as full and comprehensive as possible follows each register. In the revision of the records the first step was to verify the spelling of names. This was done by comparing them with the signatures on the original enlistment papers, or by correspondence when the papers were missing. Then came the examination of Muster in Rolls, original Rosters of Companies, Detachment Rolls, Monthly Returns, Reports of Deceased Soldiers, Reports of Casualties, and Muster out Rolls. The Pay Rolls and Bounty papers in the office of the State Treasurer were also found to contain information of much value.

In addition to the official sources of information utilized, circulars were sent to every city and town in the State, and to the Posts of the Grand Army of the Republic; files of newspapers of the war time and town and county histories were examined, and every authority possible was consulted. The officers in charge of the National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers throughout the country very kindly furnished lists showing all New Hampshire soldiers' residing at the Homes, and giving dates of decease of those who died while inmates.

In a number of instances when the muster out roll reported men as "absent no discharge furnished," or "not officially accounted for," the original discharges have been obtained from the soldiers, and the fact and date of discharge shown. In many cases of incomplete or incorrect records there was nothing in this office from which the deficiency could be supplied; nearly 15,000 individual records were sent to Washington, some of them several times, and in nearly every case the information necessary was obtained from the war or navy department or second auditor's office. In this way a number of men who appear in the old reports as deserters or as not officially accounted for, were found to have been regularly discharged.

It was not practicable to send all cases of reported desertion to Washington, but where there was a possible doubt as to the correctness of the report, it was referred to the proper department, and thus many names were cleared from the stain of dishonor. Undoubtedly some men are reported as having died of disease when the first, although perhaps not the immediate, cause of death was a wound. This is unavoidable from the nature of the official report, but when possible, corrections have been made.

The state records showing the town quotas were not carefully kept during the first year of the war, consequently the places to which men were credited cannot always be given, but when it could be determined this is shown. No correct lists of the engagements or battles of New Hampshire regiments have heretofore been published, those given on the flag cases containing the colors of the "War Regiments" being incomplete and inaccurate, and without dates.

Following the sketch of each organization will be found a revised and corrected list of the engagements in which it participated, with the proper dates. These lists have been made with great care and after much correspondence and research; for purposes of verification extensive use has been made of the "Official Records of the Rebellion," published by the Secretary of War, and finally the lists were submitted for approval to the historians of regiments or to regimental committees. When battles were officially or popularly known by two or more names, all are given.

The register of the "Dartmouth Cavalry," so called, is given for the reason that no record of New Hampshire's war history would be complete without it. This company, although not properly a New Hampshire organization, was composed so largely of students of Dartmouth College as to acquire the name of that venerable institution. Its official designation was Company B, Seventh Squadron, Rhode Island Cavalry, and to Gen. Elisha Dyer, Jr., Adjutant General of Rhode Island, I am greatly indebted for his courtesy in furnishing the records of the company.

This State has no records of enlistments in the United States Navy or Marine Corps, and the only way by which they could be obtained was through clerks in the Navy Department and at Marine Corps Headquarters, who were specially engaged to furnish the material used in the Register. There was no way, however, to verify the records thus obtained or to discover and correct possible errors, clerical or otherwise.

Under the head of "Miscellaneous" is given, as far as they could be obtained, the names and service of citizens or residents of New Hampshire who served in the United States Army, United States Volunteers, and in organizations from other States.

I am indebted to so many for valuable assistance, advice, and encouragement in the preparation of this work, that it is impossible to particularize in every instance; but to Mr. Harry P. Hammond, who has been my chief clerk almost from the first, I am especially indebted for his valuable suggestions and intelligent cooperation, and I desire to express my appreciation of his faithful and untiring efforts to make the Register accurate and complete. I am also under especial obligations to Hon. Albert S. Batchellor for his assistance in procuring necessary legislation, and for suggestions, counsel, and encouragement; to Gen. J. N. Patterson, late Second Auditor of the United States Treasury, through whose kindly interest many difficulties were overcome and data of the utmost importance obtained; to Mr. Solomon E. Faunce, of the Second Auditor's office, for the personal interest he manifested in the work and his untiring efforts to complete each soldier's record; to Col. Frederick C. Ainsworth, Chief of the Record and Pension Division, War Department, for many courtesies and most valuable assistance in completing records.

I tender my thanks to the regimental historians who have been willing and anxious to render all the assistance in their power, and who have freely furnished all the information in their possession. It is not claimed that this work is free from errors or omissions, but to secure accuracy and completeness all has been done that fidelity and perseverance, inspired by enthusiastic interest in the subject, could accomplish.

AUGUSTUS D. AYLING, Adjutant General.



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