Rachel Saliba - School Archivist
In light of the 150th Anniversary of the start of the Civil War this year, Upper School History Teacher Brad Fletcher has given us permission to reprint his following article that was first printed in the Old Berwick Historical Society’s newsletter “Members’ Edition: The County House Times” in Fall 2004.
Brevet Major-General Joseph Hayes Joseph Hayes- South Berwick, and Berwick Academy’s War General By Brad Fletcher Among the rows of gravestones in Old Fields Cemetery is a simple marker of unusual significance and poignancy. Very periodically a visitor will ask for directions to the place, and the whereabouts of Joseph Hayes’ resting
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place there. It is easy to locate the family plot in the middle of the cemetery, and sometimes his grave stands out – marked with a veteran’s flag, or (as just now) other respectful mementos. The visitors query, and the small offerings, indicate that some, at least, recognize his achievement and historical importance which are, in fact, briefly noted on his stone: Joseph Hayes, Brevet Major General of Volunteers. Joseph Hayes was one of the small handful of men from Maine, the only from South Berwick, one of just five hundred or so nationally, who served the Union as general officers in the Civil War. Joseph Hayes was born in the family home on Academy Street, in September, 1835. He attended Berwick Academy and then Harvard University, and as the secession crisis loomed he was working as a civil engineer, surveying and building railroads in the West. When the Civil War broke out, 25-year-old Hayes was appointed major in the 18th Massachusetts Infantry. He fought with distinction through most of the major campaigns in the east, earning rapid promotion – Lieutenant Colonel by 1862, Colonel the following year, and Brigadier General by the spring of 1864. Success came at a high personal cost, however. Hayes was furloughed for serious illness, injured his shoulder, and broke his leg at Gettysburg (the last injury plagued him throughout the remainder of his life). The following spring, in the wilderness, the young general suffered a severe wound to the head, and while the doctors saved his life they could not remove the bullet. 1791 Letter ~ December 2011
Remarkably, Hayes quickly returned to the army during the siege of Petersburg, where he was captured and imprisoned in Richmond’s notorious Libby Prison for months before being exchanged. Again returning to command in the last spring of the war, now Brevet Major General at twenty-nine, Hayes led his troops in the pursuit of Lee’s retreating army, and was preparing his brigade for a last assault on the Confederates at Appomattox, in April, 1865, when word came of ceasefire, then surrender. Mustering out of the service at the end of the summer, the young officer’s transition to civilian life proved difficult. He resumed his
Brevet Major General Joseph Hayes visiting his parents’ home (the Hayes House) in South Berwick, ME.
pre-war engineering career, turning from railroads to mining, enjoying success overseas and in the Southwest. Professional success, however, offset by increasing personal struggle as continued on pg 14... 13