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The North's Civil War Series, No. 29 ISSN 1089-8719
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chase, John W. (John Webster), b. 1825.
Yours for the Union: the Civil War letters of John W. Chase, First Massachusetts Light Artillery I JohnS. and Bonnie B. Collier, editors.-- 1st ed. p.cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8232-23ffi-5 (Hardcover)
1. Chase, John W. (John Webster), b. 1825--Correspondence. 2. United States. Army. Massachusetts Light Artillery Battery, 1st (1861-1864) 3. Massachusetts-History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives. 4. United States--History-Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives. 5. Massachusetts--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Regimental histories. 6. United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865-Regimental histories. 7. United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Artillery operations. 8. Soldiers--Massachusetts--Correspondence. 9. Roxbury (Boston, Mass.)--Biography. 10. Boston (Mass.)--Biography. I. Collier, JohnS. II. Collier, Bonnie B. III. Title. E513.81st .C48 2004 973. 7'81--dc22
2003024722
Printed in the United States of America 07060504 54321
First edition
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations and Credits
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Prologue
Chapter 1. Alexandria
Chapter 2. The Peninsula Campaign
Chapter 3. Maryland
Chapter 4. Fredericksburg
Chapter 5. Chancellorsville to Gettysburg
Chapter 6. Warrenton and Brandy Station
Chapter 7. The Overland Campaign
Chapter 8. The Shenandoah Valley
Chapter 9. Petersburg
Epilogue
Appendix I. Obituaries
Appendix II. Chronology
Appendix III. Battery Organization
Appendix IV. Asher Chase
YOURS FOR THE UNION
28.
30.
31.
32.
33.
35.
36.
52.
55.
57.
59.
61.
62. John W. Chase-''The
63.
64.
65.
66.
67. John Chase's Travel Routes
68.
69.
70.
75.
76.
78.
88.
89.
90.
YOURS FOR THE UNION
92. John Chase's Travel Routes in Chapter 9
93. Siege of Petersburg, by Alfred Waud
94. Muster-out Roll, April 26, 1865
95. Boston Police Department Station Captain, John W. Chase
96. Gravestone of John W. and Sarah D. Chase
97. Sarah F. Chase
98. Mary (Chase) Huntington
99. Charles H. Chase
100. George W. Chase
101. Samuel S. Chase
102. Benjamin Winslow
103. Charles French
104. First Massachusetts Light Artillery Monument at Gettysburg
105. John Chase's Travel Routes from October 1861 to April 1865
106. Guarding the Bridge at the Relay House
107. First Lieutenant Josiah Porter
108. A Light Artillery Gun Detachment at Drill
ILLUSTRATIONS
Illustration Credits
The Story of the First Massachusetts Light Battery, by A. J. Bennett, Deland and Barta, Boston, Mass., 1886
Chase or Collier family collection
Harper's Weekly, Vol. VI, No. 265, January 25, 1862; Vol. VIII, No. 393, July 9, 1864
JohnS. Collier and Bonnie B. Collier
Library of Congress
p. 18, Memory series; p. 75, LC-USZ62-11096; p. 90, LCB8171-0334; p. 92, LC-B817-7143; p. 120, LC-USZC45817; p. 130, LC-B813-6377; p. 131, LC-USZ62-47450 & LC-USZ62-66840; p. 133, LC-USZ62-126493; p. 150, LCB817-7085; p. 156, LC-USZ62-14724; p. 168, LC-USZ62100749; p. 179, LC-USZC4-5629; p. 195, LC-USZ62-12799; p. 214, LC-USZ62-14638; p. 223, LC-B8171-7471; p. 234, LC-USZ62-119121; p. 280, LC-USZ62-103217; p. 287, LCB813-1467; p. 303, LC-USZ62-7034; p. 314, LC-B817-7161; p. 320, LC-USZ62-101466; p. 325, LC-B811-1051; p. 333, LC-USZC4-2393; p. 365, LC-B482-4012; p. 366, LCUSZ62-14914; p. 368, LC-USZC2-3761; p. 370, LC-USZ6215163; p. 371, LC-8811-2564; p. 394, LC-USZ62-7052
History of the Sixth New Hampshire Regiment, by Lyman Jackman, Republican Press Assoc., Concord, N.H., 1891
National Archives
p. 2, B-5294; p. 224, American Originals; p. 266, 66-G-19015; p. 312, pension records; p. 358, 165-SB-26; p. 401, pension records; p. 426, 79-CWC-3F-22; p. 430, B-443
YOURS FOR THE UNION
NEHGS RCG TGM USAMHI
Engraved for the New England Historic Genealogical Society by F. T. Stuart, Boston, Mass., 1868
Roxbury City Gazette, Vol. 2, No. 14, July 31, 1862.
The Granite Monthly, Vol. XXVI, No.3, March 1899
U.S. Army Military History Institute, Carlisle, Pennsylvania p. 22, Vol. 95-4873; p. 128, RG98S-CWP20.99; p. 200, RG98S-CWP216.70; p. 263 & p. 407, Vol. 95-4874; p. 427, Vol. 95-4872
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to the previous generations of the Chase family who recognized the historical, or, perhaps, sentimental value of these letters and saved them.
We want to acknowledge the effort of Margaret Johnston Collier who typed the initial transcriptions of the letters years ago and who contributed several of the family photographs. We also want to acknowledge the contributions of family photographs by Dorothy Chase Barthlemes, Mary Chase Barker, and Joyce Barker Rowe.
John & Bonnie Collier
YOURS FOR THE UNION
CFC
Introduction
While he was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil War, John W. Chase wrote frequent letters to his older brother, Samuel S. Chase, back in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He patriotically signed several of his letters "Yours for the Union," which explains in part why he left friends and family to join the Union army. One hundred and seventy-two of those letters have survived and live on to describe John Chase's experiences and thoughts from October 1861 until the war ended in April 1865.
In plain language, his letters reflect the view of the war from the perspective of a common soldier rather than from an officer or a journalist or an historian. His letters portray a man who is trying to provide for his children, maintain his finances, and obtain food and clothing to supplement his meager rations, all while marching in the dust and the mud and fighting a war. His letters reveal his patriotism and his enthusiasm for preserving the Union, but as the war went on, his increasing cynicism becomes apparent and his criticism of the Union officers and the leadership in Washington grows more intense. His occasionally crude language reveals his strong opinions about abolition and, especially, abolitionist politicians. As a soldier in the Army of the Potomac, Chase was present at most of the major battles fought in the East. John Chase's state of mind reflects that of the Union army after each discouraging defeat or encouraging victory.
This collection of letters is not a sanitized or heroic memoir, and there are better and more complete descriptions of the battles and of the military strategies of the competing armies. Instead, these letters chronicle the experiences of one common soldier in the Union army.
John enlisted for three years as a private in the First Massachusetts Light Artillery, in Boston, on August 28, 1861, and
YOURS FOR THE UNION
reported for duty on September 2, 1861. He was appointed corporal (chief of caisson) on October 9, 1861, promoted to sergeant on June 9, 1863, and promoted to 1st sergeant on September 7, 1863. He reenlisted on December 23, 1863, at Brandy Station, Virginia. He was attached to the Fifth Maine Battery on October 3, 1864, when the First Massachusetts Battery was dissolved at the expiration of the men's three-year terms of enlistment. He was transferred to the Ninth Massachusetts Battery on March 28, 1865. He mustered out on April 26, 1865, at age 39, near Petersburg, Virginia, two weeks after Lee's surrender near Appomattox Court House.
John Webster Chase's pension records list his name erroneously as John Webber Chase, an error probably made by the law firm handling the pension application by his widow. He was almost certainly named after Daniel Webster, who was a prominent member of Congress at the time of John's birth in 1825.
The letters are presented here in their entirety as written by John W. Chase, with only the following minor editing. The original spellings have been maintained where they appear repeatedly, except that "ss" has been substituted for the old style "fs." Punctuation was rare, with no periods to end sentences and only occasional capitalizations to start them; however, Chase used other capitalizations liberally. We have added capitalized first letters of sentences and periods for readability, but made no attempt otherwise to punctuate the letters.
A few letters were written in black ink, but most were written in pencil on blue-lined paper. A couple of letters were written in a reddish ink that was made from local berries. Although his handwriting was moderately legible, it was very difficult to distinguish between some letters. We have used brackets [ ] for editors' additions.
This collection of letters, which fills one shoe box, was passed down through the family. Sam probably gave them to John's son, George, who lived in Stratham, New Hampshire, after John died.
When George died, they went to his younger daughter, Mary Chase Hatch, who also lived in Stratham. Mary had heart damage from scarlet fever, which led to an early death. The letters were retrieved from Mary's attic by her older sister, Pearl Chase Johnston, only a year or two before the house was destroyed by fire. Pearl left the letters with her daughter, Margaret Johnston Collier, who transcribed them. Margaret also loaned them to Bruce Catton, who quoted from them in his book, This Hallowed Ground. Margaret's son, John S. Collier, John W. Chase's great-great-grandson, along with his wife, Bonnie Baldwin Collier, verified and edited the transcriptions, collected the photographs, and did additional research to create this book.
There are many people mentioned in John Chase's letters. The following is a list of his friends and family mentioned most frequently, and their ages in 1861:
Brother
Lizzie
Asher
William
Hitty
Mrs. Curtis
Mary
Charley
George
Sarah
Mary
Eliza
Levi
Pricilla
Sis
Horatio Littlefield
Samuel S. Chase (44)
Sam's wife, Elizabeth (42)
Sam and Lizzie's son (20)
Lizzie's brother, William Curtis (45)
William's wife, Mehitable (41)
Lizzie's mother, Betsy (65)
John's daughter (14)
John's son (10)
John's son (7)
John's daughter (4)
John's sister, Mary Littlefield (49)
Mary Littlefield's daughter (21)
John's brother, Levi Chase (38)
Levi's wife, Priscilla (35)
John's sister, Sarah Littlefield (54)
Sarah Littlefield's son (21)
Susie Smith
Harry Smith
George Head
Father
Mother
Emily Mace
Langdon Lydston
Sarah Littlefield's daughter (20)
Susie Smith's husband, William H. Smith (25)
The widower of John's youngest sister, Susan, who died in 1860 (37)
Andrew Chase (74)
John's mother, Sarah, died in 1856. John called both his stepmother, Hannah, and his mother-in-law, Mary Marston, ''Mother"
Emily Grindell lived with William and Hitty Curtis's family. She was a dressmaker for the family (28)
Probably John Wilder May, who became City Solicitor for Roxbury in 1864 (43)
John Langdon Jewell (47) and Sophia (Marston) Jewell (41), the sister of John's late wife, cared for three of John's children
Alfred Lydston (41), Sam's coworker
INTRODUCTION
John W. Chase's Family
Andrew Chase ( 1787-187 S) & Sarah Clark (1786-1856)
' Sarah Ann Chase ( 1807& __
__ SamuelS. Chase (1817-1B9Sl-Curtis ( 1819-1907
James Littlefield (ca. 1835-) _j Horatio G. Littlefield ( 1839-1906) -·]
Susan M. Littlefield (ca. 1841-) & William H. Smith (ca. 1835-1864)
Susan M. Littlefie___l_d_ ( c_a_. 1841-) _J & William A. ____ _
B. Chase (ca. 1828-1860) _:ge S. Hel)(j{ca. 1824-J_
Dudley W. Chase (1850-1913)·-------mma A. Oement ____ _)
B. Chase (1852-1918) ll __ /\_,_(;llasll__ (1_13?.9::- 1!;1<1:1)_ Frank N. Chase (1855-1921) & Laura J. Meservy (1857::::_} 902)
Alice Marie Chase (1866-19s6Y- ······-·-··· & William F. Newhall __
Prologue
John Webster Chase was born in 1825, in Roxbury, Massachusetts, which was then a town located just outside of Boston. He was the tenth of eleven children of Andrew and Sarah Clark Chase, who were both from Stratham, New Hampshire. John Chase was the seventh generation of Chase in New England since Aquila Chase came from England in 1640. John's grandfather, Major Dudley Leavitt Chase, fought in the Revolutionary War in Colonel Alex Scammel 's Third New Hampshire Continental Regiment. Dudley was also the owner of Chase's Tavern in Stratham, which had been owned by his father, Thomas, and then his mother, Love, before him. John's father was a carpenter and, later, a farmer. John and his brothers, Samuel and Benjamin, were also carpenters. Andrew Chase moved his family from Roxbury back to Stratham when John was still a boy. John Chase married Sarah Frances Marston in 1847, in nearby Hampton, New Hampshire, when he was 22. They lived and raised their family in Stratham, where John worked as a mechanic and a carpenter. Sarah died at the age of 28, a few days after the birth of their fourth child, in 1857. In 1860, John was living in Stratham with his father and stepmother, Hannah, working as a house carpenter. (John's mother had died in 1856.)
Three of John's children, Mary, age 12, George, 6, and Sarah, 3, were living in Stratham with Sophia Marston Jewell and John Langdon Jewell, John's wife's sister and her husband. John's older son, Charles, age 9, was living with his maternal grandparents, Thomas and Mary Marston, in nearby North Hampton. By 1861, John had moved back to Roxbury, where his brother Sam lived with his wife and son, Asher. John enlisted in the First Massachusetts Light Artillery in Boston at age 36, in August 1861.
John Chase's Travel Routes in Chapter 1:
October 1861 toApril1862
Harper's Feny
VIRGINIA
PENNSYLVANIA
CHAPTER 1
Alexandria
Following the defeat of the Union army at the First Battle of Bull Run, the Army of the Potomac is encamped near Fairfax Seminary just north of Alexandria, Virginia. With many new three- year recruits, including John Chase, to replace the men who had enlisted for only ninety days, the army is being drilled under its new commander, General George B. McClellan/ Chase describes the life of drilling and waiting.
Alexandria October 16th 1861
Dear Brother
I received your letter today and was very happy to hear from you it being the first letter that I have received from any one since I came out here. I have written some four or five letters but I suppose they will come some time or other at least I hope so. We left Washington last Monday and came to this place. It is some twelve miles from Washington and three from Alexandria City. It is a first rate Camping place. We have got one of the best wells of water that I have seen since I left New Hampshire. Captain Arnolds Batterf dug it out. They have been here since the Bull Run battle in which they were engaged. They are regulars. We are now with Franklins
' President Lincoln replaced General Winfield Scott with General McClellan as general-in-chief on Nov. 1, 1861.
'Captain Richard Arnold of the Fifth U.S. Artillery.
YOURS FOR THE UNION
Brigade. 3 It is made up of New York & New Jersey troops mostly. You can have no idea of the number of troops there is in and around Washington. It is a perfect muster field. In coming here it was Camp after Camp. We passed Fort Ellsworth and just got a glimpse at the
The Marshall House NA celebrated Marshall House where Ellsworth4 was Killed. It is a fine country where we are now and if it was not for cursed war I should like to live here. I think if they could have a lot of New England farmers settle here they could show them how to raise a heap of stuff but war has left its mark all along where we have been since we came from Washington. Some splendid [houses] were destroyed and beautifull parks turned into cattle pens for the army but I suppose that this is but the beginning of what it will be. I hope when it is done it will be a permanent thing and the Question settled that there is such a thing as a Union.
I expect we shall leave here in a day or two as our folks are trying to shell the enemy out of the woods some fourteen miles from us. We are in the advance wing of the army. We are on the direct road to Fairfax and Munsons Hill is in sight of us. We heard the cannonading here Yesterday. It begins to look squally around. Well if it must come let it come. I hope Capt Porters Battery5 will do their duty and as for myself as an humble member I want to do my duty as
'General William B. Franklin's division consisted of four artillery companies, three brigades of four infantry companies, and one cavalry unit.
• Colonel Ephraim Elmer Ellsworth, a friend of President Lincoln, was killed by the proprietor of the Marshall House hotel when he removed a Confederate flag flying from its roof. The proprietor, James T. Jackson, was then killed by one of Ellsworth's men. Ellsworth became the North's first martyr, and Jackson became the South's.
' Captain Josiah Porter.
a soldier and a man and if I fall I hope it will be in front of the enemy and not running away from them and if I die I think I have friends enough at home that will take care of those I have left behind. I should like to see the children once more. I shall "put my trust in God and Keep my powder dry." I forget to tell you that we have changed four of our guns the two rifled and the smooth bores and have got four Parrot guns whose range is seven miles so they say. We have got 150 rounds of shot and shell in each of our cassons and I have to open the cassons every day and dry the ammunition and sit right on the carriage myself and not trust it to any guard. I have been over and seen the 1st Regiment of Massachusetts. I saw Horatio Littlefield. 6 He looks first rate. I was there the day that George Curtis was there but I did not see him but I did see Col Cowdin
and Ben Perley Poor. I saw the Captain Josiah Porter AJB Regt Drill and have a Dress Parade. They drill first rate and live first rate. We have lived rather tough but the living is improving and I think now we have got away from Washington we shall live better. At any rate I am glad we have got out of that Brick Yard for it was nothing but Clay. We have
• Horatio Littlefield, age 21, was the son of John's sister, Sarah Littlefield. He was a private in the First Massachusetts Infantry.
YOURS FOR THE UNION
plenty of music for there is Infantry encamped all around us and the Bands play every night.
H any one inquires for me tell them I am on the sacred soil of old Virginia and hope when I get off of it that this trouble will have come to an end and the ,S,mm & Stripes float in every State of the Union. I saw a secession flag over to the first Regiment that they captured while they were gone down the river. They were gone four weeks and got back a few days before I was over there. It is the only one I have seen. They had it hoisted union down and the Stars and Stripes waving over it. I also visited the New Hampshire 2d and saw Lieut Smith7 and the boys from Stratham. I ran away the day I went over and was marched up to head quarters the next morning and got a talking too by the Seargeant Major who said if I done so again he would take the stripes off my shoulders but I guess he is not quite big enough to do that. My health is first rate. I was a little sick coming from New York to Amboy but since then I have been first rate. We have not a case of sickness yet only some that was brought on themselves by their own imprudencies. Folletts Battery came into Washington the day before we came away. They camped right by the side of us and Wilsons Regiment went over to George Town but I believe I have written about as much as you will want to read for it is rather a tough place to write in a tent with a dozen men around You some singing and some a dancing. You had ought to see them when the letters come. They sound the Assembly and then the clerk reads off the names of those that have letters. My under lip began to drop to cry but when my name was called I felt better.
I hope you will write often for you do not know how good it is to get a letter from your friends when you are in an enemies country. Give my love to Mary and let me know how to direct a letter to her and I will write to her. Give my respects to every body that wants to hear from me and after you read this send it up to Stratham. I want you to send me out some Postage Stamps for we shall not get any money till next month and I want you to send me some envelopes
7 William (Harry) Smith was the husband of John's niece, Susie, who was the daughter of John's sister, Sarah Littlefield
