THE SONS OF UNION VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR THE CLARION CALL

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1 WINNER OF THE 2005 MARSHALL HOPE AWARD FOR BEST DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTER IN THE SUVCW!!! G.A.R. THE SONS OF UNION VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR THE CLARION CALL S.U.V.C.W VOLUME No. 10 ISSUE No. 2 Fall Milwaukee, WI,: During the 132nd National Encampment held August 8-11, 2013, new officers were elected as our own Department of Massachusetts, Perley Mellor completed his term as Commander-in- Chief. The new officers are: Commanderin-Chief Ken Freshley PDC of Ohio, Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief Tad Campbell PDC of California & Pacific, Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief Eugene Mortorff PDC of The Chesapeake, Secretary Alan Russ PDC of Kansas, Treasurer Richard Orr PCinC of Pennsylvania, Quartermaster Danny Wheeler PCinC of New York, Council of Administration Walter Bush PDC of Missouri along with our own Department Commander Ed Norris. The Abraham Lincoln Award for Most Outstanding Camp in the Order! Milwaukee, WI: DSVC Dexter Bishop accepts the Abraham Lincoln Award for the Most Outstanding Camp in the Order on behave of the Frederick Lander Camp #5 located in Lynn, Massachusetts. The Abraham Lincoln Award is the highest camp award given by the National organization and was started in The award is given to the Camp that went above and beyond promoting and preserving the memory of Union Veterans. Perley Mellor, PCinC, DSVC Dexter Bishop, DC Ed Norris Contact the Editor at: THE CLARION CALL 20 Howland Terrace, Worcester, MA williegrout25@verizon.net

2 Luke M. Griswold U.S. Navy Lowell, MA: Bay State Camp 61 celebrated the actual Memorial Day on May 30th by visiting Civil War related sites in Lowell. Dave Getchell, Don Hayes, Hank McCarl and Steve Twining. Brother Chip Chambers represented the Sons of Union Veterans at the Water Ceremony at Worcester s Elm Park. The ceremony honors those who have died at sea. December 30, 1862, on the supply ship, USS Rhode Island, Griswold was on one of the rescue boats sent for the crew of the USS Monitor, which was sinking from a storm off Cape Hatteras, NC. As the Union s first ironclad ship, the Monitor had dueled nine months earlier with her Confederate counterpart, the Merrimack, in one of the war s best-known sea battles. After delivering two groups of Monitor sailors to safety, Griswold s boat was blown off course and presumed lost in treacherous seas. The boat drifted 50 miles before being picked up by a passing ship. Ware, MA: PDC Robert Knight, PCC Pat Moore, Bill Winnie, SVC William Cote, George Kane, Marguerite "Peggy" Baxter, Walter Koberna, Joe Nadeau, Charlie Morgan Davis John Mumper, and CC Ed Knight (L.A. Tift Camp #15) at a Memorial grave stone rededication. 2

3 Below is information provided by Patriotic Instructor Al Smith about Lynn s 2013 Sesquicentennial which was a joint effort between the North Shore Civil War Roundtable and the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Peter Rotando and Paul Kenworthy CC, Camp 5 leading the Salem Zouves for more than 80 years. Other events included a press conference for students with the fore mentioned iconic figures. At the G.A.R. Hall a bean supper and a dinner at the Masonic Hall were held and both were well attended. By week s end, the 6th Maine Artillery brought in a 10 pound parrot gun which was fired 15 times. Also setting the mood was music played by the Providence Brigade Band and the presence of the Salem Zouves. On Sunday as other events completed the week, a memorial service was held for Charles Mudge, a Lynn resident who was killed at Gettysburg. DC Ed Norris joined DSVC Dexter Bishop and Lynn Mayor Judith Flanagan-Kennedy Lynn, MA: According to DSVC Dexter Bishop, This is the 150th Anniversary. It s important we don t let our memories fade so we forget the price paid and it was a high one to keep this nation together. A week of events in Lynn which began Tuesday May 28th through Sunday June 2nd did just that. Events geared towards preventing our memories from forgetting. During the seven days there were tributes and reenactments remembering the War of the Rebellion. Iconic figures from that era like Abraham Lincoln, U.S. Grant and Joshua Chamberlain participated along with representatives from the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. The kickoff event was presented by Bob Marcott entitled, The Saga of Lincoln s Boot which was how the same boots that Lincoln wore the night of his assassination were located in Lynn DSVC Dexter Bishop in making speeches during the rededication of the Lynn Civil War Monument. A similar week is being planned for

4 Grafton, MA: On May 18, 2013, members joined together in rededicating the Grafton Civil War Monument. The event was sparked by Paul Howarth s Eagle Scout project to clean up and restore the monument. The rededicating ceremony included the following camps: Willie Grout Camp 25, Baystate Camp 61, Charles H. Bond Camp 104 and Zenas R. Bliss Camp 12 from the Department of Rhode Island. Bourne, MA: On Sunday May 26th members of the Department of Massachusetts joined other veteran organizations to honor all soldiers & sailors who died during our nation s wars. Among them included 7 unknown Civil War soldiers buried at the Bourne National Cemetery. Worcester, MA: On Monday May 27th, Willie Grout Camp 25 participated in the city s Memorial Day Ceremony. The Camp first took part in this ceremony in 1894 at its first ever event. Civil War Fact: As many as 10,000 soldiers in the Union armies were under the age of eighteen (18). 4

5 Department of MASSACHUSETTS OFFICERS Commander Ed Norris PH: SVC Dexter Bishop PH: net JVC Conley W. Ford Treasurer/Asst.Secretary Dan Murray PH: CIVIL WAR TECH: (Most soldier s shoes were not left or right, but were molded by wear). The Union unlike the Confederacy was backed by its industrial factories and the newly perfected sewing machine. The men preferred shoes with broad bottoms and big, flat heels, instead of boots, which were heavy, twisted the ankles, and were difficult to put on and remove-especially when wet. Shoes and boots were so valuable that special missions were made to procure them. They were even pulled from the feet of dead men on the battlefields and were used by prisoners to barter for supplies such as food or tobacco. The next NERA (New England Regional Association) meeting will be held at the General Nathaniel Greene Homestead in Coventry, Rhode Island on October 26, Nathaniel M. Allen Co B 1st MA INF Secretary OPEN Chaplin Robert H. Knight, PDC Council Member Couselor Kevin Tucker, PDC ktsuv@outlook.com Council Member George Maple Jr., PDC gmaplejr@gmail.com Council Member Peter Rotando Patriotic Instructor Al Smith ohjudyoh@yahoo.com Shown here with Brother Chip Chambers is another recruit or a Southern Belle who may be a possible Union sympathizer named Linda Casey of the Grafton Historical Society at the Grafton Rededication. July 2, 1863, When his regiment was falling back, this soldier, bearing the national color, returned in the face of the enemy fire, pulled the regimental flag from under the body of its bearer who had fallen, saved the flag from capture and brought both colors off the field. Civil War Fact: General Burnside lost 7,000 men attacking the stone wall and Marye s Heights at the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Confederate defenders lost only 1,200 men. 5

6 Leominster, MA: On June 23, 2013, Charles H. Bond Camp 104 held a memorial service at the Evergreen Cemetery for Private Arthur Mechan of Co E 8th Massachusetts Regiment. The service began with Senior Vice-Commander William B. Naughton, We assemble here to pay to the Soldier Arthur Mechan who fought in the Civil War, our tribute of love and respect and within these sacred bonds to pledge anew our dedication to his memory and the principles for which he fought The service included words from Chaplain Richard Nichols, Supreme Ruler of the Universe! God of battles and of peace! We thank Thee for this day and hour; for this blessed privilege of meeting here as sons of soldiers and sailors to do homage to a Nation s dead...grant Thy blessing upon these sacred ceremonies, consecrated as they are to the memory of the brave and loyal hearts who dared stand for the right and did not fear to bare their breasts to a storm of steel in defense of human liberty, a united country and brotherhood of man. SVC William B. Naughton added for the Unknown Dead, In the great heart of coming generations. Their fame shall live, their glory never cease; even when comes to all earth s troubled nations. God s perfect gift of universal peace Chaplain Richard Nichols continued, Dear Lord, the Soldiers and Sailors of Leominster were Your instrument to preserve our great Union and bring freedom to the enslaved and oppressed. Today our hearts and our souls are free to praise you. For this, we are very thankful...let us not take our freedom, both physical and spiritual, for granted, for our freedom was not free...lord, Today, bless those who have served in our country s Armed Services, and continue to risk their lives to defend our freedom. With favor and bounty, meet their needs and watch over their families Left: Ellen Mechan Ander, Brian Mechan and Mary Mechan Right: Richard Nichols and William Naughton 6

7 CANTON CIVIL WAR DAY Canton, MA: General George L. Hartsuff Camp #50 held a Canton Civil War Day. At the event, spectators were able to observe a living history camp Civil War style as well as find out information about possible ancestors. During this event, a rededication took place of the G.A.R. Hall in Rockland, Massachusetts. (Pictures above and left) Bob OBryan & Rod Lundin Ware, MA: L.A. Tift Camp #15 conducted Memorial ceremonies at the Quabin Cemetery in Belchertown and also at the Old St. Williams Cemetery in Ware. (Pictures below and right) 7

8 Newburyport, MA: A Tablet Day Centenary was held on June 15, at the Atkinson Common, a place which is a host to many events in Newburyport. Marking the 100th anniversary of the dedication of Memorial Tablets with the names of Newburyport volunteers who responded to Lincoln s call for the defense of the Union. 10% of the population served in the War of the Rebellion and in 1902 a statue known as The Volunteer was dedicated. In 1913 tablets joined the memorial when a ceremony which included 12 children, each pulling a cord to unveil the names. On hand at the rededication was a descendant, Charles Ayers of one of those 12 children. Among the ceremonies was speaker William Hallett, author of Newburyport and the Civil War, a 13 piece brass band playing the same songs and sequence of the original ceremony. Six actors walked among the crowds with a sign, Ask me about Albert Bartlett. Who was Albert W. Bartlett? He was one of the men who answered Lincoln s Call. In April of 1861, Bartlett and the 8th Massachusetts Militia helped secure the B&O railroad in Maryland and camped at the Capitol Building as it was being built. Later, Bartlett joined the 35th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and fought at the Battle of Antietam where he was killed. The G.A.R. Post in Newburyport was named in his honor. Also speaking at the ceremony was our Department Commander Ed Norris who is standing with Liz Hallett (ASUVCW,NH). 8

9 PVT ARTHUR MECHAN CO E, 8th Massachusetts Volunteer Militia Arthur Mechan was born on July 29, 1821 in Belfast, Ireland. In the summer of 1832 he traveled to the United States and lived in Boston and Havard, Massachusetts with his mother and sisters. He was a carpenter in 1847 and after his marriage he moved to Leominster where he became a founding member of the fire department. In 1852 Mechan was part of Company A, 9th Massachusetts Volunteer Militia Artillery. A few years later Mechan went to Kansas in time to be able to vote for a Free State to counteract the Proslaverymen from Missouri. As an abolitionist, Mechan became secretary of one of Massachusett s largest anti-slavery organizations. On April 15, 1861 at the call of President Lincoln for 75,000 volunteers, Private Arthur Mechan volunteered to defend the Union. On April 18, 1861 he left with the 8th Massachusetts to head for the defense of Washington D.C. and just a day after the initial riots became one of the first companies to march into Baltimore. Private Mechan spent his time defending Washington D.C. from the Confederate Army from April until being mustered out along with his unit in August Mechan spent his years following the War in Charlestown and Leominster where he was a carpenter, a builder and firefighter. For a few years, Mechan was even Charlestown Clerk of Assessors. On April 18, 1888, just 27 years from when his unit left Boston for the War he died of stomach cancer at his home. Arthur Mechan was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Leominster, Massachusetts. NEW MEMBERS INITIATED... Worcester, MA: On April 22, 2013, new member Peter M. Preble was initiated into Willie Grout Camp #25, his ancestor is William H. Preble Co. H 9th Maine Infantry. On June 24, 2013, Douglas D. Schaeffer was initiated. His ancestor is Calvin B.H. Goss Co B 23rd Massachusetts Infantry. If you have any pictures or information on new initiations within the last few years, please send them and any information on the name of their ancestors if they have one or more. Send to williegrout25@verizon.net for a future Clarion Call. NEW OFFICERS FOR N.E.R.A. Weirs, NH: On July 20, 2013 at the New England Regional Association, new officers for up coming year were elected: Commander Gary Ward of New Hampshire, Vice Commander Devin Grandhamp of Vermont, Secretary Peter Whelpton of New Hampshire, Treasurer Ed Norris of Massachusetts, and Publicity Steve Twining of Massachusetts. 9

10 NEW CAMP ORGANIZING Lt. Col. John W. Hudson Camp #105 Lexington, MA: Brother Sam Doran and Mike DaRu are working with Camp Organizer Chip Chambers to bring back a camp in Lexington. Sam and Mike obtained five new headstones in Munroe Cemetery for Cyrus Capelle, Mosses Colby, Samuel Davis, Charles Parker and George Pratt. G.A.R. S.U.V.C.W. The Clarion Call Newsletter of the Department of Massachusetts SONS OF UNION VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR VISIT THE DEPARTMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS WEBSITES AT: and The Clarion Call 20 Howland Terrace Worcester, MA The Clarion Call is published quarterly by the Department of Massachusetts Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. The publication is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in whole or part, in any manner without the expressed written consent of the Department of Massachusetts, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.