Featured image: Ipswich men boarding a train at the Ipswich Depot, on their way to the Civil War, as described by Thomas Franklin Waters:
“The citizens of Ipswich assembled in the Town Hall evening of April 22. Stirring speeches were made by leading citizens, the pastors of the churches, and by Dr. D.S. Allen of Hamilton, who roused great enthusiasm when he declared, “If I could not defend the flag in the hour of country’s peril, I would bite the dust.” The call for volunteers and for funds to equip them and provide for their families met with a prompt and enthusiastic response.
After a brief period of drilling in the Town Hall, the Ipswich Company, called the “Heard Guards” in recognition of the generous support of Augustine Heard, Esq. left town on June 24, 1861. A great number of citizens assembled in the depot to cheer the departing soldiers and General James Appleton, who had been prominent in military affairs all his life, made a patriotic speech.”
Ipswich in the Civil War
Edited by Scott A. Jewell, Copyright 2012 by the Ipswich Museum. The following is an excerpt from the introduction:
It has been over ninety years since the last time a historian has written and published information on the involvement of Ipswich, Massachusetts in the American Civil War. There is a story that has been lost over the years that needs to be told.
Four-hundred-sixty-two men who lived in Ipswich before, during or after the war served in the military. Sixty of these men died during the Civil War, twenty-five were killed in action and thirty-five died of disease. Seventy-five men were wounded, ten deserted, eighteen were captured and seven of those died in prison. Ninety-two men were discharged for disability, which means they were not able to perform their duties as a soldier due to wounds or illness.
The aim of Ipswich in the Civil War is to continue Thomas Franklin Waters and Luther Wait’s work and be a bridge for some future scholar who would like to learn more about Ipswich and the Civil War. This book has been mostly compiled of excerpts from books written by the veterans of the Civil War whether regimental histories, personal war sketches, official reports, letters sent home and local history.
Download the entire book: Ipswich in the Civil War (149 pages, PDF)
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