Confederates/Confederate Sympathizers from Massachusetts

UncleBourbon

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Sep 4, 2019
Location
Massachusetts
For reasons hard to describe, this subject has been of interest to me for a while now.
I'm aware of the Massachusetts-born Confederate Generals (Chase, Adams, Blanchard, Perry, Pike, Ruggles and Sears), however all were residents of Southern States at the outbreak of the Civil War, and I'm more so looking for people who were residents of Massachusetts at the outbreak.
I have 5 examples I'll share,

1. Ambrose L. Kimball
The author and publisher of the Essex County Democrat. He was tarred and feathered August 19th, 1861 by citizens and members of "Hale's Guard" for opposing Lincoln's war policies in his paper. He was with two friends, George Johnson and Dr. James C. Howe at the time, who helped clean him of the tar and feathers after the incident. He defended himself during a citizens meeting and later moved to Iowa with his family, where he died in 1866.

2. Lysander Spooner
A Radical Republican who advocated violent resistance against slaveholders, however he vehemently opposed the Union's actions to keep the Confederacy as part of the Union, claiming it was the same as a master trying to keep his slaves as it completely violated his ideals of government by consent. He wrote numerous lectures defending the Confederacy's right to secession, "No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority" being the most noteworthy one.

3. CSA 8th Infantry Battalion/2nd Foreign Legion
At least two residents of Massachusetts who were captured as POWs fighting for the Union signed on to fight for the Confederacy, their names being Louis Leo of Company E and Albert Wszelaki of an unknown Company. Both were residents from Essex County, same as Kimball. It's highly likely they signed on for food and pay or a chance to desert back to the Union rather than any sympathies, however, but there's virtually nothing written on them.

4. Lieutenant Commander Isaac Hull Wright
Boston Politician and Lieutenant Colonel of Massachusett's only volunteer regiment during the Mexican-American war, Wright resigned his post as a Boston Naval Agent out of political opposition to the Civil War.

5. Friends of Lieutenant Isaac Newton Brown
Isaac Brown, who was detained in Boston upon a return Naval voyage from Japan due to his Southern residency, mentioned various friends and supporters in Boston who sympathized with the South and helped rescue him, including one with a passionate hatred for John Brown Jr., calling him a "Hell Hound".

I'd love to hear about any other examples like these!
 
@UncleBourbon I'm working on a blog on Massachusetts in the Civil war and one of my posts is going to be on Bay State Rebels.

I know there is a Confederate grave in Topsfield. The soldier in question was from Virginia and served in the Confederate Army and moved to Topsfield after the war.

I would definitely be interested in your blog! Please link it here when you finish that post.

Do you happen to have a Find a Grave memorial for that Virginian veteran?
Here's the Find a Grave memorial of Ambrose Kimball, by the way https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/76311111/ambrose-l_-kimball
 

memorialday.jpg
 
Thank you very much!
I may pay him a visit and give my respects during this year's Topsfield fair.

On another note, the land where the Topsfield Fair is held once belonged to the Towne Family. Three of the sisters - Rebecca, Mary, and Sarah - were accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. Rebecca Nurse and Mary Easty were executed, while Sarah Cloyce escaped. The Towne Family are ancestors of my wife, so we like to make the joke that she basically owns the Topsfield Fair.
 
Since I listed CSA 8th Infantry Battalion/2nd Foreign Legion, I feel Private William E. Ormsby would apply to the subject of this thread
He was allegedly captured by Mosby's Rangers, and after getting drunk rode with them in an ambush against his old regiment.
He was shot for desertion and treason.
 
I've found another Massachusetts man who served for the Confederates, making the full list:

Opposition to the War
Lysander Spooner
Ambrose L. Kimball
Isaac Hull Wright

Served for the Confederacy
Louis Leo
Albert Wszelaki
Frank McElheny

Frank Mcelheny was mustered into Company F of the 24th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment on November 25th, 1861. He however was court-martialed and sentenced to five years at Fort Macon, one charge being insulting his superior officer.
He escaped the Fort and swam South, and ended up enlisted in the 19th Virginia Battalion under an assumed name. However he had heard about the bonuses offered to Confederate deserters and attempted to desert on July 27th, 1864, unfortunately deserting into Company F of the 24th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment who recognized him.
He was sentenced to death and executed August 8th, 1864. The first volley didn't kill him.
 
How about William Prescott Frost Jr from Lawrence?

He attempted to runaway from home to enlist as a Confederate but failed for being underage. Later he named his son after Robert E. Lee. His son became a well known New England poet --- Robert Frost.
 
How about William Prescott Frost Jr from Lawrence?

He attempted to runaway from home to enlist as a Confederate but failed for being underage. Later he named his son after Robert E. Lee. His son became a well known New England poet --- Robert Frost.

That's exactly the kind of story I'm looking for. Thank you very much for sharing!
 
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