16th Massachusetts infantry

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This thread is intended to serve as the location for general regimental history, photographs, stories, articles and any other relevant information about 16th Massachusetts in the Regimental Histories Forum. Please do not start new threads - just add your content about the regiment under this existing thread so others can easily find it. Thank you so much for contributing information for this regiment.
 
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https://www.amazon.com/dp/0788456490/?tag=civilwartalkc-20


If I Am Alive Next Summer': The Civil War Letters of Captain Charles Robinson Johnson of the 16th Massachusetts Infantry

The authors resolved "that Johnson's story, which he took such care to record and which his family clearly took care to preserve, should be told," and their commitment to this work "was reinforced by the realisation that, inexplicably, there was virtually nothing published about his regiment, the 16th Massachusetts Infantry, despite its three-year hard-fighting record with the Army of the Potomac and its nickname, 'The Iron Sixteenth'." This is not a regimental history, since the subject of the book is Johnson; however, Johnson's story illustrates the career of the 16th and serves as a partial history of the regiment. Chapters include: The written legacy; Charles Robinson Johnson, his letters, and the "Iron Sixteenth;" A contemporary narrative of Johnson's service and death; Off to War; From Massachusetts to Fortress Monroe; Fortress Monroe, 1862; From the Peninsula to Suffolk; The Seven Days' Battles; Harrison's Landing and the 1862 Maryland Campaign; Burnside and Fredericksburg; 1863, to Chancellorsville; Gettysburg; After Gettysburg; and, Johnson's Civil War Souvenirs. Appendices include: Itineraries of Charles R. Johnson and the 16th Massachusetts; Roster of Company F, 16th Massachusetts Infantry; Extract from the Reports of the Adjutant-General for the State of Massachusetts for 1863 and 1864 giving a synopsis of the Service of the 16th Massachusetts Infantry during those years; Official reports of the Battle of Gettysburg relevant to the role of the 16th Massachusetts Infantry: (1) Report of Brig. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys, commanding 2nd Division, 3rd Corps, (2) Report of Brig. Gen. Joseph B. Carr, commanding 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 3rd Corps, (3) Report of Captain Matthew Donovan, 16th Massachusetts Infantry; Note on the Flags of the 16th Massachusetts Infantry; and, Newly-discovered letters. A foreword by William C. Davis, a wealth of photographs, illustrations and maps, a bibliography, and an index to full-names, places and subjects add to the value of this work.

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Chaplain Arthur B. Fuller of 16th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.


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https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=22330332

Birth: Aug. 10, 1822
Cambridge
Middlesex County
Massachusetts, USA

Death: Dec. 11, 1862
Frederick County
Virginia, USA
Expired Image Removed
-Graduated Harvard College 1843
-Graduated Harvard Divinity School 1847
-Commissioned Chaplain of the 16th Massachusetts Volunteers August 1, 1861
-Killed at Fredericksburg, VA December 11, 1862
-"I must do something for my country"

Boston Herald, December 25, 1862

DECEMBER 25, 1862.
FUNERAL OF REV. ARTHUR B. FULLER.

The funeral obsequies over the remains of the late Rev. Arthur B. Fuller were performed this noon, at the Chauncy street church. The body was brought to the church early this fornoon, enclosed in a rich, ornamented rosewood casket. The latter was decorated with the American flag, and a profusion of elegant flowers wrought in bouquets and wreaths, which encircled a photograph of the deceased, taken several months prior to his death. A plate bore the following inscription:

Rev. Arthur Buckminster Fuller, Chaplain of the 16 Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers; killed at the battle of Fredericksburg, Va., 11th December 1862. Aged 40 years. "I must do something for my country."

The church was crowded with a very large audience, and among them were His Excellency Gov. Andrew and Col. Lee, of his Staff; and Maj. P. A. Ames, of the 1st Division, M. V. M. Also a detachment from the Cadets, in uniform, and the Boston Brigade Band. The services were unusually interesting, solemn and impressive. They consisted of a voluntary by the choir; chant; reading of Scriptures by Rev. Rufus B. Ellis; Soldier's Funeral Hymn, from the Army Melodies (edited by the deceased and Rev. J. W. Dadmun); addresses by Rev. Rollin H. Neale, D. D., Rev. E. O. Haven, D. D., Rev. E. A. Sears and Rev. James Freeman Clark; hymn; prayer and anthem.

The remarks of the reverend gentlemen were singularly touching in feeling and sentiment. Rev. Mr. Neale spoke of his departed brother as a kind, open-hearted, generous, whole-souled man. He was noble in spirit and philanthropic in nature, and his going into battle where he met his death, was characteristic of him -- acting with a noble heroism and a self-sacrificing patriotism.

Rev. Mr. Clark had known him from a boy. Many principles which he had cherished had been instilled into his mind by an order sister, while he was but a youth. He received his education at Cambridge, graduating in the divinity school in 1847. Soon after, he went to the West and settled in Northern Illinois, acting both as missionary and teacher, Since his return to New England he has been settled over various parishes. He always attended to duty, was decided in his opinions, and it was his nature to be active, kind and useful.

In numerous instances the audience were moved to tears, and all were impressed with the conviction that the community had lost a noble and true friend, and a man of exalted character.

The pall-bearers were Samuel Smith, C. J. F. Sherman, George P. Richardson, Jr., Henry S. Dalton, Samuel B. Krogman, and O. T. Taylor.

The hearse which bore his remains to their last resting-place in Mount Auburn, was draped with the national colors, and trimmed with rosettes of black and white, and drawn by four horses wearing heavy black plumes. A large number of mourners followed the remains to the grave, and dropped their tears over the sepulchre of this fallen patriot and philanthropist.
 
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https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=22324217

Birth: Jun. 17, 1841
Death: May 6, 1864
Virginia, USA
Expired Image Removed
"Capt. Co. A 16th Mass. Vol. Inf. Killed in the Battle of the Wilderness."

American Civil War Soldiers
Enlisted as a 1st Sergeant on 12 July 1861 at the age of 20.
Enlisted in Company F, 16th Infantry Regiment Massachusetts on 12 Jul 1861.
Promoted to Full 2nd Lieutenant on 10 Nov 1861.
Promoted to Full 1st Lieutenant on 11 Aug 1862.
Promoted to Full Captain on 4 May 1863.
Killed Company F, 16th Infantry Regiment Massachusetts on 6 May 1864 at Wilderness, VA.

22324217_120914033573.jpg
 
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=60686537

Birth: Jan. 29, 1828
Boston
Suffolk County
Massachusetts, USA

Death: Jun. 30, 1862
Glendale
Henrico County
Virginia, USA
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Wyman graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point, Class of 1850. He served in the US Regular Army as a First Lieutenant in the 1st US Artillery and resigned from the army on July 13, 1860.

Wounded in the arm and chest at the Battle of Glendale/Frayser's Farm on June 30, 1862, Wyman died, aged 34 years. He was a colonel of the 16th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.

"On arriving at the Cemetery the escort was formed on each side the street, outside the gate, and the hearse, with the Guard of Honor, mourners and officials, passed through the entrance to the chapel, the Second Regiment remaining outside the Cemetery for the purpose of firing the customary volley, the rules of the corporation forbidding this being done within the enclosure.
After the body had been carried into the chapel and the mourners and friends bad also entered, the impressive burial service of the Episcopal Church was read by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Eastburn. This occupied about half an hour, when the body was again placed in the hearse and the cortege was again reformed, and proceeded to the receiving tomb, the Brigade Band playing the Dead March.
On reaching the tomb the remains were placed on the bier in front, and William D. Coolidge, Esq, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, read the Masonic funeral service, after which Rev. T. J. Greenwood, of Maiden, the Grand Chaplain, addressed a few words of consolation to the afflicted relatives, and paid a high tribute to the bravery of the deceased and then made a prayer which closed the ceremonies. The body was then placed in the tomb, the volleys were fired by the escort, and the friends and relatives took their departure."
(The Freemason's monthly magazine, Volume 21 By Charles Whitlock Moore)

60686537_1418003545.jpg
 
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=14192398

Waldo Merriam

Birth: Feb. 23, 1839
Death: May 12, 1864
Spotsylvania County
Virginia, USA
Expired Image Removed
Civil War Union Army officer. He was Lieutenant Colonel and commander of the 16th Massachusetts Infantry. He was wounded at Gettysburg, and was mortally wounded during the 16th's assault on the Bloody Angle at Spotsylvania.

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http://www.horsesoldier.com/products/15793

FANTASTIC FRAMED COLLECTION OF ARTIFACTS IDENTIFIED TO TWO BROTHERS WHO SERVED IN THE 16TH MASSACHUSETTS INFANTRY

Items in the display which are identified to William Lyman are:

1. Red and white silk with tag: “Handkerchief – carried during the Civil War by William H. Lyman Co K 16th Regt.” Fair condition.

2. New Testament 1860 American Bible Society New York. Name, unit and “Watertown, Mass. Listed April 19, 1861” written on front page in pencil.

3. Identification disk/dog tag. Pewter with “Wm. H. Lyman/Co K/16t Reg./Mass V./WATERTOWN MASS” on one side. Reverse with “War of 1861” and battles “FAIR OAKS/7 DAYS BEFORE RICHMOND/BRISTOW STATION/BULL RUN/CHANTILLA [sic]/FREDERICKSBURG”, “ENGAGED IN THE ABOVE BATTLES” surrounded by a wreath. VF condition +.

4. Tintype 2 ½” x 4 ¼”. “W.H. LYMAN 16 MASS” scratched on front/bottom. Wears an enlistedman’s overcoat and kepi. Holding his musket with bayonet fixed in front. Nice photographer’s backdrop with tent & US flag.

5. Nearly full length seated CDV of William as a Corporal. Wearing a 4-button sack coat.

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Chaplain Arthur B. Fuller of 16th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.


View attachment 123437

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=22330332

Birth: Aug. 10, 1822
Cambridge
Middlesex County
Massachusetts, USA

Death: Dec. 11, 1862
Frederick County
Virginia, USA
Expired Image Removed
-Graduated Harvard College 1843
-Graduated Harvard Divinity School 1847
-Commissioned Chaplain of the 16th Massachusetts Volunteers August 1, 1861
-Killed at Fredericksburg, VA December 11, 1862
-"I must do something for my country"

See also: http://uudb.org/articles/arthurbuckminsterfuller.html

The life and heroic death of Chaplain Fuller is the subject of an 1864 biography of that title: https://archive.org/details/chaplainfullerbe00full

He had been discharged for ill health, but was still with the 16th at Fredericksburg, when he fell victim to rebel sharpshooters in the city.
 
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I have in my possession copies of articles from the Waltham Sentinel published on July 24 and 31, 1863, pertaining to Gettysburg. The former relates to the burial of brothers, Lt. George F. and Sgt. Charles L. Brown (variant spelling Browne), and the latter includes a private letter from Patrick Connelly. Connelly went back on the field after nightfall on July 2 and located several dead and wounded from his regiment, including Lt. George F. Brown (of Company B).

The Papers of W. H. Wheeler, Company C, 16th Massachusetts are in Special Collections at Duke University Libraries in Durham, NC.

Excerpts from the diary of Sgt. Charles L. Brown (of Company H) are on file at Gettysburg National Military Park, Greg Coco Collection, Box B-10 (from the Massachusetts Historical Society).

Some college alumni from among those in the regiment who served at Gettysburg:
-Charles Cogwell Jewett, Surgeon, present; Dartmouth College, graduated 1850
-Thomas Crozier, Assistant Surgeon, present; Harvard College, Medical School, 1863, M.D.
-Charles Robinson Johnson, Captain, F/16 MASS, mortally wounded, died 17 July; Harvard College, Scientific School, attended 1854
-Charles Edwin Brown, Private, K/16 MASS, wounded; Harvard College, 1856-1858
 
A circular countersigned by Lt. Joseph H Chase (16th Mass)
ChaseJosephH.jpg
AAG of William Blaisdell. He was wounded at 2nd Bull Run.
 
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A CDV and items of James Mansfield who was wounded at Gettysburg... he enlisted as a Sergeant and mustered out as a Lt. Colonel. The items are a pair of bone dice, five clay marbles, a minie ball, a musket ball and a collapsible cup in a Japanned tin case
JamesMansfield1.jpg
 
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0788456490/?tag=civilwartalkc-20


If I Am Alive Next Summer': The Civil War Letters of Captain Charles Robinson Johnson of the 16th Massachusetts Infantry

The authors resolved "that Johnson's story, which he took such care to record and which his family clearly took care to preserve, should be told," and their commitment to this work "was reinforced by the realisation that, inexplicably, there was virtually nothing published about his regiment, the 16th Massachusetts Infantry, despite its three-year hard-fighting record with the Army of the Potomac and its nickname, 'The Iron Sixteenth'." This is not a regimental history, since the subject of the book is Johnson; however, Johnson's story illustrates the career of the 16th and serves as a partial history of the regiment. Chapters include: The written legacy; Charles Robinson Johnson, his letters, and the "Iron Sixteenth;" A contemporary narrative of Johnson's service and death; Off to War; From Massachusetts to Fortress Monroe; Fortress Monroe, 1862; From the Peninsula to Suffolk; The Seven Days' Battles; Harrison's Landing and the 1862 Maryland Campaign; Burnside and Fredericksburg; 1863, to Chancellorsville; Gettysburg; After Gettysburg; and, Johnson's Civil War Souvenirs. Appendices include: Itineraries of Charles R. Johnson and the 16th Massachusetts; Roster of Company F, 16th Massachusetts Infantry; Extract from the Reports of the Adjutant-General for the State of Massachusetts for 1863 and 1864 giving a synopsis of the Service of the 16th Massachusetts Infantry during those years; Official reports of the Battle of Gettysburg relevant to the role of the 16th Massachusetts Infantry: (1) Report of Brig. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys, commanding 2nd Division, 3rd Corps, (2) Report of Brig. Gen. Joseph B. Carr, commanding 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 3rd Corps, (3) Report of Captain Matthew Donovan, 16th Massachusetts Infantry; Note on the Flags of the 16th Massachusetts Infantry; and, Newly-discovered letters. A foreword by William C. Davis, a wealth of photographs, illustrations and maps, a bibliography, and an index to full-names, places and subjects add to the value of this work.

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Excerpts from the diary of Sgt. Charles L. Brown (of Company H) are on file at Gettysburg National Military Park, Greg Coco Collection, Box B-10 (from the Massachusetts Historical Society).

Another Letter written by Brown is in the Civil War Times Illustrated Collection at USAHEC (formerly USAMHI). Another Letter from him I found for sale on an Auction House website (I did not buy).
 
A Unit Bibilography from USAHEC:

"U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center
950 Soldiers Drive
Carlisle Barracks, PA 17013-5021
17 Oct 2012


16th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment

Bowen, James L. Massachusetts in the War, 1861-1865. Springfield, MA: Clark W. Bryan, 1889.
pp. 264-731. E513.B78. (Brief history of the regiment.)

Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Vol. 2. Dayton, OH: Morningside,
1979. pp. 1253. E491.D992. (Concise summary of the regiment’s service.)

Fuller, Richard F. Chaplain Fuller, Being a Life Sketch of a New England Clergyman and Army
Chaplain. Boston: Walker, Wise, 1863. 342 p. E513.5.16th.F85.

McGrath, Thomas A. “The Browne Brothers: Killed at Gettysburg.” Gettysburg Magazine
pp. 101-08. E475.53.G482.no35

Massachusetts. AGO. Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Great Civil War. Vol. 2.
Norwood, MA: Norwood, 1931. pp. 214-69. E513.3.M32.v2.
Contains a roster of the regiment.

Our Photo Archive includes images of individuals of this unit.

The following personal papers are in the Institute's Manuscript Archive:
Regimental Papers - CWDocColl (Unidentified enlisted man's letter, Sep 22-23, 1861;
Another dated Sep 10, 1861)
Brown, Charles L. - CWTIColl (Copy of personal letter, Jan 1, 1863; Copies of service
records, 1861-64)
Johnson, Charles R. - HCWRTColl-GACColl (Captain's brief biography; Letters to wife, 1861-
63)
Johnson, Charles R. - PrinceColl (Enlisted man's letters, Oct 5 & Nov 28, 1861 & Dec 1862)
Landers, Thomas - CWDocColl (Enlisted man's letters, Apr 5 & May 21, 1862)
Tainter, George W. - CWTIColl (Enlisted man's letter, Apr 16, 1929; Personal reminiscences)
Worth, Alonzo K. - CWDocColl (Enlisted man's letters, Apr 25 & Dec 16, 1863; Diaries,
1863-64)"
 
Corporal William Gardner Gaylord, 16th Massachusetts Infantry, Co. B, was wounded in the head on August 30, 1862 at the battle of Second Bull Run. The medical details of his injury and the circumstances surrounding his death on September 5, 1862 were summarized in The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion (1861-65), page 202. The volume is available for free download at:

https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Medical_and_Surgical_History_of_the.html?id=kjVFAAAAcAAJ

Case.—Corporal Gardner Gaylord, Co. B. 16th Massachusetts Volunteers, was wounded at the battle of Bull Run,
Virginia, August 30th, 1862, by a conoidal ball which penetrated the cranium just above the right frontal eminence, causing a stellate fracture with cleanly cut edges. On September 1st he was admitted to the Judiciary Square Hospital, being perfectly conscious. All his functions remained normal; he was able to help himself and complained of no pain. On September 3d he became comatose, and died September 5th, 1862. At the autopsy the bull was found to have entered the anterior lobe of the right hemisphere, carrying with it fragments of bone and traversing the brain substance nearly the full extent of the hemisphere. At the point of entrance there was an abscess the size of a walnut, and the track of the ball was filled with pus. A small quantity was also found in the left ventricle. The case is reported by Surgeon Charles Page, U. S. A.

Corporal Gaylord's grave is at the United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery in Washington, DC.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32850740/william-gardner-gaylord/photo
 
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