Bristol County, Massachusetts - Chapter 3: The County in the Wars, 1924

Up to the year 1685 there was no Bristol county; it was the New Plymouth, or Old Colony, as yet, with the towns and a people in the making, though it must be through the severities of a war, that of King Philip. Not a town within the bounds of this colony but was forced to share in that conflict, and the companies or parts of companies that entered into any of the battles or skirmishes, as we might call them today, were the nucleus, or heralds, rather, of all Bristol county regiments to come. 'The essential story of the King Philip War has been recounted in the narrative of the Indian occupancy of this territory. It but remains to restate the fact that the hostilities that lasted but a year, 1675-1676, resulted in the triumph of the new-comers, and the departure of the Indians from power. General Josiah Winslow, son of Edward Winslow of the "Mayflower," was in charge of the Colonists' army throughout New England, and General James Cudworth directed the general plan of the battles hereabouts.

Before and During the Revolution. - It now became vitally the interest of the colonists in this section, as well as everywhere else throughout New England, to maintain their lands and their homes, and during the King William, the Queen Anne and the frontier wars of whatever name, the hamlets of this county were represented by their soldiery. The Old Colony and the town records assure us of that fact. These chief military names lead the march from colony to county at this period - Josiah Winslow, James Walley, Benjamin Church, Nathaniel Byfield, James Cudworth, Job Almy.

1685, by the coalition of these towns: Taunton, Swansea, Rehoboth, Freetown, Dartmouth, Bristol and Little Compton. Then it was that the military companies of these towns were for the first time organized into a regiment, designated as the Third Regiment of the County of Bristol, with Major John Walley in command, he being succeeded by Benjamin Church of Little Compton. To this regiment was attached a military watch and alarm in 1706. Nathaniel Byfield succeeded Benjamin Church as colonel, and he was succeeded by Job Almy of Tiverton. Again, some time before the year 1739, as the towns in Bristol county had increased in numbers, the First Regiment of the county was subdivided into regiments known as the First, Second and Third regiments.

The general indignation against the Boston Port Bill in 1774 was given local expression to when Bristol county delegates met at the court-house, September 28 and 29 that year, to consult upon proper measures to be taken at the impending crisis. Delegates were present from. Taunton, Dartmouth, Rehoboth, Freetown, Dighton, Swansea, Norton, Mansfield, Raynham, Berkley and Easton. The resolutions adopted at that time proved that the county was ready to "defend our natural and compacted rights." Patriotic ardor flamed and rose, and patriotic forces gathered and obeyed marching and fighting orders. Forthwith, no brigade of soldiers in New England was more loyal and efficient in the Continental cause than the Bristol Brigade of Massachusetts. It was organized in February, 1776, and consisted of four regiments, as follows: First, Colonel Thomas Carpenter, of Rehoboth; Second, Colonel Edward Pope, of Dartmouth; Third, Colonel George Williams, of Taunton; Fourth, Colonel George Daggett, of Attleboro. The field officers of that brigade were: George Williams, colonel; Zeph Leonard, lieutenant-colonel; Abiel Mitchell, first major; James Williams, jr., second major; William Sever, adjutant. Companies from the brigade served in this State, in New York, Rhode Island, and elsewhere, in many campaigns of the Revolution. The brigade was loyal to the government in the Shays Rebellion and in the 1812 war.

In the Civil War. - The voice of the county was heard in protest to the claims of the South, when civil war threatened in April, 1861. In turn had the towns of the county risen against the natives of Massachusetts; against the recreant Fatherland; and now it was brother against brother. And so it was these regiments that represented the county in the general Northern remonstrance:

The Third Regiment, three months troops, was made up of men from Bristol, Plymouth and Norfolk counties, the field officers being: Colonel David W. Wardrop; Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Raymond; Major John H. Jennings; Adjutant Austin S$. Cushman; Quartermaster Edward D. Allen; Surgeon Alexander R. Holmes; Assistant Surgeon Johnson Clark; Sergeant- Major A. C. Maggi; Quartermaster-Sergeant F. S. Gifford. Two companies were from this county: Company D, from Freetown, the "Assonet Light Infantry," Captain John W. Marble, H. A. Francis and John M. Dean, lieutenants; and the "New Bedford City Guards,' Captain Timothy Ingraham, and Lieutenants James Barton and A. $. Cushman. The regiment left Boston for Fortress Monroe, April 17, 1861, and was mustered out June 26, 1863, having participated in the battles of Kingston, Whitehall,

The Fourth Regiment, upon the original call for three months men, left Boston April 17, 1861, under command of Captain A. B. Packard, of Quincy, and arrived at Fortress Monroe on the 20th. In August, 1862, the regiment re-enlisted for nine months. It shared in the assault on Port Hudson, where Captain W. H. Bartlett of Taunton was killed, June 14.. With a loss of about 125 men, the regiment was mustered out of service April 28, 1863. Company G, Captain Timothy Gordon, of Taunton, was of this regiment.

The Seventh Massachusetts was one of the few regiments composed entirely of Bristol county men, and was recruited by Colonel (later Majorgeneral) Darius N. Couch, and the official list was entirely of men from Bristol county cities and towns. The regiment was mustered into the service June 15, 1861. At Camp Brightwood it was assigned to a brigade composed of the Thirty-sixth New York, the Second Rhode Island and the Tenth Massachusetts Volunteers. The chief battles in which the regiment participated were those of Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Bull Run, Fredericks- | burg, Marye's Heights, Rappahannock Station, Mine Run, the Wilderness. The regiment was mustered out of service June 14, 1864. The surviving members formed an association that meets, usually in Taunton, June 15 each year.

The Eighteenth Regiment was recruited largely from Bristol, Norfolk and Plymouth counties, and was mustered into the service August 27, 1861, under command of Colonel James Barnes. It participated in the battles of Gaines' Mills, Second Bull Run, Shepardstown, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Rappahannock Station, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg and Weldon Railroad. The regiment was mustered out September 2, 1864, and those whose term of service had not expired were transferred to the Thirty-second Regiment.

The Twenty-third Regiment had but a few men from this county. It was mustered into the service November 11, 1861. Forming a part of the Burnside Expedition, it shared in the following battles: Roanoke, New Berne, Rawle's Mills, Kingston, Whitehall, Goldsboro, Wilcox's Bridge, Winton, Smithfield, Heckman's Farm, Arrowfield Church, Drury's Bluff, Cold Harbor and the other battles before Richmond, and Kingston, Second Bull Run. It was mustered out of service September 14, 1864. The remustered men and recruits remained in the service under the same designation until June 25, 1865.

The Thirty-eighth Regiment went into the service August 24, 1862, and was mustered out June 30, 1865. Company H of this regiment was recruited in the southeastern part of the county, chiefly from New Bedford, Dartmouth and Westport. The regiment shared the battles of Cane River, Mansura, Port Hudson, Opequan, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek.

The Thirty-ninth Regiment went into the service September 4, 1862, and was mustered out June 2, 1865. Company F, from Taunton, was the one company from Bristol county, and participated in these engagements: Mine Run, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Tolopotomy, Beth-

The Fortieth Regiment had one company from Bristol county, chiefly from Attleboro, namely, Company H. The regiment entered the service September 5, i862, and was mustered out June 16, 1865.

The Forty-seventh, a nine months regiment, had Company C from Attleboro, Captain L. T. Starkey, and Company D from New Bedford, Captain A. S. Cushman. It went into the service November 29, 1862, and was mustered out September 1, 1863.

The Fifty-eighth Regiment left for the front April 28, 1864, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel John C. Whiton, There were several companies from this county. in the regiment, which joined the Army of the Potomac.

The Spanish-American War. - After the war for the freedom of States came the war with Spain, that is sometimes designated as the war for the freedom of dependent states. With her quota of men, money and munitions, then, Bristol county offered her help as she had done in all battles for Liberty. War was declared April 15, 1898, and at that time the enrolled militia of the county of persons between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years and liable to military duty was 36,443, the cities and towns of the county providing men as follows: Attleboro, 1924; Fall River, 14,119; New Bedford, 10,418; Taunton, 4487; Acushnet, 148; Berkley, 117; Dartmouth, 472; Dighton, 163; Easton, 662; Fairhaven, 571; Freetown, 168; Mansfield, 570; North Attleboro, 1007; Norton, 284; Raynham, 192; Rehoboth, 228; Seekonk, 140; Somerset, 209; Swansea, 217; Westport, 355. The county was represented in the Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, the Massachusetts Naval Brigade, Unattached, and the Massachusetts Fifth Regiment of Infantry.

The First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, Colonel Charles Pfaff commanding, was composed of twelve batteries, the Bristol county batteries being; Battery E, of New Bedford, Captain Joseph L. Gibbs; First Lieutenant H. C. Wing. Battery F, of Taunton, Captain Norris O. Danforth of Taunton; First Lieutenant Ferdinand H. Phillips of Taunton; Second Lieutenant William J. Meek of Fall River. Battery M of Fall River, Captain Sierra L. Braley of Fall River; First Lieutenant David Fuller of Fall River; Second Lieutenant Frederick W. Harrison of Fall River. Also, of the Fifth Regiment of Infantry, Company I of Attleboro, Captain George H. Sykes, First Lieutenant Charles A. Richardson, Second Lieutenant Edward P. Coleman, all of Attleboro.

The Massachusetts Naval Brigade, with twelve companies in service, was represented in this county by the following named companies: Company F, of Fall River, Lieutenant, chief of company, George R. H. Buffington, of Fall River; Lieutenant, junior grade, William H. Beattie, Fall River; Ensign Charles N. Borden, Fall River. Company G, New Bedford, Lieutenant, chief of company, George N. Gardiner, of New Bedford; Lieutenant, junior grade, A. Ernest Thomas, of New Bedford; Ensign Albert N. Pierce, of New Bedford. Company I, of Fall River; Lieutenant, chief of company, William B. Edgar, of Fall River; Lieutenant, junior grade, Richard F. Borden, of Fall River; Ensign George W. Palmer, of Fall River.

In the World War. - From boundary town to boundary town the county made its response to the national call for aid in the World Cause in 1917, and the captains and kings that departed with their regiments were captains and kings indeed, even though of the rank and file. Their record, retold more fully in the history of the cities of the county, equals in patriotism and daring that of the members of any county military group, wherever found. By means of the admirable thoroughness of the office of the Massachusetts Adjutant General, Jesse F. Stevens, this work presents its authentic survey of the military contingents that represented the county during the World War period.

Up to the year 1923, no figures had been prepared to show accurately the number of persons entering the service from Bristol county. However, the entire State furnished approximately two hundred thousand, including Army, Navy and Marine Corps, which, based upon the population as shown by the United States census returns of 1920, and assuming that Bristol county furnished men in the same proportion to the population, would credit the county with 18,638. Of this number, approximately seventy-five per cent were in the army.

In Bristol county, the following units of the Massachusetts National Guard had their headquarters, thus: Fourth Company, C. A. C., at New Bedford; Ninth Company, C. A. C., at Taunton; Twelfth Company, C. A. C., at Fall River; Company I, Fifth Infantry, at Attleboro. These units were called into United States service July 25, 1917, and on August 5, 1917, under authority of an Act of Congress dated May 18, 1917, were drafted into Federal service, which automatically discharged the individual members of the units from their status as National Guard.

At the time these units were called out, the Fourth Company, C. A. C., was commanded by Captain John A. Stitt, the other company officers being: First Lieutenant William E. James, and Second Lieutenant Clifford B. Kilburn. The officers of the Ninth Company, C. A. C., were Captain Frank A. D. Bullard, First Lieutenant Edwin G. Hopkins, and Second Lieutenant Leo H. Coughlin. The Twelfth Company, C. A. C., was officered by Captain Thomas J. Clifford, and First Lieutenant Harold N. Gunn. In August, 1917, the designation of Fourth Company was changed to Nineteenth Company, and subsequently became Battery D, Fifty-fifth Artillery, C. A. C. The Ninth Company was designated Twenty-fourth Company, and on November 14, 1917, was disbanded, the records being preserved by the Fourteenth Company, C. A. C., U. S. A., Fort Heath, Boston. The Twelfth Company was redesignated Twenty-seventh Company, and disbanded November 13, 1917, the records being preserved by the Fifteenth Company, C. A. C., U. S. A., Fort Andrews, Boston. Company I, Fifth Infantry, was officered by Captain Thomas F. Williams, First Lieutenant Charles T. Crossman, and Second Lieutenant Henry Neval. Late in August, 1917, fifteen of its enlisted men were transferred to Company I of the Ninth Regiment, Massachusetts Infantry, which then became Company I, 10lst United States Infantry. The remainder of Company I, Fifth Infantry, after being recruited to full strength, was redesignated as a part of the Third Pioneer Infantry Corps Troops. ) the Reserve Corps, were not credited to any county or other particular section, as the members were taken without regard to their residence. Such other units were as follows: Fifth Deck Division (Company F, Naval Brigade), Massachusetts Naval Militia, with headquarters at Fall River, and officered by Lieutenant John W. Flannery, Lieutenant (J. G.) Franklin H. Richardson, and Ensign Edward Korzeneski. Sixth Deck Division (Company G, Naval Brigade), Massachusetts Naval Militia, with headquarters at New Bedford, and officered by Lieutenant Homer J. Parent, Lieutenant (J. G.) John S. Silvia, and Ensign Andrew N. Bruckshaw. Eighth Deck Division (Company I, Naval Brigade), Massachusetts Naval Militia, with headquarters at Fall River, and officered by Lieutenant Clinton M. Smith, Lieutenant (J. G.) Charles A. MacDonald, and Ensign Richard F. Whitehead.