Norwalk After Two Hundred & Fifty Years

citement was running very high while the quoto to serve three months was being filled and, in fact, did not abate much during the four years of the war. In Au- gust, 1862, again men were needed badly by the govern- ment and to~ encourage enlistments another of Nor- walk's citizens came to the front and to fill the ranks of Company F, 17th Conn. Regt., which was named after him, he offered every man $25. This was Legrand Lockwood, another noble man who never forgot the men who went at their country's bidding. Even to the time of his death he remembered them, and would do all he could to help any worthy soldier. When the war broke upon us we were not prepared for it in many ways. The state did not have arms to arm its troops and did not have clothing and equipments for the men who were flocking to Hartford and New Haven, and to procure these needed supplies required a large amount of money, which the treasury of the state did not possess at that time, and among the banks of the state which were first to offer a loan to the state was the old Fairfield County Bank, which offered to the Governor $30,000 to arm and equip the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Regiments, then being form- ed., these being the Regiments called for three months' service and then flocking to New Haven and Hartford. There were a great many people at that time who thought the war would not last over three months, and in fact some of the men who had enlisted and had not been assigned to any Regiment thought there would be no use for them and many went back to their homes. But that was not to be, as was shown during the four awful years that followed. Space and time will not al- low us to give the names of all those who went at their country's call and, Oh, how many have not come back to those whom they loved. We still see the evidence of that awful war about us. We have many of the wid- ows yet in their mourning for the one who never re- turned, and we still see the aged men with an empty sleeve or upon crutches, but as the years pass by all of these grow less, and in a few years the soldiers of the war of 1861 to 1865 will have passed over to the great army who hold the advance, and are now at peace. Be- fore we begin to enumerate those who gave their ser- vices to their country we want to say that when the war was ended and the men came home, those factories and places of employment from which so many of us went, were open to us, especially the Norwalk Lock Co., from 199 which factory a large number enlisted, and as soon as the war was ended and the men came home they found places for all of their old help, and so, in every place in Norwalk from which men enlisted. Among those from Norwalk who were first to offer their services to the Government were Hon. Orris S. Ferry, at that time our member of Congress and Hon. A. H. Ryington, (who was always a good friend to the soldiers, especially the boys from Norwalk.) These two of Norvvalk's citizens were in Washington, D. C, when the war broke upon us and both of whom enlisted in the Cassius M. Clay Guard, in Washington, D. C, which organization patroled the streets of Washington until relieved by the troops from the North. The ist Conn. Regiment was the first to receive any men from Norwalk. We find that the first to enlist to the credit of old Norwalk were Theodore Benedict, Thomas D. Brown, Geo. D. Keeler, Thomas Hooton, Morris Kransynky, Wm. C. Murphy, James Reed and Howard Wheeler. These eight men were Norwalk's representatives in the ist Conn. Vols, in the 2nd Conn. Inf. There was but one man from our town that we find anv record of, Samuel C. Barnum. Then comes the 3rd Conn. Inf., on April 24th, 1861, Co. G, of this Regi- ment was enlisted and excepting one man, were all from Norwalk. The officers of this company were Capt. Douglas Fowler, ist Lieut. Gilbert Bogart, 2nd Lieut. Stephen D. Byxbee, ist Sergt. James L. Russell. In this company were seventy-eight enlisted men from our town. To David O'Connor of this company is the honor due of being the first soldier from the town of Norwalk who was confined in Libby Prison, he being captured at the Brttle of Bull Run, July 21st, 1861, being confined in prison ten months. The Battle of Bull Run having been fought and lost to the Federals, the President on May 3rd, 1861, called for 42,000 men to serve three years, or during the war. Our state was called upon to furnish but one Regiment, and in that Regiment were twenty-five men from our town. Among these was Moses A. Hill, (brother of our present Congressman) who afterward was promoted to a captaincy and served with credit on the staff of Gen. Burnside. On May 4th, 1861, the President called again for 75,000 men to serve three years or during the war. The 5th or Colt's Regiment, being the first Regiment to organize under this call. In this Regiment were from 200 Norwalk, Col. Orris S. Ferry, Chaplain Geo. W. Lash- er, Capt. Alfred A.Chinnery, Lieut. Chas. A. Reynolds, Lieut. Stiles G. Hyatt, now of New York, Lieut. Geo. F. Selleck, now of Bethany, Conn. In this Regiment were fifty-four enlisted men from Norwalk. Nathaniel S. Wheeler of Co. E, of this Regiment, was the first enlisted man from the town of Norwalk, who died in the service, he having died August 28th, 1861, at Sandy Hook, near Harper's Ferry, Va. At Battle of Cedar Mountain. Va., on August 9th, 1862, the first blood of Norwalk was poured out. In this battle, Color Sergt. Elijah B. Jones, Corp. Oliver S. Brady, Private Owen Murphy, all of Norwalk, were killed. Sergt. Wm. A. Ambler, wounded. We believe these to be the first of Norwalk's citizens to fall in the Civil War. The Regi- ment to follow the 5th was the 6th Regiment, Infantry, in which were fifty-two men credited to Norwalk. Most of these joined the Regiment in 1863, as recruits. Then followed the 7th Regiment, in which we sent twenty- four enlisted men and Lieut. Thomas Hooton, who was killed on James Island, June 16th, 1862. Among those who were killed or died of wounds in this Regiment, were lames L. Allen, Oscar Smith, Theodore B. Bene- dict and John T. Byxbee. In the fall of 1861, October 17th, the 8th Regiment, Conn. Infantry, left the state and had among its officers and men, Lieut. Col. P. L. Cunningham, Chaplain J. J. Wooley, who was at that time pastor of the First M. E. Church, South Norwalk, Capt. Douglas Fowler, Capt. James L. Russell, Lieut. M. L. Pelham, Lieut. Thos. S. Weed, Lieut. Justus T. Crosby, Lieut. Anthony R. Can- field. In this Regiment we had from Norwalk forty- eight enlisted men. M. S. Lyon died March 4, 1864; John Cockfer died August 11, T863 ; Stephen H. Ferris died February 18, 1862: Chas. E. Merrill died September 13, 1863; Peter Monehan died February 24, 1866; Peter Pound died January 7, 1862; Henry C. Taylor died April 29, 1862; Thomas E. Richmond killed June 3, 1864. In the 9th Regiment which followed immediately af- ter the 8th, there were but two men from Norwalk. In the 10th Regiment we sent fourteen men. In the utli Regiment we were represented by four of our citizens. The 1 2th Regiment, Company E, had thirty-nine of its members from Norwalk. The officers of this Company were Capt. Stephen D. Byxbee, 1st Lieut. Gilbert Bo- 201 gart, 2nd Lieut. Joseph P. Crossman. Among those who died or were killed, from Norwalk, were Stanton Babcock, killed June 23, 1863 ; Sergt. Henry M. Prowitt, Corp. Samuel Clark, Sergt. George Maculess, killed June 10, 1863 ; Wm. B. Hurd, James L. Brundage, Hen- ry Vanderbilt, John Youngs. The 13th Regiment did not leave the state until the spring of 1862, and had to the credit of Norwalk fourteen of its members. The 14th Regiment was the first Regi- ment under the call of the President on July 1st, 1862. In this Regiment we find we had twenty-four men, who helped to make a record second to none for the soldiers of Norwalk. In the 15th we had three men; the 16th had none from Norwalk. The 17th Infantry was a Fair- field County Regiment and in it was two whole com- panies and in several of the companies were men who were counted upon as being the quoto of Norwalk. Co. A had for its officers, Capt. Douglas Fowler, 1st Lieut. John McQuhae, 2nd Lieut. John W. Craw, 2nd Lieut. C. Fred Betts. Company F had for its officers Capt. Enoch Wood, Capt. Henrv Allen, Capt. C Fred Betts, 1st Lieut. Wm. S. Knapp, 2nd. Lieuts. Wm. A. Kellogg, Chas. E. Doty, Geo. W. Shaw. Norwalk had to its credit in this Regi- ment 198 enlisted men. Among them who gave their lives for their country in this Regiment were Lieut. Col. Douglas Fowler, Lieut. Col. Albert H. Wilcoxson, Sergt. Edwin R. Smith, Corpls. Thomas D. Brown, James Watervvorth, Wm. W. Westlake; Privates Henry H. Aiken, Geo. B. Hendrick, John W. Jackson, Calvin Nobles, Geo. (). Tuttle, Henry Burns, Joseph H. Arm- strong, Lewis Arnold, Nelson Beach, John W. Metcalf and William Smedley. In the 18th and 20th Regiments we find none to the ci edit of our own town. In the 21st we were represent- ed by Dr. James E. Barbour. In the 22nd Regiment Norwalk was not represented. This was the last of the White Regiments for three years' service. November 17th, 1862, the 23rd Regiment, the first of the six Regi- ments for nine months' service, left New Haven for New Orleans. Norwalk had but two men in this Regiment. In the 24th, 25th and 26th we had none. In the 27th we had fourteen men. Among their dead we find from Norwalk, Wm. L. Bodwell, killed at Gettysburgh ; Wil- bur Nash, killed at Fredricksburgh. The 28th Regiment was the last of the Regiments for nine months' service. 202 This Regiment left New Haven November 19th, 1862. In this Regiment we were well represented, Co. G being nearly all men from Norwalk. The officers were Capt. Theodore L. Beckwith, 1st Lieut. Wm. Mitchell, 2nd Lieut. Henry Ayres and sixty-nine enlisted men Among those who gave their lives were George Beers, Benjamin F. Hanford, Thomas F. Dovvd and John Roach.