Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil Wars

The Sixth NH Regiment had its rendezvous at Keene, NH in the months of November and December, 1861, and was mustered into the United States service Nov. 27-30.  Its camp was on the Cheshire county fair grounds, now Wheelock  park.  Presented here, are a few assorted transcribed newspaper clippings from the Keene Sentinel (the 5th oldest newspaper in continuous publication in America).

Quoting from the Keene Sentinel [September 26, 1861]:  "The Sixth.  The following appointments for this regiment have been made:  Colonel, Lt. Oscar A. Mack, of the regular army, a graduate of West Point, and a native of Gilsum; Lt. Colonel, Gen. Nelson Converse of Marlboro'; Major, Tileston A. Barker, of Company A, 2d New Hampshire regiment.  The regiment will rendezvous on the Fair Ground in Keene, it is now believed."

Quoting from the Keene Sentinel [Thursday, October 10, 1861]:  "The Sixth Regiment.—This Regiment is now ready for enlistment.  Col. Mack, who has seen hard service under General Rosecranz in Western Virginia, who graduated with honor at West Point, and who is a native of this county, is soon expected here to take command.  Lt. Col. Converse has also accepted his appointment, and his name with that of Col. Mack will be likely to secure a generous enlistment from 'Old Cheshire.'  George C. Starkweather of this town, has already twenty-five or more enrolled for the Sixth, and O. G. Dort has opened a recruiting office at his Drug store.  Mr. Dort held a commission in the 'Old Keene Light,' and we hope the country will have his services at this critical period of her history."

Quoting from the Keene Sentinel [November 11, 1861]:  "The Sixth Regiment.—This regiment is now about full, and the camp in this town is quite lively with soldiers.  The men enlisted by O. G. Dort of this town, and J. A. Cummings of Peterboro', have united and organized a company by the choice of O. G. Dort of Keene, Captain; John A. Cummings of Peterboro', 1st lieutenant; and George H. Muchmore of Keene, 2d lieutenant.  Mr. Starkweather's recruits will go into camp to-day, and others are daily expected.  The regimental officers are making every exertion for an immediate organization of the regiment.  The uniforms are to be furnished by Messrs.  Lincoln & Shaw of Concord, and the gun equipments and harnesses by S. S. Wilkinson of this town."

Quoting from the Keene Sentinel [November 21, 1861]:  "'Camp Brooks.'—We learn that the encampment of the Sixth Regiment, in this town, has been christened 'Camp Brooks,' in honor of our worthy Councillor [sic] from this District.  There are four companies in camp, under Capts. Dort, Starkweather, Clark, and Adams.  Several more are expected this week from the Eastern part of the State, and the tents are already pitched for their accommodation.  We notice Cols. Converse and Griffin, and Major Scott are indefatigable in their efforts to promote the comfort of the men, and Quartermaster Nute and assistants are dispensing 'the good things of life,' in the shape of rations, to the satisfaction of all.  The men are hardy, athletic fellows, and compare very favorably with those of other regiments from this state; and with the effective weapons (Sharp's Rifles) with which they are to be armed, will be found foemen worthy of the steel even of South Carolina chivalry.  The large building owned by the Agricultural Society is used as a depot for military stores and clothing, and the military store keeper,  J. B. Gove, Esq., will attend personally to the delivery of the stores to the troops.  The overcoats were made by Mr. Cook of Weare; the pants and frock coats by Lincoln & Shaw of Concord; blouses by B. F. Hale & Co., Newmarket; caps by Parmenter & Ham, Dover; shoes at the prison in Concord; and the equipments by S. S. Wilkinson of this town.  The Regiment is expected to remain in Camp Brooks for about three weeks, when they will leave for Dixie.  P. S.  Don H. Woodward, Esq., of this town, has been appointed Adjutant of this Regiment."

Quoting from the Keene Sentinel [September 11, 1862]:  "FROM THE 6th REGIMENT.  Colonel Gri[ffin]'s Report List of Killed and Wounded.  Correspondence of the N. H. Sentinel.  NATIONAL HOTEL, Washington, D. C., Sept. 5, 1862.}  Mr. Hale:—I hereby forward you Col. Griffin's report of his regiment in the late battle at Bull Run, together with a list of the killed, wounded and missing from the same regiment.—The list can hardly be expected to be entirely correct, yet it is the best we can do at present.—Our dead, and doubtless many of our wounded, lay on the field in the hands of the rebels from Friday afternoon till Monday.  We then went to look for them under a flag of truce,  It was but a melancholy satisfaction.  Some bodies were identified; others could not be with certainty, as they were stripped of their clothing and otherwise changed.  Our hope is that many whom we have counted amongst the dead and missing will be found to be taken prisoners.  Still this seems like hoping against hope when we consider with what intrepid determination our men, for the most part, fought.  So far as the contest was in any degree fair for their side, they preferred death to being captured.  If any developments are hereafter made that materially affect the character of this list, you will be apprised of the same at our earliest convenience.  Truly yours, J. A. HAMILTON.  P. S.  It is due to Col. Griffin to say that he bore with his own hands the colors from the field, the bearer of them having fallen.  J. A. [H.?]

"Col. Griffin's Report.  Headquarters 6th N. H. V., Battle-field of Bull Run, Aug. 30.}  Lieut. J. D. Batolett, A. A. Adj't General 1st Brigade, 2d Div., 9th Army Corps:—I have the honor to report to you that yesterday afternoon, while halting upon the field, I received orders to form my regiment in brigade line, with the 2d Maryland on our right and the 48th Pennsylvania on our left.  This being done, at about 3 o'clock the three regiments advanced in line of battle upon the enemy, who were posted in a thick wood on the west side of the old battle-field of Bull Run.  Arriving near the edge of the woods, we halted a moment to deploy skirmishers, and the moved forward, with directions from Gen. Reno to 'clear those woods.'  Immediately upon enter-[ing] the woods we received a sharp fire, which was returned with spirit, and our men advanced steadily and with the greatest coolness and bravery.—The 48th Pennsylvania, instead of advancing on our left in the woods, made an oblique movement to the right, and followed in our rear, leaving our left flank entirely exposed.  At the distance of some five or six hundred yards from the edge of the woods, directly in our front, was a ditch or railroad excavation, from which the enemy poured in upon us a most destructive fire.  Notwithstanding this our men advanced upon them with the most heroic bravery, drove them from the ditch, and advanced some fifty yards beyond.  At this point a terrific fire was opened upon our left flank and rear.  It being impossible to see any distance or for any order to reach me, I sent to ascertain from whom the fire came, and also the position of the 2d Maryland our right, whose fire I no longer heard.  Learning that we had advanced farther than the 2d Maryland and that the enemy were pressing our left flank and rear in superior numbers, and finding we were receiving a destructive fire from three sides and our retreat likely to be cut off, I ordered my men to move out by the right flank at double quick, which was done.—They rallied and re-formed in the rear of Gen. Robinson's brigade, which had just entered the woods for the purpose of supporting us. 

"No troops could behave more nobly, no soldiers more bravely, than did the officers and soldiers under my command.  Of 500 officers and men, in round numbers, who went into the fight, we lost in killed 29, wounded 113, missing 68; total, 210.  Most of our missing are from companies A and D, who occupied our left and suffered more severely than any other many of them, no doubt, being killed, or wounded and taken prisoners.  Of twenty officers who went into the fight we have lost in killed 4 Lieutenants; wounded, 2 Captains and 5 Lieutenants; prisoners, Adj't Bixby and 1 Lieutenant—total, 13.  A complete list of the killed and wounded will be forwarded as soon as it can be correctly made out.  With great respect, I have the honor to be Your ob't serv't, S. G. Griffin, Col. 6th N. H. V.

"List of Killed, Wounded and Missing.  Co. A—Serg't Geo. W. Craig, private Wm. R. Swazey, killed; Sarg't J. D. Sanborn, privates B. P. Downing, W. W. Farmer, N. T. Hackett, B. A. Beckworth, F. D. Hodgman, T. C. Peaslee.  B. F. Pierce, G. Coffin, R. P. Petty, H. E. Chapman, W. H. Tupper, A. Rollins, wounded; Corp'ls O. P. Annis and F. M. Flanders, privates E. A. Foss, S. Dustin, M. D. Tirrell, T. Towbine, J. B. Smith, W. W. Haniman, missing. 

"Co. B—Corp'ls W. H. Talbot and Martin Preston, privates Geo. P. Brown, Moses P. Bemis, Hamilton Dodge, James C. Lee, Geo. W. Hill, J. G. Powers, George B. Messer, killed; Lieut. L. Jackman, privates Geo. Noyes, Chas. P. Patten, E. Rowe, M. Squieres, F. T. Underhill, Anthony Welch, Henry Moody, wounded; C. T. Blanchard, Sumner Hardy, Geo. Austin, missing.  Co. C—Privates J. L. Addison, J. [missing text]. Quimby, killed; Capt. H. H. Pearson, Corp'l R. F. Morgan, privates [missing text] Bowley, T. Caswell, L. E. Morrill, Morris Redden, W. W. Caswell, S. S. Hodgman, M. Dow, wounded; privates F. Corceran, A. G. Davis, W. Doody, E. Mash, Daniel Riley, Wm. Ryan, John Doody, missing.

"Co. D—Privates A. Thurston, M. Robinson, killed; Lieut. A. W. Hayes, Corp'l J. D. Sias, privates L. Babb, H. G. Blaisdell, Alonzo Downing, John Canney, J. A. Curtis, John Hamilton, W. H. Ham, W. E. Tucker, Daniel P. Grant, N. B. Burleigh, Eliphalet Clough, wounded; Lieut. J. D. Prescott, Serg'ts R. T. Brown and W. H. Hanson, Corp'ls I. M. Blaisdell and John G. Brown, privates C. B. Vittemer, D. L. Wentworth, J. F. Hutchinson, C. H. Hutchinson, Frank Davis, C. H. Tasker, John A. Nute, Sewell McDaniels, Chas. Fagette, John Ceavey, W. W. Mead, O. W. Hawkins, Hiram French, W. H. Palmer, Horace Seeggell, G. H. Willie, missing.  Co. E—Lieut. Geo. H. Muchmore, Serg't I. P. McMaster, privates W. Pike and H. McDonald, killed; Serg't J. S. Smith, Corp'l John Stevens, privates M. K. Ames, Wm. Beal, G. H. Smith, H. A. Jones, D. R. Keyes, J. H. Monkes, A. F. Nutting, J. H. Smith, P. H. Curtin, wounded; privates D. A. Cram and H. Flint, missing.

"Co. F—Privates Thomas Burns and A. H. Stover, killed; Lieut. John S. Adams, Serg'ts L. W. Darling and John Starkey, privates Calvin Bailey, Anthony Demore, S. E. Douglass, H. A. Farnum, A. B. Fisk, John Hayes, O. L. Nash, Frank Pierce, O. W. Farnum, H. B. Palmer, wounded; Corp'l John A. Breed, privates E. M. Buffum, Joseph Cross, E. F. Gates, Lucius Whitcomb, missing.  Co. G—Lieut. T. K. Ames, private B. D. Foster, killed; Corp'l S. P. Bancroft, privates H. C. Flagg, James A. Chase, Wm. Delano, R. S. Derby, D. E. Hales, N. B. Tobine, J. Trow, H. P. Whittaker, O. M. Heath, I. M. Kelley, E. A. Barrell, wounded; privates E. Corcoran, S. R. Dickeman, Philip Harding, E. B. True, missing.  Co. H—Lieut. Charles L. Fuller, killed; Serg't Alden B. Cook, privates John W. Bolo, Moses W. Cook, Oliver Fremont, Jas. Goodwin, Thos. Knott, Wm. H. Redding, Levi Willard, Joseph H. Mix, Franklin Valley, Jas. McKane, wounded; privates James F. Walker, J. G. Butler, G. W. Ellis, Patrick McSorely, E. M. Canney, missing. 

"Co. I—Lieut. T. T. Moore, killed; Capt. R. L. Ela, Corp'l E. D. Hastings, privates Chas. Cochran, J. P. B. Pope, A. L. Simond, W. H. Horner, Andrew Simond, wounded; Serg't H. J. Griffin, privates C. T. Molton and P. W. Doyle, missing.  Co. K—Serg't J. Clapp, privates J. Reynolds, Wm. Mansor, John W. Hastings, killed; Serg't Charles H. Hall, Corp'ls George W. Osgood, W. B. Frissell, and Patrick Ready, privates C. P. Wood, George W. Stevens, George A. Whitney, George M. Cram, George W. P. Wythe, S. H. Howard, A. B. Shedd, Joseph Shedd, L. P. Wellington, wounded; Corp'l John D. Tyler, privates H. Taggart, A. O. Cutter, W. Sweat, N. Smith, Isaac Houston, missing.  Staff officer missing, Adj't P. P. Bixby."

Quoting from the Keene Sentinel [September 25, 1862]:  "Losses in the 6th Regiment.—The killed, wounded and missing in the 6th N. H. Regiment in the battle of Sharpsburg, Sept. 17th, were as follows:—Killed, 4; wounded, 13; missing, 1;—total, 18.  Among the killed, we notice with regret, Sergeant Howard Rand, of Rindge.  He was a student in Dartmouth College at the time of enlisting, and was very highly esteemed among his acquaintances.  The following is the full list of casualties as furnished us by a reliable correspondent.  Killed—Privates D. H. Fiske, Co. F; S. C. Waters, Co. F; Ezra C. Graves, Co. H; Serg't Howard Rang, Co. K.  Wounded—Privates Hollis K. Way, Co. A; Frank Atwood, Co. D; Corp. A. S. Verder, Co. E; Privates John Brackett, Co. E; A. S. Rawson, Co. G; Wiliam [sic] A. Whitcomb, Co. G; Corp. Alphonzo Pinkham, Co. H; Privates Jas. Kneeland, Co. H; Sam'l C. Roe, Co. H; John Garrety, Co. H; Corp. Geo. W. Sherburn, Co. I; Privates L. E. Richardson, Co. K; Melvin Bowers, Co. K.  Missing—Private S. O. Woodbury, Co. G.

"In the battle of the 17th the 6th N. H. and the 2d Maryland led the advance in the left wing of the army.  The enemy held a strong position de[f]ending a stone bridge across Antietam creek.  These two regiments charged the bridge together, led by their respective commanders, but the fire was so sharp they were obliged to cover themselves for a time behind the fences and trees and pour in their fire of musketry, which they did with telling effect, losing no ground but holding all they had gained.  Other regiments were brought up to assist, and the charge was renewed, the 6th N. H. going over with the others all in gallant style."

Quoting from the Keene Sentinel [October 2, 1862]:  "Major Dort of the 6th N. H. regiment, has resigned his commission on account of ill health. He is expected home immediately, where we have no doubt he will be cordially welcomed."

Quoting from the Keene Sentinel [November 20, 1862]:  "The Sixth Regiment.—Lt. Col. Scott and Major Dort having resigned, Captain Pearson has been promoted to the rank of Lt. Colonel and Adjutant P. P. Bixby to that of Major."