i

THE STORY
OF THE
Thirty-Second Regiment
MASSACHUSETTS INFANTRY.
WHENCE IT CAME; WHERE IT WENT; WHAT IT SAW;
AND WHAT IT DID.
By FRANCIS J. PARKER, Colonel.


BOSTON:
C. W. CALKINS & CO., PUBLISHERS.
1880.

ii

C. W. CALKINS & CO., Printers,
286 Washington St., Boston.

iii

TO THE OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS
OF THE
THIRTY-SECOND MASSACHUSETTS,
IN MEMORY OF THE DEAD
AND
IN HONOR OF THE LIVING.

iv

v

ERRATUM.

On page 3, twelfth line, for “Brevet Brigadier-General,” read“Colonel.” Colonel Prescott was never breveted.vivii

PREFACE.

THIS book is not a history of the civil war, nor evenof the Army of the Potomac; but merely the story of oneof the regiments which composed that Army. It does notrelate the biography of the many distinguished generalsunder whose command the battalion served, and theendeavor has been made to exclude from it not only discussionsas to the merits of individuals, but even favorableor unfavorable opinions, save when the facts relatedimplied or seemed to require such reflections.

The book is intended chiefly to collect and present innarrative form, descriptions of some of the experiences ofour Regiment, in order to preserve them in the memory ofthose who were actors in the scenes described, and enablethe officers and men of the 32d to place in the hands oftheir children and friends vivid pictures of the dangers,trials, and pleasures which attended the service of oursoldiers in the war for the Union.

In the preparation of the book, I have received, andgratefully acknowledge, the assistance of many of my oldcomrades, officers, and men, not only by way of incidentsrelated verbally, but also—and this especially concerningevents which occurred after my own resignation—by wayof written contributions. Many of these are embodied inthe text almost in the language of the writers, and othersin a more or less condensed form. Among those to whomI am thus indebted should be particularly named GeneralviiiLuther Stephenson, jr., Surgeon Z. B. Adams, Major E.S. Farnsworth, General J. A. Cunningham, SergeantS. C. Spaulding, Major Ambrose Bancroft, Captains G.W. Lauriat and J. C. Fuller; and last, but by no meansleast, Surgeon W. L. Faxon and Mrs. Faxon, whosememories have provided stores of incident. To ColonelI. F. Kingsbury I am indebted for the result of time-consumingresearches in the Adjutant-General’s Departmentof the State.

While making these just acknowledgments I absolveall those named from any responsibility for such literaryimperfections as may appear herein and, assuming tomyself all blame for such defects, must ask my readers toconsider in charity to me the difficulties which must attenda work so composed, and at the last somewhat hastilycompleted.

F. J. P.

Bo