All non-original images were obtained legally and licensed by iStockphoto.com
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Elijah W. Bacon (no relation I know of) of Company F was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on December 1, 1864 for capturing the battle flag of the 16th North Carolina at Gettysburg. Unfortunately, he was killed at The Wilderness, May 6, 1864.
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It was Captain James P. Postles of the 1st Delaware who bravely dashed across the battlefield at Gettysburg to deliver the order from General Hays to Major Ellis of the 14th CT to burn the Bliss farm. For this exploit Captain Postles was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1892.
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The band of the 14th CT developed quite a reputation. Some even thought it the best band in the Army of the Potomac. Just after General Hooker was promoted to command the Army of the Potomac, the band was invited to play at Hooker’s HQ. As a result the men of the 14th enjoyed better food rations and their health improved dramatically. Then General Hooker disbanded all army bands as a waste of men and resources.
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The case of musician Charles Merrills is rather curious. First, the spelling of his last name is alternately Merrells, Merrill, or Merrills. From Waterbury, he enlisted in Company C as a private and was almost immediately appointed a musician. During the winter of 1862, Mr. John McCarthy, the band director received a discharge upon notice that
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the band would be disbanded, but Charlie remained with the 14th. When General Hooker lifted the band ban on May 1, 1863, Charlie was appointed Principal Musician just in time for the band’s heroic playing between the lines that helped to stem the tide of the 11th Corps stampede the next day. A year later Charlie was busted down to private again and fought with Company C until he was unexplainably discharged May 17, 1865, just two weeks before the entire regiment was mustered out of service. Perhaps Charlie struck a sour note with one of the officers.
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There really was a huge snowball fight involving the 14th CT—much bigger than the one I wrote about. But instead of occurring at Falmouth, VA in March, 1863 it actually took place at Stony Mountain, VA in March, 1864.
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HILARIOUS: Click here to read a very humorous story from Charles Page’s History of the Fourteenth Regiment.
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Here are some sizzling tidbits peeled from the onion of history. (Yes, I know, it’s a mixed metaphor.) I find these personal stories quite interesting because they help me know these citizen soldiers just a little bit better.
My Short Bio
I grew up in the small picturesque town of Woodbury, Connecticut. After graduating from Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, I returned to Connecticut and found employment in manufacturing. “Just a job” turned into a professional career, much of which was spent working for a Swiss machine tool company. In 2000 I started my own business to provide services to manufacturing clients across the USA. This change also allowed time to develop my writing craft.
From youth I’ve been a serious student of the Civil War. The draft of An Eye for Glory took ten years from conception to completion. Thousands of hours were spent researching every detail through copious reading, Internet research and personal visits to each battlefield so the novel might be as historically accurate and believable as possible. I live in Naugatuck, Connecticut with my wife of thirty-three years, Jackie.
I grew up in the small picturesque town of Woodbury, Connecticut. After graduating from Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, I returned to Connecticut and found employment in manufacturing. “Just a job” turned into a professional career, much of which was spent working for a Swiss machine tool company. In 2000 I started my own business to provide services to manufacturing clients across the USA. This change also allowed time to develop my writing craft.
From youth I’ve been a serious student of the Civil War. The draft of An Eye for Glory took ten years from conception to completion. Thousands of hours were spent researching every detail through copious reading, Internet research and personal visits to each battlefield so the novel might be as historically accurate and believable as possible. I live in Naugatuck, Connecticut with my wife of thirty-three years, Jackie.