“ Inasmuch as the term of enlistment of the Third Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia is about to expire, I cannot permit you to go to your home and its endearment without some slight recognition of your valuable services as a commanding officer, and it is with pleasure that I call the attention of your friends at home and abroad to your splendid company, for there is the proof of your ability as an officer. ”

“ His men had confidence in him and were [69] always ready to obey his commands without asking questions; and, although not a graduate of West Point, no battalion or brigade movement ever puzzled him to know where to place his company, either on drill or in the evolution of field movements.
Lieutenant Lyon was not only a good officer, he was a good man. No day was so hot or stormy, and no night was so dark or cold, that he did not fulfill his duty beyond the letter of the law, whether that duty was in camp, on picket, or on the march. ”

“ Over some parts of the march great turpentine trees were on fire, which falling across the road made marching that way quite dangerous; yet through fire and water the expedition made twelve miles the first day, notwithstanding our skirmishers were in constant action with the rebel pickets. Never were men more glad than the Third Regiment when ordered to bivouac for the night, and never was mattress or feather bed more acceptable than “Mother Earth” to the boys that night. Both fires and loud talking were forbidden. All save the men on picket duty slept; slept like tired children. ”

“ Every weapon was always ready when wanted for guard mount, dress parade or for the march, and not one of Company A was ever sent to quarters because of a rusty or dirty gun.
Corporals Uriel Haskins, Ephraim Haskins, Thomas Gurney, James E. Arnold, Soranus Thompson, David B. Hill, and John G. Gammons, were always ready and faithful in the discharge of every duty assigned to them.
Asa Kilbreth could blow “The Flowers of Michigan” through a fife as no other musician in the regiment, if in the world. His time was so perfect that every one could keep step when marching in review. ”

“ No better soldier ever carried a musket, and no one ever knew of his dropping out on the tiresome marches. He was killed at Petersburg by a rebel shell.
The material composing Company H were worthy, steady farmers’ boys, with the addition of several iron workers from Somerset and Dighton. Many of the men were old neighbors at home, several of them being from the same families. For instance, there were four pairs of brothers, and when one heard from home all the others were interested to hear the news. No more rugged or better men than Company H ever enlisted. ”

“ When upon the air so calm and still, there came a cannon boom.
“Beat the long roll,” the Major cried, “bid every man fall in,
Secession’s work so long delayed, the Rebels now begin;
But just as true as the Old Flag does from the flagstaff fly,
We’ll show the Rebs true Yankee grit, we’ll whip them or we’ll die.”
Boom! boom! the cannon loud did roar, the shot flew thick and fast,
And many a shell of a hundred pounds close to Old Glory passed. ”

“ Lieutenant Crossman was highly esteemed by the whole company. His quiet, unassuming manner caused every one to love him and to confide in him; he was a true man and a true soldier. He demonstrated his patriotism by re-enlisting in the Fifty-eighth Regiment, in which he was elected captain, and was with his company at the battle of Cold Harbor, where he was wounded terribly in the shoulder ”

“ Captain Hawes looked after the rights and well being of his men, in camp and on the march. He never allowed one of his company to do a dare-devil act just for the notoriety of the thing, neither did he allow any one to shirk his duty. Each man must do his duty, and each man must be given his rights in rations, in recreations, and in social enjoyments. ”

“ They were true and kind to the men, and were greatly beloved by both officers and men in the regiment. They were always in their places with the company on the march and in battle. They took a great interest in the company, visiting the sick in tent and hospital.
The non-commissioned officers were a good set of fellows from the orderly sergeant to the eighth corporal. Indeed, the whole company was made up of [136] good men who were ever ready to obey orders, to go anywhere and to do anything reasonable; but, like all other men, they liked a little fun when not on duty. ”

“ Our first march taught Company A the superiority of army shoes over fashionable boots to march in, for the first ten miles found many of the men, as well as the officers, with their boots slung over their shoulders, their feet without stockings, and their heels raw to the quick. ”

“ Pearly was always weak when near anything strong.
Edward H. Rennis went to “his own place” when he went into the cook-house. His boiled dinners and his baked beans remain as things joyfully to be remembered. Few were the cooks who could deal out better rations than Rennis.
Die Mason, while a good company clerk, would stand before a heated stove and burn the whole front of his uniform, absolutely oblivious of what was going on. In the battle of Goldsboro, he filled his musket with cartridges from breech to muzzle and returned to Newbern with it full. ”

“ William Cobb who went as captain of Company G was for several years in the outfitting business in New Bedford and was well known by a large circle of admiring friends, and, being at one time city marshal, he enjoyed the right of way in recruiting [222] his company. He never lost his hold on his men, nor his popularity as commanding officer. His men never failed of getting their rations of every sort. ”

“ Believing, however, that by deceiving the enemy and rapid marching, the object of the expedition could be attained, I determined to go on. As a feint, the army was pushed out a few miles on the Goldsboro road and encamped. At daylight it retraced its steps, crossed the river, burnt the bridge behind it, and rapidly marched up the south bank. At Whitehall a sharp affair took place. A rebel gunboat was being built at that point and a considerable force was there to defend it and prevent our crossing. Every attempt to cross infantry to burn the boat failed. ”

“ It was never on detached or detailed duty, and wherever the regiment went there went Company H. There are no tragic events to record. The company has the unique distinction of bringing home every man that went out with it. It is the only company of which I have any knowledge that served so long a period in the war and never lost a man, either by sickness or by bullet. I believe this is due largely to the early life and temperate habits of the men of this company; but we cannot close our eyes to the fact that since the close of the war more than fifty-two per cent. have answered the last call. ”

“ A man of strong moral character with pronounced temperance principles. No storm was cold enough, no rain wet enough, no march so exhausting that cold water was not the most refreshing beverage for him. ”

“ With the rising tide and the assistance of a tug, we were soon off the bar; and, as we headed for the wharf, I heard Captain Baxter say, “I did not care half as much for getting stuck on that bar, as I do for having the captain of the Merrimac get alongside the wharf before the Mississippi, for I shall never hear the last of it.” At Morehead City we took train for Newbern and camped on the banks of the Neuse River. Here for the first time, we were drilled in the evolutions of the brigade, preparatory to going on the march and into battle. ”

“ He exacted from every man of his company a strict and impartial obedience to himself and to all officers with whom they were to render duty. At the battle of Kinston, N. C., as we were formed into line of battle, expecting momentarily to be ordered to the front to take a more active part, Captain Baker made this little speech, “In a few moments we shall be where we shall see more active and more dangerous work, but no matter what we may meet let not a man of you run until I run, but when you see me run then let [234] every man run like the devil.” Suffice it to say, no man was seen running. ”

“ The first night in Camp Joe Hooker was a sweater to many, a conundrum to a few, and a go-as-you-please to all. Every one kept good-natured for the most pessimistic knew that all things that have a beginning have an end ”

“ No one but a soldier can tell how mean it makes one feel to be in an enemy’s country without ammunition to defend oneself with should an attack be made; but we neither saw nor heard any rebels on the homeward march. On this march Company A was three days without food. Toward evening of the third day, the writer, leaving the marching column, marched straight for a sweet potato mound, and, taking all he could carry, hastened to his company. ”

“ Hundreds, if not thousands, of letters had to be written by the compiler and the writers of company histories, and in some instances it required all the elasticity of patience in waiting for an answer. But why wonder when we call to mind the many years since the close of the war, and the scattered condition of the young men who composed the rank and file of the Third Regiment. ”

“ Sergt. Stephen Hathaway was known as “The man of money,” yet he never allowed money to become his stepping stone to preferment. He was as ready as any one to do his duty with the company, regardless of toil, deprivation or danger, when not on detached duty.
Sergt. Morton V. Bonney could outlift any man in camp. I once saw him stand astride a full barrel of pork which others could not lift, and, taking it by the chimbs, raise it clear from the ground, saying, “There, I have lifted your darned old barrel of pork.” In drill he was accurate, and on dress parade the perfect soldier ”

“ Wednesday, April 8th, we crossed the Neuse River and commenced our march to Blount’s Creek, where we encountered quite a body of the enemy; but after an artillery demonstration for one hour, both armies began a retreat at the same time, and neither knew why the other retreated, unless it be that the rebels caught sight of General Spinola (our commanding general) with his high red shirt collar, and, mistaking him for Sitting Bull, imagined retreat the better part of valor. ”

“ Is it asked, “Where are the men who made the rank and file of Company F?” the answer comes, “Many have joined the great majority, who as young men responded to their country’s call in the hour of need.” They did their work well; peace to their ashes. A great and mighty Nation is reaping the fruits of their toil, and the haughty South has been brought back, not the raging maniac she was in ’61, but, cured of the past, she sits at the feet of Uncle Sam, “clothed and in her right mind.” ”

“ Nothing special occurred on our return march. The footsore boys left at Kinston were ready to resume the homeward march. The last night of the march we slept on the ground where the water in the ditches made ice one inch thick. As often as we awoke shivering with the cold, we would up and run until bodily heat would allow us to sleep again. We arrived in Newbern at 12.30, Dec. 21, 1862. Not long after our return, Company A with another company of the Third Regiment, were ordered on picket duty at Deep Gully, where the rebels had made an attack. ”

“ The same that is said of Captain Hawes can be said of First Lieutenant Mason, who will be remembered by every man in the company and regiment, also, as a man of high moral character, and a true officer. Modest, yet firm in discipline; gentle, yet insisting that every man must do his duty ”

“ He is honored and respected by all the citizens of New Bedford. Even the rough classes yield when Cannavan is known to be after them. Now in the sixty-eighth year of his age he is hale and happy. He has never indulged in the ardent and never used tobacco. He spends his spare time with his family reading instructive books. He is held in high esteem by all the children of his patrol, for he always carries strings for tops, and marbles in his pockets for the little ones. ”

“ Our place of bivouac in Kinston was on the park, which was enclosed by a rail fence, five rails high. Captain Grant, of Company C, Third Regiment, being officer of the day, gave strict orders that only the topmost rails should be taken. This order was so strictly obeyed that in the morning not a vestige of the fence remained; each man had taken only the top rail. ”

“ On the march Lieutenant Mason was always at the head of the [190] company. He never ordered his men to go where he would not lead. He served his company and his country as a man who believed that shoulder straps are honorable only when honored by the wearer. His slogan was that every man has rights, which must be respected by all regardless of rank or position, and he should be protected in those rights.
After serving his nine months in the Third Regiment and being mustered out, he recruited Company G, Fifty-eighth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, being second lieutenant Sept. ”

“ No one was discharged before the expiration of the term of service, and no one was punished for misbehavior. Since their muster out, the men, so far as I have been able to learn, have proved themselves of no mean order, filling their different stations with honor from humble citizens of toil to judge upon the bench of the Supreme Court.
“Sept. 22, 1862, the company reported at Camp Joe Hooker, in Lakeville, where it remained until October 22d, when the regiment broke camp and proceeded to Boston with orders to report to Major-General Foster, at Newbern, North Carolina. ”

“ The Third Regiment Association held its reunion at Dighton Rock Park, July 20, 1905. The meeting was called at 11.20 A. M. The greetings of the president were as fraternal and cordial as ever; years seem to make no impression on either his [325] health, voice, or memory. His recital of the war days so thrill the boys that they all seem young again, and should war demand their services, they would follow their old leader anywhere he asked them to go. The records of the last meeting were read and approved. The treasurer reported $44.36 in the treasury. ”