Roster of Company I, 24th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers — Text and Context

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Authors: Amory, Charles Bean, 1841-1919, Armstrong, James, DeLane, Nelson H., 1838-1926 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2011 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories; United States. Army. Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 24th (1861-1866) Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 5,594

Reading time 25 min

Text sections 1

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Source: Project Gutenberg record #36673

A roster of Company I, 24th Massachusetts Volunteers, compiled by survivors in 1902, listing officers and enlisted men with ages, residences, muster dates, and fates—killed, wounded, promoted, or discharged—punctuated by a terse engagement list.

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Company I, 24th Regiment

Massachusetts Volunteers

BOSTON: E. B. STILLINGS & CO., 368 CONGRESS STREET 1902

This Roster was prepared in accordance with a vote of the Association of the Survivors of Co. I, 24th Regt. Mass. Vols.

CHARLES B. AMORY, JAMES ARMSTRONG, NELSON H. DE LANE,

BOSTON, Jan. 20, 1902.

COMPANY I, 24TH REGIMENT

MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS

=STACKPOLE, J. LEWIS=, Captain, age 23, residence Cambridge. Mustered in Sept. 2, 1861. Captain Commissary of Subsistence Sept. 11, 1862.

=AMORY, CHARLES B.=, Captain, age 20, residence West Roxbury. Mustered in Sept. 27, 1862. Assistant Adjutant-General U.S. Vols. June 14, 1864.

=ORDWAY, ALBERT=, Captain, age 19, residence Dorchester. Mustered in June 15, 1864. Major Sept. 24, 1864; Lieutenant-Colonel Nov. 15, 1864. Died Nov. 21, 1897.

=LE FAVOR, GEORGE=, Captain, age 18, residence Boston. Mustered in Dec. 14, 1864. Mustered out Jan. 20, 1866.

=PERKINS, JAMES A.=, 1st Lieutenant, age 25, residence Boston. Mustered in Sept. 2, 1861. Killed in action at Morris Island Aug 26, 1863.

=SWEET, THOS. M.=, 1st Lieutenant, age 25, residence Boston. Mustered in Nov. 1, 1863. Resigned Nov. 12, 1864.

=WILSON, JOHN T.=, 1st Lieutenant, age 21, residence East Cambridge. Mustered in May 22, 1864. Discharged Nov. 12, 1864.

=HORTON, WM. L.=, 2d Lieutenant, age 23, residence Boston. Mustered in Sept. 2, 1861. Wounded at Battle of Newbern March 12, 1862. Discharged as 1st Lieutenant May 12, 1864.

=WHEELER, PARMENAS E.=, 2d Lieutenant, age 27. Mustered in Aug. 1, 1862. Discharged as 1st Lieutenant Nov. 14, 1864.

=WHITE, JARVIS=, 2d Lieutenant, age 28, residence Millbury. Mustered in Feb. 6, 1864. Mustered out as Captain in another company Nov. 1, 1864.

=GRAVES, EDWARD=, 1st Lieutenant, age 18, residence Bridgewater. Mustered in Oct. 1864. Mustered as 1st Lieutenant Nov. 14, 1864, assigned to Co. I.

=LYON, CHARLES A.=, 1st Sergeant, age 23, residence Brookfield. Mustered in Sept. 6, 1861. June 1, 1862, promoted to 1st N.C. Vols.

=O'BRIEN, WM. J.=, 1st Sergeant, age 21, residence Cambridge. Mustered in Sept. 23, 1861. Oct 14, 1864, promoted to 1st Lieutenant; Captain Oct. 15, 1864, Co. F.

=SEVERSEN, WM. C.=, 1st Sergeant, age 23, residence Boston. Mustered in Sept. 21, 1861. April 12, 1864, promoted to 2d Lieutenant 56th Inf.

=SIBLEY, GEO. F.=, 1st Sergeant, age 35, residence Brookfield. Mustered in Aug. 28, 1862. Jan. 20, 1866, promoted to 1st Lieutenant. Died April, 1893.

=DICKINSON, CHAS. E.=, Sergeant, age 18, residence Brookfield. Mustered in Sept. 15, 1861. Died of wounds Oct. 9, 1864.

=O'HEARN, PATRICK=, Sergeant, age 23, residence Boston. Mustered in Oct. 2, 1861. Killed Aug. 16, 1864, at Deep Run, Va.

=SLAYTON, GEO. A.=, Sergeant, age 21, residence Brookfield. Mustered in Aug. 28, 1862. Discharged Jan. 20, 1866, expiration service.

=TUCKER, EDWIN M.=, Sergeant and Color Bearer, age 24, residence North Brookfield. Mustered in Sept 19, 1861. Wounded at Newbern, N.C. Discharged Jan. 20, 1866, expiration service.

=FURNESS, JOHN E.=, Sergeant, age 24, residence Brookfield. Mustered in September 19. Discharged June 24, 1865, disability.

=WEEKS, CHAS. E.=, Sergeant, age 23, residence Haverhill. Mustered in Sept. 30, 1861. Discharged Jan. 20, 1866, expiration service. Died 1901.

=ARMSTRONG, JAMES=, Corporal, age 19, residence Cambridge. Mustered in March 8, 1864. Discharged Jan. 20, 1866, expiration service.

=AUSTIN, WM. H.=, Corporal, age 21, residence Brookfield. Mustered in Sept. 14, 1861. Discharged Oct. 13, 1863, disability.

=COSTELLO, JOHN M.=, Corporal, age 25, residence Boston. Mustered in Sept. 19, 1861. Discharged Sept. 18, 1864, expiration service. Died Sept. 29, 1864.

=DE LANE, NELSON H.=, Corporal, age 24, residence Charlton. Mustered in Aug. 28, 1862. Discharged Dec. 4, 1864, expiration service.

=DOANE, LORENZO=, Corporal, age 21, residence Brookfield. Mustered in Aug. 24, 1862. Discharged Dec. 4. 1864, expiration service.

=GRIFFIN, JAMES=, Corporal, age 26, residence Boston. Mustered in Sept. 30, 1861. Discharged Jan. 20, 1866, expiration service.

=HILL, EDWARD=, Corporal, age 28, residence Boston. Mustered in Sept. 18, 1861. Discharged May 28, 1863, disability.

=JONES, LEMUEL S.=, Corporal, age 39, residence Barnstable. Mustered in Oct. 25, 1861. Discharged Jan. 20, 1866, expiration service.

=LATHROP, JULIUS M.=, Corporal, age 23, residence Dedham. Mustered in Nov. 4, 1861. Promoted August 28, 38th Inf.

=McCOURT, CHARLES=, Corporal, age 18, residence Cambridge. Mustered in Sept. 10, 1861. Wounded at Morris Island. Discharged Jan. 20, 1866, expiration service.

=MILLER, THOMAS R.=, Corporal, age 22, residence Boston. Mustered in Jan. 1, 1864. Discharged Jan. 20, 1866, expiration service.

=PAGE, HENRY J.=, Corporal, age 23, residence North Brookfield. Mustered in Sept. 21, 1861. Discharged Aug. 30, 1862, disability.

=REYNOLDS, NATHAN=, Corporal, age 30, residence North Brookfield. Mustered in Sept. 26, 1861. Discharged May 9, 1863, disability.

=WALLACE, GEO. F.=, Corporal, age 20, residence Foxboro. Mustered in Oct. 18, 1861. Discharged Jan. 20, 1866, expiration service.

=WATSON, HENRY W.=, Corporal, age 19, residence Brookfield. Mustered in Nov. 18, 1862. Killed Oct. 13, 1864, at Richmond, Va.

=ALDEN, ALBERT=, Musician, age 16, residence Waltham. Mustered in Sept. 19, 1861. Drum Sergeant. Discharged Jan. 20, 1866, expiration service.

=CLEMENCE. WM. H.=, Musician, age 17, residence Blackstone. Mustered in Sept. 11, 1861. Discharged Aug. 22, 1862.

=BEAN, WM. S.=, Wagoner, age 32, residence Kansas. Mustered in Nov. 5, 1861. Discharged Nov. 5, 1864, expiration service.

=Adams, Artemas=, age 37, residence Brookfield. Mustered in Oct. 9, 1861. Re-enlisted Jan. 2, 1864. Wounded at Proctor's Creek. Killed Oct. 13, 1864, near Richmond, Va.

=Adams, George=, age 24, residence Brookfield. Mustered in Sept. 19, 1861. Died May 24, 1862, at Newbern, N.C.

=Alden, Albert=, musician, age 16, residence Waltham. Mustered in Sept. 21, 1861. Re-enlisted Jan. 2, 1864. Discharged Jan. 20, 1866, expiration service.

=Allan, John C.=, age 18, residence Cambridge. Mustered in Sept. 10, 1861. Re-enlisted Jan. 2, 1864. Discharged Jan. 20, 1866, expiration service.

=Anderson, Alexander=, age 34, residence Cambridge. Mustered in Sept. 25, 1861. Wounded at Newbern March 14, 1862, discharged Oct. 18, 1862, disability.

=Armstrong, Irwin=, age 33, residence Cambridge. Mustered in Oct. 28, 1861. Re-enlisted Jan. 2, 1864. Discharged Jan. 20, 1866, expiration service.

=Atwood, Daniel A.=, age 22, residence Boston. Mustered in Oct. 2, 1861. Re-enlisted Jan. 2, 1864. Discharged Jan. 20, 1866, expiration service.

=Bacon, Stillman=, age 35, credited to Ware, residence Vermont. Mustered in Feb. 21, 1865. Discharged Jan. 20, 1866, expiration service.

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The Roster of Company I, 24th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers is a spare, administrative document produced by a committee of survivors in 1902. Its language is that of military bureaucracy: each entry records a name, age, residence, and a sequence of muster, promotion, wound, or death. The tone is unadorned, almost telegraphic—'Killed in action at Morris Island Aug 26, 1863' or 'Deserted Dec. 20, 1865'—leaving the reader to infer the human weight behind each line.

What makes this text remarkable is what it does not say. There is no narrative, no reflection, no lament. The roster’s brevity—5,594 words covering dozens of men—forces attention on the stark patterns: the clusters of re-enlistments on January 2, 1864, the repeated phrase 'expiration service,' and the sudden, unadorned entries of death at places like Deep Run, Bermuda Hundred, or before Richmond. The document’s authority derives from its refusal to elaborate.

The Rhythm of Muster and Fate

The roster’s structure imposes a relentless rhythm. Each man’s record follows a fixed template: name, age, residence, muster date, then a string of events. The verbs are almost always passive or past participle—'Mustered in,' 'Wounded,' 'Killed,' 'Discharged.' This uniformity creates a kind of grim poetry. Consider the entries for Salem D. Slayton and Marshall E. Smith: both re-enlisted on January 2, 1864; both were killed within months—Slayton at Bermuda Hundred on May 30, 1864, Smith at Deep Run on August 16, 1864. The roster does not pause to mourn; it simply records.

The repetition of 'Re-enlisted Jan. 2, 1864' across many entries signals a pivotal moment for the company. That date marks the Veterans’ Volunteer enlistment drive, when men who had already served could re-up for another term. The roster’s dry notation of this decision—followed often by wounding or death—underscores the gamble these men took. The text’s refusal to comment makes the pattern speak for itself.

A Geography of Violence

The roster’s engagement list and individual entries map a specific geography of the Civil War: Roanoke Island, Newbern, Tranters Creek, Kinston, Goldsboro Bridge, James Island, Fort Wagner, Bermuda Hundred, Deep Run, Drurys Bluff, Petersburg, Richmond. These place names recur in the men’s fates. For instance, 'Wounded June 5, 1862, at Tranters Creek, N.C.' appears for William Reynolds; 'Killed March 14, 1862, at Newbern, N.C.' for Charles Riley. The same battle can yield different outcomes for different men.

The list of engagements at the end of the roster compresses time into a sequence of locations and dates. It begins with Roanoke Island in February 1862 and ends with the assault on Fort Wagner in July–September 1863. The roster itself, however, includes men who served through 1865, suggesting that the engagement list is incomplete—or that the company’s later actions were not recorded here. This gap between the list and the individual records hints at the limits of the document’s scope.

Silences and Anomalies

Amid the roster’s uniformity, anomalies stand out. James Stevens is noted as 'A deserter from December, 1861, to June 6, 1864'—a rare admission of absence that breaks the pattern of service and sacrifice. Michael Whelan’s entry contains a probable typographical error: 'Re-enlisted Jan. 2, 1884' instead of 1864, a small glitch that reminds us this was a human compilation. The ages of the men vary widely: Captain George Le Favor was mustered in at age 18, while Private James Stewart was 42. These details, embedded in the dry data, hint at the range of lives that converged in Company I.

The roster also omits what we might expect: no physical descriptions, no letters, no accounts of battles. It is a document of record, not memory. The committee of survivors—Charles B. Amory, James Armstrong, Nelson H. DeLane—chose to produce a list, not a history. Their restraint is the text’s defining feature, and it invites the reader to imagine the stories behind the names.

Reading this roster requires patience with its austerity. It is not a narrative but a ledger, and its power lies in what it leaves unsaid. To engage with it is to become a kind of detective, tracing the arcs of individual men through the sparse data. The repeated phrase 'expiration service' marks the end of a term, but for many, the service ended earlier—in a wound, a desertion, or a death noted without ceremony. This document is a monument of facts, and its silences are as eloquent as its entries.

There’s something about a list of names—ages, towns, what happened to each one—that stays with you longer than any grand tale. I thought of that quiet weight while leafing through the New York Times Current History: The European War, Vol 2, No. 1, April, 1915 April-September, 1915 — Edition Insights, where the same solemn roll call repeats itself, only larger, and just as human.