| The following articles concern the 15th Massachusetts Regimental Memorial at the Antietam Battlefield.
23 Oct 1899 23 Jan 1900 The monument will be erected where the regiment, under command of Col. (now Gen.) J. W. Kimball, made a stand and in 15 minutes had 65 men killed and over three-fifths of the command of a little over 500 men either killed or wounded. This battle won for the regiment the record of having the most men killed or wounded in the length of time of any regiment in the war. The committee is made up of Col. E. J. Russell, Gen. J. W. Kimball, Capt. David M. Earle, George W. Mirick, T. J. Hastings. 17 Feb 1900 The design accepted calls for the erection of a monument of grantite to be surmouned by a recumbent lion of the same lasting rock. The work of carving the lion from a block of granite willbe don by Mr. O'Connor. The monument will be 6 ft 6 in long, 3 ft. high and 2 ft 3 in thick. On one side a tablet of bronze will be placed, inscribed with a brief history of the 15th regiment at Antietam and on the other side of the monument will be another tablet with the names of 65 dead and 48 mortally wounded soldiers carved on it. There were 612 officers and men who went into the battle of Antietam, and of that number, in less than 20 minutes, 302 had fallen, of which number 65 were killed out right and 43 were fatally wounded. The committe voted that the material from which the monument shall be built be Troy granite. The estimated cost will be $1500. It was voted to have the dedication, Sept. 17, on the anniversary of the battle. The committee will arrange for an excursion from Worcester to Washington, Gettysburg and Antietam, to arrive at the site of the monument in time for dedication. The committee has not come to any decision about the inscription to be placed on the monument. Senator Hoar has seen one inscription, and has approved of it, and there are two others which are fancied by members of the committee. Specifications will be prepared for bids to erect the monument, and granite dealers will have a chance to bid on the job. The list of those who were killed and wounded at Antietam is being compiled by John Francis Baker, clerk in the adjutant-general's office in the state house in Boston. Those present at the meeting, Friday, were Gen. John W. Kimball, Fitchburg; Col. J. E. Russell, Capt. David M. Earle, George W. Mirick and T. J. Hastings. 25 May 1900 Now, I desire to say, and it is but justly due to our highly esteemed and always generous fellow townsman, that this liberal gift from Mr. Wallace was entirely voluntary on his part and given without solicitation from me or any one else, he remarking when he handed me the check, that he "well remembered when the boys went away to the war and he would like to drop in $50 to help pay for the monument to commemorate their heroism." Permit me to say further that no money has been solicited from any one; all that has been received has been by voluntary contribution by the boys themselves and a few liberal friends of this regiment, who had learned what we were doing through the press. So far, we have received about $2000 and the cost will probably not exceed $2200. Upon the monument will be a bronze tablet bearing the names of 118 men of the regiment who lost their lives in that battle, 75 being killed and 43 dying of wounds within a few days, and the first name at the head of the list is that of our beloved and well known citizen and splendid soldier, Capt. Clark S. Simonds of the "Old Fusiliers," Co. B of the regiment. 14 Aug 1900 The list will be inscribed on the rear tablets, which will be placed on the monument at Antietam. The Fifteenth regiment, together with the company of sharpshooters attached to the regiment, lost more men killed and mortally wounded at the battle of Antietam than any other regiment of infantry during the entire war for any one single engagement. The Fifth New York is second, with 117; third, Fifteenth New Jersey, with 116, and fourth, Forty-ninth Pennsylvania with 100. As the list of those of the Andrew Sharpshooters killed and wounded at Antietam is to appear on the bronz tablets which will be placed on the monument, the committee feels that special effort should be made to have some of the survivors present at the dedication Sep. 17. But two of the survivors are known to be living -- Chilon Houghton, a dentist at Danvers, who lives at East Douglas, and David M. Littlefield of ???. Through these twoi men it is hoped to locate other survivors of the Andrew Sharpshooters. The Sharpshooters were a separate organization, and comprised some of the most expert shots in the country. There were two companies in this state. One of these was attached to the Fifteenth at Antietam, and suffered a terrible loss, losing as many men, lacking one, as the Fifteenth itself in the number killed outright. 21 Aug 1900 from The Fitchburg Sentinel The work which Mr. Connor has been doing since spring has attracted much attention and he has had daily visitors to his home all bent on getting a look at the lion. Save for a few finishing touches here and there the work is now completed and ready for transportation to Antietam. The committee will make arrangements with the Fitchburg railroad to provide the transportation. The lion will be loaded at Holden on the 27th of this months and will probably make its first journey towards its final resting place the day following. It is hoped that all will be completed and the monument made ready for dedication several days before Sept. 17, the date for the dedication. The committee is still meeting with great success and assurances of a large excursion when the date arrives. A number have already engaged their tickets, but the majority will not take this step until the first of the next month. Gen. Josiah Pickett of the 25th Massachusetts regiment, who was invited by the committee to attend the ceremonies at Antietam as its guest, will not go, owing to his health. The tablets which have been made by the Troy granite works at Troy, N:H. are now read for shipping and will be sent within a few days to Antietam. 17 Sep 1900 |