Diaries

Diary of B. B. Smith
Image Courtesy of
Louisiana Research Collection
Tulane University

Today I should give an introduction to two men that left fairly detailed written accounts of their experiences in the 30th Massachusetts.  Both of these men kept a diary for all or most of 1862, and each gives new insight that adds to the the regiment's history, and from this point on I will quoting the diaries quite heavily.

Flags of the 30th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry

Colors return to Governor Andrew, 1865

In general I would like to follow the chronological order of how the 30th Massachusetts was formed, how it fought, and what its men had to say about their experiences.  When it comes to the flags of the 30th, I feel that perhaps I should share all of the information that I have up front.  The colors were the physical embodiment of the regiment, and while the men have all passed on, the colors still survive.  They are a symbol that we can still see and touch, and for some of us may even bring a deeper connection to our relatives and the men who served.

Statistics: Premise

National Color (1st to be issued by the Commonwealth)
of the 30th Massachusetts
Image Courtesy of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Now that I have finished (for the most part) the complete roster postings for the 30th Massachusetts, it's time to more one to assembling more information that I hope will turn out to be useful.  I do have a few things planned for the short term (I hope to have a detailed post about the National ad Regimental Colors of the 30th out within a few days), it is time to start looking into what other information I will be posting for the next several years.

Roster: Unassigned Recruits

The following is a list of all soldiers who are shown as unassigned recruits of the 30th Massachusetts (1861-1865).  These names have all been taken a list I have compiled using names from the books Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War and Record of the Massachusetts volunteers 1861-1865, both of which are available to view at www.ancestry.com.  This list is a bit more difficult to compile than the previous lists that I have posted for each individual company.  The the different company rosters I compared two lists to each other and was able to determine just about all of the men with various spellings of names, yet from the rest of the information I could sometime tell that two different names were actually the same man.  With this list I now have to compare to all ten of the company lists...while keeping in mind that some of these men my actually have popped up on a list already.  Because of these variables, there might never actually be a definitive list of EVERY man to actually serve with the 30th.

This list is currently a work in progress.  It will take longer to complete since I have to crosscheck these names very carefully to avoid duplicating men who have already been listed!

Roster: Company K

The following is a list of all soldiers listed as serving in Company K of the 30th Massachusetts (1861-1865).  These names have all been taken a list I have compiled using names from the books Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War and Record of the Massachusetts volunteers 1861-1865, both of which are available to view at www.ancestry.com

Roster: Company I

The following is a list of all soldiers listed as serving in Company I of the 30th Massachusetts (1861-1865).  These names have all been taken a list I have compiled using names from the books Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War and Record of the Massachusetts volunteers 1861-1865, both of which are available to view at www.ancestry.com

Roster: Company H

The following is a list of all soldiers listed as serving in Company H of the 30th Massachusetts (1861-1865).  These names have all been taken a list I have compiled using names from the books Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War and Record of the Massachusetts volunteers 1861-1865, both of which are available to view at www.ancestry.com

Roster: Company G

The following is a list of all soldiers listed as serving in Company G of the 30th Massachusetts (1861-1865).  These names have all been taken a list I have compiled using names from the books Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War and Record of the Massachusetts volunteers 1861-1865, both of which are available to view at www.ancestry.com

Roster: Company F

The following is a list of all soldiers listed as serving in Company F of the 30th Massachusetts (1861-1865).  These names have all been taken a list I have compiled using names from the books Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War and Record of the Massachusetts volunteers 1861-1865, both of which are available to view at www.ancestry.com

Roster: Company E

The following is a list of all soldiers listed as serving in Company E of the 30th Massachusetts (1861-1865).  These names have all been taken a list I have compiled using names from the books Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War and Record of the Massachusetts volunteers 1861-1865, both of which are available to view at www.ancestry.com

Roster: Company D

The following is a list of all soldiers listed as serving in Company D of the 30th Massachusetts (1861-1865).  These names have all been taken a list I have compiled using names from the books Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War and Record of the Massachusetts volunteers 1861-1865, both of which are available to view at www.ancestry.com

Roster: Company C

The following is a list of all soldiers listed as serving in Company C of the 30th Massachusetts (1861-1865).  These names have all been taken a list I have compiled using names from the books Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War and Record of the Massachusetts volunteers 1861-1865, both of which are available to view at www.ancestry.com

Roster: Company B

The following is a list of all soldiers listed as serving in Company B of the 30th Massachusetts (1861-1865).  These names have all been taken a list I have compiled using names from the books Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War and Record of the Massachusetts volunteers 1861-1865, both of which are available to view at www.ancestry.com

Research: Massachusetts National Guard Museum and Archives

Worcester Armory, 1891

Today I thought I might try to change the pace a little.  This will be my first of several posts devoted to research.  If you are looking for more information (as am I) about the 30th Massachusetts, or a relative who served with them, then this is a post that you might find very helpful.

Roster: Company A

A Muster Roll similar to one used
by Co. A as seen at
http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/
conservation/images/muster01.jpg

The following is a list of all soldiers listed as serving in Company A of the 30th Massachusetts (1861-1865).  These names have all been taken a list I have compiled using names from the books Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War and Record of the Massachusetts volunteers 1861-1865, both of which are available to view at www.ancestry.com

Roster: Field + Staff (Duration)

A battalion on parade.

The following is a list of all soldiers listed as serving on the Field Officer & Staff level of the 30th Massachusetts (1861-1865).  These names have all been taken a list I have compiled using names from the books Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War and Record of the Massachusetts volunteers 1861-1865, both of which are available to view at www.ancestry.com

Enlistment: Michael Harkins

150 years ago today marks the day the Michael Harkins (18) enlisted as a private in Co. A of the Eastern Bay State Regiment (later 30th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry).  At this same time dozens of other men were also enlisting in the regiment.  The reason why I focus on this one enlistment is because Michael Harkins is my Great Great Great Grandfather...it is through Michael that I have my connection to the 30th Mass. and why I am interested in tracking the events of his enlistment and of the regiment through the rest of their service in the war.

Field & Staff + Company Officers: 1861

In the coming months there will be a great deal of information for me to add if not on a daily basis, at least several times a week.  Posts reflecting the time frame of 1862 will be quite plentiful, mainly due to the fact that I have two very good diary accounts to draw from (one from Henry Warren Howe as I have presented already.  I will add more information about the second diary a few days before its entries begin).

October 12, 1861.

Went up to camp and reported for duty.  I am acting Quartermaster Sergeant of the regiment; sooner or later I shall be transferred to the regiment by an order.  The different companies are being equipped very rapidly.  I am kept busy issuing clothing, etc.  Drills, guard mounting, etc., are kept up every day.  General Butler reviewed and inspected us the other day; he told one old fellow to go to the barber and have his hair and beard colored, as they were very gray.  The 9th Connecticut Regiment are in camp with us, a hard set of men; they run guard, go down town and get drink; so do some of our boys.  It is a bye-word around camp, "Connecticut over the fence;" it is frequently heard from the guard stationed around the camp, on a line with the tight, high board fence.  My friends at the Mechanics Mills, A. L. Brooks, C. H. Latham and others, have presented me with and officer's sword.  I formerly worked for A. L. Brooks, lumber dealer.
*HWH

October 3, 1861.

Thursday.  Paid all the expenses of the office and closed it.  I am to go into camp as acting Quartermaster Sergeant under J. M. G. Parker, who is to be Quartermaster.
*HWH

Henry Warren Howe

As I begin documenting the history of the Eastern Bay State Regiment, perhaps the most prominent figure in the unit (from a documentation point of view) is Henry Warren Howe.  Howe's service in the war began several months before the formation of the EBS Regiment.  He ended up on Gen. Ben Butler's staff in his expedition into North Carolina in 1861, and as the EBS Regiment was formed, he was given the position of Quartermaster Sergeant (and would one day make it to a much higher rank).  Without a doubt, the best and most useful source of information that I have ever come across for the 30th Massachusetts is a book that was published from the diary and collected letters of Mr. Howe.  He also threw in some other compiled information on the regiment and its officers, and what is of more use (to some of us) is very detailed information on the colors carried by the regiment into battle and throughout the duration of the war.

Eastern Bay State Regiment

     

Image from The Daily Journal for 1862
kept by Captain Richard A. Elliot.
Placed online by the Center for Lowell History,
University of Massachusetts Lowell Libraries.
http://library.uml.edu/clh/all/el1.pdf

Between September 25th and December 31st of 1861 the Eastern Bay State Regiment was being recruited and trained at Camp Chase in Lowell Massachusetts.  Almost 5 years, 2 redesignations, and many battles later the regiment was finally mustered out of Federal service on July 5th 1866...making it the last volunteer regiment from a state to leave the Federal service.

Whether being referred to as the Eastern Bay State Regiment, the 30th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, or its final designation of the 30th Massachusetts Veteran Volunteer Infantry Regiment, the unit is not a well known regiment within the community of museums, historians, or even living historians.  To date it has had no major claims to fame like some of its predecessors (the 28th and 29th regiments both belonged to the Irish Brigade at one point in time or another), it has not had a movie made about it (like the 54th), and it did not have a colonel who went on to famous deeds that wrote constantly about the unit and engrained them into popular history (like the 20th Maine).  The regiment was composed of average Union men who no doubt joined the ranks for the same reasons as countless other federal soldiers did from 1861-65.