Granite State Mainers

On May 30,1903 (Memorial Day), residents of Rollinsford, New Hampshire dedicated a Civil War memorial incorporating a soldier’s statue and two wartime cannon. There are multiple Maine connections with this memorial. (Brian F. Swartz Photo)

A Civil War monument in New Hampshire lists many local men who served in Maine units. Does this mean these veterans are “Granite State Mainers”?

For some, certainly “yes.”

Located sufficiently distant from the Seacoast and the White Mountains to avoid the tourist hordes, Rollinsford lies directly across the Piscataqua River from South Berwick, also home to a Civil War monument. Settled in the 1630s and once part of adjacent Dover, Rollinsford incorporated as a town in 1849. Some 2,600 people live there today, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.

Clad in warm-weather clothing, the Union infantryman in Rollinsford, N.H. gazes west into the Granite State. The typical Union statue in Maine depicts an infantryman wearing his greatcoat. (BFS)

The town sent many men into federal service during the Civil War. Local history might have lost their names altogether except for William Henry Morton, born in nearby Portsmouth in February 1814. He helped fund the Civil War “memorial” dedicated at Morton Park on May 30, 1903 (Memorial Day). Morton died at age 90 in June 1904.

The memorial features a Union infantryman standing atop a granite pedestal, its base two unpolished granite blocks and its mid- and upper sections made from polished granite. A flagpole stands in front of the monument; placed 45 degrees from the monument’s front are two massive siege guns, each weighing almost 9,300 pounds. The cannons were cast prior to the Civil War.

Unlike most greatcoat-clad Union statues in Maine, the Rollinsford infantryman “dressed” for warm-weather campaigning. His ammunition pouch and canteen swung behind him, his gaiters buttoned above his brogans, the mustachioed soldier grasps the barrel of his rifled musket with his left hand and gazes west. He’s not wearing a greatcoat.

The memorial’s Maine connections appear in the cumulative 72 names inscribed on the pedestal’s four sides. “Dedicated to the soldiers of the Civil War enlisted from the Town of Rollinsford,” the monument lists almost every veteran’s army unit or his Navy affiliation (“USN”). Units are not identified for a few names.

Surprisingly, many men served with other than New Hampshire units — and 16 joined Maine outfits. Digging into their backgrounds, I discovered that not all claimed Rollinsford residency upon enlisting in the 1st and 5th Maine batteries or the 7th, 8th, 9th, 14th, 17th, 27th, or 30th Maine infantry regiments.

Let’s meet a few of these Granite State Mainers:

Elijah Boston was 38 and married when he enlisted in the 27th Maine Infantry in September 1862. He was a North Berwick farmer, standing 5-8 with blue eyes and brown hair. His soldier’s file indicates he “Deserted” in Portland on October 5, 1862. Would Rollinsford would have inscribed a deserter on its monument. Perhaps he missed a few morning roll calls and earned the notation “deserted”? Evidently not: He is listed as “deserted” on the Co. A rolls submitted to the Maine Adjutant General later in 1863. Did he move to Rollinsford after the war and conceal his skedaddler status? I don’t know.

Inscribed on the Rollinsford monument are the names of 72 men who served in the army or navy. Sixteen are credited to Maine units. (BFS)

Benjamin H. Butler, a 21-year-old Berwick farmer, also joined the 27th Maine, which never saw combat. He had blue eyes and black hair and, like Boston, a dark complexion. He mustered out in mid-July 1863.

Another Berwick resident was 35-year-old George L. Carpenter, a blue-eyed and brown-haired shoemaker. He joined the 1st Maine Battery on March 30, 1865 and saw no action before mustering out that October.

George Boucher, a 31-year-old tailor, had hazel eyes and black hair. Born in England, he was a tailor in South Berwick when he joined the 17th Maine Infantry in July 1862. He mustered out in September 1865.

Although born in South Berwick, John B. Foote lived in Biddeford when he joined the 7th Maine Infantry in May 1861. The 21-year-old, 5-4 “carder” went “Missing in action” on May 18, 1864.

Horace Hilton was a 40-year-old teamster hailing from Wells in York County when he joined the 14th Maine in January 1862. He reached New Orleans before being medically discharged that June.

Another South Berwick resident, 27-year-old farmer Chadbourne Warren joined the 27th Maine and completed his nine-month service.

Finally! Henry Wentworth was a 27-year-old baker born in Rollinsford — but he lived in South Berwick when he joined the 27th Maine in September 1862. He mustered out the next July.

Alfred R. Wormwood was born in New Gloucester, Maine and lived there when he joined the 8th Maine in August 1861 (he had previously served with the short-lived 1st Maine Infantry). He survived the war.

The Civil War monument in Rollinsford, N.H. was dedicated in 1903. (BFS)

Based on their soldiers’ files, only one of these nine men had a direct Rollinsford link, so how did each of the others earn a line on the Rollinsford monument? I suspect each veteran credited to a Maine “Residence” on his soldier’s file lived in Rollinsford sometime after the war. No town as proud of its Civil War heroes as was Rollinsford would list out-of-towners on a monument just to fluff up a list of names— and the local veterans would not have tolerated such inclusions.

The Rollinsford monument stands in Morton Park, located at the intersection of Silver Street and Roberts Road. The local fire station stands opposite the park.

If entering Rollinsford from South Berwick on Portland Avenue (Route 4), take the first right (Short Street) and swing left onto Silver Street. Follow this primarily residential road to the stop sign at Roberts Road. Morton Park is on the left; you cannot miss the monument.

If driving east on Portland Avenue, turn left onto Roberts Road just past Garrison Players (a theater). Follow the road north past the Old Town Cemetery. The fire station will be on the left; Morton Park and the monument are across the street.

Sources: https://www.cwcanneycamp5.org/rollinsford-civil-war-monument.html and the soldiers’ for Elijah Boston, Benjamin H. Butler, George Boucher, George L. Carpenter, John B. Foote, Horce Hilton, Chadbourne Warren, Henry Wentworth, and Alfred R. Wormwood soldiers’ files, Maine State Archives

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If you enjoy reading the adventures of Mainers caught up in the Civil War, be sure to  get a copy of the new Maine at War Volume 1: Bladensburg to Sharpsburg, available online at Amazon and all major book retailers, including Books-A-Million and Barnes & Noble.

Passing Through the Fire: Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and the Civil War (released by Savas Beatie) chronicles the swift transition of Joshua L. Chamberlain from college professor and family man to regimental and brigade commander.

Drawing on Chamberlain’s extensive memoirs and writings and multiple period sources, the book follows Chamberlain through the war while examining the determined warrior who let nothing prevent him from helping save the United States.

Order your autographed copy by contacting author Brian Swartz at visionsofmaine@tds.net

Passing Through the Fire is also available at savasbeatie.com or Amazon.

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Brian Swartz can be reached at visionsofmaine@tds.net. He enjoys hearing from Civil War buffs interested in Maine’s involvement in the war.

Brian Swartz

About Brian Swartz

Welcome to "Maine at War," the blog about the roles played by Maine and her sons and daughters in the Civil War. I am a Civil War buff and a newspaper editor recently retired from the Bangor Daily News. Maine sent hero upon hero — soldiers, nurses, sailors, chaplains, physicians — south to preserve their country in the 1860s. “Maine at War” introduces these heroes and heroines, who, for the most part, upheld the state's honor during that terrible conflict. We tour the battlefields where they fought, and we learn about the Civil War by focusing on Maine’s involvement with it. Be prepared: As I discover to this very day, the facts taught in American classrooms don’t always jibe with Civil War reality. I can be reached at visionsofmaine@tds.net.