CHAPTER VIII.
Company E, Third Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia.
[By Frederick F. Maxfield.]
This company was made up of New Bedford men with three exceptions, Capt. John A. Hawes, of Fairhaven; Daniel H. Tripp, of Westport; and Albert M. Allen, of Westport. For the greater part the company was composed of young men and men in the prime of life. It is well for us to remember that New Bedford has an unique history, among the military companies of the State. First, the New Bedford Guards were organized in 1842. They were disbanded, and out of that organization came many who served as officers during the War of the Rebellion. At the present time there are two of the New Bedford Guards living; viz., James E. Blake, druggist, corner of Second and Middle Streets, New Bedford; William Balis, grain dealer, foot of Middle Street. In 1853 the City Guards were organized and drilled. This company, known in history as Company L and City Guards continued in commission, answered to the call of President Lincoln, and served three months in the Third Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. On its return to New Bedford all its commissioned officers resigned, and William E. Mason, sergeant of the company, was in command. When the call was made for three hundred thousand men, Sergeant Mason recruited the company to its maximum number, but, being a modest man, and knowing that John A. Hawes was an adept in military matters, he asked Mr. Hawes to be captain of the company, which being agreed to by all, Sergeant Mason was made first lieutenant, and James L. Sharp second lieutenant.
Capt. JOHN A. HAWES.
Captain Hawes was a man eminently fitted for the commander of the company. Born in a home of wealth, educated in the schools of his own town, and in Harvard Law College, and having practiced law, he was well prepared to deal with all the difficult questions of military and army life; yet notwithstanding his wealth, he never asked his company to go where he would not lead, nor to suffer hardships which he would not share with them. He went to war not for pay, but for the honor of the old flag, which he loved more than wealth, more than ease, more than honors. That his services were appreciated by his superior officers will be seen by the following:
“Headquarters Second Brigade, Fifth Division,
Eighteenth Army Corps,
Newbern, N. C., May 6, 1863.
Captain John A. Hawes:
It is with much pleasure and I may say pride, inasmuch as your splendid company is part of my brigade, that I congratulate you on the remarkable good condition of your company, both in reference to drill, discipline, and soldierly bearing. To command such a fine company must certainly be an honor of which you may well feel proud.
I have the honor to be, Captain,
Very respectfully your obedient servant,
J. JOURDAN, Colonel,
Commanding Brigade.”
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. On the march he took always the left side of his company, and, if for any good reason, one of his boys became unable to continue the march from sickness, he always found a place for him in an ambulance, instead of leaving him by the roadside to care for himself. He has been heard to say, “Mrs. —— intrusted her boy to me, and I must so care for him, that should we live to go home, when I meet her I can look her in the face with the consciousness that I did my duty.” Such was Captain Hawes as an officer of the army.
On returning home he took up his citizen life quietly, and enjoyed the comfort of his luxurious home. For several years he was president of the Bristol County Agricultural Society at Myricks, where his good judgment and kindly acts will long be remembered. A little incident explains his character. One morning a representative from the church in Myricks went to him and suggested that a rope be put across one of the driveways on the Agricultural Society grounds, as some of the people of Myricks were nearly run over by the careless driving on the previous day. Turning to one of his officials, he said, “Mr. —— says a rope should be put across the road to prevent people from being run over.” “If he wants a rope across the road, let him put it there,” said the official. Turning to the official he said, “This is my friend, you see that a rope is put across the road,” and the proud official had to obey orders. For years he was commodore of the New Bedford Yacht Fleet, where by his gentlemanly courtesies to his superiors, inferiors, and equals, he endeared himself to all. After a well-rounded out life, with his loved ones around him, he quietly passed from works to reward, lamented by a large circle of friends, who to this day regard him as a model man, a good officer, and a true friend to all with whom he had to do.
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; bold, when duty called; careful, when care became the better part of valor, he would not allow himself, nor the men under his command, to imperil life just for the name of being called bold; but when duty called no braver man could be found and no one who could be trusted better with an important duty. True to himself, he was true to his men. On the march Lieutenant Mason was always at the head of the 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. 18, 1863, and captain in the same company Jan. 22, 1864. Here the same good traits as an officer continued. At the battle of Cold Harbor he was severely wounded, and again at the battle of Crater the same year, and for his bravery in these and other battles he was invested major. He was mustered out in 1865, returned home, and was made inspector in the Custom House, Boston, where he remained until failing health compelled him to resign. In his home in New Bedford, in the calm and serene beauty of a life of seventy-eight years well and conscientiously spent, he died May 27, 1905, beloved and honored.
Second Lieut. James L. Sharp was a good officer, who readily responded to every duty. Before the war he carried on the business of a tinsmith in New Bedford and was very successful; after the war he went to New York and continued in the same business. He is known as the patentee of the celebrated Gas Burner Stove. He died several years ago.