Voted, That Messrs. Richard M. Smith and William Allen be a committee to consult with the citizens of Bridgewater and West Bridgewater in relation to a meeting of the three towns for the purpose of forming a military company.
It is probable that similar meetings were held in each of the other towns, but no record of them has been found.
In West Bridgewater a town meeting was held on Aug. 22, 1862. It was voted that a bounty of $150 be paid to volunteers for nine months’ service, and it was recommended that the volunteers unite with Bridgewater and East Bridgewater to form a company. It was also recommended that the whole town attend a meeting to be held at Agricultural Hall in Bridgewater on the following Wednesday (August 26th) for the purpose of forwarding the formation of a military company. A committee had been chosen at a previous meeting to take charge of recruiting, consisting of the Selectmen (James Howard, Albert Copeland and George T. Ryder), together with one man from each school district, as follows: William O. Alger, J. Q. Hartwell, Nahum Snell, Samuel N. Howard, Charles E. Howard, Galen K. Richards, Thomas Ames, Leavitt T. Howard.
In East Bridgewater at a town meeting held on Aug. 23, 1862, it was voted to pay a bounty of $100 to volunteers for nine months’ service, and a committee of three was chosen to procure enlistments. The committee consisted of Samuel Bates, John B. Fisher, and George Bryant. The meeting also recommended to such of its inhabitants as may enlist for nine months’ service that they unite with the volunteers from the towns of Bridgewater and West Bridgewater in forming a company.
Capt. SAMUEL BATES.
A town meeting was held in Bridgewater on Aug. 26, 1862, to raise volunteers under the call for men to serve nine months. It was voted that a committee of seven be chosen by the town to take in charge the business of raising the number of volunteers necessary, also to pay a bounty of $150 to each volunteer who shall enlist to the credit of the town for nine months’ service. The committee chosen at this meeting were F. B. King, Edward W. Bassett, Nathan Fobes, Almansor Osborne, Lewis Holmes, and Holden W. Keith.
Shortly after this time a number of men from North Bridgewater and Easton who had arranged to join the Fourth Regiment, learning that this company was nearly full, and that the regiment was nearly ready to leave for the seat of war, joined the company, completely filling its ranks.
The mass meeting alluded to in the town meeting in West Bridgewater was held in Agricultural Hall, Bridgewater, on the evening of August 26th. The presiding officer was B. W. Harris, Esq., of East Bridgewater. The vice-presidents were Hon. Artemas Hale, Col. Samuel Leonard, Hon. J. H. Mitchell, Samuel G. Alden, James Howard, and Capt. Joseph Kingman. The meeting is represented as of an enthusiastic character, but no account of the addresses has been discovered.
The company thus recruited was assigned to the Third Massachusetts Infantry and named “Company K.”