History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

546 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
W. R. Bennett, 1st lieutenant, 22d regiment; T.
R. Page, 1st lieutenant, 28tli regiment ; E. F.
Wyer, 1st lieutenant, 5th regiment ; C. S. Con-
verse, 1st lieutenant, 5th regiment; W. A. Col-
gate, 1st lieutenant, 5th regiment; George S.
sary sergeant ; S. W. Drew, surgeon, 9th regiment;
S. W. Abbott, surgeon, 7th cavalry regiment ; R.
E. Jameson, assistant surgeon, 29th regiment
E. D. Hayden, assistant paymaster, navy.
Among the patriotic activities created by the war
were the societies auxiliary to tlie sanitary and Chris-
tiiin commissions. These were generally conducted
by women. Those of Woburn contributed their full
share to the success of these benevolent agencies,
besides furnishing directly to the soldiers of their
own town comforts and luxuries in generous sup-
ply, both for field and hospital. The work done
by the several organizations previous to Janu-
ary, 1863, is without public record, but it was
large and effective. At that time the several so-
cieties banded together under one general head,
although still working in distinct bodies. The
receipts from festivals, concerts, and general con-
tributions, from thence to the end of the war, were
$ 2,322.59, which sum was expended for mate-
rials, made chiefly into garments and bedclothing,
but to some extent into small articles of prime con-
venience. No labors or sacrifices (except those of
the loss of limb and life) to sustain the cause of the
Tluion and freedom were undertaken more ear-
nestly, or submitted to more cheerfully, than those
which characterized the noble women of this town,
as well as of the North generally.
Soldiers' Monumenf. — This fine memorial in
honor of the Woburn men who gave their lives
to their country's service was dedicated with impressive
ceremonies, October 14, 1869. Governor
Claflin and staff, and mai\y prominent men in mili-
tary and civil life, were present at the exercises.
General William Cogswell, of Salem, the orator
selected for the occasion, delivered an eloquent and
patriotic address. The monument stands in the
central square of the town, on the spot nearly iden-
tical with that of the first meeting-house. Its prin-
cipal feature is the bronze figure of a soldier eiglit
feet in height, standing in easy posture, iiulicative
of quiet but earnest observation. His musket rests
;
upon the ground, and passing upward, between
the arm and the body, is firmly grasped by the right
hand, while the left arm falls naturally by the side.
The countenance of the figure is strikingly firm
and intelligent, and gives assurance that the volun-
Morse, 1st lieutenant, 59th regiment ; Oscar Perteer soldier is fully conscious of his rights and
sons, 2cl lieutenant, 39th regiment; George H. duties as a freeman. The costume is that of the
Dennett, 2cl lieutenant, 39th regiment; C. E. Ful- common soldier of the period, surmounted by the
ler, 2d lieutenant, 5th regiment ; M. S. Seeley, 2d historic overcoat which serves as a foil to the stiff-
lieutenant, 5tli regiment ; T. T. Fergusson, commisness of the close-fitting uniform. The figure
stands upon a granite pedestal twelve feet in height,
composed of a base, plinth, die, frieze, and cornice.
Set into the die (which is four feet square), on each
of its sides, is a bronze tablet, on three of which
are inscribed the names of the dead heroes of the
war, as follows : killed in battle, twenty-two ; died
of wounds, seventeen ; died of disease, twenty-
seven ; died in rebel prisons, sixteen ; in all,
eighty-two. On the fourth side is the following
legend —
:
Woburn honors tlie memory of her sons wlio fell in the
war for tlie Union and Freedom, 1861 -1S65.
The spirit of liberty lives in the ashes of its defenders.
The sculptor, Mr. Martin Millmore, who de-
signed the monument, both the figure and base,
is the well-known artist of Boston, whose more
recent work in the same line for that city has
greatly enhanced his reputation. The cost of the
monument, vith its surrounding bronze and gran-
ite fence, was not far from SI 1,000, for which
the first ajipropriation made by the town was
$10,000.
Manufactures. — Tire present large manufactur-
ing interests of Woburn are the outcome of small
beginnings, developed without special facilities and
without combinations of capital. For tlie first one
hundred and fifty years or more the only manufac-
tures known were those for supplying the local
wants of the inhabitants. Tanners were among
them, as they were among those of every consid-
erable town in the commonwealth. During the
war of LSI 2, or a little earlier. Deacon John Cum-
mings and General Abijah Thompson began the
tanning of leather in a small way, as their jirede-
cessors had done before them. For a number of
years they continued to supply merely the usual
local needs. But as both these men had thrifty
and enterprising natures, they soon began to extend
their business by finding customers among the
neighboring towns. In a few years a good market
was opemd for all the leather they could make,
among the shoe manufacturers, as well as among