They Answered the Call – Part 2

Part 2 of 2

by Mary Pickard

Images from Scarborough Historical Society, Maine Historical Society, and Maine State Archives

Clara Moses letter to soldier, ca. 1862

Clara Moses letter to soldier, ca. 1862

Letters to and from soldiers revealed concerns about the future. In a letter to her friend Gardner Waterhouse with the 7th Maine, Clara Moses cautioned, “Take good care of yourself as you can and take care of your money too, so when you some home you will have something to buy a farm.”

Melville Milliken, serving with the 12th Maine, in a letter to his folks, was concerned about a box of letters he sent home “to get rid of lugging them. He wrote, “and if I should ever get home I should like to keep them and if not they are of no use to anyone and will be destroyed.”

Cpl. Milliken letter to parents, Louisiana, 1863

Cpl. Milliken letter to parents, Louisiana, 1863

Many did not return from the war. Some died in battle: George E. Merrill, Battle of Fredericksburg, 1862; Henry Farr, Battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia, 1864; Robert Waterhouse, the Wilderness, 1864; Enoch Snow, Battle of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, 1862; and Mahlon Parker, Siege of Port Hudson, 1863.

Others died of disease: Martin Perry, 1863; Benjamin Waterhouse, 1863; and Charles Gustin, 1863. Some died in prison: Sumner Cummings Libby, Salisbury Prison, North Carolina, 1863; John Young, 1865.

Noah and Harriet Pillsbury, Scarborough, ca. 1910

Noah and Harriet Pillsbury, Scarborough, ca. 1910

Freedom Milliken was one who did return home and for many years was the Town Clerk of Scarborough. Noah Pillsbury, who became Scarborough’s first Rural Free Delivery mailman and toll taker for the Columbia Pike, the road across the Scarborough Marsh, also returned.

Thomas Libby, who had been held captive in a Confederate prison in Salisbury, North Carolina, became proprietor of the West Point Hotel at Prouts Neck.

Zebulon Knight, a carpenter, became minister of the South Berwick/Wells Christian Church beginning in 1875, remaining there for 43 years.

Horatio Hight represented Scarborough in the Maine House and later moved to Portland where he served many years as a weigher and gauger in the Customs House.

Zebulon and Ida Knight, Scarborough, ca. 1910

Zebulon and Ida Knight, Scarborough, ca. 1910

Charles C.G. Thornton, scion of a prominent Saco business family for whom Thornton Academy is named, became successful in the flour milling trade in Massachusetts and Wisconsin. Thornton also donated the church bell at the Black Point Congregational Church.

And Hiram Berry? He returned to farming and built a farm in the northwest section of Scarborough.

All of Scarborough’s soldiers are honored by the monument dedicated by Augustus Freedom Moulton in 1913. The principal inscription on the Soldiers Monument reads: “Scarboro/To Her Sons/Who Fought/For The Union.”

The monument was made possible through the efforts of the Outlook Club, a local women’s group that initiated the memorial project by holding an ice cream and bake sale to raise funds. The Scarborough Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Association formed, and the ladies held fundraising fairs and entertainments around town.

Augustus F. Moulton

Augustus F. Moulton

The monument was erected at the cost of $2,500: local donors and proceeds from fundraisers contributed $1,500 and the town gave $1,000. By the time of the dedication, the monument recognized not only Civil War soldiers but also those who served in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

Augustus Moulton persuaded the Good Templars to move their meeting place from the site where the monument was to be erected to its present site next to the Dunstan Fire Station and the Scarborough Historical Society. It is now the Gov. William King Masonic Lodge.

Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, Scarborough, 1950

Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, Scarborough, 1950

Nearly 100 years after the monument’s dedication, the town and State Department of Transportation announced plans to reconfigure the busy intersection next to the monument, necessitating its relocation.

At a 2011 town hearing, residents weighed in with their opinions and the message was clear — for historical reasons and tradition, don’t move the monument. Plans were changed and the Soldiers’ Monument remained in its original location at the corner of Broadturn Road and Route 1 in Dunstan.

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They Answered the Call – Part 1

Text by Mary Pickard

Images from Scarborough Historical Society, Maine Historical Society, and Maine State Archives

Civil War recruiting broadside, 1861

Civil War recruiting broadside, 1861

To Arms! Citizens! Our Country Calls!! Come on sons of Maine! Our brethren are already in the field; why stand we here idle! Now is the time! Best chance yet offered!

An October 1861 Civil War recruiting poster used peer pressure to urge able-bodied men of Scarborough to join their brethren already in the fray. The poster also implied that benefits of signing up immediately would be better than previous offers. The recruiting officers, Charles C. G. Thornton and Horatio Hight, were Scarborough men.

Most of Scarborough’s townspeople were staunch supporters of the Union, and appeals to enlist in Civil War regiments were taken seriously. Brothers, cousins, friends and neighbors answered the call. Among them were many from the Libby, Milliken, Pillsbury, Coolbroth, Rounds and Waterhouse families.

Hiram Berry enlistment receipt, Scarborough, 1864On October 19, 1861, at the age of 18, Hiram Berry enlisted as a private in the Co. C of the 12th Maine Infantry. This document acknowledges Berry's receipt of $200 for enlisting on the quota of the town of Scarborough. Johnson Libby signed with receipt, with Horatio Hight and Freedom Milliken, who were fellow Scarborough volunteers, witnessing the signing. After serving three years with his regiment and taking part in many Civil War battles, Berry was mustered out on March 14, 1864 at Camp Parapet, Louisiana. He re-enlisted immediately in the same company and regiment serving until he was discharged on April 18, 1866 in Savannah, Georgia. Hiram Berry was born on August 15, 1843 in Scarborough to Ruth Berry. After the war, Berry became a carpenter and farmer. He married Edith May Storey on September 28, 1895 in Gorham. Hiram was was 53 and Edith was 21. They had 10 children and he loved growing roses. Berry died in Scarborough on January 8, 1915 and is buried in Dunstan Cemetery.

Hiram Berry enlistment receipt, Scarborough, 1864

Charles Thornton, Auditor of Accounts for Scarborough, resigned his office on October 19, 1861 and enlisted on November 15, 1861.

Berry family legend tells of young Hiram, a Pillsbury family handyman, who met a Union recruiter when sent for water one day. Hiram enlisted on the spot and never returned with the water, but instead went off to war.

At the dedication of the Soldiers’ Monument in Dunstan in 1913, the Hon. Augustus Freedom Moulton remarked: “During the Civil War no town and no place surpassed the patriotic record of old Scarboro. Every quota was promptly filled. Every requisition was promptly met. The town was depleted of its young men. In all the great battles in the East, Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Antietam, Gettysburg and the rest the men from Scarboro took part, and in the far South, New Orleans, Port Hudson and Red River and elsewhere our boys were present and did their duty.”

Town Warrant, Scarborough, 1861

Town Warrant, Scarborough, 1861

While not unique in its response, Scarborough did meet every quota. In all, approximately 240 men from the town, which had a population of about 1,600, answered the call and served in the war.

This number included some men from other towns who signed on to fill Scarborough’s quotas and receive bounty money. Others signed on as substitutes for Scarborough men and received a commutation fee, as did Joseph Coy of Portland, a substitute for Simon Libby of Scarborough.

During the war years, town warrants seeking approval for monies needed to pay bounties, commutation fees, and support of soldiers’ families were posted in the stores of Freedom Milliken, Joseph Sherman and John Higgins.

Town meeting notice, Scarborough, 1861

Town meeting notice, Scarborough, 1861

The Town of Scarborough Annual Report, March 1863—March 1864, recorded some of these expenditures. Twenty men, three-year volunteers, were mustered in from May 25, 1862 to July 7, 1863 at a cost of $125 bounty per man, or $2,500.

Under the call for nine-month volunteers of August 4, 1862, the quota of 20 men was met again at a cost of $125 bounty per man, or $2,500. The Scarborough quota for the call of October 17, 1863 was for 40 men.

Of this group, 33 volunteered, one was drafted, 5 furnished substitutes, and 5 paid commutation, leaving Scarborough a credit of 4 men toward a future call. The 33 men were paid a bounty of $310 each; the other 11 were paid $300 each. Anticipated calls and expenses for the following year were also reported.

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Charles C. G. Thornton

Charles C. G. Thornton, Scarborough, 1863

Contributed by Maine State Archives

charles-c-g-thornton-scarborough-1863

Charles C. G. Thornton, 1863

Captain Charles C. G. Thornton of the 12th Maine Infantry, Company C, was born in 1830 to James Brown and Elizabeth Gookin Thornton in Saco. Charles attended Thornton Academy from 1839 to 1843. Thornton was married to Annie C. and had a daughter named Mary. In 1861, he was 31 years old, his wife was 28, and Mary was seven.

In 1861, Thornton organized Scarborough area men into Company C of the 12th Maine Infantry regiment to fight in the Civil War. He was listed as having a dark complexion, black eyes and black hair. The regiment was mustered in at Cape Elizabeth on November 15, 1861 with Thornton as its captain.

The regiment served in Louisiana. It was there at the Battle of Ponchatoula in September 1862 that Charles was wounded. After recovering, served on General George F. Shepley’s staff.

Shepley, a previous commander of the 12th Maine, was then serving as the military governor for Louisiana. On October 31, 1864, Thornton was mustered out of the regiment. He immediately re-enlisted with the rank of lt. colonel in the U.S. 4th Regiment Colored Infantry and served in this capacity until his final mustering out on June 18, 1866.

As a member of a prominent Saco business family, it was only normal for Thornton to enter into that profession after returning from the battlefront. He began his career in Massachusetts working in the flour trade. By 1880 he was working in the milling business in Wisconsin. He was successful enough that in November 1892 he donated a fine church bell to the Scarborough Congregational Church at Black Point.

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Edward T Pilsbury

Edward T Pilsbury, Scarborough, ca. 1864

Contributed by Maine State Archives

Edward T Pilsbury, Scarborough, ca. 1864

Edward T. Pilsbury

Edward Pilsbury served as a second lieutenant in the 12th Maine Infantry, Company C during the Civil War. Pilsbury was 28 when he mustered in as a sergeant on November 15, 1861, in Portland. He rose through the ranks during the war, eventually being commissioned captain on December 12, 1864.

Pilsbury, born in Biddeford, was a resident of Scarborough in 1861. At the time of his enlistment, he was described as having a dark complexion, hazel eyes, dark hair, and was six feet, one inches tall. Pilsbury, a seaman by trade, was the oldest of nine children of Charles Carl and Eunice Waterhouse Pilsbury.

The 12th Maine regiment was mustered out on December 7, 1864, but Edward Pilsbury continued to serve as part of military district #21, stationed in Savannah, Georgia, to help with the reconstruction of the South after the end of the Civil War. The 1870 census dated 29 June shows Pilsbury was still in Savannah at that time. However, the 1870 census dated 9 August shows Pilsbury back in Scarborough in the household of his parents Charles and Eunice.

Pilsbury died of consumption in Newbury, Massachusetts on July 20, 1878 and is buried in Scarborough at the Dunstan Cemetery.

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Frederic C. Prince

Frederic C. Prince, Scarborough, 1863

Contributed by Maine State Archives

Frederic C. Prince, Scarborough, 1863

Frederic C. Prince, 1863

Second Lt. Frederic C. Prince was born on June 15, 1842, in Cumberland to Paul (1785-1868) and Abigail Wells Prince (1804-1871).

On December 3, 1863, at the age of twenty-one, Prince enlisted in Company C of the 2nd Maine Cavalry to fight in the Civil War. By enlisting in Scarborough, he added his name to the town’s quota requirement. His enlistment documents indicate that he was 5-feet 7-1/2 inches tall, with blue eyes and brown hair.

Prince was the quartermaster sergeant of the regiment, earning a promotion to 1st sergeant on August 1, 1864. Though the carte de visit identifies him as a 2nd Lieutenant, there is no information as to when this promotion might have occurred.

Frederic Prince and the 2nd Maine Cavalry fought in one of the last battles of the war at Fort Blakely, Alabama, on April 9, 1865, just two hours after General Robert E Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House. He was last stationed in Barrancas, Florida prior to being mustered out on December 6, 1865.

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