Charles C. G. Thornton

Posted on November 7, 2016 by scarbo7_wp

Charles C. G. Thornton, Scarborough, 1863

Contributed by Maine State Archives

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.

Posted in People, They Answered the Call | Tagged Charles C. G. Th, Civil War, Elizabeth Gookin Thornton, James Brown | Comments Off

Edward T Pilsbury

Posted on November 6, 2016 by scarbo7_wp

Edward T Pilsbury, Scarborough, ca. 1864

Contributed by Maine State Archives

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

Posted on November 5, 2016 by scarbo7_wp

Frederic C. Prince, Scarborough, 1863

Contributed by Maine State Archives

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.

Posted in People, They Answered the Call | Tagged Abbigail Wells, Civil War, Frederic C. Prince, Paul Prince | Comments Off

George Washington Pillsbury

Posted on November 4, 2016 by scarbo7_wp

George Washington Pillsbury, Louisiana, ca. 1863

Contributed by Scarborough Historical Society & Museum

George Washington Pillsbury, ca. 1863

George W. Pillsbury was stationed in Louisiana with the 12th Maine Infantry Regiment, Company C during the Civil War.

George Pillsbury was born in Scarborough on November 17, 1834. He was the second child of eight of Charles and Eunice Waterhouse Pillsbury. The Pillsbury farm was located on the Beech Ridge Road and bordered the Dunstan River. The Pillsbury family attended the West Scarborough Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1856, George Pillsbury married Statira Staples of Limington. She had come to Scarborough to teach school.

Pillsbury enlisted in the 12th Maine Infantry Regiment, Company C, which mustered in Portland on November 16, 1861. Enlisting along with him were his brother, Edward, and a neighbor, Melville Milliken, who would later become George Pillsbury’s brother-in-law. While the 12th Maine was stationed in Louisiana, George contracted malaria. In 1864, he was discharged due to illness and sent home.

While George Pillsbury served in the Civil War, his family lived in Dunstan. The family hired a young neighbor, Hiram Berry, to help around the home. One day, when sent for water, Berry met a Union recruiter and was enticed to enlist. Berry never returned with the water, but went to war instead as one of Scarborough’s volunteers.

After recuperating, George Pillsbury bought a farm on Mitchell Hill Road. He farmed and did carpentry work, making a comfortable living. He and his wife had eight children. George died of kidney failure on November 3, 1887. The malaria he contracted in the south was the leading contributor to his death, which at that time was called Bright’s Disease.

Posted in People, They Answered the Call | Tagged Charles Pillsbury, Civil War, Eunice Waterhouse, George W. Pillsbury, Hiram Berry, Statira Staples | Comments Off

Horace W. Moore

Posted on November 3, 2016 by scarbo7_wp

Horace W. Moore, Scarborough, 1863

Contributed by Scarborough Historical Society & Museum

Horace W. Moore, 1863

Horace Moore was born in Biddeford, on October 17, 1844 to Jeremiah and Mary Ann Brown Moore. At the time of his enlistment to serve in the Civil War, he was five foot eleven inches tall with blue eyes and dark hair and worked as a shoemaker.

Moore originally enlisted on November 15, 1861 in the 12th Maine Infantry, Company C, at Cape Elizabeth. Both family and government records indicate that Moore deserted and reenlisted under several names during the Civil War. On October 22, 1868, he enlisted once more in the 3rd Artillery, Company M, at Fort Preble in Portland. He served until being mustered out on October 22, 1871 while stationed in Fort Jefferson, Florida.

Moore married Annie M. Davis on April 17, 1901. He died in Scarborough on March 19, 1909, age 64, of pulmonary tuberculosis, and is buried in the Veterans Cemetery in Togus.

Posted in People, They Answered the Call | Tagged Annie M. Davis, Civil War, Horace W. Moore, Jeremiah mMoore, Mary Ann Brown | Comments Off

Scarborough Historical Society