Litchfield enquirer., 1862-10-02

s-zF -: t1' Da aAsh 2, ottsiio AVA ~
 lery, whosfeu at the battle'ef Antietam Greek, on the l7th ip.t will be sorrowfully romembsrsd by our N rf0lk readers, in whose town the early years of his life were spent, and here he was greatly esteemed and beloved by ali who knew him. His death will greatly surprises and shock
 the wide Circle of his friends in this county.
 Westake the following kindly obituary notice of him from the Northampton (Mass) Courier- It gives so true and accurate an estimate of M his character, and e,cleAglya narrates his mod lest though heroic life. and his sad yet triumph
 ant death, that we need add nothing to it.
 T LIEUTENANT WILLIAM LAwHHNcE BAKER, T Surely the Demon of rebellion may we'll gloat over tite harvest of heroes gathered on Sep I tem5nr bartle felds.s Kearney, Stevens, Reno.
 and Mansfield, with hundreds of other gallant
 officers inferior only in age and rank have with
 in the current mon b fallen in the cause of their government Again, too, have the casualties of war come home to our own circle of citizens,
 and to-day we would .fan mingle with private griefy our tribute of admiration and respect for
 the memory of another. of Northampton's bray l est young men sh2 l%. Ff5r ."s. S' .'-1e' l. Young Bakers year of service has been crow ed with earnest work and perilous exposure, unfolding even to those who knew him best new I and noble points ofsmanh hood, and making his soldlerly example. it to be emblazoned before those just entering upon the untried life of the camp. zs[ a SSss-zf% yss1s s &~sz'7
 Lieut.. Baker was thesson of our fsllow=citiz- lens. the Hon. Osmyn Baker. and was born at
 Amherst, Oct, G. 1859. His early life was so cast as almost necessarily to strengthen the
 tendencies of an independspt and self-seliant
 nature; with abundant advantages ofeducation
 he chose to qualify himself for such a vocation
 as was most congenial to his bent for active life 'l-that of civil engineering and at the age of nineteen graduated from the scientific depart
 ment of Dartmouth College. considerable por-
 ton of hls next year was spent in visiting the principle cities of Europe. Not long after his
 return, when civil war had become inevitable
 ana position Tn the army seem no longer like ly to be slnecure, he resolved on applying for
 a I'd Lleutenant's commission in the regular
 service, and to make the profession of arms the business Of his life. His case seemed one of
 such promise, as not to be long in winning fla
 vorable' at tention in official quarters. Indeed
 he was offered by the war department his elec-
 tlon betaosen captGin's and Heutenant's commits
 saon with desire expressed that he should take g: plsincy. Hisreply, however, was prompt and
 as manly as 1t was modest, ..s that he preferred to aran h's promotion on his mertts,' and there lore chose the lower commission. Ho was ac-
 cordlngly commissioned 2d lieutenant of ar
 tillery in August, 1861, being then 2l years of age Joining his company at Washington, he re- , malned there till December, when he received
 in due course his prametion to lst lieutenancy.
 This transferred him at once to scenes of active
 service under Gen. Rosencrans in Western Nir-
 ginia. In taking leave of friend at Washing
 ton, he said-' Should it be my fortune 10 take
 any part in this campaign,I hope I shall not disgrace myself or mako you ashamed of your
 kindness toward me p lie promptly reported
 himself for duty in Western Va. as ordered. and
 found his company (E, 4th Artillery waiting for him tc take full command, and in the ab- seIce of their captain-Clark-obedie to or ders, he pushed forward with his 12O men hor
 ses and batteries, to Romney some f75 miles dis
 tant. Though assyet with scarce three months
 experience lie acquitted himself in his novel snd ?ing position like veteran, and from tthis tiaeIorth ever had the confidence of both
 officers and men.
 He was first G under frs'' in the bloody bat 5 tie of Winchester, where Gen. Shields was woun-
 ded and Gen. Banks followed up with sreh en- ergy the rstreatins rebels. It was agior this
 battle that staff ofIc cer speaking of Liert Bak- CT said, '' his bsttery did it's duty nobly !''- Filis next aceae of sergice was a tosome ten days march il am the valley of the Shenandoah across the mountains to reinforce Mcdowell on fthe Kappanhannock. Arriving at Frederick
 burg on the 25th of May, his command foot-sore
 and weary, had scarcely >ime in t.i;e breath,
 when OF the -JiN they were Oruefcft DSCk aEalu
 by force, marches to the rolicf of Gen. Banks,
 who vas hard pressed by the overwhelming for CTS Of Stoncwall Jackson, and il Was in the das- perate en. !galaent near tue br:efg. at Port Re-
 publ C. where 253J Union troops fought agains t
 all odIs ui 23, ,O00 rebels, that Clark 5 batteries
 were handled with coolness and effect that
 ssntl for Cant. Clark and Lieut.. Baker tie most
 eni b l. siastlo praise. .JCuginS from outside ac- :: couGts--pct loss than from Lieut.. Bakers mod
 est narratvc-ihcf fight at Port Republic was the most hrsry ordeal of his life always except ing of course the battle of An: ie:am in which he i, fell. Capt. Clark-himself most accomplised and gallant officer was heard to say that for the firmness and obstinacy with which his com
 mand held their position in the unequal strug- , gle st Port Republic, he was largely indebted
 to Lieut.. Baker, and that when his own guns were captured for want of horses to remove them, Lieut.. Baker rushed to his relief, and , though the rshel nlusketry gas pouring in its
 fire at 30 yards young Baker stocd to his guns with tho ceolness ofa InaRsat target,s practice. ] He seemed to know no such thing as fear Af- ter successfully aiding 10 cover Gen. Banks re-
 treat, wastedin' numbers and strength by forced marches, severe lighting and short rations, and
 with no opportunity to recruit, Clark's command
 sxt found themss.yes with Reno under Pope in lthe Friday and Saturdays fight near Manas- } sas and the Monday near Fairfax Court House. , In the same engagement where Gems: Kearney , and Stevens fell, q cannon shot carried away the cantled of Lieut. Bakers ssddle,4 making 2 said havop with his only wardrobc--a rubber ' overcoat.
 ;, His career subsequent to Popc's retreat from
 Fairfax is O sadly fresh to need to bs recalled
 zIt is enough to say, that his lot was with Burn Eside, and that means fghing to the end. The
 end indeed was too soon not however for him.
 self-but for his country The last we hear of l him was, that '.Clarks Battery on Wednes-
 day, the day of the memorable battle of Antie-
 tam while moving to an exposed positfon-had
 every commissioned officer-captain and all his
 lieutenants shet down-eyen before they could
 open fire ! Thus fell our young friend heroic ally doing his duty. His modesty and fortitude
 his quick intelligence and manly sense, his gen. erosity and kindness to equals-his consdera- l ton of those under him-his serenity and nerve under trial-will for many day keep his men,
 ory green, after events now transpiring shall
 havo passed into history.
 Full returns from Summers and Rockers corps show the following lossesin the battle of Antie esasa: >e ....s ...-... . ;: Killed. Wounded. Missing. Total.
 Summers s6O 3,797 458 5,ll5