Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1889-09-20
COMPANY I, 2nd VERMONT
Historical Paper by Peter n. Chase.
lRead at the reunion held in Mechancsville Sept.

htstortcol fnper ny refer ~ NhhHe'
lRead at the reunion held in Mechanicsville Sept
9th, 1882
In opening his paper Mr. Chase alluded 10 the
inspiring memories which are the portion Of the
surviving soldiers Of the Union army, and 10 the
brave and helpful part borne by the women Of the
country In the conflict. When the call TO arms
came Nermont'g governor, Erastus Fairbanks
was one Of the first to pledge the support OF nus
state to the Union cause. During the conhct
Vermont sent - 2}S soldiers to the front, Of whom
1911 died In battle, 1Ol from wounds, g2 from
disease and accident, and go In rebel prisons
Proceeding TO the history Of the company proper
Mr.. Chase said:
We meet here in this beautiful town to
review the history of the 2d Regt Vt. Vols.
There were 1858 men in its organization
during its four years of active service. of
this number, 1873 were killed in action, ~
died of wounds received in action, l39 died
of disease, % in Confederate prisons, and
four from accident-a total of 35S deaths.
Transferred to other regiments, \ honor
ably discharged, 434 dishonorably dis
charged, "a deserted, 11S unaccounted
for, Z transferred to veteran reserve corps
100 mustered out at various times, IO2
There were 613 wounded, nearly one-third
of the 1858 men. The record that the reg
iment made for itself is one that every sur
viving member feels a just pride in. The
state holds in grateful remembrance the
names of those who we're enrolled in the
2d Regt VT Vols Many of our comrades,
since the dread tumult and excitement of
war, have heard the last tap of the drum
tgi,bts o,,tu ,yboee silant tents are snread
on yonder camping ground.
safe tented on that glorious field.
His weary marches cease;
For rest unbinds the warriors shield -
He knows unhrokeh rest
Comrades. it is your desire at this time
to hear little history of Company | of this
grand old regiment. The men Of this com
pany were mostly residents of this and ad-
Joining towns. There were 1893 men in the
company from the time it was mustered in
to service by Lieut.. Col. Rains at Burling-
ton, June 20, 1861, until its final discharge
at Washington, July -, 1865. A condens-
ed descriptive roll of these men, as given
at the time of their enlistment, might be of
novel interest to many. There were l31
native born Nermonters, 33 from other
states 13 Canadians, from Ireland, 3 from
Scotland, / from England, and that gave
no residence The average height of these
men was nearly feet inches Sherman
w. Parkhurst and Daniel p. Perkins were
the tallest men in the company, their height
| being feet inches and q feet = inches /;
while Edwin b. Chase and Abel Ray were
/
) feet inches each. The average age of
the men was nearly "a years. They rep
resented 81 different occupations | II were
| farmers, - mechanics, railroaders, each
of carpenters, painters and shoemakers, 3
| each of statesmen, clerks and printers, , each
| of lawyers, butchers and millers, | each of
school teachers, musicians, Students saw
yers, smiths, tinmen, silversmiths, fishers
/ and sailors with Erastus G.. Ballou, who
represented no occupation. The complex
| ION Of these men was 81 light. 30 sandy,
! - dark, , fair, while James Riley, a native
Of the Emerald Isle, had blue eyes, brown
| hair and a ruddv complexion The color
Of the mems hair was So brown, 81 dark,
| 30 light, 20 black, lG sandy, , red and ,
auburn, while Jehiel Savery had blue eyes,
dark complexion, and was the first man to
wear his hair gray-the regulation color
among the old soldiers of today. The color
Of the mems eyes was liO blue, Is gray,
| - black, | | hazel dark, 3 brown and 3
| light.
When the individual history of these men
shall be written and their individual acts
recorded. then the pathos of the historian
shall mingle with the sparkling wit of the
true Irish soldier For nearly four long
years We were comrades in arms camped
marched, bore our joys and sorrows in
common. fought ON many "a blood stained
battle field, and made for ourselves a record
that will live in history. In remembrance
of our army life and service, and with a
| desire to keep active that fraternal regard
which should ever exist among men whose
loyalty to country should ever mingle with
the freedom and unity of Vermont, we meet
| here as comrades tried in dangers many.
! Creed, faction, race or language cannot di
vide us Our friendship shall reunite at
the City of Gold, when we march through
| the Beautiful Gate. These little reunions
will cease, but the glorious impressions they
make shall never cease, NOR their light be
auenched in the light of peace The old
| Liberty Bell was cracked in the attempt to
have it ring out liberty in that Philadelphia
belfry long years ago. Since 1865 our bells,
"a they ring out upon these New England
| hills and all over our broad land, have told
the t,1,h when they proclaimed Liberty to
the world" And this is the mission that
the soldiers of Vermont helped to fulfil
We are not government paupers, nor a
clamorous mob eager to rob the government
treasury, when we ask at the hands of
the government a small pittance to help us
to the common necessaries of life in our de-
clinng years. 1t was the blood of our fall
EN- comrades, the broken health and crippled
forms OF these men, that made thls repub
] lie ba lau1 pf iu1iyi1ual hbartV We do