Touch the Elbow - Blogging the Civil War

Killed in Action
Eli Atwood
Luthan Blake
Darius R. Clark
Ephraim L. Conant
Thomas Donovan
James B. Hancock
John E. Howe
Jonathan H. Keyes
Frederick G. Pruden
George C. Ruby
Samuel M. Ryder
George D. Snow
Edward Turner
Walter Weston
Angus W. Young
George Young

Died of Wounds
John Bryant
Andrew A. Cole
Joseph W. Collingwood
Henry H. Gardner
Andrew Hill
Horace H. Hosmer
Daniel Leahy
Marston S. Morse
Henry F. Packard
Morrill Perkins
George H. Swift
Cyrus D. Tewksbury
Henry M. Warren

Wounded in Action
William M.E. Adams
Charles Atkins
Henry W. Barnes
Nathaniel S. Barry
Albert W. Barton
George W. Bates
Benjamin Battles
James Bennett
Isaac Benson
Ezra K. Bly
Howland S. Bonney
Jesse H. Briggs
Michael Burns
Edward Cain
Henry Chandler, Jr.
Ezra S. Chase
James Chubbuck
Parvin Clapp, Jr.
Freeman Clark
James Clements
Henry D. Clemons
George N.B. Cousens
Eugene S. Covert
Edward Coyle
John E. Cullen
Thomas Curran
James E. Cushman
Charles H. Damon
James E. Damon
John D. Damon
William R. Damon
John Dolan
Jacob Doremus
Charles H. Drew
Patrick O. Dulinty
Daniel Dwyer
Thomas Ford
John Foster
Philemon Fuller
John D. Gardner
Jesse C. Gifford
Thomas H. Griffin
Otis S. Guild
Andrew Hall
Larnett H. Hammond
Christopher T. Hanley
Edward Harrington
Levi Hawkes
Joseph B. Head
William G. Hewins
Henry A. Hixon
John F. Hogan
Richard H. Holmes
William Holmes
Alonzo Howard
Francis M. Howe
Caleb Howland
John Q. Jacobs
Patrick Kennedy
Henry Keyes
Washington King
Edgar B. Lake
John Lewis
William E. Loner
Lucas Longendyck
Franklin W. Luce
George W. Mann
Jacob Maxim
Timothy McCarty
Albert F. Mellen
John Mullen
Martin Mullen
John W. Nelson
Michael Nolan
Richard F. O'Connell
Patrick O'Donnell
Thomas B. Pratt
Christopher C. Redding
George R. Reed
Milton Reed
Nicholas H.F. Richardson
Warren A. Richardson
Andrew W. Russell
Charles D. Shaw
Henry Shaw
Hiram F. Sherman
Charles W. Simpson
Willard M. Simpson
Zenas Skinner
Earl T. Smith
Frederick H. Smith
William D. Smith
Aaron H. Snell
Edward Southworth
Benjamin F. Sowle
Abner L. Stetson
George H. Stevens
Albert W. Sturdy
Jesse L. Swift
Harrison O. Thomas
Charles H. Thompson
Charles Tolman
Ebenezer R. Tripp
Louis N. Tucker
Seth C. Vickery
William S. Walker
Lewis S. Weston
Thomas P. Wetherby
Edmund Whalley
John White
Eugene Whiting
Isaac C. Whittemore
William H. Winsor
Naaman W. Witherell
George R. Wixon

What’s in a date?

Depends on who you ask but it is guaranteed, every day is special for someone.

Today is no different.

I was wondering what I would find if I searched for today’s date in our database of the 18th Massachusetts. It took no less than 30 seconds to find a match and ten seconds later, I found another. I wonder how many other matches I might find if I looked in deeper, checking out the other dates?

I don’t think I will though. I will stop with what I have found – it seems like I should share what I have found.

You see, for these two soldiers, December 11th is the last day that they took part in this earth. For them; it is the anniversary of their death and I am sure it has not been remembered for quite some time.

So today will also be the day that we remember them, for that seems like a better way to celebrate this day.


Edward E. Luther: born in Taunton, MA, the son of John and __ (Goff) Luther, who were born in Ireland. At age 20 he married Jane Barker, age 22 and the daughter of James, at Taunton on July 21, 1857. They were the parents of Ella F., born April 25, 1858; twins Anna M. and Emma T., born Jan. 12, 1864; and Ida M., born Jan. 17, 1870. Luther was a 26 year old Moulder from Taunton, when he enlisted at Dedham, MA on August 19, 1861 and was mustered into the 18th Mass. Infantry on August 24, 1861 as a Private in Co. G. Per Company G records, he stood 5 ft. 7-1/2 in. tall, with brown hair, grey eyes, and light complexion. He was discharged due to disability at Hall's Hill, VA on Dec. 24, 1861. Following his military service, Luther resided at Taunton, Readville, North Adams, and Fall River, MA, where he was employed in cotton mills. He applied for an Invalid pension on Apr. 22, 1887 and received benefits of $8.00 per month under Certificate #: 396491, due to disability from heart disease. Luther, age 65 and a Mill Overseer, died of heart disease at Fall River, MA on Dec. 11, 1890. His wife Jane applied for a Widow's pension on Dec. 17, 1900 and was issued benefits of $12 per month under Certificate #: 513917. Jane Luther died at Fall River, MA on May 24, 1926.

Patrick Henry Flynn: born Aug. 15, 1843 in Borcenes, County Meath, Ireland, the son of Thomas and Mary (Savage) Flynn. He was an 18 year old Weaver from Dedham, MA, when he enlisted at Quincy, MA on and was mustered into the 18th Mass. Infantry on August 24, 1861 as a Private in Co. K. He was discharged due to disability, due to curvature of the spine, at Washington, DC on May 26, 1862. Following his military service, Flynn resided at Dedham until 1866, then in Lowell, MA until 1868, and permanently in Lawrence from 1868, being employed as a sewing machine agent. He married Caroline Frances Donovan at St. Francis de Sales Church, Roxbury, MA on Sept. 9, 1866. She was born Oct. 14, 1843 at Whitefield, ME, the daughter of Daniel and Mary (Sheehy) Donovan, both born in Ireland. Patrick and Caroline were the parents of three children, Florence Mary, born Aug. 1, 1868; Gertrude Frances, born May 27, 1871; and Caroline Elizabeth, born June 2, 1873. Flynn attended the Regiment's 40th Anniversary Dinner at Norwell, MA in 1901. He applied for an Invalid pension on August 28, 1906 and received initial benefits of $6.00 per month under Certificate #: 1127939, due to a partial inability to earn a support by manual labor. Flynn, age 72, died of a heart aneurysm at his home, 111 Haverhill St., Lawrence, MA on Dec. 11, 1915 and was buried at St. Mary's Tomb, Lawrence. His wife Caroline applied for a Widow's pension on Dec. 31, 1915 and was issued initial benefits of $12 per month under Certificate #: 804208. Caroline Flynn, age 81, died due to pneumonia at her home, 312 Lowell St., Lawrence, MA on Feb. 3, 1922 and was buried Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Metheun, MA.