Discover the Civil War at Mount Auburn Walk - September 21, 2013

On Saturday I attended a Civil War theme walk at Mount Auburn Cemetery entitled Discover the Civil War at Mount Auburn, an ongoing series of walks held at Mount Auburn every other month during the year.

The walk focused on notable figures who participated in political or civilian service on the home front and in military service in the Civil War.

Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Hallowell family were Quakers and ardent abolitionists who relocated to Medford, Massachusetts. Brothers Edward and Norwood Hallowell, formerly with the 20th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, served under Colonel Robert Gould Shaw of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment and survived the conflict at Fort Warren. Edward assumed the role of Colonel of the 54th Massachusetts after Robert Gould Shaw's death. Their brother Richard was appointed by Governor John Andrew as a recruiter for the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. All three brothers survived the Civil War and are buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery on Indian Ridge Path.

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Fireside poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, author of many notable poems including "Paul Revere's Ride," "Evangeline," and "The Song of Hiawatha," was a devoted supporter of abolitionism and reunification of Northern and Southern states during and after the Civil War.

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Physician and Fireside poet Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. was the father of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., who enlisted in the 20th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during the Civil War and later became a Supreme Court Justice. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. published many of his literary works in the Atlantic Monthly.

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Colonel Thomas Cass, an Irish immigrant, served as commander of the 9th Massachusetts Regiment, a regiment of Irish recruits. Colonel Cass was mortally wounded at the Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862, the final of the Seven Days Battles of the Peninsula Campaign.

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Adjacent to the Colonel Cass memorial is the gravestone of John Micheal Tobin of the 9th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, who won the Medal of Honor for his exemplary service at the Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862. Tobin took voluntary command of the 9th Massachusetts Infantry after Colonel Cass was wounded, rallying and reforming the regiment and twice picking up the regimental colors during a series of attacks.<sup>7

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Nearby is the memorial to Joseph S. Hills, a Captain in the 16th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, who was killed at the Battle of the Wilderness on May 6, 1864. His gravestone memorial prominently displays a hat and sword to commemorate his Civil War service.

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Charles W. Folsom was quartermaster for the 20th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during the Civil War and later became a superintendent of Mount Auburn Cemetery. He is buried in the same plot as his parents.<sup>10

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Brothers Edward and Paul Revere served in the 20th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment and gave the full measure of their devotion to the Union with their lives. Edward was an assistant surgeon for the 20th Massachusetts Regiment and was killed at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862 while tending the wounded on the battlefield.

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Paul was Colonel of the 20th Massachusetts Regiment during the Gettysburg Campaign and was mortally wounded on the battlefield on July 2, 1863.

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The brothers rest in the Revere family plot with their father, Joseph Warren Revere, son of the famous midnight rider Paul Revere, who spread the alarm of the impending approach of the British Regulars through Lexington on the evening of April 18, 1775.

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Charles Sumner, one of the most prominent politicians of the Civil War era, was an unceasing advocate for the abolitionist movement. His efforts almost resulted in his death when he was caned by Preston Brooks on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

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Edwin Booth gained fame as a Shakespearean actor and notoriety as the brother of John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Lincoln.

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Henry Todd, a colorbearer for the 36th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, was tragically killed at the Battle of the Wilderness on May 6, 1864. His gravestone commemorates his service as colorbearer for his regiment.

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Dorothea Dix was superintendent of nurses during the Civil War and an activist for the mentally ill.

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Charles Carleton Coffin was a journalist and Civil War correspondent. He accompanied the Army of the Potomac for the entire duration of the war and was an eyewitness to major battles.

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Rosemarie Smurzynski, a Mount Auburn docent, was a wonderful guide for this fascinating history walk. Civil War walks are an ongoing series of events at Mount Auburn Cemetery to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. For additional information about Civil War walks at Mount Auburn please visit http://www.mountauburn.org/2013/the-civil-war. For other events at Mount Auburn please visit their calendar of events at http://www.mountauburn.org/category/events.

For additional information about the Hallowell brothers please visit my blog post Remembering the Civil War at Mount Auburn and my Civil War blog Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment 150 Anniversary.

For additional information about Colonel Thomas Cass and Charles Sumner please visit my blog post Boston in the Civil War Walk at Mount Auburn Cemetery.

For information about monuments to Colonel Thomas Cass and Charles Sumner and to the gravestone of Paul Revere, please visit my blog post Boston in the Civil War Walk at Mount Auburn Cemetery - Continued.

For additional information about the Beacon Hill home of Edwin Booth and the Beacon Hill birthplace of Charles Sumner, please visit my Beacon Hill Civil War walk post Beacon Hill Civil War Walking Tour.

For additional information about the Revere brothers please visit my blog posts Boston in the Civil War Walk at Mount Auburn Cemetery and Remembering the Civil War at Mount Auburn and my Civil War blog Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment 150 Anniversary.

For additional information about Dorothea Dix please visit my blog post Banks Brigade Bee Walk at Mount Auburn Cemetery

References:
¹Mount Auburn Cemetery (Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts), Edward N. Hallowell marker, Indian Ridge Path, Lot 4124, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 21 September 2013.
²Mount Auburn Cemetery, Norwood P. Hallowell marker, Indian Ridge Path, Lot 4124, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 21 September 2013.
³Mount Auburn Cemetery, Richard Hallowell marker, Indian Ridge Path, Lot 4124, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 21 September 2013.
⁴Mount Auburn Cemetery, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow sarcophagus, Indian Ridge Path, Lot 580, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 21 September 2013.
⁵Mount Auburn Cemetery, Oliver Wendell Holmes marker, Lime Avenue, Lot 2147, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 21 September 2013.
⁶Mount Auburn Cemetery, Thomas Cass marker, Chestnut Avenue, Lot 1049, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 21 September 2013.
⁷John Michael Tobin, "Military Times Hall of Valor," Valor Awards for John Michael Tobin, (http://projects.militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=1966: 25 September 2013).
⁸Mount Auburn Cemetery, John Micheal Tobin marker, Chestnut Avenue, Lot 1049, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 21 September 2013.
⁹Mount Auburn Cemetery, Joseph S. Hills monument, Petunia Path, Lot 1450, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 21 September 2013.
¹⁰"Col. Charles W. Folsom,", The Cambridge Chronicle, 21 May 1904, online archives (http://cambridge.dlconsulting.com/cgi-bin/cambridge?a=d&d=Chronicle19040521-01.2.8521 : accessed 22 September 2013), citing original p. 7, col. 5.
¹¹Mount Auburn Cemetery, Charles Folsom marker, Myrtle Path, Lot 33, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 21 September 2013.
¹²Mount Auburn Cemetery, Edward H. Revere marker, Walnut Avenue, Lot 286, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 21 September 2013.
¹³Mount Auburn Cemetery, Paul J. Revere marker, Walnut Avenue, Lot 286, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 21 September 2013.
¹⁴Mount Auburn Cemetery, Joseph Warren Revere marker, Walnut Avenue, Lot 286, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 21 September 2013.
¹⁵Mount Auburn Cemetery, Charles Sumner monument, Arethusa Path, Lot 2447, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 21 September 2013.
¹⁶Mount Auburn Cemetery, Edwin Booth marker, Anemone Path, Lot 3281, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 21 September 2013.
¹⁷Mount Auburn Cemetery, Henry Todd marker, Spruce Avenue, Lot 1762, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 21 September 2013.
¹⁸Mount Auburn Cemetery, Dorothea Dix marker, Spruce Avenue, Lot 4731, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 21 September 2013.
¹⁹Mount Auburn Cemetery, Charles Carleton Coffin marker, Gentian Path, Lot 5781, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 21 September 2013.