Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: INTRODUCTION. In 1863 the Legislature of Massachusetts voted that each town should make a record of its soldiers, and of such facts relating to each and his service as might be interesting or useful to future generations. For various reasons our town neglected to make such a record at that time, and therefore, after long delay, in 1880 the town voted that such a record be made, so far as possible, and placed among the other records of the town for preservation. After considerable investigation and research, the vote has been complied with, and according to a vote of the town in March, 1882, abstracts of the same—together with some explanatory and historical narrative—is now presented to the public. UECORD. On the 12th of April 1861, the cannon of nineteen batteries rained a torrent of .hot and shell on the devoted heads of sixty beseiged and half-starved men in Fort Sumter, S. C., who stood true to their Country and had not forsaken their post even when their last biscuit was eaten. Those rebel guns battered down and set on fire the fort, compelled the surrender of the heroes, and while in the Providence of God they took not the life of a single man, they nevertheless accomplished their mission. The people heard them breaking down the great Temple of Liberty and Union which their Fathers had builded, and they roused themselves like a giant from his sleep, and the shots that were intended to sever this nation in twain, only tended to cement firmly together all loyal hearts and hands throughout the. land. The men buckled on the armor of the patriot, and grasped the sword and musket, while the women in tears, bade them go forth to fight, stayed behind to watch, and work, and pray, and wait, for nearly five long years. There are some among us who remember well the exciting...