The 28thcompiled by Daniel Lynch

This photobook contains historical images and text that depicts the 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and the Civil War reenactors who live its history today. Three groups of reenactors devote their time to studying and recreating the experience of this particular Civil War regiment. The mem-bers of these groups hail from Cambridge, MA, Salem, MA, and parts the United Kingdom and Ire-land. The 28th was formed in December of 1861 in Cambridge. Irish immigrants mustered into the regiment and filled its ranks. They would play key roles in many of the war’s decisive battles. The sol-diers of the 28th faught at Spottsville, Chancellors-ville, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg and Cold Harbor. Some of these battles were particularly gruesome engagements and by the end of the war more than one quarter of the men that had enlisted perished.

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“My Dear Ellen, I am well. No fighting yesterday; but we

expect some to-day. Put your trust and confidence in God.

Ask His Blessing. Kiss my poor little children for me. You

must not give up in despair- all will yet be well. My infantry

has suffered much in officers and men. I am in good health

and spirits. I am content. I fear nothing, thank Heaven, but

my sins. Do not let your spirits sink; we will meet again.

I will write you soon again; but we are going to move just

now. Good-by, good-by; and that a kind and just God

may look to you and your children is my fervent prayer.”

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“So I must conclude. Do pray for us, we look shabby

and thin, though we were called a clean infantry. I saw a

great deal of shot and wounded. Balls drove through their

lines. The 28th Mass. suffered along with the 79th New

York. Our infantry stood the severest fire that was wit-

nessed. During the war, when we got into the woods, we

ran through what we did not shoot. We bayoneted them.

One man begged and got no mercy, a yankee ran him

through. Thank God it was not an Irishman that did it.

So I must conclude. I remain your humble husband Dennis

Ford until death. I am in hopes I will see Haverhill once

more before I die with the help of God. Direct to Wash-

ington, to me, Company H, 28 infantry Mass. Vol. Tell

Mrs. McCormick her friend Thomas Cline is well. There

was one James Short from Lawrence fell in the last battle.”

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Introduction

Photo of tents at a temporary training camp for 28th Volunteer Infantry reenactors at the Chatham Manor near the battlefield at Fredericksburg, VA. Some reenactors of the French Irish Brigade from the Revolu-tionary War also participated in the 28th Infantry reenactors training exercises.

Officers from the 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Comapny B in the United Kingdom reenactors drill recruits.

On November 11, 2011 The Cambridge Public Library hosted a living history of the Civil War event in which the 28th Massachusetts reen-actors marched and ate hard tack made by a Civil War era women reenactors.

U.S. Civil War reenactors from the 28th Massachusetts Infantry Com-pany B of the United Kingdom eat period-correct food at their tent during a living history event in Southern England.

James Fleming and John Knight of the 28th Massachusetts Infantry sit for their portrait. Both rose through the ranks of the Infantry to become Lt. Colonel and 1st Lieutenant respectively in Company B before the end of the war. At one point Knight had been taken prisoner by confed-erates.

James Carruthers of Salisbury, MA became the Sergeant of Company I when he enlisted in the 28th Massachusetts Infantry in 1862. He was discharged for a disability in 1863.

Col. Patrick O’Rorke was originally from Co. Cavan, Ireland and was one of the first Irish graduates of West Point Military Academy. Here he is pictured twice, once in a yearbook photo from West Point and once as commander of The Irish Brigade. He was killed at Cold Harbor, VA.

This German-silver sword and scabbard belonged to Col. Richard By-rnes (pictured above) of the 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry who was commissioned to lead the Infantry on September 30, 1862.The text is an excerpt from a letter that Byrnes wrote to his wife, Ellen on May 17, 1864. Byrnes wrote the letter as a good-bye because he was certain he was about to be killed in battle the next day. He ended up surviving the next day’s battle in Spottsylvania, PA but was wounded two week after. He died in a hospital near Cold Harbor, VA. His wife was able to see him before he passed away.

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Introduction William F. Cochrane was a 2nd Lieutenant in the 28th Infantry after being promoted by Col. Byrnes. Cochrane died from wounds in May of 1864.

Emily Petrosh, 9, of North Attleboro, a member Girl Scout Troop 785, tries out a general cut-out for size.The phot was taken at the Attleboro Area Civil War Commemorative Committee at the First Baptist Church, where members of the 7th Massachusetts Infantry left for the conflict in July 1861.”Did they really carry that big gun?” one of the Girl Scouts asked.”They certainly did,” a reenactor replied.

The Enfield rifle (pictured) was an import from the United Kingdom and was acquired for more than half of the 28th Volunteer Infantry by Massachusetts Governor John Andrew. Most soldiers in The Irish Bri-gade” apart from the 28th used a .69 calibre M1842 Springfield rifle so the Enfield has become a distinguishing feature of the 28th’s legacy and its reenactors collections.

This photograph of a miniature battlefield is documentation of one move in a boardgame that a hobbyist named Craig Welter created in order to simulate battle situations given information from journals, reports, photographs, and landscapes. In this sequence the Major Gen-eral Hancock moves the 28th Massachusetts Infantry to preemptively obstruct a Confederate flanking maneuver.

A letter from Dennis Ford in Company H of the 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry written to his wife on September 6, 1862. The letter details the act of killing and also shows that the author, in Irish im-migrant, had observed a distinction between the Irish fighting in the Infantry and their “Yankee” comrades. Ford was captured and released from Confederate camps twice before he was discharged on December 19, 1864.

At a convention, the 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Reenactors from Cambridge, MA prepared and displayed some example Union soldier foodstuffs such as hard tack and cured ham.A sample of a Union Soldier’s kit at their encampment for the 149th Commemoration of the Battle of Fredericksburg.

These pages are non-continuous excerpts from the memoirs of Jessup B. Pollard of the 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry who was born in Ireland. Pollard frequently writes of his wife and his experience as an Irish-American immigrant in an American War.

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“May 1862

Thursday 8thWent in Sluicing? Took a walk to Stoddard’s Plantation about 4 miles from CampPick some Blackberries and buy3 eggs – 10 centsSee a Niger Woman 100 years oldAlso an old man who regretted the loss of his Master.

Friday 9th[code]50 yearsExpend $1.50 Saturday 10thWent to Stoddard’s PlantationGot 11 eggs 50 centsGeneral inspection”

“June 2nd

MondayWe drop anchor tonight and remain on board – uncomfortable mess

Tuesday 3rdJames IslandLand near CharlestonWe have a skirmish with RebelsOur company on picket all nightRain very hard Wednesday 4thRain todayWe have another brush with theenemyOur guns were wetMine misfired all through the fightWe had two men shot”

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These flowers were found in the memoirs of Jessup B. Pollard, tucked into the pages such that they left a stain. The notes are transcribed below as written except for the coded sections.

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“June 1862

Monday 16th

Our infantry and 3 others attack a battery and are repulsed with heavy loss.

I begin to realize what a damning thing a battle field is.

Such sights as I have witnessed and taken part in today will never be erased from my mind.”“June 1862

Saturday 21stInspection

Sunday 22ndGet a letter from my WifeWrite to DavidDress parade

Monday 23rdOur Regt on picketHard night[code]

Tuesday 24thLay on our arms tonight

Wednesday 25th”

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The destruction caused by a 32 lb. shell at the Battle of Fredericksburg. The original title of the photograph was “Havoc.” Taken in 1863 as part of the “Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War-Era Personalities and Scenes” series.

The 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infanrty reenactors pose for a group portrait at Gettysburg National Park on July 18, 2007. The 28th infantry reenactors are preparing for the 150th commemoration of the Battle of Gettysburg which will take place in July of 2013.

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It is believed that the man in this photo is Jessup B. Pollard of the 28th Massachusetts Infantry. The photo was found inside the memoirs and matches sketches of Pollard made by family members.

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Union soldiers wait for battle at Fredericksburg, VA in 1862.

Enfield rifles fire in sequence at a Civil War reenactment in the United Kingdom orchestrated by the 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Comapny B reenactors.

In the United Kingdom, Civil War reenactors perform the Battle of Fredericksburg more than 3000 miles from Virginia.

The bodies of dead Confederates lie behind a stone wall adter the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1863. The 6th Maine Infantry and the 28th Mas-sachusetts Infantry penetrated the Confederate lines at the spot where this phtograph was taken.

The grave of Stephen Reagan (left) of Company E- incorrectly identi-fied as a member of Company C- at Saint Mary’s Cemetary in Salem, MA. Reagan was twenty-one years old when he mustered into the 28th Volunteer Infantry and he was taken prizoner at the Battle of Gettys-burg on July 3rd, 1963. Later, he was released to the Invalid Corps after sustaining injuries at a prison camp.

Brian Mitchell kisses his 6-year-old daughter, Cailin, before joining other re-enactors depicting the 28th Massachusetts Company during the official opening of the Stafford Civil War Park on Mt. Hope Church Road in Stafford County on Saturday. The park is situated on the site of 1863 winter encampments and fortifications of the Union Army’s 11th Corps, 1st and 3rd Divisions, following the December 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg.

This monument was dedicated to The Irish Brigade” at Gettysburg on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the battle. The monument features an Irish wolfhound lying on a cenotaph with an inscription that reads, “This, in the matter of size and structure, truthfully represents the Irish wolf-hound, a dog which has been extinct for more than a hundred years.” The 28th Massachusetts Infantry made up a large part of The Irish Brigade that also consisted of infantries form New York and Maine. The reenactor of Shepard Cook of the 28th Massachusetts Infantry and the reenactor of widow Georgia Meadows of Virginia climb toward the grave of Master General Phillip Keaney as they participate in the Battle of Ox Hill Dedication Ceremony in Fairfax, VA.

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Bibliography of Works

[uncredited photograph of the 28th Massachusetts Infantry]. July 18, 2013. Re-trieved April 23, 2013, from http://www.flickr.com/photos/28thmass/4323993898/in/photostream

[uncredited and undated photos of 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry re-enactors from the United Kingdom]. Retrieved April 22, 2013, from http://www.28thmass.co.uk/gallery.html

[uncredited photograph of an Enfield riifle from the 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, Company F]. Retreived May 1, 2013, from http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff186/maninblue1861/Fredericksburg/229396_110783732343930_110587915696845_113761_2004635_n.jpg

[uncredited photograph of Benjamin Franklin Weeks from 18634. Retreived May 2, 2013, from http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff186/maninblue1861/Freder-icksburg/

[uncredited photograph of Col. Byrne’s scabbard and sword]. Retreived May 2, 2013, from http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff186/maninblue1861/Fredericks-burg/225954_110808235674813_110587915696845_114045_368629_n.jpg

[uncredited photograph of dead Confederate soldiers at Fredericksburg]. 1862. Retrieved April 27, 2013, from http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/2012/12/december-12-1862.html

[uncredited photograph of James Flemming and John Knight from the Joseph Ma-ghe Collection]. Retreived May 2, 2013, from https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/182614_184162068288045_6715133_n.jpg

[uncredited photograph of James O’Carruthers from 1863]. Retreived May 2, 2013, from http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff186/maninblue1861/Fredericks-burg

[uncredited photograph of Patrick Henry O’Rorke at West Point MilitaryAcademy ]. 1861. Rerieved April 26, 2013 from http://www.vintageviews.org/vv-tl/Photos/pages/PHO.html

[uncredited photograph of William F. Cochrane]. Retreived May 2, 2013, from http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff186/maninblue1861/Fredericksburg/

Andre (Flickr Member). April 24, 2010. Training Camp Area [photograph]. Retrieved April 24, 2010, from http://www.flickr.com/photos/slave2teh-tink/4552340518/sizes/o/in/photostream/

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A Sample of a Union Soldier’s Kit [photograph]. December 10, 2011. Retrieved April 24 ,2013 from, http://www.flickr.com/photos/69072739@N02/6501908827/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Brady, Matthew. 1863. Havoc [photograph from Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War-Era Personalities and Scenes]. Retrieved April 26, 2013, from http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2698/4153850590_2a06da747d_o.jpg

Cihelka, Peter (photographer for the Associated Press). April 27, 2013. [photo-graph of Brian Mitchell and daughter, Cailin]. Retrieved April 27, 2013, from http://cdn.blogs.fredericksburg.com/newsdesk/files/2013/04/0426civilwarpark500.jpg

Colonel Richard Byrnes [photograph]. Retrieved April 28, 2013 from http://irishacwtrail.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/patrick-henry-ororke.jpg

Cosentino, Judee(The Sun Chronicle photographer). [photograph of Emily Petrosh and corresponding event story]. December 11, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2013, from http://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/transformed-by-conflict/article_65a13e3f-cfd3-5bcb-a7db-e3e19901aac6.html?mode=image&photo=1

Dow, Steve (Flickr member). July 25, 2013. Muskets at Fort McClary [photo-graph]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsdow/4837589036/in/set-72157624476297219/

Fredericksburg Federal Troops [photograph]. 1862. Retrieved April 29, 2013 from http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/2012/12/decem-ber-12-1862.html

Ford, Dennis [letter]. September 6, 1862. Retrieved May 1, 2013, from http://www.28thmass.org/letters.htm

Jones, Kristen (Flickr member). October 21, 2009. Grave of Stephen Reagan [photograph]. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from http://www.flickr.com/photos/spotbo-slow/5671598432/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Lain (Filckr Member). Aug. 25, 2008. A Talkative Member of the 28th Massachu-setts [photograph]. Retrieved April 20, 2013, from http://www.flickr.com/photos/topcat_angel/2818638098/

Pollard, Jessup [images of excerpts from a diary]. 1862. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from http://www.memoirstream.com/jpollard/jpcivilwar1f.html#.UYXLiSt4Y6Z

Reed, Leon. 1994. Irish Brigade Monument. Retrieved May 2, 2013 , from http://www.flickr.com/photos/leonandloisphotos/2501353876/

Richard Byrnes [photograph]. 1862. Retrieved May 3, 2013 from http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff186/maninblue1861/Fredericksburg/229396_110783732343930_110587915696845_113761_2004635_n.jpg

Shepard Cook and Georgia Meadows [photograph]. Sept. 1, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2013, from http://www.49thvirginiaInfantry.com/IMG_3303.JPG

Welter, Craig. 2002. The 28th Brigade [photograph]. Retrieved May 3, 2013, from http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g57/craig_welter/Battle%20Reports%202/100_5856.jpg

Wilson, Christopher [photograph of a sack coat from the American Museum of History]. Retrieved on May 1, 2013, from www.cwquartermaster.com/original_sack_coats.htm

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