7th Massachusetts Infantry

No family notes have been added.

Have found him listed on other sites. Wondered why not here.

Killed in action May 3, 1863 Salem Heights, Va.

Jones, Henry H. — Priv. — Res. Dighton ; farmer ; 21 ; enl. Dec. 30, 1861 ; must. Jany. 6, 1862 ; died of disease (consumption), 8am Oct. 21, 1862, at Washington, D. C. Mount Pleasant Hospital Ward 2. Buried at 9am Oct 22, 1862 at grave # 2-2-5. Was stationed at Camp Brightwood during Winter 1861/1862. Wrote a letter to his sister Almira Jones and husband James Wilbur on Feb 2, 1862. Son of Sylvanus Jones and Sally. Brother of Leroy, Joseph, and Mary.

William Mason enlisted in June1861. He was injured in a fall while on sentry duty in September 1861 and was discharged because of disability in November 1861.

No family notes have been added.

No family notes have been added.

William Otis Merritt was born in Scituate Massachusetts on November 29, 1822. He was the son of Martin D. & Deborah (Litchfield) Merritt. He was one of several Scituate men to enlist from the town of Taunton in Bristol County in Co. K as many of them left Scituate for better labor opportunities. At almost the age of 39, Mr. Merritt had the distiction of being one of the oldest recruits from Scituate. Though listed as a farmer in Scituate records. Mr. Merritt listed himself at the time of his enlistment as a stonecutter on June 13, 1861. Immediately following his enlistment Pvt. Merritt was assigned to wagoneer duty and continued that assignment when the regiment joined the Peninsula Campaign. Until November 1862 Pvt. Merritt served as a wagoneer all the while suffering from various camp ailments. From November until February 24, 1863, he served with the Ambulance Corps. Pvt Merritt was granted a furlough to return home to Scituate till March 6th. He was instructed that upon returning he should join his regiment near White Oak Church, VA. Upon his return in March he was reassigned to the Ambulance Corps. By the early Summer of 1863, Pvt Merritt was deemed too ill to carry out his duties and was sent back to Boston for hospitalization. His disability discharge and final statements given at camp near Warrenton VA on August 25,1863. William Otis Merritt returned to Scituate and resumed farming. He and his son William Otis Jr who served with the 43rd Mass Vol Inf. Co.F and later reenlisted with the 4th Mass Heavy Artillery Co.C joined the George W. Perry Post 31 GAR in Scituate. William Otis Merritt Sr died on October 29, 1901. He is buried in the small family cemetery located on ancestral land.

John Briggs Newcomb was born in Scituate Massachusetts on November 27, 1840. He was the son of master mariner Captain Levi and his wife Joanne (Studley) Newcomb. The family home built in 1827 still stands today in that historic New England town. At the time of his enlistment on June 15, 1861, John was working and living in Taunton MA in Bristol County along with several other Scituate men who relocated due to better labor opportunities in the shoe, boot,nail,and watchmaking industries. As with John B. Newcomb many enlisted in Co.K of the 7th Mass Volunteers which recruited heavily in Bristol County. The Spring of 1862 found the 7th Mass in Virginia's Peninsula Campaign. In April Pvt. Newcomb was admitted to a hospital at Young's Mill and continued to be in and out of the hospital through the month of June. His ailments not stated. From July to the end of 1862, Pvt Newcomb had rejoined his regiment and was present for duty. The winter of 1862-63 appears to have passed Pvt. Newcomb without incident or illness. On May 3, 1863 the 7th Mass was heavily engaged at the the Second Battle of Fredericksburg where the regiment assaulted Maryes Heights. Pvt Newcomb suffered a gunshot wound to the thigh. He was carried from the field and delivered to Potomac Creek Hospital where he died four days later on May 7th. Records also state that he received his fatal wound at Salem Church. Back home in Scituate MA, the Newcomb family in their grief opposed the idea of their son's remains being buried so far from home. Despite the cost and War Department red tape, the Newcomb family did what few families were able to do. They brought their son home. The burial record from the Town of Scituate gives the date as August 17, 1863, though the actual interment may have been earlier. The family commissioned a beautiful white marble gravestone with cut banners,muskets,and cannons above his name. The plot is located in Groveland Cemetery, a short walk from the family home. Pvt John Newcomb's grave is frequently visited today by descendents,local historians,and admirers of gravestone art. On Veterans Day 1997 a special graveside ceremony was conducted by the reenactors of the 7th Mass Volunteers complete with a faithful reproduction of the 7th Mass regimental flag, a short talk on his life and 3 volleys fired over the grave.

Charles Henry Nott was born in Scituate Massachusets on April 3, 1839. At the time of his enlistment in Co.K on June 15, 1861 he was employed as a shoemaker in Taunton MA. Also enlisting on that day in the same company were Charles's brothers Asahel and Hosea and boyhood friends John Briggs Newcomb,John Welch,Nelson Hutchinson,Thomas T. Bailey,Charles Clapp,Joseph Crane,Oliver Hayes,George W.Hodgdon,Galen Litchfield,Francis H. Litchfield,William Litchfield, Michael Maddigan,Joseph O. Marsh,William O. Merritt Sr, George W. Rich,Alfred A. Seaverns,Charles F. Sylvester,Edward H. Sylvester, George W. Whitcomb, and Charles D. Young. All from Scituate MA. Pvt. Nott served without incident with the 7th Mass until March of 1862 when he injured his back while on fatigue duty while encamped at Fair Oaks Va. The following month he aggravated his earlier injury while building courdoroy roads near Yorktown Va. He was assigned light duty but was present with his regiment at Fredericksburg on May 3,1863 when his boyhood friend John B. Newcomb was wounded at the assault at Maryes Heights. Pvt Newcomb later died from his wounds. A year later on May 9, 1864 the 7th Mass was engaged at the Wilderness near Spottylvania Courthouse. At almost the same hour General John Sedgewick was killed, Pvt Nott was overcome by sunstroke while in a rifle pit supporting a Rhode Island Battery. He was rescued and taken to the rear by Scituate boys John Welch and Nelson Hutchinson. After the war Hutchinson would go on to write the regimental history of the 7th Mass Volunteers. Pvt Charles Nott was honorably discharged from the service on June 27,1864 having served his 3 year enlistment. He returned to Scituate and later that Summer married Mary Harrub. Between 1865 and 1883 they would have 9 children. In 1875 Mr Nott was one of the original 35 charter members of the George W. Perry Post 31 Grand Army of the Republic and held every position from Commander to Sergeant-At-Arms. Mr Nott seldom missed a GAR meeting or funtion. Many photographs survive of him at ceremonies and parades. In his later years he applied for a disability pension and the records are a treasure of detail that helped write this article. Charles Nott passed away of natural causes on February 23, 1928. He lived to see the dedication of Scituate's Soldiers & Sailors monument at Lawson Park ten years earlier on June 15,1918.