Connecticut's Martyrs at Andersonville

From the lists kept by Dorence Atwater

of Plymouth, Connecticut


Andersonville, the famous Confederate prison in Georgia, had a 29% mortality rate. In August of 1864, the prison held 33,000 prisoners of war. One hundred men died each day. There are 12,844 Union graves there.

Monument to Dorence Atwater
Baldwin Park
Terryville section of Plymouth

Dorence Atwater
Born-Terryville, Conn. February 3, 1845
Died-San Francisco, Cal. November 26, 1910
Buried-Tahiti, Society Islands

This memorial is dedicated to our fellow townsman
Dorence Atwater
for his patriotism in preserving to this nation
the names of 13000 soldiers dead while a prisoner
at Andersonville, Ga.

-Quote from "The Connecticut Guide - Emergency Relief Commission, 1935.
Plymouth - "East of the center is the attractive Baldwin Park, with a monument to Dorence Atwater, a Civil War prisoner in a Confederate prison camp, whose secret record of 13,000 dead Union soldiers proved invaluable to the War Department."
-Quote from "The Military and Civil History of Connecticut During The War of 1861-1865, by W. A. Croffut and John M. Morris, 1868.

For the complete roll of the martyrs who perished at Andersonville, the nation is indebted to private Dorence Atwater of Plymouth, Conn. Young Atwater was captured, with others of the First Squadron, near Hagerstown, Md., in a fight with Lee's retreating army, and was taken to various prisons, ultimately arriving at Andersonville in February, 1864. Being a neat penman, he was soon detailed as a clerk in the surgeon's office, to keep the daily record of deaths. While serving in this capacity, knowing of the appalling mortality inside the stockade, he secretly made a duplicate roll of all the deaths, which he surreptitiously brought away with him in March, 1865. He alleges that he sold to Col. Breck of the War Department, for three hundred dollars, the privilege of copying the rolls; the originals to be returned to him. Breck retained the whole. Afterwards, in visiting Andersonville with Miss Clara Barton to mark the graves, Atwater recovered possession of the list, and, on refusing to deliver it to the War Department, was seized by Col. Breck, court-martialed, convicted of theft, and sent to the Albany Penitentiary as a criminal. He was released with impaired health under a general amnesty, and, with the encouragement and assistance of Miss Barton, published the roll for the benefit of surviving friends. The following are the names of the martyrs from Connecticut: -

[All persons numbered below 12,367 died in 1864; above that number, in 1865.]

No. of grave. - Name.

2380 Anderson, A.

3461 Batchelder, Benj.

3664 Baty, John

7306 Brunkissell, H.

2833 Brennon, M.

3224 Burns, John

10414 Blumley, E.

545 Bigelow, William

11965 Ball, H. A.

12089 Brookmeyer, T. W.

13152 Burke, H.

12209 Bone, A.

10682 Burnham, F.

10690 Barlow, O. L.

10876 Bennett, N.

5806 Brown, C. H.

5919 Boyce, William

6083 Bishop, B. H.

6184 Bushnell, William

7763 Bailey, F.

2054 Brewer, G. E.

5596 Burns, B.

5632 Balcomb

5754 Beers, James C.

1636 Birdsell, D.

4296 Blakeslee, H.

3900 Bishop, A.

1493 Bessanon, Peter

2720 Babcock, R.

2818 Baldwin, Thomas

2256 Bosworth, A. M. D.

5132 Bougin, John

5152 Brooks, William D.

5308 Bower, John

5452 Bently, F.

5464 Bently, James

4830 Blackman, A.

7742 Banning, J. F.

8018 Ballentine, Robert

2408 Bassett, J. B.

12540 Bohine, C.

12620 Bemis, Charles

3707 Chapin, J. L.

3949 Cottrell, P.

3941 Clarkson

4367 Culler, M.

4449 Connor, D.

4848 Carrier, D. B.

6060 Cook, W. H.

6153 Clark, H. H.

6846 Clark, W.

5799 Champlain, H.

336 Cane, John

620 Christian, A. M.

775 Crawford, James

7316 Chapman, M.

7348 Cleary, P.

7385 Campbell, Robert

7418 Culler, M.

7685 Carver, John G.

7780 Cain, Thomas,

9084 Crossley, B.

10272 Coltier, W.

11175 Callahan, J.

11361 Candee, D. M.

25 Dowd, F.

7325 Davis, W.

2813 Davis, W.

3614 Damery, John

7597 Diebenthal, H.

8568 Donoway, J.

8769 Dunton,W. H.

5446 Dugan, Charles

11339 Dean, R.

11481 Demmings, G. A.

11889 Downer, S.

11961 Demming, B. J.

3482 Edmonds, A.

4437 Easterly, Thomas

4558 Earnest, H. C.

7346 Ensworth, John

7603 Edwards, 0. J.

8968 Evans, N. L.

11608 Emmett, W.

12442 Eaton, W.

186 Fluit, C. W.

1277 Francell, Otto

2612 Fry, S.

4444 Fibbles, H.

4465 Fisher, H.

5123 Florence, J. J.

5382 Fuller, H. S.

5913 Frisbie, Levi

5556 Fogg, C.

8028 Feely, M.

9089 Filby, A.

10255 Frederick, John

12188 Fagan, P. D.

3028 Gordon, John

4096 Gray, Pat

4974 Grammon, James

4015 Gullerman, J.

5173 Gilmore, J.

7057 Gallagher, P.

7337 Gott, G.

7592 Goodrich, J. W.

7646 Graigg, W.

9423 Guina, H. M.

10300 Grady, M.

10396 Gladstone, William

49 Holt, Thomas

2336 Hughes, Edward

3195 Hitchcock, Wm. A.

3448 Hall, William G.

3559 Holcomb, D.

1350 Hilenthal, James

3053 Haskins, James

5029 Hollister, A.

5162 Hally, Thomas

5352 Hanson, F. A.

6695 Hodges, George

4937 Harwood, G.

6964 Hoyt, E. S.

7012 Hull, M.

7380 Holcomb, A. A.

7642 Haly, W.

7757 Hubbard, H. D.

8148 Hubbard, B.

8413 Haywood, E.

8613 Heath, J.

9129 HaIl, B.

9369 Heart, W.

9981 HurIey, R. A.

12086 Hibbard, A.

12117 Hancock, W.

12163 Hudson, Charles

9340 Islay, H.

737 Jamieson, Charles

5221 Johnson, John

7083 Johnson, G. W.

7365 Jamison, John S.

7570 Jones, John J.

7961 Jones, James R.

8502 Johnson, F.

11970 Johnson, C. S.

12340 Johnson, W.

1590 Kingsbury, C.

5186 Klineland, L.

6374 Kempton, B. F.

6705 Kershoff, B.

6748 Kelley, F.

7749 Kalty, J.

8065 Kimball, H. H.

8866 Kohlenburg, C.

10233 Kern, T.

3401 Lendon, H.

5893 Lastry, J.

5499 Lewis, J.

6124 Leonard, W.

7912 Levanaugh, Wm. 0.

7956 Linker, C.

9219 Lewis, G. H.

0228 Lee

74 Mills, W. J.

119 McCaullery, James

2295 Miller, Charles

3516 McCord, P.

3644 Miller, A.

3410 Mould, James

3932 McGinnis, J. W.

4079 Mlller

4417 Messenger, A.

4492 McLean, William

4595 Marshall, B.

5238 Mickallis, F.

5328 Miller, H.

6342 Malone, John

6426 Messey, M.

6451 McGee, Thomas

6570 McDavid, James

6800 Meal, John

6902 Mape, George

6240 Marshall, L.

7547 Moore, A. P.

7852 Miller, F. D.

8150 Modger, A.

8446 Matthews, S. J.

8501 Meyers, L.

9170 Merts, C.

9321 Milor, W.

10695 McCreieth, A.

10914 McKeon, J.

11587 Murphy, W.

11538 McDowell, J.

12134 Montjoy, T.

5044 Nichols, C.

6222 Northrop, John

7331 North, S. S.

10895 Nichols, M.

4565 Orton, H. C.

7511 Olena, R.

8276 Orr, A.

1960 Pendelton, W.

3868 Pompey, C.

4356 Parker, S. B.

3803 Phelps, S. G.

4934 Pimble, A.

5002 Plum, James

5386 Patchey, J.

7487 Post, C.

7688 Poteche, A.

9248 Phillips, J. I.

9444 Padfrey, Sylvanus

9533 Painter, N. P.

106-6 Puritan, O.

12616 Peir. A.

2804 Ruther, J.

2871 Reed, H. H.

3674 Risley, E.

4636 Reins, William

5902 Ross, D.

6400 Robinson, H.

6796 Ringwood, R.

8078 Reed, John

8170 Richardson, C. S.

8345 Ray, A.

7310 Reed, Robert K.

8662 Roper, H.

10029 Robinson, J. W.

10196 Richardson, D. T.

10416 Reynolds, E.

12031 Rathbone, B.

4 Stone, H. I.

234 Smith, Horace

2405 Seward, G. H.

2474 Stephens, E. W.

3010 Scott, W.

3026 Sutcliff, B.

3041 Stuart, J.

3522 Smito, J.

3598 Sherwood, D.

4212 Smith, C. E.

4316 Straubell, L.

4555 Straum, James

4722 Sullivan, M.

4892 Steele, Samuel

5385 Shultz, C. T.

5563 Stino, P.

5712 Steele, Samuel

5725 Smith, S.

6734 Steele, James M.

7070 Stephens, B. H.

7975 Smith, Henry

8088 Short, L. C.

8235 Smally, L.

9-04 Starkweather, E. M.

9435 Sutliff, J.

9468 See, L.

9987 Sling, D.

101-8 Schubert, K.

10247 Sparring, T.

10476 Steele, H.

10787 Stauff, J.

-2005 Swift, J.

12288 Smith, J. T.

541 Taylor, Moses

4443 Thompson, Wm. T.

5427 Thompson, F.

5479 Tibbels, William

7723 Treadway, J.H.

10035 Tisdale, Edward F.

10142 Taylor, J.

11089 Turner, H.

3107 Walter, H.

401 Winship. J. H.

2158 Weldon, Henry

2601 Warner, F.

5543 Wikert, Henry

5222 Wright, C.

4649 Wheely, James

5675 Wenechell, John L.

6138 Way, H. C.

6918 Wiggleworth, M. L.

8024 West, Charles H.

9028 Williams, H. D.

9265 Wheeler, J.

9212 Ward, Gilbert

10033 Weins, John

12600 Ward, G. W.

6364 Young, C. S.


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