OHA Newsletter
Issue No. 43
__________________________________________________________
Oakham Historical Association
September 2009
Greetings! In late August the OHA once again coordinated a Town-Wide Yard Sale, and despite the rain it was
successful. In another fundraising effort, a 4 th Cat’s Meow collectible is in the works. The newest edition will be a representation
of the West Brick Schoolhouse, and should be available around November. Efforts like these have enabled us to add some
needed insulation to the building, and soon several new windows and siding on the back of the museum.
The October 25th Open house will feature a display of the freshly completed copies of our bound Oakham Herald
newspapers from the 1890-1905 era. More detail later in this newsletter. There is also the possibility of another Square Dance in
November, but nothing in stone yet.
As always, if you have questions, call Jeff Young at 508-882-3111, or check our website www.oakhamhistory.com.
********************************************************************************************************
Cold Harbor, Virginia June 3, 1864
In September 1861, 21 men from Oakham, ranging in age from 18 to 39, would enlist in the Union Army to fight in the
bloodiest war ever fought on American soil. They were organized at Camp Lincoln in Worcester as Company “H” of the 25 th
regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.
In the next three years, five of these men would be honorably discharged: Edwin S. Parker, William I. Temple, Joseph
D. Whitney, Henry W. Crawford and John W. Gould. George P. Wood, and his brother Lawson D. Wood, would both die of
disease in 1862 in Newbern, North Carolina. Lorenzo K. Lovell and Edwin Wilbur were both wounded at Port Walthal Junction,
VA in May of 1864 and did not fight at Cold Harbor. Lovell’s older brother David O. Lovell was wounded and taken prisoner at
Drury’s Bluff, VA and died in 1864 while still a prisoner of war at Libby Prison Hospital in Richmond. Henry H. Ware would be
wounded in 1862 at Roanoke Island, NC and later died in the battle of Drury’s Bluff in 1864.
In the late spring of 1864, in what became known as The Overland Campaign, Ulysses S. Grant, with the Army of the
Potomac, would battle General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. For six weeks, Lee would repeatedly stop the
Union Army, at The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna and again at Totopotomoy Creek, but each time Grant would side step
these roadblocks and continue southward towards Richmond. These two great armies would next meet at Cold Harbor in what
turned out to be General Lee’s last major victory and one of Grant’s worst defeats.
Nine Oakham men remained with the 25th regiment, under Brigadier General George J. Stannard, commander of the first
brigade. On that faithful day, Colonel Josiah Pickett led the 25 th Massachusetts across an open field towards the deeply
entrenched 4th Alabama Unit. A member of the 4th Alabama was quoted as saying “it appeared to be downright murder to kill
men in the performance of an act so courageous.” Colonel Pickett was shot in the hip and later recalled “a storm of bullets, shot
and shell that no human power could withstand.” The fighting was over in minutes, but the men of the 25 th were in no man’s
land, unable to move without being shot. “Men worked their bodies into the ground to gain shelter and stacked corpses as barriers
against plunging fire.” Those that survived, lay in this field for several days, without food or water, until a truce was finally
agreed upon. Many others were not so fortunate and died of their wounds on the battlefield before any help could arrive. Major
Fish of the 27th Massachusetts remarked, “It was one of the bravest and most useless charges I ever witnessed. One Confederate
officer stated “It was not war; it was murder.” 310 men from the 25 th fought at Cold Harbor and 70% of them were killed or
wounded. Included among the 74 soldiers that died were Private William H. Bullard, age 24, and Private Lyman N. Parker, age
23, both of Oakham. Private Julius D. Hill was wounded in the battle but recovered and remained in the service until the end of
the war. George W. Stone, wounded that same day, was able to rejoin his regiment and continued to serve his country until the
war was completed. Among the “lucky” 30% were Charles D. Dean, Charles F. Howard, Charles D. Robinson, Albert Spooner
and Jonathan G. Warren.
Other Oakham soldiers also fought at Cold Harbor, including Henry I. Macomber of the 36 th Massachusetts. Although
wounded in the battle, he survived and did not muster out until the end of the war. John Adams of the 57 th Massachusetts, and
James W. Caldwell of the 116th Pennsylvania also survived the horrors of Cold Harbor and both returned home safely to
Massachusetts.
In General Grant’s memoirs, he confessed, “I have always regretted that last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made. At
Cold Harbor, no advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained.”
Lyman Parker carried a medallion into battle with his name and address on it; which was later recovered by a
confederate soldier. Several years later, the medal was returned to his brother Edwin S. Parker and is now on display at the
Oakham Historical Museum.
Suggested reading for those who want to learn more about Cold Harbor:
NOT WAR BUT MURDER: COLD HARBOR 1864 by Ernest B. Furgurson
COLD HARBOR by Gordon C. Rhea
“Good Luck” Shoes
A few years ago when the OHA had a new roof put on the museum, the workers found two pairs of very old children’s
shoes. The shoes were found in a part of the building that was inaccessible, a space behind 2 nd floor walls. We all thought it odd,
then decided to put the shoes on display as examples of antique footwear. Recently, a gentleman specializing in the restoration of
antique homes visited the museum, and upon seeing the shoes sitting there, asked if we ever found any in the walls or other
hidden places. He explained that early in his career he often made discoveries like ours, and for some time found it odd as we
did. After a little research he found that during construction or alterations of homes of the era of the museum, people would often
place shoes, particularly children’s shoes, in a place they wouldn’t be disturbed, as a way of wishing the home “Good Luck” in
the future. I believe it worked well.
********************************************************************************************************
Oakham Herald Project
Readers of this newsletter have seen many articles and short takes from the Oakham Herald. The Herald was first
published in the early 1890s and lasted about a dozen years. A weekly newspaper, it covered Oakham and also had news from
some of the surrounding towns. The OHA has bound copies of several years of the paper and we’ve found them to be a great way
to understand what life was like in our town a little more than 100 years ago.
Some of the copies we have are in very poor condition, and really shouldn’t be handled any further. So in order for
everyone to be able to have access to this valuable information source, we decided to have a printer copy and bind a new set, so
that we can store and preserve the originals. To have this professionally done is fairly expensive, so we submitted a grant request
to the Oakham Cultural Council. The Council approved our request for $1000, covering the majority of the $1430 total cost. We
are very thankful to have the support of the Oakham Cultural Council.
So now it is time to show off what we have. We’ll do so at our next scheduled Open House on Sunday October 25 th
from 1 – 4pm. The new copies will be on display to the public and hopefully people will take advantage of the opportunity to flip
through a few pages and learn a little about Oakham’s history.
*******************************************************************************************************
Green Hollow Cemetery
A Green Hollow Cemetery Restoration Project, under the auspices of the Oakham Historical Association, has been
organized to restore the decaying historic arch and to make additional critical improvements to protect the cemetery property.
The Green Hollow property, originally owned by Deacon David Goodale, was purchased by Alexander Crawford in 1836. The
arch was erected in 1888 by the Crawford family and the cemetery remained a family burial ground until it was deeded to the
town in 1908. Rather than ask the town for public funds, this project will rely on private donations. A successful fundraising
drive will allow the arch to continue to be one of Oakham’s most recognizable landmarks. Donations are tax deductible and may
be sent to OHA, P.O. Box 236, Oakham, MA 01068. For more information, please contact the project’s coordinators: Eva
Grimes at 508-882-5575 or Edie Mathis at 508-791-5823 or email edieloum@charter.net.
********************************************************************************************************
Reminders:
Open House – Oakham Herald display – Sunday October 25th from 1 – 4pm
Regular meetings – 3rd Wednesday of the month @ 7pm
Work meetings – 1st Wednesday of the month @ 7pm