Isaac Endicott

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He was the son of Charles Moses Endicott (1793-1863) and Sarah Rolland Blythe Endicott and he was educated in the private schools of Salem, Massachusetts.  His father was a ship captain whose ship “Friendship” was captured by pirates off Sumatra, but he later was able to wrest it back again.  Still later Charles became a banker in Salem and wrote several genealogical and historical works.  He also wrote a correspondence – including to Ingersoll -- that is now in the Peabody Essex Museum.  

 

 Before the war Ingersoll was a grocer, he was married to Caroline Dennett on November 12, 1856 in Maine, and he had a son born in 1857 and a daughter in 1859, in Maine.  They had a daughter born in 1866, but she died in 1868.  Ingersoll is buried in the old Endicott Cemetery in Danvers, Massachusetts. 

 

Henry Ingersoll Bowditch (1808-1892), for whom Ingersoll was named, was a noted abolitionist living in Boston.  He was also a noted physician and had a son killed in the Civil War. 

 

Ingersoll and the Endecott Pear Tree

 

Governor John Endecott planted pear trees on his property in what is today Danvers, Massachusetts and according to the U.S. Forest Service, the sole surviving tree is now the oldest cultivated fruit tree in all of North America, still bearing fruit to this day.  In 1858, Ingersoll’s father, Charles Moses Endicott, who was one of the last Endicotts to own land belonging to Governor John Endecott, sent Ingersoll this letter about it:

 

 Salem, Oct. 1, 1858

Dear Ingersoll,

     I send you today a small box of pears from your ancestral Tree in Danvers imported in 1630 from England. The crop this year is less than ½ bushel, which is divided between your uncle William & myself. Thus for nearly 230 years this old tree has watched over the spot where it now stands.

     Generations have come & passed away since it was planted, towns & cities have sprung up around it, & the feeble colony of Massachusetts Bay has become an opulent & powerful people. Two hundred & thirty years! . . . Yet this old tree has survived the storms & rigors of so many winters, & is now cherished by another race of people as a memorial of days long gone. The vigor of its youth has now passed away & it may not survive the storms of many winters more. But the memory of him who planted it, who trained its young branches, and watched over its perennial blossoms, is still green in the hearts of a grateful posterity; and until the boon of liberty, the religious freedom for which our fathers toiled shall cease to exist, and Massachusetts be no more, all honor will be rendered by her sons to the memory of our ancestor, John Endicott. What an enviable reputation my son! Let us strive to keep alive the flame lit up so long ago! . . . .

 

Your father 

C. M. Endicott

 

Ingersoll’s record in the Civil War

 

The NPS database shows Ingersoll B. Endicott serving in 4 different Massachusetts regiments during the war but doesn’t say when he served in them:

 

·      3rd Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia.  Private, Company L.

·      12th Regiment, Massachusetts Infantry.  Private, Company E. 

·      39th Regiment, Massachusetts Infantry.  Private, Company I.

·      32nd Regiment Massachusetts Infantry.  Private, Company K.

         

Several sources, including Volume I of the 9-volume “Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines of the Civil War” show that Ingersoll first enlisted as a Private in the Union army on April 16, 1861, just 3 days after the battle of Fort Sumter that started the Civil War.  His residence is listed as Boston and his occupation is grocer.  He mustered in with the 3rd on April 23 and mustered out on July 22, 1861.  He was thus one of the Massachusetts “Minutemen of ’61,” one of the first men to answer President Lincoln’s initial call for 75,000 volunteers for only 3 months.  

 

He enlisted in Company L of the 3rd Massachusetts Volunteer Militia.  This was a 3-month enlistment for Company L (as well as companies A, B, C, G, and H), which is why Ingersoll’s term expired on July 22, 1861.  (For 4 other companies, though, companies D, E, I, and M, all of whom enlisted in May, it was for a 3-year term.)  A detailed account of this 3-month tour can be found at: http://www.lisashea.com/genealogy/mathird/ma3_hist_3mo.html, but the following is a shorter version:

 

 3rd Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia.  Left Boston on Steamer "S. R. Spaulding" for Fortress Monroe, Virginia, April 17, 1861. Arrived April 20, and ordered on board United States Sloop of War "Pawnee" April 20.  Moved to Norfolk April 20, and destruction of navy yard April 20.  Expedition to Hampton May 13.  Fatigue and garrison duty at Fortress Monroe till July 1, and at Hampton till July 16.  Ordered home July 16, and mustered out July 22, 1861.  Expiration of term. Lost to combat: 1.  Lost to disease: 17. 

 

Drafted

         

Ingersoll then shows up exactly 2 years later, on  July 22, 1863.   According to page 31 of Volume II of “Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines of the Civil War,”  on this date Ingersoll, now a 28-year old clerk who had been drafted, mustered into the 12th Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. 

 

While it might seem odd that he would be drafted since he had already served in the war, it is the case that such service did not exempt a man from the draft.  Indeed, if you read the draft law of 1863, you’ll see that it did not list prior military service as a reason for exemption.  The law also stated that a draftee had to serve until the end of the war or 3 years, whichever came first.  There were other ways of getting out of the draft such as the well-known one of paying for a substitute.  But obviously, for some reason, Ingersoll did not do this. 

 

The 12th Massachusetts Infantry was known as the “Webster Regiment,” because it was originally recruited in 1861 by Fletcher Webster, the son of U.S. Senator Daniel Webster. (Fletcher Webster was later killed at Second Bull Run.)

 

 From July 22, 1863 – July 24, 1864, while Ingersoll was in it, the record of the Massachusetts 12th Regiment was as follows:

 

12th Regiment, Massachusetts Infantry.  
From November, 1862, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 1st Army Corps, to March, 1864. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 5th Army Corps, to May, 1864. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 5th Army Corps, to July, 1864.

 

 SERVICE
Picket duty on the Rapidan till October. Bristoe Campaign October 9-22. Advance to line of the Rappahannock November 7-8. Mine Run Campaign November 26-December 2. Demonstration on the Rapidan February 6-7, 1864. Campaign from the Rapidan to the James May-June, 1864. Battles of the Wilderness May 5-7; Laurel Hill May 8; Spotsylvania May 8-12; Spotsylvania Court House May 12-21. Assault on the Salient May 12. North Anna River May 23-26. Jericho Ford May 23. Line of the Pamunkey May 26-28. Totopotomoy May 28-31. Cold Harbor June 1-12. Bethesda Church June 1-3. White Oak Swamp June 13. Before Petersburg June 16-18. Ordered home for muster out June 25. Mustered out July 8, 1864.

 

The regiment lost during service 18 Officers and 175 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 83 Enlisted men by disease. Total 276. (This is by far the highest number of killed as a result of combat of any regiment Endicotts served in during the Civil War.  The next highest was the Massachusetts 54th that Henry Clay Endicott served in; it had 105 killed as a result of combat.) 

 

Since Ingersoll had been drafted for 3 years or until the end of the war, when the 12th mustered out, he still had time to serve.  Therefore we next encounter him on June 25, 1864 when the Massachusetts Adjutant General’s Report on the Civil War states that he was “Transferred to 39th Massachusetts June 25, 1864 – prisoner.”  

 

POW

 

Although “prisoner” is not further explained in the documents, it is known to mean men who were captured and POWs in enemy hands at the time the regiment was mustered out of service but who still had time remaining on their enlistments were assigned to other regiments.  In other worlds, it’s very possible that Ingersoll was transferred  to the 39th in absentia!  

 

We also know from other sources that on that very same day, “On June 25, 1864 the 39th received 241 recruits by transfer from the 12th Mass. Regt… the term of this regiment having expired.” So, it’s probable that Ingersoll was part of this group.   

         

Deserter?

 

The next reference to Ingersoll sounds bad.  On July 20, 1864, according to page 31 of Volume II of “Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines of the Civil War,” Ingersoll is listed as a deserter.  So, on the surface it sounds as though sometime prior to June 25, when the 12th Massachusetts was ordered home, Ingersoll deserted from the 12th but his name didn’t appear on the deserted list until July 20 – after the 12th had been disbanded.

 

In all probability, though, this was just a mistake, erroneously concluding that the fact Ingersoll was not present was because he was a deserter when it fact it was because he was a POW.   It is known that there were many cases in the Civil War in which a man was missing in combat or hospitalized or transferred to another unit and since his original unit was never notified, he was listed as a deserter when in fact he wasn’t.  This is because it was not until World War I that muster rolls included the category Missing in Action, so the Civil War MIA became a deserter until evidence proved otherwise.   This phenomenon goes far to explain why the number of deserters in the Civil War was so high.

 

So, if Ingersoll was really a POW and not a deserter, when and where was he captured and how long did he stay in captivity?  Short answer: we don’t know.  But between July 18-22, 1864, the Fifth Corps (to which the 12th Massachusetts was assigned), was engaged in the siege operations south of Petersburg and there were several pitched skirmishes along the Jerusalem Plank Road.  It’s possible that Ingersoll may have gone missing during this time and his place in the ranks was empty at roll call and no one could state where he was.

 

Furthermore, it’s not known for sure whether Ingersoll was actually ever physically present with the Massachusetts 39th.  Nevertheless, for the record,  from June 25, 1864 to the end of the war, here is the history of the Massachusetts 39th:

 

39th Regiment, Massachusetts Infantry.  From June 1864 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 5th Army Corps, to September, 1864. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 5th Army Corps, to June, 1865.

 

SERVICE.  Siege of Petersburg June 16, 1864, to April 2, 1865. Mine Explosion, Petersburg July 30, 1864 (Reserve). Weldon Railroad August 18-21. Reconnaissance toward Dinwiddie C. H. September 15. Warren's Raid on Weldon Railroad December 7-12. Dabney's Mills February 5-7, 1865. Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9. Davis Farm near Gravelly Run March 29. White Oak Road March 31. Five Forks April 1. Fall of Petersburg April 2. Pursuit of Lee April 3-9. Appomattox C. H. April 9. Surrender of Lee and his army. At Black and White Station till May 1. Moved to Manchester, thence march to Washington, D. C., May 1-15. Grand Review May 23. Mustered out June 1, 1865.

 

The regiment lost during service 5 Officers and 91 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 183 Enlisted men by disease. Total 279.  (This is the third highest number of deaths due to combat of any regiment Endicotts served in during the Civil War.  Only Henry Clay Endicott’s 54th Massachusetts with 105 deaths due to combat and Ingersoll’s 12th Massachusetts with 193 exceeded it.) 

 

Transferred again

 

When the 39th was mustered out of service, Ingersoll still had time left on his 3 years service, and while the war was effectively over, it wasn’t yet officially over.  So, Ingersoll was transferred yet again, this time to the 32nd Massachusetts Infantry, which mustered out on June 29, 1865.  So,  brief as it was, service with Company K, 32nd Massachusetts Infantry is on his service record.  And we know from other sources that during the latter months of the war, remnants of several regiments, including the Massachusetts 9th, 12th, 13th, 18th, 22nd, and 39th Infantries, were consolidated with the 32nd.  

 

 However it isn’t clear whether Ingersoll was ever physically present with the 32nd or whether he was being carried as a “phantom” on the 32nd’s records just as he may have been on the 39th’s!  Only a search of his service record and/or pension rolls in the National Archives might clear this up.

 

After the Civil War

 

The 1870 Boston street directory shows Ingersoll as a “clerk,” but none of the ones back to 1855 show him at all.  This is consistent with the fact stated in the beginning of this piece that Ingersoll had two children in 1857 and 1859 while living in Maine.  But we know that his third child died on September 2, 1868 in Boston, so he must have been in Boston at least by then.   Interestingly, from 1855 up to 1870, there are only about 6 Endicotts listed at all in Boston.  But starting in 1870 it doubles, to 12.  It is said in one source that Ingersoll lived “a retired life,” which may account for the fact it has not been easy to find out much about him.  He died in 1909 and was buried the old Endicott Cemetery in Danvers, Massachusetts.