probably shortly after his enlistment Photo courtesy of my sister, Susan Russell McKean |
William
Asher Palmer was the eighth of twelve children born to Asher
and Joanna Eames Palmer. He was born
February 28, 1837 in Exeter, Rhode Island. As a boy, he moved with
his family to Griswold, Connecticut, just over the border from Rhode
Island.
On August 30, 1862, William and his younger brother, Horace, enlisted in Company F of the 26th Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers, Union Army to fight in the Civil War. According to historical documentation, the 26th Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers was organized for duty at Norwich, Connecticut on November 10, 1862. The regiment left the state for eastern New York on November 12, then sailed for Ship Island and New Orleans, Louisiana on November 29, arriving there on December 16, 1862. The regiment was attached to General Sherman's Division, Department of the Gulf, until January, 1863 and then attached to the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 19th Army Corps, Department of the Gulf, until August 1863. The 26th Regiment took part in the Siege on Port Hudson, Louisiana, which was considered the longest siege in American military history and one of the bloodiest battles for the Union during the Civil War. The 26th Regiment Conn. lost a total of 145 men, 55 of whom were killed in action or mortally wounded, 90 of whom died from disease. William, age 26, and his younger brother, Horace, age 19, were among those who died. William Palmer is buried at the Ames Cemetery in Lisbon, Connecticut near his parents, his brother Horace and other family members. |
You are listening to the Civil War tune, "The Vacant Chair",
composed by George F. Root (1861), from the Melody Lane website.The lyrics to this song, written by H.S. Washburn,
seem particularly appropriate to William Palmer,
right down to the phrase, "How our noble Willie fell":