Civil War CDV Union Colonel John S Slocum 2nd RI Vols, KIA Bull Run
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:49876887 | Modified Item: No |
| Conflict: Civil War (1861-65) | Country/Region of Manufacture: United States |
Condition as seen. Published imageJohn Stanton Slocum
Col. John S. Slocum was born in the town of Richmond, State of Rhode Island, on the 1st of No
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vember, 1824. His father, Samuel Slocum, the inventor of the solid-headed pin, soon after removed to Bristol, R. I., and it was at the public schools of that town, and at the Fruit Hill Classical School in North Providence, and also for some time in Trinity College, Conn., that young Slocumreceived his... education. He early manifested an inclination for military studies; soon learned to handle the musket, and, at the age of seventeen, became a member of the National Cadets, of Providence. On the breaking out of the Mexican War, this citizen soldier, who had then reached the age of twenty-two, hastened to Washington and applied to the President for a commission in the army. This he finally obtained without the assistance or influence of friends. His first commission, that of lieutenant of infantry, was dated Feb. 18, 1847. He was attached to the Ninth Regiment, and bore a prominent part in the battles of Contreras, Churubusco, and Chapultepec. For gallant conduct at the battle of Contreras, Aug. 19, 1847, he re- x ceived the brevet rank of Captain. At Chapultepec he commanded one of the storming companies. His bravery and coolness on that terrible day won for him a full Captain's commission. On the disbandment of his regiment, the young Captain returned to his native
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state. The military reputation that he had attained caused him to be highly regarded by the active militia companies of the state, and he was of great service to many of these organizations. At a later period he was chosen Commander of the Mechanics Rifles, afterwards known as theSlocum Light Guard, and that company at once took high rank in the state militia. His proficiency in military tactics led to his appointment as one of the examining board at West Point, in 1860. When the proclamation of President Lincoln, calling for seventy-five thousand men for the defense of the capital of the nation, reached Providence, on the fifteenth day of April, 1861, Governor Sprague sent for Slocum and offered him the commission of Major in the First Regiment, Rhode Island Detached Militia. This offer was promptiy accepted. In the organization of this regiment, and during the time he remained with it, his assistance to Colonel Burnside was invaluable. The regiment left Providence on the 20th of April and proceeded to Washington, where it remained until ordered to the front in July. When the raising of the Second Rhode Island Regiment was in progress, great anxiety was felt by the citizens as to who should be its commander. The selection of Major Slocum by the governor relieved this anxiety and met the approval of both volunteers and people. The Second Regiment, under the command of Colonel Slocum, left Providence on the nineteenth day of June, 1861, and on its arrival in Washington encamped near Camp Sprague, where the First Regiment was stationed. From this time until its first engagement at Sudley Ford, Colonel Slocum was actively engaged in preparing his regiment for service in the field; and when the conflict came on, his men fought with the courage and coolness of veterans. On that eventful Sunday morning, destined to be the last on earth to Colonel Slocum, he led his regiment and was the first to arrive at Sudley Ford, on the extreme left of the rebel line. His regiment at once engaged the enemy. The steady charges of this gallant corps, led by its experienced and brave commander, forced the Confederate troops to retire in disorder. But in the hour of apparent victory, this hero of two wars fell mortally wounded and was left on the field. He lived nearly two days after he was stricken down, but never spoke again or manifested any signs of consciousness.
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"He sleeps his last sleep, he has fought his last battle;No sound can awake him to glory again."
The names of " Contreras, Churubusco, Chapultepec,
and Bull Run, " will be carved in enduring granite upon his monument, as his manly virtues are engraved on the hearts of his friends. He was a loving husband, a filial son, and true friend. Among the brave, he was the bravest, and was every inch a soldier. With a full realization of the danger, he would have crossed the bridge at Lodi with Napoleon, or charged with the immortal six hundred into the jaws of death.
Colonel Burnside in his official report says: '' The death of Colonel Slocum is a loss, not only to his own state, which mourns the death of a most gallant and meritorious officer, who would have done credit to the service, while his prominent abilities as a soldier would have raised him high in the public estimation." Chaplain Woodbury, in his history of the Second Rhode Island Regiment, says: "Much of the future distinction of the regiment was undoubtedly due to the soldierly character of its first Colonel. He held the command but little more than six weeks, but it was long enough to fix its direction and determine its course. Colonel Slocum had a high idea of a soldier's life. When he took command of the Second, he resolved to make it, if possible, first, certainly second to none, in the service. He would talk with pride of the men he commanded, and with hope of the results he expected to work out with them. The regiment never lost the force of this impulsion. The successors of Slocum in command fully appreciated his purpose, were moved by the same spirit, and never ceased to feel the influence which he had exerted at the start. What he did, and what he intended to do, were always kept in mind, and when his name became glorified and consecrated by his fearless death, his ambitious hopes for his regiment were reinforced; for his successors seemed to feel that upon them devolved the duty of bringing those hopes to fruition, and of redeeming the pledges which had been virtually given to the country by the first commander." The compiler of this brief sketch of the life of a brave soldier, knew him intimately for some years previous to the Civil War, and admired his manly qualities and unswerving loyalty, always regarding his death as a great loss to his country, firmly believing that had he lived he would have attained the highest military rank and received the plaudits of his grateful countrymen. It was also the privilege of the compiler, as a member of the Governor's staff, to take charge and direction of a detachment of troops for the recovery of the bodies of the officers of the Rhode Island regiments who were left on the field in that memorable fight. We succeeded in finding the bodies of Slocum, Ballou, and Tower, in honor of whom three important Posts of the Grand Army have been named. Their ashes shall mingle with the soil of the state they loved so well. Their 1 souls have entered Paradise.
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Colonel Slocum was married in February, 1858, to Abby, daughter of the late Gen. Charles T. James, formerly a Senator from Rhode Island, and the inventor of the cannon ball that bears his name. Colonel Slocum also left two children, a girl and a boy, who survived him but a few years. His widow, who has been faithful to his memory for a quarter of a century, lives in this city, and is every way deserving of the respect and gratitude of the friends of her husband.
"The wife who girds her husband's sword,
'Mid little ones who weep or wonder;And bravely speaks the cheering word,
What though her heart be rent asunder, Doomed nightly in her dreams to hear
The shafts of death around him rattle, Has shed as sacred blood as e'er
Was poured upon the field of battle."
Col. John S. Slocum was born in the town of Richmond, State of Rhode Island, on the 1st of No
<a></a>
vember, 1824. His father, Samuel Slocum, the inventor of the solid-headed pin, soon after removed to Bristol, R. I., and it was at the public schools of that town, and at the Fruit Hill Classical School in North Providence, and also for some time in Trinity College, Conn., that young Slocumreceived his... education. He early manifested an inclination for military studies; soon learned to handle the musket, and, at the age of seventeen, became a member of the National Cadets, of Providence. On the breaking out of the Mexican War, this citizen soldier, who had then reached the age of twenty-two, hastened to Washington and applied to the President for a commission in the army. This he finally obtained without the assistance or influence of friends. His first commission, that of lieutenant of infantry, was dated Feb. 18, 1847. He was attached to the Ninth Regiment, and bore a prominent part in the battles of Contreras, Churubusco, and Chapultepec. For gallant conduct at the battle of Contreras, Aug. 19, 1847, he re- x ceived the brevet rank of Captain. At Chapultepec he commanded one of the storming companies. His bravery and coolness on that terrible day won for him a full Captain's commission. On the disbandment of his regiment, the young Captain returned to his native
<a></a>
state. The military reputation that he had attained caused him to be highly regarded by the active militia companies of the state, and he was of great service to many of these organizations. At a later period he was chosen Commander of the Mechanics Rifles, afterwards known as theSlocum Light Guard, and that company at once took high rank in the state militia. His proficiency in military tactics led to his appointment as one of the examining board at West Point, in 1860. When the proclamation of President Lincoln, calling for seventy-five thousand men for the defense of the capital of the nation, reached Providence, on the fifteenth day of April, 1861, Governor Sprague sent for Slocum and offered him the commission of Major in the First Regiment, Rhode Island Detached Militia. This offer was promptiy accepted. In the organization of this regiment, and during the time he remained with it, his assistance to Colonel Burnside was invaluable. The regiment left Providence on the 20th of April and proceeded to Washington, where it remained until ordered to the front in July. When the raising of the Second Rhode Island Regiment was in progress, great anxiety was felt by the citizens as to who should be its commander. The selection of Major Slocum by the governor relieved this anxiety and met the approval of both volunteers and people. The Second Regiment, under the command of Colonel Slocum, left Providence on the nineteenth day of June, 1861, and on its arrival in Washington encamped near Camp Sprague, where the First Regiment was stationed. From this time until its first engagement at Sudley Ford, Colonel Slocum was actively engaged in preparing his regiment for service in the field; and when the conflict came on, his men fought with the courage and coolness of veterans. On that eventful Sunday morning, destined to be the last on earth to Colonel Slocum, he led his regiment and was the first to arrive at Sudley Ford, on the extreme left of the rebel line. His regiment at once engaged the enemy. The steady charges of this gallant corps, led by its experienced and brave commander, forced the Confederate troops to retire in disorder. But in the hour of apparent victory, this hero of two wars fell mortally wounded and was left on the field. He lived nearly two days after he was stricken down, but never spoke again or manifested any signs of consciousness.
<a></a>
"He sleeps his last sleep, he has fought his last battle;No sound can awake him to glory again."
The names of " Contreras, Churubusco, Chapultepec,
and Bull Run, " will be carved in enduring granite upon his monument, as his manly virtues are engraved on the hearts of his friends. He was a loving husband, a filial son, and true friend. Among the brave, he was the bravest, and was every inch a soldier. With a full realization of the danger, he would have crossed the bridge at Lodi with Napoleon, or charged with the immortal six hundred into the jaws of death.
Colonel Burnside in his official report says: '' The death of Colonel Slocum is a loss, not only to his own state, which mourns the death of a most gallant and meritorious officer, who would have done credit to the service, while his prominent abilities as a soldier would have raised him high in the public estimation." Chaplain Woodbury, in his history of the Second Rhode Island Regiment, says: "Much of the future distinction of the regiment was undoubtedly due to the soldierly character of its first Colonel. He held the command but little more than six weeks, but it was long enough to fix its direction and determine its course. Colonel Slocum had a high idea of a soldier's life. When he took command of the Second, he resolved to make it, if possible, first, certainly second to none, in the service. He would talk with pride of the men he commanded, and with hope of the results he expected to work out with them. The regiment never lost the force of this impulsion. The successors of Slocum in command fully appreciated his purpose, were moved by the same spirit, and never ceased to feel the influence which he had exerted at the start. What he did, and what he intended to do, were always kept in mind, and when his name became glorified and consecrated by his fearless death, his ambitious hopes for his regiment were reinforced; for his successors seemed to feel that upon them devolved the duty of bringing those hopes to fruition, and of redeeming the pledges which had been virtually given to the country by the first commander." The compiler of this brief sketch of the life of a brave soldier, knew him intimately for some years previous to the Civil War, and admired his manly qualities and unswerving loyalty, always regarding his death as a great loss to his country, firmly believing that had he lived he would have attained the highest military rank and received the plaudits of his grateful countrymen. It was also the privilege of the compiler, as a member of the Governor's staff, to take charge and direction of a detachment of troops for the recovery of the bodies of the officers of the Rhode Island regiments who were left on the field in that memorable fight. We succeeded in finding the bodies of Slocum, Ballou, and Tower, in honor of whom three important Posts of the Grand Army have been named. Their ashes shall mingle with the soil of the state they loved so well. Their 1 souls have entered Paradise.
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Colonel Slocum was married in February, 1858, to Abby, daughter of the late Gen. Charles T. James, formerly a Senator from Rhode Island, and the inventor of the cannon ball that bears his name. Colonel Slocum also left two children, a girl and a boy, who survived him but a few years. His widow, who has been faithful to his memory for a quarter of a century, lives in this city, and is every way deserving of the respect and gratitude of the friends of her husband.
"The wife who girds her husband's sword,
'Mid little ones who weep or wonder;And bravely speaks the cheering word,
What though her heart be rent asunder, Doomed nightly in her dreams to hear
The shafts of death around him rattle, Has shed as sacred blood as e'er
Was poured upon the field of battle."
