Northborough in the Civil War: Citizen Soldiering and Sacrifice

By Robert P. Ellis
Illustrated, notes, bibliography, appendix, softcover, 126 pp., 2007. The History Press Inc., 18 Percy St., Charleston, SC, 29403, $18.99 plus shipping.

Reviewer: Blake A. Magner
Blake A. Magner is the Book Review Editor of Civil War News. He makes his living as an editor, writer, cartographer and photographer of Civil War history. He is author of At Peace With Honor: The Civil War Burials of Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Review:
Located toward the central portion of Massachusetts, Northborough was a typical New England town both in makeup and attitudes toward slavery and abolition. In the election of 1860, 77 percent of the town voted for Lincoln.

In the prewar years abolitionist leaders influenced the attitude of the town which was not only a brief stop on the underground railroad but had African-American speakers at local functions speaking for their yet enslaved brethren. At the outbreak of the war town residents joined various infantry, cavalry and artillery units, contributing 143 men (this according to a photograph on the book's cover).

Those regiments containing the most Northborough men included the 15th, 20th, 34th, 51st, 24th, 36th, 38th and 57th Massachusetts. Men also served in other Massachusetts units as well as regiments from outside the state.

Some of the major battles where the men served were Ball's Bluff, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign and battles around Petersburg. Many of the townsmen were killed, wounded and captured, though the text does not provide a specific number.

There are a number of misstatements in the text, the author calling Gettysburg an indecisive battle and also indicating that the battle of Gettysburg started on July 2.

In another case he contributes a comment by a Confederate general stating "It was not war, it was murder," to the battle of Cold Harbor when in fact it was said at Malvern Hill. Some better research using some better sources might have corrected these and other mistakes.

The text is full of reminiscences from letters and diaries, which makes for some interesting reading. The first one third of the book, which focuses on abolition and slavery, is also interesting. Townsfolk who did not go to war in the military served in such organizations as the Sanitary Commission.

With reservations I would recommend this book though the $20 price tag for a 126-page paperback is a bit steep.