Grafton’s Role in the Civil War
Presently on display at the society's museum is an exhibit of Grafton's role in the Civil War. (click on Panels to enlarge)
The text in Panel #1 is taken from a newspaper article published in 1861 in the Worcester Spy the leading area newspaper at that time. The article was published 10 days after the attack on Fort Sumter and describes Grafton's response to that news. The patriotic fervor of the Grafton citizenry was ignited and they met in a Town meeting and resolved to "defend the country against all threats to its existence" and to raise and support a volunteer force to support the defense.
The text in panel #2 is also taken from the Worcester Spy and reports on activities on the day that the first group of volunteers marched out of Grafton to join the Massachusetts regiments at Camp Scott in Worcester. The townspeople and the local dignitaries convened to give the men an appropriate send-off. There was food and pageantry as the group was ushered to New England Village (North Grafton) by the local fire companies with their pumpers.
Panels #3 and #4 describe the Battle of Antietam and the 11 Grafton men who died that day. Antietam occurred on September 17, 1862, and was the bloodiest of the war. The casualties were enormous. The Massachusetts 15th from Central Massachusetts was prominent in the battle. They sent 606 men into the battle; 318 were killed or wounded, 11 from Grafton. Panel #3 describes the 11 men with information about each. One individual was Jonathan Stowe, a local farmer's son, who was wounded at Antietam and kept a diary of his experience there.
Panel #4 is a transcript of the Jonathan Stowe diary. He reports his day by day trials including how he looks after another Grafton man, James Hughes, who is also wounded that day.
Panel #5 is a list of all the Grafton men who died during the Civil War. The grid shows their aged and occupation. Please note the high number of shoemakers and bootmakers, reflecting the dominant industry in Grafton at that time, the manufacture of shoes and boots.
Panel #6 describes the Grand Army of the Republic, the veteran's organization for Civil War veterans. It was formed after the war and organized reunions and reenactments for the next 50 years.
