Eugene D. Ames

Eugene D. Ames/Eames was a resident of Mansfield on August 25, 1861 when he enlisted as a Private in Co. C of the 1st Regiment Rhode Island Volunteer Light Artillery, he was promoted to Sergeant, date not stated and was mustered out on August 27, 1864 at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia.

He was born on March 4, 1842 in Willington, Connecticut. In the 1860 U.S. census in Mansfield, he is an 18 year old farmer in the household of Seth Dunham. Eugene D. Ames married Sarah E. Bacon of Tariffville, Connecticut probably on October 21, 1865 in Willimantic, Connecticut. Children include: Emma E. Ames, born about 1867; Charles H. Ames, born about April 1869; Burton Theodore Ames, born about 1875; Grace M. Ames, born about August 1877; Nellie D. Ames, born about 1878 and Louis E. Ames, born about April 1885.

Eugene Ames moved to East Hartford by 1870, Hartford by 1880 and shortly after to West Hartford. He was in charge of the estate of George Foster on Prospect Avenue and was head gardener. In a Hartford Courant article published on May 24, 1914, Eugene D. Ames is one of the West Hartford Civil War veterans profiled. He resided on Prospect Avenue and had resided in West Hartford for 35 years. The article stated that he had been in 32 battles and skirmishes including Antietam, Second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, the Wilderness and Cold Harbor. He had six horses shot out from under him during his term of service. Eugene Ames was a past commander of the Nathaniel Lyon Post No. 2 of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.).

Eugene D. Ames died on October 7, 1926 and is buried in the Fairview Cemetery in West Hartford, Connecticut.