Lucius D. Wilson

Tag: Lucius D. Wilson

Lucius D. Wilson

First Battle of Bull Run

Posted on December 1, 2022December 2, 2022 by Amanda Rutha

Also known as the First Battle of Manassas

The first Battle of Bull Run, Va., Sunday afternoon, July 21, 1861, *Library of Congress*

In July 1861, the 90 day enlistments of soldiers in the Union regiments were about to run out and President Lincoln urged Union General Irwin McDowell to engage the Confederate Army, commanded in the field by General Beauregard. On July 18, 1861, McDowell and the 37,000 soldiers of the Army of the Potomac marched into Virginia. Many civilians, including Congressmen, rode out to see the destruction of the Confederate Army.

The two armies met at Bull Run creek near Manassas Junction, Virginia on July 21^st just after 9 A.M. Uniform colors were not yet consistent with some Union regiments wearing grey and some Confederate units in blue. Both armies were untried but shared the belief that this battle would end with their side victorious and that the War would end within months.

Fighting went back and forth throughout the day. Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson’s Virginia brigade firmly held the high ground in the middle of the line. General Bernard Bee rallied his Confederate troops by saying: “Look, there is Jackson with his Virginians, standing like a stonewall!”, and General Thomas Jackson became immortalized as “Stonewall” Jackson. Confederate reinforcements arrived late in the afternoon and General Beauregard ordered a massive counterattack at 4 P.M. The Confederates attacked “yelling like furies” at Jackson’s urging and the rebel yell was first heard on a Civil War battlefield. The Union line broke and most regiments ran to the rear in disarray. Combined casualties of both armies killed, wounded and missing was about 4,500.

The Connecticut Brigade consisting of the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Regiments Connecticut Volunteer Infantry were engaged from 10 A.M. when they met and repelled a body of infantry and cavalry. They were in action until 4 P.M. and retired from the field in good order. Lucius D. Wilson, the first Mansfield soldier to enlist, was in Co. B of the 1^st Connecticut and Willard R. Moulton of Co. D of the 3^rd Connecticut was captured at the Battle of Bull Run.

Posted on October 24, 2022November 17, 2022 by Amanda Rutha

Lucius D. Wilson was a resident of Vernon on April 19, 1861 when he enlisted as a Private in Co. B of the 1st Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. The first shots of the Civil War had been fired at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, one week previously. President Lincoln issued a proclamation for 75,000 volunteers on April 15, 1861 and Governor Buckingham issued a call on April 16^th. On July 20, 1861 at the First Battle of Bull Run, the first Connecticut was ordered to advance at 10 A.M.; they met and repelled a body of infantry and cavalry. They were in action until 4 P.M. and retired from the field in good order. Lucius Wilson was honorably discharged on July 31, 1861.

He enlisted as a Sergeant in Co. B of the 7th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, on August 19, 1861 from Mansfield, less than three weeks after his discharge from the 1^st Connecticut. On December 11, 1862, he was discharged for disability in Beaufort, South Carolina.

The descriptive muster roll of the 7th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry lists his age as 21 and his occupation as wool sorter. He is described as 6’ tall with a fair complexion and blue eyes and light hair.

He was born November 11, 1839 in Mansfield to Thomas and Marcia (Hilliard) Wilson. In the 1860 U.S. census in Mansfield, he is a 20 year old operative in the household of Thomas Wilson. His brother, Reuben E. Wilson is also living in this household; he enlisted in Co. B in September of 1861. Lucius Wilson married Mary Jane Abbott on December 1, 1864. Children include: Reuben Herbert Wilson, born October 6, 1867; Howard Abbott Wilson, born February 16, 1875 and Lucius Everett Wilson, born September 27, 1877. Lucius Wilson worked as a wool sorter in a woolen mill, first in Coventry, Connecticut and later in Maynard, Massachusetts. He moved to Maynard between 1880 and 1900.

On May 13, 1880, he applied for an invalid pension, No. 371,619 that was granted under certificate No. 257,575 His widow filed for a pension on November 17, 1917.

Lucius D. Wilson died on October 10, 1917 in Maynard, Massachusetts and is buried at the Glenwood Cemetery in Maynard, Massachusetts.

Reuben E. Wilson

Posted on October 24, 2022November 14, 2022 by Amanda Rutha

Reuben E. Wilson was a resident of Mansfield on September 7, 1861 when he enlisted as a Private in Co. B of the 7th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry; he was discharged for disability June 8, 1862.

The descriptive muster roll of the 7th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry lists his age as 19. No occupation is recorded. He is described as 5’ 9” tall with a fair complexion and blue eyes and light hair.

He was born about 1841 in Mansfield to Thomas and Maria (Hilliard) Wilson. In the 1860 U.S. census in Mansfield, he is an 18 year old farm laborer in the household of Thomas Wilson. His brother, Lucius D. Wilson is also living in this household; he enlisted in Co. B in August of 1861.

Reuben E. Wilson died of consumption on August 18, 1862 in Mansfield, two months after he was discharged from the army; he is buried at the Gurley Cemetery in Mansfield.