William Asher Palmer, age 25,
probably shortly after his enlistment
Photo courtesy of my sister, Susan Russell McKean
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William
Asher Palmer was the eighth of twelve children born to Asher
and Joanna Eames Palmer. He was born
February 28, 1837 in Exeter, Rhode Island. As a boy, he moved with
his family to Griswold, Connecticut, just over the border from Rhode
Island.
On August 30, 1862, William and
his younger brother, Horace, enlisted in
Company F of the 26th Regiment
of Connecticut Volunteers, Union Army to fight in the Civil War.
According
to historical documentation, the 26th Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers
was organized for duty at Norwich, Connecticut on November 10, 1862. The
regiment left the state for eastern New York on November 12, then sailed for Ship Island and New Orleans,
Louisiana on November 29, arriving there on December 16, 1862. The
regiment was attached to General Sherman's Division, Department of the Gulf,
until January, 1863 and then attached to the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 19th Army Corps,
Department of the Gulf, until August 1863.
The 26th Regiment took
part in the Siege
on Port Hudson, Louisiana, which was considered the longest siege in American
military history and one of
the bloodiest battles for the Union during the Civil War. The 26th Regiment
Conn. lost a total of 145 men,
55 of whom were killed in action or mortally wounded, 90 of whom died
from disease. William, age 26, and his younger brother, Horace,
age 19, were among those who died.
William Palmer is buried at the Ames Cemetery in Lisbon,
Connecticut near his parents, his brother Horace and other family members.
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