Samuel Storrow was born in Boston, Massachusetts, July 24, 1843, the youngest son of Charles Storrow and Lydia (Jackson) Storrow. From his earliest years he showed great quickness of apprehension and readiness to apply practically whatever he acquired. As he grew older he displayed much manliness of character and a perfect independence of judgment, the free expression of which savored perhaps of forwardness and over-confidence in a boy, but became
more and more tempered by modesty as he grew to be a man and came more in contact with others. He entered College in the year 1860, at the age of 17. When the war broke out in the following spring, he took great interest in public affairs, and felt a strong desire to join the army. His wish naturally met with objections from his parents, who considered him much too young for such service. He at once, however, began to read military works, with a view to fit himself for whatever might in the future be required of him.
In the spring of 1862, suffering from an affection of the eyes, which rendered it necessary for him to refrain for a time from their use, he obtained leave of absence from College, and sailed about the 1st of May for Fayal, Azores. This little journey was agreeable and useful. Thrown among entire strangers and left to his own resources, his character was developed, his bodily strength increased; and he returned about the 1st of September, much better fitted either for study and improvement in his College Class, or for that service in the army which he had so greatly desired.
But he found, on his return, that his father was absent in Europe, and that his elder brother, Charles, had just entered the army with a commission as Captain in the 44th Massachusetts,
which regiment was then being filled up for immediate service. He rejoined his Class at Cambridge; but other thoughts than those of quiet study were uppermost in his mind. He wrote immediately to his father to ask his consent to his entering the service. That consent was instantly given, with an assurance of full sanction and approbation, even should he have been impelled to take the decisive step before the answer could reach him. Such had, indeed, been the case,--his mother having, with unflinching loyalty, assumed the repsonsibility of the sacrifice; and before
he could hear from his father he was mustered in as Corporal in Company H, 44th Massachusetts Volunteers, September 20, 1862.
His own letter of October 12, written just before the regiment left Boston for North Carolina...unconsciously narrates the experience of many besides himself...
"Here was a regiment formed and commanded by friends and kinsmen, and surpassing others in the material of which it was composed. If I embraced this opportunity, I should be among friends
and equals, instead of being forced to accept as my associates any with whom I might be placed. If I did not make my decision quickly, the chance would be lost; and I knew that if I went, you
would agree with mother in much preferring that Charles and I should be together in the same regiment. At that time, too, a draft seemed almost certain; and, as several thousand were said to be wanting to complete the quota of Boston, the chance of being drawn was by no means small....
"Poor mother, she has had a hard time during your absence, especially in coming to a decision about me....Assure her fully of your approval of the course she has taken, and I shall be happy too....Everybody thinks that she has acted nobly, and that you have reason to be proud of your wife was we have of our mother.
"I have tried as well as I can, and I find that it is but poorly to give you some idea of my feelings on this subject. I feel well satisfied that I have done what, upon careful deliberation, has seemed to me most in accordance with all my duties. I have looked at the matter from every point of view; and if I shall seem to you to have arrived at a wrong conclusion, believe me, it was not
fromany hasty impulse of the moment, but from the sober dictates of my best judgment. If I have unwittingly made the wrong choice, God forgive me; I did what I thought was for the best. Ever
you affectionate son, Samuel Storrow."
The 44th Massachusetts was at once ordered to North Carolina, and remained there during its whole term of service....[In February, 1863], he wrote a letter to his father, stating a desire which
he had formed for obtaining an appointment in the Military Academy. This project (which ultimately led to nothing) was, perhaps, the only thing which prevented him from accepting a
commission which was tendered to him, under Colonel Shaw, in the 54th Massachusetts. He thus describes this offer:
The regiment was mustered out of service on the 18th of June, 1863, and the young soldier still felt a great desire to continue in the service. His parents and friends, however, desired that he
should rejoin his Class in College, and complete the studies of the Senior year. It was thought that this would better prepare him for usefulness, even if he should ultimately re-enter the army. He consented to this course with some reluctance, but ultimately admitted that it was the better plan. His mind was strengthened, and his love of knowledge had become developed, during his brief military career. He now enjoyed the intellectual companionship which college life offered, and went more into general society. His favorite books were, however, those which treated of military science, and he watched with eager interest the progress of the war.
On graduating, he determined that, unless he joined the army, he would study law. But after full reflection, and acting solely upon his own convictions, he deliberately decided for the army, and applied for a commission in the 2d Massachusetts Volunteers (Infantry), a regiment already in the field, among whose officers he had a number of friends, especially his classmate, Captain Francis W. Crowninshield, who had permanently left College for military service, early in the war. In order that no time should be idly spent while waiting for an answer to his application, he entered the office of H. W. Paine, Esq., of Boston, as a law student, informing him, of course, of what he had done, and that, if successful in obtaining a commission, he should accept it at once.
On the 22d of September, 1864, upon nimination by Colonel Cogswell of the 2d Massachusetts, and the strong recommendation of his previous commanding officer, Col. Francis L. Lee of the
44th, he received his commission as 1st Lieutenant in the former regiment, and in two or three days set out for Atlanta, Georgia, where his regiment was then stationed. After a series of delays
occasioned by the partial destruction of the railroad between Chattanooga and Atlanta, during Hood's march to the North for the purpose of cutting Sherman's communications, he reached his
regiment and was mustered in October 25, 1864.
The 2d Massachusetts formed part of the 12th Army Corps, in the left wing of Sherman's army, which left Atlanta about the middle of November, on its march to the sea. Lt. Storrow, in his
Captain's absence, commanded his company through the whole campaign, until after the fall of Savannah. His letters, after communication was reopened, gave vivid pictures of the great march.
"As soon as I landed I heard of the formation of the 44th, and Charles's commission. I at once wished to join this; but mother and Charles both opposed it, saying that it was your intention and desire that I should rejoin my Class at once, and expressed themselves so strongly against my enlisting, that on the following Monday I went to Cambridge,a nd resumed my studies with what zeal I could....The excitement and intensity of feeling, the daily agony of doubt and suspense, is a thing scarcely to be appreciated in full by one who was not here at the
time, and who did not pass through it. I assure you, my dear father, I know nothing in the course of my life which has caused me such deep and serious thought as this trying crisis in the hsitory of our nation. What is the worth of this man's life or of that man's education, if this great and glorious fabric of our Union, raised with such toil and labor by our forefathers, and transmitted to us in value increased tenfold, is to be shattered to pieces by traitorous hands, and allowed to fall crumbling into the dust? If our country and our nationality is to perish, better that we should all perish with it, and not survive to see it a laughing-stock for all posterity to be pointed at as the
unsuccessful trial of republicanism. It seems to me the pasrt of a coward to stay at home and allow others to fight my battles and incur dangers for me. What shame, what mortification would
it cause me years hence to be obliged to confess that, in the great struggle for our national existence, I stood aloof, an idle spectator, without any peculiar ties to retain me at home, and yet not caring or not daring to do anything in the defence of my country....The only reason which could at all deter me from enlisting was your absence. I felt reluctant to take so important a step without your advice and consent; and yet I felt that, had you been here, you would have given me your blessing and bade me go.
"While upon compliments, I should not fail to speak of that very great one paid us by Governor Andrew. I refer to his sending to Colonel Lee for some of his warrant officers to take commissions in the 54th. I am proud to belong to a regiment of such a composition that officers may be drawn at will from its ranks, and with perfect confidence in their abilities....I have been very strongly tempted to take a commission in the 54th; and but for my last letter, I should probably have done so. I predict a glorious future for the 54th, and lots of promotion for the officers who were bold enough first to try the experiment at the risk of failure...."
"Argyle's Island, Savannah River, December 18, 1864. Dear Mother, The long wished-for mail reached us yesterday; there was 20 tons for the whole army, amd great was the rejoicing over it. We have been cut off from all communication with God's country, as the North is styled, for 6 weeks; our only source of information being the Rebel papers, not the most
reliable possible. We have had a nice little walk of 300 miles, straight through the hart of the richest State in the Confederacy, and are now in front of Savannah, with our water base established, and the 'cracker line' open. Atlanta has been evacuated, but the evacuating army left in a different direction from what some people imagined, I won't say hoped, it would. The army met with but trifling opposition up to the present time, and I think Savannah will be ours soon...."
At Savannah he was detailed for staff duty on application of his regimental commander, who had just been brevetted as Brigadier-General. The order was dated January 16, 1865, and he acted as Aid to General Cogswell during the march across North Carolina, and until his career ended. In the last letter he ever wrote, four days before his death, he gave some sketches of this final march.
"We've struck daylight at last, and a mail goes in half an hour; pleasant words to greet our ears after 2 months' isolation from the world. Well, we've just walked through and into the little State of South Carolina, and I don't think she will ever pass another ordinance of secession. But my time is short, and I must n't waste it in crowing. First of all, everybody that I know of is well and hearty, and best and heartiest of all am I. Second, we got here last night, making a burst of 25 miles to do it. It was n't until just now, though, that we heard that a gunboat had come up, and that communications were opened. We had heard from deserters that Schofield had come up from Wilmington, and were a little disappointed at not finding him here. Our bummers captured the town, driving the Johnnies across the river. This was yesterday morning; and as I understand it, the gunboat did not arrive till to-day. This campaign has been harder in every respect than the last. We have marched farther, had many more swamps and rivers to cross,--many of the latter very large,--had much more trouble with regard to subsistence, and, above all, the weather has been much more unfavorable. We have had 14 wet days, and at one time it rained steadily for nearly a week. Of course at such times we could advance no faster than we could lay corduroy, making sometimes two, sometimes ten miles a day. But old Tecumseh has come to time at last. The four corps of our army were concentrated here all on the same day, without jostling or delay. This army is a cheap thing for the government: it boards itself. We have n't had 5 days' rations since we started."
The circumstances of his death are perhaps best described in the following letter fromthe officer on whose staff he served:
"Dear Sir: I regret that I am obliged to inform you of the sad loss that has fallen upon you and your family in the death of your son, Samuel Storrow, First Lieutenant 2d Massachusetts Infantry, and personal Aid to myself."Mr. Storrow died of wounds received in action, March 16, 1865, about 20 miles from Fayetteville, North Carolina.
"My brigade had been engaged with the enemy at that place nearly all day, and at about 4 o'clock, P.M., Mr. Storrow was wounded while carrying an order to the left of the brigade, and died in about 15 or 20 minutes afterwards.
"I did not see him after he left me with his orders until that evening, when I went to his remains at the hospital.
"He received two wounds, one in the leg, the other in the arm, neither of them fracturing the bone....He was not insensible when first wounded, and he had the coolness and self-possession to send word to me that he was wounded, that he had carried out my instructions, and also sent me the information that I had wished for. Immediately after that, as reported, he fell fast away, and in a few moments died...
"The fact that he was a brave, faithful, intelligent, and most promising young officer, together with the fact that he died nobly in a just cause, may, in part, console you in your great loss. Allow me to claim in part this loss as my own, for neither in my old regiment nor in my present command can I replace him. He joined my regiment in Atlanta in October. I was pleased with him at once, and can say that in all my experience I never saw a new and young officer take hold of his work so well. In my own mind I selected him at once for the place which I afterwards asked him to accept. He became eminently popular in this brigade; and not until after I lost him did I fully realize how much actual service he was to myself and my command.
"Let me offer to yourself and family my deep feeling of sympathy in this loss to ourselves and our country.... William Cogswell, Brevet Brigadier-General United States Volunteers."
Lt. Storrow was buried near the battle-field, beside Captain Grafton of his regiment, who was killed in the same engagement....In the following winter his remains were recovered, and reinterred (January 6, 1866) in the family tomb at Mount Auburn.
There were many to whom it seemed peculiarly mournful that a young man whose career had shown such traits of consistent nobleness should thus fall at the very end of the great national tragedy, when a few weeks more of srevice might have brought him safely home. Perhaps, however, the parents who had so promptly devoted him to the nation's cause may have felt this peculiar circumstance less than those who viewed it from a greater distance. As there was nothing else for them to regret in the career of their son, so they could hardly find a special source of sorrow in this. They knew that, as there was a first victim in the great contest, so there must be a last; and to those called upon to make for their country a scarifice so vast, it oculd make but little difference whether it camearly or late. The offering being obce consecrated, God might claim it in his own good time.
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