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MASSACHUSETTS MINUTEMAN MEDAL OF CHARLES D. BACON 4th MASS INF, 1st & 4th MASS CAV: SHOWN WEARING THE MEDAL IN THE MINUTEMEN OF 1861 ROSTER

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Authorized in 1902, these impressive, two-piece bronze medals consist of a rectangular pin-back bar reading, “MASSACHUSETTS MINUTE MEN OF 1861” and a circular drop with the  Seal of the State of Massachusetts at center of the obverse and the reverse reading,  “THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEER MILITIA WHO WERE MUSTERED INTO THE UNITED STATES SERVICE IN RESPONSE TO PRESIDENT LINCOLN’S FIRST CALL FOR TROOPS APRIL 15, 1861.” Approximately 3,800 of these were struck, stamped on the rim with the soldier’s name, rank, and unit and available for the veterans and family members. This one is complete, has a nice, even bronze tone, is stamped on the edge: “CHARLES D. BACON,  PRVT. F. 4TH. REG.” and was not only claimed by the veteran but proudly displayed by him the portrait he supplied to the 1910 roster of veterans entitled to receive it. Like many of those first volunteers, Bacon went on to serve in other units as well and his 1862-63 and 1864 diaries of service in the Massachusetts cavalry are held by East Carolina University, and available online.

The 4^th Mass. Militia Infantry was a three-month regiment and the first to leave the state, having been summoned to Boston on April 15, 1861. They left the state April 17 for Fortress Monroe, where Bacon, who had enlisted at Foxboro on April 24, caught up with them and mustered into Company F, the Foxboro company, as a private on May 6. Born in Foxboro in 1840, he was reportedly a carpenter by profession. The regiment was sent to Newport News on May 27 and spent most of its time there fortifying “Camp Butler.” Five of the regiment’s companies were involved in the Battle of Big Bethel, a Union defeat, but effectively the first engagement of the war, on June 10. On July 3 they were posted to Hampton, from where they marched back to Fortress Monroe on July 11, and on July 15 sailed for home, where they were mustered out July 22 on Long Island in Boston Harbor.

Like many in the regiment, Bacon saw subsequent service, enlisting in Co. K of the 1^st Massachusetts Cavalry on December 2, 1861, and mustering in for three years as private at Readville, MA, on December 4, 1861.  He is marked present on existing company muster rolls, though with a note that he was absent sick for some period covered by the September-October 1862 muster rolls. The company was part of the regiment’s Third Battalion, which operated independently of the other two. Under command of Maj. Stevens it was engaged for several months in the performance of picket and patrol duty at Beaufort and Hilton Head, a detachment sharing in the reconnaissance to Pocotaligo Oct. 22, 1862. Bacon was promoted Corporal on March 6, 1863. During the siege of Fort Sumter in April, 1863, part of the battalion was on duty on Folly and Morris islands. On Aug 4, 1863, it was permanently detached from the regiment and redesignated the Independent Battalion Massachusetts Cavalry, under which name it engaged in the expedition to St. John's River, Fla. It continued to serve as an independent battalion until Feb. 12, 1864, when it became the 1st battalion, 4th Mass. Cavalry. Bacon had been promoted to Sergeant on Sept. 1, 1863, and after the battalion had become part of the 4^th Mass Cavalry, he was promoted to company Commissary Sergeant while at Camp Shaw, East Florida, on Feb. 24, 1864. Muster rolls show him present throughout this enlistment until his discharge at the expiration of his term of service on Dec. 3, 1864. His diaries include details on this service up to his return home in January 1864.

As part of the 4^th Massachusetts Cavalry, the battalion was credited with the following service: Expedition from Jacksonville, Fla., to Lake City, Fla., February 7–22, 1864. Battle of Olustee, Fla., February 20. McGrath's Creek, Cedar Run, March 1. Cedar Run April 2. Ordered to Bermuda Hundred, Va., arriving there May 8. Operations against Fort Darling April 12–16. Bermuda Hundred May 20–30. Jordan's Crossing and Petersburg June 9. Siege operations against Petersburg and Richmond June 16, 1864 to April 2, 1865. At Headquarters, Department of Virginia and North Carolina, June 21 to August 15, 1864. At Headquarters, X Corps, until December 1864. Demonstration on the north side of the James River August 13–20. Strawberry Plains August 14–18. Flusser's Mills August 18–19. (Company M detached at Harrison's Landing on outpost duty August 23, 1864 to March 1865.) Before Petersburg August 24 to September 28. Chaffin's Farm, New Market Heights, September 28–30. Harrison's Landing October 13 (Company M). Fair Oaks October 27–28. Expedition into Charles City and Henrico Counties November 1–5. After Bacon was discharged in December, 1864, Company K seems to have served at the Headquarters of the 24^th Corps until April 1865.

For Bacon’s specific service, we refer interested parties to his diaries, accessible online from East Carolina University. We show the photo he contributed to the roster of the Mass Minutemen of 1861, and the brief service history he supplied with it. The 1860 census lists him as a farm laborer, but in 1861 he is listed as carpenter. He apparently married in October 1861, before re-entering the army, and had a daughter in 1885. In the 1900 census he is listed as marrying a second time about 1897, and is still listed as a carpenter by profession. He was a member of the Rawlins Post #43 in Marlborough, MA. He passed away in Massachusetts in 1913.  [sr] [ph:m]

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