Civil War musket presented to Monson Historical Society
MONSON — A musket and accompanying bayonet that had belonged to a Monson area veteran of the Civil War and had been a family heirloom for the last few decades, will now be a part of the Monson Historical Society. Fifth- through seventh-generation descendants of Harrison Davis formally presented the musket to the historical society on July 15 at the Moore Building as part of Monson Summerfest. The musket was soon put on display across the street at the Monson Historical Society Museum.
“We are greatly honored to be honoring Civil War veteran Harrison Davis and the whole family,” Monson Historical Society President Glenn Poole told attendees.
After a reading of the Gettysburg Address by one of Davis’ great-great grandsons — who said Davis’ son Harry “The Spruce Gum King” Davis would recite Abraham Lincoln’s famous words every year at the Monson Memorial Day observance – the audience learned about the family history.
CIVIL WAR MUSKET — Wayne Bennett of the Col. Douty Camp #11 Sons of Union Veterans holds a Civil War musket that belonged to Harrison Davis and was given by his descendants to the Monson Historical Society during a presentation at the Moore Building on July 15. The musket is now on display at the historical society museum along with information about Davis.
Ewen Farnham explained his ancestors came to Elliottsville from Lebanon, New Hampshire via Parkman and Davis was one of five children with he and two brothers all serving in the Army of the Potomac.
Davis was drafted in 1864 at the age of 27 and less than a year later he was present at Appomattox Court House in Virginia when General Robert E. Lee surrendered. Farnham said after the war Davis lived on the family homestead where he and his wife raised three children including Harry Davis — who Farnham said was a prominent citizen of Monson.
Andrew (Davis) Russell, Farnham’s nephew and a great-great grandson of Davis, said, “It’s been my honor for the last 30 years or so to actually be the keeper of this musket, it has been in our living room.”
FAMILY HISTORY — Andrew (Davis) Russell, the great-great grandson of Union Army veteran Harrison Davis, told the audience about his ancestor during a ceremony to present Davis’ musket to the Monson Historical Society on July 15 as part of the Monson Summerfest.
Russell said not a lot is known about Harrison’s service in the Civil War aside from his dates in the Union Army. “We can track the service of his regiment during the time that he was there but unfortunately personal anecdotes, day to day life, those stories are lost to history,” Russell said.
Davis served as a private in Company E of the 11th Maine Regiment, which formed in Augusta in 1861 and was part of battles between then and when Davis became a part of it. “Harrison’s story began on Oct. 1, 1864 when he was drafted into the 11th Maine,” Russell said “He was 27, he was single at the time, and he was following in the footsteps of his brothers Aldon and Richard.”
Draft papers listed Davis as 5-foot-4 with an occupation of farmer.
“When Harrison entered, the war had started a new phase,” Russell said. “No longer were the armies fighting battles only to retreat and face another day, instead it had taken on a more ominous character in the trenches around Petersburg, Virginia. Men fought each other from behind fixed positions and made heavy use of artillery, mines, and mortars. It was a precursor to the kind of war that would devastate Europe 50 years later in the first World War.”
NEW ADDITION — The musket and bayonet belonging to Harrison Davis during his service in the Civil War is now on display at the Monson Historical Society Museum.
“He was there when Lee’s line was broken and his Army of Northern Virginia was chased to Appomattox,” Russell said “Harrison, along with this musket, was present at Appomattox Court House on the day Lee surrendered. So it always struck me where that musket has been. What he witnessed that day could only be surmised today, I would love to have the stories that he could have told us.”
Post-war Davis came home to Elliottsville where he married and raised three children. “Harrison seldom left his farm, perhaps he had seen enough of the world in his youth,” Russell said. “He lived to the ripe old age of 95, dying in 1932.”
Russell said an uncle of his is the last living link to Davis, having appeared in a photo together with other family members back when the uncle was an infant and Davis was a nonagenarian.
Many of Davis’ possessions were lost to a fire in the 1950s but the musket survived and “it has remained a treasured part of our family history for generations,” Russell said.
He said it is a .58 caliber service musket, similar to the thousands issued to soldiers at that time. The musket was manufactured in 1863 by Colt in Hartford, Connecticut.
“At some point the rail rod was lost and somebody hand carved a wooden barrel stopper, might have been Harrison himself,” Russell said. “One has only to lift the musket and feel the bayonet to get a sense of the immense power of his weapon and the role it played in the battles of that era.”
“I have been honored to be the keeper of the musket for the last three decades and on behalf of the Farnham/Davis family it is with great pride that I get to be here today to present it to the Monson Historical Society on behalf of Harrison Davis and all his descendants, and as a physical reminder to future generations of the sacrifices our ancestors made to preserve the Union and end slavery,” he said.
With Davis’ descendants coming forward, the musket was ceremoniously handed off by the youngest member of the seventh generation to Wayne Bennett of the Col. Douty Camp #11 Sons of Union Veterans, who were joined in period attire by members of Sarah Elizabeth Palmer Tent #23 Daughters of Union Veterans.