George Whittemore, Jr.

(1836 - 1862)
Home State: Massachusetts
Branch of Service: Sharpshooters
Unit: Massachusetts Sharpshooters, First Company

Before the Antietam Campaign:
He graduated from Harvard with an AB in the class of 1857, then taught the Classics and studied law. He passed the bar in mid- to late-1861. He indentified himself as a 24 year old lawyer living in Gloucester when he enlisted as Private on 2 September 1861. He was promoted to Corporal (no date) and possibly Sergeant prior to Antietam.

In the Antietam Campaign:
He was killed in action on 17 September 1862.

The remainder of the War:
"The next day, when the ground came into possession of the Federal army, his body was carefully and tenderly buried by his comrades, with a headboard inscribed, "Sergeant Whittemore." It was soon after removed to Mount Auburn. There it rests in a spot that was a favorite resort of his while in college. It is situated on the slope of Harvard Hill."

References, Sources, and other notes:
Basic information from Commonwealth of Massachusetts1, with genealogical details from Susan Harnwell and contributors at her superb 15th Massachusetts Infantry site. The quote above from Higginson2, following a pointer from Ms. Harnwell. A photograph of him is in the Harvard Universtiy Archives [list].

Birth Date: 12/19/1836    Place of Birth: Boston, MA
College: Harvard College    Graduating Year: 1857
Death Date: 09/17/1862    Death Place: Sharpsburg, MD    Burial Place: Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, MA

Notes

1 Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Adjutant General, Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the Civil War, 8 Vols, Norwood (MA): Norwood Press, 1931-35, Vol. 2, pp. 212 -213 [AotW citation 2727]

2 Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, Harvard Memorial Biographies , Cambridge (MA): Sever and Francis, 1866, pp. 404 - 414 [AotW citation 2730]

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