Augustus Merrill

In 1860 he was a 16 year old cooper living on his parents' farm and cooperage in Turner, Androscoggin County, ME. Giving his age as 20, from Lyndon, he enlisted at Houlton as a Corporal in Company A, 7th Maine Infantry on 13 August 1861.

He was severely wounded in the foot or hip in action at Antietam on 17 September 1862 and was captured there.

He was in Libby Prison in Richmond, VA for 6 weeks, then exchanged. He was promoted to Sergeant in December 1862 and was detailed to Augusta, ME in June 1863. He reenlisted on 21 December 1863 and was commissioned First Lieutenant of Company F on that date. He transferred to Company A of the First Maine Veteran Infantry (a consolidation of the 5th, 6th, and 7th regiments) on 21 August 1864 and was Captain of Company B by 1865. He was later awarded the Medal of Honor for action on 2 April 1865 at Petersburg, VA, and was honored by brevet to Major.

In 1870 he was back with his parents and siblings in Aroostook County, and gave his occupation as "exploring." He went west and explored for mines in "Indian Country" and was in Los Angeles, CA by 1885. He was living in San Diego, CA when his Medal of Honor was presented in 1891 but was in Chicago on business when he died at age 52 in 1895.

Wound information from Hyde,1 as Augustus Merritt. His service from the Adjutant General.2 Personal details from family genealogists, notably Florence Collins Porter in Our Folks and Your Folks: a volume of family history... (1919), online from the Internet Archives, and the US Census of 1860 & 1870. His gravesite is on Findagrave. His picture from a photograph from the Janet & Bedford Hayes Collection, published in the Historical Data Systems database.

He married Mamie Alexander (1857-1943) in Los Angeles, CA in June 1885 and they had 4 children; they named their third Thomas Hyde Merrill (1891-1976), presumably after the Major who led the 7th Maine at Antietam.

10/04/1843; Byron, ME

11/14/1895; Chicago, IL; burial in Graceland Cemetery, Chicago, IL