"The Gravest of Responsibilities"

Last summer, I wrote about our Civil War regimental battle flag photograph collection. During my research for that post, I became familiar with several Civil War solders’ incredible stories. There is never enough time to research and write about the fascinating subjects with which we come into contact in this line of work; I often have to set information I’ve gathered aside and hope to come back to it another day. Such was the case for me with the stories of William Harvey Carney and Thomas Plunkett.

Carney and Plunkett are linked together in my mind, though I do not know whether the two ever met. There are several reasons for this. Both men served the Union as flag bearers for their respective Massachusetts regiments; both were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during battle; and both of them once worked in the State House, which I learned through the battle flag photograph collection and stories Silvia, our Head of Special Collections, told me. This building holds so many stories, many which risk being lost to time if we do not make a point to pass them on. This is especially true for the stories of people who are not memorialized in portraits, murals, and plaques throughout the State House halls. 

Thankfully, Thomas Plunkett and William H. Carney are represented in Memorial Hall. I wanted to expand on their stories in this post in honor of Juneteenth. Many thanks to Boston African American National Historic Site’s comprehensive article about William Harvey Carney and The Armless Hero of Fredericksburg by Mark Savolis and Ronald S. Coddington, which I relied on heavily here.

From the description under the 21st Regimental battle flag facsimile in Memorial Hall:

The position of color bearer was undoubtedly one of the proudest as well as most dangerous a soldier could hold. The flags, always posted at the front, served as a beacon for one’s fellow soldiers and the enemy alike. To “preserve the Union”- to never let it fall to the ground- was the gravest of responsibilities... one for which many color bearers gave up their lives.

William Harvey Carney

Sergeant William Harvey Carney in uniform, holding the flag he bore
for the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. 
Courtesy of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. 

William H. Carney was born to William Carney Sr. and Ann Dean in Norfolk, Virginia on February 29, 1840. Carney was born into slavery, and at 14 years old began secretly attending a private school led by a minister, where he learned to read and write. It is not known for sure exactly how Carney escaped enslavement. He might have escaped on his own through the Underground Railroad and joined his father in Massachusetts; it is also possible his father purchased his freedom after reaching Massachusetts himself. Carney's family ultimately settled in New Bedford, where William considered going into ministry.

 
But in 1863, the Union army finally allowed Black Americans to serve in combat roles. Carney's life changed course: "I had a strong inclination to prepare myself for the ministry; but when the country called for all persons, I could best serve my God by serving my country and my oppressed brothers. The sequel is short – I enlisted for the war,” Carney wrote in October 1863. Carney joined the Morgan Guards in February of 1863, at 23 years old. This Black militia, originally named for a white benefactor from New Bedford, changed its name to the "Toussaint Guards" in honor of Haitian Revolutionary leader Toussaint Louverture. The Toussaint Guards joined with the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, where Carney served in Company C. He was promoted to sergeant in March 1863.

On July 18, 1863, the 54th Massachusetts led the charge on Fort Wagner outside of Charleston, South Carolina under the command of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. When their flag bearer was shot down, Sergeant Carney retrieved the flag and continued to march, though he was seriously wounded himself. When the Union was forced to retreat, Carney continued carrying the flag until he could hand it to another soldier of the 54th behind Union lines. Carney famously exclaimed, "Boys, I did but my duty; the dear old flag never touched the ground!"

Sergeant Carney's story inspired many pieces of art
and music, like the song pictured here.

Carney was honorably discharged in June 1864 due to his injuries. He spent some time in San Francisco following the war, but then returned to New Bedford, working for 32 years as the state’s fourth African American postman. He married Susannah Williams on October 11, 1865 in New Bedford and had one daughter, Clara Heronia. For the rest of his life, Carney was an active participant in Black veterans’ organizations. He attended reunions and battle anniversary memorials as a member of the Grand Army of the Republic Post 1 and was the featured singer of the Star-Spangled Banner at a ceremony in 1889.

On May 31, 1897, Carney joined his fellow surviving members of the 54th for the dedication ceremony of Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ The Robert Gould Shaw/54th Massachusetts Regiment Memorial, in the Boston Common directly across from the State House. Sergeant Carney finally received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Fort Wagner in May 1900, when he was 60 years old. He was the first of 22 African American Civil War veterans who ultimately received the Medal of Honor.

After leaving the postal service in New Bedford, Carney came to work as a messenger at the State House. Then in November 1908, he was tragically, fatally injured in an elevator accident at the State House. Printed accounts of the event state that Carney was trying to back out of the elevator to make room for others when the doors closed, catching his injured leg. He died at Boston City Hospital on December 9, 1908. He was 68 years old. Carney was buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in New Bedford. And on the afternoon of December 11, 1908, the flags at the Massachusetts State House flew at half-staff in honor and remembrance of Sergeant William Harvey Carney’s valiant life.

Thomas Plunkett

Sergeant Thomas Plunkett in uniform, pictured with the flag he bore
for the 21st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. 
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Thomas Francis Plunkett was born in County Mayo, Ireland in 1839. After the death of his mother, his father Francis brought Thomas and his brothers to America and settled in Boston. By 1861, Thomas was working as a bootmaker in West Boylston and was engaged to be married. He enlisted in Company E of the 21st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. In September, the regiment became part of Major General Ambrose Burnside’s Coast Division. In early 1862, Plunkett’s regiment participated in successful operations along the North Carolina coast. By that summer, his actions in battle gained him a reputation for bravery, and he was promoted to sergeant. In September 1862, during the Battle of South Mountain, Plunkett stopped to assist a wounded, thirsty officer from Ohio. That officer turned out to be future President Rutherford B. Hayes, who recognized, embraced, and thanked Thomas years later during a presidential tour of New England.

At Fredericksburg in December 1862, the 21st Regiment fought an uphill battle. Plunkett marched on with the regimental flag as bullets tore through, shooting a hole in his cap. A shell fragment tore through his right arm, then shattered his left forearm. As he bled profusely from what was left of his arms, he planted a foot against the flagpole, still standing. His blood left a large, permanent stain on the flag. Plunkett was then sent to the rear by his colonel. He walked until faint from blood loss, and stretcher bearers carried him into Fredericksburg. Surgeons felt his case was hopeless; they left him on the floor in excruciating pain as they performed surgeries on tables just above him. Two hours later, he was finally given chloroform and surgeons cut away the mangled skin of his arms. Thomas’s life was saved by Clara Barton, who sutured and dressed his arm stumps. 

A news clipping dated October 21, 1885 pasted on the inside of our battle flags’ 

photo album cover about Plunkett and the 21st Regimental battle flag.

He was honorably discharged on March 9, 1864, and he returned home to Massachusetts to $7,000 in charitable funds raised for him. He also received a pension as a result of Clara Barton’s letter writing assistance. Thomas bought a home in Worcester with the funds, where he married Helen Lorimer and raised three children. In March 1866, Sergeant Plunkett received the Medal of Honor. He was invited to all Civil War-related events in Worcester for the rest of his life. And like William H. Carney, he became a messenger in the State House, a position he held for 15 years. Thomas Plunkett died of inflammatory bowel and stomach disease in 1885 at 44 years old. There was a large turnout at his funeral, and one of his pallbearers was the 21st Regiment Chaplain, George Ball. He was buried in Hope Cemetery in Worcester, and his monument displays an urn draped with a flag.

Alyssa Persson

Special Collections Processing Archivist

Tom Meagher: the Original “Candy Man” for the Massachusetts Legislature

If you ever get a chance to flip through one of the late 19th or early 20th century Souvenirs of Massachusetts Legislators (available online), which provide photographs and biographical sketches of Massachusetts legislators during the years in which they served, you’ll come across an interesting character.  In the 1897 souvenir, editor Arthur Milnor Bridgman states in his introduction: “This Souvenir contains also a special feature in the picture of Tom Meagher, the gallant one-armed veteran of the War, who has been for many years a popular fixture as the ‘candy man.’”  But don’t be fooled by his tongue-in-cheek nickname--Tom was a cigar dealer.


Bridgman’s caption for photo (left): “’Tom Meagher,’

the Veteran of the War of the Rebellion, Who has been the popular 

“Candy Man” of the Legislature for, lo, these many years.” 
Meagher was located on the 3^rd floor, outside
 the entrance to the House Lobby.

Meagher, a kind and familiar face in the State House for “lo, these many years”, worked his concession counter toward the latter half of the 19th century.  The timeframe of his tenure is unclear, but by the mid-nineteen teens, when the publication went through a reformatting, his “feature” was no longer included.  By 1919, a new proprietor by the name of Pierce O’Connell took up residence in Meagher’s stead.  Notice anything familiar behind O’Connell’s counter?

From the 1920 book Public Officials of
Massachusetts ('Bird Book')

 With the scant information provided by Bridgman, and from the caption accompanying Meagher’s photograph, what we do know is that he was a Civil War veteran.  Additional research tells us that he was born in Ireland sometime around 1835 and immigrated to the United States in 1855.  Assuming that he fought under the auspices of Massachusetts, one will find that there are a handful of entries for Thomas Meaghers in the multi-volume set Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the Civil War.  One entry in particular, for a soldier who fought in Company C of the 1st Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, sticks out among the rest:

(Vol. I, p. 21)

This is the only entry that mentions wounds received in battle--undoubtedly a reference to Meagher’s gravely injured right arm (for which he later received a government pension).  Virginia was the scene of much violence during the Civil War.  From June 25th to July 1st, 1862, under the Union campaign leadership of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan against Confederate campaign under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, Henrico (which includes Fair Oaks) and Hanover Counties experienced a series of six battles known as the Seven Days Battles; it’s probable that our Tom Meagher sustained his injuries during the first at what is now called the Battle of Oak Grove.

I wish we could know a lot more about Tom Meagher.  As a Civil War veteran who, in his youth, experienced the horrors of battle in a country divided, who then retired to the humble life of selling cigars and chit-chatting with members of the Massachusetts General Court, we can only imagine the fascinating stories he could relate to us today.  It’s certain that he was well-loved and respected by all that had the pleasure of talking with him, and the inclusion of his “feature” in over a decade’s worth of legislative souvenirs, as well as his near life-size portrait that hung on the wall outside the House lobby, is testament to their appreciation.


Kaitlin Connolly
Reference Dept.