War Department clerk and former army captain Edward C. Townsend was overcome with emotion after news of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln reached him.
“Never before did I shed tears over the death of a public man, but the flood would come this time, and I was no exception, for hundreds and thousands of men, strong men, who had not wept for years broke down with sobs and deep emotion over the news of our President’s death,” wrote Townsend on April 18, 1865, just three days after Lincoln succumbed to a bullet wound in his head. Townsend added, “Woe be to those who laugh at his death, or who shall dare to proclaim the least amount of sympathy for rebels.”
Townsend, a spiritual man of abolitionist leanings who described himself as not bloodthirsty by nature, viewed the Union army as a force of salvation for the nation—putting down the rebellion and hanging those leaders responsible for it. Born in Ann Arbor, Mich., to parents who had moved from their native New York as part of the country’s western expansion, Townsend headed back East after the war began. In the summer of 1862, he enlisted in the Empire State’s 152nd Infantry as a sergeant in Company F.
The 152nd participated in the defense of Suffolk, Va., quelling the New York City Draft Riots, and the Mine Run Campaign during Townsend’s time in the regiment. He proved a solid soldier, receiving a promotion to first sergeant.
Townsend left the 152nd on the cusp of the 1864 Overland Campaign to accept a captain’s commission in the 23rd U.S. Colored Infantry. As commander of Company I, he led his men into the Battle of the Crater following the mine explosion along the front lines of Petersburg on July 30. The regiment suffered 54 killed, wounded, and missing in the failed assault. “There are plenty of fanatical and prejudiced minds who are perfectly willing to blame the Colored troops and without the faintest tinge of reason or justice,” Townsend observed, pointing a finger of blame at the White officers who bungled the operation.
In November 1864, Townsend resigned and relocated to the nation’s capital, where, in 1865, he landed a job as a clerk in the Quartermaster General’s Office of the U.S. War Department. He remained an employee of the Department for the next half-century. Along the way, he married Harriet E. “Hatty” Conner. They became parents of Ada Louise.
Hatty and Ada survived Townsend after his passing in 1929 at age 89. All three are buried together in Arlington National Cemetery.
Note: Townsend’s quoted letters are from a listing for Lot 339 in Christie’s Live Auction 1388, Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts Including Americana, which closed on June 8, 2004. The location of the letters is not known.
Most Hallowed Ground is part of the Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) Project. Established by Jim Quinlan of The Excelsior Brigade, its mission is to identify all Civil War veterans on the grounds. Contact Jim at 703-307-0344.
SPREAD THE WORD: We encourage you to share this story on social media and elsewhere to educate and raise awareness. If you wish to use any image on this page for another purpose, please request permission.
LEARN MORE about Military Images, America’s only magazine dedicated to showcasing, interpreting and preserving Civil War portrait photography.
VISIT OUR STORE to subscribe, renew a subscription, and more.