Editing Dartmouth, Massachusetts (section)

=== Civil War ===
==== Prewar years ====
[[File:Ann Alexander of New Bedford.png|thumb|The ship [[Ann Alexander (ship)|''Ann Alexander'']], built at [[Russells Mills Village Historic District|Russells Mills Village]] in 1805, was rammed and sunk by a [[sperm whale]] bull in 1851.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sawtell |first=Clement Cleveland |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LwgaAAAAIAAJ |title=The Ship Ann Alexander of New Bedford: 1805-1851 |date=1962 |publisher=Marine Historical Association |language=en}}</ref>]]

In the years before the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], in the early 1840s, Dartmouth launched a whaling vessel owned by Sanford and Sherman, had a bowling Alley burn down, as well as hosting an Abstinence rally with some shops refusing to sell [[Rum]] and cider. In 1855, the town was home to one [[cotton mill]], three [[salt works]], one factory that made [[railroad car]]s, sleighs, wagons, and coaches, two [[tanneries]], seven [[shoemakers]], and five shingle mills, as well as launching one ship. The town had an abundance of livestock, including over a thousand sheep and cows. 850 swine. 428 oxen. As well as 4102 acres of English hay, and 712 acres of [[Indian corn]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Glennon |first=Beverly |title=Three Hundred and Fifty-Five Men for the Union |publisher=Command Print Solutions |date=October 2004 |location=New Bedford, MA |pages=1–10 |language=EN}}</ref>

==== 1861 ====
The first town meeting in Dartmouth related to the Civil War was held on May 16, 1861, and contained a preamble about the towns stance on the war.<ref name=":2" />

{{Blockquote|text=The Government of the United States is now in a struggle for National existence, popular Liberty, the perpetuity of the Constitution, and the Supremacy of the Laws against the Myrmidous of Slavery and enimies [sic.] of popular Liberty, Therefore resolved that as patriots and friends of the Constitution the National Government and our righted institutions, we the people of Darmouth in Town Meeting assembled do recognize the full extent of the perilous position of our once happy but now beligerent [sic.] and distrac [sic.] country and also, the duty whiche [sic.] we owe to that Constitution and Flag under which we have lived in happiness and prosperity for more than Eighty Years And that we proffer unreservedly and with cheerfulness our aid and cooperation in defence of our liberties and National Flag.|title=Dartmouth Town Meeting Notes}}

At the onset of the Civil War, the first troops to be sent to [[Washington, D.C.]] in Massachusetts were called by telegram on April 15, 1861, by [[Henry Wilson|Senator Henry Wilson]]. The Dartmouth men enlisted in the first call to arms were enlisted in the 18th, 33rd, 38th, and 40th [[regiment]]s.

==== 1862 ====
According to the [[New Bedford Republican Standard]], on September 4, 1862, Dartmouth fulfilled its part in the quota sent from [[Washington, D.C.]] Which called for 20 companies, three full regiments, and four regiments of militia to be brought from Massachusetts. The fighting force was meant to be made up of the strongest companies in the state. Dartmouth had eight men in the 18th Regiment, twelve men in the 38th Regiment, and one in both the 33rd and 40th.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Glennon |first=Beverly |title=Three Hundred and Fifty-Five Men for the Union |publisher=Command Print Solutions |date=October 2004 |location=New Bedford, MA |pages=15–37 |language=EN}}</ref>

In 1862, the town of Dartmouth voted to pay volunteers for the war. [[William Francis Bartlett]] stopped in Dartmouth after being wounded at the [[Siege of Yorktown (1862)|Siege of Yorktown]]. Several Dartmouth soldiers were at the [[Second Battle of Bull Run]]. George Lawton, Leander Collins, Robert H. Dunham, Frederick Smith, Joseph Head, Abraham R. Cowen, and John Smith were all present at the battle. They served in the 8th Battery MVM, the 16th, and 18th Regiment MVI, and the light artillery. In the New Bedford Republican Standards August 18, 182 issue it was reported that a Dartmouth town meeting voted to pay a $200  bounty to nine-month volunteers. In the month following the [[Battle of Antietam]], many Dartmouth men joined the 3rd regiment of infantry in the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. They completed training at [[Camp Joe Hooker]] in [[Lakeville, Massachusetts|Lakeville]] before leaving for Boston on October 22, 1862. They then embarked on the Merrimac and Mississippi for [[New Bern, North Carolina]]. Dartmouth then proceeded to fulfil its second quota, sending 20 men to Company F, and three to company G. At the [[Battle of Fredericksburg]], Private Joseph Head, a machinist, Frederick Smith, a seaman, and Frederick H. Russell—all from Dartmouth—were injured. Isaac S. Barker, a carpenter, was killed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Glennon |first=Beverly |title=Three Hundred and Fifty-Five Men for the Union |date=October 2004 |publisher=Command Print Solutions |location=New Bedford, MA |pages=40–47 |language=EN}}</ref>

==== 1863 ====
On March 3, 1863, the town voted to raise $5,000  for monthly payments of aid for families of volunteers. Acting Master James Taylor of the [[ironclad warship]] [[USS Keokuk (1862)|USS Keokuk]] arrived at his Dartmouth home on April 21, 1863. He looked "as if he had suffered anything but defeat," after the Keokuk attacked [[Fort Sumter]] and was riddled with bullet holes. Dartmouth soldiers also fought at the [[Battle of Gettysburg]]. Three soldiers served in the 1st Regiment MVI, one in the 16th, and 33rd, and six in the 18th.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Glennon |first=Beverly |title=Three Hundred and Fifty-Five Men for the Union |date=October 2004 |publisher=Command Print Solutions |location=New Bedford, MA |pages=50–60 |language=EN}}</ref>

[[David Lewis Gifford]] was a [[Union Army]] soldier from Dartmouth, who received the [[Medal of Honor]]. He enlisted in December 1863, at age 1— as a member of the [[4th Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment]]. Following the steamer the USS ''Boston'' running aground on an [[Oyster|Oyster bed]], leaving 400 individuals within range of [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] artillery. Gifford and four other men—led by [[George W. Brush]]—manned a small boat and ferried stranded soldiers to a safe area.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Browne |first=Patrick |date=January 28, 2019 |title=Dartmouth |url=https://macivilwarmonuments.com/2019/01/28/dartmouth/ |access-date=June 27, 2022 |website=Massachusetts Civil War Monuments Project |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 12, 2014 |title=Valor awards for David L. Gifford |url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/620 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812214541/http://projects.militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=620 |archive-date=August 12, 2014  |url-status=live |access-date=June 27, 2022 }}</ref>

==== 1864 ====
In April 1864, the people of Dartmouth voted to raise money to fill the quota of men for the service. At the [[Battle of Spotsylvania Court House]], Bradford Little from Dartmouth was wounded, and Edwin C. Tripp from Dartmouth died at the [[Battle of Cold Harbor]]. Three Dartmouth men were wounded at the [[Siege of Petersburg]]. Thos. C Lapham wrote to his uncle on Chase Road in Dartmouth from General Hospital Number One in [[Murfreesboro, Tennessee]] on January 20, 1864. He described the cold weather in what he called <nowiki>''Old''</nowiki> Dartmouth, as well as writing about his maladies while serving in the South, and morale among the troops, before sending his regards to his family in Dartmouth. Nahum Nickelson was another resident of Dartmouth who served in the Civil War. He enlisted in the [[35th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment]] as a drummer in March 1864. He trained for five weeks in Boston Harbor before taking a transport ship to [[Alexandria, Virginia]], where he joined the [[Battle of the Wilderness]] and the battles in Cold Harbor, and Petersburg. He was mustered out in July 1865. Once returning to Dartmouth, he built a home and would eventually be rewarded the Boston Cane, which was awarded to the oldest living resident in Dartmouth, and would be buried in the Padanaram cemetery, where he used to be a caretaker. Private Humphrey R. Davis (a seaman from Dartmouth) died in May 1864 as a [[prisoner of war]] in [[Andersonville Prison]]. During the [[1864 United States presidential election]], 384 people in Dartmouth voted to reelect [[Abraham Lincoln]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Glennon |first=Beverly |title=Three Hundred and Fifty-Five Men for the Union |date=October 2004 |publisher=Command Print Solutions |location=New Bedford, MA |pages=60–63, 85 |language=EN}}</ref>