Formed in the summer of 1861, the 37th Massachusetts Infantry regiment consisted of farmers, teachers and clerks from western Massachusetts. Most of them were still young men, some of them still boys, and they went off to die for their country. From the bitter taste of battle that Fredericksburg left in their mouths, to the capture of Maryes Heights during Chancellorsville, the men of the regiment were continously in the company of death. Engaged at the famous Battle of Gettysburg, and suffering tremendous losses during the Battle of Wilderness, the soldiers in the regiment shared hardship, death, companionship, and most of all, the desire to preserve the Union. My great-great-great uncle, James Lawrence Dunbar was a member of "F" company of the 37th Massachusetts infantry for four years. He was wounded at Sayler's Creek and taken prison. The wounds required a Confederate surgeon to amputate his left arm. When the war ended he was released and returned to his home in Ware, Massachusetts. He lived for another 42 years after that. |