SHREWSBURY – The year was 1861. The Civil War had begun, and the Union Army was actively recruiting in order to meet the ever-increasing demands of battle with the Confederacy. In Massachusetts, recruiting was going on for the 13th Massachusetts Volunteer Militia regiment. Company K was formed in Westborough. When the number of recruits was not sufficient to fill the ranks, men were sought from the surrounding towns, including Shrewsbury.
A number of men answered the call to arms, including Appleton Sawyer, a 20-year-old from a well-known Shrewsbury family. Sawyer was enlisted and took on the role of the drummer for Company K. The regiment went off to war in July of 1861.
Sawyer, along with the rest of Company K, endured long marches, slim rations and many battles, including the Second Battle of Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor and the siege of Petersburg.
At the battle of Gettysburg in July of 1863, several Shrewsbury men were wounded or killed. Privates Michael O’Laughlin, Horatio Cutting, and George Sprague died, and Albion Vining and Samuel Jordan were wounded.
Some members of the company were taken prisoner, including Sgt. Austin Stearns from Westborough. Stearns was later “paroled” and eventually returned to Union control and served out the rest of his enlistment with Company K. Years later, his memories of the war were documented in the book “Three Years with Company K,” where he mentions Appleton Sawyer becoming extremely ill from eating some meat. He noted that Sawyer “suffered from the effects for years.”
Sawyer not only lived through the marches, battles and desolate conditions, but documented all these things in his diary, which he carried from the time he enlisted until his discharge.
After the war, he became a member of Post 10, Grand Army of the Republic, in Worcester, where he continued in his role as a drummer. His Civil War kepi (cap), complete with the metal “K” insignia on the top (for Company K of the 13th Regiment), was displayed in the post quarters until 1983, when it was stolen during a break-in.
Fortunately, Appleton Sawyer’s diary has been preserved until the present day. It’s an amazing relic from the Civil War that allows us to read about the life of a common soldier in that historic conflict.
