1ST SGT JOHN H. W. COLLINS
Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, John H.W. Collins enlisted in the Union Army on April 21, 1863 in was Chicago, Illinois. He was listed as being married and working as a painter. He was a Private upon enlistment and was assigned to the newly formed 54th Regiment of the Massachusetts Infantry. On May 13, 1863 he was promoted to the rank of 1st Sergeant by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw (Commander of the 54th Mass. Inf.) and assigned to Company H of the regiment. He was wounded on July 18, 1863 in the battle for Battery Wagner, Morris Island, near Fort Sumter, S.C. On February 1864, he was named Acting Sergeant Major of the regiment for an unknown time frame. He continued his duties as 1st Sergeant of Company H until the 54th Massachusetts Regiment was deactivated on August 4, 1865. On August 20, 1865, 1st Sgt. Collins mustered out of the Confederate Army at Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
--Sources: "Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the Civil War", Vol IV, page 696; Ancestry.com; and Fold.com, military website of Ancestry.com.
1st Sgt. Collins was one of thirteen 1st Sergeants who served in the regiment during the war. Two were killed at Battery Wagner. Sgt. Collins was one of five 1st Sergeants who served during the entire commissioned "life" of the regiment.
Documents on Ancestry.com show that Mr. Collins was living in Batavia, Illinois with wife Louisa and 2 children during the 1870 Census. In the 1880 Census he was living in Champaign, Ill. with wife Louisa and 3 children. He was listed in an 1896 Chicago City Directory as a painter. His date of death comes from records of the Illlinois Office of the Secretary of State as listed on the 1929 Illinois Roll of Honor. Strangely, the roll of honor lists him as being buried in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Chicago. Other Illinois documents show that cemetery as the burial place of Louisa Collins, his wife. A widow pension claim was made to the U.S. Government on July 2, 1898 by Louisa Collins.
========
How did he end up in Hopkinsville, Kentucky? Did he have family in the area or was he traveling from Chicago back to his North Carolina birthplace when he died? The mystery remains.
========
The following are excerpts that mention 1SG Collins from "The Role of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment in Potter's Raid" by Leonne M. Hudson Historical Journal of Massachusetts Volume 29, No. 2 (Summer 2002). Published by: Institute for Massachusetts Studies and Westfield State University:
(page 5)
There was no shortage of excitement among the men of the 54th as Potter's raid commenced. With confidence, Private Benjamin Bond of Company B noted that the "troops were all in fine spirits, and seemed anxious to have a crack at the Johnnies." Potter departed from his headquarters at Georgetown at 8:00 a.m. on April 5 (1863). His destination was Camden, one of the oldest and most historic inland towns of South Carolina. Camden, a distance of more than 100 miles from his base, was reached in thirteen days. In a letter that appeared in the Christian Recorder (the official newspaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church) on May 20, 1865, Sergeant John H. W. N. Collins of Company H referred to Potter's trek as "our errand through the State." Potter's army, however, was bedeviled by exhaustion as it marched along the Black River.
(page 6)
The next morning General Potter's men proceeded in a northwest direction through open country which was rich with supplies. The small contingent of Confederates in front of Potter's columns was unable to impede his progress. Upon reaching the Northeastern Railroad line, several miles of track were destroyed. At that point, a few hundred men of the 102nd United States Colored Troops (USCT) destroyed the Kingstree Bridge spanning the Black River. Colonel Hallowell reported that the men executed that task without suffering any casualties. On the afternoon of April 7, Colonel Hooper enjoined Captain Charles E. Tucker to take Companies A and H of the 54th to destroy the Epps Bridge across the Black River. With extreme caution Sergeant Collins, with one corporal and fifteen privates, led the advance. Less than a hundred yards from the Confederates' post, they fired on the advancing party in which "Johnny's balls began to fall thick and fast around us," recalled Collins, and "whizzed about our ears in perfect showers." After a brief fight, the Southerners withdrew from their position at the bridge.
(page 15)
The affair at Boykins Mill was a costly one for the 54th. Having been on the attack against a fortified position, the regiment sustained fifteen casualties: two killed and thirteen wounded. That was the highest number of casualties by one regiment in any action during Potter's expedition. At the abandoned fort, the 54th destroyed more than fifty bales of cotton, a gristmill, and a sawmill... According to Sergeant Collins' observations of the battle, the 54th "destroyed and drove the rebels from the field, totally demoralizing them."
--excerpts used by permission of the Historical Journal of Massachusetts, Dr. Mara Dodge, Editorial Director, Westfield State University.
--Special Thanks also to Donna David and Robert Upton and Katherine Green.
--Special Thanks to Lisa and Wayne Feece. Wayne actually found the buried marker.
----------
Note: The 54th Regiment Massachusetts Infantry and the battle for Battery Wagner, James Island, S.C. were the subject of the 1989 movie GLORY about the first African-American military unit in the U.S. Army. The role of Sgt Maj Rawlins, (rhymes with Collins) played by actor Morgan Freeman, was based on the ten Company 1st Sergeants that served in the 54th Infantry during the Civil War battle.
Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, John H.W. Collins enlisted in the Union Army on April 21, 1863 in was Chicago, Illinois. He was listed as being married and working as a painter. He was a Private upon enlistment and was assigned to the newly formed 54th Regiment of the Massachusetts Infantry. On May 13, 1863 he was promoted to the rank of 1st Sergeant by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw (Commander of the 54th Mass. Inf.) and assigned to Company H of the regiment. He was wounded on July 18, 1863 in the battle for Battery Wagner, Morris Island, near Fort Sumter, S.C. On February 1864, he was named Acting Sergeant Major of the regiment for an unknown time frame. He continued his duties as 1st Sergeant of Company H until the 54th Massachusetts Regiment was deactivated on August 4, 1865. On August 20, 1865, 1st Sgt. Collins mustered out of the Confederate Army at Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
--Sources: "Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the Civil War", Vol IV, page 696; Ancestry.com; and Fold.com, military website of Ancestry.com.
1st Sgt. Collins was one of thirteen 1st Sergeants who served in the regiment during the war. Two were killed at Battery Wagner. Sgt. Collins was one of five 1st Sergeants who served during the entire commissioned "life" of the regiment.
Documents on Ancestry.com show that Mr. Collins was living in Batavia, Illinois with wife Louisa and 2 children during the 1870 Census. In the 1880 Census he was living in Champaign, Ill. with wife Louisa and 3 children. He was listed in an 1896 Chicago City Directory as a painter. His date of death comes from records of the Illlinois Office of the Secretary of State as listed on the 1929 Illinois Roll of Honor. Strangely, the roll of honor lists him as being buried in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Chicago. Other Illinois documents show that cemetery as the burial place of Louisa Collins, his wife. A widow pension claim was made to the U.S. Government on July 2, 1898 by Louisa Collins.
========
How did he end up in Hopkinsville, Kentucky? Did he have family in the area or was he traveling from Chicago back to his North Carolina birthplace when he died? The mystery remains.
========
The following are excerpts that mention 1SG Collins from "The Role of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment in Potter's Raid" by Leonne M. Hudson Historical Journal of Massachusetts Volume 29, No. 2 (Summer 2002). Published by: Institute for Massachusetts Studies and Westfield State University:
(page 5)
There was no shortage of excitement among the men of the 54th as Potter's raid commenced. With confidence, Private Benjamin Bond of Company B noted that the "troops were all in fine spirits, and seemed anxious to have a crack at the Johnnies." Potter departed from his headquarters at Georgetown at 8:00 a.m. on April 5 (1863). His destination was Camden, one of the oldest and most historic inland towns of South Carolina. Camden, a distance of more than 100 miles from his base, was reached in thirteen days. In a letter that appeared in the Christian Recorder (the official newspaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church) on May 20, 1865, Sergeant John H. W. N. Collins of Company H referred to Potter's trek as "our errand through the State." Potter's army, however, was bedeviled by exhaustion as it marched along the Black River.
(page 6)
The next morning General Potter's men proceeded in a northwest direction through open country which was rich with supplies. The small contingent of Confederates in front of Potter's columns was unable to impede his progress. Upon reaching the Northeastern Railroad line, several miles of track were destroyed. At that point, a few hundred men of the 102nd United States Colored Troops (USCT) destroyed the Kingstree Bridge spanning the Black River. Colonel Hallowell reported that the men executed that task without suffering any casualties. On the afternoon of April 7, Colonel Hooper enjoined Captain Charles E. Tucker to take Companies A and H of the 54th to destroy the Epps Bridge across the Black River. With extreme caution Sergeant Collins, with one corporal and fifteen privates, led the advance. Less than a hundred yards from the Confederates' post, they fired on the advancing party in which "Johnny's balls began to fall thick and fast around us," recalled Collins, and "whizzed about our ears in perfect showers." After a brief fight, the Southerners withdrew from their position at the bridge.
(page 15)
The affair at Boykins Mill was a costly one for the 54th. Having been on the attack against a fortified position, the regiment sustained fifteen casualties: two killed and thirteen wounded. That was the highest number of casualties by one regiment in any action during Potter's expedition. At the abandoned fort, the 54th destroyed more than fifty bales of cotton, a gristmill, and a sawmill... According to Sergeant Collins' observations of the battle, the 54th "destroyed and drove the rebels from the field, totally demoralizing them."
--excerpts used by permission of the Historical Journal of Massachusetts, Dr. Mara Dodge, Editorial Director, Westfield State University.
--Special Thanks also to Donna David and Robert Upton and Katherine Green.
--Special Thanks to Lisa and Wayne Feece. Wayne actually found the buried marker.
----------
Note: The 54th Regiment Massachusetts Infantry and the battle for Battery Wagner, James Island, S.C. were the subject of the 1989 movie GLORY about the first African-American military unit in the U.S. Army. The role of Sgt Maj Rawlins, (rhymes with Collins) played by actor Morgan Freeman, was based on the ten Company 1st Sergeants that served in the 54th Infantry during the Civil War battle.
1ST SGT JOHN H. W. COLLINS
Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, John H.W. Collins enlisted in the Union Army on April 21, 1863 in was Chicago, Illinois. He was listed as being married and working as a painter. He was a Private upon enlistment and was assigned to the newly formed 54th Regiment of the Massachusetts Infantry. On May 13, 1863 he was promoted to the rank of 1st Sergeant by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw (Commander of the 54th Mass. Inf.) and assigned to Company H of the regiment. He was wounded on July 18, 1863 in the battle for Battery Wagner, Morris Island, near Fort Sumter, S.C. On February 1864, he was named Acting Sergeant Major of the regiment for an unknown time frame. He continued his duties as 1st Sergeant of Company H until the 54th Massachusetts Regiment was deactivated on August 4, 1865. On August 20, 1865, 1st Sgt. Collins mustered out of the Confederate Army at Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
--Sources: "Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the Civil War", Vol IV, page 696; Ancestry.com; and Fold.com, military website of Ancestry.com.
1st Sgt. Collins was one of thirteen 1st Sergeants who served in the regiment during the war. Two were killed at Battery Wagner. Sgt. Collins was one of five 1st Sergeants who served during the entire commissioned "life" of the regiment.
Documents on Ancestry.com show that Mr. Collins was living in Batavia, Illinois with wife Louisa and 2 children during the 1870 Census. In the 1880 Census he was living in Champaign, Ill. with wife Louisa and 3 children. He was listed in an 1896 Chicago City Directory as a painter. His date of death comes from records of the Illlinois Office of the Secretary of State as listed on the 1929 Illinois Roll of Honor. Strangely, the roll of honor lists him as being buried in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Chicago. Other Illinois documents show that cemetery as the burial place of Louisa Collins, his wife. A widow pension claim was made to the U.S. Government on July 2, 1898 by Louisa Collins.
========
How did he end up in Hopkinsville, Kentucky? Did he have family in the area or was he traveling from Chicago back to his North Carolina birthplace when he died? The mystery remains.
========
The following are excerpts that mention 1SG Collins from "The Role of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment in Potter's Raid" by Leonne M. Hudson Historical Journal of Massachusetts Volume 29, No. 2 (Summer 2002). Published by: Institute for Massachusetts Studies and Westfield State University:
(page 5)
There was no shortage of excitement among the men of the 54th as Potter's raid commenced. With confidence, Private Benjamin Bond of Company B noted that the "troops were all in fine spirits, and seemed anxious to have a crack at the Johnnies." Potter departed from his headquarters at Georgetown at 8:00 a.m. on April 5 (1863). His destination was Camden, one of the oldest and most historic inland towns of South Carolina. Camden, a distance of more than 100 miles from his base, was reached in thirteen days. In a letter that appeared in the Christian Recorder (the official newspaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church) on May 20, 1865, Sergeant John H. W. N. Collins of Company H referred to Potter's trek as "our errand through the State." Potter's army, however, was bedeviled by exhaustion as it marched along the Black River.
(page 6)
The next morning General Potter's men proceeded in a northwest direction through open country which was rich with supplies. The small contingent of Confederates in front of Potter's columns was unable to impede his progress. Upon reaching the Northeastern Railroad line, several miles of track were destroyed. At that point, a few hundred men of the 102nd United States Colored Troops (USCT) destroyed the Kingstree Bridge spanning the Black River. Colonel Hallowell reported that the men executed that task without suffering any casualties. On the afternoon of April 7, Colonel Hooper enjoined Captain Charles E. Tucker to take Companies A and H of the 54th to destroy the Epps Bridge across the Black River. With extreme caution Sergeant Collins, with one corporal and fifteen privates, led the advance. Less than a hundred yards from the Confederates' post, they fired on the advancing party in which "Johnny's balls began to fall thick and fast around us," recalled Collins, and "whizzed about our ears in perfect showers." After a brief fight, the Southerners withdrew from their position at the bridge.
(page 15)
The affair at Boykins Mill was a costly one for the 54th. Having been on the attack against a fortified position, the regiment sustained fifteen casualties: two killed and thirteen wounded. That was the highest number of casualties by one regiment in any action during Potter's expedition. At the abandoned fort, the 54th destroyed more than fifty bales of cotton, a gristmill, and a sawmill... According to Sergeant Collins' observations of the battle, the 54th "destroyed and drove the rebels from the field, totally demoralizing them."
--excerpts used by permission of the Historical Journal of Massachusetts, Dr. Mara Dodge, Editorial Director, Westfield State University.
--Special Thanks also to Donna David and Robert Upton and Katherine Green.
--Special Thanks to Lisa and Wayne Feece. Wayne actually found the buried marker.
----------
Note: The 54th Regiment Massachusetts Infantry and the battle for Battery Wagner, James Island, S.C. were the subject of the 1989 movie GLORY about the first African-American military unit in the U.S. Army. The role of Sgt Maj Rawlins, (rhymes with Collins) played by actor Morgan Freeman, was based on the ten Company 1st Sergeants that served in the 54th Infantry during the Civil War battle.
Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, John H.W. Collins enlisted in the Union Army on April 21, 1863 in was Chicago, Illinois. He was listed as being married and working as a painter. He was a Private upon enlistment and was assigned to the newly formed 54th Regiment of the Massachusetts Infantry. On May 13, 1863 he was promoted to the rank of 1st Sergeant by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw (Commander of the 54th Mass. Inf.) and assigned to Company H of the regiment. He was wounded on July 18, 1863 in the battle for Battery Wagner, Morris Island, near Fort Sumter, S.C. On February 1864, he was named Acting Sergeant Major of the regiment for an unknown time frame. He continued his duties as 1st Sergeant of Company H until the 54th Massachusetts Regiment was deactivated on August 4, 1865. On August 20, 1865, 1st Sgt. Collins mustered out of the Confederate Army at Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
--Sources: "Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the Civil War", Vol IV, page 696; Ancestry.com; and Fold.com, military website of Ancestry.com.
1st Sgt. Collins was one of thirteen 1st Sergeants who served in the regiment during the war. Two were killed at Battery Wagner. Sgt. Collins was one of five 1st Sergeants who served during the entire commissioned "life" of the regiment.
Documents on Ancestry.com show that Mr. Collins was living in Batavia, Illinois with wife Louisa and 2 children during the 1870 Census. In the 1880 Census he was living in Champaign, Ill. with wife Louisa and 3 children. He was listed in an 1896 Chicago City Directory as a painter. His date of death comes from records of the Illlinois Office of the Secretary of State as listed on the 1929 Illinois Roll of Honor. Strangely, the roll of honor lists him as being buried in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Chicago. Other Illinois documents show that cemetery as the burial place of Louisa Collins, his wife. A widow pension claim was made to the U.S. Government on July 2, 1898 by Louisa Collins.
========
How did he end up in Hopkinsville, Kentucky? Did he have family in the area or was he traveling from Chicago back to his North Carolina birthplace when he died? The mystery remains.
========
The following are excerpts that mention 1SG Collins from "The Role of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment in Potter's Raid" by Leonne M. Hudson Historical Journal of Massachusetts Volume 29, No. 2 (Summer 2002). Published by: Institute for Massachusetts Studies and Westfield State University:
(page 5)
There was no shortage of excitement among the men of the 54th as Potter's raid commenced. With confidence, Private Benjamin Bond of Company B noted that the "troops were all in fine spirits, and seemed anxious to have a crack at the Johnnies." Potter departed from his headquarters at Georgetown at 8:00 a.m. on April 5 (1863). His destination was Camden, one of the oldest and most historic inland towns of South Carolina. Camden, a distance of more than 100 miles from his base, was reached in thirteen days. In a letter that appeared in the Christian Recorder (the official newspaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church) on May 20, 1865, Sergeant John H. W. N. Collins of Company H referred to Potter's trek as "our errand through the State." Potter's army, however, was bedeviled by exhaustion as it marched along the Black River.
(page 6)
The next morning General Potter's men proceeded in a northwest direction through open country which was rich with supplies. The small contingent of Confederates in front of Potter's columns was unable to impede his progress. Upon reaching the Northeastern Railroad line, several miles of track were destroyed. At that point, a few hundred men of the 102nd United States Colored Troops (USCT) destroyed the Kingstree Bridge spanning the Black River. Colonel Hallowell reported that the men executed that task without suffering any casualties. On the afternoon of April 7, Colonel Hooper enjoined Captain Charles E. Tucker to take Companies A and H of the 54th to destroy the Epps Bridge across the Black River. With extreme caution Sergeant Collins, with one corporal and fifteen privates, led the advance. Less than a hundred yards from the Confederates' post, they fired on the advancing party in which "Johnny's balls began to fall thick and fast around us," recalled Collins, and "whizzed about our ears in perfect showers." After a brief fight, the Southerners withdrew from their position at the bridge.
(page 15)
The affair at Boykins Mill was a costly one for the 54th. Having been on the attack against a fortified position, the regiment sustained fifteen casualties: two killed and thirteen wounded. That was the highest number of casualties by one regiment in any action during Potter's expedition. At the abandoned fort, the 54th destroyed more than fifty bales of cotton, a gristmill, and a sawmill... According to Sergeant Collins' observations of the battle, the 54th "destroyed and drove the rebels from the field, totally demoralizing them."
--excerpts used by permission of the Historical Journal of Massachusetts, Dr. Mara Dodge, Editorial Director, Westfield State University.
--Special Thanks also to Donna David and Robert Upton and Katherine Green.
--Special Thanks to Lisa and Wayne Feece. Wayne actually found the buried marker.
----------
Note: The 54th Regiment Massachusetts Infantry and the battle for Battery Wagner, James Island, S.C. were the subject of the 1989 movie GLORY about the first African-American military unit in the U.S. Army. The role of Sgt Maj Rawlins, (rhymes with Collins) played by actor Morgan Freeman, was based on the ten Company 1st Sergeants that served in the 54th Infantry during the Civil War battle.
Gravesite Details
Military marker had fallen and was buried in about 18 inches of dirt and debris. Recovered as part of restoration project for the cemetery.
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