Henry Lee Higginson
1834-1919

Henry Lee Higginson's Grave Stone:

TO THE HAPPY MEMORY
OF
HENRY LEE HIGGINSON
BORN IN NEW YORK NOVEMBER 13(8?) 1834
DIED IN BOSTON NOVEMBER 14 1919
HE SERVED HIS COUNTRY AS A
SOLDIER IN THE CIVIL WAR
AND AS A LOYAL CITIZEN
IN TIME OF PEACE

Wet Plate photograph (print)- Major & Bvt. Lieut. Colonel Henry Lee Higginson, 1st MA cavalry. (Image from the 1891 regimental history)

Part of the Joseph Lee plot showing his memorial stone (white vase-like stone) and that of Henry Lee Higginson, dark stone flush on ground in center front of photo.

Maj. Henry Lee Higginson - Civil War veteran.

From an Infantryman to a Cavalryman

Returning home to Boston, Henry spent the winter confined to his father's house on Chauncy Street with a sprained foot, patiently seeking opportunities for employment as the outlook grew increasingly dim. All the while tension steadily mounted between various groups of citizens, culminating in the firing upon Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861.

One by one, Henry's friends enlisted in the army, and it was not long before he also joined them. On May 11, 1861, Higginson was mustered in Colonel George H. Gordon's 2nd Massachusetts Regiment as second lieutenant of Company D. Jim Savage already had been appointed captain, and other friends of Henry's who had enlisted in this regiment were: Greely Curtis (Captain of Company B), Charles F. Morse (First Lieutenant), Henry S. Russell (First Lieutenant), William D. Sedgwick (First Lieutenant), Robert Gould Shaw (Second Lieutenant in Company F), Richard Cary (Captain of Company G), and Stephen Perkins (Second Lieutenant).

The men of Company D were drilled at Brook Farm (renamed Camp Andrew for Governor John A. Andrew), and officers recited their lessons daily to the lieutenant colonel. On July 8, Higginson was commissioned first lieutenant, the same day the regiment headed to Boston. From Boston they moved on to New York, and finally reached their destination of Hagerstown, Maryland. Three days later, the troops crossed the Potomac and started for Winchester, Virginia to face General Joseph E. Johnston's men. However, on the event of the Battle of First Manassas (Bull Run) on the 21st, the 2nd Massachusetts was ordered to hold the nearby town of Harpers Ferry. Though the Union army suffered a great defeat at Manassas, Lieutenant Higginson philosophically believed the eventual outcome would be good for the men.

The following month, the 2nd Massachusetts was spared the defeat the Union army faced at the Battle of Ball's Bluff on October 21. They witnessed the aftermath of this disaster for their friends of 20th Massachusetts, better known as the "Harvard Regiment." Among those killed in this battle was William Putnam, cousin of Charles and James Jackson Lowell—the latter who also was wounded in combat, but survived. With Putnam's death, Higginson experienced his first great loss in the war. William had been a friend—he and Henry had traveled abroad in Europe in happier times. As the reality of war set in, and the trials of daily life weighed heavily upon him, Higginson came to terms with his dissatisfaction of the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry and requested a transfer.

On October 31, 1861, Higginson and Greely Curtis received commissions in the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry as a captain and major, respectively. They resigned from the infantry and departed for Boston to enlist with the new regiment that was to be mustered in. But Higginson would not become an active member of the unit any time soon, much to his disappointment. Having contracted typhoid fever, Higginson was not able to join his new comrades in camp at Readville until December.

When he arrived in camp as senior captain of Company A, Higginson faced the challenging task of disciplining these men, as some of them were prize-fighters. However, with his superb social and leadership skills he earned the respect of his men. On Christmas Day, the First Battalion (comprised of Companies A, B, C, and D) under Major Curtis, departed for Annapolis, Maryland, expecting to join General Ambrose Burnside's expedition to North Carolina. But after drilling for a few weeks, they were instead ordered to join the troops under the command of General David Hunter on Beaufort Island off the coast of South Carolina.

Higginson was commissioned major on March 26, 1862, a deserved promotion he did not expect. In addition to working well with the men, as a cavalry officer he discovered that he had an affinity for working with horses and came up with clever names for them such as "Rats-in-a-barrel." Higginson particularly enjoyed participating in horse races the men had in camp, riding his best mount "Rats" in competitions.

Harvard Alumni Bulletin, Volume 22, Nov. 20, 1919