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CPT William White Dorr

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CPT William White Dorr Veteran

Birth
Death
10 May 1864 (aged 26)
Burial
Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA GPS-Latitude: 42.844469, Longitude: -70.9112494
Memorial ID
View Source
Civil War Union Army Officer. He served during the Civil War as Captain and commander of Company K, 121st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He was killed in action at the May 10, 1864 Battle of Spottsylvania, Virginia.

Captain William White Dorr, a Union Army Commander in the 121st Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. Captain Dorr was born in Philadelphia on October 31, 1837, the son of the Reverend Benjamin Dorr, D.D., Rector of the Christ Church, Philadelphia, and Esther Kettell Odin, daughter of John Odin, Esq., of Boston. Dorr's paternal ancestors were some of the earliest settlers of Boston's Roxbury section and of Salisbury, Massachusetts (the local Dalton family). On his maternal side, Dorr was a descendant of the Chief Justices Lynde (father and son) of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; the Reverend Increase Mather; the Reverend John Eliot, the "Apostle to the Indians"; and the Reverend William Walter, Rector of Christ Church, Boston. Educated in Philadelphia, Dorr entered the army at age 25 and served in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and at Spottsylvania Court House, where he was killed in action on May 10, 1864. His remains were taken to Salisbury Point, Massachusetts, and interred with other family members in a cemetery near the bank of the Merrimac River. A mural tablet was erected in Christ Church, Philadelphia, as tribute to his patriotism and virtues. Captain Dorr's scrapbook holds a number of letters from the battlefield, journal entries, newspaper clippings, sketches (see below, with caption), pressed flowers, and memorabilia from the Civil War era. Many of the sketches—soldiers' camp sites, officers and enlisted men, and maps—were drawn by Captain Dorr's men and, combined with notes on troop movements, capture a feel for the life of soldier in this mid-19th century period. This is one of the many military-related items in The Governor's Academy's archival collection. (Information provided by Fred Elwell).
Civil War Union Army Officer. He served during the Civil War as Captain and commander of Company K, 121st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He was killed in action at the May 10, 1864 Battle of Spottsylvania, Virginia.

Captain William White Dorr, a Union Army Commander in the 121st Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. Captain Dorr was born in Philadelphia on October 31, 1837, the son of the Reverend Benjamin Dorr, D.D., Rector of the Christ Church, Philadelphia, and Esther Kettell Odin, daughter of John Odin, Esq., of Boston. Dorr's paternal ancestors were some of the earliest settlers of Boston's Roxbury section and of Salisbury, Massachusetts (the local Dalton family). On his maternal side, Dorr was a descendant of the Chief Justices Lynde (father and son) of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; the Reverend Increase Mather; the Reverend John Eliot, the "Apostle to the Indians"; and the Reverend William Walter, Rector of Christ Church, Boston. Educated in Philadelphia, Dorr entered the army at age 25 and served in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and at Spottsylvania Court House, where he was killed in action on May 10, 1864. His remains were taken to Salisbury Point, Massachusetts, and interred with other family members in a cemetery near the bank of the Merrimac River. A mural tablet was erected in Christ Church, Philadelphia, as tribute to his patriotism and virtues. Captain Dorr's scrapbook holds a number of letters from the battlefield, journal entries, newspaper clippings, sketches (see below, with caption), pressed flowers, and memorabilia from the Civil War era. Many of the sketches—soldiers' camp sites, officers and enlisted men, and maps—were drawn by Captain Dorr's men and, combined with notes on troop movements, capture a feel for the life of soldier in this mid-19th century period. This is one of the many military-related items in The Governor's Academy's archival collection. (Information provided by Fred Elwell).


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  • Created by: RPD2
  • Added: May 7, 2010
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52098789/william_white-dorr: accessed ), memorial page for CPT William White Dorr (1 Oct 1837–10 May 1864), Find a Grave Memorial ID 52098789, citing Salisbury Point Burying Ground, Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA; Maintained by RPD2 (contributor 309).