Captain Lewis Henry Buzzell fell in battle on the 3rd of May, 1863, a Rebel sharpshooter's musket ball striking him through the heart. With the 13th New Hampshire Infantry, he had led Company F north from Suffolk, Virginia, and had overtaken the enemy positions along the Providence Church Road. About two hours after the charge, the men of the 13th were lying in a ravine beside a brook, and were receiving shots from sharpshooters hidden within the trees. Buzzell climbed up the bank, to get a better view from where the fire was originating from, when he exclaimed "Oh - I'm killed!", and fell forward on his face, instantly killed.
Thirteenth regiment of New Hampshire volunteer infantry in the war of the rebellion, pg 149
Capt. Buzzell was one of four men from the 13th NH who were killed during the Battle of Providence Church Road. When the regiment returned to their camp two miles outside of Suffolk, they brought with them their dead. The History of the 13th NH states that the captain was buried on the night of Tues., May 5th, in the woods near camp. His body would later be embalmed and, on Sunday, May 10th, a procession of men, with the regimental band playing, carried him to the railroad station, for his transport back home.
A 1923 newspaper article in the Rochester Courier (on May 25th) wrote that Lewis Buzzell had been buried immediately following his death. When word that his brother (William Caldwell Buzzell) was travelling south to claim his body, he had been taken up and placed in a metallic coffin, reinterred into the ground until his sibling arrived.
Upon his body's arrival in Barrington, New Hampshire, a large funeral was held at the Congregational Church, and he was buried on Sunday, May 17th, in a plot on the family farm. Some time following the 1888 creation of Oak Hill (later renamed Pine Grove) Cemetery, he and his family would be reinterred there.
A 1923 newspaper article in the Rochester Courier (on May 25th) wrote that Lewis Buzzell had been buried immediately following his death. When word that his brother (William Caldwell Buzzell) was travelling south to claim his body, he had been taken up and placed in a metallic coffin, reinterred into the ground until his sibling arrived.
Upon his body's arrival in Barrington, New Hampshire, a large funeral was held at the Congregational Church, and he was buried on Sunday, May 17th, in a plot on the family farm. Some time following the 1888 creation of Oak Hill (later renamed Pine Grove) Cemetery, he and his family would be reinterred there.
"Honored in the future shall be the name of him who first of all the officers of the Thirteenth has given a life to the country he loved so well and for which he has so nobly died." - Col. Stevens
Lewis Henry was born on 31 March 1832, the son of Ebenezer and Hannah (Caldwell) Buzzell. He didn't marry.
Below is the location of the Barrington farm of this Buzzell family, marked on an 1856 map of Strafford County. It was located on what is now called Ramsdell Lane, as seen on current map found below.
Below is the location of the Barrington farm of this Buzzell family, marked on an 1856 map of Strafford County. It was located on what is now called Ramsdell Lane, as seen on current map found below.
From the 1856 map of Strafford County, NH
Sources:
- Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 [archive.org]
- The Dover Enquirer, Thursday, 21 May 1863
- Rochester Courier, 25 May 1923
- 1856 Map of Strafford County, New Hampshire [loc.gov]
- Vital Records of Barrington, NH, 1720-1851 (family of Ebenezer Buzzell)
- Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 [archive.org]
- The Dover Enquirer, Thursday, 21 May 1863
- Rochester Courier, 25 May 1923
- 1856 Map of Strafford County, New Hampshire [loc.gov]
- Vital Records of Barrington, NH, 1720-1851 (family of Ebenezer Buzzell)
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