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 Copy 1 ADDRESS 
 
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 AT THE 
 
 FUNERAL OBSEQLIIEvS 
 
 SERGEANT HENRY T()l)l\ 
 
 REV. JAMES B. MILES. 
 
 IKILDON, 
 
ADDRESS 
 
 AT THE 
 
 FUNERAL OBSEQUIES 
 
 OF 
 
 SERGEANT HENRY TODD, 
 
 BT 
 
 REV. JAMES B. MILES. 
 
 CIIARLESTOWN : 
 
 PRINTED AT THE AURORA OFFICE. 
 
 1866. 
 

 iG tl V 
 
NOTE. 
 
 The reception home of the Piemains of the gallant 
 young Soldier, Sergeant HENKY TODD, of the Thirty- 
 Sixth Massachusetts Eegiment, who fell at the battle 
 of the Wilderness, while bravely bearing his Eegimental 
 Colors in front of the enemy, created a melancholy in- 
 terest in this, his native city ; and the Funeral Services, 
 holden at the First Church, Xovembcr 5th, 18G5, were 
 not only attended by a large number of his personal 
 friends and companions in arms, but by the City Author- 
 ities and a large concourse of sympathising citizens. — 
 The services there, so highly interesting and appropriate, 
 especially the address of his pastor, Ilev. J. B. Miles, 
 created a desire on the part of his friends, to have them 
 preserved, as a fitting memorial of the worth and noble 
 character of the young hero. To gratify this wish, Mr. 
 Miles has very kindly consented to furnish a synopsis of 
 his remarks, which are printed for private distribution. 
 
ADDRESS. 
 
 Beloved Friends : 
 
 We have come up to the sanctuary to perform 
 these funeral obsequies this afternoon, under peculiar 
 circumstances. The contents of this casket, which you 
 now see enveloped in our National Colors, and laden 
 with flowers, are not the mortal remains of one who 
 has been recently with us. A period of more than a 
 year and a half has elapsed since the noble and brave 
 spirit that animated these clods, took its flight into 
 eternity. On the sixth of IMay, eighteen hundred and 
 sixty-four, in one of the most desperate and sanguinary 
 of that series of battles, designated as the "battles of 
 the AYilderncss," at a distance of some fifteen miles 
 from the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, fell the 
 beloved young hero, tcf whom, with deep emotion, we 
 pay these funeral honors to-day. We bless God that, 
 at length, the obstructions of war are so far removed 
 
6 REV. MR. miles' S ADDRESS. 
 
 as to permit the recovery of these precious remains, 
 and that this bereaved father, brothers and sisters, and 
 friends, may receive the consolation of this service, 
 and enjoy the satisfaction of placing away in their own 
 family burying-place this loved form. 
 
 This occasion allows only a brief allusion to the life 
 and career of the youth whose untimely death we 
 mourn. Indeed, the story of his life may be told in a 
 few words. Born and nurtured under the shadow of 
 the sanctuary in which we are now gathered, he grew 
 up the loving and beloved member of the family to 
 which he belonged, enjoying the confidence and esteem 
 of all who knew him. He was educated in our schools 
 and Sabbath School. He was trained not for war, but 
 for the pursuits of civil life, and his prospects of a 
 business nature were unusually good and promising. — 
 Yd he could not resist the call sent forth by our Chief 
 Magistrate, summoning patriots from all the loyal 
 States, to defend on the battle-field* our imperiled 
 freedom and free institutions. Like a noble host of the 
 patriotic young men of our city, he promptly obeyed 
 his country's call. He cheerfully relinquished the 
 comforts and attractions of home, and accepted the lot 
 of the Soldier, with the hardships and perils incident 
 to it. He was one of the original members of the 
 " Warren Phalanx," a company of our young men, 
 whose deeds of courage have given proof, that the 
 
FUNERAL OF SERGT. TODD. 7 
 
 mantle of the illustrious hero whose name they assum- 
 ed, had fallen upon them. Ilis company was assigned 
 to the Thirty-sixth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, 
 and he left Boston for the scenes of conflict, as it 
 proved never more to return, on the second day of 
 September, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. In one 
 short week after his departure from us, he received the 
 painful intelligence that the beloved ^lother, who had 
 so recently given him her parting blessing, had passed 
 away from earth. Most affecting to him was the 
 thou2:ht, that that dear Mother Avould not a^-ain o;reet 
 him until she should welcome him to the Home above. 
 With a spirit shadowed by tliis great affliction, he went 
 forth to the stern and perilous duties to which his God 
 and his Country called him. He continued a momber 
 of the Phalanx, in connection with the Thirty-sixth 
 Regiment, until the time of his death. In all the 
 experience of that regiment, so eventful and honorable, 
 he participated through the entire Virginia, Kentucky 
 and ]\Iississippi campaigns. The hardships which he 
 and his gallant comrades were compelled to sufler 
 during these campaigns, can be fully known and ap- 
 preciated only by those who have had a similar expe- 
 rience. It is true that our government provided gen- 
 erously for the soldiers, but such are the exigencies of 
 war, that it is not at all times possible for supplies to 
 reach their destination. At one time two ears of corn 
 daily, per man, were all the rations received. At 
 
8 REV. MR. miles' S ADDRESS. 
 
 another time the daily rations were five spoonfuls of 
 flour for six men. 
 
 The campaign in ^Mississippi, in the summer of 
 eighteen hundred and sixtj-three, was especially se- 
 vere. On the fourth day of July, with the forces 
 under command of our illustrious Lieutenant General, 
 he participated in the glorious action which wrested 
 Yicksburg from the enemy, and virtually sealed the 
 fate of the Rebellion in the West. On the next day, 
 the Division to which he belonged started in pursuit of 
 Johnston, and on that terrible march, made with scanty 
 rations, under a broiling southern sun, many of the 
 soldiers dropped dead in the ranks, and larger numbers 
 fell out exhausted. Sergeant Todd, possessed of a 
 vigorous constitution, was one of the small number that 
 held out until his regiment reached Kentucky, in Octo- 
 ber, eighteen hundred and sixty-three. But so com- 
 pletely exhausted was he then, that he was obliged to 
 be taken to the hospital, and was unable to accompany 
 his regiment on the campaign in Tennessee. 
 
 In the spring of eighteen hundred and sixty -four, 
 he was so far restored as to be abk to do military duty. 
 "Well knowing that fearful battles impended, he prompt- 
 ly resumed his place in his company. He did not 
 shrink from the responsible duties and peculiar trials 
 of tlie position of color- Sergeant. Bearing the white 
 State Flag, he went forth bravely leading his comrades 
 to the encounter with the armed host^ of treason. — 
 
FUNERAL OF SERGT. TODD. 9 
 
 Early in the fearful charge upon the enemy's ranks, 
 on the sixth of May, he received a severe -woiuul, and 
 with good reason he might then have "withdrawn from 
 the conflict. lie was urged to do so. But no. Suf- 
 fering and bleeding as he was, he bore aloft in sight of 
 his gallant companions, the inspiring emblem of his 
 loved and honored State — thus making himself a con- 
 spicuous mark for the enemy. Not long were they in 
 discovering that mark, for soon pierced through the 
 temple by a rifle-ball he fell ; and the flag he had so 
 heroically borne into the thickest of the fight, as it 
 dropped from his grasp, enveloped his body and was 
 stained with his warm blood. What more appropriate 
 winding sheet could he have had ! 
 
 After the storm of battle had ceased, his surviving 
 companions tenderly and with many tears, committed 
 his body to the ground. They made his grave soft 
 with the boughs of the trees, and " Slowly and sadly 
 they laid him down, from the field of his fame fresh 
 and gory." They carved his name upon the trunk of 
 a tree which served as his head-stone, and which ex- 
 tended its protecting branches over his new-made 
 grave. 
 
 ** No useless cofl&n enclosed his breast, 
 Nor in sheet, nor in shroud they wound him ; 
 But he lay like a warrior taking his rest, 
 With his martial cloak around him." 
 
10 REV. MR. MILES'S ADDRESS. 
 
 And now from that temporary sepulchre, the hands 
 of affection have brought to this place these precious 
 remains, that they may be laid side by side with those 
 of beloved Sister and Mother, wdio before him crossed 
 into the eternal world. 
 
 Such, in few words, were the prominent events in 
 the career of this young man. After recounting 
 these, I need say no more. With what fortitude and 
 cheerfulness he bore his trials, with what fidelity he 
 discharged his duties, these facts testify. Would you 
 know with what heroism he braved danger and met 
 death, let that flag which lie carried, that precious relic 
 riddled with bullets and stained with his blood, tell you. 
 Ah ! with what pathos and eloquence that sacred relic 
 speaks ! Let that tell us hoAv high-minded and gen- 
 erous-hearted he was ; how fearless he was in the dis- 
 charge of his duty ; what a patriot and hero he was. — 
 Looking upon that flag and listening to the language it 
 speaks to us, we do not need to have you, my honored 
 friends, his gallant companions in arms, say to us, aj 
 you do say to us, that Sergeant Todd was a great 
 favorite among his associates ; that he was ever actuated 
 by a high sense of honor ; that in circumstances of 
 great temptation, in emergencies peculiarly trying he 
 preserved his integrity untarnished, and his honor un- 
 corrupted ; that in all his intercourse with you, he 
 secured your esteem and love. Looking upon that 
 stained and tattered flag, we can well understand why 
 
FUNERAL OF SERGT. TODD. H 
 
 one, ■who sits in sorrow before me, his stricken Father, 
 should say, as soon as the intelligence reached him that 
 his son had been in the battle, even before the arrival 
 of definite information in regard to the casualties of the 
 battle, " I know Henry is killed!" He who knew 
 Henry so well, did not need to be told that he would 
 not shrink from any peril to which his position might 
 expose him, and he anticipated with too much correct- 
 ness, the tidings that were soon to come. Our depart- 
 ed friend nobly performed his duty and gratefully shall 
 his name be cherished. 
 
 And now may we all receive the salutary impres- 
 sions which this occasion is fitted to impart. To you, 
 my young friends, the associates in arms of the deceas- 
 ed, how touchingly this occasion appeals ! At this 
 hour, how must your hearts swell with gratitude to 
 your Heavenly Father, who has preserved you, when 
 so many have fallen upon your right hand and left, 
 and has brought you back to the embrace of those you 
 love. With how much feeling can you say. It is of 
 the Lord's mercies that we have not been consumed. 
 
 And may you, my dear friends, whose hearts by this 
 event, have been made so to agonize and bleed, be sus- 
 tained and comforted by the impartation of Heaven's 
 richest and sweetest consolations. You have indeed, 
 placed a costly sacrifice upon the altar of your country. 
 
12 KEV. MR. MILES'S ADDRESS. 
 
 But not in vain have you given up this precious son 
 and brother. He has died nobly in a noble cause ; and 
 the cause for which he died has triumphed. Let me 
 most affectionately entreat you to receive into your 
 souls the abundant, all-sufficient solace which he be- 
 stows, who, in compassion reveals himself to us, in all 
 our seasons of sorrow, as the Father of mercies, and 
 the God of all comfort. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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