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[449]

Headquarters, 3D brigade, 3D division, 20TH Army Corps, Goldsborough, North Carolina, March 24, 1865.
To Hon. Charles S. Storrow.

dear Sir,—I regret that I am obliged to inform you of the sad loss that has fallen upon you and your family in the death of your son, Samuel Storrow, First Lieutenant Second Massachusetts Infantry, and personal Aid to myself.

Mr. Storrow died of wounds received in action, March 16, 1865, about twenty miles from Fayetteville, North Carolina.

My brigade had been engaged with the enemy at that place nearly all day, and at about four o'clock, P. M., Mr. Storrow was wounded while carrying an order to the left of the brigade, and died in about fifteen or twenty minutes afterwards.

I did not see him after he left me with his orders until that evening, when I went to his remains at the hospital.

He received two wounds, one in the leg, the other in the arm, neither of them fracturing the bone. . . . . He was not insensible when first wounded, and he had the coolness and self-possession to send word to me that he was wounded, that he had carried out my instructions, and also sent me the information that I had wished for. Immediately after that, as reported, he fell fast away, and in a few moments died. . . .

The fact that he was a brave, faithful, intelligent, and most promising young officer, together with the fact that he died nobly in a just cause, may, in part, console you in your great loss. Allow me to claim in part this loss as my own, for neither in my old regiment nor in my present command can I replace him. He joined my regiment in Atlanta in October. I was pleased with him at once, and can say that in all my experience I never saw a new and young officer take hold of his work so well. In my own mind I selected him at once for the place which I afterwards asked him to accept. He became eminently popular in this brigade; and not until after I had lost him did I fully realize of how much actual service he was to myself and my command.

Let me offer to yourself and family my deep feeling of sympathy in this loss to ourselves and to our country. . . .

William Cogswell, Brevet Brigadier-General United States Volunteers.

Lieutenant Storrow was buried near the battle-field, beside Captain Grafton of his regiment, who was killed in the same engagement, and whose memoir is also contained in this

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