Honoring NH’s Civil War efforts

Friday, April 22, 2011

Loretta Jackson photo Merrimack author Steven Robert Closs is pushing for the formation of a sesquicentennial commission to officially recognize the contributions of Granite State soldiers who served during the American Civil War, a conflict 150 years old this year.

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Loretta Jackson photo Merrimack author Steven Robert Closs is pushing for the formation of a sesquicentennial commission to officially recognize the contributions of Granite State soldiers who served during the American Civil War, a conflict 150 years old this year.

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Loretta Jackson photo Merrimack author Steven Robert Closs is pushing for the formation of a sesquicentennial commission to officially recognize the contributions of Granite State soldiers who served during the American Civil War, a conflict 150 years old this year.

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Merrimack author Steven Robert Closs is on a mission. His quest is to honor the valor of some 38,950 Granite State military men who fought for the Union and to pay tribute to the 2,036 men from New Hampshire killed during the American Civil War.

Closs, a Nashua Police Department officer for 24 years before retirement, was born in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to a Marine Corps family. He lived in his youth on numerous military bases and credits his knowledge of the values of the armed forces for fostering the esteem in which he holds today’s servicemen and women – and those of yesteryear.

Closs, an avid historian, has penned a book that investigates New Hampshire’s contributions to the Civil War. It chronicles incidents from the lives of 37 Civil War soldiers. The book, titled “Willing Sacrifice: Granite State Valor during the American Civil War 1861-1865,” was released in November by PublishAmerica. It was intensely researched and Closs guarantees it is an easy-to-read compilation of wartime tales about individual New Hampshire soldiers.

Daring acts are abundant in the work, available online at Borders, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Toadstool Books. Closs frequently uses anecdotes from the book during presentations designed for local history societies, community libraries and regional civic groups.

Closs laments that the sacrifices made by New Hampshire residents during the Civil War are not recognized to a great extent in many communities. He notes there were 18 regiments from the Granite State that deployed to states where fierce battles ensued. Infantry, cavalry and artillery personnel did their duty.

“This year marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil War,” he said. “I would like to see a New Hampshire Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission established to commemorate the contributions of all who served and especially those whose terrible wounds led to their deaths.”

Closs said he recently contacted the office of Gov. John Lynch to voice his dismay that the state’s heroes were going largely unrecognized. Reportedly, a staff member there referred him to a member of the state Legislature to see if any legislation was in the making that would offer some recognition of the 150th anniversary of the war. His quest continues.

“Some official recognition would be an honor for the families of those who fought,” he said, adding that at his public speaking engagements people frequently approach him to show off old, yellowed letters, diaries and other memorabilia related to a loved one who fought in the Civil War.

“It’s warming to know that somebody remembers and someone cares,” Closs said.

Closs said while New Hampshire was spared the bloody battles that erupted elsewhere, few towns were untouched by the Civil War. In many towns, he said, recruiters would visit and quickly glean the men for service. The men’s absence meant only women and children were left to do the farming, mill the wheat and tend to all the other abandoned so-called manly duties.

“The women and children had to step up while the men were away at war,” Closs said. “It could be a devastating day for a community when even a small number of its men were maimed or killed.”

The Civil War began with gunfire at Fort Sumter, a fortification alongside Charleston harbor in South Carolina, on April 12, 1861. The war came to an end in 1865. Closs fears he may have to lead his own charge when it comes to motivating the formation of an official recognition of New Hampshire’s contributions to the War Between the States, as the Civil War came to be known.

“I am on a one-man crusade for the next four years, the length of the Civil War, to make sure the sacrifices of New Hampshire’s fallen will not be forgotten,” he said.

Closs said 33 Granite State soldiers won the Congressional Medal of Honor and the first soldier killed in the Civil War was from New Hampshire.

He also said American Civil War soldiers are buried in many of New Hampshire’s cemeteries, including Nathanial C. Barker, a Merrimack resident and a soldier with the 11th New Hampshire who was buried at Last Rest Cemetery, 7 Hillside Terrace in Merrimack.

“It was Barker, who during one battle, rescued the colors – both the regiment’s banner and the state’s banner – after their flag bearers had fallen,” Closs recalled. “If the colors advanced, the men would advance. If the colors retreated, the men could retreat with honor. It was very important to have a sight line to the colors.”

Readers interested in learning more about New Hampshire soldiers and their sacrifices during the American Civil War can contact Closs through his website, www.stevenrobertcloss.com.