User:Houghton-USA/"Chester W. Houghton"

Chester W. Houghton (1835-1865)
Chester W. Houghton was born in Vermont, grew up in LaGrange, Wisconsin, moved to Michigan to practice law, and would fight for the Union in the Civil War. After the War, at the age of 30, he would marry, but tragicly would die of typhoid fever. His story is told in detail in Houghton Ancestors: A 1,000 Year Historical Adventure, by William Houghton. As the author of his biography in 2010, I own the copyright to my work and I have posted this abreviated version of his life on Wikipedia.

Early Life in Wisconsin
Chester W. Houghton was born on November 11, 1835, in Vermont, USA. Chester’s father, William Houghton (1802-1889) and his mother, Orrilla Elmira Cornish (1809-1853), moved to LaGrange, Wisconsin, with their small children in 1838 and homesteaded on the Houghton family farm of 160 acres. William and Orrilla Houghton had five children: Harriet (1830-1894), Lucetta (1832-1897), Horace (1833-1918), Chester (1835-1865), and Lucy (1839-unknown). The four youngest children, including Chester who was only three-years-old, would all have traveled to Wisconsin by wagon from Vermont in 1838. This author of this article would also spend his childhood living on the same farm and in the same house as these early 19th century pioneers.

Little is known of Chester’s childhood years in Walworth County, Wisconsin, although we do know that he lived on the Houghton Farm with his family. The hand-some, blue-eyed boy attended elementary school with his sisters at the one-room schoolhouse in LaGrange, Wisconsin, which was located less than one-half mile from his home. Like his entire family, Chester attended church services every Sunday morning at the LaGrange Methodist Church, which was then a Methodist Protestant church. Church was only about two miles from his home, and it was also the scene of neighborhood dances and socials. It is most likely that a young Chester Houghton spent some time there enjoying himself with his friends. The grand piano in the church was donated by the Houghton Family and still was in use in 2010. Chester, like his entire family, appears to have felt comfortable with the church’s strong anti-slavery and temperance stances. There is no surviving record of what musical instrument he played, but as the entire family all played an instrument (piano, violin, trumpet, etc.) it is most likely that Chester did so as well. Chester, who with his entire family is listed in the 1860 US Census, was certainly busy from dawn to dusk working on the 160 acre Houghton farm planting and harvesting the crops and tending the farm animals. The hot, humid summers, with temperatures often over 100°F, and harsh winters with temperatures often reaching -25° F, made farming in 19th century Wisconsin a difficult proposition at best. It appears that Chester decided not to spend the rest of his life on the farm, but instead decided on a different career—that of an attorney. Chester left Wisconsin in the late 1850s, and moved to Detroit, Michigan to study law. Detroit was a busy, thriv-ing city of about 45,000 that was expanding and moderniz-ing rapidly. On November 1, 1860, after attending and graduating from law school, the Circuit Court for Wayne County, Michigan, licensed Chester to practice as an “Attorney and Counselor at Law” in the courts of the State of Michigan. He would go on to practice law in Port Huron, Michigan, and regularly corresponded with his family back in Wisconsin, especially with his sisters.

Slavery and Secession
One of the textbooks that Chester Houghton took with him from his Wisconsin home was a copy of the Political Text-Book for 1860, published by The Tribune Association, 154 Nassau Street, New York, New York, 1860. This 250-page textbook was compiled by Horace Greeley and John F. Cleveland, and contains two, signed cover pages, both by Chester Houghton. The first cover page was signed “C.W. Houghton, Detroit-Sept. 1860, Mich.” and the second cover page has his name printed “C.W. Houghton, LaGrange, Wisconsin.”  One must believe that Chester Houghton carefully read the chapter on the “History of the Struggle for Slavery Extension or Restriction” and the chapters on state’s rights. Although there are no personal notations by him in the margins of his book, the book does promote the strong pro-union and anti-slavery causes promoted by Horace Greeley and many others—that slavery was evil and must be abolished. Here is one paragraph from that book that sets the tone of this chapter and of Chester Houghton’s life:


 * “This traffic, with the bondage it involved, had no justification in British nor in the early colonial laws; but it proceeded, nevertheless, much as an importation of dromedaries ::to replace with pre-sumed economy our horses and oxen might now do.” 

The Civil War Begins
The shelling of Fort Sumter by Confederate troops on April 12, 1861, would begin the Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the “rebellion” and the War Department gave each Union state a quota based on its population. Michigan, with a popula-tion of almost 750,000, was originally asked to send one regiment of 1,000 men. But Michigan’s governor, Austin Blair, thought more men would be needed to fight this epic war, and thus issued his own proclamation that called for the formation of not one, but two regiments, with each one composed of ten, 100-man militias for a total of 2,000 men. The initial response, like that most of the Northern states, reflected the high idealism of the Union, but soon enlistment bonuses of about $200 were offered to entice more “volunteers.” Finally, in July 1863 and three more times in 1864, the first general draft in American history was used to fill critical manpower shortages in the Union Army. As a side note, the South passed the first of three conscription acts in April 1862 to fill even greater man-power shortages. Although Michigan’s home front was never a battleground during the Civil War, the war would go on to affect every aspect of the state and its citizens—including Chester Houghton. It was while Chester Houghton was practicing law in Michigan in 1862 that he volunteered to help defend the Union. He assisted in recruiting others into the newly forming regiment and a 27th Michigan Company Muster-in Roll states that Chester W. Houghton “joined for duty and enrolled” on August 14, 1862, in Houghton, Michigan, for a period of three years. On October 10, 1862, Chester Houghton, age 26, was officially mustered into Company C, 27th Regiment Michi-gan Infantry as a 2nd Lieutenant, in Port Huron, Michigan. He was promoted to a 1st Lt. on December 22, 1862. The 27th Regiment had been ordered to raise six companies of volunteers (or 1,000 men) and to rendezvous at Port Huron, Michigan, but only three companies were ac-tually organized. Recruiting for these other regiments proceeded so slowly, that authorities decided to consolidate them into one regiment at Ypsilanti, Michigan, on February 1, 1863. All regiments proudly carried their flag their battle flags with their regiment’s number and usually a regimental or state motto. After the Civil War, the battle flags came to symbolize the sacrifice of war. In 1866, when many of Michigan's flags were returned to the state, Governor Henry Crapo promised the veterans that their flags would "not be forgotten and their histories left unwritten." The 27th Michigan’s Regimental battle flag was one of 123 battle flags that were presented back to the State of Michigan on July 4, 1866. When the state opened its new Capitol in 1879, the flags had a place of honor. The battle flags are cared for by a unique partnership between the Michigan Historical Museum and the Michigan Capitol Committee. As an historical footnote, these battle flags have been preserved by the State of Michigan, and they now have a total of 163 Civil War Michigan battle flags that honor all those soldiers that fought and died in the Civil War. In 1992, when a complete restoration of the Capitol was be-gun, workers discovered that the flags had seriously deteriorated in their cases. In an effort to conserve the flags so that future generations can enjoy and appreciate them, the flags were moved to the Michigan Historical Museum in Lansing, where they are now safely housed in a controlled environment. These infantry battle flags or colors, as they were called, were very large, measuring 6 feet wide by 6 ½ feet tall, so they could easily be seen by the soldiers and com-manders of the regiments and armies. Each large, battle flag was attached to a staff or pike, which was, by military order, exactly 9 feet 10 inches high. These flags served a valuable, practical purpose as they would provide the visual cue that soldiers and officers would use to give and receive their location in battle. Soldiers would advance, hold their ground, or retreat on the sight of their flag; wherever the flags went, the soldiers followed. Flags led the charge or led the retreat, and therefore, had to be protected at all cost. The regiment's flag was also a source of great and honor, and to lose a flag in battle was a great disgrace. Conversely, the capture of an opponent's flag was a great honor. A regiment's flag was carried by a “color sergeant” who was the central man in the “color guard.” A color guard was composed of six corporals whose job was to protect the color sergeants and the flags of the regiment. They were normally carried by a large soldier who could hold the battle flag high with pride and honor, and wave it back and forth so all could see it. Sadly, these flag bearers for both the North and South suffered the highest mortality rates during battle. If the opposing troops could kill the flag bearer and the colors could be captured or destroyed, then the men could no longer follow the orders of the officers. Oftentimes, several flags bearers would be killed or wounded during a single engagement, and other men would have to step and put their own weapon down and carry the huge flag, which of course took both hands. The flags were generally made of silk and were sur-rounded by gold fringe. Regiments were given two flags: one was the national color based on the red, white and blue stars and stripes, and the other was the regimental color, which was blue silk and decorated with the hand-painted arms of the United States or the state's coat of arms. Completely embroidered by hand and trimmed with gold bullion fringe and tassels, the 27th Michigan’s flag was presented to the regiment by the "Ladies of Port Huron" before the regiment left for war. On April 10, 1863, the 27th Michigan Regiment, under the command of Colonel Dorus M. Fox, was thus complete and mustered into the service of the United States with eight companies and a total of 865 officers and men. By the end of the War, this regiment would have 2,209 officers and men, and casualties of 417 men: 6 officers and 122 men were killed in action; 2 officers and 84 men died of wounds; and 4 officers and 199 died of wounds. Capt. William B. Wright, 1st Lt. Frederick Myers, and 2nd Lt. Chester W. Houghton were the officers in charge of the 152 listed men in the 27 Michigan Infantry, Company C. On April 12, 1863, the regiment proceeded from its rendezvous at Ypsilanti, to Kentucky via Cincinnati, Ohio. The Regiment was stationed at various places in Kentucky, and had one of its first skirmishes with the Confederates at Jamestown on June 2, 1863. They were then assigned to the 3rd. Brigade of the 9th Corp, and then sent to Mississippi to reinforce General Grant’s Siege of Vicksburg until July 4, 1863. The Regiment advanced on Jackson, Mississippi, from July 11-18, 1863. The Michigan at War 1882 complete history relates a marvelous story about Major Sam Moody leading his troops at the Jackson, Mississippi, skirmish:

Major Moody of the 27th, formerly a well known Lake Supe-rior as well as sea captain, while in command of his compa-ny [Company B] at Jackson, Miss., and while in line of ene-my, repeatedly cautioned them against exposing themselves, and failing to do so satisfactorily, losing all patience with them, rushed in front of the company calling aloud at the top of his voice, “Boys, bear a hand and keep down or by Jupiter if you don’t I’ll send every mother’s son of you aft” (meaning to the rear), inferring that he would do their part of the fighting himself.

Death of a Son
It was during this battle, that Lt. Chester Houghton lost one of his men in his company, Private Thaddeus W. Casler, 19-year-old Private from Port Huron, Michigan. As Private Casler’s commanding officer, Capt. Houghton did what countless generations of military officers did when one of their men is lost in combat-—he wrote a letter to the family informing them of their son’s death. Sadly, this letter no longer exists and the details of his death have been lost to history. But we are fortunate to have a letter from Private Casler’s father, Richard Casler, which is in the author’s collection.

Mr. Caster wrote the letter to Capt. Houghton on March 7, 1864, from his home in Port Huron. This water-stained letter, copied below, was found in the personal effects of Capt. Chester Houghton and it must have had great meaning to him—as he kept it with him for the rest of his life.


 * Port Huron, March 7th/64
 * Mr. C. W. Houghton
 * Dear Sir,

''I take this opportunity of addressing a few lines to you to inform you that I received your kind letter of Sept. 4th bearing the sad news to us of the death of our beloved ::son. I wrote you five days after I received your letter thanking you for your kind offer to assist us in settling his affairs with the government, but have received no ::answer from you as yet. 	 I have also written to Washington and have not heard from there. I know not what the reason may be, but if you will be so kind as to give me any information as to how I ::will be able to get what rightfully belonged to our boy at the time of his death. If you will do so, you will confer a great favour on us who has been called to mourn the loss of ::our dear son.'' ''There is one more favour that I wish to ask of you…that is, if it will not be asking too much. Please let me know how a couple of boys is that belongs to Co. B of your ::regiment by the names of Charles & Edward Tucker… they are neighbor boys of ours and we feel anxious to hear from them. Their parents have not had any word from them in some ::months…they feel very anxious about them. Please let us know where and how they are and you will oblige us very much. ''
 * I will wait with patience until I hear from you--please write soon.

I remain Yours Truly, Richard Caster 

The 27th Michigan Fights On
On November 1, 1863, the Regiment was moved to the 2nd. Brigade and transferred to Lenoir, Tennessee, to assist in the repulse of Longstreet’s advance in that area. After marching to Hough’s Ferry on November 14th, the Regi-ment retreated along with the rest of the Union Army to Knoxville to obtain sufficient rations and equipment. During mid November 1863, the suffering and hardships re-ported by the Regiment during this winter battle were par-ticularly severe. An insufficient supply of food and warm clothing made conditions unbearable. At Campbell’s Station, the Regiment defended some supply trains, and three men were killed, while 18 men were reported wounded or missing. Retreating again to Knoxville, the Regiment de-fended the city and 54 casualties were reported. When the Confederates retreated from Knoxville, the Regiment set out in pursuit. On November 17th, 1863, the 27th Regiment marched via Knoxville, Hall’s Gap, Kentucky, and Camp Dick Robertson, to Nicholasville, Kentucky. The Regiment completed this march in just 14 days, an average of nearly 17 miles a day. Proceeding then by train, the Regiment ar-rived at Annapolis, Maryland on April 5th, 1863. Two companies of sharpshooters, in command of Captains Por-ter K. Perrin and Richard Vosper, joined the Regiment in Annapolis. On April 23rd, the Regiment moved via Wash-ington and Manassas, Virginia, to Warrenton, Virginia, where it joined Major General George G. Meade’s Army of the Potomac on April 29th, 1863. The 27th Michigan Regiment, by then under the command of Major Samuel Moody, who previously was the Captain in charge of the 27th Michigan, Company B and was a good friend of 1st Lt. Chester Houghton in Company C, was now in the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division of Major General Ambrose Burnside’s 9th Army Corps. Company Muster Rolls state that for January and February 1864, Chester Houghton was for a time: “Detailed Acting Aid De Camp Jan. 22, 1864, on the Staff of Colonel E.W. Peirce, Comdg. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 9th Army Corps.” On April 20, 1864, Chester Houghton was promoted to a Captain. By the spring of 1864, the 27th Regiment was rested and at full strength of 864 men when it crossed the Rapidan River and took part in the one of the deadliest battle during the Civil War—-the Battle of the Wilderness.

Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness, near Spotsylvania, Virginia, lasted only two days from May 5-6, 1864. The “Wilderness” was named after the nearly impenetrable scrub growth and rough terrain that encompassed more than 70-square-miles of Spotsylvania County and Orange County in central Virginia. The area was also named after the Wilderness Tavern, which had been a key target for the Confederates one year earlier when they launched their devastating attack on the Union right flank at Chancellors-ville, Virginia. On May 2, 1864, the Army of the Republic, nominally under the command of Major General George G. Meade, but in reality taking order from his superior Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, crossed the Rapidan River at three separate point and converged on the Wilderness Ta-vern. Grant, who had assumed command of all Union ar-mies in March 1864, had no desire to fight in the harsh confines of the Wilderness and instead set up his camps outside the rough terrain and planned to march quickly through the Wilderness. But General Lee decided, for tactical reasons, to set up for battle in the rough terrain. Lee’s Confederates were greatly outnumbered two to one (Lee’s 65,000 troops to Grant’s 120,000 men), and Lee also had fewer cannon and poorer range artillery than Grant. Thus, Lee hoped that fighting in the tangled woods would perhaps eliminate Grant’s tactical advantage in men, artillery, and cavalry. Lee correctly surmised that the close quarters fighting and confusion would give his outnumbered and outgunned Confederates better odds. For you Civil War military historians, Captain Chester Houghton and his 27th Michigan would fight in Colonel John Hartranft’s 1st Brigade, under Brigadier General Or-lando Willcox’ 3rd Division, which was one of the 9th Army Corps’ four divisions, under the Command of Major General Ambrose E. Burnside. Burnside, with his famous grandiose mustache and side-whiskers that we now call “side-burns” after General Burnside, outranked Gen. Meade and had previously commanded the Army of the Potomac until President Lincoln had replaced him with Gen. Grant. Burnside would be remembered as overly cautious and often did not carry out orders in a timely fashion. His 9th Corps had a total complement 19,331 men, but only about 6,000 men were seasoned troops; whereas, all of General Lee’s troops were seasoned veterans.

In March 1864, Grant had ordered the 9th Army Corps to proceed from its camp in Annapolis, Maryland, to Alex-andria, Virginia. On April 25, 1864, Major General Burnside paraded his 9th Corps proudly through Washington, D.C., in what McClellan called a “Grand Review” that in-cluded huge, military bands playing patriotic marches and hundreds of Union flags lining the streets. Congress recessed and crowds lined the streets of Washington to view the troops and cheered widely as the 9th Army Corps marched up Pennsylvania Avenue and off to battle. General Burnside and his staff joined President Lincoln to review the troops as they passed the Willard Hotel on 14th Street, NW, in Washington, DC. The 9th Corps would proceed southward across Long Bridge to Alexandria, Virginia, then into the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. Some of the fiercest and bloodiest battles of the entire Civil War occurred during the two days at The Battle of the Wilderness. Casualty estimates vary, but both armies suffered extremely heavy casualties—approximately 18,000 Union soldiers and over 11,000 Confederate soldiers were killed, wounded, captured or missing during this battle. In one of the more horrifying incidents of the Civil War, brushfires repeatedly broke in the thick woods be-tween the two armies’ lines during both day and night. Hundreds of wounded soldiers left on the field died screaming as they were burned alive in front of their re-spective comrades, who were unable to rescue them.

The Battle of Spotslyvania Court House
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, usually called just the Battle of Spotsylvania, was fought from May 8-12, 1864, along a trench line some four miles long, in central Virginia. The Army of the Northern Virginia, under Gen-eral Robert E. Lee, would make its second attempt to halt the spring offensive of the Union Army of the Potomac, which was under the command of Lt. General Grant and Maj. General Meade. As in the previous Battle of the Wil-derness, which concluded just days earlier, the Union troops still outnumbered the Confederate troops two to one—respectively 100,000 to 52,000 men. But Lee’s men had built fortified, earthen trenches that would make each Union attempt at assault extremely difficult and costly. Captain Chester Houghton, of the 27th Michigan, would be temporarily appointed a Brevet Major when the commander of his unit, Major Samuel Moody, was wounded during the Battle of the Wilderness. Fighting on May 11th was intense and brutal. Because of the severity of the battle, General Robert E. Lee felt compelled to personally lead soldiers in the counterattack. His men realized the danger this would pose for him, however, and refused to advance until Lee removed himself to a safer position in the rear. The several “Lee to the Rear!” episodes later became famous, and were an intense example of the personal bond that Lee’s soldiers felt for him. The Battle in the Mule Shoe lasted for an entire day and night as the Confederate troops won back most of the ground they had lost. At about 3 P.M., it started to rain and General Burnside, fearing that his forward line was too exposed, ordered General Willcox to withdraw his men and the 27th Michigan once again had to retreated and had to give up ground that they had just taken. On a small slip of water-stained paper, Chester Houghton borrowed $20 from a fellow Michigan officer and wrote a promissory note to be paid by his father, William Houghton of LaGrange, Wisconsin, in case of Chester's death. On the reverse of this hand-written note, Chester directed that the bearer of this note take it to his father, William Houghton, to be redeemed. On the original, you can see the individual raindrops that left the note paper water-stained. These stains where likely made during the heavy rain that was falling in Spotsylvania, Virginia, on the afternoon and evening of May 11, 1864. It is remarkable that the ink did not run and the paper did not decompose with all the rain and moisture. We do not know why Chester Houghton needed to bor-row the $20 while they were preparing to go into battle the next day. Did Chester have a premonition of what would happen to him on the next day? Did he need some supplies from the camp sutter, who supplied the officers and men in the camps with everything from ink and paper to coffee? We will likely never know, but this note was almost the last thing that Lt. Houghton ever wrote. In the early morning hours of May 12, 1864, Chester Houghton and his men would prepare for a battle that would be the fiercest they had ever fought in—and one of the most costly battles during the entire Civil War. They would store their haversacks and their personal belongings at the camp, and only take extra ammunition and water.

The Final Civil War Battle for Chester W. Houghton
On the afternoon of May 12, 1864, Chester Houghton would become one of those thousands of Union casualties at the Battle of Spotsylvania. Michigan at War cites the following casualties for the 27th Michigan Regiment for May, 12th: 27 killed, 148 wounded, and 12 missing. The military records state that on May 12, 1864, while fighting with his men at the Battle of Spotsylvania, Chester Houghton was severely wounded when a musket ball hit is left arm and shattered it. Brevet Major Chester Houghton, like his fellow officer Lt. Colonel Byron M. Cutcheon, of the 20th Michigan who had also been hit in the arm just two days earlier, may have raised his arm to signal his men to advance when a Confederate minié ball found its mark on his uplifted left arm. It is likely that Chester was immediately taken by am-bulance to the 9th Corps’ field hospital that had been estab-lished at a private residence, the Harris House. Although surgeons initially removed the bullet that shattered his arm, his left arm was damaged to badly to repair and likely became infected and gangrene had set in. The surgeon at the field hospital gave Chester the Con-federate bullet that they removed from his arm, and he re-tained possession of it and would latter give it to his father, William Houghton, after the war. The descendants of his family still have the Confederate minié ball that cost Chester his left arm and nearly his life. Four days later, on May 16th, 1864, field surgeons in Burnside’s 9th Corps field hospital amputated Chester’s left arm at the shoulder joint. Perhaps Surgeon Cyrus M. Stockwell, who was the 27th Regiment’s surgeon, per-formed the operation, but there are no surviving records. Although anesthetics were still primitive during the Civil War, ether and chloroform had been in use since the Mex-ican War. But these anesthetics were notably in short supply during the War. Official records state that the Un-ion field hospitals at Spotsylvania did have supplies of chloroform, and other officers had the benefit of their use. In the absence of anesthetics, cheap whiskey or biting down hard on a lead bullet was often considered a good substitute. The use of a lead minie ball or bullet was common during the Civil War to prevent the patient from biting off his tongue during surgery and to manage the pain. These minie balls were called “pain bullets” as they were a primitive way to control the agonizing pain for a short while. This is the origin of the phrase “Bite the Bullet.” One can only imagine the level of pain Civil War soldiers had to bear during these primitive surgical operations. Civil War Field surgeons were required to work ex-tremely fast to prevent the patient from going into shock and dying. Speed was of the essence, and it has been widely reported that a “good surgeon” was one who could remove an arm in under 30 seconds! Chester, still gravely injured, was then taken to Fredericksburg, Virginia, then to nearby Belle Plain. From this port, he was transported and admitted to Armory Square General Hospital in Washington, DC, on May 26th, 1864. This hospital was located at 6th and Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC, and was only a few blocks from the US Capitol. Chester’s hospital number was 2064, and he listed his father, William Houghton of LaGrange, Walworth County, Wisconsin, as the post office address of his nearest relative, as he was not married at the time. The diagnosis is hand written and states: “Amputation of left arm at shoulder—amputation on May 16th.”  In his medical file still retained by the National Archives, there are a total of 16 enclosures listed for 1st Lt. C.W. Houghton:  8 Medical Certificates; 5 Furloughs; 1 Casualty Sheet; 1 Bed Card; and 1 Duty Paper. Chester's decendants still have the water-stained receipt, dated June 3, 1864, from the Surgeon in Charge to Chester Houghton. The receipt states that Lt. Houghton received “30 Days subsistent as a patient at one dollar per day—$30.”

Chester proceeded by train to his family’s home in La-Grange, Wisconsin, which is near Elkhorn, Wisconsin, to recuperate. Since he had lost his left arm, Chester used a heavy piece of cast iron as a paper weight to hold his writing paper down so he could write with his right hand. On August 12th and September 3rd, 1864, in hand written letters still on file in the National Archives, he writes separate letters to his Commanding Officer of the 27th Michigan Infantry and to the Adj. General of the USA that he is recuperating in LaGrange Wisconsin. Here is a transcription of his actual letter:


 * Elkhorn, September 3rd, 1864
 * To the Adj. General, USA
 * Sir,

I have the honor to report that I left the Armory Square Hos-pital Washington, DC, on the 18th day of July 1864, on a Thirty-day Sick Leave of absence, which leave of ::absence was extended 20 days by Surgeon’s certificate. Also that my Post-Office address is LaGrange, Wisconsin. I am very Respectfully Your Obt. Servant C.W. Houghton [signed] 1st Lieut. Co. “C” 27th Mich. Infty.

Attached to his letter, was a statement from D.D.J. Hamlin, MD, his physician in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. A transcription of the complete letter is cited below:

Lieut. C.W. Houghton of the Twenty-Seventy Regiment of Michigan Volunteers having applied for a certificate of me D.D. J. Hamlin, M.D. I do hereby certify that I have carefully examined this Officer and find that he is laboring under disability caused by ampu-tation of the left arm at the shoulder joint, :::that he has suffered from its effects since May 12th, 1864, and that in consequence thereof, he is in my opinion unfit for duty and not able to travel. :::I further declare my belief that he will not be able to resume his duties in a less period that Twenty days from the expiration of the “first extension” of his “Leave of :::Absence.” {signed} D.D.J. Hamlin, M.D.
 * Dated Elkhorn this 3rd day September 1864.
 * Sworn & Subscribed to this 3rd day of September 1864, Before me.
 * {signed} H. Bradley
 * Justice of the Peace

Chester Houghton’s health did not improve enough that he would be fit for combat duty again, so he was discharged for disability on October 3, 1864. Subsequently, he returned to Washington, DC, where he was promoted to “Captain and Com. of Subs. US Vol’s” on February 15, 1865.” The Commissary was in charge of all food or sub-stance supplies at a military post. Such essential food items as pork, salt, candles, coffee, and hard-tack would all be shipped to the troops through the Commissary. The 27th Michigan’s last “Company Muster Roll” for Chester Houghton is dated July 26, 1865. It states that Chester, age 30, appeared at the Delany House, Washing-ton, DC, and was mustered out on that date, although the official mustered out and honorably discharged date is Oc-tober 9, 1865. The document further states that he was discharged from “S.O. No. 330” by the War Department.

After the War
It was while Chester Houghton was serving out his final months of his service working at the Commissary Department in Washington, DC, that he met his future wife, Elisa Foster, from Derby Line, Vermont. Little is known of their courtship, but almost immediately after their marriage she contracted typhoid fever and soon died in Washington, D.C. on September 21, 1865. The military granted Chester an immediate, honorable discharge so he could accompany his wife’s body to her family’s home in Derby Line, Vermont, for burial. Her husband, Chester, also was infected by the highly conta-gious typhoid fever while he was taking his wife’s body back to Vermont for burial. The Houghton Family in LaGrange, Wisconsin, still has many of the poignant letters written by Chester’s family to him while he was at his wife’s family home. The following letter is dated October 8, 1865, and it was written by his father, William Houghton, with a small note from his sister Lucy. The author has transcribed this touching letter—as a Father says goodbye to his son for the last time. Although the first part of the letter is one of the most moving letters I have ever read, the last part of the one-page letter seems unusually cold and detached; I will leave it up the audience to decide the overall tone of the letter.


 * LaGrange, Oct. 8/65
 * Dear Son,

''I received a letter last evening from Mr. Foster, your father-in-law…informing me that you were sick at his house...if it was not so far off, I should come and see you…after all, I do not know that I could do you any good. But we all feel very bad to hear of your afflictions in bringing your Dear partner [home] and you are now sick. 	But we must submit ourselves to the will of God, for he does all things well. Oh Dear Son, look to our Heavenly Father for support, for he will guide and direct us in our trials and troubles. In this life, it matters but little to us how soon we leave this world if we are prepared to go. Oh Dear son, try to live so if is so ordered that we shall met no more on this Earth, that we shall meet around our Father’s thrown, where fighting and sorrow(?) will be no more…where we can meet our kindred spirits that have gone before. I am looking forward to that time and trying to live so as to have a happy meeting with those that have gone before. 	How can I do anything for you to help you? We received your letter informing us of the death of your wife and Lucy [Chester’s younger sister] answered it [and] sent it to Washing-ton. As to your address, I think you had better come home as soon as you are able to come. If you cannot come alone, have someone to come with you. It will be as cheap as it would be for me to come after you, for our work [here on the farm] is very much behind. 	Florence’s (Flora Houghton {1859-1920} is William’s granddaughter) health is poor…we walk along slowly together. I believe I am the smartest boy of the town(?). We cannot hire for there is no one to hire… if we get a day’s work…[it costs] $1.25 per day. But if we keep along, I think, we shall receive our crops. We are all as well as usual, except my wife has a bad cold. I have made so many mistakes, I will stop writing, but I thought I wrote a few lines and let Lucy finish it. I want you should write once in two or three days or get someone to do it so I should know how you are.''

From Your Affectionate Father Wm Houghton [signed]

In this letter, William Houghton seems oddly out of touch with his son. He talks more about the problems he has on the farm in harvesting the crops and getting good help, then he does about his son, who is dying 1,000 miles away. In fairness to William, he seems clearly nervous and troubled by the pending death of his son even if he is unable to put those thought into words. As possible proof of his state of mind, he makes over 20 simple mistakes, such as repeating words twice and crossing out words, in this short letter. As a Postmaster and Justice of the Peace, William Houghton did not normally make such mistakes. William may have also thought about his own father, Jonas Houghton (1760-1834), who had fought the British in the War of 1812. In any case, William does eventually relent and travel to Vermont to be with his gravely ill son, but there was really nothing anyone could do at the time to treat typhoid fever; and Chester Houghton, at the age of only 30, died on November 19, 1865, in Derby Line, Vermont. Per his instructions, he asked to be buried next to his wife at the family cemetery in Derby Line. Thus ended the short life of Chester Houghton: a son, a farmer, a lawyer, a soldier, and husband.

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