Today is actually the 150th anniversary of the day that Edwin Graves died. On this day in 1864 he died in Fredericksburg, Virginia, two weeks after he was wounded on the second day of the Battle of the Wilderness and had his leg amputated shortly thereafter.
I had the opportunity to visit the Wilderness two weeks ago, on the 150th anniversary of the battle itself. The photo I have attached to this post is a photo of the monument to General James Wadsworth, the Union commander who rallied Graves's regiment, the 37th Massachusetts, to make a countercharge against advancing Confederates on the Orange Plank Road just west of the Brock Road, at the Wilderness battlefield. Wadsworth was mortally wounded in the vicinity of the monument, and most likely Edwin Graves was mortally wounded near this spot as well.
This weekend the Hatfield (Massachusetts) Historical Society will hold a special commemoration of Hatfield's Civil War dead on Sunday, the day before Memorial Day. We're very much looking forward to being present and meeting both other Hatfield Civil War descendants and today's Hatfielders. Very special thanks to Kathy Gow for all you have done not make this happen.
