THE ARMY

The following list of persons belonging or credited to the Vineyard represents, as far as obtainable, the names of the persons who served in the army during the Civil War 1861-65, with a record of their Regimental and Company assignments. Many names in this list are those of non-residents and foreigners who received bounties from the several towns for filling their respective quotas. Most of these may be readily distinguished, but they are included as part of the record of the Vineyard in this War. The list has been compiled by the author from the original records in the Adjutant General's Office, Boston, Mass., and it is believed to be as complete, as well as authentic, as it is possible to make it from the material available.

The above lists show a total of 185 men credited to Martha's Vineyard, divided among the towns as follows: Tisbury 88; Edgartown 73; Chilmark (including Gay Head and Gosnold I) 24. This does not correspond, except in the case of Tisbury, with the statements in the text, pp. 425-8, taken from Shouler's "Massachusetts in the Civil War." The original returns of the Selectmen to the Adjutant-General were examined and checked by the author, and the result is as near as can be obtained when the system of quotas and credits in vogue at that time is considered. Towns were required to furnish certain numbers when a "draft" was made, and if the quota was not forthcoming from the legal residents, the Selectmen resorted to the payment of bounties and bought the necessary number from other places. Frequently our town officials went to Boston and bid for them among the transients of the metropolis, in competition with other towns, at the recruiting booths. In this way the strange names in the above lists are accounted for, and their connection with the Vineyard thus legalized. This confusion was increased in many cases where towns exceeded their limit and the State authorities credited this surplus to places that were deficient, and such men were considered as belonging to their home town while filling a vacancy elsewhere. Frequently in the confusion of these large drafts no complete record of such transfers and credits would be made, and the result has been to create complications in the muster rolls and town credits that defy adjustment. This explanation may serve to show why it is impossible to establish a correct list of soldiers properly belonging to a given town during the war.