Among the general officers in the national service during the war period, there were many whom Hampden county might justly claim as her direct representatives, and whose service was well worth having, as can be seen from the following very brief sketches.
Brevet Major-General James Barnes -
Of Springfield, General Barnes graduated at the
military academy, West Point, in the class of 1829. He passed a year
there as assistant instructor, took part in the Black Hawk expedition of
1832, and during the nullification controversy soon after was stationed
in Charleston Harbor. He then returned to West Point as assistant
instructor, resigning after three years' service. He became noted
as civil engineer and a builder of railroads, and was engaged in large
business enterprises when the war broke out. But nothing could stand
between him and the service of his country in hits hour of need, and on
the 26th of July, 1861, he was commissioned Colonel of the Eighteenth Massachusetts
Infantry. He commanded his regiment with great ability till after
the close of the Peninsular campaign, when he succeeded to the command
of Martindale's brigade of the Fifth corps, and, dating from November 29,
1862, was promoted to brigidier-general of volunteers. He commanded
this brigade during the Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancelorsville campaigns,
and at Gettysburg had rise to command the First division, Fifth corps.
Leading his forces to the relief of Sickles' corps near the close of the
second day's fighting, he was wounded and did not again return to active
duty in the field. He was assigned to the command of the defenses
of Norfolk, VA, then of St. Mary's district, and finally of the encampment
of confederate prisoners at Point Lookout, MD, where he remained until
the close of the war, receiving is brevet rank of major-general of volunteers
to date from March 13, 1865. he remained in commission till January
15, 1866 when he was mustered out and returned to his home, but never regained
his health, dying there on the 12th of February, 1869.
Brevet Brigadier-General Robert E. Clary -
General Clary, a native of Springfield, was appointed from Massachusetts to the military academy at West Point in 1823, graduating July 1, 1828, when he was commissioned a second lieutenant. He served in various portions of the country, rising in rank, until the opening of the rebellion found him a staff major ____ chief quartermaster of the department of Utah. His service was principally in the quartermaster's department, and he was chief quartermaster of the department of West Virginia from November, 1861, to July, 1862, then of the army of Virginia under General Pope, then of the department of the Northwest to the 20th of March, 1863. He then served in the quartermaster general's office at Washington until August 24, 1864, when he was placed in charge of the Memphis depot, where he remained till the close of the war. He was commissioned lieutenant-colonel in the regular line April 15, 1864, colonel July 29, 1866, and was retired Februrary 22, 1869, being over 62 years of age. He was brevetted brigadier-general from the 13th of March, 1865, on account of faithful and meritorious services during the rebellion.
Brigadier-General William Dwight -
General Dwight was born at Springfield in 1831,
entered a military school at West Point, NY, at the age of 15, and afterward
studied at the military academy there, which he left before graduation
to enter manufacturing business. When the war broke out, being then
at Philadelphia, he offered his services to the government, and May 14,
1861 was commissioned as a captain in the Fourteenth U.S. Infantry.
on the organization of the Seventieth New York Infantry, under Col., Daniel
E. Sickles, Captain Dwight was commissioned as second in command, and on
the promotion of Sickles to brigadier was commissioned as colonel.
He led his regiment with great gallantry at the battle of Williamsburg,
May 6, 1862, where he received three wounds, being disabled and made prisoner,
but was left in hospital on parole. After exchange and recover he
was made brigadier-general of volunteers from November 29, 1862, and soon
afterward joined the forces of General Banks in Louisiana. He commanded
a brigade of the Nineteenth corps in the operations against Port Hudson,
and served on t he commission to settle the terms of surrender. At
the Red River campaign of the succeeding spring he was made chief of staff
to General Banks. Accompanying that portion of his corps sent north
in the summer of 1864, he commanded the First division during its operations
in he Shenandoah Valley, continuing in the service until January 15, 1866,
when he was mustered out after almost five years of highly honorable service.
Brevet Major-General Oliver Edwards -
General Edwards, from Springfield, entered the
service as adjutant of the Tenth infantry, but was soon detailed as senior
aide on the staff of Gen. Darius N. Couch, commanding the division, in
which capacity he served with distinction till early August, 1862, when
he was commissioned major and directed to organize the Thirty-seventh infantry,
of which he was made colonel. He made of his regiment one of the
best disciplined and most effective in the army of the Potomac. On
the 9th of May, 1864, he took command of his brigade, which he led with
distinction till July 6, 1864, when it was consolidated with another brigade,
of which he was made commander. With this force he fought at Fort
Stevens and the Opequan in the campaign against General Early. At
the latter battle he commanded the First division, Sixth corps, after the
death of General Russell and he wounding of General Upton, and in recognition
of his services on that occasion he was made post commandant at Winchester,
with his brigade and some other troops as garrison. This position
he retained for some time after the return of the Sixth corps to the army
of the Potomac, and was offered by General Sheridan the position of provost
marshal-general on his staff; but Edwards preferred the command of
his old brigade, to which, at this special request, he was returned in
February, 1865. In the assault of April 2, 1865, on the lines at
Petersburg, his brigade took an important part, being the first to break
through the confederate works, and the next morning he received from the
mayor of Petersburg the surrender of the city, very soon after its evacuation
by General Lee. For his services at this time he received the commission
of brigadier-general of volunteers, to date from May 19, having been brevetted
for his gallantry at Opequan, and in the sharp fight at Sailor's Creek,
April 6, he won the brevet of major-general. He remained in the service
until January 15, 1866, when he was honorably discharged.
Major-General Eramus Darwin Keyes -
General Keyes was a native of Brimfield, where
he was born in 1810. He was appointed from Maine to the military
academy at West Point, from which he graduated in 1832. His service
up to the outbreak of the rebellion had been varied, and at that time he
was military secretary for General Scott. He was commissioned colonel
of the Eleventh U. S. Infantry, May 14, 1861; three days later was
made brigadier-general of volunteers, and was for a time engaged at Boston
and New York in the duties of raising, equipping and forwarding troops.
He returned to Washington, however, in time to command a brigade at the
battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861. In the organization of the army
of the Potomac for the campaign of 182 he was made commander of the Fourth
corps, and was commissioned major-general of volunteers from the 5th of
May. He shared in the operations against Yorktown, and after the
battle of Williamsburg led the advance up the Peninsula. It was upon
his corps that the weight of the confederate attack fell at the battle
of Fair Oaks, May 31, and for his gallant part in that action he received
the brevet of brigadier-general in the regular army. On the withdrawal
of the army of the Potomac from the Peninsula, General Keyes was left in
command at Yorktown, and in the temporary absence of General Dix was in
command of the department of Virginia. in July, 1863, he was placed
on the board for retiring army officers, where he served until May 6, 1864,
when he resigned his commissions and returned to civil life.
Brevet Brigadier-General Ralph W. Kirkham -
General Kirkham was born at Springfield.
He graduated at West Point in the class of 1842, and was commissioned second
lieutenant of the Second U. S. Infantry. He served as adjutant of
that regiment during the war with Mexico, being brevetted first lieutenant
and captain for gallant conduct, and was wounded at the battle of Molino
del Ray. in the interval between the Mexican war and the rebellion
he served at various posts as assistant adjutant-general or quartermaster,
and in the spring of 1861 was stationed at Fort Walla Walla in Washington
territory with the rank of captain. He was chief quartermaster of
the department of Pacific from August 31, 1861, to June, 1865, and of the
department of California from that time onward. He received the commission
of major February 26, 1863, and dating from March 13, 1865, brevets of
lieutenant colonel, colonel, and brigadier-general, "for faithful and meritorious
services in the quartermaster's department during the rebellion."
He resigned his commission February 11, 1870.
Brevet Brigadier-General Horace C. Lee
General lee was city clerk and treasurer of Springfield
at the opening of the war, and had several years before risen to the rank
of colonel and acting brigadier in the state militia. In August,
1861, he was offered the lieutenant-colonelcy of the Twenty-first Infantry,
then being organized, and on going to Boston to accept the offer was given
permission to raise one of the five regiments just authorized. 
He
organized the Twenty-seventh infantry, which he ably commanded until July
4, 1862, when he took command of the brigade, leading it to the Trenton,
Tarboro and Goldsboro expeditions, and winning praise for the able handling
of his troops in repulsing General Clingman's attack at the latter engagement.
He was recommended by General Foster for promotion to the rank of brigadier-general
of volunteers, but the commission was not issued on account of the large
number already given to Massachusetts officers. When General Burnside
left North Carolina to take command of the Army of the Potomac, Colonel
Lee was appointed provost marshal-general of North Carolina, and later
of the department of Virginia and North Carolina, and acted in that capacity
until the office was abolished by General Butler in January, 1864.
He then served upon commissions and courts-martial till the opening of
the campaign in May following, when he resumed command of his regiment,
leading it at Walthal Junction, Arrowfield Church, and Drewry's Bluff.
In the latter engagement he was made prisoner with a large portion of his
command, and was confined at Libby Prison and at Macon, Gal. From the latter
place he was removed June 10, and with many other union officers, was placed
under the fire of the federal batteries at Charleston, SC. Being
exchanged August 2, 1864, he went north on a month furlough, but returned
to Fortress Munroe in time to intercept his regiment, then under orders
for North Carolina, and procured the return to Massachusetts of those whose
time was about to expire. He was mustered out with them, September
27, 1864, and for meritorious service received a well-deserved brevet to
brigadier-general of volunteers, dating from March 13, 1865. He served
four years in the Boston custom house, and twelve years as postmaster of
Springfield, dying June 22, 1884, soon after vacating the latter office.