Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A scarce Massachusetts Minuteman casualty medal awarded to Corporal Henry M. Fales, 57th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, late 3rd Rifles, who was killed in action during the Battle of the Wilderness 6 May 1864, his regiment suffering almost 50% casualties during one of the most fearful battles of the Civil War

Massachusetts Minuteman Medal (Henry M. Fales, Prvt. B. 3d Btn. Rfn.) extremely fine £400-£500

Henry M. Fales, a 20 year old butcher from Holden, Massachusetts, enlisted in Co. B, Massachusetts 3rd Rifles Battalion on 19 May 1861. Mustering out of this regiment on 3 August, on the 30 September that year, he mustered into Co B of the newly formed 51st Massachusetts Infantry. On 25 November 1862, the regiment proceeded by rail to Boston, where it immediately embarked on the transport Merrimac bound for North Carolina and was assigned to Amory’s Brigade. On 11 December, the 51st was assigned to the Goldsboro expedition. On 17 January 1863, seven companies took part in an expedition to Pollocksville, five of them proceeding as far as Young’s Cross Roads, and having a skirmish with the enemy at White Oak Creek. In late June, the regiment was assigned to emergency duty until the Confederate army under General Lee should be driven back from Pennsylvania, and it was immediately transferred to Baltimore, Maryland, where it remained from July 1 to July 6, searching houses for concealed arms, guarding prisoners from Gettysburg, etc. Later joining 1st Corps, Army of the Potomac, the regiment was sent back to Massachusetts in mid July and were mustered out of the service 27 July 1863.

Having mustered out of service with the 51st, on 10 March 1864, Fales mustered into Co G, of the newly formed 57th Massachusetts Infantry, a regiment formed from veteran soldiers with at least 9 months service in other units. Fales was promoted Corporal 20 days later and, on 18 April 1864, the regiment started for the seat of war, forming part of Carruth’s (1st) Brigade, Stevenson’s (1st) Division, Burnside’s (9th) Corps. On the 27 April, the corps started for the Rappahannock River and remained in bivouac until the morning of the 6 May, the ears of the men being deafened with the continuous roar of the battle which was already in progress. This battle, known as the Wilderness, was fought on 5-6 May 1864, about 15 miles west of Fredericksburg, Virginia and would be one of the bloodiest battles of the war, fought in the most confusing of countryside for troops to fight over. On the morning of the 6th, Stevenson’s Division was sent to the support of Hancock’s (2d) Corps on the Plank road, and in the bloodbath which followed, of the 550 officers and men the 57th took into battle, they lost near half their number; 47 killed, 161 wounded, and 43 missing. This was 5th highest number of casualties of any Union regiment present during the battle. Corporal Fales was one of those killed, dying of a gunshot wound.

The Massachusetts Minuteman Medal
In 1902 the State of Massachusetts authorised the production of the Minuteman medal to be awarded to all ‘3 month’ Militiamen who answered Lincoln’s ‘first call’ for troops in April of 1861. The medals themselves were issued with officially impressed naming, giving the name rank and unit of the soldier, in a similar style to British Campaign medals. Approximately 3,800 veterans were eligible to claim this medal; however, as they were only awarded on application, many remained unissued. Overall, approximately 159,000 men from this State fought for the Union, thus only a fraction actually received a medal. Of the men that were in these original Militia units, the majority went on to serve in other units during the War.

Of the States that fought for the Union, only West Virginia, Ohio, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut issued officially named or numbered medals to its servicemen in significant numbers. Even then, bar to soldiers in West Virginian service, this was to a small number of men that actually served in each State during the War and a fraction of the over two million servicemen who fought for the Union. Connecticut, Pennsylvania and others issued medals to their ‘first call’ militia but numbers were lower than 800.