Captain William Lewis Haskell

1856--William Lewis Haskell graduates from the North Yarmouth Academy (N.Y.A), Yarmouth, Maine. The N.Y.A. class of 1856 consists of 24 boys and 1 girl. Sixteen of the boys continue on to Bowdoin College. He and six others of his N.Y.A. classmates will lose their lives in the U.S. Civil War.

1859 (Oct.)--William Lewis Haskell has been chosen editor of Bowdoin College's student newspaper.

1860--William Lewis Haskell, a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, graduates from Bowdoin College and becomes Associate Principal, Oak Grove Seminary [Maine]. He had "fitted for college" at the Yarmouth Academy, Yarmouth, Maine.

1861 (April 16)--William Lewis Haskell pens a letter to his sister (Lydia Ann Haskell [Rounds]%29 from the Oak Grove Seminary of which he is serving as an Associate Principal. Here is an excerpt: "...How does the war news affect you up there? It sets our boys almost wild, and created a deep feeling in us as well. I feel that our President is indeed the man for the times, and that he is meeting the crisis in the true spirit. I am not particularly valorous myself, but I feel as though if I were drafted, it would be my duty to give my service to the good cause..." [[The original letter is in the possession of Charles E. Rounds, Jr., 107 Mount Vernon Street, Boston, MA (2018)].

1861 (August)--William Lewis Haskell joins the 7th Maine Infantry Regiment.

Sept. 1, 1861--William Lewis Haskell is in Camp Hyde, Baltimore. [He recently arrived there via Augusta (ME), Boston (MA), Fall River (MA), Elizabethtown (N.J.), and Washington (D.C). "We were heartily cheered and welcomed along our route, provided with a beautiful dinner in Boston and reached Fall River about 9 in the evening. The next morning we were steaming up New York Bay, saluted by the shipping and the various encampments along the shore--We were delayed a few hours waiting for a smaller boat, when we crossed over to Elizabethtown and took the cars for Washington, and traveled without stopping till we reached here Sunday morn. We marched across the city, through the heat and dust, about two miles, to the Washington Depot, where we were met by orders from Washington to go into camp at the Bellevue Gardens on the west side of the city. We stayed there till Friday when we broke up the encampment and marched across to Patterson Park on the East side of the city where we now are and are likely to be for some time to come. I like camp life. We work hard, eat our bread, beef, and beans with a good appetite, and sleep soundly wrapped in our blankets on the ground..." WLH].

1861 (Oct. 13)--William Lewis Haskell is in Camp Lyon, south of Alexandria, Virginia. He pens a letter to his sister, Lydia Ann Haskell (Rounds): "...I took my final leave of the hospital yesterday...It is three weeks to day since I was taken sick...My trouble was a bilious difficulty, and might I suppose be called a bilious fever... " [The original letter is in the possession of Charles E. Rounds, Jr., 107 Mount Vernon Street, Boston, MA (2018)].

1862 (June 18)—Capt. William Lewis Haskell pens a letter to his sister [Lydia Ann Haskell (Rounds)] from Camp Lincoln, Virginia: “…I had a very pleasant adventure on picket the day I got your letter. The rebel pickets were very civil all day. They were in full sight of us and we of them, but not a shot was fired on either side. Finally a rebel officer came out with a flag of truce. Two or three of us went out to meet him. He was very cordial, and after a few minutes conversation on general subjects, he proposed to exchange newspapers. We informed him that it was strictly forbidden by our orders. One of our lieutenants then offered him a drink of whiskey which he accepted with evident satisfaction and passed around a fig of tobacco in return. The interview lasted but a few minutes, and impressed us all with a deeper respect for the amenities of civilized warfare…” [The original letter is in the possession of Charles E. Rounds, Jr., 107 Mount Vernon Street, Boston, MA (2018)].

1862 (July 7)--Capt. William Lewis Haskell is encamped near Harrison Landing, Virginia. He pens a letter to his sister (Lydia Ann Haskell [Rounds]). Here is an excerpt: "...We have had some hard marching and desperate fighting, such as I cannot describe. I am now in command of a company, and my time is so much taken up that I have hardly any time to write. I find it necessary to sleep nearly all the time I do not have to work. We are now encamped on a beautiful plantation, and I am farmer enough to almost sigh to see the splendid crops that are necessarily destroyed...It is now so dark that I cannot see to write but you shall have a longer letter in a few days..." [The original letter is in the possession of Charles E. Rounds, Jr., 107 Mount Vernon Street, Boston, MA (2018)].

1862 (Aug. 13)--Capt. William Lewis Haskell pens a letter to his sister [Lydia Ann Haskell (Rounds)] while somewhere in the field [Camp 7th Maine Volunteers]: "...Louise [Haskell's wife] says that Charles Baker doesn't want his mother to send him goodies for fear it will look babyish. It won't take more than one month diet on army pies to teach him the soldier's first commandment "Fill thy belly, and from anything that can tickle the palate. Turn not empty away."...(Aug. 14) [same letter]...I have been at work shooting flies today and I estimate that there are about 1200 head less in our quarters this afternoon than there were in the morning. The way I do it is just to spread down a little sugar, let about three hundred of them light on it, and then fire a cartridge at them at short range. The cartridge is recessed and the fire from the powder scorches them while you hold on to the ball. It is almost as good as shooting a few partridges. In regard to your going to school...Louise sent me a nice fly screen,and that for fair weather, and a rubber blanket for storms, will keep me in a good state of preservation..." [The original letter is in the possession of Charles E. Rounds, Jr., 107 Mount Vernon Street, Boston, MA (2018)].

1862 (Sept. 17)--Capt. William Lewis Haskell, Company G, 7th Maine Infantry, is participating in the Battle of Antietam [Battle of Sharpsburg] as acting adjutant. The 7th Maine is ordered to make a "suicidal charge" by its "drunken" brigade commander (Col. William Irwin). Three horses are shot out from under Haskell in the process of carrying out these orders. Then Haskell, himself, is shot through both knees. ["Confederates defending the Piper farm fired fast and furiously. Haskell went down on the left flank when Confederate bullets felled him and his mount (called "old Whitey"...]. Haskell lies on the battlefield for three days until the enemy recrosses the Potomac. He then is taken to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where he is received into the house of Dr. (?) Hamilton, "and from that gentleman and his family receive[s] every attention that his wants require...." Haskell writes home encouraging letters, of which the following is one:

Sept. 28, 1862—Capt. William Lewis Haskell, severely wounded in the knees at Antietam, is convalescing in a private home in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He pens a note to his sister, Lydia Ann Haskell (Rounds): “My Dear Sister, I write a line today to let you know that I am comfortable indeed, though Friday I had an attack of the most intense pain in my left knee. I could get relief only through the means of morphine, and for several hours until I was brought under the influence of that my suffering was terrible. Then I experienced a most delicious sensation of relief. The surgeon in the meantime poulticed my knee reducing the inflammation and I am now just as comfortable and easy as I can be. The secondary effects of the morphine were awfully disagreeable. I felt dull, stupid with a terribly nasty taste in my mouth. I think I shall suffer no permanent ill-effects from this …, for my wounds are looking remarkably well. I don’t feel so much strength in my knee as I did before and I have to be more careful about moving it. But quite likely this is a good good thing as the stiller I keep the better. I have no means to write you. I have not heard from you and Frank [their brother] for a long time and in fact owe him a letter. I think I shall write him tomorrow. Write more often and tell me all the news. I will write some of you every few days so you may always know just how I am getting along. Mr. & Mrs. Hamilton are as kind as ever and nothing is wanting to make me comfortable. Tell Father & Mother not to worry, as I am in no danger. I will write you soon. Be sure that you let me hear from you often. Your loving brother, Lewis.” [The original of this letter is in the possession of Charles E. Rounds, Jr. 107 Mount Vernon Street, Boston, Massachusetts (2018)].

Oct. 11, 1862--Willa Louise Haskell, the daughter of Captain William Lewis Haskell, is born in Yarmouth, Maine.

Oct. 17, 1862--Captain William Lewis Haskell dies of his war wounds. His remains are brought to Yarmouth, Maine for burial. His Bowdoin fraternity brothers are in attendance at the interment, which is in the Baptist Cemetery, SE Quadrant [Yarmouth, Maine].The cemetery is on the grounds of the First Baptist Meeting House of the Town of North Yarmouth and Freeport Maine. The Meeting House was erected in 1796, renovated in 1837, and abandoned as a place of worship on May 23, 1889. The structure was presented to the Town of Yarmouth as a memorial hall by Mr. and Mrs. George W. Hammond on Feb. 24, 1910. From the front of the Meeting House, one my access the grave site of Capt. Haskell by walking outside along the left side of the Meeting House and continuing beyond it in a straight line for about 20 yards. His marble, white gravestone (and that of his wife Louise) are together in isolation on a slight rise (2018). The stones are somewhat distressed but their inscriptions are legible (2018). His gravestone reads: "CAPT. W. L. HASKELL, of the 7th Me. Vols. died at Chambersburg, Pa. Oct. 17, 1862, from wounds received in the battle of ANTIETAM: aged 26 yrs, 9 mos."

April 26, 1884--W.L. Haskell Post #108 of the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic), Yarmouth, Maine is mustered.

1942--W.L. Haskell Post #108 of the GAR is disbanded with the death of its last member, Charles Levi Marston. [Haskell-Marston Camp #56, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), Dept. of Maine, is/was its successor organization.].