Osgood T. Hadley

Osgood Towns Hadley (January 19, 1838 – October 5, 1914) was a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.[1][2]

Osgood T. Hadley
Born(1838-01-19)January 19, 1838
Nashua, New Hampshire
DiedOctober 5, 1914(1914-10-05) (aged 76)
Buried
Worcester County, Massachusetts
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
RankSergeant
UnitNew Hampshire Company E, 6th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War
Awards Medal of Honor

Hadley was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, on January 19, 1838. He married Susan F Carter (1841–1861) of Peterborough, New Hampshire, on November 14, 1860.[3] She died September 17, 1861, and Hadley enlisted and was mustered into Federal service November 27, 1861, at Peterborough, New Hampshire.

He was awarded the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism on September 30, 1864, while serving as a corporal with Company E, 6th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, at Pegram House, Virginia. Despite heavy enemy fire, Corporal Hadley retrieved and defended his colors and brought it back to his regiment. His Medal of Honor was issued, on July 27, 1896.[4][5][6][2]

After returning to New Hampshire, he married Sarah Naomi Ball (1848–1867) on September 22, 1865. She died July 4, 1867. The twice-widowed Hadley married a third time on November 25, 1868, to Lucy H. Brown Hadley (1845–1871). They had a son Willis Osgood Hadley (1870–1916) before she also died on January 15, 1871.[3]

He died at the age of 76, on October 5, 1914, having outlived three wives, and was buried at the Southborough Rural Cemetery in Worcester County, Massachusetts. His son only survived him by two years, dying at the Glencliffe Sanitorium from tuberculosis at age 45. However, his daughter-in-law and six grandchildren all lived lengthy lives into the second half of the twentieth century.[3]

The Osgood T. Hadley Memorial Bridge in Southborough, Massachusetts, is named in his honor.[7]

Osgood Hadley Statue Photo by: Sgt. Cullen Tiernan, USMC (Ret)

Medal of Honor citation

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Corporal Osgood Towns Hadley, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 30 September 1864, while serving with Company E, 6th New Hampshire Veteran Infantry, in action at Pegram House, Virginia. As Color Bearer of his regiment Corporal Hadley defended his colors with great personal gallantry and brought them safely out of the action.[4][5][6][2]

Notes
  1. "Only one Nashuan in Fifth Regiment". Nashua Telegraph. 14 March 1961. p. 7. Retrieved August 8, 2014 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  2. CMOHS (2014).
  3. Find a Grave (2020).
  4. Subcommittee on Veterans' Affairs (1968), p. 105.
  5. Sightline Media Group (2020).
  6. VCOnline (2020).
  7. Brad Petrishen (24 May 2014). "A Southborough bridge for Osgood T. Hadley". MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA. Retrieved 10 August 2014.

References


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