Wakefield Room
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This
is a Civil War era photograph of my g-g-granduncle, Arrington C. Wakefield.
At the time of the photo, he was a 1st. Lieutenant, in Company C, 3rd Vermont
Infantry Regiment. Uncle Arrington’s niece, Sarah Wakefield, married my
g-grandfather, Seth Burdick; both of whom, can be seen in the previous
page and elsewhere on this site. |
Shown here is Nancy Amelia
Woodbury Priest, Uncle Arrington’s first bride. Aunt Nancy was a noted and respected
Vermont poetess. She has one book of poems, posthumously collected and
published. Check out: A
Family Poet. See also: Wakefield Family and Wakefield Gravesites. |
Here is Uncle Arrington in his
later years.The photo is from the website of the Vermont Historical Society. I was
steered to the site by the same anonymous folks who contributed the photos
below. |
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Arrington is a genuine hero. At
age 24, in June 1861, he enlisted as a Pvt. He was commissioned from the
ranks as a 2nd Lt. in Feb. 1863. He was commissioned a 1st Lt. in May
1865. He was mustered out with the rest of the regiment in July 1865. He
served in most of the major battles fought, against Lee's Army of Northern
Virginia, by the Army of the Potomac finally under the command of Maj.
Gen. George Gordon Meade, who, reported directly to Lt. Gen U. S. Grant,
in overall command of the Union Army. For a short time, the
3rd Vt. Inf. Reg't was hurriedly transferred from the tidewater
area of Virginia north to the D.C. area to serve under Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace
as he scraped together a force to repulse southern Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's
troops who came close to capturing Washington. (Wallace later served as
governor of the New Mexico Territory during the Lincoln County Wars,
made famous by the escapades of Billy the Kid. In his spare
time, Wallace penned the novel Ben Hur.) The unit then
joined Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan who chased Early into the Shenandoah
Valley where Early's troops were, after fierce fighting, finally
decimated and evicted. (Early was beaten so badly that he lost the
confidence of his troops. Lee had to relieve him of command.) Sheridan's
command, and the 3rd Vt. Inf. Reg't, was reunited with Meade and
Grant shortly before Lee's surrender at Appomattox. A
brief list of the battles participated in by the 3rd Vt.
Inf. Reg't can be found at: http://www.vermontcivilwar.org/units/3/index.php. I find it humbling to share the genes
of Arrington C. Wakefield, one, who not
only fought through the Civil War from beginning to end;
but, who was also recognized and advanced for his character and leadership
skills. Other pictures of Arrington can be found on this family website along
with those of brother Leander, niece Sarah, and Sarah’s husband, Seth
Burdick. (See especially The
Main Room and Main Room Annex.) Chuckie Blaney discovered two obituaries
for Uncle Arrington. In Chuckie’s own words, “I've been working
on the Wakefield
Family genealogy…and went into Boston last Thursday to gather some
information, mostly about Arrington and his descendants. I'll be
spending a day or two in Springfield, Mass. next week to do more. He
and most of his family lived out there - it's about a two-hour drive
west. I called the vital records office and I can go in there and
actually get my hands on the records so expect to be able to add a lot.
I'm also planning on going the cemetery where Arrington and many of his
descendants are buried - it's also in Springfield. Chuckie’s trip to the cemetery paid off. Check
out: Wakefield Gravesites. Thanks also to Chuckie Blaney, we have the information
on Uncle Arrington’s wife, Nancy Amelia (Priest) Wakefield, seen in: Family
Poet. Note: All the marvelous pictures on this page,
with the exception of the Civil War photo of Arrington Wakefield, were
graciously supplied by donors who, wish to remain anonymous. They have the
heartfelt gratitude of myself and, I am sure, other Wakefield descendants
visiting this site. |
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Seated: Anna H. (Deane) and Frank A Wakefield with Ida
Mary Deane (?) and unknown man, standing. |
Frances and Esther Wakefield, 1905. |
Esther Wakefield, granddaughter of Arrington and Nancy. |
Anna Hortense (Deane) Wakefield, wife of Arrington’s son,
Frank. |
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Ida M. (Deane) White and Arrington’s daughter-in-law, Anna H. (Deane) Wakefield, 6/24/1922. |
Frank A. Wakefield, ca. 1940. |
Harry C. and Frank A. Wakefield. Both were army officers during the Spanish-American War. Both were at the battle of El Caney in Cuba. |
Frances Wakefield
(Arrington's granddaughter), Ida Wallace (family friend?), Anna Wakefield
(Arrington's daughter-in-law), Harry Wakefield (grandson), and Arrington C.
Wakefield himself. 1898 |
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For photos of the
Burdick and Wakefield families enjoying a mutual gathering, visit the Wakefield
Connection. |
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