| Cemetery Works |
| Boulder, Colorado, USA established 2001 |
| Superior Cemetery, Superior, Colo American Civil War Soldiers' Stories James Morton |
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Private James Morton, Company A, 142nd Pennsylvania Infantry
James Morton enlisted as a Private, at 31-32 years of age, on 22 August 1862. He was mustered into Company 'A' of the Pennsylvania 142nd Infantry Regiment on 22 August 1862. [Company A was recruited in Mercer County.] He served 33 months in the 142nd Pennsylvania Infantry, 22 August 1862 to 29 May 1865. The 142nd Pennsylvania Infantry regiment was assigned to the Federal / Union Army of the Potomac for the duration of its service. The regiment fought in many savage battles, Fredericksburg I; Gettysburg; Grant's Overland Campaign from the Battle of the Wilderness to the Battle of Cold Harbor; the 9 month siege of Petersburg [trench warfare], including the first assault and the Crater [the Mine Explosion]; and the Appomattox Campaign, including being present at Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. Grant's Overland Campaign has been described as 60 miles/60,000 casualties; albeit, 80,000 casualties seems a better number for the total died, wounded, or missing [in American Civil War parlance, 'missing' means: unidentified dead, taken prisoner, or taken flight, deserted]. The 142nd Pennsylvania Infantry regiment has the unwanted / unsought distinction of sustaining the 9th highest loss in battle, killed or mortal wounded, of the more than 2,000 regiments in the Union Army. The 142nd PENN Infantry loss 155 of the 935 soldiers and officers; 16.5 percent. Of these, 66 were lost in the battle of Fredericksburg, Va., 12 - 15 Dec 1862, and 49, in battle of Gettysburg, Penn., 01-03 July 1964. While James Morton was in service, the 142nd PENN Infantry regiment was engaged in the following battles that had a direct impact on the course of the war and / or a decisive influence on a campaign: where it made a heroic charge and suffered severely, losing 243 in killed, wounded and missing where a total of 211 were lost in the battle; officers: 03 killed, 11 wounded, 02 captured or missing; ranks: 10 killed; 117 wounded, 68 captured or missing including the assault on the Bloody Salient on 12 May 1864 including the initial assault on 16 June and the Crater [or Mine Explosion] on 30 June where its losses were severe The 142nd PENN Infantry regiment was present at the surrender of Gen. Lee and his army at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on 09 April 1865. Following the surrender, the 142nd PENN Infantry escorted captured stores to Burkesville Station and then marched to Washington, D.C., 01 - 12 May, where they participated in Day 01 of the Grand Review in Washington, D.C., on 23 May 1865. James Morton was discharged on 29 May 1865 in the vicinity of Washington, D.C by the General Order of 26 May 1865. The 142nd PENN Infantry regiment participated in the infamous Burnside "Mud March"; 20-24 January 1863. Other Information James Morton, age 48, born in England, a coal miner by trade, is reported in the 1880 Boulder County, Colorado, Census. This is taken to be the James Morton who served in the 142nd Pennsylvania Infantry regiment and buried in Superior Cemetery. The SUPERIOR CEMETERY, An Historical Report, by R. Michael Collard, 30 Nov 1976, reports that James Morton worked in Marshall as a coal miner until he lost an arm, then in Louisville, Colorado. Sources Colorado State Archive, Denver, CO. with acts of the Pennsylvania legislature by Samuel P. Bates. U.S. Volunteers, Albany, NY; Albany Publishing Company, 1889. |
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