A 20 year old student at Harvard when he enlisted as a Private in the 44th Massachusetts Infantry on September 12, 1862.
He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry in April 1864 and promoted to 1st Lieutenant in December 1864.
The 54th Massachusetts Infantry had arrived in South Carolina on April 1, 1865 from Savannah Georgia. The 700 men would become one of 6 infantry regiments of General Edward E. Potter's 2700 men Union force.
The day of the Battle of Boykin's Mill the troops had marched about 10 miles south from Camden SC and had seen little Confederate resistance until they reached Boykin's Mill with about 800 Confederate troops there. The area was just a church, a grist mill and a few homes but had good defensive areas with a large millpond, streams and a swamp.The Confederates had flooded the area, pulled up boards on the wagon road bridge, and a railroad bridge that crossed the swamp nearby was covered by riflemen in trenches.
The Union troops had problems with high water in the streams and tried various things to approach the the rebel forces. At least 2 men of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry were killed and 4 wounded in the first skirmishes. Lt. Stevens was ordered to take some men and move towards a creek to attract the Confederate's attention. While deploying his troops Lt. Stevens was shot in the head and killed by Burwell Henry Boykin of the South Carolina Home Guards who would turn 15 years old the next day.
He was the last Union officer killed in action during the Civil War.
He was originally buried near the battlefield but was moved about 20 years after the war.
He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry in April 1864 and promoted to 1st Lieutenant in December 1864.
The 54th Massachusetts Infantry had arrived in South Carolina on April 1, 1865 from Savannah Georgia. The 700 men would become one of 6 infantry regiments of General Edward E. Potter's 2700 men Union force.
The day of the Battle of Boykin's Mill the troops had marched about 10 miles south from Camden SC and had seen little Confederate resistance until they reached Boykin's Mill with about 800 Confederate troops there. The area was just a church, a grist mill and a few homes but had good defensive areas with a large millpond, streams and a swamp.The Confederates had flooded the area, pulled up boards on the wagon road bridge, and a railroad bridge that crossed the swamp nearby was covered by riflemen in trenches.
The Union troops had problems with high water in the streams and tried various things to approach the the rebel forces. At least 2 men of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry were killed and 4 wounded in the first skirmishes. Lt. Stevens was ordered to take some men and move towards a creek to attract the Confederate's attention. While deploying his troops Lt. Stevens was shot in the head and killed by Burwell Henry Boykin of the South Carolina Home Guards who would turn 15 years old the next day.
He was the last Union officer killed in action during the Civil War.
He was originally buried near the battlefield but was moved about 20 years after the war.
A 20 year old student at Harvard when he enlisted as a Private in the 44th Massachusetts Infantry on September 12, 1862.
He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry in April 1864 and promoted to 1st Lieutenant in December 1864.
The 54th Massachusetts Infantry had arrived in South Carolina on April 1, 1865 from Savannah Georgia. The 700 men would become one of 6 infantry regiments of General Edward E. Potter's 2700 men Union force.
The day of the Battle of Boykin's Mill the troops had marched about 10 miles south from Camden SC and had seen little Confederate resistance until they reached Boykin's Mill with about 800 Confederate troops there. The area was just a church, a grist mill and a few homes but had good defensive areas with a large millpond, streams and a swamp.The Confederates had flooded the area, pulled up boards on the wagon road bridge, and a railroad bridge that crossed the swamp nearby was covered by riflemen in trenches.
The Union troops had problems with high water in the streams and tried various things to approach the the rebel forces. At least 2 men of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry were killed and 4 wounded in the first skirmishes. Lt. Stevens was ordered to take some men and move towards a creek to attract the Confederate's attention. While deploying his troops Lt. Stevens was shot in the head and killed by Burwell Henry Boykin of the South Carolina Home Guards who would turn 15 years old the next day.
He was the last Union officer killed in action during the Civil War.
He was originally buried near the battlefield but was moved about 20 years after the war.
He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry in April 1864 and promoted to 1st Lieutenant in December 1864.
The 54th Massachusetts Infantry had arrived in South Carolina on April 1, 1865 from Savannah Georgia. The 700 men would become one of 6 infantry regiments of General Edward E. Potter's 2700 men Union force.
The day of the Battle of Boykin's Mill the troops had marched about 10 miles south from Camden SC and had seen little Confederate resistance until they reached Boykin's Mill with about 800 Confederate troops there. The area was just a church, a grist mill and a few homes but had good defensive areas with a large millpond, streams and a swamp.The Confederates had flooded the area, pulled up boards on the wagon road bridge, and a railroad bridge that crossed the swamp nearby was covered by riflemen in trenches.
The Union troops had problems with high water in the streams and tried various things to approach the the rebel forces. At least 2 men of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry were killed and 4 wounded in the first skirmishes. Lt. Stevens was ordered to take some men and move towards a creek to attract the Confederate's attention. While deploying his troops Lt. Stevens was shot in the head and killed by Burwell Henry Boykin of the South Carolina Home Guards who would turn 15 years old the next day.
He was the last Union officer killed in action during the Civil War.
He was originally buried near the battlefield but was moved about 20 years after the war.
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