Samuel Melvin was the son of Asa and Caroline (Heald) Melvin. He was born and raised in Concord, Mass., but shortly before the hostilities of the Civil War he had moved to great textile city of Lawrence, Mass., to work as an operative. On June 24, 1861, at age 17, he enlisted as a private in Co. K, 1st Regt. Mass. Vol. Heavy Arty., and on July 5, 1861, was mustered into national service. On May 19, 1864, he was in the battle of Spottsylvania, Va., and was taken prisoner when he had been assisting a wounded comrade to the rear. Private Melvin was brought to Camp Sumter, Andersonville, Ga., arriving there on June 3. He was taken ill with diarrhoea on Sept. 13, and died from it on Sept. 25, 1864. He was buried on Lot 9735, and although his remains are still interred there, in 1909 his youngest brother, James C. Melvin, erected an elaborate memorial in memory of his three brothers, Asa H, John H., and Samuel Melvin, at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Mass.
Known as the Melvin Memorial, it was designed by the famous sculptor, Daniel Chester French, and erected at the intersection of Union, Upland, and Ripley Avenues in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Its centerpiece consists of the standing "Mourning Victory" enveloped by the American flag, under which is inscribed: IN MEMORY OF THREE BROTHERS BORN IN CONCORD WHO AS PRIVATE SOLDIERS GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE WAR TO SAVE THE COUNTRY THIS MEMORIAL IS PLACED HERE BY THEIR SURVIVING BROTHER, HIMSELF A PRIVATE SOLDIER IN THE SAME WAR - "I WITH UNCOVERED HEAD/SALUTE THE SACRED DEAD/WHO WENT AND WHO RETURN NOT." In the bottom are three tablets, one for each of the three deceased brother/soldiers, "MEMBERS OF COMPANY K, FIRST MASSACHUSETTS HEAVY ARTILLERY." That for Samuel Melvin reads: SAMUEL MELVIN/TAKEN PRISONER AT/HARRIS'S FARM, VA./MAY 19, 1864/DIED AT/ ANDERSONVILLE, GA./SEPTEMBER, 1864.
James C. Melvin also published a book, The Melvin Memorial, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts: A Brother's Tribute - Exercises at Dedication, June 16, 1909, ed. by Alfred S. Roe (Cambridge, Mass.: Privately Printed, 1909), and some of the above information was used from that source. The book includes the diary of Samuel Melvin, written prior to and during his captivity at Andersonville.
(See also Samuel Melvin under Andersonville National Cemetery, Sumter Co., Ga., at www.findagrave.com)
Known as the Melvin Memorial, it was designed by the famous sculptor, Daniel Chester French, and erected at the intersection of Union, Upland, and Ripley Avenues in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Its centerpiece consists of the standing "Mourning Victory" enveloped by the American flag, under which is inscribed: IN MEMORY OF THREE BROTHERS BORN IN CONCORD WHO AS PRIVATE SOLDIERS GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE WAR TO SAVE THE COUNTRY THIS MEMORIAL IS PLACED HERE BY THEIR SURVIVING BROTHER, HIMSELF A PRIVATE SOLDIER IN THE SAME WAR - "I WITH UNCOVERED HEAD/SALUTE THE SACRED DEAD/WHO WENT AND WHO RETURN NOT." In the bottom are three tablets, one for each of the three deceased brother/soldiers, "MEMBERS OF COMPANY K, FIRST MASSACHUSETTS HEAVY ARTILLERY." That for Samuel Melvin reads: SAMUEL MELVIN/TAKEN PRISONER AT/HARRIS'S FARM, VA./MAY 19, 1864/DIED AT/ ANDERSONVILLE, GA./SEPTEMBER, 1864.
James C. Melvin also published a book, The Melvin Memorial, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts: A Brother's Tribute - Exercises at Dedication, June 16, 1909, ed. by Alfred S. Roe (Cambridge, Mass.: Privately Printed, 1909), and some of the above information was used from that source. The book includes the diary of Samuel Melvin, written prior to and during his captivity at Andersonville.
(See also Samuel Melvin under Andersonville National Cemetery, Sumter Co., Ga., at www.findagrave.com)
Samuel Melvin was the son of Asa and Caroline (Heald) Melvin. He was born and raised in Concord, Mass., but shortly before the hostilities of the Civil War he had moved to great textile city of Lawrence, Mass., to work as an operative. On June 24, 1861, at age 17, he enlisted as a private in Co. K, 1st Regt. Mass. Vol. Heavy Arty., and on July 5, 1861, was mustered into national service. On May 19, 1864, he was in the battle of Spottsylvania, Va., and was taken prisoner when he had been assisting a wounded comrade to the rear. Private Melvin was brought to Camp Sumter, Andersonville, Ga., arriving there on June 3. He was taken ill with diarrhoea on Sept. 13, and died from it on Sept. 25, 1864. He was buried on Lot 9735, and although his remains are still interred there, in 1909 his youngest brother, James C. Melvin, erected an elaborate memorial in memory of his three brothers, Asa H, John H., and Samuel Melvin, at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Mass.
Known as the Melvin Memorial, it was designed by the famous sculptor, Daniel Chester French, and erected at the intersection of Union, Upland, and Ripley Avenues in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Its centerpiece consists of the standing "Mourning Victory" enveloped by the American flag, under which is inscribed: IN MEMORY OF THREE BROTHERS BORN IN CONCORD WHO AS PRIVATE SOLDIERS GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE WAR TO SAVE THE COUNTRY THIS MEMORIAL IS PLACED HERE BY THEIR SURVIVING BROTHER, HIMSELF A PRIVATE SOLDIER IN THE SAME WAR - "I WITH UNCOVERED HEAD/SALUTE THE SACRED DEAD/WHO WENT AND WHO RETURN NOT." In the bottom are three tablets, one for each of the three deceased brother/soldiers, "MEMBERS OF COMPANY K, FIRST MASSACHUSETTS HEAVY ARTILLERY." That for Samuel Melvin reads: SAMUEL MELVIN/TAKEN PRISONER AT/HARRIS'S FARM, VA./MAY 19, 1864/DIED AT/ ANDERSONVILLE, GA./SEPTEMBER, 1864.
James C. Melvin also published a book, The Melvin Memorial, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts: A Brother's Tribute - Exercises at Dedication, June 16, 1909, ed. by Alfred S. Roe (Cambridge, Mass.: Privately Printed, 1909), and some of the above information was used from that source. The book includes the diary of Samuel Melvin, written prior to and during his captivity at Andersonville.
(See also Samuel Melvin under Andersonville National Cemetery, Sumter Co., Ga., at www.findagrave.com)
Known as the Melvin Memorial, it was designed by the famous sculptor, Daniel Chester French, and erected at the intersection of Union, Upland, and Ripley Avenues in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Its centerpiece consists of the standing "Mourning Victory" enveloped by the American flag, under which is inscribed: IN MEMORY OF THREE BROTHERS BORN IN CONCORD WHO AS PRIVATE SOLDIERS GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE WAR TO SAVE THE COUNTRY THIS MEMORIAL IS PLACED HERE BY THEIR SURVIVING BROTHER, HIMSELF A PRIVATE SOLDIER IN THE SAME WAR - "I WITH UNCOVERED HEAD/SALUTE THE SACRED DEAD/WHO WENT AND WHO RETURN NOT." In the bottom are three tablets, one for each of the three deceased brother/soldiers, "MEMBERS OF COMPANY K, FIRST MASSACHUSETTS HEAVY ARTILLERY." That for Samuel Melvin reads: SAMUEL MELVIN/TAKEN PRISONER AT/HARRIS'S FARM, VA./MAY 19, 1864/DIED AT/ ANDERSONVILLE, GA./SEPTEMBER, 1864.
James C. Melvin also published a book, The Melvin Memorial, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts: A Brother's Tribute - Exercises at Dedication, June 16, 1909, ed. by Alfred S. Roe (Cambridge, Mass.: Privately Printed, 1909), and some of the above information was used from that source. The book includes the diary of Samuel Melvin, written prior to and during his captivity at Andersonville.
(See also Samuel Melvin under Andersonville National Cemetery, Sumter Co., Ga., at www.findagrave.com)
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