Civil War Artifacts

By Becky Talcott

The Woodstock History Center recently received a donation of several items that belonged to a Civil War Union soldier named Albert S. Healey: a belt buckle; a Civil War Veteran’s pin (G.A.R.); a hand-written list of the skirmishes and battles of the 2nd United States Sharpshooters (USSS); and discharge papers dated June 19, 1865. The donor is Albert’s great grandson.

Belt buckle that belonged to Albert S. Healey, a sharp shooter in the Civil War.

Albert Healey’s Civil War Veteran’s Pin

Mr. Healey was born in Woodstock, VT, in September 1846, the son of Edwin Healey and Mary (Lockwood) Healey. He was mustered into service on September 30, 1862, at age 16, with Company H of the 2nd USSS. He served with that unit until it was disbanded in February 1865, when he was transferred to the 4th VT Volunteer Infantry. The 2nd USSS fought in many battles in the eastern theater of the Civil War, including Antietam, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor and Petersburg. When the company was being formed, the announcement had the following requirement: “No man would be enlisted who could not put ten bullets in succession within five inches from center at a distance of six hundred feet from a rest or three hundred feet off hand.”

The uniform worn by the sharpshooters was green wool, different from the infantry’s blue uniform. Original brass buttons were replaced with hard, black rubber buttons to prevent reflections from the light. Both of these changes made for better camouflage. Original recruits could bring their own rifles if they wished, which created a problem in supplying ammunition for many different weapons. The unit received the breech-loading Sharps rifles in June of 1862.

Albert married Luella Lorinda Merrill in 1869, and they had four children. According to his obituary in the Vermont Standard, he worked as a blacksmith and wheelwright in Woodstock and in Claremont, NH, and in the rural mail service in Lancaster, MA. The obituary also states that he was wounded at the battle of Spotsylvania. He died in May 1915.

Albert Healey’s discharge papers