Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, Mass.

Title

Company A leaving for Fort Devens, August 26, 1917

Description

"Richardson Light Guard, Company A, 6th Regiment departed Wakefield for Fort Devens, and eventually to the battlefields of France, on Sunday morning, August 26, 1917. The Company had been notified in mid-August that their Regiment was among those which would be 'broken up' and combined with other to make 'war strength units.' To boost the morale of the soldiers, Capt. Edward Connolly received permission on August 23rd to take the company to Wakefield for a farewell visit before the 'dreaded changes occurred.' The Public Safety Committee hastily arranged a celebration and sendoff, which were held on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The company arrived in Wakefield at 4:52 p.m. on Saturday, and its soldiers were back at the State Armory for their sendoff parade at 10:30 a.m. the following day. A 'touching' farewell was given by Father Florence J. Halloran of St. Joseph Church before the short parade to the Upper Station. Lieutenant Colonel John J. McMahon, Captain Connolly's predecessor as Commander of Company A, was the Chief Marshall of the parade. He was joined by Captain S.H. Brooks; Lieutenants Jeremiah Creedon and Edward E. Hickey, both formerly of Company A; Lieutenants F. Manning Hartshorne, Edward O. Proctor, Paul H. Taylor and E. Hazen Walton, all of whom were from Wakefield and had received officers' commissions at Plattsburg. The line of march also included the State Guard Company, led by Lieutenant John H. Downing; the Grand Army Veterans, led by Commander J. Warren Poland; the Spanish War veterans, led by Commander Francis H. Marion; Police Chief James J. Pollard and his 'platoon' of police; and Lurvey's Lynn Cadet Band."

Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2017

Photo courtesy of Harold & Marie C. Muise

Contributor

Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (Wakefield, Mass.)

D'Onofrio, Jayne M.

Coverage

Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield

Date

08-26-1917

Format

image/jpeg

Publisher

Wakefield, Mass. : Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department

Subject

Soldiers

Parades

Massachusetts Infantry. Richardson Light Guard

Type

still image

Photographs

Original Format

1 picture: b & w

Extent

17 x 24 cm.