Hometown: New Haven, CT 
Branch: U.S. Army 
Unit: 27th Connecticut Infantry, 4th Brigade, 1st Division, 2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac
Date of Sacrifice: July 2, 1863 - KIA at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 
Age: 23 
Conflict: Civil War, 1861-1865

Henry Merwin left his home, family, and business—to respond to his country’s call to arms in preserving the Union and ending the institution of slavery.

Born on September 17, 1839, in Brookfield, Connecticut, to Samuel and Ruby (Nearing) Merwin, Henry later moved to nearby New Haven on Connecticut’s Long Island Sound. There he went into business with his father and brother.

At the outbreak of the Civil War (1861-1865), the United States Army consisted of 16,000 career soldiers—nearly all of them stationed west of the Mississippi River. With the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina on April 12, 1861, it became clear that the size of the U.S. Army would be grossly inadequate for the coming conflict. President Abraham Lincoln immediately called for 75,000 additional volunteer soldiers to stop the insurrection.

According to the American Battlefield Trust:

All new soldiers, officers and enlisted men alike, had to learn the basics of military training. Former businessmen, politicians, doctors and lawyers spent their evenings pouring over field manuals and treatises on tactics and other martial matters.

At this early stage of the war, uniforms for the two sides had not been standardized. Raised by their individual states, many regiments wore uniforms reminiscent of their state militias, creating a veritable rainbow on the battlefield as various units—on both sides—sported elements of navy, royal and sky blue; gray; green; red and gold. In several instances, the friendly fire incidents that resulted from the ensuing confusion had decisive results. In response, the Confederacy put formal dress regulations into effect in September 1861, stating that trousers, jackets, caps and greatcoats should all be gray.

Answering the Call

Henry Merwin was a member of Connecticut’s New-Haven Grays militia, and immediately volunteered for three months’ service with the U.S. Army’s Second Regiment, enlisting on April 22, 1861, with the rank of sergeant. The Union’s Second Regiment was one of the few to return from the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Bull Run—just 25 miles from the nation’s capital at Washington D.C.—with positive reports of its performance in battle.

Merwin returned home in early August, 1861, at the conclusion of his three-month commitment. But predictions of an easy Union victory were wildly mistaken, and Merwin rejoined the struggle in October, 1862.

At the time, volunteer militia were allowed to elect their own officers. Merwin’s reputation from Bull Run made him a popular choice to be commissioned as Lieutenant Colonel in what would become Company A, 27th Connecticut Infantry, 4th Brigade, 1st Division, 2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac.

Merwin led the 27th Connecticut Infantry Regiment in the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, both in Virginia. Merwin was captured at Chancellorsville, held in Richmond, Virginia, and was freed in a prisoner exchange 20 days later. He immediately returned to the regiment.

Final Battle

On July 1, 1863, Lt. Col. Merwin and his 27th Connecticut Regiment took part in the Battle of Gettysburg, which marked the turning point of the Civil War. On the afternoon of the second day of the fight, Merwin was mortally wounded along the Wheatfield Road. Today a small monument stands to mark the spot where Merwin fell.

In his book, The Twenty-Seventh: A Regimental History, published in 1866, Winthrop Dudley Sheldon said of Lt. Col. Henry Czar Merwin: “Without disparagement to any, it may truly be said that no officer in the regiment attracted to himself such universal and unvarying respect, confidence, and affection among the men of his command.”

Sheldon went on to describe the character of Henry Merwin:

Duty was evidently the supreme motive of his life, and intent upon the performance of his own, he expected and required equal faithfulness on the part of others. He was quick of discernment, and rapid in execution, but no harshness ever dimmed the transparent kindness of his demeanor. His genial countenance and words of sympathy and encouragement often cheered the loneliness of the hospital. He thoroughly appreciated the hardships and trials peculiar to the private soldier, and at all times endeavored to sustain and inspirit his weary energies. All these more amiable qualities were supplemented by a manly independence and decision, which made him always jealous for the rights of his men. On that trying march to Gettysburg, no arrogance and severity of superior officers ever deterred him from a gentlemanly, but bold and firm, maintenance of the rights and interests of the regiment.

To underscore the fact that Henry Merwin’s selfless concern was always the welfare of the men under his command, eyewitnesses recorded his dying words as: “My poor regiment is suffering fearfully.”

Sources
Artist’s rendering and story details from History.net: 12 Forgotten Heroes of Gettysburg—Lieutenant Colonel Henry Czar Merwin
The Civil War in the East: Henry Merwin
The Twenty-Seventh: A Regimental History
American Civil War Research Database: Henry C. Merwin
Spared & Shared: 1861-63: 27th Connecticut Infantry, 2nd Connecticut Infantry, Henry Czar Merwin to Ruby Sophia (Merwin) Osborn
The Battle of Gettysburg, Monuments: Henry Merwin
American Battlefield Trust: Shaping a Volunteer Army
Burial Site: Find a Grave