Thomas Dalton (1849–1864): A Young Life of Service

Memorial headstone in Section 3, Row D, Site 172, NH State Veterans Cemetery

Thomas Dalton was born on May 31, 1849, in Lowell, Massachusetts, the son of Irish immigrants James Dalton (1826–1854) and Eliza McNally Dalton (1829–1892). His early childhood was marked by tragedy; his father died of smallpox on July 21, 1854, just 11 days after the birth of Thomas’s sister, Margaret Alice. Eliza, widowed at 25, later moved the family to Manchester, New Hampshire, where she and her children worked in the textile mills.

In January 1862, Eliza remarried a man named Michael Dalton, unrelated to her late husband. The marriage was troubled—Michael was abusive, unemployed, and eventually deserted after briefly enlisting in the Union Army.

By the age of 12, Thomas was already working in the mills to support his family. On December 16, 1863, he enlisted in the Union Army as a musician in Company G of the 12th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, falsely stating his age as 15. He was, in fact, only 13. He sent his $200 enlistment bounty home to his mother, demonstrating his commitment to supporting her despite his youth.

Thomas’s unit initially served at Point Lookout, Maryland, guarding Confederate prisoners. In April 1864, the regiment moved into Virginia and engaged in several battles, including Drewry’s Bluff, Bermuda Hundred, Cold Harbor, and ultimately the Siege of Petersburg.

On June 30, 1864, during heavy shelling near Petersburg, Thomas Dalton was killed when a shell shattered his thigh. He died within minutes. Asa W. Bartlett, in History of the Twelfth Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteers in the War of the Rebellion (p. 222), recorded the circumstances of his death:

“Thomas Dalton, drummer of Company D, killed… Dalton had just been playing cards with some of his comrades. He lived but a few minutes after his thigh was shattered by a shell. When asked if he wanted to send any word to his mother, who lived in Manchester, NH, he said: ‘Tell her I am dead,’ and immediately expired.”

While the account mentions Company D, official records and other entries in Bartlett’s work identify him as a member of Company G.

Dalton was buried near where he fell. For over 150 years, his burial went unmarked. In 2022, a headstone was placed in his honor at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery. His mother, Eliza, was not granted a pension for his service until 1883—nineteen years after his death—due to bureaucratic delays and disbelief that her young son had materially supported the household.

Thomas Dalton’s story is emblematic of the sacrifices made by underage soldiers in the Civil War. His life, service, and rediscovery offer a poignant window into the human cost of war and the persistence of historical memory.

Sources:

• Bartlett, Asa W. History of the Twelfth Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteers in the War of the Rebellion. 1897. Link

• “Thomas Dalton.” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/238472420/thomas-dalton

• Nicole Gilkison Dooley, “Uncovering Thomas Dalton’s Tragedy.” Vita Brevis, American Ancestors, September 2022. https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2022/09/uncovering-thomas-daltons-tragedy