Private Josiah Murphey

Military Images Magazine

Josiah Murphey was born in 1843 in Nantucket, Massachusetts. In summer 1862, the sixteen-year-old, with permission from his parents, enlisted in the 20th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the “Harvard Regiment.” The youth stood at five feet, three inches.

During the Battle of Fredericksburg, the 20th Massachusetts was one of the first regiments to cross the Rappahannock on December 11th, 1862. Murphey later admitted that many of them knew they “would never see the light of another day.” Once across the river, Murphey’s company moved into the Confederate-occupied town. Confederate’s fired on Murphey’s company as they advanced to the intersection of Hawke and Caroline Streets. Josiah Murphey was wounded on the right side of his face. He was one of 97 casualties suffered by the 20th Massachusetts that day.

Murphey made his way back across the river to Chatham. He later wrote about his time at Chatham, saying, “The first night I spent in the Lacy House hospital opposite Fredericksburg was an awful night. Men were brought in at all hours with all kinds of wounds and groaning terribly...Those that died during the night were carried out and laid on the ground to make room for others.” While resting in the house on December 13th, Josiah recorded that a cannon shell hit the house, terrifying everyone inside. He also spoke with a Confederate soldier who had been captured and brought to Chatham for treatment.

Josiah’s wound left a permanent scar on his face. He rejoined his regiment in March 1863. In the lead-up to the Battle of Gettysburg, he contracted typhoid fever and spent months in a hospital. He returned to his regiment for a second time in October 1863 and was promoted to the rank of orderly sergeant. Josiah served until the end of his enlistment in August 1864. He returned to Nantucket and in 1870, he married Avis Folger. Together, they had two children. Josiah Murphy died in 1931 at the age of eighty-eight.