Eri D. Woodbury

Eri Woodbury

Frances Guber

Quick Facts

Place of Birth:

Francestown, New Hampshire

Date of Birth:

May 30, 1837

Place of Death:

Cheshire, Connecticut

Date of Death:

April 14, 1938

Place of Burial:

Cheshire, Connecticut

Cemetery Name:

Saint Peters Episcopal Church Cemetery

Unit: 1^st Vermont Cavalry                      
Rank: Private; Sergeant; 2^nd Lieutenant; 1^st Lieutenant
Enlisted: December 13, 1863
Muster Out: June 21, 1865
Photo Credit/Donated by:  Frances Guber

Eri Davidson Woodbury was born on May 30, 1837, in Francestown, New Hampshire, to Henry and Hannah Woodbury. In 1849, Eri’s mother passed away from consumption.

In 1863, Eri graduated from Dartmouth College, and on December 13, 1863, in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, he enlisted as a private in Company E, 1^st Vermont Volunteer Cavalry. As a member of the 1^st Vermont Cavalry, Woodbury, by 1864 a sergeant, saw service during all of Phil Sheridan’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign, including the October 19, 1864 Battle of Cedar Creek. During the late afternoon Union counterattack at Cedar Creek, as the Confederate forces retreated south, Eri captured the flag of the 12^th North Carolina Infantry. Four days later, Woodbury accompanied General George A. Custer to Washington, D.C., where they presented captured Confederate flags to the War Department. For his actions, in October 1867, Woodbury was awarded the Medal of Honor.

On November 26, 1864, Woodbury was promoted to 2^nd Lieutenant, and the following March, to 1^st Lieutenant. On March 15, 1865, “for gallant and meritorious service in the field,” Woodbury was brevetted captain. Eri was mustered out of the service on June 21, 1865.

Around 1903 Eri married Emma McChesney, and they had one child. Woodbury followed a career in education, teaching the Classics, and from 1884 until 1903 he served as headmaster of the Episcopal Academy in Cheshire, Connecticut. Eri Woodbury died on April 14, 1928, in Cheshire, and is buried there in the Saint Peters Episcopal Church Cemetery.