This Week at the MHS

“The first cordial hand that grasped mine after my return from Manchester a month ago was that of Capt. Cary and he was the last one to bid me adieu when I came home. In the intimate association and relationship as fellow officers my love and respect for him grew every day, and it is not in the natural exaggeration of my present grief at his loss that I call him a model officer.”

—Letter from Wilder Dwight, 2nd Mass. Regiment, to Helen Cary, the widow of Capt. Richard Cary, 5 September 1862

The Second Massachusetts Regiment and the Battle at Cedar Mountain

The Second Massachusetts, pictured above, was mustered into service on 25 May 1861, after training at Camp Andrew in West Roxbury, Mass. It was the first unit raised in the state composed entirely of volunteers. The regiment was badly defeated at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, in Culpepper County, Va., on 9 August 1862.

Led by Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, a former governor of Massachusetts, the regiment attempted to turn back the Confederates as they advanced northward. After some initial success, Banks’s command was defeated in a counterattack, costing the lives of 173 soldiers out of 500 with 16 of its 22 officers killed, wounded, or taken prisoner.

Capt. Richard Cary sustained injuries on the battlefield at Cedar Mountain and died the following day. On 5 September 1862, Lt. Col. Wilder Dwight wrote a letter to Capt. Cary’s widow expressing his, and his fellow soldier’s, grief at the death of her husband.

Learn more about the battle and see the image up close here.

Upcoming Events

SEMINAR

Tuesday, 6 February | 5:00 PM

The Social World of Revolutionary New England

Nicole Breault, University of Texas, El Paso, and Christopher Walton, Southern Methodist University, with comment by Mark Peterson, Yale University

SEMINAR

Thursday, 8 February | 5:00 PM

“A New Witch Hunt in Salem”: The Rise & Fall of Low-Cost Birth Control Clinics during the Great Depression

Jeanna Kinnebrew, Boston University, with comment by Lauren MacIvor Thompson, Kennesaw State University.

SEMINAR

Tuesday, 13 February | 5:00 PM

Farm, Factory & Mine: Worcester Coal & the Role of Extractive Industries in Early 19th-Century New England

Katheryn Viens, Independent Scholar, with comment by Brian C. Black, Pennsylvania State University.

Thursday, 15 February, 6:00 PM: First Family: George Washington’s Heirs & the Making of America with Cassandra Good, Marymount University, in conversation with Sara Georgini, MHS. This is a public program.

Monday, 19 February, 9:00 AM–2:00 PM: Teacher Workshop: Perspectives on the Boston Massacre & the Legacy of Crispus Attucks. This is a teacher workshop.

Tuesday, 20 February, 5:00 PM: Back from Canada, after the Underground Railroad: Recovering Family Stories & Tracing a Mass Migration in the Emancipation Generation of Black North Americans with Adam Arenson, Manhattan College, and Irene Moore Davis, Public Historian and President of the Essex County Black Historical Research Society, with comment by dann j. Broyld, University of Massachusetts, Lowell. This is a seminar.

Thursday, 22 February, 5:00 PM: “I Shall Forward to You My Contraband”: Tracing Wartime Black Movement North through an Incomplete Archive with Marcy Sacks, Albion College, with comment by Amy Murrell Taylor, University of Kentucky. This is a seminar.

See full calendar.

Looking for More?

Registration and Events

Visit www.masshist.org/events for more information and to register.

Interested in Past Programs?

If you missed a program or would like to revisit the material presented, please visit www.masshist.org/video.

Click below to view the video, A History of Boston, with Daniel Dain. Enjoy more videos by subscribing to the MHS YouTube channel after you view the video.

Exhibition and Library Hours

Now Open! “The Dye is cast”: Interests & Ideals That Motivated the Boston Tea Party. The exhibition is open through 29 February 2024. Learn more about the exhibition and explore items from our collection related to the Tea Party.

Our galleries and library are open Monday and Wednesday through Friday, from 9:30 AM to 4:45 PM, Tuesday from 9:30 AM to 7:45 PM, and Saturday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM (the galleries and library open at 12:00 PM the second Tuesday of the month). Please note that the last admission is 45 minutes prior to closing.

Please check our hours and admissions for hours, building closings, and other events.

An advance appointment is strongly encouraged. Please log in to your Portal1791 account to select your preferred visit dates.

Set up an appointment via Zoom or live chat with a member of our reference staff.

Learn more at www.masshist.org/library.

2024 Making History Gala

Join us for an unforgettable evening on 6 June 2024, with featured speaker Doris Kearns Goodwin at the iconic Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston. Visit www.masshist.org/gala to purchase tickets.

The MHS Fund and Membership

Our Members make it possible for us to offer an array of complimentary services including admission to our exhibition galleries and library, online access to our collections and digital editions, and onsite and remote reference services for all. Membership begins with a fully tax-deductible contribution of $250 or more to the MHS Fund. All Members enjoy a full year of social, cultural, and educational experiences, including invitations to our annual Holiday Party, FREE program registration, and Member Week perks. Learn more and join today!

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