Herbert Lincoln
Researcher: Amy Kussmaul
Herbert L. Lincoln was born in Franklin,
Massachusetts on October 3rd, 1840. He was the son of
Manly and Fidella Lincoln. He lived on what is now
East Central Street. He was not the only historic
character to grow up in this area. Horace Mann, the
founder of public schools, lived down this street
close to the Lincoln's. Not much is known about the
Lincoln family today. They were a fairly wealthy
family. Upon their son's death, Manly and Fidella had
his body brought back to Franklin to be buried. Most
soldiers were buried where they fell, due to lack of
funds by the families to bring them home. However, the
Lincolns could afford to have Herbert buried in his
home town.
Herbert Lincoln enlisted in the army at a young age.
He was in the 35th Massachusetts Regiment, Company A.
His rank was a corporal. The regiment was involved in
the second part of the Anaconda Plan. The Anaconda
Plan was a three fold plan developed by the Union to
conquer the Confederacy. Named after a snake that
suffocates its victims in its coils, the first of the
three parts of the Anaconda Plan was to blockade the
southern ports, stopping importing and exporting,
especially of cotton. The second part of the plan was
to divide and conquer the Mississippi River. Using
riverboats and armies, the Union planned to move along
the river and split the Confederacy in two. This was
the part of the plan that Herbert Lincoln's regiment
was involved in. The final part of the plan was to
take over the Confederate capital of Richmond,
Virginia.
The first battle the 35th regiment fought in was the
battle of South Mountain. In Maryland on September
14th, the battle broke out in the Fox's Gap and
Turner's Gap area. The battle was started by
Confederate soldiers opening fire on the Federal
forces moving toward the base of South Mountain. The
battle was significant because it was where the Army
of Northern Virginia's first campaign north was
stopped. Though it is commonly believed the campaign
was stopped at the battle of Antietam, it was in fact
at the battle of South Mountain. Robert E. Lee had
wanted to carry the war into the north, hoping to take
advantage of the sentiment toward the war in the
region. He hoped to encourage northerners to pressure
their government to push for peace. The Federal army
cleared the gaps, where the shots first broke out, and
established a position on the same side of the
mountain as the Confederates. Once this happened, Lee
realized his campaign could not possibly continue. Lee
and his army began their withdrawal back into
Virginia. It was after this battle that Union soldiers
stumbled upon a copy of Lee's orders wrapped around a
bundle of cigars where the Confederate army had
previously camped out. Had Lee's army been allowed
past South Mountain the war may have gone differently
than it did.
This first battle at South Mountain took place only 8
days into the service of the 35th regiment. It was at
this battle that Herbert Lincoln was injured. Though
he fought bravely in his first battle, Herbert did not
move on to fight in any more. He died a few weeks
after the battle of South Mountain, on October 9th,
1862. Herbert was barely 22 years old when he died.
His 22nd birthday was 6 days before his death.