Boughton, Clement Abner, 1842-1864

Papers, 1839 November 12-1906 July 19
145 items; 0.5 lin. feet

Boughton, Clement Abner, 1842-1864
Rank:	Pvt.
Regiment:	12th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. Co. E (1861-1865)
Service:	1861 October-1864 July 21

Biographical information:

Clement A. Boughton and his twin brother, Clarence, were born in Herkimer County, N.Y., on November 17th, 1842. Their father, Newell Boughton (d. 1854), was a young Baptist preacher from upstate New York who was still seeking a congregation. In about 1851 or 52, after having ministered for several years in Connecticut, he finally moved his family to Delton (now Lake Delton), Wisconsin. Two years later, however, Rev. Boughton died, leaving his wife, twin sons and young children Augustus and Anna Wakely on their own. Despite receiving some assistance from Baptist friends in Connecticut, and from family members in Michigan and Iowa, life appears not to have been easy for the family, and Clement, most of all, appears to have assumed the role of father, as they turned to farming to make a living.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Clem Boughton enlisted in Company E of the 12th Wisconsin Infantry (the Wisconsin River Rifles) under Captain Vanderpoel. Mustering into the U.S. service at Camp Randall, Madison, the regiment were assigned to post duty at Lawrence, Topeka, and Fort Riley, Kansas. Distant from the seat of war, the regiment faced greater problems from poor water and unruly civilians than they did from Confederates, and there was a strong sense of laxness in preparations for war. In June, 1862, the regiment were ordered closer to the front, when they were set to work repairing railroad lines in southwestern Tennessee, and from July until October, 1862, the regiment formed part of the force occupying Humboldt, Tenn. They engaged in some skirmishing with Confederate cavalry and guerrillas, but otherwise managed fairly well for themselves, jayhawking freely when opportunity presented, maintaining order and overseeing the administration of the oath of allegiance to civilians and deserters. Clement became well liked by his comrades and officers and seems to have been a thoroughly well-behaved, well-motivated soldier. He considered his regiment to be one of the most pious in the army, even though they had no chaplain for much of the time they were in the field, and he held some contempt for the drunkenness he saw among the soldiers of other regiments. While he came to feel that most boys fall into bad ways in the army, Boughton seems largely to have held himself apart from the temptations of camp life.

From October through December, 1862, the regiment were stationed at Bolivar and LaGrange, Tenn., where again they had a few brushes with cavalry. Their first major expedition was taken into northern Mississippi early in December under miserably cold and wet conditions. On low rations and with many soldiers wearing shoes inadequate for the march, the expedition bogged down and accomplished nothing. Boughton's morale fell precipitously during the march, and he began to complain more volubly about the traitors at the north and the poor state of conditions in the army. Returning to Collierville and, later, Memphis, the regiment remained in Tennessee until May, again serving as part of the occupying force and taking part in minor skirmishes and a second, brief expedition into northern Mississippi.

With the escalation in the drive to Vicksburg in May, 1863, the regiment were called to Grand Gulf, Miss., where they were assigned to the extreme left of the Union emplacements in the rear of the city. Taking turns in the rifle pits and supporting artillery batteries, they were present at the fall of the city on July 4th and took part in the investment and capture of Jackson, Miss., on July 16th, but with the closure of the Vicksburg and Jackson campaigns in August, the regiment was again sent to a quiet, almost serene assignment, in the occupation of Natchez. They remained in Natchez until the end of the year when Clement reenlisted and was sent home on recruiting duty. By this point, Clement had become something of a personal favorite of Col. George Bryant, and when he returned to active duty in May, he was assigned to act as Bryant's orderly during the "sever" campaign on Atlanta. On July 21st, while running cartridges along the lines during the assault on Bald Hill, Boughton was shot three times and was killed instantly.

Scope and Contents:

The Clement Boughton Papers include 86 letters from Clement Boughton to his mother, brothers and sister, 85 of which were written during his service in the 12th Wisconsin Infantry. The remaining 59 items in the collection include five documents relating to Boughton's service, four letters from a cousin, Mariette Bent, to Clement while he was in the service, a letter from an officer in the 12th Wisconsin relating news of Clement's death and several letters of bereavement from relatives and acquaintances. The balance of the collection is comprised of letters form other members of the Boughton family, both pre-War and post, most addressed to Clement's mother.

Boughton's Civil War letters form the heart of the collection and provide a complete account of the military service of an upright young farmer. While Boughton considered himself to be religious and while he held high standards of conduct for himself and his comrades, he was not prone to moralizing or quick condemnation. He was instead an avid, well-intentioned soldier doing his duty far from home, who felt pangs of guilt at being away during the harvest, and who continued to provide support, encouragement and advice to his mother, younger brother and sister on running the farm and leading their lives. His letters to his younger siblings Augustus and Anna are very affectionate and indicate how important he must have been in raising the children. His relationship with his twin, Clarence, is more difficult to ascertain. Clarence appears to have been an unusually poor correspondent and while Clement's tone in the one letter that survives between them seems strained, it is not clear whether there was actual tension between the two.

Among the more interesting letters in the Boughton are the series describing their duties in Kansas and Natchez. Devoid of any real action, they nevertheless paint an interesting portrait of military life away from the front, and include some good descriptions of Union-occupied territory. Boughton's letters written during the Vicksburg siege are also excellent, and include an interesting account of McPherson's attempt to tunnel under the Confederate fortifications as well as a fine sense of the tense, but at the same time boring life in the rifle pits awaiting the capitulation. Finally, Boughton's journal-like letter of the failed expedition from Memphis into northern Mississippi in December, 1862, to January, 1863, graphically details the hardships of field service in the deep south, the exhausting marches, mud, cold and hunger the soldirs faced, and the swings in morale that resulted when the objectives could not be attained.

Among the related materials, there is an interesting letter from members of the Baptist congregation at Chester, Conn., to Eliza Boughton, sending a small amount of money to help support her and her children after the death of her husband, Newell. A typescript of most of the Civil War letters was prepared by a descendant and is available upon request.

References:

H. W. Rood. Story of the service of Company E, and of the Twelth Wisconsin regiment... (Milwaukee, 1893)

Provenance:

The Clement Boughton Papers were donated to the Clements Library through the generosity of Leonard and Mary Anna Schlueter of Lincoln, Neb. Mrs. Schlueter is a descendant of Clement Boughton's sister, Anna.

M-2720.2
Cat. 5/94 rsc

Link to subject index to the Clement A. Boughton Papers

Alphabetic index to the Schoff Civil War Collections

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