I'm pretty sure I found him. First, what looked like an S turned out to be an L clearly seen in the right light with a magnifying glass. I then found John L Cook, Company G, 21rst Regiment, Mass. Volunteers. I'd say with 99% certainty that that's my man. Now to see what else I can find out about him. It doesn't list when he enlisted nor was mustered out, nor rank.
http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/soldiers.cfm ( what does the letters Mus. & Prin. Mus. mean?)
After garrison duty at the
United States Naval Academy in
Annapolis, Maryland, the regiment served with the
Coast Division commanded by
Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside. The Coast Division was deployed in January 1862 for operations on the coast of North Carolina, and participated in the
Battle of Roanoke Island and the
Battle of New Bern among other engagements. Burnside's division was recalled to Virginia in July 1862. The 21st Massachusetts was then attached to the
Army of the Potomac and participated in several of the largest battles of the Civil War, including the
Second Battle of Bull Run, the
Battle of Antietam, and the
Battle of Fredericksburg. The most devastating engagement of the war for the 21st was the
Battle of Chantilly, fought on September 1, 1862, during which the unit suffered 35 percent casualties.
[1] From March 1863 to January 1864, the 21st served with Burnside in the
Department of the Ohio, seeing action in Kentucky and eastern Tennessee. In May 1864, the regiment rejoined the Army of the Potomac, participating in
Lt. Gen. Ulysses Grant's Overland Campaign and the
Siege of Petersburg.
[1] The regiment was a favorite of
Clara Barton, the famed battlefield nurse, who was also from
Worcester County, Massachusetts.
[2]By the end of its three years of service, the 21st Massachusetts had been reduced from 1,000 men to fewer than 100.
[1] Of these losses, 152 were killed in action or died from wounds received in action, approximately 400 were discharged due to wounds, 69 were taken prisoner, and approximately 300 were discharged due to disease, resignation, or desertion.
[1] Those of the 21st who chose to re-enlist at the end of their initial three-year commitment were eventually consolidated with the 36th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry on October 21, 1864.
[3]
