* Brevet promotion to Captain.
DOB/DOD: May 30, 1837 (Francistown, NH) – April 14, 1928 (Cheshire, CT); 90 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married Ann A. Jarvis (1849-1877) on July 8, 1873, in Cheshire, Connecticut. Married Emma McChesney (1859-1933).
CHILDREN: Two sons, Roger A. (1875-1958) and Sanford J. (1876-1946). One adopted daughter, Rose E. (1904-1986).
ENLISTMENT: February 9, 1865, in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.
WOUNDED: April 8, 1865, at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
DISCHARGED: June 21, 1865.
FAMILY: Born to William H. (1808-1881) and Hannah Davidson Woodbury (1812-1849). Three brothers, Adoniram J. (1833-1877), Samuel S. (1839-1907), and Roger [Civil War veteran wounded at Petersburg] (1841-1903). Four sisters, Sallie D. Woodbury Scott (1835-1899), Hannah R. (1843-1849), Mary Ann H. (1845-1847), and Rebecca (1847-1847).
MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION
AWARDED FOR ACTIONS DURING: Civil War
BRANCH OF SERVICE: Army
UNIT: Company E, 1st Vermont Cavalry
DATE OF ISSUE AND PRESENTATION: October 26, 1864
AGE ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT: 27
CITATION:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Eri Davidson Woodbury, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 19 October 1864, while serving with Company E, 1st Vermont Cavalry, in action at Cedar Creek, Virginia. During the regiment’s charge, when the enemy was in retreat, Sergeant Woodbury encountered four Confederate infantrymen retreating. He drew his saber and ordered them to surrender, overcoming by his determined actions their willingness to further resist. They surrendered to him together with their rifles and the 12th North Carolina (Confederate States of America) regimental flag.
Location of the Medal: Cheshire Historical Society, 43 Church Drive, Cheshire, Connecticut.
Photos by Jeff DeWitt with thanks to the Cheshire Historical Society.
From the “Biographical sketches of the Class of 1863, Dartmouth College” published by the Class of 1903.
Eri Woodbury was a descendant of “The Old Planters,” John and William Woodbury, who came from England in 1628 and settled in Beverly, Massachusetts. In the words of the historian of the family, “few enterprises of great pith and moment were set on foot in the colony except a Woodbury was of the party.” Eri graduated from Dartmouth in the Class of 1863. Before graduation, he had taught school for the winters in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and for a short time in Vermont. Although he had thus early chosen for his life work the quiet life of a teacher, nevertheless soon after graduation, impelled by the same patriotic feelings that had animated his Revolutionary ancestors, he rushed to his country’s defense and enlisted as a Private in Company E, First Vermont Cavalry, of which Company his classmate, Oliver T. Cushman, was then Captain. He participated in every action of the Cavalry Corps under Sheridan from that time until the end of the war. In the Battle of the Wilderness, his horse was shot under him. He was promoted From Private to First Sergeant on July 1, 1864, and made Acting First Sergeant. In August, his Division, the Third Cavalry, was sent with Sheridan into the Shenandoah Valley. In all the engagements of that campaign, the First Vermont was conspicuous. On October 19, 1864, in the Battle of Cedar Creek, to which Sheridan made his famous ‘‘twenty-mile ride,’’ Sergeant Woodbury was in command of his company, and General George A. Custer was commanding the Division. In the fight, Woodbury captured the battle flag of the Twelfth North Carolina Infantry and, two days later, with others who had taken flags, was sent to Washington with General Custer to turn over to the War Department the captured colors. For this exploit, he received twenty days’ furlough, the Medal in Bronze from Congress, and, from Governor Smith of Vermont, a commission as Second Lieutenant in Company E. He was at once transferred to the command of Company B, and soon afterward, while still in command, was placed in the Adjutant’s office as Acting Adjutant. Though urged to accept an Adjutant’s commission, he preferred to remain with his company. In March 1865, he was promoted to First Lieutenant and shortly afterward Captain by Brevet “For gallant and meritorious service in the Field.” Two horses were shot under him while on a charge with his regiment at the Battle of Five Forks. He was there made a prisoner but succeeded in making his escape before his captors took him from the field. In the Battle of Appomattox Station, Virginia, the evening before Lee’s surrender, in a charge led by the gallant Custer, Woodbury was struck by a fragment from a shell which knocked him from his horse, passed through his left arm near the shoulder, across the breast, cutting open the jacket and shirt without scratching the skin, then took off half of the right band. Captain Woodbury was mustered out with his regiment on June 21, 1865. At the close of the war, bearing with him a hero’s scars of battle, he again took up the teacher’s occupation and went to Cheshire, Connecticut, as a classical teacher in The Cheshire Military Academy. Five years later, he became Head Master. In 1874, he moved to Denver, Colorado, but two years later, he returned to the Academy as Vice Principal. In 1892, he went to Florida to give personal attention to fruit growing, in which he had been engaged for ten years. But after a little more than a year’s absence, he was induced by the Trustees to return and resume his place as Vice Principal, and in June 1896, he was elected Principal. So that, with two short breaks, he has occupied various positions in the same institution for thirty-eight years (1903). The Academy, corporate name “Episcopal Academy of Connecticut,” is one of the most famous in New England. It was founded by Bishop Seabury in 1794 and has educated many of our most distinguished men. Mr. Woodbury’s long service has left a distinct impress for good upon the school. He was long its classical teacher, is a master of discipline, yet with the power to inspire the affectionate regard of his pupils. In politics, he is an ardent Republican. In college, he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and of the Phi Beta Kappa. He was married July 8, 1873, to Ann Augusta Jarvis of Cheshire, who died April 12, 1877, leaving two children, Roger Atwater, born in Denver, January 10, 1875, and Sanford Jarvis, born in the same city, August 30, 1876. Professor Woodbury has given all of his sons a good education but did not send any of them to Dartmouth. His elder son is an Amherst (Massachusetts) Agricultural College man and is a successful horticulturist and pomologist in Florida, where he and his father have a valuable farm and are doing a large and profitable business in raising fruits for northern markets. This son has a daughter who is six years old. The other two sons are successful and well-to-do farmers in Cheshire, Conn. The young son is not married. After the service, Eri Woodbury was the headmaster of the Episcopal Academy in Cheshire from 1896 to 1903. It’s now called the Cheshire Academy.
From Beyer, W. F., & Keydel, O. F. (2000). Deeds of valor: How America’s Civil War Heroes won The Congressional Medal of Honor. Smithmark Publishers.
The following tell of interesting episodes centering around the colors, Federal and Confederate, at the long-drawn-out and bloody battle of Cedar Creek.
Early in the engagement, the standard of the Fifteenth New Jersey Infantry had been captured by the enemy. The loss became quickly known among the Union troops, and several unsuccessful attempts to recapture the flag were made. Corporal John Walsh of Company D, Fifth New York Cavalry, during one of the subsequent fierce charges, had the good fortune to succeed where so many others had failed. During the heat of a hand-to-hand struggle, he noticed a Confederate color-bearer carrying a flag which he at once recognized as the one taken from the New Jersey boys. With a sudden rush, he made for the rebel guard, overpowered him, and wrenched the trophy from him. All of this was done on the spur of the moment and so quickly that the Confederate color guard and his comrades hardly realized what had happened until it was all over and the daring corporal with his precious prize was back within the Union lines.
It was an impressive scene when, after the battle, the New Jersey regiment was called out on parade and, in the presence of General Sherman, received back its colors at the hands of Corporal Walsh.
The last decisive charge was made in the afternoon between three and four o’clock. It was by far the bloodiest of the entire battle and put the individual bravery of the Union soldier to its highest test. The conduct of Private Martin Wambsgan of Company D, Ninetieth New York Infantry, furnishes a good illustration. While on the advance, the color-bearer of his regiment was killed – shot through the head. He fell forward on his face and landed squarely on the flag, which was riddled with bullet holes, while the staff had been shot in two.
When this occurred, Private Wambsgan was only a few feet away from the unfortunate flag-bearer. With one leap, he was at his side, pulled the colors from under him, and, yelling as loudly as he possibly could, waved the flag over his head. Then he ran to the front of his regiment, where he took post during the remainder of the fight, holding the colors aloft, the piece of pole and his arm serving as a flag-staff. At the time the color-bearer was killed, and the colors went down, the regiment showed signs of wavering, but Private Wambsgan’s quick action renewed the energy and courage of the men and contributed materially to the success of the charge.
During the same charge, when the enemy was already in full retreat, Sergeant Eri D. Woodbury of Company E, First Vermont Cavalry, encountered four Confederate infantrymen retreating toward a small knoll. He drew his saber and ordered them to surrender. The rebels hesitated but did not raise their rifles. The actions of one made Woodbury suspicious, and scanning him more closely, he perceived that he was trailing behind him a flag rolled on his staff.
“Give up that flag!” Woodbury demanded.
Naturally, the Confederate objected, but the determination of the Union cavalryman soon convinced him that resistance would be folly, and reluctantly, he handed over his colors. The brave sergeant then rode proudly back to his regiment, where he handed over his prisoners and captured colors and received the commendation of his superior officers.
Honored at the Town of Cheshire Memorial Plaza in front of Cheshire Town Hall, 84 South Main Street, Cheshire, Connecticut. Photo by Jeff DeWitt.
Honored with a monument at 554 South Main Street, Cheshire, Connecticut. Photos by Jeff DeWitt.
Buried in St. Peter’s Episcopal Cemetery, 59 Main Street, Cheshire, Connecticut; Section B, Lot 37, Grave 3. Photos by Jeff DeWitt.
END