William Leroy Perry (born 7 April 1842 in Holyoke, Massachusetts) was the oldest son of Charles D. Perry (c1817-1898) and Silence (Young) Perry (1820-1878). He moved to Hartford sometime between 1850 and 1860 with his parents and younger siblings.
William enlisted in the Union army on 3 April 1862, just days before his 20th birthday. Records show that he enlisted in company K, 9th Regiment, Connecticut and was promoted to Full Sergeant on 1 April 1863. His regiment mustered out on 12 October 1864. That same day, William transferred to Company D, 9th Infantry Battalion.
The Ninth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers (Connecticut’s “Irish Regiment”) was organized in New Haven in September of 1861. They were transported to Ship Island, MS on the Gulf Coast by the end of the year where they saw action as well as in New Orleans the following spring. During the summer of 1862 they were part of the first campaign against Vicksburg and assigned to the “Williams Canal” operation, an unsuccessful Federal project to divert the course of the Mississippi River, bypass Confederate guns at Vicksburg and win control of the Mississippi. Beginning there the regiment lost 150 men due to the lack of supplies, heat, dysentery and malaria conditions in a four month period. At Baton Rouge Colonel Thomas Cahill of the Ninth took command of the Federal troops after the death of Brigadier General Williams and successfully repulsed the Confederate attack. After being assigned to defend New Orleans they later served in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley and played a prominent role in General Sheridan’s 1864 victory at Cedar Creek.
In History of the Ninth Regiment by Thomas Hamilton Murray, we read the following account of the Battle of Cedar Creek:
When Sheridan arrived and the Union rout was checked and turned into an attack upon the Confederates, the Ninth Battalion was in the forefront of the fray. At one time during the charge, Col. Healy seized the colors and waving them aloft, shouted to his command: “Come on, boys, follow me!” He was answered with a tremendous cheer and the battalion rushed on. Lieut. Col. Healy in his report says, “I desire to make particular mention of Sergeant W. Perry, and Private John T. Morrow, who, after the color-sergeant had been wounded, seized the colors and pushed forward. These men were always in the advance, few, if any, color-bearers being able to keep up with them.
In light of what we just read in the paragraph above, it is very possible that William Leroy Perry is one of the “four daring spirits” described in Retreat and Attack: The Ninth Connecticut at Cedar Creek.
William Leroy Perry mustered out with his regiment in New Haven on 3 August 1865. We are not told what wounds, injuries, or illnesses he may have endured during his enlistment, but the fact is that he was dead by the end of the year. His death is recorded in Hartford in 1865, no specific cause or date of death is given. We can easily imagine that he returned home gravely ill, or wounded, with only weeks or perhaps a month or two to live. Surely his mother, Silence, nursed him in those final days.
William’s brother, John Howard Perry, was born 13 September 1842 according to TN death and burials records. He enlisted with the 16th Connecticut Infantry. The following account is taken from Ancestry.com:
John H(oward) Perry enlisted in Company F, 16th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry on 7/12/1862 and actually left on active duty on 8/24/1862. He was wounded “in the ancle” at the Battle of Antietam, or Sharpsburg, on 9/17/1862, remained on the field for “40 hours” before being picked-up after the Confederates retreated back over the Potomac, and was transferred to a hospital in New Haven, Ct where he remained until being transferred to Company I, 4th Regiment, Veterans Reserve Corps, on 9/26/1864. He served in the infirmary at The Rock Island, IL, prisoner of war camp until discharged on 7/15/1865.
John married, raised a family, and died on 13 January, 1916 in Nashville TN where he is buried. His service during the Civil War is commemorated on a memorial in Spring Grove Cemetery, along with that of his brother, William Leroy. Their parents and other family members are buried nearby.
Sgt. William L. Perry at Find a Grave
Hartford History Rocks 