|  | | Born: | Sep 26 1834 | In: |  | Concord, Middlesex Co., MA, USA |
| | Died: | June 16 1864 (at age 29) | In: | | Petersburg, Dinwiddie Co., VA, USA |
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 Immediate familySource citationsMatched to: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=melvin&GSiman=1&GScid=91709&GRid=23323985& Citation text:| Birth: | Sep. 26, 1834
Concord
Middlesex County
Massachusetts, USA | | Death: | Jun. 16, 1864
Petersburg
Dinwiddie County
Virginia, USA | 
Asa H. Melvin was the son of Asa and Caroline (Heald) Melvin. He was a lifelong resident of Concord, Mass., and was a farmer prior to enlisting in the First Call of the President on Apr. 19, 1861, as the Civil War began. He was mustered into national service as a private in Co. G, 5th Regt. Mass. Vol. Militia (Inf.), on May 1, 1861, for its three months term. He, along with the rest of the regiment, were mustered out on July 31, 1861.
A year later, on Aug. 6, 1862, Asa H. Melvin enlisted as a private in Co. K, First Regt. Mass. Vol. Heavy Arty., and was mustered into national service the same day. He reenlisted on Dec. 29, 1863, and was killed in action in a charge on the enemy's lines at Petersburg, Va., on June 16, 1864. His body lies in an unknown grave, but his youngest brother, James C. Melvin, erected an elaborate memorial in memory of his three brothers, Asa H., John H., and Samuel Melvin, in 1909.
Known as the Melvin Memorial, it was designed by the famous sculptor, Daniel Chester French, and erected at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Mass. Its centerpiece consists of the standing "Mourning Victory" enveloped by the American flag, under which is inscribed: IN MEMORY OF THREE BROTHERS BORN IN CONCORD AS PRIVATE SOLDIERS GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE WAR TO SAVE THE COUNTRY THIS MEMORIAL IS PLACED HERE BY THEIR SURVIVING BROTHER, HIMSELF A PRIVATE SOLDIER IN THE SAME WAR - "I WITH UNCOVERED HEAD/SALUTE THE SACRED DEAD/WHO WENT AND WHO RETURN NOT." In the bottom are three tablets, one for each of the three deceased brother/soldiers, "MEMBERS OF COMPANY K, FIRST MASSACHUSETTS HEAVY ARTILLERY." That for Asa reads: ASA HEALD MELVIN/KILLED/IN BATTLE BEFORE/PETERSBURG, VA./JUNE 16, 1864.
James C. Melvin also published a book, The Melvin Memorial, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts: A Brother's Tribute - Exercises at Dedication, June 16, 1909, ed. by Alfred S. Roe (Cambridge, Mass.: Privately Printed, 1909), and some of the above information was used from that source.
Family links:
Parents:
Asa Melvin (1804 - 1858)
Caroline Heald Melvin (1810 - 1863)
| | | Burial:
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
Concord
Middlesex County
Massachusetts, USA
Plot: Melvin Memorial (cenotaph) |
Biography| Birth: | Jul. 27, 1841
Concord
Middlesex County
Massachusetts, USA | | Death: | Oct. 13, 1863
Virginia, USA |
John Heald Melvin was born and raised in Concord, Mass., the son of Asa and Caroline (Heald) Melvin. He moved to the great textile city of Lawrence, Mass., to work as an operative, shortly before the Civil War. On July 5, 1861, a few weeks before his twentieth birthday, he enlisted and mustered into national service as a private in Co. K, 1st Regt. Mass. Vol. Heavy Arty. He died of disease at Fort Albany, Va., on Oct. 13, 1863, and his remains were transported to Concord, to be buried in their family plot in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, where his parents already lay.
In addition, in a different part of the cemetery, in 1909 his youngest brother, James C. Melvin, erected an elaborate memorial in memory of his three brothers, Asa H., John H., and Samuel Melvin. Known as the Melvin Memorial, it was designed by the famous sculptor, Daniel Chester French. Located in the intersection of Union, Upland, and Ripley Avenues in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, its centerpiece consists of the standing "Mourning Victory" enveloped by the American flag, under which it is inscribed: IN MEMORY OF THREE BROTHERS BORN IN CONCORD WHO AS PRIVATE SOLDIERS GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE WAR TO SAVE THE COUNTRY THIS MEMORIAL IS PLACED HERE BY THEIR SURVIVING BROTHER, HIMSELF A PRIVATE IN THE SAME WAR - "I WITH UNCOVERED HEAD/SALUTE THE SACRED DEAD/WHO WENT AND WHO RETURN NOT." In the bottom are three tablets, one for each of the three deceased brother/soldiers, "MEMBERS OF COMPANY K, FIRST MASSACHUSETTS HEAVY ARTILLERY." That for John H. Melvin reads: JOHN HEALD MELVIN/DIED IN A/MILITARY HOSPITAL/AT/FORT ALBANY, VA./OCTOBER 13/1863.
James C. Melvin also published a book, The Melvin Memorial..., ed. by Alfred S. Roe (Cambridge, Mass.: Privately Printed, 1909), and some of the above information was used from that source.
Family links:
Parents:
Asa Melvin (1804 - 1858)
Caroline Heald Melvin (1810 - 1863)
| | | Burial:
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
Concord
Middlesex County
Massachusetts, USA
Plot: Lot 94 Glade Ave. (family plot) |
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