Nathan Goff, Jr. was a Union Army officer from Rhode Island during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Biography

Early life

Nathan Goff, Jr., son of Nathan and Nancy (Ingraham) Goff, was born in

Warren, Rhode Island Warren is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 11,147 at the 2020 census. History Warren was the site of the Pokanoket Indian settlement of Sowams located on a peninsula within the Pokanoket region. The reg ...

on August 5, 1827. His father was born in the same town in 1802, and his mother was born in

Glocester, Rhode Island Glocester, otherwise officially called the Town of Glocester, Rhode Island, is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 9,974 as of the 2020 census. The villages of Chepachet and Harmony are in Glocester. ...

in 1803. In 1833 his parents moved from Warren to Bristol, Rhode Island, where Nathan received his education in the district school. At the age of seventeen he was apprenticed to the sail-making business with T. & B. T. Cranston, and two years later, on the retirement of both members of that firm, he, with George E. Cranston, took over the business. In 1850 he engaged as an engraver with Smith, Dewey & Eddy of Warren, in the manufacture of jewelry.Officers of the Volunteer Army and Navy who served in the Civil War, published by L.R. Hamersly & Co., 1893, 419 pgs.

Civil War service

In 1861 he was a brigadier-general in the

Rhode Island Militia The Rhode Island Army National Guard (RIARNG) is the land force militia for the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It operates under Title 10 of the United States Code, Title 10 and Title 32 of the United States Code, Title 32 of the United States Code ...

, and soon after the attack on Fort Sumter, he offered his services to Governor William Sprague of Rhode Island, to serve in any position given to him for the preservation of the Union. He soon after organized a company of volunteers in Bristol, which, with members from Warren, were called the Bristol County Company. As captain of this company, which became Company G, Second Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry, he was mustered into the United States service on June 6, 1861 for three years. He fought in the

first Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run, called the Battle of First Manassas
. by Confederate States ...

on July 21, 1861; the regiment was later assigned to the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

, participating in its many engagements. On July 24, 1862, he was promoted to be the major (third in command) of the 2nd Rhode Island and, on December 12, 1862, was promoted to lieutenant-colonel (second in command). In December 1863, by permission from the War Department, he appeared before General Casey's Board of Examination in Washington, and passed an examination for lieutenant-colonel with a rating of "first class". On December 31 he was assigned as the lieutenant colonel of the

22nd United States Colored Infantry The 22nd United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bur ...

and ordered to

Yorktown, Virginia Yorktown is a town in York County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in Colony of Virginia, colonial Virginia in 1682. Yorktown's population was 195 as of the 2010 census, while ...

. Afterwards his new regiment became a part of the

Army of the James The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia. History The Union Department ...

. In February 1864 he was presented by the citizens of Warren a sword, belt, sash, and other accouterments. At the

Second Battle of Petersburg The Second Battle of Petersburg, also known as the assault on Petersburg, was fought June 15–18, 1864, at the beginning of the Richmond–Petersburg Campaign (popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg). Union forces under Lieutenant General U ...

, Virginia on June 15, 1864, he was severely wounded and taken to Chesapeake Hospital in Hampton, Virginia. In October 1864, on the recommendation of his brigade and division commanders, he was promoted to the rank of colonel, and assigned to the command of the 37th United States Colored Infantry. He assumed command on November 10, 1864. Being detached from the Army of the James, he joined the expedition of Major General Benjamin F. Butler against

Fort Fisher Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear Riv ...

, North Carolina, also participating in the second expedition under Major General Alfred H. Terry, and fought in the capture of the fort. He fought in all subsequent engagements of the Army of the James in North Carolina until the surrender of General

Joseph Johnston Joseph Johnston may refer to: * Joseph Johnston (Irish politician) (1890–1972), Irish academic, farmer and politician * Allan Johnston (politician) (Joseph Allan Johnston, 1904–1974), Liberal party member of the Canadian House of Commons * Josep ...

's army to General

William T. Sherman William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

, at

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

in late April 1865. In May 1865, Goff was assigned to the command of the post of

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

, and remained on duty in that state, the troops of his command occupying the forts on the coasts of North and South Carolina, being in temporary command of the District of Wilmington and

Department of North Carolina Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

. In June 1865, by recommendation of Major-General Charles J. Paine and Brigadier-General John W. Ames, his division and brigade commanders, he was promoted by the President to be brigadier-general of volunteers by brevet, ''"for long and faithful services and gallant conduct in the field"''. He was assigned on November 3, 1866, as president of a general court-martial at Raleigh, North Carolina, and, though his regiment was mustered out in February 1867, he was retained in the service as president of general court-martial till June 13, 1867, when he was honorably discharged, being among the last volunteer officers mustered out of service.

Post war

Upon returning to Rhode Island, he returned to his former occupation in Providence. He later became a Companion of the Massachusetts Commandery of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or, simply, the Loyal Legion, is a United States military order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Union Army. The original membership was consisted ...

and was assigned insignia number 3148. His talents, character, and public services caused him to be greatly respected by his fellow citizens. On August 10, 1870, he was appointed by President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

as deputy collector of customs for the port of Providence, a position which he held for more than twenty years. Politically, he was a Whig and a Republican. In his religious practice he was a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

. He died in Warren on April 17, 1903.

Family

General Goff married his first wife, Sarah S. Surgens of Warren, in November, 1849. By her he had three children - Ella S., Walter I., and Mabel D. Sarah died on October 13, 1888. He later married Helen M. Surgens, of Boston, Massachusetts. Helen died in 1912.

References