Civil War Veterans Buried In Washington State - Asiels Hutchins

34^th MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
Organized: 8/1/62 Camp Wood, Worcester, MA
Mustered Out: 6/15/65 Richmond, VA
Discharged: 7/6/65 Readville, MA

24^th MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY *
Organized: 11/1/61 Camp Massasoit, Readville, MA
Mustered Out: 1/20/66 Richmond, VA

REGIMENTAL HISTORY: (34^th)

  The 34^th, a three-year unit, was composed of companies recruited in five counties of Massachusetts.  Following Federal muster it left the state for the defenses of Washington where it remained until 7/63.  On 7/9//63 the regiment was ordered to Harper’s Ferry, VA.  By that fall it had met the enemy at Ripon with slight loss.

   An expedition up the Shenandoah Valley as far as Harrisonburg followed. Returning to Harper’s Ferry the 34^th remained there until spring, 1864 when it again returned to “The Valley.”  1864 was to test the combat metal of the 34^th.  On 5/15/64 at the battle of New Market it lost 221 officers and men, of whom 39 were killed or mortally wounded.

   In July, at Piedmont 110 were lost, including 22 killed or mortally wounded.  Retreat into West Virginia followed.  In August Union Gen. Phillip Sheridan took command in the Shenandoah.  As an element of the Army of the Shenandoah the 34^th took part in Sheridan’s Valley Campaign suffering heavily at Opequon (Winchester) and less so at Fisher’s Hill, Stickley’s Farm, and Cedar Creek.

   With the Shenandoah Valley secured by the Federals, the 34^th was transferred to the Army of the James and spent the winter of ‘64/65 in front of Petersburg.  In March 1865 it was engaged at Hatcher’s Run and suffered heavy losses at Ft. Gregg.

   The regiment then joined in the pursuit and capture of the Confed. Gen. R.E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.  With the War for all practical purposes over, encampments at Lynchburg and Richmond preceded final muster and discharge. 

 REGIMENTAL HISTORY: (24^th)

• Note:  In June, 1865 when the 34^th MA was mustered out of Federal service, 172 men whose enlistment terms had not expired were transferred to the 24^th MA.  Asial Hutchins appears to have been one of the “172.”  As Pvt. Hutchins left military service in mid June of that same year it was likely he was on the rolls of the 24^th for only a short time after the War had ended.  As such the history of the 24^th will not be presented herein.  

SOLDIER:
Residence: Springfield, MA   Age: 22.7 yrs.
Enlisted/Enrolled: 12/30/63 Springfield, MA   Rank: Pvt.
Mustered In: 12/30/63 Springfield, MA 
Transferred: 6/65 to 24th MA
Mustered Out: 6/16/65 Boston, MA
Highest Rank: Pvt.

PERSONAL/FAMILY HISTORY: 

NOTE: The original birth – to – death biographical profile on Asiel - there are numerous spellings of his first name – Hutchins was created during the early years of the Civil War Veterans Buried In Washington State project. As a result it suffered from both size and research resource limitations. The biography which follows was written in March, 2019. While it is more detailed than the original is still lacks the depth found in more recent additions to this website which draw heavily upon veteran-related military, pension and other documents housed in the National Archives located in Washington, D.C.

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  Asiel Hutchins was born 4/15/40 or ‘41 in Vermont. As the Hutchins family lived in North Hero Grand Isle Co, Vermont from at least 1840 through 1860 likely that was his community of birth.
 

Parents of Asiel were Joseph (b. 1879 VT) and Olive “Polly” (no nee, b. ca. 1801/’02 VT) Hutchins. During the 1850 U.S. Census Joseph listed his occupation as “carpenter joiner.”
 

As best as can be determined, Asiel was the tenth of eleven children. Siblings older than he were Diana (b. 1820 VT) Jerome (b. 1821 VT), Adelia (b. 1824 VT) Laura (b. 1826 VT), Dan (b. 1827 VT), Louisa (b. 1829 VT) John (b. 1832 VT), Edna (b. 1833 VT) and Sydney (b. 1837 VT). Younger than he were Hector (b. 1843 VT) and Agnes (b. 1845 VT).


  Aside from his birth, the first pre enlistment information on Asiel is that on 4/10/62, in North Hero Grand Isle Co., VT he married Luana H. Pettit (b. 5/12/1846 VT).  The union would produce nine children:  Abbie L. (3/63), May M. (6/67), Hardy H. (12/69), Jennie N. (4/71), Lottie L. (4/74), Herman R. (11/75), Asia/Asa C. (5/80), Mabel C. (4/86), and Helen H. or I (11/87).  (Note: One document assigns much later birth dates to the last two children.)

  When he enlisted in the Army, six foot tall, blue-eyed Asahel listed his residence a Springfield, MA and his occupation as “sailor.” Why these two seeming discrepancies exist in an otherwise Vermont -oriented life is not known.

 Despite the high level of action seen by his regiment, Private Hutchins’ tenure in the U.S. Army appears to have been fairly uneventful.  The only documented notations pertaining to his war years list him as sick in the hospital in 1865 with bronchitis and intermittent fever.
 

 The war behind him it appears Asiel returned to his wife and family in Vermont. Post-war Asiel would adopt his father’s trade of “carpenter” and “joiner.”
 

  During post-war years, Asiel and family were to remove from Vermont to Iowa where they would reside in three locations - only two of which, Monona Clayton Co.1870 and Clermont Fayette Co. 1880. are documented -   locations. From Iowa they headed even further west west to Snohomish Co., WA.  Although exactly when and why the family moved to the Puget Sound area is not known, their first documented presence in this area is in the fall of 1899. In Washington they settled in or near the City of Snohomish located in the county of the same name.
 

  Former Union Army Private Asiel Hutchins died 12/6/10 in Snohomish, Snohomish County, WA. He was aged 69 years and seven months.  At death he was receiving a $15 government disability stipend based on ailments or other physical conditions he traced back to his days of Civil War soldiering. Burial was/is in the Grand Army Of The Republic (G.A.R.) Cemetery located in Snohomish, Snohomish County, WA.

 After Asiel’s passing Luana continued to reside in Snohomish. She also continued to receive at least a portion of her late husband’s pension.  At the time of her death on 3/24/17 she was receiving a $20 per month stipend. She was/ is buried beside Asahel in the G.A.R. Cemetery. 

Buried at Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery Snohomish
Row: 8
Site: 1

Dave Schunckel
Snohomish, WA