The College’s Trustees ordered this cannon preserved with a plaque honoring Stearns and other casualties of the battleĪs a monument of the heroism of those who have gone before them, and of the precious blood that has been spilled in suppressing this mad rebellion. Following the Union Army’s victory at New Bern, General Burnside, the commanding officer, ordered that the first Confederate cannon taken during the battle be sent to Amherst as a memorial to young Stearns. But his youth, idealism, and prominent family helped to cast Stearns as a symbol of the terrible toll of the war. Clark became an officer in the 21st Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and appointed Stearns as his adjutant.Īccording to historian Polly Longsworth, Stearns was not the only person from Amherst to perish at New Bern. He was one of a group of Amherst students who was encouraged to sign up for service by their popular chemistry professor, William Smith Clark of the Class of 1848. Stearns was a member of the Amherst College Class of 1863 and the son of Reverend William Stearns, the fourth and current president of Amherst College. This week we focus on the death of Frazar Stearns, which occurred on Maat the Battle of New Bern in North Carolina.įrazar Stearns.

Heat of battle 3