Biography of Daniel P. Tilton :Pittsfield, Merrimack County, New Hampshire

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Submitted by: Jody Goodson  kestrell@prodigy.net
Date: May 14, 2001
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From the Book
'History of Pittsfield, N. H. in the Rebellion'
by H. L. Robinson, published 1893

Note: A photograph of Daniel is in the book.

Page 156 & 157

DANIEL P. TILTON
     was a twin brother of B. M. Tilton. On the death of his mother, as
already related, he went to live with his uncle, David Tilton, with whom he
made his home until the summer of 1861, when he enlisted in Company G,
Seventh New Hampshire volunteers. He served with this regiment until the
Battle of Olustee, Fla., February 20, 1864, when he was captured and taken
to Andersonville prison, where he died from starvation, July 26, 1864. His
grave is numbered 4,072. His captain, in speaking of him, says that he was
a good soldier.
All history, both sacred and profane, is filled with deeds of heroic men,
-- men who, by their valor, have made nations out of tribes and clans, who
have given us civilization in place of barbarism, and peace instead of
perpetual war. We all admire true courage, both moral and physical. If those
who die on the field of battle amid the rush and turmoil of strife are
heroes, what can we call those who calmly face death from starvation in a
prison pen? Shut out from all communication with the outside world; waiting,
hoping, longing, for relief that never comes; dying slowly from hunger,
their scanty food the refuse that swine would not eat, their drink the water
from a muddy ditch polluted by the sinks of their guards; tortured by
disease, with no loving hand to soothe their brow or relieve their pain, and
none to applaud their heroic acts. Even the elements conspire against them.
The hot sun of summer pours its fervid rays upon their ragged, unprotected
bodies; the winter's cold chills what little blood is left in their veins:
but they will not yield to the blandishments of their captors. Their guards
hold out allurements to them. They should be fed and clothed and receive good
pay, if they will only abandon their country, which seems to have abandoned
them. These offers are rejected with scorn. Not one man from Pittsfield ever
accepted this bribe, but slowly and surely numbers of them sank into unknown
graves. Can you point in history to a more sublime heroism than this? No
wonder that the Grand Army of the Republic reserves each spring-time the
choicest flowers in honor of these men. No wonder that they have a special
service in memory of the unknown dead. No wonder that in eloquent words they
pay tribute to the heroism of these their former comrades.
     As we think of their suffering, of their squalid misery, of the long,
long days and of the still longer nights of waiting and hoping for the
relief that never came, the tear must come unbidden to the eye and the sigh
from the heart. See to it, young men, that these soldiers did not die in
vain! Keep our country undivided and our flag unsullied!