Yet) McAtex, In Memoriam F. E. L. Beal. 245 
kindly treated by Mrs. Day, that having no other, I had come to 
look upon this as a home. So I remained working upon the farm 
of which I was now practically the foreman. My love of learning 
was such that, encouraged by Mrs. Day, I had demanded and 
obtained the privilege of attending several fall and spring terms 
at the Academy in Lunenberg, in addition to the regular winter 
term of the district school. In 1860 I attended the fall term of 
Lawrence Academy at Groton and was at school there when 
Abraham Lincoln was elected.” 
“In the turbulent times that followed his election and the 
secession of many of the southern states, I was very anxious to 
enlist in the Federal Army, but Mrs. Day always dissuaded me. 
After the disaster of our arms at Bull Run, I insisted that it was 
my duty to go and opposition was withdrawn. I enlisted in 
Company A of the 36th Massachusetts Regiment, recruited at 
Fitchburg, and went into camp at Worcester, Mass.” 
Professor Beal’s regiment together with one from Maine was 
embarked on the transport Merrimac. One of the first entries in 
his diary! shows that his interest in natural history was irre- 
pressible. On September 4, he notes “Last night I observed the 
phenomenon of the phosphorescence of the ocean.” The regiment 
arrived at Alexandria, Va., September 6, and was transferred to 
Washington, D. C., the next day. Marching at intervals they 
reached Frederick, Md., September 18. At this period they could 
hear the cannon at the Battle of Antietam, and met prisoners and 
wounded men being taken to Washington. Professor Beal says 
“Tt was a ghastly sight. The pale drawn faces and bloody bandages 
made an impression that time has never effaced. It was a de- 
pressing introduction to the grim realities of war.” The regiment 
proceeded to a point near Harper’s Ferry where it was incorpo- 
rated in a brigade and was reviewed by President Lincoln and 
Generals McClellan and Burnside on October 3. Professor Beal 
says “Saw all three of these worthies and took notes.’ After 
being marched about the country more or less aimlessly, Professor 
Beal was taken sick with chills and fever at Point of Rocks, Md., 
October 20. He was left behind and ordered to go to the Con- 
1 Professor Beal kept a diary during his Civil War experience and continuously from 
Jan. 1, 1864, until the day before his death. 
