Devens Road
From Worcester Activist wiki
Also AMERICAN LEGION
“To draw an adequate portraiture of Charles Devens would require the noble touch of the old masters of painting, or the lofty stroke of the dramatists of Queen Elizabeth’s day,” said U.S. Sen. George F. Hoar, another famous man in his day.
Soldier, orator, jurist, Charles Devens for many years was one of the most famous men in Massachusetts.
On April 15, 1861, Atty. Devens, 41, was trying a case in court. Someone interrupted with confirmation of the attack on Fort Sumter. Civil War had broken out.
Turning to an assistant Devens said: “You must take this brief-I must go to the Armory.”
In a few days he marched South as major commanding the Third Battalion of Rifles.
His military rise was amazingly rapid: Colonel, 15 th Regt., Mass. Vol. Inf. (July, 1861); Brigadier General, U.S. Volunteers (1862); Brevet Major General , U.S. Volunteers (1865).
He was wounded at Ball’s Bluff. He was struck again near Chickahominy Bridge; again at Chancellorsville. During the battle of Cold Harbor he remained on duty all night racked on a stretcher with rheumatism. He led the first Federal troops into the Confederate capital and was military governor of Richmond.
Back in civilian life he was appointed associate, justice of the State Superior Court, associate justice of the State Supreme Court, attorney general in President Hayes’ cabinet.
He died Jan. 7, 1891.
That magnificent figure on a horse which rises from the front of Worcester County Courthouse, is General Devens. Worcester and Worcester County raised $40,000 to pay for it.
Fort Devens honors him.
Gen. Charles Devens Post, No. 282, American Legion, honors him. Devens road honors him. It was named in 1914.
The core of this article comes from A History of Your City Streets.
