Union. Massachusetts 6th Infantry and Massachusetts 2nd Light Artillery. Lot of (3) Items Pertaining to William Marland. The first item is a silver medal measuring about 32 mm in diameter, 16.5 grams, inscribed FIRST IN THE FIELD on the front and BALTIMORE 19TH OF APRIL 1861 around the rim on the back. In the center, it is engraved WM. MARLAND - CO. F: ANDOVER MASS. The silver medal is suspended from a pin-backed crossbar that reads OLD SIXTH and connected by a two-inch blue and gold ribbon that reads OLD 6 MASS. The entire piece measures approximately four inches long.<p>Next is a Massachusetts "Minute Men" medal in copper, 38 mm diameter with the standing Indian State Symbol on the front, and a tribute to the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia who were mustered into the army at Lincolns first call on April 15, 1861. Suspended by a link from a pin-backed hanger that reads MASSACHUSETTS MINUTE MEN 1861. Engraved on the edge of the medal is WILLIAM MARLAND, SGT. F. 6TH. REG.<p>The final item is a sepia-tone wartime photograph encased in a black metal bezel measuring 57 mm in diameter.<p>William Marland, the son of William Sykes Marland and Sarah Northey was born March 11, 1839 in Andover, Massachusetts. He enlisted April 16, 1861, as a sergeant and was assigned to the Massachusetts 6th Infantry Regiment serving just under four months in that unit. The 6th Regiment was the first to arrive in Washington, D.C., completely uniformed and equipped for service and was first quartered in the Senate Chamber in the Capitol. It was later transferred to Baltimore before returning to Boston in early August.<p>Early the following year, he was commissioned into the Massachusetts 2nd Light Artillery as a second lieutenant. Promoted to first lieutenant in October 1862, and captain in January 1865, he achieved the rank of major by the time he was mustered out in August 1865.<p>During his service, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his action on November 3, 1863, at Grand Coteau, Louisiana. After having been surrounded by the enemys cavalry, he ordered a charge and saved his section of the battery.<p>In October 1870, Marland married Salome Jane Abbott who bore the couple three daughters and a son. He became postmaster of Andover, Massachusetts, where he lived until moving to Griffin, Georgia for health reasons a few years before his death on April 17, 1905, at the age of 66.
