Joseph Messer Clough
Joseph Messer Clough (June 15, 1828 – May 7, 1919) was a Union Army officer in the Civil War who earned the honorary rank of brevet brigadier general of volunteers in 1866.
He was born in Sunapee, New Hampshire. He studied at Norwich University in Vermont for six months and worked as a machinist and mill operator before the war. He led the City Guard in Manchester, New Hampshire, and also served with the City Guard in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Clough joined the Union Army on April 26, 1861 as a private in the 1st New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry (a 90-day unit) and quickly became a lieutenant. The regiment was mustered out in August 1861. In September 1861 he was promoted to captain in the 4th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry. He was wounded in the Petersburg mine explosion on July 30, 1864. He became lieutenant colonel of the 10th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry on October 18, 1864. He was wounded again at Fort Stedman in March 1865 and left the army on July 29, 1865.
President Andrew Johnson nominated him for brevet brigadier general of volunteers on July 9, 1866, with rank from March 13, 1865; the Senate confirmed the appointment on July 23, 1866.
After the war, Clough worked as a farmer and a railroad mail agent. In 1909, New Hampshire Governor Henry B. Quinby appointed him as a major general in the state militia.
Clough married Abiah Bucklin on September 7, 1849. She died December 17, 1873. He then married Cornelia Goss Chase on September 13, 1874.
He died May 7, 1919, in New London, New Hampshire, and was buried in Montcalm Cemetery, Enfield Center, New Hampshire.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 17:48 (CET).