Augustus B. R. Sprague

Augustus Brown Reed Sprague (March 7, 1827 – May 17, 1910) was an American businessman, politician, and military figure who served as the Mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts, the sheriff of Worcester County, Massachusetts and as a Union Army officer during the American Civil War.[3][4]

Augustus Brown Reed Sprague
30th Mayor of
Worcester, Massachusetts
In office
January 6, 1896 – January 3, 1898
Preceded byHenry A. Marsh
Succeeded byRufus B. Dodge Jr.
17th sheriff of Worcester County, Massachusetts
In office
July 5, 1871[1] – January 1890
Appointed byWilliam Claflin (appointed to fill vacancy)
Preceded byJohn S.C. Knowlton
Succeeded bySamuel D. Nye
Personal details
Born(1827-03-07)March 7, 1827
Ware, Massachusetts
DiedMarch 17, 1910(1910-03-17) (aged 83)
Worcester, Massachusetts
Military service
AllegianceUnited States of America
Union
Branch/serviceUnion Army
Years of service1861–1865
Rank Colonel
Brevet Brigadier General
Unit3rd Massachusetts Rifle Battalion
15th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment
25th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment
Commands51st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment
2nd Massachusetts Heavy Artillery Regiment
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Civil War service

At the start of the American Civil War, Sprague enlisted in the Union Army on April 17, 1861, and Sprague was mustered into United States Service as a captain in the Third Massachusetts Rifles on April 19, 1861.[2]

On September 9, 1861, when the 25th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was raised by the authority of the state of Massachusetts, Sprague was designated the unit's Lieutenant Colonel.[5]

Sprague served with the 25th Massachusetts Infantry in Burnside's North Carolina Expedition.[5] Sprague was cited for bravery at the Battles of Roanoke Island and New Berne.[2]

Sprague served in North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.[2]

In November 1862 he became colonel of the 51st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. The regiment served in the Carolinas under General John G. Foster. He was mustered out of service, with his regiment, in July 1863.

He was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Massachusetts Heavy Artillery Regiment on February 1, 1864 and was mustered out in September 1865. Afterwards he was brevetted as a brigadier general for "gallant and meritorious services during the war".

In March 1868 he became a charter member of the Massachusetts Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), a military society for Union officers. He served as its first junior vice commander in 1868 and its commander in 1908. Sprague was assigned MOLLUS insignia number 683.

Sprague was also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and served as commander of the Department of Massachusetts in 1868.

Public service

Sprague served as collector of internal revenue for the 8th Massachusetts District from 1867 to 1872.

Sprague served as sheriff of Worcester County from July 5, 1871[1] to 1890 and was a member of the Worcester City Council.

On January 6, 1896[6] Sprague was sworn in as the Mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts. He served until January 3, 1898.

Professionally, he was president of Worcester Mechanics Savings Bank and was also president of the Worcester Electric Light Company.

Family

Source - Genealogy in Part of the Sprague Families of America; Augustus B. R. Sprague; pg. 28-29.

General Sprague was born in Ware, Massachusetts to Lee and Lucia (Snow) Sprague. Sprague was a descendant of William Sprague who settled in Charlestown and Hingham, Massachusetts in the early 1600s. He was also descendant from Mayflower passengers Stephen Hopkins, John Alden and Priscilla Mullins.

In 1846 he married Elizabeth Janes with whom he had five children. Elizabeth died in 1889. In 1890 he married Mary Jennie Barbour with whom he had one child.

Augustus B. R. Sprague died at his home in Worcester, Massachusetts on May 17, 1910.[7]

Notes
  1. Herndon, Richard (1896), Edwin Monroe Bacon (ed.), Men of Progress: One Thousand Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Leaders in Business and Professional life in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts , Boston, Massachusetts: New England Magazine, p. 347
  2. Teller, Henry M. (June 13, 1906), 59th Congress 1st Session, Senate Document 489; Proposed Volunteer Retired List; Military Record of Augustus B. R. Sprague in the United States Volunteer Army of the Civil War, 1861-1865, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, p. 94
  3. Worcester (Mass.) Board of Trade (1910), The Worcester Magazine:Devoted to Good Citizenship and Municipal Development, Volume XIII, Worcester, Massachusetts: Worcester (Mass.) Board of Trade, p. 160
  4. Worcester (Mass.) Board of Trade (1910), The Worcester Magazine:Devoted to Good Citizenship and Municipal Development, Volume XIII, Worcester, Massachusetts: Worcester (Mass.) Board of Trade, p. 161
  5. Teller, Henry M. (1866), Massachusetts in the Rebellion : A Record of the Historical Position of the Commonwealth, and the Services of the Leading Statesmen, the Military, the Colleges, and the People, in the Civil War of 1861-65, Boston, Massachusetts: Walker, Fuller & Co., p. 304
  6. SpragueSprague, Augustus B. R. (1896), Inaugural Address of Hon. Augustus B. R. Sprague: Mayor of Worcester, January 6, 1896, Worcester, Massachusetts: C. Hamilton, p. 1
  7. "Former Mayor of Worcester". The Boston Globe. Worcester. May 17, 1910. p. 9. Retrieved December 27, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
Political offices
Preceded by
Henry A. Marsh		 29th Mayor
of
Worcester, Massachusetts
January 6, 1896–January 3, 1898		 Succeeded by
Rufus B. Dodge Jr.
Preceded by
John S.C. Knowlton		 17th Sheriff of
Worcester County, Massachusetts
July 5, 1871-January 1890		 Succeeded by
Samuel D. Nye
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