The 18th Massachusetts was formed August 27, 1861 in Boston. They then moved on to the capitol in October of the same year. Anthony Connor was 18 at the time and became part of company I on August 24, 1861 as a Private. Company I was under the command of Captain Frederick D. Forrest of Wrentham, First Lieutenant Alvin E. Hall of Foxboro, and Second Lieutenant Samuel H. Bugbee of Wrentham. The Regiment itself was headed but Colonel James Barnes of Springfield, a graduate of West Point. The first battle that the 18th regiment was part of was the siege of Yorktown which lasted from April 5-May 4 1862. It had inconclusive results with a total of about 320 casualties. The Union General at Yorktown was George McClellan against General Joseph E. Johnston for the Confederate. The regiment suffered no loss in action at Yorktown. Their first real fighting action came at the 2nd Battle of Bull Run. Here, they were part of the attack on Porter’s Corps. The regiment’s casualties totaled 54. The regiment did not fight at Antietam but on September 20th, they went in pursuit of the Confederates across the Potomac but were driven back with a loss of 5 men. Their next battle was at Fredericksburg, Virginia on December 13, 1862. Union troops were under the command of General Ambrose E. Burnside, against Confederate troop leader General Robert E. Lee. Union troops out numbered confederates 100,000 to 72, 497. The Confederates won, and this loss amongst others, lead to the replacement of Burnside in January of 1863 with Joseph Hooker. The 18th regiment suffered from 27 of the total 13,353 Union casualties. The regiment spent the winter at camp, not fighting again till May 1st of 1863, at Chancellorsville, Virginia. They engaged here again without much loss, only 1 casualty. The regiment was next engaged at Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863. Union troops under the command of General George G. Meade, against Confederate leader General Robert E. Lee. 158,000 total forces were engaged and casualties totaled to be about 1/3 of that number. It was a union victory. November 7th 1863, the regiment was part of the capture of Rappahannock Station in Virginia. At the end of the same month, the regiment was at Mine Run, again Meade v. Lee. The battle was inconclusive and there were not heavy casualties. That winter, the regiment lost some numbers, but 139 signed for another 3 years of fighting. Anthony Connor was one of them. The regiment then became part of Bartlett’s Brigade in the spring of 1864. May 5th 1864; the regiment was part of the opening at the Wilderness, along with the 83rd Pa. Wilderness was part of the union general Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign. Grant along with Meade fought Confederate general Lee. The battle was inconclusive however Grant did not withdraw as other union generals did. Charles Wilson from Wrentham, and of the 18th regiment, was the first to fall during the battle. Wilson was one of 9 casualties suffered by the regiment. The regiment fought also at Laurel Hill, and was held in reserve at Petersburg in June. In July the time for most of the men had expired, and men were resigned and recruited forming a battalion under Major Weston. They were then joined with the 32nd Massachusetts regiment. Anthony Connor stayed with the 18th till it joined the 32nd, and was honorably discharged from the 32nd regiment on June 29, 1865. Anthony was born in Providence R.I to Isaac and Elizabeth in 1844. He became a painter and married Sarah J. Lawrence on July 4th, 1867 at the age of 23. Sarah J. Lawrence, from Wrentham, was 19 at the time of their marriage, and born in 1848 to Addison C. and Olive.