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Roderick Nicol "Rod" Matheson (May 28, 1824 - Sept. 14, 1862) was the Colonel of the 32nd Regiment of New York Volunteers, also known as the 1st California Regiment, during the American Civil War. He was mortally wounded during the battle of South Mountain. Roderick Matheson was born in Inverness, Scotland in 1824 and came to the United States with his parents at the age of 15. The family at first settled in New York City, where Roderick married Maria Antoinette Seaman on December 31, 1844. Shortly after their marriage, the Mathesons moved to Clevelend, Ohio, where Roderick engaged in real estate. They subsequently returned to New York, where he took up school teaching, an occupation he would follow for the rest of his life. In 1849 Matheson undertook the dangerous journey to the goldfields of California, via Cape Horn. He mined for only a short time before settling in San Francisco, where he became a prominent citizen. He helped organized a mechanics training school, was appointed Comptroller of San Francisco (1852), and was an active member of the fire department. He also became active in military affairs, being a member of the Marion Rifles, a local militia unit, and in 1854 was appointed general of a division of the Mexican Army and resident commissioner of Mexico in San Francisco. Matheson moved his family from San Francisco to Healdsburg, California in 1856, purchasing 900 acres of farm land on the east side of town. A portion of his land was later set aside as a public burial ground, now known as Oak Mound Cemetery. He was instrumental in the building of the first school in Healdsburg, the Russian River Institute, having donated the land, and taught there beginning in 1858. In 1861 Matheson was invited by President-elect Abraham Lincoln to come to Washington, D.C. for his March 4th inauguration. When President Lincoln asked for 75,000 volunteers for the looming Civil War, Matheson immediately volunteered and was soon elected Colonel of the 32nd New York State Volunteer Infantry, organized on Staten Island on 31 May 1861. Because of its California connection, Matheson and others commonly referred to this regiment as the First California Regiment. He led the regiment at the Battle of Bull Run and during subsequent battles on the road to Richmond. From September 2 to September 14, 1862, the Union forces engaged in a series of skirmishes, one of which stormed a Confederate stronghold at Crampton's Gap on South Mountain. As Matheson led his regiment on an assault up the mountain, a minie ball struck his right thigh. He was evacuated to a field hospital at Burkittsville, Maryland. A later investigation stated that "…the wound was not considered serious, the leg was not amputated, and Colonel Matheson did not himself, nor did his friends apprehend any danger." But on October 1st, Matheson began to bleed severely. He died the next day at the age of 38. His body was taken to New York City where it lay in state in the Governor's Room at City Hall until October 9th, when a full military funeral was conducted. The body was returned to San Franciscon November 6th and subsequently interred in the Oak Mound Cemetery at Healdsburg on November 9, 1862. Source: Colonel Roderick N. Matheson: City Builder and Civil War Hero (http://www.militarymuseum.org/Matheson.html) |
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