Zabdiel Boylston Adams was born on October 25, 1829, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Zabdiel and Sarah Adams. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1849 and Harvard Medical School four years later. He earned a living as a doctor in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

In June 1861, he received a commission as an assistant surgeon in the 7^th Massachusetts Infantry. The regiment took part in the Peninsula campaign. In May 1862, he was promoted to surgeon in the 32^nd Massachusetts Infantry. In November 1862, Colonel Francis J. Parker charged him with disobedience of orders. Parker ordered Adams to place a soldier “in the regimental ambulance.” Adams refused, reportedly saying “It is none of the Colonel’s business.” He was court martialed in December 1862. He resigned on July 31, 1863, citing “amaurosis [loss of vision], which unfits me for the performance of the duties of my office.”

 

In August 1863, he asked Governor John A. Andrew for a commission in the 54^th Massachusetts Infantry. He detailed his military service, explaining that he was “anxious that my record should be complete for the honor of my fathers name which I bear and for the honor of the name of Adams.” He assured Andrew that his “bodily health is excellent. I can endure great fatigue and hardship, my eyes will be as useful as ever for all purposes except writing and reading.”

 

In January 1864, he mustered in as a captain in Company F of the 56^th Massachusetts Infantry. He was wounded in the left leg on May 6, 1864, in the Battle of the Wilderness, and Confederates captured him soon afterward. He spent the next few months imprisoned in Richmond, Virginia. He received a parole by the fall of 1864, and he mustered out on December 12, 1864. He rejoined the regiment in February 1865, and he received a brevet promotion to major for “gallantry and meritorious conduct” in the Petersburg campaign. He mustered out again in July 1865.

 

He settled in Framingham, Massachusetts, after leaving the army and resumed his work as a doctor. He married Frances A. Kidder on December 8, 1870, and they had at least two children: Frances, born around 1872; and Zabdiel, born around 1875. The couple had a difficult marriage. In her will, she declared that “he has never done anything for my support and his treatment has been most upsetting and…he has tried to desert his family entirely.” She therefore had “no wish to leave him anything that belongs to my estate.” He died in Southborough, Massachusetts, on May 1, 1902, after falling over a dam.

 

Image: Zabdiel B. Adams (courtesy Wikicommons)

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