John Murray Atwood was born on June 4, 1835, in Plymouth, Massachusetts, to John and Hannah Atwood. His father was a mechanic who owned $4,000 of real estate and $300 of personal property by 1860. He grew up in Plymouth, and by 1850, he was working as a barber. A decade later, he was working as a shoe cutter.

 

He enlisted in the Union army on May 18, 1861, and he mustered in as a sergeant in Company E of the 29^th Massachusetts Infantry four days later. In the fall of 1861, he was detailed for artillery duty. The regiment took part in the Seven Days Battles and the Battle of Antietam. He fell ill in the fall of 1862 and spent a year recovering. He expressed frustration at being away from his regiment. In May 1863, he wrote," I wish that I was down there with the Army although I dont care about getting killed or wounded but I would like to be in the Battle and have a little fun and exsitement...as a general thing I was better contented there than what I am here [in a Philadelphia hospital]."

 

He returned to duty in September 1863, and he was reduced to the ranks the following month. Union officials transferred him to the 36^th Massachusetts Infantry in January 1864. The regiment took part in the Overland Campaign and the siege of Petersburg. He mustered out on August 13, 1864.

 

He returned to Plymouth after leaving the army, and he married Aurina Bugbee on December 23, 1866. The couple had no children. He worked as a grocer and “commercial traveller.” They moved to Chelsea, Massachusetts, in the 1870s, but they returned to Plymouth by 1900. His wife died in 1923, and he died in 1925.

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