John Henry Hone was born around 1844 in Saugus, Massachusetts, to Henry and Lydia Hone. His father was a farmer who owned $8,000 of real estate and $4,000 of personal property by 1860. He grew up and attended school in Saugus.

 

He enlisted in the Union army on September 26, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in the 2^nd Massachusetts Sharpshooters Company. The company took part in the Seven Days’ Battles, the Second Battle of Manassas, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Chancellorsville, the Battle of Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign, and the siege of Petersburg. He fell ill in early 1862 and spent several months recovering. He was promoted to corporal in September 1863. He chose not to reenlist when his term of enlistment expired. As he explained to his aunt, “the goverment now offers large bounties for us to reenlist but when they catch an old soldier again it will be one that wants money more than I do.” He mustered out on October 17, 1864.

 

He returned to Saugus after leaving the army, and he worked as a farmer. He died of consumption in Saugus on July 13, 1868.

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