Augustine Forester Webb

Augustine Forester was born in Salem, MA on August 16, 1841 to Joseph and Mercy (Ropes) Webb. Joseph and Mercy were both born in Salem on March 30, 1802. Augustine was the youngest of their six children.

His father died in Penang, Malaysia during a voyage in 1846 when Augustine was only five. His unmarried aunt Eliza moved in with them and helped his mother raise the children. Augustine helped support his family as an express messenger for the Salem banks.

He enlisted as a Sergeant in the 40th Massachusetts Infantry in August of 1862. By December he was a 2nd Lieutenant. The 40th spent most of the winter of 1862/63 at Fort Ethan Allen defending Washington, DC. They moved into the Tidewater Region of Virginia in the late winter, and remained there through the spring and early summer. In August they went to South Carolina to join in the siege of Charleston.

On August 20, 1863 during the siege Morris Island, Lt. Webb was hit in the thigh with a shell and in the head by a bullet. He succumbed to his injuries a few hours later in the trenches in front of Fort Wagner.

This lovely monument for Lt. Webb can be found in the Webb family lot at Harmony Grove Cemetery in Salem, MA.