He was the first person
that attracted the attention of visitors to the town; for he had a
commanding figure and a frank, manly countenance, only too fearless and
kindly,--a very handsome man. The Hoar family were evidently Yankees,
and so were Emerson, Alcott, and Sanborn, but Captain Prescott was an
American without seeming to belong to any particular part of the
country. His cordial frankness and independence of manner reminded one
of a Virginian.
The refined side of his nature is indicated by an anecdote of his first
few days in camp on the Potomac. A cadet freshly graduated from West
Point was directed by General McDowell to drill the different companies
of the regiment in succession, and having but slight respect for
volunteer soldiers, he gave an emphasis to his orders by the plentiful
use of profane language. When he came to the Concord company, Captain
Prescott, who was standing at one side, walked across to him and said,
"I must request you, Sir, to give your orders in the plain terms of the
military code, for my men do not like profanity. If you do otherwise, I
shall order them to march off the ground; and they will obey me and not
you." This brought the cadet to terms very quickly.
In the spring of 1862 he recruited another company for the Massachusetts
Thirty-second; soon rose to the rank of colonel; and after escaping the
peril of a dozen hard-fought battles, he was finally killed, with nearly
half his command, in Grant's advance upon Richmond.
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