author
S. Alonzo Ranlett
A Civil War veteran and Massachusetts local historian, he helped preserve the story of the Thirty-sixth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers for later generations. His surviving papers also suggest a life shaped by family ties, public service, and lasting interest in the war he experienced firsthand.
1 Audiobook
History of the Thirty-sixth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers. 1862-1865
by Henry S. (Henry Sweetser) Burrage, William H. (William Henry) Hodgkins, Edmund W. Noyes, S. Alonzo Ranlett, Alonzo A. White
About the author
Born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, on March 18, 1840, Seth Alonzo Ranlett served in the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia during the Civil War. He enlisted in July 1862, rose through the ranks, and left service in February 1864 because of illness connected to his time in the army.
Ranlett is best remembered as one of the contributors to History of the Thirty-sixth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, 1862-1865, a regimental history that helped record the experiences of Union soldiers from Massachusetts. Project Gutenberg lists him among the book's authors, and the work remains the main reason readers still encounter his name today.
Archival records from the Phillips Library show that his family papers include correspondence, personal notes, and other materials connected to his life. Those records, along with memorial sources, indicate that he later worked in civic and business roles in Massachusetts and died on May 21, 1905, in Newton, Massachusetts.