John Darling Huntress was born on October 4, 1838 in Shapleigh, Maine and was later listed in the 1861-1862 Maine census records as a farmer in Hiram, Maine; being born and baptized as Major John Darling Huntress. His soldier's card, however, states that he was born in Hiram Maine and was an unmarried resident of Hiram and a 24 year old farmer at the time of his enlistment on September 30, 1862.

He personally choose to change his name to simply John Darling Huntress, when he enlisted in Company H, 27th Maine Infantry avoid being referred to as Private “Major” Huntress which would have caused both confusion and made him the object of camp jokes. Initially his name still caused some confusion, as he had cousin, John Varney Huntress who was a shoemaker, and who had enlisted in the 2nd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. That may be the reason his name does not appear in “The History of the 27th”, written by Lieutenant Colonel John M. Stone in 1895. John enlisted as a private in the 27th Maine, a nine month regiment, originally organized for militia duties on September 10, 1862 at Portland, Maine, and was mustered into Company H on September 30; remaining with the same unit until he mustered out with his Company; on July 17, 1863.

According to a history compiled by Lt.Col. James M. Stone, the 27th Maine  was organized at Portland  on September 30th and left for Washington on October 20th.

Once Company H had been trained it left Portland, Maine attached to Casey's Division, Defenses of Washington, for Washington, D.C. and Virginia three weeks later, on October 20, 1862; passing through Philadelphia and Baltimore on its way to Washington D.C. There the soldiers were outfitted with old-fashioned flint-lock rifles that had been altered to percussion muskets. Afterwards, marching across the bridge from Washington to Arlington, they camped on the property of Robert E. Lee and stood duty at Arlington Heights, Virginia, from October 23rd through December 12, 1862. Later, in October, they moved half a mile south of Arlington Heights to Camp Seward, and in December to a camp south of Hunting Creek, Virginia; until March, 1863. There they were assigned to a position on a picket line that extended from the Potomac River near Mount Vernon to the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. Because of their picket line duties, the 27th Maine missed involvement in the Battle of Fredericksburg, on December 13, but did make contact with Union Army stragglers and deserters who kept them informed of the progress of the battle.

They were then ordered to a new location in late March 1863, along the Little River Turnpike in Virginia, where they took up a position at Chantilly, some twenty-five miles west of Washington on March 24th. Upon their arrival they dug in against a possible invasion by Confederates until June 23rd and on June 26, 1863, with only four days of their enlistment left, the members of the regiment were ordered to leave their position and prepare to be mustered out of the service. That was during the time General Lee was leaving Virginia for the North, and preparing for the Battle of Gettysburg. All Union forces that could be spared were immediately sent to General Meade, leaving the defense of Washington stretched thin. Due to the threat Lincoln was dependent on the troops for the defense of Washington. President Lincoln and Secretary of War Stanton therefore appealed to the 25th and the 27th Maine to extend their service and see the Capitol through the emergency.

The men of the 25th Maine, tired of it all, flatly refused to a man. The 27th, however, after an appeal by their commander Colonel Mark Wentworth, and being promised the Congressional Medal of Honor if they remained, did the gallant thing. Though 555 men made the choice to take their discharge and go home, some 309 choose to remain and reenlist for the duration of the emergency; looking forward to receiving the prestigious medal. Stanton was overjoyed, and on June 29th directed that every man who had volunteered to remain be issued the Medal of Honor. The wording of Stanton’s order was such that it applied to anyone who volunteered to defend the Capitol after their service had expired. Only four days of service were performed by the 27th Maine, however, and the unit played no role in the Battle of Gettysburg. The echoes of Stanton's order or promise, however, was heard from Washington to Maine. No accurate listing of the volunteers who remained behind had actually been made, and due to a bureaucratic mix-up, an order was issued resulting in all 864 men of the 27th Maine being entitled to receive the Medal of Honor. They left Washington for home on July 4th and were mustered out on July 17, 1863 at Portland, Maine; less than three weeks beyond their scheduled end of enlistment. Although they participated in no battles, 864 members of the Regiment were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for serving beyond their enlistment but the award was later officially rescinded.

By then the men had all returned to civilian life, so the Medals were sent to the Governor of Maine for distribution; in January 1865. The Governor called on Colonel Wentworth for help, but Wentworth, having been through numerous ferocious battle himself, knew not one member of the regiment had actually done anything to earn the Medal of Honor. He decided though, that he would follow orders and try and follow Stanton's intent, and awarded the medals only to those who had actually volunteered to remain in Washington. The remaining medals, some 560 of them, he stored in his barn. Later word got out to some who had been issued the medal but had never received them and they broke into the barn and stole many of the medals. After Wentworth's death, those medals remaining simply disappeared.

In 1892 the Record and Pension Office of the War Department began compiling a list of men of the 27th who had actually chosen to remain in Washington, and who were therefore promised the Medal of Honor. Over the next several years the compiling of the names and the clarification of the necessary qualifications for the medals continued; suggesting a deception by the government towards soldiers who had chosen to remain in service. Lincoln’s review board, after considering all past Medal of Honor recipients, concluded by stating that the 309 men who had remained behind had done nothing heroic and were therefore undeserving of the promised Medal of Honor; totally contradicting what had been promised them by President Lincoln. The award of the medals was officially rescinded in 1917, ending a fifty year controversy. Another fraud had been successfully perpetrated on Union troops by their commander in Chief.

Upon leaving the army after the war, Huntress soon made his way to Australia, arriving in New South Wales. He quickly found work as a carpenter with the Department of Roads building bridges; some of which are said to remain today. On December 8, 1868 Huntress married Mary Ann Gray at Goulburn, New South Wales and they had several children. John Darling Huntress never returned to the United States and died at sixty-three years of age of “consumption” in the Myrall St. Community of Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia on January 10, 1902. He was subsequently buried in the Old Dubbo Cemetery in grave number H12, in the Presbyterian Section. It was stated that in 1987 a marble headstone was made available by the American Veterans Administration in Washington D.C. and was placed on his gravesite, but according to Corrine Ilievski, from the Community Service branch of Dubbo City Council and Sandra Smith, Information Services Officer of the Dubbo Branch of the Macquarie Regional Library, there in fact was no headstone ever placed on his gravesite.

“A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion”, Frederick H. Dyer

Anthony Douin, Maine State Archives.

Birth, Marriage and Death Records, New South Wales

Corrine Ilievski, Community Service branch, Dubbo City Council

Dubbo Cemetery Records

“History of the Fifth Regiment Maine Volunteers”, George W. Bicknell

“ Maine In The Civil War: A Bibiliographical Guide”, William B. Jordan Jr., Maine

Historical Society, 1976

National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Pam Harvey, Dubbo & District Family History Society Inc.

Presbyterian Burial Index, Dubbo, New South Wales

Regimental Histories, 27th Maine Infantry

Report of the Adjutant General, State of Maine

Sandra Smith, Macquarie Regional Library

“Shower of Stars: The Medal of Honor and the 27th Maine”, John J. Pullen