I wonder if they did speak, Joseph, a 20 year old with a deep religious background who loved the south and had lost his brother Walter in April 1865 at "Five Forks" near the end of the Civil War and Maj William N Meserve, a 28 year old who had fought for the north in Company S, Massachusetts 4th Heavy Artillery Regiment. as a Major at the same time as Walter's death.
Major (Rev) William Neal Meserve was born in Barrington, New Hampshire, April 9, 1840. At age 20 he is found in the census lliving at home working as a clerk. In 1862 he enlisted as a sergeant, served in Company K, 35th Infantry Regiment, was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant and then 1st Lieutentant in 1863, and mustered out on Nov 14, 1864 with a promotion to full Major. In 1864 he married Abbie A Hill in Dover and a month after the wedding was commissioned in Company S, Massachusetts 4th Heavy Artillery Regiment. He mustered out of this unit on Jun 17, 1865 at Washington DC. In 1870 he is found in the census in Norfolk, Virginia with his wife Abby and children Frederick, and William. His occupation at that time seems to be listed as a dentist. Scales, in his book History of Strafford County includes William Neal Meserve as a representative citizen stating that "In 1870 he received a strong religious impression that he could not throw off, that he must become a minister". William then attended the Theological Institute of Connecticut in 1874, was ordained as an evangelist in California, served as a missionary, an acting pastor in California, was in El Paso in 1885 at age 45 with children Fred H, William, and John S, was a clergyman in Colorado in 1878-1885, in Oakland in 1890 and in in San Francisco in 1896.
A photo of his wife Abby Augusta Hill can be found at http://www.picturehistory.com/product/id/102255
Multiple references state that William's descriptions of his time in the civil influenced his son Frederick Hill Meserve to become a collector of historical photographs and negatives which started when Frederick was looking for photographs to accompany his father's diary. Frederick's collections grew and an extensive collection of photographs of Lincoln. More about this amazing photographic collection can be found at http://www.mkfound.org/
William Neal Meserve's SHACKFORD ancestors are shown below.
Abby Augusta Hill (1842-1912) m William Neal Meserve
Abigail Burnham Shackford (1812 - 1895) m. Levi Gerrish Hill
Samuel Shackford (1782-1832) m. Nancy Buzzell
Samuel Shackford (1752-1843) m. Nancy Walker
Samuel Shackford (1728-1812) m. Elizabeth Ring
William Shackford (1706-1773) m. Susanna Downing
Samuel Shackford (1674-1731) m. Abigail Richards
William Shackford (1641-1720) m. Deborah Trickey
References
Johnston, Joseph S., editor, The Diary of Joseph Wesley Shackford, Library of Congress, 1991 p. 6-21
Scales, John, History of Strafford County, New Hampshire and representative citizens Richmond-Arnold, 1914 - 953 pages, p. 399
Eicher, David J; The Civil War in Books, An Analytical Biography, p. 545
Scales, John; History of Strafforc County, New Hampshire and representative citizens, Richmond-Arnold, 1914, p. 399
US Census 1860, 1870,
Colorado Census, 1885
Roxbury Massachusetts City Directory
US Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles
New Hampshire Marriage Records Index