SSACHUSETTS STANOAin) I'l 1;LI( ATIONS WALKER, FULLER, & COIVIPANY, No. 245 WASHINGTON STREET. BOSTON. THE PATRIOrS LIBRARY. THF COLOR GUARD IMnff • ra«^>af*f* Xo(m otUilUMrr B^rrkm In Um MMiaratb Amjr t«Ta" (o •imw lu latemcv on llirr»lan>, a book - , ■- — . .^lirr'a 111*. M) tlMrp •it'l yvl (mrvfUlly u«illb<>d a drBM iiif of Um traaapon, tto* cmmf, tbm Marali, IW bovptlal, Um tgM,"^XfW' York t.rrmimfi i'KHt. THE WHIP, HOC. AND tWOflO or. TIm lialT I>rpafUar«l to «. 1^ 9m. QkobOK II. Ill rwi.iiTII !*«." ■ -,r^ an ' r<^ of* .:.£. ubc uf llic ntuat «•: CH^PLMS f I 1 1 ! It 1 ,: a I.tfr «k.. tell ..r • ^r« l^ofUifl < irrfraMa aad aa Annjr » 'paI ; ».i, . : Jill I. r ■rtri.t, "' : Tota»«. Xo oa» j ioMt tilag • tmr aa«t loyal hfart eaa rl*' \hfwnX faitk. aa4 'Il- ia^ , rt- ford /v.. SENATOR WILSONS HISTORY OF THE ANTISLAVERY MEASURES OF THE 37lli and 38lh CONGRESSES. lArffc I2IBO. $3.00. • . h«. hn- 'U I... _ ^ . . on in< itriltgrnt dtixrn. 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The work is printed from clekr type onlaid and tinted paper, and substantially bound. ^^ ' are'lhl wrUor"^ wl.rcmi'be^c-dk.d hoT-' nn,*;'!u ■"' ^^""""^ "''°^« ^'«« Martineau, and very few «hc was led to prepare this ^./ar; of h? co, nfrv T.'''*""'" I'-" fo^t»»'^te circumstunce th,,I era^U, extent i history of th^t;;^*.'!;^ S^J.el^.'yiLg^;^?^!^^''^:^^^-'"""^^^- tlK.ir own'I^"vermSc.n7.Z?"cctli,^^^^^^^ ^'-'T *° ^"-y" ^^^ enlightened knowledge of cafes o^d"uSi'c^^rs7/{;;;^/o.^''"'^ '"'■ 'iTis^'".rJ.-T.vf-'\\f '"^"•-'^ '*^-^'-'^°°'^ '^^ t'-^^vo- graj.pl.s stronglvwith the facts of kiclisl l.Utni'.:^^^;)" Possesses a masculine mind, and readily to our understanding."- i;os-x!w!:^^'^^!l/.;„J^" ^"'"'^'^ ^^'» eommend itself vaniii^he zu:!";^:;;"^:.' mI:::^^;?'^^ E^ii!'""! ""p-^"'^ ^"^ '•-"^'- ^-"' t".- ad. dlscusscs."- z,o*f<,n Transcript." scholurslnj. uud literature of the subjects he The Life of Horace Mann. By his Wife. 1 vol. elegant 8vo. Second edition, with full index. $.3.00. 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The leisure of ten years of ministerial labor has been devoted to the work ; and the result is worthy of such an expenditure of time, study, and thought. — Boston Transcript. IN PRESS. J^EIV iORK. A new volume of the favorite "Spectacle Series." Will Ix profusely illustrated, and one of the most attractive and popular of the series. A CHILD'S BOOK OF BELIGION. For Sunday Schools ana Homes. Compiled by Rev. O. B. FitOTiiiNGiiAM. Original in design, ])urely devotional in> purpose, and executed with the utmosi delicacy and scholarly taste, this little volume will be welcomed in scores of Sunday Schools and thousands of homes, as a fresh, helpful, and much-needed hand-book for superintendent, teacher, parent, and child. History of the Second Massachusetts Regi- ment, "With eleven steel plates. By Rev. A. H. Quint. Cy-4 JFTLL CATALOGUX: of our viiluable Standard, Religions, and JuvenHe Books, just published, and will be sent, free of cost, on application. WALKER, FULLER, & CO., 245 WASIIIINGTOIV ST., BOSTON. ■^Of^U A A^DSE-'-'- ,C^ -DV\ARD tVtB^' 1 ; i/i> CHARle;s S - ^o ■' .V'^ rg liiw Massachusetts in the Rebellion. A :recoiid listotkal ^csitioit of i\t €mmmbm\i\, THE SERVICES OF THE LEADING STATESMEN, THE MILITARY, THE COLLEGES, AND THE PEOPLE, CIYIL WAR OF 1861-65. BY 1^- pT'c/headley, AUTHOR OF "JOSEPHINE," ETC., ETC. BOSTON: WALKER, FULLER, AND COMPANY. 186 6. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by ^ P. C. HEADLEY, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. c^ ^?-M '£-. Stereotyped and Printed by Geo. C. Raxd & Avert. ®0 The People of Massachusetts, WHOSE CIVIL OFFICERS AND MILITARY HEROES WORTHILY KEPRESENTED THEIE IN THE LATE NATIONAL CONFLICT, ARE INSCRIBED BY THE A UTHOR. PREFACE. The historical position of Massachusetts, from her colo- nial days until now, is alone a sufficient reason for under- taking this work, offered to the public as a record of the part borne by the State in the suppression of the Great Rebellion. There is another consideration, of some importance, which was not overlooked. It must be from local records of the popular support of the General Government in the contest, mainly, that the future historian will gather his materials for authentic and complete annals of the conflict. While the author is not a son of Massachusetts, but of New York, he confesses to an enthusiastic admiration of the Bay State and of New England, strengthened by domestic ties whose genealogical lines run back to the ^' Mayflow^er." He cannot be accused of the effort to parade the virtues and extol the deeds of the people of his native State ; a consideration which may entitle him to some confidence in the impartiality and truthfulness of design in preparing a narrative necessarily incomplete in many of its details. To secure authentic materials, the request has been made, through the press and by correspondence, for in- formation from officers and others upon the topics pre- sented in these pages. In regard to the regiments and public men not heard from through officers and friends, the author w^as compelled to depend wholly upon the able reports of the Adjutant-General of the State, and such VI * PREFACE. reliable fragments as were found in books or in the peri- odical press. This statement will explain, for the most part, the rea- son why the regimental histories differ much in length. Where a narrative has been furnished by a competent hand, he has not felt at liberty very materially to alter it, excepting personal sketches, whose condensation, with that of other contributions to the work, was demanded by the limited space and accumulating material, which, as it has come to him, has been impartially used. Unpleasant incidents in official relations and army ex- periences have not been introduced to any extent, be- cause it was no part of the design of this volume to discuss questions of demerit and incapacity, but to give the record of substantial service and honorable achieve- ment. It was desired, and the effort accordingly made, to have portraits of all the general officers of Massachusetts ; but it was only partially successful. The author is indebted to Mr. Samuel Burnham of Bos- ton for the sketch of Senator Sumner, and for assistance in other portions of the volume ; to Chaplain Quint for the sketch of the Second Regiment, and a statement of the position of the churches and clergy in the war ; to Rev. F. Hendricks of Philadelphia, Pcnn., who condensed several of the regimental histories from tlie Adjutant-Gen- eral's reports ; to Gov. Andrew, Gen. Schouler, and clerks, and to Major Henry Ware ; Senator Wilson and Rep- resentative Rice, Assistant Secretary Fox, of the Navy Department, and Mr. Saxton, chief clerk, for valuable documents and statements ; and to Count L. B. Schwabe for pen and pencil portraits of fallen heroes, from his na- tional gallery, and many flicts from his remarkable know- ledge of the war-record of the State. For the sake of uniformity, extracts from official reports, where the au- thorship was not known, have nothing to mark them as quotations. PREFACE. Vll It is proper to state, that the selection of portraits of fallen heroes was governed by no personal partialities, but by circumstances be^^ond the author's control ; and was designed to represent different parts of the Com- monwealth. Errors doubtless will be discovered by the reader ; and these, it is hoped, will be communicated to the author through the publishers, for correction in future editions, so far as practicable. The publishers have clearly done their part to make the volume acceptable to the people ; and it is committed to them in the hope that it will not be an unwelcome memorial of their loyalty. p. c. H. Boston, August, 1866. CONTENTS. PART I. HISTORICAL POSITION OF THE COMMONWEALTH AT THE COM- MENCEMENT OF THE CIVIL CONFLICT. CHAPTER I. ACCOUJfT OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF MASSACHUSETTS .... 1 CHAPTER II. MASSACHUSETTS STATESMEN IN THE REBELLION.— GOV. ANDREW . 17 CHAPTER III. SENATORS SU3INER AND WILSON. — HON. EDWARD EVERETT ... 29 CHAPTER IV. MASSACHUSETTS REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS 64 CHAPTER V. MASSACHUSETTS ABROAD. —FOREIGN AMBASSADORS 80 PART II. MASSACHUSETTS IN THE FIELD. CHAPTER I. THE STATE PREPARES FOR WAR 87 CHAPTER II. THE THREE-MONTHS' REGIMENTS 108 CHAPTER III. THE MARCH OF THE EIGHTH. — THE MARTYRS 125 CHAPTER IV. THE HEROIC DEAD.— THE MILITARY MOVEMENT 133 ix X CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. THE THREE-YEAKS' EEGIMENTS. — FIKST AND SECOND REGIMENTS . 144 CHAPTER VI. THE NINE-MONTHS' REGIMENTS. — THIRD, FOURTH, SIXTH, AND EIGHTH REGIMENTS 172 CHAPTER Vn. SEVENTH REGIMENT 193 CHAPTER Vni. NINTH AND TENTH REGIMENTS 198 . CHAPTER IX. ELEVENTH AND TWELFTH REGIMENTS 208 CHAPTER X. THIRTEENTH, FOURTEENTH, AND FIFTEENTH REGIMENTS .... 219 CHAPTER XL SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH REGIMENTS 237 CHAPTER XII. EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH REGIMENTS 247 CHAPTER Xin. TWENTIETH AND TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENTS 269 CHAPTER XIV. TWENTY- SECOND, TWENTY-THIRD, AND TWENTY-FOURTH REGIMENTS . 285 CHAPTER XV. TWENTY-FIFTH, TWENTY-SIXTH, AND TWENTY- SEVENTH REGIMENTS . 304 CHAPTER XVI. TWENTY-EIGHTH AND TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENTS 320 CHAPTER XVn. THIRTIETH, THIRTY-FIRST, AND THIRTY- SECOND REGIMENTS ... 836 CHAPTER XVni. THIKTY-THIED, THIRTY-FOURTH, AND THIRTY-FIFTH REGIMENTS . . 360 CHAPTER XIX. THIRTY-SIXTH, TniRTY'-SEVENTII, AND THIRTY-EIGHTH REGIMENTS . 377 CHAPTER XX. THIRTY-NINTH, FORTIETH, AND FORTY-FIRST REGIMENTS .... 395 CONTENTS. xi CHAPTER XXL FORTY- SECOND, FORTY- THIRD, FORTY- FOURTH, AND FORTY- FIFTH REGIMENTS 408 CHAPTER XXn. FORTY- SIXTH, FORTY- SEVENTH, AND FORTY-EIGHTH REGIMENTS . . 421 CHAPTER XXni. FORTY-NINTH, FIFTIETH, AND FIFTY-FIRST REGIMENTS .... 432 CHAPTER XXIV. FIFTY- SECOND AND FIFTY-THIRD REGIMENTS 442 CHAPTER XXV. COLORED REGIMENTS 449 CHAPTER XXVI. VETERAN REGIMENTS 459 CHAPTER XXVn. SIXTIETH, SIXTY-FIRST, AND SIXTY- SECOND REGIMENTS .... 470 CHAPTER XXVIII. THE HEAVY ARTILLERY 478 CHAPTER XXIX. THE MASSACHUSETTS CAVALRY 486 CHAPTER XXX. THE LIGHT BATTERIES 499 CHAPTER XXXI. THE LIGHT BATTERIES — Continued 617 CHAPTER XXXII. A RfiSUMfi OF MILITARY OPERATIONS 538 CHAPTER XXXIII. THE NAVAL SERVICE OF THE STATE 550 CHAPTER XXXIV. GENERAL OFFICERS FURNISHED BY MASSACHUSETTS, WHO SURVIVED THE WAR 559 xu CONTENTS. PART in. MASSACHUSETTS AT HOME. CHAPTER I. p^„ PATRIOTIC PHILANTHROPY AND CHARITIES 667 CHAPTER II. SANITARY ASSOCIATIONS AND AID SOCIETIES 675 CHAPTER III. THE FREEDMEN ; THE REFUGEES ; THE DESTITUTE SOUTH ... 682 CHAPTER IV. THE MEDICAL SERVICE 588 CHAPTER V. THE CHURCHES AND THE CLERGY IN THE WAR 6% CHAPTER VI. THE COLLEGES IN THE WAR 604 CHAPTER VII. MASSACHUSETTS POETS AND THE WAR 607 CHAPTER VIII. THE HEROIC DEAD, AND NATIONAL PORTRAIT-GALLERY .... 623 CHAPTER IX. FALLEN HEROES 629 CHAPTER X. FALLEN HEROES — Continued 638 CHAPTER XI. MEMORIALS OF THE DEAD 645 APPENDIX. BATTLES OF THE MASSACHUSETTS REGIMENTS, fco ,661 mx -V r^ai MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. PART I. HISTORICAL POSITION OF THE COMMONWEALTH AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE CIVIL CONFLICT. CHAPTER I. This Country designed for Freedom. — The History of Massachusetts. — The Founders of the State. — Their Exile, first in Holland, then in America. — The Growth of the Colony. — The Progress of Free Principles. — Resistance to Oppressive Acts of the Mother-country. — The first Blood shed. — The Revolutionary Struggle. — Massachu- setts iu the Republic. — The Opening of the Great Rebellion. GOD designed this country for free tlioiiglit, and its highest expression in human society, — a republic. The history of Massachusetts is an imperishal)le record of this divine purpose, unfolding in national life and destiny. As, in a mountain-group, the beams of morning kindle first upon some solitary summit ; so the light of the sun of Liberty, rising on a new world, fell upon this ancient Commonwealth, and spread over the widening land- scape. In the advancing day, the single form of evil, admitted into the colonies, without a dream of its continuance, mucli less of its expansion into a system of oppression, whose " barbarism" would shock the civilized world, has yielded its life amid throes that imperilled the life of the nation itself. For a twofold reason, it is well to take a backward glance along the salient points of the history of Massachusetts, as introductory to her part in the late civil war. It will give, in her own progress and discipline, while educating the peojjle at large for the tri- umphant vindication of nationality, and of the free principles that underlie its outward form through which we have jnst passed, a sufficient answer to the unjust and repeated attacks, from certain quarters, upon New England. AVrote Hutchinson in 1G74 : — 1 1 2 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. "Tlie Massa.cliusetts Colony may be considered as the parent of all the other colonies of Now England. Tliere was no impor- tation of planters from England to any part of the continent northward of Maryland, except to Massachusetts, for more than fifty years after the colony began. In the first two years, about twenty tliousand souls had arrived in Massachusetts. Since then, it is supposed more have gone hence to England than have come thence hither. Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, probably contain five hundred thousand souls ; a surprising increase of subjects of the Britisli crown ) " While it is not in accordance with the spirit of our institu- tions to raise the question of ancestral honor to that importance which it must always hold under the shadow of a throne, the Great Rebellion has forced upon us a just consideration and ap- preciation of our origin. The leaders in the revolt, though few in number, led and forced into its battle-field multitudes who had nothing to gain in the treasonable cause. In another part of the Republic was present- ed the spectacle of a free people paying their willing homage to government and law, and united by this single bond of loyalty running througli all classes and conditions in life. It can be clearly shown, in opposition to the aristocratic asser- tion at the South and across the Atlantic that the unanimity among the enemies of tlie national flag arose from their common origin and superior blood, that it was, in fact, the unnatural agreement to which tyranny brings a people in its degrading and lawless service; and the long-denied, incomprehensible union of the North was the normal state of the millions sprung from the same Englisli stock, and pervaded by that intelligent devotion to freedom which inhered in them from the beginning of their colonial existence. TVhittemorc, in his " Cavalier Dismounted," has demonstrated by facts and figures " that very few of the early settlers of the Virginia and other Southern Atlantic colonies possessed any hereditary claim to the rank of gentlemen ; and even these were without the indispensable body of hereditary retainers, in wliom a reverential submission was a matter of faith. In tlie true sense, in the signification yet attached to tjie word in Europe, they never did establish an aristocracy; yet they founded an imi- tation which has yearly become more despicable. Instead of tenants, the new aristocrats peopled their lands with black slaves. ORIGIN OF COLONIES NOR Til AND SOUTH. 3 or white convicts bound to them for a term of years. As a nat- ural consequence, their aristocracy became composed, not of those who had hereditary rank, not of gentry in the English sense, but of all those who could invest capital in flesh and blood. In Virginia and the Carolinas, the slave-owners usurped the name of gentlemen : they had a sufficient intermixture of that class to serve as a screen, and there were none to question their claims. The United States are essentially English to-day, despite the mil- lions of foreigners which have been absorbed into the population. The tendency of its citizens has been toward a democracy, and yet not toward anarchy and lawlessness. "When we inquire what controlling influence has impressed this form upon the national character, the enemies of the predomi- nant sentiment instinctively show that it is New England ; not the comparatively limited New England of 1863, but the New- England stock and influence which has invigorated nearly every State of the Union. In their ignorance of the past, these re- vilers of New England have been blindly attacking a greater fact than they were aware of. Not only is nearly a third part of our native-born population the offspring of the New England of the Revolution, but, long before tbat time, the intermixtui^e had commenced. New England, colonized by Englishmen, homoge- neous in a remarkable degree, has been the only thoroughly pure nationality within our territories. The few stray Englishmen of education in the Southern Colonies, the mucli greater number of convicts, the increasing immigration of French, Irish, Scotch, and German settlers, have not only failed to overwhelm this com- pact and thoroughly alive minority, but have been formed and moulded into shape by it. In protesting against New England, the Vallandighams and Coxes are only proving the nullity of ' expunging resolutions.' ' Can they make that not to be which has been 't ' Until they can recall the past, annihilate the past inhabitants of these States, and from stones raise up some other progenitors for the present generation, they cannot destroy the influence of New England." For the conflrmation of these views, we may feai'lcssly point to^ the unquestioned annals of the Coimnonwealth. In 1G02, while Bartholomew Gosnold was making the first English voyage of discovery along the coast of Massachusetts, naming Cape Cod, and afterward visiting the mainland,' de- lighted with the "fair fields," "fragrant flowers," "stately groves," " pleasant brooks," and " beauteous rivers ; " in the rural 4 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. towii of Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, and also in Gainesborough, " the choice and noble spirits who planted New England " were learning the lessons of truth and liberty under such teachers as Clifton and John Robinson. And when, in the spring of 1(304, James I. declared, at the opening of the first parliament, that " his mother-church was that of Rome, and that the Puritans were a sect insufferable in a well-governed commonwealth," the blow was struck whose great issue would be the founding of a republic. Three months later, when the persecuting monarch demanded conformity or ejectment, upon no churches did the oppressive order fall with more severity than upon the Independents of Scrooby and Gainesborough. Two years of suffering and thwarted attempts to seek the more friendly shores of Holland passed before the exiles were united in a land, to them a " new world," because of its " uncouth language, different manners and customs, and strange fashions and attires." Among the Holland Pilgrims conspicuous in New England's early history was the scholarly and religious young Bradford, learning the art of silk-dyeing, although he had mas- tered the Hebrew, " because he would see with his own eyes the ancient oracles of God in their native beauty." Says the able and eloquent historian of Massachusetts, Barry, " Of other mem- bers of this Pilgrim Church, it is impossible, at the present day, to state with exactness how many were connected with this church, either in England or in Holland. No records have de- scended to us from which a list of their names, or an account of their proceedings, can be authentically drawn ; and, for the want of such knowledge, it is as absurd as it is unnecessary to " forge ancient archives to stretch their lineage back, and to deduce it from the most illustrious houses. Their proudest pedigree is Massa- chusetts and America. Si monumerUum quarts circumspicey Eight years' experience of toil and trial among a strange and uncongenial people convinced the Pilgrims that growth and free- dom could not be secured in Holland ; while they also shrank from the danger of assimilation to their neighbors by long-continued association, and intermarriages which would not unfrequently occur, until their distinctive character as a people was lost. They cast their eyes upon the sea, determined to seek a home some- whdre beyond its waters. The colonial lands of Virginia, which had for a dozen years been occupied, and Guiana, the El Dorado of the age, had each enthusiastic advocates ; but Englisii asso- THE PURITANS SAIL FOR AMERICA. 5 ciations and protection decided them " to live in a distinct body by themselves, under the general government of Virginia, and by their agents to sue his Majesty to grant them free liberty, and freedom of religion." Three years later, in the year 1620, after prayers and tears, and counsel from Robinson worthy of the great crisis in their affairs, the exiles embarked for the English coast. " So they LEFT THAT GOODLY AND PLEASANT CITY WHICH HAD BEEN THEIR RESTING-PLACE NEARLY TWELVE YEARS, BUT THEY KNEW THEY WERE PILGRIMS, AND LOOKED NOT MUCH ON THOSE THINGS, AND QUIETED THEIR SPIRITS." The voyage of the "Mayflower" followed, and the landing of the Pilgrims on a desolate coast, with a compact in their hands, which contained the true principles of republican equality, — an instrument whose dignified and reverent assertion of rights has no parallel in the history of colonial settlements. On Clark's Island, Dec. 10 (O.S.), the Pilgrims observed the first Christian Sabbath kept in Massachusetts ; and, the succeed- ing day, went to the mainland, where, stepping upon Forefath- ers' Rock, thoy opened the first act in the "• great drama," whose last " l)rouglit freedom to a wide-spread republic." Less than a decade of years had passed, when two great events in their formative influence upon New England occurred, — the founding of a new colony, as a distinct enterprise from that of the Pilgrims, with the speedy transfer of its charter from the company in England to the colony abroad, thus making them virtually one, and taking a decided step towards colonial self- government ; and the settlement at Shawmut, on account of its " excellent spring," by Mr. Johnson, followed )jy Gov. Win- throp and others. These gifted and educated men who laid the foundation of Boston were not Separatists, but Churchmen, who desired to escape from the corruptions at home, and, with their neighbors at Plymouth, " lay some good foundation for religion " in the fresh, free air of the New World. Mr. Jobnson, and his wife Lady Arbella, left "a paradise of plenty and pleasure in the family of a noble earldom" for "a wilderness of wants ; " and John Winthrop, the Christian ma- gistrate and gentleman, turned from the cherished associations which attend wealth and refinement to the same forest-home, leaving behind him his devoted and congenial companion. No loftier minds ever founded a city, a state, or an eni])ire. Their sympathy with the Independents at Plymouth in religious 6 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. experience, and the passionate longing for freedom to work un- hindered for God and mankind, drew them toward each other ; and under the mouhling influence of the Puritan ministry, which stands unrivalled in mental and spiritual power, they soon blended their fortunes, and harmonized in civil and ecclesiastical polity. The church and schoolhouse, however humble, marked every clearing along the radiating lines of pioneering encroachment upon the boundless wilderness. The growing insecurity and danger of the colonies from In- dian conspiracies, and the jealousies of the French and Dutch, led them, in 1643, to make another stride in the unconscious progress toward a national independence. In the Preamble to the Articles of Confederation, they state, with the sublime calmness of a high and inflexible purpose, the law of a Union never to be dissolved : " We all came into these parts of America with one and the same end and aim ; viz., to advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to enjoy the liberties of the gospel in pxirity with peace." Then follows a summary of the causes which led to the " consociation," and the Twelve Articles that bound together "The United Colonies of New England," wiiich was the " model and prototype of the North- American Confederacy of 1774." Just twenty eventful years of varied discussion of rights and privileges brought an open conflict of the colonists with trans- Atlantic intolerance. The king appointed four commissioners to hear and determine " all complaints and appeals in all causes and matters," civil and military, in the colonies, who, accom- panied by four hundred and fifty regular soldiers with their offi- cers, sailed for New England. Boston sent an eloquent and earnest protest against their interference ; and thwarted by the skilful and admirable management of her political leaders, whose plea first and last was the charter, the connnissioners deter- mined to test their authority against that of the colony. May 23, 1G65, they ordered a merchant of Boston to appear the next day to answer to the charges of Thoiuas Deane and others. When the appointed hour on the 24tli arrived, and the commis- sioners were prepared to proceed, a herald suddenly appeared, and with a trumpet-blast startled the royal representatives with the signal to listen to the governor's command, forbidding the people to aid or countenance them in their invasion of charter rights. Tlie astonished commissioners, after a fruitlcbs attempt RESISTAXCE TO THE TYnAXNY OF ANDIIOS. 7 to revise the laws of the colony, and a further failure in their ef- forts in New Hampshire, which was then under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, at length returned to England, to which the scene of negotiation was transferred. The machinations of the enemies of Massachusetts were eventually so far successful, that, in 1683-4, its charter was annulled. In May, 108(3, his Majesty's commission of Gov. Dudley to be his royal vicegerent was "pub- lished by beat of drum, and sound of trumpet," and then transmitted to the several towns. Becoming unpopular, he was s-.upplanted before the close of the year by Sir Edmond Andros, a " poor knight of Guernsey," who, flaunting the tinselled insignia of the office of Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of all New England, and attended by British troops, landed at Boston. His tyrannical hand was soon laid upon taxation, legislation, the press, and even upon matrimonial relations. To encourage the Church of England, and break down that of the colony, Andros sent for the key of the South Church, — a sanctuary which later became the very Temple of Liberty, echoing its purest eloquence, — that " prayers might be said there." This was soon after fol- lowed by a proposition to tax the people for the support of the Church of England. As these despotic acts -were multiplied, the question was indignantly asked, " What people that had the spirits of Englishmen would endure this, — that when they had, at vast charges of their own, conquered a wilderness, and been in possession of their estates forty, nay, sixty years, that now a parcel of strangers, some of them indigent enough, must come and inherit all that the people now in New England, and their fathers l^efore them, had labored for ? " 'Increase Matlicr, the "great metropolitan clergyman of the country," who, Randolph said, was as " full of treason as an egg of meat," and the ministers of the colony generally, openly and boldly preached rci-istance to the oppression of their rulers. At this crisis, the Revolution of 1(388 dethroned the Stuarts, and ele- vated to the throne the house of Hanover in the person of King William. This vindication of popular rights in the mother-coun- try was almost simultaneous with the outbreak of exasperated feeling in the colony. April 18, 1080, at eight o'clock in the morning, Boston wore the aspect of unwonted agitation. It was reported that Andros would lire the town at one end, and Capt. George, of the English frigate " Rose," apply the torch at the other, and then both make good their escape. Soon the people were in arms, the very l)oys l)randishing their clubs along the o MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. streets. At mid-day, a declaration was read from the balcony of the court-house, closing; as follows : " We commit our cause unto the blessing of Him who hears the cry of the oppressed, and advise all our neighbors, for whom we have thus ventured ourselves, to join with us in prayers, and all just action for the defence of the land." A shout from the multitude rent the air; colors floated on Beacon Hill, the signals of the opening strug- gle ; and, in obedience to the summons, the citizens and soldiery of the country came streaming into Boston. Before night, twenty military companies were formed in the streets. The next day, April 19, 1689, across Charlestown and Chelsea Ferries poured another throng, headed by a Lynn schoolmaster. The surrender of the castle was demanded, and reluctantly made with a storm of curses : that of the frigate soon followed. The government of Andros was then overthrown, and a council of safety and peace was organized on its ruins. The royal governor was arrested, and, to secure him against violence, placed under guard. In 1692, King William erected a new government in the Pil- grim colonies, to be called the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and include Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Maine ; inaugurating a new era in the history of New England, whose growth had been steady in numbers, wealth, and liberalit}^ of sentiment, along with a deepening love of freedom, and purpose of resistance to oppression. And, in our estimate of the character of these colonists, the question is not, indeed, " What were the errors of the past ? but What were Us aims ? " And while " industry, frugality, and exemplary integrity, were characteristics of the people," it was not possible " to stifle the conviction which had sprung up, that freedom was the inalienable right of man, not to be parted witli on any account whatever." In regard to the participation of the Massachusetts Colony in American slavery, it is enough to say, — " Slavery in general was so repugnant to the principles of the Puritans, it was viewed with abhorrence ; and, fortunately for New England, it never reached the dignity of a fixed ' institution ' to be cherished forever." The unhapjiy witchcraft delusion, of which some have spoken contemptuously, and others with unsparing denunciation, was only the outbreak of an epidemic infatuation, whicli had long prevailed with more fiightful results in Old England, and which BEVOLUTIONABY SPEECH OF JAMES OTIS. 9 continued there long after the excitement and its tragedies had ceased in America. Through all moral and political changes among the people in the province of Massachusetts Bay, their struggles against the arrogant claims of the mother-country gathered strength. The "irrepressible conflict" was eloquently set forth in the words of James Otis in the old town-house of Boston, February, 17G1 : "I am determined to my dying day to oppose, witli all the powers and faculties God has given me, all such instruments of slavery on the one hand, and villany on the other, as this writ of assistance is. I argue in favor of British liberties, at a time when we hear the greatest monarch upon earth declaring from his throne that he glories in the name of Briton, and that the privileges of his people are dearer to him than the most valuable prerogatives of his crown. I oppose the kind of power, the exercise of which, in former periods of English history, cost one King of England his head, and another his throne. Let the consequences be what they will, I am determined to proceed, and to the call of my country am ready to sacrifice estate, ease, health, applause, and even life. The patriot and the hero will ever do thus ; and, if brouglit to the trial, it will then be known how far I can reduce to practice principles which I know to be founded in truth." John Adams declared that "American Independence was then and there born." The first victim of the Revolutionary period was the lad Snider, twelve years of age, killed by a shot from the house of Richard- son the " informer," fired into the indignant crowd the 22d of February, 1770. His funeral was attended by " all the friends of liberty ; " five hundred children walking in procession in fi'out of the bier. Tlie Boston Massacre followed on the 5tli of Marcli ; and, of the three killed on the spot by British troops, Attucks the mulatto, and Cahlwell the " stranger," were borne to their graves from Faneuil Hall. The anniversary of the slaughter was observed with great solemnity upon its annual recurrence, fanning the rising flame of patriotism in the colonies. In the Representatives' Chamber at Boston, Nov. 3, 1772, when the committee of correspondence was appointed, — who subse- quently, tlu-ough Sanuicl Adams and Joseph Warren, sent forth a statement of rigiits, and tlicir violations, and, from the pen of 2 10 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. Benjamin Church, a letter to the several towns of the province, — the foundation was laid of the American Union. The towns sent back in clear accents their readiness to stand by the committee and the proposed Union. As the uprising of the people increased in extent and ominous determination, " every eye was fixed u]ion Boston, once the seat of commerce and of plenty, and inhabited by an enterprising and hospitable people. Tlie cause in wliicli it suffered was regarded as the common cause of the country. A hostile fleet lay in its harbor ; hostile troops paraded its streets ; the tents of an army dotted its common ; cannon were planted in commanding positions ; its port was closed, its wharves were deserted, its commerce was paralyzed, its shops were shut, and many were reduced from affluence to poverty. Yet a resolute spirit inspired them still. The Sons of Liberty knew no despair ; and the " Liberty Song," set to the tune of " Smile, Brittania," bade the citizens of the beleaguered town — " Be not dismayed : Though tyrants now oppress, Though fleets and troops invade, You soon will have redress. The resolution of the brave "Will injured Massachusetts save." Such was the progress made at the close of 1772 by the found- ers of New England. They believed not in the despotic cen- tralization of power, but in its consolidation. Freedom was not to them license to tlirow off wholesome restraints, but both civil and ecclesiastical tyranny, substituting in its place fixed, strong, and compact government, — the foundation for ages of progress in every direction of human development, under the acknowl- edged and welcome sovereignty of God. The cementing force in such representative authority was mitf tual confidence. And this very trust in each other sprang not alone from similarity of religious views and unseKish feeling, but from the conscious posssession of self-government, — that resolute self-control which fitted every man to be a ruler in society, be- cause he held all selfish, volcanic passions subordinate to the gen- eral good. Sucli intelligent estimate of human relations and duty led to another suljlime peculiarity of character in tlieir administration of power, — the transfer of the sentiment we call loyalty., the mind's homage to divinely ajipuiuted autliority, from })ersonul THE BOSTON TEA-PARTY. — LEXINGTON. 11 presence and external pageantry, to law itself. It is true, the forefathers carried tliis supreme regard for the invisible soul of all just supremacy to the extreme of disdain for the tinsel of royal prerogatives and a mitred priesthood ; but there was still an intel- ligent appreciation of essential truth, tried in tlie fire of manifold and protracted persecution. March 5, 1773, in his oration on the Boston Massacre, Benja- min Church predicted that some future Congress would be the "glorious source of the salvation of America;" and, seven days later, Virginia, by her legislative resolves, advised a union of councils throughout the continent ; a measure urged with all the earnestness and eloquence of Samuel Adams. Then Phila- delphia spoke in behalf of Pennsylvania, denouncing the duty on tea, and branding him who countenanced its importation " an enemy to his country." Dec. 16, by the Boston Tea-party, at Griffin's Wharf, the " die was cast." Mothers and their daughters lent the inspiration of their affection to the fathers and sons, offering their highest sacrifice on the altar of Liberty. April 19, 1775, dawned upon Lexington, alive with preparation to meet the descent upon- the military stores gathered there, of which the midniglit couriers had forewarned the loyal people. Before the fire of Pitcairn's men fell eight martyrs of Liberty, and ten more were bleeding from the wounds which the arms of England had made. The War of the Revolution was opened on that day in the streets of Lexington. " What a glorious morning is this! " exclaimed Samuel Adams as he heard the sound of the guns borne to his ear from the scene of carnage. It is a suggestive fact, that Massachusetts then, and hi 1861, gave the first blood of sacrifice to the country ; and Vir- ginia, the first to respond to her call in 1775, became the last great battle-field of Rebellion. Tlie stirring events which lollowed, from Bunker Hill to Yorktown, make up the third grand period in the history of freedom on this continent. In 1770, Massachusetts had ten thousand troops in tlic Revolu- tiouary army, whose entire number was forty thousand. She furnished more troops for the war than all the colonies south of Pennsylvania, thrcQ times as many as New York, and nearly the same excess over Pennsylvania. xVmid the opening scenes of the struggle for Independence, the hideous anomaly in the Christian colonies, African slavery, was not forgotten. In Worcester, where emancipaiion,as a measure indispensable to 12 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. success in the recent war, was first advocated by Senator Sumner before the people in 1860, a convention of the citizens of the State, lately a colony, in 1775 declared their abhorrence of the enslaving of any of the Imman race, especially tlie negroes, in this country, and their purpose to use all means in their power to secure uni- versal freedom. About the same time, Massachusetts took the lead in preparatory steps to a convention of the States, looking toward their confederation ; and, in 1787, her action received the approval of Congress. Meanwhile, in the Congress of the Thirteen States, March, 1784, Mr. Jefferson sat on a select committee to report a plan of government for tlie Western territory, including the extensive region which afterwards formed the States of Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. The report presented to Congress an article fatal to the extension of slavery. It read : "TAa^, after the year 1800 of the Christian era^ there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in any of the said States, otherwise than in punislunent of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted to have been personally guilty." A majority of the votes of all the States was required, and lost only by the absence of the member from New Jersey. New England, New York, and Pennsylvania were unanimous in their votes for the prohibition ; Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina, against it ; and North Carolina divided. Thus the first great act of justice to the nation and a proscribed race, in Congress, after the dawn of peace, was defeated ; and the State solitary to-day at the North, by her position on national questions, and in neglecting to cast her vote for freedom, fastened upon the South tlie system which ruled the nation, and well-nigh ruined it.* In the Confederation of 1787, through whose action the States became a nationality, the first condition was the surrender at once and forever of a separate existence, reserving only that degree of local government which would be harmoniously subor- dinate to the life and sovereignty of the General Government . The honorable position of Massachusetts was recognized by the people in tlie selection of John Adams, in the first presidential election under the Constitution, to sit by the side of Washington in the administration of the power it conferred. Unfortunately, the objections of the Commonwealth, and of other States in the convention that adopted the instrument, to the *, Since these pages were written, New Jersey has taken her position with her loyal sister States. MASSACHUSETTS ALWAYS ANTISLAVERT. 13 legalizing of slavery, of the slave-trade for twenty years, and conceding the right of the slave States to demand the return of fugitives, were overruled by considerations of present expediency ; and the system of which Ellswortli said, " Slavery will not be a speck in our country," was destined to become the blackest storm- cloud that ever dropped its bolts upon a nation. In 1780, Massachusetts framed a constitution, wliich contained the declaration, that " all men arc born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and inalienable rights, among which is the riglit of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties, and that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property." The Supreme Court of the State decided, that, by this provision, slavery was abolished. New Hampshire followed in the same manner in 1783, and Rhode Island in 1784. Tlie general consistency of Massachusetts from her earliest existence, on the great questions of human rights, cannot be denied. It has made her the object of special dislike by tlie friends of oppression, and has given pre-eminence to lier sons among those modern Nazarenes in the eyes of the "chivalry," — the" Yankees." Her citizens have not to any extent differed here. Party issues have divided her councils, and the extreme views of some re- formers have had tlie effect either to create silence, or draw forth an apology for the slave-power, whose claims were presented in the name of the Constitution. Those very reformers, among whom William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell- Phillips are pre-eminent in talents, and the latter alone in the grace and splendor of his oratory, commanded ad- miring throngs, because, along with whatever of extravagance entered into their appeals, they reached and interpreted the popular conscience. Their moral courage entitles them to re- spect, which will be theirs when scorn has branded with eternal shame the last vestige of human bondage. In the broadening and deepening sweep of Massachusetts' ideas and sentiment, o[)posed by the sleepless i)ropagaiKlism of the South, and advocated so ably in Congress by John Quincy Adams, Hor- ace Mann, Charles Sumner, and Henry Wilson, political expe- diency and differences have been overborne, until her brow in the van of the world's progress is unclouded, and bright with unfading hope. After South Carolina passed an act authorizing the imprison- ment of colored seamen, found on board of vessels in her pdtts, 14 MASSACHUSETTS IJV THE REBELLION. till they sailed again, this Commonwealth first appeared to ques- tion the right, and to protect her mariners. The Legislature resolved to test the constitutionality of the enactment. In conformity with the resolution, the lamented Gov. Briggs ai> pointed the Hon. Samuel Hoar to proceed to Charleston to pro- cure evidence, and institute legal proceedings. He arrived there November, 1844. His threatened life, and expulsion from the city with his daughter, is the brief history of his mission. The memorable Compromise of 1850, followed by slave-hunt- ing at the North, was no less repugnant to the true heart of Massachusetts because her greatest statesman approved it on the ground of a constitutional demand not only, but that of concilia- tion and peace. The Nebraska Bill inaugurated a reign of terror in Kansas, among whose persecuted pioneers New-England emigrants were largely represented. But no event ripened more rapidly the general sentiment of the State than the trial and rendition of Anthony Burns in early June, 1854. The peaceful trial in the court-room, the armed soldiery escorting the victim to the United- States cutter "Morris" witiiout molestation, while the Common- wealth throbbed to her extremities with indignation over the intended insult, illustrated, as nothing had done before, her hatred to the system that offered, it, and her indestructible love of order. The majesty of law awed the descendants of Revolu- tionary heroes into silence, while, like the divine Friend of the poor, one of his disciples was led, as a lamb to the slaughter, from freedom to bloody bondage. May 22, 1856, the outrage upon Massacliusetts and the nation. In its Capitol, was repeated by Senator Brooks in his cowardly and ruthless attack upon Charles Sumner. When he lay apparently near death from the wounds inflicted upon his head, the State that sent him to the senate-chaml)er was moved with inexpressi- ble emotions of grief and horror. The question was not, whether the remarkable speecii on the Barbarism of Slavery was faultless in thought and delivery : it was enough to know that the mur- derous blows laid upon the brow of her senator were intended to express the domineering hate of the oppressor toward the Com- monwealth not only, but the liberty-loving North ; while it struck down the right of free discussion everywhere. The very next year, the Dred Scott decision was rendered by Chief Justice Taney, against whose inhumanity Justice Curtis, from Massachusetts, gave his decided opinion, although him- self a warm personal friend of Daniel Webster, and belonging to the conservative school. MASSACHUSETTS ALWAYS ANTISLAVERY. 15 The clergy and the churches, with comparativoly few excep- tions, have always shown that fealty to the principles of righteous- ness in the State, which distinguished the days of colonial heroism in the pulpit and in the assemblies of the people. Tluis nearly two li and red and fifty years of conflict with legal- ized wrongs, and of intelligent thought upon human rights and well-being, had prepared Massachusetts to meet bravely the second great life-struggle of Freedom on this continent. When the popular election of 18G0 elevated to the presidency a man, who, in the minds of the people, will ever be associated with Washington, the trial-hour of Nationality came, and found her ready for it. It will be seen by reference to Congressional records, that of the score of antislavery measures, wliich, during the four years of war, swept away the defences of oppression reared by the national legislation during iifty years, more than half of them were introduced by members from the single State of Massachu- setts, whose prompt support of other bills was not unfrequently the influence that secured their passage. The abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, the great work of national emancipa- tion, and the Bureau of Freedmen, are forever associated with the names of Massachusetts Congress-men. It is not an occasion for proud comparison with other States, but an historical fact to which we point the friends of freedom the world over, whenever the unfounded sneer is aimed at New England. The recognition of this providential position occasionally ap- pears in the record of public affairs made by the columns of the newspaper .press. When the triumphant vindication of the prin- ciples of our Government by the popular elections of 18G5 was known, the leading papers of Philadelphia had expressions of congratulation like those we quote in this connection : — To commence with the extreme East, we find that the stanch old Coni- raouwealth of 3Iassachusctts, whose consistency is as eternal as the waves of her bay, has, of course, rolled up lier old majority in favor of the cause of free- dom. Small in size, small in population, when compared with her sisters, she is great in brain, and large of heart ; and her action yesterday was only what we had cause to expect from her recoi-d in the past, and her attitude throughout the darkest liour of our national life. Such a history suggests responsibilities corresponding with the greatness of the work committed to tlie Commonwealth in the training of her children for the duties l»cfore them, — not only to 16 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. the Soutli, but to the mighty West, throughout whose empire of material resources they are to be no inconsiderable power in its progress and character. The influence of the State in the national councils, the work done by her Congress-men there, and the action of the local gov- ernment at home, will appear more fully in the sketches of her leading statesmen wlien the Rebellion broke, like the storm uj)ou the lisiierman's bark of Galilee, on the Ship of State. No ship can go down with Him on board who guided the " Mayflower " over the wintry deep ; but it was well that we had skilful and faithful men to man our richly-freighted vessel when the tempest came, — an assurance that a kind Providence will continue to conduct it through the turbulent waters yet around it, onward in its course of glory and blessing. CHAPTER II. MASSACHUSETTS STATESMEN IN THe' REBELLION. Influence of the Leading Minds of the State upon the Nation. — Gov. John A. Andrew. — His Birthplace. — Enters College. — Graduates, and studies Law in Boston. — His Antislavery Position. — In the Legislature. — Governor of the State during the Civil War. — His Earnest and Active Loyalty. — Tributes to his Character. i MONG the inscriptions in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, JLJL not far from that of "The Nation's Birthplace," and be- tween two quaint, very high-backed chairs, each bearing the words, " Continental Congress, 1774," shine the golden letters which make this record of the past : — "Within these walls Henry, Hancock, and Adams Inspired the Delegates of the Colonies With nerve and sinew for the Toils of war. Resulting in our National Independence." Hancock and Adams were Massachusetts statesmen ; and their names suggest again, by their association with the Virginia orator, the relation of the States to each other then and now. Side by side in the glorious pre-eminence of eloquent and influential statesmanship stood the Bay State and the Old Dominion in the Revolutionary War. In the civil conflict, the one was still first in active loyalty, and its expression in the character, and power to guide the people, of her political leaders ; while the other was both the first and the last great battle-field of Treason. We have already glanced at the history of Massachusetts from the voyage of the " Mayflower " (and even before that vessel set sail) to the establishment of the Republic ; and this is not the place to dwell upon the illustrious names tliat link the early years of the nation's existence with those of attempted suicide by a portion of her vast empire. We must be content with brief sketches of the most conspicuous actors in the suppression of the terrible revolt ; and we begin fittingly this roll of honor witii 3 17 18 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. his Excellency John Albion Andrew, the twenty-first governoi of Massachusetts since 1780. He was l)om in Windham, Me., May 31, 1818. His boyhood was free from vices, and of a cheerful, sprightly, and studious character. Graduating at Bowdoin College, Brunswick, in 1837, he removed to Boston, and entered upon the study of law. In 1840, he was admitted to the bar. Thoroughly antiskivery, he met every step of its aggressions with his protest, wherever his voice could speak for freedom. In 1850, the passage of the Fugitive-slave Law called forth hi& warmest opposition to the enactment, and its enforcement in Massachusetts. He felt then, what few will deny now, that the measure was an intended test of slave-power, and an insult to the Commonwealth. In 1858 he was elected to the Legislature, where his course was entirely consistent in the advocacy of human rights. He was a delegate, in 1860, to the Republican Convention whicli nominated Abraham Lincoln for the Presidency, and voted for him. The same year, he was elected Governor of Massachusetts by the largest popular vote ever cast for a candidate for that office. He foresaw, in the agitation at the South which followed the election of Mr. Lincoln, the beginning of a fearful conflict, and began to prepare for it. The militia of the State was summoned to the armories and the drill, and nothing omitted necessary to place it on a footing of efficiency. Tiic unequalled foresight and l)rompt action displayed by the Governor will necessarily further appear in the annals of " Massachusetts in the Field." Gov. Andrew was re-elected in 1861 with but feeble opposition, and successively in 1862, '63, and '64 ; and then declined to l)c again a candidate. His term of office expiring in January, 1866, he could rest from the herculean labor of carrying the State through the four years of war. He had given himself with untiring assiduity to the work of making the Commonwealth ever ready, as she was always willing, to stand in the front rank of the States, in cheerful sacrifice of all things, if required, to crush treason, and save the Republic by rescuing it from the grasp of a domi- neering tyranny, whose boast was that it took the fresh-moulded image of God from his hand, and stamped upon it, in the hour of its birth, '-''Goods and chattels personal.'' In the conference of loyal governors at Altoona, Penn., Septem- ber, 1862, he was conspicuous in hopeful, ardent patriotism, and STATE PAPERS. 19 prepared the address to the President, urging tlie issue of a call for three hundred thousand new troops to the held. His messages and addresses on special occasions, such as on the departure or return of regiments, the presentation of flags, and on other public occasions, are models of their kind ; and many of tliem, or extracts from them, will be given in appropriate places as we advance in the volume. His message of January, 18G1, reads now like a prophetic oracle. Touching briefly, yet with marvellous comprehensive- ness and clearness, upon the disturbing elements abroad in the land, he vindicates the previous history of Massachusetts, and exonerates lier from every charge of being in any way responsible for the unhappy dissensions. He shows her constant loyalty, especially through the years from 1850 to 1800, and her readi- ness to defend at any cost the national life. " Her people will forever stand by their country." Gov. Andrew then presents in a masterly manner the position held by the old Bay State to- ward the country by referring to the threatening condition of affairs, and with the following comprehensive question : " Shall a re-actionary spirit, unfriendly to liberty, be permitted to subvert democratic republican government organized under constitutional forms 't " The whole tone of this portion of the message showed that he foresaw in a great measure the magnitude of the coming contest, and would prepare the people for it. But we then thought there was more of rhetoric than of fact in his weighty sentences. Time passed on, and we learned to be grateful for his foresight. Gov. Andrew's keen appreciation of State and National affairs, and his promptness of action, are admirably shown in his mes- sage at the special session in May, 1861. It opens with the laconic words, " The occasion demands action, and it shall not be delayed by speecii ; " and tlien he points out ivJiat is to be done, and how it is to be done, in the tersest language. Want of space will not allow us to enter into detail ; but the reader is commended to all the messages of Gov. Andrew during the war. As State pa])ers, they possess rare excellence, — practi- cal to the higliest degree, comprehensive in their scope, far-reach- ing in their grasp, yet adorned witli a rhetorical beauty and a fervid eloquence that were magnetic in their effect upon the people. lie never allowed the sparkle of enthusiasm to subside ; and, through all the long years of the war, he, and through liim the State, was the embodiment of true patriotism and higli niiU- tary zeal. 20 MASSACnUSETTS IX THE REDELLIOX. Of course, in the war messages, there is much that was for immediafe and temporary effect. Sudden emergencies were tc be provided for, and the people were to be stirred in their emo- tional nature. Gov. Andrew's Valedictory Address, January, 1866, is of a different character. Closely argumentative, severely logical, with no superfluous words, it will stand as one of the ablest papers on reconstruction ever placed before the people ; and, by its strong contrast with previous documents, it shows in a striking light the versatile powers of the distinguished author. A few extracts from different State papers will indicate the tone of the whole. From his message to the Senate, January, 1862, we quote : — Military ^education, both in the militia and in connection with the earlier trainintr of the seminaries of learniutr, and the estabUshmeut of a school within the State taught by professors of military science, are all subjects deeply engaging the minds of the people. It is to be hoped that Congress at its present session will adopt some comprehensive national plan of militia organization, requiring all men within certain ages to make it a point of honor and duty to instruct, strengthen, and recreate themselves by that reasonable training desirable to prepare the citizen to shoulder the musket at any crisis of public danger or disaster I venture to reeommeuJ that our own militia should bo brought to the high- est perfection possible by legislative encouragement. Can it be regarded us due to the momentous possibilities of the future, or just to the people, that less than twenty-five thousand men, fitted and furnished to be mobilized in a week, should constitute an active militia ? . . . The ultimate extinction of human slavery is inevitable. That this war, which is the revolt of slavery (checkmated by an election, and permanently subordinated by the census) not merely against the Union and the Consti- tution, but against popular government and democratic institutions, will deal it a mortal blow, is not less inevitable. I may not argue the proposition ; but it is true. And while tlie prin- ciples and opinions adopted in my earliest manhood, growing with every year in strength and intelligence of conviction, point always to the policy of jus- tice, the expediency of humanity, and the necessity of duty, to which the relations of our Government and people to the whole subject of slavery form no exception, — so that I have always Ijelieved that every constitutional power l)elonging to the Government, and every just influence of the people, ought to be used to limit and terminate this enormous wrong, which curses not only the bondman and his master, but blasts the very soil they stand upon, — I vet mean, as I have done since the besrinnino- of the " secession," — I mean to continue to school myself to silence. I cannot suspect that my opinions, in view of the past, can be misconceived by any to whom they may be of the shghtest consequence or curiosity. Nor do I believe that the faith of Massa- VIEWS OX education: 21 cliusetts can be mistaken or misinterpreted. The record of her declared opinions is resplendent with instruction, and even with prophecy ; but she was treated for years as the Cassandra of the States, disliked because of her fidelity to the ancient faith, and avoided because of her warnings and her testimony. And now, when the Divine Providence is leading all the people in ways they had not imagined, I will not dare attempt to run before, and possibly imperil, the truth itself. Let him lead to whom the people have assigned the authority and the power. One great duty of absorbing, royal patriotism, which is the public duty of the occasion, demands us all to follow. Placed in no situation where it becomes me to discuss his policy, I do not stop even to consider it. The only question which I can entertain is what to do, and, when that question is answered, the other is what next to do, in the sphere of activity where it is given me to stand ; for by deeds, and not by words, is this people to accomplish their salvation. Let ours be the duty in this great emergency to furnish, in unstinted measure, the men and the money required of us for the common defence. Let Massachusetts ideas and 3Iassachusetts principles go forth, with the in- dustrious, sturdy sons of the Commonwealth, to propagate and intensify, in every camp and upon every battle-field, that love of equal liberty, and those rights of universal humanity, which are the basis of our institutions ; but let none of us who remain at home presume to direct the pilot or to seize the helm. To the civil head of the National State, to the military head of the National Army, our fidelity, our confidence, our constant, devoted, unwavering support, rendered in the spiiit of intelligent freemen, of large- minded citizens, conscious of the difficulties of government, the responsibili- ties of power, the perils of distrust and division, are due without measure and without resei'vation. The Grreat Rebellion must be put down, and its promoters crushed be- neath the ruins of their own ambition. The greatest crime of history must receive a doom so swift and sure, that the enemies of popular government shall stand in awe while they contemplate the elastic energy and concentia- tive power of democratic institutions and a free people. Inspired by trust in God, and an immortal hate of wrong, let us conse- crate to-day every personal aspiration and every private hope in one united apo.strophe to our country and her cause : " Where thou goest, I will go ; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge : thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God : where thou diest will I die, and there will I l)e buried." Wliile we naturally glance first at the military features of Gov. Andrew's administration, it should l)e borne in mind that he looked after tlie interests of the State, in all directions, with his characteristic energy and ability. We point with ])ridc to his message of January, 180-1, in which ho treats of the educational interests of the Coinmonwealth with a clearness of insight, and breadth of view, rarely e(|ualled. President Hill, of llai'vard Col- 22 MASSACHUSETTS IX THE REBELLION. lege, who probably is better acquainted than any other man with Gov. Andrew's views on the subject of education, remarks, in a private letter, — Gov. Andrew has, during his official career, shown a great interest in the cause of education, and an understanding of its needs far above that of states- men in general. I know of no man whose general views are wider in their grasp, or wiser in their details. His message to the Legislature, Jan. 10, 1863, has been quoted with high approbation in France and in Germany ; and, had the General Court that winter shown any thing of the same lofty spirit, IMassaehusctts would have placed herself, under his administration, in the same high rank in the work of education that she took in the work of up- holdins: the Federal Government. But he was in advance of his State, and the great opportunity failed. Yet how nobly he bOre it ! and with what wis- dom set himself about accomplishing, in the best manner, the inferior ends to which the Legislature determined to apply the fund ! Perhaps, as a purely literary production, his address before the New-England Agricultural Society, in September, 18G4, is espe- cially creditable. It closed with this passage : — Li behalf of such a Union and such a Government, a people like those of New England will continue in the future as they have done in the past, by the methods of peace and in the shock of arms, to struggle against every loe, unconscious of dismay, and despising temptation. For the preservation of our nationality, they have, like their brethren in other sections, accepted the dread appeal to arms. For the sake of maintaining government and order and public liberty, the loyal men of the Union have not shunned the arbitrament of war. Lovers of peace, and haters of discord, we of New England are slow to draw the blade ; but we are slower still to yield to the infamy which must blast a coward's name, or to that infirmity of purpose which grows tired of a grand and momentous duty because it tasks our manhood oi- our faith. To protect the printing-press, the plough, the anchor, the loom, the cradle, the fireside, and the altar, the rights of labor, the earnings of industry, the security and the peace of home, if it must be, we can wield the sword, nor return it hastily to its wonted scabbai'd ; for the brand of war becomes then the sacred emblem of every duty and every hope. " The sword ! — a name of dread ; yet when Upon the freeman's thigh 'tis bound, While for his altar and his liearth, While for the land that gave him birth, The war-drums roll, the trumpets sound, How sacred is it then ! Whenever for the Truth and Right It flashes in the van of fight, — Whether in some wild mountain-pass, As that where fell Leonidas; THE MILITIA. 23 Or on some sterile plain, and stern, — A Marston or a Bannockburn; Or 'mid fierce crags and bursting rills, The Switzer's Alps, gray Tyrol's hills; Or, as when sunk the Armada's pride, It gleams above the stormy tide, — Still, still, whene'er the battle-word Is Libert}', when men do stand For justice and their native land, Then Heaven bless the sword ! " The Governor's last words iipon the militia of the State were spoken Jan. 3, 1866. He gave very clearly his views of its con- dition and wants ; saying, in regard to the latter, — I had hoped, during nearly five years, to have the satisfaction, on my rehnquishing office, of leaving a strong hody of active militia, well organized, well dit^ciphned, thoroughly armed, uniformed, and equipped. With careful pains, the material needed for the purposes of such a body, ample in num- bers, has been accumulated ; and had it been in my power to district the Commonwealth, and draft soldiers up to the number of men of different arms limited by the act of 1865, wich the right also to receive volunteers and substitutes instead of drafted men, and also to cause the uniforms to be served out both understandingly and with safety to the public property, it would have been easy at this moment to present rolls and rosters of a body of citi- zen-soldiers never surpassed. The proportion of active mihtia would have been about one-fifteenth of the whole body of men enrolled for duty. And, at a reasonable compensation for each day's training, it would be easy to keep on foot such a proportion. Mihtia service, hke service on the juries or other pubhc duties, would be regarded as alike important and honorable. K the term for each man was limited to three years, no young man would deem it onerous ; and, with all our recent experiences fresh in mind, the people of Massachusetts could not be contented with the wasteful economy of leav- ing the State undefended, and unready for any defence. We have now in commission many officers, and on our rolls many soldiers, of the highest merit. It was my utmost pride to be completely identified with their final and successful organization ; but it was not fit for me, by anticipating events or acting in advance of needful legislation, to risk the great interests of the future strength and fame of the militia. Calhng renewed attenlion to the reports referred to, I leave the subject to the wisdom of the Legis- lature. Gov. Andrew's Message to the Legislature, April 17, 1865, on the death of Mr. Lincoln, was perhaps, for a brief document, one of his best eObrts. We can quote no more than the opening and closing paragraphs, pasb^ing over his clear and accurate analysis- of the President's character, which we have not seen equalled by any published estimates of iiis qualities of mind and heart: — 24 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. Since the last adjournment of the General Court of Massachusetts, the people of the United States have been overtaken by a great and enduring son'ow. In the midst of the exultations of recent and repeated victory, in the midst of the higliest hopes, of the most auspicious omens, in the hour of universal joy, the nation passed at once, by an inscrutable and mysterious Providence, into the valley of the shadow of death. Assembled while the cloud is yet tliick upon our eyes, and the hearts of men are oppressed by the sense of a strange dismay, it has become my mournful duty to record, by formal and official announcement to the legislative department of the Com- monwealth, this calamitous and distressing event. But there now remains to us yet another and perhaps a greater labor. On the ruins of that social despotism, over the fallen altars of that barbarism, in whose despairing death-throe was planned and executed this dastardly assas- sination, by the side of the bleeding form of all that was mortal in that magnanimous father of his people, let us pronounce the vows of a new obedience. " Powers depart, Possessions vanish, and opinions change, And passions hold a fluctuating seat; But by the storms of circumstance unshaken, And subject neither to eclipse nor wane. Duty exists.'" Order, law, freedom, and true civilization, must rise into life all over the territory blasted by despotism, barbarism, and treason. The schemes of sentimental politicians, who neither learn nor forget, whose ideas of con- structive statesmanship are only imitative as ai-e the mechanical ideas of the bee or the beaver ; the plans of men who would rebuild on the sand, for the sake of adhering to a precedent, — must be utterly, promptly, and for- ever rejected. Let the Government and the people resolve to be brave, faithful, impar- tial, and just. With the blessing of God, let us determine to have a country the home of liberty and civilization. Let u? deserve success, and we shall surmount every obstacle, we shall survive delays, we shall conquer defeat, we shall win a peaceful victory for the great ages of the future, and, for the cause of mankind, we shall requite these years of toil and war. The blood of all this nolile army of the martyrs, from tlie soldiers of Massachusetts who fell in Baltimore, to Abraham Lincoln the President, who has mingled his own with theirs, — the blood of this noble army of martyrs shall be, as of old, the seed of the Church. Gov. Andrew's proclamations, especially those for Thanksgiv- ings, were remarkable productions, marked with religious fervor, 'full of Bilile language, quoted with singular a[)tness, and remind- ing us of the days of the Puritans. They were celebrated and read all over the loyal States, and will ever remain as brilliant, 3IR. QUIN'T'S TRIBUTE. 25 and at tlie same time patriotic and Christian documents of re- markable beauty and power. We have noithcr space nor inclination to discuss questions of policy or personal appreciation which arose, and were sometimes attended with deep feeling, in the administration of civil and military power. It would not be strange if mistakes were made, unjust and injurious prejudices formed, and merit overlooked. The views of Gov. Andrew upon the subject of capital punish- ment, his dissent from popular opinions in other matters, and his personal estimate of particular officers, will be criticised, and by many condemned ; but none can question his sincerity of de- votion to the great interests of the people and to the rights of humanity. The testimony of Rev. A. II. Quint, for three years the popular chaplain of the Second Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, in his Election Sermon, January, 18GG, is very just and emphatic ; and we give it at length : — Well was it for ^Massachusetts, that, when the clouds were lowering, she called to the chair of the Executive a man who could say, " I know not what record of sin may await me in another world ; but this I know : I was never mean enough to despise any man l)ecause he was ignorant, nor because he was poor, nor because he was black." Massachusetts needed such a man in such a crisis. She wanted one who believed in man, yet not the less believed in God ; one in whose nature was inborn her hereditary love of freedom, yet no more inflexible in his faith than determined in its development ; one to be not only the exponent, but the fearless leader, of her sentiment ; one to steady the heart of his State, and yet to stimulate the central Government in the path of justice. She wanted a man of experience in statesmanship ; one whose ability to gi-asp tlie various interests of the public good should be equalled only by an energy wliich could accomplish the enormous work thrown upon him ; one who, in any exigency, would dare take responsibility, yet with reverence for the rights of the people ; one who would bear in his heart her constant in- terests of agricultural and other industry, her gi'cat system of education, and her reformatory or penal or chai'itable institutions ; one who could carry her finances through an unprecedented strain ; and, added thereto, one who could, with firmness, energy, and delicacy, conduct those military measures which were to raise, equip, organize, and officer a force ten times as large as the then anny of the United States. We recognize the hand of Providence in giving us such a man. We ap- preciate the able coadjutors in council and in the do])artiiii'nts of the staff. We are grateful for the vast work done, and so well done. To have been the Governor of 31assachusetts for five such ycar.'^ — called by the spon- 4 26 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. taneous voice of the people, and continued by re-elections (these most mo- mentous years since those of the Revolution) — is enough for the patriotic ambition of any man. To have been such a governor, that the reader \Df the country's history inevitably turns to Massachusetts, and, turning to Massa- chusetts, inevitably sees foremost the name of its chief magistrate, ennobles a man in history. In such a term of service, there is a manifest complete- ness. It began when the clouds were lowering : it ends with the skies clear. The work accomplished was one work : it covers a great period in history. Sh', if I venture to address you directly, it is because I know peculiarly your care for Massachusetts soldiers. The camp where I first learned any thing of soldiery, in the dark spring of 18G1, bore the name of Camp Andrew ; and, with some of the men who left that a solitude, I heard you welcome the flags home again. By your wise forethought, men were re- equipped for the midnight summons to the defence of the capital. When you asked that the bodies of her martyrs should be "tenderly" cared for, you touched the heart of Massachusetts. In all the struggle, the soldiers you sent into the field were equi])ped, I know, as none others were. Their wives and children were sheltered as none others. Their officers were se- lected with a care unequalled. In times of disaster, I saw the men and the helps which you sent. I met your agents in remote cities, faithful to our men. I saw the messengers you sent into the field itself to lighten their hardships. You were never weary in advancing their interests, and redress- ing their grievances. Year by year I read your words, stirring the soul like a blast from a Puritan trumpet, to our men, as we observed, in Virginia or Tennessee, the fast and festival days of our home. You welcomed back the soldiers ; you received with honor the flags, and promised that they should be faithfully guarded ; you remembered the dead. Sir, the Massachusetts soldiers owe you a debt of thanks. Let me, as one who has shared with them in the way of his duty, pledge you, not only for the love you bore to them, but for the love you bore to that country which they love, their perpetual gratitude. You commit a prosperous commonwealth to the eminent citizen who suc- ceeds you ; to the new Lieutenant-Governor, whose patriotic history has identified him witli the people's interests ; to a council whose names are a guaranty of wise advice ; to a legislature whose mcmber.ship promises broad statesmanship and wise legislation. If these officials and this legislature ever need any new inspirations of patriotism, let them, as they daily enter the Capitol, pause before the flags. Let them read the names of battles lost and won inscribed thereon. Let them read the story of hard-fouglit fields, more eloquently written in the torn, scarred, and pierced remnants of the banners which once went out in their bright, fresh beauty. Let them remember the heroic dead and the maimed living. In any doubt, let them go to the silent flags, and as from an oracle drink in their inspiration, and in that inspira- tion learn to respect the rights, maintain the honor, and trust with confidence the principles, of a people who have heard the voice of God speaking out of tlie midst of fire, and live. PERSONAL SKETCH. 27 A personal friend of Gov. Andrew, formerly a member of his staff, contributes a sketch, which, while it is strongly marked by the fervor of admiration, is yet just and appreciative. It is as follows : — A complete sketch of the late Governor would comprise a substantial history of Massachusetts in the Great Rebellion. The faintest likeness is difficult to obtain, for the same reason that it is impossible to condense sufficiently die vast mass of material. Glancing back to the early days of February, 18G1, when, amid the flouts and jeers of the incredulous mass, he began vigorous preparations for the war his clear vision saw impending, and hurrying at ut- most speed down to the day when the flags were redelivered to him upon the steps of the State House in December last, scarce a glimpse could be afforded, within moderate limits, of each of the many great departments of activity and labor which this remarkable man's assiduous energy illustrated dui-ing his official term. The military duties alone were overwhelming, nor had he the previous training to fit the emergency most easily : yet not only were they most faithfully and ably discharged, but time was spared for the preparation of addresses on agriculture, redolent of the soil, and delightful to the soul of the farmer ; disquisitions on medical matters, which opposed them- selves to the learning of the profession ; arguments of profound research and sound logic upon disputed questions of constitutional law ; besides the less studied but yet carefully considered utterances, some of considerable length and of very frequent occurrence, by which he so effectively and unceasingly preached at all seasons the great gospel of New-England ideas, and held up the heart, and inspired anew the soul, of the people of this Commonwealth during the dark days of our national tribulation. And no one who was so fortunate as to have listened to him at some of these wayside preachings will now underrate their value. Let any doubter have seen that vast multitude on the memorable Sunday, during the war, at the camp-meeting at jMartha's Vineyard, when he arose, upon request, to address the people ; let him have watched how their faces glowed as he went on ; how his burning words of patriotic ardor fired their hearts, and actually swayed their bodies to and fro, as the blast of liis earnest eloquence swept over them, — and the sceptic would have been convinced that it is hard to exaggerate the influence of those winged words, which, Hke the seeds of some of our native plants, were cast daily to the winds, to find lodgement in some Yankee heart. And here lay one secret of his power, — a most warm, poetical, and sympathetic soul, wliich was continually aglow with beneficent and kindly thoughts, and gleam- ing with the loftiest patriotism. His speech was earnest, and, in his mo- ments of special exaltation, carried an audience away with him by his mag- netic sympathy more completely than any man I ever heard. But few regi- ments marched from the State that he did not inspire their parting iiiomonts with tlic teachings of purest loyalty, and devotion to their duty and their flag. Nor was his unquenchable vigor to be satisfied with such voluntary addition to 28 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. the already intoloraLle load of daily official labor. Activity the most inces- sant was a leading characteristic of a man who was overworked if be never left his chair. Wherever his presence was needed, he was there ; and the extent of his official travel was to be computed by thousands of miles. Stern in tlic vindication of what he deemed essential principle, and immovable in defence of his assured convictions, he was the heartiest and kindest of friends, and inclined to indulge soUcitation for his time to the veiy limits of his con- science. Utterly democratic in the fine sense, he never showed, nor proba- bly saw, any essential diffisrenee between one man or another, whether black or white. Everybody could see him who wished ; and he attended person- ally to their stories, often at an apparently fatal waste of time. No one ever was so poor or humble or degraded that he might not command this good magistrate to counsel, aid, or right him. But perhaps the trait from which as much of characteristic good may be traced as from any other was the all- pervading philanthropy of his mind. This element of character may be traced in all directions. Imbued with the largest ideas of modern social science, he yet tempered them with shrewd common sense. Opposed to capital punishment as a system, he yet executed the laws. He was never weary in visiting prisons, penitentiaries, and poor-houses, to examine and care for the convicts. The down-trodden and oppressed, the poor woman and tender child, no matter how degraded or abandoned, found in him a con- stant friend. Indeed, it seemed to be in him an actual living recognition of the dignity of manhood, however abraded by hostile circumstance, — a hearty and practical belief in a true and universal brotherhood of man. Pressed by the same principle, his interest and ardor for the cause of good learning and general education never slumbered nor slept. The advance of pure science along the lofty paths of abstract speculation, and the first effi)rts of the untaught or ignorant, were neither above his view nor beneath hi.s notice. From the primary scluiol to the university, his persistent purpose to aid their labors was felt. By liis presence, by his speech, by recommenda- tions to the Legislature, and by never-failing interest in their welfare, he did as much as any man has done to promote the s[)read of intelligence and knowledge in the Commonwealth. He was thoroughly in grain a New-Eng land man. He believed absolutely in our principles, our methods, training, and ideas. He had a wholesome smack of the soil of the region in his strong and shrewd talk, vivid sense of humor, and his liking, once in a while, for the racy anecdotes and peculiar wit, which, in their best form, are sometimes found scattered freely in New England. x\s a politician, he was truly brave ; never fearing to trust himself to the highest convictions, good sense, and sober second-thought, of tlie [leoplo. even when they seemed determined for a time to lead him from his plan of duty. Such was John A. Aiidrow, Governor of Massachusetts durino: the war of the Rebellion. CHAPTER III. SENATORS SUMNER AND WILSON. — EDWARD EVERETT. The Birth and early Education of Charles Sumner. — Studies Law. — An Antislavery Man. — Congressional and Public Life. — Henry Wilson's early Life. — Sympathy with tho Masses. — Antislavery Position. — His Prominence and Power in Congi-ess. — War Measures. — Resolutions on the Rights of the Enfranchised and the Emancipation of the Enslaved. — Mr. Everett's Family Historj'. — Preparation for College. — Graduates. — Studies Divinity. — Accepts Professorship. — Residence in Europe. — Political Life and Services. — Patriotism in the Civil War. — His Death. CHARLES SUMNER. CHARLES SUMNER is the son of Charles Pinkney Sumner, formerly High Sheriff of Suffolk County ; and was born in Boston, Jan. 6, 1811. His preparation for Harvard College was made in the Latin School of that city; and he graduated in 1830, entering the Law School the next year. He contributed to the " American Jurist," and for some time was editor of that magazine. In 1831, he began practice in his profession, and was appointed reporter to the Cir- cuit Court. During the absence of Professors Grecnleaf and Story from the Law Department of Harvard, Mr. Sumner gave lectures to the classes three winters, besides editing works on law. He sailed for Europe in 1887. While in Paris, at Mr. Cass's re- quest, he wrote a defence of the American claim to the North- eastern Boundary, — a discriminating and able effort. Again, in 184-J, he lectured in the Law School at Cambridge, and edited three years later an edition of Vesey's Reports, in twenty volumes. His j)olitical life may be said to have commenced in 1845, when he delivered a Fourth-of-July oration before the citizens of Boston, on " The True Grandeur of Nations," which attracted much at- tention, and led to much controversy. At this time, the relations of our Government and that of Mexico were very threatening in their nature ; and Mr. Sumner, with all the ardor of his soul, argued against the ordeal of war. This address made a profound sensation in England ; and Richard Cobden, a name dear to every 'ia 30 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. true American heart, pronounced it to be "the most noble con- tribution made by any modern writer to the cause of peace." Mr, Sumner's career as the uncompromising champion of free dom, the persistent foe of slavery, dates from tlie agitation of the question of the annexation of Texas. This he opposed on the ground of slavery ; and a speech of his in Faneuil Hall, Nov. 4, 1845, was received with great enthusiasm. His strong and out- spoken course relative to what he considered the national sin and curse gradually led to liis separation from the Whig party, and in 1848 he earnestly supported Van Buren as the Free-soil can- didate for the Presidential chair. In 1850, Daniel Webster left the United-States Senate for a scat in Mr. Fillmore's Cabinet, and was succeeded by Mr. Sumner, who was elected by a coalition of Free-soilers and Democrats in the Massachusetts Legislature, after an excited and protracted contest. His sentiments at this time may be learned from his letter of acceptance of the senatorial office. After alluding to the interest the election of a senator awakened, and his apprecia- tion of the " duties which eclipsed the honors " of the office, he added, — I accept it as the servant of Massachusetts, mindful of the sentiments sol- emnly uttered by her successive legislatures ; of the genius which inspires her history ; of the men, her perpetual pride and ornament, who breathed into her that breath of liberty which early made her an example to her sister States. In such a service, the way, though new to my footsteps, will be illumined by lights which cannot be missed. I accept it as the servant of the Union, bound to study and maintain with equally patriotic care the interests of all parts of our country ; to discountenance every effort to loosen any of those bonds by which our fellowship as States is held in fraternal company ; and to oppose all sectionalism, whether it appear in unconstitutional efforts by the North to carry so great a boon as freedom into the slave States, or in unconstitutional efforts by tlie South, aided by Northern allies, to carry the sectioned evil of slavery into the free States ; or in whatsoever efforts it may make to extend the sectional donuDatioa of slavery over the National Government. From that time to this, Mr. Sumner has been the head and front of the antislavery sentiment of the country, not by any means, as is sometimes urged, as a visionary enthusiast, borne be- yond all practical grounds by devotion to one idea ; but his argu- ments have been based upon high moral and historical truths ; and the measures he has advocated, and almost uniformly tri- CHARLES SUMNER. 31 umphantly carried, have always been found in strict accordance with tlic Constitution of tlie United States. His Congressional life opened with his speech in support of his motion for the repeal of the Fugitive-slave Law, Aug. 26, 1852 ; and since that time his efforts for the abolition of slavery,, and for the elevation of the colored race, have been unwearied. This speech, whose theme was the then new one of " freedom national, slavery sectional," was met by that bitter opposition which fol- lowed him in the Senate, till the Rebellion purged it of the irri- tating element of the slave-power. The spirit with which Mr. Sumner entered upon this great speech is well shown in a para- graph from his remarks, on presenting the memorial from the Friends, which gave him the opportunity to present his views: — I bespeak the clear and candid attention of the Senate while I undertake to set forth frankly and fully, and with entire respect for this bod}^ conduc- tions, deeply cherished in my own State, though disregarded here, to which I am bound by every sentiment of the heart, by every fibre of my being, by all my devotion to country, by my love of God and man. But upon these I do not now enter. Suffice it for the present to say, that, when I shall un- dertake that service, I believe I shall utter nothing which, in any just sense, can be called sectional, unless the Constitution is sectional, and unless the sentiments of the fathers were sectional. It is my happiness to believe, and my hope to be able to show, that according to the true spirit of the Constitu- tion, and according to the sentiments of the fathers, freedom, and not slave- ry, is NATIONAL ; while slavery, and not freedom, is sectional. In duty to the petitioners, and with the hope of promoting their prayer, I m(3ve the reference of tlieir petition to the Committee on the Judiciary. But, while liberty and equal rights lay nearest his heart, Mr. Sumner was alive to all the important measures before Congress ; and the record of no senator shows a more varied lalior than his. Those were times when it required both moral and physical cour- age to speak and act boldly against the arrogant claims and as- sumptions of the slave-power. But he never shrank from duty ; and, when others quailed and faltered, he always stood firm, with his face to the foe, and armed with a wealth of learning, and a power of utterance, which made him, even single-handed, a fear- ful antagonist. The history of the Fugitive-slave Bill well illustrates Mr. Sum- ner's character. From the day, in August, 1852, when he moved its repeal, until the day when it was wiped from the records of the nation, he never lost sight of the end in view. Although 32 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. never neglecting any important subject which seemed to require his attention, and in the mean time originating, and carrying to a successful issue, measures of vital interest to the nation, he worked persistently on until he saw the bill repealed ; his speech being the last one made upon it. He was emphatically the Alpha and Omega of the glorious work, whicli of itself, for one man, might be esteemed a sufficient honor. It is Avell to notice in this connection, that in his report on the fugitive-slave acts, submitted in March, 18G4, he took the ground, that, in annulling these statutes. Congress simply with- drew an irrational support from slavery. It thus did nothing against slavery, but merely refused to do any thing for it. Mr. Sumner's last speech on the repeal of the Missouri Com- promise, which occupied two days in its delivery (May 19 and 20, ISoG), was a masterly effort. It was afterwards printed under the title of " The Crime against Kansas," had a wide circulation, and was very influential in moulding and consolidating public sentiment at the North. Bat, if it was a memorable speech for the cause of freedom, it was none the less so in relation to its dis- tinguished author. Preston S. Brooks, a member of Congress from South Carolina, whose name goes down to posterity covered with infamy, being greatly enraged at some passages in the speech, attacked Mr. Sumner with a cane, as he sat at his desk writing, and in a totally defenceless condition, and beat him upon the head till he fell to the floor insensible. It was four years before he recovered from the injuries and returned to the Senate. He was unable to attend to any public duties; went to Europe twice by advice of physicians, and there submitted to very severe treat- ment, which ultimately resulted in his complete restoration to health. In the mean time, liis term of office had expired ; but he was re-elected (January, 1857) by a unanimous vote in the Sen- ate of Massachusetts, and only seven dissenting votes in the House. Nothing daunted by his bitter experiences, but only the more imbued with a sense of the utter corruption of the system of American slavery, his first great effort after resuming his seat in the Senate was the celebrated speech entitled " The Barbarism of Slavery," — one of the most elaborate and carefully fortified speeches ever made in Congress, and which had a truly terrific effect in that body, and shook the whole country to its centre. The trutli had never before been clearly set forth by a fearless tongue; and, although at the time many thought the speech ill- CHARLES SUMNER. 33 advised and too severe, the stern logic of events has sliown that the champion of Ubcrty knew his position, and was making ready for a coming storm. He did his duty, and the verdict of all loyal men now sustains him. In an address delivered by him at a fes- tival in Plymouth, Mass., in commemoration of the embarkation of the Pilgrims, is an eloquent passage, which well illustrates his principles of action. He says, — All will confess the true grandeur of their example, while, in the vindica- tion of a cherished principle, they stood alone against the madness of men, against the law of their land, against their king. Better be the despised Pil- gi-kn, a fiigitive for freedom, than the halting politician, forgetful of principle, " with a Senate at his heels " ! Such is the voice of Plymouth Rock as it salutes my ears. Others may not hear it ; but to me it comes iu tones which I cannot mistake. I catch its words of noble cheer : — "New occasions teach new duties: time makes ancirnt good uncouth. They must upwaril still and onward who would keep abreast of Truth: Lo, before us gleam her camp-fires I We ourselves must pilgrims be, Launch our ' Ma^vflower,' and steer boldly through the desperate winter sea." A single remark of Mr. Sumner's will also indicate the moving principles of his life, alas ! too rarely to be found among our great men. When the conflict over the Nebraska Bill in 185-3-54 was waxing hot, one of its most eminent supporters said to him, " I would not go through all that you do on this nig-ger question for all the offices and honors of the country." Mr. Sumner replied, " Nor mould I for all the offices and honors of the country ! " No : he was, and is, actuated by higher motives tlian the honors and emoluments of office. He labors that justice may be vindi- cated, as a paragraph from a speech in New-York City (Nov. 27, 1861) eloquently demonstrates. It is this: — Amidst all the perils which now surround us, there is one only which I dread. It is the peril which comes from some new surrender to slavery, some fresh recognition of its power, some present dalliance with its intolera- ble pretensions. AVorse than any defeat, or even the flight of an army, would be such abandonment of principle. From all such peril, good Lord, deliver us ! And there is one way of safety, clear as sunlight, plca.sant as the paths of peace. Over its broad and open gate is written simply, Justice. There is victory in that word. Do justice, and you will be twice blessed ; for so you will subdue the rebel master while you elevate the slave. Do justice frankly, generously, nobly, and you will find strength 5 34 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. instead of weakness ; while all seeming responsibility will disappear in obedi- ence to God's everlasting law. Do justice, though the heavens fall ; but they will not fall. Every act of justice becomes a new pillar of the universe, or, it may be, a new link of that " Golden, everlasting chain, Whose strong embi";ice holds heaven and earth and main." Mr. Sumner's great speech at Worcester, Oct. 1, 1861, was one of his most effective efforts ; and the principles then advanced and sustained now seem to breathe of inspiration and prophecy. Here he first publicly urged emancipation as a war measure ; and let us bear in mind that to utter such sentiments then was a vastly different matter from what it was a few months later. To do it imperilled a man's political position ; but then, as always before, and ever since, Mr. Sumner held to his high moral standard, and never allowed questions of expediency to modify his words or his deeds. He is the inflexible foe of all compromises: he decides upon what is purely right, and acts accordingly. A few sentences from his speech at Worcester will indicate its character : — It is often said that the war will make an end of slavery. This is proba- ble ; but it is surer still, that the overthrow of slavery will at once make an end of the ivar. If I am correct in this statement, which I believe is beyond question, then do reason, justice, and policy all unite in declaring that the war must be brought to bear directly on the grand conspirator and omnipresent enemy. Not to do this is to take upon ourselves in the present contest all the weak- ness of slavery, while we leave to the rebels its boasted resources of military strength. Not to do this is to squander life and treasure in a vain masquerade of battle, which can have no practical result. Not to do this is blindly to neglect the plainest dictates of economy, humanity, and common sense, and, alas ! simply to let slip the dogs of war on a mad chase over the land, never to stop until spent with fatigue or sated with slaughter. Believe me, fellow- citizens, I know all the imagined difficulties and unquestioned responsibilities of this suggestion. But, if you are in earnest, the ditficulties will at once dis- appear, and the responsibilities are such as you will gladly bear. This is not the first time that a knot hard to untie has been cut by the sword ; and we all know that danger floes before the brave man. Believe that you can, and you can. The will only is needed. Courage, now, is the highest prudence. It is not necessary even, according to a familiar phrase, to carry the war Into Africa : it will be enough if we carry Africa into the war, — • in any form, any quantity, any way. But there is another agency that may be invoked, which is at the same •% CHARLES SUMNER. 35 time under the Constitution, and above the Constitution : I mean martial law. It is under the Constitution, because the war power to which it be- longs is positively recognized by the Constitution. It Ls above the Constitu- tion, because, when set in motion, like necessity, it knows no other law. For the time, it is law and constitution. The civil power, in mass and in detail, is superseded, and all rights are held subordinate to this military magistracy. All otlier agencies, small and great, executive, legislative, and even judicial, are absorbed in this transcendent triune power, which, for the time, declares its absolute will, while it holds alike the scales of justice and the sword of the executioner. The existence of this power nobody questions. If it has been rarely exercised in our country, and never in an extended manner, the power none the less has a fixed place in our political system. As well strike out the kindred law of self-defence which belongs alike to States and individuals. Mai-tial law is only one form of self-defence. ]Massachusetts will be folse to herself if she fails at this moment. And yet I would not be misunderstood. Feeling most profoundly that there is now an opportunity, such as rarely occurs in human annals, for incalculable good ; seeing clearly that there is one spot, like the heel of Achilles, where this great Eebellion may be wounded to death, — I calmly deliver the whole question to the judgment of those on whom the responsibility rests, con- tenting myself with reminding you that there are times when not to act car- ries with it a greater responsibility than to act. It is enough for us to review the unquestioned powers of the Government, to handle for a moment its mighty weapons which are yet allowed to slumber, without assuming to de- clare that the hour has come when they shall flash against the sky. But may a good Providence save our Government from that everlasting regret which must ensue if a great oi)portunity is lost by which all the bleed- ing wounds of war shall be stanched, — by which prosperity shall be again established, and Peace be made immortal in the embrace of Liberty ! Saul was cursed for not hewing Agag in pieces when in his hands, and Ahal) was cursed for not destroying Bcnhadad. Let no such curses ever descend upon us. Fellow-citizens, I have spoken frankly ; for such has always been my habit. And never was there greater need of frankness. Let patriots under- stand each other, and they cannot widely difier. All will unite in whatever is required by the sovereign exigencies of self-defence ; all will unite in sus- taining the Government, and in driving back the rebels. But this cannot be done by any half-way measures or by any lukewarm conduct. Do not hearken to the voice of slavery, no matter what its tones of persuasion. It is the gigantic traitor, not for a moment to be trusted. Believe mc, its friendship is more deadly than its enmity. If you are wise, prudent, eco- nomical, conservative, practical, you will strike quick and hard ; strike, too, where the blow will be most felt; strike at the main-spring of the Kebellidii ; strike in the name of the Union, which only in this way can be restored ; in the name of Peace, which is vain without Union ; and in the name of Lib- erty also, sure to bring both Peace and Union in her glorious train. 36 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. His speech at Worcester was followed by one on the 6th of tho same month, in Faneuil Hall, on the policy and necessity of eman- cipation as a war measure. We cannot refrain from quoting a few passages : — If the instincts of patriotism did not prompt this support, I should find a suflScicnt motive in that duty which we all owe to the Supreme Ruler, God Almi^'hty, whose visitations upon our country are now so fearful. Not rashly would I make myself the interpreter of his will ; and yet I am not blind. According to a venerable maxim of jurisprudence, "Whoso would have equity must do equity ; ' ' and God plainly requires equity at our hands. We cannot expect success while we set at nought this requu-ement, proclaimed in his divine character, in the dictates of reason, and in the examples of history; proclaimed also in all the events of this protracted war. Great judgments have fallen upon the country, plagues have been let loose, rivers have been turned into blood ; and the.re is a great cry throughout the land, for there is not a house where there is not one dead ; and at each judgment we seem to hear that terrible voice which sounded in the ears of Pharaoh, " Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me." I know not how others are touched ; but I cannot listen to the fre- quent tidings of calamity to our arms, of a noble soldier lost to his country, of a bereareracut in a family, of a youthful son brought home dead to his mother, without catching the warning, "Let my people go." Nay, every wound, every sorrow, every hardship, all that we are compelled to bear in taxation, in want, in derangement of business, has a voice, saying, " Let my people go." And now, thank God ! the word has been spoken : a greater word was never spoken. Emancipation has begun, and our country is already elevated and glorified. The war in which we are now engaged has not changed in object ; but it has changed in character. Its object now, as at the beginning, ■ is simply to put down the Rebellion ; but its character is derived from tlie new force at last enlisted, which must not only stamp itself upon all that is done, l>ut absorb the whole war to itself, even as the rod of Aaron swallowed up all other rods. Vain will it be again to delude European nations into the foolish belief that slavery has nothing to do with the war ; that it is a war for empire on one side, and independence on the other ; and that all generous ideas are on the side of the Rebellion. And vain also will be that other European cry, whether from an intemperate press or the cautious lips of statesmen, that sei)aration is inevitable, and that our Government is doomed to witness the dismemberment of the Republic. With this new alliance, all such forebod- ings will be falsified; the wishes of the fivthers will be fulfilled; and those rights of human nature, which were the declared object of our Revolution, will be vindicated. Thus inspu-ed, the sword of Washington — that sword, which, according to his last will and testament, was to be drawn only in self- defence, or in defence of country and its rights — will once more marshal our CHARLES SUMNEJi. 37 armies of victory ; wbile our flag, wherever it floats, will give freedom to all Ijeneath its folds, and its proud inscription will be at last triumphantly veri- fied, " Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable." Ill this speech, in a few sentences of self-vindication, he made a quotation from Burke (and his speeches are peculiarly rich in English and classical allusions and quotations), but omitted a few closing words, which added nothing to the force of the sen- tence, nor affected the sentiment. Some newspaper critic, being destitute either of the fairness, or perhaps ability, to detect the true force of the extract, and whose party prejudices were strong, thought he had caught the senator in a wilful misquotation ; and the accusation was echoed by partisans. In the pamphlet edition of the speech, afterward issued, the whole sentence is given, and Mr. Sumner's honesty clearly vindicated. Not long since, in familiar private conversation, the subject was alluded to ; and Mr. Sumner emphatically remarked, " Before God, I never knowingly sacri- ficed truth or honesty to carry any political ends ; let them fall first ; " and the gentleman to whom he spoke will never forget the expression of earnestness, solemnity, and of felt injustice, which marked his countenance. When the civil war commenced, Mr. Sumner saw the doom of slavery at hand, and devoted his energies to the work of hastening the removal of the cause of the Rebellion, There was perhaps no scene of more suggestive and exciting character during the early part of the Rebellion than that when Mr. Sumner read before the Senate, in the spring of 18G1, the autograph letter of Andrew Jack- son, in which he declared that the next pretext for dissolving the Union by the South would be negro slavery. The Southern senators had not vacated their seats at that time ; and when Mr. Sumner held the document in his hand, and chal- lenged examination of its authenticity, there were frowns, silent handling of the precious manuscrij)t. and a sensation so profound, that the venerable Mr. Blair remarked that secession could never recover from the deadly blow of Andrew Jackson's prophetic hand. Months before the war began, Mr. Sumner remarked that slavery was near its end. He saw the clouds gathering whose bolls would destroy it forever: the abnormal condition of affairs in a repul)li- can government must cease; and in Congress, privately with the President, and in public services, he labored assiduously, and with great effect, toward the accomplishment of the desired end, 38 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. — the termination of slavery. The careful, or in fact the casual student of our country's history during the war will find Mr. Sumner a prominent and always efiicient actor in every scheme which bore upon the true interests of the nation, and will be sur- prised to see how many of these important measures were origi- nated by him, and to a great extent dependent upon him for their final success. The public will always, and naturally, look with gratitude upon Mr. Sumner's herculean labors in Congress ; but he regards his greatest usefulness in the late conflict to be that of whicii the country knows the least, — his constant in- timacy with Mr. Lincoln, and constantly pressing upon him eman- cipation as the means for crushing the Rebellion. He did not then press it on moral grounds at all. He first urged emancipation as a war measure upon the President the day after the battle of Bull Run, and ceased not till the proclamation was sounded over the land. The unrestrained intercourse Mr. Lincoln enjoyed with him declared very emphatically his confidence not only in Mr. Sumner's ability and honesty, but in his practical power. The President could not endure for a moment mere speculations or theories ; and yet he made the senator his most frequent and confidential adviser. Mr. Sumner once remarked in conversation with a friend, — I was always honest and very plain with Mr. Lincoln ; but he never allowed difference of opinion, or frankness, to interrupt our familiar and con- fidential intercourse. In illustration, he referred to his defeat of the President's " pet proposition " for admitting Louisiana, when even his friends assured him that he had made a great mistake, and his enemies rejoiced over the prospect of alienation and separation between the noljle friends. On the contrary, Mr. Lincoln soon after asked his attendance on the occasion of the inauguration-festivities, sending his own carriage for him, and taking pains to convince the mixed assemblage of political friends and foes that Mr. Sumner retained his undiminished confidence and regard. On the last week of Mr. Lincoln's life, he said to Mr. Sumner, " There is no person with whom I have more advised through- out my administration than with yourself," — a remark he re- peated to others. It is impossible, in the brief outline to which we are limited, to give any more than a glance at Mr. Sumner's Congressional labors. xVmong the measures originated and carried through by him CHARLES SUMNER. 39 was emancipation in the District of Columbia. The repeal, which had been purposed, of the " Black Lav7s " (so called) of the Dis- trict, did not, in his mind, reach the evil. They were but the out- growth of slavery : destroy iY, and the source of mischief is eradi- cated. Upon this basis of action he successfully labored. Mr. Sumner's tact in dealing with difficult questions is well illustrated in the progress of this measure through Congress. An appropria- tion of money was necessary to affect the emancipation. The amount required was comparatively small : but tiie shrewd sena- tor was unwilling to establish a precedent for the purchase of slaves as the means of their emancipation, as it might embarrass the grand project of national freedom ; and besides, he felt that true justice would give such money to the slave, rather than to the master. This last idea was not, however, to be taken into con- sideration as any thing feasible. Mr. Sumner therefore termed the million dollars required ransom money, — money paid as the only means by which the desired end could be accomplished, but uot a precedent, or right and title, to such action in future. It was ransom versus compensation ; and, in support of this posi- tion, he brought forward the case of the Algerine captives, — Americans made white slaves in Algiers, — • who were ransomed by our Government, not bought. His speech on this subject (March 31, 18G2) has points of great interest. Mr. Sumner's speech on confiscation and the liberation of slaves (May 19, 1862) was one of his ablest and most exhaustive efforts ; and so thorough and elaborate was its treatment of the difficult subject, tliat the Attorney-General of the United States remarked to him, that, for a long time, he carried it about with him in his pocket for study and reference. We quote the closing paragraphs on emancipation to illustrate both his positions, and manner of presenting them : — Vattel says, that, iu his day, a soldier would not dare to boast of having killed the enemy's king ; and there seems to be a similar timidity on our part towards slavery, which is our enemy's king. If this king were removed, tranquillity would reign. Charles XII. of Sweden did not hesitate to say that the cannoneers were perfectly right in directing their shots at him ; for that the war would be at an Instant end if they could kill liiiii, whereas they would reap little from killing his principal officers. There is no sliot in this war so eflfective as one against slavery, which is king above all officers ; nor is there any better augury of complete success than the willingness, at last, to fire upon this wicked king. But there are illusions, through wiiich slavery has become strong, that must be abandoned. 40 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. The slaves of rebels cannot be regarded as property, real or personal Though claimed as property by their masters, and though too often recog- nized as such by individuals in the Government, it is the glory of our Consti- tution that it treats slaves always as " persons." At home, beneath the lash and local laws, they may be chattels ; but they are known to our Constitu- tion only as men. In this simple and indisputable fact there is a distinction, clear as justice itself, between the pretended property in slaves and all other property, real or personal. Being men, they are bound to allegiance, and entitled to reciprocal protection. It only remains that a proper appeal should be made to their natural and instinctive loyalty ; nor can any pretended property of their masters supersede this claim, I will not say of eminent do- main, but of eminent power, inherent in the National Government, which, at all times, has a right to the services of all. In declaring the slaves free, you will at once do more than in any other way, whether to conquer, to pacity, to punish, or to bless. You will take from the Rebellion its mainspring of ac- tivity and strength ; you will stop its chief source of provisions and supplies ; you will remove a motive and temptation to prolonged resistance ; and you will destroy forever that disturbing influence, which, so long as it is allowed to exist, will keep this land a volcano, ever ready to break forth anew. But, while accomplishing tliis work, you will at tlie same time do an act of wise economy, giving new value to all the lands of slaveiy, and opening untold springs of wealth ; and you will also do an act of justice destined to raise our national name more than any triumph of war or any skill in peace. God in his beneficence offers, to nations as to individuals, opportunity, opportunity, OPPOUTONiTY, which, of all things, is most to be desired. Never before in history has he offered such as is now ours. Do not fail to seize it. The blow with which we smite an accursed rebellion will at the same time enrich and bless ; nor is there any prosperity or happiness which it will not scatter abundantly throughout the land. And such an act will be an epoch mark- ing the change from barbarism to civilization. By the old rights of war, still prevalent in Africa, freemen were made slaves ; but, by the rights of war which I ask you to declare, slaves will be made freemen. Mr. President, if you seek indemnity for the past and security for tlie future, if you seek the national unity under the Constitution of the United States, here is the way in which all these can be surely obtained. Strike down the leaders of the Rebellion, and lift up the slaves. " To tame the proud, the fettered slsive to free, These are imperial arts, and worthy thee." Then will tliere be an indemnity for the past such as no nation ever before was able to win, and there will be a security for the future such as no nation ever before enjoyed, wliile the Republic, glorified and strengthened, will be assured forever, one ami indivisible. Mr. Sumner s instrumentality in securing equality before thejiaw in the United-States courts, so that " there shall be no exclusion CHARLES SUMNER. ' 41 of any witness on account of color," and his bill abolishing for- ever the coastwise (inter- State) slave-trade, were important steps in the grand march of free principles; and, by these and other measures touching salient points in the workings of sla- very, he hoped, to use his own expression, " to girdle tlie tree," and thus, if direct efforts failed, effect the downfall of the system. The securing the passage of a bill, that colored persons should not 1)0 excluded from the hoi'se-cars in Washington, was impor- tant in paving the way to equal suffrage. Never was Mr. Sum- ner's persistency more clearly shown than on the passage of this bill. He was defeated six or eight times before he carried it. He lost it several times in its first stage, in the Senate, in the House ; and finally triumphed. It was in this connection that Senator Hendricks of Indiana, probably the best speaker on the Demo- cratic side of the Senate, made a l)ricf but sharp and good- natured speech, setting forth the utter folly of attempting to thwart the Massachusetts senator when he had a point to carry ; for, in spite of all opposition, he was sure in some way to gain his ends. To Mr. Sumner the country is indebted for the Freedmen's Bureau Bill, which he justly considers as one of his most impor- tant national services : and well he may ; for, even wliile we write, it is the only protection vouchsafed to the freedmen of the South, — the only thing which saves them from new oppressions and injustice. It is well to remember, that in February, 1865, Mr. Sum- ner introduced and triumphantly carried the following reso- lution : — Whereas certain persons have put in circulation the report, that, on the suppression of the Rebellion, the rebel debt, or loan, may be recognized in whole or in part Ijy the United States ; and whereas such report is calculated to give a false value to such debt, or loan : therefore Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That Congress hereby declares tl)at the reljel debt, or loan, is simply an agency of the RebeUion, which the United States can never, under any cir- cumstances, recognize in any part or in any way. This timely and pertinent bill had a great effect upon our finances abroad, and also depressed the rebel loan. Mr. Sum- ner's reasons for introducing this res(dution at this particular time were based uj)on statements made by soini; of liis foreign cor- * See note at cml of tlie cli;i])'er, p. G3. 42 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. respondents, to the effect that the Rebel Government was aiding its foreign loan by representing that it was the safest investment in the market, as, if the Confederacy succeeded in establishing itself, it would, of course, be paid ; and if, on the other hand, the Rebellion should fail, the United-States Government would assume the rebel debts. In his own words to a friend, in private conver- sation, " tlie resolution cftbctually pricked this bubble." Through the whole of Mr. Lincoln's administration, Mr. Sum- ner was Cbairuiuu of the Committee on Foreign Relations, — the most houorablo and important in the Senate ; and this position he still liolds. His comprehensive and enlightened views, his inflexi- ble love of right, and the high respect in which he is held by tbc foreign governments, have enabled him to Itc mainly instrumental in establishing and maintaining a high tone of international in- tercourse, and to vindicate the policy of our Government in a tri- umphant manner. His peculiar iitness for this responsible situa- tion is acknowledged even by those politically opposed to him. A Democratic member of the committee once remarked during a session, after the chairman had set forth some matter of interest touching our Ibrcign intercourse, " Until our chairman gets upon the neg-ro question, there is no gentleman to whom I listen with greater pleasure, or follow more willingly." When the mind recurs to the many intricate and delicate ques- tions affecting our relations to other governments, which were con- tinually arising during the war, tlie great difficulty and impor- tance of Mr. Sumner's position is easily seen. Tiie co-operative labors of Lord Lyons (the EngUsh minister) and himself on the mutual right of search, and the suppression of the slave-trade, were a source of great pleasure to both parties : and, at the successful conclusion of the whole matter, Mr. Sum- ner remarked tliat he never saw Lord Lyons so exultant or in snch high spirits ; and they dined together at the house of the English minister in honor of the occasion. To those who would learn of Mr. Sumner's intimate acquaintance with all points of international law, his speech on Our Foreign Relations (Sept. 10, 18iJo) v.ill be full of interest. Competent judges have pro- nounced it the most carefully elaborated speech ever made in the country. So important was it considered to be in England, that Lord John Russell publicly attempted to reply to it, — the only instance of the kind on the English hustings. Mr. Sumner's views on the Slidell and Mason case were very forcibly presented ; and even his friends were astonished at the knowledge he displayed CHARLES SUMNER. 43 of the laws of nations. His views ditfered from Mr. Seward's, and by many were considered to be clearer. The resolutions of Congress upon Foreign Mediation (passed March 3, 1863), which fixed the foreign policy of our Govern- ment, were drawn up, advanced, and carried by Mr. Sumner, and are in every way remarkable. His fame might rest upon them.* Dr. Leiber, the celebrated publicist, remarked, in reference to these resolutions, " I profess to bo familiar with public papers ; but I have never met with any tiling comparable to this." As a purely senatorial effort, Mr. Sumner's admirers point to his celebrated speech on Retaliation. He was mucli excited at the time ; and, thougli the subject was fully in mind, the speech was an off-hand eiibrt, and was pronounced with a vigorous and earnest eloquence that was overpowering; and, at its conclusion, he received the personal congratulations of tlie majority of the senators. Another important paper drawn by our distinguished senator was the notice of the termination of the Reciprocity Treaty ; but it is impossible even to touch upon his many national services, whether pertaining to the great desire of his life, — equal riglits for all, — or to other subjects of public interest and welfare. The way-marks of liis untiring activity are so numerous as to astonish even those who are most familiar witli his unparalleled industry. It is safe to say, that Mr. Sumner seems almost equally at home upon all subjects affecting either our domestic or foreign rela- tions. Thus financial questions would, to one not familiar with his mental characteristics, seem to be wholly outside the range of his thoughts, being too material and business-like ; but lie was on the most intimate terms with Mr. Chase while he was Secretary of the Treasury, and his opinions were souglit witli eagerness, while his speecli on " legal tender " would liave been an lienor to the ablest professed financier, and " turned the vote " in Con- gress, — a very unusual occurrence in a debate where men's minds are generally fully settled. An incident will illustrate Mr. Sumner's promptness to seize upon and fasten great points. On the morning after the passage, in the House of Representatives, of the constitutional amendment abolishing slaveiy (February, 18G5), he moved the admission of a colored lawyer to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States. The speeches were brief on the occasion. Addressing the Chief Justice, the senator said, — * Mcl'herson's History of the Rebellion, pp. 346, 347. 44 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. May it please your Honor, I present to the court John S. Kock, Esq., counsellor at law in the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, and move that he be admitted as a counsellor of the court. The Chief Justice, bowing, said, — Let him come foi-ward and take the usual oaths. The oaths were then administered. Several months afterward, Mr. Sumner remarked, — Then and there tumbled tlie Dred Scott decision. There is no space to prolong this imperfect sketch ; and the his- tory of the past few years must be studied minutely by those who would know fully the character and services of this eminent man. Such study will show him to be far from a mere theorist ; and the Congressional records are convincing evidence tliat his voice and vote have been ready upon almost every subject brought up for action. The reason why he has ever ])een called a theorist, with such her- culean, intensely practical labors, we believe to be on account of the region of high moral principle to which he rises in his discus- sions. It must seem theoretical and out of place, to men who know no ethics in political life but expediency and party ends, when a senator appeals to the " higher law," and bases his re- solves and speeches upon the principles of eternal right and justice. Mr. Sumner's influence in foreign lands is probably not sur- passed by that of any man in the nation. His culture, his elo- quence, and his consistent and powerful advocacy of human rights, have won for him the highest respect. At home, he is equally honored for his consistency and sincerity in all of his offi- cial duties and social relations. If he made mistakes on the floor of the Senate, they were the expression of feeling intensified by familiar contact with the enemies of freedom North and South. Dignified in personal presence, strong in argument, and with a moral sense wliich recoils from all compromises of principle for political ends, Charles Sumner will hold his rank in history fore- most among the great and good men of the nation appointed by God to stand up for imperilled right, and to smite bravely and fatally wrongs which long flourished under the protection of law. HENRY WILSON. 45 HENRY WILSON. During the Great Civil War, few public men, if any, have ren- dered more important services to the country than Henry Wil- son. Alike in victory and defeat, his words liave been utterances of faith and hope ; his acts have been deeds of patriotism and freedom, justice and humanity. His labors for the liberty and unity of the Republic have been unremitting and effective. His record is distinct and clear, reflecting honor upon the Common- wealth he represents, and placing his name among those entitled to receive the grateful remembrance of a regenerated nation. Senator Wilson was born in Farraington, in the State of New Hampshire, on the 16th of February, 1812. His parents were in very humble circumstances ; and, at ten years of age, he was apprenticed to a farmer till he was twenty-one. On attaining his majority, he went to Natick, Mass., and learned the trade of a shoemaker ; at which employment he worked for nearly three years, until he had earned money enough, as he supposed, to secure himself a liberal education. In his speech in the Senate in 1858, in reply to Gov. Hammond of South Carolina, who char- acterized working men as " mudsills," and asserted that the "hireling manual laborers" who lived by daily toil were " essen- tially slaves," he alluded to his humble origin in these words : — Sir, I am the son of a "hireling manual laborer," who, with the frosts of seventy winters on his brow, " lives by daily labor." I, too, have " lived by daily labor." I, too, have been a " hireling manual laborer." Poverty cast its dark and chilling shadow over the home of my childhood ; and want was sometimes there, — an unl)iddeii guest. At the age of ten years, — to aid him who gave me being in keeping tlie gaunt spectre from the .hearth of the mother who bore me, — I left the home of my boyhood, and went forth to earn my bread by " daily labor." In the spring of 183G, Mr. Wilson visited Washington ; listened to the exciting debates; saw Pinckney's gag resolutions against the reception of antislavery petitions pass the House, and Calhoun's Incendiary Publication Bill ])ass tiic Senate by the casting vote of the Vice-President. He visited, too, AVilliams's slave-pen; saw men and women manacled, and sent to the Far South-west; and he returned home with the unalterable resolve ever to give voice and vote for the overthrow of slavery. This fixed purpose is the key to his whole political career, and by it his public course must be 46 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE HEBELLION. interpreted. To the policy of antislavery, he has ever, through the varied and shifting changes of political organizations, been steadfastly and consistently true. Returning to his native State, he entered Strafford Academy, and at the close of the term, at the public exhibition, maintained the affirmative of the question, " Ought Slavery to be abolished in the District of Columbia ? " The word "abolitionist" was tlien a word of reproach. Little could he, or those who heard him, suppose that he would introduce the bill that abolished slavery in the capital of the nation. In 1837, the young men of New Hampshire held an antislavery State con- vention at Concord. Mr. Wilson, then at tlie academy at Con- cord, was a delegate to that convention, and took an active part in its deliberations. Losing, by the failure of a friend to whom he had intrusted it, the mono}'' he had earned for the purpose of securing a liberal education, Mr. Wilson returned to Natick, taught school for a time, and then engaged in the shoe-manufacturing business, which he continued for several years. Mr. Wilson was a memlicr of the Massachusetts House of Rep- resentatives in 1841 and 1812, and a member of the State Senate hi 1841 and 1845. He took an active part in favor of the admis- sion of colored children into the public schools, the protection of colored seamen in South Carolina, and in opposition to the an- nexation of Texas. In the autumn of 1845, he got up a conven- tion in the county of Middlesex, at which a committee was ap- pointed, wiiicli obtained nearly a hundred thousand signatures to petitions against the admission of Texas as a slave State ; and, with the poet Whittier, was appointed a committee to carry the petitions to Washington. In 184l3, Mr. Wilson was again a mem- ber of the House of Representatives. He introduced the resolu- tion declaring the continued opposition of Massachusetts " to the farther extension and longer existence of slavery in America," and made an elaborate speech in its favor, which was pronounced by Mr. Garrison, in " The Liberator," to be the most comprehen- sive and exhaustive speech on slavery ever made in any legisla- tive body in the United States. Mr. Wilson was a delegate to the Whig National Convention at Philadelphia in 1848 ; and on the rejection, by the convention, of the Wilmot Proviso, and the nomination of Gen. Taylor, lie de- nounced its action, retired from it, returned home, and issued an address to the people of his district, vindicating his action. He purchased " The Boston Repiiblican," the organ of t!ie Freesoil HENRT WILSON. 47 party in Massachusetts, and edited it for more tlian two years. In 1850, Mr. Wilson was again a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and the candidate.of the Freesoil mem- bers for Speaker. He was the Chairman of the State Central Freesoil Committee ; was the originator and organizer of the cele- brated coalition between the Freesoil and Democratic parties which made Mr. Boutwell Governor in 1851 and 1852, and sent Mr. Rantoul and Mr. Sumner to the Senate of the United States. He was a member of the State Senate in 1851 and 1852, and President of that body in those years. In 1852, he was a delegate to the Freesoil National Convention at Pittsburg ; was made President of the Convention, and Chairman of the National Com- mittee. Mr. "Wilson was the Freesoil candidate for Congress in 1852 ; and though his party was in a minority, in the district, of nearly eight thousand, he was beaten by only ninety-three votes. Mr. Wilson was a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention in 1858, and took a leading part in its deliberations. In 1858 and 1854, Mr. Wilson was the candidate of tlie Freesoil party for Governor of Massachusetts ; and in 1855 he was elected to the Senate to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Mr. Everett. Mr. Wilson took his seat in the Senate on the 10th of Feb- ruary, 1855 ; and has been twice nearly unanimouj-ly re-elected. In that body, he has been the inflexible opponent of slavery and the slave-power. In his first speech, made a few days after enter- ing the Senate, he announced the uncompromising position of himself and his antislavery friends to be, "We mean, sir, to place, in the councils of the nation, men who, in the words of Jefferson, ' have sworn on the altar of God eternal iiostility to every kind of oppression over tlie mind and body of man.' " Mr. Wilson was a member of the American National Council held at Phila- delphia in 1855, and the acknowledged leader of the opponents of slavery. In response to the rude menace of one of the South- ern leaders, who left his seat, crossed the room, and,, with his hand upon his revolver, took a seat beside him, while addressing the convention, Mr. Wilson said, " Threats have no terrors for freemen. I am ready to meet argument with argument, scorn with scorn, and, if need be, blow with blow. It is time the champions of slavery in the South should realize the fact, that the past is theirs, the future ours." Under his lead, the antislavery delegates issued a protest against the action of the National Coun- cil, seceded from it, disrupted the organization, and broke its power forever. 48 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. When, in the spring of 1856, Mr. Sumner was assailed in the Senate Chamber by Preston S. Brooks, of South Carolina, for words spoken in debate, Mr. Wilson, on the floor of the Senate, characterized that act as " brutal, murderous, and cowardly." These words, uttered in the Senate Chamber, drew forth a clial- lenge from Brooks ; to which Mr. Wilson replied, in words which were enthusiastically applauded by the country, " I have always regarded duelling as a lingering relic of a barbarous civilization, which the law of the country has branded as a crime. While, therefore, I religiously believe in the right of self-defence in its broadest sense, the law of my country, and the matured convic- tions of my whole life, alike forbid me to meet you for the pur- pose indicated in your letter." Tiiis response, embodying the sentiment and feeling of the people of the North, was warmly approved. When the opposition to the iron sway of the slave-masters triumphed in the election of Abraham Lincoln, he emphatically declared that the " slave-power was under the heel of the nation, and would be ground to atoms." When the irrepressible conflict of irreconcilable ideas and in- stitutions culminated in the slaveholders' Rebellion, the Senate assigned to Mr. Wilson the chairmanship of the Military Com- mittee. He brought to that position of high responsibility in- domitable energy, tireless industry, and an experience derived from four years' service upon the committee under the chairman- ship of Jetferson Davis, who knew, perhaps, better than any other public man, the condition of the arms and defences of the coun- try, and the state of the army and its officers. Vast responsibili- ties and labors were imposed upon the Military Committee of the Senate during the Rebellion. The important legislation for rais- ing, organizing, and governing the armies, originated in that com- mittee, or were passed upon by it ; and eleven thousand nomina- tions, from the second lieutenant to the lieutenant-general, were referred to it. Tlie labors of Mr. Wilson as cliairman of the com- mittee were immense. Important legislation affecting the armies, and the tliousands of nominations, could not but excite the liveli- est interest of officers and their friends ; and they ever freely visited him, consulted with and wrote to him. Private soldiers, too, ever felt at liberty to visit him or write to him concerning their affairs. Thousands did so ; and so promptly did he attend to their needs, that they christened him the " Soldier's Friend." Having been for twenty-five years the uuliinching foe of sla- SENATOR WILSON THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. 49 very and all that belonged or pertained to it, comprehending the magnitude of the issues, and fully understanding tlie charac- ter of the secession leaders, Mr. Wilson believed that the conflict, whenever the appeal should be made to arms, would be one of gigantic proportions. Being in Washington when Fort Sumter fell, he was one among the few who advised that the call should be for three hundred tliousand instead of seventy-five thousand men. On the day that call was made, he induced the Secretary of War to double the number of regiments apportioned to Massa- chusetts. Returning to Massachusetts, he met the Sixth Regiment on its way to the protection of the capital. He had hardly reached Boston when the startling intelligence came that the regiment had been fired upon in the streets of Baltimore. Having passed that anxious night in the company of his friend Gen. Schouler, Adjutant-Gen- eral of the Commonwealth, discussing the future that darkly loomed up before them, he left the next day for Washington. He sailed from New York on the 21st of April with the forces leaving that day, and found Gen. Butler at Annapolis, and communication with the capital closed. At the request of Gen. Butler, he returned to New York, obtained from Gen. Wool several heavy cannon for the protection of Annapolis, and then went to Washington, where he remained most of the time until the meethig of Congress, franking letters for the soldiers, working in the hospitals, and preparing the needed military measures to be presented when Congress should meet on the 4th of July. On the second day of the session, Mr. Wilson introduced five bills and a joint reso- lution. The first bill was a measure authorizing the employment of five hundred thousand volunteers for three yeai's to aid in en- forcing the laws ; the second was a measure increasing the regu- lar army by the addition of twenty-five thousand men ; the third was a measure providing for the " better organization of the mili- tary establishment," in twenty-five sections, embracing very im- portant provisions. These three measures were referred to tiie Military Committee, promptly reported back by Mr. Wilson, slightly amended, and enacted into laws. The joint resolution to ratify and confirm certain acts of the President for the sup- pression of insurrection and rebellion was reported, debated at great length, but failed to pass, though its most im{)ortant pro- visions were, on his motion, incorporated with another measure. Mr. Wilson, at the called session, introduced a bill in addition to the "Act to authorize the Employment of Volunteers," wliicii 7 60 MASSACHUSETTS IX THE REBELLION. autliorized the President to accept (ive hundred thousand more volunteers, and to appoint for the command of the volunteer forces such number of major and brigadier generals as in his judirment might be required ; and this measure was passed. He introduced bills "to authoriiio the President to appoint additional aides-de-camp," containing a provision abolishing flogging in the army ; " to make appropriations ; " " to provide for the ])urchase of arms, ordnance, and ordnance-stores;" and "to increase the corps of engineers ; " all of which were enacted. Pie introduced also a bill, which was passed, " to increase the pay of the pri- vates," which increased the soldiers' pay from eleven to thirteen dollars per month, and provided that all the acts of the Presi- dent resj)ecting the army and navy should be approved, legalized, and made valid. The journals of the Senate, and the " Congressional Globe," bear ample evidence that Mr. Wilson's senatorial life was, at that period, one of ceaseless activity in originating and pressing for- ward the measures for increasing and organizing the armies to meet the varied exigencies of the tremendous conflict of civil war. At the close of the session. Gen. Scott emphatically de- clared that " Senator Wilson had done more work in that short session than all the chairmen of the Military Committees had done for the last twenty years." So ably and so well were his manifold duties fulfilled, that the veteran Lieutenant-General said, in an autograph letter of the 10th of August, — " In taking leave of you some days ago, I fear that I did not so emphatically express my thanks to you, as our late Chairman of the Senate Committee, as my feelings and those of my brother- officers of tlie army (with whom I have conversed) warranted, for your able and zealous eflforts to give to the service the fullest war development and efficiency. It is pleasing to remember the pains you took -to obtain accurate information, wherever it could be found, as a basis for wise legislation ; and we hope it may be long before the army loses your valuable services in the same ca- pacity." After the adjourimicnt of Congress, Gen. Scott recommended to the President the appointment of Senator Wilson to tiie office of brigadier-general of volunteers ; but, as the acceptance of such a position would have required the resignation of his seat in the Senate, the subject was, after consideration, dropped. Anxious, however, to do something for the endangered country during the recess of Congress, Mr. Wilson made an arrangement with Gen. SENATOR WILSON IN THE FIELD. 51 McClellan *o go on his staff as a volunteer aide-de-camp, with the rank of colonel ; but at tlio pressing solicitation of Mr. Cameron, Mr. Seward, and Mr. Chase, who were most anxious to give a new impulse to volunteering, then somewhat checked by the defeat at Bull Run, he accepted authority to raise a regiment of infantry, a company of sharpshooters, and a battery of artillery. Return ing to Massachusetts, he issued a stirring appeal to the young men of the State, called and addressed several public meetings, and, in forty days, filled to overflowing the Twenty-second Regi ment, one company of sharpshooters, two batteries, and nine com- panies of the Twenty-third Regiment, in all numbering nearly two thousand three hundred men. He was commissioned colonel of the Twenty-second Regiment, with the distinct understanding that he would remain with the regiment but a brief period, and would arrange with the War Department to have an accomplished army officer for its commander. With the Twenty-second Regi- ment, a company of sbarpshooters, and the Third Battery of Artillery, he went to Washington, and was assigned to Gen. Mar- tindale's brigade, in Fitz-John Porter's division, stationed at Hall's Hill, in Virginia. The passage of the regiment from their camp at Lynnfield to Washington was an ovation. On Boston Com- mon, a splendid flag was presented to the regiment by Robert C. Winthrop ; in New York, a flag was presented by James T. Brady, and a banquet given by the citizens, which was attended by emi- nent men of all parties. After a brief period. Gen. Wilson, at tlie solicitation of the Sec- retary of War, resigned his commission, put the accomplished Col. Gove of the regular army in command of his regiment, and took the position of volunteer aide, with the rank of colonel, on the staff of Gen. McClellan. The Secretary of War, in pressing Gen. Wilson to resign his commission and take this position, ex- pressed the opinion that it would enable him, l)y practical obser- vation of the condition and actual experience of the organization of the army, the better to prepare the proper legislation to give the highest development and efficiency to the military forces. He served on Gen. McClellan's staff until the 9th of January, 1862, when pressing duties in Congress forced him to tender his resigna- tion. In accepting it, Adjutant-Gen. Williams said, — " The major-general commanding desires me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 9tli instant, in which you tender your resignation of the af)j)ointment of aide-de-camp upon his staff. The reasons assigned in your letter are such, that the general is 52 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. not permitted any other course than that of directing the ac- ceptance of your resignation. lie wishes me to add, that it is with regret that he sees the termination of the pleasant official rela- tions which Iiave existed between you and himself ; and that he yields with reluctance to the necessity created by the pressure upon you of other and more imp6rtant public duties." During the second session of the Tliirty-seventh Congress, Mr. Wilson originated, introduced, and carried through, several meas- ures of vital importance to the army and the interests of the coun- try. Among these measures were the bills " relating to courts- martial ; " " to provide for allotment-certificates ; " '- for the bet- ter organization of the signal -department of the army;" "for the appointment of sutlers in the volunteer service, and defining their duties ; " " authorizing the President to assign the command of troops in the same field or department to officers of the same grade, without regard to seniority ; " " to increase the efficiency of the medical department of the army ; " " to facilitate the dis- charge of enlisted men for physical disability ; " " to provide ad- ditional medical officers of the volunteer service ; " " to encour- age enlistments in tlie regular army and volunteer forces ; " " for the presentation of medals of honor to enlisted men of the army and volunteer forces who have distinguished or who may distin- guish themselves in battle during the present Rebellion ; " " to define the pay and emoluments of certain officers of the army, and for other purposes," — a bill of twenty-two sections of important provisions ; and " to amend the act calling forth the militia to exe- cute the laws, suppress insurrection, and repel invasion." This last bill authorized for the first time the enrolment in the militia, and the drafting, of negroes ; and empowered the President to accept, organize, and arm colored men for military purposes. Military measures introduced by other senators, or originating iu the House, and amendments made to Senate bills in the House, were referred to the Committee on Military Affairs, imposing upon Mr. Wilson much care and labor. During the session, Mr. Cameron, the Secretary of War, re- signed ; and, on leaving the department, he said in a letter to Senator Wilson, " No man, in my opinion, in the whole coun- ry, has done more to aid the War Department in preparing the mighty army now under arms than yourself; and, before leaving tliis city, I think it my duty to ofier to you my sincere thanks as its late head. As Chairman of the Military Committee of the Senate, your services were invaluable. At the first call THE SECRETARY OF WAR ON SENATOR WILSON. 53 for troops, you came here ; and up to the meeting of Congress, a period of more than six months, your labors were incessant. 'Sometimes in encouraging the Administration by assurances of support from Congress, by encouraging volunteering in your own State, by raising a regiment yourself when other men be- gan to fear that compulsory drafts might be necessary, and in the Senate by preparing the bills and assisting to get the neces- sary appropriations for organizing, clothing, arming, and supply- ing the army, you have been constantly and profitably employed in the great cause of putting down the unnatural re1)ellion." Mr. Cameron was succeeded by Mr. Stanton, who brought to the office tireless industry, indomitable energy, and an abrupt manner that often subjected him to harsh criticisms. The Secre- tary and the Cliairman of the Military Committee of the Senate ever maintained the most friendly and confidential relations. Mr. Wilson was always ready to consider the wishes of the Secretary, and ever prompt in his defence. Mr. Stanton has often expressed his grateful sense of the public and personal support so readily given. In the last session of the Thirty-seventh Congress, and in the Thirty-eighth Congress, Mr. Wilson labored with the same vigor and persistency to organize and develop the military resources of the nation, to do justice to the officers, and to care for the sol- diers. During these sessions of Congress, he introduced many measures, and moved amendments to bills originated by other sen- ators and in the House of Representatives. Among the important measures originated and carried to enactment by him were the tills " to facilitate the discharge of disabled soldiers, and the in- spection of convalescent camps and hospitals; " " to improve the organization of the cavalry forces ; " "to authorize an increase in the number of major and brigadier generals;" "for enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes," — a bill of thirty-eight sections, containing provisions of the highest im- portance ; " to amend an act entitled ' An Act for enrolling and calling out the National Forces,'" — a bill of twenty-seven sections, in which it was provided that " colored persons should, on being mustered into the service, become free ; " a bill " to establish a uniform system of ambulances in the armies ; " " to increase the pay of soldiers in the United-States army, and for other pur- poses," — a measure that increased the pay to sixteen dollars per month ; " to })rovide for tiie examination of certain officers of tiie army ; " a bill " to provide for the better organization of tho Quar- 54 MASSACHUSETTS IX THE UEBELLION. lermastcr's department; " a "bill in addition to the several acts for enrolling and calling ont the national forces ; " " to incorpo- rate a national military and naval asylum for the relief of totally disabled officers and men of the volunteer forces ; " " to incor- porate the National Freedmen's Savings Bank ; " " to incorporate the National Academy of Sciences ; " " to encourage enlist- ments, and promote the efficiency of the military and naval forces, by making free the wives and children of colored soldiers ; " and a joint resolution '' to encourage the employment of disabled and discharged soldiers." The important legislation securing to col- ored soldiers equality of pay from the 1st of January, 1864, and to officers in the field an increase in the commutation-price of the ration, and three months' extra pay to those who should continue in service to the close of the war, was moved by Mr. Wilson upon appropriation-bills. Mr, Wilson, while laboring wi.h ever-watchful care for the in- terests of the army and the support of the Government in its gigantic efforts to suppress the Rebellion, did not lose sight, for a moment, of slavery, to the ultimate extinction of which he had consecrated his life more than a quarter of a century before slavery revolted against the authority of the nation. In that remarkable series of antislavery measures which culminated in tiie anti- slavery amendment of the Constitution, he bore no undistin- guished part. He introduced the bill abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia, which became a law on the 16th of April, 186"2, and l)y which more than three thousand slaves were made forever free, and slavery made forever impossible in tlie nation's capital. lie introduced a provision, which became a law on the 21st of May, 1862, providing tliat persons of color in the Dis- trict of Columbia should be subject to tlie same laws to which white persons were subject ; that they should be tried for offences against the laws in the same manner as white persons were tried, and, if convicted, be liable to the same penalty, and no other, as would 1)0 inflicted upon white persons for the same crime. On the 12th of July, 1862, he introduced from the Military Committee the bill, whicli became the law on the 17th, to amend the act of 1795, calling for the militia to execute the laws. This bill made ne- groes a part of the militia, authorized the President to receive into the military or naval service persons of African descent, and made free such persons, ihcir mothers, wives, and children, if they owed service to any persons -who gave aid to the Rebellion. When the amendment, on the 24th of February, 1864, to the Enrolment Act. ACTION AFFECTING THE FREEDMEN. 55 was pending in the House, it was so amended as to make colored men. wlietlier free or slave, part of the national forces ; and the masters of slaves were to receive the bounty when they should free their drafted slaves. On the Committee of Conference, Mr. Wilson moved that the slaves should be made free, not by tlie act of their masters, but by the authority of the Government, the mo- ment they entered the service of the United States. It was agreed to, and became the law of the land ; and Gen. Palmer reported, that, in Kentucky alone, more than twenty thousand slaves had been made free by it. On his motion, the Army Appropriation Bill of June 15, 1864, was so amended as to provide that all persons of color who had been, or who might be, mustered into the mili- tary service, should receive the same unitbrm, clothing, arms, equipments, camp-equipage, rations, medical attendance, and pay, as other soldiers, from the first day of January, 1804. He made, too, earnest and persistent efforts to secure justice to the Fifty- fourth and Fifty-lifth Massachusetts colored regiments, and regi- ments raised early in the war, and with partial success. He in- troduced, and, in face of a persistent opposition, carried through, tlie joint resolution making the wives and children of all colored soldiers forever free. Major-Gen. Palmer, commanding the forces of the United States in Kentucky, estimated in an official report, six months after its passage, that nearly seventy-five thousand women and children were made free by it in that State alone. He was made chairman, on the part of the Senate, of the Committee of Conference to whom was referred the bills relating to the Freedmen's Bureau ; and reported from the committee a new bill to establish in the War Department a bureau for the relief of Ireedmen and refugees, which became the law of the land. He introduced many other measures relating to slavery and the rights of persons of color, participated in the debates and the action on kindred pnjpositions introduced by others, and made elaborate speeches in favor of the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia and for the constitutional amendment. In addition to his vast labors in Congress during the Rebellion, Mr. Wilson travelled in several States thousands of miles, deliv- ered more than a hundred speeches in sujjport of the war and in vindication of the antislavcry policy of the Government, and pub- lished "The History of Antislavery Measures in the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-cightli Congresses," in which the successive steps of national legislation pertaining to slavery are skilfully traced. This work has been most highly commended for its fairne^^s, and clearness of statement. 56 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. No public man ever brought to the high duties of a great occa- sion more sympathy for the toiling and the oppressed, or more faith in the people and the democratic institutions of his country, than Henry Wilson. Born in poverty, nursed in childhood in the lap of penury, trained to incessant toil in boyhood, accustomed in early manhood to the severe labors of the mechanic's shop, he had learned from his own stern experiences tiie working-man's temptations and trials. Devoting, during the eleven years of liis apprenticeship, tlie hours given to toil, to the study of his coun- try's history, he grew up in sympathy with the poor and lowly, with faith in the people, and in love with the free institutions of his native land. Sympathizing with tlio toiling many, devoted to democratic institutions, lie entered public life the uncompromis- ing enemy of intemperance and slavery. In the Legislature of Massachusetts eight years, and in the Senate of the United States, he has ever given voice and vote for the rights, the culture, and the elevation of all men, without distinction of color or race. For twenty-five years, he toiled with unflagging energy for the anni- hilation of the slave-power and the final extinction of slavery. Calling to mind the important measures he has introduced af- fecting the interests of the nation, and aided in shaping, advocating, and pusliing through the Senate ; the incessant labors he has per- formed in and out of Congress for the overthrow of the Rebellion and the extirpation of slavery, — it is hardly too much to assert that few public men have contributed more to the suppression of the slave-masters' revolt, the restoration of the broken Union, and tlie utter extinction in America of an institution alike at variance witli the dictates of humanity and the teachings of Christianity. EDWARD EVERETT. Edward Everett was born in Dorchester, Mass., on the 11th of April, 1794:. His father, Rev. Oliver Everett, upon his resigna- tion of the pastorate of the New South Church in Boston in 1792, made this pleasant town his residence until his death. The family on l)oth sides were of Puritan ancestry, dating back to the first emigration. In 1803, Mrs. Everett, with her large family, returned to Boston ; and from that time, until his sad and sudden decease, Jan. 15, 18G5, Edward Everett was identified with tlie city and all her interests, and was the pride of all her iniial)itants. EDWARD EVERETT. 57 He was educated in the free schools of Dorchester and Bos- ton ; and when, later, his regular preparation for college com- menced, he attended a private school taught by Ezekiel Webster, elder brother of Daniel, who was also his instructor during the ab- sence, for a week, of the principal. In this relation to each other, a friendship began between Edward Everett and Daniel Webster, which the latter, in 1852, compared to " a clear, blue, cerulean sky, without a cloud or mist or haze, stretching across the hea- vens." He entered Harvard College in 1807, graduating in 1811. He was soon after appointed Latin tutor, and commenced the study of divinity under President Kirkland. In 1813, he accepted . a call to the Brattle-square Church, succeeding Dr. Buckminster, who had used his influence to induce the youthful graduate to turn his attention from the study of law to that of theology. In addition to his ministerial duties, he published a defence of Chris- tianity, against an attack, by G. B. English, on the New Testament. Rev. Dr. Lothrop remarks of this book, that, " at the time it was published, it was justly regarded as one of the most learned and important theological works that had then been written in America ; " and it is but just to say that the completeness and thorough mastery of the subject which marked this "Defence" were ever afterward characteristic of every thing which lie under- took. Whatever he did, he did well. Accepting tiie chair of the Greek professorship in Harvard Col- lege in 1815, he embarked for Gottingen, by way of England, to prepare himself for his new duties by the study of tlic ancient German, and to enjoy the advantages, then rarely embraced by an American, of a German university. The winter of 1817-18 was spent in Paris, studying modern Greek. In the spring, he returned to England. He again visited the Continent the same year, taking up his residence for brief pe- riods in Florence, Rome, Constantinople, Athens, and other inter- esting cities in Southern Europe. He returned to his native country in 1819, " the most finished and accomplished scholar that had been .seen in New England ; and it will be generally ad- mitted that he maintained this superiority to the last. From this year, down to the hour of his death, he was constantly before the public eye, and never without a marked and peculiar influence upon the community, especially upon students and scholars." * * Geor're S. Ilillard. 58 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. Ill 1819, he addressed himself to the labors of his professorship in the imivcrsity, and as the able editor of " The North-American Review." He was particularly known for his earnest vindication of America against English prejudice. Then followed a succession of masterly orations and addresses upon various topics during the rest of his life, none of which was more widely known than the oration on Washington, which brought a golden harvest for the Mount-Vernon Fund. It seemed the purchase of the slirine of a nation's homage to its father, on the eve of a civil war around its hallowed summit. In 1825, Mr. Everett took his seat in Congress, representing Middlesex for ten years. From 1835 to 1839, he was Governor of the State; and, in 1841, he was appointed minister to the court of St. James. Important questions were at that time pending between the two countries, including the North-eastern Boundary, the Fisheries, " The Caroline," " The Creole," the case of McLeod, and others ; but it is universally admitted that he discharged his difficult diplo- matic duties with great judgment, delicacy, and grace. During these years, as ever after, he was treated with the iiighest respect and cordiality in England ; and among the compliments bestowed upon him were honorary degrees from the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin. Upon his return home, in 1846, he was elected President of Harvard College, succeeding the venerable Josiah Quincy. This position he resigned in 1849, and remained in private life, until, upon Mr. Webster's death, in 1852, he was called to the Depart- ment of State by President Fillmore. While at Cambridge, and during the years immediately preceding his return to public life, he devoted himself to the establishment of a free public library in Boston ; and in a letter to the then mayor of the city, Hon. John P. Bigelow. he prepared the plan which has been carried forward from that time, and which has resulted in an institution which is an honor to its originator and to the city. On account of a change in the administration, he served as Secretary of State but a few months, and, in 1853, took his seat in the United-States Senate, as successor of Hon. John Davis; but ill health com- pelled him to resign in 1854. During his brief term, he spoke against the repeal of the Missouri Compi-omise, a measure which he has termed " the Pandora's box, from which our ills have flowed," the fruitful cause of national troubles. It was during the four years immediately i-ucceediag his retire- EDWAUD EVERETT. 59 ment from strictly public and official duties, and while suffering many bodily infirmities, that he devoted himself to raising money for the Mount-Vernon Fund. The proceeds of his remarkable address on Washington, which he generously gave to this worthy object, amounted to nearly one hundred thousand dollars. In one of his public speeches, he thus refers to his motives for under- taking the great work of securing to the nation the home of the " Father of his Country : " — After tlio sectional warfare of opinion and feeling reached a dangerous height, anxious, if possible, to bring a counteractive and conciliatory influ- ence iuto play ; feeling that there was just one golden cliord of sympathy which ran throughout the land ; in the hope of contributing something, how- ever small, to preserve what remained, and restore what was lost, of kind feeling between the two sections of the country, — I devoted the greater part of my time for three years to the attempt to give new strength, in the hearts of my countrymen, to the last patriotic feeling in which they seemed to beat in entire unison, — veneration and love for the name of Washington, and reverence for the place of his rest. With this object in view, I travelled thou- sands of miles, by night and day, in midwinter and midsummer, speaking three, four, and five times a week, in feeble health, and under a heavy burden of domestic care and sorrow, and inculcating the priceless value of the Union, in precisely the same terms, from Maine to Georgia, and from New York to St. Louis. Mr. Evereft was candidate for the Presidency in 1860, on the ticket of the " Conservative party." When the Rebellion burst upon the country, he was still for compromise and peace : but as the struggle deepened, and he saw its true character, he nobly evinced his true patriotism, while many of his intimate and dear friends flinched from apparent duty ; and took his place among the most loyal friends of the Government and decided ad- vocates of a vigorous prosecution of the war. The eifect upon certain classes, on account of his antecedents, of his eloquent defence of the Government, and condemnation of all treasonable acts, was very great. The confidence and admiration inspired by this magnanimous and patriotic course found expression in his being selected by the people of Massachusetts for their first presi- dential elector in 1804. In a spirit of the broadest patriotism, he had attempted to allay sectional prejudices, and unite all at the North and South in a common love and devotion to the Union. " But," in the words of one of his eulogists, " when this hope failed, and he found that 60 MASSACHUSETTS AV THE REBELLION. treason had developed its plans ; that rebellion, iinfnrling ita standard, had inaugurated civil war ; then the policy that had hitherto guided his life was instantly abandoned. He felt that there was no longer any room for concession and compromise, and so gave himself — time, talents, wisdom, strength, all that he had — in all ways to support the legitimate Government of the United States in all the action and policy by which that Government sought to maintain at all hazards, and at any cost, the integrity of the Union and country which tliat Govern- ment was instituted to preserve. But, in all this, he was under the inspiration of a patriotism that always dwelt in his heart ; though, in these later years, he seems to have been raised to an energy, enthusiasm, and earnestness of effort, that indicate a deeper and stronger conviction that he was right than he exhib- ited, or perhaps ever experienced, before." In the minds of some not thoroughly acquainted with Mr. Ev- erett's principles of action, there has sometimes been a lingering feeling that he was lacking in moral courage. On this point, Hon. John H. Clifford has well remarked, — There were occasions in his life when it would have required less courage, and have cost a smaller sacrifice, to escape this imputation, and secure to himself the popular favor, than it did to incite it. But his resolute adher- ence to his own conscientious convictions, his large and comprehensive patriotism, his unswerving nationality and love of the Union^ and the knowl- edge which a scholar's studies and a statesman's observations had given him of the perils by which that Union was environed, closed many an avenue of popularity to him, which bolder, but not more courageous public men than he could consent to walk in. If timidity consists in an absence of all temer- ity and rashness, of entire freedom from that reckless spirit which so often leads "fools to rush in where angels fear to tread," let it ever be remem- bered to his honor that Mr. Everett was a timid statesman. But, if the virtue of moderation is still to be counted among the excellent qualities of a i-uler or counsellor, ... let it also be remembered that our departed states- man, while he adhered inflexibly to his convictions of the right, was not " ashamed to let his moderation be known unto all men." Among the latest and noblest efforts of his life, before a popular assembly, was his oration, Nov. 19, 1863, at the dedication of the national cemetery at Gettysburg, Penn. The scene is brought vividly before us in his own eloquent words : — Standing beneath this serene sky, overlooking these broad fields now re- posing from the labors of the waning year, the mighty Alleghanies towering EDWAIiD EVERETT. 61 before us, the graves of our bretlirea beneath our feet, it is with hesitation that I raise my poor voice to break the eloquent silence of God and Nature. We can only quote further the closing paragraph of the review of the war, and the story of heroic deeds, which held in breathless silence the assembled thousands, among whom our lamented President was a tearful listener. He said, — And now, friends, fellow-citizens of Gettysburg and Pennsylvania, and you from the remoter States, let me again, as we part, invoke your benediction on these honored graves. You feel, though the occasion is mournful, that it is good to be here. You feel that it was greatly auspicious for the cause of the country that the men of the East and the men of the West, tlie men of nine- teen sister States, stood side by side on the perilous ridges of tlie battle. You now feel it a new bond of union, that they shall lie side by side till a clarion louder than that which marshalled them to the combat shall awake their slumbers. God bless the Union ! It is dearer to us for the blood of the brave men shed in its defence. The spots on which they stood and fell ; these pleasant heights ; the fertile plain beneath them ; the thriving village whose streets so lately rang with the strange din of war ; the fields beyond the ridge, where the noble Reynolds held the advancing foe at bay, and, while he gave up his own life, assured by his forethought and self-sacrifice the triumph of the two succeeding days; the little streams which wind through the hills, on whose banks, in after-times, the wondering ploughman will turn up, with the rude weapons of savage warfare, the fearful missiles of modern artillery ; the Seminary Ridge, the Peach-orchard, Cemetery, Gulp's and Wolf's Hills, Round Top, Little Round Top, — humble names, henceforward dear and fa- mous, — no lapse of time, no distance of space, shall cause you to be forgotten. " The whole earth," said Pericles, as he stood over the remains of his fellow- citizens who had fallen in the first year of the Peloponnesian War, — " the whole eartli is the sepulchre of illustrious men." All time, he might have added, is the millennium of their glory. Surely I would do no injustice to the other noble achievements of the war, which have reflected such honor on both arms of the service, and have entitled the armies and the navy of the United States, their officers and men, to the warmest thanks and the richest rewards which a grateful people can pay. But they, I am sure, will join us in saying, as we bid farewell to the dust of these martyr-heroes, that wheresoever throughout the civilized world the accounts of this great warfare are read, and down to the latest period of recorded time, in the glorious annals of our common coun- try, there will be no brighter page than that which relates The B.\ttles of Gettvsburg. Mr. Everett's addresses will ever remain enduring monuments to his scholarship, eloquence, and patriotism. As an orator, he stood first in the land : he had no peer. lu the record of benevolence given in another place, the interest 62 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. Mr. Everett felt in the destitute loyal people of East Tennessee conspicuously appears. He entered with all his soul into the movement for their relief, displaying in this practical sympathy both his genuine kindness of heart and patriotic devotion to the whole country. The last public occasion on which his voice was heard was at the meeting of his fellow-citizens in Faneuil Hall on Monday, Jan. 12, 1885, for the relief of Savannah, — the "Christmas gift," three weeks before, of Gen. Sherman to the nation. His manner was unusually animated in that appeal. But expo- sure to currents of air then, and soon after in the court-room, where he had an important suit in course of trial, brought on a serious attack of lung-disease, followed by apoplectic symptoms. He died Jan. 15, 18(35. The patriotic devotion to his coun- try in its peril from foes at the North, who were more dangerous and excuseless than those at the Soutli, shed a halo of true glory over his closing life, which will forever endear his memory to the American people. At the commemorative meeting of the Massa- chusetts Historical Society, held on the evening of Jan. 30, elo- quent tributes were paid to his memory ; and we know not where else to look for add)esses of such singular beauty and appropriate- ness as were then delivered. The testimony of those who were equally distinguished, though in different walks of literature, but had for some years widely differed from him on national questions, is very touching. Said William CuUen Bryant, the distinguished poet, — If I have uttered any thing in derogation of Mr. Everett's public character at times when it seemed to me that he did not resist with becoming spirit the aggressions of wrong, I now, looking back upon his noble record of the last four years, retract it at his grave. I lay upon his hearse the declaration of my sorrow that I saw not the depth of his worth ; that I did not discern, under the conservatism that formed a part of his natui'e, that generous courage which a groat emergency could so nobly awaken. Wrote the fiery bard of freedom, J. G. Whittier, — I am saddened by the reflection, that, through the very intensity of my convictions, I may liave done injustice to the motives of those with whom I differed. As respects Edward Everett, it seems to me that only within the last four years have I truly known him. . . . At the meeting in Faneuil Hall, Jan. 18, to commemorate his death, the Hon. Alexander H. Bullock, now Governor, closed his eloquent eulogy with these glowing words : — EDWARD EVERETT. 63 His greatest days were his last. The country did not know him perfectly until 18G1. Then he renewed his youth ; then he broke away from his own traditions and associations, and mounted to that wise, large patriotism which has guided twenty loyal millions to life and glory. He waited not for others, nor for the victory of our arms ; but, in those first days of war and gloora, his voice sounded like a clarion over this land. Almighty God be praised that he has been spared to us these four years ! In these temples of your elo- quence, in the commercial metropolis where his counsel was more needed, everywhere and every day, by public speech and through the popular press, be has confirmed hesitating men at home, he has inspired your armies in the field. These victories which fill the air to-day peal gTundly over his inanimate form : they cannot wake him from sleep ; but they are a fitting salute for his burial. He passes to his rest when the whole heaven is lighted up to proclaim that his mission has been accomplished. The same page of the calendar shall repeat to the next age the Death op Everett, and tue New Life of HIS COUNTEY. Note. — We find, upon consulting Senator Wilson's late and able " History of Antislave- ry Measm-es in Congress," that it would be quite difficult to decide to which of our Mas- sachusetts Congress-men we are the most deeply indebted for the success of the Freedmen's Bureau Bill ; aud we refer the reader to that work for the record of its origin and progress. CHAPTER IV. MASSACITDSETTS REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. Ex-Gov. George S. Boutwell's Early Life. — Entrance upon Public Service. — The Ad- vocate of Popular Education and Universal Freedom. — Speech on extending the Right of SuflVage to the Colored Men. — The Hon. Thomas D. Eliot's P.irth and Boy- hood. — Graduates at Columbia College, and studies Law. — In Congress. — Address and Speeches on the great Questions of War and Freedom. — The Hon. A. H. Rice. — The Hon. Samuel Hooper. — The Hon. H. L. Dawes. — The Hon. .Tohn B. Alley. — The Hon. D. W. Gouch. — The Hon. W. B. Washburn. — The Hon. Oakes Ames. GEORGE S. BOUTWELL. GEORGE S. BOUTWELL was bom in Brookline, Norfolk County, Jan. 28, 1808. His boyhood was spent upon a farm, amid whose quiet labors he formed habits of industry, and secured a good physical constitution. In early youth, he engaged in mercantile pursuits ; rising from the errand-boy's place to the control of extensive business. After nearly twenty years' experience in intensely practical occupation of his energies, he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1836. In 1842, Mr. Boutwell was chosen to the Legislature of the State, where he was an able and efficient member for seven years. In 1849-50, he held the position of Bank Commissioner. In 1851, the people elected him Governor of Massacluisetts. Mr. Boutwell was also a mcnil)cr of the Constitutional Convention of tlie Com- monwealth in 1853. Perhaps his noblest, greatest work for the State was his active and earnest service as Secretary of the Board of Education for eleven years. He was for six years member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College. When, in the spring of 1861, the rising storm of rebellion shook the national capital with excitement, he was a delegate from Massachusetts to the Peace Congress called to calm the strife ; and, while he deprecated war, he was true to the principles and trust of his native State. From July, 1862, to March, 1863, he was Commissioner of Inter- nal Revenue, and, in the autumn of the former year, was chosen representative to Congress, and placed on the Judiciary Commit- GEORGE S. BOUTWELL. 65 tee. In 1864, lie was a delegate to the Republican Conven- tion at Baltimore which renominated for the Presidency Abra- ham Lincoln. On no occasion, perhaps, has he won higher admiration and re- gard, by a single effort, than on that of the discussion of negro suffrage, Jan. 18, 1866, in the House of Representatives. The members seemed to be in a careless mood, when the word passed around that " Gov. Boutwell is going to speak." As he rose to his feet, a sudden stillness spread over the hall ; and the tried friend of the laboring classes, the advocate of popular education, and the eloquent pleader for the rights of the oppressed African, commenced one of his finest and most powerful extem- poraneous speeches. He said, — Mr. Speahr, — It is only recently tbat I entertained the purpose to speak at all upon this bill, and it was my expectation to avail myself of the kindness of the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee to divide with him the time allotted him by the rules of the House ; but I accept the opportunity now presented of speaking, before the previous question is demanded, to state certain views I entertain on this bill. I may say, in the beginning, that I am opposed to all dilatory motions upon this bill. I am opposed to the restric- tions moved by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hale), because I see in them no advantage to anybody, and I apprehend from then" adoption much evil to the country. It should bo borne in mind, that, when we emancipated the black people, we not only relieved ourselves from the institution of slavery, we not only conferred upon them freedom, but we did more, — we recognized their manhood, which, by the old Constitution and the general pohcy and usage of the country, had been, from the organization of the Gov- ernment until the Emancipation Proclamation, denied to all of the enslaved colored people. As a consequence of the recognition of their manhood, cer- tain results follow in accordance with the principles of this Government ; and they who believe in this Government are by necessity forced to accept these results as a consequence of the policy of emancipation which they have in- augurated, and for which they are responsible. But to say now — having given freedom to this people — that they shall not enjoy the essential rights and privileges of men, is to abandon the principle of the Proclamation of Emancipation, and tacitly to admit that the whole emancipation policy is erroneous. After showing clearly the inherent, divinely given right of the emancipated l)ondmen to share in the elective franchise, and the dangerous power left in the hands of those who are still disloyal by withholding it, he closed with great force and imprcssive- ness : — 66 MASSACHUSETTS IX TUE BEBELLION. I have thus given, with less preparation than I ought to have made for the discussion of a question like this, the views I entertain upon this subject. But, beyond this, when we proclaimed the emancipation of tlie slaves, and put their lives in peril for the defence of the countiy, we did in effect guar- antee to them substantially the rights of American citizens and a Christian posterity ; and heathen countries will demand how we have kept that faith. Mr. Speaker, we are to answer for our treatment of the colored people of this country ; and it will prove in the end impracticable to secure to men of color civil rights, unless the persons who claim these rights are fortified by the polit- ical v\- pointed Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Mr. Eliot's widen- ing professional practice claimed so exclusively his attention, that he neither sought nor had time for political preferment. The people, however, desired his services as their representative, and, still later, their senator, in the General Court. His professional duties and his devotion to his family induced him to decline a proffered Congressional nomination, until his prosperous career as a lawyer made a new field of activity a pleasant relaxation from professional labor, and an inviting sphere of public usefulness. 68 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION: In 1854, he was chosen to complete the unexpired term of the Hon. Zeno Scudder, representative in Congress from Ids district; and took his seat in the Capitol when the discussion attending the Kansas-Nebraska Bill was at its height. Always on the side of freedom, his speeches at this crisis of intense interest and feel- ing were earnest and eloquent. July 28, 1854, Mr. Eliot asked leave to introduce a bill in the House of Representatives to repeal the Fugitive-slave Law : and, on motion to suspend the rules, the ayes were 45 ; the nays, 120. This was the first bill offered for the repeal of that law. Mr. Eliot had always been a firm Whig, attached to the lib- eral wing of the party, but centring his hopes upon the success of that political organization. The whirlwind of Americanism swept that party out of existence in the fall of 1854, and with it disappeared from Congress the Massachusetts delegation. Mr. Eliot shared the universal fate ; and his term closed in March, 1855. Upon the dissolution of the Whig party, he united with those members of various organizations who desired to found the Republican party ; and in the proceedings at Boston whicli re- sulted in the Convention at Worcester in the fall of 1855, and the nomination of Hon. Julius Rockwell, he bore a promuient part. From that time he has acted constantly and zealously with the Republicans. At the State Convention of 1857, he was unani- mously nominated as their candidate for the office of Attorney- General ; but the duties of this office were less to his tasto than his professional practice, and he declined the nomination. He has also declined offers of judicial station in tho C*)urt of Com- mon Fleas and on the new Superior Bencli. It would not be easy to find one whose life has been devoted more faithfnlly and closely to his profession. In the practice of many years, he has well deserved the confidence of his clients by the careful ])rcpara- tion which ho has given to tiieir cases out of court, as well as tlie earnestness with which their causes have been tried. For some time, he and Ex-Gov. Clifford have been confessedly at the head of the bar in Southern Massachusetts. Outside of his pro- fession, his life has been chiefly spent in his home. A less pleas- ant one might have stimulated him to more ambitious achieve- ments. He was re-elected to Congress from his old district in 1860. In the Thirty-sixth Congi-ess, Mr. Eliot took a high and con- sistent position as a Republican, representing a district which "embraces witliin its limits the first harbor made by our Pilgrim THOMAS D. ELIOT. 69 forefathers at Provincetown, and their first home on Plymouth Rock." He addressed his constituents, Feb. 1, 1861, defining his posi- tion in the exciting crisis ; and his earnest words indicate his fidelity to them in his conscientious devotion to the principles of the fiithers of the Republic. We can quote only tlie closing paragraph, passing over the logical and clear statement of the various attempts at compromise, and always in favor of the South : — The crisis ia our national affairs is one of gravest moment. I assume with awe the profound responsibility that rests upon those who now represent the people. I was not chosen by you in view of such events ; but I have regarded with jealous watchfulness the causes that have produced them, and I recognize the duties they enjoin. I am entreated in your behalf to make " concession " to slavery ; to make the slave-power, which has ruled us heretofore, moi-e potent by Congressional legislation and by Constitutional amendment, so that it shall rule us hereafter also. It is said the Union may be saved by concession. I believe the Union has been dismembered now because of power gained by unwise concessions heretofore made. I believe, that only firm adherence to the principles of our present Constitution will restore to us a more perfect union, and establish justice, and insure to us domestic tranquillity. The RebelHon ha4 reached the gigantic proportions of a South- ern empire in arms, when the Congressional session of 18G1-2 opened with the vacant seats of those members, who, with their predecessors, had controlled tlie national legislation. Soon after the exciting debates commenced, Mr. Eliot introduced a resolu- tion, declaring the objects of the war to ho. the suppression of the Rebellion, and the re-establishment of the rightful autiiority of the Constitution and laws over the entire country, and declaring the right and duty of the military commanders to emancipate the slaves of rebel owners; and, on the 12th of December, supported the resolution by a very able speech. A passage or two will re- veal the same old fire of freedom which burned in the hearts of men in the colonial days of resistance to an insolent foe. Mr. Eli(jt said, — I commence the debate upon the great questions involved in this resolu- tion, and the bills and resolutions which have been presented upon similar subjects by other gentlemen, with profound distrust of my al)ility to discuss them thoroughly, but with a full, abiding, clear, and confident conviction that the good, common sound sense of the members of this House, their free instincts, their patriotic purposes, will enable them to mature a plan that ^liall 70 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. at once embody the feelings, the wishes, the hopes, and the demands of our constituents and of all loyal men, and which will meet the great necessities of this occasion. Mr. Speaker, I desire to address myself to you in all frankness and sin- cerity. It is no time for set speech. The times themselves are not set. Speech is demanded, but such as shall crystallize into acts and deeds. Thoughts of men go beyond the form of words into the realities of things. When we came together tlie other day, I was impressed with the conviction that no time should be needlessly lost — no, not an hour — before the oppor- tunity should be presented to this House to express itself in some way, and to some extent to give utterance to its judgment, which should also be re- garded in a measure as the judgment of the people ; for we had just come from the people : and if, at any time, we would assume to represent their feelings, ojjinions, and judgment, it would be then. . . . No matter how, a few months ago, loyal men might have yearned that the old state of things should be restored, the status ante bellum is impossible. The first blow which was struck at Fort Sumter rendered it impossible. Stimulated by mad ambition, that blow shattered the hopes of loyal men throughout the land. No, sir ! no, sir ! Reconstruction must come ; but in the rebellious and seceding States, when it comes, it will come, I believe, without the presence of the slave ! Why, sir, when the President called for aid, nay, before he called, upon the day the attack was made upon Fort Sumter, who was there in the land that dreamed of tlie intense loyalty which lived in the hearts of our people ? We had been living for nearly lifty years in peace ; we had been divided among different parties ; we had been carrying on the various pursuits of life ; we had success and prosperity ; cities had sprung from the ground in a day ; no nation had prospered so nmch as we. Who knew of our loyalty? We had hated each other as politicians : who knew how we would love each other as loyal men ? Here, in this House, a Democrat of the Breckinridge school said to me last year that he would pledge himself that there would be from New York no less than an army of fifty thousand men who would come from their homes to fii>ht against tlie North. Yet what an echo that Sumter gun created ! Why, sir, it sounded througli the North and the Ea.st and the West; andltheir startled population sprang to arms. It sounded through our valleys and over our plains ; and the deserted plough was left in the half- turned furrow by the yeomanry of the laud. It sounded through our towns, villages, and cities ; and the mechanic left his shop, the merchant forgot his unbalanced ledger, and the lawyer left his cases untried, and, W'ith his clients, hastened to the field. It sounded along the aisles of our churches; and pastors and people, their prayers and their patriotism working to one end, marched to the war. More than six hundred thousand men are now in arms. They have left tlieir homes, and on the land and on the sea are upholding the flag, and sustaining the power, and defending the honor, of the Govern- ment. THOMAS D. ELIOT. 71 Sir, if we have a right to argue of the ways of Providence, we might say, without irreverence, that the hand of God points to us our duty. Our Presi- dent may act, our Commander-in-Chief within his province, and the officers under him iu command, may act, and I believe are called upon to act, by every consideration of humanity and of patriotism ; and, coming from the Commonwealth I represent in part, — a State which has performed no small service iu this war, — I call upon you to aid me in giving such expression of the judgment of this House as shall command respect. I am not here to boast of the bravery or the patriotism of Massachusetts soldiers. From the port where I have my home, more than fifteen hundred men have been shipped for our navy. From all our seaboard and inland towns, their skilful and hardy sons are found as masters upon the quarter-deck, and as seamen on board our ships. From our whole State, her young men are with the army. More than twenty thousand of her sons are in the field, ready and willing, as you know, to shed their hearts' blood in their country's cause. In their name, and in their behalf, I pray you to call upon the military arm to strike that blow more effective for peace and for freedom than armies or victories can be, and convert the slave, which is the power of the enemy, into the free man who shall be their dread. So shall the sword intervene for freedom ! If I have read the history of Massachusetts aright, that is the intervention her fathers contemplated. In the early days of English free- dom, when constitutional liberty was beginning to find a home in the hearts of Englishmen, after Hampden and Eliot and their compatriots had been working in the cause, iu the days of Charles, a young man, in an album which he found in a public library, wrote these two lines : — " Usee manus, inimica tyvannis, Ense petit placidarn sub libertate quietera." " This hand, hostile to tyrants, Seeks with the sword quiet rest in freedom." They called down upon his head the indignant rebuke of an oflfended king: but the monarch has died, and Sidney has passed away ; yet, while Massachu- setts shall live, the lines he then inscribed shall be remembered. In after- yeai-s, when our forefathers were seeking to find a motto for their State coat- of-arms, they could select none that seemed to them as pertinent as the last of those two lines ; and there it stands, — " Ense petit placidarn sub libertate quietem." And now she asks, through the humblest of her sons, that the military power of our chief, hostile always to rebellion, shall thus, with the sword, find quiet rest in freedom. May 14, 18G2, Mr. Eliot, as chairman of the Select Committee oil Conliscatiou, reported two bills, — one for the couliscatioii of rebel property, and one for the emancipation of slaves of rebels. 72 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. The first bill was passed in the House of Representatives, and was sent to the Senate! The second bill was not passed as reported ; but an emancipa- tion l)ill was passed, which was not acted on in the Senate. The Senate rejected the Confiscation Bill as passed by the House, but passed it with an amendment in the nature of a sub- stitute, and returned it to (ho House, where the Senate substitute was rejected, and the House bill insisted on, and a committee of conference was appointed. This committee incorporated the main jn'ovisions of the House and Senate bills into one bill, and inserted emancipation clauses ; and the bill was then passed in the House, July 11 ; and in the Senate, July 12. ]\Ir. Eliot spoke in the House in support of the first confiscation and emancipation bills on May 20, 18G2. It was calm, earnest reasoning, of which the key-note is giren in a brief quotation : — The framers of our Constitution contemplated no confederated treason, nor was it within the range of their belief that the precise legisla-ion which the present exigencies require could be demanded ; but, when they ordained the Constitution, they declared in its immortal preamble the ends to be se- cured. Among other ends were these, — "to insure domestic tranquilUty," and " to provide for the common defence." Domestic tranquillity is a politi- cal condition of things, the opposite of which a civil war exhibits. An organized and confederate rebellion cannot consist with such tranquillity. The purpose of the fathers was to establish a frame of government contain- ing powers sufficient to insure peace between the States, and between them and the General Government. On the 19th of January, 18G3, Mr. Eliot introduced into the House of Representatives a bill to establish a " Bureau of Eman- cipation," which was referred to a select committee ; but, for want of time, it was not reported back to the House. The same bill was again brought before the House by him, in December, 1864, and referred to a select committee on " Emancipation." Mr. Eliot, as chairman of the committee, reported back the bill establishing a " Bureau of Freedmen's Affairs " under the War Department, which was debated in the House, passed on the 1st of March, 1SG4, and sent to the Senate. The vote in the House stood, yeas G9, nays t)7. On the 2r)th of May, 18G4, Mr. Sumner, as Chairman of the Senate Comuiittee on Slavery and Freedmen, to which committee the House bill had been referred, reported it back to the Senate, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute; and, on the 28th of June, the Senate amendment THOMAS D. ELIOT. 73 was passed, and sent back to the House. On the last day of June, it was referred to the Select Committee, who recommended non-concurrence with the Senate amendment ; and the House postponed the bill until Dec. 20. Congress adjourned sine die on the 4tli of July. At the second session of the Thirty-eightii Congress, Dec. 20, 1864, the Senate amendment was non-concurred in ; and a committee of conference appointed by the two Houses subse- quently agreed upon a bill establishing a " Department of Freed- men." The report of the committee was agreed to by the House, but not by the Senate ; and another conference commit- tee was appointed, who reported a bill to establish a Bureau of Freedmen and Refugees under the War Department. Their re- port was accepted by both Houses, and the bill was approved by the President. In regard to the final success of the measure, it might be difficult to decide whether the country is the most in- debted to Mr. Eliot in the House, or.to Mr. Sumner in the Senate. When the bill establishing a " Bureau of Freedmen's Affairs " came up for discussion in the House, Mr. Eliot advocated its pas- sage in a speech delivered Feb. 10, 1804. He thus closed his eloquent, patriotic, and humane appeal in behalf of three millions of emancipated slaves. In it he refers to a conversation with Mr. Lincoln just after the Proclamation of Emancipation had gone forth from his pen, — the crowning work and glory of his noble life. Shortly after that proclamation was made, I had an interview with the President; anil he then said, "I think that proclamation will not of itself effect the good wiiich you anticipate, nor will it do the mi.sohief which its opponents predict." But he " builded better than he knew." That act was the great act of his life. It has become greater daily in the judgment of the world ; and, in the ages that are to come, it will be the corner-stone of his immortal fame. Never before had such opportunity been given to man. For one, I reverently recognize the hand of God. He created the occasion, and his servant obeyed the divine conniiand which it involved. . . . Why, sir, the ca.se is too plain for argument. Now is the accepted time ; and this Congress will bear the deserved reproach, not only of this great- hearted nation, but of all nations of Christian men, if we falter in this work. 3Ir. Speaker, it has somewliat appeared already how the parties to this bill will be the better for the law. But I would take a wider view of this grand work which the war has put upon us. From its commencement, no man has been able to anticipate events. Nothing has occurred as the wisest seer predicted. Great generals have failed, and men unknown to fame be- fore have conduc'ed us to victory. Battles have been won in the vallrys and 10 74 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. " above the clouds " by a rank-and-file bravery whicb the annals of military history cannot rival. Who of us has not had occasion to say, " Not unto us, but unto thee, God ! be rendered the praise " ? And now, out of the war, a new nation of men has arisen. No power in Constitution, in President, or in people outside of the rebel States, could have held out to them its liberating arm in time of peace. The mad ambition of slave-owners, which struck at the life of the nation to give new life to slavery, disclosed the power to strike back the blow ; and, in the fulness of time, a man was found commissioned to the work. We read, that, in the beginning, God said, " Let there be light, and there was liglit." But, since the beginning, human agencies have worked out the ways of Providence, and never in history since that great fiat has it been given to more than one man to lift from three million souls the darkness and the doom of slavery. Our duty he has assigned us now. I beUeve that this bill, wisely administered, will complete the work. It will enable the Government to help into active, educated, and usefiil life, a nation of fi-eedmen who otherwise would gi-ope their way to usefulness through neglect and suffering to themselves, and with heavy and needless loss to us. They are children of the Government. By the necessities of war deprived of the guiding and controlling hand which had held in stern mastery their earthly destinies, they are unused to riglits heretofore denied them ; yet they know somewhat of them by instinct and by association. No matter how abject the slavery, the idea of freedom is in the soul ; and, when the friendly hand has been extended, the freedman has shown capacity and will to walk as a man among men. What they require is to be made sure that they are free, to be furnished a chance to work, and to be guaranteed their reasonable wages. Work they understand. Their mothers worked before them, and went down into dishonored graves, cursed by the unpaid toil of bondage. But wages they have not owned ; and, in tlie right to earn and to enjoy tliem, they find tlieir manhood. Soon they will find the place they have a right to fill. Quick to learn ; appreciating kindnesses, and returning them with veneration and affection ; earnest to acquire property, because that, too, is proof of manhood, — they ask but opportunity and guidance and education for a season ; and then tliey will repay you, some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundred fold. Without your legislation, the freedmen able to fight will be alienated from your cause ; the freedmen unfit for service, with the young and the aged and infirm, will be a charge upon your treasury. But give the aid which this bill can secure to them, and you will quickly find, not only that peace which comes from duty well discharged, but material strength and a recom- pen.se of reward, which, after all the expenses of your bureau shall have been defrayed, will contribute to your wealth. So shall this your act give to the freedmen of the South, and to all the freemen whom you represent, " beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." ALEXANDER H. RICE. 75 Mr. Eliot's strength, mental and physical, is unabated; and his voice will still be heard amid the excitement of the debates in Congress, speaking clearly, firmly, and eloquently for the rights of all the people. ALEXANDER H. RICE Was born, Aug. 30, 1818, in Newton Lower Falls, where his father was engaged in paper manufacturing. He was one of ten children. After attending the public schools till about fifteen years of age, he went to Boston, and entered the mercantile business as clerk. His health failed at the end of two years ; and, returning home, he resumed his studies. A year later, he went into a paper warehouse in Boston. During all these years, he intensely desired a liberal education, and secretly hoped, at a future period, to se- cure the boon. One day, he told his employer, Mr. John L. Wil- kins, a man of genuine culture, his cherished aspirations, and met with prompt encouragement. Again he went home, and immediately commenced preparation for college under Rev. Dr. Newton of West Newton. He entered Union College, Schenec- tady, N.Y., in 1840, taking a high position in scholarship; received an appointment to the post of honor in the exercises of commence- ment of 1844, and made the closing address, equivalent to the valedictory in other colleges. Mr. Rice's health was frail ; and he accepted, in 1845, a part- nership in the house of which he is now the senior member. Meanwhile, he devoted his leisure to literary pursuits. He was on the School Committee of Boston for several years, and Chairman of the Board of Governors of Charitable Institu- tions. In 1853 and 1854, Mr. Rice was a member of the Common Council ; and, in the latter year, he was elected its President. In 1855, he was chosen Mayor of Boston, and re-elected in 185G. He was very active in securing the establishment of the Free Library, — " the only one," he remarked, " absolutely free in the country, and perhaps in the world." The speeciies at the exercises of opening it were made by Edward Everett, Mr. Rice, and R. C. Winthrop. The address of Mr. Rice was so compreiiensive and clear in its views, that it was quoted in leading English papers. He was elected member of the House of Representatives in tlie Thirty-sixth Congress, and re-elected to the Thirty-eighth aud 76 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. Thirty-iiiiitli Congresses. The speeches of Mr. Rice on Protec- tion in its Relation to Agriculture and Manufactures and upon the Countr}', at the opening of the late conflict, were highly commended. But liis greatest work for the country in the civil war has been done as Chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs. In this capacity, his labors have been manifold. When the fierce attack, under the lead of the Hon. Henry Winter Davis, was made in Congress upon the Navy Department, Mr. Rice pre- pared him!?elf for the defence. A question of the. most subtle scientific character, respecting certain applications of steam, had been for montlis before the committee. Mr. E. N. Dickinson, a scientific mcclianical engineer of New York, affirmed that the principle adopted by the United-States Navy was radically wrong ; while Mr. B. F. Isherwood,Engineer-in-Chief of the Navy, denied the assertion entirely. The committee were seventy days taking testimony, making a formidable mass of manuscript. Mr. Rice addressed himself to the task of sifting this evidence, and consulting scientific works, till he was able to present one of the clearest, ablest, and most elaborate reports ever made before any legislative body. And when, on Feb. 3, I860, Mr. Davis made his studied speech in favor of establishing a board of naval administration, aiming a blow at tlie legitimate exercise of authority in the de- partment, Mr. Rice, with no other preparation tlian could l)e made during Mr. Davis's remarks, replied in a logical, lucid, and most satisfactory speech of an hour and a half in length. We quote the closi;;g passage of this eloquent defence of the navy : — As I h;ive already said, from the dawn of the IvobeUion until now, the navy has been everywhere that it could be, and always has done glorious and ctficient service. The Mississippi and its tributaries are open to commerce again ; every port fur blockade-runners upon the Atlantic and the Gulf has been closed ; all the strongholds seized by the enemy upon the coast have been recovered, and nearly every corsair driven from the ocean. The navy was at Hatteras, at Port Royal, at Charleston, at Island No. 10, at Fort Donelson, at Fort Henry, at Shiloh, at Memphis, at Vicksburg, at Arkansas Post, at Port Hudson, at jMobile Bay, and at Fort Fisher ; and in all those places it added radiance to the American name, and glory to the American naval history, which no lapse of time shall be able to obliterate. It has placed upon the imperishable record of fame, to be transmitted amid the plaudits of mankind to the latest generations, such names as Stringham and Foote, and Du Pont and Farragut, and Goldsborough and Porter, and SAMUEL HOOPER. 77 Dablgren and Kodgers, and Rowan and Davis, and Winslow and Cushing. I should consume the day if I attempted to name them all. Their reputa- tion is secure in history ; it is secure in the hearts of their countrymen ; and when the final history of this war shall be written out, and the comparison shall be made of the manner in which the different departments of this Gov- ernment have executed the high and laborious and responsible trusts com- mitted to tliem, faithful and earnest as they have been, there will not be one of them that will stand brighter, or that will be more loudly or warmly com- mended by our successors, than will the Navy Department. And, sir, I cannot think that the well-earned fame of the naval service, this jv\st meed of praise, will be diminished or obscured by any gentleman, however lofty his standing, oi' however brilliant his abilities, who asks you, in the light of these facts, to put over your Navy Department a board of administration which shall be a change without improvement, or who cites to you the fact, that, in the accomplishment of the gigantic labors that have fallen to the lot of that department, it made a mistake in regard to the draught of a monitor, or an alleged, but not admitted, mistake in the construction of a double- ender. Mr. Rice is a gentleman in feeling and action ; and the marked ability of his official service associates most honorably his name with the part taken by the Commonwealth in the victorious con- flict for national unity and liberty. THE HON. SAMUEL HOOPER'S Native place was Marblehead, where he first saw the light Feb. 3, 1808. After the usual culture of the schools, followed by four years in a counting-room, he visited Europe and the West Indies. In 18-32, he settled in Boston, engaging in the China trade, a partner in the firm of William Appleton & Co. He was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1851 ; to the State Senate in 1857 ; and, in 1861, to the House of Representa- tives in Congress, to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of William Appleton. He was Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means ; and, re-elected to the Thirty-eighth Congress, he held the same position. Again elected to the Thirty-ninth Congress, he became Chairman of the Committee on Finance. It was here that lie disjdaycd that masterly knowledge of the difficult business properly before him that made him a. confidential adviser of the Secretary of the Treasury, and won, in the highest degree, the confidence of the President. His name was conspicuous among the few from which that of the able Hugh McCulloch was selected for a })lace in the Cabinet. His judicious, practical course, amid 78 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. the fluctuations in tlie financial world during the war, has accom- plished much, in a quiet way, for the country, — a service whose value cannot easily be appreciated nor over-estimated by those who are not in the secret of that complicated and mighty machine of national progress, tlie Treasury Department, in its connection with all business activity. THE HON. HENRY L. DAWES Was a native of Cummington, and is now fifty years of age. Graduating at Yale College in 18o9, he entered the profession of law. He edited at one time " The Greenfield Gazette." In 1848, he was chosen State Representative ; in 1850, to the Senate ; and again, in 1852, to the Lower House. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1853 ; and District Attorney for ^he Western District until elected from the Tenth District to the Thirty-fifth Congress, in which he was on the Committee of Revolutionary Claims. Re-elected to the Thirty-seventh, Thirty- eighth, and Thirty-ninth Congresses, he has been Chairman of the Committee of Electiofis ; a post of duty of great importance to the country, and attended with many difficult questions, to which his practical ability was always equal. During the revolutionary period of the past five years, Mr. Dawes has done his work ably and well. THE HON. JOHN B. ALLEY. Is a resident of Lynn, his birthplace in 1817. While young, he was an apprentice in the shoe and leather business, to which he has since devoted himself when not engaged in pulilic affairs. He was a member of the Governor's Council in 1851, and of the State Senate in 1852. He was a delegate to tlie Constitu- tional Convention, and representative in the Thirty-sixth, Thirty- seventh, Thirty-eighth, and Thirty-ninth Congresses. As Chair- man of the Committee on Post-offices and Post-roads, liis official duties necessarily, during the chaotic condition of all things at the South and on the border, often required excellent judgment and prudent action. He won and retains implicit confidence on the part of the Government, his colleagues, and his constituents. THE HON. DANIEL W. GOUCH Was a son of Maine, and born in Wells, January, 1820. He was graduated at Dartmouth College, and, in 1846, settled in Boston, a lawyer by profession. In 1852, lie was elected to the State W. H. WASHBURN AND OAKES AMES. 79 Legislature. He was chosen member of the Thirty-fifth, Thirty- sixth, and Thirty-seventh Congresses. He was on the Committee on Territories, and subsequently on the Committee on the Con- duct of the War, It was in this last responsible position that his influence was especially felt in the progress of the civil war. THE HON. W. B. WASHBURN AND THE HON. OAKES AMES. The Hon. William B. Washburn, of Greenfield, quietly met the questions before the House, in the national struggle, with the Christian patriotism which distinguishes him in the walks of private life. By him, in devotion to the country, stands the Hon, Oakes Ames, of North Easton, Massachusetts. Indeed, Massa- chusetts brain and heart have had no small share in the political and moral conflicts and achievements in the halls of Congress and in the departments of State, as well as in the field of martial strife. CHAPTER V. MASSACHUSETTS ABROAD. Charles Francis Adams, Ambassador to the Court of St. James, London. — John Lothrop Motley, Ambassador to the Court of Austria, Vienna. — Anson Burlingame, Ambassa- dor to Pekin, China. 111JE nations of Europe were deeply agitated by the outbreak of civil war in the United States. Monarchs, and the aris- tocratic classes generally, desired a dismemberment of the Re- public. Such a catastrophe would strengthen in the popular mind the " divine right of kings," and secure the tlirone, and the proud distinctions it fosters, from the sacrilegious hands of the masses, awakening, in the light of American liberty, to the divine right of tlio people to enjoy freedom regulated by laws of their own making.- The United States, therefore, found little sympathy abroad, ex- cepting among the common people, and the few liberal minds in the higher ranks of society. England was ready in all ways pos- sible, under cover of national law and custom, to aid the leaders of the causeless and unexampled revolt. France occupied a similar position, though more cautiously taken. In the complications, commercial and political, which would arise among the foreign governments to a great extent (and none co\dd tell how great), it was of the first importance to have able and wise representatives in foreign courts. Among the ministers to other nations, occupying prominent positions on the Eastern hemisphere, were three Massachusetts men. One has been in the mother -country, another in the most despotic nation of Europe, and the third in the Celestial Em- pire ; and, in the glimpse we take of them and their official services, we naturally begin with our minister to England, — CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. He is a so)i of the illustrious John Quincy Adams, and was born in Boston, Aug. 2S, 1807. When his father represented the CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. 81 United-States Government at St. Petersburg, in 1809, he accom- panied him, and spent six years in the Russian capital, learning to speak fluently, not only the dialect of the country, but also the German and French languages. In February, 1815, then in his eighth year, he went with his mother in a private carriage, from St. Petersburg to Paris, to meet his father, — a journey at any time no trivial undertaking, but then, on account of the disturbed condition of Europe, attended with unusual embarrassments. On his appointmc.it to a mission at the court of St. James, his father took Chai-lcs to England with him, and placed him in a board- ing-school. Here he sometimes had personal encounters with his school-fellows in the defence of the honor of his country against the insults of young England. Returning to Boston in 1817, he entered the Latin School, and subsequently Harvard College, graduating in 1825. The two succeeding years he passed in the Presidential man- sion, Washington, which was occupied by his father. He entered the law-office of Daniel Webster, at Boston, two years later ; and in 1828 was admitted to practice, but did not devote himself to his profession. Marrying, in 1829, tlie daughter of Peter C. Brooks, he became brother-in-law of Edward Everett; and, in addition to his own inheritance, the alliance was attended vvitli a fortune to the family. The people of Boston, in loll, chose Inm to represent them in the Legislature. The previous year, he had declined the nomination. U[) to this time, his pursuits had been mainly literary. Greek was a special study witii him ; and the Roman writers, as well as the greatest autiiors of more recent times, were his con- stant companions. Actuated by the scholarly impulses of a stu- dent, he declined a nomination to the State House of Representa- tives in 1841 ; Init his father was so much disturbed hy tiiis appar- ent shrinking from public duty, that he promised him to accept a second nomination if offered him the following year. After three years' service there, he took his seat in the State Senate. In 1848, the Free-soil party nominated him for the Vice-Presidency. " Tlie Life and the Works of John Adams," his grandfalhcr, is highly creditable to his al)ility as an author and editor: a similar effort to preserve the annals of his distinguished father is prom- ised. The Letters of John Adams and Abigail Adams were edited by him, with an Introductory Memoir, in 1840, and were received with favor. 11 82 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE llEBELLION. He was elected to Congress in 1858 ; and also a second time, serving one term, mitil March 4, 18G1. He manifested in all Congressional deliberations that stateraanship which has always characterized him in his public and official relations. The closing sentences of his speech, Jan. 31, 1861, when the Rebellion was lifting its horrid front, will illustrate his style, and his manner of treating important topics: — When the cry goes out that the ship is in danger of sinking, the first duty of every niauou board, no matter what hi,s particular vocation, is to lend all the strength he has to the work of keeping her afloat. \Vhat ! shall it be said that we waver in the view of those who begin by trying to expunge the sacred memory of the 4th of J uly 'I Shall we help them to obliterate the as- sociations that cluster around the glorious struggle for indejiendeuce, or stul- tify the labors of the patriots who erected this magnificent political edifice upon the adamantine base of human liberty ? Shall we surrender the fame of Vv'ashington and Laurens, of Gadsden and the Lees, of Jefferson and Madison, and of the myriads of heroes whose names are imperishably con- nected with the memory of a united people V Never, never ! For myself, I can only interpose against what seems to me like the madness of the moon the barrier of a single feeble remonstrance ; but, in any event, it shall never Ije said of my share in the action of this hour of danger, that it has been guided by vindictive passions, or narrow considerations of personal or party advantage. I well know what I hazard, among many whose good opinion has ever been part of the sunlight of my existence, in following what I hold to be a higher duty. Whilst at any and at all times I shall labor to uphold the great principles of liberty, without which this grand system of our fathers would seem to be a mockery and a show, I shall equally strive to give no just ground to enemies and traitors to expand the circle of mischief they may do. Although not very frequently indulging in the profession of a devotion to the Union, which has heretofore been too often associated with a public policy I deemed most dangerous to its safety, I will venture to add, that no man over the boundless extent of our dominion has more reasons for inextinguish- able attacliment to it than myself. It is inwoven in my affections with the faithful labors in its support of two generations of my race ; it is blended wltli a not inconsiderable personal stake in its continuity f it is mingled with my earnest prayers for the welfare of those who are treading after me ; and, more than all these, it colors all my visions of the beneficent spread of re- publican institutions, as well in America as over the rest of the civilized world. If, then, so great a calamity as a division be about to befall us, it shall be hastened by no act of mine. It shall come from the wilful passions of infat- uated men, who demand it of us, to destroy the great principles for which our fathers struggled in life and in death, to stain our standard with the symbol of human ojjpression, and to degrade us, in the very hour of our victory, JOHN LOTimOP MOTLEY. 83 before our countrymen, before all the nations of the civilized, world, and be- fore God. Rather than this, let the heavens fall ! My duty is performed. In 1861, Mr. Adams was appointed envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the court of St. James. His personal qualities of mind and character, and the prestige of his name, his father and grandfather having occupied the same high position, gave him influence at once in England. His services during the years of civil war demonstrated the wisdom of the appointment. The more than four hundred pages of printed correspondence between Secretary Seward and Mr. Adams, including that with other State officers, display a marvellous wisdom on the part of both in the management of new, delicate, and difficult questions. Mr. Adams's sagacity, prudence, and firmness were second only to Mr. Seward's in his negotiations with the English Government. The Secretary used the following language in his note to Mr. Adams, June 5, 1862 : — The prejudice that we found prevailing in England soon after the civil war beo-an, to the effect that tbis Government desired to challenge Great Britain to a war for popular effect at home, has been inveterate. It is pleas- ing, however, to discover that at last the equally prudent and just policy we have so constantly pursued is beginning to be appi-eciated by tlie British Government. No one has done more to correct the injurious error referred to than you have done. Mr. Adams's course against permitting the iron-clads at Laird's to depart on their destructive errand " was distinctly and unre- servedly approved." Indeed, whenever he acted officially, he was cordially sustained. The clear statements of mooted points, the exact estimate of what was demanded in the most trying emer- gency, and the uncompromising firmness in maintaining the honor of the Republic, without exasperating unfriendly feeling, will place the name of Charles Francis Adams among the al)lest diplo- matists of any country or age. The nation ovves him a debt of profound gratitude for his distant yet efficient services during a rebellion which reached even the shores of England. JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, The American minister to Austria, was born in Dorchester, Norfolk County, April 1"), 1814. lie graduated at Harvard College in 1831, and soon afterwards eml)arkc(l for Europe. Proceeding to Gottingen, Germany, he spent a year there, and, removing to Berlin, was in that city about the same period. 84 MASSACHUSETTS IN TUE nEBELLION. After travelling in the south of Europe, he returned to America, and commenced the study of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1837. The profession was dry, and unattractive to his literary cast of mind ; and he never gave his energies to it. In 1840, he went to Russia as secretary of legation at St. Petersburg. During the next six years, he published two volumes of ro- mance, one of which, " Merry Mount," was founded upon inci- dents in Massachusetts colonial history. He also contributed several valuable articles to the reviews. A History of Holland was commenced in 1846, and reached two volumes; when, to have access to material he could not find in this country, he sailed with his family for Europe again. The fresh and rich resources of information lie obtained dissatisfied him with his annals ; and he laid them aside to commence anew the work, with the title, " History of the Dutch Republic." It was published in London in 185(3, in tlu'ee volumes octavo, and had a rapid sale ; reaching, by the year 1860, about fifteen thou- sand copies. It was republished in America, with a steady and growing demand. It has been translated into Dutch and German. The exhaustive and attractive work gave the author a reputa- tion wide as tlic domain of letters. Mr. Motley's residence abroad was divided, for the most part, between Berlin, Dresden, and the Hague. He visited the United States in 1858, but, after a brief stay, returned to the Continent. His next great literary work was " The United Netherlands," in three volumes. The University of Oxford, England, conferred upon him the degree of D.C.L. in 1860; and Harvard College, that of LL.D. A few months later, he was appointed American ambassador to the court of Austria, and has occupied the important official position with credit to himself, and honor to the country. When Napoleon decided to offer the throne of Mexico to Maxi- milian, it gave occasion to a correspondence between Mr. Motley and Mr. 'Seward in regard to the proper bearing of the American minister in the complication of national claims and rights. Mr. Motley's resume, from time to time, of European affairs in their relation to our country in the midst of a gigantic war, were enliglitened and comprehensive, meeting the warmest approval at Washington. Mr. Seward's reply to Mr. Motley, Feb. 26, 1863, is an example ANSON BUELINGAME. 85 of this uniform appreciation of the able discharge of difficult duties : — Your very iuteresting despatch of Jan. 27 has been received. The sur- vey of Continental poUtics which you have taken in this paper is full of in- struction. If questions purely dynastic, or of mere administration, or, at most, of political organization, can make and keep so many European nations so unquiet as to require constant vigilance on the part of the governments, one would expect that they would be tolerant of this goveinnient in its efforts to preserve, in its full efficiency, a system that is so perfect as to be undis- turbed by questions of those sorts, and encounters an opposition or resistance from only one disturbing cause, — and that one African slavery, which the public sentiment of mankind elsewhere unanimously condemns. Mr. Motley wisely avoided raising an issue on the Mexican question, or the discussion of it, at the court of Vienna. Ameri- ca is justly proud of an ambassador whose gcnivis, culture, and character so much honor the nation which he represents. ANSON BUELINGAME. Mr. Burlingame, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipoten- tiary to China, is a native of New Berlin, Chenango County, N.Y. He was born Nov. 14, 1822. On the wild Western frontiers he passed his early youth, engaged in surveys of boundary-lines, and in the formation of treaties with the aborigines. He commenced his course of liberal education in the Branch University of Michigan, but, removing to Massachusetts, entered Harvard College, and graduated in 1846. He then studied law, and opened an office in Boston. Mr. Burlingame was sent to the State Senate in 1852, and, the next year, was a member of the Constitutional Convention of the Commonwealth. Elected to the Thirty-fourth Congress, he was an active, influ- ential member. He was re-elected to the Thirty-fifth, and served ably on the Committee of Foreign Affairs ; and again, in the fol- lowing session, had the same honorable position. Under the administration of Mr. Lincoln, he was sent, in 1861, ambassador to Austria, and soon after to China. His first letter to Mr. Seward was dated Aug. 23 of tliat year ; and the acknowledgment of it, Dec. 9 ; indicating the long interval which must necessarily lie between the deparl> ure of a message from an office of legation at the antipodes, 86 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. and the arrival of an answer from Washington, — time enough lor a revohition to sweep over half a continent. Mr. Burlingamo's management of treaties which opened trade in Chinese ports, and extended it abroad, securing advantages to other countries with our own, and his successful efforts for the protection of foreign residents in Shanghai, were emphatically indorsed at home and abroad. Sept. 9, I8G0, Mr. Seward wrote,— The policy which you have adopted in the conduct of your responsible mission is able and wise ; it is also just towards the Chinese Government and people, and liberal towards all other nations. It is an occasion of special felicitation that it meets the concurrence 0^ the enlightened representatives of Great Britain, Russia, and France. Mr. Burlingame's defence of Gen. Burgoine, the successor of the Amcrico-Chinese hero, Ward ; his efforts in regard to the sani- tary condition of Shanghai, which caused the opening of a new gate to the city, and the drainage of stagnant waters before it ; and his cautious, decided treatment of all questions of national policy, however nearly or remotely connected with rebellion in China and in America, — won for him, in official form, the most flattering acknowledgments of indebtedness from men represent- ing the interests of different nations. The honor and prosperity of the nation abroad were safe in the hands of our American minister in China during the changing fortunes of the civil war. JLNJ. F-6'^ PART 11. MASSACHUSETTS IN THE FIELD. CHAPTER I. THE STATE PREPARES FOR WAR. The Signs of the coming Conflict. — Massachusetts takes the Alarm. — The Prophatic Words of Adjutant-Gen. Schouler. — The Action of the Governor and Legislature. — The Volunteer Militia. THE threatening agitation at the South early in the winter of 1860, ridiculed by many at the North as a transient ebulli- tion of feeling, was regarded in Massachusetts with serious apjire- hension. With the vigilance and the promptness of her youthful days, she began to gird herself for the conflict. An incident illustrative of Massachusetts loyalty, unknown to the public at the time, which places her quite in advance of all other States in the offer of her sons to confront the armed foes of our nationality, occurred just before the evacuation of Fort Moultrie. The lirst mention of it in a popular asseml)ly was made by the hero of Sumter on July 4, 18(35. With the peerless naval commander, Vice-Adniiral Farragut, he was welcomed to Boston in a grand reception at Faneuil Hall, during which he remarked, — I am indebted to jMassachusetts for many things ; and before I sit down I will simply remark, that the first letter I received in Fort Moultrie, before I went to Fort Sumter, when it was found that things were looking very threatening (and I felt the storm there long before you saw the fl;ish here), — tlic first letter I received was from a gentleman, I am sorry I do not, re- member his name, a militia officer of this city, offering me troops from Mas- sachusetts if the Government would then allow them to be sent to me. On July G, in Faneuil Hall, Brig.-Gen. Edward W. Hinks wa.s introduced to Gen. Anderson by the Mayor as "tlie geiilleman 87 88 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION: who wrote to him when he was in Fort Moultrie, tendering him the Massachusetts troops." A cordial greeting followed ; and Gen. Anderson said he would have accepted the proffered assist- ance if he had had the authority. He was loudly called for, and came forward to the platform with Gen. Hinks, and said to the audience, — My Friends and Fellow-citizens, — I wish to present to you Brig. -Gen. Hinks, the first volunteer of the war, and to thank liini in your name as well as my own for a letter whicli he sent me when I took command of Fort Moultrie, in which he assured me, that, if the Government would allow, he would forward to me friends and soldiers from Massachusetts. I wish you to remember this first volunteer. Gen. Hinks, who was retiring, was brought back by the Mayor ; and cries for a speech, mingled with cheers, saluted him. The general, with a few modest words of allusion to the distinguished visitors, who wore the Alpha and Omega of the war, retired amid the popular applause. We add an extract from Gen. Anderson's interesting letter, the first from the field of hostile demonstratio)is, dated " Fort Moultrie, Dec. 25, 18G0." After thanking Col. Hinks for his patriotic and chivalrous offer, he thus concludes : — When I inform you that my garrison consists of only sixty effective men ; that we are in a very indifferent work, the walls of which are only about fourteen feet high ; and that we have, within a hundred and sixty yards of our walls, sand-hills which command our work, and which afford admirable sites for batteries, and the finest covers for sharpshooters; and that, besides this, there are numerous houses, some of them within pistol-shot, — you will at once sec, that if attacked in force, headed l)y any one but a simpleton, there is scarce a possibility of our being able to hold out long enougli to give our friends time to come to our succor. Trusting that God will not desert us in our hour of trial, I am very sincerely yours, ROBERT ANDERSON, Major \&t Artillerij. A few days before this letter was written, South Carolina had taken the initiatory in the work of dissolving the Union. The governor's message upon the crisis urged the legislature to pre- pare to defy the power of the United States ; and the convention of the State found no opposition to the Ordinance of Secession. Before the holidays had passed, the meml)crs of Congress HOSTILITIES COMMENCED. 89 from South Carolina had resigned their seats, and the Ordinance of Secession was passed by the State. A Confederate Congress had assembled, and Major Anderson was within the walls of Fort Sumter, for whose greater security from the menacing passions of treasonable men he had abandoned Fort Moultrie. A graphic writer thus sketches the rushing events : * — The process of dissolution was not confined to the secession of States and the withdrawal of members from Congress. Members of the Cabinet residino; in the Southern States considered their alleoiance to their States superior to that to the United States. Dec. 10, Cobb of Georgia, Secre- tary of the Treasury, and, the 29th, Floyd of Virginia, Secretary of War, resigned their ])laces in the Cabinet. Througli their unparalleled treachery to the Government that had given them the liighest ccmfidence, they had so crippled the forces of the Union, in the robbing of money and arms, that the interests of secession were assisted nearly into an equality of power with the rest of the Union. The work tluis commenced was not to be half-way : tlie petition taken was to be sustained by arms. In December, South Carolina's legislature authorized the seizure of all arsenals, arms, and forts within her limits. Jan. 3, Gov. Brown of Georgia ordered the seizure of Forts Pulaski and Jack- son, at Savannah ; on the 4th, the authorities of Alabama seized Fort Morgan; on the 10th, the authorities of Mississippi seized the forts and other United-States property within her limits ; on the 12th, the navy-yard and property at Pensacola were taken; on the 28th, the rebels of Louisiana took the United-States revenue-cutter and other property, and the money in the mint at New Orleans ; and, to complete this list of plundering, Gen. Twiggs of Texas surrendered the United-States forces and property in his hands into the power of the rebels. The forts seized were armed and manned, the arsenals were robbed, the militia of the cotton States was called out, and every material preparation made to withstand any attempt of the Union for self-preservation. Legislatures were convened, minute-men organ- ized, mass meetings held, the suspension of banks was legalized, millions were voted to carry out the nefarious designs of tlie secessionists. Southern rights associations were organized, Northern men were daily arrested, Union men were awed into silence, the levying of executions issuing fioni the United- States courts was prevented by legislatures, religious conferences passed reso- lutions favoring secession, and Palmetto and State flags were flying every- where, and everywhere the stars and stripes were hauled down, and trailed in the dust. The news of secession was hailed with acclamations of delight; and, to close this saturnalia, two hundred and sixteen of the patients in the United-States hospital at New Orleans were removed to make room for the • Mass. Uegiitcr, ISOJ, p rJO. 13 90 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. secession troops of Louisiana. Theft was honored, robbery justified, and in- humanity to the sick became a pubhc virtue ; hiw, order, peace, brotherly love, patriotism, and respect for historical memories, all declined to theii* con- founding contraries. Among the leading men, the Governor of Florida, Gov. Moore of Alaba- ma, Letcher of Virginia, and Moore of Lnuisiana, Cobb, Johnson, and Floyd, in the Cabinet, senators Clingman of North Carolina, and Toombs of Georgia, the Governors of Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Kentucky, and Barnwell, Orr, and Adams, the three South-Carolina commissioners to Wash- ington, and Ex-Govornor Moorehead, of Kentucky, Davis, Beauregard, and a host of others, leading men, all honorable men in the South, men nourished into growth and power by the Union, now turned their faces and theii* swords against that Union, to destroy it. The only method there seems to have been in the madness of secession was the determination of the Soutliern leaders to sever as rapidly as possible every tie that bound them to the national government. Gen, Benjamin F. Butler of Lowell was at this time in Wasliington, conferring with his political friends of the South. Thoy said to him, ''The North ccui't fight: we have friends enough at the North to prevent it." "You have friends at the North," replied Geu. Butler, "as long as you remain true to the Constitution; but let me tell you, that, the moment it is seen that you mean to break up the country, the North is a unit against you. I can answer at least for Massachusetts. She is good for ten thousand men to march at once against armed secession." " Massachusetts is not such a fool. If your State should send ten thousand men to preserve the Union against Southern seces- sion, she will have to fight twice ten thousand of her own citizens • at home who will oppose the policy." " No, sir : when we come from Massachusetts, "we shall not leave a single traitor behind, unless he is hanging on a tree." " Well, we shall see." " You luUl see. I know something of the North, and a good deal about New England, where I was born, and have lived forty- two years. We are pretty quiet there now, because we don't believe that you mean to carry out your threats. We have heard the same story at every election these twenty years. Our people don't yet believe you are in earnest. But let me tell you this, — as sure as 3'ou attempt to break up this Union, the North will THE FIRST OFFER OF TROOPS. — PROPHETIC WORDS. 91 resist the attempt to its last man and its last dollar. You are as certain to fail as that there is a God in heaven. One thing you mat/ do : you may ruin the Southern States, and extinguish your institution of slavery. From the moment the first gun is fired upon the American flag, your slaves will not be worth five years' purchase ; but, as to breaking up the country, it cannot be done. God and Nature, and the blood of your fothers and mine, have made it one ; and one country it must remain." While these hostile demonstrations were occurring at the South, Adjutant-Gen. Schouler wrote from the State House in Boston, on the last day of December, 18G0, the following commu- nication, which proved to be prophetic of a national tragedy and trial, which but few were then willing to believe to be possible: — Events have transpu-ed in some of the Southern States, and at Washington, which have awakened the attention of the people of Massachusetts in a re- markable degree to the perpetuity of the Federal Union, and which may require the active militia of the Commonwealth to be greatly augmented. Should our worst fears be realized, and this nation be plunged into the hor- rors of civil war, upon Massachusetts may rest, in no inconsiderable degree, the duty of staying the effusion of blood, and of rolling back the lilack tide of anarchy and ruin. She did more than her share to achieve the iudepend- ence of our country, and establish the Government under whieli we have risen to such unparalleled prosperity, and become the great power of the American continent ; and she will be true to her history, her traditions, and her fair fame. Should it become necessary to increase the numl)er of her active militia to a war-footing, the present organization oftors an easy and a good meaus. The present companies could be tilled to their full complement of men, and the regiments to their full complement of companies. New regiments of infantry, new battalions of riflemen, new companies of artillery and cavalry, could be formed with which to fill the several brigades, and make our present divis- ions five thousand men each, with proper apportionment of tlie several mili- tary arms. This, of course, would recpiire a large outhiy of money, which would doubtless be cheerfully met by our people if their honor and the wel- fare of their country demand it of them. In the mean time, I would suggest that a General Order be issued calline: upon commanders of the companies of the active force to forward to head- quarters the names of the persons composing their conmiands, also their places of residence, so that a complete roll of each company may be on file in this department. The companies that have not their full quota of men sliould bo filled by new enlistments to the number fixed by law ; and, whenever new enlist- ments are made or discharges given, the names of the persons enlisted and 92 MASSACHUSETTS J.V TJIE REBELLION. discharged should be forwarded immediately to headquarters, and placed on file. At the State dinner to the Independent Company of Cadets on the evening of Jan. 2, 1861, Ex-Gov. Banks gave a toa^t in honor of Major Anderson, then besieged. It was responded to by Adju- tant-Gen. Schouler in a short address, in which were these words, which may be considered as expressing the general views of the Old Bay State : " We have no boasts to make. History tells what the men of Massachusetts have done, and they will never disgrace that history." He closed his speech with the following toast : — The Militia of Massachusetts, — True to the State, true to the Union : without any blustering or bravado, they will defend the Constitution and the flag of the Union. President Buchanan's National Fast, on the 4th of Januaiy, was made the occasion of patriotic sermons by the clergymen of Bos- ton. The whole State at this time was in a feverish condition of anxiety. In one of his valedictory addresses, all of which were aglow with patriotic fervor, Gov. Andrew, referring to Major Ander- son's moving from Fort Moultrie to Sumter, remarked, " Cer- tainly never an act so slight in itself touched the hearts of so many millions of people, as with fire from heaven, as the recent simple, soldier-like, and patriotic movement of Major Anderson at Fort Moultrie." The tidings of Major Anderson's removal to Fort Sumter, an event which doubtless decided the course in regard to the revolt of the great cotton State, Georgia, thorougbly aroused Gen. But- ler to the inevitable struggle at hand. He called npon Senator Wilson, and expressed earnestly the hope that Gov. Andrew would immediately summon Massachusetts to a preparation for the war at hand. It must be conceded by all, that Gen. Butler's loyalty rose above ])artisau and personal affinities, and sj)oke clearly and promptly the prevalent spirit of the Commonwealth. He gave to the Governor, who was watching, with sad anticipa- tions of an outbreak, the progress of treason, the benefit of his experience in familiar intercourse with the Southern leaders of rel>eUion, and declared it to be their intention to fight, if neces- sary, for independence. In the Governor's Address to the Legislature, Jan. 5, 1861, the whole number of enrolled militia, for the year which had THE GOVERNOR ON THE CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 93 just closed, was stated to be 155,389 men; and the active militia ready for service, 5,592 : of these he said, "In respect to good conduct, discipline, spirit, and capacity proportioned to its numer- ical force, I am advised that our active citizen soldiery was never in a condition of greater efficiency." His remarks upon the " condition of the country " were calm, loyal, and appropriate. With a wise discernment of the true nature of the impending crisis, he predicted that emancipation, in some form, lay " at the end of the road which South Carolina invited her sister States upon the Gulf of Mexico to enter." Alluding to the extraordinary and exciting political events of the last twenty years, he said of the National Government, — The people of Massachusetts have never wavered from their faith in its princijDles, or their loyalty to its organization. Looking forward to the long ages of the future, building always in then- own minds for countless gener- ations yet to come, they have endured, and are wiUiug still cheerfully and hopefully to endure, much wrong and more misconception, because they trust in the blood inherited fi-om heroic ancestors ; in the principles of constitu- tional liberty; in the theory of democratic institutions; in the honest purpose of the intelligent masses of the people everywhere ; in the capacity of Truth and Right ultimately to reach and control the minds of men ; in an undying affection for their whole country, its memories, traditions, and hopes ; and, above all, in the good providence of God. In regard to the great issue, he added, — And the single question now presented to the nation is this : Shall a re- actionary spirit, unfriendly to liberty, he perndtted to subvert a democratic republican yovernment organized binder constitu'ional forms? Upon this issue, over the heads of all mere politicians and partisans, in behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I appeal directly to iha warm hearts and clear heads of the great masses of the people. The men who own and till the soil, who drive the mills, and hannncr out their own iron and leather on their own anvils and lapstones, and tliey who, whether in the city or the country, reap the rewards of enterprising industry and skill in the vai'ied pursuits of business, are honest, intelligent, patriotic, independent, and brave. They know that simple defeat in an election is no cause for the dis- ruption of a gdvernmont. They know that those who declare that they will not live peaceably within the Union do not mean to live peaceably out of it. They know that the people of all sections have a right, which they intend to maintain, of free access from the interior to both oceans, from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, and of the free use of all die lakes and rivers and high- ways of commerce, North, South, ]']ast, or West. Tliey know that the Union 94 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. means peace, and unfettered commercial intercourse from sea to sea, and from shore to shore ; that it secures us all against the unfriendly presence or pos- sible dictation of any foreign power, and commands respect for our flag, and security for our trade ; and they do not intend, nor will they ever consent, to be excluded from these rights which they have so long enjoyed, nor to abandon the prospect of the Ijenefits wliich humanity claims for itself by means of their continued enjoyment in the future. Neither will they consent that the continent shall be overran by the victims of a remorseless cupidity, and the elements of civil danger increased by the barbarizing influences which accompany the African slave-trade. Inspired by the same ideas and emotions which commanded the fraternization of Jackson and Webster on another great occasion of public danger, tlie people of Massachusetts, confiding in the patriotism of their brethren in other States, accept this issue, and respond, in the words of Jackson, ''The Federal Union, — it must he preserved! " Until we complete the work of rolling back this wave of rebellion which threatens to ingulf the government, overthrow democratic institutions, subject the people to the rule of a minority, if not of mere military despotism, and in some communities to endanger the very existence of civihzed society, we can- not turn aside, and we will not turn back. It is to those of our brethren in the disaifectcd States whose mouths are closed by a temporary reign of terror, not less than to ourselves, that we owe this labor, which, with the help of Providence, it is our duty to perform. Brig.-Gen. Edward W. Pierce, commanding Second Brigade, First Division, Massaclmsetts Volunteer Militia, in a letter to Gov. Andrew, made the first formal offer of troops : — Headquarters Second Brigade, AssoNET Village, Freetown, Jan. 5, 1861. To his Excellency John A. Andrew, Captain^ General and Commander-in- Chief Massachusetts Volunteers : — Having for full half the entire years of my life been enrolled in the volun- teer militia of this Commonwealth, and during fifteen of these years having been honored with a commission in this branch of the*public service, I had come fully to the conclusion that my part of the burden had already been borne, and my share of its honors had been received. AVith this view of tlie matter, I had contemplated resigning my commis- sion, and soliciting your Excellency to grant me a discharge from its duties, as one of the earliest acts of your administration. The recent outbreak in a sister State of the honored Confederation in wliich we had the good fortune to be born, and under whose laws (good and wholesome for the most part) we have enjoyed the inestimable privileges of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;" the threatening attitude assumed by acts and wicked designs toward the Constitution and Union LETTER OF BUIGADIER-GENERAL PIERCE. 95 of tlicse States, — has caused me to demur, lost my conduct should seem to show a disposition to vacate my post and desert the cause of my country in the day of danger or in the hour of peril. Indeed, so far am I removed, both in thought and wish, from conduct so dastardly, all intention of resigning my position in the militia is, for the pres- ent, abandoned, and every vestige of such inclination has fled. Contented and ha})py to retain, and, if necessity shall require it, to act by virtue of, my present commission, in repelHng invasion from these shores, I am no loss ready to resign, and accept a place in one of the companies t'•la^ the emergencies of the case may require to be raised in our own State towards recruiting the Federal army ; and your Excellency will be pleased to undex*- stand that my services hereby are so tendered. With sentiments of the highest respect, I have the honor to remain Yours, &c., EBENEZER W. PIERCE, Brig. -Gen. commanding 2d Brig. 1st Div. M. V.M. The Saturday on which this communication was dated was crowded with marked and significant events. Through the generous loyalty of the merchants of Boston, a salute of a hundred guns was fired on the Common, in honor of Major Anderson, by a detachment of the Boston Liglit Artillery, On the Sth, Gov. Andrew ordered a salute to be fired throughout the State in honor of Gen. Jackson's victory at New Orleans. He said to a friend, that he did this, more than any thing else, " to stir up the people, and awaken the militarn spirit,'" which, he knew, must soon be called out by the national exigencies. Almost amid the roar of the cannon, Ex-Gov. Boutwell made a strong speech upon the secession movements in Charleston ; and there was also held a spirited meeting of the survivors of the war of 1812. The very next day, the " Star of the West," an unarmed steamer, hearing supplies to the famishing Spartan band that gar- risoned Fort Sumter, was fired upon by United-States guns in the hands of rebellious citizens, and compelled to turn her prow nortinvard, with the food designed for the defenders of the na- tional flag. On the 11th, Government troops embarked on the steamer "Joseph Whitney," at Fort Independence, for the Southern bor- der. The same day, the General Government detailed men to put in order Fort Adams, at Newport, — the .caj)ital of the smallest State of the Union in area, but second to none in generous loyalty in the opening struggle. Jan. 16, 18(il, the Governor issued the following very compre- 96 MASSACHUSETTS AV THE REBELLION. liensive and explicit General Order, marked No. 4, — the grand basis of all the subsequent military movements in the Common- wealth : — COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. Headquarters, Boston, Jan. 16, 1861. General Orders, No. 4. Events wbicli have recently occurred, and are now in progress, require that jMassachusetts should be at all times ready to furnish her quota of troops, upon any requisition of tlie President of the United States, to aid in the maintenance of the laws and the peace of the Union. His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief therefore orders, — That the commanding officer of each company of volunteer militia examine with care the roll of his company, and cause the name of each member, to- gether with his rank, and place of residence, to be properly recorded, and a copy of the same to be forwarded to the office of the Adjutant-General ; pre- vious to which, commanders of companies shall make strict inquiiies whether there are men in their commands, who from age, physical defect, business, or family causes, may be unable or indisposed to respond at once to the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, made in response to the call of the President of the United States, that they may be forthwith discharged, so that their places may be filled by men ready for any public exigency which may arise, when- ever called upon. After the above orders have been fulfilled, no discharge, either of officer or private, shall be granted, unless for cause satisfactory to the Commander-in- Chief If any companies have not the number of men allowed by law, the com- manders of the same shall make proper exertions to have the vacancies filled, and the men properly diiLled and uniformed, and their names, and places of residence, forwarded to lieadquarters. To promote the objects embraced in this order, the general, field, and staff officers, and the adjutant and acting quartermaster-general, will give all the aid and assistance in their power. jMajor-Gencrals Sutton, Morse, and Andrews will cause this order to be promulgated throughout their respective divisions. By command of his Excellency John A. Andrew, Governor and Com- mandcr-in- Chief, WILLIAM SCHOULER, Adjutant- General. The members of Gov. Andrew's staff were efficient officers in carrying forward the warlike measures in wliicli he suddenly MILITARY OPERATIONS IN THE STATE. 97 found himself to be the principal actor. The names of those who thus stood by his side were Licut.-Col. Horace B. Sargent, Lieut.- Col. Harrison Ritchie, Lieut.-Col. J. N. Wetherell, and Lieut.-Col. Henry Lee, jun. Lieut.-Col. Lee was very active, making estimates of the equip- ments necessary, and securing the vessels required to transport the troops. Lieut.-Col. John Quincy Adams, who succeeded Lieut.-Col. Sargent in December, 1861, not only most admirably filled the place, but was a warm, confidential friend of the Gov- ernor during the exciting progress of the war. Correspondence was opened with Gen. Scott at Washington, Charles Francis Adams, and other responsible gentlemen, to secure accurate information of the startling revolt, and to be ready for its darkest hour. ThQ Governor had also a Legislature which represented, by a decided majority, the true heart of the Commonwealth. He was left free to act promptly and nobly in the dire emergency. On the 18th of January, the first legislative action of this, and, we believe, of any other State, was had in the passage of the fol- lowing resolutions : — Whereas, Several States of the Union have, through the action of their people and authorities, assumed the attitude of rebellion against the National Grovernment ; and whereas, treason is still more extensively diffused ; and whereas, the State of South Carolina, having first seized the post-office, custom- house, moneys, arms, munitions of war, and fortifications of the Federal Gov- ernment, has, by tiring upon a vessel in the service of . the United States, committed an act of war ; and whereas, the forts and property of the United States in Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida, have been seized, with treasonable and hostile intention ; and whereas, senators and representa- tives in Congress avow and sanction these acts of treason and rebellion : therefore Resolved, That the Legislatui'o of Massachusetts, now, as always, con- vinced of the inestimable value of the Union, and the necessity of preserving its blessings to ourselves and our posterity, regard with unmingled satisfac- tion the determination evinced in the recent firm and patriotic special mes- sage of the President of the United States to amply and faithfully discharge bis constitutional duty of enforcing the laws and preserving the iutegi'ity of the Union ; and we proffer to him, through the Governor of the Counnon- wealth, such aid in men and money as he may require to maintain the authority of the Nutional Government. Resolved, That the Union-loving and patriotic authorities, representatives, and citizens of those Stages whose loyalty is endangered or assailed l)y in- ternal treason, who labor in belialf of the Federal Union with uullinchiug 13 98 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. courage and patriotic devotion, will receive the enduring gratitude of the American people. Resolved, That the Governor be requested to forward, forthwith, copies of the foregoing resolutions to the President of the United States and the Gov- ernors of the several States. During tlie same session of the Legislature, a bill was passed, making an appropriation of twenty-five thousand dollars, and au- thorizing the Adjutant-General to secure contracts for the outfit of two thousand troops. The principal articles specified, besides two thousand ball-cartridges, were overcoats, blankets, and knap- sacks. The resolutions passed by the Legislature, tendering to the President aid in men and money, sent as he may need, were approved by the Governor Jan. 23, and sent to Washington by mail the same day. Meanwhile the volunteer militia had resorted to the nightly drill at their armories, in anticipation of a Idwless assault upon the life of the Republic by the armed propagandists of American slavery : " so that, when the summons came from the President on the IStli of April, the ' fiery cross ' was sent over the Commonwealth ; and, in obedience to the call, the men came forth as in the brave days of old, leaving the work-shop and the plough, their nets and barges, homes and kindred, inspired by love of country and the rights of mankind." It was this provision for a sudden appeal to the "arbitra- tion of the sword," with that vigilance which of old " scented tyranny in the breeze," and often surprised the enemies of liberty with a display of martial strength and courage believed by them impossible, tiiat gave to Massachusetts the honor of taking the front in the march to meet tlie last great assault upon human freedom. On Jan. 17, a meeting of merchants was held in the rooms of the Board of Trade, Mayor Wightman presiding, " to con- sider \ipon the best means of preserving the Union, and upon ad- dressing the Massachusetts delegation in Congress." The meeting also decided upon the form of a petition to Congress, and ap- pointed the necessary committees. Military companies in several towns assembled to ascertain how many were ready to go to the aid of the United-States Govern- ment if their services were required. There was the greatest alacrity and readiness. The Boston Light Artillery had a meet- ing on the evening of Jan. 21, at which a hundred and three were present. Ninety-nine j)ledgcd themselves to tender their MILITARY OPERATIONS IN THE STATE, 99 aid to the Commander-in-Chief, should the President of the United States need them. This was one of other similar meet- ings held the same evening. Among these, on that day, was one of the field and staff officers of the Sixth Regiment, held in Lowell, Jan. 21. They unani- mously voted to be in readiness to go ; and that " Col. Jones be authorized and requested forthwith to tender the services of the Sixth Regiment to the Commander-in-Chief and Legislature, when such action may become desirable for the purposes con- templated in General Orders, No. 4." The Worcester Light Infantry, the Hale Guards of Haverhill, the Braintree Light Infantry, Charlestown Artillery, the Salem Light Artillery,' and the Boston Washington Light Guard, all voted to be in readiness to serve their country. We have very clear evidence of forbearance, rather than hasty radicalism, in Massachusetts, in a petition at this time to Congress to adopt measures calculated to restore harmony between the United States, which contained fifteen thousand signatures. The committee to take the petition to Washington was composed of Edward Everett, Robert C. Winthrop, Lemuel Shaw, Edward S. Tobey, Amos A. Lawrence, and Charles L. Woodbury, who left Boston on the 23d of January. The advent of spring, with its fragrance and bloom in the " sunny South," found its political atmosphere hot and electric with the deeds and plots of secession. The cotton States had gone, or were going, with South Carolina, in her mad attempt to dissolve the Union. The city elections of the State occur during this season of the year ; and the inaugural addresses of the mayors were worthy of the Commonwealth. Tliey had the ring of her unclouded loyalty, and an intelligent comprehension of the national trou- bles. April 1^3, Fort Sumter, after a terrific bombardment and most gallant resistance, was compelled to surrender to the rebel demand for the keys of the noble fortress. War was thus de- clared by the roar of cannon aimed at the nation's defences, to reach through them her too forbearing and magnanimous heart. Massachusetts promptly accepted the challenge ; and the liead- quarters of her cheerful activity to meet its most fearful conse- quences were now the Adjutant General's department. The very day that Sumter fell, its able official head wrote, hy 100 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. direction of the Governor, the following letter to the Secretary of War:— . Adjutant-General's Office, Boston, April 13, 1861. Sir, — I am directed by Ms Excellency the Governor to request of you, if consistent with law and the policy of your department, to allow me to draw two thousand rifled muskets from the United-States arsenal at Springfield, in advance of our annual quota becoming due. We have five thousand infantry now armed and equipped, and properly officered. Only about three thousand of them, however, are armed with rifled muskets : the others have the old smooth-bores, all of which have been changed from flint-locks to the percussion. If you will permit us to draw two thousand more of the new rifled muskets, we shall have five thousand as well armed, drilled, and officered infantry as ever handled a musket. I would also suggest that a couple of regiments of the volunteers be ordered by the President to garrison Forts Warren and Independence, in Boston Harbor. They are now without troops, and might be taken by lawless men, and turned against the Government. I believe that our troops would like to do garrison-duty until called upon by the President for active service. The regiments might alternate every four or six weeks; and thus they would learn much that would be of service to them, and hold the forts against attack or surprise. With great respect, I have the honor to be Your obedient servant, WILLIAM SCHOULER. Hon. Simon Cajieron, Secretary of War, Washington. Neither the muskets, nor permission to garrison the forts, could be obtained. Subsequently, Major-Gen. Wool, of the United-States army, in wliose department was the State of Massachusetts, fur- nislied "five thousand of the most improved smooth-bore muskets from Springfield, and four thousand Windsor rifles (without bay- onets) from the United-States arsenal at Watertown." April 15, a telegram was received from Senator Wilson at Washington, asking in behalf of the Government for twenty com- panies of Massachusetts troops to be sent forward immediately to the capital, and there mustered into service, — the first call upon her waiting militia. On the same day, a special order was issued, directing " Col. Jones of the Sixth Regiment, Col. Pack- ard of the Fourtli, Col. Wardrop of the Third, and Col. Monroe of the Eighth, to muster their respective commands on Boston THE FIBST CALL FOR TROOPS. 101 Common forthwith, ' in compliance with a requisition made by the President of the United States.' " By mail and special messengers, the order was conveyed to the homes of the officers in Lowell, Quincy, New Bedford, and Lynn. The companies were to be gathered from the counties of Plym- outh, Bristol, Norfolk, and Essex. That night, for the first time in half a century, the quiet dwellings of the people in the city, village, and country, were disturbed with the summons for some of their inmates to hasten to the arena of civil war. The spirit of '76 was abroad on the midnight air ; and the next day, from the sea-border, old Marblehead sent forward three infantry companies under Capts. Martin, Phillips, and Boardman, — the vanguard of Freedom's uprising host. At nine o'clock, a.m., the train that carried the troops to Bos- ton reached the Eastern Depot, where a multitude greeted them with cheers that drowned all other sounds, and rang over their march to the music of "Yankee Doodle," througii the rain and sleet of a dismal storm, to their quarters in Faneuil Ilall. Upon the question, " Who was the first man in the war ? " we have a good letter from Newburyport, whose mistake was after- wards corrected, Capt. Bartlett's offer, as described below, was first after Banks's retreat : — The Boston correspondent of the " Springfield Republican," speaking of Capt. Knott Martin's election at Marblehead as representative, says, "He is the man who first reached Boston with his company after the war broke out in 18G1." The story about the pig is a true story and a good story, as Capt. Martin is a true and good man ; but he was not the first man to reach Boston with his company : that honor belongs to the late Capt. A. W. Bartlett and the Gushing Guard of Newburyport. They were the first to reach Boston ; and it is worthy of record in favor of Capt. Bartlett, than whom not a braver man fell in the war. He was in the dry-goods business on State Street, perhaps little dreamin"' of war, having been captain of the company but a short time, when, one afbernoon, the telegraph-operator handed him a despatch. He took tlie paper, and, without saying a word of its contents, turned to his clerk, and said, " Step round the corner to the stable, and get mo a horse and chaise." The clerk, knowing that he held a telegraphic despatch in his hand, made bold to ask, " What has transpired? " — "I have orders," he responded, " to have the Cushing Guard in Boston to proceed to Washington by the first train to- morrow, and I must notify the officers at once ; for, if not another man goes, I shall be there." As quick as the horse could be had, and could cany liiiu, he rode over the town, and, in three hours, had his men at the armory. Then people knew nothing of war ; and many in the company declined to leave their business and families to answer so sudden a call. But the next dajr his 102 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. store was closed ; and at the head of seventeen privates and a few officers, in all, we think, twenty-one, he marched to the cars. It was a cold, wet day ; and the people, stunned at the suddenness of the call, looked on without a shout or cheer as he was off for Boston, reporting himself the first of any com- pany in the State. Afterwards he raised a full company of ninety-eight men in seven days for the Thirty-fifth Regiment; and, in four weeks after leaving, he and one-third of that company were dead, or maimed for life, on the bloody field of Antietam, where his mangled body, blown by shell and pierced by shot, was found. Capt. Bartlett was the first; and before his company left, in 1861, the City Council voted to raise the national flag over the City Hall, to remain there till the Rebellion should be suppressed : and that was the first flag-rais- ing in the State. They also, when there was no law for it, voted to draw from the city treasury one thousand dollars to assist the Cashing Guard to go, and to aid the families of those who went; and that was the first appropriation of money for the war, made in this Commonwealth. Many men acted bravely in the war, and among them was Capt. Martin ; and many towns did nobly. We would detract nothing from them ; but the above is a true record, and it is giving honor only where honor is due." The reply of Gen. Hiiiks, concerning the " First Massachusetts man in the war," will be interesting as an historical statement, and is quoted, excepting a single expression, verbatim : — I will attempt, without detracting fi-om the noble record of Capt. Bartlett, who for a time served with credit under my command, and who gallantly yielded up his young life upon the bloody field of Antietam, to vindicate the truth of history. On Monday, April 15, 1861, at quarter-past two o'clock, in reply to an offer of my services made in the morning of that day, I received from Gov. Anchew a verbal command to summons the companies of the Eighth Re- giment, by his authority, to rendezvous at Faneuil Hall at the earliest possible hour. Leaving Boston on the half-past two o'clock train, I proceeded to Lynn, and personally notified the commanding officers of the two companies in that city, and from thence telegraphed to Capt. Bartlett at Newburyport, and Capt. Centre of Gloucester ; and then drove to Beverly, and summoned the company there; and fi'om thence hastened to Marblehead, where I personally notified the commanding officers of the three Marblehead companies. I found Capt. Martin in his slaughter-house with the carcass of a hog, just killed, and in readiness for the " scald." On communicating to the cap- tain my orders, I advised him to immediately cause the bells of the town to be rung, and to get all the recruits he could. Taking his coat from a peg, he seemed for a moment to hesitate about leaving his business unfinished, and then turned to me, and, with words of emphatic indilTorence in regai-d to it, put THE FIRST TROOPS IN BOSTON. 103 the garment on, with bis arras yet stained with blood and his shirt-sleeves but half rolled down, and with me left the premises to rally his company. On Tuesday, April 10, I was directed to remain on duty at Faneuil Hall; and, dm-ing the forenoon, the following-named companies arrived there, and reported for duty ; to wit : — 1. Companies C, Eighth Regiment, forty muskets, Capt. Knott V. Martin, and H, Eighth Regiment, twenty-six guns, Capt. Francis Boardman, both of Marblehead; which place they left at half-past seven o'clock, a.m., and ar- rived in Boston at about nine o'clock. 2. Company D, Fourth Regiment, thirty-two muskets, Sergeant H. P. Wales, of Randolph, left home at nine o'clock, and arrived at about ten, a.m. 3. Company B, Eighth Regiment, forty muskets, Capt. Richard Phillips, of Marblehead, left home at nine o'clock, and arrived in Faneuil Hall about eleven, a.m. 4. Companies D, Eighth Regiment, sixty-five muskets, Capt. George F. Newhall, and F, Eighth Regiment, seventy muskets, Capt. James Hudson, both of Lynn, left home at quarter-past nine o'clock, and reached Faneuil Hall a little after eleven o'clock, accompanied by Lieut. -Col. Timothy Mon- roe, subsequently colonel of the Eighth Regiment. At about twelve o'clock, several companies, belonging to different re- giments, arrived at Faneud Hall ; and among them was Company A, Eighth Regiment, nineteen muskets, Capt. A. W. Bartlett, of Newburyport ; which company, as I then understood and have since been infonned, left Newbury- port at about nine o'clock, a.m. I think that Company E, Eighth Regiment, Capt. Porter, of Beverly, arrived at about the same time ; and that Company G, Capt. Centre, of Gloucester, also arrived early in the afternoon of the same day. The several companies of the Eighth Regiment were recruited during Tuesday and Wednesday, April 16 and 17, to an average of about eighty men. The above is substantially a true record, as will appear by reference to the files of " The Journal " of that date ; and is prompted only by a desire to do justice to Capt. Martin and tlie patriotic men of Marblehead, who, on the oubreak of the Piebellion, were the first to leave home, the first to arrive in Boston, and subsequently, under my command, the first to leave the yard of the Naval Academy of Annapolis to seize the depot and railroad, and to repair and relay the track, in the march through Maryland to relieve the be- leagured capital of the nation. EDW. W. HINKS, Formerly Adjutant, Lieut.-Col., and Col. ofihe Eighth Mass. Infantry. On the morning of that eventful 16th of April, Gen. Butler, who, during the previous night, had been hard at work with Col. Jones in getting the Sixth ready for the field, was on his way to Boston in the same car with Mr. Carney of Lowell, the President 104 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. of the Bank of Mutual Redemption. He said to him, " The Gov ernor will want money. Can the bank offer a temporary loan of fifty thousand dollars to help off the troops ? " The patriotic reply was, " It can and shall." The two regiments required by the War Department were to have more men and companies than the Massachusetts regiments then numbered. The State authorities were, therefore, under the necessity of making up the full quota by additions from other regiments. By this course, some discussion was raised, and dis- satisfaction expressed, respecting regimental uniforms, which called forth from Gov. Andrew the emphatic expression, " It isn't uniforms, it is men, we want." The advocates of the national blue ultimately prevailed in their sensible and practical view of the appropriate dress of our brave volunteers, and this style of uniform was chosen. The mind does not revert with pleasure to the uncouth garb in which some of the first troops went to the field. The " army blue " will, we hope, always distinguish the American soldier. We think the first and perhaps the only juvenile offer of mili- tary service is contained in the following spicy letter, which is here given, simply to illustrate how thoroughly the whole community was fired with the ardor of true patriotism : — Newbukyport, April 19, 1861. Gov. Andrew. Dear Sir, — I am fifteen years old, five feet six inches high, weigh a hundred and forty-five pounds; and they won't let me enlist, because they say that I am not old enough. I think that I am old enough to whip a secessionist ; at any rate, I should like to try : but I don't see as there is any chance for me as yet ; so I shall have to keep cool, and let my hair grow, I suppose. I wish your Excellency would send an order to E. F. Stone to let me enlist. Please send an answer quickly, and oblige Yours truly, C. H . On that same momentous day which stirred to its depths the heart of the State capital. Gen. B. F. Butler sent a letter to the Governor, containing the offer of his services to the country. The City Government ordered the national fiag to be raised on Faneuil Hall, and to be kept floating there till further orders. Its folds were soon heavily waving in tlie chill wind of that stormy day. Before the dark night shrouded it from the moistened eyes of those who gazed upon it with quickened devotion to its gio- MILITARY OPERATIONS IN THE STATE. 105 rious stars, R. B. Forbes, Esq., a distinguished citizen and mer- chant-prince, proposed to the Governor to raise a coast-guard, the members of which were to be drilled in navy-tactics, and fur- nished with arms, a steamer, and other equipments for service. The proposition was referred by the Governor to the Navy De- partment. u CHAPTER n. THE three-months' REGIMENTS. The Adjutant-General and his Office. — The Men summoned to the Field. — The Midnight Messengers. — The Response of the Volunteers. — The Gathering of Troops in Boston. — Reception. — Scenes attending their Departure for Washington. — Officers of the Regiments. — The March of the Sixth, the Eighth, the Fifth. — Third Battalion of Rifles. — Cook's Battery. TO give the early action of the State when jnst awakening to the tremendous struggle before us, we must take a dis- tinct and separate view of the three-months' regiments. The Adjutant-Greneral's department at the capitol of the Com- monwealth had suddenly become the busy centre of military operations on an hourly expanding scale ; and a brief sketch of an officer so intimately connected with the array movements of the State will possess interest, especially to the many brought in official relations directly in communication with him. William Schouler was born in the county of Renfrew, Scotland, in 1814. Tlie next year he went to New York with his father, who came to this country as a pioneer in the business of calico printing. After a brief residence on Staten Island, Mr. Schouler removed to Massachusetts, and lived between the years 1829 and 1832 in Taunton, Lynn, and West Cambridge. William learned his father's trade. He was early a reader and a politician. An "original Whig," he gave himself ardently to the campaign of 1840. The year following, he was proprietor and editor of the "Lowell Courier," and, in 1847, became connected with the " Boston Atlas." In 1853, he was co-editor of the " Cincinnati Gazette," and, three years later, edited the " Ohio State Journal," at Columbus, Ohio. He was appointed by the Governor Adju- tant-General of tlie State, but resigned in 1858, and retvirned to Massachusetts to take the editorial charge of the " Boston Atlas and Bee." Four times he represented the city in the Legisla- ture, was elected Clerk of the House, and was a member of the lOG ADJUTANT-GEN. SCIIOULER. 107 Constitutional Convention. He was also chosen major, and then colonel, of the First Massachusetts Artillery Regiment. Daniel Webster was a warm personal friend until his " 7th-of- March speech," when Mr. Schouler's opposition to it cooled their mutual regard. In 1860, Gov. Banks appointed Col. Schouler Adjutant-General of the State. A more loyal, devoted, and efficient man for the post, soon to be one of extraordinary responsibility, could not have been selected. He found an efficient helper in the lamented Col. Wil- liam H. Brown.* Some of the work done in a single year will in- dicate the amount of business transacted in this office. Twrenty- seven hundred commissions were issued, with sixty-three Gen- eral and 1,323 Special Orders, covering 867 manuscript pages ; six thousand letters were written, which would make 4,700 pages of manuscript ; ten thousand certificates of State aid were issued ; an alphabetical index of soldiers' names was in progress ; with reports, and a great variet}'- of. miscellaneous business. Those who have known nothing of this noiseless, gigantic work, have failed to appreciate official fidelity, without which the forces of the State would have been crippled in many ways. The Surgeon-General, the Quartermaster- General, and the Paymaster-General, labored with the same untiring activity to carry forward the military operations. Chaplain Quint, unsurpassed in ability and efficiency, said of Col. Schouler and another officer of the Governor's stafi", "If one has not examined the reports of the Adjutant-General, he ought to, to see the vast amount of business, the clear meth- od, and the admirable results of the work of that office. It is a marvel; and I know a little about what tables of figures, and records of facts, mean. If one will look at the Surgeon-General's report, and remember the men who have been surgeons, he will imagine what I know, that, in medical skill, no men surpassed, and few equalled, the Massachusetts surgeons. iUas that some whom I knew and revered had to give their lives to their coun- Adjutant-Gen. Schouler, like Senator Wilson, rose from hum- ble life among the people by untiring industry ; that devotion to his duties, which, with fine practical talent and executive ability, secured the confidence of his fellow-citizens. One of his sons, who graduated at Cambridge in 1859, enlisted in 1862 in the Forty-third Regiment, was appointed lieutenant, and com- pleted his term of service. Another son is midshipman in the * See notice of, among sketches of the heroic dead. 108 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION, navy. Col. Schouler's uame is forever associated with Massa- chusetts ill the Rebellion. Before the excitement over the arrival of the first volunteers had died away, a second despatcli from Senator Wilson was sent over the wires, calling upon Massachusetts, in the name of the Government, for four regiments to form a brigade. Gen. Butler telegraphed Senator Wilson to remind Mr. Cameron that the brigade called for by the Government needed a brigadier. The result was the selection of himself for the high honor of the first appointment of tlie kind from the loyal States. He was commis- sioned Brigadier-General, Third Brigade, Second Division, Massa- chusetts Volunteer Militia, and was ordered to take command of the troops. Meanwhile the electric wires, mails, and living messengers, had been conveying the orders to the scattered officers to hasten with their several commands to the capital. The sun was near the horizon -on the 16th, when Capt. Pratt of Worcester received his order to join tlie Sixth Regiment with all possible promptitude. The next day's morning light shone on the glittering weapons and eager faces of the marching troops. It was nine o'clock, p.m., on the 16th, before the Governor had decided to add to the same regiment the companies of Capts. Sampson and Dike. The courier left that night for Stoncham, eight miles from Boston. At two o'clock in the morning, he knocked at the door of Capt. Dike, and soon after placed in his hands the summons to the field. He read them, and with cheer- ful decision said, " Tell the Adjutant-General that I shall be at the State House with my full company by eleven o'clock to-day." He marched his men through the streets of Boston at the prom- ised hour. At half-past nine o'clock, a.m., he reported at the Adjutant-General's office in Boston in these words : — Sir, — I received the orders of tlie Commander-in-Chief at two o'clock this morning to have my company ordered into active sci'vice, fully equipped for the defence of Washington. I now report that I have my company here, uniformed and fully equipped, consisdug of sixty-four privates, eight non- commissioned officers, and four lieutenants, — all that the law permits. I could have had more. I now await further orders. With no less enthusiasm did the captains of other companies welcome the orders to leave their vocations and homes for the perils of war. The subjoined order was issued from the office of the Adjutant- THE MUSTERING OF TROOPS. 109 General, giving the destination of the Third, Fourth, and Sixth Regiments, and detailing for service with them several additional companies : — Headqpakters, Boston, April 17, 1861. Brig.-Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, of Third Brigade, Second Division, is ordered to detail the following troops for the following services : — Col. David W. Waidrop, of Third Regiment of Infantry, Second Bri^-ade, and First Division, is hereby ordered forthwith to report himself and his com- mand for active service. Company C, Fifth Regiment, Third Brigade, and Second Division, com- manded by Capt. Richardson, will be added to the command as a part of said regiment. He will with these troops proceed forthwith to Fortress Monroe, in Virginia, by steamer to be provided, and there report himself to Col. Abner B. Pack- ard, of Fourth Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, or to such officer of the United States as may be in command of that fortress ; there to enter into the service of the United States as United-States mihtia, and await and abide such further orders as may be received. In case Fortress Monroe shall be inaccessible, or in the possession of an enemy. Col. Wardrop will exercise his own discretion as to the disposition of his command until he shall join Col. Packard, or shall receive fui'ther orders from the "War Department of the United-States Government at Washington ; and whatever orders he may receive from that department he will obey, whether the same be given by telegraph or otherwise, provided he be satisfied of their genuineness. Col. xVbner B. Packard, of the Fourth Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, is hereby ordered to report himself and his command for active ser- vice. He will, with his command, proceed forthwith to the same duty as that ordered to be performed by the troops under Col. David W. Wardrop ; and, upon being joined by Col. Wardrop and his troops, he will take com- mand of them also, and act as to them also conformably to tlie above orders. Col. Edward F. Jones, commanding the Sixth Regiment of Infantry in the Third Brigade and Second Division, is hereby ordered to report hiurself and his command fo7'thwith for active service. Company C, of the Seventh Regiment, Fourth Brigade, and Second Divis- ion, Capt. Dike; Company C, of First Regiment, First Brigade, and First Division, Capt. Sampson ; Comi)auy B, of Third Battalion of Infantry, Fifth Brigade, and Tliird Division, Capt. Pratt, — will be detailed from their re- spective commands, and, for the purposes of this service, will be added to the regiment of Col. Jones. He will with these troops proceed to the depot of the Boston and Worcester Riiilroad Company at six o'clock this evening, and thence by the most practicable route, via New- York City, to Washington, where he will report him.self and his troops to Brig.-Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, and, in his absence, to the Adjutant-General of the United States at Wash- 110 MASSACHUSETTS /^V THE REBELLION. ington. Said troops are to enter into the service of the United States as mili- tia, and tlierc await and obey such further orders as may be received. By order of his Excellency John A. Andrew, Governor and Com- mander-in- Chief. WILLIAM SCHOULER, Adjutant- General The ITtli was a day of loyal excitement in Boston. " There were a thousand things to do ; but there were a thousand will- ing hearts and hands to help." Mayor Wightman tendered to the State authorities every avail- able place in the city, at the disposal of the City Government, for the quartering of troops ; flags were thrown to the breeze from public and private buildings ; the banks, Corn Exchange, Board of Trade, and wealthy citizens, offered their treasures, and the ladies their needle-work. In the surrounding towns the excite- ment was no less intense, and practical in its expression. The Sixth Regiment was ready in the afternoon to head the columns of Freedom in the march to her field of deadly and pro- tracted strife for the continued possession of her fair domain. The troops marched to the State House, thronged by an earnest multitude, in whose breasts the spirit of the fathers was aroused, to defend their honor, and carry through fire and blood the ban- ner they loved, till it should float victoriously over every rebellious State and citizen. On this occasion, the regiment was drawn up in line on Beacon Street, in front of the State House ; Gov. Andrew, accompanied by his staff, several councillors, and other gentlemen, with Gen. Butler, stood upon the steps. Gov. Andrew's address to the Sixth Regiment, on its departure, was as follows : — Mr. Commander, — As the official representative of the old Common- wealth of jMassachusetts, I bid you farewell, — you and your glorious com- mand. You, citizens, are summoned from your quiet homes to assume the cause of defending the dignity of the people and of your glorious flag. To you, citizens of Massachusetts, under the direction of him who stands by your side, is intrusted the high privilege before referred to, under the lead of an old hero of a hundred battles, Gen. Winfield Scott, whom God has chosen and spared to this day. You are to repair to the city of Washington, there to protect the Temple of Liberty, erected under the eye of him whose name it bears, and wlio is called by the civilized world the Father of hi3 Country. To ^Vashington, or wheresoever duty may call, there you will go. Soldiers, summoned suddenly, with but a moment for preparation, we have done all that lay in the power of man to do, all that rested in tlie power of OFFICERS OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT. Ill the State Government to do, to prepare the citizen-soldiers of Massachusetts for this ser\ace. We shall follow you with our benedictions, our benefactions, and our prayers. Those whom you leave behind you we shall cherish in our heart of hearts. You carry with you our utmost faith and confidence. We know that you never will return until you can bring the assurances that the utmost duty has been performed which brave and patriotic men can accom- plish. This flag, sir (presenting the colors of the regiment to Col. Jones), take, and bear with you. It will be an emblem on which all eyes will rest, reminding you always of that which you are bound to hold most dear. Col. Joues, on receiving tlie flag from the Governor, replied : — Tour Excellency, — You have given to me this flag, which is the emblem of all that stands before you. It represents my whole command ; and so help me, God ! I will never disgrace it. The regiment then marched to the "Worcester-railroad Station through an enthusiastic throng of friends and spectators, whose earnest faces and eager eyes, often glistening with tears, showed the deep emotion that filled every heart ; while love of country, and admiration of those who, taking their lives in their hands, were going forth " to do or die " for Liberty and Union, ever and anon manifested itself in hearty cheers. From windows and housetops waved the dear old banner of Freedom, never before so precious ; and the sympathizing crowd did not disperse until the long train of cars, with its noble freight, rolled away from the sta- tion "for Washington via Baltimore." OFFICERS OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT. FIELD AND STAFF. Colonel . Lieutenant- Colonel Major Adjutant . Quartermaster . Paymaster Surgeon . Surgeon's Mate Chaplain . Sergeant-Major Quartermaster- Sergeant Commissary- Sergeant Drum-Major Hospital- Steward Total . Edward F. .Jones, Pepperell. Benjamin F. Watson, Lawrence. Josiah A. Sautell, Lowell. Alpha B. Farr, Lowell. James Munroc, Cambridge. Rufus L. Plaisted, Lowell. Norman Smith, Groton. Jansen T. Pauie, Charlestown. Charles Babbage, Pejipcrell. Samuel W. Sliattuck, Groton. Church Ilone, AVorcester. John Dnpoe, Boston. Frederick Statfbrtl, Lowell. William H. Gray, Acton. . 14. 112 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. A, — Lowell . B, — Groton . C, — Lowell . D, — 1^0 well . E, — Acton . F, — Lawrence H, — Lowell . I, — Lawrence K, — Boston . L, — Stoneham B, — Worcester Total COMPANIES AND COMMANDERS. Capt. George M. Diekerman, Lowell . 52 " Eusebius S. Clarke, Groton . 73 " Albert S. FoUansbee, Lowell . 56 " James W. Hart, Lowell . 43 " David Tuttle, Acton . . 57 " Bcnj. F. Chadbourne, Lawrence . 60 " John F. Noyos, Lowell . . 52 " John Pickering, Lawrence . 57 " Walter S. Sampson, Boston . 67 " John H. Dike, Stoneham . 65 " Harrison W. Pratt, Worcester . 101 . 683 The approach of evening was hushing the tumult of the city, when the regiment marched to the depot, attracting an interest whicli held many eyes awake that night, and was destined to thrill lilierty-loving hearts the world over, and to the end of time. The little bell that signalled the departure of the train bearing the volunteers sounded forth tlie knell of oppression and a new epoch in history. The regiment arrived safely in New York at the usual hour. The appearance of the troops in the great metropolis at the criti- cal moment, it is believed, had much to do with the unexpected turn in the feeling of the city, and the commitment of it de- cidedly, and for the war, to the cause of the North, whicli was the cause of the Union. It was certainly a memorable day to the citizens of all classes, when those brave men, whose compan- ions in arms were on the sea, animated by the same high pur- pose of loyalty, trod the pavement with the bearing of heroes who intended to defend the flag against traitors at iiome and abroad, at whatever cost of life and treasure. The march of the pioneer regiment from the capital of the Bay State to the capital of the nation is given in a form which has peculiar interest. Tiie official report of its gallant colonel is quoted, with no other change than the correction of the list of casualties, which could not then be known : — Headquarters 6th Regt., 3d Brigade, 2d Div., M.V.M., Capitol, Wasiiixgton, April 22, 1861. Biigade-Major William H. Clemence, — In accordance with Special Order No. 6, I proceeded with my command toward the city of Wash- ington. Leaving Boston on the evening of the 17th April, we arrived in New York on the morning of the 18th, and proceeded to Philadelphia, reach- ing that place on the same evening. On our way, Julm Brady, of Company THE SIXTH LEAVE BOSTON FOR NEW TORE. 113 H, Lowell, was taken insane ; and, deeming it unsafe to have him accompany the regiment, I left hun at Delanco, N.J., with I. C. Buck, with directions that he should telegraph Mayor Sargeant, of Lowell, as to the disposition of him. We proceeded thence to Baltimore, reaching that place at noon on the 19th. After leaving Philadelphia, I received intimation that our passao-e through the city of Baltimore would be resisted. I caused ammunition to be distributed, and arms loaded, and went personally through the cars, and issued the following order ; viz. : — " Tlie regiment will march through Baltimore in column of sections, arms at will. You will undoubtedly be insulted, abused, and perhaps assaulted; to which you must pay no attention \^hatever, but march with your faces square to the front, and pay no attention to the mob, even if they throw stones, bricks, or other missiles : but if you are fired upon, and any one of you are hit, your officers will order you to fire. Do not fire into any promiscuous crowds, but select any man whom you may see aiming at you ; and be sure you drop him." Reaching Baltimore, horses were attached the instant that the locomotive was detached, and the cars were driven at a rapid pace across the city. After the cars, containing seven companies, had reached the Washington De- pot, the track behind them was barricaded ; and the cars containing the band and the following companies — viz., Company C, of Lowell, Capt. FoUausbee; Company D, of Lowell, Capt. Hart; Company I, of Lawrence, Capt. Pick- ering; and Company C, of Stoneham, Capt. Dike — were vacated by the band, and they proceeded to march in accordance with orders, and had pro- ceeded but a short distance before they were furiously attacked by a shower of missiles, which came faster as they advanced. They increased their step to double-fjuick, which seemed to infuriate the mob, as it evidently impressed them with the idea that the soldiers dared not fire, or had no ammunition ; and pistol-shots were numerously fired into the ranks, and one soldier fell dead. The order, "Fire!" was given, and it was executed : in consei|ucnce, several of the mob fell, and tlie soldiers again advanced hastily. Tlie ^Mayor of Baltimore placed himself at the head of the column beside Capt. Follans- bee, and proceeded with them a short distance, assuring him that he would protect them, and begging him not to let the men fire : but the Mayor's patience was soon exhausted, and he seized a nmsket from the liiinds of one of the men, and killed a man therewith; and a policeman, who was in ad- vance of the column, also shot a man with a revolver. They at last reached the cars, which started innncdiately for Washing- ton. On going through the train, I found there were about one hundred and thirty missing, including the band and field music. Our baggage was seized, and we have not as yet been able to recover any of it. I have found it very difficult to get reliable information in regard to the killed and wound- ed, but believe there were only three killed ; viz., — Sumner H. Necdham Lawrence. Addison 0. Whitney ...... Lnwell. Luther O. Ladd Lowell. 114 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE BEBELLION. Capt. J. n. Dike Andrew Kobbins Michael Green D. 13. Tyler Edwin Colley H. W. Danfortb, William 11. Patch James Keenan Daniel Stevens Edward Cobm-n . WOUNDED. Stonebam, dangerous, doing well. (t <( (( <( Lawrence, jflesh wound, " " Lowell, condition unknown. Stonebam, " " Lowell, Company C, Stonebam. D, Lowell. D, '« Capt. Dike is in tbe bands of some brother Masons, and to the Order he owes his life. The others are supposed to be at the Baltimore Infirmary. The following were brought with us, and sent to the hospital here : — Gordon Reed . Alonzo Joy . G. G. Durrell Victor Dengras W. G. Withington W. H. Young Warren llolden Morris JMead . George Alexander C. L. Gill . Charles Stinsoa J. M. Moore . J. W. Pennell E. A. Perry . William G. Butterfield Stephen Flanders J. W. Kempton John Furticr . C. H. C^handler S. S. Johnson Henry Dike . J. F. Kowe . Daniel Brown George Calvin, H. Gardner . S. Colley W. D. Gourley John Swctt . W. 11. Jjamson George \V. Lovering WiUiam M. llolden . Company A, since discharged, doing well. I, since .discharged. I, doing well. D, since discharged. c. doing well. c. " c, " D, " c, " c, " D, since discharged. c. doing well. c, since discharged. c, doing well. c, <( " c. " " c, " i( D, (( " c, c, since doing discharged, well. c, " 11 c. t( " c, " << c. (( (< c. " (( c, (( i< A, nler's Testimony to the Good Conduct of the Early Troops. — The Fifth at Bull Run — Gen. Butler's Letter to Gov. Andrew. ON the day of departure of fresh troops, the bodies of the slain ill Baltimore, which Gov. Andrew had requested to be " tenderly forwarded," were brought back in the care of Merrill S. Wright, a private of the Richardson Light Infantry, of Lowell, detailed by Col. Jones for the purpose. From the depot to King's Chapel, escort duty was performed by the Independent Cadets. The Governor, with other State officials and prominent citizens, followed in the long procession which attended the remains. The streets were thronged as when the martyrs kept step to martial music in the ranks which, two weeks before, filled the highway to its curbstones. There were tearful eyes then and now ; but how different, and yet not all unlike, the emotions swelling ten thousand hearts ! April 17, the pulses beat high with patriotism; in the sudden outflow, dimming many eyes ; while on other faces were min- gled the tears of the fond adieu with those of affection for the old flag. Now all were mourners ; but beneath the silence and gloom of tliat great sorrow, like volcanic fires fitfully gloaming through the darkness of overhanging clouds and night, souls were aflame witli the indignant purpose to avenge the martyr-blood of the State and nation, — a purpose whose light flashed from the eye of maniiood and youth, and was breathed in the prayer tiiat rose to God over those lifeless forms, whicli spake to the living of trea- son and liberty as no human voice could make appeal. Tiie feeling in Boston, and far away on every side around it, is eloquently expressed in connection with the brief biographies of the victims of the secession mob by the E.\ocutive of the Com- monwealth, in his address at the dedication of their monu- ment : — 133 134 MASSACnUSETTS AV THE REBELLION. When, on the evening of the anniversary of the battle of Lexington, there came the news along the wires that the Sixth Regiment had been cutting its way through the streets of Baltimore, whose pavements were reddened with the blood of Middlesex, it seemed as if there descended into our hearts a mysterious strength, and into our minds a supernal illumination. In many trying expei-iences of the war, we have watched by starlight as well as sun- light the doubtful fortunes of our arms ; but never has the news of victory, decisive and grand, — not even that of Gettysburg, on which hung issues more tremendous than ever depended on the fortunes of a single battle-field, — so lifted us above ourselves, so transformed our earthly weakness into heavenly might by a glorious transfiguration. The citizens of yesterday were to-day the heroes whom history would never forget ; and the fallen brave had put on the crown of martyrdom more worthy than a hundred mor- tal diadems. Their blood alone was precious enough to wipe out the long arrears of shame. The great and necessary struggle was begun, without which we were a disgraced, a doomed, a ruined people. We had reached the parting of the ways, and we had not hesitated to choose the right one. Oh ! it is terrible, beyond expression terrible, to feel that only war, with all its griefs and pains and crimes, will save a people ; but how infinitely greater than the dread and the dismay with which we thought of war was the hope of %at salvation ! It was on the first day of May that IMassachusetts received back to her soil the remains of these her children. One of the dead still sleeps at Baltimore. The mangled bodies of the other three, transported hither under charge of one of their fellow-soldiers, reached the State capital just before sunset, where they were received by the Grovernor of the Commonwealth, and were escorted through streets draped ill emblems of mourning, and lined by thousands of citizens with uncovered heads and moistened eyes, to the "Vassal Tomb" beneath the ancient King's Cliapel. On the way, they were borne past the State House, over the same ground where, twelve days before, they had stood to receive the flag which they swore to defend, and which they died defending. Of these three martyrs, the name of but one was known, — that of Sum- cer Henry Needham, of Lawrence. The rolls of the regiment were cut off with its baggage in the struggle at Baltimore. But, had not this accident occurred, they might have failed to afford means of identifying the remains; for, in the haste of the original assembling and moving of the regiment, they had escaped careful revision. Some men had discarded th« implements and clothing of peace, and fallen into the ranks on its march across the city the very hour of its departure. In tho.se early days, when the nation was waver- ins: between life and death, we did not waste time on forms. We were asked to send two regiments of troops as soon as we could. AVe did send five regi- ments, and more, sooner than the country had believed it was possible for any State to do; but, in accomplishing that, we neglected formalities which would have been indispensable under an exigency less tremendous. GOV. ANDREW AND THE DEAD AT BALTIMORE. 135 Therefore it was that two of the tliree corpses — the same two which have mouldered into these ashes in the presence of which we stand — lay before us that ]May evening, without a name. Later in the night, under the direc- tion of officers of the headquarter's staff of Massachusetts, and in the pres- ence of the mayors of the cities of Lawrence and of Lowell, these bodies were identified ; and the names of Luther Crawford Ladd and Addison Otis Whitney, two young mechanics, both of Lowell, were added to that of Need- ham. And completing the four is the name of Charles A. Taylor, wliose residence and family even now remain unknown. To complete the historical record of the humble men who thus, by a for- tunate and glorious death, have made their names imperishable, let us review the brief stories of their lives. They are quickly told. They are simple in incident, and they are characteristic of New England. Little is known of Taylor, except that his trade was that of a decorative painkir. The most careful inquiries of his officers have failed to discover his residence or his origin. On the evening of April 10, he presented himself at Boston in the hall where the regiment was quartered, and was enrolled as a volunteer. He appeared to be about twenty-five years of age. His hair was light, his eyes blue. After he fell on the pavement at Baltimore on the afternoon of April 19, his brutal murderers beat him with clubs until life was extinct. Needham was born March 2, 1828, at Bethel, a little town lying under the shadow of the White Mountains, on the banks of the Androscoggin River, in the County of Oxford, in the State of Maine. About 1850, he came to Lawrence, in Massachusetts, and engaged in his trade there as a plasterer. After he fell mortally wounded at Baltimore, he was removed to the in- firmary, where he lingered until April 27, when he died. His remains lie at Lawrence, where his wife and child reside. Luther Crawford (son of John and Fanny) Ladd was born at Alexandria, near the Merrimack Biver, in the County of Grafton, in the State of New Hampshire, where his parents still reside, on the twenty-second day of De- cember, 1843, beino; the anniversary of the landina; of the Pilgrims. Addisoti Otis (son of John F. and Jane B.) Whitney was born Oct. 30, 1839, at Waldo, in the county of the same name, wlii(;h borders on the Penobscot Iliver, near where it joins the sea, in the State of Maine. Both died unmarried. These brief lives oflfer no incidents that are not common to most of the ingenuous young men of New England. Born of honest parentage, the youth of both Ladd and Whitney was passed by the side of the great rivers, and the sea, and the mountains of New England, and was nurtured in correct principles and fan- ambition by the teaching of free schools, until, arrived at manhood, and attracted by the opportunities of the gnsat mechanical cstal)- li.shments of the eastern counties of Massachusetts, they came to Lowell, and were employed, the first in a machine-shop, the second in the spinning-room, of one of its manufactories. Their companions in toil and in social lifr testify 136 MASSACHUSETTS 7xV THE REBELLION. • to theii- exemplary habits, their amiaWe disposition, and their laudable indus- try. And thus they were engaged, constant in work, hopeful of long life, and confident of the success which is everywhere in New England the fruit of free and honest labor, when the sudden summons reached them to take up arms for their country. Tliey never faltered for one moment in simple- hearted patriotism and loyal obedience. At Lowell, on the fifteenth day of April, they dropped the garb of the artisan, and assumed that of the citizen- soldier. Four days afterwards at Baltimore, tlieir mortal bodies, bruised and lifeless, lay on the bloody stones of Pratt Street, the victims of the brutal mob. , Both Wliitney and Ladd were young, and moved by a dauntless enthu- siasm. Whitney was but twenty-one years of age, and Ladd was only in his eighteenth year. Whitney jomcd the Lowell City Guards (Company D, of the Sixth Regi- ment) in the summer of 18G0. He attended muster with the regiment that year, and was discharged early in the winter of 1801, because he was learn- ing a trade, and could ill atiurd the time and expense of membership. On the call of the Governor on the regimental commanders, in March, 1861, to ascertain how many men in their commands would be ready for active service in case they should be needed, Whitney promptly came forward, and signified his willingness to obey the summons. He signed the rolls of the company with the understanding, that, if it should not be wanted, he should be dis- charged. On the evening of April 15, when the order came for the regiment to get ready to leave the following day, he was among the first to put on his uniform. In company with a comrade, he left the armory about two o'clock, during the night of the 16th, for the purpose of procuring his photograph in the early morning ; and he was at his company post promptly at the tune appointed. In passing through Baltimore, he was on the left of the first section ; and while marching through Pratt Street, near the bridge, was seen to fall. Some of his comrades, thinking he had stumbled, tried to assist him ; but, finding he was dead, they left him where he fell. A bullet had pierced his right breast, passing down the body, causing instant death. The shot was un- doubtedly fired from the upper window of a house. The coat which he wore was found stripped of every button, cut oft" by the mob. The place in the coat where the bullet entered is plainly visible, saturated with his blood. The precise manner of the death of Ladd is known by the bullet-holes, of wliich tliere are several, through the coat and the overcoat he wore, and by their gory stains. lie is reported to have cultivated a strong taste for histori- cal reading, and from his earliest boyhood to have entered with ardor into the study of our national affairs. He enlisted in the City Guards, at Lowell, three months before his death, on the occasion of the appearance of the General Order of that ye u- from the Com nonwaalth headquarters, already alluded to, and known as Order No. 4 ; and he expressed his desire to join that company most likely to be called to active duty. By his youth he was TELEGRAMS BETWEEN BOSTON AND BALTIMOEE. 137 legally exempt from military service, and his friends would have dissuaded him at last from assuming its hardships and perils ; but he met their persua- sions by an appeal to the flag of his country, whose fortunes he declared that he would surely follow. And when the fatal bullets had smitten him, and he lay struggling with death, the vision of his country's flag suddenly seemed to flash before him as a momentary glory and delight ; and exclaiming aloud with his dying voice, "All hail to the stripes and stars!" the soldier-boy ended his brief campaign. The public opinion that permitted this tragedy derives its interpretation from public documents and official action which leave no doubt of the value of the IMat^sachusetts militia to the Union cause, no doubt of the danger their service averted, no doubt of the urgent necessity of that very march through Baltimore, no doubt that it was the hinge on which turned the ultimate fate of IMaryland, and perhaps of the Union. Our militia were ready not a day too soon, nor were tliey an hour too late. The i)eople of Baltimore, so tele- graphed the IMayor to myself, on the 20th of April, regarded the passage of armed troops of another State through their streets as an invasion of their Boil, and could not be restrained. The Governor of Maryland and the Mayor of Baltimore represented to President Lincoln that the people were exaspe- rated to the highest degree by the presence of the troops, and that it was not possible for more soldiers to pass through Baltimore. They remonstrated against the transit of more soldiers, and they required that the troops abeady in the State be sent back to its borders. In reply to the Mayor of Baltimore, the Governor of jMassachusotts telegraphed, "I am overwiielmed with sur- prise that a peaceful march of American citizens over the highway to the de- fence of our common capital should be deemed aggressive to Baltimoreans. Through New York their march was triumphal." The loyal peojile of the Union sliared this surprise, and exhibited it through the pul)lic press, in public meetings, in cordial response to the Presidential proclamation, and by promptly raising troops for three months' service. The aftair of the 19th of April was observed throughout the country with inex- pressible emotion. In the ConjzTCssional debates on " The Reconstruction of the States," in April, 1864, the Hon. Mr. Williams of Pennsylvania, in a speech of " rare beauty and masterly power," pronounced a feeling eulogy upon Massachusetts, in connection with the recep- tion and burial of the bodies of those slain heroes. He ex- claimed, — Leave Ma-ssachusetts out in die cold ! Wliat matters it tliat no tropical sun has fevered her Nortliern blood into the delirium of treason V I know no trait of tenderness more touching and more human than that witli wliich she received back to her arms the bodies of her lifeless children. " Handle them tenderly " was die message of her loyal Governor. IMassachusctts desired to 18 138 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. look once more upon the faces of her martyred sons, " marred as they were by traitors." She lifted gently the sable pall that covered them. She gave them a soldier's burial and a soldier's farewell ; and then, like David of old, when he was informed that the child of his affections had ceased to live, she rose to her feet, dashed the tear-drop from her cyo, and in twenty days her iron-clad battalions were crowning the heights, and her guns frowning destruc- tion over the streets, of the rebel city. Shut out 3Iassachusetts in the cold ! Yes : you may blot her out from tlie map of the continent ; you may biing back the glacial epoch, when the arctic icc-diift, that has deposited so many monuments on hev soil, swept over her buried surface ; when the polar bear, perhaps, paced the driving floes, and the walrus frolicked among the tumbling icebergs : but you cannot sink her deep enough to drown the memory of Lexington and Concord, or bmy the summit of the tall column that lifts its head over the first of our battle-fields. "With her," in the language of her great son, " tlie past, at least, is secure." The Muse of History has flung her story upon the world's canvas in tints that will not fade, and cannot die. Meanwhile Major Deveiis's battalion of riflemen was ordered to Fort McHenry, in the harbor of Baltimore, where it completed the term of service. Although quiet duty, it was indispensable, at that place and time, to keep restless Maryland in the Union. May 14, at an extra session of the Legi:::lature, Gov, Andrew, in his address, made statements which further show the singular pre-eminence of the State in readiness to hear the call to arms, repeated at intervals during the subsequent months and years. The Governor said, — In view of the great lack of arms existing in this Commonwealth, certain to become apparent in the event of a continued struggle, — a want shared by the States in common with each other, — under the advice and consent of the Council, I commissioned a citizen of Massachusetts, on the twenty-seventh day of April (who sailed almost immediately in the steamer "Persia"), to proceed to England, charged with the duty of purchasing Minie rifles, or other arms of corresponding efficiency, in England, or on the Continent, as he might find it needful or desirable. To tliis end, he was furnished with a letter of credit to the amount of fifty thousand pounds sterling ; and he was attended by an accomplished and experienced armorer, familiar with the work- shops of the Old World. The production of fire-arms at home will, of neces- sity, remain for a considerable period inadequate to the home demand, and I await with much interest the arrival from abroad of our expected importa- tion; and I have no doubt that Congress, at its approaching special session, will relieve this Commonwealth from the payment of the duties chargeable thereon. In addition to its otlier military defences, the Nautical School-ship has been fitted up to aid in guarding the coast of the Comraoawealth. She h;is milTAEY DEFENCES OF TUE STATE. 139 been armed with foui* six-pound cannon and fifty-two muskets. The Collect- or of the district of Boston and Charlestown has commissioned, and placed on board the ship, an "aide to the revenue," with instructions to overhaul all suspicious vessels ; warning him to use that authority with caution and moderation. Each afternoon, at the expiration of business-hours, the col- lector telegraphs to the station at Hull the names of all vessels having per- mission to pass out of the haibor of Boston ; and, the list being immediately forwai'ded to the ship, the "aide" is authorized to order all vessels not so reported, and attempting to leave the harbor between sunset and sunrise, to wait till the next day, and until he is satisfied of their right to pass. The commander of the ship is instructed to assist the "aide to the rev- enue" to see that thorough discipline is at all times maintained; that the rules of the ship are strictly obeyed ; that all due economy is practised ; that the exerci-ses of the .school are daily continued ; and to see that the boys vq- ceive kind treatment, and their habits, morals, and education are carefully and constantly regarded. On the 7th of this month, the ship left the harbor of Boston, and is now cruising in the bay in the performance of the duties a.ssigned her. A sense of insecurity along our coast, under the late piratical proclamation of JefFer.son DaA'is, as well as our constant wants for transportation service, have induced a pui'chase for the Commonwealth, as a part owner with the underwriters of Boston, of the steamer " Cambridge," of about eight hun- dred and sixty tons' burthen, and of the steamer "Pembroke," of two hundred and forty tons, both of which, equipped with competent naval armament, and ready to fight their way over the seas, are engaged in service. The " Cam- bridge " has carried a full cargo of arms, men, and supplies, in ample quan- tities, not only to Fortress Monroe, but up the Potomac itself ; and, in spite of the danger supposed to menace her from its banks, she has safely carried tents, stores, provisions, and clothing to our troops at Washington. Besides making the requisite appropriations to meet these and other ex- pen.ses, and adopting measures to establish the power of the Executive to meet the emergencies of the occasion on a distinctly legal foundation, my other principal purpose in convening the General Court was to ask its atten- tion to the subject of a State Encampment for Military Instniction. Wise statesmanship requires an adequate anticipation of all future wants of the controversy, whether as to the number or quality of the military force, its discipline, instruction, arms, or equipment. At this moment, there exist one huntlied and twenty-nine companies newly enlisted into the active militia, all of whom were induced to enroll themselves by the possibility of active duty in the field. Many of these are anxious to receive orders for service ; and, witlnlrawing themselves fro;ii otlier avocations, they are now endeavonng to perfect themselves in the details of a soldier's routine of duty. It seemed equally an injustice towards those who are disposed to arms, and to all other citizens on whom future exigencies might cast the inconvenient necessity of taking the field, to discourage these efforts and struggles of patriotic ambi- 140 - MASSACHUSETTS IN THE BEBELLION. tion. It is inipoi'tant to secure a reasonable num1)cr of soldiers, to have them ascertained, within reach, and in a proper condition for service ; and it is scarcely less important that other citizens should be left as free as may be from the distractions of a divided duty, so as to pursue with heart and hope the business enterprises of private life. The best public economy is found in the forethought of considered plans, disposing the means, pursuits, and people of the whole community, so as to meet all exigencies without confusion, and with the least possible derangement of productive industry; and I have, therefore, to these ends, earnestly considered the suggestions of various emi- nent citizens, the written requests or memorials, numerously signed, which have reached me, and the advice of the highest officers in our own militia, all uniting in the recommendation of a State encampment. 0]i the COth of May, Gen. E. W. Pierce, Second Brigade, First Division, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, succeeded Brig.-Gen. Butler after his promotion. Of these regiments, which obeyed the call to arms while yet the Rebellion was regarded as a transient ebullition of passion, Adjutant-Gen. Schouler wrote in his report to Gov. Andrew : — It would far exceed the limits of this report to recount in detail the brave acts of our three-months' troops during theii- term of service. It is sufficient, perhaps, to say that they were the first to respond to the call of the Presi- dent, the first to march through Baltimore to the defence of the capital, the first to shed their blood for the maintenance of our Government, the first to open the new route to Washington by way of Annapolis, the first to land on the soil of Virginia and hold possession of the most important fortress in the Union, the fir.st to make the voyage of the Potomac and approach the Fed- eral city by water, as they had been the first to reach it by land. They upheld the good name of the State during their entire term of service, as well by their good conduct and gentlemanly bearing as l)y their courage and devotion to duty in the hour of peril. They proved tlie sterling worth of oiu- volunteer militia. Their record is one which will ever redound to the honor of IMassachusetts, and will be prized among her richest historic treasures. These men have added new splendor to our Revolutionary annals ; and the brave sons who were shot down in the streets of Baltimore on the 1 9th of April have rendered doubly sacred the day when the greensward of Lexing- ton Connnon was drenched with the blood of their fathers. From the 13th of April to the 20th of May, one hundred and fifty-nine applications were granted at the Adjutant-General's office to responsible par- ties for leave to raise companies. In nearly every instance, the application ■was signed by the requisite number of men for a company. These applica- tions came from every part of the Connnon wealth, and represented all classes, creeds, and nationalities. The authorities of the several cities and towns acted with patriotic liberality toward these companies, furnishing good accom- TEE ADJUTANT ON THE TUREE-MONTUS' MEN. 141 modations for drilling, and providing for the families of the men. In addi- tion to these companies,, organizations for drill-purposes and home-guards sprung up at once in every part of the State ; and numerous applications were received for loans of muskets to these parties, that they might perfect themselves in the manual. This spirit of patriotism was encouraged to its full extent 1)y the means at the disposal of the Adjutant-General. From the 13th of April to the 20th of May, about two thousand seven hundred old muskets were distributed to forty of these organizations. In every instance, good security was required and given for the safe-keeping of these arms, and their return to the State when called for, generally from the selectmen of the towns making application. When the office of Master of Ordnance was cre- ated by your Excellency on the 27th of May, the papers and vouchers re- lating to the arms were transferred from this department ; and the report of the Master of Ordnance, which accompanies this, will show the exact amount and condition of our ordnance material at that time. About the 1st of May, an association of Massachusetts men, forming a company in Cincinnati, made an urgent request for arms. Their committee had applied at New York and Philadelphia without success, and at length came to Massachusetts. As we had just received five thousand new smooth- bore muskets from the Springfield Armory, I sold them one hundred ; for which they paid thirteen hundred dollars, the Grovernment price. The money was deposited in the State Treasury, and doubtless the muskets were soon in the hands of men who did good service in the Union army of Kentucky. The Fifth Regiment participated in the first great battle of the war at Manassas. Col. Lawrence was wounded. Hiram S. Col- lins, Haverhill, Company D ; Sergeant William H. Lawrence, Medford, Company E ; Sergeant Charles W. Cassebourne, Thomas Kettle, Isaac M. Low, Stephen O'Hara, Cyrus T. Wardwell, and Edward J. Williams, all of Boston, Company F ; Sergeant Wil- liam S. Rice, Concord, Company G ; George A. Thompson, Salem, Company II, — were killed. Twenty-two were missing after the light was over. The three-months' volunteers were distributed over the State as follows : — Commissioned Officers. Privates. Total. In Barnstable County Berkshire County Bristol County Essex County Franklin County Hamjiden County Hampshire County Jliddlesex County Norfolk County 6 6 3 73 76 21 102 213 71 857 928 1 1 3 3 2 2 57 882 939 21 391 412 19 333 352 27 325 352 24 339 363 1 56 57 - 32 32 142 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. la Plymouth County .... Suflblk County .... Worcester County .... Other States ..... Residence not given Totals 244 3,492 3,736 The warlike condition of the State militia now inaugurated together with a rapidly augmenting force in the field, made ai: additional force in the Adjutant-General's field of manifold ser vice a necessity. On the 20th of April, Lieut.-Col. John H. Reed, of Boston, was commissioned quartermaster-general, with the rank of brigadier- general. Dr. William J. Dale, of Boston, was commissioned surgeon- general, and Elijah D. Brigham, of Boston, commissary-general, severally with the rank of colonel, on the 13th of June. Gen. Ebenezer W. Stone, of Roxbury, was commissioned mas- ter of ordnance, with the rank of colonel, on the 25th of May ; which office he held until the 3d of October. On the 7th of Oc- tober, Charles Amory, Esq., of Boston, was commissioned as his successor. Albert G. Browne, jun., of Salem, was commissioned as military secretary to the Commander-in-Chief, May 27, 18G1 ; rank, lieu- tenant-colonel. Assistants were added to departments with the increase of offi- cial business. Upon the appointment of Gen. Butler to the rank of major- general, his immediate connection with the State troops ceased. In a note to Gov. Andrew, he thus warmly speaks of the patriotic Executive : — I cannot close our official relations, and my nearer official relations to the Massachusetts troops, without expressing to your Excellency my deep sense of obligation for the kind and vigilant attention which you have bestowed upon every want of the soldiers on duty here, the unremitting exertions to aid us in the discharge of our duties, your unvarying personal kindness to us all, and esjiecially to myself If we have in any degree well done tliat duty to the country, and properly performed that service, which Massachusetts had a right to expect from us, in upholding her fame, so dear to all her sons, it has been because we have been so unwearicdly and faithfully aided at home by the exertions of your Excellency and the military department of the State ; and I take leave of your Excellency with sentunents of the highest respect and firmest friendship. LOYALTY OF THE PEOPLE. 143 The Commonwealth was therefore prepared for the next call from the Government upon her waithig volunteers, whose Executive worthily represented her spirit when he said, — To whatever work of patriotic duty they are called, the people will come. There are those now among us, and still ready to serve the country, who remember in the war of 1812 the thousands flocking down, some even fi'om beyond the county of Worcester, each man with pick or shovel on his shoulder, and each town or parish headed by its pastor, armed like the rest, to labor on the forts and defences of Boston. The people, if need be, could come themselves, and waU up our coast with the masonry of war. In this connection we add a sketch of the Independent or " Gov- ernor's Company of Cadets," whose history deserves many pages. PRESENT OFFICERS. Lieutenant-Colonel. — C. C. Holmes. Majors. — John Jeffries, jun., Curtis B. Raymond. Surgeon. — B. Joy Jeffries, M.D. Chaplain. — Kev. S. K. Lothrop, D D. Adjutant. — ^ Lieut. Charles M. Seaver. Quartermaster., . Lieu- tenants. — William F. Lawrence, Otis bl. Weld, George A. Clark, James H. Jb^li son, Henry P. Qumcy, I'rederic Dexter. JS on-commissioned Staff. — Scrgeant- IMajor .J. Theodore Clark, Quartermaster Sergeant Charles E. Stevens. This company was organized Oct. 16, 1741 ; having three commissioned offi- cers ranking as ffeld-olficers. The first commander was Lieut-Col. Benjamm ToUard, whose commission from Gov. William Shirley has been transmitted to the Independent Company of Cadets of Boston. In the very year of their organization, the Cadets escorted Gov. Shirley to the boundaries of the Prov- ince of Massachusetts Bay, when on his way to Khode Island for the purpose of adjusting the boundary-line between that colony and the Colony of Plymouth, which had been annexed to Massachusetts. From that time, until the summer of 1774, the Cadets were recognized as the body-guard of the successive govern- ors of the province, and were always detailed to pertbrm escort-duty. Its subse- (pient annals are peaceful, but full of historical interest. On the breaking-out of the Rebellion in 18G1, the first division of Massaclm- SL'tts militia became dismembered by reason of many of its organizations havin^r l)c'fn mustered into the service of the United States. The Cadets remained un- attached during the administration of his Excellency John A. Andrew, Gov- ernor of the Commonwealth ; and, during that time, performed many important duties, in guarding the capital, and State arsenals, besides having been mustered into the service of the United States, and serving for five weeks on garrison-duty at Fort M'^arren in Boston Harbor. About twenty of the present company have served through the war. Of the past and present members of this corps, a hundred and forty are known to have been in the service of the United States in tiie course of the war, mainl}- holding commissions. The following have re- ceived commissions as general officers : Brevet Major-Generals. — George IL (iordon, F/dward A. Wild, and Adiii B. Underwood. Brigadier-General. — Sto- ])lien M. Weld, jun. Brevet Brigadier-Generals. — Horace B. Sargent and Wil- liam S. Tilton. Fourteen members of this corps have been killed in battle, or died of their wounds. A beautiful monument for the Cadets who have died in the w.'.r is soon to be erected in Mount Auburn. CHAPTER V. THE THREE -YEAES' REGIMENTS. The President's Call for Volunteers. — Response of the States. — The first Regiment. — Its Origin. — Departure for the Seat of War. — Marches and Battles. PRESIDENT LINCOLN, who had become convinced by the " logic of events " that the war was no transient ebullition of sectional feeling, but a deadly conflict whose end none could discern, issued on May 3, 18G1, a call for troops to serve three years, unless the dawn of peace disbanded the army before the expiration of that period. Ill the towns of Massachusetts, and elsewhere in the loyal States, volunteer companies had been formed, anticipating the demand for their services in the widening arena of bloody conflict. May 23, in accordance with the President's proclamation, the Ad- jutant-General of Massachusetts published an order for the organ- ization of six regiments of infantry, each to consist of ten compa- nies ; the maximum strength to be a thousand and forty-six men ; and tlie minimum, eight hundred and forty-six. Each regiment was to have a chaplain, who must be a regularly ordained minister of some religious denomination. The six regi- ments were promptly organized. The Third and Fourth Militia Regiments at Fortress Monroe were incomplete ; and, to supply the deficiency, three-years' troops were taken. May 9, a company from Lynn, commanded by Capt. W. D. Chamberlain, and another, raised in Boston and vicinity, left the city in tiie steamer " Pembroke " for Portress Monroe. Nine days later, Capt. L. Leach's company from Bridgewater, Capt. J. H. Barnes's company from East Boston, Capt. Charles Chipman's company from Sandwich, and Capt. S. H. "Doten's company from Plymouth, sailed in the " Cambridge," having the same destination. On the 22d, Capt. P. H. Davis's company from Lowell, and Capt. T. W. Clarke's of Boston, were carried by the " Pembroke " to join the Third and Fourth Regiments. After the three-months' troops returned, the remaining companies were formed into an infantry 144 -WaHaer. I\Mef ^- HISTORY OF THE FIRST REGIMENT. 145 battalion, which afterwards became, by additions, the Twenty-ninth Infantry Regiment, whose record will appear in another place. riRST REGIMENT MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY. This regiment was the first to leave the State for tliree years' service, and is said to have been tlie first tliree-years' regiment in the service of the United States. In its original composition, it was made np mainly from the First Massachusetts v olunteor Militia, of which Col. Robert Cow- din of Boston was the commander. As soon as the news of the assault on Fort Sumter reached Bos- ton, Col. Cowdin waited upon Gov. Andrew, and offered the services of himself and command to proceed immediately to the defence of Washington. He continued daily to urge the claims of liis regiment until the 27th of April, when he received an order from the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts to prepare his regiment to go to the seat of war, and to report himself in person the next day at the State House, and select from the companies offered him enough to fill up his regiment to the requisite standard (ten com- panies) ; he having already detailed two companies from his regi- ment to fill up other regiments, by order of his Excellency the Governor. May 8, orders having been received from the War Department calling for volunteers for three years' service, the First at once unanimously responded, and, after some delay, was mustered into the service of the United States as follows : — Field and staff officers. May 25. Companies A, B, G, H, May 23. Companies D, F, K, I, May 24. Company E, May 2o. Company C, May 27. The field and staff of the regiment were composed as follows ; viz. : — Col. Robert Cowdin, Lieut-Col. George D. Wells, Major Charles P. Chandler, Surgeon Richard H. Salter, Assistant Surgeon Sam- uel A. Green, and Chaplain Warren H. Cudworth. Col. Cowdin, whose father and grandfather were military men, was a faithful officer, who had maintained during his long resi- dence in Boston a high ciiaracter as a consistent temperance man, but whose promotion, though urged by superior officers, was, for some reason, opposed in other influential quarters. 19 146 MASSACHUSETTS IJ^ THE REBELLION. Lieut.-Col. "Wells was a very capable and faithful officer, aud was promoted to the command of the Thirty-fourth Regiment. Major Cliandler was killed at Glendale, Va., and was a faithful and meritorious officer. His body was never recovered, but is sup- posed to have been buried on the field. B, D, E, F, G, were the original companies of the First : the others were added to make up the complement, — ten companies. From May 25 to June 1, tlie headquarters of the regiment were at Fancuil Hall. Its first camp was established in Old Cambridge, about six miles from Boston, and called Camp Ellsworth ; after- wards the regiment went to Camp Cameron, in North Cambridge. The regiment complete was mustered into service, and left Camp Cameron for the seat of war, June 15, 1861, and marched to the depot of the Boston and Providence Railroad. Here a flag was presented by Alderman Pray in behalf of the City Council of Boston ; and an address was made by his Honor Mayor Wightman, to which Col. Cowdin responded. Eight o'clock, P.M., the soldiers entered the cars in waiting, and the train started. All along the route, they were met with patriotic demonstrations. Crowds thronged the railroad stations, wild with excitement. At Providence, they were welcomed with a national salute. Arriving at Groton, Conn., the cars were ex- changed for the commodious steamer " Commonwealth." At fifteen minutes before two, p.m., June 16, the steamer, gayly decorated with flags, and every available standing-place crowded with sol- diers, arrived at the pier in Jersey City. The troops debarked, and were welcomed with a bountiful entertainment, tendered by the sons of Massachusetts, Mr. "Warren, President ; and, after a few hours^ detention, took the cars for Washington. Arriving in Philadelphia the next morning, they were marched to the Cooper Shop and Union Refreshment Saloons, where a welcome such as soldiers know how to appreciate awaited them. It was now the ITtli of June, the anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill. Since the 19th of April, when the Sixth Regiment was assaulted in its streets, no troops iiad passed through Baltimore. At the urgent request of Col. Cowdin, he was permitted to go that route, instead of by way of Harrisburg or Annapolis as other troops had gone. In order to be prepared for any emergency, as they drew nigh the city, ten rounds of ball cartridges were distributed to each man, and every gun examined, loaded, and capped. On alighting from the cars, the regiment formed, and marched uj) Baltimore Street to the Wash- ington depot, a distance of nearly two miles. FIRST REGIMENT AT THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. 147 Throughout the line of march, though the sidewalks, steps, windows, balconies, and even house-tops, were thronged with spec- tators, not a word was uttered on either side, not a cheer or groan was heard, and not a secession flag or motto appeared. Taking the cars in waiting at the depot, they arrived in Washington at seven, P.M., before the arrangements for their accommodation had been perfected. Their presence in the capital, then rank with the spirit of se- cession, gave to loyal hearts a sense of security ; and, for the first time since the outbreaking of the Rebellion, loyal men breathed freely in Washington. On the 19th of June, the regiment went into camp beyond Georgetown on the Potomac, about two miles from Chain Bridge. On their way, the troops passed in review before President Lin- coln, who expressed to Gen. Morse great satisfaction with the ap- pearance of the troops. To a delegation of New-England men who had called upon him to pledge their sympathy and co-opera- tion in the great struggle, the President expressed his gratifi- cation at the surprising promptness of the Old Bay State in responding to the first call, and said, "It is evident the Massa- chusetts people have got riley, and, from what we have just wit- nessed, appear to be coming down here to settle." This hon-mot produced considerable merriment; and the President, begging to be excused on the ground of pressing engagements, retired. The new camp of the regiment was named Camp Banks. Tlie 4th of July was a lovely day, and was not permitted by the soldiers to pass without some patriotic recognition. The celebra- tion was opened with the booming of cannon, and the playing of the national airs by the regimental band ; after which followed a dress-parade. A handsome silk banner was formally presented to Col. Covvdin by Col. Ellis, of the First California Regiment, in behalf of the San-Francisco City Guards ; Capt. Moore, their commander, having formerly served under Col. Cowdin. An ap- propriate reply was made by the colonel. Speeches were also made l)y Senators McDougal and Wilson, Representative Eliot, and others. On the 16th of July, the First Massachusetts, Second and Third Michigan, and Twelfth New- York, constituting Richardson's bri- gade, crossed over Chain Bridge, in Virginia, — their first ajjpear- ance on its "sacred soil." Advancing till night, tliey bivouacked in a large field in Vienna. On the 17th, after marching all day, they encamped about two miles this side of Centreville. On the 148 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. morning of the 18th, before breaking camp, Col. Cowdin requested Col. Ricliardson tliat the First Massachusetts might be placed in advance; assigning as. a reason, that he would like to pit Mas- sachusetts against South Carolina, it being understood that the troops of this latter State were in advance of the rebel array. The request was granted ; and Col. Cowdin made the remark, that it was the best order he ever received in his life. To the First Massachusetts belongs the honor of opening the memorable skirmish of Blackburn's Ford. It was the only regiment under musketry fire ; and according to Estavan, a colonel of Confederate cavalry, this regiment had opposed to them the whole of Longstreet's brigade, afterwards re-enforced by Early's brigade. The skirmishers of the First, under the command of Lieut. George H. Johnston, afterwards assistant adjutant-general, gal- lantly carried the Butler House at the point of the bayonet under a heavy fire of musketry; the rebels leaving the house by one door as the Massachusetts boys entered the other. The skirmishers were then ordered to deploy into an open field under fire of the enemy's sharpshooters, where they suffered severely. Two com- panies were sent to their relief, but were driven back with loss. The enemy then advanced out of the wood in large numbers with the €ry of " Bayonet them, bayonet them ! " and in a mo- ment more the skirmishers would have been killed or captured ; but the First came upon the double-quick, and, pouring a volley into the enemy over the heads of the skirmishers, rescued the Union troops. Col. Cowdin was the most conspicuous man in the regiment, fighting in white shirt-sleeves at the head of his men. In one case, having ordered the men to lie down amid a heavy fire from the enemy, he alone remained standing, and remarked, "The bullet is not cast that can hit me to-day." Some person speaking to him on the left, he leaned that way to understand more distinctly, when a ten-i)0undcr, whizzing past his right side, shattered a tree directly behind him. The colonel turned calmly around, and said, " I am certain that the ball is not yet cast that will kill me;" and issued his command as coolly as though he were on a dress-parade. The regiment retreated only when ordered to do so by Col. Richard- son. Had Col. Cowdin been supported as he wished, the enemy would have been driven from this position, and the rout of Bull Run would never have taken place. Gen. Tyler testifies substan- tially this before the Committee on the Conduct of the War. This affair, though a mere skirmish, was of great interest to the TEE FIRST AT BULL HUN AND NEAR WASHINGTON. 149 First Regiment, as it was their earliest experience under fire. The movement was probably intended simpl}^ to feel the position and strcnirth of the enemy ; but it had a farther importance, in teach- ing the volunteers how to meet the bullets of the enemy. This movement was nearly a failure, although the troops did remarkably well. The regiment fell back to Centrcville, which for some days was the focus of interest. During the battle of Bull Run, July 21, the First was stationed at Blackburn's Ford, where it remained until the retreat of the army, when it reluctantly fell back, astonished that the battle which it had begun so well had been so unaccountably lost. On the 2od of July, in anticipation of an attack on Washing- ton, it was ordered to Fort Albany, on Arlington Heiglits, a new breastwork overlooking Washington, Georgetown, Alexandria, and the adjacent country. On the 18th of August, the regiment was detached from Col. Richardson's brigade, and ordered to the vicinity of Bladensburg, on the opposite side of the river, beyond the capital, and there incorporated with Gen. Hooker's brigade, then composed of the Eleventli Massachusetts, tlie Se- cond New - Hampshire, and the Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania. Bladensburg, where the regiment was encamped, is a place of some historic interest. It was the scene of the battle between the English and the American forces, fought Aug. 24, 1814, which resulted in the capture and destruction of the Capitol by the Britisli. Here Adjutant William H. Lawrence (now a brevet brigadier-general) was appointed aide to Gen. Hooker, and First Lieut. George H. Johnston appointed adjutant. In anticipation of trouble in some parts of Lower Maryland, the First Regiment, with two companies of cavalry, all under the command of Col. Cowdin, was sent with five days' rations to search for arms and military stores of the rebels, and cut off their communication with Virginia. After thirty days' absence, the regiment returned, having done good service. Oct. 14, Col. Cowdin was dctaclied from the regiment, and put in command of the first brigade of Hooker's division, just then created by Gen. McClellan's new arrangement of the army ; Lieut. G. II. Johnston appointed acting assistant adjutant-gen- eral ; and Lieut. George E. Henry, aide-de-camp. Lieut-Col. Wells succeeded to the command of the regiment, which left Bladensburg Oct. 25, and proceeded down the Maryland shore of the Potomac to Posey's Plantation, opposite the rebel batteries at Dumfries and Shipping Point. This march was exceedingly hard : 150 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. it was hastened, as the rebel steamer " Page " had been trouble- some a day or two before, and troops were needed at that point. No orders having come for winter-quarters, the regiment was not slow in providing comfortable log-houses for tlie coming win- ter. This camp was named, in honor of the division-general, Camp Hooker. In February, Gen. Naglee was placed in command of the bri- gade, and Col. Cowdin returned to his regiment. The advance of McCIellan's anny began to pass down the river about the middle of March ; but the First Regiment did not leave camp until the 7th of April, when it went on board the steamer " Kennebec " for Fortress Monroe. On the morning of the 16th, it moved to the front before York town, and encamped in line of battle ; Gen. Hooker's division having the centre of Gen. Heintzle- man's corps. Here began a routine of fatigue and picket duty. On the 26th, three companies, — I, H, and A, — un- der command of Lieut-Col. George D. Wells, were detailed for special duty, whose object was a rebel redoubt just erected, the guns of which were exceedingly annoying to the pickets and working-parties. The expedition was successful. The rebels evac- uated Yorktown May 4 ; and, in close pursuit of their retreating columns. Gen. Hooker's division the same evening bivouacked within five miles of Williamsburg. The next morning, advancing at an early hour, the division met the pickets of the enemy. The First were deployed as skirmishers. An engagement took place, in which the regiment took a prominent part, and lost many men. For services on this occasion, it was specially complimented by Gen. Hooker ; and Col. Cowdin was appointed a brigadier- general by the President for his gallantry in the engagement. On the 6th, the enemy evacuated Williamsburg: the regiment was detailed for provost-duty until the 15th, when it resumed the march ; a troop of cavalry having been ordered to relieve it. On the 24th, it crossed the Chickahominy at Bottoms Bridge close upon the heels of the enemy, and on the 25th encamped on Poplar Hill. Heat, exposure, and want of rest, now began to tell upon the health of the troops. In the First, oiit of a thousand and fifty men who had left Boston one year before, not more than six hundred were fit for duty. On the 4th of June, they moved to Fair Oaks, where the battle had been fought a few days previous. During their stay here, they were on picket-duty at the extreme front every third day. On the 25th, an attempt to advance our picket-lines brought on a general engagement ; the IN THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 151 First driving the enemy's skirmishers through the woods for a long distance, and holding the new line several hours before being relieved. In this engagement the regiment lost heavily, — six officers and fifty-five enlisted men. On the 29th, the movement towards the James commenced : the First moved to the front, and relieved the skirmishers of the Jersey brigade. When the entire line had fallen back and taken another position, this regiment followed, being the last one to leave the bloody and desolate field of Fair Oaks. At Savage Station, the regiment supported Battery K, United-States artillery. On the 30th June, the battle of Glendale was fought, during which the regiment charged the enemy at the point of the bayonet, turning the head of their column. In this engagement the regiment again suffered severely, losing sixty-three men. Major Chandler and Lieut. Sutherland were killed. On the morning of July 1, it marched again, and took part in the battle of Malvern Hill ; the next day, through a pelting storm, it reached Harrison's Landing, where the army encamped. From this time until the army commenced its retrograde move- ment, nothing of note affecting the regiment occurred which can be recorded here. This movement began Aug. 15 ; and Aug. 26, the command of the army having been transferred to Gen. Pope, the regiment was again at Warrenton Junction, and on the 27th was in pursuit of Jackson's forces, who had, on the previous even- ing, made a raid on the railroad at Catlett's Station. They came up with the enemy about half-past one o'clock, p.m., at Kettle run. A brisk engagement ensued, lasting until dark, when the enemy retreated to Manassas Junction. Next day they continued their march down the railroad, passing Manassas Junction to the south side of Bull Run, near Blackburn's Ford, where they encamped for the night. Next morning, the regiment crossed the run, moved forward to the battle-ground of 1861, and became engaged with tlie enemy in what is known as the second battle of Bull Run. The loss in this engagement was severe ; they having been detailed by Gen. Siegel as skirmishers. After holding the enemy in check several hours, the brigade was brought up, and charged into the woods, driving the rebels before them, until, meeting an over- whelming force, it was compelled to fall back ; the First losing in killed and wounded more than one-third of the command. The regiment was under fire nearly all of the next day, and that night fell back to Centreville. Sept. 1, Col. Cowdin being in command of the brigade, and Lieut-Col. Baldwin in command of the regi- 152 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. ment, they started in the midst of a heavy storm towards Fairfax Court House. At Chantilly a skirmish took place, in which the regiment, supporting a battery, was under a heavy fire, and re- mained in line of battle until three, a.m., of tlie 2d, when it resumed the march to Fairfax Station ; tlic next day reaching Fort Lyon. Gen. Pope having been relieved of his command, and Gen. McClellan re-instated, Gen. Hooker was assigned a corps. By the express wish of the latter, his old division was allowed to remain witliin the defences of Washington for a few weeks to rest, and to be refitted for the field : this accounts for the First Massachusetts not having been at the battles of South Mountain and Antietara in Maryland. Sept. 26, Col. Cowdin having been appointed brigadier- general, and assigned to command the second brigade, Abercrom- bie's division, the command of the regiment devolved upon Lieut- Col. Baldwin. On account of the frequent and successful raids of the rebel cavalry under Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, it was thought advisable to establish well-guarded outposts on all tlic roads leading to the Federal capital. The First Regiment, with a battery of artillery, was ordered to garrison Munson's Hill, a commanding eminence within six miles of Washington ; but, as the utmost vigilance could discover nothing in that vicinity indicating an intended approach of the enemy on Washington, this with other outposts was aban- doned, and the troops ordered to join in the advance on Richmond by the way of Falmouth and Fredericksburg. Gen. Carr now commanded the brigade, and Gen. Sickles the division, at Centre- ville. The First Regiment was detached from the brigade, and ordered back to Fairfax Court House to do provost-duty. Tiie duties here were light, and witliout any particularly exciting inci- dents. The regiment remained here until the 2r)th of November, when it was ordered to rejoin its brigade on the Rappahannock in front of Fredericksburg. On the 11th of December, with the rest of the army, the First took position and remained on the lieights opposite Fiedcricksburg during the bombardment of the 11th and 12th. On the 13th, it crossed, and took part in the battle of that and the two succeeding days ; recrossing when the army fell back on the morning of the IGth, and reaching its old camp in the afternoon. After the evacuation of Fredericksburg, the regiment, under command of Lieut.-Col. Baldwin, returned to its old quar- ters between the Acquia-Creek Railroad and the Rappanhannock River ; and here Col. McLaughlin took command of it on the 19Lh of December. THE FIRST AT FREDERICKSBURG. 153 In the latter part of January, 1863, another advance upon Fredericksburg was ordered by Gen. Burnside; but the execution of the order was found impracticable on account of the inclem- ency of the weather and the impassable condition of the roads. At his own request, Gen. Burnside was now relieved of the command of the army, and Gen. Hooker appointed to succeed him. A thorough inspection of the army was ordered by Gen. Hooker. Of over one hundred and fifty regiments, but eleven were considered worthy of special commendation. One of these eleven was the First Massachusetts. April 27, the army received orders to be in readiness to march at any moment. May 1, the regiment was detailed as rear-guard ; crossed the United-States Ford, and halted a few minutes ; again formed line, and joined the brigade, which had halted two miles nearer the Chancellorsville House. Heavy firing being heard in front, the brigade advanced at double-quick down the Chancellor- ville plank-road to check the advance of the enemy, wlio had attacked and driven the Eleventh corps. Tlie First Massachusetts was ordered to a position to the right of this road, and to hold it at all hazards. Here tlie men soon improvised quite a good shelter for themselves, which they held until the next morning against two fierce assaults. Holding the same line of works was a Maryland regiment upon the left of the road. The rebels ad- vancing witli a bolder front than usual, this regiment gave way, and fled to the rear. Tlie regiment upon the right flank then also yielded. Both flanks being thus open to attack, the First was obhgcd to fall back, — about a quarter of a mile, — and again formed a line of battle in the road leading from the ford to the Chancellorsville House. May 5, abuut noon, preparations were made by Gen. Hooker to abandon his position, and fall back across the river. At half-past six, P.M., the First received orders to report to Capt. Randolph, ciiief of artillery. Third Corps. Tlie regiment then moved out of the woods, proceeded towards the river, and arrived at the ford at midnight; crossed at two, a.m. On the 6th, it rejoined the bri- gade, and moved to its old camping-ground at the Fitz-IIugh House, near Falmouth. It was while the regiment was occupying its advanced position on tlie plank-road that Stonewall Jackson was mortally wounded. The circumstances, as related by Col. McLaughlin, are as follow: — During the early part of the night, a rebel came down the plank-roaJ. di iviug a pair of mules. He was halted, and asked where he was going 20 154 MASSACHUSETTS IN TEE REBELLION. when he replied, that he had been ordered by Capt. Stewart (C.S. A.) fo go and get a caisson the Yanks had left alongside the road. He was immedi- ately arrested, and sent to the rear. At half-past eight o'clock, p.m., a cavalcade of a dozen or more horsemen drove down the plank-road ; when my men immediately opened fire upon them : they turned about, and rode furiously back up the road. From the offi(;ial report of the rebel Gen. Lee, I am led to believe that Gen. Stone- wall Jackson formed one of the cavalcade, and that he was killed by my men. Until the first week in June, the hostile armies confronted each other ; Gen. Hooker's at Falmouth, Gen. Lee's at Freder- icksburg. The movements of the enemy induced the belief that he was designing an invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania. By a cavalry reconnoissance at Beverly Ford, papers disclosing this intention were obtained, and sent to the authorities at Washing- ton. In furtherance of this design, a combined attack upon the defences at Winchester was made by Gens. Ewell, Early, and Johnson. Gen. Milroy, overpowered by numbers, abandoned his defences ; and the way into Maryland was thus opened. The Army of the Potomac was strengthened as much as possi- ble, and put in rapid motion on the right of Gen. Lee's columns, to act on the offensive to cover Washington, on the aggressive to drive the enemy from Maryland. The weather was oppressive, the water scarce, and the daily marches of the troops unusually long. The narrative of fatigue and sulToring in this campaign is common to all the regiments of the army. On the 22d of June, Gen. Hooker's forces held the line of the Potomac from Lecsburg up. On the 2Tth, the army was in the vicinity of Frederick, Md. ; and one column of the enemy had ad- vanced as far as York, Penn. Gen. Hooker was now superseded in the command of the army by Gen. G. G. Meade. From Frederick, the Third Corps, to which the First Regiment belonged, proceeded to Taney town, where it was joined by Gen. Sickles. The second division of the corps arrived at Emmctsburg, on the Pennsylvania line, July 1. On approaching Gettysburg, after dark, a mistake was made in the road, the advance guard coming upon the enemy's pickets. They quietly retraced their steps, came upon the right road, and rejoined the remainder of the corps at two, a.m., July 2. At daylight, the men were formed in line of battle. At eleven, A.M., the First llegiinent was ordered forward, and deployed as THE FIRST I2T NEW YORE. 155 skirmishers in front of the brigade. Tlie enemy advancing in force, it fell back according to instructions, and took position in the brigade line. The engagement soon became general ; and, in the bloody conflicts of this and the succeeding day, the Third Corps acted an important, conspicuous part. Its losses in officers and men were very severe. In the First Regiment, Col. Baldwin and Adjutant Mudge were disabled. The entire loss of the regiment was one hundred and twenty-three. On the 6th of July, the First joined with the rest of the corps in the pursuit of the disappointed and discomfited forces of Gen. Lee. Few incidents of special interest to the regiment are to be noted in this pursuit until July 23, when the enemy pre- pared to resist our advance at Manassas Gap. The First Regi- ment was sent forward to support the picket-line. Skirmishing commenced at three, p.m. The enemy were driven from the gap, and the regiment bivouacked on Wapping Heights that night. July 30, orders were received for regiments to prepare to pro- ceed to New York, as resistance was threatened in that city to officers of Government in enforcing the draft. The men obeyed with alacrity ; passed through Washington at seven, p.m., the same evening ; and arrived at Governor's Island, New-York Harbor, Aug. 2. The regiment was rejoined by Col. McLaughlm, who had for some weeks been absent on sick leave. Aug. 15, it was ordered to report to Brig.-Gen. Jackson, commanding Draft Rendezvous at Riker's Island. Companies A, B, and G, under command of Lieut.-Col. Bald- win, were detached, and ordered to David's Island, to guard rebel and wounded prisoners. These companies were relieved from this duty Oct. 15, and the regiment ordered to report to Gen. Halleck at Washington. Arriving there the 17th, they went thence to Union Mills, Va., and reported to Gen. French, com- manding Tliird Army Corps, and were by him assigned to their old position, first brigade, second division, Tiiird Corps. From this time gradual advances were made, until their old camping-ground between the Rapidan and Rappahannock was again reached. Nov. 7, the Third and Sixth Corps captured tlic enemy's re- doubts at Kellcy's Ford, which caused him to evacuate all his works on the Rappahannock, and retreat to the south side of the Rapidan. Nov. 27, the Third Corps fought the battle of Locust Grove, cap- turing several hundred prisoners, and forcing back the enemy's 156 MASSACHUSETTS IX THE REBELLION. lilies. In this fight, great praise is accorded to Capt. Stone of Company D for the skill, courage, and address shovm by him throughout in the performance of important duty. Dec. 3. the regiment reached the old camping-ground at Brandy Station, and the men began at once to prepare for winter-quarters. March 23, the Third Corps was broken up. The first and sec- ond divisions were assigned to the Second Corps, and the first and third brigades were consolidated. Xothiag of interest trans- pired until April 14, when the second division was reviewed by Major-Gen. Hancock, accompanied by Major-Gren. Meade. At this review, the First Regiment was liighly complimented for soldierly bearing. May 4. crossed the river at Ely's Ford, and continued its march to the battle-field of Chancellorsville ; the First Regiment occupying ground very near to that whereon they had fought the year before. Since that battle, this field had been in possession of the rebels, and on all sides were the evidences of most inexcu- sable neglect. Scattered about were seen whole skeletons, skulls, arms, and thigh-bones, lying where the men had fallen in battle. One member of the First, whose skull lay bleaching on the groiind, was identified by some peculiarity of the teeth. All the bones were carefully gathered and interred, and the regiment moved on. Early on the morning of the 5th, the Second Corps advanced five miles on the Spottsylvania Road, when it encountered the pickets of the enemy. A communication was at once opened with the Fifth and Sixth Corps, which had crossed the river above. A line of battle was formed, and breastworks thrown up. The lines were advanced about five hundred yards ; but, for some unknown reason, the second division broke, and fell back in confusion to its breastworks. Lieut. -Col. Baldwin, having been detailed as officer of the pickets, was captured early on the morn- ing of the 6th. Tfie series of conflicts which followed for several successive days, and ended only with driving the enemy within the de- fences of Richmond, show this campaign to be without a parallel in the history of modern warfare. In all these battles, the Second Corps, under the indomitable Hancock, played a prominent part. From the first battle in the Wilderness, up to the 20th of May, when the regiment's term of service was about to expire, the men were constantly under arms. The history of their toils and suf- ferings, their losses and their victories, is a part of the history of this wonderful campaign, and cannot be brought within the brief THE WELCOME HOME. 157 space allotted for this sketch. As the division was preparing to march on Guinness Station, the First Regiment received orders to report to the superintendent of recruiting service, Boston, Mass., to be mustered out of service ; the term of its enlist- ment having nearly expired. The men whose term of service had not expired were ordered to be transferred to the Eleventh Massachusetts Volunteers. The regiment then took up its line of march, homeward bound, by way of Fredericksburg ; resting a few hours at Washington, Philadelphia, and New York. From the latter city, it embarked on the steamer " Metropolis " for Bos- ton, where a magnificent reception awaited it. It was received by the Ancient and Honorable Artillery, Roxbury Horse Guards, Roxbury Minute-men, Boston Fusileers, two companies from Chelsea, and the South-Boston Home Guard, all under the com- mand of Gen. Cowdin. The streets were crowded with people, all cheering and applauding. The men were marched to the State House, where they were received by his Excellency the Governor ; thence to Faneuil Hall, where a dinner had been provided by the city of Boston ; and the regiment was welcomed by his Honor Mayor Lincoln, wlio introduced his Excellency the Governor, who received them in behalf of the State, whose honor they had main- tained on so many bloody fields. The Governor said, " The Com- monwealth of Massaclmsctts, addressing not only the present offi- cers and men of the First Regiment, but Gen. Cowdin, and all those among the living who have participated in your trials, — the veterans in line, and the veterans who have been discharged before you, — gives her lieartiest thanks. During all the years re- maining on earth, may the honest, substantial gratitude of patri- otic hearts make your paths happy ! Let thanks to God be raised, and prayers, that, in his own good time, he will crown our arms with victory." Col. McLaughlhi responded, expressing the thanks of the regiment for its noble reception. The regiment was mustered out of service of the United States on Saturday, May 28, at eleven, a.m. So ends the history of the F'irst Massachusetts Regiment, with- out a spot or blemish. It upheld the honor of the old Bay State, and its history will be revered for generations to come. THE SECOND REGIMENT. On the day when news of the attack upon Fort Sumter came to Boston, George H. Gordon, then a member of the Suffolk bar, an educated and experienced soldier, was in consultation witii 158 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. several loyal gentlemen about raising a regiment. On the Mon day following, April 15, 1861, he was summoned to the State House to take part in the counsels made necessary by the Presi- dent's call for militia, made that morning. His advice had been sought, and largely followed, in those earlier plans which had en- abled the Governor to send the first troops to the defence of the national capital. On that day, he received a promise from the Governor that he should command the first regiment to be raised for tlie war. Consultations were immediately had, and various persons were associated in the enterprise. On the Thursday following the surrender of Sumter, Wilder Dwight, a member of the Suffolk bar, entered the office of Major Gordon, and said abruptly, "Will you raise a regiment?" Major Gordon replied, " I am already committed to that. I have spoken to the Governor upon the subject, and he has promised me the command of the first regiment whicli leaves the State for the war." Major Gordon (till a short time before the commander of the New-England Guards battalion, of which Dwight was a member) then explained what had been done. At the interview now mentioned, the difficulties in the way of raising a regi- ment on principles deemed essential were discussed, wliich were mainly in the fact that there was, as yet, no authority to raise troops for the war ; and, for the brief period of service allowed, only militia regiments could be received, with officers chosen by the enlisted men, which Major Gordon deemed incompatible with discipline in active service. It was determined, however, to raise a regimental fund ; and, in an hour, five thousand dol- lars were secured by Dwight, soon increased to nearly thirty thousand, to raise a regiment to be commanded by George H. Gordon. George L. Andrews was soon associated with the two ; and these, with Greeley S. Curtis, James Savage, Charles R. Mudge, R. Morris Copeland, Henry L. Higginson, Samuel M. Quincy, Adin B. Underwood, and others, began their preparations. Major Gordon, the colonel, after graduating at West Point in 1846, had fought under Gen. Scott in every battle from Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico ; had been subsequently severely wounded ; was breveted "for gallant and meritorious conduct; " and, after nine years of service, had returned to civil life. George L. Andrews had graduated at West Point in 1861, — highest in his class ; had been em})loyed as engineer on the coast fortifications ; and had been acting assistant professor of civil TEE SECOND REGIMENT IN CAMP. 159 and military engineering and the science of war at the Mili- tary School. Wilder Dwight, a graduate of Harvard in 1853, had travelled abroad, studied in the ofRces of Caleb Gushing and Samuel Hoar, and had already taken very high rank in his profession. A few days after the interview, placards were posted, announ- cing the raising of a regiment ; and recruiting-offices were opened. On the 2.3th of April, Andrews and Dwight left for Washington to obtain a promise of the reception of the regiment ; and with considerable difficulty, on account of the Secretary's alleged want of authority to accept troops for the war, obtained permission, and immediately telegraphed it to Boston. This was the first au- thority to raise a regiment for three years ; and the work was immediately pushed vigorously forward. Camp was established at Brook Farm, West Roxbury, May 11, 1861, and named, in honor of the Governor, Camp Andrew ; but three entire companies, and parts of others, had been raised before the end of April. Tiic minimum was speedily reached ; the de- tachments being mustered in by Capt. (afterwards Gen.) Amory. The necessary number had been mustered in about the middle of May ; but all were remustcred as an entire body a few days later, and Col. Gordon was mustered as colonel by Capt. Amory prior to any other colonel of a Massachusetts three-years' regi- ment. His commission, however, was made to date a little later than that of the commander of the First. The regimental date of muster was finnlly settled to be May 24 ; that of the First Regi- ment being, according to the Adjutant-General's Report, June 15. The regiment now remained in camp until the eighth day of July, waiting for orders, and subjected to severe, steady drill and discipline. Its equipment was perfect ; and no volunteer regi- ment could surpass the training it received under accomplished and educated officers. Its flags were presented by ladies, friends of the regiment ; addresses being made on the several occasions by George S. Ilillard and T. Lothrop Motley. Of the regimental fund, thirty - five per cent was eventually returned to the sub- scribers, or, with their consent, transferred to the Twenty-fourth. On leaving, the roster was as follows : Colonel, George H. Gor- don ; Lieutenant- Colonel, George L. Andrews ; Major, Wilder Dwight ; Adjutant, Charles Whcaton, jun. ; Quartermaster, R. Morris Copeland ; Surgeon, Lucius M. Sargent, jun. ; Assistant Surgeon, Lincoln R. Stone ; Chaplain, Alonzo II. Quint ; Captains, Francis H. Tucker, Greeley S. Curtis, James Savage, jun., Edward 160 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. G. Abbott, Samuel M. Quincy, Richard Gary, William Cogswell, Adin B. Underwood, Richard C. Goodwin, Charles R. Mudge ; First Lieutenants, William B. Williams, Henry S. Russell, Marcus M. Hawes, George P. Bangs, William D. Sedgwiclc, Charles F. Morse, Thomas L. Motley, Edwin R, Hill, Robert G. Shaw, jun., Henry L. Higginson ; Second Lieutenants, Ochran H. Howard, James Francis, Thomas R. Robeson, Charles P. Horton, Rufus Choate, James M. Ellis, Robert B. Brown, Anson D. Sawyer, Fletcher M. Abbott, Stephen G. Perkins. All of the officers had been selected by Col. Gordon, and the line-officers had raised their own companies by enlistments. Of these officers, promotions raised three to the rank of brevet major-general, two to brevet brigadier-general, three others to that of colonel, seven to that of lieutenant-colonel, three to that of major, nine to that of cap- tain. Fourteen of tliem are dead. On the 8th of July, the regiment left camp, and, after an en- thusiastic reception in Boston the same afternoon, started for Martinsburg, Va., to join Gen. Patterson. It went by way of New York (where a grand welcome awaited it), Elizabethport, N.J., Harrisburg, Reading, and Hagerstown, Md. ; crossed the Potomac on the 12th, and the same day became a part of Gen. Patterson's command. In that short and unsatisfactory campaign, it was, at first, the only three-years' regiment. It did what it had to do in moving to Bunker Hill, then to Charlestown, and, on the 18th, to Harper's Ferry, to which place it was then sent alone, and where Col. Gor- don was made and continued post-commandant. The whole force moved there in a few days ; most of it was mustered out ; other regiments came. Gen. Banks's late command had abandoned the Virginia side, except that three companies of the Second, under Lieut.-Col. Andrews, were left in the armory buildings, with some cavalry out beyond. The Second was stationed, without tents or wagons, up Maryland Heights, with a battery overlooking the river ; the only force in front of the hills. Nothing very active, beyond a brisk skirmish, took i)lace while here. In the fall, Gen. Banks's force Hncd the Maryland side of the Potomac. The Second left Maryland Heights Aug. 17 ; was at Hyattstown a week, and at Darnestown and Seneca Creek until the 4th of December, excepting a march to the spot opposite Ball's Blufif, where it was suddenly ordered, in the night following that disaster, to picket the river, and cover the return of tlie wounded. During the winter of 1861-62, it was in camp four miles east THE SECOND IN VIRGINIA. 161 of Frederick City, steadily busy with drill, and officers' recita- tions. On tlie opening of the spring campaign, it left camp, Feb. 27, 1862 ; crossed the Potomac at Harper's Ferry ; and was the ad- vance (with a small force, cavalry), under Col. Gordon, in driving the enemy from and occupying Charlestown. From Winchester the enemy was eventually dislodged, without a battle. From that place, the Second was ordered to Eastern Virginia, and moved March 22 : but the breaking of a pontoon-bridge broke the division at Snicker's Ferry ; and the battle of Winchester, heard while waiting, recalled the regiment. In the pursuit of Jack- son, commenced on the 25th, the Second was in advance. On the 1st of April, it had a series of sharp skirmishes with Jackson's rear-guard at different times in the march of thirteen miles, and, in each case, steadily pushed the enemy. On this day was the first man wounded. The pursuit of Jackson carried the regiment as far as Maguaghey Town, south of Harrisonburg, a little more than a hundred miles beyond the Potomac. Peremptory orders from the War Department here sent the whole force back to Strasburg to garrison that point. Jackson, being strongly re-enforced, returned. Banks was weakened one-half by the sudden removal of Shields's division. He repeatedly remonstrated with the department, and alleged his danger, but with no satisfaction. When, on the 23d of May, Jackson fell tipon Col. Kinly at Front Royal, a few miles east- ward, Banks's only course was to make a rapid retreat, in hope to save his command and trains, to the Potomac River. How the Second was sent back on the road to save the trains ; succeeded iu part, and thenceforward covered the rear under Col. Gordon's eye (then commanding brigade) ; met the repeated attacks of the enemy, and i-epulsed them ; and, past midnight, was the last of the force in front of Winchester, — is matter of history. It is in refer- ence to one of these affairs that tlie rebel Eston Cooke says, " Tlie enemy [the national troops] turned savagely upon Jackson ; " and in reference to a stand by three companies of the second (I, Capt. Underwood ; B, Capt. Williams ; C, Capt. Cogswell), " A sudden fire on their riglit, left, and front, at the same moment, revealed an ambuscade of importance," which required " three regiments of the Stonewall Brigade " to meet. After a few hours' rest in front of Winchester, the enemy at dayliglit appeared, and battle opened. Col. Gordon's brigade was on the right, and sustained a severe fight. Two companies 21 162 MASS A CIIUSE 7 TS IN THE RED EL LION. of the second (D, Capt. Savage ; and G, Capt. Gary) were thrown forward as skirmishers, and took position behind a stone wall, where, says Eston Cooke, " they opened a galling and destructive fire," so much so as to silence several of the enemy's guns ; and although other guns opened on them witli " solid shot," " in spite of missiles and crashing stones around them," says Gooke, they " still gallantly held their position." For over three hours, tlie attack was met against overwhelm- ing odds. The enemy at last moving a heavy fire around our right, retreat was ordered. Passing through Winchester, the rear of one of the columns under heavy fire, and continuing as rear- guard to the Potomac, the regiment had, in thirty-three hours, marched fifty-six miles, most of it as rear-guard ; met the enemy three times, and fought in a pitched battle besides. Its conduct on that hard day evinces the skill of its officers, the bravery of its men, and the results of severe training. It met the fullest expecta- tions of its State. Col. Gordon was eventually made brigadier for his services in this retreat, and Lieut.-Col. Andrews became colo- nel. The losses were, seven killed, and nine wounded mortally, two officers and forty-five enlisted men wounded not mortally, and ninety-four (including seventeen wounded) prisoners. On the 10th of June, tlie regiment recrossed into Virginia, and, with a few days' rest at Front Royal and at Little Washington, was daily on the road, in Pope's campaign, to the battle of Cedar Moun- tain, on the 9th of August. Being, as a part of Gen. Banks's whole force, near Culpepcr that morning, it was ordered forward about six miles to support Crawford, against whom the enemy, who had crossed the Rapidan, were appearing in force. When position was taken, the Second was on the right. The battle open- ing. Gen. Banks swung forward his left. Tlie Second was soon ordered to move to Crawford's position, and did so. A tre- mendous fire opened, and was replied to. Great loss was expe- rienced and inflicted ; but the ground was firmly held until the enemy moved three brigades upon the front and flank of the brigade of ten and a half regiments. The Second stopped the line advancing in front, and stood until the force on its right was completely scattered by the flank attack. It fell back, in obedi- ence to orders, to its first position. In that battle, the rebel re- ports give the names of ten brigades : we had five. The battle had been terrible. Of twenty-two commissioned officers, six came out unhurt. It had five officers killed, and one mortally wounded, seven wounded, and three prisoners; of enlisted men, thirty-six AT ANTIETAM. 163 killed and thirteen mortally wounded, ninety-one wounded, and* fifteen prisoners. The total loss was thirty-five per cent of all engaged. That night, however, the regiment was placed at the extreme front, in the centre of the new line. On that sad day for Massachusetts, among its losses were numbered Savage, Abbott, Gary, Williams, Goodwin, and Perkins. When Pope retreated to the Rappahannock, the corps was sta- tioned at Rappahannock Crossing. Thence the Second moved up or down the river every day, always in sound of, and often under, fire. It was not brought into action at the second battle of Ma- nassas, though in sound of every shot, being in the division charged with the removal of the immense stores on the road. This duty was performed; and, by a detour and forced march, the division reached Centreville, and soon Alexandria. In the campaign under McClellan, it moved into Maryland, and eventually to Antietam. In that action it bravely did its part in Mansfield's corps, following up the success of Hooker on the right. The regiment was actively and successfully engaged. It lost one officer killed (Lieut.-Col. Dwight), and three wounded ; eleven enlisted men killed, and six mortally wounded ; and fift}' others wounded, — in all, twenty-five per cent of those en- gaged. In the absence of movements which followed, the Second was placed at Maryland Heights. Subsequently, while the army moved southward, the corps (Twelfth) under General Slocum guarded tlie Upper Potomac (the Second being near Sharpsljurg) until the 12th of December. Here a detachment under Capt. Cogswell crossed the river, and skilfully broke up a guerilla-band, killing its leader. On the 12th of December, the whole force was moved by steady marches to near Fairfax, Ya., where it formed ])art of the reserve grand division under Sigel. While here, it had active work to do by reason of guerilla and other raids. On the lUth of January, 1803, the division started for Stafford Court House ; and it remained there until Hooker's movement to Chan- cellorsville. While here, it was one of the eleven regiments, found, by careful inspection of the whole army, to merit the highest commendation for superiority in every department of soldierly excellence. Col. Andrews had been apjiointed brigadier in the autumn, and Major Quincy became colonel. The movement to Chancellorsville commenced on April 27. The corps, with two others, moved to Kelley's Ford ; then to Gor- mania Ford, on the Rapidan, when the Second, with the Tiiird 164 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. , Wisconsin, being in advance, surprised and captured the entire force of the rebels at«that place. On the 2d of May, when Jackson was moving to our right, the division was sent out a mile and a half to attack his wagon-train. It had hardly reached it when it was ordered back. Jackson had rolled up the Eleventh Corps. The Twelfth was formed across its old line, and, with Best's splendid artillery, held the position, and stopped the enemy. Night ended the conflict ; but, in the morning, it was resumed. The Second, for the first time, fired away all its ammunition, including that of its wounded, and took more from the dead rebels. It broke three lines of the enemy, and waited for ammunition. That was not furnished ; but, after long delay, the regiment was relieved. That night, it was placed on the extreme left of the whole lino ; and afterwards, in Hooker's retreat, returned to its old ground at Stafford Court Ilouse. In this affair it had one officer killed, and four wounded ; twenty-two enlisted men killed, and eight mortally wounded ; and eighty-six wounded and eight prisoners, — in all, thirty-three per cent of its force. After its return, Col. Quincy resigned, on account of his severe wound at Cedar Mountain ; and Lieut. -Col. Cogswell became colonel. Col. Quincy received the lieutenant-colonelcy of a regiment of colored troops, with a staff- appointment, and eventually became brevetted brigadier. In the movement across Beverly Ford in June, when cavalry, with a few picked infantry regiments, were selected, the Second took part. The enemy was surprised, and driven back a mile. The Second took a good number of prisoners, with a loss of one enlisted man mortally wounded, two wounded, and two prisoners. The object being accomplished, the force recrossed the river. But it was to go to Gettysburg. It crossed the Potomac at Leesburg, and, passing through Frederick, was near Gettysburg on the 1st of July. On the morning of the 2d, after some skirmishing, another change was made, and breastworks of logs were thrown up on the bank of a deep stream in the woods. When, in the afternoon, heavy firing commenced on the left, the regiment, with the division, was ordered to leave the works, and go to the assistance of that wing. Arriving there, the command was exposed to artillery fire, but took its new position with the loss of only one man wounded. Scarcely was the movement completed, when the enemy being repulsed, and it growing dark, the division was ordered back to its log-defences again. AT GETTYSBURG. 165 Arriving near them, circumstances led Lieut.-Col. Mudge to fear that the enemy had occupied the ground ; and Com- pany F was sent in as skirmishers to ascertain the state of the case. Meanwhile the regiment was promptly placed in line of battle, at right angles to its old line, in the edge of the woods, on the opposite side of the meadow from wliere the enemy might be expected. The night was dark, with an occasional gleam of moonlight; and, with the exception of occasional dropping shots from distant skirmishers, all was still as death. The skirmishers soon reported a rebel line of battle at about four hundred yards' distance, in the woods, which had not only got into our works, but had formed their line directly across them ; and several prisoners were brought, in who confirmed this statement. Lieut. - Col. Mudge, not fully satisfied that such could be the case, withdrew the first company, and sent in another, with orders to go forward till it met the enemy : this was at once done. The company advanced to within ten feet of the enemy's lin^e, captured twenty prisoners, received a volley of musketry, and returned to the edge of the wood, with a loss of only two men wounded, and two taken prisoners. It having been thus ascertained beyond doubt that tlie enemy was in position and in force, the new line was protected by rails and logs as far as possible, skirmishers were pushed well forward, and daylight was anxiously waited. The time was improved by posting two batteries of " Parrott " and " Napoleon " guns to command the wood ; and at daylight they opened a rapid fire, which was kept up for over an hour : but, although severe, it failed to dislodge the enemy, who still held his position, favored by the nature of the ground, which was steep and rocky, and cov- ered with dense woods. The batteries had ceased firing, and by this time the action had been renewed in other parts of the field. The fire of the sharp- shooters posted in trees on the other side of the meadow was very close and annoying. At about seven o'clock, orders were given to the Second Regi- ment and one other to advance across the open meadow, and take tlie position of the enemy. It seemed certain destruction ; but such were orders : and Lieut.-Col. Mudge gave the com- mand, — " Rise up, over the breastworks, forward, double- quick ! " With a cheer, with bayonets unfixed, without firing a shot, the line advanced as rapidly as the swampy ground would allow. Col. Mudge fell dead in the middle of the open field, as 166 MASSACHUSETTS IJV TUB REBELLION. on foot, sword in hand, he was cheering on the men. Three color-bearers were shot in going two hundred yards : but the colors kept on, — into the enemy's line, over the breastwork ; and the regiment held the old line. But from behind every tree and rock the rebel fire was poured in. Another color-bearer was shot dead waving the colors. The regiment on the right fell back in disorder. Ten of the officers of the Second were killed or wounded, and a regiment of the enemy was flanking it. Major Morse gave the order to fall back just in time to prevent the remnant of tlie regiment from being surrounded. Slowly and sullenly it retired to the other side of the meadow, and, taking position behind a ruined stone wall, opened fire on the enemy wherever he showed himself. In that advance of about four hundred yards, and in about twenty minutes' time, the Second had lost, out of two hundred and ninety-four men and twenty-two officers, a hundred and thirty-four killed or wounded. Soon after this attack, the regi- ment went into its log-defences, and the men lay on their arms on the ground again. As soon as it had left the woods, the artillery opened again with good effect ; and, at the same time, an attack was made by a part of the Second Division on the enemy's flank and rear ; and after seven hours of hard infantry-fighting, including the time the Second had been engaged, the rebels were driven from the works, and, at about three o'clock in the afternoon, the regiment held the ground already covered by its dead and wounded. The latter were at once cared for, and the former brought off, — some from under the fire of sharpshooters, and some under the cover of night. During the following night, it lay in the works, constantly wakened by skirmishing fire and volleys of musketry ; but, in the morning, the enemy had disappeared. Ordered on a recon- noissancc outside the lines, the movements of the Second and other regiments only served to establish the fact of the rebel retreat. The losses were forty-four per cent. Lieut.-Col. Mudge, Robe- son, Fox, and Stone, were killed, or mortally wounded. But the regiment had behaved nobly. " I never saw a finer sight," said the general of division to the chaplain, " than when that regiment came out under that terrible fire, faced about, and formed as steady as on parade." The regiment was in the marches which took the corps to Kel- lej's Ford, on the Ra^jpahannock. From that place it was sud- THE MARCH TO ATLANTA. 167 deiily taken, as one of the regiments selected for steadiness, to Alexandria, and then to New-York City in the time of the riots. It was there a fortiiiglit, camping in Citj'-hall Park ; and re- mained while the draft was enforced. Returning, it was sent to Raccoon Ford, on the Rapidan, where it lay under the enemy's guns. On the 21th of September, the Elcventli and Twelfth Corps left the river. Ignorant at first, they soon found they were to go to the army of Rosecrans. It was immediately after tlie battle of Chickamauga. On tlie morning of Oct. 4, the Second found itself at Stevenson, Ala. ; but, on the same day, it was started back to repair the railway broken by the enemy behind it. Hard marches up and down followed, at last temporarily ceased by being placed to guard the important bridge at Elk River. While there, efforts were made to secure the services of the old regiments. A sufficient number of the Second re-enlisted, to secure its continuance. According to orders, the re-enlisting men were sent home for thirty days. The regiment, under Col. Cogswell, arrived in Boston on the 19th of January, 18G4. The reception it met with was wortliy of its fame, surpassed by no welcome to others. On the first day of March, it was again in Tennessee ; being stationed at Tullahoma. April 28, it commenced its march in the great campaign to Atlanta. The division was in front of the enemy at Buzzard's Roost, below Chattanooga ; moved through Snake-creek Gap with McPherson, and found itself at Resaca. It was in reserve in the fight of the afternoon of the 14th of May ; but, at night, tlie corps (now the Twentietli, under Hooker) was ordered to the re- lief of the Fourth Corps. In the morning, the Second was selected to go out on a reconnoissance ; found the position of the enemy, and returned, with two men wounded. The whole corps then advanced, and drove the enemy into his inner works ; and the brigade three times repulsed strong sallies. The loss of tlie regiment was one killed, and twenty-two wounded. Tiiat night, tlie enemy evacuated. Pursuit was commenced in the morning. On the 19lh, the corps skirmished for five miles of advance; found the rebels in force at Cassville, and threw up breastworks under the enemy's guns. Here the officers and men not re-enlisting left for home, their full timj having expired. On the 23d of May, the regiment left Cassville. Near Dallas, 168 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION: the regiment, with a section of battery, was specially detailed by Gen. Hooker to destroy a bridge just repassed by the corps, and thus prevent the enemy's crossing. The regiment was, by this service, kept from participating in the bloody battle of New Hope Church. It was sent a few days after to Kingston, as escort to one hundred and seventeen army wagons loaded with wounded men of its corps ; but rejoined the corps in front of Lost Mountain, June 8. On the 11th, by a movement to the left, it confronted Piney Mountain, and threw up a heavy line of defences under the enemy's Ijatteries. In the succeeding movements, it was in various skirmishes, and was an inactive spectator of the attack on Kenesaw Mountain, It participated in the movements on Atlanta, and was in the second line at the bloody and decisive battle of Peach-tree Creek ; losing only one officer (First Lieu- tenant Lord) and one enlisted man in the skirmish line. In front of the enemy's inner line before Atlanta, to which he had been driven, the Second found itself on the 22d, and built breastworks close to the enemy. On the 30th, Lieut.-Col. Morse, field-officer of the day, at daybreak surprised and captured the enemy's pickets in their rifle-pits ; and the regiment was ordered forward. It immediately occupied the commanding hill thus gained, and hastily threw up breastworks. The position was within two hundred yards of one of the enemy's principal forts, and a close and hot fire of his artillery, infantry, and sharpshoot- ers. Several attempts were made by the enemy to retake the hill, but without success. For six hours, the regiment replied steadily and effectively to the rebel shots, firing two hundred rounds per man. It met with but little loss. When Atlanta fell, the Second was ))laced on duty there as provost-guard, with its colonel (Cogswell) in command of the post. Its losses subsequent to the battle of Resaca had been three officers wounded, three enlisted men killed, twenty-two wounded, and six prisoners. Lieut.-Col. Morse behig made provost-marshal of the post, Capt. Brown was in command. After arduous duties, it was the last regiment to leave Atlanta in the great march to the sea. It was on the 16th of November, ten days after the army had moved forward, that the Second left the city. Moving by way of Decatur, it joined the rear of the Fourteenth Corps, but reached its own corps, near Millcdgeville, on the 2:2d. In the progress of the campaign, the Second had its share of skirmishes, destruction of bridges, railways, &c., and, of course, marching. On the THE SECOND AT A VER YSB OR UGH. 169 morning of the 9th of December, it found itself about fifteen miles from Savannah, and halted near where the enemy had built a fort, and had planted a battery in the road. Proper disposition of troops led the enemy to retire. The next day, tlie regi- ment went into camp, in line of battle, four miles and a half from Savannah, and half a mile from the enemy's works ; made a reconnoissance the next day (with the One Hundred and Seventh New- York), and found the situation of matters ; crossed to Argyle Island, in the Savannah, in flat-boats, on the 15th ; and, on the 16th, were all day under fire from a rebel battery and a rebel gunboat. On the 19th, the brigade crossed to the South- Carolina shore, and, skirmishing with the enemy, drove him tlu-ee miles ; threw up breastworks in the night, and remained, with more or less skirmishing, until the 21st, when Savannah had been evacuated ; and, on the next day, went into camp ten miles from Savannah. Here Col. Cogswell was brevetted brigadier-general, and assigned to the command of the third brigade, third division ; and Lieut. -Col. Morse took command of the Second. On the ITth of January, 18(35, after very imperfect refit as to clothing, the regiment moved on the march northward. It encountered the difficulties of the swamps ; experienced much wet and cold weather, and some skirmishing. There is not space to give the details. Tlie regiment reached Fayetteville on the 11th of March, and passed in review before Gens. Sherman and Slocum. On tlie 15th, it moved forward again, and, in the evening, formed cavalry in position, went into line of battle, and the men lay on their arms. On the next morning, the brigade (the Second behig on tlie left), supported by cavalry on its Hanks, advanced on the enemy, drove back his skirmishers, who contested the ground stubbornly, and finally took position across the main road. The enemy, being in superior force, and with artillery, made repeated attempts to force back the line ; but, by great exertion and some loss, every attempt was nobly repulsed. The brigade, relieved by Gen. Cogs- well's, was transferred to the right, and again advanced, driv- ing the enemy a mile to the works he had thrown up, and hold- ing the position, with considerable loss. In this battle (Averys- borough) the regiment lost two officers killed (Capt. Grafton and Lieut. Storrow), one wounded (Lieut. -Col. Morse), five enlisted men killed, and seventeen wounded: iniml)er carried hito action, a iumdred and forty -one. "The Second and Thii-iy-third xMassuclinsetts Rogiincnts," 170 MASSACHUSETTS 127 THE REBELLION. says the staff-officer who wrote the " Story of the Great March," ill his account of this battle, " are the only representatives of the glorious Bay State in our army. A nobler record of heroic deeds may never be found than is the history of the Second." The enemy being defeated, advance was resumed. On the 24th, the regiment reached Goldsborough, and camped near the Weldoii Railway. The great march through the Caroliaas was ended. On the 10th of April, the regiment, temporarily consolidated into ten companies under Capt. Phalen, moved towards Raleigh; on the 20th, received news of the suspension of hostilities. On the 29th, the surrender of Johnston was announced to the troops; and, on the 30th, commenced the march to the capital. After being in camp at Alexandria a few days, the regiment took part in the grand review of Sherman's army on the 24th of May. It then went into camp at Bladcnsburg. On the 9th of June, the old brigade, division, and corp organizations, being broken up, it parted with its gallant companions. With other Eastern veteran regiments, it formed a part of Gen. Bartlett's division. On the 14th, it began provost-duty, as part of the gar- rison of Washington, and went into camp at Capitol Hill. On the 14th of July, orders mustered the Second out of service. On the loth, it started homeward. At New York, it paid its respects to its old general, Hooker, and was cordially received. The regiment reached Readville, Mass., where it remained until the 2Gth of July. On that day the men received their final dis- charge, and the Second Massachusetts left its name to history. This regiment furnished many subordinate officers to other regiments, or departments of service, besides eight majors, six lieutenant-colonels, four colonels, two brevet brigadier-generals, and three brigadiers who were brevetted major-generals. Its whole number of officers from the beginning, of all grades, was eighty- eight. Of these, twelve were killed ; four died of wounds ; two died in service, of disease contracted in the line of duty, and one since ; twenty-two wounded, not mortally ; twenty-seven received higher commissions in other branches or corps, of whom five were killed ; and, of the remainder, five left service from disease. Of the original thirty-seven officers who left Camp Andrew, four- teen are dead. The Adjutant-Generars Report gives one thousand seven hundred and one enlisted men : of these it reports one hun- dred and sixty-six as killed, or died of wounds; seventy-eight dead by disease ; thirteen died in' Southern prisons. The number wounded, not fully ascertained, was near five hundred. BRAVERY OF THE SECOXD. 171 This brief account, in which details are necessarily omitted, is a story of a regiment which never failed in its duty. Its char- acteristics were perfect instruction, thorough discipline, hardy endurance, and entire bravery. It was always a reliable regiment. "I want to spare it," said a corps commander; "but, when I come to a hard place, I have to put in the Second Massachusetts." The commanders of every grade, brigade, division, or corps, never ad- mitted the superiority of any regiment in the army to this ; and its position was, tacitly at least, admitted, wherever it served. CHAPTER VI. THE NINE-MONTHS' REGIMENTS. TheDraft— The Third Regirrent volunteers. — In Camp. — In the Field. —The Fourth Regiment. — Organization. — Departure for the Front. — Its Services. — The Fifth Regiment. — Formation. — Preparations to march. — Active Duties. — The Sixth Regiment. — Its Organization and Services. — Return to Massachusetts. — The Eighth re-enlists. — In Camp Lander. — Embarked for Newbern, N.C. — Services in the Field. — Its Return Home. THE THIRD REGIMENT. WITH the return of autumu, 18G2, the President's order for a draft of nine-months' men was published. This brought into the field the first Massachusetts troops for that period of service. Tiie pioneer march of the Third Regiment has already been narrated in the record of the three-months' troops. Upon its re- turn from Fortress Monroe, July, 1861, it was mustered out of service, and again took its place in the militia of the State. ' The Third did not wait for drafting, but, when the emphatic call came, immediately volunteered, and went into Camp Joe Hooker, at Lakeville. The first company arrived Sept. 16 ; and, before the week expired, the tenth company was also there. The organ- ization was completed under the following officers : — Colonel ..... Silas P. Richmond. Lieutenant- Colonel . . . James Barton. 3£ajor ..... John Morissey. Surgeon Alfred A. Stocker. Assistant Surgeon . . . Woodbridge R. Howe. Chaplain Charles A. Snow. Oct. 8, orders were received to start for Newbern, N.C, and report to Gen. Foster ; but the march was delayed, for the want of overcoats, until the 22d, when the steamers " Merrimac " and " Mississippi " sailed with the troops, in the quiet of evening, hon- ored with the signals of a proud and tender farewell. After a passage of four days, they debarked at Beaufort, N.C. ; were borne by the cars to Newbern, thirty-six miles distant, the same night, Oct. 26 ; and went into camp on the banks of the Neuse River, a mile from the city. 172 THE THIRD IN NORTH CAROLINA. 173 The arms distributed on the 29th were poor " Austrian rifle muskets," and were received with marked dissatisfaction. Drilling, picketing, and short expeditions ; garrison duty by Company I at Plymouth and Elizabeth City, N.C. ; and a fight near the former place, in which two were killed, — make up the outline of regimental history till Dec. 11. On that day, the Third moved with the expedition to Golds- borough, which occupied eleven days, and included a march of one hundred and fifty miles. The Third was in the fights of Kinston, Whitehall, and Goldsborough, and displayed such cour- age, that, by the order of Gen. Foster, those names, with the dates of the battles that made them historical, were inscribed on its banner. The remainder of the month was devoted to the almost unno- ticed but perilous and indispensable picket-duty. The regiment was attached to Gen. Heckman's brigade, and the subjoined note from him tells the story of that connection : — Headquaeteks First Brigade, Naglee's Division, Newbern, N.C, Jan. 12, 1863. To Col. S. P. RicuMOND, commanding Third Regiment M. V. M. Colonel, — In the report of my assistant adjutant-general, who inspected your regiment last muster, the arms you now have were condemned. I have made every efibrt since to have the arms changed, to retain you in my brigade ; but time would not permit : another regiment has been assigned. Accept my regrets that your regiment was not in condition to remain (as regards equipments). The soldierly appearance and conduct of your officers and men have made a favorable impression ; and I part with you with regret. Very respectfully yours, C. A. HECKMAN, Briyadier-General, Commnndirif/ 1st Brigade, NcujUe's Division, ISih Army Corps. The regiment now became a part of Col. J. Jourdan's brigade for the rest of its term of enlistment. The commendation of Gen. Foster is a reliable estimation of the discipline and efficiency of the troops : — " The Tliird I\Iassachusetts Ilegiment always obeys orders, and performs all its duties promptly, and without grumbhng." ,Gen. Prince says, — " The Third Massachusets Regiment and its commander can be intrusted with important duties, with a certainty of their being performed promptly and well." Col. Jourdan says, — " The Tliird Massachusetts Regiment is always ready for duty." 174 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. When the troops were removed, Jan. 26, to Camp Jourdan, near Fort Totten, its horribly wretched condition was soon so completely changed by tlieir cheerful hard work, that the medi- cal director made special mention of it as " one of the cleanest, prettiest, and most healthy camps near Newbern, although for- merly considered a very unhealthy locality." During Marcli, important detached service was performed by the Third, in Gen. Prince's division : under arms at Deep Gully, and reconnoitring to Pollocksville, were the most important inci- dents in its army life. April brought work on intrenchments, an expedition across the Neuse River, exhausting marches, skirmislies with the enemy, successful co-operation with another column in driving the rebels from Washington, N.C., releasing the Forty-fourth Massa- chusetts from its unpleasant position, and picket-duty at Deep Gully. May repeated substantially this experience ; and, June 6, the regiment escorted the Forty-fourth Massachusetts to the depot, on their homeward march. Writes an officer, — Being ordered on the 11th to Boston, Mass., the regiment left New- bern. Three companies, with the sick, embarked on the " Tillie " at New- bern ; and seven companies went by raih-oad to Morehead, and embarked on the " Spanliling." The regiment was escorted to the depot by the One Hundred and Fifty-eighth New- York Volunteers, preceded by the baud of the Forty-sixth Massachusetts. Gen. Foster and Col. Jourdan honored the column by a standing review. Tiie Forty-fifth and Fifty-first Massachusetts Eegiments were in hne on the south side of the Trent River, and cheered us with music and voice on our homeward journey. We landed in Boston the 10th, having had rather a rough passage ; but the transports were very comfortable. We met with an enthusiastic re- ception in Boston, and were escorted to the Common by the Forty-fourth Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Rifle Club. The Governor being ab- sent, Adjutant-Gen. Schouler reviewed the column from the State-House steps; after which we marched to Beach Street, and partook of a collation. At one, P.M., the regiment took the cars for Camp Joe Hooker, but were furloughed on the cars, being ordered to report in camp on the 22d. The regiment reported in camp on that day, where it remained until the 26th, when it was mustered out of service by Capt. J. K. Lawrence, United- States army, and was dismissed by a complimentary and affecting order from the colonel. The men dispersed quietly, maintaining their excellent character for discipline to the last. During the campaign, the regiment was transported by steamers and THE FOURTH IX MOTION. 175 lailroad more than two thousand miles, and marched more than four hundred miles over the swampy roads of North Carolina ; most of it being done during (he most inclement season. It bivouacked upon the ground, without shelter, when the water froze in canteens ; and also marched when the thermometer janged at one hundred and seven degrees in the shade. During a portion of the time, more than two hundred men were furnished for extra duty as me- chanics, and quite a large number were detailed as overseers of " contrabands " and others. THE FOURTH REGIMENT. The Fourth Reghnent was not tardy in answering to the re- newed demand for troops. It promptly prepared to march. Its officers were, — Colonel Henry Walker. Lieutenant- Colonel .... Eben T. Colby. Major ...... Charles F. Howard. Surgeon ...... James Maldock. Assistant Surgeon .... Edward W. Norton. .... J. F. Gould. Chaplain ...... Samuel E. Pierce. We give below, in a letter received from an officer of the Fourth, an authentic record of great interest. His glowing eulogy of the troops is not only pardonable, but, indeed, a commendable expression of appreciation of their gallant conduct. Upon Gen. Banks's retreat down the Shenandoah Valley, the Fourth, with other regiments, was ordered out. Lieut.-Col. Walker, late adjutant, living in Quincy, eiglit miles from Boston, read the order in the newspapers of the morning, while on his way to the depot. Setting the bells of his own town ringing, and arranging affliirs there, he started, and drove through twenty miles of the country, setting all the church-bells ringing, appointing places of rendezvous, &c. In forty-eight hours, the regiment had eight hundred men in Boston. A question arising as to the term of service required under the then recent h^gislation of Con- gress, Lieut.-Cnl. Walker addressed the men, appealing to tlieir patriotism, and seii^e of duty ; and, in response, over two-tliirds of those present jtromjttly signed their names to an agreement to go, and trust to the justice of the Gov(!rnnient. Out of all the other organizations in town, one only, the Fourth Hattalion, took a like stand. Telegrams from Washington, stating tliat the troops were not needed, came the same day ; and the four thousand men, who had gathered almost at a moment's notice, returned to their homes. In July, 18G2, the call came for two hundred thousand nine-months' men. 176 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. On the very day on which it became known in Boston, Lieut. -Col. Walker offered the services of the regiment to the Governor, with the additional offer, that, if camp equipage could be furnished, the regiment would be ready to go out of the State with a thousand men in a fortnight. It was the first regiment offered under this call. Camp equipage could not be furnished ; but, within the fortnight, the regiment was more than three-quarters full. New regiments were about this time started in Boston and vicinity, with large bounty funds, which tempted men to leave other organizations for the sake of the money. The Fourth finally went into camp, and was organized, Dec. G, having had over twelve hundred men on its rolls. Lieut. -Col. Walker was cliosen colonel ; and on the 25th of December, 1862, the regiment left for New York. Here it was detained a week ; Col. Walker refusing to go in the vessel provided. By law, it could not carry six hundred emigrants ; and here a thousand men were put on board for a voyage to New Orleans. This matter was finally arranged, part of the men being left for anotlier ship. Touching at Fortress Monroe, the regiment arrived at New Orleans about the middle of February, and went into camp at Carrolton, where muskets were distributed to the men. Shortly after, the regiment proceeded to Baton Rouge, and took part in the first Port-Hudson expedition, when Farragut passed that point in " The Richmond." On the second day out, the rest of the army having halted, Col. Walker was ordered by Gen. Emory to take the Fourth and Thirty-first Massachusetts and Second Rhode-Island Cavalry, proceed to a point on the Clinton Plank-road called the " Cross-roads," and hold it at all hazards, as the right flank of the army. This force was after- ward augmented to twenty-five hundred men and several pieces of artillery. It arrived at the Cross-roads on the afternoon of Saturday, March 11; under orders, fell back several miles to Cypress Bayou, reaching there about five, P.M., Sunday, 12th; bivouacked there until the afternoon of the next day, amid a driving storm, and was then ordered back to the main army, reaching it about ten, p.m. The troops were in arms at three, a.m. ; waited until noon, and then started again for Cross-roads, reaching there at five, p.m. ; here bivouacked until eleven, p.m., and fell back to Cypress Bayou again; left there at eight t|je following morning for the main army, and with that lay in camp two days, when all were ordered back to Baton Rouge. The Fourth was detailed to remain behind, and brine; all the baggage off the ground. It did so, arriving some hours after the main army ; having sent every wagon and every thing worth carrying ahead. Early in April, with the most of the army, the Fourth proceeded to Brashear City. With the Sixteenth New- Hampshire, and part of the Twenty-first Indiana, it was ordered to garrison that post. Afterwards it was ordered across Berwick Bay to participate in the fight at Bisland, and then to return. The ni<2;ht of the retreat of tlie rebels, the regiment was thrown out in front, close to their works ; and the fact [hat the rebels were retreating was first discovered by some of its officers, and by them communicated to Gen. Banks. It marched on as far as Franklin, and then returned to Brashear ; the command of which post was assigned to Col. THE FOURTH AT PORT HUDSON. 177 Walker. Tbe duties here were very arduous. The regiiueut, l)y the medical and sanitary reports one of the cleanest and healthiest in the department, lost many men. The place was the depot of supplies for the whole army : to it were sent all the captured men and stores en route for New Orleans. Thou- sands of negroes came down, and had to be rationed, and sent to the rear. Thousands of head of cattle, horses and mules, were brought in, while the hospitals furnis^hed accommodations for seven hundred men. So multifarious were the duties, that often there were not men enough left in camp for police or camp-guard duty ; men performing the latter sometimes two or three days in succession. On the 28th of May, Col. Walker received orders to send his own, the Fourth, and other regiments, to Port Hudson. At his oion request, he was relieved from command of the post, and rejoined the regiment at Port Hudson. Here it lay until the 14th of June, doing its full share of picket, fatigue, and foraging duty. In the assault of the 14th, Capt. Bart- lett, of Company K, led the storming-party, made up of men from several regiments. Of the four officers of the Fourth in the advance, two (Capt. Hull, of Company A; Lieut. Sampson, Company I) were wounded ; Capt. Bartlett, killed ; Lieut. Drake, unhurt. Capt. Bartlett died on the very slope of the enemy's works, gallantly leading his men ; and no truer Chris- tian and patriot, and no braver soldier, went up from that bloody field than he. Said a rebel major, " He died nearer our works that day than any other Federal officer." The main body of the regiment, under the colonel, who had left his bed to go into the tight, advanced close under the works, and, with the rest of the assaulting columns, finally was ordered to halt, and lie down. Where the men dropped, there they lay until night, beneath the hot June Southern sun ; and many were sun-struck. When darkness came on, all the troops, under its covei-, went back to camp. The Fourth lost every fifth man. After the fall of Port Hudson, the regiment remained in camp until Aug. 4, when it started for home. While before Port Hudson, all its baggage, papers, clothing, had been captured by the enemy at Brashear City, where they had been left under orders. The regiment had nothing left but its camp-worn clothes, nearly used up by hard service ; and as its term of service was nearly out, and no pay to be had, the men journeyed home in their war-worn blouses. The regiment was mustered out Aug. '28, 1863; most of it having been in the United-States service eleven months. Its cliaracter niay be summed up in the words of Major-Gen. Emory : "It was one of the best regiments in my whole division. It was well disciplined. It was remarkable for its camp, police, and sanitary discipline. I remember signalizing it before the whole division at Baton Rouge, on account of ita extreme excellence in these respects." 23 178 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. THE FIFTH REGIMENT. The Fifth was briefly noticed iu the narrative of early military operations. It won unqualified praises from Gen. Mansfield while aiding him- in the defence of Washington. Having only a State banner, it was presented with a beautiful ensign by Massachusetts men in the capital, while on Long Bridge, en route from the Treasury Building to Alexandria. It was visited at Camp Massachu- setts by tlie President and Secretaries Chase and Cameron, who highly complimented the splendid appearance of the troops. The 4th of July was appropriately celebrated ; and Gov. Andrew visited tbe encampment the succeeding day, greeting and prais- ing the boys. On the 16th, the march toward Centreville was commenced with Gen. Franklin's brigade. The Fifth, having the honor of the riglit of the division, marched at the head of the column under Col. Heintzelman. After an exciting advance over an enemy's country, the command came on the 21st to " fall in lively ; " and, after ten miles of marching, the field of Bull Run, already covered with the smoke of battle, was reached. When, soon after, the order rang over their ranks, " Fifth Mas- sachusetts, forward, double-quick, march ! " the men, in their dark uniforms, went forward, under the fire of shot and shell, " with as much coolness as if they had been on an ordinary muster-field." Indeed, they were mistaken by an officer for reg- ulars, on account of their excellent behavior. Lawrence, the color-bearer, fell, bravely raising his standard in the wild tempest of that terrific struggle, when both armies had their sanguinary baptism into the war of Slavery with Freedom. Returning to camp on tlie 22d, the Fifth marched towards Washington with their wounded colonel, who was determined to see his regiment safely home. From the capital the troops pro- ceeded to Boston, attended along the way, and on their arrival, with the most enthusiastic demonstrations of grateful regard. The regiment was mustered out July 30, 18l>l. This regiment sprang again to arras at the call of their beloved President for three hundred thousand soldiers for nine months. Repairing to Camp Lander, Wenham, the ranks were soon filled ; and, Oct. 22, they sailed from Boston for Newborn, N.C., with orders to report to Gen. Foster, under the folb^wing officers: — THE FIFTH IN NORTH CAROLINA. 179 Colonel ...... George H. Pierson. Lieutenant- Colonel .... John T. Boyd. Major William E. C. Worcester. Surgeon ...... William Ingalls. Assistant Surgeon .... Dixie C. Hoyt. The Fifth reached Newbern safely ; bat before its arms aud equipments could be forwarded from Morehead City, the point of debarkation, orders were received to be ready immediately, with three days' rations, to start upon an important expedition. Within forty-eight hours after the arrival of the troops, and through the hours of all the night, the camp was aglow with the fires over which the rations were cooking. Muskets were dis- tributed ; and, at four o'clock of Oct. 30, they embarked on board transports for Washington, N.C., which was reached the follow- ing day. Here they waited until Nov. 2 for the arrival of troops from Newbern by the overland route. At seven o'clock on the morning of the sabbath, the columns engaged in the expedition, led by Major-Gen. Foster, took up their line of march for W^illiamstown. The regiment formed a part of Col. Horace C. Lee's brigade, of the Massachusetts Tweiity-seventh, under whose able and appre- ciative command it continued during the whole term of its service. After a march, attended with slight skirmishes, of one hundred and sixty miles, over bad roads and under stormy skies, the troops returned to camp. The story of their next march, commencing Dec. 10, to destroy the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, is well told by their en- thusiastic colonel : — We formed regimental line at six, a.m., Thursday, Dec. 11; forming on the left of the third brigade, Col. H. C. Lee. At two, p.m., we started on the march, having the second post of honor (the extreme left). Marched until half-past four, a.m., of the 12th, and bivouacked about nine miles from Newbern. At sunrise, we again started in the same position, and, after a hard day's march, bivouacked about twenty miles from Newborn. Sunri.se of the 13th saw us again moving in the same position. Arrived at the " Church," six miles from Kinston, about ten, p.m. In the raornin 186 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. ping, wheeling, and working on fortifications, was seen in one of the most formidable line of defences to be found in the country, stretching nine miles along the Dismal Swamp. The observance of the sabbath bj the regiment was general ; and, wherever the " assembly sounded, several hundred usually formed a square in front of headquarters, the chaplain standing on a box, behind a pile of drums, and discoursing briefly to an attentive audience, with singing of the first order." Prayer- meetings were also held weekly; and " several men made a profes- sion of religion during the campaign." The Sixth was called tlie " writing regiment," because of the unusually large correspond- ence kept up between the boys and home. On the 24th, the regiment was brigaded under Col. R. S. Fos- ter. The next day, camp was changed to higher and pleasanter ground, and built winter-quarters of " Virginia mud," logs, and canvas. The country around furnished sweet-potatoes, grapes, &c., " which ivould find their way into camp." The monotony was broken by the frequent arrival of contrabands, panting for freedom. Chaplain Hanson graphically describes the meetings of the col- ored people for worship to which he alluded, and gives the words of their original heart-melodies. Nov. 17, a force of about five thousand men, in which the Sixth had the post of honor, started for the Blackwater River, where the cavalry had skirmished with the enemy. The gantlet of rebel fire along the march, "whose ticklish music the troops heard for the first time," was run with heroic bearing. Two men fell out of the ranks, and were captured. The expedition returned ; and the troops, after rest, completed winter-quarters. Two of their number died of typhoid-fever during November. The 27th was Thanksgiving. The IMassachusetts holiday was appropriately observed. The chaplain had read the previous sabbath the Governor's Proclama- tion, and General Orders ; and a " large number of strangers were present, and the larders of the men overflowed with comforts. Boxes from home, containing tons of luxuries, were constantly arriving ; and they did much to moisten the ' hard-tack,' and soften the proverbial ' salt mule.' " Early in December, an expedition was made to the vicinity of Franklin, where the cavalry force charged splendidly an equal rebel force. Dec. 6, huts were built upon new camping-ground on the THE SIXTH IN THE FIELD. 187 front, before occupied by the Eighty-fifth Pennsylvania, and called Camp Misery : it was soon worthy of a better name under the new management. Here young Richardson died of diphtheria, " with perfect trust in God." A refreshing supply of stores was received from the Sanitary Commission, and Soldiers' Aid Society of Haverhill. On the lltli, the regiment was again marching toward the Blackwater. Lieut. Barr, a favorite among his com- rades, was the next day killed by a rebel sharpshooter, the ball entering his heart. After hard marches and heavy skirmishing, the troops encoun- tered the enemy. A skirmish followed with a force under Gen. Pryor on the 28th, in which the rebels were routed. Jan. 27, another death by fever occurred ; and, on the 29th, another by the falling of a tree. Two days later, at midnight, another expedition started for the Blackwater, the moonlight shining on the waste of mud and water through which the marches lay. The object of the movement was to attack, rout, and, if pos- sible, capture. Gen. Pryor's force. Near Suffolk, the enemy made an attack, when the Sixth supported the Massachusetts Seventh and Follett's Battery. In the severe engagement of the regiment, six were killed or fatally wounded. The conduct of the Sixth was excellent, and complimented on the field by Gen. Cor- coran and other officers. February and March were months of frequent storms, and only fatigue and picket duty could be performed. Feb. 27, Augustus Reed, the gallant " Gussy," as he was called, aged nineteen, died. April 10, tents disappeared, huts were dismantled, and the Sixth " reduced to light marching order." Then followed the threat- ened attack of Gen. Longstreet, with its skirmishing, duels between gunboats, the artillery, and the rifles of the sharp- shooters, for twenty-three days. April 24, Col. FoUansbee commanded an expedition to make a sortie on the Soraerton Road. May 4, the enemy fell back towards Fredericksburg. Nine days later, the eighth and last expedition of the Sixth was made towards Blackwater, under the general command of Col. Foster, while Col. FoUansbee led Foster's brigade. The 15tii l>rought skirmishing with the enemy, followed by firing all along the line. The engagement cost the Sixth twenty-one killed, wounded, and missing. 188 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLIOX. Records the Adjutant-General : — Under command of Gen. Corcoran, the regiment moved to Windsor, May 20, to protect workmen in taking up the rails of the Norfolk and Petersburg Road. Here it remained until the 23d ; when Gen. Corcoran notified Col. rollan8l)ee, that, in consideration of the nearness of the time when its terra of service would expire, the regiment would that day be relieved. Accordingly, at four, P.M., it left for Suffolk, aniving after ten days of most fatiguing and exhausting service, which told more on the regiment's health and spirits than all the rest of its hardships combined. May 25, Gen. Peck and Col. Foster issued very complimentary orders to the regiment; and, on the morning of the 2Gth, it bade adieu to the scene of its toils and perils, arriving in Boston in the steamer "S. R. Spaulding," after a delightful voyage, Way 29, and reaching Lowell the same day, where a splendid ovation was received from the people of that city. It was then — two days before the expiration of its terra of service — dismissed, to report for musterinjr out on the 3d of June. With Great order, the men returned to their homes. Thus ended the second campaign of the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, honorably to itself, and with remarkable exemption from death by disease and battle, when the number of its engagements, and the unhealthy location of its camp on the edge of the Dismal Swamp, are considered. Much of this exemption should be attributed to the humane courage of its commanding oiEcers, the skill and care of its surgeons, but more to the sterling sense and intellio-ence of the men themselves. Col. Follansbee could have sacrificed many of them had he been ambitious to do so, and would have done so had he possessed less military skill. Officers and men parted with remarkable good will, and with a mutual harmony and confidence rarely witnessed ; and as those who composed the regiment look back, and review their campaign, they must generally con- gratulate themselves that their military experience was, on the whole, so agreeable. THE EIGHTH REGIMENT. The Eighth is emphatically an Essex-County regiment. It served with distinction under Col. Monroe and Col. (now Gen.) Hinks in the three-months' campaign in 1861. It was recruited for the nine-months' service at Camp F. W. Lander, at AVeidiain ; and completed its organization by the election of F. W. Coffin, an experienced militia officer, as colonel. The roster was as follows : Colonel F. J. Coffin. Lieutenant- Colonel .... James Hudson, jun. Surgeon ...... Charles Haddock. Assistant Surgeon . . . . J. L. Robinson. C/iajjlain . . . . . . J. C. Kimball. THE EIGHTH IN NORTH CAROLINA. 189 On the twenty-fifth day of November, 1862, the regiment left Camp F. W. Lander, at Wenham, Mass., for Boston, where it embarked on tlie transport steamer " Mississippi," and sailed dur> ing the evening of the same day ; and, after a somewhat stormy passage, arrived at Morehead City, N.C., on the 30th, and pro- ceeded thence by rail to Newborn. On its arrival, — which was late in the evening, — the regiment was assigned to the second brigade, first division, under command of Col. T. G. Stevenson, Twenty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteers, and went into camp on the Fair Grounds, in tents vacated by the Tenth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers. Dec. 4, Company A, Capt. Gardiner, and Company E, Capt. Porter, were detached from the regiment, for garrison-duty at Roanoke Island ; and remained absent from the regiment until July 12, 1863, when they rejoined it at Maryland Heights. Dec. 9, the regiment was detached from the second brigade, first division, for garrison-duty in the city of Newbern, — all the other troops in and about Newbern being about to leave on an expedition to tlie interior of the State, — and Col. Coffin was appointed to the command of the post. Dec. 28, the regiment was assigned to the brigade under the command of Col. T. J. C. Amory, Seventeenth Massachusetts Volunteers ; and, on the same day, was transferred to the first brigade, second division, under command of Brig.-Gen. Heckman, where it remained until Jan. 11, 1863. The brigade was then ordered to the Department of tlie South, and the regiment was joined to the second brigade, fifth division, under command of Col. James Jourdan, One Hundred and Fifty-eighth Regiment New- York Volunteers, on account of having condemned arms. Jan. 25, 1863, the regiment changed camp from Fair Grounds to Fort Totten ; and, on the same day. Companies G and K were detached from the regiment for duty there. Feb. 1, Companies A and E, under command of Capt. Porter, with two days' rations, proceeded on steamer "Halifax" up Car- rituck Sound to destroy rebel salt-works and capture guerillas. Getting frozen into the ice, they were compelled to remain five days, during which they suffered much for want of rations ; but returned on the 6th, having accomplished their object, with a loss of two men wounded. Feb. 7, Companies B and F were detached from the regi- ment, and ordered to Roanoke Island as re-enforcements to the garrison there. 190 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. On the lOtli, Company B was detached from the garrison at Roanoke Island, and ordered to Elizabeth City as a re-enforcement to the garrison at that post, the vicinity of which was then infested with guerillas, and with whom the garrison had a number of skirmishes, but with a loss to this company of only one man wounded. Feb. 25, the regiment participated in a review of all the troops in and about Newbern ; and, although it had but six com- panies present, it received the credit of being one of the best regiments in the department for soldierly bearing and deport- ment. March IG, the regiment, with others comprising the fifth division, under command of Gen. Prince, was ordered on a re- connoissance towards Trenton, N.C. Having accomplished the object of the expedition, they returned the next day, after a march of about twenty-five miles. March 20, Col. Coffin was ordered to the command of the second brigade, fifth division. April 8, an expedition, of which the regiment formed a patt, under command of Brig.-Gen. Spinola, left Newbern to re-en- force Gen. Foster at Washington, N.C ; meeting and engaging the enemy at Blount's Creek, who were strongly fortified, and believed to be in large numbers. The expedition, therefore, returned on the 12th, with a loss to the regiment of one man wounded, having marched a distance of forty-five miles. April 16, Company B was relieved from duty at Elizabeth City, and ordered to rejoin the regiment, the above-named place having been abandoned by our forces. The same day, the regiment, forming part of an expedition under command of Gen. Prince, left Newbern for the purpose of recon- noitring in the vicinity of the outposts of the enemy. After remaining absent six days, the expedition returned, liaving taken a number of the enemy prisoners. May 18, the Eighth changed from camp at Fort Totten to Camp Coffin, about one-third of a mile distant. May 25, it moved from Camp Coffin to Fort Thompson, on the Neuse River, about five miles from Newbern, to reconstruct the fort destroyed in 1861 ; but, on inspection, the commanding general abandoned the idea; and, on June 12, it returned to Newbern, and went into camp at Camp Jourdan, named in honor of the brigade commander. Col. James Jourdan. June 24, Companies G and K were relieved from duty in Fort ON MARYLAND HEIGHTS. 191 Totteu, and reported to the regimental commander for duty ; and, on the same day, the regiment embarked on transports "Alli- ance" and "Highlander," and sailed for Fortress Monroe, arriving on the 27th. The next day it was ordered to Boston, Mass., to be mustered out of service. The quartermaster's department not furnishing the necessary transportation, the regiment lay at Fortress Monroe until the 30th, when it was ordered to Balti- more, Md., to report to Major-Gen. Schenck, commanding Middle Department, Eighth Army Corps, as there were fears of an attack on that city by the enemy. July 1, the regiment arrived at Baltimore, and was assigned to the second provisional brigade, under command of Brig.-Gen. E. B. Tyler. It was ordered to Camp Bradford, where it re- mained until the 6th, when it was assigned to the brigade under command of Brig.-Gen. Briggs, and proceeded by rail to Monocacy Junction, Md. The next day the Eighth proceeded to Sandy Hook, and on that night took up the line of march for Maryland Heights. The march up those rugged heights was hard indeed; and, it having rained for a number of hours, the road, or rather path, was in a very bad condition, and the night so dark, one could not tell friend from foe. Entirely unacquainted with the route, the regi- ment was nearly five hours advancing a distance of little more than three and a half miles ;. but finally reached the destination, and at about half-past two o'clock, a.m., of the 8th, taking possession of Fort Duncan, raised the stars and stripes where they could be seen by the pickets of the enemy at the break of day. The regi- ment remained here until the 12th; when, with the re-enforcement of Companies A, E, and F, — which had been relieved from duty at Roanoke Island, N.C., — the brigade took up the line of march in the night to re-enforce the Army of the Potomac, which it joined the next day at Funkstown, having marched a distance of twenty-five miles in sixteen iiours. The brigade was immediately assigned to the second division, First Army Corps. The regiment remained with the Army of the Potomac during its movement from Funkstown to the Rappahannock ; when, on the 26th, it was ordered liome to be mustered out of service. While in the Army of the Potomac, altliough the regiment was not engaged with the enemy, it suffered much for want of tents, clothing, shoes, &c. The men, on leaving Newborn, June 24, supposing their destina- tion to be Massachusetts, deemed it unnecessary to provide them- selves with a new snpply of clothing, as what they had would be 192 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION: more than sufficient for their use on the passage home ; and, being unable to get supplied at Baltimore, the men arrived in Massachusetts on the 29th, with clothes tattered and torn, but yet showing that they had seen service, and, by their firm tread and manly bearing, that they were ready and willing to do their duty to their country and to the glorious old flag. The regiment received a hearty welcome from its friends, and was mustered out of service Ang. 7, 18G3. Since the organization of the regiment, the number of deaths was nine ; wounded, four ; deserters, forty-two. The Eighth Regiment, Col. Peach in command, left with the hundred-days' men, — his force numbering eight hundred and sixty men, — July 2G, 1804. Acquitting themselves with their usual discipline, and prompt acceptance of any post of duty to the Re- public, the troops reached home again in the autumn. CHAPTER VIL THE SEVENTH, NINTH, AND TENTH REGIMENTS. The Seventh under Col. Couch. — Movements and Achievements. — Xinth Eeghnent. — Compositiou of the Regiment. — Col. Cass. — Roster of Officers. — Sloveraents in Virginia. — Penmsular Campaign. — JIarch into Maryland. — Battle of Fredericks- burg. — ChancellorsvIDe. — Gettysburg. — Rappahannock Station. — Mine Run. — Wilderness. — Return Home. — Discharge. — Tenth Regiment. — Its Origin. — Its Roster of Officers. — In Maryland. — In Virginia. — At Yorktowu. — Peninsular Campaign. — Antietam. — Fredericksburg. — St. Mary's Heights. — At Gettysburg. — Pursuit of the Enemy. — Campaign of the Wildei'uess. — Crossing the James. — Before Petersburg. — Return Home. — Mustered out. THE Seventh Regiment was raised in the county of Bristol by Col. Darius Nash Couch, who was commissioned major- general, July 4, 18(32. He was a native of Putnam County, X. Y., and a graduate of West Point. He won laurels in the war with Mexico ; and, six years later, made a tour through that country, publishing, upon his return, his " Notes of Travel." Resigning his position in the army, he engaged in business in New- York City, and subsequently in Taunton, Mass., where he resided when the Rebellion brought him again into the war-field, at the head of the Seventh. Its ofiicers were, — Colonel . Lieutenant- Colonel 3Iajor Surgeon . Assistant Surgeon Darius N. Couch. Chester W. Greene. David E. Holman. S. Atherton Holman. Z. Boylstoa iVdams. Col. Russell of the regular army, who succeeded Col. Couch upon his promotion to a major-generalship, was a fine officer, and did mucii to make the Seventh one of the best regiments in the army. In making a sketch of this excellent body of troops, we can give no more than " a mere outline of its camps, its marches, and its battles." The '- l)ravcry and good conduct " of the Seventh have frequent mention in General Orders. It was mustered into service at Taunton, Mass., June 1"), 18G1 ; and arrived in Wash- ington, D.C., July 15, and encamped on Kalorama Heights, near Georgetown. The following month it went into winter-quarters 25 193 194 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. at Camp Brightwood. The last week in March, 1862, — having marched to Prospect Hill, Va., and returned, — it embarked in the steamer "Daniel Webster" for Fortress Monroe; landed on the 29th, and moved seven miles to Camp William F. Smith. On the 4th of April, the troops were again on the march toward Williamsburg, where they immediately entered the field of battle. Tliough weary, and the afternoon was waning, they advanced, under a severe and well-served fire, to the support of the ex- hausted columns of Gen. Peck's brigade. At nightfall, they relieved the One Hundred and Second Pennsylvania Volunteers, standing by their arms during all the dismal night of drenching rain, without blankets or fires. Before the sun had risen, a de- tachment from Company K, Capt. Reed, with another from Gen. Davidson's command, occupied Fort Magruder. On the 9th, they started for Bottom's Bridge ; had a skirmish with the enemy's pickets on the 21st, driving them in : our forces then crossed the Chickahominy. On the last day of May and the first of June, they were engaged in the fierce battle of Fair Oaks. June 2, they supported a battery at Gelding's Farm ; and on the 25th, having left camp not far from Savage's Station, engaged the enemy near Seven Pines. During the five days following, the troops marched twenty-five miles, turned to James River, and, after a skirmish with rebel cavalry, encamped on the oOth at Turkey-Island Bend. July 1, the march was resumed to Malvern Hill, followed by picket -duty in the woods. The next day, the weary men encamped near Harrison's Landing. On the 3d, they marched three and a half miles, and went into camp again. By the 17th, having made reconnoissances to Turkey-Island Bend and Haxall's Station, the troops crossed the Chickahominy, and encamped on its banks. The month of September, 186-j, was spent in marches from Alexandria to Fairfax Court House, Chain Bridge, Tenally Town, into Maryland, crossing the Monocacy River at Sicksville, then over the mountains to BurttcUsville, thence through South-Mountain Gap, and finally to the battle- field of Antietam. Here they remained a few hours in line of battle in the rear of Gen. Porter's corps, and crossed the Antie- tam River to the field of the previous day, to be stationed on picket. The 2 1st, they encamped in the woods on the Williams- port Road, and, two days later, near Downesvillc. Oct. 18, passing through Williamsport, the tents were pitched in THE SEVENTH AT WOBK. 195 the neighborhood of Clear Springs. Marching over North Moun^ tain on the 20th, and changing camp from Hancock to Cherry Run, Wilhamsport, Robertsville, and BerUn, they crossed into Virginia. Dec. 11, they started at dayliglit, and marched to the Rappa- hannock about one mile below Fredericksburg ; halted until five, P.M. ; then crossed that river under a severe fire from the enemy. The regiment was the second to cross, and, acting as support to the skirmish-line, advanced about half a mile from the river, driving the enemy in front. The troops remained in this position during the night, on picket ; their brigade being the only troops across the river at this point. From Dec. 12 till the last days of January, with brief encamp- ments, the regiment was marching ; sometimes on the left of our line, under fire, and then the rear-guard of the army. They were in camp the greater part of the winter, at White-oak Church. Leaving this spot April 28, the rain beathig upon their ranks, the brave men moved towards the Rappahannock, bivouacked for the night, and at dawn of day, advancing nearer to the stream, deployed into line of battle. July 3, they acted as support, moving from right to left, almost continually under fire. On the 4th, before dawn, they were in the front ; and at noon fell back, and threw up rifle-pits. From that memorable day till the last of October, the troops were on picket, their tramp echoing on the midnight air, and their bivouac on the wild summit of South Mountain ; followed l)y the close pursuit of the enemy with its excitement, and the line of battle with its awful pause. Rifle-pits bristled at intervals along their way, thrown up by their strong hands ; and from the mountain-top, crested by their arms on the 7th of July, thuy moved towards the Potomac, encamping at Warrenton, Stone- house Mountain, Bristow Station. Nearly two hundred and fifty miles had Ijcen travelled to the neighborhood of Warrenton, and well-nigh the entire programme of war experienced I)y the un- complaining troops. Octol)er and November brought the usual variety of marches, skirmishes, and encampments along the Rappahannock and the Rapidan. Nov. 7, the regiment was detached from the second brigade, and sent forward in line of battle to strengthen the First; and, on the 29th, joined the Second Corps, and again took the front. Dec. 3, the Seventh marched to Brandy Station, and pitched 196 MASSACHUSETTS IX THE REBELLION. tents on the same camping-ground left on the last Thanksgiving Day. Col. Johns, its last commander, has written an account of sub- sequent operations : — The regiment remained at Camp Sedgwick, which is near Brandy Station, Va-, between the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers, performing the usual routine of camp and picket duty, until Feb. 27, 1804. On that day, we moved with the Sixth Corps to cover and support the cavalry movement in the direction of Charlottesville, Va. ; marched fifteen miles, through Culpeper, towards Madison Court House, and bivouacked for the night near Jamestown, Va. ; and, the 28th, reached the south bank of Robertson's River, and took position in line of battle, where we remained until the night of March 1 in the midst of a severe rain and snow storm. The cavalry having returned, we recrossed the river, and bivouacked one mile from the north bank, the storm still continu- ing. The objects of the movement having been completed, March 2, mai'ched twenty-two miles back to our old camp near Brandy Station, and resumed camp-duties. Nothing unusual occurred until the night of May 3, when we received orders to break camp at three, a.m., the next morning, and hold ourselves in readiness to move. We started at four, a.m., May 4; marched fourteen miles, crossing the Rapi- dan about one o'clock, and bivouacked for the night four miles from the river. The day following, marched to the left, and took position on the left of the Third Corps. We formed in line of battle ; and about four, p.m., the advance to attack was sounded, and the enemy was successfully engaged until dark, whea we occupied the field, and slept on our arms for the night. Casualties in this engagement, eighty-five. At daybreak we advanced again to the attack ; and continued to be engaged, with wavering success, during the greater portion of the day. The casualties this day were thirty-five. We bivouacked on the field for the night, and on the 7th were ordered to the right to resist a threatened attack of the enemy in that direction. We commenced throwing up rifie-pits, which were not occupied, and at dark moved through the AVil- derness to the left ; being on the march during the whole night. Eight miles on the road leading to Spottsylvania Court House, the enemy made a stand. We formed with the Sixth Corps in line of battle, and at dark charged on the enemy, who was in a strong position on elevated ground. Their line was broken, and the Seventh Massachusetts captured the color- standard, color-guard, and thirty-two men, of a Georgia regiment, losing but one man killed, four wounded, and two prisoners; the latter having been recaptured while on the way to Richmond. We held the position gained, and bivouacked on the field. The next two days we were engaged in throw- ing up ririe-pits, with more or less firing on both sides. On the 11th, we were ordered to the front in skirmish-line, remaining on constant duty till the 13th, when we rejoined the main body, and rested until two, a.m., of the 14th ; tlien marched five miles, and formed in line of battle on the left of the Fifth Corps. At dark, on the 17th, we marched all night towai'ds the right ON CONSTANT DUTY. 197 of the army, and at daybreak charged with our division on the enemy's works, which were not carried. The attempt was renewed : we .were subjected to a severe artillery-fire until eleven, a.m. ; when we were ordered to retire, and fell back to our own rifle-pits. Towards dark, we moved farther back to the same position we left on the night of the 17th, crossed the Ni River, threw out pickets, and bivouacked for the night. The casualties this day. were six. Marched two miles to the left on the 19th, and threw up rifle-pits. In the evening of the 21st, at nine o'clock, we commenced a night-march of fifteen miles towards North Anna River ; crossed it, and threw up rifle- pits. On picket-duty, near Noel's Station, May 25. The regiment, on the 2Gth, was thrown on the extreme left, where the enemy was in formidable position. With other regiments, the Seventh covered the withdrawal of the Sixth Corps ; recrosse'd North Anna River, and thence over the Pamunkey, throwing up rifle-pits at Hanover Court House, on the 29th ; and, the 31st, acting as pickets to cover movements from that position. June 1, we marched fifteen miles to Cold Harbor, which we reached at two, P.M. The enemy w:is found in {wsition, and were immediately engaged by the Sixth Corps with success, and driven back; we occupying the ground for the night. The Seventh was on constant duty at this point from this date until June 12 ; being engaged in several assaults by day and night, constantly exposed to the enemy's fire, and losing men daily. Having been reduced in numbers by the serious casualties of the campaign thus far, the duties of the regiment were unusually arduous, the necessities of the positiua requiring almost constant duty in the front line. The 13th, having marched twenty-five miles, we crossed the Chickahomiuy, and bivouacked for the night ; and, next day, marched four miles to near Charles-City Court House, where we saw the wa- ters of the James River. On the loth, we bivouacked on the banks of the James. Tlie term of three years' service of the Seventh expiring this day, it was relieved from duty, and ordered to Massachusetts to be mustered out of service. In Special Order from division and brigade commanders, the regi- ment was thanked for the gallant and efficient service they had performed. On the morninn; of the Kith, it endiarked from Wilson's Landinji;, James River, Va., in the despatch steamer " Keyport," for Washington ; and on the 17th, at six, P.M., took special train for New York. At Philadelphia, we met with a flattering reception and a hospitable entertainment, l)y the citizens, at the Sol- diers' Home. At New York, we were comt'orlably quartered and provided for at the Park barracks ; and, on the evening of the 19th, took special train for Taunton, Mass., — the point at which the regiment was organ- ized three years ago. Reached Taunton, June 20 ; and the regiment was warmly welcomed back by the citizens, who turned out en masse. The men were furlougliod until Jul}' 4, when they paraded, and assisted the citizens of Taunton in the celebration of the anniversary of our national independence. July 5, the regiment, which had lost in action and by disease sixty-five men, was formally mustered out of service, and the men were furnished trans- portation to their homes. CHAPTER VIII. NINTH AND TENTH REGIMENTS. Niath Regiment. — Composition of the Regiment. — Col. Cass. — Roster of OfBcers. — Movements in Virginia. — Peninsular Campaign. — March into Maiyland. — Battle of Fredericksburg. — Chancellorsville. — Gettj-sburg. — Rappahannock Station. — Mine Run. — Wildemess. — Return Home. — Discharge. — Tenth Regiment. — Its Origin. — Its Roster of Officers. — In Maryland. — In Virginia. — At Yorktown. — Peninsular Campaign. — Antietam. — Fredericksburg. — St. Mary's Heights. — At Gettysburg. — Pursuit of the Enemy. — Campaign of the Wilderness. — Crossing the James. — Before Petersburg. — Return Home. — Mustered out. THE NINTH REGIMENT. THE energetic and enthusiastic Col. Thomas Cass was the "life and soul" of the gallant Ninth, which was com- posed of Irishmen by birth or descent, almost to a man, accustomed to military drill. Among the first three-years' regiments, it be-' came, by discipline and heroism, one of the most efficient that left the State; for the seat of war. It was ordered into camp at Long Island, Boston Harbor, May 3, 1861 ; from which place, some weeks later, it was transported in the steamer " Ben De Ford " to Wasluiigton. The brave Col. Cass fell, mortally wounded, before Richmond, in the battle of June 27, 18(32. He was succeeded in command by Col. Patrick R. Guiney, a brave and accomplished officer, who has furnished a brief nar- rative, which will follow this roll of officers : — Colonel Thomas Cass. Lieutenant- Colonel .... Robert Peard. Major Patrick R. Guiney. Surgeon ...... Peter Piueo. Assistant Surgeon .... Patrick A. O'Connell. Cliaplain ..... Thomas Scully. Upon arriving at Washington, June 29, we encamped about one mile from the city. Left tliis camp, July 28; crossed the Potomac, and encamped on Arlington Heights, Va., where we remained until the 29th of September, when we left to participate in the grand forward movement of the Army of the Potomac, and arrived at Miner's Hill, Va. ; which place we occupied until 198 BATTLES OF GAINES'S MILLS, MALVERy HILL, ETC. 199 March 10, 1862, when we marched to Faiifas Court House, where we re« mained one week. From thence we moved to Alexandria, and embarked for Fortress Monroe the latter part of this month, and encamped near Hampton. Our regiment formed a part of the reconnoissance toward Yorktown, driving the enemy from their works at Big Bethel. On the 4th of April, we ad- vanced to Yorktown, participating in the battle before that town the following day, also in the subsequent siege. On the evacuation of Yorktown hj the enemy, the Ninth joined in the pursuit ; arriving at Gaines's Mills, on the Chickahorainy, May '2b. Formed a part of Gen. Fitz John Porter's corps at the battle of Hanover Court House, May 27. June 26, marched to ■\Iechaniesville, and participated in the battle near that place. We remained in position during the night, and, the following morning, marched to, and fought the battle of, Gaines's Mills, alone ; losing, during the engagement, six killed, twenty wounded, and one missing. The same day (June 26), participated in the battle of the Chickahominy, where our loss amounted to fifty-two killed, a hundred and thirty wounded, and fifteen misfiring. The following morning, we crossed the Chickahominy, and biv- ouacked on the banks of the river; where we remained till the following day, when we marched towards Malvern Hill. On the afternoon of July 1, we took an active part in the battle fought at that place ; our lo.ss being eleven killed, a hundred and forty-seven wounded, and twenty-two missing. The following morning, we marched to Harrison's Landing, on the banks of the James River ; where we remained encamped until Aug. 14, 1862. From thence we marched down the Peninsula, aniving at Fortress Monroe after a march of five days. We reached Acquia Creek Aug. 21. Here we were transported by rail to Fredericksburg, where we encamped, and remained some two or three days. On the 24th of August, we marched to Ellis's Ford, on the Rappa- hannock ; where we remained a few days only, then marched to Warrenton Junction. From thence we marched to Manassas, and were present at all the engagements near that place ; our loss being only five wounded. We marched from ^lanassas, via Vienna, to Chain Bridge, on the Potomac ; whence we returned next day to our old cam[>-ground at Elinor's Hill, after an absence of neai-ly six months. Left this camp Sept. 12, and mai'chcd to Frederick, Md., where we arrived the 14th inst. On the following day, we marched to Boonsborough, and were present at the battle of Antietam. The next day, we followed the retreating enemy to the banks of the Potomac, where we encamped. We were present at the battle of Butler's JMill ; also formed part of the reconnoissance towards Charlestown, Va., Oct. 22, under command of Gen. Humphrey ; loss, one wounded. On the 30th of October, marched to Harper's Ferry, Va. ; from thence to Snicker's Gap, where we remained three days. Nov. 5, we left Snicker's Gap, and marched to War- renton, where we arrived Nov. 10. 200 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. The regiment left Warrcnton Nov. 16, and encamped for a few days at Hartwood Church. Nov. 20, it moved to Fahnouth, and took part in the battle of Fredericksburg, Dec. 13. After the battle, the Ninth re-occupied its old camp at Falmouth until Dec. 30, when it made a recojinoissance toward Kelley's Ford, march- ing fifty-four miles in thirty-one hours, and returning to camp mucli exhausted. April 27, 1863, the troops moved to Kelley's Ford ; crossed the Rappahannock, reaching the Rapidan on the 29th, and arrived at Chancellorsville on the oOtli. The regiment participated in the engagement which took place there May 3; when it returned to Falmouth, where it remained, comparatively idle, until the com- mencement of the series of movements which culminated in the Gettysburg campaign. In the great battle and victory which so gloriously terminated this campaign, the Ninth participated, having been twice actively engaged with the enemy, although its principal duties on this field had been those of skirmishers. In the subsequent pursuit of the enemy, the regiment passed over South Mountain on the 8th of July, and continued the pursuit through Middle- town, Boonsborough, &c. ; and, after crossing the Antietam, the army took up a position. Afterwards we cautiously advanced on Williamsport, which we found evacuated. July 17, the regiment crossed the Potomac at Berlin, Md., and encamped at L ville, Va. ; and, notwithstanding the extraordinary fiitigue the troops had underofone, — marchinir, skirmishing, fighting, almost unceasingly, — the men were never in better spirits. The glorious success of Oettysburg, coming to them as it did after a series -of terrible defeats, inspired them to endurance, and strengthened their hopes. The following day, they marched to Manassas Gap, and, July 24, participated in the battle of Wapping Heights. The enemy were driven from their position there ; and the Ninth continued its march, reaching Warrcnton on the 27th, where, after a brief encampment, it removed to Beverly Ford. From this position, Sept. 14, it changed to a point near Culpeper. Here, Oct. 13, it acted as rear-guard to the Fifth Corps while the army fell back, and then bivouacked at Warrcnton. The Ninth nest moved to Centreville and to the rear of Fairfax. After several heavy marches, the regiment again reached the Rappahannock, Nov. 7, and took part in the battle of Rappahan- nock Station. Nov. 19, the regiment crossed the river again at Kelley's Ford ; marched to and crossed the Rapidan ; and, advan- THE BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS. 201 cing nine miles to Robinson's Tavern, moved on to Mine Run, — a mile and a half farther, — and shared in the engagement at that place. Dec. 1, the regiment recrossed the Rapidan, and, Dec. 3, crossed to the north side of the Rappahannock, and was detailed to do guard-duty at Bealton, where it encamped. The Nintli left Bealton May 1, 1864, and advanced to Cul- peper Court House, where it rejoined the main body of the army. From that point a night's march was made, and the Rapidan was crossed at Germania Ford on the morning of May 4, The march was continued into the Wilderness to the point at which the battle of the Wilderness was fought. May 5, 6, and 7. Thence the regi- ment moved to Spottsylvania, the North and South Anna Rivers, Shady Grove, and up to Cold Harbor, near Richmond, partici- pating in the several battles of this unparalleled campaign. From Cold Harbor the Ninth was ordered home, having completed its term of service. The men whose term of service had not expired were transferred to the Thirty-second Regiment. The losses of the Ninth in this its concluding campaign were, officers, six killed and fourteen wounded ; enlisted men, two hundred and thirty-eight killed and wounded. Major Mahan's narrative contains paragraphs which will make the foregoing more complete. In reference to the winter of 1864, he says, — The duties performed during these winter mouths were very arduous, and required the greatest vigilance, in consequence of the frequent raids of Mosby's guerilla-band, and also of the notorious company of "Black-horse Cavalry." The latter force consisted principally of the flower of Fauquier County, and was the first company of cavalry mustered into the service of the Confederate States. It took its name from tlie fact that its first captain rode a noble black charger ; and the company was always known, even prior to the war, as the "Black-horse Cavalry," and formed part of the Virginia militia. On the night of the 13th of January, 1804, this company made an attack on the guard stationed at headquarters of second brigade, first division, Fifth Corps, but were repulsed by Company F of the Ninth, commanded by Capt. O'Leary. Several other attempts to cut the railroad and burn the bridge at Licking Run were foiled by the determination of the guard detailed from the Ninth. It was the 10th of June when the regiment's service closed ; and it broke camp at daylight, and proceeded homeward vid Washington, Baltimore, Pliiladelphia, and New York. On tiie morning of the fifteenth day of June, the regiment ar- rived in Boston ; and tlic veterans m^t with a most cordial and 26 202 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION. hearty reception. The Millbury company of State militia formed the escort, and twenty-three civic associations joined in the pro- cession." All the public buildings, and many private dwellings and stores, displayed the national colors, and were gayly decorated with bunting. A salute was fired on Boston Common by Capt. Cummings's Battery of Light Artillery, and at Faneuil Hall a splendid collation was served by the city of Boston. In the after- noon and evening, the regiment was entertained in a becoming manner by the Columbian Association. THE TENTH REGIMENT. The Tenth was raised in the five western counties of the State. Capt. Henry S. Briggs, who commanded one of the companies of the noljlc Eighth in April, was called to tlie colonelcy of the Tenth in the latter part of May. On the 31st of the month, the troops went into camp at Springfield, and subsequently at Med- ford. July 25, 1831, they sailed for Washington in the steamers " Ben De Ford " and " S. R. Spauldiug." Its officers were, — Colonel Henry S. Briggs. Lieutenant- Colonel .... Jeffortl M. Decker. Major William R. Marsh. Surgeon ...... Cyrus N. Chamberlain. Assistant Surgeon .... William Holbrook. Chaplain Frederic A. Barton. The regiment reached the Navy-yard at Wasliington, July 28, and, disembarking, marclied to Kalorania Heights. A week later, the troops removed to a point five miles north of the capital, on the road to Rockville, whore thoy were stationed, March 10, 18G2. with the advance of the army towards Manassas. The regiment then marched to Prospect Hill, Va., and, on the 27th, sailed from Wasliington for Fortress Monroe, where it landed April 1, and went into camp five miles from Hampton. On the 5th, the troops engaged in the siege of Yorktown, and, on May 3, joined in the pursuit of the enemy to Williams- burg. On the evening of the 5th, they entered the battle-field there in time to support the right wing during the closing scenes of the contest. The 8th found them on the enemy's track up the Peninsula. On the 28th, they reached Savage's Station. The attack on G