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Massachusetts and the Civil War (1861-1865)
Massachusetts (1861-1865), part 2
Gov. Andrew was nominated by acclamation at the Republi-
can state convention which met at
Worcester, Oct. 1, 1861, and
was elected to succeed himself by a large majority. The resolu-
tions adopted by the
convention recited that the maintenance of
the constitution transcends any other question, and demands the
life and
property of all citizens; expressed a desire for the union
of all friends of the country against its pretended friends
and
open enemies; declared that no rights secured to loyal citizens
shall be endangered, and that disloyal citizens
have no rights
adverse to those who are loyal; approved the acts of the admin-
istration; recognized the devotion
of the volunteers and recom-
mended, great care in the nomination of subordinate officers. An
anti-slavery resolution
was tabled.
Near the close of 1861, after some correspondence between
the states, the legislature of Maryland
appropriated $7,000 for
the benefit of the families of those who were killed and wounded
in the Baltimore riot. The
act was a gracious one and did much
to promote good feeling between the two states. The legisla-
ture, which assembled
in Jan., 1862, duly acknowledged this act
of Maryland. It also made provision for the armament of the
forts in Boston
harbor and at New Bedford and caused plans
to be prepared for the fortifications of other ports in the state.
This
subject of proper coast defenses was a matter of constant
care and anxiety to the state authorities throughout the war.
The matter never received the attention it deserved at Washing-
ton, though it is probable that neither the navy nor
war depart-
ment had the means at their command to afford the needed pro-
tection. As early as April 24, 1861, the
governor sent a detach-
ment of the volunteer militia to garrison the forts in Boston har-
bor. Though every effort
was made to induce the United States
government to remedy the defenseless condition of the coast as
speedily as possible,
so great was the pressure of other matters
of moment requiring immediate attention, that little or nothing
was done.
In his message to the legislature in Jan. 1863, the
governor reviewed the history of his past efforts, and liberal pro-
vision was made by the legislature at this session to effect the
desired relief. Fortifications were thereupon erected
at New-
buryport, Marblehead, Plymouth, Salem, New Bedford and
Gloucester, and Boston harbor was at the same time
provided
with an ingenious system of defenses. The greatest need — large
and powerful guns — could only
be satisfied by despatching
agents to Europe, which was promptly done. In this way a
number of powerful guns were
contracted for and secured. The
famous fight between the Merrimac and Monitor had demon-
strated the absolute necessity
of heavy ordnance in naval attack
and coast defense.
During the first six months of 1862, the following three
years'
organizations had been recruited and sent to the front: Three
companies of unattached cavalry; the 28th, 29th
and 30th in-
fantry regiments; the 6th battery; seven companies of the 31st
regiment comprising the Fort Warren battalion
and later reor-
ganized as the 32nd infantry; two companies for the 14th infantry,
making a total of 4,587 men. Other
new organizations created
during this period were a company of light artillery known as
Cook's (8th) battery, mustered
in for six months' service; the 1st
unattached company of heavy artillery, enlisted for three years for
service in
the Boston harbor forts; the 1st company of Cadets,
which took the place of the Fort Warren battalion; the 2nd com-
pany
Cadets of Salem, on garrison duty in the forts of Boston
harbor, and a company raised by Capt. E. H. Staten, also mus-
tered in for garrison duty. Besides the above new organiza-
tions 6,628 volunteers were recruited and sent forward
to fill
the depleted ranks of regiments in the field. Says Adjt.-
Gen. Schouler: "It was the policy of Gov. Andrew
to keep
the regiments in service full, rather than to organize new regi-
ments while the old regiments were wanting
men. In pur-
suance of this policy, 7,000 men were enlisted during the year
1862, assigned to regiments in the field,
and forwarded to their
several destinations." Much criticism has been leveled at Mas-
sachusetts for what was termed
her "mistaken policy" in respect
to recruiting. Such able military critics as J. C. Ropes at home
and the Comte de
Paris abroad have been especially severe in
their strictures on the policy of forming new regiments, instead
of filling
up the old ones. What these and other critics say is
probably true, but the procedure was rather a matter of neces-
sity
than one of choice. That it was not the policy of Gov. An-
drew, as sometimes asserted, is refuted by the above statement
of Adjt.-Gen. Schouler, as well as by an incident related by the
state historian, T. W. Higginson. A local selectman
in 1864
offered the governor a company from his town for a new regi-
ment if the officers named by the men could be
commissioned.
This was strongly opposed by the governor, but the selectman
stated that not a man could be raised in
his town for an old regi-
ment. Said Bvt. Brig.-Gen. Walcott who described the scene:
"Since new regiments were better
than none and quotas
must be filled, Gov. Andrew had to yield, and wound up with
this vehement commentary, 'Julius
Caesar himself couldn't raise
a company for an old regiment in Massachusetts, as long as there
is a shoemaker left
to make a captain of.'" It became easier to
secure recruits for old organizations after July 21, 1862, when
the secretary
of war issued an order promising new recruits that
they should be mustered out with the regiment to which they
were
assigned. "Most of our regiments in the field had two
years yet to serve, and there was a general belief that before the
expiration of the regiments' terms the war would be at an end.
The effect of the order was to send nearly 5,000 men
to fill up
the depleted ranks." (Adjt.-General's Rep., Jan., 1865, p. 51.)
In response to an order from the president May 28, 1862, for
thirty companies of infantry,
recruiting was commenced for the
33d and 34th infantry. Six of the remaining ten companies were
recruited and assigned
as a garrison for Fort Warren, and four
to complete the organization of the 32nd. On July 2, 1862, the
president called
for 300,000 three years' men. General Order,
No. 26, called for 15,000 volunteers from Massachusetts to form
new regiments
and to fill the ranks of old ones. Each town was
now assigned its quota and recruiting proceeded rapidly. Within
three
months from the date of the receipt of this order, Massa-
chusetts had furnished her contingent of 15,000 men, 4,000 of
which went to recruit regiments in the field, and the 33d, 34th,
35th, 36th, 37th, 38th, 39th, 40th and 41st infantry
(afterwards
reorganized as the 3d cavalry), together with the 9th and 10th
light batteries, were the new organizations
formed under this
order. Not a dollar of bounty was paid these or any of the pre-
ceding men by the state. Before
the work of recruiting the
above mentioned 15,000 men was half completed the president
issued, on Aug. 4. a call for
300,000 men for nine months' serv-
ice. The proportion assigned to Massachusetts was 19,000 and
the men were to be
drafted. From the beginning to the end of
the war, both the state and local authorities were strenuously
opposed to
the draft, and labored to avoid it. As Massachusetts
furnished her quota at this period within a reasonable time by
voluntary
enlistment a draft was avoided. The new enrolment,
however, which was made at this time, showing the credits to
be
allowed to the various cities for men already furnished, and
the proportion required from each under this call, remained
as a
basis for all future apportionments among the cities and towns
throughout the war. By December the quota of the
state was
practically filled. About 33,000 men had been recruited in less
than 5 months, and the regiments, well organized
and equipped,
had gone forward. Under the call for nine months' troops, the
following regiments were supplied: The
3d, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th,
which had been in the three months' service at the beginning of
the war, were each recruited
to the full standard for the nine
months' service, and new infantry regiments from the 42nd to
the 53d, inclusive,
were organized, together with the nth light
battery, the only nine months' battery raised in the state. Mas-
sachusetts
had at the close of the year 1862 in active service up-
wards of 60,000 men in the field, composed of fifty-three regi-
ments of infantry, one regiment and three unattached companies
of cavalry, twelve companies of light and three of
heavy artil-
lery, and two companies of sharpshooters. Moreover, recruiting
for the old organizations in the field
had gone forward briskly
and several thousand men had been supplied. Massachusetts
troops had suffered heavy losses
in the Peninsular campaign, un-
der Gen. Pope, and at the battle of Antietam.
In the Republican state convention
which assembled at Wor-
cester, Sept. 10, 1862, resolutions were adopted which stated
in substance: that Massachusetts
would support the government
in the prosecution of the war; that, as slavery was a principal
support of the rebellion,
slavery should be exterminated. The
valor of the soldiers was complimented and sympathy expressed
for those who had
fallen; one complimentary to the senators in
Congress, and favoring the reelection of Charles Sumner to the
U. S.
senate by the legislature to be elected in November, and
one which indorsed the state administration. The convention
renominated
Gov. Andrew and the old state officers, with the
exception of the lieutenant-governor, by acclamation. The
Democratic
party as such held no convention, but united with
the conservative and dissatisfied Republicans to hold a "People's
convention,"
which placed in nomination Brig.-Gen. Charles
Devens, Jr., for governor; Thomas F. Plunkett for lieutenant-
governor;
Henry W. Paine for attorney-general, and indorsed
the balance of the Republican ticket. Candidates for Congress
in
several districts were also nominated. The resolutions adopted
favored a vigorous prosecution of the war and pointedly
in-
dorsed Gen. McClellan. Gov. Andrew received 80,835 votes at
the election, and Devens 52,587. The legislature which
met in
Jan., 1863, reelected Charles Sumner as U. S. senator, thus sus-
taining him in his fearless position as an
opponent of the insti-
tution of slavery. The legislature adjourned on April 29, after
passing about 350 bills. Among
the expenditures provided for
were $1,000,000 for coast defenses, $500,000 for the purchase of
arms and $5,500,000
for expenses connected with the war. It
authorized the reimbursement to the cities and towns for the
bounties paid
by them to volunteers, in sums not to exceed $100
to each volunteer; legalized the acts and doings of cities and
towns
in the payment of bounties to volunteers and taxes assessed
to pay the same; authorized the state aid to be paid to families
of
drafted men the same as families of volunteers; provided for
the payment by the state of the pay due to soldiers
by the Fed,-
eral government and for the encouragement of the allotment of
pay by the soldiers; authorized the governor
to pay bounties not
to exceed $50 each to volunteer, and provided that cities and
towns might raise money by taxation
for the support of the
families of deceased soldiers and of soldiers discharged for disa-
bility. The various municipalities
were prohibited, from the fur-
ther payment of bounties to volunteers.
The state raised and equipped during the
war five regiments
of cavalry, which were all the mounted troops furnished, except
a battalion of frontier cavalry
and a few unattached companies
furnished near the close of the struggle. Reference has been
made to the formation
of the 1st cavalry. Two more regiments
of cavalry were formed in 1863.
The Emancipation Proclamation of President
Lincoln had
gone into effect on Jan. 1, 1863, and Congress had authorized
the president by express terms to employ
persons of African
descent as he might deem best for the suppression of the rebel-
lion. On Jan. 26 Gov. Andrew was
authorized by the secretary
of war to recruit a colored regiment in Massachusetts, the same
to be officered by white
men. On account of the strong preju-
dices involved only five regiments of colored volunteers, the 1st
S. C, 1st Kansas,
and three regiments of free colored men
recruited by Gen. Butler in New Orleans, had been organized
up to this date.
An effort had, indeed, been made in one eastern
state, Rhode Island, to recruit a colored regiment, but it re-
mained
for Massachusetts, under the vigorous lead of Gov. An-
drew, to take the first effective steps. The first authority to
recruit for a colored regiment was issued by Gov. Andrew, Feb.
7, 1863, and in less than 100 days the regiment was
filled to the
maximum. Such was the enthusiasm among the colored men to
enlist the authorities decided to organize
another colored regi-
ment, which was also rapidly filled, the two regiments being
numbered the 54th and the 55th.
The report of the adjutant-
general for 1863 thus sets forth the feeling which prevailed:
"It required calm foresight,
thorough knowledge of our condi-
tion, earnest conviction, faith in men, faith in the cause, and
undaunted courage,
to stem the various currents which set in
and flooded the land against employing the black man as a sol-
dier. In
the executive of Massachusetts was found a man who
possessed the qualifications necessary to stem these currents, and
to wisely inaugurate and peacefully carry out to a successful ter-
mination the experiment of recruiting regiments
of colored
men." Many patriotic men in the North felt that there was
imminent danger in this procedure lest the prime
object of the
war — the restoration of the national authority in the seceded
states — give place to an
anti-slavery crusade. Many worthy sol-
diers protested against serving in an abolition crusade, and many
desertions
at this time may properly be attributed to this cause.
Most men now realize that the employment of the blacks as sol-
diers by the North was wise, both from a military standpoint and
as a means of advancing the colored race. Col. Shaw,
who was
placed in command of the 54th, had been a captain in the 2nd
Mass. infantry, a brilliant officer, a student
of Harvard college
and belonged to one of the best families in the state. He fell
while leading his men, on the parapet
of Fort Wagner, S. C, and
was buried with his men in a common trench by the Confeder-
ates. Lieut.-Col. Hallowell
organized the 55th and became its
colonel. Both regiments rendered excellent service. In the
winter of 1863-64, a
third colored regiment was formed, known
as the 5th Mass. cavalry, under the command of Col. Henry S.
Russell. The
men in these commands came from many different
parts of the country. Massachusetts officers were especially
prominent
in the work of arming the blacks in other parts of
the country. The pioneer regiment of the whole series of slave-
regiments
was the one raised in South Carolina in Aug., 1862,
under authority of the war department, by Brig.-Gen. Rufus
Saxton,
military governor of the Department of the South. Gen.
Saxton was a Massachusetts man, as was Col. T. W. Higginson,
the
commander of the regiment. Capt. R. J. Hinton, who re-
cruited the 1st Kansas colored reg., Maj.-Gen. B. F. Butler, who
recruited the three colored regiments of New Orleans, Maj.-Gen.
G. L. Andrews, and Maj. G. L. Stearns, who had principal
charge of the work of organizing the blacks in the slave states,
Maj.-Gen. N. P. Banks, who organized the Corps d'Afrique
at
New Orleans, Maj.-Gen. Edward W. Hinks, who commanded
a large body of the colored troops in the operations before
Petersburg, and Brig.-Gen. Samuel M. Quincy, author of a
special system of tactics for the colored troops, were all
Massa-
chusetts men. A matter which should also be borne in mind is
that the white officers in command of these black
men were ex-
pressly denied the ordinary rights of war by the Confederate
government, and "if captured, were to be
put to death as in-
citing servile insurrection."
The only draft of any consequence which occurred in Massa-
chusetts
took place during the months of June and July, 1863.
The law directing it, passed by Congress the previous winter,
was
put into operation at this time, when Maj. Clarke, of the
U. S. Army, was appointed provost-marshal-general for the
state,
with headquarters at Boston, and assistant provost-mar-
shals were appointed for the several congressional districts.
All
male persons in the state between 20 and 45 years of age were
enrolled in two classes, the total number being
164,178. The
number actually drafted was 32,079, of whom 6,690 were held
to serve, though of these only 743 actually
joined the service,
2,325 provided substitutes, 22,343 were exempted, 3,044 failed
to report, and 3,623 paid commutation,
amounting to $1,085,800.
The number of drafted men and substitutes actually mustered
into service in 1863 was 2,944,
of whom 2,720 were assigned to
regiments at the front, and 224 served as a provost guard at
camp on Long Island. Of
the above number, 73 were colored
and were sent to the 54th infantry. By reason of the wise pre-
cautions taken, the
bloody scenes which occurred in the streets
of New York were not repeated in Massachusetts. There was
rioting and
disorder in the streets of Boston and angry demon-
strations in other places, but only one serious outbreak took
place.
This was in front of the armory of the nth battery of
light artillery on Cooper street, Boston. A single volley was
all
that the soldiers of Massachusetts were called on to fire
against a mob which sought to force an entrance to the armory
building, the police being sufficient to quell the other disturb-
ances.
During the winter of 1863-64 every
encouragement was given
to the soldiers in the field whose terms of service were about to
expire to reenlist for another
term of three years. Each soldier
who reenlisted was to receive a furlough of 30 days and the liberal
bounty offered
by the state and general government. Upward
of 6,200 Massachusetts veterans accepted the terms, and were
credited
on the state's quota. While not increasing the number
of soldiers in the service, they were the best troops possible and
served to offset the weakness resulting from the inferior charac-
ter of the troops recruited during the later months
of the war,
from which Massachusetts suffered in common with the other
states. Four veteran regiments were raised
during the fall and
winter of 1863-64, composed of men who had not seen less than
nine months' service. These were
the 57th to the 59th, inclusive.
In addition to the 2nd cavalry recruited in the early part of
the year to which
reference has been made, the 2nd heavy artil-
lery was organized in the summer of 1863, while several com-
panies
of heavy artillery were organized for garrison duty in
the coast forts of the state. During the year, 11,538 men were
mustered in for three years, bringing the total of three years'
men up to 63,359. Added to this were 16,837 nine months'
men
and 3,736 three months' men, giving the state a grand total of
83,932. Also 3,686 men who had enlisted in 1863
for the naval
service and 17,304 since the beginning of the war, for whom the
state had as yet been given no credit
by the general government.
If these be added to those furnished for the military service,
Massachusetts had supplied
for all arms of the service by the
close of the year 1863, a total of 101,236 men.
Under the president's call
of Oct. 17, 1863, for 300,000 volun-
teers, the quota of Massachusetts was 15,126. The repeated
calls had already
drained the state of much of its active man-
hood,. The high patriotic impulses which had moved men to
enlist by thousands
during the early months of the war no longer
stirred men's hearts, after more than two years of bitter struggle.
The
stay-at-homes were influenced by potent family and business
considerations. In the face of the strong demand for labor
at
high wages, and the prevailing business prosperity, the small
bounties offered and the meager pay of the soldier
in the field
provided no pecuniary temptation to embark in the more dan-
gerous service. Volunteers in active service
were receiving $13
per month in money and $3 in clothing, the state was offering a
bounty of $50 for a three years'
enlistment, and the United
States $100, while the recruits were given their choice between
infantry, cavalry and artillery
regiments. Recruiting progressed
very slowly, and to avoid a resort to the unpopular draft the
governor was importuned
to call an extra session of the legis-
lature, that measures might be devised to stimulate enlistments.
The amount
of state bounty could not be increased under exist-
ing law and little added inducement could be offered by the cities
and towns under the law as framed. He accordingly summoned
the legislature to meet on Nov. 11, and in an elaborate
message
recommended that the state add to the monthly pay of the vol-
unteers, rather than pay a large bounty at the
date of their mus-
ter into service. He also asked them to right the injustice done
the colored troops by the general
government, which paid these
men only $7 per month and the usual allowance for clothing.
The legislature remained
in session for only a week and devoted
itself to the matters urged on their attention by the governor. A
bill to promote
enlistments and recruiting was passed; a bill
which provided for the payment of a bounty of $325 on the date
of muster,
or, if the recruit should so elect, a bounty of $50, and
a monthly wage of $20. In case a soldier should be honorably
discharged after six months' service, the payment was to be con-
tinued for six months longer, or, if he should die
in the service,
the money was to be paid to his legal representatives. It further
extended the provisions of the state-aid
act to the families of
volunteers. Resolutions were passed urging on Congress an in-
crease of the pay of the soldiers;
expressing the injustice done
the state by Congress in not allowing credits for men in the
naval service, and in not
allowing the colored troops the same
pay as the whites.
Considerable bitterness was shown in the political campaign
of 1863. The Democratic party
placed in nomination for gov-
ernor a new man to the party, and a former Whig, Henry W.
Paine of Cambridge, and a
full state ticket. They made their
canvass on a platform which declared that it is the duty of every
citizen to sustain
the national government; that the Democracy
will meet armed rebellion with the sword, and "unconstitutional
acts of
Congress and startling usurpations of power by the exec-
utive" with the ballot; that obedience to the constitution is
the
only true test of loyalty to the government; that the attempt of
the radicals to insist on their party platform
as a condition of
peace, tends, not merely to prolong the war, but to produce an-
archy and despotism. They urged
a speedy peace on honorable
terms and condemned the unconstitutional assumption of various
powers by the administration
on the insidious plea of military
necessity. The Republican convention again placed in nomina-
tion Gov. Andrew and
his official associates, on a platform which
pledged the state to an unwavering and unconditional support
of the national
government ; thanked the soldiers and sailors for
their heroic services for the preservation of the Union; approved
the
emancipation policy of the president and the arming of the
blacks, and gave unqualified indorsement to the policy of the
state administration. At the election in November, Gov. Andrew
and his party associates were elected by a large majority,
An-
drew receiving the largest majority he had yet received — 41,199.
When the new legislature assembled
in 1864, the annual mes-
sage of the governor recommended that the various bounty acts
and those extending state aid
to families be modified to include
soldiers enlisted in the regular army, and all such families irre-
spective of
their place of residence, and authorizing retroactive
relief when the situation of the families demanded it. He urged
the establishment of a military academy by the commonwealth,
and argued at length in favor of recruiting the wasted
regiments
in the field from the population of the rebellious states. He
showed also that the expenses of the year
had been $6,728,000,
about $5,116,032 of which had been expended in the payment of
bounties, aid to families, etc.
Most of the acts passed by the legisla-
ture were of a local character, the others being chiefly amenda-
tory of acts
already passed relating to the soldiers. Towns were
authorized to raise money by taxation for the purpose of erecting
monuments "in memory of their soldiers who have died or may
die in the service of our country in the present war."
Another
act was designed to give the right of suffrage to those whose ab-
sence prevented their assessment in the
usual manner; another
made provision for the payment of the proportional expense of the
state in the completion of the national cemetery at Gettysburg and
the reinterment of the dead there, while still another authorized the
creation of a "Bounty Fund" by the issue of $10,000,000 of scrip at
five per cent, interest.
At the beginning of the year 1864, the seventeen regiments
enlisted
for nine months had returned home, and the state had in
the field thirty-six regiments of infantry, three regiments of
cavalry, two regiments of heavy artillery, one battalion and
eight unattached companies of heavy artillery, twelve
batteries
of light artillery, and two companies of sharpshooters — all in
the three years' service. In addition
to the four veteran regi-
ments recruited during the winter of 1863-64, the 4th and 5th
cavalry were organized and
sent to the front during the first six
months of 1864, and the following new organizations were also
recruited within
this period: a new battalion for the 1st cavalry;
the nth, 14th and i6th batteries of light artillery, which joined
the
Army of the Potomac; four companies of heavy artillery,
which were attached to the eight companies raised in 1863, and
known as the 3d Mass. heavy artillery; and several thousand
men were sent forward as recruits to fill the old regiments.
The final campaign of the war was now in progress and was
soon to bring about the fall of the Confederacy. Every
available
man was now needed at the front, and an order from the secre-
tary of war on July 1, 1864, relieved veteran
troops on garrison
duty at various points and sent them into active service, and
directed that militia regiments enlisted
for 100 days take their
places. Massachusetts responded with her usual promptness
and furnished five regiments to
serve for 100 days. These were
the 5th, 6th, 8th, 42nd and 60th regiments of infantry, the last
named being a new
organization. Besides these regiments, nine
companies of 100 days' men were recruited for garrison duty in
the coast
fortifications of the state. The total recruited under
this call was 5,461, none of whom were credited on the quota of
the state. During September the 4th regiment of heavy artillery
was recruited for one year's service and was assigned
to duty in
the defenses of Washington, where it was soon followed by two-
unattached companies designed for the same
service. A regi-
ment of infantry, the 61st, was also slowly recruited during the
fall and winter, and left the state
in detachments, to report to
Gen. Grant at City Point. Near the close of December, the fron-
tier cavalry was organized,
consisting of a battalion of five com-
panies, which joined the 26th N. Y. cavalry and performed
guard duty on the
Canadian frontier. From the surplus men
who had desired to enlist in this battalion, three companies were
formed late
in the year and attached to the 3d Mass. cavalry in
the field, taking the places of three independent companies which
were mustered out. In addition to the above, 1,247 men were
mustered in for 90 days' service. On March 10, 1865, General
Order, No. 5, was issued in accordance with a requisition of the
war department to raise one regiment for one year's
service, and
for thirty infantry companies to recruit old regiments. The new
regiment was to be numbered the 62nd,
but while these organi-
zations were in process of formation the news of Gen. Lee's sur-
render was received and they
were never organized.
According to the official statement from the adjutant-general's
office, July 15, 1885, the
total number of sailors and marines
furnished by the various states to the U. S. Navy was 101,207.
Of this large number,
Massachusetts, being a seaside state, con-
tributed a larger number than any other except New York. Her
contribution
in round numbers was 20,000, or nearly one-fifth
of the whole number. A body of volunteer naval officers was
also
created during the war. A total of 7,500 were enrolled in
this service, and out of this number, Higginson says that Massa-
chusetts furnished at least 1,757. The state received no credit
on her quotas for this large number of naval enlistments,
until
Congress passed the act of July 4, 1864, which allowed the
same and was one of the most just deeds of Congress
during
the war. Much credit is due Gov. Andrew in securing its en-
actment and he was at Washington when the bill
passed. It
afforded a method whereby all the discontented cities and towns
of the state could be satisfied. The number
of enlistments
claimed by the several cities and towns was allowed them, and
there was left a surplus of 7,605, which
was distributed pro rata
among them. The same act which allowed naval credits, also
made it lawful for the executive
to send recruiting agents into
the rebellious states to obtain recruits for the Union armies.
Col. Jos. M. Day of
Barnstable was appointed provost-marshal
of the state and given supervision over the matter of enlistments.
Agents
were appointed at Washington, Fortress Monroe, New-
bern, Hilton Head, and Nashville. In this way 1,257 men were
secured
for the quota of the state, but the measure proved of
doubtful value. There resulted a sharp competition between the
several
states, who despatched their agents into the rebellious
territory as to which could offer the highest bids for men willing
to join the Union army. In addition to these enlistments secured
without the borders of the state, it will have been
noted that
certain other outside elements contributed to fill her quota. Many
came to the state to enlist in the 54th
and 55th infantry (col-
ored), the California battalion of the 2nd cavalry, but the great
proportion of the men furnished
by Massachusetts were her own
sons. She even furnished considerable bodies of troops for out-
side organizations,
for which she is commonly given no credit
in estimates of the total numbers furnished. Five companies
joined the New
York Mozart regiment in 1861, and some 600
men enlisted in the 99th N. Y. infantry, commanded by Col.
Wardrop, formerly
of the 3d Mass. militia.
While the trying campaign of 1864 was in full progress and
a heavy cloud of uncertainty hung
over the country lest it should
not be carried to a successful issue, the great battle of the ballots
in both nation
and state took place. President Lincoln was tri-
umphantly reelected for a second term. In the state, the Re-
publicans
met in convention at Worcester, Sept. 15, and renomi-
nated Gov. Andrew amid great enthusiasm. The old state ticket
was
again nominated with the exception of Atty.-Gen. Foster,
who declined to make the race. The resolutions adopted con-
formed
to those of previous years and sustained the Baltimore
platform and nominations of the national party. The Democratic
state convention met on Sept. 21, at Faneuil Hall, Boston, and
renominated their ticket of the previous year. Their
platform
indorsed the nomination of Gen. McClellan at Chicago and "the
patriotic principles declared by the national
convention"; de-
clared that the people demanded fulfillment of the pledges in
the Crittenden resolution and a return
to cooperative movements
toward peace and union; that the present deplorable civil war
was fatal to the Union and
constitution; applauded Sheri-
dan's great victory at Winchester, which had just taken place;
and called for a better
system for the exchange of prisoners of
war The campaign was conducted vigorously, but in a con-
ciliatory spirit.
The gubernatorial vote was: Andrew, 125,281;
Paine, 49,190, — majority for Andrew, 76,091, — slightly less
than
that of Lincoln, which was 77,997.
When the legislature of the state assembled in Jan., 1865, it
was
evident that the war was drawing rapidly to a close. The
message of the governor expressed this belief, and also that
when the national authority was again restored slavery would
have been abolished. In this, his fifth and last inaugural
address,
he exhaustively reviewed the services and sacrifices of Massa-
chusetts in the war and stated that the war
debt amounted to
nearly $14,500,000, most of which was held by citizens of the state.
Said he: "All the scrip issued
by Massachusetts she is bound to
pay, and she will pay, both interest and principal, in gold, to all
holders, with
the cheerfulness which becomes her spotless honor
and the promptness of an industrious, economical, and thrifty
commonwealth."
He showed plainly that general prosperity had
prevailed despite the war, as the great increase in savings de-
posits
well shows.
On Feb. 2, 1865, the president signed the resolution abolishing
slavery and the constitutional amendment
was at once ratified
by the legislature. The next day Gov. Andrew wired the presi-
dent: "Massachusetts has today
ratified the constitutional
amendment abolishing slavery by a unanimous yea and nay vote
of both branches of the legislature,
the Democrats voting- affirma-
tively."
On April 3 Gov. Andrew received a message from the secre-
tary of
war, announcing the evacuation of Petersburg and the
fall of Richmond. He at once telegraphed in reply: "I give
you
joy on these triumphant victories. Our people, by a com-
mon impulse, abandoned business today, for thanksgiving and
rejoicing.
The colored man received last got in first, and thus
the scripture is fulfilled." The colored division of Weitzel's
corps
is said to have been the first infantry to enter the Confed-
erate capital. From now on all was excitement and re-
joicing,
and with the final surrender of Lee on April 9 came the
practical ending of the war. The surrender of the other armies
of the Confederacy followed in quick succession, the work of dis-
banding the soldiers was then taken up, and by the
close of the
.summer nearly all the survivors among the Massachusetts troops
came home, only a few regiments being
detached on special duty
until the following year.
A highly interesting ceremony took place after the close of
the war, when on Dec. 22, 1865, the 245th anniversary of the
landing of the pilgrims at Plymouth, the survivors of
the various
Massachusetts regiments, batteries and companies bore their re-
spective flags in procession through the
streets of Boston. The
thoroughfares were crowed with spectators, and when the sol-
diers finally returned to the
state house, the flags were formally
turned over to the governor by Gen. Couch, commanding the
column, and were received
by Gov. Andrew with eloquent words
which touched the hearts of all. His address closed with the
pledge: "I accept
these relics in behalf of the people and the
government. They will be preserved and cherished, amid all
the vicissitudes
of the future, as mementoes of brave men and
noble actions."
Only five states, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois
and
Indiana, surpassed Massachusetts in the total number of men
furnished during the war. The report of the adjutant-general
for January, 1866, states that the number of men supplied was
159,165, including 26,163 in the navy. Included in this
estimate
also, are the reenlisted veterans. Phisterer, an able statistician,
estimates that the state supplied a total
of 146,730 men, and that
5,318 men paid commutation, making a grand total credited to
the state of 152,048. The final
report of the adjutant-general
at Washington for the year 1885 credits Massachusetts with
122,781 white troops, 3,966
colored troops, and 19,983 sailors,
or 146,781 men in all. It would appear from the successive re-
ports of the adjutant-general
of the state that every city and
town filled its quota upon every call by the president, and that,
with twelve minor exceptions,
each furnished a surplus over all
demands, amounting in all to 15,178. This number should be
further increased by
the addition of a large number of sailors
now credited to Massachusetts, and also by the men recruited
in the state
and furnished to the two New York organizations.
Deduct the imported Germans, and the colored troops as well as
the
men enlisted in the states in rebellion, and there would still
remain a large balance in favor of Massachusetts.
Mention
has been made of the three colored regiments re-
cruited in the state. There were two distinctively Irish regi-
ments,
the 9th and 28th infantry, besides Irish companies in
several regiments. It has been estimated that there were 1,876
Germans
recruited in the state out of a total German population
of 9,961. (Higginson, vol. 1, p. 135.) These were scattered
through
the various regiments, but three companies were dis-
tinctively German — B and C, in the 20th, and A in the 25th.
Higginson is also authority for the statement that the total
amount of bounty paid to all recruits by the state,
up to Dec. 1,
1865, amounted to $11,685,987.60, and speaking of casualties,
says: "There are in all forty-five infantry
regiments which lost
over 200 men each, killed or mortally wounded, during the Civil
war. Six of these were Massachusetts
regiments."
The good sanitary condition of the Massachusetts regiments
in the field was frequently commended and
the condition of the
camps was often such as to require no special preparation when
an inspection was announced for
a certain day. During the
early part of the war many recruits were allowed to enlist who
had not been properly inspected
as to their physical condition,
and the same was true to a certain extent in the latter days of
the war. The men,
however, once enlisted, were given fairly
good surgical attendance throughout the war. The "contract
surgeons" of
the latter days were hardly the equals of their pre-
decessors, but, on the whole, the Massachusetts surgeons ranked
high
in character. It has been well said that "nothing is more
deceptive among military statistics than the mere number of
killed in battle; this may proceed from the superior daring of
a commander or simply from his carelessness and incapacity;
but a small death-roll from disease is pretty sure to be due to
the care of the commander and the surgeons." The total
num-
ber of those who died from disease and accident in Massachu-
setts organizations is stated by Higginson to be
5,799. The 13th
infantry is said to have had the smallest percentage of loss from
disease among the three years' regiments
of the entire army.
The total losses from all causes among Massachusetts troops
was 13,498.
The state expended
a total of $27,705,109 in raising and equip-
ping troops and it is estimated that the cities and towns spent
as much
more, so that the enormous sum of $50,000,000 was
spent altogether. Besides the men in the military service, the
state
furnished many laborers employed at the Charlestown navy-
yard and the Springfield armory. Many others were engaged
on
the fortifications. At the Springfield armory, during the five
years beginning on July 1, 1860, a total of 805,636 muskets,
with
extra parts and repairs equal to 120,845 more, were manufac-
tured. The musket here produced was the standard
weapon of
the service, and recognized as the best muzzle-loading military
arm made. (Bowen, p. 82.)
Massachusetts,
as a single state, has been credited by her state
historian with certain modest claims, which will hardly be called
in
question: She was promptly in the field; she maintained a
certain high standard in her regiments; no regiment ever con-
spicuously disgraced itself; she provided soldiers and sailors not
merely up to, but in excess of her quota; her governor
was fully
alive to the situation; while she produced no soldier of the very
highest rank, she brought out a number
of brilliant young men,
prominent among whom were Lowell, Bartlett and Miles, who
exhibited both splendid courage
and a certain marked genius for
war. On the larger stage, in the great work of molding- public
opinion, one of the
brilliant speakers of Congress, speaking of
the period from 1855 to 1875, said: "Whether it was for weal
or woe, whether
it was wisely or unwisely done, men may diflfer
and historians may dispute — but as a matter of fact Massachusetts
led America and led her with an audacity and an aggressive-
ness, with a skill and an eloquence, with a power and
force that
have never been surpassed in all the tide of time in the leadership
of a great people." (Speech of Breckenridge
of Ky., in the house
of representatives, Jan. 19, 1888.)
See also:
Source: The Union Army, vol. 1
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