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CHAPTER XXIV.

MASSACHUSETTS IN THE CIVIL WAR.

THE 4th of March, 1861, witnessed the departure of an old, and the advent of a new administration, in the midst of pending serious national calamities. On that day, Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, was sworn in as President of the United States. Although rumors of revolt, of assassination, and of a destruction of the Capitol were rife, the solemn and impressive ceremonies were completed without disaster or crime. In his inaugural address, President Lincoln said, "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you; you can have no conflict without yourselves being the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the government; while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect, and defend it.'" The president's commencement was the omen of a successful administration.

About the middle of April, the news of the fall of Fort Sumter went like a thunderbolt through the land. The martial spirit of the people was aroused. Law, order, peace, the foundations of the republic, had been outraged; and never did British blood or Celtic ire leap quicker at an insult offered to their nation's honor, than did the American spring to redeem his flag from this deep disgrace. In view of the myrmidons of rebellion belching their fires

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upon the cherished institutions of the Union, the president of the United States had nothing to do but to strike in return. There was no causé, no time for deliberation. From the south to the north, from the east to the west, went the cry – to arms. Then followed a proclamation, calling forth seventy-five thousand of the militia of the several states; Congress was ordered to assemble on the 4th of July; the ports of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, and North Carolina - the seceded states

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were declared to be in a state of blockade. On the 3d of May, the president called for forty-two thousand volunteers to serve for three years, for the enlistment of eighteen thousand seamen for the naval service, and directed that the regular army should be increased by twenty-two thousand seven hundred and fourteen men. The national executive had done his duty. He had not precipitated war upon the country; war had been forced upon him. It only remained for the people to respond to his call, and by their acts show to him, and to all the world, whether or not it was easy to break in two the great American Republic.

Four facts stand out prominently in the response of Massachusetts to the proclamation of President Lincoln. First, the excellent system for the organization and discipline of the military force of the state; second, the ascertaining at headquarters of the number of officers and men who would respond to any call; third, the foresight that induced the legislature on the 3d of April to pass a bill appropriating twenty-five thousand dollars, and authorizing the adjutant general to contract for clothing and ammunition for two thousand troops; and fourth, the fact that the volunteer militia, for three months previous to the

outbreak, in anticipation of trouble in the south, wisely prepared themselves for action. The results of such proceedings only show the force of the aphorism "In peace

prepare for war."

Governor Andrew, on the 15th of April, received a telegram from Washington, urging him to send forward at once fifteen hundred men. The drum beat of the long roll had been struck. On the morning of the 16th volunteers began to arrive in Boston. The first to reach the capital were the three companies of the eighth regiment, belonging to Marblehead, commanded by Captains Martin, Phillips, and Boardman. On the same day, the fifth regiment was ordered to report, and on the 17th, Brigadier General Benjamin F. Butler was detailed to command the troops. At six o'clock on the afternoon of the 16th, the third, fourth, and sixth regiments were ready to start. Meanwhile new companies were being raised in all parts of the state.

As if by magic, the entire character of the state was changed; from a peaceful, industrious community, it became a camp of armed men, and the hum of labor gave place to the notes of fife and drum. Amid the excitement that everywhere prevailed, every one was anxious to do something, and in some way to be useful. Hundreds of the wealthier citizens of Massachusetts pledged pecuniary aid to soldiers families. The Boston banks offered to loan the state three million six hundred thousand dollars, without security, while other banks in the state manifested similar liberality. Gentlemen of the learned professions tendered their services, while ladies of every rank in life showed their willingness to minister to the sick and wounded men in the hospitals.

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killed, and thirty-six were

The sixth regiment-the first to reach Washington — mustered at Lowell on the 16th, left Boston on the 17th, and reached Philadelphia on the 18th of April. On the following day the regiment was attacked by a mob in Baltimore, and four men were wounded. The names of the former merit to be remembered Addison O. Whitney, Luther C. Ladd, and Charles A. Taylor, of company D, Lowell, and Sumner H. Needham, of company I, Lawrence. At five o'clock the troops reached. Washington, and were quartered in the senate chamber. It was the first blood shed, the first victory, and Massachusetts had the honor, as in the first revolution. Under the roof of the Capitol were sheltered the brave men who first marched to save it. When the news came that the sons of Middlesex and Essex had fought their way through, there was a shout of exultation which told that Massachusetts honored Massachusetts steel.

The third regiment, composed of companies belonging to Norfolk, Plymouth, and Bristol counties, left Boston on the 17th of April, and arrived at Fortress Monroe on the 20th. The fourth regiment, similarly composed, left Boston on the same day, and arrived at Fortress Monroe, likewise, on the 20th. The eighth regiment, made up of the men of Middlesex and Essex, left Boston on the 18th, and arrived at Philadelphia on the 19th. The fifth regiment departed on the 21st, and. proceeded, by way of New York, to Annapolis, where it arrived on the morning of the 24th. Two days later, the regiment reached Washington, and was quartered in the treasury building. On the 21st of July, the fifth bore an honored part in the disastrous battle at Bull Run, exactly three months from the day the regiment left Faneuil Hall. On the 30th it returned to Boston,

having been in service three months and seven days. On the 21st of April, the eighth regiment landed at Annapolis, saved the frigate "Constitution," and on the 26th reached Washington. With regard to this regiment, the National Intelligencer observed, "We doubt whether any other single regiment in the country could furnish such a ready contingent to reconstruct a steam-engine, lay a rail track, and bend the sails of a man-of-war." On the 1st of August, the eighth, after rendering useful service, returned home to Boston.

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The first three months' men made an honorable record. It were vain to attempt to sketch their services in these pages. Still, it cannot be forgotten that "they were the first to respond to the call of the president; the first to march through Baltimore to the defence of the Capitol; 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 tress in the Union; the first to make the voyage of the Potomac, and approach the federal city by water, as they had been the first to reach it by land. Their record is one which will ever redound to the honor of Massachusetts, 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 19th of April, have rendered doubly sacred the day when the green sward of Lexington Common was drenched with the blood of their fathers." 1

Meantime the war was the only topic discussed at home. 1 Adjutant General's Report, 1861.

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