USA > Massachusetts > Commonwealth history of Massachusetts, colony, province and state, volume 4 > Part 48
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Consequently, it is merely a statement of fact to say that the whole fate of the Confederacy rested on this campaign. But the personal intervention of Lincoln was a right instinct that was justified by the results. McClellan was the one Northern leader who divined that Lee planned an invasion of the North. Instead of worrying over Washington, McClellan at once devoted all his energies to opposing an invasion. He gathered the defeated Union army, without stopping to re-
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR
organize it, and in spite of telegrams from the War Depart- ment to hold him back, he marched the Union army north across the path of Lee, in time to defeat the Confederate in- vaders at Antietam. In the words of a biography of Lee by his nephew, "All hopes of seeing this magnificent project realized vanished before the rapid march and prompt attack of Mcclellan."
THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION
Antietam (September 17, 1862) marked the passing of the crisis of the Civil War, but it was not until long after the war that the all-important stake at issue could be estimated. Much less at this time was its decisive result appreciated-that the one chance for Confederate success had been destroyed. The long drag of wearing down the Confederacy was to fol- low, and it was no wonder that the North could not realize that the tide of battle had turned.
There was one exception. The inspired soul of Lincoln alone scaled the heights, and saw the way was cleared for the consummation of American freedom. He said, "When Lee was driven out of Maryland I promised my God I would abolish slavery." In this heartfelt spirit of thankfulness, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. This at once put the war on the right basis. At home and abroad it gave the United States a moral strength that exerted a strong military effect upon the course of the war. Moral forces have always proved of military value, and for the United States it was at last the "Battle Cry of Freedom."
In Massachusetts the President's Emancipation Proclama- tion was welcomed as the triumph of Massachusetts ideals. It became effective on January 1, 1863, and, in recognition of this, Governor Andrew issued his General Order No. 1 of that year: "With the new year America commences a new era of national life, in which we invoke the blessing of Heaven upon our country and its armies with renewed faith in the favor of Almighty God." In this order the Governor gave a summary of the proclamation and the good that would come
535
MASSACHUSETTS COLORED TROOPS
of it, and he ended with these words: "In honor of the procla- mation, and as an official recognition of its justice and neces- sity by Massachusetts, which was the first of the United States to secure equal rights to all its citizens, it is ordered that a salute of one hundred guns be fired on Boston Common at noon the next day, January 3."
MASSACHUSETTS COLORED TROOPS (1863)
The Emancipation Proclamation made possible one great desire of Governor Andrew. He had been among the first to urge the admission of the negro into the Army. But, even after the freedom of the negro had been proclaimed, it was only by his personal efforts that he obtained the authority to recruit a colored regiment in Massachusetts, by an order from the Secretary of War dated January 26, 1863. In the words of the report of the Adjutant General for 1863; "It required the calm foresight, thorough knowledge of our condition, earnest conviction, faith in men, faith in the cause, and un- daunted courage to stem the various currents which set in and flooded the land against employing the black man as a soldier. In the Executive of Massachusetts was found a man who possessed the qualifications necessary to stem these cur- rents, and peacefully carry out to a successful termination, the experiment of recruiting regiments of colored men."
The first colored regiment raised in Massachusetts was the 54th Regiment, but, contrary to popular opinion, this was not the pioneer organization of colored troops. Before this there had been colored troops, but they had not been accorded official recognition. Governor Andrew made the "experi- ment" of raising the 54th his own personal task. As Schouler wrote in Massachusetts in the Rebellion, "No one knew better than the Governor the importance of having the experiment succeed. As one of the means to this end, he determined to select for officers the very best material that could be found in the Massachusetts volunteer service." The Governor's choice for colonel was Captain Robert G. Shaw, for lieutenant colonel Captain Edward N. Hallowell.
Colonel Shaw accepted his commission and assumed com- mand of the regiment, which was organized at Readville. The bulk of the recruits were secured by Massachusetts agents
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR
outside the State. After its ranks were filled, there were so many colored men ready to come to Massachusetts for enlist- ment that it was decided to raise a second colored regiment. Colonel Norwood P. Hallowell was given the command of this new regiment. The 54th left Boston by transport in May 28. Its departure was marked by one of the notable demonstra- tions of the war.
Governor Andrew looked upon this regiment as the per- sonification of his faith in the negro. On the occasion of presenting its colors at Readville, the Governor had declared, "I stand or fall, as a man and a magistrate, with the rise or fall in history of the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts." It was not long before this regiment sealed its devotion in its blood, as on July 18, 1863, it led the assault at Fort Wagner, where Colonel Shaw and so many of his men were killed. The other colored regiment was also organized in Readville, and left Boston by transport for North Carolina on July 21, 1863.
RAISING TROOPS AND THE DRAFT IN 1863
Early in 1863 there was a picturesque incident of the war. When it had been proposed, in November, 1862, to raise the Second Regiment of Cavalry, men. of Massachusetts birth living in California had offered to raise a company to serve with it. This cavalry company from California arrived at the Readville camp (Camp Meigs) January 4, 1863. These cavalrymen from the Pacific coast were a fine body of men, and they were given a royal welcome to Massachusetts. So well satisfied were these Californians, that three more com- panies, making a battalion, followed and joined this regiment. The Commonwealth paid expenses of transportation and al- lowed the same bounties authorized for volunteers in Massa- chusetts. This was perhaps a unique event in comity between two States.
Congress had enacted a law to raise troops by draft, and it was put into force in Massachusetts in June and July, 1863. The people's distaste for the draft and the friction between Federal and State control had given an excuse for the dis- orderly elements to make trouble. The draft riots in New York were very serious, with both damage and loss of life. But in. Massachusetts, upon information that outbreaks were
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MILITARY SITUATION IN 1863
probable, Governor Andrew had shown his characteristic energy by making preparations in advance to have troops ready to put down riots. This wise precaution prevented any situation like that in New York. In Boston a crowd gathered, and attempted to rush one of the armories and capture the guns kept there. The troops were obliged to fire upon the mob -and this ended the rioting. It was the only outbreak in Boston. In the other cities and towns there was no trouble, and after a few days it was no longer necessary to maintain a military guard over the operations of the draft.
An officer of the United States Army (Major Clarke) was Provost Marshal General, and other officers acted as assistant provost marshals in the several congressional districts. The whole number of drafted men and substitutes sent to the camp on Long Island was 3,068. These were the soldiers actually obtained by the draft in the State up to January 1, 1864. Adjutant General Schouler stated: "There was in reality no adequate cause why a draft should ever have been made in Massachusetts, because the State had more than filled her quotas upon previous calls by volunteer enlistment, and, as will be seen, filled all subsequent calls without resort to a draft, and came out of the war with a surplus of 13,083 men."
MILITARY SITUATION IN 1863
The first half of 1863 had seen the defeat of the Army of the Potomac under General Hooker, who was lacking in the qualities necessary to command an army. The North had great confidence at the opening of this campiagn, but Hooker was disastrously beaten at Chancellorsville (May 2-3, 1863). The victory encouraged Lee to attempt a new invasion of the North. This time, however, there was not the menace of the Antietam campaign. Lee's conduct showed that his only hope was for a blunder on the part of the Union command. But General Meade was sound in his generalship, and Lee met inevitable defeat at Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863). In the same week Vicksburg was surrendered to General Grant-and this meant the complete breakdown of the Confederate defense of the Mississippi.
In fact, as has been stated, the crisis of the war had been in 1862, and the period of danger for the North had passed.
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR
In 1863 the Confederacy was suffering damage beyond repair. In the last half of the year Grant changed the doubtful situa- tion at Chattanooga to a Confederate defeat. The result was, the end of 1863 showed that the Southern armies had all lost the offensive and were being forced back into narrowing bounds. The siege of the Confederacy had become stringent. The blockade was starving the South, and its armies were ebbing away in losses that could not be replaced (Confederate forces ; January 1, 1863, 690,000; January 1, 1864, 400,000).
However, in the wide range of the Civil War, it was not surprising that neither the North nor the South could per- ceive the shape into which the war was being moulded. This was the time when there was so much worry over the increas- ing difficulty of securing recruits for the Union armies. But, the difference was, what was a difficulty for the North was becoming an impossibility for the South. The Confederacy was actually getting to the end of its man power, and its armies were being remorselessly ground down by the superior numbers of the Union armies.
In the year 1863, Massachusetts had mustered in 11,538 three-year volunteers, 16,837 nine-months men, and 3,786 three-months men. These made the total of Union soldiers from Massachusetts, from April 16, 1861, to December 31, 1863, 83,932. In the same period, Massachusetts had provided for the United States Navy 17,304 (3,686 in 1863).
THE SITUATION IN 1864.
This was the beginning of the end. General Grant was made Commander in Chief, and assumed personal direction of the operations of the Army of the Potomac. General Sher- man was given command of the operations in Georgia, which were destined to eat into the heart of the South. But again the first months brought disappointment. Grant's first cam- paign was the mistaken effort to "fight it out on this line" north of Richmond. This Wilderness campaign was beaten to a standstill, with losses fearfully near the total of Lee's army. As a result, Grant was obliged to change to the line of the James River, from which the Union army had been withdrawn two years before. There he was in the right position to bring Lee's army into the deadlock at Petersburg.
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THE FINAL MONTHS
And the assured victory was only a matter of time, with Sherman's army pressing on from the south.
But the year was a long drag, with discouraging losses-a fearful strain for the public of the North. The anxiety over the quota of Massachusetts increased. There was no other outbreak against the draft, but there was a great deal of friction between the State and Federal authorities as to the numbers that should be credited to Massachusetts. One matter of much discussion was the question of credits to be given to each city or town for men who had enlisted in the Navy. It was a long time before this was settled, and Massachusetts was given credit for these enlistments by Act of Congress, July 4, 1864.
In the anxiety to augment the supply of recruits, both the State and Federal Government gave greatly increased bounties. On the part of Massachusetts, there were zealous attempts to procure recruits from abroad, and also to obtain soldiers by enlistments in the South. But neither of these schemes had any important result.
As 1864 was a presidential year, all the fault findings and discouragements of the war were given free vent. There was so much of this, that it gave the impression of serious opposi- tion to Lincoln and his Administration. But the election showed that the Northern public had not been turned from the President by the noise of discussion. The vote for Lincoln was overwhelming-a triumphant vote of confidence, and a pledge to carry the war to a victorious conclusion.
THE FINAL MONTHS (1865)
In 1865 the collapse of the Confederacy came quickly, from the crumbling of the whole structure under blows from all sides. Lee's army had been held in close grip by Grant. Sherman's army had cut a devastating swath through the South, from Atlanta to the sea and then through the Carolinas. Thomas had fought his decisive battle, and Sheridan had closed in from the Shenandoah. With all other Confederate forces thus swept away, Lee's diminished army could not hope to resist the surrounding Union troops. The small number surrendered at Appamattox was a true measure of how the Southern troops had wasted away.
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR
The thankfulness for victory, so soon turned to mourning by the assassination of Lincoln, was exemplified in the follow- ing coincidence. Governor Andrew's last official message to President Lincoln was to suggest that April 19, "the anni- versary of Lexington and Baltimore," should be made a day of National Thanksgiving for the final victory just achieved. Instead, on that April 19, 1865, Governor Andrew was a mourner at the funeral of Abraham Lincoln in Washington.
MASSACHUSETTS AT THE END OF THE WAR (1865)
The effort of Massachusetts was recorded in the Adjutant General's office at Washington. The State sent to the war 122,781 white troops, 3,966 colored troops, and 19,983 sailors, making a total of 146,730 men, of whom 13,942 died in the war. The report of the State Adjutant General showed that every city and town in Massachusetts provided its quota in re- sponse to every call of the President. Not only this, but the State furnished 15,178 in excess of the proportion assigned to it. This excess, over the numbers required from Massa- chusetts, was greatly increased by the addition of sailors finally credited to the State (over 30,000).
The final scene in Massachusetts was most impressive. This was the "return of the flags" on December 22, 1865. On this occasion all of the flags of Massachusetts units were borne in procession through Boston to the State House. There each colorbearer left the ranks and went up the steps to where the Governor stood in front of the State House. Governor Andrew accepted the flags with much emotion, and, after a prayer, they were carried into the State House, to be deposited in the Doric Hall, now known as the Hall of Flags.
SERVICES OF THE MEN OF THE CIVIL WAR
But the services of the men of the Civil War did not end with the war. They had been touched with a divine fire, which made them a power for good in the Nation. Throughout all its communities, North and South, the men of the Civil War have been leaders. And, in the great inrush of foreign immi- gration, they have made it their task to see to it that the new- comers must become Americans with us. The World War
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BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC
has been the test of the value of their influence in the United States.
The German Imperial Government had confidently assumed that the great proportion of citizens of foreign origin would mean rifts in the United States. But, at the touch of war, there was not even a percentage of anything of the kind. Our nation proved itself the most united on earth. The "melting pot" had in fact fused all into loyal Americans. This must be attributed, more than to any other cause, to the influence of the men of the Civil War, who have never relaxed their vigil- ance in their communities, and by precept and example have kept them American in every sense of the word.
In the fifty years that intervened before the World War, they have thus passed on the spirit of the Civil War. Of all that has been written, during and after the war, probably the one best expression of this spirit was the poem of a Massa- chusetts woman inspired by her service in the Civil War. Julia Ward Howe shared the devoted ministrations of Dr. Howe, and it was in the midst of the "circling camps" that she wrote the immortal "Battle Hymn of the Republic." It is printed here as a most fitting symbol of Massachusetts in the Civil War.
BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is tramping out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored ;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword,
His truth is marching on.
CHORUS :
Glory ! glory ! Hallelujah ! Glory ! glory ! Hallelujah ! Glory ! glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.
I have seen him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps; They have builded him an altar in the evening dews and damps; I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps, His day is marching on.
542 MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR
CHORUS :
Glory ! glory ! Hallelujah ! Glory ! glory ! Hallelujah ! Glory ! glory ! Hallelujah ! His day is marching on.
I have read a fiery gospel, writ in burnished rows of steel; "As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal;
Let the hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel, Since God is marching on."
CHORUS :
Glory ! glory ! Hallelujah ! Glory ! glory ! Hallelujah ! Glory ! glory ! Hallelujah ! Since God is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never sound re- treat ;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat ; Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet !
Our God is marching on.
CHORUS :
Glory ! glory ! Hallelujah ! Glory ! glory ! Hallelujah ! Glory ! glory ! Hallelujah; Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me ; As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free, While God is marching on.
CHORUS :
Glory ! glory ! Hallelujah ! Glory ! glory ! Hallelujah ! Glory ! glory ! Hallelujah ! While God is marching on.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
ADAMS, CHARLES FRANCIS .- "Some Phases of the Civil War" (Mass. His- torical Society, Proceedings, Vol. XXXIX, pp. 311-356, Boston, 1906) -An appreciation and criticism of J. F. Rhodes's fifth volume. Also published separately. For his criticism of Gen. Butler see pp. 344-356. ALCOTT, LOUISA MAY .- Hospital Sketches (Boston, Redpath, 1863). AMMEN, DANIEL .- The Atlantic Coast (N. Y., Scribner's, 1883)-An ac- count of naval operations in the Civil War in this region.
ANDOVER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY .- Necrology, 1895-96 (Boston, 1896)- See pp. 177-236 for sketches of graduates who served in the Civil War. ANDREW, JOHN ALBION, and BUTLER, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN .- Correspond- ence between Gov. Andrew and Maj .- Gen. Butler (Boston, Dyer, 1862) -The same material constitutes House Document No. 18 of the Massa- chusetts Legislature.
543
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Appleton's Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events (N. Y., Appleton, 1861 and later)-Vols. I-XIV bear the title The American Annual Cyclopedia.
BARNARD, JOHN GROSS, and BARRY, WILLIAM FARQUHAR .- Report of the Engineer and Artillery Operations of the Army of the Potomac, from its Organisation to the close of the Peninsular Campaign (N. Y., Van Nostrand, 1863)-Brig. Gen. Barnard was chief engineer and Brig. Gen. Barry was chief of artillery.
BARTON, WILLIAM ELEAZAR .- The Life of Clara Barton, Founder of the Red Cross (2 vols., Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1922).
BILLINGS, JOHN DAVIS .- Hardtack and Coffee (Boston, Smith, 1887)-The unwritten story of army life.
BOSTON, MASS .- RECRUITING COMMITTEE .- Recruiting System of Boston, with a Statement of the Bounty Paid to Volunteers by the State and United States (Boston, 1863).
BOWEN, JAMES LORENZO .- Massachusetts in the War, 1861-65 (Springfield, Bryan, 1890).
BOYDEN, ANNA L .- Echoes from Hospital and White House (Boston, Lothrop, 1884)-A record of Mrs. Rebecca Rossignal Pomroy's ex- perience in war time.
BOYNTON, CHARLES BRANDON .- The History of the Navy during the Rebel- lion (2 vols., N. Y., Appleton, 1867-1868).
BROWN, FRANCIS HENRY .- Harvard University in the War of 1861-65 (Boston, Cupples, Upham, 1886).
BUTLER, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN .- Autobiography and Personal Reminis- cences. Butler's Book (Boston, Thayer, 1892)-A review of his legal, political, and military career.
BUTTERFIELD, DANIEL .- Major-General Joseph Hooker and the Troops from the Army of the Potomac at Wauhatchie, Lookout Mountain and Chattanooga (N. Y., Exchange Printing Co., 1896).
Campaigns of the Civil War (13 vols., N. Y., Scribner's, 1881-1883)-A series of monographs covering the period from the outbreak of the war to 1865; Vol. XIII devoted to a statistical record of the armies of the United States.
COFFIN, CHARLES CARLETON .- The Boys of '61: or, Four Years of Fighting (Boston, Estes and Lauriat, 1881)-A record of personal observation with the Army and Navy, from the first battle of Bull Run to the fall of Richmond.
COFFIN, CHARLES CARLETON .- Following the Flag. From August, 1861, to November, 1862, with the Army of the Potomac (Boston, Ticknor and Fields, 1865)-By the noted war correspondent.
COFFIN, CHARLES CARLETON .- Marching to Victory (N. Y., Harper, 1889) -The second period of the War of the Rebellion, including the year 1863.
COFFIN, CHARLES CARLETON .- My Days and Nights on the Battle-field (Boston, Ticknor and Fields, 1864)-A book for boys; closes with the naval fight at Memphis, June, 1862.
COFFIN, CHARLES CARLETON .- Redeeming the Republic (N. Y., Harper, 1890)-The third period of the War of the Rebellion, in the year 1864. COFFIN, CHARLES CARLETON, and others .- Stories of our Soldiers (2 vols.,
Boston, Journal Newspaper Company, 1893)-Reminiscences by sol- diers of New England, from the series written for the Boston Journal. DALTON, JOHN CALL .- John Call Dalton, M. D., U. S. V. (Cambridge, 1892)-The beginning of a narrative of his personal experiences, edited by C. H. Dalton.
DAVIS, CHARLES HENRY, JR .- Life of Charles Henry Davis, Rear Admiral, 1807-1877 (Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1899)-By the admiral's son.
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR
DRAPER, JOHN WILLIAM .- History of the American Civil War (3 vols., N. Y., Harper, 1867-1870).
DOUBLEDAY, ABNER .- Chancellorsville and Gettysburg (N. Y., Scribner's, 1912).
DURFEE, CALVIN .- Williams Biographical Annals (Boston, Lee and Shep- ard, 1871).
DWIGHT, WILDER .- Life and Letters of Wilder Dwight, lieut .- col. Second Mass. Inf. Vols. (Boston, Ticknor and Fields, 1868)-Edited by E. A. Dwight.
ELLICOTT, JOHN MORRIS .- The Life of John Ancrum Winslow, Rear- Admiral, United States Navy (N. Y., Putnam's, 1902)-Admiral Winslow commanded the Kearsarge in her action with the Alabama.
EMERSON, EDWARD WALDO .- Life and Letters of Charles Russell Lowell (Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1907).
EMILIO, LUIS FENOLLOZA .- A Brave Black Regiment (Boston, Boston Book Co., 1894)-The history of the 54th Regiment, M. V. M., 1863- 1865.
Fox, GUSTAVUS VASA .- Confidential Correspondence of G. V. Fox, Assis- tant Secretary of the Navy, 1861-1865 (2 vols., N. Y., Naval History Society, 1918-1919)-Edited by R. M. Thompson and Richard Wain- wright.
FULLER, RICHARD FREDERICK .- Chaplain Fuller (Boston, Walker, Wise, 1864)-Arthur Buckminster Fuller was a New England clergyman and an Army chaplain.
GORDON, GEORGE HENRY .- Brook Farm to Cedar Mountain; in the War of the Great Rebellion 1861-62 (Boston, Osgood, 1883)-Enlarged from three papers on the history of the 2d Regt., Massachusetts Infantry.
GORDON, GEORGE HENRY .- History of the Campaign of the Army of Vir- ginia, under John Pope, from Cedar Mountain to Alexandria, 1862 (Boston, Houghton, Osgood, 1880).
GORDON, GEORGE HENRY .- A War Diary of Events in the War of the Great Rebellion, 1863-1865 (Boston, Osgood, 1882).
GRANT, ULYSSES SIMPSON .- Personal Memoirs (2 vols., N. Y., Century, 1909).
GRIFFIS, WILLIAM ELIOT .- Charles Carleton Coffin, War Correspondent, Traveller, Author, and Statesman (Boston, Estes and Lauriat, 1898). HALL, Mrs. FLORENCE MARION HOWE .- The Story of the Battle Hymn of the Republic (N. Y., Harper, 1916).
HALLOWELL, NORWOOD PENROSE .- The Negro as a Soldier in the War of the Rebellion (Boston, Little, Brown, 1897)-The author was colonel of the colored 55th Regiment M. V. M.
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