USA > Massachusetts > Historical sketch of the old Sixth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, during its three campaigns in 1861, 1862, 1863, and 1864 : containing the history of the several companies previous to 1861, and the name and military record of each man connected with the regiment during the war > Part 2
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* Chaplain Babbidge was subsequently in a reading-room in Annapo- lis, and heard one member of the Maryland Legislature accuse another of employing a steamboat load of " roughs " to go to Baltimore, and help destroy the Sixth Massachusetts; and, in the conversation that followed, it appeared that this gang, and many others, were defeated in their plans by the early morning arrival of the regiment. There can be no doubt that a later hour would have made sad work for them.
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THE THREE MONTHS' CAMPAIGN.
THE ATTACK.
Some slight demonstrations were made on one or two of the cars containing the fifth and sixth companies; but nothing like an attack was made until the seventh car started.
Major Watson, as he had been . ordered, just before reaching Baltimore, repaired to the left, company K, Captain Sampson, to see the rear of the battalion across the city. He took his position ; and as he was about ordering those in the car, some fifty guns, to debark, standing on the ground himself for that purpose, the cars in advance were set in motion, and whisked away as by magic, across the city, and in a moment his own car started, which he thought was the last one, containing as it did, the left of the regiment. He, of course, could only spring aboard, and follow the rest of the regiment. It was no sooner started, than it was attacked by clubs, paving-stones, and other missiles. The men were very anxious to fire on their assailants ; but Maj. Watson for- bade them, until they should be attacked by fire-arms. One or two soldiers were wounded by paving-stones and bricks; and at length one man's thumb was shot, when, holding the wounded hand up to the major, he asked leave to fire in return. Orders were then given to lie on the bottom of the car and load, and rising, to fire from the windows at will. These orders were promptly obeyed.
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THE THREE MONTHS' CAMPAIGN.
In the passage across the city, the car was three times thrown from the track ; Maj. Watson each time getting out, and compelling the driver to assist in removing ob- structions, and getting in motion again.
Referring to the roster of company K, the reader will see the names of the first men who were wounded in this war, - four in number. Moving with as much ra- pidity as possible, and receiving an occasional musket or pistol shot, or a shower of rocks and bricks, the car reached the main body of the regiment, when all were surprised to learn that the change of cars at the ferry had left a portion of the regiment still behind. Here they halted until the four companies arrived from their perilous march across the city.
By the time the rear car had arrived, an immense and increasing crowd had gathered. The police were present in force, and requested Col. Jones to order the blinds of the cars drawn, and the regiment to avoid any movement to excite the mob. The cars ceased arriving; and Wm. P. Smith, Superintendent of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, informed the commander that the track was so obstructed across the city, that the four companies still behind could not be drawn across ; but he said, "If you will send an order for them to march across, I will deliver it." He passed Col. Jones a rail- road blank, on the back of which he wrote in pencil, "To the officer in command of detachment of Sixth Massa- chusetts Regiment : you will march to this place as
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THE THREE MONTHS' CAMPAIGN.
quick as possible ; follow the railroad track." This order was never delivered. In a few minutes, Hon. Thomas Garrett, President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, came to Col. Jones, saying, "Your soldiers are firing upon the people in the streets."" "Then," said the com- mander, "they have been fired upon first." "No, they have not," was the response. Col. Jones returned, " My men are disciplined : my orders were strict, and I believe they have been implicitly obeyed." Events proved him correct.
THE MARCH "THROUGH BALTIMORE."
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Meanwhile, the remaining four companies found that the rails were so torn up, and the streets so barricaded, that the cars could not go on; and they debarked, and formed to march on foot, the mob, which had been ac- cumulating until it must have reached many thousands, filling the streets as far as the eye could see.
Capt. Follansbee, at the desire of the other officers, and agreeably to his own wishes, took the command. There were but about two hundred and twenty in the col- umn; and the mob soon reached ten thousand, at least. The air was filled with yells, oaths, taunts, all sorts of missiles, and soon pistol and musket shots ; and Capt. Follansbee gave the order to fire at will. But few of the crowd were on the front of the column, but they pressed on the flank and rear more and more furiously. At one
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of the bridges in Pratt Street, a formidable barricade, with cannon to sweep the streets, not quite ready for service, had been arranged. Here the mob supposed that the column would be obliged to halt; but Capt. Fol- lansbee ordered his command to scale the barricade. Be- fore the ruffians could follow over the bridge, or run around to intercept them, the soldiers had succeeded in getting quite a distance up Pratt Street. Had they been compelled to halt at the bridge, it is probable that the small detachment would have been annihilated ; for arms were multiplying among their assailants, and they were becoming more furious every moment. Cheers for "Jeff Davis," and for "South Carolina, and the South ; " all sorts of insulting language, -such as "Dig your graves!"-" You can pray, but you cannot fight !" and the like, - were heard ; but the little battalion went steadily ahead, with no thought of turning back.
As the gallant detachment passed along Pratt Street, pistols and guns were fired at them from the windows and doors of stores and houses ; and our boys, getting a little accustomed to the strange circumstances in which they were placed, loaded their guns as they marched, dragging them between their feet, and, whenever they saw a hostile demonstration, they took as good aim as they could, and fired. There was no platoon firing what- ever. At one place, at an upper window, a man was in the act of firing, when a rifle ball suggested to him the propriety of desisting, and he came headlong to the side-
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THE THREE MONTHS' CAMPAIGN.
walk. And thus the men, whose rare good fortune it was to contribute the first instalment of blood to pay the price of our redemption,* hurried along their way. They were hampered by their orders to fire as little as pos- sible ; they were anxious to get to the capital, even then supposed to be in danger ; they were separated from the larger part of the regiment, and knew not where their comrades were; and thus assaulted on each side, and by all sorts of weapons and missiles, they kept on their way, loading and firing at will, marching the entire dis- tance, - a mile and a half, - bearing several of their wounded with them, and reached the station, and joined the rest of the regiment.
When the four companies reached the rest of the com- mand at the Washington depot, an immense crowd sur- rounded them ; and rushing towards the car windows, they brandished revolvers, knives, clubs, and other weapons, in angry fury, and with fearful shouts and yells and curses ; the police having-and many of them caring to have -no power to stay the tumult.
The column proceeded in the following order : C at the head, I next, then L, and D last. The colors were with the platoon under command of Lieut. Lynde, of company L. After having marched about two squares, the order to double-quick was given, and the rear of the column, somewhat separated from the head, was more and more fiercely assailed, and L and D were mingled
* " Without the shedding of blood is no remission." See Heb. ix. 22.
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THE THREE MONTHS' CAMPAIGN.
together. Captain Dike was wounded, and left behind ; and being too far in the rear to see his superior officer, Lieut. Lynde, in the exercise of his discretion, gave the order to fire on the mob.
His orders were to escort the band across the city ; but, being unarmed, they refused to leave the station, and he left without them, keeping near the gallant bearer of the flag till the cars were reached, when tearing it from the staff, which could not conveniently be got into the cars, it was carried in safety to Washington, and now hangs in the State House in Boston.'
In a private communication to me, Col. Jones says, " Capt. Follansbee proved himself worthy of the con- fidence which I had always placed in him, and never after, while under my command, did he do aught to sac- rifice one particle of the esteem and respect I entertained for him." It was rare good fortune that gave Capt. Fol- lansbee this opportunity, to which he was fully equal. There were other officers in the regiment who would have given the best ten years of their lives, to have had the same privilege.
FOR WASHINGTON.
Arrived at the station, officers and men were tried se- verely. They burned to avenge the wounds and death of their comrades, and were exasperated to the utmost; but the orders to hasten to Washington were strict and
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THE THREE MONTHS' CAMPAIGN.
imperative, and the city authorities were urging the de- parture of the regiment ; the mob meanwhile becoming more and more furious. The president of the road said, " For God's sake, colonel, do give orders to start the train, or you will never get out of the city, for they are already tearing up the track." Knowing the temper of his officers, Col. Jones dared not consult them, fearing that their voice would be, under such circumstances, to stay, and "fight it out on that line," notwithstanding orders. Reluctantly the command was given to start, the railroad authorities doing all in their power to assist, by putting tools and workmen on board with them, who would remove obstructions, and repair the road as the train went slowly on. In refutation of aspersions, freely indulged in at the time, concerning the managers of this road, especially of Hon. Thomas W. Garrett, President, and Wm. P. Smith, Master of Transportation, it is the testimony of Col. Jones himself, that he ever found them loyal gentlemen, anxious always to do all they could to serve the interests of the government, during four months of intercourse between them and the regiment.
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Seeing the train about to start, the mob ran on ahead, and placed telegraph poles, anchors, etc., on the track. The train moved a short distance and stopped ; a rail had been removed; it was replaced, and the cars went on ; stopped again, the road was repaired, and the train went on again ; stopped again, and the conductor reported to the colonel that it was impossible to proceed,
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THE THREE MONTHS' CAMPAIGN.
that the regiment must march to Washington. Col. Jones replied, " We are ticketed through, and are going in these cars. If you or the engineer cannot run the train, we have plenty of men who can. If you need protection or assistance, you shall have it ; but we go through."
The crowd went on for some miles out, as far as Jack- son Bridge, near Chinkapin Hill, and the police followed, removing obstructions ; and at several places shots were exchanged. At length, they reached the Relay House, where the double track ended, and where they waited two hours-and long hours they were-for a train from Washington that had the right of way ; and at length started again, reaching Washington late in the afternoon. Maj. M'Dowell, -since Maj. Gen. M'Dowell, -of Gen. Scott's staff, was in waiting at the station to receive them.
TESTIMONY OF BALTIMOREANS.
The loyal men of Baltimore, many of whom saw the whole transaction, and endeavored to assist the volunteers as far as possible, and who were of great service, speak in the highest terms of the conduct of the four companies, officers and men, declaring that they bore themselves with rare coolness and courage, and elicited the admira- tion of all who saw them, who were not infuriated with rage against them. Hundreds might have been killed, had the mob been promiscuously fired at.
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THE THREE MONTHS' CAMPAIGN.
CHIMNEY-CORNER CRITICISMS.
Fireside critics, fighting chimney-corner campaigns, have said that the fatal mistake was in allowing the regi- ment to remain packed in cars, and drawn by horses, in single companies, across the city, when an attack was anticipated ; and that it was manifestly the duty of the regiment to march, instead of riding, and thus be ready at all points ; but it should be considered that then the whole thing was new, and was met very differently to what it would be now; and the misapprehensions to which reference has been made, explain such criticisms away. The events that have since transpired were not antici- pated ; for that madness that has since prevailed, and destroyed its victims, was scarcely considered possible.
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THE FEELING NORTH.
Only they who remember those times will ever be able to imagine the sensation caused by the news of this trans- action. Massachusetts, especially, was stirred from Es- sex to Berkshire, and it would have been easy to raise men enough to lay Baltimore in ashes ; and had the ex- istence of that city proved a permanent impediment to the passage of loyal troops to the capital, it would have been destroyed. Throughout the North, the determina- tion was all but universal to make a highway " through Baltimore " to Washington. " Through Baltimore " be- came a rallying cry, until it was settled that the Monu-
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mental City - its " roughs," who had always disgraced it, emptied into the rebel army - had become loyal and true to the Union.
THE GOVERNOR'S CONDUCT.
Gov. Andrew immediately transmitted the following characteristic despatch to the Mayor of Baltimore : -
To HIS HONOR THE MAYOR :
I pray you to cause the bodies of our Massachusetts soldiers, dead in Baltimore, to be immediately laid out, preserved with ice, and tenderly sent forward by express to me. All expenses will be paid by this Common wealth.
JOHN A. ANDREW, Governor of Massachusetts.
Mayor Geo. Wm. Brown, of Baltimore, responded to Gov. Andrew; and, in the course of his despatch, he alluded to the passage of our troops through Baltimore as an invasion of the soil of Maryland ; declaring, how- ever, that the dead and wounded should be tenderly cared for, and that " Baltimore would claim it as her right' to pay all expenses incurred."
Gov. Andrew responded by saying : -
I appreciate your kind attention to our wounded and our dead, and trust that at the earliest moment the remains of our fallen will return to us. I am overwhelmed with surprise that a peace- ful march of American citizens over the highway to the defence of our common capital, should be deemed aggressive to Baltimo- reans. Through New York the march was triumphant.
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Alluding to the touching use of the word " tenderly " in the governor's despatch, the New York " Times " elo- quently said : -
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Few men. can read it without tears. Yes, those bodies, bat- tered and bruised by the brutal mob, are sacred. " Tenderly " is not too gentle a word to be used for the care of them. Yes, bear their bodies " tenderly "; they are more sacred than the relics of the saints. Wherever they pass, let the nation's flag, which they died to defend, wave over them ; let cannon thunder the martial honor, and let women and children come to drop a tear over the Massachusetts dead, who died for Country and Liberty.
Never was exhortation better heeded, or less needed. It were worth an early death to receive such veneration from the people. Everywhere tears and admiration, and love too deep for tears, were poured out ; and from their silent lips came such inspirations to patriotism as roused thousands of hearts to rush to battle, to avenge their deaths. Living, they were brave and true ; but, dying, their blood baptized many an otherwise indifferent one to deeds of devotion to country that have since been chron- icled, and that will be rehearsed by grateful generations to come.
. THE KILLED AND WOUNDED.
There were four men killed and fifteen wounded in the regiment ; and loyal men in Baltimore, who were careful to collect all the facts as far as possible, are of the opin-
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ion that about one hundred of the mob were killed by the guns of our soldiers. About a thousand rounds of am- munition were fired ; and, considering the size of the tar- get, it is probable that the estimate is not far from the truth. The company rosters present the names of the wounded.
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CONDUCT OF THE COLORED PEOPLE.
On that day the colored people began that kindness to the "Yankee soldiers " which they uniformly mani- fested during the war. A short time after the regiment had returned, one of the soldiers, who was wounded on the 19th, was in the State House, when he recognized a colored man who had ministered to his wants, and whose wife had torn up her under-garments to bind his wounds. Being a slave, he embraced the opportunity to flee from bondage, and related many incidents illustrative of the kindness of the slave for our wounded soldiers. At one place, afraid to be seen, colored women threw down from the windows of houses such articles as were needed by our wounded.
LOYAL MEN OF BALTIMORE.
Among the loyal men of Baltimore who employed ev- ery exertion to assist our wounded, William Robinson, Esq., 79 Camden Street, Mass. State Agent during the war, should be mentioned as one who was untiring in their behalf. He was a native of Wilmington, Del., but had
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resided in Baltimore for thirty years ; and he expressed the undoubted truth to Col. Jones, when, deploring the calamity of the 19th, he said that two thirds of the people of the city were loyal to the government. To the exer- tions of such men our wounded were greatly indebted, and to their efforts should largely be attributed the speedy vindication and redemption of Baltimore and Maryland from the iron rule of secessionists.
COL. JONES' OFFICIAL REPORT.
Col. Jones, in his official report to Maj. William H. Clemence, Maj. Gen. B. F. Butler's Adjutant, dated in Washington, 22d April, says : -
* * After leaving Philadelphia, I received intimation that our passage 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 on der, viz. : -
" The regiment will march through Baltimore in column of see- tions, arms at will. You will undoubtedly be insulted, abused, and perhaps assaulted, to which you must pay no attention whatever ; 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 is hit, your officers will order you to fire. Do not fire into any promiscuous crowds ; but select any man whom you 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
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across the city. After the cars containing seven companies had reached the Washington depot, the track behind them was barri- caded, and the cars containing the band and the following com- panies, viz. : company C, of Lowell, Capt. Follansbee ; company D, of Lowell, Capt. Hart; company I, of Lawrence, Capt. Pick- ering; and company L, of Stoneham, Capt. Dike, were vacated ; and they proceeded to march in accordance with orders, and had proceeded 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-quick, 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 conse- quence, several of the mob fell, and the soldiers again advanced hastily. The Mayor of Baltimore placed himself at the head of the column, beside Capt. Follansbee, 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 musket from the hands of one of the men, and killed a man therewith; and a policeman, who was in advance of the column, also shot a man with a revolver.
They, at last, reached the cars, and they started immediately for Washington. 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 wounded.
As the men went into the cars, I caused the blinds to be closed, and took every precaution to prevent any shadow of offence to the people of Baltimore; but still the stones flew thick and fast into the train, and it was with the utmost difficulty that I
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could prevent the troops from leaving the cars, and revenging the death of their comrades.
EDWARD F. JONES, Col. Sixth Regt., M. V. M., in service of U. S.
WHY THE MOB WAS SO LENIENTLY TREATED.
Those who have since been made familiar with scenes of war, and with the true method of dealing with such men as those who intercepted the march of the Sixth, might, at first thought, be surprised at the gentle treat- ment the mob received. But the regiment was anxious to reach Washington, then supposed to be in imminent danger ; and it was hoped that the demonstration in Bal- timore would not be serious. Besides, the people of the North were trying conciliation. No blood had been shed, and it was universally desired to treat Maryland and other border states with all the forbearance pos- sible. The regiment had been drilled in street-firing, and was amply able to strew the streets of Baltimore with traitor dead ; and would have done so but for these considerations. Place the same men under the same cir- cumstances to-day, and there would be grief in hundreds of homes where one mourned on the 19th of April, 1861.
CAPT. FOLLANSBEE'S ACCOUNT.
Capt. Follansbee, under date of Washington, April 20, wrote a letter to H. H. Wilder, Esq., of Lowell, which embodies the observations of as cool a head and
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brave a heart as were among the two hundred heroes of that day. He says :- L _ 1
We arrived in Baltimore about 10 o'clock, A. M. The cars are drawn through the city by horses. There were about thirty cars in our train; there being, in addition to Col. Jones' command, about 1200 troops from Philadelphia, without uniforms or arms, they intending to get them here. After we arrived, the cars were taken, two at a time, and drawn to the depot at the lower part of the city, a mob assaulting them all the way. The Lowell Me- chanie Phalanx car was the ninth; and we waited till after the rest had left, for our turn, till two men came to me and informed me that I had better take my command, and march to the other depot, as the mob had taken up the track to prevent the passage of the cars. I immediately informed Capt. Pickering, of the Law- rence Light Infantry, and we filed out of the cars in regular order. Capt. Hart's company, of Lowell, and Capt. Dike's, of Stoneham, did the same, and formed on the sidewalk. The cap- tains consulted together, and decided that the command should devolve upon me. I immediately took my position upon the right, wheeled into column of sections, and requested them to march in close order. Before we had started, the mob was upon us, with a secession flag, attached to a pole, and told us we could never march through that city. They would kill every " white nigger" of us, before we could reach the other depot. I paid no attention to them, but, after I had wheeled the battalion, gave the order to march.
As soon as the order was given, the brick-bats began to fly into our ranks from the mob. I called a policeman, and re- quested him to lead the way to the depot. He did so. After we had marched about a hundred yards, we came to a bridge. The rebels had torn up most of the planks. We had to play " Scotch
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hop," to get over it. As soon as we had crossed the bridge, they commenced to fire upon us from the street and houses. I ordered the men to protect themselves; and then we returned their fire, and laid a great many of them away. I saw four fall on the sidewalk at one time. They followed us up, and we fought our way to the other depot, - about one mile. They kept at us till the cars started. Quite a number of the rascals were shot, after we entered the cars. We went very slow, for we expected the rails were torn up on the road.
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