USA > Massachusetts > History of Massachusetts from the year 1790, to 1820. v. 3 > Part 20
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scribed in the established regulations; and that the provisions and intentions of the laws being in every respect fulfilled, they may be ready, with alacrity and effect, to defend their country, their constitutional rights, and those liberties which are not only our birthrights, but which at the expense of so much blood and treasure, were purchased in the late Revolution.
From the docility, from the good sense and patriotism of the non-commissioned officers and soldiers, the commander in chief is led to expect a patient submission to the instructions of their officers, prompt obedience to orders, and the practice of all those military and masculine virtues which adorn the soldier and exalt the man.
To all the militia, both officers and soldiers, the commander in chief would superadd an earnest cxhortation, as they are citizens as well as soldiers, to cultivate a spirit of candor, of friendship, and mutual forbearance, and an ardent love of coun- try, that shall elevate them above all sinister views, and event- ually secure to them and their children the blessings of peace, of liberty and good government.
The commander in chief requires that particular attention be paid to the town magazines; that they are fully provided with ammunition, military stores, and utensils as the law directs; and the brigade quartermasters are required to perform their duty with promptitude and exactness.
In such divisions as have not completed the detachment of ten thousand men, called for by the general orders of the 25th day of April last, the major generals, or commanding officers of those divisions, are enjoined to attend to that service without delay, and to make and complete the detachments from their respective corps, of the several quotas of the said ten thousand men, and to make return of the same, as speedily as may be, to the adjutant general: the said generals, and other officers, will take care that the militia so detached are duly provided with the efficient arms and accoutrements necessary for actual ser- vice. The militia detached by the orders above alluded to, after they are formed conformably to said orders, will hold them-
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selves in readiness to march, on the shortest notice, pursuant to the orders to be given by the commander in chief, unless in · case of actual invasion, or imminent danger thereof; in which case, without waiting for such orders, they will march without delay, to the defence of any part or parts of this Commonwealth that shall be so invaded, or in imminent danger of invasion: and when in the actual service of the United States, will be under the command of the President, agreeably to the constitution of the United States.
And whereas the quota of ten thousand militia, required aforesaid, being to be raised from the several divisions and corps throughout the Commonwealth, cannot be assembled in time to repel a sudden invasion; and to embody them previous- ly, and keep them in constant service, would be extremely bur- densome, and even if assembled would not be adequate to the defence of the numerous points of a coast of several hundred miles in extent; the commander in chief further orders and di- rects that the generals, and other officers of the whole militia of the Commonwealth, bearing in mind the possibility of a sud- den invasion, hold themselves, and the corps of militia under their respective commands, in constant readiness to assemble, and march to the defence of any part or parts of the Common- wealth, pursuant to the orders to be given by him; but without waiting for such orders, in case of actual invasion, or such im- minent danger thereof as will not admit of delay.
By the general orders above mentioned, of the 25th of April last, three major Generals, and six brigadier generals, were assigned to command in that detachment, without being regu- larly detailed from the roster. The commander in chief, there- fore, orders that the following general officers, being detailed from the roster as the law directs, be appointed to command in · said detachment, in lieu of the general officers named in the general orders aforesaid, viz:
Western Division. Major General Ebenezer Matoon, Brigadier General Caleb Burbank,
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Brigadier General Isaac Maltby. Eastern Division. Major General Henry Sewall,
Brigadier General John Blake,
Brigadier General David Payson, South Division. Major General Joseph B. Varnum,
Brigadier General Ebenezer Lathrop,
Brigadier General William Hildreth.
By order of the Commander in Chief, WILLIAM DONNISON, Adjutant General.
GENERAL ORDERS.
Commonwealth of Massachuselis, Head Quarters, Boston, Sepl. 6, 1814. 5
The war between the United States and Great Britain having lately become more destructive, in consequence of violations of our territory, by the force of the enemy, which continue to me- nace our cities and villages, the shipping in our harbors, and private property on shore, his excellency, the commander in chief, orders the whole of the militia to hold themselves in read- iness to march at a moment's warning, with arms, ammunition, and accoutrements, as the laws of the United States, and of this State require. Every man must likewise be pro- vided with a good knapsack and blanket. Captains of com- panies must realize it to be one of their most solemn and imperious duties, to see the law respecting arms and equip- ments efficaciously executed; but the commander in chief relies on the concurring aid of all the general and field officers in encouraging the company officers in the discharge of their duty. The major generals and commanding officers of divisions will
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give the necessary orders for an immediate inspection of their several regiments, by companies. Every instance of deficien- cy of arms or equipments should be forthwith supplied by the delinquent individual, or by the town to which he may belong, agreeably to the requirements of the militia law.
The officers commanding regiments, battalions, and compa- nies of artillery, will pay special attention, at this interesting moment, to the state of their field pieces, their carriages, and tumbrils, and see that every thing appertaining to them is in the most perfect order for marching, and for action, and partic- ularly that suitable horses are always engaged, and ready, at any moment, to be attached to their pieces, that they may be moved to any point required with celerity. All the companies of artillery, now to be called into immediate service, besides the requisite supplies of fixed and other ammunition, will be furnished by the Quartermaster General, with prolonges and bricoles. The legislature of this State, always proud of its militia, has been particularly liberal in its artillery establish- ment; and the commander in chief promises himself, that, emu- lating the brilliant example of Knox, and his heroic associates, in the artillery of the revolution, they will be equally distin- guished for their discipline as soldiers, and for their gallantry in the field.
Under possible events, the cavalry of the several divisions may be in requisition. Every motive, therefore of love of country, of honor and sympathy for their fellow citizens, who may be suffering the perils of war, will prompt them to main- tain the most perfect state of preparation, and to move, when called to the scene of action, with all the rapidity of which cav- alry is susceptible. The general officers, and the field officers of cavalry, as well as the company officers, will direct their at- tention to the quality of the horses, and sufer no man to be mounted but upon a horse sound and fit for actual service. A few bad horses may occasion irretrievable disaster.
The commander in chief having thus called the attention of all officers and soldiers of the militia to the observance of their
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several duties, at this eventful crisis, the more effectually to meet impending danger, orders that all the flank companies, whether of light infantry, grenadiers, or riflemen, of the 1st and 2d brigades of the 1st division, two companies, viz: the one af, Andover, and the other at Haverhill, of the 2d division; all the companies of the 3d division, excepting the two companies in Charlestown; four companies of the 4th division; five compa- nies of the 5th division; eight companies of the 7th division, and two companies of the 9th division, do immediately march to the town of Boston, unless (in the mean time) otherwise di- rected. Each company will march to its place of destination by itself, without waiting for any other corps.
These companies when assembled, will be arranged into regi- ments, or otherwise as circumstances may dictate; and, with the addition of twelve companies of artillery, will form the elite, or advance corps of the Massachusetts militia. The field offi- cers to command the regiments, and a general officer to com -. mand the whole, will hereafter be designated in general orders. The several companies of artillery to be annexed to the ad- vance corps, will be furnished by the following divisions, viz: two companies from the 1st brigade, and one company from the 2d brigade of the 3d division; four companies from the 4th division; one company from the 5th division, and four compa- nies from the 7th division.
Besides the above mentioned companies, the commander in chief orders a detachment of sixteen companies of infantry to be immediately made from the 4th division, properly officered, and arranged into two regiments, which will march to Boston without the least unnecessary delay. Major General Mattoon is charged with the arrangement of the regiments. From the 9th division, the commander in chief orders eight companies of in- fantry to be detached, properly officered, formed into a regi- ment, and marched to Boston. Major Generals Mattoon and Whiton will assign field officers for the troops, to be detached from their respective divisions; and the commander in chief re- lies on their experience and zeal to carry this order into the
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most prompt and energetic effect. As soon as the troops shall commence their march, each Major General will give notice of it to the Adjutant General. .
All the troops must be well armed, accoutcred, and equipped; and provided with ammunition, provisions, knapsacks, and blankets, as the law requires. The men will be supplied with rations when they arrive at the place of destination, and will receive pay from the time of their being embodied.
The security of the town and harbor of Boston being an ob- ject of primary importance the commander in chief, while he wishes to direct the principal energies of the state to the attain- ment of this end, is solicitous to render the militia of Boston itself as efficient as possible. With this view, he orders the infantry of the the third brigade of the 1st division commanded by Brigadier General Welles, to be called out by regiments, in rotation, two days successively, for the purpose of improving their disciplinc, already respectable, and of enabling them to practice the higher duties of the field.
This order is committed to Brigadier General Welles, whose knowledge in tactics, and animated zeal in the service of his country, must ensure to his exertions the highest effect. The order will be continued in operation until revoked. The flank companies of this brigade will be reserved for other service.
The troops called into actual service by this order, will serve three months after they arrive at their ultimate rendezvous, unless sooner discharged.
By his Excellency's command,
JOHN BROOKS, Adjutant General.
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Answer of the House of Representatives to the Governor's Speech, January, 1814.
" The people of this Commonwealth, by the seasonable as- sertion of their right to investigate political measures, have checked a disposition manifested in some parts of the country, to stifle fair inquiry, to suppress the freedom of speech and of the press, and thus to protract the cvils of misgovernment, and screen the errors or vices of a ruling party from exposure. While the privations and burdens of a war, deemed by the greater portion of our fellow citizens to be unjust, and by a still more numerous class, wanton and inexpedient, have been sus- tained with a patient respect for constitutional principles, its ori- gin ought not to be forgotten. It should, on the contrary, be held in perpetual remembrance, as a warning to a once deluded people against yielding to the dominion of passions, of which a weak or wicked administration may take advantage to involve them in the deepest national calamity.
" The British orders in Council, and the casual abuses aris- ing from the practice of impressment, have ceased to be con- sidered by impartial men as the causes of the present war. These were probably mere pretences for precipitating the nation into the gulph of a fatal policy, to the verge of which its au- thors had been impelled, by their own passions. The real course of the war inust be traced to the first systematical aban- donment of the policy of Washington, and of the friends and framers of the Constitution ; to implacable animosity against those men, and their exclusion from all concern in the govern- ment of the country ; to the influence of unprincipled foreign- ers over the press, and the deliberations of the national gov- ernment in all its branches; to a jealousy of commercial States, envy of their prosperity, fear of their power, contempt
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for their pursuits, and ignorance of their true character and im- portance ; to cupidity of certain States for the wilderness re- served for the miserable . aborigines ; to a violent passion for conquest, and an infatuated belief that neighbouring provinces were enamoured of our institutions, and would become an easy prey to the arts and arms of raw and boastful adventurers , and above all, to dclusive estimates of the relative power and re- sources of Great Britain and France, and a determined hostil- ity towards the former, as the firmest basis of party power. These will be viewed by the present generation and by poster- ity, as the sources of our present national evils ; and the pre- tence of aiming to secure the freedom of commerce and of sea- men, by regulations which compel both merchants and sailors to renounce the occan of their professions, will be regarded as the boldest delusion ever attempted by a ruling party upon the cre- dulity of an intelligent people.
" The recent act of Congress interdicting commerce under the name of an Embargo, has filled our minds with great solici- tude for the fate of our country, and its liberty. The authority possessed by the national government, in relation to this sub- ject, must be derived cither from the general power to make war, or from the clause in the Constitution, which gives power to Congress " to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States." Under colour of an authority de- fined in those very intelligible terms, a right is claimed and ex- ercised by Congress, of prohibiting not only all foreign com- merce in American vessels, but the coasting trade ; and so far as Massachusetts is concerned, all intercourse by water between different parts of the same State. Such a construction is a vi- olation of the Constitution, which renders it an instrument of slavery, rather than of mutual defence and security. An Em- bargo of this character, and intended, at least, for one ycar's duration, is not a regulation, but an extinction of commerce : and it is worse than useless for the objects of war, as it dc- stroys the resources which are indispensable for its success. It absolves, from the obligations of citizens, all those who are
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disqualified by its arbitrary provisions from enjoying their rights or fulfilling their duties.
" In reviewing the instructions given to the officers entrust- ed with the execution of this act, we avow with pain and alarm our persuasion, that they are at open variance with the first principles of constitutional and civil liberty. The inhabitants of distant parts of the Commonwealth are debarred from all communication with each other by water. The fisherman, whose humble and arduous employment is generally encour- aged by the public enemy, can no longer pursue his calling. The ship owner cannot sell his vessel without restraints equiv- alent to a prohibition, however urgent the claims of his family or creditors. The paltry traffic which is still permitted, is left to the mercy and caprice of custom-house officers and their :substitutes. A power of seizing money and effects, upon vex- atious pretexts, or vague suspicion, and under the most inno- cent circumstances, is vested in men dependent on executive favour, and too often destitute of discretion and principle. A system of perfidy and breach of trust is explicitly recommend- ed to the practice and adoption of the officers of banking in- stitutions, towards those who deal with them upon terms of im- plicit honor and confidence.
" And to enforce these outrageous provisions, and others of the same stamp, and involving great danger to personal liber- ty in various instances, the military and naval force of the Uni- ted States is placed at the disposal of petty officers ; and the lives and property of the citizens subjected to the controul of bayonets and cannon. With these impressions, we are under a solemn conviction, that the time has arrived, in which it is in- cumbent on the people of this State to decide, whether these burdens are not too grievous to be borne, and to prepare them- selves for the great duty of protecting, by their own vigour, their unalienable rights, and of securing for themselves, at least, the poor privilege of mutual intercourse by water, as "well as by land."
Adopted by a vote of 290 to 125.
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Remonstrance of the officers of the Militia, in the vicinity of Portland, who were called out for defence of that place.
To Major General Alford Richardson, commanding the militia called out for the defence of the town of Portland.
The undersigned ask leave to represent, that, by a general order, of the date of twentieth day of September current, they are given to understand, that a detachment of the militia, to the amount of eleven hundred artillery and infantry, is to be made, and placed under the command of Brigadier General Chandler, an officer of the United States, and in the service of the same.
Against this disposition of any part of the militia of this com- monwealth, the undersigned ask leave respectfully to remon- strate. And in doing this, they would request that the course. of conduct, which they consider it their duty to pursue, may not be attributed to any motive, dishonorable to the soldier, or disreputable to the man. The promptness and alacrity with which they assembled at this place, at the moment when dan- ger was threatening their fellow citizens of the metropolis, is an assurance that they are ready to defend their country from invasion, and have courage to preserve it unpoluted by any hostile foot. They, therefore, in remonstrating against this arrangement, think they have a claim to be heard, and that the reasons which may be offered, may be candidly weighed by the Major General, and that an ultimate decision may not be made- without mature deliberation and reflection.
And first, your remonstrants are opposed, in principle, to the arrangement, inasmuch as they consider it unconstitutional, and subversive of the sovereignty of the Commonwealth of Mas- sachusetts.
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The constitution of the United States provides, that the President shall be commander in chief of the militia of the sev- eral states, wlien called into actual service of the United States. But we believe that this command is to be exercised by the of- ficers of the militia, appointed by the States, and in this way only.
This construction the undersigned consider as sanctioned by the opinion of the supreme judicial court, delivered to his Ex- cellency the Governor in August, A. D. 1812.
Having thus shown, in the opinion of your remonstrants, the unconstitutionality of the contemplated arrangements, the un- dersigned will be excused for pointing out some of the evils which may result from a different construction. General Chand- ler is himself a subordiate officer, and can make no pledge, which he may not be compelled to violate; or violate obliga- tions paramount to any which he may stipulate, with regard to the station of troops under his command. The undersigned, therefore consider that, when once under the command of an United States officer, it will not be in the power of any officer in this Commonwealth to prevent their being marched to any post where the President may please to direct.
They may be compelled to abandon the defence of those, whom they volunteered to protect, and marched from their fam- ilies to some place more assailable by the enemy, or deemed more important by the President of the United States. The probability that they will, is strengthened by the desire mani- fested to have the militia at the controul of the United States officers.
Again, it is a well known fact, that the officers of the United States hold the militia in the most sovereign contempt. They have no regard to their local habits or feelings. By a law of the United States, officers of the United States, of the same grade, take rank of the militia, when incorporated with them. In this way, the old and honorable militia officer is liable to be com- manded by the stripling, for whom family influence, or political motives, may have procured a commission. Where have we a
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pledge, that the many incumbents of offices in the army of the United States, whom we see in our streets, without men to command, may not be incorporated with us and our troops, and thus we be reduced to a cypher, and our men in effect given to the caprice of those who have no sympathy with their situation? Can General Chandler give such a pledge? We think not. Hle himself may be bound by others' orders, whatever may be his disposition.
We are not insensible that the proposed arrangement is in- tended to save expense to the commonwealth. But we appre- hend the United States are, and will be bound, by the national compact, to pay the expense of our defence, whether the mili- tia is put under the controul of United States' officers, or com- manded by their own.
If the United States have the injustice to refuse a claim so well founded, we can only say that the objects of the national compact are at an end.
But, shall his Excellency the Governor give up his prerog- atives, and those of the Commonwealth, because the United States are unjust? On principles of economy, then, we cannot agree that the proposed arrangement has any advantage above any other; and should the United States be so unreasonable, as to refuse to let the militia defend those posts which are ex- clusively within their controul, unless the militia will be put un- der United States officers, and this, too, when it is acknowledg- ed that the United States have no adequate force to defend those posts, we can only say, it is time they were surrendered into other hands.
The officers of the militia will not conceal the repugnance, which they have to bring themselves, and having their men 'exposed in posts, from their weakness wholly inadequate to any effectual defence. For these, and many other reasons, which might be mentioned, the undersigned respectfully re- monstrate against the arrangement proposed by general orders of the twentieth day of September, and to give Major General Richardson a clear understanding of the repugnance which they
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and the troops under their respective commands, feel, in sub- mitting to be placed under the command of General Chandler, or any other officer of the United States; at the same time, pledging themselves to be ready for any danger or emergency, while they can be commanded by their own appropriate offi- cers, the men of their choice .*
Portland, September, 24, 1814.
* This Remonstrance was signed by 5 Majors, 10 Captains, 8 Lieutenants, and 7 Ensigns.
Answer of the House of Representatives to the Governor's Speech, June, 1815.
" Whatever may be the fate of Europe, we may reasonably hope, that the peace of our country will not be hazarded by unnecessary interference in the disputes which agitate other nations. In ordinary wars, neutrals are a convenience to bel- ligerents ; and in the extraordinary conflicts which have so long made mutual destruction the order of the day in Europe, it is seldom that any of the contending powers seem to have been interested or inclined to involve the United States in hostilities. We should therefore presume that our country is in little danger of being forced into war ; and that our national rulers, after the experience they have had of the difficulties, sacrifices and expenses attending war operations, will not again volunteer in the unprofitable contest. The task of repairing its past rava- ges upon the public and private resources of the country will be sufficiently sad and arduous.
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