USA > Massachusetts > History of Massachusetts in the Civil War > Part 12
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The three-months service was a good preparatory experience. It educated officers to command three-years companies and regiments, which were then being raised in the State; several of whom came back, when the war was over, with distinguished fame, and with generals' stars upon their shoulders. Among these we name Hinks and Devens and Briggs and Martin and Dev- ereux and McCartney. Others rose to high rank, who never came back, but who fell in distant battle-fields, by the side of their men, and beneath the shadow of the flag they carried, which symbolized their cause and the nation's. Of these we name Chambers and Pratt and Parker and Prescott and Keyes and Dodd.
While the events here enumerated were transpiring at a distance, others of great importance and interest were of daily occurrence at home, as will appear in the next chapter.
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CHAPTER III.
The People of the Towns - The Press - The Pulpit - Edward Everett - Fletcher Webster offers to raise a Regiment - The Sunday Meeting in State Street - Mr. Webster's Speech - Meeting in the Music Hall - Speech of Wendell Phillips - Meeting in. Chester Park - Speeches of Edward Everett and Benjamin F. IFallett - Meeting under the Washington Elm in Cambridge - Ex-Governor Banks, George S. Hillard, and others - Letters received by the Governor - Extracts - Reception of the Dead Bodies of the Killed in Baltimore - Mr. Crowninshield goes abroad to buy Arms - Ex-Governor Boutwell sent to Washington - Letter of John M. Forbes to Mr. Felton - Letter to General Wool - To Rev. Dr. Stearns - To Robert M. Mason - Offer of a Ship Load of Ice - Purchase of the Cambridge - Provisions sent to Fortress Monroe and Washington - Governor to President Lincoln - Attorney-General Foster - The Ladies of Cambridge - Call for Three Years' Volunteers - Letter of John M. Forbes - Letters received by the Adjutant- General - Extracts- Letters from Dr. Luther V. Bell and Richard II. Dana, Jr. - Ex-Governor Boutwell arrives at Washington - Letters to the Governor- State of Affairs at Washington - Letter from Mr. Foster -Cipher Telegram - Judge Hoar at Washington - Letters to the Governor - The War De- partment will accept no more Troops - Charles R. Lowell, Jr., Massachusetts Agent at Washington - Ilis Instructions - Letter of Governor to Dr. Howe - Appointed to examine the Condition of the Regiments - Ilis Report - Colonel Prescott - Letters of the Governor and General Butler - Slavery.
THE people of Massachusetts were deeply moved by the depar- ture of the three months' inen, and the attack made upon the Sixth Regiment at Baltimore. Meetings were held in city and town. Speeches were made by the most distinguished orators in the State. In some of the towns, the people were called together by the ringing of church-bells, and in others by the town-crier. The meetings: generally were opened with prayer ; and the oldest and most venerable of the inhabitants were seated on the platform. The veterans of the Revolution had passed away, and the seats which they would have filled were occupied by the surviving soldiers of the War of 1812. Addresses were made by clergymen, lawyers, and by young men, to whom the
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cause gave words of carnest eloquence. The UNION, one and inseparable, and how Massachusetts could best serve it, were the themes which inspired them all. Resolutions were passed, pledging life and fortune to the cause. Large sums of money were subscribed and paid. Historic memories were revived, and the sacrifices of the fathers in the War for Independence held up for imitation. The women formed aid societies to sew and knit and work for the absent soldiers and for their families at home. Young men formed military companies, and more companies were offered than the Government would receive; and more articles of clothing and stores of provisions than the men required.
The publie journals of the Commonwealth spoke with one voice. Party spirit was allayed, political differences forgotten. The past was buried with the past. The Boston Morning Post, the leading Democratic paper in New England, gave to the cause its strong support. It had sustained the nomination of John C. Breckinridge for President the preceding year ; but it did so without intent or thought of following him into rebel- lion. On the morning of April 16, the Post published a patriotic appeal to the people, from which we make the follow- ing extract : -
" Patriotie "citizens ! choose you which you will serve, the world's best hope, -our noble Republican Government, -or that bottomless pit, - social anarchy. Adjourn other issues until this self-preserving issue is settled. Hitherto a good Providence has smiled upon the American Union. This was the morning star that led on the men of the Revo- lution. It is precisely the truth to say, that when those sages and heroes labored they made UNION the vital condition of their labor. It was faith in Union that destroyed the tea, and thus nerved the resist- anee to British aggression. Without it, patriots felt they were noth- ing; and with it they felt equal to all things. The Union flag they transmitted to their posterity. To-day it waves over those who are rallying under the standard of the LAW; and God grant, that in the end, as it was with the old Mother Country, after wars between White and Red Roses and Roundheads and Cavaliers, so it may be with the daughter ; that she may see PEACE in her borders, and all her children loving each other better than ever !"
The Boston Liberator, edited by William Lloyd Garrison,
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SPEECH OF COLONEL WEBSTER.
the well-known and ably conducted organ of the extreme Aboli- tion party, spoke with equal spirit in support of the Govern- ment. 4 The religious press, without exception, invoked the blessings of Heaven upon our soldiers and the holy cause they had gone forth to uphold. Religious creeds, like political dogmas, were harmonized in the general current of opinion. Edward Everett, who in the preceding fall election was the Conservative candidate for Vice-President, threw himself, with all his powers of eloquence and culture, into the struggle. He was absent from the State when the call for troops was made, but returned to Boston on the 18th of April. IIe fully approved the measures taken by the Government, and thought the Administration ought to be cordially supported by all good citizens.
Among the first to raise a regiment for the service was Fletcher Webster, the sole surviving child of Daniel Webster. On Sunday morning, April 21, an immense meeting was held in State Street, in front of the Merchants' Exchange. It had been announced in the papers of the preceding day that Mr. Webster and other gentlemen would speak. There was much excitement and enthusiasm, notwithstanding it was the sabbath. Mr. Webster began his address from the steps of the Merchants' Exchange. The position was unfavorable; the crowd could not hear, and calls were made to adjourn to the rear of the Old State House. The adjournment was carried. The crowd re- mained in the street. Mr. Webster spoke from the rear bal- cony, facing State Street. IIe was received with great favor. He said he could see no better use to which the day could be put than to show our gratitude to Divine Providence for bestowing upon us the best Government in the world, and to pledge ourselves to stand by it and maintain it. He whose name he bore had the good fortune to defend the Union and the Constitution in the forum. . This he could not do ; but he was ready to defend them on the field. [Applause.] But this is no time for specches ; it is a time for action. He proposed to raise a regiment for active service ; he called for volunteers. Mr. Webster then gave directions regarding the manner in which companies were to be raised, in order to comply with the laws
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of the State and the requirements of the War Department. IIe concluded by saying, -
"Time presses. The enemy is approaching the capital of the nation. It may be in their hands now. [Cries of . Never ; it never shall be.'] Promptness is needed. Let us show the world that the patri- otism of '61 is not less than that of the heroes of '76; that the noble impulses of those patriot hearts have descended to us. Let us do our duty, and we shall yet see the nation united, and our old flag remain without a star dimmed or a stripe obliterated."
The report of the meeting in the Daily Advertiser says, -
" The remarks of Mr. Webster were received with great enthu- siasm, and at the elose of his speech he was loudly cheered. Loud calls were then made for General Schouler, who was seen upon the balcony. In response, he stepped forward, and thanked the vast assembly in an almost inaudible voice for their good feeling, and asked Mr. Webster to speak for him. Mr. Webster at once informed the audience that the General was utterly prostrated with the arduous labors during the past week, and that he had searcely been in bed for fifty-four hours ; that he must be excused, as he was utterly unable to address them. The crowd then gave three cheers for General Schouler."
The meeting was ably addressed by William Dehon, Edward Riddle, and Charles Levi Woodbury, who were received with great favor and satisfaction. Mr: Webster's appeal met with a prompt response. More companies were offered than he could accept ; but, before the regiment was ready to leave the State, orders came from Washington that no more three months' regiments would be received. On the receipt of this information, Mr. Webster's regiment immediately volunteered to serve for three years : it was accepted, and during the war was known as the Twelfth Regiment of Massachusetts Infantry.
Wendell Phillips spoke in the afternoon of this memorable Sunday in the great Music ,Hall, which was crowded in every part ; and thousands were unable to gain admission. Many feared that he would not be permitted to speak ; and that, if he attempted to sustain the position which he assumed in his speech at New Bedford ten days before, a riot would occur. The first sentence uttered by Mr. Phillips, however, gave
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WENDELL PHILLIPS IN THE MUSIC HALL.
assurance that the events of the preceding week had not been without their effect upon his mind. The hall was profusely decorated with the stars and stripes ; and the speaker stood upon the platform beneath an arch formed by the national colors. The speech. was remarkable not only for its force and vigor, its patriotic and elevated sentiments, but for its strong contrast with the speech quoted in the first chapter. He began by say- ing, -
"I am here to retract not a single word of what I have ever said. Every act of my life has tended to make the welcome I give this war hearty and hot. Civil war is a momentous evil, and needs the soundest justification. I rejoice before God, that every word I have said has counselled peace; and I rejoice, for the first time in my anti-slavery life, I stand under the stars and stripes, and welcome the tread of Massachusetts men. [Great applause.] No matter what may have been done in the past. To-day the slave asks but a sight of this banner, and calls it the twilight of his redemption; to-day it represents sovereignty and justice. The only mistake I have ever made is in supposing Massachusetts wholly choked with cotton dust and caukered with gold. [Laughter.] The first cannon shot upon our forts has put the war-cry of the Revolution on her lips. I can- not acknowledge the sentiment, 'Our country, right or wrong.' In a moral light, it is knavish and atheistical ; but it is sublime to see this rallying of a great people to the defence of the national honor; a noble and puissant nation, arising like a strong man from a sleep and shaking his locks. She is thus collecting her scattered elements and rousing her dormant thunder. How do we justify this last appeal to arms ? I always cry for peace; and the anti-slavery banner has that name upon it. We have thought to set free the millions of slaves, and the North has responded. It is in the increasing education of our people, and in that moral sense which is fast gaining ground, that we are to accomplish this. No man can prevail against the North in the nine- teenth century. It thinks. It can appreciate the argument. The South is the fourteenth century. Wat Tyler and Jack Cade loom up on the horizon. There the fagots still burn, and men are tortured for opinion. Baron and serf are names which form too flattering a picture. Sum- ner stamped them the barbarous States. The struggle now is, not of opinion, but of civilization. There can be but two things, - compro- mise or battle. The integrity of the North scorns the first; the general forbearance of nineteen States has preceded the other. The South opened with a cannon-shot, and Lincoln showed himself at
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION.
the door. [Applause.] The war is not of aggression, but of self- defence ; and Washington becomes the Thermopyla of liberty and justice. Rather than surrender it, cover every foot of ground with a living man. Guard it with a million of men, and empty our bank- vaults to pay them. Proclaim that the North is under the stars and stripes, and no man is in chains."
He said the North is all right and the South all wrong; that for thirty years there has been no exhaustion of conciliation and compromise. " We must," he said, "acknowledge the right before you send Massachusetts through the streets of Baltimore, and carry Lexington and the 19th of April into the Southern States." - " During long and weary years we have waited. Massachusetts blood has consecrated the streets of Baltimore, which are now too sacred to be trodden by slaves."-" When the South cannonaded Sumter, the bones of Adams rattled in his coffin ; and we might have heard him from his granite grave in Quincy say, 'Seize the thunderbolt, and annihilate what has troubled you for sixty years.'" -"There are four sections of people in this struggle : First, the ordinary masses, mingling mere enthusiasm in the battle ; Second, those that have commer- cial interests, - the just-converted hunkerism ; Third, the peo- ple, - the cordwainers of Lynn and the farmers of Worcester, - people who have no leisure for technicalities ; Fourth, 9 Abolitionists, who thank God that he has let them see salvation before they die. Europe, and some of you, may think it a war of opinion ; but years hence, when the smoke of the conflict shall have cleared away, we shall see all creeds, all tongues, all races one brotherhood ; and on the banks of the Potomac the Genius of Liberty robed in light, with four and thirty stars in her diadem, broken chains under her feet, and the olive branch in her right hand."
Mr. Everett made his first speech in the war on Saturday the 27th of April, to a vast crowd of citizens in Chester Square, Boston. The people who lived in the south part of the city had erected a lofty flag-staff, and from its height the national banner was to be unfurled that afternoon. The ceremonies were opened with prayer by Rev. Mr. Hepworth, and national songs were sung by the school-children. Mr. Everett was
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SPEECHES OF MR. EVERETT AND MR. HALLETT.
received with loud applause ; which he gracefully acknowl- edged, and said, -
"The great assemblage that I see around me; the simple but inter- esting ceremonial with which the flag of our country has been thrown to the breeze; the strains of inspiring music; the sweet concord of those youthful voices ; the solemn supplication of the reverend clergyman, which still fills our ears, - all these proclaim the deep, patriotic sentiment of which the flag is the symbol and expression. Nay, more : it speaks for itself. Its mute eloquence needs no aid from my lips to interpret its significance. Fidelity to the Union blazes from its stars : allegiance to the Government under which we live is wrapped within its folds. We set up this standard, my friends, not as a matter of idle display, but as an expressive indication, that, in the mighty struggle which has been forced upon us, we are of one heart and one mind, - that the Government of the country must be sus- tained. We are a law-abiding. quiet-loving community. Our time. our thoughts, our energies are habitually devoted to the peaceful arts by which States grow and prosper ; but. upon an issue in which the life of the country is involved, we rally as one man to its defence. All former differences of opinion are swept away. We forget that we ever had been partisans. We remember only that we are Americans, and that our country is in peril. . . . Why does it float as never before, not merely from arsenal and masthead, but from tower and steeple. from the public edifices, the temples of science, the private dwelling, in magnificent display or miniature presentment ? Let Fort Sumter give the answer. When on this day fortnight, the 13th of April (a day for ever to be held in inauspicious remembrance, like the Dies Alliensis in the annals of Rome), the tidings spread through the land. that the standard of United America, the pledge of her union and the symbol of her power, which so many gallant hearts had poured out their life-blood on the ocean and the land to uphold, had, in the harbor of Charleston, been for a day and a half the target of eleven fratricidal batteries, one deep, unanimous. spontaneous feeling shot with the tidings through the bosoms of twenty millions of freemen, -that its outraged honor must he vindicated."
Mr. Everett then described the bombardment of Sumter, and paid a high tribute to Major Anderson and his gallant com- mand. He also referred to his long and intimate acquaintance with the leading men of the South, from whom he had hoped never to have been separated by civil war. He closed with these words : -
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" All hail to the flag of the Union! Courage to the heart and strength to the hand to which in all time it shall be intrusted ! May it ever wave in unsullied honor over the dome of the Capitol, from the country's strongholds, on the tented field, upon the wave-rocked topmast. It was originally displayed on the' Ist of January, 1776, from the headquarters of Washington, whose lines of circumvallation around beleaguered Boston traversed the fair spot where we now stand ; and it was first given to the breeze within the limits of our beloved State: so may the last spot where it shall cease to float in honor and triumph be the soil of our own Massachusetts!"
The gentleman who succeeded Mr. Everett was Benjamin F. Hallett, who, for thirty years, had been a distinguished leader of the Democratic party. He had made its platforms, advo- cated its principles, and labored for its success. No Democrat in Massachusetts was better known than Mr. Hallett. He had never wavered in his love or faltered in his allegiance to his party. No one doubted his sincerity, no one questioned his ability. As a lawyer, he held a high rank. Notwithstanding his determined zeal and devotion to his party, his nature was kind and generous ; and his private character was pure and spotless. Like Mr. Everett, he gave up party for his country. His speech in Chester Square was worthy of his talents and of the occasion which called it forth. Like Mr. Everett, he re- mained true to the Union ; and, like him, he died ere the end was gained.
In the city of Cambridge, almost within the shadows of the halls of Harvard University, stands the "Washington Elm," where it has stood sentinel since the foundation of the college. They have grown old and venerable together. Beneath the branches of the tree, Washington first took command of the American army, in 1775, which was drawn up in line on the Common in front. On this historic spot, on the same day that Mr. Everett and Mr. Hallett spoke in Chester Square, the people of Cambridge held a meeting. John Sargent, the mayor of the city, presided. Among the vice-presidents were Jared Sparks, Henry W. Longfellow, Joel Parker, Emory Washburn, Isaac Livermore, and Theophilus Parsons. A pre- amble and resolutions were read by John G. Palfrey. One of the resolutions was in these words : -
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MEETING UNDER THE "WASHINGTON ELM."
" Resolved by us, citizens of Cambridge, convened under the shadow of the Washington Elm, that animated, we trust, by the spirit of him who, in the clouded dawn of the Revolution which created our nation, drew his sacred sword on this memorable spot, we desire to consecrate ourselves to the services of freedom and our country."
The meeting was addressed by John C. Park, ex-Governor Banks, George S. Hillard, and Thomas II. Russell in speeches filled with patriotic sentiments and earnest appeals to the judg- ment and conscience of the people.
We now return to the State House, where the work of fitting out regiments, organizing new departments, listening to various propositions, answering innumerable questions, receiving and writing letters, pressed upon the Governor and his personal staff, the Adjutant-General and his assistants, the Quarter- master-General and his clerks, from early morning until mid- night. An abstract of a portion only of the correspondence will show the nature and extent of a part of the labor performed.
April 18. - The Governor writes to Miss A. J. Gill, also to Miss Anna M. Clarke, also to Mary A. G. Robinson, who have offered themselves to be nurses ; to Robert B. Forbes, acknowledging the receipt of his " Address to the Merchants and Seamen of Massachusetts to organize a Coast Guard ; " to Dr. Winslow Lewis, who offered to give medical advice and attendance to soldiers' families free of charge. Thanks Leopold Morse, of Boston, for a gift of one hundred pairs of ready- made pants for soldiers. To Secretary Cameron, asking for more muskets.
April 19. - Governor telegraphs to the Secretary of War, " Would you like another regiment composed of Irishmen en- listed specially ?" Writes to Arthur Hanley, who had inquired "if unnaturalized persons would be accepted in the militia," to " go ahead." Acknowledges "with gratitude the devoted and benevolent offer of Mrs. Harriet M. Gibson ; " also a letter from Miss Hannah E. Stevenson, who offered her services as a nurse. Telegraphs to Secretary Cameron that "the steamer 'State of Maine,' with the Fourth Regiment on board, is detained at New York ; depends on his providing a convoy from the capes of Virginia, if necessary. Writes to William Gray,
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THIE REBELLION.
accepting the offer made by ladies through him "to supply under-clothing for the soldiers." Thanks James M. Stone " for his valuable aid as assistant quartermaster in getting off the regiments. Acknowledges the receipt of a beautiful fire-arm from Dr. Henry G. Clark, " to be given to the surgeon of the forces of Massachusetts who shall best perform his duty in the exercise of his profession towards the brave men who have taken up arms in behalf of liberty and the country." Tele- graphs, seven o'clock, P.M., to General Butler, "When did you reach Philadelphia? When will you leave? Is the way open ? Can you communicate by telegraph with Washington ? Has Jones reached Washington ?"
April 20. - Writes to Dr. HI. II. Fuller that " surgeons are appointed under the militia law by colonels of regiments, and not by the Governor." Acknowledges receipt from Captain Edward Ingersoll, Springfield Armory, of " two hundred and fifty rifled muskets." Thanks Miss Laura A. Phillips, of Great Falls, N.H., for her offer to nurse our wounded men in Balti- more ; also Miss Laura B. Forbes, of Cambridgeport, for the same offer. Telegraphs Hon. Hannibal Hamlin, Vice-Presi- dent, Hampden, Me., "I advise you to come forward without delay, in view of possible events at Washington." Telegraphs Governor Washburn, of Maine, "One advance regiment [the Sixth ] has reached Washington: No other yet beyond Phila- delphia." Directs the Adjutant-General " to grant all applica- tions for organizing new companies when he has confidence in the parties. When doubts exist, consult the Governor." Di- rects the Adjutant-General " to get off' Cook's Light Battery by steamer before midnight ; also the left wing of the Fifth Regi- ment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Greene, and the right wing, under Colonel Lawrence, by railroad during the night." This arrangement could not be made ; and the Governor telegraphed to Simeon Draper, New York, to " engage steamers for twelve hundred troops, six cannon, caissons, and seventy-two horses, from New York to Annapolis, to leave New York Sunday morning." Telegraphs Major Ladd, "Senator Wilson will be in New York to-morrow morning, and will inform you fully what our wants are for the troops on their march." Telegraphs
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MISCELLANEOUS LETTERS OF THE GOVERNOR.
Major P. Adams Ames, Philadelphia, " We will send horses, artillery, and infantry to New York by rail, thence by steamer to Annapolis." Telegraphs the Mayor of Baltimore, "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 Commonwealth." Telegraphs Simeon Draper, New York, " Procure, to be delivered to Colonel Law- rence, of our Fifth Regiment, to-morrow morning, eight hun- dred knapsacks suitable for service, or else slings for carrying blankets." Thanks Mrs. William Ward for her offer "to aid in any manner in her power, our departing troops, and to cheer those whom they leave behind." Telegraphs to Mayor Sargent, of Lowell, " We have no official information of the names of the dead. A despatch from the Mayor of Baltimore says the bodies cannot be sent on at present, as communication by land and sea is stopped. But they have been carefully cared for, and will be put in Greenwood Cemetery till they can be sent to Massa- chusetts." Informs A. B. Ely, of Boston, that " we are taking most active measures for procuring a supply of efficient arms." Thanks Rev. Eli A. Smith "for his patriotic and Christian offer " of assistance ; also Dr. Coale, of Boston, for offer of professional services, and Miss Hazard and Miss Burns, who offer themselves as nurses. Notifies Mr. Crowninshield that the Executive Council have " approved of his suggestion, and he has appointed him to proceed to Europe in the next steamer to purchase arms." Telegraphs George William Brown, Mayor of Baltimore : "Dear Sir, -I appreciate your kind attention to our wounded and our dead, and trust that at the earliest moment the remains of the fallen will return to us. I am overwhelmed with surprise, that a peaceful march of American citizens over the highway, to the defence of our common capital, should be deemed aggressive to Baltimoreans. Through New York the march was triumphal." To Adams & Co.'s Express, Boston : "Can't you get the bodies of our dead through Baltimore ? The Mayor telegraphs the railroad is interrupted." Major Ladd, who is referred to above, was an officer on the staff of Major- General Sutton ; and Major Ames, also mentioned, was an
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