USA > Massachusetts > History of Massachusetts in the Civil War > Part 28
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often show, he was at the same time the proudest, the firmest, the most determined enemy of any thing like mere pretension, come from whatever source it might. He never took a posi- tion which he had not first well considered ; and, when his position was taken, nothing but a clear conviction that he was wrong could make him change from it. Though no man cared less for power than he did, no man was more conscientious and scrupu- lous in the exercise of it. His authority as Governor he re- garded as delegated to him by the people. He held it in trust, to be exercised for their benefit, and to be trampled upon by no man. Hence, what may have appeared to some who have read this correspondence as matters of no moment, and which might have been passed by without objection, the Governor viewed as an indignity to the office he filled, involving principles which could neither be compromised with honor, nor ignored with silence. By pursuing this firm and steady course, he was en- abled in the end to preserve inviolate the rights of the State, the dignity of its chief officer, and the demands of public justice. It was these traits of character which made him honored and respected while living, and caused him to be mourned for when dead, even as the children of Israel, when bondmen in a strange land, mourned their captivity, and hung their harps upon the willows which grew by the waters of Babylon.
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CHAPTER VI.
The Campaign of 1862- Meeting of the Legislature - Ex-Governor Clifford elected President of the Senate - His Speech - Alexander II. Bulloek elected Speaker of the House - Speech of Mr. Bullock - Of Caleb Cushing - Pro- ceedings of the Legislature - Abstracts of Military Laws passed - Massa- chusetts Prisoners in Richmond - Clothing sent - Letter from Adjutant Pierson - Expedition of General Burnside - Capture of Roanoke Island - Massachusetts Troops first to land - Care of the Sick and Wounded - Dr. Hitchcock sent on - The Wounded in New York - Colonel Frank E. Howe - Establishment of the New-England Rooms - Care of the Sick and Wounded - The Army of the Potomae - The Wounded at Williamsburg - Letters of Colonel Howe - Every Assistance given - The Agencies of the State for the Care of the Men - The Office in Washington - Colonel Gardiner Tufts, Mrs. Jennie L. Thomas, Robert C. Carson, William Robinson, appointed Agents - Visits of the Adjutant-General, Colonel Ritchie, and Colonel John Q. Adams, to the Front - Report to the Governor - The Appearance of Washington - Reports of Edward S. Rand and Dr. Bowditch - First Massa- chusetts Cavalry at Hilton Head - Our Troops in North Carolina - Appoint- ment of Allotment Commissioners - Their Valuable Services - Letters of the Governor - Rule for making Appointments - Illegal Recruiting- Colonel Dudley - Thirtieth Regiment - Captured Rebel Flags - Deatlı and Burial of General Lander- Letters of Governor to Secretary of War- Secretary of the Navy - To the President on Various Subjects - Letter to General Burnside-Secretary Chase -The Retreat of General Banks -Great Excite- ment - Troops sent forward - Militia called out - The Position of our Regi- ments - The War in Earnest.
AT the elose of the year 1861 and the beginning of 1862, Massachusetts had filled every demand made upon her for troops, and most of them had been sent to the front. The Twenty- eighth, Thirtieth, and Thirty-first Regiments, nearly recruited to the maximum, were yet in camp ; but they were sent forward in January and February, 1862. Massachusetts regiments and batteries were in front of Washington and at Fortress Monroe ; five regiments were at Annapolis, ready to embark in General Burnside's expedition against North Carolina. One regiment and a battery were at Ship Island, in Mississippi, waiting orders from General Butler. In the Army of the Potomac, we were
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the strongest. Gunboats officered and manned by Massachu- setts men kept watch and ward on the Southern coast, or carried the flag upon far-off seas. Officers remained here on recruiting service ; and enlistments were made to complete new regiments, and to fill the depleted ranks of those at the seat of war. Wounded officers and soldiers were at home on furlough or dis- charged for disability. The "empty sleeve " was seen daily in our streets ; and maimed veterans hobbled up the steps of the State House on crutches, on their return from distant hospitals, to show their honorable discharge papers, and tell in modest words of their toils and dangers.
The Legislature met at the State House, on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 1862. Hon. John H. Clifford, of New Bedford, for- merly Governor of the State, was chosen President of the Senate, and Stephen N. Gifford, clerk. On taking the chair, Mr. Clifford referred to the present state of the country, to the war which existed, and to the duties which were imposed upon the Legislature. They were then in a new and untried exigeney of public affairs, and subject to the solemn and momentous re- sponsibilities which attach themselves to every position of public trust.
" We should fail, I am sure, to reflect the prevailing sentiment of the people of Massachusetts, and show ourselves unworthy the gen- erous confidence of our respective constituents, if we could permit a word of party strife to be uttered within these walls. Whatever may be his professions, he is no true patriot, who, in this season of his coun- try's peril, cannot rise to such a height as to lose sight of all those lines of political difference, which, in more peaceful and prosperous times, have divided the people of the Commonwealth, or who is not ready to sacrifice every thing but principle to make and keep them a united people. Already have the gallant sons of Massachusetts, native and adopted, of every class and condition, and holding every variety of opinion upon controverted questions of policy and principle, marched as a band of brothers to the fieldl to uphold the common flag, or to fall in its defence."
Hon. Caleb Cushing, of Newburyport, senior member, called the House to order ; in doing which, he made a short address, and referred to his services as a member in years that were past, and said, -
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" At other times, the wordy warfare of party, the strifes of faction might be tolerated and endured, if not encouraged and applauded. Such is not the present hour. Higher and greater thoughts occupy us now. I confidently believe that you, gentlemen, will prove your- selves equal to the emergency ; that you will rise to the height of your duties ; and that, taking the Constitution for your loadstar and your guide through the troubles of the times, you will dedicate your- selves to the single object of contributing, with heart and soul, to uphold, to re-establish, and to perpetuate our sacred and beloved Union. That we resolve and determine to do, with the good help of God."
The House then made choice of Hon. Alexander H. Bullock, of Worcester, Speaker of the House : he received every vote cast. William S. Robinson, of Malden, was elected clerk. On taking the chair, Mr. Bullock also referred to the existing war, and to the duty of Massachusetts in regard thereto.
" More than thirty thousand of the men of Massachusetts are at this moment far from home, in arms, to preserve the public liberties along the Upper and Lower Potomac, among the islands and deltas of the Gulf, or wherever else they have been called to follow that imperilled but still radiant flag."
He closed with these words : "In the service of the State at all times, bift especially at the present, the least of duties is a part of the impressive whole."
On Friday, Jan. 3, the two branches met in convention to administer the oath of office to the Governor and Lieutenant- Governor elect, and to listen to the annual address.
The Governor, in his address, made a broad survey of the military field of observation, and the part which Massachusetts had taken in the war during the year preceding. The amount of money expended by the State, for war purposes, was $3,384,- 649.88, of which there had been reimbursed, by the United States, the sum of $987,263.54 ; leaving an unpaid balance of about $2,500,000. This was exclusive of the amount paid by the several cities and towns of the Commonwealth for the sup- port of the families of soldiers, under the act passed at the extra session of 1861, which amounted, in the aggregate, to about $250,000, which was to be reimbursed from the treasury of
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pledged to the solemn task of war, and with neither hand averted to uphold the institution which is the cause of all this woe ; and that their bow shall not turn back, and their sword return not empty, until their grand deliverance shall be completed."
He speaks in fitting words of praise of the action of the Legis- lature of Maryland, in appropriating money to relieve the suffering condition of the widows and orphans of the Massa- chusetts men killed by the mob in Baltimore on the 19th day of April, and calls it "an oasis in all the resentment of the hour." The address concludes as follows : "Inspired by trust in God, an immortal hate of wrong, let us consecrate to-day every personal aspiration, every private hope, in one united apostrophe to our country and her cause, -' Where thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God : where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried.'"
The Governor the same day transmitted to the Legislature a letter from Secretary Seward, urging that expenditures be made by the State for the defence of its coast, which he had no doubt that Congress would sanction and reimburse ; also, a letter, dated Dec. 20, from Brigadier-General Joseph C. Totten, Engineer Department, U.S.A., giving a detailed state- ment of the different surveys made in time past of the defences on the coast of Massachusetts ; also, a letter addressed to His Excellency by Colonel Ritchie, of his personal staff, upon popu- lar military instruction, in which a review was given of the dif- ferent systems in Europe, and recommending that military art be encouraged and taught in some of our public schools, and higher seminaries of learning.
Jan. 6. In the House. - Mr. Cushing, of Newburyport, introduced an order that the Committee on the Militia con- sider the expediency of making provision for the families of citizens of the State engaged in the naval service of the United States during the existing war, similar to that made for those in the land service. The order was referred.
Jan. 7. In the House. - On motion of Mr. Maglathlin, of Duxbury, the Committee on the Militia were instructed to consider the expedieney of the State paying the expenditures
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made by the cities and towns of the Commonwealth for uni- forming and drilling volunteers during the present war.
Mr. Heard, of Clinton, offered an order, which was referred to the Committee on Federal Relations, that the Governor be requested to communicate with the President of the United States in regard to obtaining the release of Colonel Lee and Major Revere of the Twentieth Regiment, and of Captains Rockwood and Bowman of the Fifteenth Regiment, who are confined as hostages, in a felon's cell in Richmond, for cap- tured rebel privateersmen.
Jan. 8. In the Senate. - Mr. Stockwell, of Suffolk, from the Committee on Printing, reported in favor of printing two thousand extra copies of the Adjutant-General's Report.
In the House. - Mr. Brown, of Taunton, introduced an order directing the Committee on the Militia to consider the expediency of amending the law of 1861, so that each city and town shall provide for the support of persons who may be dependent on volunteers of this State mustered into the United- States service, and that each city and town shall be reimbursed from the State treasury for the money so expended.
Jan. 9. In the Ilouse. - On motion of Mr. Stanwood, of Essex, the Committee on the Militia were instructed to report an amendment to the State-aid law, so as to extend its provisions to the families of Massachusetts soldiers who have enlisted in regiments belonging to other States.
Jan. 10. In the House. - Mr. Carver, of Newburyport, introduced an order instructing the Committee on the Mi- litia to inquire what amount of money was paid to the three months' volunteers, while in the service of the State and before being mustered into the service of the United States, and what amount may now be due them for commutation pay.
Jan. 13. In the Senate. - A bill was reported from the Committee on the Militia, granting State aid to the families of the volunteers in the regiments raised in this State by General Butler. An attempt was made to suspend the rules and pass the bill through its several readings, but did not prevail.
In the House. - On motion of Mr. Davis, of Plymouth, it
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was ordered, that the Governor be requested to communicate to the House the correspondence relating to the recruiting of troops in this Commonwealth by General Butler.
Jan. 14. In the Senate. - The bill to give aid to the families of volunteers recruited in this State by General Butler was passed to be engrossed.
In the House. - Mr. Roberts, of Lakeville, offered an order, directing the Committee on the Militia to consider the expediency of making certain amendments to the State-aid law of 1861.
The Senate bill to give aid to families, &c., was passed through its various stages, under a suspension of the rules.
Jan. 17. In the Senate. - On motion of Mr. Northend, of Essex, the Committee on Printing were directed to con- sider the expediency of printing three thousand extra copies of the Adjutant-General's Report, in addition to those already ordered.
In the House. - On motion of Mr. Manning, of Reading, it was ordered, that the Committee on the Militia consider the expediency of amending the militia law, so as to make all the enrolled militia do military duty.
Jan. 20. In the House. - On motion of Mr. Pierce, of Dorchester, it. was ordered, that the Committee on the Militia inquire whether the blankets, which were contributed by the people of the State to relieve the necessities of the volunteers in the service, were delivered to the soldiers as gifts, or were charged to them at the market price.
Mr. Chandler, of Boston, moved that the same committee consider the expediency of authorizing the Governor to enter into contracts immediately for the manufacture of heavy ord- nance for the coast defences of Massachusetts, and also for instituting a camp of instruction for artillery.
Jan. 23. In the Senate. - A message was received from the Governor, returning the bill to grant State aid to the families of volunteers recruited by General Butler, with his reasons for not signing it. The Governor was in favor of granting the aid as contemplated ; but the bill was imperfectly
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drawn. He pointed out the errors which it contained. The message was laid upon the table.
In the House. - Mr. Burbank, of Boston, from the Com- mittee on the Militia, reported that the troops in the three months' service had been paid by the Commonwealth, from the time of being ordered out by the Governor until mustered into the United-States service, $9,580.63. There was nothing more due them, and nothing more had been claimed by them.
On motion of Mr. Pierce, of Dorchester, the Committee on the Militia was requested to consider the expediency of requiring the State Treasurer, or some suitable person, to act as allotment commissioner for such sums as the soldiers in the field may allot of their pay for themselves or families.
Jan. 30. In the House. - A message was received from the Governor, calling the attention of the Legislature to the illegal enlistment of men in Massachusetts by persons coming from other States. Laid on the table, and ordered to be printed.
Jan. 31. In the House. - Mr. Pierce, of Dorchester, re- ported a resolve appropriating $500,000 for the manufacture of ordnance for coast defences.
Feb. 3. In the House. - The above resolve was debated, and passed to a third reading by a unanimous vote.
Feb. 7. - Mr. Burbank, of Boston, from the Committee on the Militia, reported a bill concerning the custody and distribu- tion of funds of the Massachusetts volunteers.
On motion of Mr. Curtis, of Roxbury, it was ordered, that the Committee on the Militia be authorized to send for persons and papers on the matter of blankets and other articles contrib- uted for the use of the soldiers.
Feb. 11. In the Senate. - The veto message of the Gov- ernor, of the bill granting State aid to the families of volunteers recruited by General Butler, came up by assignment. The Governor had informed the Militia Committee, that, since the message was sent in, the Secretary of War had placed these troops to the credit of Massachusetts, and under the authority of the Governor, the same as other regiments ; and therefore no further legislation was necessary, as they would come within the
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provision of the law of 1861. The whole subject was then laid upon the table.
Feb. 15. In the Senate. - Mr. Thompson, of Hampden, from the Committee on the Militia, submitted a report upon all the orders which had been referred to them concerning State aid to soldiers' families. The report was accompanied by a bill, which provided that State aid should be paid to the families of Massachusetts soldiers who were in the New-York regiments, and whose families resided in this State. It also provided that the same should be paid to the families of Massachusetts men who should thereafter enlist in the navy.
Feb. 20. In the House. - Mr. Chandler, of Boston, from the Committee on Federal Relations, to whom was referred the resolve requesting the Governor to communicate with the Pres- ident in favor of an exchange of prisoners, recommended that the resolve ought to pass. Mr. Chandler made a long and able report in favor of the object sought for in the resolve, which was ordered to be printed.
Feb. 26. In the Senate. - A long debate ensued upon the bill granting State aid to families of volunteers. That part of it relating to families of men in the navy was stricken out. Pending the consideration of other amendments, the Senate adjourned. 4
March 1. In the Senate. - The bill concerning State aid, &c., was amended, and passed to be engrossed.
March 3. In the Senate. - Mr. Northend, of Essex, an- nounced the death of Brigadier-General Frederick W. Lander, and delivered a short but touching eulogy upon his life and character. He also introduced a joint resolution in honor of the deceased, which was passed unanimously.
March 5. In the House. - A message was received from the Governor concerning three rebel flags, which had been eap- tured by the Massachusetts regiments in the battle at Roanoke Island, N.C. A resolution was adopted to have the flags placed in the House of Representatives during the remainder of the session. Patriotic speeches were made by Mr. Field, of Stock- bridge, and by the Speaker of the House, Colonel Bullock.
March 6. In the House. - The Senate bill granting State
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aid to the families of volunteers was discussed during the greater part of the day, and was passed to a third reading, yeas 100, nays 73.
Nothing further of material interest to the volunteers, or in relation to the war, was considered during the session. The acts passed by the extra session the year before left little more to be done for the soldiers.
The session continued until the 30th of May, when both Houses were prorogued, having passed 226 acts and 117 resolves.
Among the laws passed by the Legislature at this session was one declaring that the term of enlistment of a person in the military or naval service shall not be taken as part of the period limited for the prosecution of actions of such persons, and that, if defaulted, he may sue out a writ of review, and that, when absent, the court may continue or suspend the suit ; also, a resolve authorizing the Governor to build one or more iron- clad Monitors for coast defences ; also, authorizing the Treasurer to receive and distribute moneys remitted by Massachusetts vol- unteers, and to notify the treasurer of the town in which the family of the soldier resides, who was to notify the party to whom the money was due, and to pay the same free of charge. All such money was exempt from attachment, by trustee process or otherwise. If the money remained in the State treasury over thirty days, interest was to be allowed. A resolve was passed appropriating five hundred and fifty dollars to reimburse expen- ditures made for the relief of the Massachusetts prisoners of war at Richmond and elsewhere; also, a resolve authorizing the Governor to take measures for the removal of the sick and wounded soldiers of Massachusetts to their homes, the expenses of which were to be paid from the treasury of the State ; also, a resolve authorizing the Governor to arrange for the reception and treatment in State hospitals of such of our wounded and sick seamen and soldiers as they can accommodate, to be paid for by the State ; also, an act authorizing towns to raise and appropri- ate. money for the aid of the families of the soldiers, not to exceed one dollar a week for the wife, and one dollar a week for each child and parent, provided that the whole sum shall not
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exceed twelve dollars per month for all the persons named, the money thus expended to be annually reimbursed to the cities and towns from the treasury of the State; also, a resolve thanking Adeline Tyler, of Baltimore, for the kind, humane, and Christian services rendered by her to our soldiers who were wounded in Baltimore, April 19, 1861 ; also, resolves acknowl- edging the liberal appropriation of the State of Maryland for the relief of the wounded, and to the families of the killed, of the Sixth Regiment in Baltimore, on that memorable day.
The clothing and blankets forwarded to Richmond for the comfort of the Massachusetts prisoners confined there was con- tained in thirty-six cases. Lieutenant Charles L. Peirson, adjutant of the Twentieth Regiment, was one of the prisoners at Richmond. He was permitted by the rebel authorities to receive and distribute the articles. In a letter addressed by him to the Quartermaster-General . of Massachusetts, dated Richmond, he says, -
" I have distributed the articles, and find the invoice correct. I find the number of prisoners to be nearly four hundred. By strict economy in the distribution, they are all, with hardly an exception, completely clothed. There are, however, some sailors of the crew of the ‘ Massa- chusetts ' who are badly off. I hope soon to see them provided for. I have sent part of the clothing forward to those Massachusetts soldiers who are in New Orleans and Tuscaloosa. One hundred and seventy- five, including some of the Fifteenth and Twentieth men, are to be sent to Salisbury, N.C., to-morrow ; and the remainder will follow in a short time. Mr. Faulkner called upon me yesterday, and assured me that the rebel privateers in New York were much better cared for than Colonel Lee and his associates in Henrico County jail, and promised to use his influence to render their condition more comfortable. I hope soon to represent Massachusetts under the stars and stripes."
The military expedition under General Burnside, to invade North Carolina, commenced embarking on board transports at Annapolis, on the fifth day of January, 1862, and sailed from that port on the ninth and tenth. The military force was divided into three brigades, of five regiments each. One- third of the whole force was from Massachusetts; comprising the Twenty-first, in the Second Brigade, commanded by Gen-
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eral Jesse L. Reno, and the Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth, Twenty-fifth, and Twenty-seventh Regiments, in the First Bri- gade, commanded by Brigadier-General John G. Foster. The most intense interest was felt in Massachusetts for the safety and success of this expedition. The report reached Boston, on the twenty-third day of January, that shipwreck and disaster had befallen the fleet, which gave pain to many hearts. The report, however, proved groundless, although the ships had encountered a succession of severe storms for nearly two weeks the ships were at sea ; great difficulty was encountered in cross- ing the bar at Cape Hatteras, which was at length successfully surmounted. When the fleet came to anchor off Roanoke Island, an escaped slave came on board the ship to General Burnside, with whom he had a long interview, and gave much valuable information in regard to the best place to land, and the force of the enemy on the island.
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