USA > Massachusetts > The old First Massachusetts coast artillery in war and peace > Part 7
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man holding the rank of Colonel at the time he attained it. His love for the Ist Regiment was such that he was willing to endure a reduction of rank for the sake of re-establishing the old command upon a secure basis.
A company of the 3d Regiment, the Cunningham Rifles from Brockton, were transferred to the Ist Battalion at the time of the reorganization and became the Ioth Company. This reorganization was by no means limited to the Ist Regiment-it was state-wide in its incidence. The Ist Bat- talion emerged from it as a six-company organization.
One or more companies of the Ist made the trip to the Philadelphia Centennial in 1876, and to the Valley Forge Centenary the year following. On Sept. 17, 1877, the bat- talion participated in the parade and ceremonies connected with the dedication of the Soldiers' and Sailors' monument on Boston Common. The companies presented a fine ap- pearance in the eyes of the public; and following the cele- bration dined together much to their own gratification. New members enlisted, new interest began to be manifest, and there was a feeling that the present reduced condition would be only temporary. Col. Wales of course exerted all of his influence to have the regiment restored.
Finally the legislature responded and passed an act creat- ing a Ist Regiment by a process of consolidation. There were four companies left of the 3d Regiment, then forming the 3d Battalion. And four companies represented what had originally been the old Ist Infantry of ante-bellum days, now organized as the 4th Battalion. So the legislature trans- ferred the Fusiliers and the Claflin Guards to the 5th, the Chelsea Rifles to the 8th, and consolidated the Ist Battalion, the 3d Battalion and the 4th Battalion, as the "Ist Regi- ment," Col. Nathaniel Wales commanding. The date of this important legislation was Dec. 3, 1878. By a stroke of
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genius the law-makers had created a twelve-company regi- ment, organized in three battalions each under command of a Major ; and had devised a new plan of organization which was destined to work so well that, twenty years later, Con- gress would adopt it for use all over the United States. As the companies from the 3d Regiment were located in Plym- outh and Bristol counties, they introduced a new geographi- cal element into the Ist. Thereafter "The Cape" was to stand side by side with Boston, and right nobly were the Cape companies to uphold the regimental traditions.
THE FUSILIERS ABOUT 1845
CHAPTER VII THE OLD "TIGER" FIRST
It now becomes necessary to go back and trace out the origins of the organizations which were consolidated with the Ist Regiment in 1878. Let us first give attention to the companies which bore the title of 4th Battalion. We shall discover a battalion or regimental history stretching back to 1834, and company records commencing as early as 1787.
Three "independent companies" of infantry were listed in the roster of 1788 as connected with the Ist Division, Suffolk. One of these disappeared from the records the following year, and another in 1792. The lone survivor yet survives-in fact is the 3d Company, M. C. A., otherwise known as the Independent Boston Fusiliers.
On May 11, 1787, the Governor's Council voted to approve an application signed by Thomas Adams and fifty-three others, and to charter a company. Gov. James Bowdoin presided at the Council meeting and himself introduced the petition. On the following July 4, he stood with the mem- bers of the new company on the slope of Bunker Hill and, at that shrine of American liberty, presented them their official charter. They next proceeded to the home of John Hancock, soon to be Governor, and at his liberal table, as his guests, enjoyed an inaugural dinner. The Fusiliers have excelled in many military lines thruout their long and honor- able history-by no means least of their attainments is the masterly skill with which they have maintained the custom of dining together. Their motto, Aut vincere aut mori, seemed high-sounding in the early years. "Conquer or die"
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presented harsh alternatives. But the time was to come seventy-five years later when the nation needed just such stern, self-sacrificing devotion; and then the Fusiliers in- deed lived up to their motto. The Fusiliers wore red coats, in commemoration of certain gallant foemen with whom America had recently been engaged. As the Cadets were then clad in white and another company in blue, a striking patriotic ensemble was produced by the grouping of uni- forms whenever the independent companies paraded. Wil- liam Turner was elected the first Fusilier Captain ; the names of his successors are recorded elsewhere in this book. No
wonder that the Fusiliers, actives or veterans, have always been noted for maintaining the most successful and distin- guished military ball in all Boston, the military-social event of the year; for their first Captain was, by profession, a dancing-master. Capt. Turner was succeeded by Capt. Joseph Laughton, who when not on militia duty, was occu- pied as a clerk in the Treasurer's office.
After 1798 the Fusiliers were never without vigorous and congenial companionship. Enthusiasm was then in full flood; George Washington had shown his patriotism by con- senting to accept a subordinate position, that of Lieutenant General of the army under President John Adams; and men were enrolling themselves in the new legionary brigade. America was aflame with indignation over French injustice. On September 4, 1798, the Boston Light Infantry was or- ganized after four months of preliminary meetings-the body which today reports to the Adjutant as the 2d Com- pany, M. C. A. Their motto, "Death or an honorable life," is a ringing echo of Charles C. Pinckney's immortal words, "Millions for defence; not one cent for tribute." At the first banquet of the company, Oct. 18, 1798, when the charter was received, the principal toast was-"The United States
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of America; as they have drawn the sword of justice with reason, may they never sheathe it with disgrace." Would that this sentiment might always prevail with the authorities in Washington! Amongst the members present at this ban- quet were sons or near relatives of such patriots as Paul Revere, James Otis and Joseph Warren. Truly the sons were rallying about the standard of the fathers. Drills were first held in the old State House, and after 1802 in Faneuil Hall.
There were lovers of Shakespeare in the Boston Light Infantry. At a dinner in 1815 one of them gave point to his speech by quoting the words of Henry V, hero of Agincourt :
"In peace, there's nothing so becomes a man, As modest stillness, and humility: But when the blast of war blows in our ears, Then imitate the action of the tiger."
All of the speech was forgotten except the final words of the quotation, "The tiger !" Company orators kept repeat- ing the expression. Ere long the Boston Light Infantry found itself provided with a nickname-and it is best known thruout its long history as "The Tigers."
In 1800 the Fusiliers under Capt. John Brazer and the Tigers, Capt. Daniel Sargent (a merchant in civil life), were the two light infantry companies constituting the sub- legion of light infantry-both being entirely independent. Indeed the sub-legion of light infantry had no field officer until Feb. 14, 1806, when Capt. Daniel Messinger of the Winslow Blues was elected Major. The Blues were organ- ized in 1799 and first appeared on the sub-legion roster in 1802. The Washington Light Infantry were organized in 1803.
When in 1810 the legionary brigade was transformed into
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the 3d Brigade, Ist Division, Maj. Messinger's sub-legion of light infantry was broken up and the companies were distributed amongst the infantry regiments of the brigade. The Fusiliers and the Washington Lt. Inf. were incorpor- ated with the Ist Reg., the Tigers with the 2d, and the Winslow Blues with the 3d. These infantry regiments, former "legionaries," were neither train-band militia nor independent uniformed volunteers. Their status was some- where between the two; it was hoped that the light in- fantry companies might serve as leaven for the infantry, and bring all up to the volunteer standard. The arrange- ment continued until 1834. By that time it was clear that only the independent companies, the "light" infantry, re- tained any vitality; and they were separated from the in- fantry regiments, and organized into a separate "Regiment of Light Infantry, 3d Brigade."
Non-commissioned officers of the light infantry companies manifested active interest in the training school, "The Soul of the Soldiery," from 1811 until 1819 and later.
Another company was born amid the war excitement of 1812, the New England Guards. Even from the days of their first Captain, Samuel Swett, it was felt that a distin- guished destiny awaited the organization. During their entire half century of existence, they made constant effort to main- tain their personnel at the highest standard; and the effort was crowned with success. An extant lithograph, in the museum of the A. & H. Art. Co., shows the Guards in the year 1836 parading with four platoons of twelve files each- numbers indicative of the company's popularity. They were added to the 2d Regiment, and thereafter were asso- ciated with the Tigers.
During the war with England the light infantry companies rendered service at the harbor forts similar to that of the
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artillery. By request of the commandant of the Charles- town Navy Yard, the New England Guards were stationed at the Chelsea bridge for eleven days from June 13, 1814, in order to prevent an expected raid by a hostile landing party. The entire membership of the Fusiliers was on duty from Sept. 12 until Oct. 10, under Capt. Gerry Fairbanks (a hatter in civil life) ; and detachments continued doing garrison duty several weeks longer. The Tigers helped to build Ft. Strong on Jeffries Point, East Boston; similar activity characterized the other companies. Massachusetts' crest is a sword borne by the arm of a civilian : Massachu- setts citizens in 1814 bore the sword effectively and well.
The light infantry companies participated in the same parades and public festal occasions as did the artillery com- panies. These events are elsewhere described in sufficient detail. In the sterner task of maintaining public order the New England Guards were on duty twice-July 7, 1824, and Feb. II, 1825,-in connection with conflagrations. In both instances personal property had been saved from the fire and temporarily deposited in a place of safety ; and the troops mounted guard against pillagers. The Tigers sub- scribed the first $100 toward the cost of Bunker Hill monument.
From the disbandment of Maj. Messinger's battalion in 1810 until the organization of the regiment of light infantry in 1834, the companies of light infantry were associated only in the larger unit of the 3d Brigade. While the Coast Ar- tillery includes all the surviving units of that Brigade, and altho the 3d Brigade was the most solid and efficient part of the old militia, still it does not seem wise to treat Brigade history in particular detail. Suffice it to say that four strong companies of light infantry continued active in the infantry regiments of the brigade-the Fusiliers in the Ist Regiment,
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the Tigers and the New England Guards in the 2d, and the Winslow Blues in the 3d. Lists of company commanders are recorded elsewhere. A new branch of the service came into existence, the "Rifles," and were accorded precedence over others-were given the right of the line in parades. In appearance they differed from other troops, as they wore jaunty green uniforms, and carried short flint-lock rifles without bayonets. These riflemen aimed to reproduce the famous corps under Daniel Morgan and others in the Revo- lutionary war, the frontiersmen and rangers clad in buck- skin hunting-shirts who were so terrifying to America's enemies. It has always seemed strange to the writer that the frontiersman's costume, the only distinctively American garb ever devised, should not continue in use. Not even these new riflemen, however, succeeded in remaining true to type. While they were fond of picturing themselves in the hunting-shirt, the uniforms which they actually wore fol- lowed German models. One valuable contribution the new rifles did make to militia life, they were pioneers in setting up target practice as part of the soldier's training.
Light infantry and rifles were distinguished from other infantry by the fact that they were trained in the skirmish drill, and were alone qualified to perform outpost duty. In line, they formed on the flanks of other companies. From time to time additional commands aspired to become light infantry, and some realized their aspirations. By 1834 there were eight companies altogether in the infantry regiments who felt dissatisfied with their regimental connection, and resented the waning interest which regimental neighbors displayed in things military. Their plan was to separate from the infantry, and revive the old battalion of light in- fantry, whose members should all be volunteers and uni- formed, the battalion which had been broken up in 1810-
THE GRAY UNIFORM-THE CITY GUARDS AT BALTIMORE, 1844
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in short, to organize a Light Infantry Regiment in the 3d Brigade. From the Ist Regiment came the Fusiliers, the Washington Lt. Infantry and the Mechanic Rifles ; from the 2d the Tigers and the New England Guards; and from the 3d the Winslow Blues, the City Guards (organized Sept. 21, 1821), and the Rifle Rangers (organized 1820). In 1835 a new company was added, the Lafayette Gds.
The new regiment was organized in Aug., 1834, with eight companies, and Col. Amasa G. Smith of the 2d Regi- ment was elected to command. A succession of field officers, which had begun in 1806 with Major Messinger and had been interrupted from 1810 until 1834, was thereafter to be con- tinuous. Col. Smith's commission was dated July 29, 1834 ; he continued in command until Feb. 23, 1838.
Judged by the standards of the day, Col. Smith's regiment was a very fine one, indeed was a "crack" command. No less an authority than President Andrew Jackson is reported to have testified, "I have never seen its equal." Most of the companies wore blue swallow-tail coats and white duck trousers-the latter quite regardless of weather ; gradually blue nether garments were added for use on stormy days. The two rifle companies wore green, the Rangers having frock coats and uhlan hats; while extant engravings of the City Guards in 1844, the year of their famous march to Bal- timore, show them clad in gray suits of a pattern precisely the same as those worn by the New York 7th. The City Guards were the first corps to wear gray in Boston; and the Fusiliers were equally distinguished by reason of their scarlet coats. While there was lack of regimental uniform- ity, there must have been a striking ensemble when the com- panies formed battalion line.
To the Fusiliers, in June, 1835, fell the honor of introduc- ing an important tradition into the regiment. For at that
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time, after a year's preparation, they undertook an excursion to Washington, as a compliment to President Andrew Jack- son, who was soon to give place to Martin Van Buren. The start was made after partaking of a collation at Gov. John Davis' house; progress was made by march, stage, steam- boat and rail; they camped on Capitol Hill; and dined with Gen. Jackson at the White House. This was not exactly a trip to "the inauguration," but it proved to be the commence- ment of a custom which today takes the command to Wash- ington once every four years.
In 1837 a company came into existence which was destined to prove the temporary undoing of the Light Infantry Regi- ment, and was also to subject Boston's spirit of fairness and right to its most searching test. The "Montgomery Guards," they were called. Altho named after the same heroic Richard Montgomery who was to give title to another and more famous company of Montgomery Guards fifteen years later, they must not be confused with the latter body. The critical point was that the members were all of Irish birth; and Boston, for the first time in sixty years, found a company of foreign soldiery in her midst. At least that was the view of the matter taken by old-timers. The race preju- dice which later issued in the Know Nothing movement, at once flamed up. On the other hand, these guardsmen had all declared their intention of becoming American citizens, and were entitled to bear arms. The guards were attached to Col. Smith's regiment. On Sept. 12, 1837, the date of the fall field-day and the first assembly of the regiment since the organization of the Montgomerys, the other nine companies took post on the regimental line,-the Mont- gomerys arriving last of all. No sooner had the latter swung into position than the enlisted men of the City Guards, break- ing away from their officers, marched off the Common.
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The enlisted men of the Fusiliers, the Blues, the Mechanics, the Washingtons and the Lafayettes followed this example of insubordination and broke ranks. It was sheer mutiny- mutiny with which many of the public sympathized, but mutiny nevertheless.
Courts martial resulted, followed by prolonged public discussion. Presently it became evident that the Boston sense of fairness and right was strong enough even to meet this test ; and on Feb. 23, 1838, the offending companies were punished by disbandment. Col. Smith went out of office at this time. The Montgomery Guards were themselves dis- banded April 6, 1838. As a consequence the Regiment was reduced to a battalion and placed under the command of Maj. Charles C. Paine. The Tigers, the New England Guards, and the Rifle Rangers alone survived the disband- ment.
June 1, 1839, found the organization a regiment once more, made up of the following companies: Tigers, New England Guards, Pulaski Guards, who now transferred from the 3d Reg., 3d Bri. (and who seem to have been temporarily called Mechanic Greys in 1849), Columbian Greys, Hancock Light Infantry, Rifle Rangers, Highland Guards and Suffolk Light Guard. As the disbandment had been intended for punitive purposes merely, encour- agement was held out for the companies to reorganize. The device of reorganizing and "continuing the record" was not then thought of. Had it been, it would doubtless have been ordered; four companies took advantage of the opportunity. The Columbian Greys were merely the old City Guards under a new name; in 1844 they appeared on the records as the City Greys, and by 1851 were known once more as City Guards. Similarly the Hancock Light In- fantry continued the Fusiliers, the ancient corps being saved
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by the loyalty of two former captains. Noah Lincoln, Jr., a prominent Boston shipwright, was in command of the company when disbanded in 1838. On a May date in 1839 the Hancock Light Infantry elected the same Capt. Lincoln to be their commander; but he did not deem it best to accept. On May 17, 1839, the company proceeded to elect Louis Dennis, a former Captain of Fusiliers who had risen to field rank; and Maj. Dennis proved his loyalty to the old corps by accepting a commission as Captain. Maj. Dennis was a builder in civil life, and felt that the present emergency called for constructive work along military lines ; Capt. Lin- coln thereupon agreed to become Ist Lieutenant of the com- pany. After four or five years we cease to find reference to the Hancock Light Infantry-the records again deal with the Fusiliers. The Mechanic Rifles similarly reorganized in 1843, and the Washington Light Infantry a few years sub- sequently. Col. Charles R. Lowell, formerly Captain of the Rifle Rangers, commanded the reorganized regiment from June 1, 1839, until March 20, 1840.
On April 24, 1840, in connection with, the general state- wide reorganization of the militia and the discontinuance of the train-band, the Light Infantry Regiment, 3d Brigade, received a number-it became the Ist Lt. Inf., Ist Brigade. The following colonels commanded: George W. Phillips, Aug. 27, 1840-May 18, 1841 ; Charles A. Macomber (for- merly captain of the disbanded City Guards), June 15, 1841 -Aug. 24, 1841 ; George T. Bigelow, formerly captain of the New England Guards, Sept. 11, 1841-Jan. 23, 1844; Wil- liam H. Spooner, April 15, 1844-Jan. 19, 1847, the same Col. Spooner who had commanded the train-band regiment, the Ist of the Ist Brigade, to which the Roxbury Artillery was temporarily attached in 1832; Benjamin F. Edmands, March 15, 1847-July 11, 1848 (then elected Brig. Gen.) ;
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Col. Samuel Andrews, a former captain of the Tigers, July 28, 1848-May 13, 1850, when he became Brig. Gen.
When the New York 7th visited Boston in June, 1843, they were guests of the Fusiliers (yet called Hancock Light Infantry). After church services on Sunday, June 18, the visitors were shown around to the chief points of interest. How fashions do change! The principal shrine to which pilgrimage was made was-Mt. Auburn Cemetery.
Veterans of the Mexican War organized a company in the Ist Regiment on June 18, 1849, to which they gave the title, National Guards; and were the recognized representatives of the Ist Mass. Mexican War Regiment. Ben Perley Poore, a prominent newspaper correspondent, was elected Captain. As it became difficult to secure a sufficient number of Mexi- can veterans in Boston, admission was granted to all militia veterans, after a few years. Capt. Poore presently removed from Boston for business reasons, and made his residence in Newburyport. There he became famous as Major of an independent battalion of infantry; and altho absent from his Boston comrades, continued to retain a warm place in their hearts. In Nov., 1856, he had made an election bet with Col. J. J. Burbank, proprietor of the Tremont House, Boston, to the effect that Millard Fillmore would get the Massachusetts electoral vote for President ; and lost. So on Saturday, Nov. 8, he paid the forfeit-by wheeling a barrel of apples, on a wheelbarrow, all the way, thirty-six miles,
from Newburyport to Boston. Maj. Poore's popularity caused a wide-spread interest to develop in this feat; espe- cially in Boston were the streets thronged with friendly spectators. When the Fusiliers learned of the plan, they determined to have a part in it; so the doughty Major, himself in citizen's dress, was met in Charlestown by a company of thirty-four red-coated soldiers, and solemnly
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escorted across the bridge into Boston. Then, as a slight recompense for all the fun which had been provided, when the procession arrived at the Tremont House, the apples were sold at $1.00 apiece, for the benefit of the man who had transported them. Maj. Poore's portrait, as well as two pic- tures of the event, are today in the A. & H. Art. Company museum.
When on April 25, 1842, the companies received distin- guishing letters, the Tigers became Co. A, the New England Guards B, the Pulaski Guards C, the Highland Guards D, the City Guards E, the Fusiliers F, the Suffolk Lt. Gds. G, the Washington Phalanx H, the Rifle Rangers I, and a company of rifles K.
Charles L. Holbrook became Colonel on Aug. 31, 1850, and continued in command until Aug. 15, 1854; William Schouler, destined to be the great Civil War Adjutant Gen- eral of Massachusetts, was Lieutenant Colonel. To Col. Holbrook fell the painful duty of marshalling his regiment against the mob on June 2, 1854, at the time of the Burns riot. In that year the organization consisted of eight com- panies. To him also fell the more congenial privilege, in Oct., 1862, of leading his command, the same regiment but then known as the 43d Mass. Vols., during its campaign in North Carolina. Col. Holbrook was, in civil life, a book- keeper, first in the Suffolk National Bank, and subsequently in the Custom House; as a soldier he jumped from the Adjutant's office to the Colonelcy.
Owing to the formation of new companies it became de- sirable to organize an additional battalion of infantry in 1853, to which the number 3d was given. This included Capt. Poore's National Guards as Co. A, the Union Guards of East Boston, organized in 1852, as Co. B, and the Sars-
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field Guards as Co. C, all under command of Maj. Robert I. Burbank.
Col. Thomas E. Chickering commanded the Ist Regiment from Oct. 25, 1854, until Jan. 29, 1856; and during his ad- ministration the name of the organization was changed from Light Infantry to "Infantry." Col. Chickering commanded the 4Ist Mass. Inf., which became the 3d Cavalry, 1862-1865, and served in the department of the Gulf, transferring to Gen. P. H. Sheridan in Virginia during 1864. In 1855 the 3d Battalion of Infantry disbanded, the National and Union Guards going into the 2d Regiment as 9th and 6th Cos. re- spectively, while the Sarsfield Guards passed out of exist- ence. The transfer of two strong companies to the 2d was a sign that the latter regiment was increasing while the Ist decreased. Six years later the 2d was to receive the much- desired number which had thitherto belonged to the "Ist." Maj. Joseph Bradley had become commander of the 3d Bat- talion at the time of its disbanding.
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