The Train-Band, 1832. Why it was Abolished
Decay was gnawing at the vitals of the train-band system. Ridiculous cartoons may be seen in the museum of the A. & H. Art. Co. (Matthews’ “Militia Folk” and others) showing what a farce the institution had become. Men attended muster in outrageously improper clothing, armed with sticks, pitchforks, or nothing at all, and obviously treated this aspect of their patriotic duty as a gigantic bit of buffoonery. Quarterly training or muster-day became an occasion more noted for the rum then consumed than for the drilling done. Early temperance societies recognized thisstate of affairs by including in their abstinence pledges an exception in favor of muster-day; it was not “intemperate” to be drunk then. In our forefathers’ opinion this gradual abandonment of compulsory universal military service was regarded as a mark of social progress. Will such be the ultimate verdict of history?
Increased importance attached to the Roxbury Artillery and other volunteer companies as the train-band became increasingly inactive. Let us inspect them, bearing in mind that they are now the chief military reliance of the Commonwealth. Discipline, judged by modern standards, may not have been strict. Men came and went pretty much at will. But they had some discipline, while their fellow-citizens did not know what the word meant. No “basic course for officers” as yet existed, and it is a fact that the higher officers were apt to be chosen more for political than military reasons. As the rank increased, the military attainments were apt to diminish; but amongst the company officers were found many brave and skilful soldiers. Uniform fashions had been modified by the recent war—now companies wore the shako on the head, at first of leather and later of bearskin, the high buttoned swallow-tail coat, white webbing cross-belts with brass breast-plates, and long trousers. Each company had a distinctive uniform of its own, as different as possible from all others; and this diversity persisted even down until after the Civil War. It was a column of companies, and judging from appearances, of extremely “separate” companies, that paraded to escort and welcome Lafayette in April and again on August 30, 1824; and to lay the corner-stone of Bunker Hill monument in 1825; and to inter President John Adams in July, 1826; and for the funeral of Gov. William Eustis. An enthusiastic reception was accorded by these companies to President AndrewJackson, June 24, 1833. These soldiers may not have been as efficient as modern troops must be; but they made a splendid appearance on parade; and beyond question were a powerful military asset when judged by the standard of their own times.
An attempt was made to increase efficiency by issuing books of drill regulations available for all, instead of depending upon oral instruction. In the earliest days drill was regulated by Prussian and French systems of tactics. The first book of tactics ever prepared in English for general popular issue was written and published in 1813 by Gen. Isaac Maltby of the Massachusetts militia, for the use of Massachusetts troops. The necessity for conciseness and speed was not then recognized. For a battalion to pass from line to close column, the drill regulations of 1911 indicate commands as follows: “Close on first company, March, Second company, Squads right, column half right, March.” Under Maltby’s system this was heard: “Battalions will form close column of platoons on the right, in rear of the first platoon, Shoulder arms, Battalion, Form close column of platoons in rear of the right, Right face, March.” Scott’s famous tactics were adopted in 1834.
Maj. Joseph E. Smith succeeded to the command of the 3d Brigade battalion of artillery in 1817, Maj. Thomas J. Lobnell in 1823, Maj. Samuel Lynes in 1826, Maj. Aaron Andrews in 1830, and Maj. Horace Bacon of Cambridge in 1832. By June 29, 1834, the battalion had grown to four companies, and was for a year elevated to the dignity of a regiment. John L. White, the popular proprietor of the Union House (29 Union St.), was made Colonel, and thus became the first man ever to hold that rank in the Coast Artillery. Col. White’s military career had been meteoric; in 1831 he was elected Cornet (2d Lt.) of Light Dragoons inthe 3d Brigade; 1832 saw him Major of the 1st Infantry in the same brigade; in 1834 he became Colonel of that regiment; and ten weeks later, on the date given above, he transferred and was commissioned Colonel of the new artillery regiment. However the time was not yet ripe for regimental dignity. When a few months later Col. White removed from Boston and resigned his command, the organization was allowed to slip back and again become a battalion. Maj. John Hoppen commanded in 1836. On April 24, 1840, the battalion was awarded the number “1st.” In 1841 William B. Perkins was elected Major, the last man to command it as a separate organization.
Meanwhile the 1st Brigade battalion was commanded by the following Majors: 1818 Joseph Hastings of Roxbury, 1822 Robert Stetson of Dorchester (an ex-Captain of the 1st Company), 1825 John Parks of Dorchester, and 1829 Jonathan White, Jr., of Weymouth. In 1831 the strength of the battalion was reduced from three to two companies, and these were temporarily attached to an infantry regiment (the 1st of the 1st Brigade). On June 26, 1834, the battalion organization was restored, a new company having been formed, with John Webber, an ex-Captain of the 1st Company as Major. Maj. John W. Loud of Weymouth was elected to command in 1836, and Maj. Webber again in 1839. On April 24, 1840, the battalion was numbered “2d.” In 1841 Samuel F. Train of Roxbury was elected Major, the last man to command the battalion as a separate organization. Capt. John Webber was succeeded as commander of the 1st Company by Andrew Chase, Jr., a man destined to become first Colonel of the new regiment. That year the battalions paraded in celebration of the completion of Boston’s new railroad.
All the companies were called out June 11, 1837, to maintainpublic order at the time of the Broad Street riot. The outbreak arose from a clash between a funeral procession and a fire-engine company. Which ought to have the right of way? Unfortunately racial jealousy was present to embitter the rivalry, so that blows were exchanged and a general fire-alarm “rung in” and disorder became wide-spread. First honors on this occasion belong to the newly organized National Lancers, whose horses terrified the rioters; infantry and artillery companies acted as reserve, and subsequently policed the district.
This period of Corps history came to its conclusion when on March 24, 1840, the legislature voted a general reorganization of the militia, and in particular disbanded the ancient train-band. In theory, the members of the artillery battalions had been excused from the compulsory drill done by every able-bodied man in their districts on the ground that they were rendering more than the prescribed military service in their volunteer organizations. In fact, the district companies and regiments of the train-band had long since ceased to do any true drilling and were little more than a mere name. Courage is required to abate a long-standing abuse. New York continued to endure the train-band system until 1862, well into the Civil War. Massachusetts faced the condition with greater determination, and abolished the system in 1840. On March 24 the law was enacted, and on April 17 the necessary orders issued. Thereafter the volunteer companies were the only military force existing in the Commonwealth.
Gen. William Henry Harrison had been elected President in 1840 at the conclusion of one of the most exciting political contests ever known in America. A month after assuming office, in April, 1841, he suddenly died. Public feeling which had been so stirred over the election, now reacted; and men everywhere vied with one another in expressing heart-felt sorrow. Amidst circumstances of deep gloom, intensified by bad weather, the battalions, in the very midst of the confusion attendant upon their reorganization, made a funeral parade notable for its sadness. It was not until July, 1862, that the regiment again came in touch with Harrison; then they were stationed at his birthplace, Harrison’s Landing on the James River, Virginia. And greatly did they enjoy their days of rest after the torture of the Chickahominy swamp, and the opportunity to use plenty of clean, fresh water for bathing; possibly some of the older soldiers remembered the obsequies of April 22, 1841.
June, 1843, was a red-letter period in Boston history. Bunker Hill monument was at last completed after eighteen years building, and a vast concourse of people assembled for its dedication. The New York 7th Regiment, then known as the “National Guard Battalion,” arrived on the 16th, and was received and entertained by the Fusiliers. Indeed troops were present from four outside states—Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and New York. That same day the artillery battalions met President John Tyler at Roxbury Crossing, and escorted him to the TremontHouse, the parade taking place amidst a drenching rain-storm. The morning of the 17th was clear, cool, and delightful. At an early hour, the military part of the procession, which consisted of four grand divisions, was formed on Boston Common. As the procession moved toward Bunker Hill, the enthusiasm which was produced by the admirable appearance of the troops was only equalled by that which greeted the distinguished Webster, the gifted orator of the day; while President Tyler, in melancholy contrast, was received with ominous silence and coolness. Arriving at Bunker Hill, the orator of the day and the guests and officials passed into the already crowded square. While Webster was speaking, the soldiers were necessarily far beyond the sound of his voice, and were entertained by “a bountiful collation,” which the hospitable authorities of Boston had prepared. After the ceremonies, oratorical and gustatory, the procession returned to Boston, and the troops were reviewed by the President at the State House. At a dinner the same evening in Faneuil Hall, President Tyler gave the following toast:—“The Union,—a union of purpose, a union of feeling, the Union established by our fathers.” A few years later, he was an active enemy of that Union, which he had complimented in the most solemn manner within the sacred walls of the Cradle of Liberty.
Boston’s division of the force, thereafter to be known as the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, paraded in two brigades, with a total strength of 2,500 men. Incidentally we might note that there were two other such divisions in the state. Under the circumstances the 1st and 2d Battalions of Artillery added to their already creditable reputation and presented a fine appearance. There were five companies in the two battalions, each consisting of a captain, two lieutenants, four sergeants, four corporals, six gunners, sixbombardiers, one drummer, one fifer, and sixty-four privates or “matrosses.” Part of each company was armed, equipped and drilled as infantry; but each company proudly exhibited two bronze six-pounder cannon with limbers, and a single caisson. The ordnance had increased in caliber since 1784, the change being made in 1840. The state prescribed by law what manner of uniform the artillery companies should wear. Inasmuch however as the members had to purchase their own clothing without state assistance, and since they were mostly interested in the glory of their own companies, they were pardonable for regarding the regulation state uniform as merely a point of departure from which fancy might soar in devising distinctive costumes for the company units. Caps, short jackets, and frock coats, soon to become popularized as a result of the Mexican War, were beginning to be in vogue.
The year 1844 marked a still more important step in the development of the artillery battalions. Train-band companies of each district had always been organized into regiments, and the regiment was conceded to be the fundamental unit in importance. It was the tactical unit, that is, the troops maneuvered as regiments when in the presence of an enemy. It was also the administrative unit, in the sense that all records and reports centered at regimental headquarters. In drill regulations, the regiment was called a battalion; but no battalion could claim to be a regiment unless it had approximately ten companies, and was commanded by a colonel; one thousand was the membership standard. In other words the regiment was the only complete battalion. When the train-band ceased to be, the battalions of artillery began to aspire after regimental dignity in the Volunteer Militia. The 1st Battalion had actually been a regiment for a few months, ten years previously. Nor was it forgottenthat the two battalions were originally one, that the regimental consolidation to be was really a reunion of those who, forty-six years before, had been a single body. On June 4, 1844, their wish was gratified; and the 5th Regiment of Artillery came into being. With the promotion on June 24 of Andrew Chase, Jr., to the colonelcy the new organization was completed.
Economy reigned in the Adjutant General’s office of that day, and the state did not feel that it could afford much expenditure for printing. Our earliest rosters come from 1858, and we are unable to name many of the distinguished men who made up the 5th Regiment at its inception. It contained five companies: 1st, the Roxbury Artillery; 4th, the Dorchester Artillery; 6th, the Columbian Artillery; 7th, the Washington Artillery; and 8th, the Boston Artillery. Since all excepting the Dorchester company were strong organizations with established reputations, the regiment, from the very beginning, became the most distinguished military body in the city and state. In recognition of this fact Col. Chase was promoted to the brigadier-generalship Aug. 28, 1847.
Military affairs were stimulated by the Mexican war in 1846. While no militia organization went from Massachusetts, individuals from all regiments enlisted in the 1st Massachusetts Volunteers, the single regiment sent out by the state; and tales of American valor in the southwest served to arouse all to do better work. Mexican veterans afterward organized a company in our command; and became the recognized custodians of the 1st Volunteers’ Mexican battle-flag.
Artillery in 1917
Copyright by Continental Ins. Co.Artillery in 1784
Regimental responsibility was too much for the Dorchester Artillery, and it was disbanded in 1845. Only four companies remained in the 5th Regiment. In fact therewas too much disbandingfor the goodof the militia. The state authorities seemed to think that it was cheaper to disband a company which had fallen into “hard luck” than it was to cure the difficulty by paying a little money for the restoration and support of the sufferer. This was a false economy. Of the one hundred forty-two companies which existed in 1840 in the new Volunteer Militia, seventy-eight were disbanded within the first seven years, and one hundred two passed out of existence within twenty-five years. With so many surgical operations it is marvelous that any militia survived at all.
Altho few in number, the four companies of the 5th Regiment who paraded as an escort to President Polk June 29, 1847, and who welcomed Daniel Webster upon his return to Boston, gave evidence of increased efficiency. The legislature was making more liberal appropriations—was indeed spending each year (1844-1852) all of $6 per man on the militia; even this moderate expenditure was far better than nothing. The state authorities were very well satisfied with themselves and with their handiwork, reporting to inquirers that the Massachusetts system “met every need.” A fairly liberal allowance of ammunition was made to each artillery company—forty round shot, forty canister, and one hundred pounds of powder every year.
William B. Perkins became Colonel Sept. 10, 1847. Altho he did not enjoy good physical health, and died in office November 16, 1849, his administration was signalized by several important events. On March 10, 1848, occurred the funeral of Ex-President John Quincy Adams. The regiment, or part of it, paraded on Oct. 25 of the same year in celebration of the completion of the Cochituate water system. On Aug. 8 and 9, 1849, the regiment participated in its first state camp, at Neponset, continuing two and one-halfdays. A curious old print of this encampment has come down to us showing how the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division looked at the time. The 5th Artillery was present, four companies strong, clad conspicuously in bearskin and other towering shakos; the balance of the brigade consisted of the National Lancers in their uhlan costumes, as at present, which had been adopted four years before, and the 1st Light Infantry, wearing distinctive company uniforms. The Lancers were at that time attached to the 1st Light Infantry, and were the only cavalry command in the state. Was any prophet present in Neponset on those August days gifted with ability to read the future? Did anyone even guess that twenty-nine years later the 5th Artillery and the remnant of the 1st Light Infantry were to consolidate in a new 1st Regiment? While a two and one-half day camp must necessarily be chiefly occupied with pitching tents, escorting visitors, engaging in those social festivities which are “absolutely essential” on all military occasions, and then taking down the tents, there is no doubt that the men acquired much real military knowledge in between-times, and that the new custom registered a long step forward.
Col. Asa Law commanded the regiment from Jan. 4 to July 10, 1850.
July 26, 1850, witnessed another change in the colonelcy, Robert Cowdin assuming command of the regiment. Col. Cowdin, in his peaceful moments, was a Boston lumber-dealer; but members of the regiment will always remember him as a soldier, except when they recall some more intimate contact with the man whom they loved; then they speak of him as “father.” It makes a great deal of difference that he commanded them during the year of fearful hardship and sanguinary strife on the Virginia Peninsula; but evenbefore that he had endeared himself to his men, while he was merely a militia commander. He had been Captain of Co. K, in the 1st Inf. during 1848 and 1849; and came into the artillery as Major. It is hardly over-stating it, to say that Col. Cowdin is the man who made the regiment great.
What he assumed command over was actually four splendid artillery companies, loosely yoked together in the 5th Regiment. The conception was nine-tenths “company” and only one-tenth “regiment.” Inter-company rivalry had prevented the development of real regimental spirit. The new colonel was determined to command a true regiment; and since he was a man of masterly force and boundless enthusiasm, he speedily had his way. Distinctive company costumes yielded place to a regimental uniform, and thereafter the company was a subordinate unit. The obsequies of Ex-President Taylor were the last occasion on which inter-company diversity appeared; and that was in the very month of Col. Cowdin’s accession. In all his reforms he was ably seconded by Capt. Moses H. Webber of Roxbury, commanding the 1st Company. In 1851 percussion muskets displaced the flint-locks. The same year a new 4th Company, the Cowdin Artillery, was organized, followed in 1852 by the 9th Company, the Webster Artillery, and in 1853 by the 3d Company or Bay State Artillery and the 5th Company or Shields Artillery. The regiment thus had eight companies. That year Isaac S. Burrell became Captain of the 1st Company.
Col. Cowdin’s first camp was held at Medford, and drew warm compliments from the Adjutant General. Neponset was occupied as a camp-ground for the second time in 1851; Boston Common in 1852; and the regiment participated in divisional camp at North Abington in 1853. In 1854 the division was at Quincy. How conditions have changed withthe increase of Massachusetts population! Who would think of these places as suitable camp-sites today, least of all, Boston Common?
Col. Cowdin’s regiment paraded as escort to President Fillmore Sept. 17, 1851; they helped welcome the Hungarian patriot, Louis Kossuth, April 27, 1852; and they participated in the funeral parade for Daniel Webster in Marshfield, Nov. 30, 1852. It came to be a custom at this time for Boston military critics and newspaper reporters to accord chief praise, after a parade, to the 5th Regiment.
Anthony Burns’ name is associated with the next important event in the regiment’s history, the most unpleasant event with which it ever had anything to do. No more painful duty can confront the militiaman than the task of maintaining public order, for no American likes to have part in coercing his fellow citizens. And on June 2, 1854, the regiment was called upon to enforce the most unpopular statute ever enacted by Congress, the “Fugitive Slave” law. Burns had escaped from his owner in Virginia, and found employment with a Boston clothing-dealer. Massachusetts was called upon to render him up under the terms of the new statute, and the U. S. Marshal arrested him on May 25. Public sympathy was strongly with the colored man, funeral draperies appeared upon the fronts of private residences, many threatened mob violence, and a great popular meeting was held in Faneuil Hall, May 27, addressed by Wendell Phillips and other prominent anti-slavery men, to protest against this humiliation to which Massachusetts was about to submit. The speakers even counseled a rescue by force. Under the U. S. law, a man “held to service” in another state, could be extradited and transported to that state for trial. The trouble was, that in the case of a fugitive slave, extradition involved the entire question—if Burns should be carriedback to Virginia, his chance of liberty would be gone; and Boston believed in liberty. An attempt was made to take him from jail, but this proved unsuccessful.
Col. Cowdin’s 5th Regiment, Col. Holbrook’s 1st Regiment, the 3d Battalion, the Cadets and the Lancers were ordered out to assist the police in enforcing the law. Guards were posted along the streets leading from the court-house to the “T Wharf,” where a steamer lay in readiness; and the Lancers, with a strong detachment of police, and U. S. artillery, surrounded the prisoner. It was on June 2 that the U. S. Commissioner rendered his decision; and the grim procession started at once. Red pepper and acid were thrown at the troops, clubs and stones were used, a Lancer’s horse was stabbed; but the display of force proved too strong for the rioters.
Both Col. Cowdin and Col. Holbrook later proved the genuineness of their devotion to freedom’s cause by commanding regiments in the Civil War. What they and their commands did on June 2, 1854, was entirely distasteful to them; but the call came to them as soldiers. Like true soldiers they performed their duty; and Burns went back to the south. His fidelity to duty was eight years later to be instrumental in preventing the confirmation of Col. Cowdin’s appointment as Brigadier General.
Happily, with the modern increase in police efficiency occasions for such service grow less and less frequent. Our professional police officers are now capable of handling all but the most severe crises without military assistance.
Another state-wide reorganization of the militia was engineered by the legislature on Feb. 26, 1855; and in some ways this was the most unfortunate of them all. It was primarily caused by racial and sectarian jealousy, a spirit which has no rightful place whatever in American life. Theprinciples of the “Know Nothing” party were regnant that year. No less a man than Thomas Cass was forced to resign his military commission—today his statue stands in honor in the Public Gardens. It almost seemed that the dominant faction were determined to prove themselves in the military and other diverse fields, as well as in the field of partizan politics, to be “know nothings.” The 5th Regiment, Boston’s best, was ordered disbanded; but the State House authorities did not really mean this. They only reorganized the command, with the intention that the resultant “2d Regiment of Infantry” should continue its service record. The 6th Company, the old Columbian Artillery commanded by Cass, together with the Webster Artillery and Shields Artillery of the 5th, were actually disbanded. Worst of all, Col. Cowdin found his commission vacated, apparently for political reasons. Capt. Cass’s company continued its existence as the “Columbian Association,” and in 1861 developed into the 9th Infantry.
Maj. Poore Pays His BetPage 99
Moses H. Webber was commissioned Colonel of the new 2d Infantry on April 18, 1855, and continued in office until Dec. 19 of that year. It consequently fell to his lot to adapt the regiment to its new conditions. Since the regiment had been drilling more and more as infantry and less and less as artillery, the change from one branch of the service to the other was less abrupt than it appeared to be. And be it noted that the regiment never lost interest in its native artillery—until in 1897 it re-entered the artillery branch. Col. Webber had four companies from the 5th, three of them old and strong ones. Two companies were transferred from the 1st Regiment, the 6th and 9th, of which both were already distinguished under their names, the “Union Guards” and the “National Guards.” The artillery companies signalized their transition to infantry by changing their names, theRoxbury Artillery becoming the Roxbury City Guard, the Washington Artillery the Washington Light Guard, and the Boston Artillery the Boston Phalanx. The regiment, so reorganized, was paraded by Col. Webber as escort to President Franklin Pierce, when the latter visited Boston.
As the Civil War approached, Massachusetts grew more liberal in providing for her soldiers. In 1852 the expenditure per man was increased to $6.50 a year, in 1857 to $9.00, and in 1858 the expenditure was fixed at $7.50 and remained there until 1869.
The New York 7th Regiment visited Boston and participated in the Bunker Hill celebration of June 17, 1857. Their ease and precision of movement, their evident regimental spirit, their large numbers, and their serviceable yet dressy gray uniform, worn uninterruptedly since 1824,—all made a deep impression upon Boston military men. As the 7th had stopped to suppress an incipient riot on its way to the boat in New York the night before, its practical efficiency added force to the impression. The Lancers and the 2d, who acted as special escort to the visiting troops, came most strongly under this spell. An impulse was given to the movement for improving the 2d. In 1859 the regiment adopted a gray uniform closely patterned after the dress of the 7th, and continued the new bill of dress until July, 1861. Again after the war the same gray uniform was in use between 1869 and 1880.
Col. William W. Bullock commanded the regiment from Jan. 11, 1856, until April 14, 1858, when he was promoted to be Brigadier General. Camp was held at Quincy in 1856; at Chelsea in 1857; and the latter occasion was notable because Robert Cowdin then rejoined his old command, accepting the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
In 1858 (May 11) Col. Cowdin was again in command;and continued in office until the second year of the war, when on Sept. 26, 1862, he was advanced to the rank of Brigadier General. In connection with the regimental camp at North Bridgewater, 1858, the regiment received its long-desired rifled muskets.
So many companies had been transferred from the old 1st Regiment, that it finally seemed best to disband that organization altogether. By contrast with the 5th-2d, its regimental spirit had grown weaker and weaker with each passing year until Boston’s oldest regiment was nothing but a loosely connected group of separate companies. So on March 1, 1859, four of its companies, the Washington Guards, the Independent Boston Fusiliers, the Pulaski Guards and the Mechanic Rifles, were transferred to Col. Cowdin’s regiment, where they took place as the 2d, 3d, 4th and 5th Companies respectively. As separate companies these already possessed proud records; and in their new regimental connection the 3d and 4th immediately found a vigorous new life. The Mechanic Rifles soon disbanded, and most of the members joined the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. Later on, we shall follow the adventures of the three remaining companies of the old 1st.
Meanwhile Massachusetts was getting ready for the approaching war and putting her military forces in condition for active service. Sept. 7 to 9, 1859, Col. Cowdin led his reinforced command to camp at Concord, winning highest praise for the numbers and skill of his men. This was a notable occasion in Massachusetts military history, and as it later proved, in U. S. history. Had not the Bay State been more ready for war than her sisters, there would have been no “minute-men of ’61” available to rush southward, and save the National capital. The Concord encampment for the entire Volunteer Militia, three divisions with a totalmembership of 7,500 men, was the pet project of Gov. Nathaniel Banks. While other executives of the state had regarded their office of commander-in-chief as a somewhat perfunctory affair, Gov. Banks took it exceedingly seriously; and even went so far as to uniform himself in clothing appropriate to his military office. Surely he “came to the kingdom for such a time as this.” While the pacifist governors of many northern states were ridiculing the very idea of war, Gov. Banks put his state in an attitude of preparedness—and was largely instrumental in saving the Union.
As the encampment continued only three days, it was mainly occupied with making and breaking camp, and escorting distinguished official visitors. But some little time was squeezed out for studying the new Hardee’s tactics, which were just supplanting Scott’s. Great enthusiasm was aroused by the presence of Gen. John E. Wool, the “hero of Buena Vista,” who reviewed the troops. But the great day of all came when Gov. Banks and the members of the legislature reviewed the campers. A famous lithograph of this scene exists; and does more than anything else to make the regiment of those days seem real to us. Numbers were small, as we reckon numbers today; but the finest spirit of determined patriotism was manifest.
A slight change in organization took place under Hardee’s tactics; instead of four lieutenants to a company, there were only two. Consequently few new men were elected to fill vacancies until the regiment had adjusted itself to the new régime. The officers of the regiment at the great Concord encampment, besides Col. Cowdin, were: Lieutenant Colonel, Isaac S. Burrell (postmaster of Roxbury, and later City Marshal); Major, Isaac F. Shephard. The captains commanding companies were: 1st, Thomas L. D. Perkins (proprietor of a smoke-house); 3d, Henry A. Snow (treasurerof a bleachery); 6th, Edward Pearl; 7th, Walter S. Sampson (a mason and builder); 8th, Clark B. Baldwin (a merchant); 9th, Arthur Dexter; and 10th, Joshua Jenkins. With the Civil War less than two years off, it is well to look ahead and see how many of these militiamen rendered service in the hour of their country’s need. Of the Colonel we have already spoken. The Lieutenant Colonel commanded the 42d Regiment in 1862, and again in 1864, as we shall see. The Major presently removed to Missouri for business reasons, where he served with Nathaniel Lyon, and ultimately commanded the 51st U. S. Colored Infantry, and was promoted to be Brigadier General. Four of the seven captains went to war. Capts. Snow and Pearl served three months each at the beginning of the regiment’s three years of service, and then received their discharges. Capt. Sampson took his company into the 6th Regiment, and led them thru Baltimore on April 19, 1862, under deadly fire from the rioters. Later he served as Captain in the 22d Infantry during the Peninsular campaign, commanding that regiment at Gaines Mill. Capt. Baldwin remained in Col. Cowdin’s regiment when his company transferred themselves to the new 4th Battalion of Rifles and ultimately to the 13th Regiment; and became commander of a new 4th Company, and from 1862 to 1864 was Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment. Baldwin was a most profane man, and during the ensuing campaign stragglers could identify their regiment from a distance by the sound of his swearing. When Baldwin was made prisoner at the Wilderness, his captors marvelled at his vocabulary; and came up to his tent in successive reliefs to listen. Once a youthful fifer who had been caught by the then Lieutenant Colonel straggling, was punished by having a log loaded on his shoulder as he marched. This lad has put on record, that regulations provided for “a fieldofficer at the head of a regiment and a mule at the rear”; and that Col. Baldwin was deemed well-qualified for either end of the column. But the testimony is confessedly biassed.
Boston Common was the site of the 1860 camp, the last camp before the war. Military interest was then at fever heat, and the very air seemed electric with the coming struggle. In the midst of the warlike preparation occurred a peaceful ceremony which gained in interest from its very contrast with its surroundings; the youthful Prince of Wales, afterward Edward VII of Great Britain, visited Boston and was accorded military honors. A member of the regiment has recorded of him that he was “a really handsome youth with a pleasant blue eye, plump cheeks, and skin of great fairness.”
On January 24, 1861, the 2d Regiment was redesignated, receiving the number, “1st,” which had been taken away from the old 1st in 1859. Since six companies of the old 1st (as well as Col. Cowdin himself) had previously been added to what now became the “Civil War” 1st, there was an obvious fitness in allowing the number to be transferred also. Moreover the future held in store that all remaining of the old 1st personnel should, in 1878, be consolidated with their quondam comrades in a new 1st Regiment.
April, 1861, ended the suspense. Sumpter was fired upon April 12. Lincoln’s first call for troops was issued April 15, supplemented by a personal appeal from Senator Henry Wilson—“Send on 1,500 men at once.” The militia mobilized with marvelous rapidity on April 16, and started south under command of Gen. Benjamin F. Butler the following day, for three months’ service.
Those were days of tense feeling. A shipmaster who displayed a southern flag was in danger of losing both his life and his vessel; and ended by issuing profuse apologies. Business firms made lavish gifts toward the equipment of the regiments; indeed everyone seemed ready to give whatever he had. All one needed to do was to appear in uniform in order to be accounted a hero—much to the discomfort of many genuinely modest men.
And thruout these opening days the 1st Regiment was subjected to the very hardest test, in that nothing whatever happened to them. They could not take comfort in the knowledge that the 3d Regiment, one of the very earliest to go, would by and by become consolidated with them, and so share the honors which they were earning. All that the members of the 1st could do was to hope, and growl, and wonder why the Governor should select them for home-guard purposes while he allowed others to go to war.
Then something actually did happen, which only served to aggravate. Captain Sampson discovered a vacancy in the 6th Regiment, and with Col. Cowdin’s approval promptlysecured the transfer of his 7th Company, the Washington Light Guard, one of the three strong artillery companies which had come down from the very beginning of regimental history; so that the 6th had a Co. K of which to be proud, and the 1st Regiment had nothing. Co. K of the 6th, as was to be expected, covered itself with glory during the street-fight in Baltimore on April 19. Capt. David K. Wardwell, whose company had suffered disbandment a few months before, profited by his consequent independence and organized a new company, with Col. Cowdin presiding at the election of officers; and then took the new organization off with the 5th Regiment as Co. F. “Wardwell’s Tigers” shared in the laurels won by their regiment at Annapolis and Washington, and three months later at Bull Run found themselves fighting in the same army with the old 1st Regiment. Meanwhile their success in getting into active service did not make it any easier for the 1st Regiment to endure the masterly inactivity of those April days.
Finally on April 27, the 1st Regiment was ordered to prepare itself—as if it had not been prepared “right up to the handle” for two weeks past. But, alas, instructions came from the War Department that no more three-months men were desired, and after fifteen days’ service by the regiment, the order was, on May 7, revoked. Forty-two years later the legislature passed a resolve according official recognition to the 1st Regiment as having volunteered with the other “minute men;” but this was no comfort whatever to the eager young soldiers of 1861, who were told to lay down their weapons and go home. Col. Cowdin and his men were in high favor at the Boston City Hall; but owing to their services at the Burns riot, and for other political reasons, they were frowned on by Gov. Andrew and the Senators.
On second thought Col. Cowdin decided that he and his men were going to get into active service in spite of all difficulties. It had just become known that the Government desired three-year regiments, and this opened a door of possibility. The 1st would go to war for three years. To be sure this was a plunge in the dark. Suppose the war should not last three years—would the troops be kept in service anyway? Moreover, there had never been any three-year volunteers in the United States, during any previous war; and it requires courage to set a precedent. But Col. Cowdin and his men made the necessary readjustments demanded by the prospect of prolonged absence from home, and volunteered as a three-year regiment. Owing to their promptness, they were able to win an honor greater even than came to the “minute-men;” for they became the very first long-term volunteer regiment to enter U. S. service anywhere in the country, the first not only of the Civil War but of any war. Their adventures, and the battles they fought, are “another story”; and will be told in a later chapter.
One of the three old original artillery companies having been lost to the 6th, another was destined to go with—no, the correct expression is, to “become”—the 13th Regiment. Late in 1860 the 8th Company, the “Boston Artillery,” became interested in organizing a “crack” battalion or regiment for Boston. They were already members of the best regiment in the Commonwealth, but they were not satisfied with that. Capt. Baldwin did not share in this new ambition and declined to have anything to do with it. In civil life he was a merchant and wholly practical in his tastes; as a soldier he was a plain, blunt man, “full of strange oaths,” “who loved his friends.” The new departure did not appeal to him. So Capt. Baldwin transferredto the 4th Company, the Pulaski Guards, and remained with his old regiment; while the Boston Artillery chose Gen. Samuel H. Leonard, recently of Worcester, as their captain. Under Capt. Leonard the Boston Artillery absorbed what survived of the disbanded Columbian Greys or City Guards of the old 1st, and proceeded to expand into the 4th Battalion of Rifles. It was on Dec. 15, 1860, that the new battalion was formed. Before the enthusiastic officers and men had time to do much toward developing their ideal of a “crack” regiment, they found themselves upon the threshold of the great war. On May 25, 1861, they volunteered to garrison Ft. Independence for one month; and almost before the month had expired, the 4th Battalion of Rifles had expanded once more and become the 13th Regiment, and on July 16 they were mustered in for three years’ service. Col. Cowdin’s men felt that they could well afford to lose their grand old 8th Company, when their loss resulted in the addition of an entire regiment to the Union army. The 13th served as part of the first corps in the army of Virginia, and later the army of the Potomac. Their regimental monument stands on the field of their hardest fight, that of the first day at Gettysburg, where they lost their gallant corps commander, Gen. John F. Reynolds. And on the second day of that battle, toward evening, they were sent to reinforce Sickles on the left, in whose corps was the 1st Massachusetts. Once more the Boston Artillery and the Roxbury Artillery were serving side by side.
On May 18, 1861, just one week before the 1st was mustered into Federal service, it lost another company. Capt. Joseph H. Barnes had organized a new 7th Company to fill the place made vacant by Capt. Sampson’s withdrawal. But the example of his predecessor proved contagious; so that presently the new company followed the old one. Capt.Barnes’ command joined the 4th Mass. Infantry at Fort Monroe, and so found active work immediately. When, however, the 4th presently came home, its new Co. K was left behind, and became incorporated in the 29th Regiment, with which it served three years. In 1862 the 29th was with the army of the Potomac, in 1863 in Mississippi and Tennessee, and again with the army of the Potomac in 1864. Capt. Gardner Walker’s North End True Blues eventually went with Col. Cowdin as the 7th Company.
Lieutenant Colonel Isaac S. Burrell was not able to accompany his regiment in the three-years’ service. Remaining in Boston with a few other members who were similarly situated, he maintained a skeleton organization of the old militia regiment. And because the new number, 1st, was borne by Col. Cowdin, Col. Burrell had to hunt another designation for his command. The fourteen officers and two hundred sixteen men, in seven companies, who were engaged in this home-guard duty were by no means satisfied with their position. Their hearts were in Maryland and Virginia with their former comrades.
In the spring of 1862 Banks was driven from the Shenandoah valley and the north began to fear for the safety of Washington. On May 26, in response to requests from the Secretary of War, Massachusetts and other northern states mobilized their militia, recruiting the regiments up as nearly as possible to full strength. This alarm subsided presently. But Pope’s defeat at second Bull Run, August 30, left the capital in genuine peril, and caused a hasty call for 300,000 more troops, to serve nine months. Grave disaster had overtaken the Union arms, and there was immediate need for reinforcements. Col. Burrell was in militia camp at Medford with his regiment when the call came; and at once volunteered. Indeed this was just the chance for whichthey had been waiting—active duty but for a period not so extended as three years.
Recruits were needed in order to bring the regiment up to war strength. By some singular perversity, as soon as recruiting began, a situation developed which threatened to destroy the regiment entirely. Col. Burrell and Lt. Col. Thomas L. D. Perkins were both graduates of the 1st Company, Perkins having succeeded Burrell as captain. A bitter jealousy had grown up in Perkins’ mind which made him incapable of rendering loyal support to his chief. Maj. George W. Beach shared Lt. Col. Perkins’ feeling and co-operated in his insubordination. Needless to say, Col. Burrell gave no real ground whatever for this feeling.
After the deadlock had continued for more than a month, during which the regiment made little progress in filling its ranks, Col. Burrell secured Gov. Andrew’s permission to take strenuous measures. Another command, the 54th of Worcester county, was similarly in need of men. The men already belonging to the 42d (as Burrell’s command became known, possibly with some reference to the proud record made by the 42d or Black Watch Highlanders in the British army) were consolidated into the 1st and 3d Companies; new 7th and 10th Companies were formed in Boston and Dorchester; 2d and 9th Companies were drawn from the 54th, while Boston, Medway and Weymouth provided units for the four vacancies. Capt. George Sherive commanded the 1st Company, Capt. George P. Davis the 2d (or Ware Company), Capt. Alfred N. Proctor (a photographer, and one of the indistinguishable “Proctor twins”) the 3d, Capt. Charles A. Pratt the 4th, Capt. David W. Bailey the 5th, Capt. Ira B. Cook the 6th (from Medway), Capt. Orville W. Leonard (who had been a private in the 6th Regiment during the ninety-days service) the 7th, Capt.Hiram S. Coburn the 8th (from Weymouth), Capt. John D. Coggswell the 9th (of Leicester), and Capt. Cyrus Savage the 10th or Dorchester Company. All the newer elements proved to be congenial, the Worcester county men being especially good soldiers, with the exception however of the 5th Company. This unit was gathered in too much of a hurry, contained a “tough” element, and was a constant cause of discord. No one could then foresee that the regimental number, 54th, released by the consolidation of companies in the 42d, would presently be immortalized by Col. Robert Gould Shaw’s heroic black men.
In accordance with law, the company officers proceeded to elect regimental officers, and bestowed the chief honor upon Col. Burrell. Perkins and Beach tried hard to prevent this, but in vain; the electors were seeking the best soldier, and cared nothing whatever for old jealousies. They proceeded to select Joseph Stedman as Lt. Col. and Frederick G. Stiles of Worcester as Major, thus retiring the disgruntled former incumbents of those offices. A magnificent stand of colors was presented to the command; and on Oct. 14, the 42d was finally mustered in.
Nothing out of the ordinary marked the railroad journey to New York. But progress thereafter, which was by boat, proved to be highly uncomfortable. The transports were small, and not too seaworthy. And worse yet for “landlubbers,” the sea was rough. It is said that the man establishing his claim to possessing the strongest stomach was the man whose digestive organ would throw the farthest. As however all things have an end, the sufferers finally arrived at the mouth of the Mississippi, and once more became habitants ofterra firma.
From the streets of Boston and the hills of Worcester county to the canebrakes and swamps of Mississippi andLouisiana is a violent transition, which nothing less tough than the human system could endure. Yet the 42d Regiment survived its journey to the department of the Gulf and may almost be said to have flourished in its new environment. Of course the heat was often prostrating, while malaria took its toll of human life. The companies were separated, and were assigned to provost and engineering duty at different stations. Hard-tack and salt beef and pork are not luxurious fare, muddy coffee (which means usually coffee made with muddy water) is far from being a dainty beverage, digging is a most unromantic occupation, and even staying awake nights to watch while others sleep does not arouse the finer emotions as much in fact as when set forth by poets. Yet these are the staple elements of a soldier’s life; and these the 42d enjoyed in abundant profusion. Sensational details were lacking in this experience; but the service is not the less a thing of which to be proud.
Col. Burrell with three of his Boston companies, the 1st, 3d, and 10th, were detached to garrison the port of Galveston, Texas, and to co-operate with the Navy there. Of all the 42d Regiment, these companies alone chanced to find themselves “in the limelight.” The Galveston wharf was to be kept available for Naval use; and in turn the Navy was to shelter the garrison under the protection of its guns. Witnesses disagree as to just how well the latter work was performed. On Jan. 1, 1863, the Confederates attacked in overwhelming numbers at a moment when, for some reason, the warships had been withdrawn. Col. Burrell and his men defended themselves heroically and took heavy toll from the attackers. But with five thousand Confederates against three hundred Union soldiers, the result was inevitable. After the Confederates had brought thirty-one pieces of artillery into action, Col. Burrell and his mensurrendered themselves prisoners of war. Highly respected because of their stubborn bravery, the men were soon exchanged; and upon returning to the Union lines were accorded an ovation. The officers were retained in captivity longer; and Col. Burrell finally secured release just in season to assume command of his old regiment during its next tour of duty, that of the one hundred days. Other companies of the 42d were in action at Port Hudson, Lafourche Crossing, and Brashear City.
Disaster attended the return journey of the 42d. Going by boat thru Long Island Sound, one of the transports, the “Commodore,” struck a rock off Point Judith, and threatened to founder. The troops had to be taken off in small boats at much discomfort and no little peril, and finished their journey in another craft. On August 20, 1863, the men were finally mustered out, their nine months having extended itself into almost a full year.
Now, returning, the 42d kept its place in the line of the militia. Meanwhile unattached companies began to exist, which in certain cases aimed to act as reserve or “depot” companies for units of the 1st-42d. This was notably true of the 2d, 3d, 5th, and 6th Companies. The 1st Regiment was treading its bloody path of glory and approaching the time when it would return to Massachusetts and home. It disbanded upon its muster-out of the U. S. service, May 28, 1864; and many of its members were glad to join these reserve companies and so keep up the cherished associations.
Again the need became urgent for more troops. Gen. Grant, the new Lieut. Gen. and Commander-in-chief, had assembled all available men for the reinforcement of his mobile army in April, 1864, withdrawing so many of the defenders of Washington as to leave the national capital exposed to attack. In July such a raid was actually madeunder the vigorous leadership of Gen. Jubal A. Early; and came uncomfortably near to succeeding. So a call was issued for short-term volunteers who should garrison fortified posts, and release the long-term men for active service. All the “hurrah” spirit had gone out of the war by 1864—indeed men were too weary to feel enthusiasm of any kind. There is therefore something all the finer in the grim way in which the 42d and the unattached companies responded to this call.
Remarkable as it may seem, eight of the companies which served during the nine months’ tour had retained their organization sufficiently to respond a second time. As one of those missing in 1864 was the “tough” 5th Company (N. B., of Boston, not Chelsea) the task of recruiting the needed units was not altogether an unwelcome one. Samuel A. Waterman commanded the 1st Company, Benjamin R. Wales the 2d, Alanson H. Ward (later a captain in the 61st Inf.) the 3d, Augustus Ford (who had been 1st Sergeant and 1st Lt. during the previous year) the 4th, George M. Stewart the new 5th Company, Benjamin C. Tinkham (sergeant during the nine-months’ service) the 6th, Isaac B. White (1st Lt. the year previous) the 7th, Warren French the new 8th, Samuel S. Eddy (a 2d Lt. in the 51st during its nine months in North Carolina) the 9th, and James T. Stevens (1st Lt. in the 4th Reg. during its three months in 1861) the 10th. The same field officers were in command. The happiest rivalry existed between the Boston companies and those from Worcester county, in their attempt each to bring the largest numbers and finest personnel forward in response to the new call. The old regimental colors were again borne at the head of the revived regiment. Entering Federal service on July 20, the regiment was assigned to the defences of Washington, and stationed at Alexandria,Virginia. Here they formed part of the “outer picket” of the capital, and in addition furnished train-guards to protect railroad transportation from Washington to the Shenandoah Valley, the men detailed to service on the freight-cars being the only members of the 42d coming under Confederate fire during the present tour of duty. Col. Burrell came back from his southern prison just in season to rejoin his command at Alexandria. While the regiment had enlisted for one hundred days, its service continued thirteen days over time, and the men were mustered out Nov. 11.
There seemed to be unlimited reserves of vitality in the 1st and 3d Companies—indeed one is reminded of the way bees swarm from a hive as one notes how these wonderful organizations made contribution after contribution to the army and yet remained as vigorous as ever. All honor to the old Roxbury Artillery and the Fusiliers. The Roxbury Artillery had a full company in the three-year regiment, in the 42d on its first tour, and again on its second service. The Fusiliers did even more. Besides these three “bits,” they sent the 7th Unattached Company, on May 4, 1864, for ninety days’ duty on Gallop’s Island, Boston, under command of Capt. Albert E. Proctor, who in civil life was well known as a popular Boston clothier, and was the other indistinguishable “twin.” Again on Aug. 18 of that year they made up Co. K of the 4th Mass. Heavy Artillery for ten months’ service in Washington, D. C., under the same Capt. Proctor. Meanwhile they maintained their “depot” company in a state of efficiency. Certainly they justified the sentiment of their ancient motto,Aut vincere aut mori, with all emphasis on the “victory” and never a thought of “death.”
New companies which were presently to be added to the 1st Regiment also did duty at this time. The “1st UnattachedCompany,” which garrisoned Fort Independence, Boston, for ninety days from April 29, 1864, afterward became the 4th Company in the regiment. And the “4th Unattached Company” which garrisoned the fort later to be known as “Rodman,” in New Bedford harbor for ninety days from May 3, later became the 5th Company in the regiment. Likewise the “9th Unattached Company,” which was to become the 6th Company in the regiment two years later, on May 10, 1864, began a ninety days’ tour of garrison duty on Gallop’s Island, Boston Harbor.
How the units of the regiment kept coming back to the artillery branch thruout the war! The regiment had originally been artillery; and the virus seemed to be in the regimental blood. The old cannon were not returned to the state until 1861. The three-year command served as artillery for three weeks of 1861 in Washington, and for two weeks of 1863 in New York. Co. K of the “4th Heavies” actually reintroduced the “artillery” title into the regiment. The four unattached companies in 1864 all served as artillery. Col. Cowdin’s old command was certainly destined to handle heavier ordnance than the infantry knew anything about. No wonder they welcomed the restoration of artillery instruction in 1882.
Well may the 1st-42d Regiment feel interest in Edward Simmons’ splendid mural painting in the State House, the “Return of the Colors.” For on the day of that ceremony, Dec. 22, 1865, color-bearers of both regiments were present; and both are given place in the picture. The war was over. These symbols of patriotism for which brave men had sacrificed life were returning to the custody of the Commonwealth who gave them. Was ever Forefathers’ day more sacred than that? The “land of the Pilgrim’s pride” had now become the “land where” and for which “our fathers died.”
W. F. Fox, in his “Regimental Losses,” published in 1889, includes a chapter entitled “The three hundred fighting regiments,” and his list has subsequently become accepted as a semi-official roll-of-honor. Of the more than two thousand regiments on the Union side during the Civil War he found three hundred which lost over one hundred thirty each, killed or died of wounds. While the number of casualties might not always indicate fighting ability, or even fighting experience, still in the long run the blood-marked trail of killed and wounded does surely lead to where the battle was most severe.
Amongst the three hundred fighting regiments stands the 1st Mass. Vol. Inf., three-year troops, another name for the Coast Artillery. Of our various companies who went out during the three wars in which we have participated, all losses by killed or died of wounds were confined to those in the Civil War. No such casualties occurred in 1814 or in 1898. The 3d Reg. lost 2, the one company in the 4th 1, the one company in the 13th 10, the single company in the 4th and 29th 5, the company in the 5th 4, the 42d 4, the 43d 3, or a total of 29. Of the regiments officered by us, the 24th lost 92, and the 44th 10; but it is not fair to reckon these as our casualties. In contrast with the total of 29, the 1st Mass. Vol. Inf. lost 144, besides 643 discharged for disease or wounds. There can be no question but that our companies constituting the 1st Mass. Inf., the three-year regiment, deserve the appellation, “the Fighting First.”
As soon as the regiment found that their services would not be accepted for three months, they set to work preparing for a three-year enlistment. Lt. Col. Burrell and others who could not go for the long term organized themselves into a reserve or “depot” regiment. New companies which had been added in April with a view to entering the three months’ service brought the total up to ten; and these all gladly entered into the three-year enlistment. The Chadwick Light Infantry, named for Hon. Joseph H. Chadwick of Roxbury, a liberal contributor toward the company expenses, became 2d Company in the regiment. The Pulaski Guards, newcomers in the regiment, shifted from 9th to 4th place. Members of the Chelsea Light Infantry, a 7th Regiment command which had just been disbanded because of the disobedience of its captain, resented the false position in which they were placed; and hastened in a body, on April 19, to the State House where, with Gov. Andrew himself presiding, they reorganized and forthwith received a charter as the “Chelsea Volunteers.” This accomplished, the new unit at once became the 5th Company in the 1st Regiment. While there had been two 7th Companies within a month, both had gone off with other regiments; and the vacant number was now filled by the North End True Blues. The True Blues consisted of caulkers, gravers and riggers from the ship-yards. They had begun their history many years previously as a fire-engine company, and in 1832 had taken up military training. But it was not until April, 1861, that they regularly connected themselves with the militia. A newly organized Brookline company took the 8th place, made vacant by the transfer of the Boston Artillery. The National Guards, newcomers in the regiment but with a history running back to the Mexican war, assumed the 9th number. And the Schouler Guards, named after the popularAdjutant General of Massachusetts, became the 10th Company.
Col. Cowdin remained in command, and speedily demonstrated that he was as capable a leader in actual warfare as he had been during the years of peace. One notable and somewhat unusual trait was discovered by his associates—he never, under any circumstances, would permit a drop of alcoholic liquor to pass his lips. George D. Wells, judge of the Boston municipal court, went as Lieutenant Colonel, and soon gained the reputation of excelling even his chief as a tactician. He afterward became colonel of the 34th Mass. Inf., and was killed at Cedar Creek in 1864. Charles P. Chandler of the new 8th Company was chosen Major; and was destined to die in battle a year later, at Glendale in the White Oak Swamp. The company commanders were: 1st, Ebenezer W. Stone, Jr.; 2d, Abiel G. Chamberlain, afterwards a colonel of colored troops; 3d, Henry A. Snow, commander of the company as far back as 1849; 4th, Clark B. Baldwin, afterwards Lt. Col.; 5th, Sumner Carruth, later Colonel of the 35th Mass. Inf.; 6th, Edward Pearl; 7th, Gardner Walker, who was to succeed Chandler as Major; 8th, Edward A. Wild, later a Major of the 32d Mass. Inf.; 9th, Alfred W. Adams; and 10th, Charles E. Rand. The 10th was the only company destined to lose its commander in action, Capt. Rand being killed at Chancellorsville, and by a singular fatality, his successor, Capt. Moses H. Warren at Spotsylvania.
In consequence of the regiment’s prompt decision, they were able to be mustered in as volunteers on May 25, 1861,—the first three-year organization in the entire United States.
The regiment journeyed by rail from Boston and reached Washington on June 15, the first long-term organizationto arrive. Passing thru Baltimore they were very cautious, having in mind the experience of their comrades less than two months before. But the city was then actually under complete Federal control.
Blackburn’s Ford, the preliminary skirmish of Bull Run, on July 18, 1861, first brought the regiment under fire. Lieut. Albert S. Austin lost his revolver at this time;—judge of his pleasant surprise when, in 1896, receiving a package from a Confederate veteran, he opened it and discovered the long-missing weapon. This revolver may now be seen in the collection of the A. & H. Art. Co. Part of an army all of whose members were inexperienced, it is greatly to their credit that they were chosen as rear-guard of the retreating Federals after the main battle of Bull Run, July 21. Perhaps it was because of the reputation gained here that the 1st came to be frequently detailed to the responsible rear-guard position. They served in this capacity during the change of base on the Peninsula, and during the subsequent retreat from that district. They covered the retreat of the army after Fredericksburg. But it is safe to say that they were never more valuable as rear-guard than when at Bull Run they steadily held their place behind the torrent of panic-stricken fugitives and prevented the victors from pressing the pursuit. This transpired during their first battle, when they had been less than three months in the service.
Their gray militia uniforms in which the regiment went to war cost them dearly at Blackburn’s Ford and Bull Run. Facing troops similarly attired, Lieut. W. H. B. Smith of the 3d Company called out that he and his men were from Massachusetts, thinking that he was talking to other northern soldiers. But his words were greeted with a volley by which the lieutenant lost his life. Later in the action asimilar explanation by Capt. Carruth of the 5th Company barely prevented a Michigan regiment from firing on the First. Immediately after the battle new blue uniforms were issued.