xt712j683h9w https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt712j683h9w/data/mets.xml Osborne, William H. 1877  books b92-80-27254688 English A. J. Wright, printer, : Boston : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. United States. Army. Massachusetts Infantry, 29th (1861-1865) United States History Civil War, 1861-1865 Regimental histories. History of the Twenty-ninth regiment of Massachusetts volunteer infantry  : in the late war of the rebellion / by William H. Osborne. text History of the Twenty-ninth regiment of Massachusetts volunteer infantry  : in the late war of the rebellion / by William H. Osborne. 1877 2002 true xt712j683h9w section xt712j683h9w 












THE



         HISTORY


               OF THE



TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENT


                OF



   MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY,


               IN



THE LATE WAR OF THE REBELLION.



               BY
      WILLIAM H. OSBORNE,
         A MEMBER OF TH. REGIMENT.






           BOSTON:
ALBERT J. WRIGHT, PRINTER, 79 MILK STREET.
          (CORNER OF FEDERAL.)
              1877.

 
































Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by
                WILLLAx H. OsBouNE,
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

 




            PR E F A C E.



  At the outset, I desire to thank all who have
rendered me any assistance in connection with this
work. To His Excellency, Governor Rice, I am
indebted for a very liberal subscription and many
words of encouragement; to my friend and towns-
man, Honorable Benjamin W. Harris, for copies of
orders from the War Department; to General James
A. Cunningham, Adjutant-General of Massachusetts,
for facilitating my investigations of his records, and
granting me unusual privileges in his office; to Major
S. B. Phinney of Barnstable and Honorable William
T. Davis of Plymouth, for loan of papers, and reports
of their towns; to Mr. Charles H. Edson and Millard
E. Brown, Esq., of East Bridgewater, for assistance
in copying numerous papers; to my comrades, Gen-
eral Joseph H. Barnes, Colonels Thomas William
Clarke, Henry R. Sibley, and Willard D. Tripp,
Majors Charles T. Richardson and Samuel H. Doten,
Captains William D. Chamberlain, Jonas K. Tyler,
and James H. Osgood, Lieutenants Thomas Conant,
J. O'Neil, and John Lucas, Sergeants Samuel C.
Wright, John II. Hancock, and Walter A. Kezar,
and Samuel Wells Hunt and Preston Hooper, for
indispensable aid in preparing rolls and imparting
valuable information.

 



PREFACE.



  In the course of my researches, I have freely con-
sulted the diaries and letters of several of my brother
soldiers, the records of the Adjutant-General of Mas-
sachusetts, the excellent reports of the Committee
of Congress "On the Conduct of the War," several
works of Southern authors, the " History of the Civil
War in America," by the Count of Paris, a large
number of pamphlets, newspapers (Northern and
Southern), beside many other publications, collecting,
in the course of the seven years in which I have been
engaged in this self-imposed task, a very large and
varied assortment of the literature of the war.
  Where radically different versions of the same
event have been given me, I have generally adopted
that of the officer who had the responsible command
at the time, or of the soldier whose relations to the
event were such as to afford him the best means of
accurate knowledge. In other cases, I have used my
own judgment in the premises, adopting or discarding
the version that seemed to me most in harmony or
at variance with the truth.
  Knowing the sensitive nature of most soldiers, and
not wishing to excite new or revive old jealousies,
I at first resolved to avoid the bestowal of praise
upon any one connected with the regiment. But I
soon found that this plan was as difficult of execution
as it would be unjust in its operation. I therefore
abandoned it, and I desire it to be distinctly under-
stood that I assume the entire responsibility for all
I have said in the following pages, commendatory
or otherwise, of any person, having had no motives
of favoritism or feelings of prejudice, that I am aware
of. My position in the regiment being that of a mere



4

 



PREFACE.



private soldier, rendered me naturally neutral, espe-
cially toward the officers; what I have said in praise
of them, therefore, I have said from a sense of justice
alone.
  One of the most difficult parts of my task has been
that of preparing the rolls of the regiment; and I am
compelled to admit, much to my sorrow, that here I
have failed to overcome certain difficulties that existed
from the first, and which must increase in magnitude
with every passing year. After the most careful
investigation, I have not, in most instances, been able
to give more than the name of and the highest rank
attained by each soldier. My failure to accomplish
more than this, is owing to the imperfect condition
of our rolls at the War Department, and the impos-
sibility of holding personal conferences or having
communication with many of the living members.
  In attempting even what I have indicated, it is
possible that I have made errors; but if these be not
more serious than mistakes about rank or the right
spelling of a name, I shall be grateful, for I have had
fears that, after all, the names of a few who served
faithfully in the regiment have been omitted alto-
gether. On the other hand, it is more than probable
that the names of soldiers appear upon our rolls who
deserted, or who never joined the regiment for service.
I concluded, however, not to drop the name of any
man from the rolls that had ever been properly put
there, and to give no lists of deserters, for the reason
that some so reported upon our official rolls were not
deserving of such a record, and that others who did
desert had previously been most excellent soldiers;
and believing that they themselves must regret hav-



5

 



PREFACE.



ing yielded to this temptation, often pressing, I have
no desire to add to their shame or their sorrow by
anything which I might say.
  Of the general plan of this work, but little need be
said. I have made no attempts at word-painting or
fine writing, have endeavored to give as many perti-
nent anecdotes as space would permit, and tell the
story of the regiment in a simple, straightforward
way.
  The liberal space given in the first part of the
volume to the actions of cities and towns and pri-
vate individuals in connection with the formation of
the several companies, I regard as justifiable, on the
ground of the unquestionable historical value of such
facts. If, however, I have devoted more space to one
city or town than another, or to one company than
another, it is because I had in the one case more
material to select from, and because some comrades
have taken more pains than others to furnish me
facts in regard to the organization of their com-
panies.
  Several of my comrades to whom I appealed for
aid seven years ago, when I sent out a circular letter
announcing my intention to write the regimental his-
tory, comprehended better than myself the magnitude
of the undertaking, and consequently had but little
faith in its final success. That they were slow at first
to respond to my request for assistance, and were
reluctant to confide to me their journals and letters,
- to them precious mementos of the war, - I do
not now marvel. Two years later, however, I con-
vinced them of my well-settled purpose to perform
faithfully this work, and from that day to this they



6

 




                     PREFACE.                   7

have seconded all my efforts in a manner that causes
me to feel very grateful.
  If I have succeeded in writing a truthful history
of the old regiment,-one that will be treasured by
my brothers in arms and valuable to the future his-
torian, - I shall feel rewarded for all the many hours
of labor that I have bestowed upon it.

                                       W. H. O.

  EAST BRIDGEWATER, MASS.,
        August 4, 1877.


 




8



HISTORY OF THE



                 HISTORY.




                     CHAPTER I.

PRELIMINARY REMIARKS -EARLY WAR ACTION IN MASSACHUSETTS - BIRO
   OF THE REGIMENT, AND HOW IT CHANCED TO BIE DESIGNATED THE
   TWENTY-NINTH.

   The Twenty-ninth Regiment of the Massachusetts Volun-
teers had its origin in some of the earliest war actions of the
people of this patriotic Commonwealth, though its numerical
designation would seem to suggest a state of facts quite the
contrary.
  The citizen who finds the name of his ancestor on the
"Lexington Alarm List" of the 19th of April, 1775, con-
siders himself richer than before in all that constitutes a
proud family record, and feels that an honor has been
conferred upon him by reason of this early and honorable
military service of his progenitor. In a war waged for the
defence of the Republic established by the toils and sufferings
of our revolutionary fathers, at Lexington and on later fields,
it is an honor not to be lightly esteemed to have one's name
recorded and borne upon the roll of those who were the first
to enlist in a cause so worthy.
  This honor belongs in a peculiar sense to those volunteer
soldiers who composed the seven companies that formed the
nucleus of the Twenty-ninth Regiment; for they were not
only among the first to enlist, but were the first in Massa-
chusetts and all New England to be mustered into the service
of the United States for a term of three years.

  I There is but one other military body that can claim a share of this
honor, to this extent; viz., Capt. P. A. Davis's company of Lowell, an
independent company of infantry called the "Richardson Light Guards,"
afterwards organized as the Seventh Massachusetts Light Battery. This
company was mustered originally May 21, 1861.

 




TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENT.



9



  As the history of the regiment, therefore, begins with the
beginning of hostilities, we must preface our account of its
organization with some pertinent remarks concerning the
earliest efforts to raise troops in Massachusetts.
  The first official act relating to the war was the somewhat
famous General Order, No. 4, by direction of the Governor,
dated January 16, 1861, requiring the Adjutant-General to
ascertain with accuracy the number of the officers and men of
the volunteer militia who would instantly respond to any call
of the President of the United States for troops. On the
23d of January, 1861, the Legislature passed a Resolve,
tendering the aid of the Commonwealth to the President of
the United States, in enforcing the laws and preserving the
Union. On the 15th of February, an Act was approved, pro-
viding for the retention in the service of all volunteer militia
companies then existing, and for the organization, "as the
public exigency may require," of additional companies of
cavalry, artillery, and infantry, the same to be formed, on
petition to the Commander-in-Chief, by the mayor and alder-
men or selectmen of cities and towns. The first appropria-
tion which seems to have been made for war purposes was
by an Act, approved April 3, 1861, the text of which we here
give because of its importance:-

"Resolved, That the Adjutant and Acting Quartermaster-General be,
and he is hereby authorized, under the direction of the Governor and
Council, to provide, either by contract or otherwise, a sufficient number
of overcoats, blankets, knapsacks, haversacks, and other articles of
equipment, camp utensils, and trenching tools, as may be required to
equip two thousand troops for active service; and a sum not exceeding
twenty-five thousand dollars is hereby appropriated for that purpose."
[Chap. 67, Acts of 1861.

  Other Acts were passed subsequently to these already
named, though not so directly pertinent, but all having the
same object; namely, the preparing of the militia for active
service, and providing the means of carrying on the war, then
so soon expected to burst upon the country. Of these sev-
eral Resolves, none are perhaps more noticeable for the strong
spirit of patriotism that pervades them, than those of M1av 21
and May 23, 1861. The first was an Act entitled " Anl Act
             2

 




HISTORY OF THE



in addition to an Act to provide for the maintenance of the
Union and the Constitution," and is preceded by the follow-
ing preamble:

" Whereas, The people of Massachusetts regard with like feelings of
loyalty and affection the Government of the United States and that of
their own Commonwealth, and deem it fit that the arms of each should
be strengthened by all which the other can give;
"And whereas, Some emergency may arise, during the recess of the
Legislature, in which the aid of Massachusetts may be of service to the
General Government in its financial arrangements; therefore, Be it
enacted," etc.

  By this remarkably patriotic Resolve, the Governor, with
the advice of the Council, was authorized to issue scrip, or
certificates of debt, in the name .of the Commonwealth, for
such sums, not exceeding seven millions of dollars, as he,
with the advice of the Council, might deem needful. The
scrip so issued was to be sold, and the proceeds loaned to the
United States Government, or expended in purchasing its
treasury notes, or " delivered to the Secretary of the Treas-
ury of the United States, in exchange for obligations of the
United States Government, of corresponding amount."
  The second Resolve referred to was entitled "An Act in
aid of the families of volunteers, and for other purposes,"
by which cities and towns were permitted to raise money by
taxation, and apply the same in aid of the wife and children
of any of their inhabitants who, as a member of the volun-
teer militia, enlisted into the service of the United States.
By the same Act, it was provided that the State should
reimburse towns and cities for all aid furnished in pursuance
of this law, to an extent limited therein; and by section four
of the Act, any city or town was authorized " to organize an
armed police or guard," whenever danger from an attack by
sea was apprehended.
  For nearly three months before the first act of hostilities,
the militia of the Commonwealth were busily. engaged in
drilling in their several armories; almost nightly, throughout
the long, memorable winter of 1861, the patriotic soldiers of
the State assembled and received from their instructors, les-



' Chap. 222, Acts of 1861.



10

 




TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENT.



sons in the manual of arms and other military matters, and
prepared themselves as best they could to answer the first
summons to the field.
  Finally, as the winter waned, and the signs of war began
to thicken, these citizen-soldiers became clamorous for active
service, and on the 13th of April, the Adjutant-General
addressed a letter to the Secretary of War, asking permission
to garrison forts Warren and Independence, in Boston Har-
bor, with two regiments of the militia. "I believe," said
the Adjutant-General, " that our troops would like to do
garrison duty until called upon by the President for active
service. The regiments might alternate' every four or six
weeks, and thus they would learn much that would be of
service to them, and hold the forts against attack or sur-
prise."  In this letter, it was stated that we then had five
thousand infantry, properly officered, armed, and equipped,
though only three thousand of them were armed with rifled
muskets, the others having " the old smooth-bores," that had
"been changed from flint-lock to the percussion."
  The desire of the volunteers to enter upon active service
was soon gratified. On the 15th of April, only two days
after the date of this letter, a telegram was received from
Senator Wilson at Washington, requesting twenty companies
to be sent to Washington to act in the defence of that city.
This was followed on the same day by a formal demand by
telegraph from the Secretary of War, calling for two full
regiments of militia. This demand was at once complied
with, for, on the same day, Special Order No. 14 was issued
by the Governor, " directing Colonel Jones of the Sixth Regi-
ment, Colonel Packard of the Fourth, Colonel Wardrop of
the Third, and Colonel Munroe of the Eighth, to muster their
respective commands on the Boston Common - forthwith."
The order was transmitted by mail and special messengers
to the various colonels, who severally resided at Lowell,
Quincy, New Bedford, and Lynn. The companies compos,
ing these regiments were scattered throughout the cities and
towns of the counties of Essex, Plymouth, Bristol, Norfolk,
and Middlesex. But during the day and following night,



 Adjutant-General's Report, 1861, page 7.



11

 




12



HISTORY OF THE



nearly every man was notified, and on the morning of the
16th the regiments arrived in Boston.    The Third and
Fourth regiments were ordered to proceed "forthwith" to
Fortress Monroe, Va., while the Sixth and Eighth were
sent to Washington. The Fourth left Boston on the 17th
of April, and the Third on the following day, the two
regiments arriving at Fortress Monroe on the 20th of April,
and becoming a part of the garrison at that post. Neither
of the last two commands contained the maximum number
of men; the Third Regiment having, both officers and en-
listed men, only 450, while the Fourth, somewhat stronger,
numbered 636.
  It appears from the Report of the Adjutant-General of
1861, that from the 13th of April to the 20th of May,-
the former being the date of the attack on Fort Sumter,
-one hundred and fifty-nine applications for leave to raise
companies were granted. These applications were not in
every instance made in pursuance of the Act of February
15, 1861 (Chap. 49), but were often, and perhaps in the
majority of instances, made by private individuals and
the persons who desired to enlist. We have before us a
copy of one of these rolls, the agreement of enlistment
being as follows:-

  aWe, whose names are hereunto affixed, do severally consent, and, by
our signatures hereunto made, do agree to be enrolled into a company
of volunteer militia, to be raised in the town of  and vicinity, sub-
ject to orders of the Commander-in-Chief; and we do hereby agree to
serve lbr the period of five years, unless sooner discharged agreeably to
law, and this enlistment we enter into with the full understanding that
we are liable at any moment to be ordered into active service under the
Government of the United States."

  These enlistment papers were prepared by the Adjutant-
General, issued at his discretion, and accompanying each
paper was a copy of General Order No. 8, dated April 22,
1861, announcing the conditions upon which enlistments
would be received. These were substantially as follows:
That when the requisite number of men to form a full com-
pany had enrolled their names, and the authorities of the

 




TW ENTY-NINTH REGIMENT.



cities or towns where such companies were formed had
attested the roll and certified their approbation of the appli-
cation, an inspection of the men by a competent surgeon
was to be ordered.
  By this order, it was also announced that the " companies
organized in the vicinity of existing regiments which at the
present time have not ten companies, will be annexed to said
regiments until they are full."
  The laws of the Commonwealth made no provision for the
pay or subsistence of these volunteers until they were ordered
by the Governor into active service, yet this proved no hin-
drance to the work of enlistment, which went actively on.
To such of these companies as were likely to be called into
active service, arms were issued by the State, while the
uniforms were provided by the local authorities, and in some
instances by private individuals.
  It was under the circumstances which we have just nar-
rated, and at this time, that the seven original companies of
the Twenty-ninth Regiment were formed.
  The company commanded by Captain Chamberlain, raised
in Lynn, was gathered as early as April 18; the companies
commanded by Captains Tyler (afterward Wilson) and
Clarke, raised in Boston, were recruited April 19; the com-
panies commanded by Captains Leach, Chipfian, Barnes, and
Doten, raised, respectively, in East Bridgewater, Sandwich,
East Boston, and Plymouth, were all formed about April 20.
There was no concerted action among the officers and persons
who recruited these companies, nor was it understood at the
time of their formation that they were to be united in the
service, their subsequent union being one of the many acci-
dental occurrences of the war.
  The original term of enlistment of these commands was
five years in the State's service; but before they could be
put in preparation to take the field, the President had con-
cluded not to accept any more militia troops.
  On the third day of May, the National Executive issued a
call for a force of volunteers, " to serve for a period of three
years, unless sooner discharged." Nearly every man of these
companies at once enlisted under the new call.



13

 




HISTORY OF THE



  Governor Andrew concluded to make up the deficiency of
men in the Third and Fourth regiments, then at Fortress
Monroe, with these three years' troops, and accordingly, on
the 10th of May, the companies commanded by Captains
Tyler and Chamberlain were despatched to Fortress Monroe,
where they were assigned to duty with the Third Regiment.
  On the eighteenth day of May, the commands of Captains
Leach, Doten, Barnes, and Chipman were ordered to the
same place, where they were assigned as follows: Captains
Doten's and Chipman's companies to the Third, and Cap-
tains Leach's and Barnes's companies to the Fourth Regi-
ment. Four days later, the company commanded by Captain
Clarke was ordered to Fortress Monroe, and, upon arrival,
was attached to the Fourth Regiment. These companies
served in the Third and Fourth regjnents from the dates of
their respective assignments till the expiration of the three
months' term of the latter commands, when, on the sixteenth
day of July, 1861, they were, by order of General Butler,
commanding the department, organized as the " Massachusetts
Battalion," retaining the latter organization until December
13, 1861, at which time, upon the addition of three new
companies, commanded, respectively, by Captains Sibley,
Richardson, and Tripp, they became the Twenty-ninth Regi-
ment.         0
  This delay in forming the battalion into a regiment resulted
in depriving it of the honor of being the First Regiment of
Massachusetts Volunteers; for while it was toiling upon
the ramparts of Fortress Monroe, mounting guns under the
withering rays of a July sun, throwing up earthworks at
Newport News, fighting and marching, and thereby obtain-
ing for the Government a foothold upon the soil of rebellious
Virginia, twenty-eight regiments of infantry had been organ-
ized in Massachusetts and sent to the seat of war.
  By this explanation, it will appear to the general reader
how the first three years' volunteers of Massachusetts chanced
to be designated the Twenty-ninth Regiment.
  There are many curious and interesting facts connected
with the raising and formation of these companies, which
cannot be better given than by devoting a brief chapter to



14

 




              TW ENY-NI         REGIMENT.              15

each. The history of the organization of these commands
forms an important part of the history of Massachusetts in
the earliest days of the war; and while the tracing of that
history may expose to criticism the unmilitary ideas of our
people, at the same time it cannot fail to exhibit, in strong
colors, their deep love for the Union, and their willingness to
make the greatest of sacrifices for its salvation.



 




16                 HISTORY OF THE







                   CHAPTER II.

CAPTAIN THOMAS W. CLARKE'S COMPANY, "WIGHTMAN RIFLES." ["M"
  IN THE FOURTH REGIMENT, "RIFLES" OF THE MASSACHUSETrS BAT-
  TALION, AND "Al" OF THE TWENTY-N[NTH REGLMENT.]

  On the nineteenth day of April, 1861, a day memorable in
the history of the war, Thomas William Clarke, a member
of the Suffolk County bar, threw from an office-window on
Washington Street, Boston, near the corner of State Street,
a recruiting flag, and opened a roll for a company of militia.
  So strong was the war spirit of the people then, that in the
course of that and the succeeding day, Captain Clarke secured
a full complement of men.
  On the 21st of April, there was an election of officers, pre-
sided over by Brig. Gen. W. W. Bullock of the First Brigade
of Militia.
  Thomas William Clarke was chosen Captain; John Critch-
erson, Jr., of San Francisco, Cal., First Lieutenant; and
Joshua Norton, 3d, of Bridgewater, Second Lieutenant.
  Subsequently, and before the muster of the company into
the service of the United States, Lieutenant Critcherson was
discharged, Norton promoted to First Lieutenant, and John
E. White was chosen Second Lieutenant.
  May the 9th, the company was ordered into the service of
the State, and was paid and rationed by the State from this
time till May 21.
  During all this time, and as long as it remained in Massa-
chusetts, the company had its quarters in a hall in Bowdoin
Square, Boston. Here the men were lodged and fed, and
here they held daily drill. It is an interesting fact, as illus-
trating how meagre were the preparations for war even in
Massachusetts, that this company of soldiers, though raised
for the public service, was chiefly uniformed by the city of
Boston. This uniform consisted of a gray chasseur tunic

 




TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENT.



trimmed with red, gray trousers, and three-cornered gray
felt hats trimmed with red. The arms were furnished by the
State. A part of these were Harper's Ferry rifles, and a part
Winsor rifles (all calibre 54), better known as Mississippi
rifles, and were provided with the sabre bayonet.
  These arms were formerly used by and were taken from
Major Ben: Perley Poore's Battalion, an independent body
of militia.
  Beside these arms, the company received from the State,
red blankets, cartridge-boxes, and the somewhat historic gray
overcoats.
  While the company was quartered in Boston, the Chauncey
Hall School of that city presented it with the quarterly prize-
money of the school, amounting to about one hundred and
twenty-five dollars, which sum was set apart as a company
fund for the benefit of all its members.
  The determination of the Government not to accept any
more militia troops, announced in War Department orders
on the 9th of May, produced a change in the term of enlist-
ment of this company from five years in the State's service
to three years in the United States service; and on the 21st
of May it was mustered into the service of the United States,
at West Roxbury, by Lieut. T. J. C. Amory of the regular
army (afterwards Colonel of the 17th Mass. Vols.).
  It is a fact worthy of special notice, that after this company
had been enrolled for active service under the United States
Government, it was ordered into the service of the Common-
wealth, and from the time it was so enrolled till the date of
its muster (21st), its members were paid out of the State
treasury.
  The day following the muster of the company into the
United States service, it received its long-expected order to
leave for the seat of war. Embarking on the steamer 5 Pem-
broke," together with an independent company of volunteers
from Lowell, under Captain Davis, it sailed for Fortress
Monroe, Va. (May 22).
  Before leaving the State, Captain Clarke filed with the
Adjutant-General a muster and descriptive roll of the com-
pany, and accounted for all the ordnance and clothing
received from the Commonwealth.
            3



17

 




18



HISTORY OF THE



  The voyage to Fortress Monroe was by no means devoid
of interest. The steamer, which was armed with two nine-
inch guns, cleared for action several times during the trip,
upon view of suspicious-looking crafts, supposed at the time
to be Confederate war-vessels, and on all these occasions the
men were beaten to quarters.
  The "Pembroke " arrived at Fortress Monroe May 26,
and on the following day the company was assigned to duty
with the Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Militia, and
ordered to accompany that regiment to Newport News.
  Upon joining the Fourth Regiment, the company took the
letter "M," and was assigned to the left of the regimental
line.
  After the return of the Fourth Regiment to Massachusetts,
this company was reported and known as the " Rifles " of the
-Massachusetts Battalion at Fortress Monroe.  The letter
"A" was given it upon the formation of the Twenty-ninth
Regiment, by order of Governor Andrew.
  The commission of Captain Clarke bears date of April 20,
1861; that of Lieutenant Norton, May 7, 1861; Second
Lieutenant White resigned, and was succeeded by Second
Lieutenant George H. Taylor, whose commission bears date
of July 31, 1861.



 




TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENT.



                   CHAPTER III.

CAPrAIN JONAS K. TYLER'S COMPANY, AFTERWARDS COMMANDED BY
  CAPTAIN ISRAEL N. WILSON. [ " M " IN THE THIRD REGIMENT, " M "
  OF TIE MAssACHUSErws BArrALION, AD " B " OF THE TWENTY-NINTHx
  REGIMENT.]

  As early as the first of March, 1861, Jonas K. Tyler, Esq.,
a member of the Suffolk bar, and who had seen service in the
war with Mexico, offered his services to Governor Andrew in
raising a body of troops to serve either the State or National
governments in the impending war. But in a letter dated
March 8, 1861, the Governor declined these services, on the
ground that no call had been made upon the State for troops,
and that he possessed no legal authority to raise troops except
upon an order issued by the President of the United States.
  A month later, when it became apparent that a call would
be made for troops, C4ptain Tyler readily obtained permission
from His Excellency to raise a company of militia, with the
understanding that they were not to be mustered unless such
a call should issue.
  On the 17th of April, a roll was opened by Tyler at his
office, and by the night of the 18th it was filled with the
names of young men, principally residents of Boston.
  On the 19th of April, the company was organized by the
choice of Jonas K. Tyler of Boston, Captain; Samuel A. Bent,
First Lieutenant; Albert Blakeslee, Second Lieutenant; E.
Dexter, Third Lieutenant; and Thomas H. Adams, Fourth
Lieutenant.
  As no quarters were provided by the State, the men were
lodged in hotels and boarding-houses, and were drilled daily
by a competent drill-master in the school of the soldier and
company evolutions. The expense attending the organization
of the company and quartering the men was borne by the
officers and men, for which they have never been reimbursed.



19

 




20



HISTORY OF THE



  On the 3d of May, the President having made an actual
demand upon the State for troops, the Governor consented
to the issue of arms to the men, and on the following day
Captain Tyler obtained a requisition for a partial supply of
underclothing.
  On the 9th of May, Captain Tyler received orders to leave
for the seat of war on the 10th; but at this time not a mem-
ber of the command possessed a uniform, and, what was still
more embarrassing, the State had none to furnish.
  How was the outfit to be obtained in so short a time
Happily, Boston possessed a mayor, the Hon. Joseph M.
Wightman, whose whole heart was enlisted in the cause of
the country. In this emergency, Captain Tyler turned to him
for assistance, and the promptness with which that aid was
furnished reflects the greatest credit, not alone upon the
Mayor himself, but upon the city of Boston.
  It was well into the evening when the Captain called upon
Mayor Wightman and made known the wants of his men.
The Mayor comprehended the nature of the situation at once,
and in company with Tyler, immediately commenced the
search for clothing. Going upon School Street, a number of
hacks were found in front of the Parker House, and these
were at once secured. The first person called upon was Mrs.
Harrison Gray Otis, who furnished them with a large number
of useful articles not included in the list of military equip-
ments. From thence the two gentlemen went to the various
depots of clothing belonging to the city, where were obtained
a sufficient number of coats, trousers, shoes, and stockings.
These articles were quickly loaded into the hacks and con-
veyed to the hall on Washington Street, where the company
had assembled upon its brief notice to march.
  At eight o'clock the next morning, May 10, the command
reported at the State House, ready for service, and were
here joi