The Old First Massachusetts Coast Artillery in War and Peace

and his list has subsequently become accepted as a semi-official roll-of-honor. Of the more than two thousand regiments on t

or even fighting experience, still in the long run the blood-marked trail

ch 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 i

he 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

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, a

e able to be mustered in as volunteers on May 25, 1861,-th

ization to arrive. Passing thru Baltimore they were very cautious, having in mind the experience of the

f 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

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 i

n succession as brigade, division, corps and army commander, they always felt especially devoted to their chief. It is no accident that Capt. Isaac P. Gragg of ours wrote in 1900 a book affectionately tracing the careers and homes of Hooker's ancestors. The same veteran and his comrades bore a leading part in se

Maryland during the winter of '61-'62, and were s

y awarded him Sept. 26, and of which he was eventually deprived for political reasons. Col. Cowdin had the misfortune to be antagonized by the Republican Governor of Massachusetts, and by the U. S. Senators from the Commonwealth; the Senate refused to confirm his appointment. The sword carried by Col. Cowdin at Williamsburg is today in the Faneuil Hall armory of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. The regiment lost heavily at Fair Oakes, June 25, and Glendale, June 30, when Major Charl

ults, and was in the way of the army's advance. Lt. Col. Wells offered to take the work; and his offer was accepted. Col. Wells had read American history and knew how "Mad Anthony" Wayne achieved immortality; the appeal now would be to cold steel. About 2 A. M. the 5th, 8th and 10th companies were quietly awakened, the 5th to make the attack, and the others to serve as supports. The men formed their line amid the silence of the woods; and, at earliest dawn, heard their commander whisper,

ns were sent north, and in due time were received with a magnificent demonstration of honor in Chelsea. One of th

ick Henry thundered forth the brave words, "If that be treason, make the most of it." And there today the two sons of President John Tyler reside, one serving as county judge and the other as president of "William and Mary College." But so early as 1862 the glory had departed, and the shabbiness which accompanies slavery was dominant. There on May 5, 1862, amid the beeches and sycamore trees about

perfection and the luscious fig matures in the summer sunshine. But this district, usually so dry and substantial, is at the edge of the Chickahominy or White Oak Swamp. From May 31 to June 25, 1862, unusually severe rains swelled the Chickahominy and inundated the surrounding country. Fortunately there are islands in the swamp, places of partial refuge, to which our men resorted. McClellan's plan called for a junction with the army of Irvin McDowell about June 1, and for a grand assault by the combined forces upon the Confederate Johnston. For reasons which seemed adequate to the authorities in Washington, notwithstanding the serious results for McClellan and his army, McDowell was forbidden to march south and keep his appointment. While McClellan waited, and while the floods refused to abate, the Army of the Potomac was in a bad way. R. E

e government millions of dollars in unnecessary expense. Massachusetts, by contrast with other states, did recruit up her three-year regiments, and endeavored to keep their ranks filled, even tho the later accessions had to be given the privilege of taking discharges with their regiments at the end of less than three years. Sept. 5, 186

government decided to economize by dismissing the regimental bands, and substituting brigade bands. The Fi

s seem to have been selected so as to destroy the least possible amount of private property. Outside of the actual city of Fredericksburg, the country is little better than pine-barren, and contains few houses and not even much cultivated land. Since we now know pines to be health-giving, and well-drained sandy soil to be freest

the date was Dec. 13, 1862-with great discomfort and a fair chance that wounded men would freeze to death. Fifer Bardeen tells that one captain, Walker, t

nelcy was a captain in the 6th U. S. Cavalry. He was respected and well liked; but he always suffered from the fact that the men felt him somewhat of an interloper. Capt. Baldwin of the 4th Company had become Lt. Col. and by all rules of seniority should have been made Colonel. However Col. McLoughlin held the esteem of his men, and made an honor

eing his own right flank crumpled up. At the most critical moment of the Chancellorsville fight, Hooker was wounded and the army left without a head. When O. O. Howard's 11th corps broke and ran ("started for Germany"), it was only the 1st Regiment and other troops under Dan. Sickles who saved the Union army fr

ir lines. As a result of the volley then fired, Gen Jackson fell, the identification being made complete by Sergt. Charles F. Ferguson of the 10th Company, who was a prisoner-of-war for a few minutes, and happened to be close to the mounted officers when the fire was received. Ferguson made his escape in the ensuing confusion. This event w

e stationed upon the very ground over which they had fought in '63. And when, during a lull in the fighting, they inspected their surroundings, they found human bones and fragments of clothing suf

f Meade. Their march thru Maryland and into Pennsylvania was the most trying of the entire war. On June 25, 1863, after following the muddy tow-path of the C. & O. Canal all day, only two footmen were able to keep wit

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long the Emmetsburg road. The 1st Mass. Inf., at the "Peter Rogers house," held the most advanced position of the entire army. As a consequence Longstreet had no more than started when he unexpectedly came upon Sickles' men, where he found plenty to keep him busy and was unable to crush anyone. At the day's close the Union regiments were compelled to fall back to Round Top. But meanwhile, by Longstreet's own admission, the Confederate plans had failed entirely and Lee had been defeated. The gallant charge of the Virginians on the third day was only a desperate final attempt by a beaten army, before commencing its retreat. Near the Peter Rogers house, in 1886, was erected the regimen

nks and never lost his fellow feeling for the enlisted men. An ex-sailor, he had the sailor's vices. Once, in 1863, while passing thru Baltimore, he became drunk, and tried to kill an officer of another regiment. Had not Col. Baldwin seized a musket and clubbed Doherty over the head, murder would have been done. In New York he was placed under charges for telling his commanding general that he "lied." But the charges were never pressed; perhaps the accusation was true. At Chancellorsville he w

ng against further draft-riots, and preventing conscripts from deserting. Here they resu

Union regiments were handled as roughly in 1864 as they had been in 1863, when they left the field of battle, it was to march southward past Lee's flank rather than northward toward security. Scrub oak and

xcepting wounded men. In the afternoon it was advanced into the very thickest of the conflict and assigned the task of covering part of the Confederate line with a curtain of fire. Here both armies intrenched, and charged each other's earthworks. The fighting was amid tangled underbrush wherein one could see only a few feet ahead; at such short range the bul

s of Washington were acting as convoy-one of them being the 1st Mass. Heavy Artillery from Salem. Here the Salem men have erected their regimental monument. The heavy artillery had seen but little fighting; but they now stood up like veterans and drove back an entire corps. Unfortunately the Confederates were taking some of the wagons with them as they drew back; and it remained for the 1st Inf. and their companions in the brigade, some 1

order to return to Bos

he exercises connected with the reception. Another ex-Colonel of the regiment, Gen. Walter E. Lombard in 1916, was similarly to be honored by America's oldest military organization. A grim pathos obtruded itself upon the spirit of the festivities; for of the 1,651 men who had gone to war, only 494 were present on M

850-'55; Thomas B. Thayer, the writer, 1858-'61; Jacob M. Manning, the lecturer, 1862-'63; Lewis B. Bates, father of ex-Gov. Bates, 1868-'72; Alonzo H. Quint, the ecclesiastical statesman, 1872-'76; William H. H. ("Adirondack") Murray, devotee of horses and woodcraft, 1873-'76; Minot J. Savage, autho

"Church of Our Father" in East Boston. A bachelor, and of independent means financially, he was able to prove his patriotism before receiving appointment as chaplain by announcing to his church that, if he should not secure the appointment, he would give his salary as minister to maintain work among the soldiers. The church had raised a fund

er and true gentleman. Believing that the better American one is, the better Amer

is comments upon the inferior standards of l

At Yorktown the regiment was encamped on historic ground, where Washington's tents had stood, and Cornwallis surrendered, in 1781. But he somehow fails to note there the oldest custom-house in America. One is reminded of high-school days to hear him commenting upon McClellan's bridges over the Chickahominy-that they were exact reproductions of C?sar's famous span across th

the emancipation proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, and he felt that such a clear pronouncement for justice and righteousness was more potent than many victories. At Williamsburg he commented on the generous hospitality of the southerners; he was also amused by quaint epitaphs in the old Bruton parish cemetery. At the

owdin, which enrolled nearly two hundred soldiers on its pledge, and had fully one-third of the regiment "on the water wagon." The chaplain's tent was indeed the social center of the camp. Most important of all was his religious organization. The Y. M. C. A. had not then been introduced; so the chaplain devised an association, which he termed "The Church of the First Regiment." Their admirable

ested by a boyhood scar on his head. After he had told enough "whoppers" to set himself up as a hero, he glanced into the mirror and was thunderstruck to see "Holy Jo" occupying the next chair but one. The chaplain knew Bardeen well, and also knew just how true the yarn was not. But under the circumstances he showed his real self by utterly failing to recogn

aplain was participating in a union observance of the day held in a neighbor church, the "Maverick Congregational" of East Boston. As he was standing beside the pul