the Eighth at the State House, and arranged the details for the
organization of the regiment. The various company commanders had
already received orders from Regimental Headquarters to secure a list
of recruits, so that if called into the active service, they would
have their companies at war strength. The militia companies at this
time were allowed sixty men in the State service.
From the State House, company commanders immediately proceeded to
their home stations, and began recruiting to seventy-four men.
Although the night of April 28th was stormy, and rain fell in
torrents, excitement was high, and the company armories of the Eighth
were filled with militiamen, and recruiting was brisk. There was no
difficulty in securing the additional men.
In about all the cities and towns immediately following the call for
troops, Volunteer Aid Societies or Relief Committees were formed at
mass meetings, and various sums of money were raised to equip the
volunteers or to look after their families.
On April 29th, the Eighth Regiment was ordered to report at the
State Camp Grounds at South Framingham, on Thursday, May 5th, at 11
o'clock, A. M. The camp was placed under the command of Col. E. P.
Clark, the senior officer.
From April 28th to May 5th, was a continuous round of excitement and
bustle in the armories.
The companies were ordered to assemble on Lowell Street near the
Union Station in Boston not later than 10.30, May 5th. The scenes
about the armories of the various companies on May 5th was most
pathetic, as the wives, mothers, or sweethearts of the men gathered
for the farewell. In every instance the companies were escorted to
the station by local or military bodies, and the demonstrations which
took place as the companies marched through the crowded streets had
not been duplicated since the call of President Lincoln was answered
in 1861.
At Newburyport, the public and parochial schools were given a half
holiday, and the streets were decorated with flags and bunting.
Company A was escorted to the railroad station by the Mayor and
members of the City Government, the Grand Army Post, and members
of the Fire Department. The streets were filled with thousands of
people, who displayed their enthusiasm by cheers and the waving of
flags and handkerchiefs. A field piece was fired at brief intervals
and the church bells and steam whistles joined in the chorus of God
speeds.
At Amesbury, the streets through which Company B passed, were packed
with humanity. Whistles of the factories were blown, bells were rung,
and there was a general outburst of enthusiasm. The company was
escorted to the train by the Grand Army Veterans and members of the
High School Battalion.
At Marblehead, cheering crowds greeted the members of Company C,
under the escort of the Grand Army Post and a delegation of citizens.
Previous to starting from the Armory, the Selectmen spoke words of
farewell to the soldiers.
In Lynn, patriotism was at fever heat. The factories and schools
closed, and thousands lined the streets. Flags were flying from all
staffs, and many were carried by the people along the line of march.
Companies D and I were escorted to the station by General Lander
Post, G. A. R., and the English and Classical High School Battalions.
The Mayor and members of the City Government reviewed the parade. At
Central Square, near the station, twenty thousand people gathered,
and as the train bearing the Lynn volunteers steamed out of the
station, there arose a mighty cheer for the soldier boys.
In Beverly, business was suspended, and the citizens turned out en
masse to bid good bye to Company E. The company was escorted by the
Grand Army Post, Fire Department, school children, and a cavalcade of
citizens.
At Haverhill, Company F and the Regimental Drum Corps were given a
most enthusiastic send off. The company was escorted by the Grand
Army Post and Sons of Veterans. Mayor Chase delivered a farewell
address at the City Hall, after which the line of march was taken to
the station, where a crowd, numbering fifteen thousand, witnessed
their departure.
At Gloucester, Company G marched through lanes of cheering citizens,
the escort consisting of the Grand Army Post, the Fourth of July
Committee, the High School Battalion, and the Sons of Veterans. The
procession was led by the Mayor. Hon. W. W. French presented the
Company with a silk flag on behalf of citizens, and the gift was
accepted by Captain Edward J. Horton for the company.
Salem witnessed scenes of enthusiasm as Company H marched away. The
streets were packed, and thousands of small flags were waved by the
cheering citizens as the company marched to the station, escorted by
the Second Corps of Cadets, Grand Army Post, Naval Veterans, Letter
Carriers and Clerks, the Salem Light Infantry Veteran Association,
the Veteran Firemen Association, and a barouche containing among
others, Francis D. Cahill, Salem's survivor of the Maine explosion.
The Mayor and the City Government reviewed the parade at City Hall,
and a large crowd packed the streets near the station to witness the
train, containing the members of the company, pull out for Boston.
In Danvers, the people were early astir to give Company K a rousing
farewell. It was escorted through the principal streets by a
cavalcade, the Grand Army Post, High School Cadets, and a body of
citizens.
Lawrence turned out in force to speed the departure of Company L. At
the Armory, Rev. Dr. H. E. Barnes offered prayer, after which the men
marched to the station escorted by the Grand Army Post and Battery
C. As the train bore the company out of the station, Battery C fired
a salute, and the whistles of the locomotives in the engine yard
mingled with the cheers that arose from thousands of throats.
At Somerville, on the evening before departure, Company M was
entertained by the citizens at Union Hall. The next morning they were
escorted to the station by a large company of citizens, the Grand
Army Posts, and members of the Relief Corps.
The reception of the regiment in Boston was equally enthusiastic. The
Evening Transcript described the scenes along the line of march as
follows:--
"From 9 o'clock this morning until the order to march was given,
the Union Station was filled with cheering thousands and
marching companies. They came by different trains, according
to the places from which they started. As the companies left
the train, they formed in the train shed, and marched to Lowell
Street, where the parade was formed, with the right of line
resting on Causeway Street. At 10.50 o'clock the regiment had
formed on Lowell Street. An orderly announced that all of the
companies had arrived at their positions in the line. Colonel Pew
gave the command, and the clear, shrill notes of the bugle echoed
along the line. Just then the sun, which had been hidden behind
gray and threatening clouds, broke out, and the men welcomed
this as a good omen in their coming service. The regiment swung
off to the tune of the 'Stars and Stripes Forever' by the Eighth
Regiment Band. Half way down the line was the Fife and Drum Corps
playing 'The Girl I Left Behind Me.' Lowell Street, Merrimac
Streets, and in fact all of the streets about the Union Station
were crowded by thousands, and the various companies were given
a most enthusiastic reception all along the line of march, which
was over the following streets:--Merrimac to Haymarket Square,
Washington and School, Beacon, Arlington and Boylston Streets to
Huntington Avenue, a special train being taken at the Huntington
Avenue station of the Boston & Albany R. R.
Far down Beacon Street could be seen the crowding thousands
from a point of vantage on the State House steps; people were
standing on tiptoe and craning their necks for a glimpse of
the approaching troops. Presently the strains of martial music
floated from below, mingled with the subdued and far away cheers
which heralded the approach of the soldiers. The cheerings grew
nearer and louder. One could catch now and again the air of the
stirring march, and now the platoon of mounted police swung
around the turn. On a chestnut horse at the head of the regiment,
came Colonel William A. Pew, Jr. of Salem.
The head of the line passed Park Street and approached the State
House steps. The cheering grew continuous, and there was a great
waving of flags and handkerchiefs. General Curtis Guild, Jr.
stepped to the side of the railing and swung his hat, calling for
three cheers for Colonel Pew. They were given with a will, the
thousands packed outside of the police lines taking up the cry.
Colonel Pew and his staff saluted, and the review was in progress.
To none of the troops which have passed in review before Governor
Wolcott and his staff at the State House, has there been given
such a demonstration as that accorded to the Eighth Regiment
this morning. It was shortly after 11 o'clock when the head of
the line reached the corner of Park and Beacon streets, and from
the moment that the first company had passed in review until the
last of the batch of raw recruits which brought up the rear had
gone from view, there was one continuous round of applause and
cheering. General Curtis Guild, Jr. led in the cheering at the
State House, and every time that he waved his hat there was an
answering thunder of cheers. There were cheers for Colonel Pew,
for the Eighth Regiment, and Essex County. Old Glory was cheered
to the echo, and the gathered multitude was not too hoarse to
give three and a tiger for the raw recruits who brought up the
rear. Governor Wolcott and his staff reviewed the parade as
usual, from the lower steps at the entrance to the State House.
Above the upper steps were packed with gaily dressed women and
enthusiastic men. The balconies were crowded, and the streets in
all directions, as far as the eye could see, were jammed with
crowding thousands. No more soldierly looking body of men had
passed the State Capitol for years than the Eighth Regiment,
which passed in review on its way to the front this morning.
The Commanding Officer and Staff were mounted, this being the
first regiment parading with these officers mounted. The men were
in heavy marching order, with rations for twenty-four hours in
their haversacks. Officers and men of the whole regiment wore
their campaign hats, and this gave them a businesslike appearance
that seemed to say,--'We are going to the front to work.'"
_Muster In_
Shortly after 2 o'clock on the afternoon of May 5th, the Eighth
marched onto the State Camp Grounds at South Framingham. The Second
and Ninth Regiments turned out with a hearty welcome as the Fife and
Drum Corps swung through the gate playing "Teddy Was a Sojer."
When the four volunteer regiments were mustered into the service,
they dispensed with bands. The Eighth, however, took its drum corps,
which as early as March 16th had volunteered, through the Drum Major.
Drum Major Thomas was and still is (1908) an institution in the
regiment. No one remembers when he was not Drum Major. Rumor says he
was drummer boy at Bunker Hill, Lundy Lane and Chepultepec, and all
know he marched with Sherman to the sea. Invincible against fever and
malaria, he is never sick. Always busy, never complaining or tired,
he is a cheerful regimental inspiration. Time does not change him,
except as it adds new glories in the form of service stripes. His
reveille from Low Scotch, through Austrian, Hessian, Double Drag,
Dutch, to Quick Scotch, is always welcome as an eye opener. It is
a tradition that the Colonel gets up before reveille for the mere
pleasure of seeing Thomas lead, and of watching the drum sticks
rattle. It is certainly true that the regiment was never late when
Thomas led the band.
Camp was soon established. The Second Regiment, which assembled May
3rd, occupied the right of the line; next came the Ninth, which came
into camp May 4th, followed by the Eighth. On the left was reserved a
position for the Sixth, which was to assemble the next day. Adjutant
Edward H. Eldredge was detailed as Brigade Adjutant General, and his
place on the Regimental Staff was filled by Lieutenant Thomas D.
Barroll of L Company.
Dame Rumor was soon busy spreading reports that the United States,
personified by impartial and inexorable army surgeons, was rejecting
men as unfit for foreign service. Already ten officers of the Second
had been rejected for physical deficiencies. What pledges, words and
wills had been unable to accomplish, the dread of a full service
medical examination accomplished, and officers and men, who for years
had smoked or broken minor rules of health, stopped on the moment to
brace themselves for this ordeal.
The officers were ordered before the doctors the day after arriving
in camp, and at intervals of twenty minutes they reported in groups
of threes. Major Dudley B. Purbeck, who had recently suffered from
a serious illness, was rejected. There was much excitement in the
streets of Company C when it was reported that Captain James Tucker,
Lieutenants Edgar J. Marshall and Frank B. Denning had failed to
pass. The Selectmen and influential citizens of Marblehead were
appealed to, and in some way secured a re-examination and a reversal
of the finding in the case of Lieutenant Denning, who was finally
mustered and commissioned as Captain.
After the officers had passed, the enlisted men faced the surgeons,
the companies going up in alphabetical order. Many men were rejected
and sent home. It was the rule not to muster a company until it had a
full complement of qualified officers and men. The process was slow,
and it was not until May 10th that the first company of the Eighth
was mustered, followed in rapid succession by the others. The last
company was mustered May 11th, and the Colonel sworn in.
The ceremony of mustering was interesting and impressive. Companies
were marched to Brigade Headquarters, with the men arranged
alphabetically in line. Facing the colors, taking off their hats,
and raising their right hands, after roll call, they subscribed the
following oath administered by Captain Erastus M. Weaver, U. S. A.:--
"All and each of you do solemnly swear that you will bear true
faith and allegiance to the United States of America, and that
you will serve them honestly and faithfully against all their
enemies whomsoever, and that you will obey the President of the
United States, and the orders of the officers appointed over you,
according to the rules and articles of war, so help you God."
There was much pleasant rivalry between the Eighth and Ninth
Regiments in a race to be first mustered in the United States
service. The last company of the Ninth was mustered in just before
the last company of the Eighth, and the Colonel of the Eighth being
the last officer in the Regiment to be mustered into the service, was
mustered in before the Colonel of the Ninth. The important question
was never settled, which regiment was first mustered into the United
States service.
After a company was mustered into the service, its Captain was given
a copy of the Articles of War, and directed to read them to his
company. From this tiresome reading of all the articles at once,
a company wag said it was the general impression that the whole
regiment was ordered by the President to suffer death or such other
penalty as the court martial should prescribe.
The designation of the Regiments as finally mustered into the
United States service, early became a matter of interest. It was
rumored that in as much as Massachusetts sent sixty-two regiments
to the Civil War, the numbering of the regiments in the Spanish War
was to begin where the numbering of the Civil War regiments left
off. In that case the Eighth would be known as the Sixty-Third or
Sixty-Fourth Regiment. This enumeration was followed in some states.
The designation of the regiment was left to Governor Wolcott, who
published as the official name, Eighth Regiment Massachusetts
Infantry, U. S. V.
The facings on the uniform was immediately changed from blue to
white, and a collar device adopted consisting of crossed rifles with
the figure eight above, and the abbreviation "Mass." below the rifles.
During the stay at Framingham everyone was busy, recruits were
drilled, the regiment was exercised in striking and pitching tents,
company cooks and kitchen police were made familiar with the
army ration, battalions and companies were drilled, guards were
instructed, and the usual parade and daily ceremonies held. The days
were crisp and clear; the evenings, however, were chilly, but the
dampness was dissipated by roaring camp fires on the parade, about
which the soldiers clustered until taps.
It was the intention of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts to
have the regiments leave the State in order of the seniority of the
Colonels. This would give third place to the Eighth.
On May 13th, the Adjutant-General of the United States Army
telegraphed the United States mustering officer at South Framingham
to notify the Colonels of mustered regiments to report direct to
the War Department when their regiments would be ready to leave the
State. This notice was sent to the Headquarters of the Eighth and
Ninth. Colonel Pew immediately telegraphed the War Department that
the Eighth was ready to leave at once, and in a few hours received a
telegraphic order to take the regiment to Chickamauga Park, Georgia.
Owing to the lack of railroad transportation, it was impossible for
the Regiment to get away until May 16th.
Saturday, May 14th, was Eighth Regiment day at Camp Dewey. On Friday
evening as soon as the soldiers were notified that the regiment was
to hold itself ready to move at once, they rushed to the telegraph
station and sent word to their friends at home that if they wished
to see them, they should come to Camp Dewey in the morning, as it
was expected that the Regiment would be on its way south by Saturday
night.
Early in the morning, the friends of the soldiers began to arrive on
the field, and every train brought crowds until by noon there were
hundreds from every town and city having a company in the regiment.
As the families of the soldiers came into camp, they brought with
them boxes and bundles of the good things which a New England
housewife knows so well how to cook, and during the hours between
drills, there were family picnics all about the camp.
In the afternoon, Governor Wolcott and some of his staff visited the
camp to present the officers with their commissions in the United
States service. After passing in review before His Excellency, the
Regiment formed three sides of a hollow square, with officers in
the center. The Governor and his party formed a fourth side. The
square was surrounded by friends of the Regiment, who covered half of
the great parade ground. The remarks of His Excellency were deeply
impressive, and at times he visibly showed the emotion which he felt.
In a voice audible to everyone on the field, Governor Wolcott said:--
"Men of Essex and Middlesex:--Two days ago your parting cheers
made sweet music in the ears of your comrades of the Second
Regiment as they left the Commonwealth in the high service of the
United States of America. Today you obey the same summons, and
are ready, as they were, to endure hardship and suffering in the
same exalted cause.
Your cause, men of Massachusetts, is a just and righteous one. I
greatly misread the heart of this great nation if the historian
of the future shall not record that this war was entered upon by
a mighty and free people, who had heard, as long as they could
endure them, the sighs and groans of an oppressed neighboring
population, bending beneath the tyranny of a nation of the old
world.
It is to set free the oppressed and to bind up their wounds that
you now enter the service of the United States. You will find
yourselves shoulder to shoulder with the men of other states.
Let there be no other rivalry than generous emulation, that you
shall show that the men of Massachusetts, where valor calls for
sacrifice, or where the duty of the soldier calls for prompt
obedience and good discipline, are second to the sons of no other
Commonwealth and no other State in the United States of America.
You leave with the prayers and the confidence of the people
of this Commonwealth. Officially, as the Governor of the
Commonwealth, I bid you Godspeed! And may the God of battles
bring you victory and an honorable peace!
It is now my privilege and honor to present to the officers of
the Eighth Massachusetts Infantry, United States Volunteers, the
commissions under which they enter the service of the United
States."
After presenting the commissions, Governor Wolcott said:--
"Colonel Pew:--You have a regiment worthy of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts and of the service of the United States of America."
The following officers received their commissions from Governor
Wolcott on this occasion:--
Colonel--WILLIAM A. PEW, JR. of Salem.
Lieutenant Colonel--EDWIN W. M. BAILEY of Amesbury.
Majors--WILLIAM STOPFORD of Beverly; FRANK A. GRAVES of Marblehead;
EDWARD H. ELDREDGE of Boston.
Adjutant--LIEUTENANT THOMAS D. BARROL of Boston.
Quartermaster--LIEUTENANT CHARLES F. WONSON of Gloucester.
Surgeon--MAJOR WILLIAM COGSWELL of Salem.
Assistant Surgeons--LIEUTENANT THOMAS L. JENKINS of Topsfield;
LIEUTENANT FRANK P. T. LOGAN of Gloucester.
Chaplain--REV. GEORGE D. SANDERS of Gloucester.
Company A, Newburyport--Captain, ALEXANDER G. PERKINS; First
Lieutenant, GEORGE W. LANGDON; Second Lieutenant, GEORGE H. DOW.
Company B, Amesbury--Captain, HORACE S. BEAN; First Lieutenant, JOHN
M. PETTINGILL; Second Lieutenant, FRANK STINSON.
Company C, Marblehead--Captain, FRANK B. DENNING; First Lieutenant,
LINVILLE H. WARDWELL; Second Lieutenant, FREDERIC P. SMITH.
Company D, Lynn--Captain, CHARLES T. HILLIKER; First Lieutenant,
THOMAS J. COBY; Second Lieutenant, WILLIAM F. YOUNG.
Company E, Beverly--Captain, FREDERICK W. STOPFORD; First Lieutenant,
CHARLES H. FARNHAM; Second Lieutenant, FRANCISCO A. DESOUSA.
Company F, Haverhill--Captain, WILLIAM C. DOW; First Lieutenant, PER
JUSTUS SWANBERG; Second Lieutenant, DAVID E. JEWELL.
Company G, Gloucester--Captain, EDWARD J. HORTON; First Lieutenant,
CHARLES M. MCISAAC; Second Lieutenant, JAMES C. NUTT.
Company H, Salem--Captain, WALTER P. NICHOLS; First Lieutenant,
GEORGE N. JEWETT; Second Lieutenant, AUGUSTUS G. REYNOLDS.
Company I, Lynn--Captain, JOHN E. WILLIAMS; First Lieutenant, FRANCIS
H. DOWNEY; Second Lieutenant, WILLIAM H. PERRY.
Company K, Danvers--Captain, A. PRESTON CHASE; First Lieutenant,
HENRY W. FRENCH; Second Lieutenant, STEPHEN N. BOND.
Company L, Lawrence--Captain, JAMES FORBES; First Lieutenant, JAMES
H. CRAIG; Second Lieutenant, ROLAND H. SHERMAN.
Company M, Somerville--Captain, HERBERT W. WHITTEN; First Lieutenant,
GEORGE I. CANFIELD; Second Lieutenant, FREDERICK W. PIERCE.
From May 14th to May 16th the Regiment waited, uncertain when its
train transportation would arrive. Shortly after noon on the 16th,
camp was struck. It was a damp and dreary day. There was no large
crowd to cheer their departure, as the home stations of the companies
were too remote, and the movement too sudden for the friends of the
regiment to see them off. Late in the afternoon the regiment passed
in review before Governor Wolcott, and took up its line of march
for the railroad station. There it was quickly embarked in three
sections. Each battalion had a section consisting of eleven cars,
one for baggage, one for guard quarters, and two for each company. A
Wagner sleeper was furnished on each section for the accommodation of
the officers. The first section pulled out of the station at South
Framingham at 6 o'clock, followed shortly afterwards by the others.
The last section left at 6.30. The three sections carried 47 officers
and 896 men.
_Chickamauga_