Massachusetts in the Civil War
Encyclopedia
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts played a significant role in national events prior to and during the American Civil War
. Massachusetts dominated the early antislavery movement during the 1830s, motivating activists across the nation. This, in turn, increased sectionalism in the North and South, one of the factors that led to the war. Politicians from Massachusetts, echoing the views of social activists, further increased national tensions. The state was dominated by the Republican Party
and was also home to many Radical Republican leaders who promoted harsh treatment of slave owners and, later, the Confederate States of America
.
Once hostilities began, Massachusetts supported the war effort in several significant ways, sending 159,165 men to serve in the army
and navy
. One of the best known Massachusetts units was the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
, the first regiment
of African American soldiers (led by white officers). Additionally, a number of important generals came from Massachusetts, including Maj. Gen.
Joseph Hooker
, who commanded the Army of the Potomac
in 1863, and Edwin V. Sumner, who commanded the II Corps.
In terms of war material, Massachusetts, as a leading center of industry and manufacturing, was poised to become a major producer of munitions and supplies. The most important source of armaments in Massachusetts was the Springfield Armory
.
The state also made important contributions to relief efforts. Many leaders of nursing and soldiers' aid organizations hailed from Massachusetts, including Dorothea Dix
, founder of the Army Nurses Bureau, Henry Whitney Bellows
, founder of the United States Sanitary Commission
, and independent nurse Clara Barton
.
to abolish slavery. William Lloyd Garrison
of Boston
began publishing the antislavery newspaper The Liberator and founded the New England Anti-Slavery Society in 1831, becoming one of the nation’s most influential abolitionists. Garrison and his uncompromising rhetoric provoked a backlash both in the North and South and escalated regional tension prior to the war.
The antislavery wing of the Republican Party was led by politicians from Massachusetts, such as Senators
Charles Sumner
and Henry Wilson
, who espoused Garrison's views in Congress and further increased sectionalism. In 1856, Sumner delivered a speech on the Senate floor so scathing and insulting to pro-slavery politicians that Representative Preston Brooks
of South Carolina severely beat him with a cane. More moderate Massachusetts political leaders adopted the views of the Free Soil Party
, seeking to limit the expansion of slavery in the western territories
. The Free Soil Party was eventually absorbed into the Republican Party, which became the dominant political party in Massachusetts. By 1860, the Republicans controlled the Governor’s office, the state legislature and the mayoralty of Boston.
During the 1860 presidential election
, 63 percent of Massachusetts voters supported Abraham Lincoln
and the Republican Party, 20 percent supported Stephen Douglas and the Northern Democratic
Party, 13 percent supported John Bell
and the Constitutional Union Party
, and 4 percent supported John C. Breckenridge and the Southern Democratic Party. Support for the Republican Party increased during the war, with 72 percent voting for Lincoln in 1864.
The dominant political figure in Massachusetts during the war was Governor John Albion Andrew
, a staunch Republican who energetically supported the war effort. Massachusetts annually re-elected him by large margins for the duration of the war—his smallest margin of victory occurred in 1860 with 61 percent of the popular vote and his largest in 1863 with 71 percent.
army and 26,163 served in the navy. The army units raised in Massachusetts consisted of 62 regiments of infantry, six regiments of cavalry
, 16 batteries
of light artillery
, four regiments of heavy artillery, two companies of sharpshooters, a handful of unattached battalion
s and 26 unattached companies
.
calling for 1,500 men from Massachusetts to serve for ninety days. The next day, several companies of the 8th Massachusetts Volunteer Militia from Marblehead, Massachusetts
were the first to report in Boston; by the end of the day, three regiments were ready to start for Washington.
While passing through Baltimore on April 19, 1861, the 6th Massachusetts was attacked by a pro-secession mob and became the first volunteer troops to suffer casualties in the war. The 6th Massachusetts was also the first volunteer regiment to reach Washington, D.C. in response to Lincoln's call for troops. Lincoln awaited the arrival of additional regiments, but none arrived for several days. Inspecting the 6th Massachusetts on April 24, Lincoln told the soldiers, "I don’t believe there is any North...You are the only Northern realities."
Given that the 6th Massachusetts reached Washington on April 19 (the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord
, which commenced the American Revolution
) and other Massachusetts regiments were en route to Washington and Virginia on that date, the first militia units to leave Massachusetts were dubbed, "The Minutemen of ’61."
, the first regiment in the Union army consisting of African American soldiers, though it was commanded by white officers. With the Emancipation Proclamation
in effect as of January 1, 1863, Andrew saw the opportunity for Massachusetts to lead the way in recruiting African American soldiers. After securing permission from President Lincoln, Andrew enthusiastically backed the recruitment of two regiments of African American soldiers, the 54th and the 55th Massachusetts Infantries. The 54th, because it was the first such regiment, received tremendous publicity during its formation. To ensure the success of the experiment, Andrew solicited donations and political support from many of Boston's elite families. He further guaranteed the endorsement of Boston's elite by offering the regiment's command to Robert Gould Shaw
, son of prominent Bostonians. The 54th Massachusetts won fame in their assault on Battery Wagner
on Morris Island in Charleston
Harbor, during which Col.
Shaw was killed. The story of the 54th Massachusetts was the basis for the film Glory.
One of the most prominent generals from Massachusetts was Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker. Born in Hadley, Massachusetts
and a graduate from the United States Military Academy
at West Point, he served in the Regular Army during the Mexican–American War
. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was commissioned brigadier general
and steadily rose from brigade commander, to division commander, to commander of the I Corps, which he led during the Battle of Antietam
. Following that battle, he was placed in command of the V Corps and then the Center Grand Division of the Army of the Potomac, consisting of the III and V Corps. On January 26, 1863, he was promoted to command of the Army of the Potomac. Although he was successful at rejuvenating the esprit de corps of his army by better distributing supplies and food, he was unable to effectively lead the army in the field, and his inaction during the Battle of Chancellorsville
led to his resignation of his command. Transferred to the Department of the Cumberland, he commanded the XI and XII Corps during several western campaigns and distinguished himself during the Battle of Lookout Mountain
. Hooker resigned his command upon the promotion of Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard
to the command of the Army of the Tennessee
, a post to which Hooker felt entitled. Hooker served the remainder of the war in an administrative role, overseeing the Department of the North (consisting of army fortifications and troops stationed in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois) and the Department of the East
(which encompassed installations and troops in New England, New York and New Jersey).
Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks
, former governor of Massachusetts, was among the first men appointed major general of volunteers by President Lincoln. In July 1861, Banks came to command the Department of the Shenandoah. In May 1862, he was completely out-generaled by Stonewall Jackson
and forced to abandon the Shenandoah Valley. He then commanded the II Corps during the Northern Virginia Campaign
and was eventually transferred to command of the Department of the Gulf, coordinating military efforts in Louisiana and Texas. In this capacity, Banks led the successful and strategically important Siege of Port Hudson
in the summer of 1863, but also the disastrous Red River Campaign
in the spring of 1864, which he commanded under protest. The campaign ended his military career in the field.
Another significant general from Massachusetts, Maj. Gen. Edwin Vose Sumner
, born in 1797, was the oldest general officer with a field command on either side of the war. He had served in the Regular Army during the Mexican-American war and numerous campaigns in the West. Sumner commanded the II Corps during the Maryland Campaign
and later the Right Grand Division of the Army of the Potomac during the Fredericksburg Campaign. Following the Battle of Fredericksburg
, he resigned his command in January 1863 and was to be transferred to command the Department of the Missouri
, but died of a heart attack en route on March 21, 1863.
Other important generals from Massachusetts included Maj. Gen. Darius Couch, who commanded the II Corps and the Department of the Susquehanna
, Maj. Gen. John G. Barnard
, who organized the defenses of Washington, DC and became Chief Engineer of the Union Armies in the field, and Maj. Gen. Isaac Stevens
, who had graduated first in his class at West Point and commanded a division of the IX Corps.
in particular, played a pivotal role as a supplier of weapons and equipment for the Union army.
At the start of the war, the Springfield Armory was one of only two federal armories in the country, the other being the Harpers Ferry Armory
. After the attack on Fort Sumter
and the commencement of hostilities, Governor Andrew wrote Secretary of War
Simon Cameron
, urging him to discontinue the Harpers Ferry Armory (which was at that time on Confederate soil) and to channel all available federal funds towards enhancing production at the Springfield Armory. The armory produced the primary weapon of the Union infantry during the war—the Springfield rifled musket
. By the end of the war, nearly 1.5 million had been produced by the armory and its numerous contractors across the country.
Another key source of war materiel was the Watertown Arsenal
, which produced ammunition, gun carriages and leather military accouterments. Private companies such as Smith & Wesson
enjoyed significant U.S. government contracts. The Ames Manufacturing Company
of Chicopee
became one of the nation’s leading suppliers of swords, side arms, and cannons, and the third largest supplier of heavy ordnance.
Although Massachusetts was a major center of shipbuilding prior to the war, many of the established shipbuilding firms were slow to adapt to new technology. The few Massachusetts shipbuilders who received government contracts for the construction of iron-clad, steam powered warships were those who had invested in iron and machine technology before the war. These included the City Point Works, managed by Harrison Loring, and the Atlantic Iron Works, managed by Nelson Curtis, two Boston companies that produced Passaic class monitors during the war. The Boston Navy Yard
also produced several smaller gunboats.
Several instrumental leaders of soldiers' aid and relief organizations came from Massachusetts. These included Dorothea Dix
, who had traveled across the nation working to promote proper care for the poor and insane before the war. After the outbreak of the war, she convinced the U.S. Army to establish a Women's Nursing Bureau on April 23, 1861 and became the first woman to head a federal government bureau. Although army officials were dubious about the use of female nurses, Dix proceeded to recruit many women who had previously been serving as unorganized volunteers. One of her greatest challenges, given the biases of the era, was to demonstrate that women could serve as competently as men in army hospitals. Dix had a reputation for rejecting nurses who were too young or attractive, believing that patients and surgeons alike would not take them seriously. U.S. Army surgeons often resented the nurses of Dix's bureau, claiming that they were obstinate and did not follow military protocol. Despite such obstacles, Dix was successful at placing female nurses in hospitals throughout the North.
Henry Whitney Bellows
determined to take a different approach, establishing a civilian organization of nurses separate from the U.S. Army. Bellows was the founder of the United States Sanitary Commission
and served as its only president. An influential minister, born and raised in Boston, Bellows went to Washington in May 1861 as head of a delegation of physicians representing the Women's Central Relief Association of New York and other organizations. Bellows's aim was to convince the government to establish a civilian auxiliary branch of the Army Medical Bureau. The Sanitary Commission, established by President Lincoln on June 13, 1861, provided nurses (mostly female) with medical supplies and organized hospital ships and soldiers' homes.
Clara Barton
, a former teacher from Oxford, Massachusetts
and clerk in the U.S. Patent Office
, created a one-woman relief effort. In the summer of 1861, in response to a shortage of food and medicine in the growing Union army, she began personally purchasing and distributing supplies to wounded soldiers in Washington. Growing dissatisfied with bringing supplies to hospitals, Barton eventually moved her efforts to the battlefield itself. She was granted access through army lines and helped the wounded in numerous campaigns, soon becoming known as the "Angel of the Battlefield." She achieved national prominence, and high-ranking army surgeons requested her assistance in managing their field hospitals.
(GAR) were established to provide aid to veterans, widows and orphans. Massachusetts was the first state to organize a state-wide Woman's Relief Corps, a female auxiliary organization of the GAR, in 1879.
With the war over and his primary goal completed, Governor Andrew declared in September 1865 that he would not seek re-election. Despite this loss, the Republican Party in Massachusetts would became stronger than ever in the post-war years. The Democratic party would be all but non-existent in the Bay State for roughly ten years due to their earlier anti-war platform. The group most affected by this political shift was the growing Boston Irish community, who had backed the Democratic Party and were without significant political voice for decades.
After the war, senators Sumner and Wilson would transform their pre-war antislavery views into vehement support for so-called "Radical Reconstruction" of the South. Their agenda called for civil rights for African Americans and harsh treatment of former Confederates.
For a time, the Radical Republicans made progress on their agenda of dramatic reform measures. According to historian Eric Foner
, Massachusetts state legislators passed the first comprehensive integration law in the nation's history in 1865. On the national level, Sumner joined with Representative Thaddeus Stevens
from Pennsylvania
and others to achieve Congressional approval of the Civil Rights Act of 1866
, and the 13th
, 14th
and 15th Amendments
to the U.S. Constitution, outlawing slavery and granting increased citizenship rights to former slaves.
As early as 1867, however, a national backlash against Radical Republicans and their sweeping civil rights programs made them increasingly unpopular, even in Massachusetts. When Sumner attempted in 1867 to propose dramatic reforms, including integrated schools in the South and re-distribution of land to former slaves, even Wilson refused to support him. By the 1870s, Radical Republicans had diminished in power and Reconstruction proceeded along more moderate lines.
Culturally speaking, post-Civil War Massachusetts ceased to be a national center of idealistic reform movements (such as evangelicalism
, temperance and antislavery) as it had been before the war. Growing industrialism, partly spurred on by the war, created a new culture of competition and materialism.
In 1869, Boston was the site of the National Peace Jubilee
, a massive gala to honor veterans and to celebrate the return of peace. Conceived by composer Patrick Gilmore
, who had served in an army band, the celebration was held in a colossal arena in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood designed to hold 100,000 attendees and specifically built for the occasion. A new hymn was commissioned for the occasion, written by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. and set to American Hymn by Matthais Keller. Spanning five days, the event featured a chorus of nearly 11,000 and an orchestra of more than 500 musicians. It was the largest musical gathering on the continent up to that time.
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Massachusetts dominated the early antislavery movement during the 1830s, motivating activists across the nation. This, in turn, increased sectionalism in the North and South, one of the factors that led to the war. Politicians from Massachusetts, echoing the views of social activists, further increased national tensions. The state was dominated by the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and was also home to many Radical Republican leaders who promoted harsh treatment of slave owners and, later, the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
.
Once hostilities began, Massachusetts supported the war effort in several significant ways, sending 159,165 men to serve in the army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. One of the best known Massachusetts units was the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
The 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that saw extensive service in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was one of the first official black units in the United States during the Civil War...
, the first regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of African American soldiers (led by white officers). Additionally, a number of important generals came from Massachusetts, including Maj. Gen.
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
Joseph Hooker
Joseph Hooker
Joseph Hooker was a career United States Army officer, achieving the rank of major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Although he served throughout the war, usually with distinction, Hooker is best remembered for his stunning defeat by Confederate General Robert E...
, who commanded the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
in 1863, and Edwin V. Sumner, who commanded the II Corps.
In terms of war material, Massachusetts, as a leading center of industry and manufacturing, was poised to become a major producer of munitions and supplies. The most important source of armaments in Massachusetts was the Springfield Armory
Springfield Armory
The Springfield Armory, located in the City of Springfield, Massachusetts - from 1777 until its closing in 1968 - was the primary center for the manufacture of U.S. military firearms. After its controversial closing during the Vietnam War, the Springfield Armory was declared Western Massachusetts'...
.
The state also made important contributions to relief efforts. Many leaders of nursing and soldiers' aid organizations hailed from Massachusetts, including Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Lynde Dix was an American activist on behalf of the indigent insane who, through a vigorous program of lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress, created the first generation of American mental asylums...
, founder of the Army Nurses Bureau, Henry Whitney Bellows
Henry Whitney Bellows
Henry Whitney Bellows was American clergyman, and the planner and president of the United States Sanitary Commission, the leading soldiers' aid society, during the American Civil War...
, founder of the United States Sanitary Commission
United States Sanitary Commission
The United States Sanitary Commission was a private relief agency created by federal legislation on June 18, 1861, to support sick and wounded soldiers of the U.S. Army during the American Civil War. It operated across the North, raised its own funds, and enlisted thousands of volunteers...
, and independent nurse Clara Barton
Clara Barton
Clarissa Harlowe "Clara" Barton was a pioneer American teacher, patent clerk, nurse, and humanitarian. She is best remembered for organizing the American Red Cross.-Youth, education, and family nursing:...
.
Antebellum and wartime politics
Massachusetts played a major role in Civil War causation, particularly with regard to the political ramifications of the antislavery movement. Antislavery activists in Massachusetts sought to influence public opinion and applied moral and political pressure on CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
to abolish slavery. William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the United...
of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
began publishing the antislavery newspaper The Liberator and founded the New England Anti-Slavery Society in 1831, becoming one of the nation’s most influential abolitionists. Garrison and his uncompromising rhetoric provoked a backlash both in the North and South and escalated regional tension prior to the war.
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner was an American politician and senator from Massachusetts. An academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the American Civil War and Reconstruction,...
and Henry Wilson
Henry Wilson
Henry Wilson was the 18th Vice President of the United States and a Senator from Massachusetts...
, who espoused Garrison's views in Congress and further increased sectionalism. In 1856, Sumner delivered a speech on the Senate floor so scathing and insulting to pro-slavery politicians that Representative Preston Brooks
Preston Brooks
Preston Smith Brooks was a Democratic Congressman from South Carolina. Brooks is primarily remembered for his severe beating of Senator Charles Sumner on the floor of the United States Senate with a gutta-percha cane, delivered in response to an anti-slavery speech in which Sumner compared Brooks'...
of South Carolina severely beat him with a cane. More moderate Massachusetts political leaders adopted the views of the Free Soil Party
Free Soil Party
The Free Soil Party was a short-lived political party in the United States active in the 1848 and 1852 presidential elections, and in some state elections. It was a third party and a single-issue party that largely appealed to and drew its greatest strength from New York State. The party leadership...
, seeking to limit the expansion of slavery in the western territories
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
. The Free Soil Party was eventually absorbed into the Republican Party, which became the dominant political party in Massachusetts. By 1860, the Republicans controlled the Governor’s office, the state legislature and the mayoralty of Boston.
During the 1860 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1860
The United States presidential election of 1860 was a quadrennial election, held on November 6, 1860, for the office of President of the United States and the immediate impetus for the outbreak of the American Civil War. The nation had been divided throughout the 1850s on questions surrounding the...
, 63 percent of Massachusetts voters supported Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and the Republican Party, 20 percent supported Stephen Douglas and the Northern Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Party, 13 percent supported John Bell
John Bell (Tennessee politician)
John Bell was a U.S. politician, attorney, and plantation owner. A wealthy slaveholder from Tennessee, Bell served in the United States Congress in both the House of Representatives and Senate. He began his career as a Democrat, he eventually fell out with Andrew Jackson and became a Whig...
and the Constitutional Union Party
Constitutional Union Party (United States)
The Constitutional Union Party was a political party in the United States created in 1860. It was made up of conservative former Whigs who wanted to avoid disunion over the slavery issue...
, and 4 percent supported John C. Breckenridge and the Southern Democratic Party. Support for the Republican Party increased during the war, with 72 percent voting for Lincoln in 1864.
The dominant political figure in Massachusetts during the war was Governor John Albion Andrew
John Albion Andrew
John Albion Andrew was a U.S. political figure. He served as the 25th Governor of Massachusetts between 1861 and 1866 during the American Civil War. He was a guiding force behind the creation of some of the first U.S. Army units of black men—including the famed 54th Massachusetts Infantry.-Early...
, a staunch Republican who energetically supported the war effort. Massachusetts annually re-elected him by large margins for the duration of the war—his smallest margin of victory occurred in 1860 with 61 percent of the popular vote and his largest in 1863 with 71 percent.
Recruitment
Massachusetts sent a total of 159,165 men to serve in the war. Of these, 133,002 served in the UnionUnion (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
army and 26,163 served in the navy. The army units raised in Massachusetts consisted of 62 regiments of infantry, six regiments of cavalry
Cavalry in the American Civil War
Cavalry in the American Civil War was a branch of army service in a process of transition. It suffered from emerging technology threats, difficult logistics, and sometimes misguided or inept commanders...
, 16 batteries
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
of light artillery
Field artillery in the American Civil War
Field artillery in the American Civil War refers to the important artillery weapons, equipment, and practices used by the Artillery branch to support the infantry and cavalry forces in the field. It does not include siege artillery, use of artillery in fixed fortifications, or coastal or naval...
, four regiments of heavy artillery, two companies of sharpshooters, a handful of unattached battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
s and 26 unattached companies
Unattached Companies Massachusetts Volunteer Militia
The Unattached Companies of Massachusetts Volunteer Militia were units of infantry raised for the defenses of the eastern coast ofMassachusetts during the American Civil War...
.
Minutemen of '61
Governor Andrew took office in January 1861, just two weeks after the secession of South Carolina. Convinced that war was imminent, Andrew took rapid measures to prepare the state militia for active duty. On April 15, 1861, Andrew received a telegraph from WashingtonWashington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
calling for 1,500 men from Massachusetts to serve for ninety days. The next day, several companies of the 8th Massachusetts Volunteer Militia from Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,808 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and Devereux Beach...
were the first to report in Boston; by the end of the day, three regiments were ready to start for Washington.
While passing through Baltimore on April 19, 1861, the 6th Massachusetts was attacked by a pro-secession mob and became the first volunteer troops to suffer casualties in the war. The 6th Massachusetts was also the first volunteer regiment to reach Washington, D.C. in response to Lincoln's call for troops. Lincoln awaited the arrival of additional regiments, but none arrived for several days. Inspecting the 6th Massachusetts on April 24, Lincoln told the soldiers, "I don’t believe there is any North...You are the only Northern realities."
Given that the 6th Massachusetts reached Washington on April 19 (the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy , and Cambridge, near Boston...
, which commenced the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
) and other Massachusetts regiments were en route to Washington and Virginia on that date, the first militia units to leave Massachusetts were dubbed, "The Minutemen of ’61."
Recruiting the three-year regiments
As the initial rush of enthusiasm subsided, the state government faced the ongoing task of recruiting tens of thousands of soldiers to fill federal quotas. The great majority of these troops were required to serve for three years. Recruiting offices were opened in virtually every town and, over the course of 1861, recruits from Massachusetts surpassed the quotas. However, by the summer of 1862, recruiting had slowed considerably. On July 7, 1862, Andrew instituted a system whereby recruitment quotas were issued to every city and town in proportion to their population. This motivated local leaders, increasing enlistment.54th Massachusetts Infantry
One of the best-known regiments formed in Massachusetts was the 54th Massachusetts Infantry54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
The 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that saw extensive service in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was one of the first official black units in the United States during the Civil War...
, the first regiment in the Union army consisting of African American soldiers, though it was commanded by white officers. With the Emancipation Proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation is an executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War using his war powers. It proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves, and immediately freed 50,000 of them, with nearly...
in effect as of January 1, 1863, Andrew saw the opportunity for Massachusetts to lead the way in recruiting African American soldiers. After securing permission from President Lincoln, Andrew enthusiastically backed the recruitment of two regiments of African American soldiers, the 54th and the 55th Massachusetts Infantries. The 54th, because it was the first such regiment, received tremendous publicity during its formation. To ensure the success of the experiment, Andrew solicited donations and political support from many of Boston's elite families. He further guaranteed the endorsement of Boston's elite by offering the regiment's command to Robert Gould Shaw
Robert Gould Shaw
Robert Gould Shaw was an American officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. As colonel, he commanded the all-black 54th Regiment, which entered the war in 1863. He was killed in the Second Battle of Fort Wagner, near Charleston, South Carolina...
, son of prominent Bostonians. The 54th Massachusetts won fame in their assault on Battery Wagner
Fort Wagner
Fort Wagner was a beachhead fortification on Morris Island, South Carolina, that covered the southern approach to Charleston harbor...
on Morris Island in Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
Harbor, during which Col.
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
Shaw was killed. The story of the 54th Massachusetts was the basis for the film Glory.
General officers
Generals from Massachusetts commanded several army departments, and included a commander of the Army of the Potomac as well as a number of army corps commanders.One of the most prominent generals from Massachusetts was Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker. Born in Hadley, Massachusetts
Hadley, Massachusetts
Hadley is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts. The population was 4,793 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The area around Hampshire Mall and Mountain Farms Mall along Route 9 is a major shopping destination for the surrounding...
and a graduate from the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at West Point, he served in the Regular Army during the Mexican–American War
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...
. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was commissioned brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
and steadily rose from brigade commander, to division commander, to commander of the I Corps, which he led during the Battle of Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
. Following that battle, he was placed in command of the V Corps and then the Center Grand Division of the Army of the Potomac, consisting of the III and V Corps. On January 26, 1863, he was promoted to command of the Army of the Potomac. Although he was successful at rejuvenating the esprit de corps of his army by better distributing supplies and food, he was unable to effectively lead the army in the field, and his inaction during the Battle of Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
led to his resignation of his command. Transferred to the Department of the Cumberland, he commanded the XI and XII Corps during several western campaigns and distinguished himself during the Battle of Lookout Mountain
Battle of Lookout Mountain
The Battle of Lookout Mountain was fought November 24, 1863, as part of the Chattanooga Campaign of the American Civil War. Union forces under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker assaulted Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and defeated Confederate forces commanded by Maj. Gen. Carter L. Stevenson....
. Hooker resigned his command upon the promotion of Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard
Oliver O. Howard
Oliver Otis Howard was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War...
to the command of the Army of the Tennessee
Army of the Tennessee
The Army of the Tennessee was a Union army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River. It should not be confused with the similarly named Army of Tennessee, a Confederate army named after the State of Tennessee....
, a post to which Hooker felt entitled. Hooker served the remainder of the war in an administrative role, overseeing the Department of the North (consisting of army fortifications and troops stationed in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois) and the Department of the East
Department of the East
The Department of the East was a military administrative district established by the U.S. Army on March 5, 1866, with boundaries encompassing all the states east of the Mississippi River...
(which encompassed installations and troops in New England, New York and New Jersey).
Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks
Nathaniel Prentice Banks
Nathaniel Prentice Banks was an American politician and soldier, served as the 24th Governor of Massachusetts, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and as a Union general during the American Civil War....
, former governor of Massachusetts, was among the first men appointed major general of volunteers by President Lincoln. In July 1861, Banks came to command the Department of the Shenandoah. In May 1862, he was completely out-generaled by Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
and forced to abandon the Shenandoah Valley. He then commanded the II Corps during the Northern Virginia Campaign
Northern Virginia Campaign
The Northern Virginia Campaign, also known as the Second Bull Run Campaign or Second Manassas Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during August and September 1862 in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E...
and was eventually transferred to command of the Department of the Gulf, coordinating military efforts in Louisiana and Texas. In this capacity, Banks led the successful and strategically important Siege of Port Hudson
Siege of Port Hudson
The Siege of Port Hudson occurred from May 22 to July 9, 1863, when Union Army troops assaulted and then surrounded the Mississippi River town of Port Hudson, Louisiana, during the American Civil War....
in the summer of 1863, but also the disastrous Red River Campaign
Red River Campaign
The Red River Campaign or Red River Expedition consisted of a series of battles fought along the Red River in Louisiana during the American Civil War from March 10 to May 22, 1864. The campaign was a Union initiative, fought between approximately 30,000 Union troops under the command of Maj. Gen....
in the spring of 1864, which he commanded under protest. The campaign ended his military career in the field.
Another significant general from Massachusetts, Maj. Gen. Edwin Vose Sumner
Edwin Vose Sumner
Edwin Vose Sumner was a career United States Army officer who became a Union Army general and the oldest field commander of any Army Corps on either side during the American Civil War...
, born in 1797, was the oldest general officer with a field command on either side of the war. He had served in the Regular Army during the Mexican-American war and numerous campaigns in the West. Sumner commanded the II Corps during the Maryland Campaign
Maryland Campaign
The Maryland Campaign, or the Antietam Campaign is widely considered one of the major turning points of the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North was repulsed by Maj. Gen. George B...
and later the Right Grand Division of the Army of the Potomac during the Fredericksburg Campaign. Following the Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
, he resigned his command in January 1863 and was to be transferred to command the Department of the Missouri
Department of the Missouri
Department of the Missouri was a division of the United States Army that functioned through the American Civil War and the Indian Wars afterwards.-Civil War:...
, but died of a heart attack en route on March 21, 1863.
Other important generals from Massachusetts included Maj. Gen. Darius Couch, who commanded the II Corps and the Department of the Susquehanna
Department of the Susquehanna
The Department of the Susquehanna was a military department created by the United States War Department during the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War...
, Maj. Gen. John G. Barnard
John G. Barnard
John Gross Barnard was a career engineering officer in the U.S. Army, serving in the Mexican-American War, as the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy and as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War...
, who organized the defenses of Washington, DC and became Chief Engineer of the Union Armies in the field, and Maj. Gen. Isaac Stevens
Isaac Stevens
Isaac Ingalls Stevens was the first governor of Washington Territory, a United States Congressman, and a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War until his death at the Battle of Chantilly...
, who had graduated first in his class at West Point and commanded a division of the IX Corps.
War materiel
The advanced state of industrialization in the North, as compared with the Confederate states, was a major factor in the victory of Union armies. Massachusetts, and the Springfield ArmorySpringfield Armory
The Springfield Armory, located in the City of Springfield, Massachusetts - from 1777 until its closing in 1968 - was the primary center for the manufacture of U.S. military firearms. After its controversial closing during the Vietnam War, the Springfield Armory was declared Western Massachusetts'...
in particular, played a pivotal role as a supplier of weapons and equipment for the Union army.
At the start of the war, the Springfield Armory was one of only two federal armories in the country, the other being the Harpers Ferry Armory
Harpers Ferry Armory
Harpers Ferry Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, was the second federal armory commissioned by the United States government located in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia , the first federal armory being the Springfield Armory located in Springfield,...
. After the attack on Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
and the commencement of hostilities, Governor Andrew wrote Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of War for Abraham Lincoln at the start of the American Civil War. After making his fortune in railways and banking, he turned to a life of politics. He became a U.S. senator in 1845 for the state of Pennsylvania,...
, urging him to discontinue the Harpers Ferry Armory (which was at that time on Confederate soil) and to channel all available federal funds towards enhancing production at the Springfield Armory. The armory produced the primary weapon of the Union infantry during the war—the Springfield rifled musket
Springfield Model 1861
The Springfield Model 1861 was a Minié-type rifled musket shoulder arm used by the United States Army and Marine Corps during the American Civil War. Commonly referred to as the "Springfield" , it was the most widely used U.S...
. By the end of the war, nearly 1.5 million had been produced by the armory and its numerous contractors across the country.
Another key source of war materiel was the Watertown Arsenal
Watertown Arsenal
The Watertown Arsenal was a major American arsenal located on the northern shore of the Charles River in Watertown, Massachusetts. Its site is now registered on the ASCE's List of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks and on the U.S.'s National Register of Historic Places, and it is home to the...
, which produced ammunition, gun carriages and leather military accouterments. Private companies such as Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson is the largest manufacturer of handguns in the United States. The corporate headquarters is in Springfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1852, Smith & Wesson's pistols and revolvers have become standard issue to police and armed forces throughout the world...
enjoyed significant U.S. government contracts. The Ames Manufacturing Company
Ames Manufacturing Company
Ames Manufacturing Company has its origins in blacksmith and founder, Captain John Ames, who in 1774, made some of the first manufactured shovels in what would emerge as the new, United States of America. The company was founded in 1791 at their factory in Chelmsford, Massachusetts...
of Chicopee
Chicopee, Massachusetts
Chicopee is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States of America. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 55,298, making it the second largest city in...
became one of the nation’s leading suppliers of swords, side arms, and cannons, and the third largest supplier of heavy ordnance.
Although Massachusetts was a major center of shipbuilding prior to the war, many of the established shipbuilding firms were slow to adapt to new technology. The few Massachusetts shipbuilders who received government contracts for the construction of iron-clad, steam powered warships were those who had invested in iron and machine technology before the war. These included the City Point Works, managed by Harrison Loring, and the Atlantic Iron Works, managed by Nelson Curtis, two Boston companies that produced Passaic class monitors during the war. The Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
also produced several smaller gunboats.
Relief organizations
Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Lynde Dix was an American activist on behalf of the indigent insane who, through a vigorous program of lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress, created the first generation of American mental asylums...
, who had traveled across the nation working to promote proper care for the poor and insane before the war. After the outbreak of the war, she convinced the U.S. Army to establish a Women's Nursing Bureau on April 23, 1861 and became the first woman to head a federal government bureau. Although army officials were dubious about the use of female nurses, Dix proceeded to recruit many women who had previously been serving as unorganized volunteers. One of her greatest challenges, given the biases of the era, was to demonstrate that women could serve as competently as men in army hospitals. Dix had a reputation for rejecting nurses who were too young or attractive, believing that patients and surgeons alike would not take them seriously. U.S. Army surgeons often resented the nurses of Dix's bureau, claiming that they were obstinate and did not follow military protocol. Despite such obstacles, Dix was successful at placing female nurses in hospitals throughout the North.
Henry Whitney Bellows
Henry Whitney Bellows
Henry Whitney Bellows was American clergyman, and the planner and president of the United States Sanitary Commission, the leading soldiers' aid society, during the American Civil War...
determined to take a different approach, establishing a civilian organization of nurses separate from the U.S. Army. Bellows was the founder of the United States Sanitary Commission
United States Sanitary Commission
The United States Sanitary Commission was a private relief agency created by federal legislation on June 18, 1861, to support sick and wounded soldiers of the U.S. Army during the American Civil War. It operated across the North, raised its own funds, and enlisted thousands of volunteers...
and served as its only president. An influential minister, born and raised in Boston, Bellows went to Washington in May 1861 as head of a delegation of physicians representing the Women's Central Relief Association of New York and other organizations. Bellows's aim was to convince the government to establish a civilian auxiliary branch of the Army Medical Bureau. The Sanitary Commission, established by President Lincoln on June 13, 1861, provided nurses (mostly female) with medical supplies and organized hospital ships and soldiers' homes.
Clara Barton
Clara Barton
Clarissa Harlowe "Clara" Barton was a pioneer American teacher, patent clerk, nurse, and humanitarian. She is best remembered for organizing the American Red Cross.-Youth, education, and family nursing:...
, a former teacher from Oxford, Massachusetts
Oxford, Massachusetts
Oxford is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,709 at the 2010 census.For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Oxford, please see the article Oxford , Massachusetts.-History:...
and clerk in the U.S. Patent Office
Old Patent Office Building
The historic Old Patent Office Building in Washington, D.C. covers an entire city block defined by F and G Streets and 7th and 9th Streets NW in Chinatown. After undergoing extensive renovations, the building reopened on July 1, 2006 and was renamed The Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art...
, created a one-woman relief effort. In the summer of 1861, in response to a shortage of food and medicine in the growing Union army, she began personally purchasing and distributing supplies to wounded soldiers in Washington. Growing dissatisfied with bringing supplies to hospitals, Barton eventually moved her efforts to the battlefield itself. She was granted access through army lines and helped the wounded in numerous campaigns, soon becoming known as the "Angel of the Battlefield." She achieved national prominence, and high-ranking army surgeons requested her assistance in managing their field hospitals.
Aftermath and Reconstruction era
In all, 12,976 servicemen from Massachusetts died during the war, about eight percent of those who enlisted and about one percent of the state's population (the population of Massachusetts in 1860 was 1,231,066). Official statistics are not available for the number of wounded. Across the nation, organizations such as the Grand Army of the RepublicGrand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...
(GAR) were established to provide aid to veterans, widows and orphans. Massachusetts was the first state to organize a state-wide Woman's Relief Corps, a female auxiliary organization of the GAR, in 1879.
With the war over and his primary goal completed, Governor Andrew declared in September 1865 that he would not seek re-election. Despite this loss, the Republican Party in Massachusetts would became stronger than ever in the post-war years. The Democratic party would be all but non-existent in the Bay State for roughly ten years due to their earlier anti-war platform. The group most affected by this political shift was the growing Boston Irish community, who had backed the Democratic Party and were without significant political voice for decades.
After the war, senators Sumner and Wilson would transform their pre-war antislavery views into vehement support for so-called "Radical Reconstruction" of the South. Their agenda called for civil rights for African Americans and harsh treatment of former Confederates.
For a time, the Radical Republicans made progress on their agenda of dramatic reform measures. According to historian Eric Foner
Eric Foner
Eric Foner is an American historian. On the faculty of the Department of History at Columbia University since 1982, he writes extensively on political history, the history of freedom, the early history of the Republican Party, African American biography, Reconstruction, and historiography...
, Massachusetts state legislators passed the first comprehensive integration law in the nation's history in 1865. On the national level, Sumner joined with Representative Thaddeus Stevens
Thaddeus Stevens
Thaddeus Stevens , of Pennsylvania, was a Republican leader and one of the most powerful members of the United States House of Representatives...
from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and others to achieve Congressional approval of the Civil Rights Act of 1866
Civil Rights Act of 1866
The Civil Rights Act of 1866, , enacted April 9, 1866, is a federal law in the United States that was mainly intended to protect the civil rights of African-Americans, in the wake of the American Civil War...
, and the 13th
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished and continues to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, passed by the House on January 31, 1865, and adopted on December 6, 1865. On...
, 14th
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
and 15th Amendments
Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits each government in the United States from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude"...
to the U.S. Constitution, outlawing slavery and granting increased citizenship rights to former slaves.
As early as 1867, however, a national backlash against Radical Republicans and their sweeping civil rights programs made them increasingly unpopular, even in Massachusetts. When Sumner attempted in 1867 to propose dramatic reforms, including integrated schools in the South and re-distribution of land to former slaves, even Wilson refused to support him. By the 1870s, Radical Republicans had diminished in power and Reconstruction proceeded along more moderate lines.
Culturally speaking, post-Civil War Massachusetts ceased to be a national center of idealistic reform movements (such as evangelicalism
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
, temperance and antislavery) as it had been before the war. Growing industrialism, partly spurred on by the war, created a new culture of competition and materialism.
In 1869, Boston was the site of the National Peace Jubilee
National Peace Jubilee
The National Peace Jubilee was a celebration, organized by Patrick Gilmore in Boston on June 15, 1869. It featured an orchestra and a chorus, as well as numerous soloists. In total, more than 11,000 performers participated, including the famous violinist Ole Bull as the orchestra's concertmaster,...
, a massive gala to honor veterans and to celebrate the return of peace. Conceived by composer Patrick Gilmore
Patrick Gilmore
Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore was an Irish-born composer and bandmaster who lived and worked in the United States after 1848. Whilst serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, Gilmore wrote the lyrics to the song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", the tune he took from an old Irish antiwar folk...
, who had served in an army band, the celebration was held in a colossal arena in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood designed to hold 100,000 attendees and specifically built for the occasion. A new hymn was commissioned for the occasion, written by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. and set to American Hymn by Matthais Keller. Spanning five days, the event featured a chorus of nearly 11,000 and an orchestra of more than 500 musicians. It was the largest musical gathering on the continent up to that time.
See also
External links
- John A. Andrew Papers at the Massachusetts Historical SocietyMassachusetts Historical SocietyThe Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history...
- Civil War correspondence, diaries, and journals at the Massachusetts Historical Society
- Massachusetts National Guard Museum and Archives
- National Peace Jubilee Music