“_Whereas_, The people of Massachusetts regard with like feelings of loyalty and affection the Government of the United States and that of their own Commonwealth, and deem it fit that the arms of each should be strengthened by all which the other can give;
“_And whereas_, Some emergency may arise, during the recess of the Legislature, in which the aid of Massachusetts may be of service to the General Government in its financial arrangements; therefore, _Be it enacted_,” etc.
By this remarkably patriotic Resolve, the Governor, with the advice of the Council, was authorized to issue scrip, or certificates of debt, in the name of the Commonwealth, for such sums, not exceeding seven millions of dollars, as he, with the advice of the Council, might deem needful. The scrip so issued was to be sold, and the proceeds loaned to the United States Government, or expended in purchasing its treasury notes, or “delivered to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, in exchange for obligations of the United States Government, of corresponding amount.”
The second Resolve referred to was entitled “An Act in aid of the families of volunteers, and for other purposes,” by which cities and towns were permitted to raise money by taxation, and apply the same in aid of the wife and children of any of their inhabitants who, as a member of the volunteer militia, enlisted into the service of the United States. By the same Act, it was provided that the State should reimburse towns and cities for all aid furnished in pursuance of this law, to an extent limited therein; and by section four of the Act, any city or town was authorized “to organize an armed police or guard,” whenever danger from an attack by sea was apprehended.[2]
For nearly three months before the first act of hostilities, the militia of the Commonwealth were busily engaged in drilling in their several armories; almost nightly, throughout the long, memorable winter of 1861, the patriotic soldiers of the State assembled and received from their instructors, lessons in the manual of arms and other military matters, and prepared themselves as best they could to answer the first summons to the field.
Finally, as the winter waned, and the signs of war began to thicken, these citizen-soldiers became clamorous for active service, and on the 13th of April, the Adjutant-General addressed a letter to the Secretary of War, asking permission to garrison forts Warren and Independence, in Boston Harbor, with two regiments of the militia. “I believe,” said the Adjutant-General, “that our troops would like to do garrison duty until called upon by the President for active service. The regiments might alternate every four or six weeks, and thus they would learn much that would be of service to them, and hold the forts against attack or surprise.”[3] In this letter, it was stated that we then had five thousand infantry, properly officered, armed, and equipped, though only three thousand of them were armed with rifled muskets, the others having “the old smooth-bores,” that had “been changed from flint-lock to the percussion.”