This honor belongs in a peculiar sense to those volunteer soldiers who composed the seven companies that formed the nucleus of the Twenty-ninth Regiment; for they were not only among the first to enlist, but were the first in Massachusetts and all New England to be mustered into the service of the United States for a term of three years.[1]
As the history of the regiment, therefore, begins with the beginning of hostilities, we must preface our account of its organization with some pertinent remarks concerning the earliest efforts to raise troops in Massachusetts.
The first official act relating to the war was the somewhat famous General Order, No. 4, by direction of the Governor, dated January 16, 1861, requiring the Adjutant-General to ascertain with accuracy the number of the officers and men of the volunteer militia who would instantly respond to any call of the President of the United States for troops. On the 23d of January, 1861, the Legislature passed a Resolve, tendering the aid of the Commonwealth to the President of the United States, in enforcing the laws and preserving the Union. On the 15th of February, an Act was approved, providing for the retention in the service of all volunteer militia companies then existing, and for the organization, “as the public exigency may require,” of additional companies of cavalry, artillery, and infantry, the same to be formed, on petition to the Commander-in-Chief, by the mayor and aldermen or selectmen of cities and towns. The first appropriation which seems to have been made for war purposes was by an Act, approved April 3, 1861, the text of which we here give because of its importance:--
“_Resolved_, That the Adjutant and Acting Quartermaster-General be, and he is hereby authorized, under the direction of the Governor and Council, to provide, either by contract or otherwise, a sufficient number of overcoats, blankets, knapsacks, haversacks, and other articles of equipment, camp utensils, and trenching tools, as may be required to equip two thousand troops for active service; and a sum not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars is hereby appropriated for that purpose.”
Other Acts were passed subsequently to these already named, though not so directly pertinent, but all having the same object; namely, the preparing of the militia for active service, and providing the means of carrying on the war, then so soon expected to burst upon the country. Of these several Resolves, none are perhaps more noticeable for the strong spirit of patriotism that pervades them, than those of May 21 and May 23, 1861. The first was an Act entitled “An Act in addition to an Act to provide for the maintenance of the Union and the Constitution,” and is preceded by the following preamble:--