William Schouler, A history of Massachusetts in the Civil War: Volume 1

[164] forts had been greatly injured by the two battalions; that nails had been driven into the walls of the casemates, drains obstructed, filth accumulated, and chimneys so erected that large guns could not be properly manned and worked. That these statements had a slight foundation upon which to rest, we shall not deny; but if the officer had made a survey of the forts, and especially of Fort Warren, before the two battalions had taken possession, his report would have been of a different tenor, and he would have accorded to the soldiers praise instead of censure. They certainly deserved it: they saved the Government time and money in making the forts habitable, and by putting them in a condition to defend the harbor, and maintain garrisons.

The Governor, on the 25th of April, appointed the three major-generals of militia,—Messrs. Sutton, Morse, and Andrews,—with a portion of their respective staff, an examining board to pass upon the qualification of persons elected officers of new companies. This board remained in service until the 24th of May, when it was relieved from further duties. The number of persons examined by the board was six hundred and forty-one men, thirty-nine of whom were rejected.

On the 2d of May, Lieutenant-Colonel C. C. Holmes, of the First Company of Cadets, was placed in command of a guard at the State Arsenal at Cambridge, and the powder magazine at Captain's Island. The guard was composed of members of the cadets and students of Harvard University, who volunteered their services. They were relieved on the 30th of May, and received the thanks of the Governor.

We have already stated, that the President issued a proclamation, on the 3d of May, for volunteers to serve for three years, or during the war. On the 4th of May, Secretary Cameron issued General Order No. 15, setting forth the number of regiments to be raised, and the manner in which they were to be organized. There were to be thirty-nine regiments of infantry, and one regiment of cavalry. Nothing was said or intimated in the Secretary's order about the proportion of men or regiments which each State was to furnish. At this time, there were, in Massachusetts, upwards of ten thousand men organized into