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

[222] Lieutenant Palfrey, of the regular army, stationed at Fortress Monroe, and Lieutenant Paine, of the regular army, stationed at Fort Schuyler, New York, both of whom were Massachusetts men, might be furloughed to accept colonelcies in Massachusetts volunteer regiments. He also telegraphed to Senator Sumner, requesting him to urge Joseph Hooker, afterwards major-general of volunteers, then in Washington without a command, to accept the commission of colonel in one of our regiments. Neither of these requests were granted.

June 24.—Lieutenant William P. Lee, assistant quartermaster-general, was directed to accompany the steamers Cambridge and ‘Pembroke,’ to Fortress Monroe, as the agent of the Commonwealth, with authority to sell, charter, or make any disposition of the ‘Pembroke’ as he should think best.

On the same day, the Governor wrote a long letter to General Butler, at Fortress Monroe, concerning the Massachusetts troops at that post, under his command; it having been represented to him by Colonel Ritchie, of his staff, who had made a tour of inspection, that the men were suffering for the want of canteens, shoes, and other necessary articles. The letter fills eight pages, and expresses with great freedom the Governor's profound regret that no requisitions had been made, either upon the General Government or upon the State, for articles necessary to the comfort and health of the troops. He informs General Butler that he has that day forwarded eight hundred canteens to supply the Massachusetts troops at Fortress Monroe, although no requisition had been made for them by any one, nor proper information received that they were in need of them. He had also been informed by Colonel Ritchie that the men were in want of shoes; but no intimation of the kind had reached him from the officers at Fortress Monroe. It would have been absurd to ‘have launched out canteens, shoes, or any other articles, upon mere unauthorized rumors of need for them.’ At the same time, ‘no properly authenticated requisitions have ever reached me which have not been promptly and amply answered.’ ‘In the complicated and unprecedented relation in which this State stands to the Federal Government with regard to supplies,’ he thought ‘application for every thing should in the first ’