The purpose of firing these salutes was to revive old patriotic memories. The 8th of January had been held a holiday by the Democratic party since the presidency of General Jackson; though of late years it had been, in a great measure, passed over without special regard. The association of the first battle-fields of the Revolution with the last and most brilliant action of the war of 1812 and the patriotic movement of Major Anderson in Charleston Harbor, would, it was believed, revive pleasant recollections of the past, and serve to unite the North in support of the Constitution and the Union. As required by law, the Adjutant-General had made his annual report in December. It was addressed to Governor Banks, and is dated Dec. 31, 1860. On pages 37 and 38 he says,—
Events have transpired in some of the Southern States and at Washington, which have awakened the attention of the people of Massachusetts, in a remarkable degree, to the perpetuity of the Federal Union, which may require the active militia of the Commonwealth to be greatly augmented. Should our worst fears be realized, and this nation plunged into the horrors of civil war, upon Massachusetts may rest, in no inconsiderable degree, the duty of staying the effusion of blood, and of rolling back the black tide of anarchy and ruin. She did more than her share to achieve the independence of our country, and establish the Government under which we have risen to such unparalleled prosperity, and become the Great Power of the American Continent; and she will be true to her history, her traditions, and her fair fame. Should it become necessary to increase the number of her
