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

[211] long delay, by the Secretary of War, in fixing the quota of Massachusetts under the first call of the President for three years men, and his persistent refusal, for a still longer time, to accept more than six regiments from this State, and the uncertainty which existed whether they would be accepted at all, had a demoralizing and pernicious effect upon both commands. When, however, orders were received on the twenty-second day of May, that Massachusetts was to furnish six regiments, the Governor determined that one of the six should be an Irish regiment. At this time, neither of the Irish regiments were full. They were designated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Regiments. Until a regiment was full,—that is, with ten companies, and each company with ninety-eight enlisted men and three commissioned officers,—it could not be mustered into the United-States service, and consequently could not receive United-States pay. Colonel Cass's regiment lacked about two hundred men to complete it to the maximum. These men were to be obtained at once; and the Governor decided that these men should be taken from the Fourteenth Regiment, which numbered only about six hundred men.

The Adjutant-General was ordered by the Governor to effect this consolidation. He proceeded the same day to Long Island with the Governor's orders, which he read to the officers of the Fourteenth, and requested their assistance to fill up the regiment of Colonel Cass. It appeared that the intention of the Governor had been known at the camp before the Adjutant-General arrived; and a meeting of the officers had been held, at which resolutions had passed condemnatory of the orders of the Governor, which resolutions were to appear in the Boston papers the next morning. The resolutions which were passed were shown to the Adjutant-General upon his arrival at Long Island. He read them with surprise, and told Mr. Rice and the officers, that, if they were made public, he thought the Governor would order the organization to be disbanded at once. The resolutions were suppressed. After considerable difficulty, and a good deal of forbearance, a sufficient number of men agreed to join Colonel Cass's regiment to fill it up; and, in a few days afterwards, it was mustered into the service of the United States