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

On the 2d of October, the Secretary telegraphs to the Governor, ‘Send three regiments for General Sherman to Hampstead Camp, on Long Island, by Monday morning at the latest, earlier if possible.’ On the 3d, next day, the Secretary telegraphs again to the Governor, ‘Send the Wilson Regiment to Washington direct. Give Sherman the next one, as soon as possible.’

The name of General Sherman henceforth ceased to appear in the correspondence. He was assigned to another department. The command of the special expedition was given to General Burnside, and five Massachusetts regiments composed a part of it. These were the Twenty-first, Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth, Twenty-fifth, and Twenty-seventh. The camp of rendezvous was at Annapolis, and the point of attack was North Carolina, by way of Roanoke Island and Newbern. The expedition was successful.

Major-General Butler, having assumed command of the Department of New England, and established his headquarters at Boston, on the 5th of October issued his first general order, announcing his staff, and directing ‘all officers in command of troops mustered in the service of the United States to report, either in person or by letter, to his headquarters.’ An official copy of this order was forwarded to Governor Andrew.

On the 5th of October, General Butler addressed a long letter to the Governor, informing him that he had been authorized by the President to raise men for ‘a special purpose,’ to which, he stated, ‘your assent was given.’ He then says,—

Acting upon that assent, I called upon you, and you desired that I should wait a week, when the regiment of Colonel Wilson, then being recruited, would be full, before I took any action upon that subject. To this I assented, and have been only looking out for officers for recruiting purposes, and have made no public announcement, and allowed no one who had a special corps to make advertisement, which I thought would be fully within the understanding.