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

[266] an order to Colonel Stevenson, Twenty-fourth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, to deliver up to him certain soldiers mustered into said regiment, who had deserted from one of General Butler's regiments, that Colonel Stevenson was not to obey the order, as General Butler had no authority to enlist volunteers in Massachusetts, except for the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-eighth Regiments. Colonel Stevenson, at that time, had a part of his command at Fort Warren, on duty, although his headquarters were at Readville; and he was ordered, that, ‘if he cannot protect and hold his men at Fort Warren, he shall remove them immediately to “Camp Massasoit,” at Readville, and hold them until otherwise ordered.’

The Governor had been written to by Mr. Sargent, the Mayor of Lowell, and many other city and town authorities, asking him whether the families of the men who had enlisted under General Butler were entitled to the ‘State aid,’ which communications were referred to the Attorney-General, Hon. Dwight Foster, who returned, as an opinion, that all volunteers who are inhabitants of this State, and enlist here under the authority of the Governor, and the officers of the regiments are commissioned by him, their families are entitled to the aid; and, if General Butler's brigade is to be so raised and commissioned, then the families of the men enlisted should receive it. He concludes by saying,—

I suppose this will be the case, and the men enlisted by him will be entitled to the usual aid; and I only state my opinion in this guarded form, because of the possible and highly improbable contingency of volunteers being enlisted in full regiments in Massachusetts, without the sanction of its Executive, the officers of which he might decline to commission or recognize.

This opinion was, in effect, against allowing the State aid to the families of the men who had been enlisted by General Butler. The ‘highly improbable contingency’ already existed. State aid was not paid by the cities and towns to the families of enlisted men, until the authorities of the places to which the men belonged had received a certificate, signed by the Adjutant-General of the State, that the men were mustered in, and the muster-rolls had been deposited in his office. No