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

[319] regarded as the most solemn duty which the war imposed on him. We have often heard him say, when asked to appoint persons whose claims upon his favor were based upon the fact that the candidate and his family exercised a local, political influence,—

Such considerations impress me with no force. The appointment is in no manner a political one. The man I shall commission is he who can best command his men, care for their health, lead them bravest in battle, and, by his intelligence and capacity, save life and limb from needless sacrifice. This I owe alike to the men themselves, to their families they leave behind, and to common humanity.

Of course, he did not, at all times, make the best choice; but he endeavored to, and thought he had succeeded. We remember one rather remarkable case, where the Governor erred in making selection of a captain in the Twenty-second Regiment. The Governor believed the person whom he selected to be best fitted for the command. The Adjutant-General believed, and so reported, that the gentleman who was to be a lieutenant in the company should be made captain. The Governor, however, did not change from his original purpose; and the commissions were made out as originally determined upon. The person commissioned captain never attained higher rank: the one commissioned lieutenant rose to be a major-general of volunteers, and gained a reputation second to none, as an able and accomplished volunteer commander, in the Army of the Potomac,—we refer to Major-General Nelson A. Miles, now colonel of infantry in the United-States army, who began his military career as first lieutenant in the Massachusetts Twenty-second Regiment, and whose military record reflects great honor upon his native State.

Governor Andrew, however, seldom erred in his judgment of men; and we have no question that the officers selected by him will bear a favorable comparison with those of any other State. When a vacancy occurred after the regiment left the State, his rule was to wait until a recommendation of a person to fill the vacancy was received from the officer in command of the regiment, which recommendation required the approval and