Emilio, Luis F., History of the Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry , 1863-1865

In consequence of the cold weather there was some suffering in the regimental camp. When this became known, a meeting was held at a private residence on March 10, and a committee of six ladies and four gentlemen was appointed to procure comforts, necessities, and a flag. Colonel Shaw was present, and gave an account of progress. To provide a fund, a levee was held at Chickering Hall on the evening of March 20, when speeches were made by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Wendell Phillips, Rev. Dr. Neale, Rev. Father Taylor, Judge Russell, and Lieutenant-Colonel Hallowell. Later, through the efforts of Colonel Shaw and Lieutenant-Colonel Hallowell, a special fund of five hundred dollars was contributed to purchase musical instruments and to instruct and equip a band.

Besides subscriptions, certain sums of money were received from towns and cities of the State, for volunteers in the Fifty-fourth credited to their quota. The members of the committee contributed liberally to the funds required, and the following is a partial list of those who aided the organization in various ways:—

George Putnam,

Charles G. Loring,

J. Huntington Wolcott,

Samuel G. Ward,

James M. Barnard,

William F. Weld,

J. Wiley Edmands,

William Endicott, Jr.,

Francis L. Lee,

Oakes Ames,

James L. Little,

Marshall S. Scudder,

George Higginson,

Thomas Russell,

Edward S. Philbrick,

Oliver Ellsworth,

Robert W. Hooper,

John H. Stevenson,

John H. Silsbee,

Manuel Fenollosa,

G. Mitchell,

John W. Brooks,

Samuel Cabot, Jr.,

John Lowell,