[
524]
was named in honor of the distinguished
Surgeon-General of the
Commonwealth, the
United-States Dale General Hospital.
The Governor said,—
I was enabled, by an application to the Secretary of War, to procure for all Massachusetts men in the United-States Military Hospital, at Portsmouth Grove, R. I., and deemed fit to travel, the indulgence of a furlough for seven days on the occasion of our national and State Thanksgiving, to enable them to enjoy its festivities, and the delights of home.
I have the pride to declare, that, of the two hundred and eighty-one men thus receiving furloughs, all but one returned, keeping their manly faith in a manly way; while that one, delaying his return a few days, reported himself to the provost-marshal of his district, and received transportation as a “straggler,” not as a “deserter.”
The condition in which they returned was such as to draw from the executive officer in charge of the hospital an expression highly honorable to our men.
The Governor again called the attention of the Legislature to the coast defences, and invoked attention to their condition.
He also recommended the establishment of an academy for the instruction of young men in mathematics, civil, military, and practical engineering, and other studies, in connection with infantry, artillery, and cavalry drill and tactics.
The Governor devoted considerable space in his address to matters relating to recruiting and to the draft, and said,—
Having sent into the field one man at least out of every three of her enrolled militia at some time or other since the war began, and having spent for the service already not less than fifteen millions of dollars, including municipal expenditures, but not including the national taxation, I do not think it unbecoming the people of this Commonwealth to suggest any measure of justice tending to preserve her industry, her ability to be useful to the country, and yet to swell the ranks of the national armies.
The Governor closed his address in the following eloquent and touching words:—
But the heart swells with unwonted emotion when we remember our sons and brothers, whose constant valor has sustained on the field, during nearly three years of war, the cause of our country, of civilization and liberty.
Our volunteers have represented Massachusetts,
