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

[217] known him long and well; and, during the five years of his administration as Governor of this Commonwealth, our connection was official and confidential. We saw him every day, and had occasion to consult him upon nearly every matter in relation to the part which Massachusetts took in the war. He was one of the few men whom we have known, upon whom public life worked no detriment to the simplicity, honesty, and kindness of their character. No man ever appeared in his presence to make a dishonest proposition. If any one approached him for such a purpose, he would not have had the hardihood to make it. His mind was active, and labor appeared to give him strength, rather than weakness. It was the wonder of us all, how he could stand so much bodily and mental labor. When not absent from the city upon business connected with the war, at Washington, he was in his room at the State House, like a skilful and steady pilot at the helm, guiding the Ship of State.

We all felt his loss when he was absent, and felt relieved when he returned. In the darkest hours of the war,—after the first Bull Run battle, the disastrous affair at Ball's Bluff in 1861, after the retreat of McClellan from before Richmond, and many of the stoutest hearts were despondent, and the peril of the nation oppressed the minds of men,—Governor Andrew never lost faith or hope in the ultimate success of our arms, and the favorable termination of the conflict. It was in these days of depression, these hours of sadness, that he shone forth with the brightness of the sun.

Never despair of the republic, was his motto, and guide of life. He infused hope into minds bordering almost on despair, and his acts corresponded with the promptings of his heart. We well remember one night, when the news of McClellan's retreat reached Boston; the papers were filled with accounts of the terrible disaster; the names of the dead and wounded of Massachusetts' bravest and best were arrayed in the ghastly bulletins transmitted from the front. That very night, the Governor said, ‘We must issue a new order, call for more men, incite recruiting, inspire hope, dispel gloom; this is the time which requires boldness, firmness, and every personal sacrifice.’ The order was