William Schouler, A history of Massachusetts in the Civil War: Volume 2

1864. February 8th, The town voted to assume the payment of money contributed by individuals to fill the quota of the town, under the last call of the President, ‘provided any act of the Legislature legalizes the same.’ April 12th, An act having been passed, the town voted to reimburse to individuals the money they had advanced, provided that the amount should not exceed one hundred and twenty-five dollars for each volunteer enlisted.

Provincetown must have furnished for the army and navy about three hundred and fifty men, although the selectmen returned, in 1866, only two hundred and forty-seven; as at the end of the war the town had filled its quota on every call of the President, and had a surplus of fifty-seven men over and above all demands. Three were commissioned officers in the military service. The whole amount of money appropriated and expended by the town on account of the war, exclusive of State aid reimbursed by the Commonwealth, was thirty-seven thousand four hundred and fifty-two dollars ($37,452.00).

The amount of money raised and expended for State aid during the four years of the war, and which was afterwards reimbursed by the Commonwealth, was as follows: In 1861, $57.54; in 1862, $327.98; in 1863, $775.21; in 1864, $3,070.59; in 1865, $3,136.92. Total amount reimbursed, $7,368.24. It will be observed, however, that Provincetown paid to the families of volunteers double the amount reimbursed by the State.

The ladies of Provincetown organized a Soldiers' Aid Society and a ‘Soldiers' Relief Society’ in 1862. During the war, the first-named furnished clothing and other articles for the soldiers to the value of $1,226.75, and the last-named contributed to the value of $1,064.90. Most of the articles were sent to the Sanitary and Christian Commissions, though a part was sent direct to Lieutenant-Colonel Ryder, a citizen of Provincetown, of the Thirty-third Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers.

Provincetown, which is situated on the extreme end of Cape Cod, was one of the most exposed places on the coast. During the war, earth-works were erected by the Government, which were garrisoned by a company of volunteers.