This book forms but a single chapter—the latest one—in the eventful and ever-honorable history of the First Massachusetts Regiment. It has been written in the hope that it may aid in maintaining the splendid esprit de corps which always has been characteristic of the command. Nor does this corps-pride lack warrant. Since 1844, under one designation or another, the First Massachusetts, as a regimental organization, has been continuously in the service either of the Commonwealth or of the Nation;

The Spanish-American War has passed into history. Regiment by regiment the troops of the United States have been transported to Cuba and Porto Rico, to take quiet possession of the stations relinquished by the departing remnants of the Spanish colonial army, and now our flag flies over even Havana itself. Of the six regiments—the First Heavy Artillery, Second, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Ninth Infantry—sent out by Massachusetts in response to the calls of the President, all now are home again, whi

Early in April, when war was imminent, Governor Wolcott, with two officers of his staff, sat down to the study of a war-map of the Massachusetts coast which had been prepared and carefully revised to meet existing conditions. It is no exaggeration to say that this map furnished material for the most serious thought. The map pitilessly showed that from the Merrimac River, on the northern boundary, to the Taunton River, on the southern, there were on navigable waters, open to some of the many form

Well aware of this condition of affairs, Governor Wolcott thought it prudent—even before the actual declaration of war—to have his foot batteries assembled in the vicinity of the guns at which it seemed more than likely that their services soon might be required, and by his direction permission was asked from Washington to send the First Heavy Artillery to Fort Warren, under State orders. This request met with the prompt approval of the Secretary of War, and on Sunday, April 24th, there came to

It was a raw, gloomy day. A drizzling rain fell at intervals, and the pavements were slippery with mud. The batteries paraded in heavy marching order—knapsack, haversack, canteen, and mess-kit—and wore great-coats and leggings. The line of march was: Irvington Street, Huntington Avenue, Copley Square, Boylston Street, Berkeley Street, Beacon Street, School Street, Washington Street, State Street, Broad Street, to Rowe's Wharf. In spite of the inclement weather, the streets were crowded, and it s

Shortly after one o'clock, the transport drew alongside the pier at Fort Warren, and the batteries disembarked and formed in column, with the field music at the head. Then the regiment marched up from the pier, in through the main sallyport, and on to the parade, where line of masses was formed, arms were stacked and knapsacks unslung, preparatory to the work of getting the baggage up from the transport and settling down in quarters. And here the regiment was treated to an unwelcome surprise. Th

While the work of settling the regiment at its new station was in progress, its officers found themselves confronted by a new and serious cause for apprehension. Up to the time of arriving at the fort, there had been a marked lack of definite information as to the future service of the command. Only two facts seemed assured: that the President had called for one hundred and twenty-five thousand volunteers, and that the hurried ordering out of the First had been in partial answer to that call. Be

The regiment was saved. Furthermore, it was actually, if not legally, in the service of the United States. But there yet remained certain complex processes which had to be gone through with before the "U.S.V." should supplant the "M.V.M." By a pleasant legal fiction, it had to be assumed that the militia regiment which had set out for Fort Warren had been lost somewhere en route , and that it had become imperatively necessary to raise a new regiment to take its place in the volunteer service. Al

On the completion of the mustering-in there came an incident which was characteristic of the spirit of the First. Since all of the volunteer commissions due the regiment would bear the same date, it was evident that a decision must be made to settle questions of seniority. Army regulations prescribe that lots shall be drawn in cases similar to this, and, had this legalized lottery been held, there was a tempting chance that the officer of less than a year's commissioned service might find himsel

These were stirring times for the regiment. It was the period of rumors—of rumors that at any time might develop into realities. In order to obtain an adequate idea of the atmosphere in which the command then lived, it would be necessary to turn to the files of the newspapers for the early spring of 1898, and make a classified list of the Spanish naval bugaboos daily appearing in their columns. One odd coincidence is well worth recalling, as showing that all the misapprehensions were not confine

The day now had come when, after the custom of the artillery service, the regiment must be broken up and scattered in its isolated posts along shore. General Merritt was relieved of the command of the Department of the East on May 20th, to go to the far East as commanding officer of the Philippine expedition. His successor was General Frank, U.S.V., promoted from the colonelcy of the First United States Artillery, who lost no time in issuing orders (S.O., 112, H.Q., D.E., 23rd May) for the final

From this time until the assembly of the command at Framingham, preparatory to going on mustering-out furlough, the regimental history becomes that of the widely dispersed fractions, while the record of events is but a dull story of garrison duty, faithfully performed in the face of every discouragement. For administrative purposes the regiment now formed three distinct divisions—that under Colonel Pfaff, with headquarters at Salem, and sub-posts at the points on the North Shore already noted; t

The second of the three general divisions into which the regiment had been separated—Lieutenant-Colonel Woodman's command, "G" (Chick's) and "L" (Whiting's) Batteries—arrived at its destination at New Bedford on June 1st, reporting to Lieutenant-Colonel Haskin, Second United States Artillery, commanding officer at Fort Adams, R.I. The post to be garrisoned was then borne on the army register as the "Fort at Clark's Point," the designation by which it had been known since 1857, when ground first

The last of the three regimental subdivisions—the Third Battalion, under Major Frye—meanwhile quietly had been going on with its artillery work at Fort Warren. Other than the ordering of Major Morris, Seventh Artillery, from Winthrop to Fort Schuyler, N.Y., on May 27th, leaving Captain Richmond the ranking officer at the mortar battery, there had been no changes in the garrisons of the sub-posts about the harbor. The departure of Colonel Pfaff and Lieutenant-Colonel Woodman, with their commands,

So through the long and weary summer months the scattered batteries of the regiment served faithfully at their posts along the coast, patiently enduring the dull monotony of garrison life, and hoping against hope that the fortunes of war yet might bring them their own chance for training their guns upon an enemy. For a time rumor still busied itself with the movements of the Spanish fleet, while spook cruisers still held the seas—as the men on Shafter's crowded troopships could have testified to

After bringing to its conclusion another eventful chapter in its already long and honorable history, the First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery again has left the service of the United States to reënter that of the Commonwealth. In addition to the jealously cherished "White Diamond" badge, eloquent of its campaigning from 1861 to 1864 with the old Second Division, Third Corps, Army of the Potomac, it now has won the right to bear the device emblematic of service in the Artillery Corps of the War of

2 .   From civil life, to fill original vacancy. 3 .   2nd Lieut., U.S. Vols., 3 June, 1865. 4 .   From 1st Sergeant, "F" Battery. 5 .   From 1st Sergeant, "E" Battery....

It will be observed that in the following table all regimental and battery notes refer to the First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery: 15th.—U.S.S. Maine destroyed in harbor of Havana. 9th.—Congress appropriates $50,000,000 for national defence. 12th.—U.S.S. Oregon starts from San Francisco on the memorable voyage to the Atlantic coast. 24th.—Spanish torpedo-gunboat flotilla assembles at Cape Verde Islands. 28th.—Congress receives report of naval board of inquiry declaring Maine to have been destroy