FOOTNOTES:
[A] The publishers have taken the liberty of incorporating in his article this portrait of President Capen.
THE MENDICANT.
BY CLINTON SCOLLARD.
Like some way-weary mendicant came I
Unto the court where Love holds potent reign,
And there in desolation I was fain
Before the gateway to lie down and die.
But one came forth who heard my mournful cry,
Nor mocked nor spurned me with a cold disdain,
But cheered me, saying, "Do not nurse thy pain!
Be brave and bid the ghosts of dead days fly!"
Then I arose and cast the Past aside,
And felt within my breast a gladness great
That I dared meet the eyes that beamed above:
And all the future time was glorified,
For I, who was a beggar at the gate,
Became a dweller in the court of Love.
THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC IN MASSACHUSETTS.
BY PAST COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF GEO. S. MERRILL.
When the American Volunteer Army was disbanded in 1865, by reason of the completion of the great work for which it was organized, had it been individually suggested to each one of that million of men whose eager faces were turned homeward, to become united in a veteran association, probably ninety-nine out of a hundred would have responded, "No; I've had all that I want of soldiering; no more for me."
And yet, so strong did the ties of war-comradeship prove; so tender were the memories of camp and march, of bivouac and battle; so full of heart-stirring events was the record of intimate service in the face of great peril, that even before the final disbandment, among the earlier returning veterans, soldier associations had already sprung into existence. Quite a number of these had their origin in 1864, and even the date and place of birth of the Grand Army of the Republic, with its membership of over three hundred thousand, is in doubt; two States at least, Indiana and Illinois, claim its parentage; and while there are absolutely no reliable data as to the place or exact time of the preliminary meetings out of which the great organization grew, there is a tradition—if the dim memories of only twenty years ago can be so called—that at a casual meeting of returned volunteers in Illinois in the latter portion of 1865, it was discovered that in the little group nearly all were possessed of certain mysterious signs, grips, and pass-words, by which various small bands of firm friends in rebel prisons had secretly bound themselves together for mutual protection. To no men had the value of organization come more forcibly than to these; and in this almost chance gathering was the beginning of the Grand Army of the Republic. There was, early enough after the close of the war, another reason beyond all questions of sentiment or association, demanding some form of organization among the returned soldiers and sailors. Empty sleeves, single legs, eyeless sockets, and emaciated bodies were too often coupled with personal necessities, and the maimed and diseased in need of charity or employment began to point out the larger and growing demand for organized work in behalf of suffering and dependent ones; and to what hands could this be so well committed as to those of old comrades in arms? The Post of the Grand Army of the Republic holding the first regular charter was organized in Dakota, Illinois, in the early spring of 1866, and in July following a department, including then some forty posts, was organized in that State.
In October of the same year the association had extended into eight or nine other States, and a call was issued for a convention to be held at Indianapolis, Indiana, November 20, 1866, and here the National Encampment had its organization.
Massachusetts was not represented in the gathering, the Grand Army at that time having but just obtained a foothold in this State. In September, 1866, a convention of returned soldiers and sailors representing nearly all the northern States was held at Pittsburg, Penn. Among those present from Massachusetts were Gen. Charles Devens, Gen. N. P. Banks, Major A. S. Cushman, and Chaplain A. H. Quint. On reaching Pittsburg, the attention of the Massachusetts comrades was attracted by badges worn by a large number of delegates, particularly from Indiana and Illinois, bearing the legend, "Grand Army of the Republic;" and so numerous were these badges that a spirit of inquiry was quite naturally awakened as to the character and objects of this "Soldiers' Masonic Order," as it was termed by the uninitiated. After some consultation, a number of the Massachusetts delegates, including those we have named, were informally inducted into the organization, in the parlor of B. F. Stevenson, who at the first national encampment a few weeks later was made provisional Commander-in-chief; the ritual and unwritten work was communicated to the new members, and they were fully empowered to organize posts in Massachusetts, General Devens being appointed provisional Grand Commander of the department. On returning from Pittsburg there was something of a rivalry for the organization of the first post. Comrade Cushman, who had been active in the association of the "boys in blue," was especially enthusiastic; and, capturing an old army associate upon the train homeward, he poured into his ears such an account of the new organization, that as soon as they reached New Bedford, they went out into the highways, and summoned a sufficient number of their comrades; and on that very day, Oct. 4, they organized the first post of the Grand Army of the Republic in Massachusetts. This still holds the initial number, Wm. Logan Rodman Post, No. 1, of New Bedford. The charter fee was at once forwarded to provisional Commander Devens, thus making sure of the coveted distinction.
A day or two later, these comrades organized a second post at Nantucket and a third at Taunton. Comrade Cushman exhibited such zeal and earnestness in this work that provisional Commander Devens insisted on having that position formally transferred; and the latter therefore resigned, and asked for the appointment of Mr. Cushman in his stead, which was accordingly made. As in the case of the national history of the Order, partially consequent thereon, but in a larger degree because of the destruction of all the department records in the great Boston fire, the early story of the Grand Army in Massachusetts is incomplete in many details, but it appears certain that during the existence of the provisional department under Comrade Cushman, ten posts were organized. On the seventh of May, 1867, a permanent department was organized by a delegate convention called at New Bedford, Commander Cushman being elected Department, or, as then termed, Grand Commander.
Inspiring his new official associates with something of his own ardor, Commander Cushman divided the state into ten districts, with a recruiting officer to each, and the "missionary work" was so vigorously prosecuted that the commander was able to welcome to the regular annual encampment in January, 1868, the representatives of over forty posts, with a membership of fully two thousand, while applications for nearly a score of additional posts were nearly ready for consideration. During the year 1867, a visit of Gen. P. H. Sheridan to Boston was made the occasion of a torchlight parade of the posts of the Grand Army, and the fine appearance made by the organization on this first public display attracted general attention, and was doubtless one means of largely increasing the membership.
As has been stated, on account of the careless compilation of records at national headquarters, and the substantial downfall of the posts in the West, where its great strength was at first, the history of the early years of the order is left in much uncertainty. But the organization had in the western states a wild, riotous growth; the meagre reports extant naming two hundred thousand as the membership in 1867; but the utter lack of organization, and the intrusion of politics, left the order, almost as speedily as it had sprung into existence, a complete wreck.
At the close of the year 1870, the department of Illinois, where the Grand Army had its birth, had been reduced from over three hundred posts, and a membership of forty thousand, to less than twenty-five posts, and these barely existing in name; and two years later its entire membership was but two hundred and thirty-eight. Indiana, with two hundred and seventy-nine posts, and thirty thousand membership, had become utterly disorganized; Iowa, with one hundred and forty-four posts, had ceased to have a recognized existence; the thirty posts in Kansas had dwindled to nine; Minnesota had shrunk from twenty-five to two posts; the one hundred and twenty-nine posts in Missouri had no department existence; in Wisconsin, of seventy-nine, less than a dozen were left, and in Pennsylvania, one hundred and forty-three out of two hundred and twenty-four had been disbanded. At the session of the National Encampment in May, 1870, the Adjutant-General reported that only three departments, Massachusetts being one, could give the exact number of the members upon their rolls, and the national headquarters were then involved in over $3,000 of indebtedness.
But in Massachusetts, the founders of the Grand Army of the Republic wisely bolted and double-barred the doors against the intrusion of partisan topics, and the growth of the organization was steady and continuous. In January, 1868, comrade A. B. R. Sprague was elected to succeed Commander Cushman, and at the end of his term was able to report seventy-three posts, with a membership of six thousand one hundred and eighty-nine.
How well the department of Massachusetts kept, through these early years, the Grand Army banner in the front, is evidenced by the following:—
The percentage in this department alone of the entire membership in the United States was, in 1872, 38 per cent; 1873, 42 per cent; 1874, 43 per cent; 1875, 38 per cent; 1876, 32 per cent; 1877, 33 per cent; 1878, 30 per cent; 1879, 21 per cent.
From the latter year, because of the rapid growth in Pennsylvania and New York, and of the reorganization and great increase of the departments in western states, this percentage was rapidly decreased to six per cent in 1885, but for ten successive years the official national reports accord to Massachusetts, in all respects, the position of "the banner department." In April, 1868, Commander-in-chief Logan issued his order for the observance annually of the thirtieth of May as a Memorial Day, "for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of those who died in defence of their country during the late rebellion," and the ceremony into which so much of tenderness and patriotic love has since been wrought, was most heartily inaugurated in this department.
Comrade F. A. Osborn succeeded Commander Sprague, occupying the position during the year 1869. Within his term, a new ritual, establishing three grades or degrees, was adopted by the National Encampment, largely in compliance with the desires of the members of the western departments, against the earnest opposition of Massachusetts, where was a strong wish to "let well enough alone." This change was the first adverse blow felt in this department, where not only was the rapid and continuous growth of the organization retarded, but in a single quarter ending Sept. 30, 1869, there was a net loss of one thousand seven hundred and nine members. But this was partially recovered during the subsequent three months, and the Assistant Adjutant-General was able to report at the close of the year, one hundred and seventeen posts, with nine thousand members. During this year there was put in operation the system of careful inspection of the several posts by department officers, which has since become a part of the national regulations, and which, from its inception in this department, has contributed so largely to the efficiency and growth of the organization. With the retrogression of the western departments, Massachusetts in this year went to the front in point of numbers, as confessedly also in perfection of organization and completeness of Grand Army work, and held that position until 1880, when Pennsylvania passed her in point of membership. It will be impossible in the limit of this article to speak in detail of each distinctive year's administration, but the numerical loss of membership was not the most serious result of the introduction of the grade system; among those who then dropped out of the organization, disbelieving in the departure from the original simplicity of forms, were some of the most active and influential members, the loss of whose interest and personality was severely felt for years.
During 1870 and 1871, the growth was small, and high water mark for that period was reached in the first quarter of 1873, when a membership of ten thousand and seventy was reported. From this point came a reaction, the numbers slowly and steadily diminishing for six years, the lowest point in membership being reached in the spring of 1879, when there were but seven thousand seven hundred and forty-eight upon the rolls.
From that time, slowly at first, but without retrogression, the membership has risen to its present point, numbering eighteen thousand.
The question of an appropriate badge, which had received much consideration by two successive National Encampments and their committees, was finally settled by a resolution passed October 28, 1869, adopting the design now in use, to be made of bronze from cannon captured during the war.
During one or two years of the Grand Army in this state, there was no organized charity work, but the necessity for systematized action early became evident, and in 1870 posts began the establishment of a relief fund, placed in the hands of trustees, and administered by special committees; and in this direction Massachusetts has grandly led all other departments, having expended in the past fifteen years, from the various relief funds of posts, over $600,000.
This work has been most thoroughly systematized, in nearly every instance cities being divided by wards, and large towns into districts, with a special investigating committee for each, and, from the intimacy of association, the knowledge of records, and the veterans' natural hatred of shams, a like amount of money could hardly have been as judiciously or economically disbursed through any other channels; while from no hands could aid to the family or dependent ones of a needy veteran come with so little of the chilliness of reluctant charity as from those of old comrades-in-arms.
Unlike most, perhaps every other charitable society, the larger part of this money has, continually, from the first, been expended in behalf of those who are not of its membership.
From time to time the posts have appealed to the public, by fairs, concerts, lectures, and like entertainments, for the means to replenish their relief funds, and the response has ever been worthy the generosity and patriotism of the Commonwealth.
At the present time, the posts have in these funds about $120,000.
With the incoming of Commander Horace Binney Sargent, in 1876, the Grand Army entered upon a new and broader field in its work of fraternal charity; large as had been the liberality of Massachusetts towards its veterans, the Commonwealth yet lacked for its own what the national government had established for the helpless and needy wards of the Republic,—a Soldiers and Sailors Home. With the same earnestness and fervor which had made him the trusted military confidant of Governor Andrew, and later, a splendid commanding officer in the field, Commander Sargent threw himself into the work of securing this great need of the Commonwealth. The times were far from auspicious; business was suffering from severe depression, property values were feeling the apparent shrinkage incident to the approach to a coin basis, Comrade Sargent personally being among the foremost sufferers, while the strength of the Grand Army was from these causes constantly diminishing; and, at the outset, not a few of the members of the organization doubted the necessity for, or feared the failure of, the project. But there was contagion in the fiery enthusiasm and terrible earnestness of Commander Sargent, and, slowly at first, but surely, the plan won its way. Breaking their hitherto and since invariable rule of "one term" elections of department commander, the comrades in Massachusetts a second and a third time re-elected Commander Sargent, and, before the close of the latter term, he saw the beginning of the end in the establishment of a Soldiers Home on Powder Horn Hill, Chelsea.
The work had been of slow growth; the posts were appealed to, public meetings were held, and at camp-fires and other gatherings the necessity for the procurement of a Home was strongly urged; but during the earlier months there were only a few tangible evidences of prospective success, here and there a small contributor, so that many who had been enthusiastic became downcast and discouraged. But there was one comrade whose faith failed not, and when the workers wearied, Comrade Sargent became only the more resolute and determined. During his second term, he was able to announce the receipt of a small bequest in the will of a generous lady, and this afforded the basis for yet more persistent appeals to the public. An act of incorporation was procured from the legislature, by which the control of the institution was placed in the hands of the Grand Army, by the selection of a majority of the trustees from this organization. With the small amount of money secured, a beginning was made by the purchase of the property now used as a Home, and on the eighth day of June, 1881, the dedicatory exercises were held, and the Home opened July 25 of the following year. Already, however, a movement had been inaugurated for a grand bazaar in December, at the Mechanics' Building in Boston. Gen. Sargent, who had been chosen President of the Board of Trustees, which position he filled until his removal from the state, succeeded in interesting a large number of the leading citizens of the state, and was fortunate in calling to his aid as chief marshal, Col. A. A. Rand, to whose admirable organizing powers much of the success of the bazaar was due. The women, always loyal to the veterans, went enthusiastically into the work, the posts joined heartily, and the general public responded liberally, and at the end nearly fifty thousand dollars was turned over to the Treasurer of the Home, which, with the addition of $10,000, the munificent gift of Capt. J. B. Thomas, enabled the managers to pay the balance of the purchase money upon the property, and largely increase the number of inmates. For more than five years past, the deserving applicants have been in excess of the capacity of the Home, and there was also an imperative necessity for enlarged hospital accommodations.
In 1884, therefore, steps were initiated for the Carnival, held in Boston in February, 1885. By another bit of good fortune, Col. A. C. Wellington was secured as chief marshal, and again success crowned the effort, over sixty thousand dollars being realized as the net result. The legislature makes an annual appropriation of $15,000 towards the support of the Home, which now contains one hundred and ten inmates, to be increased about thirty upon the completion of the new hospital building.
Since the institution of the Grand Army in Massachusetts, its commanders have been as follows:—
1866, provisional, Chas. Devens, A. S. Cushman; 1867, A. S. Cushman; 1868, A. B. R. Sprague; 1869, Francis A. Osborne; 1870, James L. Bates; 1871, William Cogswell; 1872, Henry R. Sibley; 1873, A. B. Underwood; 1874, J. W. Kimball; 1875, Geo. S. Merrill; 1876-77-78, Horace Binney Sargent; 1879, J. G. B. Adams; 1880, John A. Hawes; 1881, Geo. W. Creasey; 1882, Geo. H. Patch; 1883, Geo. S. Evans; 1884, John D. Billings; 1885, John W. Hersey; 1886, Richard F. Tobin.
The Assistant Adjutant-Generals, to whose systematic work this department has been so greatly indebted for its efficiency, have been Thomas Sherwin, Henry B. Peirce, James F. Meech, and Alfred C. Munroe.
Having for eight years led in members and excellency all the departments of the country, with its record of over $600,000, expended in its relief work, with $120,000 now held for that purpose, with a membership of nearly eighteen thousand, and possessing the only Soldiers Home in the nation, established solely through its own efforts and still maintained in its hands, the Grand Army of Massachusetts has a right to be proud of its exemplification of the virtues of "Fraternity, Charity, and Loyalty."