“1—The general court-martial convened by paragraph 2, General Orders No. 57, headquarters Military Governor, Alexandria, Va., dated September 20th, 1864, of which Major Frederick G. Stiles, Forty-Second Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, is president, is hereby dissolved.
“2—This court has since its first organization (August 8th, 1864), disposed of over six hundred cases, and the general commanding desires to compliment the members composing it for the energetic, faithful and satisfactory manner in which they have transacted the business referred to them.
“By command of
“BRIGADIER-GENERAL SLOUGH, “W. M. Gwynne, “Captain, and A. A. A. General.”
At the close of October there was present for duty (all officers and men were relieved from detached or detailed service) thirty-five officers, seven hundred and ninety-nine men; one officer, seventy-five men sick. Absent: nine men sick in hospitals.
The term of service expired October 29th. A request was made for transportation via Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston to place of muster out, instead of returning home by a sea voyage. The regiment vacated camp and quartered in the Soldier’s Rest, Alexandria, October 28th, until relieved from duty in the command. This was on Sunday, October 30th, after a review by General Slough. Monday morning, thirty-first, the regiment marched to Washington, and was received by President Lincoln in front of the White House at nine o’clock. Cheers from the men, a few remarks by the President, and then the march was resumed to the depot to take cars en-route home, arriving in Boston late on Thursday evening, November 3d, and quartered in Faneuil Hall. After breakfast next morning the regiment marched to Boston Common and was there dismissed, to assemble on Friday, November 11th, for muster out of service.[21]
[21] Before dismissal on Boston Common, Governor Andrew requested Colonel Burrell to take the telegraphic address of every officer, and instruct his officers and men (the men retained their arms until mustered out of service) to hold themselves in readiness for further service. The Governor telegraphed to New York he had a reliable regiment, just arrived home, at the service of the military authorities, if wanted to preserve order. No further service was required.
This journey home was full of discomfort for those officers who did their duty. It was a time of great political excitement in New York City. On this account the regiment retained its arms, and twenty rounds of ammunition was in each cartridge-box. In New York the regiment remained at the Battery all day, and marched up Broadway about five P.M. Crowds of people lined the street and cheered alternately for Lincoln and McClellan, the men answering these cheers impartially to avoid trouble. While in Forty-Second Street, where the men remained until late next morning, when a train was made up to proceed on to Boston, there was bad behaviour by various men of the regiment, who became drunk and disorderly. Some of these men fired their muskets, which, coupled with a fire that broke out in the vicinity, was sufficient to cause considerable alarm among people who resided near. Much blame is attachable to officers for their lukewarm endeavors to stop this unsoldierlike conduct.
About one hundred sick men were brought home, some of whom ought not to have left Alexandria, but they were anxious to go home with their comrades. To properly look out for these men was no easy matter. A delay of several hours occurred in Baltimore before transportation across the city could be found for the sick, Colonel Burrell positively refusing to move his regiment and leave them to follow after, as he was advised to do by some of his officers. Orders were given that in case any sick man was obliged to be left at any place en-route, one man was to be detailed to remain with him.
At Alexandria the aqueduct was out of order, and well-water was used for drinking purposes; but so bad was this water, a limited quantity of beer was allowed to be sold in camp. Train-guards, hurriedly called for and immediately sent away, had no time to fill haversacks with ample rations, often obliged to start with hard bread as their chief eatable. Of course, this had an effect on the men, a large proportion being under twenty-five years of age, many of them under twenty years, who did not have the advantage of a few months in a camp of instruction and get well seasoned to a soldier’s life before they were called upon to endure the arduous and exacting service they saw in Virginia.[22] During the last weeks in September and through October there was an average of fifty men sick in camp, and forty men absent sick in Alexandria hospitals.