But while it was a great disappointment to the men to lose the few days' furlough which had been promised to them, and especially to those who had important business interests that demanded attention, leading in some cases to a seeming disregard of discipline, yet all of the companies were in camp on Tuesday morning. At an early hour on that day the company commanders drew arms (Enfield rifles) and equipments for their men, and these were at once distributed among them. All was bustle and confusion throughout the camp. Few of the men had had any experience as soldiers, and the selection and adjustment of their arms and equipments, as well as the brief space of time allotted for these and other preparations for moving, made it look still more difficult and annoying.
Late in the forenoon the regimental line was formed, and a beautiful national flag was presented to the regiment by Honorable P. Emory Aldrich, Mayor of Worcester. In presenting the flag the Mayor said:—
"Colonel Bowman,—Your friends, and the friends of your command in this city, have procured this beautiful banner, and requested me to present it to you as the worthy commander of the Thirty-sixth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers for the war. It will be seen that its azure fold is studded with the full constellation of stars, representing the undivided Union, and that not one of the original stripes is omitted or erased, showing that, however much your friends may deplore the present unhappy condition of our distracted and bleeding country, they still firmly believe that, when the clouds of war that now lower upon us shall have passed away, these stars will again shine as from a clear and cloudless sky with none of their ancient lustre lost or obscured. And permit me to say that this flag, still unchanged and radiant, signifies, in the truest and highest sense, the kind of service expected of you and this noble regiment you are about to lead from this comparatively peaceful camp of preparation to the stern and heroic duties of the field; that you are to aid, by force of arms, in restoring the Union, which traitors have temporarily impaired, and in reestablishing the supremacy of the constitution and laws over every portion of territory lying within the acknowledged boundaries of the Union, from the great lakes to the gulf, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans, so that, when you and your brave comrades return, as we trust you will, with this flag, soiled and rent it may be by the smoke and leaden hail of battle,[1] you shall bring it back, not as the sign of a shattered constitution, and dissevered Union, but as the proud emblem of a reunited and indivisible republic, and then it shall continue to be known and honored throughout the civilized world, and everywhere become a free and safe passport to all men of every race who have the right to claim protection beneath its ample folds.
[1] "Soiled and rent," its staff shattered, this flag, which was carried by the regiment throughout its entire period of service, is now preserved in the State House, in Boston, with the flags of the Massachusetts regiments.
"In delivering this proud ensign of our nationality into your hands, your friends know they are entrusting it to one who is not only familiar with the ordinary duties of the soldier, but to one who has been tried and not found wanting amidst the perils and carnage of the battle-field, and who has suffered what is more intolerable to every true soldier than any dangers of field or camp, and that is captivity and confinement for weary months in the loathsome prisons of the enemy; and now, after protracted and vexatious delays, you have but recently been relieved from your parole, so that you can, without dishonor, enter again the military service of your country; and, having availed yourself of the earliest opportunity to return to avenge your own and your country's wrongs, may a propitious Providence and all good influences attend you, and protect you, and your command in every hour of trial and danger.
"Yours is the fourth regiment which has been organized within this enclosure, which may now very properly be called our Campus Martius, and the fifth that has gone out from our city within the last twelve months. The Fifteenth, beginning its brilliant career at Ball's Bluff,—where, indeed, it encountered a repulse for which neither its officers nor men were responsible,—has with signal gallantry fought its way over many a bloody field to a high position on the roll of fame. And the Twenty-first and Twenty-fifth, being with each other in the performance of patriotic duty, and in the memorable race for military renown, have made Roanoke and Newberne, and other fields, wherein they have exhibited the highest qualities of the soldier, ever memorable both to friend and foe. And it is not altogether improbable that the Thirty-fourth, which took up its line of march but a few days since from this camp, under the accomplished Wells,[2] may have already found itself involved in the smoke of its first battle, and taking its first lesson in the art of war. And scarcely will your regiment have left our presence, before another will encamp within the limits of the city. And we bid you tell our brethren in the field that thus shall regiment after regiment, in endless succession, be sent to their aid until this accursed rebellion is utterly extinguished.
[2] Colonel Wells was killed near Cedar Creek, Va., Oct. 13, 1864.
"The lateness of the hour, the necessity of your moving at once, admonish me that I should omit a portion of what I had proposed to say on this occasion; but this is of little account, and I would not delay your march for a single moment to listen to any poor words of mine. Words in this hour are simply air. Action—instant, resistless, heroic action—is the only thing that can avail us in this perilous crisis. And I can only add that, while you and these brave men who are to follow you, will do your full duty in upholding and restoring the authority of the constitution and its laws, you can never fail in loyalty, and the great idea of liberty which now inspires the hearts and nerves the hands of all the loyal men of the land; and that, when you have marched through rebel districts, none but loyal and free men shall be found. And now accept this standard, proffered by friendly hands, and let it be borne in your regiment as the emblem of liberty and law. And should you or any of those, your comrades in arms, fall in its defence, your memories shall be held in grateful remembrance, and history will preserve their names among those of heroes and martyrs who have died to defend or consecrate a great and noble cause. Remember that the life is longest which best answers life's great end, and that to die upon the battle-field in defence of the liberties of mankind is the most cherished road to immortality."
The band played the "Star-Spangled Banner," and Colonel Bowman responded in patriotic terms.
The several companies of the regiment then marched to Agricultural Hall,—a large building on the camp ground,—where a bountiful collation had been provided by the friends of the regiment. Then followed the filling of haversacks, the packing of knapsacks, and all were soon in readiness for the order to move.