Captain Chipman accepted the flag, and responded for himself and his command, promising to protect both the flag and the Union to the extent of their ability. Hon. George M. Marston of Barnstable was the last to address the soldiers, speaking of the company as “the representative of Cape Cod, the first and perhaps the only company from the old right arm of the Commonwealth that will be mustered into the service of the United States.” He fitly concluded his remarks by “a generous offer of personal or professional service to each or all of themselves or families who might need such service.”
Upon the conclusion of these deeply-interesting exercises, the company formed, and, escorted by a band of music and nearly the entire population of the town, and large numbers of people from the surrounding towns, marched to the railway station and proceeded to Boston, where they were generously entertained by Sewall H. Fessenden, Esq., agent of the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company. At about five o’clock in the afternoon of the same day (May 18), the command, together with those of Captains Leach, Barnes, and Doten, embarked on the steamer “Cambridge” for Fortress Monroe, arriving at this post on the 21st. They were mustered into the service for three years on the 22d, by Lieut. C. C. Churchill of the Third Artillery, U. S. A., and at once assigned to duty with the Third Regiment, M. V. M., taking the letter “D,” and retaining it throughout their whole term. In July, 1861, when the three months’ term of the Third Regiment expired, and that regiment returned to Massachusetts, Company D became a part of the Massachusetts Battalion (formed of this and the six other three years’ companies spoken of in this work), and, in December, 1861, a part of the Twenty-ninth Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteers.
CHAPTER VI.
Captain Samuel H. Doten’s Company, “Plymouth Rock Guards.” [“E” in the Fourth Regiment, “E” of the Massachusetts Battalion, and “E” of the Twenty-ninth Regiment.]
The honored old Pilgrim town of Plymouth was among the first in the State to take an active part in the work of furnishing troops for the Union army. Here was an organized body of militia known as the “Standish Guards,” commanded by Captain Charles C. Doten. The company was “B” of the Third Regiment of Militia, and left for the seat of war on the 16th of April, 1861. On this occasion, the town was stirred as it had not been since the days of the Revolution; hundreds of the townspeople—among whom could have been found some of the most ardent and intelligent patriots in the country—gathered at an early hour in the morning to witness the departure of its first soldiers of the war.
The company had received its orders to march during the night of the 15th, by a messenger from New Bedford, who had ridden horseback from Wareham, through the dark, pine forests that lay between that town and Plymouth, and in the midst of a storm of rain. The departure of the soldiers was so sudden, that the majority of them went away without having made any preparations for the care and maintenance of their families. But the good people of Plymouth were not unmindful of this fact, and, on the 20th of April, a large public meeting assembled, under a call of the selectmen of the town, “to take such steps as may be necessary to secure ample provision for the families of those who have enlisted for the defence of their country.”
The meeting was presided over by Hon. William T. Davis, and the following resolutions, offered by John J. Russell, Esq., were adopted:—
“Resolved, That it is our pleasure, as well as our duty, to see to it that our brave volunteers be encouraged by the knowledge that the welfare of those near and dear to them is made the care of their fellow-citizens who remain at home.
“Resolved, That the selectmen be requested to apply and distribute, at their discretion, a sum not exceeding two thousand dollars, towards the assistance of those families who, by the sudden departure of the troops, are left in need of pecuniary aid,—such sum to be raised by borrowing, in the name of the town, or in such other way as the selectmen shall deem expedient.”
On the very day of this meeting, Samuel H. Doten, a brother of Captain Charles C., was busily engaged in forming a volunteer company in this town, and had already secured nearly a full complement of men. The public meeting referred to was not a regularly-warned town meeting, and the resolutions that had been adopted by it could not be carried out, except they received the sanction of the voters, legally called together for that purpose. On the 11th of May, therefore, in pursuance of a call dated May 4, the town assembled in meeting, chose Moses Bates, Esq., as Moderator, and, upon motion of Hon. Charles G. Davis, adopted the suggestions of the citizens’ meeting, and made the following provision for the three years’ volunteers of Captain Samuel H. Doten’s company:—