“COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
“Headquarters, Boston, December 17, 1861.
“Charles T. Richardson of Pawtucket, having been commissioned as Captain in the Twenty-ninth Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteers, will report forthwith for orders to Colonel Ebenezer W. Pierce, commander of said regiment, at Freetown, Mass.[21]
“By command of His Excellency John A. Andrew, Governor and Commander-in-Chief.
“William Schouler, Adj. Gen.”
The lieutenants of Captain Richardson’s company were William Pray, a sergeant of Captain Barnes’s company, promoted to be First Lieutenant, and Charles D. Browne of Boston, commissioned Second Lieutenant January 1, 1862 (formerly a private in Co. B, Thirteenth Mass. Regt.).
As early as October 31, 1861, Henry R. Sibley of Charlestown was authorized by a special order from the Adjutant-General’s office, “to raise a company of infantry, to be mustered into the United States service for three years or during the war, and to form a part of the Massachusetts Volunteers.” The order further provided, if the company was recruited within ten days, it “would be accepted as a part of a regiment to be formed of the Massachusetts companies now at Fortress Monroe.” If not recruited within ten days, the enlisted men were to be put into such other companies and regiments as the Commander-in-Chief might direct.
The mention of ten days in this order as the limit of time allowed for the formation of this company seems to have been prompted by a purpose to stimulate the energies of those to whom the recruitment was confided; for while the time was materially exceeded, yet the company was unhesitatingly accepted as a part of the regiment referred to; namely, the Twenty-ninth.
The men who formed this command represented nearly every section of the Commonwealth, though, as no one nor half-dozen other towns contributed so large a quota as Charlestown, and as its Captain and First Lieutenant were citizens of that city, it has always, and with propriety, been spoken of as the “Charlestown company of the Twenty-ninth Regiment.” The men were all volunteers: some were recruited by Sibley, others by D. W. Lee (First Lieutenant), and a few by the State recruiting officers. No bounties beyond the United States bounty of $100, promised after two years’ service, were held out as an inducement to enlist; and though there was not that amount of enthusiasm, exhibited in rapid enlistments, which characterized the raising of troops in April and May, yet there was an utter absence of any of the fallacious ideas about the cowardly character of the enemy, and every man who placed his name upon the roll fully realized all the grave consequences that might follow. The material thus secured was most excellent, and the “Bay State Guards,” the proud name adopted by this company, proved a worthy member of the regiment, and an honor to the “Old Bay State.” Something of the touching and revered spirit of the 19th of April was manifested by the people of Charlestown toward this company of volunteers. The Bunker Hill Soldiers’ Relief Society of that city, an organization composed entirely of ladies, early sought to express their sympathy, by providing each soldier with many articles of comfort; while the men contributed money, reimbursing Captain Sibley for the expenses he had incurred, and presenting the officers with uniforms and side-arms.
The militia system of the election of officers by the enlisted men was permitted in this case, and not abused. Henry R. Sibley was elected Captain; Daniel W. Lee, First Lieutenant; and William R. Corlew (of Somerville), Second Lieutenant.
In view of the fact that the company was soon to leave for the seat of war, appropriate services were held on the afternoon of Christmas Day, at the First Baptist Church in Charlestown, where addresses were made by several distinguished clergymen. The company attended in a body, and the occasion was one of much solemnity, “and also of gratification to the many friends of the company who thronged the house....In the evening of this day, the Guards were the recipients of an ovation at the City Hall, a collation being provided for them by the city, at which the Hon. Richard Frothingham presided.”[22] On this occasion was a presentation, with appropriate speeches, of two beautiful swords, with sashes and belts, to Captain Sibley and Lieutenant Lee, together with a revolver each to Sergeants Pippey and Kellam; and the Rev. Dr. George E. Ellis, who was present, stated that he would give to the enlisted man of the company, who at the end of the term of service should be adjudged by the Captain to have been the best soldier, a hundred-dollar United States bond.[23]
Shortly after this, the company was ordered to Camp Cameron (Mass.), where it was under the general command, for the most of the time, of the Colonel of the Twenty-eighth Regiment, there recruiting for the field; and after that regiment left, guarded the public property, of which there was a large amount, and for the faithful care of which the company was publicly thanked by the Governor.
It is apparent, from what has already been written, that Governor Andrew was endeavoring to carry out the long-neglected plan of erecting the Battalion into a regiment; but the official order, which we here give in full, was not issued till the 13th of December.
“COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
“Headquarters, Boston, Dec. 13, 1861.
“Special Order, No. 626.
“The companies of Massachusetts Volunteers, commanded by Captains William D. Chamberlain of Lynn, Thomas W. Clarke of Boston, Joseph H. Barnes of Boston, Charles Chipman of Sandwich, Samuel H. Doten of Plymouth, Lebbeus Leach of East Bridgewater, Israel N. Wilson of Billerica, now in the service at Fortress Monroe and vicinity, together with the company now in camp at Pawtucket, commanded by Captain Willard D. Tripp of Taunton, will constitute the Twenty-ninth Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteers. Two other companies will be added to the regiment as soon as organized.
“By command of His Excellency John A. Andrew, Governor and Commander-in-Chief.
“William Schouler, Adj. Gen.”