Petition to Governor Andrew

Friday, June 12, 1863

A majority of the enlisted men of the Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment drafted a petition to Massachusetts Governor John Andrew to have Second Lieutenant Sumner Paine removed from command. Eighteen-year old Paine, who had recently been commissioned from civilian life, was inexperienced as a leader and had taken extreme measures to discipline the enlisted men. The severity of the discipline resulted in dissention among the enlisted and the formation of the petition to Governor Andrew.

The body of the petition reads as follows:

Falmouth June 12, 1863

To his Excellency John A. Andrew, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Greeting[s].

The undersigned noncommissioned officers and privates of the 20th Regt. Mass. Vols. would respectfully present to your Excellency the following facts:

It has long been the boast of Massachusetts that whatever other states might do Massachusetts should ever be the home of the free, an asylum for the oppressed. And while this is her proud boast shall it be said that her soldiers who have periled their lives in defense of the Union, cemented by the blood of our fathers, have been subjected to a tyranny worse than African slavery? Many of us have left happy homes, loving wives and prattling babes – perhaps never more to see those loved ones again – and have placed ourselves between our country and her foes that we might leave to generations yet to come a heritage of freedom. Freely have we periled our lives – with the assurance that merit should receive a just reward, and he who was valorous on the battlefield should be promoted. Has that pledge been redeemed?

What are the qualifications that caused a civilian to receive the title of Lieut. and to be promoted to command over “veterans” from many a bloody field?

Was it because he was superior to us in military science that he was thus preferred? We answer, No. Was it not rather from partisan influence, or family connection, that Lieut. Paine was promoted to a command as second Lieut. In the 20th Massachusetts regiment?

But what has been his record during the few – weeks he has been connected with this regt.?

For the most trifling causes soldiers have been incarcerated in the guard house, suspended to trees, tied in the stocks, or elevated on instruments of torture, thereby crippling their energies and tending to destroy their manhood. And while we believe that such a course is detrimental to our glorious cause we would most respectfully request your Excellency to cause the said Lieut. Paine to be removed from all command in the 20th Massachusetts regiment. All of which is respectfully submitted.

The petition concludes with "the written document is approved by every member of the regt. but as the said Lieut. Paine is in command of Co. G we do not deem it advisable to have them sign it, it being signed by more than ¾ of the regt."

The rapid departure of the Second Corps from Falmouth on June 15 in pursuit of the Confederate Army precluded any timely action to remove Sumner Paine from command.

Among the signatures on the petition was Private O.S. Bates of Company A.¹

References:
¹Petition to Governor John Andrew from the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, 12 June 1863, Massachusetts State Archives.

Regimental Matters – Promotions for George Macy and Henry Abbott

Friday, May 1, 1863

Major George Macy was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the Twentieth Massachusetts, succeeding Frederick Dreyer, who died of his wounds on May 1. Captain Henry Abbott of Company I was promoted to Major.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 235.

Sumner Paine Commissioned as Second Lieutenant

Thursday, April 23, 1863

Eighteen-year old Sumner Paine, great-grandson of Declaration of Independence signer Robert Treat Paine and cousin of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., was commissioned as a second lieutenant from civilian life.¹

References:
¹Richard F. Miller, Harvard's Civil War: A History of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 2005), 228. George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 235.

Regimental Matters - Revere Assumes Command

Monday, April 13, 1863

Colonel Francis Palfrey, still suffering from severe wounds received at Antietam, resigned command of the Twentieth Massachusetts. Colonel Paul Revere, grandson of the famous midnight rider of April 18, 1775, was appointed by Massachusetts governor John Andrew as new commander. ¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 235.

Regimental Matters - Resignations

Wednesday, April 1, 1863

Captain Norwood Penrose Hallowell resigned his command with the Twentieth Massachusetts to assume the position of Lieutenant Colonel of the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Regiment. The Fifty-Forth Massachusetts was the first African-American regiment and would take a place in history in fame and honor.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 235.

Regimental Matters - Officers on Sick Leave

Friday, August 15, 1862

Four officers went home on sick leave during the week. Major Paul Revere, Captain Henry Tremlett, Adjutant Charles Pierson and Captain Charles Cabot returned home due to illness. Adjutant Peirson and Captain Tremlett never rejoined the regiment; upon regaining health, both obtained commissions to the Thirty-Ninth Massachusetts Regiment.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 141-2.

Regimental Matters - Pay Day

Friday, August 8, 1862

On a happy note, the Twentieth Massachusetts received their pay today.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 141.

Regimental Matters - Reassignments

Friday, July 25, 1862

Colonel William Lee was reassigned to assist Massachusetts Governor John Andrew in the recruiting effort, assigned to Camp John E. Wool in Worcester. Lee contracted malaria at Harrison's Landing, and was too weak to resume command of the Twentieth Massachusetts. Charles Peirson returned from assignment on General John Sedgwick's staff to his former role as adjutant of the regiment.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 139.

Regiment Leaves Camp Benton

Tuesday, February 25, 1862

The regiment broke camp, leaving Camp Benton nearly five months after their arrival. Their destination was Poolesville, Virginia, en route to Washington, D.C.¹

References:
¹James Spencer, "Record of James Spencer," Association of Officers of the Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment, Reports, Letters and Papers Appertaining to Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, vol. 1, p. 56, Twentieth Massachusetts Special Collection, Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts.

Regimental Matters - Lowell Returns

Saturday, February 8, 1862

First Lieutenant James Jackson Lowell, wounded in the leg during the engagement at Ball's Bluff, returned to the regiment. He was the first of the officers wounded at Ball's Bluff to recover from his injuries.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 77.

Regimental Matters - Aerial Reconnaissance

Friday, December 13, 1861

In the summer of 1861 the Union army began experimentation in military reconnaissance with observation balloons. Thaddeus Lowe was named Chief Aeronaut and received funding for seven balloons which were positioned along the Potomac River from October 1861 into early 1862. In December 1861 Company D of the Twentieth Massachusetts, led by Lieutenant Nathaniel Messer, was selected for balloon duty at Edwards Ferry. In a letter to his mother from Camp Benton Lieutenant Henry Abbott of Company I wrote that General Charles P. Stone, the commander of the Corps of Observation, delayed the initial deployment of the balloon. General Stone had been under fire from fellow officers since the encounter at Ball's Bluff and had been regarded by many, including Henry Abbott, as chiefly responsible for the heavy losses ensuing from the battle.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 74; Robert Garth Scott, editor, Fallen Leaves: The Civil War Letters of Major Henry Livermore Abbott (Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press, 1991), 84; James L. Green, "Civil War Ballooning During the Seven Days Campaign," Civil War Trust (http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-ballooning/ballooning-during-the-seven.html).

Regimental Matters - Brigade Commander

Wednesday, December 4, 1861

Colonel Edward Hinks of the Nineteenth Massachusetts Regiment, the acting brigade commander who assumed the role when General Frederick Lander was wounded at Ball's Bluff, was reassigned. Colonel Ira Grosvenor of the Seventh Michigan Regiment was appointed the role of acting brigade commander until February 22, 1862.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 76-77.

Regimental Matters - Resignations

Tuesday, December 3, 1861

Captain Caspar Crowninshield of Company D resigned from the regiment to accept a commission as captain in the First Massachusetts Cavalry, much to the regret of his fellow officers. First Lieutenant Norwood P. Hallowell was promoted to captain in his place. Second Lieutenant Charles Whittier was promoted to First Lieutenant, and new recruit Henry Ropes, scheduled to join on December 31, was commissioned Second Lieutenant.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 72.

Regimental Matters

Friday, November 22, 1861

The regiment conducted its first brigade drill since the Battle of Ball's Bluff. The regiment also welcomed a new member, Norman Folsom, a cadet assigned to duty with the surgical staff.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 71.

Regimental Pay

Tuesday, November 12, 1861
The regiment received its first pay since leaving Massachusetts on September 4th. The men were paid in gold coin and in full up to November 1 and sent over eight thousand dollars home on order of Joseph Wightman, Mayor of Boston.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 72.