The 6th Massachusetts Militia Regiment was a peacetime infantry regiment that was activated for federal service in the Union army for three separate terms during the American Civil War (1861-1865). The regiment gained notoriety as the first unit in the Union Army to suffer fatal casualties in action during the Civil War in the Baltimore Riot and the first militia unit to arrive in Washington D.C., in response to President Abraham Lincoln's initial call for 75,000 troops. Private Luther C. Ladd of the 6th Massachusetts is often referred to as the first Union soldier killed in action during the war.
In the years immediately preceding the war and during its first enlistment, the regiment consisted primarily of companies from Middlesex County. During its first term of service, four out of ten companies of the regiment were from Lowell, Massachusetts. Colonel Edward F. Jones commanded the regiment during its first term. He later commanded the 26th Massachusetts and was awarded the honorary grade of brevet brigadier general. During its second and third terms of service, the unit was commanded by Colonel Albert S. Follansbee.
The regiment first enlisted for a "90-day" term of service which lasted from April 16 to August 2, 1861. Following their engagement in the Baltimore Riot, the 6th Massachusetts proceeded to Washington and then returned to Baltimore to guard locations within the city as well as the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad station at Elkridge, Maryland. Their second term of service lasted nine months from August 1862 to June 1863. During this time the 6th Massachusetts was attached to the VII Corps and participated in several expeditions and actions in the vicinity of Suffolk, Virginia, most notably the siege of Suffolk and the Battle of Carrsville in April and May 1863. Private Joseph S.G. Sweatt's bravery at Carrsville earned him the Medal of Honor. The 6th Massachusetts served a third term in response to the call for troops to defend fortifications around Washington. During this term, which lasted 100 days from July to October 1864, the 6th Massachusetts garrisoned Fort C. F. Smith in Arlington, Virginia and guarded Confederate prisoners of war at Fort Delaware near the mouth of the Delaware River.
Earlier units The 6th Massachusetts regiment that served during the Civil War was formed in 1855 during the reorganization of the Massachusetts militia. Other units dating back to the 18th century were given the designation 6th Regiment Massachusetts Militia. They were formed and disbanded at various times and although they shared the same numerical designation, there was no continuous unit known as the 6th Massachusetts. One of the units designated as the 6th Massachusetts was a regiment that served during King George's War in the siege of Louisbourg in 1745. During the Revolutionary War, the 6th Massachusetts Regiment was engaged in the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Battle of Harlem Heights, the Battle of Trenton and the Battle of Saratoga.
90-day term of service Preparations Shortly after South Carolina issued its Declaration of Secession, Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew anticipated imminent civil war and issued an order on January 16, 1861, to the ten existing Massachusetts units of peacetime militia to immediately reorganize and prepare for active service. Colonel Edward F. Jones was the first militia commander to respond to the Governor's order. His letter indicating the regiment's readiness, dated January 21, was brought to Boston and read in the Massachusetts Senate by then state Senator Benjamin F. Butler.
On April 15, 1861, three days after Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter, President Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 volunteers to serve in putting down the insurrection. The call was relayed by Governor Andrew to the existing regiments of Massachusetts militia the same day. Eight companies of the original 6th Massachusetts (one from Acton, one from Groton, two from Lawrence, and four from Lowell) gathered in Lowell on April 16 and proceeded to Boston. That night, the men of the 6th Massachusetts barracked in Faneuil and Boylston Halls. The next morning, April 17, three companies previously belonging to other Massachusetts militia units (one from Boston, one from Stoneham, and another from Worcester) were added to the 6th Massachusetts to form a regiment of 11 companies total. Thus composed entirely of existing volunteer militia companies, the 6th Massachusetts was made up of volunteer soldiers. The regiment proceed that day to the State House, where Governor Andrew presented regimental colors to Colonel Jones. The 6th Massachusetts departed Boston for Washington via railroad at 7 p.m. on April 17.
Baltimore riot On April 19, 1861, the 6th Massachusetts boarded train cars in Philadelphia in the early morning hours and departed for Washington via Baltimore. Before the end of the day, the regiment saw combat during the Baltimore Riot. The date was the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord which began the American Revolution.
Although Maryland remained in the Union, secessionist sentiment and support for the Confederacy was widespread in that state. Colonel Jones therefore expected a violent reception in Baltimore. He was also concerned about the possibility of sabotage to the tracks on the way to Baltimore which might cause derailment and potentially large casualties for the 6th Massachusetts. Jones ordered that a pilot locomotive precede the train that transported his regiment. The 6th Massachusetts arrived safely in Baltimore about 10 a.m.
Trains passing through Baltimore at that time could not proceed directly through the city without stopping. Southbound trains were decoupled at President Street Station on the east side of the city. Cars were drawn individually along rails on Pratt Street by horsepower to Camden Station on the west side of Baltimore's Inner Harbor, where the trains were reassembled. The initial cars encountered little resistance but soon a growing crowd of Baltimore citizens became increasingly agitated by the passing transports filled with troops. The crowd attacked the car carrying Company K with stones and bricks and derailed it by placing obstructions on the tracks. Railroad company workers managed to put the car back on track and Company K was the seventh and last company to reach Camden Station by rail. The crowd barricaded the rails by dumping cartloads of sand and dragging anchors from the nearby docks across them thus preventing further cars from passing.
The blockage of the railroad left four companies, numbering 220 men, at President Street Station with no choice but to march through the city to reach Camden Station, slightly more than one mile away. The size of the crowd obstructing their path was estimated at 10,000. Captain Follansbee, the senior captain, took charge of the detachment. After crossing the Pratt Street Bridge, which had been partially dismantled by the crowd, Follansbee ordered his men to march at the "double-quick." This roused the crowd further as they perceived the quickened pace as an indication of panic. As well as stones and bricks being thrown, shots were now fired at the 6th Massachusetts from the stores and houses around them. Captain Follansbee gave the order to return fire.
Seventeen-year-old Private Luther C. Ladd, a factory worker from Lowell, was hit in the head by a piece of scrap iron that was thrown from a rooftop and fractured his skull. As he staggered, one of the rioters took Ladd's musket from him and fired, wounding him in the leg. Ladd died on Pratt Street. He is known as the first Union soldier to be killed in action during the Civil War. Four other militiamen were killed or mortally wounded during the riot: Private Addison O. Whitney, Private Charles A. Taylor, Corporal Sumner Henry Needham and Sergeant John Ames. A total of 36 members of the 6th Massachusetts were wounded.
A formation of approximately 50 officers of the Baltimore Police eventually placed themselves between the rioters and the militiamen, allowing the 6th Massachusetts to proceed to Camden Station. The companies boarded the train which quickly got underway for Washington, though the crowd followed the train for some miles attempting to stop it. A total of 12 civilians were killed during the riot and an unknown number were injured.
Garrison duty The 6th Massachusetts reached Washington, D.C., on April 19, 1861, the first unit to arrive in response to Lincoln's call for troops. A large, cheering crowd welcomed them at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station which once stood north of the Capitol. Among the crowd was Clara Barton who became a famed nurse during the Civil War. At the time a clerk in the U.S. Patent Office, Barton gained her first experience in caring for wounded soldiers as she tended to injured men of the 6th Massachusetts.
The 6th Massachusetts was barracked in the Senate Chamber in the Capitol. The next morning, tensions in Washington were high as rumors circulated of an impending Confederate attack. After reviewing the 6th Massachusetts, Lincoln expressed his anxiety to the members of the regiment, telling them, "I don't believe there is any North. The Seventh Regiment [New York] is a myth. Rhode Island is not known in our geography any longer. You are the only northern realities."
In the days and weeks after the Baltimore Riot, newspapers and politicians across the country drew comparisons between the Massachusetts militia who had fought on April 19, 1775, at the start of the Revolution and the Massachusetts troops who fought on April 19, 1861. Among the 6th Massachusetts were descendants of those Minutemen who had fought in Lexington and Concord in 1775. Due to the coincidence of the date and the ancestry of some members, the 6th Massachusetts was often called the "Minutemen of '61."
The 6th Massachusetts remained in Washington until May 5, when they were assigned to garrison a key railroad relay station about 15 miles outside of Baltimore at Elkridge. Their presence there helped keep open the crucial rail line from the northeastern states to Washington. The regiment returned to Baltimore on May 13, when Major General Benjamin F. Butler occupied the city with several Union regiments in anticipation of a Confederate attack on Baltimore which never developed. The 6th Massachusetts marched through the city to Federal Hill, where they set up camp for a short stay of three days. On May 16, the regiment returned to the Elkridge relay station. They served out the majority of their term at the relay station and vicinity, except for a second assignment in Baltimore from June 26 to July 1, 1861. On July 4, a silk American flag was presented to the regiment by group of unionist from Baltimore.The Nevada Democrat, July 16, 1861, p.2 In the canton the stars were arranged in 2 rings, inside the first ring of was the inscription: "Loyal citizens of Baltimore to the 6th regiment of Massachusetts." Inside the second ring was words: "Pratt street, April 19, 1861."Springfield weekly Republican, July 6, 1861, p.4
The regiment's return to Boston at the close of their 90-day term was delayed slightly by special request of Major General Nathaniel P. Banks. In light of the recent Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run, in which the 6th Massachusetts did not participate, he asked the regiment voluntarily remain at Elkridge another week in the event of a Confederate advance on Washington. On July 29, the 6th Massachusetts received orders to break camp and boarded trains for Boston which was reached on August 1. The regiment was mustered out on August 2, 1861.
9-month term of service Organization and departure