A large portion of the Union force seems to be utterly routed — to have thrown away their guns, knapsacks and everything that impeded their progress,” The Republican reported.
First Battle of Bull Run portrayed in Currier & Ives illustration.The Great Comet of 1861 arrived unexpected and unannounced over Springfield on the eve of July 1.
“Mr. Wetherhed of this city, who has carefully observed the heavens for many years, described it as appearing very bright at three o’clock Monday morning, reported the Republican.
“The wonder of the thing is that none of the astronomers heralded its approach. Perhaps this is the comet that timid people have been supposing for so many years would strike and annihilate the earth. If so, we earnestly hope it will hit south of the Mason and Dixon’s line,” the paper added, reminding its readers that the war was related to all things on earth and in the heavens.
These were giddy times mixed with bluster and patriotism as preparations were being made for the nation’s 85th birthday which would be combined with a massive tribute to the men of the 10th Massachusetts who had been encamped at Hampden Park since the beginning of May and would soon be leaving for the seat of the war. This would be a Fourth of July to remember.
On July 2 the soldiers of the Western Massachusetts regiment marched from their camp to the U.S. Armory where each man was supplied with a musket from the arsenal. Exactly a month earlier they had been forced to give back their new Springfield-made muskets to troops from the eastern part of the state that had been called to Washington.
The muskets handed out were old 1812 models that were to be used for training and the Fourth of July parade. They would be replaced by English musket rifles before they headed off to war.
“The reception of the arms gave new zest to the life of the soldiers — for drilling without guns had been stupid business heretofore, — and they looked and acted as smaller boys with fresh toys,” The Republican reported.
Special trains were put on to bring thousands of visitors form north, south, east and west into Springfield for the glorious celebration. It was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and would last until the after dusk fireworks display. The line of march and procession of children, fire companies, soldiers and dignitaries would number over 2,000.
The following is an excerpt from the 10th Regiment’s history:
“While drawn up between Pynchon and Elm streets, a beautiful floral procession of 800 children from the public schools, under direction of Col. Horace C. Lee, passed through the center of the Regiment and presented each soldier with a handsome bouquet of flowers, which were received with thanks and borne with pride at the point of their bayonets through the line of march.
“A free dinner for the soldiers and invited guests was furnished in a large tent on the park, and several hundred of the general multitude mingled with them.”
“The heat was very oppressive, and many of the soldiers dropped upon the grass, exhausted, the moment the cortege stopped. Captain Lombard of Company F, was obliged to leave his command, and Lieut. Byron Porter was sun-struck and remained insensible a long time. Adjutant Edwards was also prostrated by the heat, and was quite ill for hours, and some fifty of the men were affected by the same cause.
Adjutant Oliver Edwards“In and about the tent, during the exercises, were gathered some three thousand people, and the number rapidly in creased as the hour (five) for the dress parade of the Regiment approached. From eight to ten thousand people witnessed with satisfaction this performance, which, with accompanying music from the Springfield Brass Band, was executed in good style.”
The day after the celebration the regiment received its supply of Enfield rifles, and returned to the armory the old pattern muskets which had been used for drill.
“The Enfield received would not compare favorably with the Springfield musket, new pattern. The workmanship was rough and they were poorly rifled, and the parts would not interchange like the American gun,” groused one soldier to The Republican.
On July 5th The Republican put out an EXTRA. The headlines, in various type sizes, read:
GEN. PATTERSON’S VICTORIES...He Enters Martinsburg on the Fourth...THE REBEL ARMY SCATTERED
When Gen. Winfield Scott received the news at 2:15 in the morning he was so excited he awoke President Lincoln.
Back in Springfield on July 5 the ladies’ committee, made up of women’s church groups from throughout the county, passed along to the soldiers what they had been working on for the past two months. A partial listing includes, 818 flannel shirts and drawers, 500 towels, 300 pair of woolen stockings, 500 handkerchiefs, 44 hospital shirts and 6 traveling work cases furnished with needles, thimbles, thread, yarn and other items.
While a lot of attention was being paid the soldiers who would soon be shipping out, the effort to feed the war machine continued to bring work and workers to Springfield.
On July 11, T.W. Wason & Co. ran an ad in The Republican for men “wanted immediately” to work upon artillery carriages and railway cars. The firm was looking for 40 woodworkers, 10 machinists, 15 blacksmiths and 10 helpers.
An article appeared in the next day’s Republican described the assets and accomplishments of the only federal arsenal still in operation, the Springfield Armory. The facility had gone from producing 800 rifled muskets per month before the fall of Fort Sumter in April, to 3500 in June with plans to ramp up to 5,000. The staff had doubled and the armory was running 24 hours a day.
On July 12 the headlines read:
The Rebels attack Gen. McClellan’s Outpost..THEY ARE GALLANTLY REPULSED.
On July 15 the news was even better, the headlines even bigger:
ANOTHER SPLENDID VICTORY IN WESTERN VIRGINIA...The Rebel Camp at Beverly Taken...Rebel Loss 150 Killed and Wounded 100 Taken Prisoner...Federal Loss 11 killed and 20 wounded...THE TRAITORS RUN AND ARE PURSUED
On the 16th of July “Another Glorious Victory” was proclaimed in another battle at Laurel Hill, Va. where it was noted “They run like sheep!.” How long would this euphoria last?
On that day the 10th Massachusetts broke camp and the regiment boarded trains for a new camp in Medford, leaving, according to The Republican, “Hampden Park as rural and lonesome as ever.” Before their departure many of the soldiers were married or as the newspaper put it, “caught in the matrimonial halter.”
Soldiers were given pistols and swords as going away presents and Adjutant Oliver Edwards was presented a horse. One final going away party was held and a crowd of 10,000 saw them off.
With the regiment’s absence there was more talk of the oppressive weather, the low water levels of the Connecticut hampering steamers coming up from Hartford, the building of the new Catholic church on State Street, and a head count at the county jail. It housed 70 prisoners, 13 of them females. Most were in jail for drunkenness.
But the quiet was short-lived and all those headlines of glorious victories and cowardly rebels were quickly forgotten when the EXTRA hit the streets on Monday, July 22. The small-type boldface headline read:
“A Sad and Terrible Day.”
“The saddest day this country ever saw was Sunday, the 21st of July. The splendid army which went into the field to defend our country’s flag and honor, as, after this day of the most gallant fighting, and a decided victory on our part, driven back in disorder towards Washington...A large portion of the Union force seems to be utterly routed — to have thrown away their guns, knapsacks and everything that impeded their progress,” The Republican reported.
The victories touted so much earlier in the month disappeared from history. To this day, school children are taught that the first “real” battle of the Civil War was the Southern victory at Bull Run.
The newspaper reported that a large EXTRA edition of the Republican was printed and sold out immediately. Crowds gathered on street corners and in store fronts near the paper, waiting for more news and discussing the battle until late in the evening.
The training of the Western Massachusetts regiment in Medford was cut short and on July 25, they were aboard steamers heading for the battlefront. As they watched their state fade on the horizon many had no idea they would never see home again.
In Europe there were those who believed the Great Comment of 1861 had been an bad omen.
Contemporary artists drawing of Great Comet of 1861