Massachusetts, Boston Tea Party, Boston Massacre, Civil War contributions, and the All-American State.
Introduction
Massachusetts was one of the 13 colonies that participated in the American Revolution and it became the sixth U.S. state on February 6, 1788. It was the first state to abolish slavery and according to the 1790 Federal census, no slaves were recorded in the state. Massachusetts was host to the Mayflower and the Plymouth Colony; the Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party; and the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
Sentiment
Massachusetts played a major role
in Civil War causation, particularly with regard to the political ramifications
of the anti-slavery movement. Anti-slavery activists in Massachusetts sought to
influence public opinion and applied moral and political pressure on Congress to
abolish slavery. William Lloyd Garrison of Boston began publishing the
anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator and founded the New England Anti-Slavery
Society in 1831, becoming one of the nation’s most influential abolitionists.
Garrison and his uncompromising rhetoric provoked a backlash both in the North
and South and escalated regional tension prior to the
war.
Civil War
According to the 1860 U.S. census, Massachusetts
had a population of 1,231,066. Although Massachusetts did not fight any battles
on its soil, its soldiers fought in practically every major battle and campaign
during the Civil War.
Massachusetts sent a total of 159,165* men to
serve in the war. Of these, 133,002 served in the Union Army and 26,163
(includes nearly 6,000 reenlistments) served in the U.S. Navy. The army units
raised in Massachusetts consisted of 68 regiments and 47 companies of infantry,
5 regiments and 4 companies of cavalry, 8 companies and 19 batteries of light
artillery, 4 regiments of heavy artillery, 2 companies of sharpshooters, a
handful of unattached battalions and 26 unattached companies. According to the
official statement from the adjutant-general's office, July 15, 1885, the total
number of sailors and marines furnished by the various states to the U.S. Navy
was 101,207. Of this large number, Massachusetts, being a seaside state,
contributed nearly 20,000, or one-fifth, of the nation's total; second only
to New York.
According to The Union Army (1908), the total
losses from all causes among Massachusetts troops was 13,498. Schouler (1868),
however, states that 12,976 Massachusites died during the war, which equates to
approximately eight percent of those who enlisted and about one percent of the
state's population (the population of Massachusetts in 1860 was 1,231,066).
Lastly, Dyer (1908) states Massachusetts sustained a total of 13,942
servicemen in killed: 6,115 killed & mortally wounded; 5,530 died of
disease; 1,483 died as prisoner; 257 died from accidents; 557 died from causes
other than battle. Dyer's grand total is 13,942 total deaths. Nevertheless,
there are no official statistics available for the number of wounded. Continue to website for an exhaustive history of Massachusetts Civil War History
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