Gen. Cowdin and the First Massachusetts Regiment of Volunteers — Key Ideas to Explore

From Sumter to the Front: Organizing the First Massachusetts

Cowdin details the immediate aftermath of Fort Sumter's fall, when he reported to Governor Andrew offering his services. He notes that Colonel Jones's Sixth Regiment departed with about four hundred men, and Cowdin supplied one of his companies under Captain W. S. Sampson to fill the regiment. Despite daily visits to the State House, Cowdin was told that regiments 'that could best be spared' would be sent first. The Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Eighth Regiments left before his own. Finally, on April 27, 1861, he received orders to prepare his regiment. The city of Boston appropriated $200,000 for outfitting, and Cowdin's regiment received uniforms from Boston, Roxbury, and Chelsea. However, arms and equipment were delayed until May 8, when a new call for 75,000 three-year volunteers changed the situation.

Command and Confirmation: The Brigadier General's Papers

Cowdin reproduces his commission as Brigadier General of Volunteers, signed by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, with instructions to report for duty. He was sworn in on September 30 and assigned to the 2nd Brigade, Abercrombie's Division, composed entirely of new troops. He drilled and disciplined them until March 30, 1863, when General Order No. 13 relieved him of command. The order, signed by Abercrombie, praises 'the efficiency to which the troops under his command have arrived' and regrets losing Cowdin's 'valuable services.' Cowdin then includes letters from Generals Heintzelman and Abercrombie expressing warm approbation and regret. He claims that while his confirmation seemed assured, 'fighting men, who had seen nearly two years hard service, were set aside to make place for' politicians.

The Senator's Influence and the Press

Cowdin alleges that after his removal, a Massachusetts senator dictated to daily papers a reason for his dismissal. He writes that he 'met a distinguished Senator' who assured him of confirmation, and another senator said his name 'stood better before the Senate than mine' with only possible opposition from the two Massachusetts senators. Yet Cowdin asserts that politicians with no real service were confirmed instead. The pamphlet thus becomes a public appeal against what Cowdin portrays as political interference in military merit. The inclusion of official commendations serves to bolster his case, while the narrative stops short of revealing the final outcome of his confirmation or any subsequent restoration.

Readers should approach this pamphlet as a primary source for understanding the intersection of military service and political patronage during the Civil War. Cowdin's careful inclusion of orders and letters provides documentary evidence, but his perspective is explicitly partisan. The text offers insight into how officers navigated command structures and public opinion, and it raises questions about the reliability of self-serving narratives. For a fuller picture, compare Cowdin's account with other regimental histories or official records from the period.

I’ve held Robert Cowdin’s pamphlet for years, tracing the quiet dignity of a soldier defending his rank, and it always reminds me of another lonely chronicle—of a revolt half a world away, where honor and politics twisted together just as tightly. There’s kinship in that. I’d set them side by side, gently: The revolt in Arabia — A Reader’s Guide and Cowdin’s patient testimony, two voices asking only to be believed.