On the day after the arrival, May 22, the company was examined by the Surgeon of the Post, and Privates Francis C. Bryant, Oliver H. Wade, Henry B. Rogers, Edmund Reed, and R. H. Quinley were rejected; the others being sworn into the service for three years, and the company assigned to duty with the Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Militia.

The arms of the men, which had been furnished by the State, were old smooth-bores, altered from flint-lock to percussion; but no ammunition was supplied by the State, nor was any issued to them by the United States Government till late in the summer of 1861.

The History of the Twenty-ninth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry — Part 20

This chapter being designed to trace the history of the company from its organization to its entrance into the service, it is only necessary to add, that it took the letter “L” in the Fourth Regiment, served in it till July 16, 1861, then became a part of the Massachusetts Battalion (still retaining the letter “L”), and on the 13th of December, 1861, of the Twenty-ninth Regiment, in which it was designated as “C” company.

The History of the Twenty-ninth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry — Part 20

CAPTAIN CHARLES CHIPMAN’S COMPANY, “SANDWICH GUARDS.” [“D” IN THE THIRD REGIMENT, “D” OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BATTALION, AND “D” OF THE TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENT.]

The History of the Twenty-ninth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry — Part 20

With a notice of only a few hours, a very large meeting of the inhabitants of Sandwich, Barnstable County, was held on the evening of Saturday, April 20, 1861. The news of the assault upon the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, in Baltimore, had reached the town, and produced extreme excitement. The meeting was called “to devise ways and means for the raising a company of troops for the defence of the country,” and was called to order by Theodore Kern, Esq. Dr. Jonathan Leonard was chosen to preside, and E. S. Whittemore, Secretary. After appropriate remarks upon the objects of the meeting, Dr. Leonard introduced to the people, Major S. B. Phinney, editor of the “Barnstable Patriot,” who made a stirring address, “... declared his unwavering fidelity to the Union, and determination to sustain the National Administration in its efforts to crush out treason and rebellion.”

Addresses were also made by Dr. I. N. Swazey, E. S. Whittemore, Nathaniel F. Fessenden, and Otis Freeman.

“On motion of Theodore Kern, Esq., it was voted, that the sum of $20 be immediately raised by subscription, as a bounty to each man who should enlist in the campaign, and by a subscription-paper the sum of $626 was pledged in the course of the evening, in sums varying from $5 to $70; Major Phinney contributing $70, and promising a stand of colors to the company when formed.”[8]