Reduced to three years' men, they would be equal to

4,209

Amount of the two calls, reduced to three years' men, as

Excess up to January 1, 1863,

Since the 1st day of January, 1863, there has been a steady, persistent system of recruiting going on under the direction of the State Government, which has been continued without relaxation even during the enforcement of the draft of July last, by which means there have been raised, during the last year, and previous to the latest call of the President, of October 17th, 1863, (making a rest on that day because all subsequent musters are to be credited against that call,) and in excess of all specific calls by the United States government, the following

This is reached without including the product of the late draft, (July, 1863,) of which I shall speak hereafter, and not including the three months militia, nor the Massachusetts men enlisted in organizations of other States, nor the large numbers in the Navy, estimated at an aggregate of 12,000 seamen and marines, nor our men enlisted in the regular army. But it has recently been represented that previous to July, 1862, while Massachusetts had furnished all the troops ever asked from her, and many more, and while she was urging upon the War Department troops which the Government of the United States did not accept, and while, as a consequence, thousands of Massachusetts men were enlisting in organizations of other States, that previous to July, 1862, Massachusetts ought to have furnished a larger number than she could prevail upon the General Government to accept. In other words, there is charged against us an estimated proportion or pro forma quota of

all the three years volunteers furnished by the loyal

States prior to July, 1862-amounting

(This reckoning charges us with our proportion of men
furnished by other States, when no call was made
on the State for any contingents or quotas and when
our offers were in excess of the troops accepted.)
2. It is also declared that our real quota of the three
years men called for in July, 1862, was not 15,000;
that we erred in supposing that to have been the
number; and that the correct number was
3.-Adding to these numbers 19,080 nine months
men, equivalent when reduced to three years
men, to

34,868 men.

19,080

4,770

58,718 men.

These items present a total of either actual or pro
forma calls previous to the draft of July, 1863, of
Even if this view should be taken of what was
due from Massachusetts, she has raised, as I have

16,837 nine months men, equal, when reduced to three

Making, even with this understanding of the quotas,

a surplus of 177 men.
without reckoning the service of the three months
militia whom we have furnished,—and reckoning
twelve soldiers enlisted for three months as of military

And this result is arrived at

value only equal to four men enlisted for nine months, or to one man enlisted for a term of three years, these would amount to 311 more, making up a surplus of 488 above all actual and constructive demands.

Thus far, this enumeration has pursued the method understood to be adopted in the office of the AdjutantGeneral at Washington. It assumes the value of each soldier to be proportioned to the term of his enlistment, crediting all three years volunteers according to their aggregate number, and all others according as the length of their respective terms of enlistment is proportioned to the terms of three years. Thus, each three years volunteer counts one, in crediting the States with their volunteers, while four volunteers for nine months' service count only one, since one term of three years' service is equivalent to four of nine months. It has been the effort of what we deemed sound policy in this Commonwealth, to encourage enlistments for the longer rather than the shorter terms, not only because of the greater economy and superior military efficiency thus promoted, but also for reasons apparent from the statements just made.

But the enumeration after the method explained, although equitable in itself and on the whole, does not exhibit the entire number of men contributed to the military service of the United States by this Com

monwealth, numbers of whom, though enlisted for shorter periods than three years, deserve to be remembered irrespective of all the convenient rules of computation observed in comparing the services of living men, because they gave themselves for no term of months or years, but for the measure of their life-time, and died in the service and for the cause of their

country.

The aggregate numbers in the different classes of our whole contribution of soldiers, are as follows:

For three months, 5 regiments, 1 battalion, 1 company, 3,736 men. 36 days, 1 company, (Boston Cadets,).

3 months, 1 company, (Capt. Staten's,)

4 months, 1 company, (Salem Cadets,)

6 months, 1 company, (8th Light battery,)
9 months, 17 regiments, 1 company,
3 years, 41 regiments, 34 companies, and recruits

for same,

117

101

131

66

155

66

16,837 "

Making a final total of men sent by Massachusetts in her own organizations into the military service of the United States, on the land, during the present war, previously to Oct. 17, 1863, of

54,531 men.

. 75,608 men.

In this connection it may be remarked that any apportionment among different States, of their contributions to the armed force of the country, in order to be equitable and just, ought to be made according to the number of able-bodied men between the ages which are fixed as the limits of liability to military service; and not according to the whole population,