May I ask the return of the accompanying papers?                                          

 

Boston March. 7^th 1863.        

L^t Col Harrison Ritchie

 

Colonel,

                                    I have the honor to hand you herewith a letter from Gen Griffin and a letter and paper from L^t Col Stephenson which will I think make it sufficiently clear that I am not responsible for the unfavorable inspection report of which you transmitted to me an extract.           

 

Col Prescott tells me that he has communicated with Mass^tts Head Quarters directly.

 

            I believe that the report does the regiment great injustice and I believe that in such respects as it represents unfavorably yet correctly the state of affairs, the fact that the Colonel had little or no experience as a field officer before taking the command should have been considered, and should now be considered by his Commanding Officer.

 

            I avail myself of this opportunity to say what otherwise I might never have said that the circumstances of the 32^d regiment's connection with the Army have been very peculiar in some respects and that from those circumstances / its command has been a more than commonly difficult position.

 

            It was brigaded with four old regiments was for a long time better supplied with camp equipage, hospital stores & conveniences than its associates and thus originated "envy hatred & malice" between it and the other regiments. Its discipline was established in garrison—it never cheered on parade or under arms and the men were not allowed to do many things which the others did and so it got the reputation of being "stuck up" and having saluted Gen M^cClellan without cheers was stigmatized our "Abolition concern"!!

 

            Six companies were drilled thoroughly before the last four joined and the last four Regiment was almost constantly on the march after the last companies joined and never attained to the same proficiency—yet of the regiment as a whole the same duty was expected as of the oldest regiments. Then too in the regiment there were continual heartburning between the old and new men—the men who had no bounties and the paid men, to which add the fact that some of the old soldiers declared that they had enlisted to serve at Fort Warren and not for the field, and you

SOURCES