Writing barely a month after the bombardment of Fort Sumter, Quartermaster General Chester Alan Arthur complains to Governor Edwin D. Morgan about "the pressure upon me for shirts, drawers, etc." and asks him for his help in getting 6,000 uniforms shipped from Albany to New York City "without another day's delay."

This letter clearly reveals the strain facing state officials as they struggled to equip the thousands of men who responded to President Lincoln's initial call for 75,000 men to put down the Rebellion. Lethargic and sluggish prior to the Civil War, New York's military bureaucracy would soon grow into a large and active operation, moving efficiently to get men into the field as rapidly as possible.

Identifier
NYSA_A4106-78_1861-05-17

Date Original
May 17 1861

Language
English

Source
New York State Archives, New York (State). Quartermaster General's Office. Administrative correspondence and related records, 1861-1868. Series A4106-78. PPO Folder #442.

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