Bay State Boys’ Louisiana Lament
THE FIRST HISTORIES of Civil War regiments were written before the guns had fallen silent; those written by participants for the rest of the 19th century and into the early 20th have given way to those written by buffs and historians. Some regimental histories appeal to a very narrow audience; others such as John J. Pullen’s classic, The Twentieth Maine, aim for a much wider readership. Of course, the quality of any regimental account much depends on the available sources, and Larry Lowenthal was blessed with a treasure trove of material found at the Wood Museum of Springfield History. As a consequence, his history of the 31st Massachusetts Infantry gives voice to a wide variety of officers and enlisted men.
The 31st Massachusetts was a hard-luck regiment—born in political conflict between the state’s governor, John A.
