"Coming down through the period of the Republic, we find the Commonwealth conspicuously ready for the great Civil War. In 1859, long before any of the statesmen at Washington would admit that any serious trouble was likely to occur, Governor Nathaniel P. Banks, formerly captain of this company, whom I recall, when I was a boy, marching through the streets in the ranks of this company with a rifle on his shoulder, -- Governor Banks assembled the militia of Massachusetts on the State camp ground at Concord in a muster, had them reviewed and inspected, and made other preparations to fit them to go into active service. Preparations were very thoroughly made, overcoats and other necessary equipments were provided, so that when the drum beat in '61 the men of Massachusetts not only went to the front, but went properly equipped and disciplined, and the first regiment to arrive in Washington for the defence of the National Capitol with arms in its hands, was our 6th Massachusetts."
Starts the last paragraph of p. 30 here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=5XOdkoDEsDgC&pg=PP9&lpg=PP9&dq=The+two+hundred+and+seventy+sixth+annual+record+of+the+ancient+and+honorable+artillery+company+of+massachusetts+1913-1914&source=bl&ots=6_xxmlSYVq&sig=bmSd-4xoEYvB5J6xyt0jTh_GzJc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zP9aUdX0Ku6k8AGMmoCIBw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
Can't help chuckling every time I read about the "defence of the National Capitol". It's a recurring theme in these books, and it doesn't have a shred of truth to it. There was no plot to take over the Capitol, nor was there any plot to stop Lincoln from taking office.
Also, MA Adjutant General report for 1858 including an appendix with an address by Governor Banks here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=yiz-eGlbzAMC&pg=PA4&lpg=PA4&dq=massachusetts+adjutant+general+report+to+governor+banks+1858&source=bl&ots=bHnnDvvNFq&sig=HUDZpmdZkgCUiefaszFx66gVTQo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ugFbUYL7FpTW2wWh_IDQDA&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false
No clue what is up with these links!? More to come when I have a few minutes. Some in Massachusetts may not want to talk about ALL aspects of the their history, but I do.
If I read your link correctly, it says in 1857 the Massachusetts enrolled militia was around 151,000 out of a Massachusetts population around 1,200,000.
In 1858 the MA militia numbers declined over 3,000.
Since the Federal 1792 & 1795 Militia Acts required all able-bodied white men 18 to 45 to enroll in a militia unit, you might expect the Massachusetts enrolled numbers to be higher.
southernsunshine: "...including an appendix with an address by Governor Banks here:"
I took the time to read all of Governor Banks' September 1858 address carefully.
That may be the occasion of the review of Massachusetts troops referenced previously.
In this address, Banks discussed examples of historical and more recent local domestic violence events requiring a states' militia to suppress.
He also talked about the physical and mental benefits to soldiers of military training.
However, at no point in the speech did Banks hint at anything whatever having to do with either national politics or southerners.