Hello,   In this morning's,  "MassMoments" e-mail there is a story about the beginning of the Civil War that I don't remember reading before:        ...in 1861, the Sixth Massachusetts Volunteer Militia was formally organized. With war approaching, men who worked in the textile cities of Lowell and Lawrence joined this new infantry regiment. They were issued uniforms and rifles; they learned to drill. They waited for the call. It came on April 15th, three days after the attack on Fort Sumter. They were needed to defend Washington, D.C.. The mood when they left Boston was almost festive. When they arrived in the border state of Maryland three days later, everything changed. An angry mob awaited them. In the riot that followed, 16 people lost their lives. Four were soldiers from Massachusetts. These men were the first combat fatalities of the Civil War.   http://www.massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=26   One question this morning would be:    How did the mills in both cities carry on without many of their employees?   Reminder that the "Town" of Lowell was originally annexed off of the Town of Chelmsford to create a "mill town" and different kinds of buildings were built to make that town  (1820's).   Betty            (near Lowell, MA)   (on Lists and Boards for 11 yrs.;   now an Admin for 10 Lists and 5 Boards)