he and hallowell formed as a bodyguard for phillips in the winter of 1861. they enlisted together in the 20th massachusetts after graduating from harvard. when hollowell's anti-slavery convictions trumped his quaker pacifism. in february 1863, hollowell accepted the commission of lieutenant colonel in the new 54th massachusetts infantry, the first black regiment officially organized in the north. he tried to persuade holmes to take commission as a major in the regiment for together they could help advance the cause of abolition and equal rights. holmes was not interested. hollowell went on to fight in the 54th to command another black regiment to work on behalf of black rights for the rest of his life, and helped found the naacp 45 years after the end of the civil war. while holmes showed little interest in this cause. holmes and hollowell drifted apart over the years. holmes' circle of close friends included few civil war veterans. if his heart was touched with fire in the early 1860's, the fire appeared to have flickered and gone out in later years. or may

ideological convictions were 180 degrees contrary to those of hallowell and initially, to those of holmes. abbott was a democrat. almost a copperhead who was contemptuous to abolitionist, blacks, republicans, and abraham lincoln. at holmes struck up friendship with him that turned into admiration for his extraordinary courage and cool professionalism under fire. soldier, thesuperb best one in an outstanding whose death profoundly perfected -- effective holmes. the example of abbott convinced of characterty consists of doing one job with consistent two end. or to return to his own words -- the highest value is that which leaves a soldier to throw away his life in obedience to blindly accepted duty. it is beyond my competence to evaluate his traditional philosophy or to trace any hisct relationship with civil war experience and his on thens as a justice massachusetts and then the united states supreme courts. i think i can see a connection between the evolution of his mindset as a soldier from idealism to pragmatism, the connection between that and the famous sentence, first sentence, in hi

he and hallowell formed as a bodyguard for phillips in the winter of 1861. they enlisted together in the 20th massachusetts after graduating from harvard. when hollowell's anti-slavery convictions trumped his quaker pacifism. in february 1863, hollowell accepted the commission of lieutenant colonel in the new 54th massachusetts infantry, the first black regiment officially organized in the north. he tried to persuade holmes to take commission as a major in the regiment for together they could help advance the cause of abolition and equal rights. holmes was not interested. hollowell went on to fight in the 54th to command another holmes and hollowell drifted apart over the years. holmes' circle of close friends included few civil war veterans. if his heart was touched with fire in the early 1860's, the fire appeared to have flickered and gone out in later years. or maybe not. perhaps the flame of commitment to a cause with a capital "c" had been transmitted into week amount of values described as such words as duty, honor, professionalism. holmes hinted at su