John Albion Andrew served as governor of Massachusetts throughout the Civil War, holding the office from January 1861 through January 1866. After his inauguration, Andrew started making preparations for war. He began with the idea of quietly readying forces, hoping to avoid conflict and panic among the people. Andrew made his preparations public with General Order number four, issued on 16 January 1861, commanding militia officers to replace men who were no longer able to serve in active duty with eligible fighting men and to fill any vacancies.