Well aware of this condition of affairs, Governor Wolcott thought it prudent—even before the actual declaration of war—to have his foot batteries assembled in the vicinity of the guns at which it seemed more than likely that their services soon might be required, and by his direction permission was asked from Washington to send the First Heavy Artillery to Fort Warren, under State orders. This request met with the prompt approval of the Secretary of War, and on Sunday, April 24th, there came to regimental headquarters orders from General Dalton directing the command to "hold itself in readiness for immediate service in the defenses of Boston Harbor."

It hardly need be said that this order caused little surprise to the officers of the regiment. From the day when the naval court of inquiry reported the destruction of the Maine as due to external explosion, until the day that marching orders actually came, the command at any time could have reported for duty with full ranks, and on three hours' notice. It is a matter of official record that this regiment, for years, has been held in constant readiness for field service; the "Vigilantia" on the regimental badge has long stood for something more than an empty boast. As a strict matter of fact, though the officers had been convinced that war could not long be averted, there had been but little extra effort made on that account, for but little remained to be done; here and there battery rolls were judiciously weeded, all alarm-lists received final and careful revision—and that substantially was all. On the recommendation of the Military Advisory Board, to be sure, enough recruits had been enrolled to bring the regimental strength up to twelve hundred, and these new men had been faithfully drilled; but, as events proved, this labor was to result in small benefit to the regiment itself, though other commands ultimately profited by it.

Matters now were moving swiftly enough to suit the most impatient, and there were many impatient ones among the officers and men of the Old First. On the 23rd of April, President McKinley had issued his call for one hundred and twenty-five thousand volunteers; on the 24th, the regiment had been ordered to hold itself ready for instant response to marching orders; on the 25th, Congress resolved that a state of war then existed—and late in the afternoon of that day came the long-awaited summons to duty.

"Colonel Charles Pfaff, commanding First Regiment Heavy Artillery, First Brigade, M.V.M.," so ran the third paragraph of Special Orders, No. 42, from the office of the Adjutant-General, "will report with his command, fully armed and equipped, to the commanding officer at Fort Warren, for eight days' duty in the defenses of Boston Harbor." An eight days' tour? It was destined to be exactly two hundred and three days before the regiment should be released from the service on which it started under the order signed by General Dalton that afternoon.

Colonel Pfaff was awaiting developments at the State House when the decision was reached to call out the regiment, and the order was given to him direct. Hastening at once back to the South Armory, he handed the order to Adjutant Lake, who lost no time in putting in motion the mobilization machinery which for years had been in readiness to meet just such an emergency as this. Quietly and systematically the orders for assembly went out over the telegraph and telephone wires, until, in less than an hour, every officer of the command knew that the end of the long waiting had come. And then the non-commissioned officers passed the word to the men of their squads, while staff officers hurried by rail to the stations of each of the out-lying batteries, to make sure that nothing was omitted in the carrying out of the final orders. Long before midnight, through their reports, the commanding officer knew that his regiment would be ready to march out with full ranks on the following morning. There was little sleep for officers or men; many passed the night in their armories, while those who returned to their homes spent the hours before daylight in making hurried arrangements for an indefinite absence. It would be idle to say that there was no excitement, for each armory was a seething whirlpool of enthusiasm; but in spite of it all, matters moved on methodically, and morning found the twelve batteries ready in every respect for the mobilization.

With the early dawn, the batteries of the Third (Bristol-Plymouth) Battalion—years ago christened the "Cape" Battalion—formed at their armories for the march to the trains which were to transport them to Boston. Their departure was the signal for the wildest enthusiasm in their respective cities. In Fall River, Brockton, Taunton, and New Bedford the same scenes were enacted: cheering crowds lined the streets, and the Grand Army veterans, cadet corps of the schools, and civic organizations turned out to escort the departing troops. Very much the same sort of feeling prevailed in Cambridge and Chelsea; but in Boston—though excited crowds gathered about the great South Armory—there was no organized demonstration.

By nine o'clock, the batteries of the First and Second Battalions were assembled in the South Armory, where they were joined, a quarter of an hour later, by those of the Third Battalion, just off their troop-trains. Arms were stacked in the great drill-hall, knapsacks were unslung, and ranks were broken for a brief rest, while a travel ration, with hot coffee, was issued to the men, many of whom, in all probability, had been too excited to do full justice to breakfast at their homes.

It was at this time that a fact developed which—though overlooked in the rush of events at the time—must be placed on record now to the credit of the regiment. It must be recalled that definite orders for assembly were received late on the afternoon of the 25th, and that the men reported to their commands almost at daybreak on the 26th; recalling this, it certainly should give cause for just pride to the friends of the regiment, as well as to those who in the past have labored long and untiringly for the efficiency of the militia of Massachusetts, that in this emergency over ninety-nine per cent. of the regimental strength answered at morning roll-call, and reported for whatever service might be forthcoming. The commissioned and enlisted strength, under the State organization, aggregated seven hundred and ninety-three. The morning reports handed to the adjutant, during the short rest before the regiment took up its march towards the wharves, showed fifty officers and seven hundred and thirty-six enlisted men present, with only seven enlisted men absent—and of the latter, all were satisfactorily accounted for by reason of sickness or absence from the State. Much has been said during the past few months of the unreliability of militia in grave national emergencies, and it unfortunately is too true that in many States the records of the late war have tended to give force to such charges, but let it be remembered in Massachusetts, so long as there exists a First Regiment in its military establishment, that when a sudden call came, to meet what was felt to be a very real danger, the absentees when assembly was sounded numbered less than nine-tenths of one per cent. of the strength borne upon the regimental rolls.

Soon after ten o'clock, the regiment formed in line of masses. The regimental colors were brought from the colonel's quarters, and were received with three hearty cheers. Then the battalions stood at attention while Chaplain Horton earnestly addressed the men on the significance of the day's events. At the close of his remarks the regiment broke into column of detachments, the heavy doors of the armory swung wide, and the First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery—literally the first militia regiment in the country to come to the assistance of the general Government—marched out for the war, with its band at the head of the column playing the time-honored "March of The First."