IV. It was a raw, gloomy day. A drizzling rain fell at intervals, and the pavements were slippery with mud. The batteries paraded in heavy marching order—knapsack, haversack, canteen, and mess-kit—and wore great-coats and leggings. The line of march was: Irvington Street, Huntington Avenue, Copley Square, Boylston Street, Berkeley Street, Beacon Street, School Street, Washington Street, State Street, Broad Street, to Rowe's Wharf. In spite of the inclement weather, the streets were crowded, and it seemed that the whole population of Boston had turned out to give the regiment a fitting farewell. The women were particularly enthusiastic. At one place on the line of march an elderly woman leaned far out of a window, as the regimental colors were being borne past, and cried to the men in the throng on the sidewalk below, "Take off your hats; take off your hats! I'm ashamed of you!" The wide At the State House there came another ovation. On the same spot where Governor Andrew, on the 25th of May, 1864, had welcomed back the regiment on its return from three glorious years of service with the Army of the Potomac, stood Governor Wolcott, with the officers of his staff, to speed the Old First on its way to yet another war. There was little ceremony; there was no oratory—but the moment, none the less, was impressive. On the one hand, as the long column took its way over the hill, was the grand bronze memorial to Shaw and his heroic men, mutely eloquent of duty done and history made; on the other, as mutely eloquent of duty yet to be performed and history yet to be written, was the Governor of the Commonwealth, erect and motionless, standing uncovered under the lowering sky as his troops, with his own son a private in the ranks, tramped steadily past in parting review. Copyrighted photograph by T. E. Marr, Boston. With the regimental staff paraded Colonel Richard H. Morgan, A.I.G. (formerly major commanding the Third Battalion), who had been detailed to accompany the command as inspecting officer, and Lieutenant Erasmus Colonel Charles Pfaff. Lieutenant-Colonel Charles B. Woodman. Staff. 1st Lieut. Charles H. Lake, Adjutant; 1st Lieut. John S. Keenan, Quartermaster; Major Howard S. Dearing, Surgeon; 1st Lieut. William A. Rolfe, Assistant Surgeon; 1st Lieut. Horace B. Parker, Paymaster; 1st Lieut. John B. Paine, Inspector Rifle Practice; 1st Lieut. Horatio Hathaway, Jr., Signal Officer; 1st Lieut. Joseph S. Francis, Range Officer; 1st Lieut. George S. Stockwell, Aide-de-Camp; Rev. Edward A. Horton, Chaplain. Major Perlie A. Dyar. "G" Battery. (Station, Boston.) Capt. Albert B. Chick. First Lieut. Frank S. Wilson. Second Lieut. James H. Gowing. "H" Battery. (Station, Chelsea.) Capt. Walter L. Pratt. First Lieut. William Renfrew. Second Lieut. Bertie E. Grant. "A" Battery. (Station, Boston.) Capt. John Bordman, Jr. First Lieut. E. Dwight Fullerton. Second Lieut. Sumner Paine. "L" Battery. (Station, Boston.) Capt. Frederick M. Whiting. First Lieut. William L. Swan. Second Lieut. Frederick A. Cheney. SECOND BATTALION. Major George F. Quinby. "D" Battery. (Station, Boston.) Capt. Joseph H. Frothingham. First Lieut. Norman P. Cormack. Second Lieut. William J. McCullough. Capt. Charles P. Nutter. First Lieut. Charles F. Nostrom. Second Lieut. Arthur E. Hall. "K" Battery. (Station, Boston.) Capt. Frederic S. Howes. First Lieut. P. Frank Packard. Second Lieut. Albert A. Gleason. "B" Battery. (Station, Cambridge.) Capt. Walter E. Lombard. First Lieut. John E. Day. Second Lieut. Marshall Underwood. THIRD BATTALION. Major James A. Frye. "M" Battery. (Station, Fall River.) Capt. Sierra L. Braley. First Lieut. David Fuller. Second Lieut. Frederick W. Harrison. "F" Battery. (Station, Taunton.) Capt. Norris O. Danforth. First Lieut. Ferdinand H. Phillips. Second Lieut. William J. Meek. Capt. Joseph L. Gibbs. First Lieut. Harold C. Wing. Second Lieut. (Vacancy.) "I" Battery. (Station, Brockton.) Capt. Charles Williamson. First Lieut. George E. Horton. Second Lieut. Wellington H. Nilsson. The Non-Commissioned Staff and Headquarters' attachÉs were the following: Sergeant-Major William D. Huddleson; Quartermaster-Sergeant Edward E. Chapman; Hospital Steward George Y. Sawyer; Paymaster-Sergeant George R. Russell; Drum Major James F. Clark; Chief Bugler Frederick A. H. Bennett; Color-Sergeants Axel T. Tornrose and Horace N. Conn; Orderly Samuel Weiss; Bandmaster Frank L. Collins. Almost exactly at noontide, and while the cheers of the artillerymen in response to those of their brethren of the Naval Brigade still were echoing across the water, the General Lincoln cast off her lines, and, amid ear-piercing salutes from every vessel provided with steam enough to start a whistle-valve, ran down the channel between Forts Winthrop and Independence, on her course for Fort Once more the Old First Regiment of Massachusetts was off for service. Thirty-seven years earlier, on May 27th, 1861, it had completed its muster into the volunteer army of the United States, leaving Boston on June 15th, and proceeding at once to Washington, where it had the high honor of being the first of the three-years' regiments to report, armed and equipped, for duty. Since that time the changes had been many; officers and men had come and gone; batteries had been transferred, Sheltering themselves as best they could from the biting wind, for the cabins could accommodate but a portion of the regiment, the men prepared to make the best of their hour's trip down the harbor. They were in the highest of spirits, for the orders to move had come as a relief to the previous strain of waiting for the expected to happen. The singing men promptly got to work, while the rest either listened, or, true to the immemorial trait of the newly enrolled volunteer, started cheers for every passing craft. Meanwhile the colonel The regiment had been hurriedly called out, and at an inclement season of the year, but its officers felt that it was fairly ready, so far as equipment went, for any service that might be expected in the immediate future. In the matter of small-arms there was little to be desired, since an issue of the latest model Springfield rifle—fresh from the national armory, and in perfect condition—had been made during the winter previous. Uniforms and great-coats, if lacking in smartness, were at least serviceable. Many batteries owned their blankets, and in addition to these there was on hand a full supply for the regiment, both woolen and rubber, which only awaited issue. The medical department had well-filled chests, with the necessary equipment and furniture for a small field hospital. Each battery had started from its station with full travel rations for forty-eight hours, which would tide over the interval required to set in operation a consolidated regimental mess. Several cases of Considered as a whole, and more especially in contrast with the wretchedly found commands sent into the field by most other States, the regiment certainly was in efficient and serviceable condition; it had the material necessary for taking care of itself, and, better still, its officers and men were self-reliant and capable. The only cause for uneasiness lay in the matter of quarters. On the New England coast, and at this time of year, the use of canvas for sheltering volunteer troops, just called from their homes and yet unseasoned, seemed unadvisable; arrangements, therefore, had been made by General Dalton for the use of the portable houses owned by the City of Boston, and employed as polling-booths at the municipal elections, and it was understood that something over fifty of these had been erected on the |