path: root/51510-0.txt

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 51510 ***

                           The First Regiment
                     Massachusetts Heavy Artillery

                              "Vigilantia"


                           By the Same Author

                           FROM HEADQUARTERS

             Being Seven Odd Tales picked up during Service
                in a Militia Regiment in Time of Peace.

                       FABLES OF FIELD AND STAFF

             Being Seven Other Odd Tales concerning Certain
                    Happenings in the Same Regiment.

             Each volume, cloth, 12mo, mailed, postpaid, on
             receipt of price, $1.00, by

                          THE COLONIAL COMPANY
                            (P.O. Box 1612)
                                 Boston

[Illustration:

  Copyrighted photograph by T. E. Marr, Boston.

  COLONEL CHARLES PFAFF, U.S.V.

  Commanding Regiment.
]




                                  THE
                             FIRST REGIMENT
                     Massachusetts Heavy Artillery
                        UNITED STATES VOLUNTEERS
                                 IN THE
                      SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR OF 1898


                                   BY

                  COLONEL JAMES A. FRYE, A.I.G., MASS.

                      (LATE MAJOR OF THE REGIMENT)

   Member Massachusetts Military Historical Society; Associate Member
      United States Military Service Institution; Associate Member
         United States Naval Institute; Late Secretary National
                          Defence Association

                WITH REGIMENTAL ROSTER AND MUSTER-ROLLS

                                  AND

                         FIFTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS




                                 BOSTON
                          THE COLONIAL COMPANY
                                  1899




                            Copyright, 1899,

                           BY JAMES A. FRYE.




                                PRESS OF

                         Rockwell and Churchill

                             BOSTON, U.S.A.




                                   TO

                               My Father

                WHO ADVISED ME NOT TO ENTER THE SERVICE
                      AND WOULD HAVE DISINHERITED
                          ME HAD I HEEDED HIS
                                 ADVICE




                                CONTENTS


                                                                    PAGE
    I. INTRODUCTORY                                                    3
   II. THE COAST-DEFENCE PROBLEM IN MASSACHUSETTS                     13
  III. MARCHING-ORDERS                                                21
   IV. OFF FOR ACTIVE SERVICE                                         31
    V. THE REGIMENT AT FORT WARREN                                    47
   VI. A PERIOD OF SUSPENSE                                           59
  VII. FROM "M.V.M." TO "U.S.V."                                      71
 VIII. PERSONNEL OF THE REGIMENT                                      87
   IX. THE SEASON OF RUMORS                                           99
    X. ASSIGNMENT TO STATIONS                                        115
   XI. FORT PICKERING AND THE "NORTH-SHORE" DEFENSES                 129
  XII. FORT RODMAN AND ITS GARRISON                                  151
 XIII. THE THIRD BATTALION AT FORT WARREN                            161
  XIV. FINAL DAYS IN THE SERVICE                                     171
   XV. AN HONORABLE REGIMENTAL RECORD                                187
       ROSTER AND MUSTER-ROLLS                                       198
       CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR                                         253




                         LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS


                                                           PAGE
        COLONEL CHARLES PFAFF                    _Frontispiece_
        RESPONDING TO THE CALL, 26 APRIL, 1898               33
        BARBETTE BATTERY, 15-INCH RODMANS                    49
        FIELD AND MACHINE GUN BATTERY                        63
        LIEUTENANT-COLONEL CARLE A. WOODRUFF                 79
        THE FIELD, STAFF, AND LINE                           91
        CHANNEL BATTERY, 8-INCH RIFLES                      103
        GARRISON ENCAMPMENT, FORT PICKERING                 119
        MAJOR PERLIE A. DYAR                                131
        MAJOR-SURGEON HOWARD S. DEARING                     135
        MAJOR GEORGE F. QUINBY                              141
        LIEUTENANT-COLONEL CHARLES B. WOODMAN               153
        MAJOR JAMES A. FRYE                                 163
        LIEUTENANT-COLONEL ERASMUS M. WEAVER                177
        THE LAST EVENING PARADE, 3 OCTOBER, 1898            189




                                PREFACE


THIS book forms but a single chapter—the latest one—in the eventful and
ever-honorable history of the First Massachusetts Regiment. It has been
written in the hope that it may aid in maintaining the splendid _esprit
de corps_ which always has been characteristic of the command.

Nor does this corps-pride lack warrant. Since 1844, under one
designation or another, the First Massachusetts, as a regimental
organization, has been continuously in the service either of the
Commonwealth or of the Nation; through long years of peace it faithfully
has held itself in trained and disciplined readiness against the hour of
need; in two wars it unhesitatingly has responded to the call of the
Government, returning from each with an untarnished record of duty well
done. Furthermore—in part, at least, if not as a whole—it has been
identified for over a century with the making of American history; for,
like the sturdy oak, the regiment may trace its growth from still
vigorous roots which reach far back into the historic past. "D" Battery
(Roxbury Train of Artillery) was chartered in 1784, bearing upon its
original muster-rolls the names of many veterans of the Revolution, and
first seeing active service in the Shay Rebellion of 1787; "G" Battery
(Boston Fusileers) dates its organization from 1786 and its record of
active service from the War of 1812; "K" Battery (Boston Light Infantry)
was first enrolled at the time of our brief naval war with France in
1798, and served with the coast-guard in 1812.

The story of the heroic work of the regiment in the Civil War already
fills a volume by itself: Blackburn's Ford, First Bull Run, Yorktown,
Williamsburg, White Oak Swamp, Fair Oaks, Savage's Station, Glendale,
Malvern Hill, Second Bull Run, Chantilly, Fredericksburg,
Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Locust Grove, Spottsylvania—tremendous
names like these may hint at the regimental record which was written in
blood from 1861 to 1864. With an honor-roll of one hundred and
seventy-three dead, and with a grim list of six hundred and forty-three
discharges for wounds and disease, the First Massachusetts honestly
bought and dearly paid for its treasured place among the "Three Hundred
Fighting Regiments" of the Union Army.

This latest chapter in the regimental history deals neither with battles
nor with foreign service—and yet it ill could be spared from the records
of the Old First. Nothing possibly could have been finer than the spirit
in which the young men of the regiment sprang to their places under its
colors at the call of 25th April, 1898, believing, as they most
sincerely did, that the very first of the fighting was to be theirs;
nothing could have been more honorable than the unvarying discipline
maintained during the dull months of garrison duty, when, day by day,
their hope for action waned.

Half forgotten by the very citizens for whose protection the regiment
was assigned to its stations; wholly ignored by the press, which ever
has failed to comprehend the exacting requirements of efficient
coast-defence,—the men of the First Massachusetts, like their comrades
of the regular artillery, quietly stood to their guns during the time of
possible peril, and as quietly returned to the routine of peace when
that peril had passed. Time alone can fix the relative value of many
things, and while that final adjustment is taking place the regiment may
rest content with its own consciousness of having carried out well and
faithfully whatever orders came to it.

                                                          JAMES A. FRYE.

 _Boston, 25 April, 1899._




                              INTRODUCTORY




                                   I.


THE Spanish-American War has passed into history. Regiment by regiment
the troops of the United States have been transported to Cuba and Porto
Rico, to take quiet possession of the stations relinquished by the
departing remnants of the Spanish colonial army, and now our flag flies
over even Havana itself. Of the six regiments—the First Heavy Artillery,
Second, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Ninth Infantry—sent out by
Massachusetts in response to the calls of the President, all now are
home again, while the officers and men of the gallant Naval Brigade have
returned from their service afloat on cruiser and monitor to rejoin the
command from which they volunteered. Gradually, but none the less
surely, the stirring events of the spring and summer of 1898 are
becoming but memories—memories to be recalled in years to come at the
reunions of those who served together in the war so happily brought to a
conclusion.

Even today, after the lapse of but a year, it has become difficult, if
not impossible, to realize the state of public feeling in Boston on that
wet, raw day in April, 1898, when the First Massachusetts Heavy
Artillery, then a militia regiment, marched solidly and grimly through
the muddy streets on its way to Fort Warren. The sight of the long, blue
column—officers on foot, men in heavy marching order—told more plainly
than any telegraphic despatch that the long-expected war had come at
last. Day by day the feeling of uneasiness in the cities and towns along
the New England coast had been growing in intensity. Bombardment
insurance was being written, securities and valuables were being removed
from the safe-deposit vaults of shore cities to those of inland towns,
while letters by the hundred, and delegations by the score were coming
to the governors of coast States, praying for protection against naval
raids. As in 1812, and as again in 1861, the authorities at Washington
were overwhelmed with petitions for the naval protection of local
interests, and—even as in former wars—they were compelled to reply that
the few ships of war on the navy list could not be spared to do the work
of shore batteries. The entire fleet of battleships, modern monitors,
and cruisers barely sufficed for the composition of Dewey's squadron in
the far East, of Sampson's and Schley's in the West Indies.

Nor was this wide-spread feeling of alarm entirely without foundation,
or due to unreasoning fear. More than one foreign service journal had
reckoned the opposing fleets as nearly of equal strength, and even our
own Captain Mahan now writes: "The force of the Spanish navy on paper,
as the expression goes, was so nearly equal to our own, that it was well
within the limits of possibility that an unlucky incident, the loss, for
example, of a battleship, might make the Spaniard superior in nominal,
or even in actual, available force. Where so much is at stake as the
result of a war, or even the unnecessary prolongation of war, with its
sufferings and anxieties, the only safe rule is to regard the apparent
as the actual, until its reality has been tested." We are looking
backward now; then we were looking forward. We now know, through the
supreme tests of May 1st and July 3d, that the paper strength and the
fighting strength of the Spanish navy were two widely differing
qualities; but late in April, 1898, all this yet remained to be
determined, and the memorable rush of the _Oregon_ from the far Pacific
bears witness that the Navy Department recognized the preponderance that
might be given by the addition of even a single fighting-ship to our
force on the threatened Atlantic sea-board.

Of the result of a general fleet action the country had small doubt; it
was the possibility of sudden and unexpected naval raids that caused
concern. The words of the English naval critic, Steevens, applied with
tenfold force to our own case: "It is tolerably obvious that no
superiority in the world could guarantee our whole empire against raids
by hostile cruisers. A fast cruiser could break the closest blockade
possible in the days of torpedo boats, and though she would stand to
meet and be engaged by a cruiser or cruisers of our own, yet she would
also stand to elude them. She might then shell or lay under contribution
unprotected coast towns, destroy shipping lying in their harbors, or
making for or from them, besides landing small forces to do serious, if
not vital damage." And this fact was recognized no better by any one
than by Admiral Cervera himself, who, in a letter written in February,
1898, after deploring the lack of Spanish naval preparation, said:
"Under such conditions, a campaign would be disastrous, if not an
offensive one, and all that could be done in an offensive war would be
to make some raids with a few fast vessels."

Reduced to its lowest terms, the situation confronting the authorities
was this: the Spanish naval list showed—either in commission or
building—nine 20-knot cruisers,[1] heavily armed and armored, and
theoretically able to run away easily from any armored ships in our
establishment save the _Brooklyn_ and _New York_, while (still
theoretically) capable of whipping without effort these two latter
cruisers, if brought to bay. Furthermore, the operations of the army and
navy, in the West Indies and the Philippines, imperatively required the
services of every modern fighting-ship at our disposal, and thus the
long stretch of Atlantic coast, with its teeming harbors and populous
cities, practically was left at the mercy of any chance squadron of
swift cruisers, or even—at least in the earlier days of the war—of
possible raids by privateers or wandering torpedo-gunboats. There was,
it is true, the hastily improvised and costly coast-patrol fleet, of
something over forty vessels—monitor relics of the '60's, armed yachts,
ferry-boats, and tugs—distributed along the coast at stations from
Eastport to New Orleans, but this heterogeneous outfit was brought into
existence rather for scouting than for fighting. As a factor in actual
resistance to determined naval attack it called for no serious
consideration, and as a matter of record its organization was not
complete until the 16th of June, when the dreaded _Vizcaya_, with her
sister ships, finally had been marked down and safely penned in the
harbor of Santiago.

Footnote 1:

  _Almirante Oquendo_, _Cardenal Cisneros_, _Cataluna_, _Cristobal
  Colon_, _Emperador Carlos V._, _Infanta Maria Teresa_, _Pedro
  d'Aragon_, _Princesa de Asturias_, _Vizcaya_.—"Brassey's Naval
  Annual," 1897.

It was evident that the coast States, in the impending emergency, must
turn for comfort from the Navy to the War Department, and it soon became
most painfully evident that the prospect of obtaining any immediate aid
from this quarter was far from reassuring. This especially was true in
the case of the New England States, and notably so in that of
Massachusetts. To make a broad statement, modern defensive works, modern
sea-coast guns, and trained artillerymen to man them, were lacking. In
other words, the apathy of thirty years had borne its legitimate fruit:
the Congressmen of New England—with honorable exceptions, like Senators
Hawley and Lodge—while ever willing to exert themselves in favor of
"Protection" of the commercial variety, had been sublimely indifferent
to their duty in providing protection of another and very vital sort,
and their constituents, in consequence, were enabled to enjoy the
sensation of a war-scare which was far from being unwarranted. For it
did not require a high order of intellect to comprehend that thirty days
would not suffice for the accomplishment of the work of ten years—nor,
indeed, could any one furnish a satisfactory guarantee of even thirty
days' freedom from attack.




                      THE COAST-DEFENCE PROBLEM IN
                             MASSACHUSETTS




                                  II.


EARLY in April, when war was imminent, Governor Wolcott, with two
officers of his staff, sat down to the study of a war-map of the
Massachusetts coast which had been prepared and carefully revised to
meet existing conditions. It is no exaggeration to say that this map
furnished material for the most serious thought. The map pitilessly
showed that from the Merrimac River, on the northern boundary, to the
Taunton River, on the southern, there were on navigable waters, open to
some of the many forms of naval attack—whether by fleet bombardment,
cruiser raid, or torpedo-boat dash—no less than forty-one cities and
towns, none with less than one thousand of population, whose inhabitants
aggregated one million seventy-seven thousand, or over forty-three per
cent. of the population of the State. Furthermore, it appeared that, at
a low estimate, the property interests exposed in these towns reached
the enormous sum of $1,586,775,000—surely a tempting bait for any
adventurous naval commander in the service of a desperate and bankrupt
enemy.

But the map relentlessly showed more than this: it demonstrated the
absolutely defenceless condition of this rich strip of coast. At Boston
there were indications of a rudimentary defence; at New Bedford stood
the obsolete granite walls of old Fort Rodman; Fall River was protected
by the guns at Fort Adams and the batteries at Dutch Island; but
elsewhere along the coast there was not to be found even the pretence of
preparation for the surely coming war.

The obsolete defenses, however, were not alone in giving cause for grave
concern. The question of manning them had to be considered. As a matter
of record, there were scattered along the coast from Fort Preble, Me.,
to Fort Trumbull, Conn., eight batteries—one ("F") a light battery—of
the Second Artillery, whose duty-strength on the 16th of April may have
been approximately six hundred men. There were but three of these
batteries on duty on the Massachusetts coast—"C" (Schenck's) and "M"
(Richmond's) at Fort Warren; "G" (Niles') at the yet incomplete battery
at Long Island Head, Boston Harbor. Where more trained gunners were to
be had was problematical. The bill providing for the organization of the
Sixth and Seventh Regiments of regular artillery had been passed by
Congress as late as March 7th, and these new commands were only in
process of evolution. It was not until the 16th of May that the first of
the newly raised batteries took station in New England, and even then
its standard of efficiency was low, owing to the heavy percentage of
recruits in its ranks.

The condition of affairs in Boston Harbor was most interesting. Here was
a city with an estimated population of five hundred and fifty thousand;
with an assessed valuation of $1,012,750,000; with business interests to
be reckoned by daily bank-clearings of $20,000,000; with annual exports
and imports of $189,879,839—in short, the second seaport of the country
in commercial rank. Naturally it would be expected that the general
Government, which hardly could be ignorant of the enormous interests
just shown, would have made some pretence at giving them adequate
protection. But what were the grim facts in the case?

In 1886, the so-called Endicott Board on Fortifications—whose scheme of
defence, with some minor modifications, still remains the standard
project for the erection of our coast works—recommended an expenditure
of $10,910,250 for the defenses of Boston Harbor. This sum covered the
cost of guns, mounts, emplacements, submarine mines, and a flotilla of
eighteen torpedo-boats for local service. Large as it may seem, it yet
represents a levy of but one and seven-hundredths per cent. on the
assessed valuation of the property exposed at this port, and furthermore
it was intended that its expenditure should be distributed through a
period of ten years. How faithfully this programme was carried out by
the authorities at Washington may be shown by the following table, in
which the first column of figures indicates the number of breech-loading
rifles and mortars required by the complete scheme of defence, while the
second exhibits those actually mounted for service during the late war:

                                    Proposed Mounted

                   16-inch B. L. R.        8       0
                   12-inch B. L. R.       10       0
                   10-inch B. L. R.       15       8
                    8-inch B. L. R.       10       0
                   12-inch B. L. M.      132      16
                                         ---      --
                   Total of pieces       175      24

In other words, of the projected scheme of defence—so far as concerned
the main element, gun and mortar fire—there remained to be put into
operation the trifling matter of eighty-six per cent.! In twelve years
elapsing since the exhaustive report of the Endicott Board, the Congress
of the United States had doled out appropriations barely sufficient to
complete thirteen and seven-tenths per cent. of the required guns,
mounts, and emplacements. The essential matter of the torpedo-boat
flotilla had been put calmly aside without even the courtesy of
consideration. Funds at the disposal of the Engineers had enabled them,
as early as March 1st, to begin the work of submarine mining, but at no
time during the war was the complete system of mines installed. And,
last of all, when war actually had been declared, the garrisons of the
three main defensive positions of the harbor—Fort Warren, Long Island
Head, and the Mortar Battery at Winthrop—aggregated less than two
hundred and fifty officers and men for duty.




                            MARCHING ORDERS




                                  III.


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."




                         OFF FOR ACTIVE SERVICE




                                  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
granite steps of the Institute of Technology were densely packed with
students, who cheered lustily as the batteries, with not a few graduates
and undergraduates of the school in their ranks, swung by before them.

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.

[Illustration:

  Copyrighted photograph by T. E. Marr, Boston.

  RESPONDING TO THE CALL.

  Governor Wolcott reviewing the Regiment, 26th April, 1898.
]

On School Street, and again on State Street, the regiment was loyally
welcomed. In spite of slippery and treacherous pavements, alignments and
distances were well maintained, and the batteries marched with the long,
swinging step for which the command always has been noted, though the
unequal platoonfronts due to the detachment formation of foot artillery
gave an odd effect to the column. All through the business district the
applause and cheering were continuous, and it was almost with a sense of
relief that the regiment finally boarded its transport, the steamer
_General Lincoln_, and escaped from the patriotic uproar. But even here
a parting cheer was heard, for the men of the Naval Brigade, on board
the _Minnesota_, came swarming from below in their white uniforms, and
strained their throats in fraternal desire to start the regiment
fittingly on its way to the outer harbor-works.

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
M. Weaver, Second United States Artillery (later lieutenant-colonel,
Fifth Massachusetts Infantry, U.S.V., and now captain in the regular
artillery), who for the year previous had been attached to the regiment
as instructor in coast artillery work, and to whose untiring efforts the
regiment owed much for its efficiency. The field, staff, and line
officers of the command on this date were as noted in the following
roster—the sequence of battalions and batteries being that in which
column was formed for parade:

                         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.



                             FIRST BATTALION.

                          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.


               _"C" Battery. Colors._ (_Station, Boston._)

                         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.


                 _"E" Battery._ (_Station, New Bedford._)

                          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 Warren. In passing out of the
upper harbor, the transport ran close to the great British cable-steamer
_Minia_, whose crew swarmed at her rail and yelled their enthusiastic
approval of the proceedings, while high on her bridge her officers
lifted their caps in acknowledgment of the answering roar from the men
in blue. And then, at a sharp order from the bridge, a petty officer ran
aft on the _Minia_, and the red ensign of England was thrice dipped by
way of wishing luck to the Yankee volunteers. It was a pleasant
incident, as well as one not without significance, and the men of the
regiment promptly appropriated it as a good omen.

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,
disbanded, or reorganized, until there remained but six out of the
twelve ("B," "D," "E," "G," "H," and "K") whose records showed service
in the previous war, while of these only three ("D," "G," and "H") had
campaigned with the old War First from '61 to '64. But through all the
vicissitudes of over a third of a century the traditions and spirit of
the early days had been reverently cherished and kept sacred, until now,
when the latest call had come, the young men whose pride it was that
they bore the veteran name and number were again first in ready response
to the summons.

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 had assembled his battalion
and battery commanders to receive their final instructions looking
towards the comfort of the men when the fort should be reached.

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 heavy shoes had been ordered, to have at hand in case
delay should be experienced in filling requisitions for foot-gear. There
were on hand twelve thousand rounds of small-arm ammunition—not enough
to go far in an infantry fight, but sufficient for supplying the belts
of sentries and patrol-boat crews at a coast fort.

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 parade at Fort
Warren, in readiness for the coming of the regiment. In this
expectation, however, the commanding officer was destined to meet
disappointment.




                      THE REGIMENT AT FORT WARREN




                                   V.


SHORTLY after one o'clock, the transport drew alongside the pier at Fort
Warren, and the batteries disembarked and formed in column, with the
field music at the head. Then the regiment marched up from the pier, in
through the main sallyport, and on to the parade, where line of masses
was formed, arms were stacked and knapsacks unslung, preparatory to the
work of getting the baggage up from the transport and settling down in
quarters. And here the regiment was treated to an unwelcome surprise.
The rain-proof wooden village which it had expected to find waiting for
its occupancy had not yet come into existence; over by the main magazine
stood two or three lonely booths, but the rest of the cantonment still
remained piled in disjoined pieces on the lighters lying at the pier. To
be sure, a delegation from the institution at Deer Island was engaged in
giving a half-hearted imitation of a working detail, but it was obvious
to the most obtuse that the coming of night would find the task of
village-building hardly begun—and this led the seven hundred men
standing at ease behind the line of stacks on the soggy parade ground,
and lunching in the cold, drizzling rain, on hardtack and canned beef,
to make philosophical comments on the horrors of war in general, and of
this war in particular.

But the time allowed for this innocent pastime was brief. Battery by
battery, details were told off for pack-train duty, and in a very short
time an endless chain of men circulated between the pier and the parade,
filing empty-handed through the little postern in the northwestern
bastion, and returning by way of the main sallyport, heavy laden with
roof and wall sections. Even the wearied men in brown from Deer
Island—who promptly had been christened by the batterymen the "Third
Corps of Cadets"—seemed to catch the spirit of the occasion, and showed
more animation in putting one foot before the other. And it was here
that the regiment added to its repertoire a new version of an old song,
with the merry refrain:

                        "They broke our backs
                        A-luggin' shacks,
                        In the regular army-O!"

[Illustration:

  Photograph by W. H. Caldwell, Brockton.

  15-INCH RODMANS, FORT WARREN.

  Gun-laying Practice on Outward-bound Steamship.
]

By night, there had been enough house-building accomplished for the
sheltering of four batteries. The rest of the men stowed themselves in
odd corners of the fort, large numbers bunking with their friends the
regulars, and many picking out soft spots on the floor of the post
recreation-room and gymnasium. As a matter of fact, it was four days
before the entire command was settled in quarters—wet, windy days at
that—lack of working tools for putting the houses together delaying the
completion of the task. But when the village finally stood finished, it
was a model village indeed—with a city hall, as exemplified by the
office of the adjutant; a city hospital, in the shape of the surgeon's
red cross shanty; eight straight, though narrow, streets, with six
houses in each; and last, if far from least, a fire department,
consisting of two hose-reels manned by detachments from "I" and "L"
Batteries, with Captains Williamson and Whiting serving as the Board of
Engineers. Later there was added a banquet hall, in the shape of a huge
mess-tent, which loomed up grandly in fair weather, but tumbled
ignominiously into the mud on the stormy days when it was most needed;
but in the early days, officers and men took their rations as best they
could, in the stuffy casemate of the gymnasium or amid the gloom of the
"Dark Arch." And it may be said here that the messing problem was not a
matter for easy solution, since the crowded condition of the fort made
it impossible for the batteries to cook with their Buzzacot outfits,
while the fixed kitchen appliances used by the regulars were inadequate
for rationing a garrison of over nine hundred men. The question was
finally settled, however, by employing a contractor to provide a general
mess for the regiment, and this method was followed in the rationing of
the command until it was broken up and sent to its various coast
stations, late in May.

If the enlisted men were not luxuriously quartered in the early days at
Fort Warren, the commissioned officers certainly were not much better
off. The colonel, with his fourteen field and staff officers, went to
housekeeping in three rooms in the second casemate to the eastward of
the sallyport, while the first casemate to the westward found its eight
rooms well populated with the thirty-five officers of the line. The room
assigned to the lieutenant-colonel, the three majors, and the surgeon
was a type of garrison luxury. It was lighted and aired by three narrow
musketry loopholes, which afforded a somewhat monotonous view of the
main ditch and sodded slope of the northern cover-face, while its
contracted area was taken up in part by five cots, as many fieldchests,
and a variable number of camp-stools. But it had an open grate, in which
a coal fire was always glowing, and on the nights when the rain drove
down upon the muddy parade, or the impenetrable fog swept over the
ramparts, it was far from lacking in comfort. As a matter of fact, the
enlisted men were extremely well provided for, since each house in the
battery streets ultimately was equipped with a coal stove and with lamps
in plenty, while volunteer ingenuity was not long in providing bunks,
arm-racks, and cupboards. As a rule, there were about fifteen men, under
the proper non-commissioned officers, quartered in each shack, an
allowance which gave ample space.

When the command reported at the fort, it was in excellent condition so
far as concerned its health, and its officers purposed to keep it so. It
is worth noting that on the day after its arrival, in spite of the
fatigue, exposure, and excitement attendant upon its departure from
home, there was not a single response at morning surgeon's call, which
was nothing less than remarkable when it is recalled that here were over
seven hundred and fifty men, fresh from office, shop, and factory, who
had slept in damp uniforms, and in most uncomfortable quarters. This
good record in the matter of health was maintained to the end of the
regiment's term of service, and that it was so maintained is due to more
than mere chance. Rigid rules, rigidly enforced, were laid down for camp
sanitary matters, and minute inspections were daily made by both
battalion and battery commanders, while the medical officers were alert
and untiring in looking to the welfare of the men. The trying and
unseasonable weather of late April and early May, together with the
heavy details brought under exposure on guard and patrol duty, resulted
in some sickness, but at no time was the hospital list unduly large. In
its service of over six months there was but one death in the regiment,
and this casualty occurred in the case of a man who contracted scarlet
fever, and died while on mustering-out furlough. All through the summer
the regiment improved in health and physique, and when finally it
returned from the field it was in the pink of condition for further
service. In justice to the officers of the command, this point cannot be
unduly emphasized: the general condemnation of volunteer officers, so
common since the close of the war, admits of certain sharply defined
qualifications. While no estimate yet can be made of the dimensions of
the pension bill for 1898, which finally will confront the country, it
may be stated as an assured fact that the taxpayers need worry little
over the item in the account chargeable to the First Massachusetts.




                          A PERIOD OF SUSPENSE




                                  VI.


WHILE the work of settling the regiment at its new station was in
progress, its officers found themselves confronted by a new and serious
cause for apprehension. Up to the time of arriving at the fort, there
had been a marked lack of definite information as to the future service
of the command. Only two facts seemed assured: that the President had
called for one hundred and twenty-five thousand volunteers, and that the
hurried ordering out of the First had been in partial answer to that
call. Before the enthusiasm attending the prompt assembly of the
regiment had died away, there came to Fort Warren a bit of news which
literally dumbfounded its officers and men. Word was received from the
State House that General Corbin, in assigning the quota of
Massachusetts, had made requisition for four regiments of infantry, and
but three batteries of heavy artillery!

The effect of this announcement may be better imagined than described.
Here was a regiment which since 1882 had received desultory instruction
in artillery work, and since 1892 had devoted itself seriously to the
study of the duties of this arm; year by year it had improved in
discipline and gained in efficiency until its officers and men, beyond
any doubt or question, were fully capable of serving intelligently and
well the secondary armament—even if not the most modern ordnance—in any
works on the coast; it had annually, in its encampments, been brought
into contact with regulars, and had become thoroughly familiar with the
surroundings of permanent fortifications; moreover, it was the only
regiment of militia heavy artillery in the entire country—and yet a
single telegram from Washington threatened to overthrow the work of long
years, and to destroy by a stroke of the pen an organization to whose
up-building patriotic men unselfishly had given their time, their money,
and their most earnest effort.

It hardly need be said that on the receipt of this intelligence the
officers of the regiment, from the Chief to the last subaltern, passed
through the successive stages of astonishment, humiliation, and bitter
chagrin, to a final condition of supreme disgust. It seemed evident that
the First Massachusetts, after its half-century of honorable service in
peace and war, either had been forgotten, or else was destined to be
entirely ignored. The action of the War Department seemed inexplicable
under the circumstances. The country suddenly had become involved in a
war in which attacks on its coast cities were possible, if not imminent;
while wofully lacking in trained troops of all arms, it stood most
distressingly in need of garrison artillery; Massachusetts, alone among
the States, was ready and waiting to offer a regiment of fairly
disciplined and fairly trained artillerymen—and was called upon for but
three batteries! And this, it should be noted, in the face of an
exigency which compelled the Commanding Officer of the Department of the
East (General Orders, No. 21, 6th June, 1898) to issue such instructions
as these: "In case the regular artillery troops at any post are not
sufficient properly to man all the guns, the commanding officer will
apply for such officers, companies, or details from the infantry
supports, to be assigned to these duties, as may be necessary. At
fortifications where _no artillery troops are stationed_, the post
commander will select such companies or number of troops as shall be
necessary, and assign them to that duty." It is a matter of record that
such assignments had to be made, and that the raw troops used for the
purpose not only were absolutely useless as artillerists, but even, in
some instances, proved themselves incapable of properly caring for the
expensive artillery material placed under their control.

[Illustration:

  Photograph by W. H. Caldwell, Brockton.

  FIELD AND MACHINE GUN BATTERY.

  For Defence of Submarine Mines, Fort Warren.
]

The War Department should not have been in ignorance of the existence of
this regiment, or of its condition of comparative efficiency. Yearly,
from 1892 to 1897, reports upon its progress had been compiled by
Colonel Miller, of the Third United States Artillery, and by Colonel
Kline, of the Twenty-first United States Infantry—both of whom, to the
satisfaction of those in the Massachusetts service, since have become
general officers—and these reports had shown uniform commendation of the
conscientious work that was being done. In 1896 Colonel Kline reported:
"With this year's work, Massachusetts has a corps (the First Regiment)
for coast-defence. Should an emergency arise necessitating the immediate
reënforcement of Fort Warren, the whole of this fine regiment could in
twenty-four hours be sent to the post, and would _now_ be of _invaluable
service_." And in his report for 1897, submitted at a time when war was
almost in sight, he repeated with added emphasis his comment of the
preceding year: "The Legislature of the State of Massachusetts,
recognizing the advisability of a coast-defence reserve, promptly
legislated the transfer of one of the infantry regiments (First) for
this duty. The wisdom of this legislation cannot be questioned. Under
adverse conditions the regiment has labored; without the means of
receiving proper instruction, save such as could be given by officers
when released from their duties, given freely and unstintedly, yet they
have succeeded in fitting the organization as a reserve force that could
_now_ be of invaluable service." In both these extracts the italics are
those found in the original report, as printed by the Military
Information Division at Washington.

Apparently the emergency requiring the immediate reënforcement of Fort
Warren had arrived; in less than _twenty_ hours from the time orders
reached the men, the regiment had reported at the post, armed,
uniformed, rationed, and equipped; officers and men stood ready to
render the invaluable services for which an inspecting officer of the
Government had declared them fit—and yet now, at a time when hastily
raised and untrained infantry was to be thrown headlong into artillery
posts, there came word from Washington that the First Massachusetts
Heavy Artillery, as an organization, would receive no consideration as a
part of the volunteer army of the United States.

It was small wonder that this verdict was received with something very
like consternation. If it could not be reversed, the destruction of the
regiment was certain. For years the men had been schooled in the belief
that they were in fact, if not in name, essentially a part of the army
of the United States; every enlistment had been made on the
understanding that in time of peace faithful service was to be rendered
to Massachusetts, in time of war, to the United States. The splendid
_esprit de corps_ of the command had been carefully built up upon this
supposition, and the men had been taught to believe that the hard
training to which they were subjected was intended to fit them for
something more than mere parade and ceremony, for something beyond
possible riot duty—in short, for something no less serious than the
defence of their country in the hour of need.

All this was at once made known to Governor Wolcott, who instantly
appreciated the disastrous effect of the proposed action, and set
himself to the task of finding a remedy. By his direction, Colonel
Sohier, A.D.C., of his staff, hurried on to Washington, where by
personal effort he succeeded in securing a reversal of the decision
first made by General Corbin, who not only accepted the regiment as then
organized, but even further directed that its term of service should
date from April 26th—thus officially recognizing the command as first in
the field for the war. The regimental pay-rolls subsequently were made
up from this date, and officers and men were paid accordingly.

But though Colonel Sohier was successful in his mission so far as
concerned saving the regiment for the national service, it was found
impossible to secure permission to recruit the command to war strength,
for the absurd reason that to do so would exceed the quota of volunteers
allotted to Massachusetts. From a purely technical point of view, this
decision seems inexplicable. There was crying need, at the time, for
garrison artillery, while it was not expected that any serious demands
would be made upon the infantry of the army before autumn; why, then,
the proportion was not maintained by recruiting the First, and accepting
one of the regiments of Massachusetts infantry temporarily on its peace
strength, must always remain beyond the comprehension of those
unfortunate enough to have had a professional knowledge of the
coast-defence conditions prevailing at the opening of the late war.




                       FROM "M.V.M." TO "U.S.V."




                                  VII.


THE regiment was saved. Furthermore, it was actually, if not legally, in
the service of the United States. But there yet remained certain complex
processes which had to be gone through with before the "U.S.V." should
supplant the "M.V.M." By a pleasant legal fiction, it had to be assumed
that the militia regiment which had set out for Fort Warren had been
lost somewhere _en route_, and that it had become imperatively necessary
to raise a new regiment to take its place in the volunteer service. All
this, of course, was but the most utter rubbish—and rubbish which under
easily supposable conditions might prove dangerous—yet the obsolete
militia laws which Congress has left upon the statute books, unaltered
for nearly a century, made its observance necessary. General Dalton
therefore (Special Orders, No. 45, 29th April) gravely issued
instructions for the formation of the new regiment, though oddly enough
he neglected the matter of making inquiries as to what had become of the
old one. These instructions were brief and to the point: "Colonel
Charles Pfaff, having been designated to command a volunteer regiment of
heavy artillery, under the call of the President of the United States,
will cause the enrolment of such officers and men as may volunteer in
such regiment, and will cause to be prepared the necessary papers for
muster into service of such volunteers, by Major Carle A. Woodruff,
commanding at Fort Warren."

This order meant two things for the officers of the First. It required a
final and most careful revision of the battery rolls, and a last
searching scrutiny by the medical officers of the physical condition of
the rank and file. Of these two requirements, the first was by far the
most important. Had the regiment been formed in line, and the order been
given for volunteers to step to the front, there can be no question that
the command would have responded to the last man. But it was exactly
this sort of thing that the officers wished to avoid. The regiment was
about to enter upon a two-years' term of service, and its officers felt
it their duty to discourage the enlistment of all whose families or
dependents would suffer undue hardship should that term prove necessary.
It was felt that any public call for volunteers would place men in false
positions—as such procedure actually did in many States—and it was
decided quietly to inquire into the merits of each individual case,
refusing such men as could not show that their entry into the service
would not work material injury either to themselves or to others. By
adhering to this rule, the regiment lost a small percentage of the
strength with which it went out, but the drain was easily made good by
draft from the eager recruits who had been left behind. Better still,
the men rejected for these reasons were enabled to retain their
self-respect, and they left for their homes with the sympathy and
good-will of their late comrades.

The task of the two medical officers was a trying one. Day after day
they labored at the monotonous physical examinations, until they
practically became worn out. Including recruits drafted to fill the
vacant places made by rejections for business and family reasons or
physical deficiencies, they were obliged to pass upon the qualifications
of nearly nine hundred officers and men. It should be recorded, to the
credit of the battery commanders as recruiting officers, that rejections
for physical causes were few and far between, the rigid examination
finding but one officer and fifteen men—a surprisingly small
number—unfit for duty. General sympathy was felt for those sent away by
the surgeons, for without exception they were men whose desire to go out
with the regiment was of the keenest.

But during all the uncertainty as to the final disposition of the
regiment, as well as while the work of transferring it from the militia
to the volunteer service was in progress, the garrison duty for which it
had been so hastily summoned was not neglected for a moment. On the 27th
of April, the day after the command reported at the fort, the batteries
had been assigned to their fighting-stations, and steady drill at the
guns had begun. The drill was no light matter; excluding the ceremonies
of guard-mounting and evening parade, the regimental order called for
four hours and a half daily of solid work at the heavy guns, and that
work was performed with an energy never shown at the annual tours of
instruction in time of peace. On the many days when weather conditions
kept the men from the parapets, schools of instruction were held in
quarters, for the study of guard duty, of army regulations, and other
matters of the sort. By April 30th, the regimental signal corps, made up
of twelve non-commissioned officers and thirty-six privates, under the
signal officer with an assistant, had been fully organized, and was
steadily employed in wig-wagging. On May 1st, the light regimental guard
mounted during the first few days of the tour was replaced by a strong
guard of two officers with fifty-seven non-commissioned officers and
privates. From these, details were made for the patrol-boat crews, and
reliefs were furnished for the chain of posts by which the island was
surrounded.

With the assignment to gun-stations, the organization of the garrison on
a fighting-basis stood completed. The two regular batteries—"C"
(Schenck's) and "M" (Richmond's)—were stationed at the 10-inch,
breech-loading, disappearing rifles mounted in Bastion B and in the
Ravelin Battery; with them, for purposes of instruction, and to furnish
reliefs if required, were four batteries of the volunteers, "A"
(Bordman's), "C" (Nutter's), "I" (Williamson's), and "L" (Whiting's). To
the 8-inch converted rifles on the eastern face of the fort, commanding
the main ship channel, were assigned four more batteries of the First,
"B" (Lombard's), "F" (Danforth's), "K" (Howes'), and "M" (Braley's). The
15-inch Rodman guns, mounted in barbette on Bastion A, were manned by
"G" (Chick's) and "H" (Pratt's) Batteries. "E" Battery (Gibbs') was told
off for the 8-inch converted rifles in the casemate battery of Bastion
A, while "D" Battery (Frothingham's) was assigned to the machine-gun
section, made up of Hotchkiss and Gatling guns.

Variety in artillery work certainly was not lacking, for the men of the
regiment found themselves called upon to handle every type of ordnance,
from the ponderous modern rifle, on its complex mount, to the spiteful
Gatling, destined to spit its fire at prowling torpedo-boats or chance
landing parties. Nor was the drill in the manual of the piece all that
was required: attention had to be given to magazine-work, mechanical
manœuvres, and the use of cordage, while range and position finding were
not neglected. "K" and "L" Batteries also obtained a chance to
demonstrate their knowledge of the use of garrison-gin and sling-cart by
moving from the fort to the pier certain spare 8-inch converted rifles,
for shipment to other points on the coast—a task which they performed
promptly and with credit to their earlier training in the handling of
heavy weights. Infantry drill was not entirely neglected, and daily
marching manœuvres and setting-up exercises were relied upon to keep the
men in form, while steadiness under arms was taught at each evening
parade.

Meanwhile progress in the preparations for the muster of the regiment
into the service of the United States had not been delayed. Colonel H.
E. Converse, A.Q.M.G., assisted by Colonel F. B. Stevens, A.D.C., had
been on duty at the post, representing the State in the final settlement
of property accountability on the part of the battery commanders, and as
the result of their labors the title to the arms and equipments of the
regiment was passed to the general Government. The physical examinations
had been concluded, and recruits had been received for all vacancies.
Muster-rolls and all other papers were ready on Saturday, May 7th, and
on the evening of that day Colonel Pfaff reported his command as
prepared for the mustering-in ceremony. It was first proposed to have
this take place on Sunday, but on second thought it was considered
better to defer it until the following day—which, as it proved, resulted
in giving to "K" Company, of the Second Massachusetts Infantry, the
honor of being the first command in the State to complete its actual
muster.

[Illustration:

  BVT. LIEUT.-COL. CARLE A. WOODRUFF, U.S.A.

  (Major 2d Artillery.)

  Mustering-in Officer for the Regiment.
]

Contrary to the prevailing rule, Monday, the 9th of May, proved to be a
sunny and pleasant day. Early in the morning, the regiment was formed in
its battery streets, in readiness for its entry into the volunteer army.
Promptly at eight o'clock, Major Carle A. Woodruff, Second United States
Artillery, commanding the post, and with it the other defenses of Boston
Harbor, took his station before regimental headquarters, in readiness
for the ceremony. The regiment felt itself honored by his detail as its
mustering-officer: a typical American soldier, he had received the
brevets of captain, major, and lieutenant-colonel for gallant and
meritorious services at Gettysburg, at Trevillian Station, and during
the Civil War as a whole, while he also had been decorated with the
medal of honor for distinguished gallantry in action at Newby's Cross
Roads. He had been closely identified with the regiment since its change
from the infantry to the artillery arm, and its officers held him in the
warmest esteem.

It had been arranged that the batteries should be mustered in the order
of the seniority of their captains, and thus the first command to march
across the parade was "M" under veteran Captain Braley, who was
responding for the second time to the call of his country in time of
war. His appearance before the mustering officer was the signal for a
round of applause from the group of staff officers gathered at
headquarters. In a very few minutes both he and his command had ceased
to be militiamen, and had become United States Volunteers—to be followed
rapidly by the other eleven batteries of the regiment. As a matter of
record, it was exactly 9.34 A.M. when Colonel Woodruff finished
administering the oath to the field, staff, and non-commissioned staff
officers, thus completing the muster of the regiment. Everything had
moved with the regularity of clock-work, and in but little over an hour
and a half more than seven hundred and fifty officers and men had
answered to their names as called from the muster-rolls, and had sworn
to serve the United States faithfully and well for the two years to
come.

In this connection the statement made in the newspaper history of the
Second Massachusetts Infantry must be corrected. It is but a minor
point, of course, yet soldiers are wont to be jealously tenacious on
minor points affecting their own records. "This regiment," writes the
historian of the Second, "was the first to be mustered into the service
of the United States, the first to leave Massachusetts, the first to
invade Cuba—the first of our regiments to enter the actualities of war."
As a strict matter of record, the Second Infantry was mobilized at
Framingham on May 3rd, where it completed its muster-in (though "K"
Company had been mustered on May 8th) on May 10th. The First Artillery
entered the United States service as militia on April 26th, dating its
pay-rolls from that day, and had been mustered complete before 10
o'clock in the forenoon of May 9th. It was the first militia regiment in
the service; it became the first volunteer regiment in the service. In
contending for this recognition it certainly does not seek to rob the
Second of its hard-won laurels, for the First and Second, brigaded
together for long years, always have been firm friends, though strong
rivals. Chained in its posts along shore, the First yet watched with
interest and admiration the career of the men from western
Massachusetts, and in their trials and triumphs in far-away Cuba their
hearts would have warmed could they have heard the verdict of their
brethren of the First—"Well done, Second Massachusetts!"




                       PERSONNEL OF THE REGIMENT




                                 VIII.


ON the completion of the mustering-in there came an incident which was
characteristic of the spirit of the First. Since all of the volunteer
commissions due the regiment would bear the same date, it was evident
that a decision must be made to settle questions of seniority. Army
regulations prescribe that lots shall be drawn in cases similar to this,
and, had this legalized lottery been held, there was a tempting chance
that the officer of less than a year's commissioned service might find
himself out-ranking another who had served faithfully in the militia for
years in a like grade. To the everlasting credit of the regiment, its
officers declined to avail themselves of this opportunity for unearned
advancement, and by their wish the first general order issued from
headquarters of the newly-made volunteer regiment published a roster of
the command, determining the rank and precedence in the several grades,
as established by previous service in the militia of Massachusetts.

As mustered into the volunteer service, the regiment was officered as
follows:

           1. Col. Charles Pfaff.
           2. Lt.-Col. Charles B. Woodman.
           3. Maj. Perlie A. Dyar.
           4. Maj. George F. Quinby.
           5. Maj. Howard S. Dearing        Surgeon.
           6. Maj. James A. Frye.
           7. Capt. Sierra L. Braley        "M" Battery.
           8. Capt. Joseph H. Frothingham   "D" Battery.
           9. Capt. Charles Williamson      "I" Battery.
          10. Capt. Norris O. Danforth      "F" Battery.
          11. Capt. Albert B. Chick         "G" Battery.
          12. Capt. Frederick M. Whiting    "L" Battery.
          13. Capt. Walter E. Lombard       "B" Battery.
          14. Capt. Charles P. Nutter       "C" Battery.
          15. Capt. Walter L. Pratt         "H" Battery.
          16. Capt. John Bordman, Jr.       "A" Battery.
          17. Capt. Frederic S. Howes       "K" Battery.
          18. Capt. Joseph L. Gibbs         "E" Battery.
          19. 1st Lt. Horace B. Parker      Adjutant.
          20. 1st Lt. Charles F. Nostrom    "C" Battery.
          21. 1st Lt. John S. Keenan        Quartermaster.
          22. 1st Lt. John E. Day           "B" Battery.
          23. 1st Lt. David Fuller          "M" Battery.
          24. 1st Lt. Ferdinand H. Phillips "F" Battery.
          25. 1st Lt. John B. Paine         Range Officer.
          26. 1st Lt. William L. Swan       "L" Battery.
          27. 1st Lt. William Renfrew       "H" Battery.
          28. 1st Lt. Frank S. Wilson       "G" Battery.
          29. 1st Lt. E. Dwight Fullerton   "A" Battery.
          30. 1st Lt. P. Frank Packard      "K" Battery.
          31. 1st Lt. William A. Rolfe      Assistant Surgeon.
          32. 1st Lt. Norman P. Cormack     "D" Battery.
          33. 1st Lt. Harold C. Wing        "E" Battery.
          34. 1st Lt. George E. Horton      "I" Battery.
          35. 1st Lt. George S. Stockwell   Signal Officer.
          36. 1st Lt. William S. Bryant     Assistant Surgeon.
          37. 2d Lt. Marshall Underwood     "B" Battery.
          38. 2d Lt. Frederick A. Cheney    "L" Battery.
          39. 2d Lt. Bertie E. Grant        "H" Battery.
          40. 2d Lt. James H. Gowing        "G" Battery.
          41. 2d Lt. Albert A. Gleason      "K" Battery.
          42. 2d Lt. Frederick W. Harrison  "M" Battery.
          43. 2d Lt. Wellington H. Nilsson  "I" Battery.
          44. 2d Lt. William J. McCullough  "D" Battery.
          45. 2d Lt. Sumner Paine           "A" Battery.
          46. 2d Lt. Joseph S. Francis      "C" Battery.
          47. 2d Lt. James E. Totten        "F" Battery.
          48. 2d Lt. Charles H. Fuller      "E" Battery.

The non-commissioned staff, as finally mustered in, was made up of
Sergt.-Maj. William D. Huddleson, Q.M.-Sergt. Edward E. Chapman,
Hospital Stewards George Y. Sawyer, Ira B. Phillips, Thomas White,
Principal Musicians James F. Clark and Frederick A. H. Bennett. Of the
old non-commissioned staff, Paymaster-Sergt. George R. Russell and
Color-Sergt. Axel T. Tornrose, whose militia grades were not recognized
in the volunteer service, refused to be left behind, and proved their
devotion to the regiment by enlisting as privates. The regimental band,
as well as the corps of field musicians attached to headquarters under
the militia organization, could not be mustered, and until the close of
its term of service the regiment was obliged to rest satisfied with the
music of its battery buglers, save for the short period at Framingham
prior to going on furlough, when the thoughtfulness of the State
authorities allowed the band to rejoin.

[Illustration:

  Photograph by T. E. Marr, Boston.

  FIELD, STAFF, AND LINE OFFICERS.
]

Under the terms on which the mustering of the regiment had been ordered
by the War Department, it entered the service with forty-eight
commissioned officers and seven hundred and three enlisted men, an
aggregate for duty of seven hundred and fifty-one. In its _personnel_
the command was exceptionally fortunate. Of its officers, twenty-five
per cent. were college bred, while in its ranks were to be found
representatives of nearly every college and technical school in New
England. In machinists, electricians, and skilled mechanics—the sort of
material without which an artillery command never can attain its full
efficiency—the regiment was encouragingly strong. A newspaper sketch of
the Sixth Massachusetts Infantry, recently published, gives a roll of
twenty-one Harvard men who served in that command, and accompanies it
with this comment: "Harvard University contributed her quota to the army
last summer, and the Sixth had as many of her sons in the ranks as any
regiment in the service." It is perhaps worth noting, though it hardly
need be a matter for controversy, that no less than thirty-four
graduates and undergraduates of the Cambridge University went out with
the First, of whom nine were commissioned officers, while the remainder
served faithfully and with credit as enlisted men. It is a matter for
regret that statistics relating to men from other colleges who served in
the regiment are not available, but it may be of interest to record here
the Harvard roll, which may be considered approximately complete:

Commissioned officers: James A. Frye (1886), major; John Bordman, Jr.
(1894), captain; John B. Paine (1891), first lieutenant and range
officer; E. Dwight Fullerton (1898), first lieutenant; William A. Rolfe
(M.S., 1890), first lieutenant and assistant surgeon; William S. Bryant
(1884), first lieutenant and assistant surgeon, later promoted major and
brigade surgeon, and assigned to Seventh Corps; Albert A. Gleason
(1886), second lieutenant; Sumner Paine (1890), second lieutenant;
Joseph S. Francis (1897), second lieutenant.

Enlisted men: Louis H. Brittin (L.S.S., 1901), corporal, "A"; Arthur H.
Howard (1898), corporal, "A"; Edward D. Powers (1898), corporal, "A";
Ralph W. Black (1886), private, "K"; Edward A. Bumpus (1898), private,
"A," later appointed second lieutenant, Twenty-first United States
Infantry; John Corbett (temporary student), private, "B"; Charles W.
Cutler (1898), private, "A"; Eugene H. Douglass (1898), private, "A";
Howard B. Grose (1901), private, "K"; Frederick Heilig (1897), private,
"A"; Edwin B. Holt (1896), private, "A"; Benjamin Kaufman (1900),
private, "D"; Charles H. Keene (1898), private, "A"; James L. Knox
(1898), private, "A"; John F. McGrath (1895), private, "A"; Moses I.
Reuben (1889), private, "K"; George R. Russell (temporary student),
private, "K"; Francis R. Stoddard, Jr. (1899), private, "A"; Harry C.
Strong (1899), private, "K"; Edward A. Thurston (temporary student,
L.S.), private, "M"; Calvin S. Tilden (1898), private, "A"; John A.
White (1896), private, "B"; Charles H. Williams (L.S.S., 1900), private,
"A"; Francis C. Wilson (1898), private, "A"; Roger Wolcott, Jr. (1898),
private, "A."




                          THE SEASON OF RUMORS




                                  IX.


THESE were stirring times for the regiment. It was the period of
rumors—of rumors that at any time might develop into realities. In order
to obtain an adequate idea of the atmosphere in which the command then
lived, it would be necessary to turn to the files of the newspapers for
the early spring of 1898, and make a classified list of the Spanish
naval bugaboos daily appearing in their columns. One odd coincidence is
well worth recalling, as showing that all the misapprehensions were not
confined to our own cities. On the evening of April 26th, the day on
which the regiment reported at Fort Warren, mass meetings were held at
Portsmouth and New Bedford, to protest against the utter disregard shown
by the Government for the defenses at those points—and on that very
night there was given in Havana a public banquet to celebrate the
bombardment of Boston, of which rumors had spread in that city! Spook
fleets were common in those days, and the men of the First, happily
forgetful of the fact that they were manning obsolete works, armed for
the most part with obsolete ordnance, and, worst of all, wofully short
of ammunition, daily hoped that the spook cruisers might materialize
into ships of steel. What little time was left from their duties they
employed in pitying their less fortunate comrades in inland camps, whom
they considered hopelessly out of the game of coastwise attack and
defence which was expected to begin at any time.

And all this speculation, as a matter of fact, was not so wild as it now
may seem. It was known that the Spanish torpedo flotilla had
rendezvoused at the Cape Verde Islands on March 24th, where it was
joined on April 14th by the _Infanta Maria Teresa_ and _Cristobal
Colon_, and later, on the 20th, by the _Vizcaya_ and _Almirante
Oquendo_. On the 22d of April this formidable squadron was ordered to
sea, and on the 29th it sailed—to a destination then unknown to any one
on this side of the Atlantic. During the four anxious weeks that
followed, this threatening fleet was lost to sight; and throughout this
month of uncertainty, as Spears, the historian of the Navy in its latest
war, rightly says, "Not only was it a mysterious squadron in its
movements: to a large part of our along-shore population it was
positively fearsome. And there was good reason, when the makeup of the
squadron only is considered, for vigilance, if not for alarm, in our
more weakly fortified harbors. Where it would make a landfall was a
question, for the whole United States coast was, in a way, open to
attack."

An added element of uncertainty was to be found in the announcement made
by Sagasta, on April 24th: "The Spanish Government, reserving its right
to grant letters of marque, will at present confine itself to
organizing, with the vessels of the mercantile marine, a force of
auxiliary cruisers, which will coöperate with the navy, according to the
needs of the campaign, and will be under naval control." It was believed
that Spain, in accordance with this policy, had taken and armed a number
of able, sea-going steamers, and the legitimate inference was that they
were to be employed in attacks on our commerce, or in sudden descents
upon our open ports, rather than in fights with our own cruisers.

As a matter of fact, during the months of May and June, the people
dwelling along the coast were much in the condition of the small boy who
is troubled by "seein' things at night," and apparently the masters of
incoming vessels were laboring under a like affliction. A very careful
record of the Spanish apparitions by which the coast was haunted at this
time was kept by an officer of the First, and to read it at this late
day is to become convinced that the newspaper buyers of 1898 most
certainly got their money's worth. It is a weird catalogue of rumors,
from the tale of the mysterious cannonading heard at Eastport to the
reported sighting of the "three long, low, rakish craft, sailing in
column formation, and signalling by masthead lights as they steadily
held their course in the darkness"—which might have fitted a Spanish
squadron, but yet was equally applicable to the case of a tow of
coal-barges on its way around the Cape to Boston.

[Illustration:

  Photograph by W. H. Caldwell, Brockton.

  8-INCH RIFLE BATTERY, FORT WARREN.

  Covering Main Ship Channel, Boston Harbor.
]

But in spite of the utter absurdity of many of the reports, the officers
of the First gave much careful consideration to the diagrams in
Brassey's "Naval Annual," and Jane's "Fighting Ships," with a view to
putting 8-inch shot in the spots where they would do the most good
should occasion arise; and nobody was unduly surprised when, shortly
after midnight of May 13th, the _Tourist_, the steamer employed by the
Engineers in their harbor-mining work, came puffing down from the city,
announcing her arrival at the fort by long blasts of her whistle, and
bringing word that at last the long-expected fleet had been sighted off
Nantucket, steering a course for Boston. Coming by way of the Navy
Department, this bit of intelligence seemed worthy of consideration, and
so in the early morning the officers of the regular garrison sent their
families away from the island and out of danger, while the volunteers
uncased the last of the small store of 8-inch projectiles for the guns
in their charge, gave a final look to their equipments, and then sat
themselves down on the parapets to await the first glimpse of Cervera's
armada. Fieldglasses were at a premium that day, and the wide expanse of
water towards Boston lightship became an object of much interest; but
Cervera failed to appear, and to the disgust of regulars and volunteers
alike it became evident, as the hours slipped away, that even official
warnings _via_ the Navy Yard must be received with proper and due
allowances.

For some time now the port had been closed at night. Electric signal
lanterns had been rigged upon the flagstaff of the fort, and every
evening the officer of the guard was given the code signal for that
especial date, by which ships of our navy were to be recognized. The
orders of the post directed that any steamer failing to acknowledge
signals from the fort, or replying by wrong combinations, should be
fired on. But no steamers, either of the navy or of the merchant marine,
attempted to make port after dark, and the only firing required was that
done by patrol-boat crews, who were obliged at times to use their rifles
on the fishermen and coasters which, under cover of darkness, ignorantly
or wilfully persisted in blundering in among the mine-fields.

On the 3rd of May all troops of the Atlantic States had been placed
under command of General Merritt, to be employed in coast-defence, and
to him Colonel Pfaff reported his regiment. Soon after, Lieutenant
Strother, (later major, U.S.V.), A.D.C. to General Merritt, was ordered
to Boston for the purpose of inspecting the regiment, so far as
concerned its equipment for service, and recommending stations for its
assignment in the general scheme of defence. Having visited Fort Warren,
where he made a careful inquiry into the condition of the command,
Lieutenant Strother held a consultation with the State authorities, and
returned to New York to report to his chief. On the 10th came
telegraphic orders from Headquarters, Department of the East, detaching
the Third Battalion ("E," "F," "I," and "M" Batteries, under Major
Frye), to report to Colonel Woodruff for duty as part of the garrison at
Fort Warren, and directing the remainder of the regiment to hold itself
in readiness for assignment under orders later to be issued.

Changes which ultimately concerned the First had meanwhile been in
progress among the regular batteries stationed on the New England coast.
"K" Battery (Curtis'), of the Second Artillery, had been ordered on
April 28th from Fort Schuyler, N.Y., to the ungarrisoned defenses at
Portsmouth, N.H. On May 6th Colonel Woodruff, in addition to his duties
as commanding officer at Fort Warren, was assigned to the general
command of the defenses of Boston Harbor; Major Charles Morris, Seventh
Artillery, was placed in command of the Mortar Battery at Winthrop (up
to this time in charge of Lieutenant Ketcham, Second Artillery, with a
small detachment of about thirty men taken from the batteries at Warren)
with a garrison made up of "M" Battery (Richmond's), Second Artillery,
and "F" Battery (Anderson's), Seventh Artillery, from Schuyler; the gap
left in the garrison at Warren by the withdrawal of Richmond was filled
by the transfer of "G" Battery (Brown's), Seventh Artillery, from
Schuyler; and finally, Lieutenant Lyon, with a detachment of thirty men
from the batteries of the Second Artillery at Fort Adams, Newport, R.I.,
was ordered to the fort at Clark's Point, New Bedford, later to be named
Fort Rodman. The shifting of regular batteries at Warren occurred on May
16th, and the officers of the First parted with regret from Captain
Richmond, who had made many friends among them.

Most unexpectedly, on May 18th, a message was received at the fort
announcing the coming of Governor Wolcott, to present to the officers
their volunteer commissions. On his arrival the regiment formed for
review, and after the march-past stood closed in mass by battalions,
with the officers grouped at the centre, while the Governor spoke a few
words of farewell, saying, among other things:

"It is your high privilege to have been summoned into the service of the
United States at a time when the clouds of war with a foreign Power
threatened the Republic. I know of no higher service that a citizen can
be called upon to render than to offer his life, if need be, in the
cause of his country. You enter this service not as raw recruits, but
with obedience and discipline acquired in the militia service of the
Commonwealth. Whether you are assigned the honorable duty of guarding
the sea-coast of the Commonwealth of your birth, or are summoned to some
distant point in other lands or within the confines of your own country,
see to it that no act of yours shall bring aught but added glory to the
colors you bear. Be of high courage and good cheer; the great heart of
the Commonwealth will follow you with pride and affection, whatever the
duty you may be called upon to perform."

Receiving the commissions from the hands of Colonel Bradley of his
staff, who had served through the Civil War in the First Massachusetts
Heavy Artillery of 1861, the Governor then presented them to the
officers of the regiment in the order of their rank, finally turning to
Colonel Pfaff to say, "I congratulate you, Colonel, upon the regiment
you have the honor to command, and upon the service you now enter."

On the conclusion of this very simple yet impressive ceremony, the
regiment was dismissed. The Governor then made an informal inspection of
battery quarters, and afterwards was conducted over the works in order
that he might see for himself whatever of progress was being made
towards installing modern armament in the main fortification of his
capital city. Later, with the members of his staff, he was the guest of
the officers' mess at luncheon; and early in the afternoon he took final
leave of the regiment, which always had considered it an honor to serve
under him as commander-in-chief, but now—though not without a touch of
regret—had passed for a time beyond his authority.




                         ASSIGNMENT TO STATIONS




                                   X.


THE day now had come when, after the custom of the artillery service,
the regiment must be broken up and scattered in its isolated posts along
shore. General Merritt was relieved of the command of the Department of
the East on May 20th, to go to the far East as commanding officer of the
Philippine expedition. His successor was General Frank, U.S.V., promoted
from the colonelcy of the First United States Artillery, who lost no
time in issuing orders (S.O., 112, H.Q., D.E., 23rd May) for the final
distribution of the regiment to its stations. The text of this order
read:

"The following assignment to stations of the First Regiment
Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, now at Fort Warren—Colonel Pfaff,
commanding—is hereby ordered: Colonel Pfaff, with headquarters and two
batteries, to Salem, and to command the various fortifications and
points on the North Shore of Massachusetts where batteries of his
regiment are placed. The Lieutenant-Colonel, and two batteries, to
Clark's Point, Mass. Major Frye, with 'E,' 'F,' 'I,' and 'M' Batteries,
will remain on duty at Fort Warren, as heretofore designated by
telegraphic orders. The four remaining batteries, one each to
Gloucester, Marblehead, Nahant, and Plum Island, Mass. Colonel Pfaff
will designate the unassigned field officers and batteries for stations
to the points other than Fort Warren, as he shall deem advisable,
notifying these headquarters of the letters of batteries, and the
officers so assigned, to the respective stations. The troops will take
tents, camp equipage, and ten days' rations."

This order ended for the time being all speculation as to the
destination of the regiment in the immediate future, and though it
certainly failed to please everybody, it yet was received with little
comment by those whom it concerned. It was recognized that artillery
posts must vary from good to indifferent, or even from indifferent to
bad, and the officers spent their leisure moments in pleasant
conjectures as to undesirability of the assignments which were destined
to fall to their lot.

On May 30th Colonel Pfaff issued the orders for the distribution of the
First and Second Battalions. "G" (Chick's) and "L" (Whiting's)
Batteries, with Lieutenant Paine, range officer, and Lieutenant Bryant,
assistant surgeon, were ordered to report to Lieutenant-Colonel Woodman,
to take station at New Bedford. For the garrison at Salem, "C"
(Nutter's) and "D" (Frothingham's) Batteries were designated, under
Major Dyar as commanding officer of the post, to whom was to report
Lieutenant Rolfe, assistant surgeon, so soon as relieved from his detail
as post surgeon at Fort Warren. Major Quinby, with "K" (Howes') Battery,
and Hospital Steward White, were assigned to the defenses at Gloucester.
Captain Lombard, with "B" Battery, and Hospital Steward Phillips, were
ordered to Newburyport, to establish a post at the entrance of the
harbor. Captain Pratt, with "H" Battery, was assigned to the works at
Marblehead. Captain Bordman, with "A" Battery, was directed to take
station at Nahant, for the protection of the mining casemate at that
point.

Preparation for these movements began promptly, but stormy weather and
delay in securing transportation made it over a week before the last of
the departing batteries was able to leave Fort Warren. Meanwhile the
posts for which these detachments from the regiment were destined had
been garrisoned temporarily by the militia—commanded at first by General
Mathews, and later by General Bancroft. Influenced by the prevailing
uneasiness, Governor Wolcott, on May 7th, had prudently ordered his
remaining State troops into the field for the protection of the coast
until such time as the general Government should assume the
responsibility, and the Fifth Infantry, the First and Second Battalions
of Cadets, with the three light batteries, had been rendering valuable
service at exposed points, from Hull to the mouth of the Merrimac.
Unable to enter the volunteer service, under the limits imposed by the
call of the President, these commands eagerly had responded to the call
of the Commonwealth, and they most certainly are entitled to recognition
for the faithful work performed, under most trying conditions as to
weather, during the thirty days of their tour.

[Illustration:

  Photograph by T. E. Marr, Boston.

  GARRISON ENCAMPMENT, FORT PICKERING.
]

On June 1st, Lieutenant-Colonel Woodman and his command left for New
Bedford, proceeding from Boston by rail; while, on the 3rd, Colonel
Pfaff and the officers of his staff established regimental headquarters
at Salem. On the 6th, Major Quinby and "A," "C," "D," and "H" Batteries
left for their stations, followed on the 7th by "B" and "K" Batteries.
All these latter commands were furnished with transportation by water,
and it may be noted that the small steamers employed for the purpose
were well loaded down by the troops and their baggage. It so happened
that the departure of the detachments took place during a period of very
heavy weather, and more than one anxious watcher stood on the parapet at
Warren, to follow through field-glasses the course of the receding
transports, as they rolled and pitched across the bay and towards the
North Shore.

The widely scattered detachments of the First now settled themselves as
best they might at their respective coast-guard stations, and prepared
to make the most of the scanty materials for defence which they found at
hand. Under the final assignments, the distribution of the regimental
strength was as follows:

                     STATION.         Officers. Men. Total.

             Defenses of Newburyport          3   59     62
             Stage Fort, Gloucester           4   59     63
             Fort Sewall, Marblehead          3   58     61
             Fort Pickering, Salem           13  121    134
             Mining Casemate, Nahant          3   58     61
             Fort Warren, Boston             13  232    245
             Fort Rodman, New Bedford         9  116    125
                                             --  ---    ---
                Aggregate for duty           48  703    751

Hardly had the regiment begun to adapt itself to the new conditions,
when telegraphic orders from the War Department arrived directing that
the batteries be at once recruited to full artillery strength, two
hundred enlisted men each—or an aggregate of sixty officers and
twenty-four hundred men for the entire command, since an additional
second lieutenant would be appointed to each battery when on a war
footing. It is needless to say that this order was hailed with delight
by both officers and men: to the former it gave promise of more active
service, while to the latter it meant unlimited promotion, since over
two hundred and fifty additional sergeants and corporals would be
required in the expanded batteries. No time was lost in preparing to
comply with this order. Major Dyar was detailed as chief recruiting
officer, with Captains Williamson and Nutter as assistants, and plans
were made for opening recruiting offices in Boston, New Bedford,
Brockton, and Salem. Battery commanders immediately attempted to get
into communication with the men whom they had left behind, under former
conditions, in the hope of finding that not all of them had yet enlisted
in the regulars or in other volunteer regiments. Everything was ready
for beginning the work of recruiting—when word came by telegraph from
Washington that the whole matter was a mistake, and that the recruiting
order had been meant to apply alone to the Massachusetts infantry
regiments. It was a bitter disappointment. The regiment stood sadly in
need of recruits, since its strength as organized barely sufficed for
the performance of routine garrison duty, and when the President, on May
25th, issued his call for seventy-five thousand additional volunteers,
the officers of the First felt that from the allotment of Massachusetts
they should at least secure enough men to bring the regimental enrolment
up to twelve hundred. But for a second time they were destined to see
their command passed by without consideration. The pressure exerted to
bring the Fifth Infantry into the volunteer service, or it may be some
other cause yet remaining to be explained, left the faithful First still
serving with skeleton ranks.

In spite of all disappointments, however, the command never slackened in
the performance of its appointed work. There were many problems to be
solved, and of these the most perplexing was how to evolve an efficient
defence from ridiculously inadequate materials. In his command on the
North Shore Colonel Pfaff found himself confronted by a grave situation
of affairs. To him had been entrusted the defence of five important
points, among them four towns aggregating over eighty-five thousand
inhabitants, and with property interests to be reckoned by tens of
millions; and, to state unpleasant facts with relentless exactness,
every modern and effective appliance for defensive operations had been
denied him. Newburyport, Gloucester, Marblehead, and Salem were all
liable to bombardment from the open sea, and the fire of heavy guns
alone could give even a promise of immunity from that form of attack;
but there were no heavy guns mounted at any of these points. Eight
3-inch, muzzle-loading rifles (type of 1862) had been brought to the
coast by two of the militia light batteries, and these had been turned
over to the volunteers relieving them, while sixteen Driggs-Schroeder
rapid-fire guns, ranging in calibre from one-to six-pounders, hastily
purchased by the State from its war emergency appropriation, also had
been placed in the hands of the batteries of the First. Beyond these
there was nothing in the way of ordnance—not a gun, not a round of
ammunition was supplied by the general Government for these five posts
to which it had seen fit to order artillery garrisons!

After making a rapid study of the situation, it became apparent that
serious resistance to anything like a resolute fleet attack could not be
made, but it was confidently believed that, with the means at hand, at
least three other forms of naval attack might be successfully parried.
Dispositions accordingly were made to meet sudden descents by Spanish
auxiliary cruisers, dashes into harbors by torpedo-boats, or any
attempts at operations by landing parties; and it should be said here
that nothing was left undone towards providing, with the material
available, all possible protection to the points garrisoned by these
volunteer batteries.




                     FORT PICKERING AND THE "NORTH
                            SHORE" DEFENSES




                                  XI.


FROM this time until the assembly of the command at Framingham,
preparatory to going on mustering-out furlough, the regimental history
becomes that of the widely dispersed fractions, while the record of
events is but a dull story of garrison duty, faithfully performed in the
face of every discouragement. For administrative purposes the regiment
now formed three distinct divisions—that under Colonel Pfaff, with
headquarters at Salem, and sub-posts at the points on the North Shore
already noted; the garrison at New Bedford, under Lieutenant-Colonel
Woodman, reporting directly to the commanding officer at Fort Adams,
R.I.; and the battalion commanded by Major Frye, at Fort Warren, under
the immediate orders of the commanding officer of the defenses of Boston
Harbor. The record of these divisions, in their order, may briefly be
given:

Colonel Pfaff, with his staff and attachés, reached Salem on June 3d.
Headquarters at once were established at Fort Pickering, situated on
Winter Island, at the entrance of the inner harbor. On the 6th, "C" and
"D" Batteries arrived at the post, reporting to Major Dyar, who had been
detailed as post commander. The batteries at once pitched camp on the
glacis outside the wet ditch surrounding the old fort, while the
headquarters tents were located inside the parapet of an outwork
covering the landward approach. The fort itself was but a ruin. Since
the earliest colonial days the site had been occupied by defensive
works, and the present Fort Pickering had been rebuilt and garrisoned in
1861; but from that time on it had been allowed, through the storms of a
third of a century, to crumble into decay. There were no quarters for
troops, there was no armament of heavy guns; and, worst of all, the
location of the work was such that bombardment under modern long-range
conditions could not be prevented.

[Illustration:

  MAJOR PERLIE A. DYAR, U.S.V.

  Commanding First Battalion.
]

But Salem, with its heavy property interests, its large coastwise trade,
and its enormous coal-pockets—so tempting to a coal-hungry enemy—had to
be protected as best might be; and, as soon as the camp had been
settled, Captains Frothingham and Nutter, under the supervision of Major
Dyar, set their men at work, with shovel, pick, and barrow, on the
feeble defenses. Time was lacking for the remodelling of the entire
work, even if the numerical strength of the working details had
permitted, and work was confined to strengthening the weak channel face
of the fort. Here, from plane drawn by Lieutenant Francis, a civil
engineer by profession, an earthen parapet of strong profile, with stone
revetment, was constructed. The working tools and derricks required in
the undertaking were supplied by the city authorities of Salem, who in
this, as in many other ways, showed a desire to be of every assistance
to the garrison. Guns of at least medium calibre were urgently needed,
and Colonel Pfaff endeavored, through the department commander, to
obtain a battery of six 8-inch converted rifles. In this attempt he was
unsuccessful, though a number of guns of this type lay idle at Fort
Warren, where they had been dismounted and removed from the casemates.
While the carriages of these guns were not properly adapted for use in a
barbette battery, they yet might have served the purpose after a
fashion; especially since this war, it always must be borne in mind, was
from first to last a war of makeshifts. As the event proved, however,
the garrison at Fort Pickering was forced to remain content with the
armament of small-calibre, rapid-fire guns supplied through the
enterprise of the State of Massachusetts. It so happened that both
Captains Frothingham and Nutter, prior to the war, had been conspicuous
for their devotion to the study of modern artillery work; their men were
well grounded in the principles of sea-coast gunnery, and their being
thus stationed at a post absolutely destitute of modern heavy ordnance
seemed no light hardship.

[Illustration:

  MAJOR HOWARD S. DEARING, U.S.V.

  Regimental Surgeon.
]

When such engineering work as was imperatively required had been brought
to completion, both officers and men settled down to the monotony of
garrison routine. Lieutenant Stockwell was appointed post adjutant,
while Lieutenant Keenan served in the triple capacity of post
quartermaster, commissary, and ordnance officer. Though the health of
the command was uniformly good, the medical officers yet found their
time amply occupied, since in addition to their duties at Pickering they
were required to visit the sub-posts at Gloucester, Marblehead, and
Nahant. On June 24th, Lieutenant Rolfe, assistant surgeon, was relieved
from duty at Fort Warren, reporting immediately at regimental
headquarters; but in July, failing to recover from a severe illness
contracted during the earlier service of the regiment, he found himself
compelled to resign, thus depriving the command of the services of an
efficient and popular officer. Later in the same month, Assistant
Surgeon Bryant received promotion which took him from the First, and
from this time until the close of its volunteer service the regiment had
but one medical officer, Major Dearing, senior surgeon, whose unflagging
devotion to the welfare of the command won for him the gratitude and
esteem of every officer and man. On July 26th, Captain Frothingham, with
Lieutenants Nostrom, McCullough, and Francis, proceeded to Fort Preble,
Me., for duty on a general court martial, making several visits
thereafter to that post before the final adjournment of the court.

For lack of opportunity at artillery drill, attention was turned to
infantry work, and the garrison was hardened into condition for field
service by a succession of practice marches and field manœuvres over the
country in the vicinity of the post. The garrison evening parade, held
outside the main work, was a never-failing source of interest to the
people of Salem, and on every pleasant afternoon crowds came out from
the city to attend the ceremony. On July 25th, "A" Battery changed
station from Nahant to Pickering, marching in over the road with its
field guns and wagon train. Late in August, "B" Battery was ordered to
rejoin at Salem from its station at Portsmouth, N.H., thus bringing the
garrison strength up to a battalion of four batteries. Such officers as
could be spared from this post, with many from the other posts
garrisoned by the regiment, were present, on August 12th, at the funeral
of the lamented Colonel Bogan, of the Ninth Massachusetts Infantry, who
long had been a friend of the First, and had been detailed as its
inspecting officer while serving on the staff of Governor Russell; and
again, on August 30th, the battalion at Pickering performed a sad duty
by parading as escort, under command of Major Dyar, at the funeral of
Major O'Connor, of the Ninth. No further event of especial moment
appears on the records of the post until its abandonment on September
19th.

Major Quinby, with "K" Battery, under command of Captain Howes, reached
his station at Stage Fort, Gloucester, on the 7th of June. This post,
though admirable as a camping site, hardly could be considered desirable
from an artillery point of view. The old fort itself, an earthen battery
commanding the inner harbor and its approaches, had lain abandoned since
the close of the Civil War, and this long period of neglect had brought
the inevitable results. Under the action of wind and weather its
parapets gradually had worn away, and its magazine was in a ruinous
condition. For armament there were rapid-fire guns, supplemented by
3-inch, muzzle-loading field guns turned over by the departing militia
garrison. Fortunately for the peace of mind of the people of Gloucester,
the fort was not the sole defence of the harbor; for the historic old
monitor _Catskill_, manned by volunteer seamen recruited from the ranks
of the Massachusetts Naval Brigade, lay there at anchor during the
greater part of the summer. With the two 15-inch Dahlgren guns in its
battered turret, this relic of 1862 might still have been a factor in
any dispute with privateers or unarmored cruisers of the enemy. It was
the intention of Colonel Pfaff to secure for this post two 8-inch
converted rifles, but his request for the guns was not complied with.

There were no barracks at Stage Fort, and the garrison went into camp
under canvas. After settling the matter of quarters, work was begun
without delay, and the ravages of time on the old fort were repaired as
thoroughly as possible. When everything had been put into condition for
action, the command quietly took up the customary post routine.
Lieutenant Packard was detailed as post adjutant, performing the duties
of the position until July 18th, when he was ordered to Fort Columbus,
New York Harbor, where he remained on detached service until relieved on
September 12th. After his departure from the post, the adjutant's duties
fell to Lieutenant Gleason, who already had been acting as post
quartermaster and commissary. On September 15th, at the request of the
city whose name she bore, the famous little auxiliary cruiser
_Gloucester_, with laurels fresh from her victorious fight with the
Spanish torpedo-gunboats _Pluton_ and _Furor_, made a visit to the
harbor. As she came to her anchorage, the garrison at Stage Fort fired a
salute in her honor; and on the following day, at the reception given by
the city, the battery paraded as escort to Captain Wainwright and the
men of his crew.

[Illustration:

  MAJOR GEORGE F. QUINBY, U.S.V.

  Commanding Second Battalion.
]

Captain Lombard, with "B" Battery, had drawn what was perhaps the least
desirable of all the posts falling to the regiment, that at Plum Island,
covering Newburyport and the entrance to the Merrimac. After a rough
passage around Cape Ann, he arrived with his command at this station on
June 7th. The island is a low, sandy formation, ten miles in length,
commanding at its northern extremity the channel leading into the harbor
of Newburyport. At this point, lying but three miles and a half from the
railway bridge marking the centre of the city, the command pitched its
camp, and threw up an earthwork of slight profile for the reception of
its field guns. Shallow waters and a treacherous bar deter vessels of
any considerable draft from attempting to enter this harbor; but the
city offers a tempting and easy mark for torpedo-boat raids, and it was
to discourage any enterprise of this sort that "B" Battery was condemned
to a month of dreary duty among the sand dunes. The order of July 2nd,
directing the command to change station to Fort McClary, Maine, was
received at the post with delight, and little time was lost in preparing
to leave behind the brackish water, mosquitoes, and monotony of Plum
Island.

Before this order could be executed, it was amended. These were the days
when ugly rumors were coming from before Santiago, and the Government
was making hurried efforts to meet a possible disaster on land. Captain
Curtis, with his battery ("K") of the Second Artillery, was garrisoning
the defenses at Portsmouth, of which McClary was a subpost, and to him
on July 6th came rush orders to hasten with his battery to Tampa, to
join the siege train there organizing, while Captain Lombard was
directed to relieve him in the command of the Portsmouth defenses. On
the 8th, "B" Battery reached its new station, taking post at Fort
Constitution, and placing detachments at Fort McClary, on the Maine
shore opposite, and at Jerry's Point, in the outer line of defenses. The
command now occupied a most responsible position, with more than enough
work for its small enlisted strength, for here there was much modern
artillery material to be cared for, while the guard duty of the
scattered posts made heavy drafts on the endurance of the men. These
important defenses, covering not only the city of Portsmouth, but also
the Kittery Navy Yard, were now added to the other posts under command
of Colonel Pfaff, who on the last day of July visited the station, and
inspected the works and the garrison. After becoming settled in
quarters, details were made for post administration, Lieutenant Day
being appointed post adjutant and Lieutenant Underwood post
quartermaster and commissary. On August 19th, the Santiago campaign
having turned out luckily after all, Captain Curtis was ordered with his
battery back from Tampa, arriving a few days later to relieve Captain
Lombard. At this time Major Crozier, A.I.G., reached the post on his
tour of inspection, and by his direction "B" Battery demonstrated its
ability to handle modern ordnance by conducting the test-firing of the
newly mounted 8-inch breech-loading rifles, on their disappearing
carriages. Shortly afterwards, Captain Lombard and his command changed
station to Pickering, reporting to Colonel Pfaff on August 27th.

The garrison for Marblehead, "H" Battery, under command of Captain
Pratt, arrived on June 6th at its station at Fort Sewall. This old
fortification, which properly should be classed as a mere field work,
not only commands the entrance to the harbor of Marblehead, but also
plays an important part in the outer line of defence for Salem. Having
been ungarrisoned for more than thirty years, it naturally was in a
dilapidated condition, and on the arrival of "H" Battery it was without
armament. As in the case of Stage Fort, the request of Colonel Pfaff for
two 8-inch converted rifles was ignored, and reliance had to be placed
upon the rapid-fire guns brought to the post by the incoming troops.
After pitching its camp and making the required repairs on the works,
the garrison settled itself for what proved to be an uneventful tour of
occupation. At this post Lieutenant Renfrew acted as adjutant, with
Lieutenant Grant as quartermaster and commissary. The only break in the
monotony of the summer came when a battalion from Pickering, after a
forced march from Salem, feigned an attack on the post by a landing
party, which was met and repulsed in a workmanlike manner by Captain
Pratt and his command.

The mining-casemate at Nahant, from which the mine-fields in Broad
Sound, Boston Harbor, were to have been controlled, was placed in charge
of Captain Bordman, who arrived with his command ("A" Battery) at this
station on June 6th, and at once laid out his camp near the work to be
guarded. Rapid-fire field guns were issued to this post, but infantry
guard duty was practically all that was required of its garrison.
Lieutenant Fullerton served as post adjutant until ordered to Fort
Columbus, New York Harbor, on July 18th, where he remained on detached
service until the muster-out of the regiment. The quartermaster and
commissary duties were performed by Lieutenant Sumner Paine. Lacking the
material for artillery work, Captain Bordman turned to infantry drill,
and by constant road marches and field exercises brought his command
into prime physical condition. The tour of the battery at this station
was not destined to be a long one. In the rush of emergency harbor-work
during the early days of the war, the Engineers first gave their
attention to the mining of the main ship channel and Nantasket Roads,
leaving Broad Sound—the water area for bombardment of Boston, Lynn, and
Chelsea—for later consideration; but with the destruction of Cervera's
fleet, all active mining operations came abruptly to a close, and the
Broad Sound system remained uninstalled. The post at Nahant, therefore,
was ordered to be abandoned on July 25th, its garrison reporting at Fort
Pickering on that date.




                      FORT RODMAN AND ITS GARRISON




                                  XII.


THE second of the three general divisions into which the regiment had
been separated—Lieutenant-Colonel Woodman's command, "G" (Chick's) and
"L" (Whiting's) Batteries—arrived at its destination at New Bedford on
June 1st, reporting to Lieutenant-Colonel Haskin, Second United States
Artillery, commanding officer at Fort Adams, R.I. The post to be
garrisoned was then borne on the army register as the "Fort at Clark's
Point," the designation by which it had been known since 1857, when
ground first was broken for its construction. The fort is an excellent
type of the clever military engineering for which this country was noted
at the middle of the century. It is an enclosed work of granite, with
two tiers of casemate guns and provisions for a third tier in barbette,
though the guns of the latter battery never have been mounted. In June
last its armament was made up of 8- and 10-inch Rodmans, 100-pounder
(6.4-inch) Parrott rifles, and 24-pounder (5.8-inch) flank-casemate
howitzers. All through the summer and fall months the Engineers were
steadily at work on exterior emplacements for 8-inch breech-loading
rifles, on disappearing mounts, while mortar and rapid-fire batteries
also were projected for the post; but during its occupation by its
volunteer garrison the only available ordnance was that of the types of
the Civil War.

The site of the works is at the extremity of Clark's Point, three miles
and a half from the centre of New Bedford, at a point commanding not
only the channel entering the harbor, but also all water areas for
bombardment to the southward of the city. Prior to the war with Spain, a
solitary ordnance sergeant formed the garrison at the post, but on May
6th a detachment of thirty men from the Second Artillery, under command
of Lieutenant Lyon (later relieved, on May 27th, by Lieutenant Connor),
had been ordered over from Fort Adams for guard duty. The casemates on
the landward face of the fort, originally intended for use as quarters,
never had been placed in condition for occupancy, and the detachment of
regulars therefore was quartered in an old building standing on the
reservation, while the battalion of volunteers pitched camp in an open
field to the northwest of the fort. It would have been difficult to find
a more desirable site for the encampment. Lying on dry and level ground,
between two arms of the sea, it not only afforded a pleasant outlook,
but also was constantly swept by cool breezes from off the water. Under
such circumstances, camp sanitation afforded an easy problem, and during
its tour at this post the health of the command remained excellent.

[Illustration:

  LIEUT.-COL. CHARLES B. WOODMAN, U.S.V.

  Second-in-Command.
]

At this station the post administrative staff was made up of Lieutenant
J. B. Paine, adjutant; Lieutenant Gowing, quartermaster and commissary;
and Lieutenant Bryant, surgeon. In addition to his duties as battery
commander, Captain Whiting also performed those of ordnance officer, an
assignment for which he was eminently well fitted by previous study and
training. There was much work to be done in the early days at the post,
for its armament, after long years of neglect, was in horrible
condition. Both batteries turned to with a will, however, and in a
creditably short time the fort itself was cleaned and swept until it
would have satisfied the most exacting inspector, while guns and
carriages were freed from rust, scraped, painted, and put into condition
for immediate action. It is due to the command to say that when it
marched out, on September 19th, it left behind it a post which, in point
of absolute neatness and readiness for action, might well have served as
a model for any artillery garrison, regular or volunteer.

There was little to be recorded beyond the ordinary garrison routine.
One incident, which occurred during the work of preparing the fort for
emergencies, is worth relating. There were found one or two guns in
which, at some forgotten period, priming wires had been broken off in
the vents, eventually becoming firmly fixed there by rust. With this
fact as a foundation, an enterprising New Bedford reporter built up a
lurid story of spiked guns and Spanish spies, which went the rounds of
the newspapers, causing infinite disgust to the garrison and endless
amusement to the rest of the regiment. The choked vents were drilled out
as soon as discovered, and the guns at once made available; but to this
day the mention of spiked guns will provoke an explosion if made in the
presence of any Fort Rodman artilleryman.

On June 15th, Lieutenant Connor and his detachment of regulars were
relieved and ordered back to Fort Adams, which meanwhile had been
reinforced by the Forty-seventh New York Infantry, a fact mentioned to
show the straits in which the Government found itself in obtaining
garrisons for its artillery posts. On the 9th of June, Lieutenants
Wilson and Cheney served as members of a general court martial at Adams.
Having been promoted major and brigade-surgeon, Lieutenant Bryant left
the post on July 8th, to report for duty with Lee's Seventh Corps, then
at Jacksonville, and from this date the affairs of the medical
department were placed in charge of a contract surgeon from New Bedford.
At one time during the summer certain turbulent spirits among the
engineer employees at the post required attention from the garrison, but
firm and prompt action by the artillerymen put an instant end to the
trouble, and effectually discouraged any further outbreaks of a like
sort. By general order from army headquarters, dated July 23rd, the post
officially was named "Fort Rodman," in honor of the memory of
Lieutenant-Colonel William Logan Rodman, Thirty-eighth Massachusetts
Infantry, who fell at the head of his regiment in the assault on Port
Hudson in 1863. Thus, after waiting forty-one years for a name, the old
fort at last received that of a Massachusetts soldier, while a garrison
of Massachusetts volunteers was on duty to assist at its christening.




                      THE THIRD BATTALION AT FORT
                                 WARREN




                                 XIII.


THE last of the three regimental subdivisions—the Third Battalion, under
Major Frye—meanwhile quietly had been going on with its artillery work
at Fort Warren. Other than the ordering of Major Morris, Seventh
Artillery, from Winthrop to Fort Schuyler, N.Y., on May 27th, leaving
Captain Richmond the ranking officer at the mortar battery, there had
been no changes in the garrisons of the sub-posts about the harbor. The
departure of Colonel Pfaff and Lieutenant-Colonel Woodman, with their
commands, had rendered necessary a reassignment of battery duties at
Fort Warren, and Colonel Woodruff issued orders accordingly on June
13th. Of the regular batteries, "C" (Schenck's), Second Artillery, took
charge of the 10-inch rifle and 4-inch rapid-fire guns—at that time in
process of being mounted—in Bastion B, while "G" (Brown's), Seventh
Artillery, had its station at the 10-inch rifles of the ravelin battery.
Surplus men from these two batteries, as the daily recruiting swelled
their ranks, were told off for manning various groups of the older type
guns in the fort. Of the volunteer batteries, "M" (Braley's) was
assigned to the field and machine gun sections for the protection of the
channel mine-lines, Nantasket Roads mine-field, and the cable chute
through which the entire system was controlled; "I" (Williamson's) went
to the 15-inch Rodman guns in Bastion A; "F" (Danforth's) drew the
battery of 10-inch Rodmans on the channel face of the fort; while to "E"
(Gibbs') fell the barbette and casemate batteries of 8-inch rifles at
the southeastern angle. These assignments were made for a very definite
purpose, and they remained in effect until after the destruction of the
Spanish fleet at Santiago, when, to break the monotony of gun-drill on
one type of gun, the volunteer batteries interchanged at their stations.

[Illustration:

  MAJOR JAMES A. FRYE, U.S.V.

  Commanding Third Battalion.
]

Since this battalion was a complete tactical unit, under command of its
own field officer, it did not lose its identity on becoming a part of
the garrison at the fort. Both its officers and men, sharing tours with
the regulars, were carried on the rosters of the post for guard and
fatigue duty; but for purposes of discipline and administration the
battalion organization remained intact. The acting battalion staff was
composed of Lieutenant D. Fuller, adjutant; Lieutenant Phillips,
quartermaster; Lieutenant Horton, signal officer; Lieutenant Wing,
commissary; and, until relieved on June 23rd, Lieutenant Rolfe,
assistant surgeon. The officers of the volunteers also were called upon
for the performance of many duties under post details: Major Frye served
as president of the post council of administration, as presiding officer
at garrison courts martial, and later as trial officer of the summary
court; Lieutenant D. Fuller was appointed post treasurer and librarian;
Lieutenant Totten was detailed as post adjutant and recruiting officer,
as well as mustering officer for the regiment at large, the latter
detail requiring many visits to the scattered stations of the command;
for much of the time the signal system of the works was under the
supervision of Lieutenant Horton, owing to the absence on detached
service of Lieutenant Catlin, the regular signal officer; Captains
Braley and Williamson, with Lieutenants D. Fuller, Phillips, Wing,
Harrison, Nilsson, and Totten also served as members of general courts
martial.

As at the other posts of the regiment, the earlier days of the detached
tour at this station found much work requiring immediate attention:
range charts for each gun-group were plotted; guns, carriages, and
equipments were overhauled and made ready for action; ammunition was
prepared and stored at hand in the service magazines. Department orders
called for three hours' gun-drill daily, and in addition to this—in
order that the command might be ready for any kind of service required
by later developments—an hour more was devoted to battalion drill as
infantry. Evening parade was held daily by the volunteers, though the
regular batteries at the post omitted this ceremony. Aside from its
record of steady and faithful work there were but few events during the
summer which concerned this portion of the regiment. On August 16th it
was presented a battalion color by its friends in Boston, which it
carried so long as on its detached service. Beginning on August 20th,
there was test firing of all the recently mounted guns—12-inch mortars,
10-inch rifles, and 4.7- and 4-inch rapid-fire guns—under the
supervision of Major Crozier, A.I.G., who visited all the posts in the
harbor on this duty. It may here be noted, as a curious matter of
record, that poverty in ammunition had forbidden the expenditure of even
a single round from these modern guns until after the suspension of
hostilities. On September 2nd, the men of the garrison lined the
parapets and cheered lustily when the squadron of nine warships, led by
the grim _Massachusetts_, steamed into the harbor for the naval parade.
On the following day the Third Battalion paraded in Boston as escort to
Captain Higginson, and the officers, seamen, and marines of the vessels
under his command—the _Massachusetts_, _Machias_, _Detroit_, _Castine_,
_Wilmington_, _Helena_, _Marietta_, _Topeka_, and _Bancroft_. Orders for
change of station now arrived. On the 17th of September the battalion
tendered a final review to Colonel Woodruff, and on the 19th marched out
from the fort, taking transport on the _City_ _of Philadelphia_ for
Boston, and thence proceeding by rail to rejoin the regiment in camp at
Framingham. Officers and men alike left the post with feelings of
sincere regret, since their relations with the regulars of the garrison
had been most pleasant. On relieving the battalion from duty under his
orders, Colonel Woodruff took occasion officially to compliment it on
its uniform state of efficiency and discipline.




                       FINAL DAYS IN THE SERVICE




                                  XIV.


SO through the long and weary summer months the scattered batteries of
the regiment served faithfully at their posts along the coast, patiently
enduring the dull monotony of garrison life, and hoping against hope
that the fortunes of war yet might bring them their own chance for
training their guns upon an enemy. For a time rumor still busied itself
with the movements of the Spanish fleet, while spook cruisers still held
the seas—as the men on Shafter's crowded troopships could have testified
to their sorrow—but, as the final event proved, Spain either was too
blind or too feeble to improve her one possible opportunity of
inflicting injury on her adversary by striking a sharp and sudden blow
at some point on our long and weakly defended coast line. The national
salute fired on the Fourth of July at all the posts along-shore answered
a double purpose, since, while complying with army regulations for the
observance of the holiday, it also served to celebrate the victorious
fighting on land and sea at Santiago. But the men of the coast
artillery, regulars and volunteers alike, listened with heavy hearts to
the booming of their unshotted guns; rejoicing with their brethren of
the Navy over the signal victory that had been won, they yet felt that
the destruction of Cervera's squadron had deprived them of the one
chance to which they had trusted for obtaining distinction. Like all
thinking men, they had to face the fact that the events at Santiago
marked the beginning of the end.

On July 11th, Governor Wolcott informed the authorities at Washington
that the people of Massachusetts no longer were in uneasiness regarding
the safety of the cities and towns on the coast, and requested that the
First might be relieved from its present stations and assigned to more
active duty. Colonel Pfaff also urged that his command be retained in
service for any work that yet might remain to be done, while General
Lee, who had heard of the efficient condition of the regiment through
Lieutenant-Colonel Curtis Guild of his staff, made strong efforts to
secure its transfer to his Seventh Corps, then completing its
organization for the occupation of Havana.

But the time had not yet arrived when conditions would permit any
further depletion of our already weak artillery garrisons. It is true
that Spain, after the utter annihilation of her sea power, had been
humbled into asking terms on July 26th, and that, with the signing of
the peace protocol on August 12th, hostilities had been suspended; but
there yet remained possible complications with Germany over the long and
ugly succession of unfriendly acts of which the vessels of her fleet in
Philippine waters had been guilty. Within a very recent period Berlin
has seen fit officially to disavow any intention of interfering at that
time with our naval representatives at Manila, but in spite of this
disavowal it still remains a fact that such interference occurred, and
it was not until early in the fall that our military and naval
authorities could feel assured that the immediate future might not find
this country called upon to face a fresh and really powerful adversary.
Under these circumstances, all our available artillery troops, both
regulars and volunteers, wisely were held at their stations until, on
the final passing of the German war-cloud, there remained no further
hope for active service against Spain.

On September 4th, telegraphic orders from the War Department were
received at all the posts garrisoned by fractions of the regiment,
directing preparations to be made for the assembly of the command for
furlough and ultimate muster-out; and on the 17th, Colonel Pfaff issued
his orders for the concentration of his widely scattered batteries at
Framingham. On the 19th, the regiment was again reunited at the State
camp ground, the batteries from the posts on the North Shore, under
command of Colonel Pfaff, being first to arrive, followed at short
intervals by the battalion from Fort Warren, under Major Frye, and the
garrison from Fort Rodman, under Lieutenant-Colonel Woodman. It was
found that camp already had been pitched by Captain Landy and his men,
under direction of Colonel Converse, and all that remained to be done by
the command was to settle in quarters and start in operation the battery
messes.

After over three months of detached service at isolated points along the
coast the twelve batteries again were welded together in the regimental
organization. For the time being, all artillery drill and formations
were dropped, and the command easily and quickly settled into the
routine of an infantry encampment. Regimental and battalion drills daily
were held on the broad field which, prior to 1896, had been familiar
territory to the command, and in a surprisingly short time the regiment
again developed the snap and precision in infantry work for which it had
been distinguished before its transfer to the artillery arm of the
service. Here, through the thoughtfulness and generosity of the State
authorities, the regiment was rejoined by its band. None save those who
have learned by actual experience in service how much may be done by
music towards alleviating the wearing monotony of camp and garrison life
can appreciate the welcome given by the men of the regiment to
Bandmaster Collins and his musicians, on their return after their long
absence.

Meanwhile preparations for leaving the service were pushed forward. The
work was done under supervision of Lieutenant-Colonel Weaver, U.S.V.
(captain First United States Artillery), detailed as mustering officer
for Massachusetts, to whom had been assigned as assistants Lieutenants
C. C. Hearn, Third United States Artillery, and O. Edwards, Eleventh
United States Infantry. Slowly but steadily the absurdly cumbersome and
complex tangle of "paper-work" was unravelled, final muster and pay
rolls were completed, and the thousand-and-one accounts with ordnance,
quartermaster, medical, commissary, and signal departments were closed.
On October 5th this work substantially was finished, and shortly after
noon on that day, in a drizzling rain, the batteries for the last time
formed line as a regiment of United States Volunteers. Marching across
the soaked parade, the regiment stood at attention while the garrison
flag slowly was lowered, in token of the abandonment of the post, and
then swung out through the main gate of the reservation for the muddy
march to the waiting troop-train.

[Illustration:

  LIEUT.-COL. ERASMUS M. WEAVER, U.S.V.

  (Captain 1st U.S. Artillery.)

  Mustering-out Officer for Regiment.
]

Reaching Boston at two o'clock, the command formed in column for its
final parade. By this time the drizzle of the forenoon had become a
drenching downpour, but the men now were thoroughly wet through, and no
attention was paid to the muddy streets. The regiment had gone out under
like conditions, and was disposed to accept them as part of the
established order of things. Without waiting for the rear-most batteries
to emerge from the station, the command for marching was given, the band
struck up the stirring strains of the "Stars and Stripes," and the
regiment started over its route to the State House. Here Governor
Wolcott, with the officers of his staff, reviewed the returning
artillerymen. On reaching the foot of Beacon Hill, the Third Battalion
halted, while the leading battalions marched on and formed line on
Charles Street. Then the Bristol-Plymouth batteries, with arms at port,
tramped past their Boston comrades, forming line on their right and
presenting arms as they, in their turn, marched by—and with this brief
ceremony the twelve batteries, as volunteers of 1898, separated forever.
Colonel Pfaff, with his staff, the band, and "A," "C," "D," "G," "K,"
and "L" Batteries, proceeded to the South Armory, where, after cheering
their commanding officer, the men broke ranks and scattered to their
homes. Major Frye, with the Third Battalion, marched to the Park Square
station, where "I" Battery was detached to entrain at Kneeland Street,
and "E," "F," and "M" Batteries took their special train for their home
stations. "B" and "H" Batteries proceeded by the most direct routes to
their armories at Cambridge and Chelsea. The thirty days' furlough had
begun, and all active service for the regiment now was at an end.

On November 4th, the officers and men of the twelve batteries reported
back from leave and furlough at the armories at their home stations, and
the final formality of physical examination for discharge was begun. In
the First and Second Battalions this work was carried on under direction
of Captain Newgarden, assistant surgeon, United States Army, assisted by
Lieutenants Gates and Hitchcock, of the medical department, Second
Massachusetts Infantry, while in the Third Battalion the examining
surgeons were Major Magurn and Lieutenant Shea, Ninth Massachusetts
Infantry. Owing to the small enlisted strength of the command, as well
as to its magnificent physical condition, the examinations were
concluded in a comparatively short time, and the regiment was given a
clean bill of health by the board of surgeons through whose hands it had
just passed.

The last detail now had been attended to, and on November 14th the First
was ready for the final step towards leaving the volunteer service.
Early in the forenoon of that day Majors Dyar and Quinby assembled their
batteries at the South Armory, where, with the field, staff, and
non-commissioned staff, they formally were mustered out of the service
of the United States by Lieutenant-Colonel Weaver. At the same time
Major Frye had accompanied Lieutenant J. P. Hains, Third United States
Artillery, to the stations of the "Cape" batteries on a like mission.
Lieutenant Hains enjoyed the distinction of having received almost the
last wound in the Porto Rican campaign, having intercepted a Mauser
bullet in the action at Aibonito, almost at the time when the peace
protocol was being signed. He had become very popular among the officers
of the First, and his selection as mustering out officer was much to the
satisfaction of the Third Battalion.

Of the seven hundred and fifty-seven officers and men whose names had
been borne on the rolls of the regiment during its term of service,
there were mustered out at this time seven hundred and eleven. The
regiment had lost two commissioned officers—Major Bryant by promotion,
and Lieutenant Rolfe by resignation—and forty-three enlisted men, of
whom Private Henry A. Williams, "F" Battery, had died while on furlough,
one had received promotion, six had been discharged for physical
disability contracted in the line of duty, and the remainder had been
transferred to the regular service, the greater number of these
enlisting in the Second United States Artillery. Major Dearing was not
mustered out with the other officers of the staff, remaining in the
service until Jan. 28th, 1899, for duty as examining surgeon with other
returning Massachusetts regiments.

At this time what had threatened to be a serious complication was
averted through the thoughtfulness of the regimental commander. Though
the final muster and pay rolls of the command had been prepared in ample
time, the pay department, through inadequate clerical equipment at this
station, found itself unable to make the final settlements with the men
at the time of their muster-out. In addition to money for clothing
allowances and commutation of furlough rations, there was due to the
batteries over six weeks' pay, a very considerable sum in the aggregate.
As in all other volunteer regiments, not a few of the men had returned
from service only to find their patriotism rewarded by the loss of their
situations in civil life, and cases were not infrequent in which delay
in final payment meant serious hardship. Fully understanding these
conditions, Colonel Pfaff relieved the stress of the situation by
unhesitatingly drawing his personal check for $10,000, thus making it
possible on the day of mustering out to advance to each enlisted man $15
with which to tide over the interval before the final appearance of the
paymaster. This thoughtful act met with the appreciation which it
merited, and it hardly need be added that the trust shown in the
integrity of the men proved not to have been misplaced. On November 18th
the batteries of the Third Battalion were paid off, and on the following
day the remainder of the regiment received its money—the last dollar
advanced by Colonel Pfaff being repaid at the time the Government
fulfilled its obligations. This, from every point of view, was a
pleasant incident and one that reflected equal credit on the commanding
officer and his men.




                        AN HONORABLE REGIMENTAL
                                 RECORD




                                  XV.


AFTER bringing to its conclusion another eventful chapter in its already
long and honorable history, the First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery
again has left the service of the United States to reënter that of the
Commonwealth. In addition to the jealously cherished "White Diamond"
badge, eloquent of its campaigning from 1861 to 1864 with the old Second
Division, Third Corps, Army of the Potomac, it now has won the right to
bear the device emblematic of service in the Artillery Corps of the War
of 1898—the crossed conical projectiles, surmounted by the spherical
shot. The record of the regiment in this, its latest war, is in every
way worthy of its proud traditions. During its term of service there
were no desertions from its ranks, no dishonorable discharges blemish
its rolls, and the records show that its men, in conduct and discipline,
steadily maintained the high standard for which the command long has
been noted. The work allotted to the regiment was intelligently and well
performed, and it is a most significant fact that of the seven hundred
and eleven discharge papers issued to its officers and men on Nov. 14th,
1898, there was not one which failed to bear the endorsement coveted by
every true soldier: "Service honorable and faithful."

It is much to be regretted that certain enlisted men of the regiment,
and even a few among its officers, since their return from the service,
have felt constrained to apologize for the nature of the duty which it
fell to their lot to perform. It equally is a matter for regret that
some of their civilian friends, unquestionably through honest ignorance,
have made the absurd mistake of commiserating the command on its failure
to reach what they are pleased to term "the front." While it seems
almost a waste of energy, it yet may be worth while to note here a few
facts concerning the functions of the coast artillery in the late war,
as well as to emphasize the point that any probable foreign war of the
future will demand precisely the same sort of service from troops of
this arm.

[Illustration:

  Photograph by T. E. Marr, Boston

  THE LAST EVENING PARADE.

  Framingham, 3 October, 1898.
]

In the first place—and so long as the term "front," in its accepted
military sense, shall continue to mean the point of expected or probable
contact with an enemy's forces—it requires no argument to prove that the
First Heavy Artillery was at its post, _at the front_, on the 26th day
of April, 1898. This, to be exact, was fifty-seven days before the
Second Infantry disembarked at Baiquiri, sixty-six days before the Ninth
Infantry landed at Siboney, and ninety days before the Sixth Infantry
left its transport at Guanica, at which points respectively these three
Massachusetts commands for the first time found it possible to gain
tactical touch with the Spaniards. In other words, in a war with a
maritime power, every strategic point on navigable waters accessible to
an enemy's ships of war is of necessity at "the front," so long as the
hostile fleet remains undestroyed, and the First therefore justly may
claim actual service at the front from the day following that on which
Congress declared war to exist, until the 3rd of July, when the
annihilation of Cervera's squadron finally and definitely relieved the
coast from the threat of Spanish attack. While the five Massachusetts
regiments of infantry were passing their earlier weeks of service at
inland camps of instruction, absolutely beyond the reach of any possible
fighting, the First Artillery—from the very day on which it left its
home stations—was continuously on duty at vital points open to attack at
any hour of day or night. This claim, it should be well understood, is
made only in simple justice to the regiment and in the interests of
historical accuracy, for not an officer or a man in the First would
detract from the hard-won honors of the Second, the Sixth, or the
Ninth—honors in which, as Massachusetts soldiers, they ever will feel an
honest pride.

The earlier portion of this narrative may have served to show roughly
the condition of our harbor defenses at the outbreak of the last war, as
well as the imperative need of heavy artillery troops with which to
garrison them. The time has not yet arrived when the whole truth may be
told safely, or even with propriety, but since the actual artillery
strength on duty during the war is a matter of easily accessible record,
it may here receive momentary attention. Briefly summarized, there were
in service for the protection of our four thousand miles of sea-coast
but ninety-three heavy batteries, of which seventy were in the regular
establishment and twenty-three were in the volunteers. Over one-half of
the latter were contributed by Massachusetts alone, in her First Heavy
Artillery, and it seems fitting again to refer to the fact that her
twelve trained and disciplined batteries were the only ones obtainable
from the militia of the entire country at the outbreak of hostilities.
Of the remaining volunteer heavy batteries, four each were hastily
recruited in California and Maine, two in Connecticut, and one in South
Carolina. The event proved that but six of the entire ninety-three
batteries were destined to take part in any actual fighting. These were
four from the Third United States Artillery and two from the California
volunteers, which—when the destruction of Montojo's fleet had allayed
all fears for the safety of the Pacific coast—were relieved from duty in
the fortifications and ordered to report to General Merritt, under whom
they saw service as infantry in the land operations around Manila.

After what already has been said, it would seem that no elaborate
explanation should be required to show why the heavy artillery arm
failed to obtain more brilliant service in the last war. It must be
borne in mind that its first and most important function is the defence
of coast fortifications; its second, operations with the siege train in
the reduction of fortified places; its third—and this only in rarely
occurring emergencies—service as infantry. In the late war with Spain,
as in any future European war, it was a matter of vital necessity to man
our coast defenses, and to keep them manned until the threatening fleet
had been swept from the seas; that once accomplished, and the
artillerymen might reasonably have hoped for further service in the
expected final operations at Havana. But with the naval victory off
Santiago came the collapse of the war—and the ending of hope for the
artillery.

By the legislation which transferred the First from the infantry to the
artillery arm, the regiment was deprived of its opportunity of foreign
service. Entrusted with the defence of the coast, it quietly accepted
the responsibilities devolving upon it, and met them in a way that
entitles it to the gratitude of the Commonwealth. First in the field, it
had the mortification of finding itself soonest forgotten, for no
correspondents followed it in its faithful service, and no newspaper
filled its columns with the daily gossip of its camps. Accepting the
situation, it faithfully went on with its duties until the end came, and
then returned quietly to its place in the militia, content to apply to
its own case the words of its commander-in-chief, President McKinley,
"The highest tribute that can be paid to the soldier is to say that he
performed his full duty. The field of duty is determined by his
Government, and wherever that chances to be, there is the place of
honor. All have helped in the great cause, whether in camp or in battle,
and when peace comes, all alike will be entitled to the Nation's
gratitude."

                                THE END.




                    ROSTER OF COMMISSIONED OFFICERS


                           Regimental Roster.

                             FIELD OFFICERS.

 ───────────────────┬──────────┬────┬──────────┬────────────┬───────────
   NAME AND RANK.   │Residence.│Age.│ Earliest │Commissioned│  Remarks
                    │          │    │Commission│  in U.S.   │
                    │          │    │ in Mass. │   Vols.    │
                    │          │    │ Militia. │            │
 ───────────────────┼──────────┼────┼──────────┼────────────┼───────────
      COLONEL.      │          │    │          │            │
 Charles Pfaff      │Boston    │  38│  12 Feb.,│ 9 May, 1898│Hon. must.
                    │          │    │      1890│            │  out, 14
                    │          │    │          │            │  Nov.,
                    │          │    │          │            │  1898.
                    │          │    │          │            │
 LIEUTENANT-COLONEL.│          │    │          │            │
 Charles B. Woodman │Fall River│  42│  29 Aug.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1882│            │
                    │          │    │          │            │
       MAJORS.      │          │    │          │            │
 Perlie A. Dyar     │Boston    │  41│   23 May,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1887│            │
 George F. Quinby   │Boston    │  39│  20 July,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1887│            │
 James A. Frye      │Boston    │  35│   1 Apr.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1891│            │
 ───────────────────┴──────────┴────┴──────────┴────────────┴───────────
                             STAFF OFFICERS.
 ───────────────────┬──────────┬────┬──────────┬────────────┬───────────
  SURGEON (MAJOR).  │          │    │          │            │
 Howard S. Dearing  │Boston    │  40│   1 Apr.,│ 9 May, 1898│Hon. must.
                    │          │    │      1887│            │  out, 28
                    │          │    │          │            │  Jan.,
                    │          │    │          │            │  1899.
                    │          │    │          │            │
 ADJUTANT (1ST LT.).│          │    │          │            │
 Horace B. Parker   │Newton    │  48│   26 May,│ 9 May, 1898│Hon. must.
                    │          │    │      1886│            │  out, 14
                    │          │    │          │            │  Nov.,
                    │          │    │          │            │  1898.
                    │          │    │          │            │
 QUARTERMASTER (1ST │          │    │          │            │
        LT.).       │          │    │          │            │
 John S. Keenan     │Dorchester│  37│   6 Apr.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1891│            │
                    │          │    │          │            │
 RANGE OFFICER (1ST │          │    │          │            │
        LT.).       │          │    │          │            │
 John B. Paine      │Newton    │  28│  20 June,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1894│            │
                    │          │    │          │            │
 ASST. SURGEON (1ST │          │    │          │            │
        LT.).       │          │    │          │            │
 William A. Rolfe   │Boston    │  29│  21 Feb.,│ 9 May, 1898│Res. and
                    │          │    │      1894│            │  hon.
                    │          │    │          │            │  dis., 13
                    │          │    │          │            │  Jul.,
                    │          │    │          │            │  1898.
                    │          │    │          │            │
 SIGNAL OFFICER (1ST│          │    │          │            │
        LT.).       │          │    │          │            │
 George S. Stockwell│Boston    │  39│  23 Apr.,│ 9 May, 1898│Hon. must.
                    │          │    │      1898│            │  out, 14
                    │          │    │          │            │  Nov.,
                    │          │    │          │            │  1898.
                    │          │    │          │            │
 ASST. SURGEON (1ST │          │    │          │            │
        LT.).       │          │    │          │            │
 William S. Bryant  │Cohasset  │  37│       [2]│11 May, 1898│Pro. maj.
                    │          │    │          │            │  and
                    │          │    │          │            │  surg.,
                    │          │    │          │            │  U.S.V.,
                    │          │    │          │            │  7th
                    │          │    │          │            │  Corps, 8
                    │          │    │          │            │  July,
                    │          │    │          │            │  1898.
 ───────────────────┴──────────┴────┴──────────┴────────────┴───────────
                             LINE OFFICERS.
 ───────────────────┬──────────┬────┬──────────┬────────────┬───────────
      CAPTAINS.     │          │    │          │            │
 Sierra L. Braley   │Fall River│  54│   16 Dec,│   [3]9 May,│Hon. must.
                    │          │    │      1866│        1898│  out, 14
                    │          │    │          │            │  Nov.,
                    │          │    │          │            │  1898.
 Joseph H.          │Roxbury   │  48│   5 July,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
   Frothingham      │          │    │      1882│            │
 Charles Williamson │Brockton  │  45│  15 Aug.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1887│            │
 Norris O. Danforth │Raynham   │  35│  11 Jan.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1886│            │
 Albert B. Chick    │Boston    │  46│    8 May,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1890│            │
 Frederick M.       │Chelsea   │  42│  19 Nov.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
   Whiting          │          │    │      1888│            │
 Walter E. Lombard  │Arlington │  37│  16 Aug.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1886│            │
 Charles P. Nutter  │Malden    │  34│   11 May,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1891│            │
 Walter L. Pratt    │Chelsea   │  31│  16 June,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1892│            │
 John Bordman, Jr.  │Boston    │  26│  17 Jan.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1894│            │
 Frederic S. Howes  │Cambridge │  30│   14 May,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1891│            │
 Joseph L. Gibbs    │New       │  31│  23 Dec.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │  Bedford │    │      1895│            │
                    │          │    │          │            │
 FIRST LIEUTENANTS. │          │    │          │            │
 Charles F. Nostrom │Boston    │  38│  18 Mar.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1891│            │
 John E. Day        │Brighton  │  38│  21 Sep.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1891│            │
 David Fuller       │Fall River│  50│  10 Dec.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1889│            │
 Ferdinand H.       │Readville │  30│  20 Feb.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
   Phillips         │          │    │      1893│            │
 William L. Swan    │Chelsea   │  31│   9 Mar.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1894│            │
 William Renfrew    │Chelsea   │  31│   14 May,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1894│            │
 Frank S. Wilson    │Brighton  │  31│   8 Jan.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1896│            │
 E. Dwight Fullerton│Brockton  │  21│  27 Jan.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1896│            │
 Philo F. Packard   │Salem     │  32│   23 May,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1893│            │
 Norman P. Cormack  │Boston    │  32│  17 Jan.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1898│            │
 Harold C. Wing     │New       │  29│  24 Jan.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │  Bedford │    │      1898│            │
 George E. Horton   │Brockton  │  33│  20 June,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1892│            │
                    │          │    │          │            │
 SECOND LIEUTENANTS.│          │    │          │            │
 Marshall Underwood │Melrose   │  39│  21 Sep.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1891│            │
 Fred A. Cheney     │Chelsea   │  28│    1 May,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1895│            │
 Bertie E. Grant    │Chelsea   │  30│  16 Dec.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1895│            │
 James H. Gowing    │Everett   │  42│  17 Feb.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1897│            │
 Albert A. Gleason  │Boston    │  34│  29 Nov.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1897│            │
 Frederick W.       │Fall River│  31│  21 Dec.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
   Harrison         │          │    │      1897│            │
 Wellington H.      │Brockton  │  23│  14 Feb.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
   Nilsson          │          │    │      1898│            │
 William J.         │Boston    │  29│  14 Mar.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
   McCullough       │          │    │      1898│            │
 Sumner Paine       │Weston    │  29│  15 Feb.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1893│            │
 Joseph S. Francis  │Cambridge │  22│  23 Apr.,│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │          │    │      1898│            │
 James E. Totten    │Taunton   │  25│       [4]│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
 Charles H. Fuller  │New       │  33│       [5]│ 9 May, 1898│  "  "  "
                    │  Bedford │    │          │            │
 ───────────────────┴──────────┴────┴──────────┴────────────┴───────────

Footnote 2:

  From civil life, to fill original vacancy.

Footnote 3:

  2nd Lieut., U.S. Vols., 3 June, 1865.

Footnote 4:

  From 1st Sergeant, "F" Battery.

Footnote 5:

  From 1st Sergeant, "E" Battery.

                        NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF.

 ────────────────────────────────┬────┬─────────────────────────────────
          NAME AND RANK.         │Age.│            Remarks.
                                 │    │
 ────────────────────────────────┼────┼─────────────────────────────────
         SERGEANT-MAJOR.         │    │
 Huddleson, William D.           │  38│Hon. must. out, 14 Nov., 1898.
                                 │    │
     QUARTERMASTER-SERGEANT.     │    │
 Chapman, Edward E.              │  37│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
        HOSPITAL STEWARDS.       │    │
 Sawyer, George Y.               │  25│             "  "  "
 White, Thomas                   │  23│             "  "  "
 Phillips, Ira B.                │  36│Transf. Hosp. Cps, U.S.A., 8
                                 │    │  Sept., 1898.
                                 │    │
       PRINCIPAL MUSICIANS.      │    │
 Clark, James F.                 │  45│Hon. must. out, 14 Nov., 1898.
 Bennett, Frederick A. H.        │  30│             "  "  "
 ────────────────────────────────┴────┴─────────────────────────────────


                       MUSTER-ROLL OF "A" BATTERY

                        (HOME-STATION, BOSTON.)

                       CAPTAIN JOHN BORDMAN, JR.
                 FIRST LIEUTENANT E. DWIGHT FULLERTON.
                    SECOND LIEUTENANT SUMNER PAINE.

                              "A" BATTERY.

 ════════════════════════════════╤════╤═════════════════════════════════
          NAME AND RANK.         │Age.│            Remarks.
 ────────────────────────────────┼────┼─────────────────────────────────
                                 │    │
           FIRST SERGEANT.       │    │
 Claupein, William               │  38│Hon. must. out, 14 Nov., 1898.
                                 │    │
              SERGEANTS.         │    │
 Dunbar, George M.               │  31│             "  "  "
 Russell, George H.              │  26│             "  "  "
 Murphy, Frank                   │  24│             "  "  "
 Field, George P.                │  26│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
              CORPORALS.         │    │
 Smyth, James H.                 │  24│             "  "  "
 Powers, Edward D.               │  23│             "  "  "
 Andrews, George W.              │  24│             "  "  "
 Howard, Arthur H.               │  21│             "  "  "
 Osthues, Benjamin B.            │  26│             "  "  "
 Brittin, Louis H.               │  21│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
              PRIVATES.          │    │
 Blair, Arnold                   │  20│             "  "  "
 Block, Bernhard                 │  25│             "  "  "
 Blodgett, Walter P.             │  19│             "  "  "
 Bohm, Frederick A.              │  19│             "  "  "
 Buxbaum, Harry H.               │  21│             "  "  "
 Cobb, Frank E.                  │  28│             "  "  "
 Cobb, Marston I.                │  21│             "  "  "
 Cook, Thomas A.                 │  19│             "  "  "
 Cook, William E.                │  21│             "  "  "
 Cutter, Charles W.              │  23│             "  "  "
 Dickerman, Olin D.              │  22│             "  "  "
 Douglass, Eugene H.             │  18│             "  "  "
 Duggan, William J.              │  23│             "  "  "
 Faber, George                   │  27│             "  "  "
 Goodwin, Frank I.               │  20│             "  "  "
 Heilig, Frederick               │  22│             "  "  "
 Holt, Edwin B.                  │  24│             "  "  "
 Hurley, James F.                │  22│             "  "  "
 Jennings, William               │  19│             "  "  "
 Kane, Harry J.                  │  21│             "  "  "
 Keene, Charles H.               │  23│             "  "  "
 Kiley, Charles J.               │  20│             "  "  "
 Long, Michael J.                │  21│             "  "  "
 Loring, Alfred O. L.            │  27│             "  "  "
 Loring, John E.                 │  22│             "  "  "
 McGrath, John F.                │  25│             "  "  "
 Riddell, William A.             │  23│             "  "  "
 Sanders, Charles E.             │  21│             "  "  "
 Smith, Fred J.                  │  24│             "  "  "
 Stephenson, Charles E.          │  21│             "  "  "
 Stoddard, Francis R., Jr.       │  20│             "  "  "
 Talcott, Norman R.              │  20│             "  "  "
 Tilden, Calvin S.               │  23│             "  "  "
 Treadwell, Thomas P.            │  24│             "  "  "
 Waters, Robert J.               │  21│             "  "  "
 White, John W.                  │  27│             "  "  "
 Williams, Charles H.            │  21│             "  "  "
 Wilson, Francis C.              │  21│             "  "  "
 Wishman, Herbert G.             │  20│             "  "  "
 Wolcott, Roger, Jr.             │  20│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
              PROMOTED.          │    │
 Bumpus, Edward A., private.     │  23│2d Lieut., 21st U. S. Inf., 7
                                 │    │  Aug., 1898.
                                 │    │
             DISCHARGED.         │    │
 Kelley, Willard S., mess corp.  │  23│Hon. dis., 28 Oct., 1898.
 Lewis, Irven J., musician       │  21│      "      12 Oct., 1898.
 Gilbert, Edward J., private     │  20│      "      31 Oct., 1898.
 Knox, James L., private         │  22│      "       2 Nov., 1898.
 Ladd, James A., private         │  22│      "      22 Oct., 1898.
 Quinn, James F., private        │  23│      "      22 Oct., 1898.
 ════════════════════════════════╧════╧═════════════════════════════════


                       MUSTER-ROLL OF "B" BATTERY

                       (HOME-STATION, CAMBRIDGE.)

                       CAPTAIN WALTER E. LOMBARD.
                     FIRST LIEUTENANT JOHN E. DAY.
                 SECOND LIEUTENANT MARSHALL UNDERWOOD.

                              "B" BATTERY.

 ════════════════════════════════╤════╤═════════════════════════════════
          NAME AND RANK.         │Age.│            Remarks.
 ────────────────────────────────┼────┼─────────────────────────────────
                                 │    │
         FIRST SERGEANT.         │    │
 Prior, Percy H.                 │  28│Hon. must. out, 14 Nov., 1898.
                                 │    │
            SERGEANTS.           │    │
 Beaumont, Hartford              │  26│             "  "  "
 Pancoast, Fred L.               │  21│             "  "  "
 Litchfield, Allen J.            │  33│             "  "  "
 Brown, Lewis F.                 │  37│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            CORPORALS.           │    │
 Jacobs, Edwin C.                │  24│             "  "  "
 Montgomery, William             │  23│             "  "  "
 Anderton, Thomas                │  33│             "  "  "
 Cole, George W.                 │  28│             "  "  "
 Lombard, Herbert E.             │  42│             "  "  "
 Pritzkow, Emil A.               │  24│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
          MESS CORPORAL.         │    │
 Ralph, William T.               │  26│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            MUSICIAN.            │    │
 Coles, Herbert B.               │  20│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            PRIVATES.            │    │
 Backus, Simeon S.               │  31│             "  "  "
 Blenerhassett, Roland T.        │  21│             "  "  "
 Brown, Joseph C.                │  19│             "  "  "
 Burditt, Algernon L.            │  26│             "  "  "
 Collins, James C.               │  27│             "  "  "
 Cooley, George P.               │  32│             "  "  "
 Corbett, John                   │  28│             "  "  "
 Craigie, James A.               │  23│             "  "  "
 Davies, George H.               │  28│             "  "  "
 Dearborn, Josiah                │  29│             "  "  "
 Drummond, Thomas J.             │  20│             "  "  "
 Eldridge, Joseph H.             │  21│             "  "  "
 Fairclough, William A.          │  27│             "  "  "
 Gilkey, Frank J.                │  25│             "  "  "
 Goddard, William H.             │  21│             "  "  "
 Gove, Elliott A.                │  22│             "  "  "
 Higgins, Walter E.              │  19│             "  "  "
 Higgins, Walter G.              │  22│             "  "  "
 Jackson, George M.              │  25│             "  "  "
 Johansen, Howard R.             │  21│             "  "  "
 Kensel, Frederic                │  20│             "  "  "
 Lincoln, Charles G.             │  34│             "  "  "
 Littig, Henry G.                │  20│             "  "  "
 Lutz, Oren C.                   │  18│             "  "  "
 McDonald, John F.               │  22│             "  "  "
 McGilvray, John H.              │  24│             "  "  "
 Morse, Melvin G.                │  25│             "  "  "
 Nay, Frank W.                   │  22│             "  "  "
 Phaneuf, Edward J.              │  24│             "  "  "
 Reynolds, William A.            │  26│             "  "  "
 Rohrbacher, Fritz A.            │  20│             "  "  "
 Ruddock, Frederick T.           │  21│             "  "  "
 Rugg, Harry M.                  │  19│             "  "  "
 Sawyer, Elbridge F.             │  24│             "  "  "
 Thresher, Edwin A.              │  20│             "  "  "
 Thurston, Charles E.            │  31│             "  "  "
 Tukey, Charles W., 3d.          │  19│             "  "  "
 White, Frank Le R.              │  19│             "  "  "
 White, John A.                  │  24│             "  "  "
 Waddell, Le Roy                 │  19│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
           DISCHARGED.           │    │
 Woodside, Alonzo F., 1st Sgt.   │  28│Hon. dis., 22 Oct., 1898.
 Cook, Walter F., private        │  20│      "      19 Oct., 1898.
 Darling, Silas, private         │  32│      "      31 Oct., 1898.
 Newton, Andrew R., private      │  25│      "      22 Oct., 1898.
 Robertson, William N., private. │  23│      "      19 Oct., 1898.
 ════════════════════════════════╧════╧═════════════════════════════════


                       MUSTER-ROLL OF "C" BATTERY

                        (HOME-STATION, BOSTON.)

                       CAPTAIN CHARLES P. NUTTER.
                  FIRST LIEUTENANT CHARLES F. NOSTROM.
                  SECOND LIEUTENANT JOSEPH S. FRANCIS.

                              "C" BATTERY.

 ════════════════════════════════╤════╤═════════════════════════════════
          NAME AND RANK.         │Age.│            Remarks.
 ────────────────────────────────┼────┼─────────────────────────────────
                                 │    │
         FIRST SERGEANT.         │    │
 Smith, Herbert L.               │  23│Hon. must. out, 14 Nov., 1898.
                                 │    │
            SERGEANTS.           │    │
 Ives, Henry                     │  29│             "  "  "
 Wilkinson, George M.            │  22│             "  "  "
 Wheeler, H. Edson               │  37│             "  "  "
 Oakes, Walter E.                │  21│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            CORPORALS.           │    │
 Eastman, Ralph B.               │  24│             "  "  "
 Leach, C. Warren                │  34│             "  "  "
 Hetherington, George W.         │  21│             "  "  "
 Dawson, Charles A.              │  29│             "  "  "
 Stevens, Percy                  │  32│             "  "  "
 Seavey, Fred H.                 │  22│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
          MESS CORPORAL.         │    │
 Oliver, John B.                 │  28│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            MUSICIAN.            │    │
 Hooper, William H., Jr.         │  19│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            PRIVATES.            │    │
 Abbot, Charles E.               │  23│             "  "  "
 Ballentine, Harold A.           │  18│             "  "  "
 Bazin, Harry H.                 │  22│             "  "  "
 Blackman, Harold K.             │  24│             "  "  "
 Bodemer, Earnest F.             │  25│             "  "  "
 Booth, Frederick L.             │  28│             "  "  "
 Bourne, Osgood I.               │  23│             "  "  "
 Burns, Malachi G.               │  19│             "  "  "
 Cain, Gordon A.                 │  20│             "  "  "
 Capen, Charles E.               │  27│             "  "  "
 Cobb, George H.                 │  23│             "  "  "
 Conn, Wallace T.                │  20│             "  "  "
 Cowling, Edward J.              │  21│             "  "  "
 Danahy, John H.                 │  40│             "  "  "
 Darling, Norval F.              │  21│             "  "  "
 Doane, Eugene C.                │  23│             "  "  "
 Donlon, Dennis F.               │  23│             "  "  "
 Fallon, Winthrop                │  18│             "  "  "
 Fitch, Charles L.               │  21│             "  "  "
 Fossett, Charles R.             │  21│             "  "  "
 Gibbs, F. Alton                 │  27│             "  "  "
 Hanley, William H.              │  25│             "  "  "
 Hudson, Edward                  │  26│             "  "  "
 Kelley, George T.               │  21│             "  "  "
 Kennedy, Robert J.              │  29│             "  "  "
 Kimball, Clement L.             │  20│             "  "  "
 Knox, Herbert                   │  21│             "  "  "
 Land, Lawrence P.               │  34│             "  "  "
 Lane, Edgar                     │  22│             "  "  "
 Leman, James O.                 │  25│             "  "  "
 Lewis, Charles F.               │  32│             "  "  "
 Martikke, Ernest                │  19│             "  "  "
 Otis, James D.                  │  20│             "  "  "
 Sewell, John F.                 │  21│             "  "  "
 Shattuck, Charles E.            │  20│             "  "  "
 Smith, Herbert H.               │  21│             "  "  "
 Wheeler, Charles E.             │  41│             "  "  "
 Williams, Frank J.              │  36│             "  "  "
 Wilson, Frank E.                │  19│             "  "  "
 Wright, Henry H.                │  32│             "  "  "
 Yuill, Hugh S.                  │  24│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
           DISCHARGED.           │    │
 Hudson, Henry W., private       │  27│Hon. dis., 11 Oct., 1898.
 Rink, Frederick W., private     │  26│        "  8 Oct., 1898.
 Thompson, Elwyn W., private     │  22│        "  8 Oct., 1898.
 Wisnesky, Gustave M., private   │  23│        "  8 Oct., 1898.
 ════════════════════════════════╧════╧═════════════════════════════════


                       MUSTER-ROLL OF "D" BATTERY

                        (HOME-STATION, BOSTON.)

                     CAPTAIN JOSEPH H. FROTHINGHAM.
                  FIRST LIEUTENANT NORMAN P. CORMACK.
                SECOND LIEUTENANT WILLIAM J. McCULLOUGH.

                              "D" BATTERY.

 ════════════════════════════════╤════╤═════════════════════════════════
          NAME AND RANK.         │Age.│            Remarks.
 ────────────────────────────────┼────┼─────────────────────────────────
                                 │    │
         FIRST SERGEANT.         │    │
 Fogg, David H.                  │  34│Hon. must. out, 14 Nov., 1898.
                                 │    │
            SERGEANTS.           │    │
 Dobbins, Halburton              │  24│             "  "  "
 Blaikie, Duncan S.              │  19│             "  "  "
 Galway, John                    │  21│             "  "  "
 Hanson, Albert A.               │  25│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            CORPORALS.           │    │
 Martens, Frederick H.           │  20│             "  "  "
 Hill, Charles F.                │  23│             "  "  "
 Peyton, William H.              │  30│             "  "  "
 Brown, Frank H.                 │  21│             "  "  "
 Gile, Alfred D.                 │  19│             "  "  "
 Sargeant, William G.            │  19│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
          MESS CORPORAL.         │    │
 Young, Calvin E.                │  38│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            MUSICIAN.            │    │
 Wyatt, Claude E.                │  21│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            PRIVATES.            │    │
 Adams, Samuel L.                │  22│             "  "  "
 Ashley, Eugene W.               │  19│             "  "  "
 Brazier, Ernest E.              │  20│             "  "  "
 Brown, Benjamin H.              │  18│             "  "  "
 Childs, Frank H.                │  20│             "  "  "
 Choate, Louis D.                │  27│             "  "  "
 Clark, George F.                │  26│             "  "  "
 Clary, Dwight H.                │  22│             "  "  "
 Clary, George R.                │  21│             "  "  "
 Corser, Frederick H.            │  21│             "  "  "
 Dalton, Arthur T.               │   —│             "  "  "
 Ellis, Vaughn M.                │  19│             "  "  "
 Faulkner, Edward P.             │  20│             "  "  "
 Finnerty, Daniel G., Jr.        │  22│             "  "  "
 Frost, Arthur F.                │  21│             "  "  "
 Galway, James                   │  22│             "  "  "
 Handy, William B.               │  25│             "  "  "
 Hatch, Herbert L.               │  24│             "  "  "
 Hatt, Frederick V. McF.         │  29│             "  "  "
 Holmes, Edwin A.                │  21│             "  "  "
 Howland, Albert S.              │  20│             "  "  "
 Hudson, William                 │  21│             "  "  "
 Josselyn, Abbott C.             │  20│             "  "  "
 Kaufman, Benjamin               │  21│             "  "  "
 Laws, William B.                │  22│             "  "  "
 Lewis, Charles F.               │  19│             "  "  "
 Mateer, William                 │  23│             "  "  "
 Metcalf, Frank L.               │  19│             "  "  "
 Neale, Robert A.                │  25│             "  "  "
 Otis, George E.                 │  24│             "  "  "
 Ridgeway, Joseph T.             │  21│             "  "  "
 Robertson, George               │  20│             "  "  "
 Saunders, Edward B.             │  20│             "  "  "
 Spenceley, Frederick            │  26│             "  "  "
 Stacy, Clifford E.              │  20│             "  "  "
 Stewart, George F.              │  20│             "  "  "
 Stockemer, Charles H.           │  44│             "  "  "
 Timson, John E.                 │  19│             "  "  "
 Tinker, Clifford A.             │  20│             "  "  "
 Wells, Roy T.                   │  24│             "  "  "
 Wood, Herbert R.                │  26│             "  "  "
 Woodbury, Clarence P.           │  19│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
           DISCHARGED.           │    │
 Levy, Henry S., private         │  22│Hon. dis., 20 Oct., 1898.
 Marsh, Henry M., private        │  27│      "      20 Oct., 1898.
 Scherer, August L., private     │  24│      "      26 July, 1898.
 Swansburg, Jasper, private      │  23│      "      13 Oct., 1898.
 ════════════════════════════════╧════╧═════════════════════════════════


                       MUSTER-ROLL OF "E" BATTERY

                      (HOME-STATION, NEW BEDFORD.)

                        CAPTAIN JOSEPH L. GIBBS.
                    FIRST LIEUTENANT HAROLD C. WING.
                  SECOND LIEUTENANT CHARLES H. FULLER.

                              "E" BATTERY.

 ════════════════════════════════╤════╤═════════════════════════════════
          NAME AND RANK.         │Age.│            Remarks.
 ────────────────────────────────┼────┼─────────────────────────────────
                                 │    │
         FIRST SERGEANT.         │    │
 Anthony, Charles E.             │  30│Hon. must. out, 14 Nov., 1898.
                                 │    │
            SERGEANTS.           │    │
 Peck, Herbert N.                │  32│             "  "  "
 Soule, Ernest L.                │  35│             "  "  "
 Spooner, John C.                │  25│             "  "  "
 Merchant, Ambrose F.            │  22│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            CORPORALS.           │    │
 De Wolf, John C.                │  22│             "  "  "
 Burt, Edwin H.                  │  24│             "  "  "
 Gelette, Charles E.             │  28│             "  "  "
 Wood, William G.                │  27│             "  "  "
 Adams, John Q.                  │  27│             "  "  "
 Aikin, James.                   │  31│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
          MESS CORPORAL.         │    │
 Lafferty, John A.               │  33│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            MUSICIAN.            │    │
 Price, David J.                 │  29│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            PRIVATES.            │    │
 Aikin, Alexander J.             │  36│             "  "  "
 Almond, William, Jr.            │  25│             "  "  "
 Ames, Howard M.                 │  29│             "  "  "
 Aurelio, Frank L.               │  26│             "  "  "
 Baker, Edward A.                │  23│             "  "  "
 Barneby, Eugene                 │  32│             "  "  "
 Brown, James A.                 │  22│             "  "  "
 Brownell, Herbert N.            │  25│             "  "  "
 Brownell, Oliver M.             │  23│             "  "  "
 Christopher, Charles W.         │   —│             "  "  "
 Conroy, Michael                 │  27│             "  "  "
 Devlin, Bernard                 │   —│             "  "  "
 Ellis, Harry C.                 │  23│             "  "  "
 Fay, Miles H.                   │  25│             "  "  "
 Fury, Bartholomew P.            │  35│             "  "  "
 Garvin, Patrick F.              │  24│             "  "  "
 Gelette, Walter C.              │  27│             "  "  "
 Gibbs, Melatiah T.              │  21│             "  "  "
 Green, William H.               │  20│             "  "  "
 Hersey, Clinton T.              │  24│             "  "  "
 Hill, Albert R.                 │  24│             "  "  "
 Hunt, Raymond                   │  22│             "  "  "
 Jenney, Nathan G.               │  21│             "  "  "
 Kennedy, John P.                │  30│             "  "  "
 Lagasse, Arthur J.              │  24│             "  "  "
 McCann, James L.                │  33│             "  "  "
 Merchant, Walter H., Jr.        │  20│             "  "  "
 Murphy, D. William              │  27│             "  "  "
 Murphy, William H.              │  30│             "  "  "
 Nelson, William                 │  27│             "  "  "
 Rourke, Edward J.               │  27│             "  "  "
 Shiels, James J.                │  23│             "  "  "
 Smith, James                    │  28│             "  "  "
 Smith, William, Jr.             │  34│             "  "  "
 Soule, Charles E.               │  32│             "  "  "
 Spencer, John W.                │  30│             "  "  "
 Sullivan, James H.              │  33│             "  "  "
 Swain, George W.                │  28│             "  "  "
 Thompson, Michael H.            │  25│             "  "  "
 Tripp, Norris H.                │  26│             "  "  "
 Turner, Samuel, Jr.             │  22│             "  "  "
 Wade, Waldo A.                  │  28│             "  "  "
 Walsh, John R.                  │  23│             "  "  "
 Welch, Robert R.                │  21│             "  "  "
 Winn, John F.                   │  23│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
           TRANSFERRED.          │    │
 Gifford, Edward A., private     │  23│To U.S. Hospital Corps, 20 July,
                                 │    │  1898.
                                 │    │
           DISCHARGED.           │    │
 Crapo, Jesse F.                 │  22│Hon. dis., 23 July, 1898.
 ════════════════════════════════╧════╧═════════════════════════════════


                       MUSTER-ROLL OF "F" BATTERY

                        (HOME-STATION, TAUNTON.)

                      CAPTAIN NORRIS O. DANFORTH.
                FIRST LIEUTENANT FERDINAND H. PHILLIPS.
                   SECOND LIEUTENANT JAMES E. TOTTEN.

                              "F" BATTERY.

 ════════════════════════════════╤════╤═════════════════════════════════
          NAME AND RANK.         │Age.│            Remarks.
 ────────────────────────────────┼────┼─────────────────────────────────
                                 │    │
         FIRST SERGEANT.         │    │
 Totten, Samuel P.               │  24│Hon. must. out, 14 Nov., 1898.
                                 │    │
            SERGEANTS.           │    │
 Grigor, George                  │  26│             "  "  "
 Crowell, Alonzo K.              │  24│             "  "  "
 Potter, William N.              │  29│             "  "  "
 Seekell, George T.              │  32│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            CORPORALS.           │    │
 Bullard, Frank A. D.            │  29│             "  "  "
 Hathaway, Homer C.              │  23│             "  "  "
 King, Charles O.                │  28│             "  "  "
 Dean, Frank O.                  │  35│             "  "  "
 Brown, James W.                 │  35│             "  "  "
 Miller, Ernest F.               │  28│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
          MESS CORPORAL.         │    │
 Dansrow, Frank H.               │  43│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            MUSICIAN.            │    │
 Shaw, Eben H.                   │  25│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            PRIVATES.            │    │
 Albro, Andrew B.                │  25│             "  "  "
 Bagge, John J.                  │  19│             "  "  "
 Barnes, Benjamin S.             │  20│             "  "  "
 Beaulieu, Sinare                │  21│             "  "  "
 Brissette, Peter                │  22│             "  "  "
 Broadhurst, James, Jr.          │  23│             "  "  "
 Bryant, Charles C.              │  42│             "  "  "
 Butterworth, Joseph             │  22│             "  "  "
 Chandler, William F.            │  20│             "  "  "
 Cobbett, Willard A.             │  25│             "  "  "
 Creamer, George W.              │  40│             "  "  "
 Davis, Frederick L.             │  21│             "  "  "
 Dean, Alton L.                  │  20│             "  "  "
 Devereaux, James A.             │  21│             "  "  "
 Dodge, Elmer J.                 │  19│             "  "  "
 Dorgan, Michael L.              │  20│             "  "  "
 Eager, Charles F.               │  21│             "  "  "
 Eaton, George F.                │  19│             "  "  "
 Gibson, Charles M.              │  29│             "  "  "
 Gorey, Ambrose J.               │  22│             "  "  "
 Holmes, Charles A.              │  21│             "  "  "
 Holmes, William M               │  22│             "  "  "
 King, Edward H.                 │  19│             "  "  "
 King, Frederick D.              │  20│             "  "  "
 Lovell, Benjamin L.             │  21│             "  "  "
 Lovell, Horace C.               │  21│             "  "  "
 McVay, Alfred W.                │  22│             "  "  "
 Parlow, William S.              │  29│             "  "  "
 Peirce, Pembroke                │  20│             "  "  "
 Pidgeon, Norman H.              │  22│             "  "  "
 Robinson, George H.             │  23│             "  "  "
 Roby, Henry W.                  │  29│             "  "  "
 Scanlon, Joseph                 │  23│             "  "  "
 Seekell, Charles H.             │  30│             "  "  "
 Shaftoe, Thomas R.              │  45│             "  "  "
 Smith, Charles I.               │  20│             "  "  "
 Thacher, William D.             │  20│             "  "  "
 Timms, Ernest H.                │  25│             "  "  "
 Wedmore, Arthur                 │  22│             "  "  "
 Welch, James A.                 │  27│             "  "  "
 White, Darius E.                │  18│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
              DIED.              │    │
 Williams, Henry A., private     │  28│Boston, 24 Oct., 1898.
                                 │    │
           DISCHARGED.           │    │
 Baker, Arthur H., private       │  22│Hon. dis., 25 Oct., 1898.
 Baker, Charles H., private      │   —│      "      25 Oct., 1898.
 Dobson, William A., private     │  22│      "      25 Oct., 1898.
 King, James D., private         │  23│      "      25 Aug., 1898.
 ════════════════════════════════╧════╧═════════════════════════════════


                       MUSTER-ROLL OF "G" BATTERY

                        (HOME-STATION, BOSTON.)

                        CAPTAIN ALBERT B. CHICK.
                   FIRST LIEUTENANT FRANK S. WILSON.
                   SECOND LIEUTENANT JAMES H. GOWING.

                              "G" BATTERY.

 ════════════════════════════════╤════╤═════════════════════════════════
          NAME AND RANK.         │Age.│            Remarks.
 ────────────────────────────────┼────┼─────────────────────────────────
                                 │    │
         FIRST SERGEANT.         │    │
 Mudge, William J.               │  28│Hon. must. out, 14 Nov., 1898.
                                 │    │
            SERGEANTS.           │    │
 Earle, William J.               │  31│             "  "  "
 Treuthardt, Frank L.            │  22│             "  "  "
 Morrill, Charles F.             │  28│             "  "  "
 Fiske, Arthur P.                │  21│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            CORPORALS.           │    │
 Cullen, Charles V.              │  23│             "  "  "
 Treuthardt, Henry A.            │  23│             "  "  "
 Kelley, Joseph L.               │  27│             "  "  "
 Keefe, John J.                  │  22│             "  "  "
 Pendoley, John J.               │  22│             "  "  "
 Stevenson, William J.           │  23│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
          MESS CORPORAL.         │    │
 Estabrook, Herbert W.           │  21│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            MUSICIAN.            │    │
 Morgan, James A.                │  20│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            PRIVATES.            │    │
 Adams, Fred J.                  │  19│             "  "  "
 Allard, David                   │  31│             "  "  "
 Anderson, Luther F.             │  19│             "  "  "
 Baker, Benjamin L.              │  18│             "  "  "
 Ball, Charles H.                │  21│             "  "  "
 Barry, Patrick T.               │  24│             "  "  "
 Buettner, Louis C.              │  21│             "  "  "
 Buswell, John A.                │  18│             "  "  "
 Buttery, William F.             │  22│             "  "  "
 Connor, John J.                 │   —│             "  "  "
 Craig, Samuel A.                │  20│             "  "  "
 Driscoll, Frank                 │  20│             "  "  "
 Emerson, George W., Jr.         │  19│             "  "  "
 Grimwood, Arthur C.             │  25│             "  "  "
 Haynes, Clifton M.              │  19│             "  "  "
 Houston, John J.                │  22│             "  "  "
 Kaiser, Edward C.               │  22│             "  "  "
 Killen, Andrew F.               │  28│             "  "  "
 Lewis, Alexander S.             │  20│             "  "  "
 Mason, Walter I.                │  21│             "  "  "
 McCann, James T.                │  19│             "  "  "
 McCarthy, Patrick J.            │  18│             "  "  "
 McDonald, Ernest D.             │  18│             "  "  "
 McGrath, Frank                  │  20│             "  "  "
 McKenna, John T.                │  19│             "  "  "
 McLaughlin, Thomas B., Jr.      │  20│             "  "  "
 McPherson, John H.              │  23│             "  "  "
 Merry, Howard L.                │  20│             "  "  "
 Monahan, John W.                │  19│             "  "  "
 Moran, James F.                 │  22│             "  "  "
 Nagle, Frank J.                 │  21│             "  "  "
 Odenweller, Charles J., Jr.     │  21│             "  "  "
 Pendoley, Frank C.              │  21│             "  "  "
 Reed, Harry J.                  │  21│             "  "  "
 Rogers, George E.               │  21│             "  "  "
 Sauer, Fred A.                  │  22│             "  "  "
 Scott, Thomas A.                │  18│             "  "  "
 Snelling, Theodore L.           │  25│             "  "  "
 Sprague, Thomas E.              │  26│             "  "  "
 Taylor, Fred S.                 │  21│             "  "  "
 Todhunter, John, Jr.            │  21│             "  "  "
 Westman, Leroy L.               │  21│             "  "  "
 Whitney, Roy F. .               │  19│             "  "  "
 Williams, Benjamin F.           │  19│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
           DISCHARGED.           │    │
 Hutchinson, Benj. W., private   │  22│Hon. dis., 17 July, 1898.
 Jones, Walter F., private       │  22│        "  26 July, 1898.
 ════════════════════════════════╧════╧═════════════════════════════════


                       MUSTER-ROLL OF "H" BATTERY

                        (HOME-STATION, CHELSEA.)

                        CAPTAIN WALTER L. PRATT.
                   FIRST LIEUTENANT WILLIAM RENFREW.
                   SECOND LIEUTENANT BERTIE E. GRANT.

                              "H" BATTERY.

 ════════════════════════════════╤════╤═════════════════════════════════
          NAME AND RANK.         │Age.│            Remarks.
 ────────────────────────────────┼────┼─────────────────────────────────
                                 │    │
         FIRST SERGEANT.         │    │
 Meek, Warren L.                 │  34│Hon. must. out, 14 Nov., 1898.
                                 │    │
            SERGEANTS.           │    │
 McGilvray, Joseph G. H.         │  25│             "  "  "
 Flint, Herbert S.               │  26│             "  "  "
 Brosseau, John F.               │  27│             "  "  "
 Smith, Walter E.                │  26│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            CORPORALS.           │    │
 Brewer, John E.                 │  23│             "  "  "
 Lennox, William W.              │  24│             "  "  "
 Reid, Thomas J.                 │  24│             "  "  "
 Grant, Nathan A.                │  20│             "  "  "
 Vowles, Herbert E.              │  30│             "  "  "
 Wells, Carl B.                  │  23│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
          MESS CORPORAL.         │    │
 Newman, William G.              │  35│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            MUSICIAN.            │    │
 Burns, William                  │  20│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            PRIVATES.            │    │
 Adgate, William                 │  32│             "  "  "
 Bearce, Charles F.              │  21│             "  "  "
 Bird, Joseph F.                 │  19│             "  "  "
 Bradley, James T.               │  22│             "  "  "
 Brown, Gordon D. W.             │  30│             "  "  "
 Card, Herbert W.                │  24│             "  "  "
 Chadbourne, Walter I.           │  22│             "  "  "
 Cutcliffe, Lawrence H.          │  24│             "  "  "
 Dolliver, Thomas H.             │  20│             "  "  "
 Durgin, Charles F.              │  19│             "  "  "
 Farrell, Edgar G.               │  31│             "  "  "
 Fletcher, John                  │  25│             "  "  "
 Gardner, George O.              │  23│             "  "  "
 Hesse, Frederick R.             │  20│             "  "  "
 Hinckley, Charles A.            │  26│             "  "  "
 Holland, William J.             │  24│             "  "  "
 Hunt, Charles D.                │  22│             "  "  "
 Hurd, Thomas E.                 │  20│             "  "  "
 Hutchins, Frederick S.          │  23│             "  "  "
 Jones, Harry E.                 │  21│             "  "  "
 King, Joseph C.                 │  21│             "  "  "
 Kirk, Walter R.                 │  19│             "  "  "
 Knowlton, Chester P.            │  23│             "  "  "
 Leuchter, Fred A.               │  21│             "  "  "
 Macdonald, Alexander A. E.      │  21│             "  "  "
 McCann, Peter F.                │  20│             "  "  "
 McDonald, Frank                 │  28│             "  "  "
 Osborn, John W.                 │  26│             "  "  "
 Pendleton, Clarence A.          │  22│             "  "  "
 Phelps, Charles H.              │  25│             "  "  "
 Phillips, Fred V.               │  20│             "  "  "
 Pierce, Frank J.                │  26│             "  "  "
 Quimby, Roland F.               │  22│             "  "  "
 Rice, Harry E.                  │  19│             "  "  "
 Rice, Walter L.                 │  18│             "  "  "
 Rogers, George D.               │  24│             "  "  "
 Smith, Charlie O.               │  23│             "  "  "
 Sullivan, Eugene F.             │  22│             "  "  "
 Taylor, Jeremiah                │  21│             "  "  "
 Tuttle, Adderson F.             │  20│             "  "  "
 Webber, George C.               │  20│             "  "  "
 Young, Roderick B.              │  35│             "  "  "
 Young, William L.               │  18│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
           DISCHARGED.           │    │
 Forbush, Charles F., private    │  22│Hon. dis.,  1 Aug., 1898.
 Langill, Robert W., private     │  21│        "  18 Aug., 1898.
 ════════════════════════════════╧════╧═════════════════════════════════


                       MUSTER-ROLL OF "I" BATTERY

                       (HOME-STATION, BROCKTON.)

                      CAPTAIN CHARLES WILLIAMSON.
                   FIRST LIEUTENANT GEORGE E. HORTON.
                SECOND LIEUTENANT WELLINGTON H. NILSSON.

                              "I" BATTERY.

 ════════════════════════════════╤════╤═════════════════════════════════
          NAME AND RANK.         │Age.│            Remarks.
 ────────────────────────────────┼────┼─────────────────────────────────
                                 │    │
         FIRST SERGEANT.         │    │
 Rowley, Charles                 │  39│Hon. must. out, 14 Nov., 1898.
                                 │    │
            SERGEANTS.           │    │
 Allen, William S.               │  29│             "  "  "
 Allen, Herbert                  │  31│             "  "  "
 Sampson, Samuel B.              │  32│             "  "  "
 Burgess, George B.              │  45│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            CORPORALS.           │    │
 Marshall, William J.            │  26│             "  "  "
 Reed, Harry S.                  │  29│             "  "  "
 Morse, Esrom J.                 │  24│             "  "  "
 Abercrombie, George A.          │  41│             "  "  "
 Varney, George A.               │  23│             "  "  "
 Foye, Frederic E.               │  21│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
          MESS CORPORAL.         │    │
 Winslow, Enos B.                │  24│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            MUSICIAN.            │    │
 Abbott, Frank H.                │  27│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            PRIVATES.            │    │
 Alger, Sanford                  │  19│             "  "  "
 Amadon, Edwin T.                │  26│             "  "  "
 Angevine, Edgar                 │  20│             "  "  "
 Billington, Edward N.           │  23│             "  "  "
 Burt, Fred E.                   │  22│             "  "  "
 Chamberlain, Henry F.           │  29│             "  "  "
 Churchill, Edwin R.             │  30│             "  "  "
 Churchill, William F.           │  18│             "  "  "
 Cobb, Arthur L.                 │  21│             "  "  "
 Cook, Samuel W.                 │  22│             "  "  "
 Corser, Frank L.                │  21│             "  "  "
 Darby, Frank B.                 │  19│             "  "  "
 Edson, Charles H.               │  25│             "  "  "
 Foye, Lewis M.                  │  25│             "  "  "
 Gould, Charles A.               │  25│             "  "  "
 Hallamore, Spurgeon W.          │  19│             "  "  "
 Hamilton, William F.            │  26│             "  "  "
 Hammond, Horace B.              │  18│             "  "  "
 Higgins, Franklin R.            │  20│             "  "  "
 Holmes, David C.                │  20│             "  "  "
 Holmes, George N.               │  20│             "  "  "
 Jackson, William G.             │  19│             "  "  "
 Johnson, Clarence H.            │  21│             "  "  "
 Kendall, Thomas L.              │  30│             "  "  "
 Loud, Harry M.                  │  23│             "  "  "
 Marshall, Walter W.             │  19│             "  "  "
 Maxwell, Harold E.              │  20│             "  "  "
 McDonald, Robert H.             │  22│             "  "  "
 Merry, Hortence E.              │  22│             "  "  "
 Morrill, Joseph R.              │  26│             "  "  "
 Osborn, Chester W.              │  21│             "  "  "
 Packard, Harold E.              │  21│             "  "  "
 Pierce, Charles N.              │  22│             "  "  "
 Provost, Ferdinand.             │  22│             "  "  "
 Reed, Augustus S.               │  18│             "  "  "
 Shaw, Harry W.                  │  22│             "  "  "
 Shurtleff, Fred L.              │  22│             "  "  "
 Slack, William J.               │  23│             "  "  "
 Snow, Harry A.                  │  20│             "  "  "
 Stokes, Fred D.                 │  23│             "  "  "
 Turner, James I.                │  20│             "  "  "
 Waugh, Prince E.                │  23│             "  "  "
 West, Lybia F.                  │  21│             "  "  "
 Williamson, Charles A.          │  19│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
           DISCHARGED.           │    │
 Loud, Harry W., private         │  26│Hon. dis., 17 Oct., 1898.
 ════════════════════════════════╧════╧═════════════════════════════════


                       MUSTER-ROLL OF "K" BATTERY

                        (HOME-STATION, BOSTON.)

                       CAPTAIN FREDERIC S. HOWES.
                   FIRST LIEUTENANT P. FRANK PACKARD.
                  SECOND LIEUTENANT ALBERT A. GLEASON.

                              "K" BATTERY.

 ════════════════════════════════╤════╤═════════════════════════════════
          NAME AND RANK.         │Age.│            Remarks.
 ────────────────────────────────┼────┼─────────────────────────────────
                                 │    │
         FIRST SERGEANT.         │    │
 Moore, Freeman R.               │  26│Hon. must. out, 14 Nov., 1898.
                                 │    │
            SERGEANTS.           │    │
 Chaffin, Walter B.              │  24│             "  "  "
 Atton, William C.               │  28│             "  "  "
 Ready, Frank L.                 │  23│             "  "  "
 Horton, Joseph G.               │  35│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            CORPORALS.           │    │
 Davis, Irving J.                │  24│             "  "  "
 Graves, Elmer A.                │  21│             "  "  "
 Kenny, Horace L.                │  20│             "  "  "
 Farwell, Frank F.               │  20│             "  "  "
 Donovan, Thomas J.              │  22│             "  "  "
 Spear, Oscar A.                 │  22│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
          MESS CORPORAL.         │    │
 Barker, Edward, Jr.             │  23│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            MUSICIAN.            │    │
 Ripley, Winfield S., Jr.        │  29│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            PRIVATES.            │    │
 Adams, Alonzo                   │  25│             "  "  "
 Banchor, George Y.              │  31│             "  "  "
 Black, Ralph W.                 │  35│             "  "  "
 Bond, Alonzo C.                 │  22│             "  "  "
 Carle, Edward M.                │  29│             "  "  "
 Conant, Lewis W.                │  30│             "  "  "
 Cook, Angus                     │  25│             "  "  "
 Eaton, Phillips                 │  21│             "  "  "
 Eaton, Pitt E.                  │  23│             "  "  "
 Grose, Howard B.                │  19│             "  "  "
 Hally, Edmund S.                │  22│             "  "  "
 Hally, William J.               │  28│             "  "  "
 Hanscom, Alpheus P.             │  24│             "  "  "
 Hazlett, George S.              │  20│             "  "  "
 Jackson, William T.             │  21│             "  "  "
 Jones, Clarence F.              │  21│             "  "  "
 Keith, Phineas                  │  20│             "  "  "
 Kingsley, Charles L.            │  22│             "  "  "
 Krebs, Charles A.               │  35│             "  "  "
 Lambert, Clarence E.            │  19│             "  "  "
 Martikke, Frederick W.          │  24│             "  "  "
 McIntosh, Willey J.             │  26│             "  "  "
 McKinnon, William C.            │  25│             "  "  "
 McPhee, George W.               │  22│             "  "  "
 Merrifield, Albert F.           │  28│             "  "  "
 Rache, James A.                 │  20│             "  "  "
 Reuben, Moses                   │  34│             "  "  "
 Richards, Frank L.              │  29│             "  "  "
 Ricker, William E.              │  24│             "  "  "
 Rittenhouse, Ralph W. E.        │  20│             "  "  "
 Russell, George R.              │  45│             "  "  "
 Smith, Asa N.                   │  29│             "  "  "
 Smith, Clifford E.              │  21│             "  "  "
 Smith, Daniel                   │   —│             "  "  "
 Smith, Frederick D.             │  21│             "  "  "
 Stock, Charles H.               │  26│             "  "  "
 Strong, Harry C.                │  22│             "  "  "
 Studdert, Edward F. G.          │  24│             "  "  "
 Tornrose, Axel T.               │  26│             "  "  "
 Weiler, Stephen                 │  20│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
           DISCHARGED.           │    │
 Canfield, Charles E., private   │  24│Hon. dis., 10 Aug., 1898.
 Chase, Paul D., private         │  40│        "  12 Nov., 1898.
 Moulton, Fred H., private       │  20│        "  16 Aug., 1898.
 O'Brien, John J., private       │  21│        "   4 Oct., 1898.
 Webster, Daniel L., private     │  33│        "   4 Oct., 1898.
 ════════════════════════════════╧════╧═════════════════════════════════


                       MUSTER-ROLL OF "L" BATTERY

                        (HOME-STATION, BOSTON.)

                     CAPTAIN FREDERICK M. WHITING.
                   FIRST LIEUTENANT WILLIAM L. SWAN.
                   SECOND LIEUTENANT FRED A. CHENEY.

                              "L" BATTERY.

 ════════════════════════════════╤════╤═════════════════════════════════
          NAME AND RANK.         │Age.│            Remarks.
 ────────────────────────────────┼────┼─────────────────────────────────
                                 │    │
         FIRST SERGEANT.         │    │
 Graves, William R.              │  23│Hon. must. out, 14 Nov., 1898.
                                 │    │
            SERGEANTS.           │    │
 Naumann, Louis                  │  33│             "  "  "
 Harris, Clifford L.             │  23│             "  "  "
 Gage, George R.                 │  26│             "  "  "
 Colburn, Alvin                  │  21│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            CORPORALS.           │    │
 French, Alton L.                │  23│             "  "  "
 Burrill, William F.             │  21│             "  "  "
 Paré, Thomas O.                 │  24│             "  "  "
 Barrett, John C.                │  25│             "  "  "
 Hill, William B.                │  21│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
          MESS CORPORAL.         │    │
 Foster, Maurice F.              │  28│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            MUSICIAN.            │    │
 Barrett, William H.             │   —│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            PRIVATES.            │    │
 Anderson, John E.               │  27│             "  "  "
 Babb, Charles H.                │  18│             "  "  "
 Bartlett, David H.              │  19│             "  "  "
 Blanchard, Benjamin B.          │  24│             "  "  "
 Brown, Charles H.               │  21│             "  "  "
 Ellis, Henry J.                 │  19│             "  "  "
 Ellsworth, Walter F.            │  24│             "  "  "
 Fitzwilliam, Edward C.          │  25│             "  "  "
 Fitzwilliam, Frank M.           │  20│             "  "  "
 Flagg, George A.                │  27│             "  "  "
 Frank, Harry M.                 │  23│             "  "  "
 Frank, Maurice A.               │  20│             "  "  "
 Fruean, George H.               │  19│             "  "  "
 Gage, Frank A.                  │  22│             "  "  "
 Gillespie, Edwin S.             │  20│             "  "  "
 Goode, James C.                 │  19│             "  "  "
 Greenfield, Joseph              │  23│             "  "  "
 Henius, Walter A.               │  19│             "  "  "
 Hill, Arthur G.                 │  19│             "  "  "
 Knight, Harry                   │  20│             "  "  "
 McLeod, Alton D.                │  19│             "  "  "
 Meader, Joseph B.               │  20│             "  "  "
 Mitchell, Ralph L.              │  20│             "  "  "
 Neagle, Richard J. J.           │  20│             "  "  "
 Osborne, Roy L.                 │  20│             "  "  "
 Osborne, William A.             │  20│             "  "  "
 Porter, Wilfred H.              │  21│             "  "  "
 Reynolds, Harry L.              │  23│             "  "  "
 Richardson, Charles H.          │  24│             "  "  "
 Rueter, Karl                    │  20│             "  "  "
 Rymill, Joseph A.               │  23│             "  "  "
 Sanford, Herman I.              │  19│             "  "  "
 Scruton, Edwin H.               │  20│             "  "  "
 Simmons, John                   │  22│             "  "  "
 Smith, Harold F.                │  21│             "  "  "
 Soule, Melzer H.                │  25│             "  "  "
 Spinney, William A.             │  19│             "  "  "
 Swartout, Eugene D.             │  21│             "  "  "
 Trask, Harry A.                 │  23│             "  "  "
 Warner, Harry A.                │  21│             "  "  "
 Wells, Jarvis A.                │  24│             "  "  "
 Wight, William A.               │  19│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
           DISCHARGED.           │    │
 Jansson, John G., corporal      │  23│Hon. dis., 20 Oct., 1898.
 Ackiss, Ivy W., private         │  21│        "  25 Oct., 1898.
 Johnson, George A., private     │  20│        "  20 Oct., 1898.
 Lewisson, Clarence P., private  │  19│        "  16 June, 1898.
 Miller, William T., private     │  20│        "  20 Oct., 1898.
 ════════════════════════════════╧════╧═════════════════════════════════


                       MUSTER-ROLL OF "M" BATTERY

                      (HOME-STATION, FALL RIVER.)

                       CAPTAIN SIERRA L. BRALEY.
                     FIRST LIEUTENANT DAVID FULLER.
                SECOND LIEUTENANT FREDERICK W. HARRISON.

                              "M" BATTERY.

 ════════════════════════════════╤════╤═════════════════════════════════
          NAME AND RANK.         │Age.│            Remarks.
 ────────────────────────────────┼────┼─────────────────────────────────
                                 │    │
         FIRST SERGEANT.         │    │
 Potter, George E.               │  34│Hon. must. out, 14 Nov., 1898.
                                 │    │
            SERGEANTS.           │    │
 Sanford, Arnold B., 2d.         │  28│             "  "  "
 McAdams, James F.               │  27│             "  "  "
 Booth, Richard H.               │  29│             "  "  "
 s, Arthur F.                    │  25│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            CORPORALS.           │    │
 Pilkington, Edward H.           │  27│             "  "  "
 Whitehead, James M.             │  28│             "  "  "
 Bentley, James H.               │  29│             "  "  "
 Durfee, Frederick E.            │  30│             "  "  "
 Wilcox, William B.              │  25│             "  "  "
 Mitchell, Elmer W.              │  25│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
          MESS CORPORAL.         │    │
 Marsden, George                 │  27│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            MUSICIAN.            │    │
 Lee, John                       │  33│             "  "  "
                                 │    │
            PRIVATES.            │    │
 Almond, James H.                │  23│             "  "  "
 Bailey, James E.                │  30│             "  "  "
 Bradbury, George                │  25│             "  "  "
 Bridges, Charles                │  24│             "  "  "
 Broughton, Thomas               │  35│             "  "  "
 Buckley, John                   │  19│             "  "  "
 Buckley, Zedekiah               │  31│             "  "  "
 Chippendale, Thomas J.          │  19│             "  "  "
 Dale, Hugh                      │  25│             "  "  "
 Darke, William H.               │  38│             "  "  "
 Davis, Elmer F.                 │  25│             "  "  "
 Destremps, Henry A.             │  21│             "  "  "
 Durfee, Nelson B.               │  28│             "  "  "
 Eldredge, Myron O.              │  23│             "  "  "
 Ely, Ernest E.                  │  21│             "  "  "
 Fish, Edwin B.                  │  28│             "  "  "
 Fiske, Frank R.                 │  23│             "  "  "
 Graham, Henry                   │  34│             "  "  "
 Harrison, Paul                  │  40│             "  "  "
 Henshaw, John E.                │  23│             "  "  "
 Heywood, Joseph A.              │  35│             "  "  "
 Horan, James H.                 │  27│             "  "  "
 Horsman, Frederick              │  38│             "  "  "
 Hughes, John F.                 │  31│             "  "  "
 Lindsey, John J.                │  23│             "  "  "
 Linley, Frederick R. H.         │  25│             "  "  "
 Littlefield, Frank W. C.        │  28│             "  "  "
 McGlynn, Thomas J.              │  25│             "  "  "
 McGraw, Jerome G.               │  27│             "  "  "
 Murphy, Thomas                  │  34│             "  "  "
 Rigby, John                     │  22│             "  "  "
 Robinson, John T.               │  25│             "  "  "
 Sanford, Alvin C.               │  19│             "  "  "
 Sanford, Frank R.               │  21│             "  "  "
 Sharples, Joseph H. M.          │  27│             "  "  "
 Simmons, Ernest L.              │  19│             "  "  "
 Skinner, Harry A.               │  22│             "  "  "
 Smolensky, Hyman                │  24│             "  "  "
 Smolensky, Lester H.            │  21│             "  "  "
 Squire, William B.              │  19│             "  "  "
 Stevens, Theodore F.            │  19│             "  "  "
 Thurston, Edward A.             │  26│             "  "  "
 Waterworth, William             │  25│             "  "  "
 Wiseman, William A.             │  21│             "  "  "
 Wood, Richard                   │  36│             "  "  "
 ════════════════════════════════╧════╧═════════════════════════════════




                         CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR




                              CHRONOLOGY.


It will be observed that in the following table all regimental and
battery notes refer to the First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery:

                             FEBRUARY, 1898.

  15th.—U.S.S. _Maine_ destroyed in harbor of Havana.

                                  MARCH.

  9th.—Congress appropriates $50,000,000 for national defence.

  12th.—U.S.S. _Oregon_ starts from San Francisco on the memorable
    voyage to the Atlantic coast.

  24th.—Spanish torpedo-gunboat flotilla assembles at Cape Verde
    Islands.

  28th.—Congress receives report of naval board of inquiry declaring
    _Maine_ to have been destroyed by exterior explosion.

                                  APRIL.

  9th.—General Lee leaves Havana.

  14th.—Flotilla at Cape Verde Islands joined by _Infanta Maria
    Teresa_ and _Cristobal Colon_.

  15th.—Legislature of Massachusetts appropriates $500,000 for local
    defence and equipment of troops.

  20th.—Cape Verde squadron augmented by _Almirante Oquendo_ and
    _Vizcaya_.

  21st.—Spanish Government sends passports to Minister Woodford.

  22d.—Admiral Sampson sails from Key West to establish Cuban
    blockade.

  23d.—President McKinley calls for one hundred and twenty-five
    thousand volunteers.

  24th.—Spanish Government announces its intention of organizing a
    fleet of auxiliary cruisers.

      Regiment receives orders to hold itself in readiness for
        service in defenses of Boston Harbor.

    25th.—Congress declares war to have existed since 21 April.

      Admiral Dewey sails from Hong Kong for Manila.

      Orders issued directing regiment to report at Fort Warren,
        Boston Harbor, on following day.

    26th.—Regiment assembles in Boston—ninety-nine per cent. present
    for duty—passes in review before Governor Wolcott, and at noon
    reaches its station.

    29th.—Spanish fleet, under Admiral Cervera, sails from Cape Verde
    Islands—destination unknown.

                                   MAY.

    1st.—Destruction of Admiral Montojo's fleet in Manila Bay.

    9th.—Regiment mustered into volunteer service of United States by
    Brevet Lieut.-Col. C. A. Woodruff, Second United States Artillery;
    muster-in completed at 9.34 A.M.

    10th.—Orders received detaching Third Battalion, to report to
    Colonel Woodruff.

    13th.—Reported sighting of Spanish fleet off Nantucket; night
    alarm at Fort Warren.

    18th.—Governor Wolcott visits post, inspects regiment, and
    presents volunteer commissions to officers.

    20th.—General Merritt, commanding Department of the East, relieved
    by General Frank.

    23d.—Orders received assigning Headquarters, First and Second
    Battalions to stations.

    24th.—U.S.S. _Oregon_ reaches coast of Florida.

    25th.—President McKinley calls for seventy-five thousand
    additional volunteers.

      First military expedition starts from San Francisco for
        Manila.

    30th.—Admiral Cervera's fleet definitely located and blockaded in
    harbor of Santiago.

                                  JUNE.

    1st.—"G" and "L" Batteries take station at Fort Rodman, New
    Bedford Harbor.

    3d.—U.S.S. _Merrimac_ sunk in harbor of Santiago.

      Regimental Headquarters established at Fort Pickering, Salem
        Harbor.

    6th.—Changes of station: "A" Battery to Mining Casemate, Nahant;
    "C" and "D" Batteries to Fort Pickering; "H" Battery to Fort
    Sewall, Marblehead Harbor.

    7th.—"B" Battery takes station in defenses of Newburyport Harbor;
    "K" Battery at Stage Fort, Gloucester Harbor.

    11th.—Landing of United States Marines at Guantanamo.

    12th.—Embarkation of General Shafter's corps at Tampa.

    15th.—Admiral Camara's squadron sails from Cadiz.

    20th.—General Shafter's expedition lands at Baiquiri.

    24th.—Action at Las Guasimas.

    28th.—General Merritt's expedition sails for Philippines.

    30th.—General Frank, commanding Department of the East, relieved
    by General Gillespie.

                                  JULY.

    1st-2d.—Actions at El Caney and San Juan Hill.

    3d.—Annihilation of Admiral Cervera's fleet off Santiago.

    8th.—Admiral Camara's fleet turns back to Cadiz.

      "B" Battery changes station from defenses of Newburyport to
        Port Constitution, Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire.

    11th.—General Miles arrives at Santiago.

      Governor Wolcott requests foreign service for regiment,
        informing War Department that apprehension no longer is felt
        for coast-towns of Massachusetts.

    17th.—Surrender of Santiago.

    25th.—General Miles lands with his expedition in Porto Rico.

      "A" Battery changes station from Nahant to Fort Pickering.

    26th.—Spain asks terms of peace.

    29th.—General Merritt's expedition reaches Manila.

    31st.—United States forces at Manila repulse Spanish attack.

                                 AUGUST.

    12th.—Peace protocol signed; hostilities suspended.

    27th.—"B" Battery changes station from Fort Constitution to Fort
    Pickering.

                                SEPTEMBER.

    19th.—Regiment withdrawn from coast-works and assembled in camp at
    South Framingham.

                                 OCTOBER.

    4th.—General Gillespie, commanding Department of the East,
    relieved by General Shafter.

    5th.—Regiment breaks camp at Framingham, takes transportation for
    Boston, marches in review before Governor Wolcott, and is
    furloughed for thirty days.

                                NOVEMBER.

    4th.—Batteries report at home stations from furlough.

    14th.—Regiment mustered out of service of United States by
    Lieut.-Col. E. M. Weaver, U.S.V., and Lieut. J. P. Hains, U.S.A.

                                DECEMBER.

    10th.—Treaty of peace signed by Commissioners at Paris.

                               APRIL, 1899.

    11th.—Proclamation by President McKinley of ratification of treaty
    officially terminates the war.




                          TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES


 1. Silently corrected simple spelling, grammar, and typographical
    errors.
 2. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.
 3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
 4. Enclosed bold font in =equals=.





End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The First regiment Massachusetts heavy
artillery, United States volunteers,
in the Spanish-American War of 1898 by James A. Frye

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 51510 ***