e
21st had been assigned to the 2d, General Reno's Brigade, and that we were
the first regiment selected by the General and were to occupy the right
flank of the brigade.

December 21. We received our new rifles and were greatly delighted with
them. They were Enfield rifles, made in England. The 22d and a number of
days following, we were marched out into the country, into a very large
field, and put through regimental drill for four or five hours every day.
It was the first time the regiment had all been together since we were at
Baltimore. The 26th we received a supply of ball-cartridges and went out
into the same great field again, put up a lot of targets at different
distances and practiced firing at them for a number of days, accustoming
ourselves to estimating distances, and adjusting the sights on our guns to
the different distances. We had our final drill and practice in firing at
target the 2d of January. After we went in town off the railroad we did a
lot of drilling and firing at target and I think the boys were then in
fine shape for a campaign. The stay at Annapolis was an excellent
experience for us. We became accustomed to army life and if we were ever
to be in shape for active service we were then. The last days at Annapolis
were very lively; new regiments were arriving daily. There were
inspections; ships were gathering in the bay; Colonel Morse resigned
command of the regiment to become Commander of the Post;
Lieutenant-Colonel Maggi took command of the regiment, and on January 6th
we went on board the ship Northerner, bound for we knew not where.

CHAPTER II

THE NORTH CAROLINA CAMPAIGN

On shipbound. Burial at sea. At Hatteras Inlet. Battle of Roanoke Island.
Battle of Newbern. Reading Johnnies' love letters. Athletics. Battle of
Camden. Went to the relief of the 2d Maryland.

Although we went on board ship the 6th of January, 1862, we did not leave
port until the 9th. General Reno, our brigade commander, came on board the
7th and we were much pleased that he was to be with us on our ship during
the voyage.

The morning of the 9th we moved down the bay; late in the afternoon the
weather grew thick and we anchored for the night. The next day about noon,
the fog having lifted, we moved on and about sunset sailed into Hampton
Roads and anchored with a number of other ships of the squadron not far
from Fortress Monroe.

The "Northerner" was a large boat, but a thousand men aboard made her