other batteries of the regiment. The long column moved slowly down the
road, to the music of Chopin's "Funeral March," through the green pine
woods, to a knoll that commanded a beautiful view of the valley below.
The service, by Chaplain McCallum, was followed by as perfect a "Taps,"
and three rifle volleys as perfectly fired, as the battery has ever
heard. Some weeks later was erected a headstone on this spot, where
several other members of the regiment found a resting-place before we
quitted Camp Coetquidan.

Cloaking his sorrow in an effort to create joy for the members of the
regiment, Corporal Steven's brother, who was the Y. M. C. A.
representative with the regiment, promoted a day of games for
Thanksgiving, which fell on November 29. There were races and contests
of various kinds, which Battery E won with 26 points. In the football
game between the First and Second Battalions, the Second won, 7 to 0,
and on the team were seven players from Battery E, Weisman, Vinnedge,
Pond, George, Monroe, Vavrinek and O'Meara. The dinner, at 3 o'clock,
was, in the matter of food, all one could have asked at home, and no one
fell in for "seconds." The menu comprised turkey, stuffing, sweet
potatoes, gravy, cranberries, apple cobbler, cocoa and nuts.

Several days later, December 4, the battery had its first experience in
actual firing. Four guns had been hauled out to the range, one from each
of two batteries of the battalion and two from the other battery. These
the batteries took turns in firing, drilling on the pieces left in the
gun-park on the other days of the week. Battery E had its turn Tuesday.
That afternoon the first gun squads of all eight sections--everyone was
a cannoneer then, in gun and caisson sections alike, before the horses
came--left camp about noon, to hike about two miles to the range. The
firing was across a valley at targets on the hillside opposite. The
ground was soft and the guns jumped badly; so there was little riding of
the pieces. The firing ceased at dusk, and the pieces were cleaned and
greased in the dark. Thereafter the battery fired two days a week,
practicing standing gun-drill on the other days.

On the following Sunday the horses which a detail had brought up from
the remount station at St. Nazaire were assigned to the batteries.
During the morning the rain fell in torrents, and the road to St. Malo,
along which the horses were taken to water to the troughs near the
"Chateau," was almost