weather
continued until about the first of January.

The country in rear of our encampment was charming. Fine groves,
traversed by streams of pure, sweet water, and fields surrounded by
hedges, stretched far to the northward. The dark green leaves of the
magnolia were to be seen here and there among trees of larger growth,
and the shining, ever-green laurel forming a dense undergrowth, gave the
woods a lively and spring-like appearance. On the open plain might any
day be seen a regiment of Lancers, wheeling and charging in their
brilliant evolutions, their long lances with bright red pennons adding
greatly to the beauty of the display, and, as we at that time vainly
believed, to the efficacy of the troop.

The first Sunday came, and we had religious services. The regiment was
formed in front of the mansion, every man being called out, unless on
duty or excused on account of illness. This became an established rule
with us for all time; every man was required to attend divine service
unless especially excused. Chaplain Tully and the members of the staff
occupied the piazza. The chaplain offered a prayer for the loved ones at
home, and then we all sung "Coronation," and after the sermon, we sung
"Cambridge" and "Old Hundred." The men seemed deeply affected by the
simple service, and many a quivering lip betrayed the emotions of the
heart.

Drills became the order of the day. Every morning the hill rang from one
end to the other with the sharp commands of the company officers to
"Order arms!" "Shoulder arms!" as the men exercised by squads. Besides
the regular drill in the manual of arms, some of the companies delighted
in that system of military gymnastics called the bayonet exercise. In
the afternoon Colonel McKean usually trained the regiment in the more
difficult exercises of the battalion drill.

But we began to feel the scourge of new regiments. Disease became almost
universal. We had but a single medical officer and he was tasked beyond
his strength. One hundred and fifty or two hundred men were prescribed
for every morning, aside from those so ill as to be in the hospital.

The large parlors of the old mansion were neatly fitted up for our
hospital, for which they were admirably adapted. The two principal wards
were the large front parlors, which communicated by folding doors; the
ceilings were high, and the large open fire places in either apartment
served the double purpose of supplying heat and ventilation