. When mustered into the service it
numbered one hundred and five officers and men. Though for the most part
older than the men who went out later, the average age was but
twenty-eight years. Nineteen were twenty or under; twenty-nine were
thirty or under; eighteen were thirty-one or under. Only nine were over
forty. For personnel and patriotism, for fortitude and endurance, they
were never excelled. But they were not professional soldiers. At first,
they were not soldiers at all. They were farmers, mechanics, merchants,
laboring men, students, who enlisted from love of country rather than
from love of arms, and were absolutely ignorant of any knowledge of the
technical part of a soldier's "business." The militia had been mostly
absorbed by the first calls in 1861 and the men of 1862 came from the
plow, the shop, the schoolroom, the counting room or the office. With
few exceptions, they were not accustomed to the use of arms and had
everything to learn. The officers of this particular organization had no
advantage over the others in this respect, for, save myself, not one of
them knew even the rudiments of tactics. Indeed, at the date of muster,
there were but three officers in the entire regiment who had seen
service. These were Lieutenant Colonel Russell A. Alger, Captain Peter
A. Weber and Lieutenant Don G. Lovell.

CHAPTER VI

IN THE REGIMENTAL RENDEZVOUS

It was a raw, rainy day when we took up the march from the railroad
station to the ground whereon had been established the rendezvous for
the regiment. It was a motley collection of soldiers, considering the
record they were to make during the coming years of active service in
the field. All were in citizens' clothes, and equipped with neither
uniforms nor arms. Assembled in haste for the journey, there had been no
opportunity even to form in line or learn to keep step. No two of them
were dressed alike. They were hungry and wet. Few had overcoats, none
ponchos or blankets. Quarters were provided for the night in a vacant
store where the men were sheltered from the rain, but had to sleep on
the bare floor without cots or comforts of any kind. But,
notwithstanding the gloomy conditions that attended this introduction to
the volunteer service, they, in the main, kept up their good spirits,
though some were visibly depressed and looked as if they were sorry they
had come. In less than a year from that time, they had learned to endure
a hundred-fold greater