er soldier necessities,
were issued before leaving. All old clothing and equipment was turned
in.

Each man was allotted a barrack-bag as cargo. The barrack-bag was made
of heavy blue denim with about a seventy-five pound capacity,
which weight was cited as the limit a soldier could obtain storage for
in the ship's baggage compartments.

Although seventy-five pounds was the order, all the boys resorted to
some fine packing. There were not many under the limit. Most of the
boys had their knitted garments in the bag, also a plentiful supply of
soap, because rumor had struck the outfit that soap was a scarce
article in France. Milk chocolate and smokes were also well stocked
in.

Besides the barrack-bag each soldier was provided with a haversack and
pack-carrier, in which were carried--on the back--two O. D. blankets,
toilet articles, extra socks, clothing, and the various articles that
would be needed on the voyage across.

Saturday, July 13th, 1918, was the memorable day of departure from
Camp Meade. Battery D furnished the last guard detail of the regiment
at Meade. The 13th, as luck would have it, dawned in a heavy shower of
rain. Reveille sounded at 5:15 a. m., after which, those who had not
done so the night previous, hiked out in the rain and emptied the
straw from their bed-ticks; completed the packing of their bags and
packs and loaded the bags on trucks while the rain came down in
torrents.

As was usually the case in army routine, early reveille did not vouch
for an early departure from camp. Detail aplenty was in store for the
boys all day. The last meal was enjoyed in 019 mess-hall at 5 p.m.,--then
started a thorough policing up of barracks. Sweeping squads were sent
over the ground a dozen times and finally the boys assembled outside
on the battery assembling grounds, at 7:30 p. m., with packs ready and
everything set to begin the march to entrain.

During the hours of waiting that followed the boys indulged in a few
sign painting decorations. Among the numerous signs tacked to 019
were:

"For Sail. Apply Abroad."

"For Rent, for a large family; only scrappers need apply. Btry D,
311th F. A."

"Von Hindenberg dropped dead. We're coming."

It was a grand sight to see the regiment depart at 8:45 p. m. The band
was playing; colors were flying at the head of the column--everybody
was in high spirits. But there were no civilians to enjoy the
spectacle. It was night and but few knew of the departure.