COMRADES OF BATTERY A:--The time for the fulfilment of my promise to you,
has arrived. The days of our trials, hardships and sufferings are past,
and it but remains to memorize the period during which we were battling
for the sacred cause of the Union. Although we have not seen the closing
contest of this sanguinary strife, yet I feel confident that we have done
our share towards securing a good end, and nobly has the old battery
sustained the honor and name of Rhode Island. Of all the light batteries
Little Rhody sent to the seat of war, none was ever equal to the old
Second, or Battery A, in efficiency, endurance, and the intelligence of
the men. Truly did an officer remark: "My men can fight without officers."
It is no easy task to give a true and satisfactory record of our three
years service;--only the entreaties of my comrades induced me to undertake
it. It is a natural wish to possess a copy of the records, to refer in
future days to those of the past; it will not only be of interest to the
members of the battery, but also to their friends and relatives.
Hardly had the first call for three months men been responded to, by
sending the First Regiment, Col. Burnside, along with the First Battery,
Capt. Charles H. Tompkins, before the military authorities of Rhode Island
contemplated to organize another regiment of infantry and a second
battery. Enrollments progressed rapidly, and but a few days after, not
less than four hundred men were desirous of linking their fortunes with
the battery; the armory on Benefit street was the rendezvous of men from
sunrise till late in the night, eager to acquire the most indispensable
knowledge of military tactics, foot drill, and manual of the piece, as
speedily as possible. Some men were so anxious as to come before daylight,
and would not leave in the evening until the armorer persuaded them to. We
expected to get mustered into the three months service; but the federal
government, by issuing a call for 75,000 men for not less than three
years, left no other alternative but to serve the said term. Messrs.
Parkhurst and Albert Munroe were untiring in their exertions to complete
the efficiency of the battery. At last the day that was to transform us
from citizens into soldiers, arrived, the requisite number to man the
battery being selected out of four hundred, by Surgeon Wheaton. On the
fifth day of June, 1861, at five o'clock, P. M., we were mustered into the
service of the United States for three years, unless sooner discharged. A
few days afterwards, the battery, together with the Second Regiment,
infantry, marched to Dexter Training Ground. Tents were pitched, and the
people of Providence enjoyed the unusual spectacle of a field-camp, of
reveilles, dress-parades, firing of artillery by sunrise and sunset, of
tattoo and taps. The unusual sight attracted multitudes of men, women and
children, day after day. While in camp, mounted battery drills wore away
the hours of impatience; men in those days were eager for the fray. During
our stay on Dexter Ground, all of our battery carriages were exchanged for
new ones, (the pieces were James' brass rifle guns,) which we hailed as a
sign of our early departure. Ammunition arrived on the evening of the 18th
of June, and the limber chests being filled during the night, the rising
sun of the 19th witnessed our leave of friends and dear ones, perhaps
never to be seen again. Only those who have experienced such emotions
themselves, can imagine the sad feeling, to leave whatever is dear to the
heart, for three long years. But the time is past; the little band that
was spared from carnage and disease has returned; they will forget all
sorrow amidst the joyous welcome of their friends. Yet all joy is mingled
with sadness. Some will look in vain for familiar faces. Let there be a
lasting place in our memory for those who sleep forever on the
blood-stained fields of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.