FROM this time until the assembly of the command at Framingham,
preparatory to going on mustering-out furlough, the regimental history
becomes that of the widely dispersed fractions, while the record of
events is but a dull story of garrison duty, faithfully performed in the
face of every discouragement. For administrative purposes the regiment
now formed three distinct divisions—that under Colonel Pfaff, with
headquarters at Salem, and sub-posts at the points on the North Shore
already noted; the garrison at New Bedford, under Lieutenant-Colonel
Woodman, reporting directly to the commanding officer at Fort Adams,
R.I.; and the battalion commanded by Major Frye, at Fort Warren, under
the immediate orders of the commanding officer of the defenses of Boston
Harbor. The record of these divisions, in their order, may briefly be
given:
Colonel Pfaff, with his staff and attachés, reached Salem on June 3d.
Headquarters at once were established at Fort Pickering, situated on
Winter Island, at the entrance of the inner harbor. On the 6th, "C" and
"D" Batteries arrived at the post, reporting to Major Dyar, who had been
detailed as post commander. The batteries at once pitched camp on the
glacis outside the wet ditch surrounding the old fort, while the
headquarters tents were located inside the parapet of an outwork
covering the landward approach. The fort itself was but a ruin. Since
the earliest colonial days the site had been occupied by defensive
works, and the present Fort Pickering had been rebuilt and garrisoned in
1861; but from that time on it had been allowed, through the storms of a
third of a century, to crumble into decay. There were no quarters for
troops, there was no armament of heavy guns; and, worst of all, the
location of the work was such that bombardment under modern long-range
conditions could not be prevented.
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