On the 18th of December, Lieutenants Wolcott and Bigelow resigned to accept positions in a Maryland battery. Second Lieutenants Trull and Hall were promoted to their positions and the vacancies were filled by the commissioning of William Marland of Andover and Sergeant Warren K. Snow of Boston as second lieutenants.
Life at Camp Andrew from December till the following February was uneventful though by no means idle. The men worked hard, drills were held almost daily furnishing perhaps an explanation for the later record of the battery when real warfare began. In regard to this Capt. E. K. Russell writes:
"One of the things that won the love of the Union men of Baltimore was the frequent battery drills through the streets of that city. Captain Nims was always in command and the rapid movements of the battery as a whole, in sections, or single guns, stationed at certain points to command all avenues of approach at given points were simply marvellous. Much of the work was done by the bugle and if the bugler was not at hand our captain carried a small one under his arm and this would ring out the commands with a snap so that not only the men took notice but even the horses recognized the calls and jumped into the movements with a will."
It is evident that Captain Nims had a high ideal of what a battery should be and spared neither pains nor effort in his endeavor to reach this ideal. "This morning, drill. We jumped ditches, pond holes, anything that could be jumped, ran up banks six or eight feet high and then had a run down street." "Had a foot drill today and it was rough double quick—then the captain gave us instructions on dress parade." "Sabre drill on horseback." "Spent about all day cleaning up harnesses, horses, etc. Captain came around and examined them." And so on day after day.
Naturally new conditions of life prevailed and as some one has said "Citizens had to be made into soldiers." The regret manifested by the people of Baltimore when the battery was ordered south speaks well for the conduct and character of its men. Discipline of course was strictly maintained and we are not surprised to read in one diary, "Privates — and — had to walk in barrels eight hours a day for three days"; or "— was threatened with a barrel for missing roll call this morning." But certainly this does not seem like a very heinous offence to the civilian.
Letters from home were eagerly welcomed. In one diary opposite the date December 25 we read "Letter from home—good Christmas present that"; and another writes "I don't get my letters so often as I wish I did." Boxes too were gladly received and their contents shared with less fortunate comrades.
A quotation from the Boston Journal of February gives a picture of a social event in camp. "The first grand ball of the battery came off at Stewart's Hall, Baltimore, on Monday evening and was a grand success. The floor managers and musicians were all members of the battery. The order of dances consisted of a grand promenade, four quadrilles, some fancy dances and wound up with a 'walk around' by Mr. C. We hope to have our next ball in Boston among our friends."
It was expected that the battery would now be attached to the Army of the Potomac but on the organization of Gen. B. F. Butler's expedition, Captain Nims and his men were assigned to the Department of the Gulf and the Mississippi. Accordingly on February 25, 1862 the battery left Baltimore and went by steamer Columbia to Fort Monroe camping near Hampton in view of the mouth of the James River and of Hampton Roads. Here the men witnessed the destruction of the warships Congress and Cumberland by the ram Merrimac and the encounter between the Monitor and the Merrimac. The following interesting account of the same is taken from a record written by S. P. Skilton, a member of the battery.
"On the 8th of March at noon we heard heavy firing toward Newport News and the steam frigates Roanoke and Minnesota and quite a lot of gunboats went up that way engaging the battery at Sewall's Point though their fire fell far short of it. The old steam frigate Merrimac had been cut down and iron clad by the Confederates and was whipping our vessels, as they were all wooden ones and could make scarcely any impression on the ironplated monster. After about an hour's hard fighting the Merrimac ran her prow into the Cumberland, causing her to fill with water and rendering her useless.
"Commodore Morris would not surrender nor haul down the flag but kept at work at the guns till water covered the decks. Night coming on, the Merrimac anchored off Sewall's Point. That was a dark night for us, as with one exception nothing looked hopeful. We were cut off from help landward, the Congress was burned, the Cumberland sunk, the Minnesota was aground and the Roanoke helpless with a broken shaft, while nothing seemed to check the ram at all. About midnight the Congress blew up. Among the dark rumors that night came a grain of hope in the report that an iron cased battery, the Ericsson which had been expected had arrived and would engage the Merrimac in the morning. Still it was but a grain.