Headquarters Department of North Carolina,}
18th Army Corps, }
Newbern, April 23, 1863. }Special Order No. 117, No. 5.
In accordance with the custom of the Department, the regiment now doing provost duty will be relieved. The commanding general, on changing the guard of the town, desires to convey to Colonel Codman, and through him, to his officers and men, his high appreciation of the manner in which the duties of the guard have been performed.
He has noticed with great pleasure the drill, discipline and general efficiency of the regiment. The 44th Regiment, M. V. M., will relieve the 45th on Saturday, the 25th inst., at 9.00 A. M.
By command of Major-General Foster.
[Signed] L. HOFFMAN, A. A. G.
A very pleasant testimonial of the good feeling which prevailed between the inhabitants of the town and the regiment, was also received by the colonel, which read as follows:
Newbern, N. C., April 25, 1863.
Colonel C. R. Codman, Officers and Men of the 45th
M. V. M.Gentlemen:—Having learned with regret that your regiment is about to retire from the duty of guarding the city, I beg leave on behalf of all loyal citizens, myself, my family, and other families here, to render you our sincere thanks for the efficiency and courtesy with which you have discharged your duties.
It has seldom been our lot to see a body of soldiers so uniformly civil and gentlemanly in their behavior, temperate and orderly in their habits, comparatively free from the prevailing vice of profanity, and so prompt in restraining those who, by any violence, would attempt to disturb our streets.
Accept, gentlemen, our thanks for past kindness, and wishes for your future welfare.
W. H. DOHERTY, A. M.,
Principal of Newbern Academy.
The last two or three days of our sojourn in the town, several ludicrous scenes occurred at the provost-marshal's, in consequence of the revival of an old order in respect to the uniform of the soldiers. It had become the general custom of detailed men in the various departments, to wear different articles of an officer's uniform, everything in fact but shoulder straps, rendering it impossible for the guard to distinguish between officers and privates. An order was therefore issued to the guard to deprive such men of their superfluous ornaments, and in case they refused to give them up, to conduct them to the guard-house. So, every little while, some indignant fellow would appear at the guard-house, escorted by a sentry, and demand the meaning of such shameful treatment.
The question was commonly answered by the appropriation of the forbidden finery by the officer in command, after allowing the owner to peruse the order of the provost-marshal, when he would retire from the scene somewhat crestfallen. Two examples afforded us especial mirth, the one a commissary sergeant, the other, hospital steward of a certain Massachusetts regiment, for their rage was something laughable, and their impudence so great, that they were permitted to spend the night in the guard-house as a reward.
The morning of the 25th dawned bright and pleasant, and our numerous boxes and traps were piled up in the yard, preparatory to being toted off in the funny little mule-carts. Our quarters were all swept and garnished, some of the rooms having been trimmed with flowers in honor of the new comers. We took our last breakfast at the Boston Lunch, and the first relief of the new guard having been duly posted, we bade farewell to the house which had sheltered us so comfortably and pleasantly the past three months, and joined the regimental line on Broad street, the scene of so many guard-mountings, drills and dress-parades, and now of the ceremony of tendering the command of the city to our successors. Having conformed to the requirements of military etiquette, we started for our new home in the country, Camp Massachusetts, on the banks of the Neuse.
Camp at Core Creek.