All proceedings in cases proper for a regimental court-martial had to be before a field-officer of the regiment, by General Orders No. 91, issued July 29th, 1862, from the War Department. Major Stiles was in every case detailed to hear the evidence.
At Carrollton several heavy details were made of working parties to unload vessels at the levee, besides attending to a regular routine of camp duty. Short marches were taken out on the shell road to accustom the troops to that exercise. When Brigadier-General Emory assumed the command he watched sharply these marching drills, also the company and battalion drills of each organization. As some field-officers were inclined to consume time in executing fancy tactical movements when they had their regiments on drill, a general order was issued indicating a more rapid mode of instruction for the field. The following points were enjoined as of the first importance:
1st. The firings—to be executed with facility, promptness, and good order.
2d. Rapid ployments and deployments while marching as well as from a halt.
3d. Sudden and rapid formations of squares against cavalry.
With these instructions carefully and faithfully carried out, any troops could soon be made fairly efficient for field service, with discipline also enforced.
Lieutenant-Colonel Stedman, on several occasions, as field-officer of the day, had to make the grand rounds. The start was usually made between eleven and twelve o’clock at night. Considerable ground had to be covered to reach various bodies of troops occupying scattered camps, while the outpost stations would consume much time. Acting under verbal orders to thoroughly do this duty, numerous attempts were made to catch sentries off their guard; in some cases quite successfully, but it resulted in creating bad feeling between the organization so caught, and the regiment from which the field-officer of the day belonged. One of the most notable cases was a surprise of the Fifteenth New Hampshire camp. Upon approaching a sentry he failed to challenge, and seemed glad to take part in a casual conversation, which was commenced, when it was seen the man was not reliable in his duty. Finally, he was seized without resistance and his musket taken away, frightening the poor fellow to such an extent it was with difficulty the grand rounds’ party could remain by him while proceeding towards the guard quarters, where everything was found to be all right, with the men alert.
The One Hundred and Tenth New York camp was entered one night without a challenge, or being seen by any sentinels; on stealthily approaching the guard quarters, where a log fire was burning, no sign of life was seen excepting a solitary sentinel pacing to and fro before a line of stacked muskets. Watching a favorable opportunity he was made a quasi-prisoner, much to his chagrin, and on inspecting the guard tents a few men were found sound asleep, with no officer of the guard present. Routing out the regimental officer of the day to investigate the matter, it appeared that the reliefs, together with officers of the guard, had gone to their quarters for sleep.
After a few incidents like these were reported to post headquarters, it was not long before sentries were wide awake for surprises. It became dangerous business to attempt any fooling with sentries, and such attempts were abandoned. Whenever a field-officer of the Fifteenth New Hampshire or One Hundred and Tenth New York had the grand rounds, in retaliation, they tried various ways to catch the Forty-Second guard napping, but never succeeded.
On one of these grand rounds’ tour of duty, while proceeding along the levee road towards outpost stations, the road was found to be in an impassable condition, owing to a small break in the levee, not known to exist, as during the early afternoon one of the officers had found the road in good condition. An occupant of a house near at hand was awakened to obtain directions how to proceed: the man either intentionally or by mistake directed the party to take the levee embankment, his reasons for the bad condition of the road not creating any suspicion that a crevasse existed in the levee. Proceeding along the embankment with Sergeant-Major Bosson leading the mounted party, his horse suddenly stopped, and no amount of urging could induce the animal to move forward. In the pitchy darkness it was impossible to see what was the matter, so the party with difficulty (the embankment top was very narrow) turned about, going back, finally reaching another road leading to the outposts. The next morning, upon examining the road at this point, there was found a small break in the levee. Had the horse kept on for a few feet, both horse and rider would have been in the Mississippi River.