No time was lost after the officers had been chosen, as the work of disciplining the raw force immediately began. Camp Kent was the scene of bustle and hurry. It was drill, drill, drill, from morning until night, and "Action Front," "Action Right," "Action Left," "Change Posts," "Section left front into line" kept the men moving from reveille until retreat. All seemed anxious to become proficient in the use of the guns, and even guard duty—that task ever despised by the soldier—was performed with a surprising willingness.
On May 9th Lieutenant Wells administered the oath which transformed the body of citizens into a battalion of soldiers. The work of preparing the roll was cheerfully done and was accelerated somewhat by the arrival of a message from the War Department announcing that the Utah Batteries would be sent to the Philippines. The declaration was received with satisfaction by some, but others were less enthusiastic as an opinion prevailed that there would be no fighting in the East, but that Cuba would furnish the battles of the war. Later developments proved this to be a mistake, for long after the Spanish had felt the force of American war machinery at San Juan and El Caney their lost subjects in the Antipodes were fleeing in terror before the mighty thunder of the Utah guns at Santa Mesa and Bag Bag.
The batteries left for San Francisco on May 20th. It was an imposing sight to see the newly recruited soldiers, commanded by Captain Young, as they marched down the streets to the depot followed by thousands of citizens who gathered to bid them farewell. Some partings between relations were exceedingly touching and sad. Perhaps mothers and sisters, fathers and brothers read in the dim misty vista of the future the fate to which some of the men were doomed in the furious skirmishes of Luzon. Cheer after cheer rang out as the train pulled away and the volunteers responded with vigor, although there were some whose voices sounded husky as the final greetings were given.
On their arrival at San Francisco the batteries received a royal welcome, the Red Cross society taking especial pains to make their visit a pleasant one. Several weeks were consumed in perfecting the organization and preparing it for foreign service. Lieutenant Wedgewood and Sergeants Brown and Fehr returned to Utah and recruited 104 men to complete the organizations to their full strength, leaving Salt Lake City with them on June 29th. On June 15th the batteries sailed away to the land across the seas where work of a far more serious nature awaited them.
The voyage across was not altogether unlike a voyage on any ordinary vessel, save for the fact that the men were crowded a little closer than on a first-class passenger boat, and the food was not so elaborate in character as one would expect to find in a first grade hotel or a railway dining car. The men kicked in the good natured American way and continued to eat what was given them and slept as best they could.
A stop was made at Honolulu, where occurred a reception to the Utah men which marked a bright day in the life of the soldier. The transports arrived on the night of the 23rd, and at 11 o'clock. The next morning they went ashore amid the cheers of the Hawaiians, who gave them a greeting hearty and cordial. Flowers were in profusion and pretty girls threw bouquets at the tired pilgrims until they felt that they had indeed found the "Paradise of the Pacific." Judge Kinney, a former resident of Salt Lake City, headed the reception committee, and there were elaborate preparations to make the stay one of gladness. The great sugar works and plantations at Oahu were visited and the points of interest carefully shown. Then under the shading palms, amid the fragrance of flowers, with hundreds of pretty girls to wait on them the men sat down to the banquet. In an atmosphere which breathes poetry and pleasure; where the soft tropical zephyr kisses the cheek as a mother does a sleeping infant the choicest fruits were served and substantial edibles tempted the appetite. Soldiers made love to maidens with dusky cheeks; American blue eyes told short stories of love to Kanaka brown, and the Caucasian ladies were not forgotten, for it was a feast of love. Everywhere was "Aloha, Aloha."
But all things end. The next day saw the ships sail away. With the sweet fragrance of blossoms still lingering in their nostrils and the long-to-be-remembered clasp of friendship yet plainly felt they passed away from the dreamy isle into the oblivion of the Pacific to resume the diet of beef a la can and coal a la "Colon." Once more was ship soup staple and tropical sea monotony plentiful.
A few days later the fleet arrived at Wake Island, which General Greene took possession of in the name of the United States. Five days after this the Ladrone Islands were sighted and passed.
About the middle of the month the Philippines were sighted and on the 17th the fleet of transports entered the harbor of Manila escorted by the cruiser "Boston."
The landing was an exceedingly difficult undertaking. The facilities for taking the guns from the transports were not perfect. The guns were put ashore in about five feet of water and had to be hauled out by hand, but the work was accomplished in the usual good natured American fashion, and when this task was finished men dried their clothes as though nothing had happened. In landing several amusing incidents occurred. Many Filipinos, anxious to earn a few "centavos," flocked around the ships, and not a few of the men hired a native as a sort of a pack horse to carry them ashore. One two-hundred-pound soldier was unfortunate in the selection of his human pack horse, for he sat astride the shoulders of a ninety-pound native until the little fellow broke down and buried himself and rider in the sad sobbing sea waves to the great amusement of his comrades and his own disgust. Other occurrences were equally as ludicrous.