We broke camp bright and early, about six o'clock, had our
last bath at the pond, and breakfast at the old barracks, which had been our
home so long, and then commenced the packing of our knapsacks and haversacks,
till about eight o'clock, when we fell in with the rest of the regiment, and
about nine o'clock marched to the station. After a fine salute from the 45th,
who were drawn up on the hill at the right of the railroad track, we started
for Boston. We marched to the Common, where we found our friends once more. We
stayed here about an hour, talking the last talk for many a long week, then
fell into line, and escorted by the New England Guard Reserve and other
organizations, we took our way up Beacon Street, down Tremont, Court, State,
and Commercial, to Battery Wharf to the steamer "Merrimac." Here we
had a rest, and we needed it, our knapsacks were full, and the tramp was hard
on us. Many of our friends smuggled themselves through the line at the head of
the Wharf, and we held our last reception once more. Our guns were taken from
us here, and finally we were packed away too, in the lower hold; no light, and
about the same quantity of air. We left the Wharf about six o'clock, the cheers
of our friends following us far out into the stream.
Our reception while passing through the city was a fine one,
the streets were crowded, especially State Street, and we were cheered from one
end of it to the other. We leave plenty of friends, as the following clipped
from the Transcript will show:
DEPARTURE
OF MASS. REGIMENTS FOR NEW BERNE.
The city has been thronged by strangers
to-day to witness the arrival in the city of the three Mass. Regiments, and
their embarkation on board the steamers which are to convey them to New Berne.
The "Forty Fourth," which has
been encamped at Readville, absorbed the chief interest of the citizens of
Boston. This regiment is the child of the New England Guard, and from its
appearance, will worthily maintain its hereditary honor. It is the second
regiment recruited by prominent members of the Guards, and is largely composed
of young men who will be sadly missed here.
The hold the Forty-fourth has upon the
sympathies and affections of our community has been shown to-day by the large
turn-out to greet the boys as they went through the city.
The scene in the vicinity of Boylston
Street was of quite an exhilarating character. The streets were filled with
people, and windows and balconies contained large numbers of the fair sex, who
waved their heart-welcome for the soldiers as they marched along.
Company H, Capt. Smith, had the right,
and Company A, Capt. J. M. Richardson, the left.
Crowds thronged the avenues through
which the troops passed, and loudly applauded them. The Forty-fourth marched
almost with the steady tread of veterans, and by their precision of movement
deserved the applause so liberally bestowed. The Roster is as follows:
Colonel—Francis L. Lee.
Lieut.-Colonel—Edward C. Cabot.
Major—Chas. W. Dabney, Jr.
Adjutant—Wallace Hinkley.
Quarter-Master—Francis Bush, Jr.
Surgeon—Robert Ware.
Assistant Surgeon—Theodore W.
Fisher.
Chaplain—Edmund H. Hall.
Sergt-Major—Wm. H. Bird.
Quarter-Master-Sergt.—Fred. S.
Gifford.
Commissary Sergt.—Charles D.
Woodberry.
Hospital Steward—Wm. C. Brigham.
Principal Musician—Geo. L.
Babcock.
COMPANY A.
Captain—James M. Richardson.
1st Lt.—Jared Coffin.
2nd Lt.—Charles G. Kendall.
COMPANY B.
Captain—John M. Griswold.
1st. Lt.—John A. Kendrick, Jr.
2nd Lt.—Charles C. Soule.
COMPANY C.
Captain—Jacob H. Lombard.
1st. Lt.—George B. Lombard.
2nd Lt.—James W. Briggs.
COMPANY D.
Captain—Henry D. Sullivan.
1st. Lt.—James H. Blake, Jr.
2nd Lt.—Asa H. Stebbins.
COMPANY E.
Captain—Spencer W. Richardson.
1st. Lt.—James S. Newell.
2nd Lt.—James S. Cumston.
COMPANY F.
Captain—Charles Storrow.
1st. Lt.—Alfred S. Hartwell.
2nd Lt.—John E. Taylor.
COMPANY G.
Captain—Charles Hunt.
1st. Lt.—James C. White.
2nd Lt.—Frederick Odiorne.
COMPANY H.
Captain—William V. Smith.
1st. Lt.—Edward C. Johnson.
2nd Lt.—Albert R. Howe.
COMPANY I.
Captain—Joseph R. Kendall.
1st. Lt.—William D. Hooper.
2nd Lt.—Benjamin F. Field, Jr.
COMPANY K.
Captain—Frank W. Reynolds.
1st. Lt.—Richard H. Weld.
2nd Lt.—Fred. P. Brown.
SOURCE: John Jasper Wyeth, Leaves from a Diary
Written While Serving in Co. E, 44 Mass. Dep’t of North Carolina from September
1862 to June 1863, p. 11-13