Battery D First Rhode Island Light Artillery in the Civil War

From the bustling streets of Providence the narrative follows a tight‑knit group of young men who answered Governor Sprague’s call to form a new light‑artillery battery. Within days of the first shot at Fort Sumter they were mustered, equipped, and on the march to Washington, eager to prove the skill honed in the city’s Marine Corps of Artillery. The early chapters paint vivid pictures of camp life on Munson’s Hill, the rigors of drill, and the first tentative steps of a unit that would soon become a dependable fire‑support element in the Union army.

Interwoven with official records are the personal diaries of artillerymen such as Corporal Knight and Artificer Walker, offering candid snapshots of camaraderie, hardship, and the relentless rhythm of cannon fire. The author, a battery veteran, grapples with fragmented papers and lost documents, yet manages to reconstruct the unit’s formative battles and the steadfast spirit that defined Battery D throughout its three‑year service.