My First Campaign

A young volunteer from Rhode Island chronicles his first months of service during the Civil War, beginning with his enlistment and the hurried mustering of the Twelfth Regiment. He recounts the cramped drills at Camp Stevens, the excitement of marching out of Providence, and the chaotic journey by rail and steamer toward Washington, offering vivid snapshots of the bustling ports and the startled townsfolk greeting the troops.

The narrative captures the everyday realities of a soldier’s early experience: the biting wind on the Long Island Sound, the stark monotony of the red‑clay countryside, and the camaraderie that forms among strangers thrust together in uniform. Interwoven with modest details of military hierarchy and the logistics of moving men and supplies, his journal‑style account provides a personal window into the hardships and small wonders of a first campaign, without revealing the later battles that lie ahead.