The clergy did more than discuss politics from the pulpit before the conflict broke for when the war was on in earnest and troops were being raised the ministers left their pulpits to take their place in the army not always as chaplains, but sometimes in the ranks and sometimes as head of the company. In one company of minute men from Domeers the deacon went as captain and the minister as lieutenant.[152] Besides the part played by the clergy, the church as a whole was one of the forces working for the care and comfort of the American Soldier. The churches were turned into barracks and hospitals.[153] Messages of the officers of the army describing the soldiers' conditions in camp were read from the pulpit on Sunday Morning; the afternoon congregation would be made up almost entirely of men, and the women were to be found at home knitting or spinning.[154] When Washington assumed command of the army at Cambridge he found chaplains attached to different regiments sent from various colonies, especially from the New England colonies. Some of these were volunteers without pay and others were appointed by the provincial congress.[155] The chaplain of that war was not like the chaplain of the present time. A sort of half-soldier, half-minister, never expected to fight or endure the hardships of the private; on the other hand he was one of the men on the field, but also reverenced by the soldiers because of the place he had filled in their activities at home.[156] At first, as has been noticed, there was no regulation concerning the appointment and pay of the chaplain by the continental congress. Washington wrote to congress in December 1775 and said, "I need not point out the great utility of gentlemen whose lives and conversation are unexceptionable being employed for that service in the army".[157] He went on to suggest plans whereby all regiments might be served by a chaplain. The plan which congress adopted was of having a chaplain for every two regiments and they fixed the salary at thirty-three and one-third dollars a month.[158] The plan worked when the soldiers were in camp, but not when they were on the march.[159] In 1776 a chaplain was allowed for each regiment.[160] According to the regulations of the army, there were to be prayers morning and evening,[161] and on Sunday services were almost continuous. There were always two services and often more, the chaplains from the various regiments preaching in rotation.[162] The places of holding religious meetings varied with circumstances, services were held in a church[163] in or near camp, on a college campus,[164] in an opening in the woods,[165] and in a log hut built for the purpose.[166] When the army entered Cambridge, the next day was Sunday and a stage was erected on the campus by turning up a rum hogshead.[167] On another occasion a pulpit was formed out of knapsacks piled together.[168]