All these assembled recruits and expectant officers presented when in camp the general appearance of a town meeting. But one uniform was to be seen; that was of the gentleman who had seen service in the regiment of 1861; the uniform of the Mexican veteran evidently had been worn out long since. However, soon the Major came who had seen some service as a captain in an earlier regiment, and who had succeeded in getting himself transferred with an increased rank; leave of absence and promotion at the same stroke. He wore a uniform, but looked lonesome. However, he had seen a camp and had been in a regiment, and had some ideas of what ought to be done. He organized a guard whose only weapons at first were those given by nature or borrowed from the wood pile. His first officer of the day, in a brown cutaway, striped trowsers, and a silk hat, bore as insignia of his office a part of a military weapon, now discarded, but at that early date in use, and known as a ramrod. If there were a sword in camp, excepting those of the major commanding and the veteran of '61, its owner must have concealed it, perhaps for fear of applications to borrow. Imagine the guard mounting! the difficulties of getting into line; no two hats alike; no uniforms and no two suits alike, and the officer of the day in costume approximating that of a Quaker, and with a ramrod for a sword! The orders were of a nature of explanation and conference, and were the result of an agreement between the officers and men. To the credit of all concerned it must be said that these agreements were faithfully carried out, and if any fellow presumed to disobey the officer of the guard after due remonstrance, he was liable to be knocked down and perhaps kicked, according to the gravity of the offence. But there were no accidents from fire-arms. Shot-guns had been left at home and Springfield muskets had not arrived. Clothing arrived in boxes in advance of the quartermaster, but lack of quartermaster was a small matter. One of the captains (since a distinguished lawyer), was detailed to attend to the business of distributing the clothing, and the invoices and vouchers were long afterwards, I believe, made up by counting noses and multiplying that factor by the number of articles properly allowed each man. By good luck or the favor of Providence rations soon became plenty. There was no canned roast beef nor those other luxuries much advertised long afterwards, as we all know, but there was salt beef in abundance and bread and potatoes and coffee. The country boys sorely missed their daily pie, but there was no grumbling; the beef and potatoes were cooked in the company's kitchen, and such were the innate good manners of the cooks that the officers were served first out of the rations of the men.