Soon after mustering in I was assigned to the 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Company H. They are known as the "Black Hats" because of their use of the Hardee hat.
Our squad was assigned color guard duty. We raised the flag.
The Garrison fell in for role call and business. A telegraph was received indicating probable confederate spy activity in the area. The fort housed a significant amount of gold and it was believed that the gold might have been a target for the confederate activity.
The guards invested keen interest in all who entered or exited the fort.
After a short visit to the Garrison quartermaster, our day of drills began.
Throughout the day different civilians and infantry personal were questioned and some arrests were made.
Local dignitaries and civilians visited the fort.
Captain Hess instructed the men on Bayonet Drill and Infantry Skirmishing.
At one point I observed Cadet training.
The time I spent at the Fort was interesting and educational. Garrison duty is filled with long hours of drills and waiting. Food is good and the quarters are spacious. It beats shelter halves any day.
In 1865 the Confederate Navy sent to Gun Boats around the horn to attack the bay. Fortunately a British vessel informed the Reb Navy that the war had ended. We will never know how well I would have defended that fort if the Rebs showed up.
