Captain William D. Chamberlain, 29th Regt. Mass. Vol. Inf.

[Numitor]

The Reports and Diaries of
Richard Durham formerly known as William D. Chamberlain



On this thread I will collect the reports and diaries of Richard Durham formerly known as William D. Chamberlain.




Reports






Report of Capt. William D. Chamberlain, 29th Regt. Mass. Vol. Inf.
August 13th, 1862



Sir,
I have the honor to report that on the 13th of August I witnessed the exercises of the 42nd Pennsylvania and 66th New York volunteer regiments.
The exercises included alignment, movement and firing drills.
They were conducted by Captain Dennis McGee, 42nd PA;
Captain Lyman Trumbull, 66th N.Y.;
1st Lieutenant Hugh Mulligan, 42nd PA
and Sergeant Major William Baker, 42ndPA.
The company began assembling and drilling at 5 o'clock. While only a small number of men was present at the start of the drills, by 6 o' clock the company swelled to almost 20 men.
Unfortunately this influx caused the restarting of the exercises on several occasions.
This early part of the exercises was conducted by Capt. McGee and 1st Lieut. Mulligan.
Soon after Capt. Trumbull and Sgt. Maj. Baker joined. The latter then proceeded to conduct the drills.
I then missed 10-15 minutes of the exercises.
When I rejoined I found the company had moved to the northern edge of the camp.
There they performed firing drills under Capt. Trumbull and Sgt. Maj. Baker.
At 6:30 Capt. McGee and, soon after, 1st Lieut. Mulligan had to leave us. Leaving Capt. Trumbull and Sgt. Maj. Baker in charge of the drills.
These ended at 7 o'clock.

Observing the exercises I noticed a lack of uniformity in the way the soldiers were taught the different drills.
I therefore advise all officers of the companies that participated to study the drill manuals closely.

To conclude, I judge that the drills were a success. Many a soldier now has a grasp on basic formations and drills and
should be able to perform them.

With this report come several images of the exercises.

respectfully submitted,
William D. Chamberlain
Captain, 29th Regt. Mass. Vol. Inf.



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Report of Capt. William D. Chamberlain, 29th Regt. Mass. Vol. Inf.
August 20th, 1862

Sir,
I have the honor to report that on the 20th of August I participated in the exercises of the 42nd Pennsylvania
and 66th New York volunteer regiments.
Under the supervision of Capt. McGee,42nd PA, Capt. Trumbull, 66th NY,
and myself the company performed marching and firing drills.
These started after the company had assembled at 5:15 pm.
First up were the marching drills. The company was taught how to double and undouble and how to march in
columns of twos. After arriving at a field north of the camp the company was taught how to march by files.
As soon as this was explained the company moved east to the firing range.
There the several firing drills were practiced.
The drills ended shortly after 6 o'clock.

In todays exercises I did not experience the irregularities in commands and lessons as I did last time.
I also very much enjoyed taking part in teaching the company.

To conclude, I think the drills were extremely successful and the company displayed great skill when performing
maneuvers on the march or when firing.

With this report come images of the exercises.

respectfully submitted,
William D. Chamberlain
Captain, 29th Regt. Mass. Vol. Inf.



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[Bravescot]

Response to the Report of Capt. William D. Chamberlain, 29th Regt. Mass. Vol. Inf.
August 14th, 1862



Captain,

I am deeply thankful to you for observing the training manoeuvres of the new recruits of the 42nd Pennsylvania and 66th New York Volunteer Regiments whilst I have been called away to Head Quaters. I am glad to learn that my boys are still working hard to stay on form and battle ready. Please pass on my regards to Capt. McGee and SgtMaj. Baker whilst you are still with them. It fills me with great pride to hear of the effort they are putting in.

Your observation about the minor disagreements in the manner of teaching are duly noted and will assist in the future for the unit to reach an agreement on a fully uniformed method of teaching. Maybe you could step in and teach them yourself!

My thanks once again Captain for your attendance to such a training. I hope you would do me the honour of one day dinning with me and my officers as my show of gratitude for your report. We have a very fine selections of wisky which I'd rather were not consumed soley by the officers of the Regiment!

I hope to hear from you again

Signed,

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Major, 42nd Regt. Penn. Vol. Inf.

[Numitor]

Report of Capt. William D. Chamberlain, 29th Regt. Mass. Vol. Inf.
August 20th, 1862

Sir,
I have the honor to report that on the 13th of August I participated in the exercises of the 42nd Pennsylvania
and 66th New York volunteer regiments.
Under the supervision of Capt. McGee,42nd PA, Capt. Trumbull, 66th NY,
and myself the company performed marching and firing drills.
These started after the company had assembled at 5:15 pm.
First up were the marching drills. The company was taught how to double and undouble and how to march in
columns of twos. After arriving at a field north of the camp the company was taught how to march by files.
As soon as this was explained the company moved east to the firing range.
There the several firing drills were practiced.
The drills ended shortly after 6 o'clock.

In todays exercises I did not experience the irregularities in commands and lessons as I did last time.
I also very much enjoyed taking part in teaching the company.

To conclude, I think the drills were extremely successful and the company displayed great skill when performing
maneuvers on the march or when firing.

With this report come images of the exercises.

respectfully submitted,
William D. Chamberlain
Captain, 29th Regt. Mass. Vol. Inf.



http://i.imgur.com/0ml5lem.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/zquBcr7.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/nflkXj3.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/dqs6Cb3.jpg