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part of the city. We had been there but a few days when we were ordered to Pensacola, Florida. In the meantime I was detailed on a military commission but was almost immediately taken sick with remittent fever resulting from continuous exposure and arduous labors, and was obliged to go to the "Hotel Dieu" where I was most kindly cared for and treated by the Sisters of Charity, under whose direction it was managed, and in a short time recovered my health. I refer to this circumstance merely for the purpose of calling attention to these hospitals. Many of the officers and men, not only of our own regiment, but of the entire command can testify to the excellent manner in which these institutions were managed, and to the uniform kindness with which these Sisters of Mercy treated our soldiers while under their care. Never, to my knowledge, were the doors of one of these asylums closed to any of our men, however humble his rank, or whatever might be his faith or creed. All were treated with equal attention and skill. The attending physicians were men of experience and ability and no better nurses could be found in any hospitals than were these votaries of the Catholic religion.

On the 13th of November the regiment, under the command of Major Porter, embarked on the steamer "Nassau,” and took its departure for the land of "Sun and Flowers." The "Nassau" was not designed for a transport, being nothing more than a large sized tug-boat. The men in consequence were stowed and packed away "like herrings." Most of them were obliged to stand or lie on the upper deck during the entire voyage for want of sufficient space elsewhere. To add

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to their discomforts they encountered wet and heavy weather immediately after leaving the mouth of the Mississippi, so that all hands were drenched to the skin until they reached Pensacola. When off the entrance to Mobile Bay, in the middle of the night, the "Nassau" was suddenly brought to her bearings by a round shot, which passed just ahead of her bows, and which it was discovered came from one of our own gunboats. She was immediately brought to, when it was ascertained that she was inside of our blockading squadron, and heading directly toward Fort Morgan, then in the hands of the rebels. It was at once suspected that the captain was untrue, and intended running his boat under the guns of the fort, where all on board would probably have fallen into the hands of the enemy. The captain however protested his innocence, claiming that in the darkness he had mistaken his course. At that time there were no lights kept up anywhere on the Southern coast, the rebels having either demolished the light-houses or extinguished the lights, so that it was not an infrequent occurrence for navigators to lose their reckonings at night in dark or stormy weather. There were no means of determining definitely whether the captain was unfaithful or not, and so, after giving him to understand that his life would pay the penalty of any attempted treachery, Major Porter directed him to proceed. to his destination. On the morning of the 14th the "Nassau " reached Pensacola, with as wet and disgusted a lot of men as can well be imagined. A considerable portion of our number were sick, and the severe exposure and discomforts of the trip were not calculated to aid or benefit these invalids. At that

time it was customary to issue rations of whiskey to the men whenever they had been subjected to any unusual exposure or toil, and accordingly, as soon as the regiment disembarked and got fairly into quarters, Major Porter made requisition for a suitable allowance of whiskey for his command. But the Commander of the Post happened to be that redoubtable warrior and sanguinary hero, Gen. Neal Dow, author of the Maine Liquor Law, who utterly refused to approve of the requisition, on the ground that he did not believe in the efficacy of spirits in any case. The result was that the men got no stimuli through the regular channel, but I have reason to think a supply was obtained notwithstanding Gen. Dow's compunctions. This great apostle of temperance, I am happy to say, was not destined to tarry long with us, for in a few weeks he was ordered to New Orleans, and assigned to a command near that city, where, if reports were true, his attachment for silver spoons became almost as great as that which Gen. Butler is reputed to have had.

Gen. Dow, while in command at Pensacola, had discovered a great fondness for pianos and miscellaneous articles of furniture, of which he had a large and interesting collection at his quarters. Numerous predatory raids had been made into the adjoining towns; and when we reached Pensacola it was said that the looting had been so effective that but little if any valuable furniture was left in all Western Florida, Subsequently, near Port Hudson, this pseudo General was taken prisoner. It was reported that the rebels offered to exchange him for six pianos, but the proposition seems not to have been accepted, and he was, I believe, afterwards exchanged in the regular way.

Shortly after our arrival at Pensacola, "Billy" Wilson's Zouaves, then stationed at Pensacola, were ordered to New Orleans. This regiment had an unsavory reputation, and was generally supposed to be made up of thieves, pluguglies and other dangerous characters gathered from the slums of New York City. While there were desperate men in the regiment, it contained some good material, and on the whole compared favorably in discipline and esprit de corps with some other regiments recruited in the large cities. But little sympathy, however, existed between this regiment and Gen. Dow. His temperance proclivities did not accord with the bacchanalian habits of its rank and file, and his efforts to stop their "tod" was resented in a forcible and outspoken manner. When the order was received for the regiment to proceed to New Orleans, it was given out that the men would "make Rome howl" on the night before their departure. No one except Gen. Dow supposed anything serious was contemplated, but he seemed to be impressed with the idea that these threats would be literally executed. Accordingly the men of our regiment were directed to sleep on their arms. Two companies were also detailed as an additional guard at the General's house, and several extra patrols were sent out to apprehend all roysterers and soldiers outside their quarters. The night, however, was a quiet and peaceful one, and the next morning "Billy Wilson" and the "Bloody Sixth" departed, seemingly, to the great delight of Gen. Dow.

Pensacola like most other towns on the Florida coast is entirely free from malaria. The soil in the vicinity is of a

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PENSACOLA AS A SANITARY STATION.

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dry sandy character, and the surrounding country is an "open piney woods." The climate we found equable and generally pleasant. The air was pure and, in our condition, highly invigorating. The effects of this change from the malarious banks of the Mississippi were decidedly favorable upon the health and spirits of our men, and were perceptible at once, notwithstanding for the first two or three months after our arrival the death rate ran very high. This however was inevitable as the serious maladies contracted by so many on the river campaign would have proved fatal in any locality, even could the sick have been transported to their native air. The diseases most prevalent at that time were chronic diarrhea, swamp fevers and pneumonia. The resinous elements in the atmosphere were particularly conducive to the recovery of those affected with the latter trouble. In a sanitary point of view Pensacola was probably the most desirable situation in the Department as a station for a regiment conditioned as ours was.

The following tabular statement of deaths in the regiment, and of those discharged therefrom for disability, in each year from 1862 to 1866, both inclusive, shows that our ranks were much more severely winnowed and decimated by death and disease in 1862 than in all the other years of our service put together, and also shows how rapidly the regiment improved after reaching Florida :