[53] their departure, under the command of Brigadier-General S. R. Gist, to join the army of the Mississippi. Colonel Simonton, by the absence of Colonel C. H. Stevens, became for awhile the ranking officer on James Island, and the command of the island devolved on him. The camp of the regiment was moved to Secessionville, and regimental headquarters established in Lawtore's house. Captain G. H. Moffet, the adjutant, usually went with and acted as assistant adjutant general for Colonel Simonton when he was exercising a brigadier's command. Lieutenant F. J. Lesesne, of the Ripley Guards, in the absence of Moffet, acted as adjutant of the regiment. I found him invariably brave, trustworthy and efficient.
In the latter part of the spring we lost the services of our chaplain, E. T. Winkler, D. D. He was detached from the regiment and ordered up to the city for duty in the hospitals. We were exceedingly fortunate in having his place filled by Rev. A. F. Dickson, a Presbyterian minister of high position in his church. Mr. Dickson followed in the footsteps of his predecessors in the chaplaincy, and discharged all of the duties of his honorable and important office with zeal and ability. The officers and men soon learned to love him as they had done our former chaplains. Mr. Dickson distinguished himself by the same kindly efforts to promote the comfort of the well, mollify the sufferings of the sick, and strengthen the faith of the dying which had characterized the administration of the office by Revs. Porter and Winkler. Our three chaplains were men of broad and catholic views. Their perfect freedom from bigotry procured them the esteem and confidence of the men of every religious persuasion, as well as of those of no particular denominational bias.
On the 23d of May I was detailed as president of a Board of Examiners, with Lieutenant-Colonel R. J. Jeffords, of the cavalry, and Captain C. H. Parker, of the artillery, as my associates. I was absent for about twenty days, during which time the command of the Twenty-fifth devolved on Major John V. Glover. The regiment never suffered in its discipline nor otherwise in the hands of Major Glover. As an assistant, messmate, friend and associate, he was all that a regimental commander could desire.
The months of May and June and the early part of July, 1863, were very quiet times on James Island. Daily drills, dress parades and guard mountings, made camp life somewhat monotonous. A feeling of security had taken possession of the soldiers to such an extent that many of the men and some of the officers on the island had brought their wives and expected a quiet summer. Other officers
