Isaac O. Best, History of the 121st New York State Infantry

“ [7] without recollections of a pleasant nature surging to my memory. After we had been uniformed and equipped, we were sent to New York and Washington, without special incident-feeding at the old cooper shop in Philadelphia, and getting a tough meal at Washington. We were marched with full ranks, one thousand strong, in review past the great martyred Lincoln, and received his kindly commendation and warm approbation; and on, out to the fort in the chain of defenses of Washington, called after him, Fort Lincoln, in the vicinity of Hyattsville, Md., and near the famous duelling ground of slavery days.” (The Colonel was evidently not a participant in the melon-patch episode just outside of Philadelphia, while the train was waiting on a siding for other trains to pass. Colonel Cronkite says that the tedium of the wait was relieved by a raid on a neighboring melon patch in which more than half of the regiment participated; and that, led by an officer, they returned to the train laden with a melon each.) The regiment in box cars arrived in Washington on Sept. 3d, in the morning and arrived at Hyattsville in the afternoon. Major Olcott, having been sent ahead to get instructions, was asked by the commanding officer whether the regiment was from the country and had good choppers in it. The major answered that it was from an agricultural and dairy section, and did not contain many axemen. There the matter ended. This journey from Camp Schuyler to Washington, made so quietly and orderly, so soon after the muster of the regiment, demonstrates the remarkable character of the officers and the men composing it. They were not adventurers, not mere enthusiasts, but sober, earnest American citizens, who realized the need of. their services, and were patriotic enough to give their best to the country they loved. Their