With the departure of so many home companies a movement began for ‘home defense.’ With the exception of the Esplanade Guards, native residents of Esplanade street who organized themselves as ‘special patrolmen,’ it was the foreign-born who met, according to their national proclivities, for the protection of their homes. The Germans formed a corps of riflemen; the British a company of infantry; the French started a zouave battalion; the Italians, already 270 strong, organized a Garibaldi brigade, with speedy prospects of full ranks. The commands were to prove useful on more than one occasion. The fact that they existed and were immediately available was a constant menace to disorder. A year later they were to hold in check the mob of a city which dreaded riots more than she did the foe.
The drummers were tightening up their drums for salute. The governor had appointed as an aide-de-camp Col. Braxton Bragg, a name for battle. The board of military commissioners, appointed by the last special session of the legislature, was busy providing for a small army, both regular and volunteer. It had authorized the enrollment of 500 regular troops for four months, with pay and rations equal to those in the United States army. It had also struck out of its regulations the clause requiring volunteers to serve six months before procuring arms and equipment. The latter was an improvement on old peace legislation.
