With "one or two exceptions" almost every officer then in the regiment had experience in European armies, and six out of eight of the soldiers had seen service, often in battle. "The only arms they have as yet are a few old muskets bought by the officers themselves.""A Word in Season on an Important Subject", letter to the editor, The New York Times, May 16, 1861, retrieved (from subscription archives, sometimes available to nonsubscribers) June 23, 2008
