in on the 11th however expedience would not provide them a place until the early part of the following month and as such they sat idle. Much to the relief of Colonel Pryor, he was finally able to procure a commissary officer in the form of Timothy Reeves. Reeves, a lawyer from Prince George County was appointed the rank of captain and took the position over on the 16th of the month. December 1861 The month began with the addition of a new company as on December 3 the Halifax Rifles were officially attached to the regiment as Company L. As such, On the following day the men boarded the Steamer Northampton at Richmond en route to the James River and Camp Pemberton. With heightened security on the waterways of Virginia, The trip down the James took a good part of the day and the Rifles would not arrive until the morning of the 5th. Upon arrival they immediately set to work establishing a temporary camp for themselves consisting of canvas tents while they procured supplies to construct shanty log cabins like those of the other companies. For this purpose on the 9th, Captain West requested 5000 feet of lumber, 4 kegs of nails, 8 sets of door hinges as well as window sashes for their cabins as well as to construct and extra ward on the encampments hospital quarters. By mid month rumors began to fly concerning the departure of General Pemberton for other locations further south. As such in his absence on the 15th, Colonel Pryor being the senior officer in camp conducted a brigade review of the approximately 4,000 troops under the command of the 1st Brigade. By Christmas Eve, the rumors were substantiated as Raleigh Edward Colston was appointed his replacement. The year ended in an uneventful manner under what were perhaps the best quarters the company would occupy over the next four years of the war and I am assured that many a man reminisced of the peaceful days along the James in the winter of 1861. January & February 1862 The early months brought with them a mild winter with little snowfall and perhaps nothing else. In fact, aside from guard duty and daily drill the men spent their time stoically awaiting the return of spring with its promise of future conflict. In Camp, some men assembled nightly for singing while others played cards