 He led the regiment south to Baltimore, Maryland, where it remained until ordered to Mississippi that November.Chapin and the 116th arrived at Ship Island, Mississippi, by sail on December 14, 1862, and by the end of the year they reached New Orleans, Louisiana.On February 9, 1863, Chapin was given brigade command in the army of Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, operating against Confederate forces defending the Mississippi River.