Our drill periods were more devoted to conditioning and whipping everyone into good physical shape than to actual artillery work. Hard, speedy hikes every day through the neighboring country, combined with an hour's calesthenics each morning and long periods of foot drill in the broiling sun, helped take off our extra weight. We did work in some useful training besides. The drivers had a chance to practise their grooming on what horses we had and to take them out for "Monkey drills", while the cannoneers acquired some additional knowledge of the guns when they were studying to pass the gunners examinations. The Special Detailists busied themselves with the problems of open warfare. They would gallop out into the country, pick out a Battery position, establish the Battery Commander's Station, and work out the necessary firing data for the guns. The Scouts would map out the roads and draw panoramic sketches of the surrounding areas. The telephonists would lay out their telephone wires and repair breaks; while everyone in each spare moment would try to break the speed record in semaphoring and wigwagging.

On August 5, 1917 we were drafted into federal service as Battery A, 101st Regiment of Field Artillery of the 51st Field Artillery Brigade of the 26th Division. On August 28 we held our first real review of the whole Brigade, before Governor McCall, and then on August 30 we held our final review before Major-General Edwards. From the middle of August on we began to realize that we were not to go to the National Army cantonment then under construction

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