CDV of Union Company at Newbury, Massachusetts Camp Sylvester

CDV of Union Company at Newbury, Massachusetts Camp Sylvester! 
Camp Sylvester in was in West Newbury and was a sort of holding station for eager would-be Union soldiers awaiting orders to march. Immediately after the Civil War broke out in April of 1861, some young men were more ready to enlist than the army was ready to accept them.
One was John G.B. Adams of Groveland, who
walked to West Newbury to join Company A
of the 1st Battalion of Rifles, an old militia
company (“Poore’s Savages”) under command
of Maj. Ben. Perley Poore. According to
Captain Adams’ reminiscences, he and his
brother enrolled their names at West Newbury
Town Hall. They donned green uniforms and,
Captain Adams reported, engaged in “a
peculiar drill. Most of it, as I can remember,
consisted of running around the town hall in
single file, giving an Indian war-whoop and
firing into the corner of the hall as we ran.”
Camp Sylvester was set up on July 1, 1861, in
response to the enlistees’ exasperation at the
long wait for orders. Captain Adams explained,
“Men were leaving every day, going to other
States or to regiments that had been ordered to
the front. At last we rebelled, and sent our
officers to the Governor with a vote passed by
the company, that unless we were ordered into camp at once we would disband. After a few
days we were furnished with a large tent for the men, a wall tent for the officers and a supply of rations. Our camp was located on the land of one of our members, Private Sylvester, and was named ‘Camp Sylvester.’”