Garrison Life Was Like Clockwork

Garrison Life Was Like Clockwork. . , The army believed that routine promoted discipline. Soldiers were on duty six days a week from daybreak to dusk. Garrison life consisted of roll calls, inspections, parades, guard duty, weapons training, drills, and daily chores called fatigues. Every call, inspection, drill, or fatigue was preceded by a distinct piece of music. The tune "Molly Put the Kettle On," for example, meant breakfast. , Soldiers were kept so busy as carpenters, blacksmiths, construction workers, farmers, and woodcutters that officers bemoaned their limited opportunities to drill and train the men in military duties. , Freshening Up the Barracks. , Private Samuel Bloomer, who lived in the barracks here in 1861, described a day filled with chores: , , After breakfast we were ordered to clean out our quarters. We carried our bedding out onto the parade ground to sun. We brushed down the walls, and washed the woodwork, windows, and floors thoroughly, so that we made it a general cleaning day. In consequence we had no drills except dress parade at sundown. , Minnesota Historical Society , Fort Ridgely.