Time, however, was not to view French scenery. Training activity was the official topic of interest. It was decreed that instruction in the school of the soldier should begin immediately. Fifty per cent of the regiment comprised new recruits, who had been assigned to the outfit previous to departure from Camp Meade. It was necessary to begin the training at the beginning.
Out from the town, among the open farm lands, a large grain field was secured as a drill field for the battery. It required a thirty-five minute hike from the battery billeting area to reach the drill field. This hike was in order every morning and afternoon. The time on the drill field was spent in learning the rudiments in much the same manner as the training was started and progressed with the first recruits at Camp Meade.
When 4 o'clock of each afternoon came, the order was established for a swim in the river as the parting day's rejuvenator. Montmorillon was the only place in France where the battery got frequent baths.
Saturday morning for the troops at Montmorillon was generally inspection time. Inspections were held on the public plaza. Showdown inspections were as exacting as Camp Meade days. Saturday afternoon and Sunday were days of rest for those who were lucky enough to escape detail.
Regimental services were held in the public square on Sunday mornings, while many of the soldiers visited the curious, two-storied chapel of octagonal form and Romanesque style, that was built in the 12th century, in which services were still conducted. The chapel is connected with the ecclesiastical seminary that occupies a building that was formerly an Augustinian convent.
The Church of the Notre Dame is another ancient landmark of Montmorillon that held interest for the Americans. It, also, is a 12th century building, built on a high slope, with its chapel undermined with a series of catacombs. Trips of inspection to these subalterean chambers, where the worship of the early ages was conducted, were numerous and interesting to the soldiers.
Various schools for instruction of the officers of the regiment were established at Montmorillon. A detachment of new officers from the Saumur school arrived in town to take charge of the training work while the regular officers attended the schools. Second Lieut. Sidney F. Bennett of Derby, Vermont, was assigned to Battery D at this time and was given plenty of work in supervising the morning drill and battery instructions. Lieut. Bennett immediately won great favor among the men. He varied his periods of drill and training with athletics. "O'Grady," "Crow and Crane," "Belt 'Round the ring," and numerous other sport contests were indulged in with great vim.