To the men who were the subject of this process the marvel was not so apparent. For them, the wonder of the result was lost sight of in the crowded days of its accomplishment. But thousands of persons who were not in the army find in this transformation one of the greatest wonders of the war. To them, it may be, that this volume will be of interest as the history of a typical American regiment of our great National Army. In reading this volume, which is but the bare record of the regiment's organization and operations, one is apt to overlook certain facts which constitute the real interest in the organization's history.