Ulysses S. Grant, as colonel of the 21st Infantry Regiment, Illinois Volunteers, left Camp Yates (at Springfield) on July 3, 1861, with his unseasoned troops and marched them to Naples which they reached on July 6. Frederick Grant, the colonel's son, although just eleven years of age, accompanied the regiment and rode his father's horse, "Rondy." From Naples, on July 7, Col. Grant wrote his wife, Julia, a long letter describing the march. Then, the 21st was ferried across the Illinois River to continue its advance to the front but soon received orders to recross and take a train to Quincy.
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