William S. Clark
The regiment, originally numbering slightly more than 1,000 men, departed Worcester on August 23, 1861. They were armed with inferior smoothbore muskets that had been converted from flintlock to percussion lock. After a brief, but tense, three-day encampment in Baltimore, the regiment moved to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, arriving on August 30. The regiment garrisoned the Naval Academy for four months. It was a comfortable post. Maj. William S. Clark of the 21st wrote that the regiment was "delightfully situated, enjoying the very romance of war."