When assigned to guard duty, a soldier was given a musket, the counter-sign, and a post to guard or patrol. After nightfall, a guard would not allow anyone to approach without challenging them. As Charles Johnson explained, if the challenged party purported to be a friend, he was required to whisper the countersign over the musket's length with bayonet attached.
Monday, October 6, 1862
Being a military establishment, it was necessary to post a chain of guards all around the outside of the fence at Camp Butler. According to Charles Johnson, the guards were armed with old army muskets of the Harper's Ferry pattern. Apparently the arms were all old and defective in some manner, and considered harmless for the most part.
