When the soldiers first arrived on the peninsula, their duties were relatively light. Their time was spent in skirmish drill by bugle signals, gathering shells, bathing, and fishing with seine nets borrowed from the navy.
Not only did their fishing produce many excellent meals, but it was also exciting for the men from Illinois to discover mysterious sea creatures they had never seen before.
For some reason, soon after their arrival they ran out of rations. But, the peninsula was well stocked with sheep, which they butchered, and lived on almost entirely for eight or ten days.
