The 20th of Maine was not the only regiment that went into battle untrained.
Following the battle where so many new soldiers’ lives were lost
The focus soon turned to proper ways to fight,
For lack of training had too high a cost.

The man in charge of seeing to the training was Colonel Ames
A man known for being harsh and very driven.
Boot camp was difficult, and the men were hard pressed
But the Colonel knew it was important that the less be stressed.

He knew it was a matter of time before General Lee’s return
And victory was not the only thing on his mind.
Though he treated them rough, his soldier’s lives were in his care
And seeing them survive battle was his main interest, a very hard line.

Nor was it simply the infantry and lower soldiers he drove.
Ames held classes at night for officers to ensure minimal loss.
From the science of the military to the best tactics
Ames saw to it that the next battle it would be less of a coin toss.

So it was in December when the men finally marched to fight
Heading toward Fredericksburg, another battle well known in history,
The men were better prepared, though the idea of attacking was so ill conceived.
Likely far more would have died in the attack without the training applied so harshly.

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