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| 167 speaking of it, Colonel Boykin said, "the visit has demonstrated to the people of Baltimore that the Fifth Regiment has reached a point of efficiency, in numbers and discipline, equal to that of the best days of its history." . At this time the roster contained the names of 620 enlisted men, 65 musicians and 40 officers, making a total of 725 men. One of the results of this visit to Raleigh was the speedy advent in Baltimore of North Carolina merchants to buy goods. In his report for 1891, the adjutant-general said: "A public subscription was made by the business men of Baltimore to enable the Fifth Regiment to visit, on the 9th of last November, the Inter-States' Exposition, held at Raleigh, N. C. It is needless to speak of the fine appearance of this command or of the enthusiastic welcome with which it was greeted by the good people of North Carolina, as well as by the Virginians, through whose territory it passed. " I beg to invite attention to the subject of armories. That of the Fifth Regiment, in the City of Baltimore, is entirely unfitted for this growing command, so that it has become a matter of necessity that ampler quarters be furnished. An effort was recently made to induce the city council to appropriate the sum of seventy odd thousand dollars for its enlargement, by extending the side and rear walls, or to build a new armory; but this was met by a grant of $5,000 only, which in but a slight degree lessened the discomforts under which the regiment is laboring." Soon after his return from Raleigh, Colonel Boykin was sent by the adjutant-general to Chicago, at the request of the military committee of the World's Fair, to represent the Maryland Guard at a meeting to discuss the part of the militia in the exposition. The meeting deemed it expedient that only the militia of the surrounding States should take part in the dedication ceremonies; but, that later on, there should be a great encampment of State militia near Chicago. In his report for the year 1892, the Adjutant-General, H. Kyd Douglas, said in this connection: "Much interest has been aroused in connection with the Columbian Fair this year at Chicago, in the hope that the Maryland National Guard might be able to appear there as an organized body, prepared for soldierly association and competition with other State troops. It is useless to hold out the hope that the State appropriation will permit the sending oi our guard, or any satisfactory portion of it, to Chicago. The legislature made no appropriation for the purpose—the regular appropriation is no more than is needed for other imperative demands—and there is no other money. It will be found to be difficult to provide for our bi-ennial encampment. " With this view, I, several months ago, in anticipation of the meeting of Congress, addressed a communication to the Secretary of War, which I |