176 BULLETIN OF THE 



The 27th Regiment was raised in the western part of the State 

 of Massachusetts, and was mustered into the service # of the United 

 States at Springfield. It left the State November 2, 1861, and 

 proceeded by rail to the vicinity of Annapolis, Maryland, where it 

 went into camp. Here it remained until January 6, 1862, when it 

 was embarked on transports, and accompanied the North Carolina 

 Expedition under General Burnside. It took part in the affair on 

 Roanoke Island, February 8th ; landed near Newburn, North 

 Carolina, March 13th, and met with considerable losses during the 

 battle of Newburn on the following day. The regiment remained 

 in North Carolina until October 16, 1863, when it embarked for 

 Fortress Monroe, Virginia, and after a short encampment at New- 

 port News, proceeded to Norfolk, Virginia, where it remained 

 through the following winter. 



During almost the whole of this time Surgeon Otis accompanied 

 his regiment and shared its fortunes; sometimes, indeed, performing 

 other duties in addition to his regimental ones, as during the summer 

 and fall of 1862, when he acted as Medical Purveyor to the De- 

 partment of North Carolina. The exceptional periods were a few 

 days in September, 1862, when he went as medical officer in charge 

 of the steamer " Star of the South" with sick from Newburn to New 

 York, and a few months in the early part of 1863, when he served 

 on detached duty in the Department of the South. While in the 

 Department of the South he attracted the attention of Surgeon 

 Charles H. Crane, U. S. Army, then Medical Director of the 

 Department (afterwards Assistant Surgeon-General of the Army), 

 on whose recommendation he was placed, March 28th, by command 

 of General Hunter, in charge of the hospital steamer " Cosmopolitan," 

 then at Hilton Head, South Carolina, and directed the operations of 

 that vessel in the transportation of the sick and wounded within the 

 limits of the department until May 10, when he was ordered to 

 carry a number of sick and wounded to New York harbor, and 

 after landing them, to turn over the vessel to Surgeon "Win. Ingalls, 

 of the 5th Massachusetts regiment. This order was promptly 

 executed, the vessel was turned over as directed, May 13th, and Otis 

 received a leave of absence for twenty days, at the expiration of 

 which he returned to his regiment. 



January 22, 1864, he was again detached and ordered to York- 

 town, Virginia, to assume the duties of surgeon-in-chief of General 

 Wistar's command. This responsible position he filled in a satis- 



