On September 4th, telegraphic orders from the War Department were received at all the posts garrisoned by fractions of the regiment, directing preparations to be made for the assembly of the command for furlough and ultimate muster-out; and on the 17th, Colonel Pfaff issued his orders for the concentration of his widely scattered batteries at Framingham. On the 19th, the regiment was again reunited at the State camp ground, the batteries from the posts on the North Shore, under command of Colonel Pfaff, being first to arrive, followed at short intervals by the battalion from Fort Warren, under Major Frye, and the garrison from Fort Rodman, under Lieutenant-Colonel Woodman. It was found that camp already had been pitched by Captain Landy and his men, under direction of Colonel Converse, and all that remained to be done by the command was to settle in quarters and start in operation the battery messes.
After over three months of detached service at isolated points along the coast the twelve batteries again were welded together in the regimental organization. For the time being, all artillery drill and formations were dropped, and the command easily and quickly settled into the routine of an infantry encampment. Regimental and battalion drills daily were held on the broad field which, prior to 1896, had been familiar territory to the command, and in a surprisingly short time the regiment again developed the snap and precision in infantry work for which it had been distinguished before its transfer to the artillery arm of the service. Here, through the thoughtfulness and generosity of the State authorities, the regiment was rejoined by its band. None save those who have learned by actual experience in service how much may be done by music towards alleviating the wearing monotony of camp and garrison life can appreciate the welcome given by the men of the regiment to Bandmaster Collins and his musicians, on their return after their long absence.
Meanwhile preparations for leaving the service were pushed forward. The work was done under supervision of Lieutenant-Colonel Weaver, U.S.V. (captain First United States Artillery), detailed as mustering officer for Massachusetts, to whom had been assigned as assistants Lieutenants C. C. Hearn, Third United States Artillery, and O. Edwards, Eleventh United States Infantry. Slowly but steadily the absurdly cumbersome and complex tangle of "paper-work" was unravelled, final muster and pay rolls were completed, and the thousand-and-one accounts with ordnance, quartermaster, medical, commissary, and signal departments were closed. On October 5th this work substantially was finished, and shortly after noon on that day, in a drizzling rain, the batteries for the last time formed line as a regiment of United States Volunteers. Marching across the soaked parade, the regiment stood at attention while the garrison flag slowly was lowered, in token of the abandonment of the post, and then swung out through the main gate of the reservation for the muddy march to the waiting troop-train.