five o'clock
This was to give added protection to a vital part of the ship . The work was hard and unpleasant , especially to men who had not spent the major portion of their lives at manual labor , but it was one of those disagreeable fortunes of war to which we were growing accustomed , and we toiled without comment . That night when we turned in , that is , those who were fortunate enough to have the `` off watch , '' it was generally rumored about the decks that the fleet would surely bombard early the following morning . About two bells -LRB- five o'clock -RRB- the different guns ' crews , who were sleeping at the batteries , were called by the boatswain 's mates , and told to go to breakfast at once . `` It 's coming , '' exclaimed `` Hay , '' joyfully . `` The old ` Yankee ' will see her real baptism of fire to-day . ` Kid , ' you young rat , you 'll have a chance to dodge shells before you are many hours older . ''