A Decline in Numbers

Jackson, MI

August 24-25, 2013

Jackson, Michigan has been one of my annual staples since 2010, when I went all-out for Civil War reenacting.  For the number of reenactors that attended--normally several hundred--the battlefield is rather small, but forces those in command to think quickly and maneuver in tight quarters.  This was my second year here on battalion staff.

But numbers were down.  We considered a lot had to do with Gettysburg, but we weren't really sure.  Of the Independent Guard companies that attended, only the 50th Virginia and the 12th South Carolina were there.  We were too small to even carry our flag on the field.

Another Confederate battalion was there as well--Medich battalion, but their colonel was unable to attend, leaving the command to their Lt Colonel.  I'm not sure how in such situations overall Confederate command is decided, but Col Medich is normally overall commander for this event, and I think that was how the event coordinators decided to make their Lt Colonel overall commander.

Because of our small numbers we had a lot more interaction with Medich battalion that we normally do.  Usually all we see is Medich battalion doing their thing on the battlefield, while we do ours.  Col Julian will discuss a few things with Col Medich, but that is about the extent of it.  This year, however, there were a few times where we appended ourselves onto Medich Battalion to make us look like one large battalion.  We still pretty much had our autonomy, but we worked much closer with Medich battalion to accomplish the tasks.

Lt John Porter was also unable to attend, so I filled in as acting adjutant for the weekend, though with only two companies, there wasn't much for me to do.  In addition to my role as major, I basically brought the two companies on line and formed the parade.  Lt Porter also handles attendance roles, but there was not much worrying about that this weekend.

Saturday morning proved a bit of a rough start.  At four in the morning I awoke to a coughing fit due to allergy problems.  My allergy medication takes about an hour to kick in, so I was up for the day.

I started the fire with the wood the park provided--it was probably the greenest wood I had seen at an event.  It was all spruce and pine and some of the spruce wood still had sprouts with green needles.  The pine sap made it easy to start the fire, but the green wood made it difficult to keep the fire burning well.

The Saturday battle was not overly memorable.  It was a scenario from Chancellorsville, though I don't know the intended details.  We had the 12th SC start out without their coats to give the impression they were Yankee militia, and they started fighting against us.  The plan was that they would be captured almost immediately, then our battalion--which was only the 50th VA at that time--would take them as prisoners, where they would put their coats back on and rejoin us into battle.

Something didn't go quite right.  As soon as we took the 12th SC as prisoners, we were ordered back on line to defend the left flank.  The 12th quickly put their coats on and joined us.  I guess we could say that we paroled them--and they decided to join us.

From there, all I know is that both battalions pushed the Yankees across the field, with the 12th SC flanking them on the right, and Medich's last company flanking on the left.

Supper that evening left something to be desired.  Two slices of roast pork, a roll or cornbread, and potato or macaroni salad.  Not much to fill up on, and not much taste.  Fortunately, the Lt Colonel offered me some lunch meat to supplement my meal.

My allergies were a little better Sunday morning--I had taken some Benedryl the night before, but I still had a bit of a coughing fit around 1:30 in the morning.  I found, however, that I wasn't alone in my allergy problems.  Col Julian also expressed problems with allergies, along with a number of others.  There was apparently something in the air at Jackson that was giving all of us problems.  My best guess was that horribly green spruce and pine wood--burning that wood must have put allergens in the air that made us ill.

I did manage to sleep later, waking to the bugle call of reveille from the Yankees.

This day seemed a bit lighter--we started drill with our annual meeting, voting for the Sergeant Major and Adjutant positions.  Since both Len Kiser and John Porter ran unopposed for those positions, we only had to re-affirm them, though both seem to have been granted their positions for life.

We then went into a simple drill with Medich Battalion, forming a column of companies and circling the battlefield--basically making sure the companies do their wheelings correctly while in a column of companies--though we never needed to use this again.

After drill, Jeff, Trish and I wandered the sutlers.  My drawers were falling apart--I had patches upon patches--and managed to find a decent pair at James Country.

The battle had an intermission like Saturday's battle.  Jackson did this last year as well--and I'm not sure what that is all about, other than it lengthens the battle time.  Perhaps it works well--it's tough to make an impression from my perspective.

The first part of the battle was not very memorable--it was something from Gettysburg, but I couldn't tell you what. However, the second part of the battle was a success.  We did Pickett's Charge, forming three battalions of two companies each, with Medich splitting their battalion, while we stood on our own.  The field was small, so we didn't have far to go.  Each battalion advanced and fired one battalion volley, loading once more for all of us to fire at once.

We then advanced hard on the Yankees.  The fight didn't last long.  The entire IG Battalion was decimated.  I took a leg wound and started dragging myself to the rear of the battlefield.

I do enjoy this event--but it would be better if we can see a return to solid numbers.  Perhaps next year, when the big 150th events will be in the past.

Rising through the Ranks

Jackson, Michigan

August 25-26, 2012

Jackson usually is an event that the 1st Tennessee shows in force, but for some reason was not voted for at the Regimental meeting.  I had debated about whether going to Jackson, or to Richmond, Kentucky, which also had a large event this same weekend.  In the end I decided on Jackson since it was an Independent Guard Battalion event and since Jackson was the event that the battalion holds its annual meeting, and since this year the battalion was holding its election for staff officers—and I was running for major for the Independent Guard.  Capt Sharp of the 1st Tennessee pointed out it might not look good for me if I was absent at these elections.

Four of us from the 1st Tennessee arrived on Friday—Sgt Jack Nyman, Cpl Jeff Carte, Pvt Zack Carte, and myself.  Enough for a few good rounds of Euchre.

Although Col. Julian had brevetted me to major at Reynoldsburg, he asked if I would be willing to allow a long-time staff member play major one last time for the Saturday battle.  Since I technically did not have the title yet, I was more than happy to step aside for him.

We fell in with 50th Virginia Company D.  They proved a great group to fall in with, although they used the face-burning Gilham’s tactics.  Captain Jim Lemon’s hospitality toward the 1st Tennessee was on a level of being more than happy we could join them.  Their numbers were also down for the event, so with our guns, it brought their size to an acceptable level for being a stand-alone company.

It is nice to have groups that are happy to have you fall in with them.  Sometimes you are not sure what they expect—I keep thinking one of these units we fall in with will think they are doing us a favor by letting us fall in with them, but so far I have not encountered that—they always seem genuinely impressed with our abilities and more than happy to share the company lines with us—and the 50th Virginia was no exception.  I watched them at Ft Wayne and was impressed with how well they performed with skirmish deployment.  At Ft Wayne I watched the 50th Virgina deploy forward in their groups of four—and it looked good.  It was good to fall in with them at Jackson.

The battalion had three companies that weekend—the minimum needed to form a battalion.  The 50th Virginia was designated 2nd and color company.

Seeing the Jackson battlefield, I couldn’t help but think of the size of Ft Wayne.  The battlefield seemed smaller than I remembered—maybe the entire Ft Wayne park would have trouble fitting in this field—but it would certainly be close.

Battalion drill helped work out some issues.  Although as private I had my own positions to worry about, I studied the Lt Colonel for where he positioned himself, to try to understand where my job would be once I was elected Major.  I am not sure where the other major was for drill—but he was only available at the battle.

As usual, I visited the sutlers—and as a quick note, they list are among the best of the year, but their numbers seemed a bit less than in the past.

Courtesy Jackson Citizen-Patriot

The battle seemed to go okay—though it was divided into two parts, and as private I was not sure what that was about.  Basically, we pounced on the Yankees, the battle was halted, we marched off the field, then a new phase in the battle resumed.  Fortunately there was no strange action like last year where a Yankee battalion marched upon a Confederate battalion and shook hands with them.   I think this year had a different Yankee commander than last.

However, I found out later that the battle scenario had gotten mucked up (at least, much more than usual).  Confederate forces were supposed to lose—we were to get decimated from an artillery barrage.  Unfortunately, the artillery ran out of ammunition, so could not launch that decimation—causing a Confederate victory.

We got some good Euchre that evening—something that had not happened much since our marathon at Nelsonville last year.  It was good to play a bit after the hiatus from it.

The weather cooperated for the weekend by keeping dry—but the heat and lack of wind seemed to stagnate the air.  Even after taking one of my allergy pills I awoke about 4 am Sunday morning hacking up a lung.  There was not much else to do other than get the campfire going and get the coffee ready.  By daybreak, the tar was ready, and it tasted better than usual.

Sunday I got to play major.  The battalion parade and drill were uneventful—but I used it to study where my place would be.  At the end of drill, the battalion was gathered for the annual meeting, where we decided to attend the GAC Gettysburg to fall in with PACS (as opposed to the BGA Gettysburg).  The battalion staff was then elected, with Col Julian being re-elected, Duane Clark being elected to the Lt Col position that he had been brevetted to after the departure of Gary Wade, and I was elected to major, filling the gap left when Lt Col Clark was brevetted.

Battalion formation for the battle was to be at 1:15, but at ten minutes to one, Col. Julian started rushing us to get ready.  I rushed over to his tent, confused as to such an early and rushed first call, only to find that the battery on the colonel’s watch had died at 12:10, and he had not realized that the hour hand was still on 12—he thought it was 1:10.  I showed him that it was only 12:50, and from that point on he made me the battalion’s official time-keeper, which proved to be a whole new problem, as I quickly learned that if I keep my watch in my vest pocket, I need to keep my frock unbuttoned.  I also learned that jute makes for a terrible substitute for a watch chain as at some point during the battle the string either broke or came untied from my vest buttonhole, causing me to lose the watch—leaving me at odds when asked the time.  Fortunately, Pvt Carte found my watch and returned it to me.

The battle was interesting to say least—and being on battalion staff puts a new perspective on the scenario.  Because of the unexpected victory yesterday, we had no idea if we were to win or lose today.  The time to start neared and Col Julian had not talked with Col Nick Medich—the overall Confederate commander—so did not know the details of the scenario for the battle, but Medich Battalion was no where to be found.  How could you hide a battalion in this park?  Col Julian even sent the Lt Colonel and myself out to find the other battalion, which we failed to do.  Col Medich finally did appear and provide Col Julian with his orders.

That's me, in the straw hat, taking my wing to flank
the Yankee hoards.
Courtesy Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Battle was again in two parts, and although the first part was exciting for me, there was not much that seemed memorable, other than we started with firing through the woods to make a bunch of noise and not be seen, then pushed the Yankees away from the captured batteries.

In the second half, we were to support Medich Battalion as they attempted to capture the Yankee artillery.  Medich Battalion ended up getting decimated and captured.  We were to retreat from the field in relative chaos.

As we closed in on the Yankees before our retreat, we lined up right at the edge of the artillery safety zone.  Artillery was firing and the captain of 3rd Company (14th South Carolina, and my entire wing) realized how unrealistic it was for there to be many survivors and so had his entire company go down at a cannon blast.  Somehow, however, one lone private of his did not quite get the message.  He was young, maybe as young as sixteen.  I told him, “You’re the only one left of your company.”  He looked around in surprise as he realized his situation.  I told him just to attach to color company, and then reported to the colonel that I no longer had a wing to command.

Getting pampered.

That heat wiped us out.  It has been a hot year, but perhaps that stagnate air wore us out more.  We returned to our camp, and Cpl Carte’s face was a red as a ripe tomato.   He usually gets pretty red after a battle, but I think he was a bit worse than usual.  The battalion’s fifer was camped with his wife next to our camp, and startled by his redness, she began pampering him with ice and wet clothes to cool him down.

Even though the battlefield at Jackson seems so terribly small for the four battalions, eight artillery pieces, and cavalry, it seems we are never at a loss for action and maneuvering.  Capt Sharp has said that he enjoys working in the tight area as it forces us to react and maneuver.  Being major I experienced what Capt Sharp meant, and I agree.  The tight area seemed to prevent the mere forward and back football maneuvering, and keeps the battle interesting for both reenactor and public.


Rising from private to major in a day is quite a change in perspective—but that is what makes this nation great.  Only in America—even if it is not Confederate.

News article of event
News article of event
Youtube video
Youtube video

Far Away on the Mini Battlefield

Jackson, Michigan, August 27-28, 2011

Jackson is a good distance for all of us to travel—I think it is nearly five hours for me.  This is really only worthwhile for large events.  Fortunately, Jackson is a large event.  We set up camp in a distant corner of the campground, right against where the suburban neighborhood began.  Sergeant Mott selected this location as a means of both ensuring the unit would be able to camp together and to get good shade from the nearby trees.

Breaking in Lt. Sharp's new slouch hat.

Once we set up camp, we visited the large number of sutlers that opened early.  Fall Creek and the Regimental Quartermaster were both there, along with several other large sutlers.  Jackson is a great place for shopping the sutlery.   Caps were $12 for RWS and $10 for CCI.  Regimental Quartermaster had the best price with a sleeve of 10 tins of the German caps for $95.  Prices overall were disappointing—I was looking to finish out an officer’s uniform (to go with the pistol and my recent sword purchase), but the gauntlets I found at Fall Creek (which had the best price of $35) would not fit, even though they were extra large (large size gloves normally are the correct size for me). And sashes were around $40—so I decided to go with eBay instead.  I did find a good cravat, though.

The event provided pulled pork for the Saturday supper, which I am sure would have been a wonderful meal, but due to the distance from camp, we chose to prepare our own food of ham and potatoes, with corn and squash.  It was very good, and nice to not have to wait in any kind of line.

After supper Private Zack and I challenged Captain Evens and Lieutenant Sharp to a battle of Euchre.  I suppose this was to break the curse of last year’s round of Euchre (Jackson 2010 After-action report) where Sergeant Enyart was my partner—but Enyart was absent this weekend.  I believed we did not stand a chance this time.  My experience over the past year was that the only way I could defeat the Evens-Sharp team was with Enyart has my partner.  Anyone else and I could keep the match close, but I could not win.  With Zack as my partner, I honestly expected quite the whooping.

But apparently I was quite successful in training Zack up at Nelsonville with those 14 or so games.  He disposed of many of his tells, so you could no longer read him like a billboard on Times Square.  And his confidence had reached its pinnacle.  I also learned how to play better against JR and Evens over the past year.

The first of three games we did lose, but we kept it a challenged.  But the second and third games we won, still keeping the game close the entire time.  I think I taught JR one thing, too—and that was to beware of trying to bluff me.  At one point I had a hand of questionable strength and would have had to order the Ace of spades into JR’s hand.  I nearly passed on it, but then JR said, “Go ahead and order it up.”  So I did.  It turned out he was trying to bluff me—he had a loner hand in hearts.

The only trouble now with winning was that Zack and I were put on detail to guard a puddle of water in the middle of the battlefield.  Well, I guess that’s the price for beating the commanders.

And then there was the Sunday morning romantic breakfast between Lt. Sharp and Pvt Silvers.

Saturday morning I finally caught on what was meant by Battalion parade.  I had always thought of it as basically a march in front of the public—but apparently it is really nothing more than lining up as a battalion, to the rear in open order, first sergeants reporting on numbers, close ranks, then going off to drill.

During that drill we overheard an NCO of another unit spew forth all sorts of profanities at his men trying to get them in line.  Mercer commented to our captain, and I think all of us agreed, that if any of our NCOs talked to us in that way, we would head back to camp, pack up, and go home.  The biggest problem was that this was in front of the public, and the event coordinators complained to our colonel.  During Sunday drill, the colonel warned us (without naming names, even though we all knew who he was talking about) that this is not the place for that language and that it needs to be kept under control.

But as we lined up for the Sunday battle, that same unit passed by us while we were in formation and a number of their soldiers were having difficulty keeping the line.  That NCO, the second sergeant, had no pause about spewing profanities like an alcoholic on some bad liquor.  There is no way his captain could have missed that.  Even without the warning from the colonel, that sergeant should have been summarily dismissed from the battalion—told to pack his gear, and go home.  He has no business being a reenactor.  He was warned by the commanding officer, and yet he chose to ignore those instructions.  In the real military, insubordination like that can get you a dishonorable discharge.  Maybe the NCOs commanded like that 150 years ago, and maybe not, but reenactments with public attending are supposed to be family events—kids will be there and within earshot.  I will admin that private in most groups, including ours, the language is like any normal gathering of adults.  But bring kids into the picture and we do our best to keep our French under control.  The colonel was present, but I am not sure he heard that sergeant or not—but if he had, I think he should have gone to the captain of that unit and requested the sergeant be removed. 

The battle was good, but the grounds were rather, well, strange.  My biggest complaint of that battlefield is the ridiculously small size of it for the number of soldiers.  The battlefield is small for even a small event, but for the numbers we had—two battalions on each side—it was difficult to maneuver.   But this year there was another problem—the park had used heavy equipment to plow and completely reshape half the field.  Half the field was completely absent of sod, and had tons of ruts, rocks, and various mud holes to injure ankles and knees. It was better on Sunday after we had packed it down significantly from the Saturday battle.  But anyway, the battle quickly ended up not going as planned.  From what I have been told, the Federal forces were led by Shackleford, and from what I hear about him, he throws out all plans five minutes into the battle and creates his own scenario.  Although I enjoy the battle, it felt cramped.  The Yankee forces advanced far closer than felt safe.

But it was the Sunday battle that had a moment of insanity.  Overall I liked the Sunday battle better as it seemed to last longer, and we were all over the field taking advantage of holes that the Yankees gave us.  But there was one point we watched one Yankee battalion corner and advance on the other Confederate battalion.  We were all backed to the edge of the battlefield, so could pull back no further.  But the Yankees continued to advance in a scenario where the Confederates were supposed to win (the Battle of Bethel Church), although casualties were near zero.  Then the moment of insanity occurred.  The Yankee force advanced close enough to actually shake the hands of the Confederate soldiers—and that is no joke.  It looked stupid.  Both sides were in confusion—they did not know what to do.  They were too close to even load.  All they could do was stand there, admiring the color of each others’ eyes, until the commander figured out how to get out of this kerfuffle.  It was not until the federals finally pulled back that the battle could be re-engaged.

Of course, there are not many that can be blamed for such a farce.  The only one responsible was the Yankee colonel of that battalion.  Everyone else was just following orders, and the Confederate colonel was pinned with nowhere to go.  Perhaps that Yankee commander should try playing private for awhile.  I know a few privates that could better command a battalion.  Although the 1^st Tennessee was not part of that Confederate battalion, we were all wandering, “What are those Yankees thinking?”

It had to be the absolute stupidest thing I ever saw.  It was insane to see two opposing battalions standing close enough to shine their enemy’s boots, looking around, waiting for someone to figure out what to do next.  Here is an idea—the Confederate colonel could have claimed the entire Yankee battalion as their prisoners.

The thing is, the only possible thing that Yankee commander could have been thinking was how he could make the Confederate forces look foolish.  If that Confederate force had pulled back as little as fifteen yards, they would have been in our lap.  Both battalions of the Confederate forces would have been jumbled together, their artillery overrun, and would have been the farce.  And in my opinion—that’s what makes this Yankee commander as worthless as a deerfly.  He is so concerned with making others look foolish that he himself is made the fool.

Despite that disturbing moment, and the lack of space to maneuver, I thought the battle quite an enjoyable experience.  I nearly finished off my rounds, to which Mercer said, “Well, if you didn’t shoot eighteen rounds a minute, you might still have some.”  I guess I have gotten a bit quick on the reload.

And despite all the fussing I have made, I did enjoy the event.  I was even told that the announcer acknowledged our unit for the first time (apparently they acknowledged every unit but ours in the past).  The food was great and the quantity of sutlers were extraordinary.  The only real downside (other than the “N” gauge battlefield) is the distance.

Youtube video of battle
Youtube video of battle

Jackson 2010 After-Action Report

Yeah, it would have been nice to start this blog at the beginning of the season, with all that's been going on. 

Cpt. Evens and Lt. Sharp have had it in for me ever since Jackson, Michigan at the end of August, 2010.  Sgt Enyart and I challenged these two to several rounds of Euchre.  The captain and lieutenant are normally quite undefeatable, but now they have gained a new humility.  I submitted an "After-Action Report" for the company's newsletter concerning this minor skirmish, but since the captain is responsible for the newletter and there haven't been enough articles submitted to produce a newsletter, I'm not certain if it'll get published.  So, I'm publishing it here:

Jackson, MI After Action Report

Pvt Russ Judge, 1^st Tennessee Co. B

A series of minor skirmishes occurred between the two major battles of the weekend, that involved Capt. Gary Evens and Lt. J.R. Sharp squaring up against Sgt. Andrew Enyart and Pvt. Russ Judge.

The first of the battles began as a challenge to Euchre was introduced during the late afternoon hours Saturday after the success of the 1^st Tennessee's battle against Federal forces near Jackson, Michigan.  Evens and Sharp, well known for the extremely superior tactical capabilities in card-play began the first skirmish with a quick advance, scoring two points early against Enyart and Judge.  However, this advantage was soon lost as the environment changed towards the lower-ranking soldiers' favor, soon ending this first skirmish in a clear a decisive victory for Enyart and Judge, lifting moral to new heights with the defeat of a normally undefeatable foe.

But the war was not over.  Evens and Sharp refused to allow the day to end with a victory for the enemy and proceeded into a second challenge.  The first strike came from Judge, who had become overconfident with the previous victory. Evens and Sharp quickly brought humility back to Judge by easily deflecting that first strike, again scoring two for themselves early in the fight.  However, for the remainder of the fight, Enyart and Judge were able to keep their composure and very decisively declare victory again.

For the third challenge, Evens and Sharp attempted a change in tactic by switching places at the table.  Lt. Sharp also placed blame on the light, claiming that he has a much better tactical advantage at night, when the cards cannot be seen.  By this time dusk was encroaching upon the opposing sides, so his hope was that the light would drop enough to turn the tide of the war.  But such hopes were fleeting to Evens and Sharp as again the battle was decisively won by Enyart and Judge.  For none of these first three battles Evens and Sharp could not score more than four points.

Lt. Sharp searched for ways to gain the advantage.  With the night upon the foursome and candle lit, he forced Pvt Judge, to begin the fourth and final skirmish with his right hand behind his back.  When this handicap had no effect, he had Pvt Judge draw a card from the unused portion of the deck to burn his mojo in the campfire.  This seemed to have the opposite effect, as Lt. Sharp soon proceeded to deal Pvt Judge a lay-down loner hand, revealing the absolute desperation of Evens and Sharp.

With the small series of minor skirmishes now over, Sgt Enyart and Pvt. Judge left the table in high spirits, fearful only of what they could expect for drill the next morning.  A lesson was learned that evening—no matter how insurmountable the challenge, even the greatest must fall at times.

--
Russ