The Cycle Begins Again

Hartford City, IN

May 14-15, 2016

The sun Friday as I arrived gave a false promise of good weather for the weekend at Hartford City.  I was able to keep warm through the night, almost too warm, even.

But as I rose Saturday morning to wind and occasional cold spit from the skies we struggled to keep warm around the fire as we cooked for morning breakfast, tearing our eyes through the smokey burn of cedar.  Stories of the night of canvas flying off their posts from the wind and ridgepoles falling on the tent occupants circled around the fire.

It was to be a busy day, with a morning battle immediately after parade, followed by a drill at one, and a second battle at four.  The battle scenarios for both of Saturday's battles and for Sunday's battle centered around parts of First Manassas.

We were to lose that first battle.  I brought my wing down to face the Yankee wing, and we reached a stand-off with even numbers.  Capt Sharp told me he would cause the 1st Tennessee (7th Company) to break, giving the entire wing the excuse to collapse and fall back, if only the Yankees would fire a volley by wing--or even by company.  But they continued only at independent fire--so I ordered a fire by wing, and immediately withdrew the entire wing in an apparent panic withdrawal, to give the crowds the impression of a total collapse.  We reformed and gave enough pressure only to slow the Yankee advance, but not to stop it, eventually forcing us from the field.

We sat around the fire, shifting to the fly whenever cold spit started hitting us from the heavens, fighting to keep warm in any way we could.  As the time for drill approached, Colonel  Linkous decided to cancel drill to allow us the chance to stay warm and dry.

We formed for the afternoon battle.  The colonel instructed me that I was to take my wing to face a Yankee wing that would be down at the low point in the center of the battlefield, so I took the wing at the left flank onto the battlefield.  As I crested the hill, however, I saw that the Yankees were in fact much further to our left.  I had planned on simply fronting the wing, adjusting the line with a short wheel, if needed, but this was no longer appropriate.  Without thinking that the men were at the left flank, I ordered, "Companies into Line", followed by "Forward into line on the last company".

Taking cover from an artillery blast.

If you are not a reenactor, you won't realize how difficult this can be done at the left flank.  Maneuvers like this are almost never done at the left flank--so everything is pretty much an opposite mirror of what we are all used to doing.  To do "Companies into Line", each company does "Company into line", which forms each company into a battle line.  Normally, when doing this at the right flank, the companies form off their 1st sergeant (forming to the left), but at the left flank, it's off the second sergeant (forming to the right), which can be confusing if too much thought is put into the process.  And my "Forward into line" command, which (I believe) should have been "By inversion, forward into line," would normally be followed by a left half-wheel--but because we were marching inverted, is followed by a right half-wheel instead.

I have to say, that in spite of being at the left flank, and being inverted, and my not getting the last command right, the men executed the maneuvers perfectly.  I almost regretted performing these maneuvers, because at 1st Manassas, the men would not have been drilled very well, and I am not sure that the actual soldiers would have maneuvered as well as these men did this early in the war.

Once in our battleline, I took my time advancing.  We pushed a little, and the Yankee wing advanced to face us.  But at one point, the Yankees shifted to our left to try and flank us.  The error in that plan, however, was that it forced me to cause the 1st Tennessee to refuse, putting them at an angle that caused us to be directed toward the watching crowd.  The entire Yankee line soon joined the angle, so all I could do was to answer, wheeling the wing to face them.  For safety concerns, the 4th Florida refused to fire at the direction toward the crowd--and I held no issue with that.  Those Yankees were turning the battle into a farce.  I looked to the right to see the situation that right wing was in--and the Yankees they faced were near decimated while right wing was still at full strength.  This action the Yankees were doing was a fool's errand--we were even matched.  All I needed do was to stand fast and wait for right wing to join the fray, and the Yankees would be bottled up with no where to go.

The Yankees did finally get a brain in their midst and start to retreat before our right wing could join us, allowing us to readjust our angle away from the crowd.  It was a learning experience, and after the battle we discussed the action and how to prepare to prevent the Yankees from making such a move again--so for Sunday's battle we were prepared.

The meal offered that evening was quite enjoyable, though a number of the 1st Tennessee--including Capt Sharp--stayed in camp to have some Cowboy stew, which they regretted the next morning.  Though when I and Private Farrelly returned to camp with Cherry cobbler, they couldn't help but make the trek to the mess hall to grab some desserts of their own.

Through the night Saturday I was unable to keep warm, waking on occasion to shiver out enough warmth to drift to sleep again.  Once I woke to hear the sound of rain on my canvas.

A dreary light through the canvas woke me, and eventually I heard the sounds of the 1st Tennessee as they gathered by the campfire.  I gathered myself, tied my cravat, straightened my hair, put on my coat and boots, and trudged out to the fire to give my morning greetings in a grunt that acknowledged their presence.

The day looked to be better than Saturday, with the sun peaking through the clearing skies, but started much colder.

I cooked my breakfast and headed to headquarters to get the day's schedule.

We formed for parade at 10:30, and afterward drilled for about an hour.

We formed for the battle, which was planned to be Jackson's stand at Manassas.

I took the left wing out to the left in an inverted column, bringing them on the left into line once in position.

We pushed down the hill to the Yankee wing and met with solid resistance.  Unable to push, we began to fall back, but soon our lines broke as soldiers fled back.  I reformed the wing behind right-wing, who pushed forward in force to allow us to regroup.  We dressed to the right wing and pushed. When I saw the entire Yankee wing turn to retreat, I ordered us to push, stopping only when the Yankees turned to face us. I thought of ordering the men at the double-quick, but we were already pushing faster than the colors and the right wing.

I let Capt Sharp take the 7th company off on their own to flank the wing--but the Yankees kept falling back before he had the chance.  We pushed all the way to the Yankee artillery, and Capt Sharp took the chance to capture one of the guns.  The Yankees surrendered shortly after.


Article of Event

Preserving the Battlefield

Perryville Cleanup Day

Perryville, KY

May 23, 2015

We arrived at the Perryville Battlefield early ready to work. It was their cleanup day, and we hoped we could avoid the hazards we encountered from last year.

Ten of us from the 1st Tennessee were ready to work. Chad Greene assigned us to work on a couple of out buildings and a barn at the Bottom House, all of which had been built after the Civil War.

I started work on the roof of one of the out-buildings, using a crowbar to pull up the nails and tin. I figured this was a better choice than pulling out the hundred years of garbage that had collected in the area below.

It wasn't long when all the garbage was removed and they had me come down from the roof. They had a medium-sized tractor and used it to push the structure over. It didn't have any of the supports that the barn from last year had, so the building went down quick, and we piled the rubble into piles to be taken away or burned.

I moved on to removing siding from the main barn. Fortunately, we weren't going to be involved in taking this barn down. It had as much support beams as the previous year's barn, so I was relieved from that nightmare. I worked with a crowbar for awhile, separating the tin from the wood beams they were nailed to, but I decided to follow Chad Greene's lead and use a mallet to pound the tin away.

Some of the higher pieces were tough to deal with, so several of us worked together with a long wooden post jamming away at the pieces.


With the side ripped away, Chad decided to use have the tractor begin work in pulling down part of the barn. With a chainsaw, he weakened two corner beams in the back lean-to part of the barn, and had the tractor pull with a chain.

There was enough support remaining that the roof held. He proceeded with the next inner supports, then with the other corner, continuing until all the supports were down and the roof collapsed. It was smooth and scientific.

We broke for lunch, well worn from the hard work of the morning. Hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad and beans replenished our strength.

We returned for more work, but all that remained were us from the 1st Tennessee and the Perryville staff, including Micah Trent and and a few others. The rest apparently had enough and went home.

With the roof down, Rick Compton and I worked with Steve Winston and Jackson Nyman's friend Moe all worked on stripping the tin from the fallen roof. The work was hard--a scattering of roofing screws held down the tin, making it rough to pull up until Steve and Moe pulled up all the screws with power drills.

Even with the screws up the work was hard, but eventually Rick and I figured out that by using shovels and working together, the tin rolled off like and orange peel.

While we worked on the roofing, the rest of the 1st TN either worked cleaning out the barn, or pulling up fencing.

At the end of the work, J.R. took us down the path the original 1st Tennessee took in the Battle of Perryville. We wanted to get some ariel footage, so I attempted to use my drone for some overhead video-but the Chinglish manual was a bit difficult to decipher, and so the footage did not come out.

When all was said and done, we headed back to the hotel to clean up, and enjoy a meal at the Kentucky Chocolate Factory in Harrodsburg.

Friends of Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site Facebook Page

The New Guard

Conner Prairie

Fishers, Indiana

May 16-17, 2015

A threat of rain was of some concern over the projection of warm weather, but it was a weekend I looked forward to as the first battalion event of the season.  This would be the first event with Danny Linkous as colonel of the Independent Guard Battalion.  Duane Clarke and I retained our positions of Lt Colonel and Major, respectively.  "Black" John Porter was on sick call that kept him from participating, so the colonel asked Lt Jim of the 19th Virginia to fill in as adjutant.  

The companies joining the Independent Guard included the 1st Tennessee, with members from the 9th Kentucky and 19th Virginia falling in with them, the 44th Tennessee, the 5th Kentucky, 50th Virginia, 5th Virginia, 4th Virginia, and Austin's Battalion.  5th Virginia consolidated with the 5th Kentucky to form a significant company.

With lows above sixty, it was simple to keep warm Friday night in my A, and in the morning I decided to pass on breakfast before attending the sergeant's call and officer's call.  We were to win the day's battle, but there was much question as to how it would go, since the Yankee commander was also new and unknown.  Col. Linkous had the feel that Col Jesse Poe of the Army of  Wabash had a fighting style similar to his own--one that was aggressive--so we were hopeful for a battle that would prove an enjoyable challenge.

Morning parade opened with Col Linkous taking the adjutant's role since acting-adjutant Lt Jim was not familiar with the parade duties of the adjutant, and the colonel also wanted to be sure to walk through the process with the companies to correct mistakes.

Once through parade, Col Linkous had the battalion break into separate wings for drill, I taking the left wing with the 1st Tennessee, Austin's Battalion, and the 4th Virginia.  I took the men down to the battlefield and kept drill pretty short--perhaps 10 minutes--covering the skirmish drills and wheels that Col Linkous was concerned about.  After I was satisfied with the results--the companies all seemed to handle the commands well (though I saw a little rust build-up in one of the companies), I turned the drilling over to the individual companies to drill at their discretion.

We were to win the afternoon battle.  The colonel split the battalion four ways--right wing waited on the left flank of the battlefield, among the viewing crowd, the 4th VA deployed as skirmishers to harass the Yankees, the colonel would attach to the 44th Tennessee and put pressure on the far right, while I took the left wing at the rear. 

As rain drizzled down, soaking our wool (except mine, since I was among the few who wore a poncho) I took the men down to the road we were to defend as planned, and waited.  I expected to face an entire Yankee company, but none was to be found. Instead, a small band of Henrys and a few cavalry challenged us.  The 4th VA, deployed as skirmishers faced a far stronger force near where the right wing would join the battle, but with the force before us, and I not sure where more Yankees might be hiding (was there more that would enter to our right flank?) and also not sure if the 44th TN would be able to come around in time to support us, I held ground, deployed as skirmishers instead of advancing.  The pressure was light, with the cav only briefly attempting to flank us, when the captain of Austin's expressed a bit of his impatience to put some pressure on them, though it was not until Capt Sharp decided to push forward that I moved the wing to keep up.

From that point, the battle went quick.  It seemed that for every step we took, the Henrys fell back three.  I halted the wing when the Yankees took defensive positions behind the fence.  At that time, I saw a clear opening on the right that was undefended and unnoticed. As I glanced around to see how the rest of the battle was progressing, both Capt Sharp and Austin's Captain came to me to request that Austin's take that far right position on the Yankee's flank, Capt Sharp suggesting he would provide support for the maneuver.  Since they were reading my mind, I just shouted, "Go, Go! Go!"  As Austin's got into position, only one Yankee noticed and responded, turning to direct his fire on Austin's.  Austin's managed to get a single volley off, and the Yankees surrendered, ending the battle.

The rain continued for awhile, and most of us were pretty soaked.  Everything below my knees was drenched.  The weather cleared up when we headed to the dining hall to enjoy a meal of chicken Parmesan.

Late that night, Col Linkous came to our camp in the 1st Tennessee with the Yankee commander.  We learned that Col Jesse Poe was a member of the 44th Indiana and fought us at Fort Wayne a few years back.  Our conversation directed to goals of working together to support the hobby.  I was impressed with the man, and hopeful of seeing more corroboration between the two sides of the reenacting hobby.

Through the night I struggled to keep warm since keeping dry was not possible, though remembering the frigid weather of Franklin helped to heat me.

At daybreak I fried up some bacon and eggs before heading over to officers' call.  Today we would lose, and only divide by wings, with the Lt Col detaching with the 5th KY as vanguard skirmishers.  Based on the plan Col Linkous discussed, I drilled my wing even shorter than Saturday, covering the basic maneuvers I was concerned with only twice.  The companies nailed the maneuvers each time, so I was confident that we would take the field for the battle in good order.

The sun shone brightly as we set our positions on the battlefield that afternoon.  I had my wing stack arms and rest at the back of the field, waiting for the Yankees to enter the field and engage the 5th KY.

When the fighting began, Col Linkous had me wait until the second artillery barrage to take arms and join the fight.  I advanced the wing in a column of companies, bringing them forward into line once we were within range to support the 5th KY.  We fought hard, and when the Yankee cavalry tried to flank us, I had Austin's refuse.

But it was not long before we were on the retreat.  I ordered a backward march for about ten paces.  We managed a single firing, but the Yankees kept the pressure on.  We could hardly keep up--each time I brought the men back, they were lucky to fire a single shot before having to fall back more.  The rest of the battalion soon joined up with us, but we were taking casualties all over the place.  The battle quickly turned to complete chaos--it was at the point of fast reaction and survival.  The companies were all mixed up.  At one point Capt Sharp took a hit, falling into the grass and somehow getting a blade of grass up his nose all the way into his throat.

When we fell back to the road, those of us that remained surrendered, ending the battle.

The battle was among the best I had been involved in, even though we lost.  Both days were my first commanding solo, and I found that I think I actually like losing better than winning.  When you are supposed to win, you have to be careful not to push so fast and hard as to end the battle in five minutes, but you also must take care not to leave an opening where the opposing force can take advantage of, and then alter the entire scenario (or try to save the scenario by reacting in an irrational way).  When losing, you can throw all caution to the wind and try things without regard to caution.  If your actions throw the balance in your favor, you only need to open opportunities to the enemy to give the advantage back to the opposing force.

This battle confirmed that Col Poe of the Army of the Wabash is the aggressive type of commander Col Linkous suspected.  I look forward to meeting them again.

On the Lake in Blue

Painesville OH

May 24-25, 2014

Capt Trent Boham of the 4th OVI contacted me about an event up on Lake Erie in Painesville, Ohio.  He was going up with a few of the 4th to consolidate with the 25th OVI and the 83rd PVI to form a decent-sized Yankee unit, and invited me to tag along.

We were assigned as 5th company in a five company battalion.  The battalion was led by the captain of the 41st OVI.  The Confederate forces were led by the Army of the Shenandoah with members of the 5th Texas falling in.

The grounds were small—only 8 acres for the entire event.  The Yankee numbers were solid, but the Confederate forces were in substantial need.

Since I rode in with Trent and the 4th’s Cpl Aaron, I packed light, bringing little more than my dog tent and basic essentials.  I had some cherrywood branches I used for poles that I brought along.  Unfortunately, I hadn’t really had much a chance to use them, normally setting up my A-frame.  To my dismay, the dog was a bit unstable, tending to fall over at a slight breeze.  The rare times I had set up the dog in the past I always used ropes to stabilize the shelter, but this time I realized that ropes shouldn’t be needed, so struggled to figure out why the tent would not stay up.
I had two ends to use to guide the width of the tent, and it finally occurred to me that my uprights were too short—the canvas did not have enough tension.
I was able to get to use a couple of logs to give the needed extra height, and was able to secure the tent despite having arrived at dark.  The permanent solution would be one I would have to work on later at home.

I met with some of the members of the other companies that were consolidating with the 4th OVI.  Some were NCOs—but all conceded their ranks, insisting to go only as privates.

The entirety of 5th Company--the 4th OVI Consolidated.

Particularly memorable was Ghost James, a private with the 25th OVI.  Ghost had joined Trent at a grill at Gettysburg last year, and Trent managed to goad him into eating something known as “Ghost Wings”.  These were chicken wings cooked with a sauce made with ghost peppers—which are apparently the hottest peppers in the world.  The story I was told was that Ghost first had to sign a waiver before they would bring the wings out for him to eat.  The waiter the brought out the wings while wearing chemical gloves and a gas mask.
Now—personally, the waiver would have been enough to stop me.  But James was one who would never turn down a dare.  He ate into the first wing and started on the second.  Trent noticed he still had meat on that first wing, so made him return to it.
Before he could get into the third wing, Ghost suddenly leapt from the table and rushed to the restroom.  After some time had passed, a waitress came out and said that James was asking for his captain, who was also eating with them.
Trent followed the captain into the restroom where they found Ghost in a stall shaking in an uncontrollable fit, blood dripping from his nose, eyes swollen shut, with a waitress dabbing milk on his face, saying, “You’re so brave—WE NEED MORE MILK!!”
He had somehow spread the pepper oil over his face and into his eyes.  Paramedics were called in.  They said he had to wash the pepper oil out of his eyes or he could go blind—so he immediately struggled over to the sink and begged them to get started—barely feeling the burn of the soap in his eyes over the pain of the ghost pepper oil.
To this day, Ghost cannot eat anything spicy.   He’s even lost a significant amount of weight.

The night was cold.  The weatherman had predicted a low of 50, so I thought simple blankets would keep me warm.  It must be nice to be paid for a job where you really have no clue because the temperature actually dropped to near 40, and I was constantly awakened shivering from cold.

The event promised plenty of food, so Trent and I only worried about Saturday morning meal.  He provided the eggs while I provided the bacon, cooler, and cooked.

Saturday we drilled first as a battalion, covering the few basic maneuvers we would do for the battle, then breaking into company drill.  Capt Boham led us through a few basic maneuvers, then into On the Right By File into Line—which the consolidated company struggled through—but did manage.  What I found curious was the overall Yankee commander—the captain of the 41st OVI—noticed our efforts and commented on how unusual it was for him to see companies able to pull that off so well—if at all.
The battle was unscripted—the only thing planned was that the Yankees, with their superior numbers, would win.  The surprise to me in this is that the commanders actually admitted it was to be unscripted.  Usually details are planned out as to how the battle is to go—then when the first soldier steps foot on the battlefield, the whole plan goes to pot.  I think it’s better just to admit that there is no plan.
And the battle went well.  The colonel first sent 1st company out as skirmishers, followed by us, 5th company.  We took the extreme left, steadily working our way farther left to flank the Rebels.

The Confederate forces were behind rough ground filled with large shrubs, thorns, swampy ground, and a few trees.  The undergrowth was thick and only a handful of Confederate forces were ever visible at a time.  As we pushed around, we found ourselves deep in this thick, and Capt Boham thought this to be an opportunity to take the enemy flag, pushing further to the left.
However, in the thick, Cpl Aaron lost track of the rest of the company.  He pushed forward, straight into the enemy.  He reached the clearing where the command staff stood with the flag.  Ready to rush forward to take the flag, he suddenly realized that he was alone—with no idea as to where the rest of 5th company was.  He was fortunate that he probably had surprised the Confederate forces as much as he was surprised because he was able to make a hasty retreat.

After the battle, the event held a speed shoot competition for a pound of powder.  Had it not been for that bounty, I probably wouldn’t have worried with it since I’m now spending more time on command and a bit out-of-practice with my speed.  But that powder bounty was too enticing.
Six competitors put their name in—two Confederates and the rest Yankee, including myself.  I expected to have a good showing, even if I were a bit out of practice.
They went over the rules, which had me a little concerned.  They covered nitpicking details, such as only being able to return the ramrod with your little finger—even emphasizing that you would have to repeat returning the ramrod if caught returning without using the little finger.  I was certain I could abide by these rules, but since I was not used to being concerned with that—only with the actual actions without the details the manuals specify—I rehearsed a few of the motions to be certain I would do it right.
The first competitors started and I found my concerns to be unwarranted.  Those details the judges warned about were completely missed.  The Yankee competitor slammed the ramrod back in using his whole hand.  On load he placed the butt outside his left foot instead of between his feet, and the judges didn’t notice.  It gave me relief because it also meant I could focus on getting into a fast rhythm over perfect motions.
My turn came and I faced against a short Confederate NCO.  The consolidated 4th OVI chanted my name. We started and he fired the first shot a few seconds before me.  But was able to get into my rhythm, and my second shot was about three seconds faster than his.  I simply needed to keep the rhythm, and I was certain to win.
Except that my third cartridge decided not to cooperate.  I had a little difficulty pushing the tube into the barrel and could see my competitor pulling his ramrod out of the corner of my eye, so I was falling behind.   I pulled my ramrod and tried to push the charge down—and it seized about a foot down.  No matter what I did, I could not get it rammed any lower, even bending the rod in the process.  My competitor fired his third shot and my chance was done.  I gave a few more pushes on the ramrod—finally giving up and firing off my final shot—which fizzled more that banged.

Our meal that night was catered by Boston Market—an excellent chicken dinner.

Saturday night was not quite as cold as Friday night, so I was able to get a bit more rest, though I did find myself dozing off a few times during Sunday in my chair.
No drill, no battalion parade, no flag raising—it was an easy morning after the pancake breakfast.
We did set up a scenario with Howard of the 83rd PVI.  We chased him down as a deserter and brought him before the colonel for court martial.  Upon being found guilty, we took him before the firing squad.  There was only one lone soldier made the entire firing squad.  Since I and Ghost were part of the guard detail that brought Howard to the colonel, I suggested to the first sergeant that we load and become part of the firing squad—but just as I finished my suggestion, I heard a bang and saw Howard go down.  I guess that lone shooter had a bit too much of a hair trigger.  He didn’t even wait for the commands to shoot.
But Howard wasn’t done.  He struggled up, groaning in pain.  “You call that a shot?”
So, our 1st Sgt Kinder bayonetted him.

Our hearts weren’t into the Sunday battle as much as the day before.  We were to lose, despite outnumbering the Confederate forces something like 4 to 1.  The Confederates had lost a significant number in the night, and their battalion looked smaller than a company—though they did have good musicians—which the Yankees lacked.
In order to try to give the Rebels the edge, we were instructed to not go into skirmish lines—staying compact in company formation.  For me, the battle didn’t last long.  Our first push into the bushes, I took a hit.

Yankees in Gray

Conner Prairie

May 17-18, 2014


Everything written here are my sole opinions and observations and do not represent the opinions or observations of anyone else or any organization. 

Conner Prairie gained a reputation for being very strongly favoring of Yankees and not so supportive of Confederates.  In the past, the Yankees placed pickets to prevent access to the Confederates to the park’s Civil War living history village, even though there really was no reason to. One incident in particular even caused the 1st TN not to return until this year.
This year we were given promises that access would not be restricted, so we hoped for the best, and all worked out.  I hoped, though, that none of our guys would bother the Yankee camps.
We did have a guest company fall in with us that hadn’t been part of the Independent Guard before.  This company came to us as the 4th Florida, but they were more used to wearing blue as the 4th Ohio.  We welcomed them in our ranks.
The 4th Florida was a little small in numbers, but the 154th Tennessee was able to fill them out with only a few of their numbers attending.  The 50th Virginia carried the colors as is their preference, being filled out with members of another company.  Also joining us was the 44th Tennessee, being a strong force, along with the 4th Virginia and the 1st Tennessee.  The 1st TN was a bit weak in numbers, but were helped out with three members galvanizing from the 7th Kansas.
The Saturday battle was rather simple.  The 44th TN was sent down to the left flank to face the cavalry.  The 1st TN faced Henrys on the right flank.  I took position between the main battalion force and the 44th TN to relay the colonel’s commands.
Unfortunately, the Yankees pushed us hard, with the Henrys firing like shouldered Gatling guns, blazing away like a farbie Rifleman.
The battle concluded with our numbers nearly completely decimated.
Sunday started as any Sunday—rather quiet.  I warmed my breakfast over a brazier Capt Sharp was using to keep him and Pvt Marcotte warm underneath the company fly.  We had morning parade and a very brief drill.  The rest of the day was clear until first call at 1:30 pm.
We formed up and advanced down the hill. The 44th TN led the way as vanguard, facing the cavalry and dismounted cavalry with their Henrys.  The 4th VA advanced to the right flank into the woods to hide from the Yankees.
I took position halfway between the 44th TN and the main battalion to act as messenger for the colonel.
The rest of the battalion advanced forward, facing the main Yankee battalion, but before advancing past the 44th TN, the IG double-quicked into position on the 44th’s left, pushing the Yankee cavalry back.
As the Yankee battalion advanced and the cav were put in check, we moved back into the center of the battlefield to face on the Yankees.  The colonel sent the 1st TN up the right flank to face down the unit of Henrys, while the 4th VA came out of the woods.  With so much going on, confusion could be seen within the Yankees.  The Henry unit fired away with reckless abandon, and when they were completely unloaded, the 1st TN charged upon them, forcing them to break and run, unable to reload in time.
With the Henrys out of action and the cav pushed back, we surrounded the Yankees.  We started pushing forward into the Yankees, accelerating as we saw that the Yankees had gone into disarray.   The battle ended with the 4th FL taking the Yankee flag and the 1st TN capturing the Yankee colonel.
The battle was good, with constant action and maneuvering.

The Wilderness

150th Battle of the Wilderness

Spotsylvania, VA

May 3-4, 2014

The trip was long.

I set my tent in a tight corner by the Colonel's tent.  The Independent Guard had two of the their companies—the 50th Virginia and the 5th Kentucky—in attendance, and the 2nd Florida joined us.

The morning was early.  I woke to the 4 am sound of drums in the distance.  We wrestled up and all were strongly encouraged to participate in the tactical that would have us marching out at 5:30.

The march was long, but took us into the woods where, I was told, parts of the original Battle of the Wilderness was fought.

I had never been involved in a tactical of the scale that we had—I never saw all the reenactors involved.  In the woods, the fighting was different than I was used to.  I've done this on the small scale, with a few companies wandering around—but never with several full battalions, struggling to keep their lines as trees, creeks, and underbrush got in the way.

It became a battle of confusion—Yankees first coming at us from one direction, then another.  At one point, the 5th KY, established as the third and last company of the battalion, somehow got turned around and ended up on the right wing.  And first company—the 2nd FL—vanished as they pursue some Yankees deep into the woods.  The experience was of one of the best tacticals experienced.

The afternoon battle took us onto a field that would have been huge for the numbers we're used to, but for the numbers that were there, it was a bit small.  The field was perhaps 100 yards wide, and Confederate soldiers line the entire back end of the field.

The battle was relatively uneventful.  We pretty much lined up toe-to-toe against the Yankees and blasted away until they left the field.

Courtesy Roddell Durbin

The Sunday battle held more excitement.  We were to advance into the mule shoe of the Battle of the Wilderness, but in a bit of confusion, the ANV Division completely blocked the path for us and the battalion we were relieving—so we adjusted and took up positions in the trench beside the shoe.

We were able to adjust, but it put us into a part of the scenario that we weren't fully aware of the details of.  Originally the Yankees were to take the trenches where the battalion we relieved was located three times, with the third time pushing the battalion away to where the reserve battalion would push the Yankees back.

Instead, that Confederate battalion left early—probably because the Yankees were late in their first push, so we encountered the second and third overruns, which led to terrible confusion when the Yankees expected us to break, and we didn't.  There was a bit of an argument, but someone finally pointed out that now it was starting to look stupid—so we pulled back, and the battle promptly ended.


Overall, it was an enjoyable weekend.  Sometimes these fits of confusion add to the experience.

The Village

Ohio Village

Columbus, OH

May 25-26, 2013

Having been raised in Columbus, I spent many a time at the Village and Historical Society building.  As the destination of school field trips and a museum for a quiet afternoon, I have visited every exhibit.  I have been to the Ohio Village on numerous occasions, always in a period environment.  Never had I seen anything more than a horse or people walking its streets.  So, when I rolled my car down its main street Friday evening to get to the Confederate Camp, looking around at all the period buildings, I thought, “This is different.”

Confederate camp was located in a bowl next to the Historical Society building.  Having inspected Company Q all week, and since my home was close, I chose to spend the night at home, departing after meeting with the federal officers that evening for the overall battle plans, returning in the morning in time for the officer’s meeting.

That weekend I determined that restroom facilities were woefully inadequate.  Not having been released from my duties of inspection of Company Q, I determined the location of every facility on the grounds, including one in the village square, one in the hotel, the porta-johns on the south-side of the village, the two on the first floor of the building, one in the auditorium, and one on the second floor of the building.   I personally inspected every facility in the building, finding the one in the auditorium to be the best, having the most modern treatments, though the one located across the lobby from the exit to the village offered a lock to give complete privacy.  Although, I felt sorry for the pair of boys who needed the facility after my inspection had completed.

Yes, my inspection of Company Q has not been pleasant.

But anyway, the overall weekend was spectacular.  It was our goal to set a new standard.  We decided that our intent would be to tell a story, and not just put on a show.  So, for Saturday, the Federals started in possession of the town.  We were to fight our way into the town and push the Federals out.  Sunday would be the reverse.

Capt Sharp was overall Confederate commander, and with three companies, we needed to form as a battalion, so the Provisional Copperhead Battalion was formed for the weekend.  Capt Sharp (brevetted to Colonel), asked for me to serve as his adjutant, with Major Gary Evens on staff.  Present were the 4th Kentucky, 5th Kentucky, and 1st Tennessee.

It was an interesting time, to say the least.  I prepared Bvt Col Sharp ahead of time with the list of tasks for morning parade, to which he felt overwhelmed  until I pointed out to him that his only job was to look pretty.  During parade, it’s the adjutant that has all the work—the commander just nods approvingly.

We were ready for battle.  The Saturday afternoon battle started with the Federals in charge of the village.  The 4th Kentucky, under Major Evens, began the assault in skirmish lines.

Bvt Col Sharp led the 1st Tennessee, while I led the 5th Kentucky into the battle.  As we pushed into the buildings, the 5th KY started down a center gap between two buildings—but I saw a federal unit (the 76th OVI) slip into a gap on the other side of a building, getting ready to flank us.  Quickly ordering a change of fronts, Capt Steiner got his men lined up and firing on the federals just as they came out of the gap.  But we were too close.  I ordered another maneuver to flank the Yankees and push them back into the gap.

We tried to follow them into the street, but were pinned in the gap between buildings.  I remembered something we did at Guyandotte, where we took the long way around a building to sneak up behind a Federal unit, and suggested this to Capt Steiner.  We began trekking around, but I think Bvt Col Sharp was concerned about being left opened, so stopped us before we could complete the maneuver.  We ended up taking the occasional pot-shot until we were no longer pinned in that gap.

I found out later that had we taken that move, it may have been more aggressive than the Federals could have handle, and ended the battle in a hurry.

Once we took the town, Bvt Col Sharp had members of the 1st Tennessee deployed as pickets.  However, we he noticed they were being deployed without bayonets, he had me go around to get their bayonets fixed.  Being that we were now full in a scenario in front of the public, I hammed up the role playing first person battalion officer barking at the privates who were improperly doing picket duty.  I hope I didn’t upset any of them—I was just filling a role.  The last pickets I reached were ready—they had their bayonets fixed.  I found out, though, Sgt Kletzli started racing around to let the pickets know to get their bayonets on or I’d be screaming at them.  But what does that matter?  As far as a superior officer knows, duty is either being performed or it is not.

A “resurrection” was never performed, as is usual for reenactment battles.  Instead, the dead and wounded became part of the scenario.  The proportion of dead and wounded to soldiers was researched and matched.  Wounded were brought to a doctor’s station, while the dead were piled together (though, fortunately, not on top of each other).

The evening provided a healthy supper.  The frozen fruit salad appealed to my rather argumentative intestines.

For the Sunday battle, we started with possession of the village.  Pickets were placed, each company providing a shift.  The 4th Kentucky took last shift, to be in position for the start of the battle.

The Federals pushed us pretty hard, forcing us to retreat through the town back to the fields.  At one point, Capt Steiner took a hit, and the 5th begged not to leave him behind, so I sent one volunteer to rescue him.  When I saw the Federals start to roll out an artillery piece and that we were starting to get left behind by the rest of the battalion, I realized I should have sent two volunteers.  I rushed out to help carry Capt Steiner to shade.  When I got back to our line, we were in trouble.  The men were waiting—not knowing what to do—but in a position to be obliterated if that cannon fired.  I ordered an immediate about-face and double-quick to get us back with the rest of the battalion.

Courtesy Columbus Dispatch

We made a final assault in echelon, marching ten paces behind the 1st Tennessee, with the 4th Kentucky ten paces behind us.  It was not long before things started falling apart.  I lost the 1st sergeant, and after that I could not keep the unit marching straight, having to point with my sword through the center files which direction “forward” was.  It had certainly become chaos at that point.  By this time, the 1st Tennessee was in retreat, and the 4th Kentucky was gone from a canister blast.  Time to go home.  I ordered us to fall back.

Despite my painful inspections of Company Q, this was one of the more memorable events for me.  I look forward to a return next year, and hopefully, Company Q will not be in attendance.

Columbus Dispatch article

The Rebel Invasion

May 18-29, 2013

Conner Prairie, Fishers, IN

We are a band of brothers

I hadn’t been to Conner Prairie since 2006, long before I started getting serious into this hobby.  The 1st Tennessee had a bad experience there a few years back—the same year I started getting heavy into this hobby—and haven’t been back since.  This weekend they chose to attend Sharon Woods, in Sharonville, but the Independent Guard went to Conner Prairie so my duties as major called me Indiana, especially with Gettysburg coming up, and I needing to be involved in the drills.

Native to the soil

The weekend started simple enough—I arrived early and set my tent next to the colonel’s, then dug the fire pit.  I loaded us up with firewood, which was pretty easy considering the wood pile was about ten paces from the pit.  A quick run to porcelain and I could see the sutlers a short hop away, so remembered my need to buy an extra set of stars for my brevet promotion for Gettysburg.  Absolutely everything was close.  Even the battlefield was close—you could practically give a swift kick to a nearby cannon and watch it roll down the hill right onto the battlefield.

There was just one little caveat—apparently the Yankees were playing at some sort of game.  They set up pickets to their camp, and all Confederates were prohibited entry.  You might think this would make sense—after all, we’re supposed to portray enemies—but this was to continue even through the night, after the public had gone home.  Even then, the occasional event where this occurs is okay—but where I’ve seen this, there is always a way around it.

Nationals make sense for this—such events are too big and where the reenactor out too much—you aren’t even interested in entering the camp of the other side.  But although Perryville played this game, they offered an out—they could enter camp with an escort.

Conner Prairie had numbers of about one hundred per side—not exactly a large event.  Often we have friends on the other side we’d like to visit with.  The 4th Ohio Company B, for example—my original company when I first started Civil War reenacting—was there.  But there was more there—the Yankee Camp was in a small period village, an exhibit called “The Civil War Journey”, and many of the Confederate soldiers had a desire to visit this exhibit.  So, the “out” we agreed upon with the Yankee commander—where Confederates could enter exhibit—was that they had to remove their coats, and women could have no confederate pins.

Fighting for our liberty with treasure blood and toil

We understood that for the public they wanted to follow this impression.  And when the public went home, the exhibit was closed.  We agreed to the removal of coats and no pins and pass the word on to the individual companies, thinking all would be well.  Of course, we as Confederates have no such restrictions.  The issue was put to rest, thinking that all was well.

But it appears that the Yankee commander must think there is a Confederate spy behind every tree.

Anyway, the Saturday battle went well—we were supposed to lose, so we pushed on the field, and then let the Yankees push us off.  I saw the 4th Ohio push aggressively, so I though about sending last company, on my wing, out to flank them to stop their advance—but alas!  They only had three survivors.  That plan was not going to work.

After that rather extraordinary feast the park supplied, I joined the Lt Colonel and the 50th Virginia for a round of cards they called “Screw your Neighbor”.  It was not something I had heard before, and as they described it, it was a rather strange game.  The best way to describe it is that it was like Uno, with a normal deck of cards, and a small, but very strange, twist.  Needless to say, I began to understand the appeal as the night wore on and a couple of them had a few shares of whiskey.  Still, it wasn’t Euchre.  But, in a pinch, it’ll do.

Sunday morning drill provided a good experience as to what we could expect for Gettysburg, as the Lt Colonel took command for drill, and I filled the Lt Colonel position.  It was a very good experience, and I learned a bit of what to expect—and how I can work with the Lt Colonel to make Gettysburg the best experience for everyone.  I am more anxious than ever for Gettysburg.

We also learned of the treatment our soldier got attempting to visit that Civil War Journey exhibit.  One report we got was that our soldier refused to remove his coat—well he was warned, and there was nothing to be done about that.  But another report of another soldier was that he did remove his coat, but he refused to remove his kepi, so was prohibited entry.

Now, we did not agree to the removal of hats.  Everyone in the Civil War period wore hats—it was taboo to go outside in public without one.  They might just as well go without trousers as without hats.  Yes, a civilian hat would have allowed passage, and many Confederate reenactors wear civilian hats (myself included most of the time), but many reenactors only have one hat—that being either a military kepi or forage cap.  So the rule for hats—which we never agreed to—basically outright blocked about half of the Confederate reenactors from entering the exhibit.

And when our rights were threatened,

So, Colonel Julian hatched a plan.

The cry rose near and far—

The Sunday battle was every bit as good as Saturday’s.  I saw a few more crowd there, probably due to the better weather (there was a bit of rain Saturday morning), and the Yankees kept us busy working to take our victory.

I did hear a small complaint from a captain or two from our battalion that the field for us to work in was too small.  They did cut off a good portion of the battlefield used in the past so the public could get in closer to the action, but I think all it did from our perspective is add to the challenge.

After the battle, we reformed, cleared weapons, charged the crowd, then marched in column behind the Yankee battalion.

All the way to their camp.

Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears the single star.

It was quite a long hike—but it was worth it.  To see their stunned faces as we crossed the bridge where the pickets had stopped our men before was a prize to be treasured.  We marched around the square, serenading them with “The Bonnie Blue Flag”.

The bridge where the Yankee pickets restricted access.

I’ll step on a bit of a soap box here and make my point—this is just a hobby, and most of us have friends of both sides—some even play on both sides.  Giving the public an authentic experience is one thing—and okay to me—but give us a way around it (removing hats is not a way around it).  In my opinion, the only place it is appropriate to completely ban the opposing sides in the hobby from the other’s camp would be at a national event—but even then, what does it matter after hours when the public has gone home?  Sometimes, we only see our friends at reenactments.  This thing that the Yankees pulled at Conner Prairie is the single big reason the 1st Tennessee has not returned.  It led to an incident they have not forgotten, and are not likely to forget any time soon.  I have to ask those Yankees responsible—of what value is that anyhow?  Would you rather there not be any Confederates at the event—perhaps make it a living history only?  The 1st Tennessee is not the only group I’ve heard that has issue with this policy.

Although the access issue mattered little to me personally, I felt angered for the treatment of men under my authority.  No, I don't offer a solution--but a solution does exist.

In spite of this, we did have fun.  It is an event I will remember--and like I said, we were close to everything, while the Yankees had quite the hike to get to sutlers, dinner, and the battlefield.  I think if Confederates go and just accept that the Yankees are to be left alone in their little corner, then the rest of the weekend can be enjoyed.  Perhaps our little escapade through their camp sent our message.

Edit:
I want to reiterate that the weekend in general was good--I would return.  Set aside the issue with the Yankees, and all is good--very good.  Perhaps the best way to handle this weekend is to simply not deal with the Yankees--they are going to be trouble, so just let them be.  We were treated well by the coordinators, and it was well worth the trip.  As for the Yankees--well, that indigo dye messes with your head.  Apparently some readers had a different impression from what they read.


Conner Prairie Facebook Page

YouTube video

Living History in Middle School

May 25, 2012

Heritage Middle School

Hilliard OH

Setting up camp Thursday evening for a school day on a field at Heritage Middle School in Hilliard OH we saw promise as a handful of kids came to watch us set up.  We have seen many times where kids seem to know nothing about the Civil War and are left to wonder at the failing of our school system when they don’t teach history.  I’ve even heard the question, “So which war was the Civil War?”  But the teachers we encountered at Heritage Middle School had an honest passion for teaching their kids, and the kids had an honest passion for learning.

We demonstrated a little on Thursday—I performed a short speed-loading demonstration, firing off three rounds in a minute two seconds (a little slow for me).  They were even fascinated by watching Sgt Mott start the campfire with flint and steel.

We had to be very conservative with the wood for the campfire—we only had about enough wood to burn during the actual demonstrations, so extinguished the fire for the night.

Morning started early.  The school served Danishes at 6:30, and at around 7 the first group of eight graders came through.  We had four stations for the kids and had little break.  First station was Doc Gill for medical, a couple of the ladies demonstrated at another station, Sgt Mott and I demonstrating the soldier’s camp life and gear at a third station, and Sgt Shaw, Cpl Carte, and Pvt Wiseburger drilling at the fourth.  Each station was to last about half the class period so the kids could rotate through at least two stations per period.  We had about six or seven periods over the day, and I got to know Sgt Mott’s spiel pretty well by the end of the day.  Our sessions went long enough that we often missed when the kids rotated, not realizing they had switch sessions (sometimes they wondered between stations on their own) until we found ourselves repeating answers to questions.

It was  a good time, and we are looking forward to doing it again next year.

The Season Begins

Sharon Woods, Sharonville OH
May 19-20, 2012

Arriving Friday evening, we set up camp in rather cramped quarters.  Expecting to have sufficient space reserved for us, the camp organizers decided we didn't need all that space, so gave half our space to the Confederate Marines.  We somehow managed to make it work, though we occupied every square inch left to us.  We barely had space for a fire pit.

Rick Hahn of the 76th Ohio stopped by and chatted with us for a bit.  He's a good friend of the 1st Tennessee, and it is always a pleasure to make a target of him and his unit for the battle.  He was to be on the battalion staff for the battle.  He complained a bit of one of the Federal units--some "Red Legs" or something--a Kansas unit. Basically they were Jayhawkers.  As Capt JR Sharp put it--they might as well had been reenacting Al-Qaida. 

Not really a promising start.  But there are yahoos at every event--we can always make our fun through things.

Saturday morning brought us a new recruit--Shawn Swart.  He was looking for a unit to fall in with at Sharon Woods and got in touch with me through cwreenactors.com.  From everything I can tell of him, he's going to fit right in with our company.  I'm looking forward to seeing him more.  He joined us for a few Euchre games--said he hadn't played for 15 years, but I think he was just hustling us.  He and Matt Moser (aka "Satan") played against JR and I and broke our winning streak.  Unfortunately he did not get to fall in with us during the battle--the battalion commander felt some of the other units needed their numbers brought up so had him fall in with the 9th Kentucky.

The battle was hot, but it seemed to go slow--nothing but straight forward and back for the better part of the battle.  Capt. Sharp finally got bored and double-quicked us into a flanking position around the Federal forces; which, in my opinion, should have been done much sooner.  After all, General Lee is famous for flanking the enemy, so I'd assume most of the decent leaders in battle would also attempt to outflank the enemy whenever they could.  We did got a lot of heavy fire in--many of nearly emptied our cartridge boxes. My musket got so hot that even the stock around the barrel was starting to get too hot to handle.

I'm not really sure how to convey my overall impression of the weekend, other than that it had a sort of "weird" jibe.  Maybe it was the Kansas Jayhawker unit.  Maybe it was from being cramped up.  Maybe it was the near zero sutlers (unless you needed a hoop skirt). Maybe I'm just crazy.  I enjoyed the weekend--but it felt weird.  If Sharon Woods conflicts with Conner Prairie again next year, I might throw my vote in for Conner Prairie.

The Sunday battle was a big improvement over Saturday, even though we were supposed to lose on Sunday.  We lost a few soldiers, but gained Shawn, the new recruit.  Our objective was to support the Confederate retreat, starting in the town.

Our unit deployed as skirmishers beside the train depot.  Cpl Jeff Carte and I were deployed on the other side of the depot to prevent being flanked.

The federals pushed us pretty good--in fact it was a bit more than we had expected, which is always good since normally they don't seem to push at all.  We were to hold the Federals back as long as we could, then the plan was that at the bend from the village to the main battlefield, Capt Sharp would take a hit as the signal for us to start dying in progression--and have our line fall apart as the Federals fired on us.

The fire was heavy.  The hip machine-gun fire from the Henrys went ignored.  We were pushed back to the bend and held fast as long as we could, then JR went down.

At first we were slow to take hits.  I still had a number of rounds, so was indecisive about when I should go down.  But when Sgt Mott went down, we all started dropping like flies.  It seemed barely 30 seconds from when Sgt Mott went down when the only ones left were Sgt Nyman and myself.  I formed up beside him and he immediately warned me he was going down.  The Yankees seemed a little slow to offer that opportunistic shot, but it came and Jack was down.  Since I was the only one left, I looked over the Yankee line to see if I would get a shot from them, but none seemed ready to shoot.  It felt silly standing there waiting  to be shot, so I loaded my musket, all the time hoping a shot would come before my musket would be considered "hot" and therefore should be fired before I went down.  But no such luck for me--the shot from the Yankees only came as I was firing my musket.  Well, I did go down right in front of the public--I hope it was quite a show for them.

The weather for the weekend could not have been better--cool enough at night to require two blankets, but sunny and almost too warm during the day.  Those that campaigned it didn't complain much about the cold--they found ways to keep themselves comfortable by the fire during the night.

In General Rosecrans stomping grounds

When you go to an event in the hometown of a Federal general, you’d expect to see a decent showing of Yankees.

The first and biggest mistake of the event held at Sunbury, Ohio--hometown of General William Rosecrans--was to schedule the event opposite two larger events (Conner Prairie, Indiana, and Sharon Woods in Sharonville, Ohio).  For the Saturday battle, we kept worrying that there’d only be three Yankees to shoot.  We figured we’d have to shoot them about 40 times each to make a decent battle.  There were a few more than that, at least, but the Rebels still outnumbered the Yankees.

As a warning to the event coordinators—do not schedule the event on this same date next year.  The 5^th Kentucky was the only Confederate unit there—there were three of us from the 1^st Tennessee (the official 1^st Tennessee event was Sharon Woods), and we fell in with the 5^th KY.  If this event is on the same date next year, the 5^th KY has a prior commitment, and won’t be there.  The 1^st Tennessee will be going to Sharon Woods, and I can assure you that the three of us at Sunbury this year will be going to Sharon Woods next year.  If you choose a different date, not only will you have the 5th KY, but probably a signficant number from the 1st Tennessee, as well.  So, unless you want nothing more than a 10 Yankee living history, a different date is highly recommended.

But besides that—it was a decent event, although the previous year was better.  The organization that was to supply the food bailed on them at the last minute, so the Saturday meals left something to be desired—a bagel for breakfast and a hot dog for dinner.  At least they had some time to prepare for a good Sunday breakfast of eggs and sausage.

I don’t really like to complain about inefficiencies of an event, because I always enjoy myself and want to see the event return for the next year.  It will take a lot to turn me against an event, and Sunbury is no different.  I enjoyed the event, and I want to see it return.  I say that so that a few criticisms can be taken seriously.  Although I was rather disappointed with the food, I can understand since your promised help failed to live to their promise.  It wasn’t the worst food I had at an event, anyhow (it’ll be tough to get worse than Granville’s last year in the mid-2000s—Ohio re-enactors are still talking about that).  But the event should have some kind of security during the Saturday battle.  This battle is fought on the streets around the town square, and not much was roped off, cars were parked in the battlefield area (nothing like firing a sniper shot through the window of a Honda Civic), and the public often did not know where they needed to be to stay out of the way of the infantry and cavalry.  It worked out, but there was the potential for something to go seriously wrong.  Sunday’s battle, held offsite at a local park, was at least clearly roped off, so the public had no question where they needed to be, but it would have been nice for those of us (like me) that are from out of town to have a nice sign at the park entrance for the battle.  A little public Frisbee golf course sign, with no park name, kind of threw me—I drove for 10 minutes out the highway before I realized that I must have missed it.

Even though this is an in-town event and small, these kinds of events are idea for finding new recruits.  Being a more laid-back environment, you can take the time to drill them sufficiently for the battle so that they can truly feel like they are a part of the company.