-
Frozen to the Ground
150th Battle of Franklin Franklin, TN November 15-16, 2014 I set up my pitiful excuse for a dog tent, grumbling about my need to make longer uprights for it. One of these days I’ll get around to it. My pitiful dog tent No shovel, but the fire pit had to be dug. I was assigned…
-
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 Battle in Winter
150th Battle for Olustee February 15-16, 2014 Sgt Jeff Carte, his wife Trish, and I packed together in our horseless SUV on our trek for reenactment during the worst part of winter. The ground was white and the weather maps showed that the worst part of the latest storm would be gone in North Carolina…
-
Chickamudda and Camp Farbie
150th Commemoration, Battle of Chickamauga Chickamauga, GA September 19-21, 2013 We arrived and set up camp on this farm located between Pigeon and Lookout Mountains south of the city of Chicamauga. The views were spectacular. We found the Pigeon Mountain Grill about twenty minutes away to eat our first night, on Thursday. Unless Perryville last…
-
Rain and the Battlefield
150th Commemoration, Battle of Buffington Island Portland, OH July 20-21, 2013 Our camp, with us preparing to drill. Courtesy Martin Unrue. Friday night arrival through torrential downpours revealed an empty park where the event was held. We set up camp in a back corner. Buffington Island is Ohio’s only Civil War battlefield, and this was…
-
The Best and Worst of Times, Part 4
GAC 150th Commemoration, Battle of Gettysburg Gettysburg, PA July 3-7, 2013 Day 6: The Charge: Deploy the Belgians! Courtesy J.R. Sharp The last day of the event was a quiet morning. We had all day with nothing to do be pack up and rest. The battle was not until 3 pm. At seven in the…
-
The Best and Worst of Times, Part 3
GAC 150th Commemoration, The Battle of Gettysburg Gettysburg, PA July 3-7, 2013 Day 5: Bivouacked Saturday arrived, and we had already fulfilled a normal reenactment, but we were only halfway through this one. I again fried up my bacon and eggs—I brought a lot of bacon and eggs with me—and enjoyed a quiet morning. One…
-
The Best and Worst of Times, Part 2
GAC 150th Commemoration, Battle of Gettysburg Gettysburg, PA July 3-7, 2013 Day 2: The Tour Joe Bellas giving the tour. Courtesy Cookie Owens Most of the rest of the 1st Tennessee arrived around 3 am Wednesday morning, renting a hotel room for a couple of the wives to stay at, but crashing there until they…
-
The Best and Worst of Times, Part 1
GAC 150th Commemoration, Battle of Gettysburg Gettysburg, PA July 3-7, 2013 “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity…” That quote from Dicken’s A Tale of Two…
-
The Wall
Fredericksburg, VA December 8, 2012 The last event of the season finally arrived and I began my long trek to Fredericksburg, Virginia crammed into a Ford Explorer with three other guys and their gear. I joined Quinn Marcotte, Charles Russ, with Butch Foster in his SUV. It was a long 11-hour trip with Butch arguing…