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Outnumbered at Shawshank
Ohio State Reformatory Mansfield, OH August 27, 2016 With a significant number of promises from the men of meeting Capt Sharp at the Ohio Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio, we planned to spend a good portion of the day in drill, fine-tuning our skills for the next couple of events. But much of that number went…
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Preparing for Battle
Perryville Cleanup Day August 20th 2016 Perryville, KY Saturday morning on August 20–just after 9 am–we met with the park officials at Perryville Battlefield. They gave us some tools, and we headed for the hill next to Starkweather Hill. The job before us was to remove a modern wire fence that had put up after…
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Rain
I was the first of the company to arrive at Hale Farm, and found we were assigned our usual location in the woods. I started to drive my car down the trail into the woods, but rains had been pummeling the area, leaving rutted mud paths where the wheels of my car would only spin,…
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The Curse of the Captain’s Coat
Hale Farm Bath Ohio August 8-9, 2015 Courtesy Brittany Wellman Heavy rains accompanied every event where Capt Sharp’s new officer’s frock was present, including Spring Drill, Sharon Woods, and Ohio Village. This coincidental harrowing weather left the company to believe that the coat was cursed. The men offered to donate the cost of the coat…
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Unending upon the Day
Hale Farm Bath, Ohio August 9-10, 2014 It was a rough ride to Hale Farm Friday evening. I had gotten lazy and trusted the voice recognition of my smart phone when I spoke the location into the navigation. It was the correct direction out of Columbus, so it must have been correct. But when I…
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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…
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The Confederate Commander
Jackson OH August 17-18, 2013 Courtesy Keisha Waley Jackson, Ohio, so I was told, was intended to be for this one time only, in commemoration for John Hunt Morgan’s 150th year of invasion into Ohio. The event went well, and talk was that it may be brought back next year. The huge battlefield had space…
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The Farm in Blue
Hale Farm Bath OH August 10-11, 2013 With only Tim Ellifrit from the 1st Tennessee joining me, we decided we would try something different at Hale Farm this year. We enjoyed ourselves last year falling in with the 5th Texas, but my old unit–the one that got me started with Civil War reenacting was also…
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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…
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The Yankee Hoards
Hale FarmBath Ohio August 11-12, 2012 Most of the events we, the 1st Tennessee, go to seem to have a lack of jackets dyed in indigo. We’ve been to events where a few of us have to change our gray over to blue so that we can have someone to shoot at. I have wondered,…