-
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…
-
Defencing the Line
PERRYVILLE CLEANUP DAY Perryville, KY April 23, 2016 We drove down to Perryville, KY and set up camp at the Baymont Inn in Harrodsburg, surviving the night with what sounded like someone sharpening a sword with a grindstone. We broke camp early, arriving at the Perryville Battlefield at 9 am, meeting with Chad Greene for…
-
Cold and the Wet
The season of wool and gunpowder opened with battalion drill. The 44th Tennessee, 1st Tennessee, and a consolidation of the 50th Virginia, 5th Virginia, and 19th Virginia met at Hartford City, Indiana to work out the rust of the winter. I arrived at camp early Friday, finding our new 1st Sergeant, Jeff Carte, unloading some…
-
The Last
Hartford City IN October 10-11, 2015 I arrived at Hartford City late, around 7 pm and set up my camp in the fair evening weather. With my camp set up, I changed into my major’s uniform, including a new coat tailored by Jim Ruley, and headed to officers’ call at headquarters where we discussed the…
-
Touching the Sacred Grounds
Perryville, KY October 3-4, 2015 The muck and mire from a week of rain threatened to swallow our vehicles whole as we arrived in Perryville for the weekend. The air provided a spitting mist that slowly soaked our very being. Golf carts were deployed to haul our gear from the parking lot to our camp.…
-
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…
-
Slow Days
Greenville, OH July 25-26, 2015 The Gathering at Garst in Greenville looked to be a rather relaxed event. Capt Sharp couldn’t attend due to a business conflict, and Sgt Kletzli had medical issues that kept him away. Since this event was not part of the max-effort list of the 1st Tennessee and I had been…
-
The Surrender
Sharon Woods Heritage Village Sharonville, Ohio July 11-12, 2015 Courtesy David Burns Saturday morning at Sharon Woods was quiet. I didn’t feel like much for breakfast, so had a couple of slices of the banana nut bread and coffee the organizers offered. The coffee wasn’t my four-cups-in-one, but it was passable, and the bread was…
-
The Copperhead Invasion
Ohio Village Columbus, OH June 27-28, 2015 I arrived Friday to Ohio Village and carried in my gear. After Red River, I decided to travel light, although this weekend that proved to be not so good an idea. No tent, no shelter–just a ground cloth, poncho, and wool blanket to sleep in. My knapsack carried…
-
The Reformatory and the Civil War
The Ohio State Reformatory Mansfield, OH June 20, 2015 Still recovering from Red River, my apartment looking like a reenactor exploded, I rode with Capt. J.R. Sharp and his family to the one-day event at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio. We arrived at the 1st Tennessee camp to a light rain. Sgt Kevin…