Vicksburg (Pukesburg): A Ranger's AAR

[Vicksburg Dave]

First of all, on behalf of Vicksburg NMP and the living history crew, I want to give a Huzzah to Pat Landrum for putting the event together and to all of you guys for helping with interpretation at the park. My crew just finished cleaning up after the event, and all of your pards are in some much needed air conditioning on their way home.

For those of you who did not attend, it was scorching hot, and a lot of good folks suffered in order to make the event a success. The mosquitos, chiggers, and sundry other annoying insects feasted on the guys during night. Then the sun came out with its own brand of punishment. After that, we spent most of the day dealing with visitors, doing interpretation, and looking after heat fatigued campaigners. (We set up a cold room in the maintenance area and parked guys there until they recuperated.) Most recovered in a short time and went back on the line.

Highlights of the event, from my point of view, was allowing visitors to see what life was like for the soldiers of 63 during the siege, serving our gun along with another artillery unit, and watching Bill Backus eat chitlins for the first time. Too Bill's credit, he kept the chitlins down, and disappointed us all.

I especially want to thank you guys for allowing our volunteer gun crew to participate in the event. The kids have never particpated in a reenactment, and events such as these provide them with an introduction to the hobby, helping them to understand the value of authenticity.

We were especially gratified at the donation of uniforms and funds to the living history program as a result of this event. The crew recieved a selection of hats, jackets, and trousers, that were very much needed. Without those donations several of our youngsters would not have been able to participate in the event. I will see to it that they are worn in a proper manner with pride. Nevertheless, I had to put one youngster, "Popsicle Boy" down in the Confederate lines because we did not have a Union uniform to fit him. (A kindly mother gave him a popsicle, which he proceeded to eat while wandering around the CS camp :mad: )

In conclusion, it was a pleasure to have you guys at the park. You put a lot of hard work into the event, and we look forward to more interpretive opportunities wth you in the future. Maybe in a spring or fall? :)

[boreguard]

I echo your compliments to Patrick Landrum, and those who helped him with all the work that I know goes into any sort of event. The effort and hard work it takes to plan, coordinate, and excecute is not taken on by many, but thank God for those willing.

It surely smelled hot and hot it was, but I'm never dissappointed when I get to participate in this hobby...unless there's some pirates around !

Good to meet you David; yourself, Terry, Rick, Robbie and the others are all great assets to the site.

Bully !

[Dale Beasley]

HOOAH FOR PATRICK LANDRUM

From a military viewpoint this event was on the money. I will not be able from a Living Historian viewpoint be able to write an AAR as well as others who have been in the hobby longer but I want to add a few points.

-This event from a military viewpoint was done very well. The logistics, operations and the soldier support was totally complete and well thought thru.

-The conditions that were endured were very realistic. The climate and conditions could not have given a Living Historian a more first hand viewpoint than was lived these past three days. My thought now is… Vicksburg was lost before it was even started. That thought could not be more real than what was endured by those who were there this past weekend. I said several times this weekend that an Army functions on its Water, Weapons and their Colons enough said.

-The Command and Staff did their homework. The heat was what the Active Military calls “CAT-5”, folks that translates as “Hot as Hell”. We had several heat causalities, and the Command was on top of it. This event could not have gone off without the professionalism of the WIG Staff.

One more thing, I lost 5 pounds.

Mission Complete.

[MercyAngel62]

I wasn't there but from the concept Pat was telling during the planning stages of the event, I knew that the participants would have a great time……the only thing I can say is…..the confederates can thank me for the amount of food they received than the amount Pat wanted to give them. :p

When I saw the land, with the walk through with Pat in January, I knew the event participants wouldn't be disappointed.

Hats off to Pat Landrum for all his hard work and to everyone else involved in the planning for this past weekend.

[huntdaw]

Man, it was hot! Man, it was humid! Man, the mosquitoes were vicious! We had grits. No pie. Now I like grits but these were just grits which makes for pretty bland fare. Interesting thing about grits. It's basically middlings from the corn grinding process. Feed them to people and they're called grits. Feed them to hogs and they're called shorts.

I was absolutely miserable - probably the most physically miserable I have been at any event I have ever been to, but I also got some insight into what the real boys in the Confederate lines went through during the siege. And, trying to be a 'glass half full' guy I figured the poor Federals had to be hotter than we were in those dark blue coats. Some were in state jackets and that padding had to make it even worse. They had a better menu though from what I heard.

After getting my heat drained body back to the parking area it felt really good to change and get in that air conditioned car but despite the discomfort I experienced, I feel the event was a worthwhile effort to attend. It was a challenge and a learning experience which is what I like to have when I attend something.

[burt60]

Pat, NPS and coordinators

Awesome job, I had had a great time, the food was good, thanks Charles and co. (Thanks again for the Ice)

Jim Butler did a great job ensuring we all hydrated and did no push us if we felt fatigued. Common sense goes a long way.

I thought the US trenches looked real, boxes thrown all over, shelters thrown up heartedly, paper rappers everywhere, it was a picture perfect mess. (Don’t know if Mr. Hicks enjoyed his walk through)

Thanks for the ride Mitch I got a new pard.

Over all great event.

Dennis I had to look twice but I thought I saw Pirates of the Cairo. I still contest the four of us could have took that Fort.

[Vicksburg Dave]

I thought the US trenches looked real, boxes thrown all over, shelters thrown up heartedly, paper rappers everywhere, it was a picture perfect mess.
I had the same exact thought when I inspected the trench on the way down to the final ceremony. That trench has not looked that authentic since July 1863. You guys made it happen.

It's a real pleasure for us when folks like you donate your knowledge and skills to enhance our efforts to remember the fallen.

As for the heat, yes, the sun played a significant role in 1863 as well. Check out this diary entry by a member of the 8th Wisconsin on June 31, 1863:

"The next morning early we started to march back to Haines Bluff. The weather was very warm and as we marched across fields and through the corn which was high as our heads, many of the men were overcome with the heat. The Brigade that was with us was composed of men who had no experience of the southern climate, and many of them died of sunstroke. Why we made such a hurried march we could not tell, and Gen Kimball was damned on every side. "

[boreguard]

Burt, sorry I didn't get to say hello personally, but hope to see you this Fall. As to the Fort, yea we could've taken it but we'd had to dump some pirates out to sea for burial !
See ya,

[BenjaminLDavis]

2007 - Immortal 600 was cool, Shiloh was rainy and chilly, Vicksburg was so hot the fire
ants were ablaze . . . I have been to my share of hot events, and have never previously
been a straggler EVER, but I had to break with tradition and not go out in the trenches for
a second round, and there were about 10 of us who were felled by the heat.
And when I saw Kiev and Pat talking to our Federal commanders, I knew the Johnnies must
be faring little better. There is heat, and then there is Vicksburg.

But I still had a great time, and would like to thank Pat for all the hard work he put into this
one. Our valiant cooks both feed and motherhenned us, as did all of our officers and non-
coms (a special thank you to Joe L - I did not know a First Sgt. could sweat that much!)
To "Senator Tick," we will debate again, sir! Poague, I hope you had some blood left in you
after the 'squitters were done.

I would enjoy doing this one again, with the wish that the temperatures were somewhat
less hellish and just a tad more temperate! Until then, drink lots (and be sure to have
some water with yer whiskey or rum!)

[Alamo Guard]

Just taking a break from playing connect the dots with my chigger bites and thought I would say how much I enjoyed the event.
Mother Nature tried her best to stop the event with her heat and rain but we survived.
Kepis held high and a loud "Huzzah" to Pat (want some roasted rat, Dusty?), the staff and the other event organizers. Second of all a rousing cheer, to the National park Staff. They were all professional, knowledgeable and went out of their way to ensure we enjoyed ourselves. Some of the best park folks Ive come across. Lastly a bow to all the folks I served with in the field, you humbled me with your presence. It was great to see alot of old possums and meet some new ones.
For those who opted out of this event, you missed a good one:)

[Clsinclair]

I can't recall where I read this but one officers was quoted as saying during the Seige of Vicksburg, "I am losing more men to the heat than I am from the Confederate bullets".

Regards,

Claude Sinclair

[Suppelsa]

For those of you who did not attend, it was scorching hot, and a lot of good folks suffered in order to make the event a success. The mosquitos, chiggers, and sundry other annoying insects feasted on the guys during night. Then the sun came out with its own brand of punishment. After that, we spent most of the day dealing with visitors, doing interpretation, and looking after heat fatigued campaigners. (We set up a cold room in the maintenance area and parked guys there until they recuperated.) Most recovered in a short time and went back on the line.

Good to hear the weekend went well. I was at a local event which was dry, with a low in the 50s and the high in the 70s with no mosquitos.:D:D

Chris Suppelsa

[Cpt Boone]

Hat's off to Pat. Did a great job! Dave, great working with you and the volunteers. We had some great section fires. Sorry you missed the Sat. night firing. We enjoyed being the "rapid fire" battery. Hope to see you again at the park soon.

[LibertyHallVols]

First, my sincere thanks to Pat, the NPS staff, and all those that put on this event. Anyone who organizes one of these things has my respect and I thought this event was "well done" (please pardon the double entendre).

I learned a lot this weekend:
Mississippi skeeters sound a lot like stukas.
Chigger bites itch like hell.
Rat tastes better than I expected.
Strong chicory tastes a lot like the contents of a spitoon.
Hydration is not the only key to staying healthy in the heat.
When the Pumpkin Patch Mess offers to give you a lift to an event, TAKE IT!! (Thanks, gents!!)

Now that I am at home in the AC (there I go again!), comfortable except for the potpourri of bites from various species of critters, I have intense respect for the suffering of The Old Fellows at Vickburg in '63. I wouldn't say that I had "fun", but that's not why I do this sort of event. I would say, however, that it met my expectations in most ways and exceeded my expectations in a few others.

It was great putting faces with a lot of folks I have only known on-line or by phone for years and seeing old friends I'd not seen in quite some time!!

...now to find some Caladryl...

[Matt Woodburn]

Let's see here....mosquitos, ticks, chiggers, fire ants and more. I'd like to see if the current city of Vicksburg leaders would consider changing the city name to VICKSBUG, MS (about half of them already pronounce it that way so it should not be a stretch). One of you locals see if you can work that onto the docket for the next town meeting.

I would like to thank Pat Landrum, the park staff and everyone who had a hand in making this event happen.

It was great to meet so many guys that I see here on the forum and put a face with a name.

Thanks to all the guys in First Platoon of Co. A, 20th Alabama Infantry. I never heard a grumble all weekend with the numerous water details. It was a pleasure falling in with you.

Thanks to Kiev for helping me clean my rats. Once we got going with them, I gutted, he skinned and they were done in short order. Eating rat with you other brave souls was the highlight of my weekend. I'll post some pictures soon.

[Eureka Independent]

Hi All,

Man , It was a Great event. Well worth the trip out from AZ Teritory! It was Hot and Humid. That is for sure!

Thansk to Pat and the NPS for a Sellar event. It was a grand time. Thanks to the fellows in Co F for allowing me to be their butter bar LT. & Thanks to Terry Sorch y for the commisary & to Charles Heath & the Cooks for keeping us in beans & good grub!

Mr Crab's Suttlery was wonderful & added just the right "behind the line" feel to the event when we weren't on the line in " the big ditch";) Ginger beer is just the ticket in the evening.

Thanks also to the Federal Comand Staff. It was a real pleasure to see old pards , Make new ones & to serve on the line with all of you.

All the best

Don S

[boozie]

All I can really say about Vicksburg is WOW! I have a very new perspective about the siege and the men who lived through it. As I sat on top of the 20th Alabama works and looked at the Federal zig zag lines, I thought about the men who really dug those lines, and to think that we had a hard time in two days. It's no wonder so many men died on both sides from exposure.

Thanks to Pat Landrum and the Vicksburg NPS for this unique opportunity. At times i'm sure I was not the best private in the ranks of company B. It was a hard two days, but they are two days I will always remember and appreciate. The Vicksburg critters made their presence known day and night. The heat was very brutal at all times. I think a snake crossed my left foot as I was sleeping the first night.

The three high points of the event for me were:

1.) The rats, I swore before the event I would not try them. They were not bad, although the curled little frying pan feet made me think twice.

2.) An unexpected visit from a friend who crossed the lines, thanks to Preston Todd for the tobacco, newspapers and crackers. That was really a cool moment and I had nothing to return in trade. Thanks Preston!

3.) Going on fatigue duty and at the spur of the moment, five of us crossed the lines to surrender to the Federals. The Federals asked why we crossed to surrender, we said we were hungry. They asked if we would sign parole papers, anything for food was our reply.
That was a great moment standing in front of the paroling officer under guard, giving our information and signing the papers. Charles Heath, John Crabb and the Federal soldier who's name I do not know that took us to the sutler's tent, God bless you all. We were treated with great kindness and did not leave hungry.

Am I sorry I went to Vickaburg? No Would I do it again? You bet!

Thank you company B, it was a pleasure serving with all of you, it's guys like you that can make a hard event enjoyable.

[theknapsack]

Well, I had fun. The highlight for me by far was finally being able to see the Vicksburg Battlefield; being from Chicago it is hard for me to get that far south. That battlefield is awesome.
The position we were in was great, and the trench was well restored (not eroded). I had a lot of great period conversations, plus about 605433 puns about my name (William H. Cool, the opposite of the event). I too enjoyed seeing old people and meeting new.
A few highlights from the event for myself were:
1. Being on a battlefield, no matter what, is always worth the ride.
2. I enjoyed the trench warfare, or the lack thereof of the lull that should have been constant. Either way it was fun, and a rare if non-existent occurrence to be able to shoot from an original trench position.
3. Good period conversations and fairly steady firper were maintained at least until saturday night, then on and off after that. I think the heat helped break down the discipline, understandably.
4. Experiencing a little bit of "the life on the line" including trenches, food, conversations, boredom, and the extreme heat.

Overall, excellent event. Worth every one of the 14 hours of my drive.
Pat, well done.

[unclefrank]

If I were 20 years younger!

[Terry Sorchy]

Gents,
First off let me say THANKS to the Vicksburg NPS for letting us participate in an event that was truly one of a kind and memorable. This was my first time to the battlefield and it is an awe inspiring place. Pat Landrum- Bully Job putting this one together young pard O mine. Pat did many behind the scenes things that arnt known to make this event come off this well. Kevin and Brian, excellent job as Senior Cpt and Adj.
The trench warfare, the outstanding job the Johnnies did and even the crappy hot weather made it for a very special event.
Now, my Company, Comany F. Well boys what can I say. Joe, Tim, Andy, Ken, Eric, Dan, and Scott, as NCO's you were AMAZING. You ALL knew your jobs well and performed them perfectly. You took care of the men and made sure water details were done efficiently and often. My Lt. Don Smith, THANK YOU for coming out and really doing an exceellent job leading second platoon. The men well, you were the best 34 men I have commanded. I REALLY missed being in the trenches with you Saturday night. You all studied up on the 56th and were for the most part all in first person which always greatly enhances the experience.
When we did maneuvers, and we did some that have not been done in awhile, i.e breaking by platoons etc. you were spot on. We even advanced as skirmishers to the rifle pits to try to draw out the johnnies sunday, only to find out they were praying for something other than rat to eat at that time.:eek: The trenches looked like what I had pictured in my head they would and I loved to see the men hunkered down trying to get around or watch them put their hats on their ramrods to attract enemy fire.
Thanks also to Chuck Warnick for giving us the two tent flys to use for our trenches. Boys weather you know it or not that shade allowed us to participate in the trenches.
Charles and Ley and Oh hell i'm sure I missed somebody in commisary, good grub boys, you were there for us every step of the way making sure we had liquids and salt.
And thanks to all the emt's and first reponders and park rangers that when our men did go down did such an excellent job of seeing to them quickly and efficiently and maikng sure nothing serious happened.
All in all sitting in the ac of my office scratching my bug bites I now can think of these things to say. Things that if I would have tried to say at the end of the event you would have said "Oh he's just blowing hot air" and there was enough hot air in mississipi to begin with.
I am glad I live in Wisconsin in the summer though instead of on the Gulf Coast (sorry Pat).
Cheers and Bully Job:D
Terry Sorchy,Captain George Wilhelm Co. F 56th Ohio Infantry

[Alamo Guard]

Terry, say that last line in January, hehehe....

[Coatsy]

To all,

Here is a little period-esq snippet of what went on at the Square Fort this weekend.

"Friday, June 8th 1863

My company and Company A were sent from camp to man the works at the Square Fort today. The fort sits atop a ridge and has a commanding view of the Yanks across the gully. We are to improve some of the field works and guard against any shenanigans the Yanks throw at us. I have to say that firstly the weather has gone from Spring-like to the Summer-time very quickly. Many of the company had to fall out because of the heat. The swelter did not die down once the sun began to lower, but the men nonetheless set their tent flys up quickly. And that was a good thing because some rain fell at odd times that evening! I am glad I was able to procure some roping because it was the popular item with the boys. The Capt’n, Sgt. Mjr and I are camped together under the Capt’n’s tent fly. That old thing has seen better days, but it will do. Dinner this evening was good, the officers and some of the ncos ate together and had a merry time. I actually had a little bit of spirits which was a treat. The mood was a glad one, even though we have been in a bit of dire straights in the trenches. Oh and yes the bite me’s are just as bad as they are in Alabama.

Saturday, June 9th 1863

Today baking ourselves in the trenches was the order of the day even though the Major had not specifically given those orders at the officer’s call this morning. Breakfast has not changed lately. Corn, corn and more corn! But I can’t complain too much. I have heard some of the people of the city in their caves have it pretty bad. I don’t wish that on the people! A small, but strong rain hit us. The holes in the Capt’n’s shelter made themselves abundantly clear again. Mid-morn it was amusing to be a guard duty watching the Yanks set their shelters up in their trenches. The looked as busy as beavers. One of their officers has a particularly nasally sense to it. He seems to yell a lot. The Capt’n and I find his command ordering very amusing and it helped us forget about the unforgiving heat for some time. I almost feel a little sorry for the blue boys, but they elected that chap to command them. There was a cannonade around noon today from the Yanks side that was fairly intense. I actually had to keep my head down for some minutes. Also around noon many of us were stricken with heat frustration. Back from the fort to the camp we went. I met my orderly there and we joked that we were in command of sick platoon. Luckily no one had to head to the surgeon. I think the Major saw what was happening so he called most of the rest of us off of the line that afternoon. An incapacitated company is not what we need now! On a lighter note I think those rascals at our cook camp tossed some rats into the beans for the mid day meal. I honestly could care less because it was a break from the corn meal. Just think a few months ago and I would have been shocked and probably have had the cooks sit in the stockades for a few days. But now it is all different. I think the meat at dinner was mule, but that cook Landrum swears it is beef. My insides thought differently.

Evening time, we had both companies in the fort blazing away at the Yanks early on. But not much headway was made and the Major rightly chose to call the firing off to save out men’s ammunition. We will be in a heap of trouble soon if we continue to shoot like we are. I hear from some of the clerks that we are getting low on ammunition. After the cease fire I posted some pickets in front of the fort. I let the boys know that trading with the Yanks was not called for, but since we are equally miserable I dropped some hints that I would not mind trading if the Yanks were up to it. Unfortunately some of my men did not get the hint and I was running back when a ruckus broke out between one of my pickets and some of our boys who had some trading on their minds. I got that straightened out with the men’s promise to return with cookies for me. The promise was fleeting because firstly right after we pulled the pickets that mule meat that I ate for dinner declared war on me. For the second time in one day I was taken down. I have now recovered a bit, but the night time war has begun again. The bite me’s have come out.

Sunday, June 10th 1863

Dawn was brilliant as usual. Thankfully no rain hit us over the night. I said a small prayer of thanks to the Lord since there was no church call. Can’t do that when we are in the fort right now. On an amusing note, today at roll call it was discovered that Cpl Davis had slept face first on the ground overnight and the bite-me’s had scored a decisive victory on the poor boy’s face. The order of the day was to build more obstructions to place in front of the fort. I was detailed to take the company to move some completed chevau du fries to be placed in front of rifle pits and trenches. Whilst we were doing this 4 of our men ran over to the Yank’s side. I take it they wanted some better food. There have been rumors that those Yanks dine on fresh chickens, beef, pork, and have wine and fine spirits served with fresh bread. I was not too happy, but I can’t dwell on what those wayward souls have done. They have to live with their actions and decisions. I am here with my men, my friends and comrades to defend this town and our freedoms! If some men do not have the nerve to do so then they go about their own decisions. Well the Major has ordered the rest of the company back into the fort and trenches so it is back to business."


I want to give a hearty thanks to The Landrum for getting this shin-dig together. And Terry thanks for hauling all of the food down as well! It was damn hot and humid and I expected that. But even still my pampered air conditioned self was taken by surprise by the intensity of the heat. Having to remain in one position was tough with the sun beating down on you. I enjoyed the heck out of this event and I am glad I went out. It was very fun and awe inspiring to visit the park and be a part of a unique program. I am also glad I was able to take some time off to visit the park before the event. I’ve never seen Vicksburg before, and I was impressed! The highlights for me were the Illinois monument, the Cairo section of the park, finding the area where the Georgia units were posted, South Fort, and going over the Mississippi River to see the small remainder of Grant/Williams’ canal. The men of Company B, 20th Alabama Inf. did a fine job, and I am glad that I was able to serve as your Lieutenant. And yes even the Rooster Lady was amusing and did not put a damper on the event.

[Bushrod Carter]

Pards, Comrades, and fellow Chigroes,

We came, we saw, we sweated, we ate rat, we endured, and we forged bonds - through shared misery - that will never be known by those that didn’t attend this event.

My hat’s off to Patrick Landrum. During the course of the weekend he endure the rigors of oppressive heat, helped cook for the Confederate infantry, coordinated with the Park officials, answered the call for aid to heat stroke participants, and played tour guide to many. And that was just this past weekend. However the event for Mr. Landrum didn’t simply start Friday evening. We were all the beneficiaries of many long hours of organization and planning on Mister Landrum’s part. Here-here, my young friend! Job well done!

I also owe a big Thank You to all the men of Company A, 20th Alabama Infantry! Thank you for allowing me to serve you as company commander for the weekend. I hope no one went away disappointed – I didn’t.

The GOOD (in no particular order):

- Looking across a NPS site and seeing a HOSTILE force that was there for business!
- Manning ORIGINAL trenches
- Experiencing something I’d NEVER done in 20 years of reenacting – eating RAT
- Seeing MANY pards – Blue & Grey
- Getting to spend 14 hours together in the truck with three good pards that I don’t get to see as much as I’d like
- Meeting three new Brothers
- And, the greatest experience of the weekend – seeing the look of heart felt gratitude and true appreciation for a simple gift given as a token of friendship


The BAD:

- The HEAT
- The Chiggers and Mosquitoes
- Not having the energy to say longer goodbyes to friends I wont see for many months
- The look on my wife’s face when handed my still sweat soaked shirt, socks and drawers
- The realization that my (older) body can’t handle the heat and the exertion of a Civil War weekend as well as it use too

Thanks to everyone who made this weekend special. I look forward to seeing you all in the field (at a cooler event) soon!

[dwinch]

Gents:

I too enjoyed the great recreations of "Life on the Line", which was the very first time that I had gone Federal Infantry, or any infantry, at a authentic event. I was so excited that I did not sleep. I still am having a hard time coming back to reality still needing more than the 1 1/2 hour sleep in the jeep on the way home with two of the Jones Boys (George, Davey). I also got to meet a lot of the members from the A/C forum that I have looked up to. Not to mention that I had a very understanding CO and a great NCO staff to receive orders from. I enjoyed my long water detail from the trench on the first day with Mr. Sicsler, which nearly killed the both of us running up and down that mamoth of a hill. I also enjoyed my time listening to "Senator Tick" and his future aspirations to open a coffee/ newspaper/soiled dove emporium. I am still waiting for Poague's book to be released so that I too can learn the fine art of poagueing.

I hope that everyone that left with Corporal Fry is ok, which in turn took away my whole section leaving me an orphan to be adopted by Corporal Holliday and Corporal Jennings.

The NCO staff was great and really cared about each man. I was also impressed with the orderly sgt.'s ability to do first person roll call from the top of his head. It goes to show that everyone did their research to make this one of the best and most memorable events that I have ever gone to. Thanks to Pat and the Park Service staff for their hard work for this event. I also would like to thank the following: The spiders that deserved their own bumper sticker, the chiggers that Davey Jones had to itch himself until he was ready to bleed, the mosquitos that tried to carry me away in the middle of the night, the multiple hives of bees that seemed to inflict more damage on us than the Johnnies did, and any other
plant, insect, animal, reptile, or weather condition that made this an authentic event. Thank you, for the good time boys from Co. F. Also a special thanks to Ryan Protz(AKA little Mac), and Terry Sorchey for convincing me that my wife would not be that mad if I went and missed her birthday on Sat. I had a blast and would do it again with the same people anytime. Also, I need to get the recipie for the cabbage and beef that we had on Sat. (the wife likes it).

Thank You, Again!

Dale Winch ( John Ogan)
Co. F 56th Ohio Inf.
Granville Mess
Vicksburg- 10 degrees cooler than the earths core.

[Justin Runyon]

Hats off to Landrum and the NPS Staff, the event went off extraordinarily well from an organization standpoint. That being said, there are just some events that one should take a bit of pride in having acomplished. Vicksburg '07 should be added to the list along side the others (if you were at them, you know what they were). All of the boys that were there for the final formation can be proud of having stood there.

Thanks to Art, Pat, Trip, and Herb. Kudos to Sgts. Adams, Joe, Robbie, Dean &c. And to all my PPM comrades (and Wickett) that marched off Sunday: it would'nt have been the same without you.

Old friendships were strengthened, new ones were forged, rats were eaten (I'm trying to figure out how to admit that I'd munch on one of those again) and the insects avenged the death of their vermin comrades.

[Scott Gutzke]

Gents,

This was my second large scale authentic event (the other being Shiloh). I'm still in awe by what I saw. It was a combination of things that really made this experience awesome.

Of course, being on an original battlefield anytime is nice, but being there with many pards made it better. The trench warfare was really cool. I wish we could have done more. While the heat was a major problem, it did serve to give me even more respect for the troops that did this for real day in and day out.

Thanks to the NPS staff for having us at their beautiful park. I had never been there before, and now think it's one of my favorites. Thank you to Pat Landrum for putting together such an awesome event. Thank you to the Federal Battalion staff, Kevin O’Bierne and Brian Luscombe, for their excellent leadership. As always, Capt. Terry Sorchy was great. We got to do a few maneuvers that I had only read about in the manuals but never gotten to do. My Lieutenant, Don Smith, was great to finally meet and talk with. I was so impressed with our Orderly Sergeant, Joe Liechty, who was able to do first person roll call from the top of his head. Wow! I'm glad that Tim Ruyle was my Sergeant. He is a great guy to talk with. Also, thank you to Dale Winch who assisted me when I became the unofficial "battalion medic" and helped me take care of the dozens of men that went down with the heat. I'm glad that I was at the event and able to provide such a valuable service. Thanks to the officers for listening to my suggestions in regards to the health and welfare of the men. Thanks to the pards that I traveled with, Andy, Poague, and Riley. They made a 14 hour car ride seem to take only 2. Finally, thanks the the soldiers of 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon, Company F, 56th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. You were the greatest and always ready to lend a hand when I needed it (even Poague).

I can't really say that I had fun at this event, but the weekend was everything I thought it was going to be and more. It's because of the hard work by the event organizers, the NPS staff, the military leadership of both sides, and the commitment of the men, that this event turned out as great as it did.

Things that I will never forget about this weekend:
-The phrase "drink water, boys" that was shouted by the NCOs, including myself, every 30 seconds.
-Listening to "Senator Tick" and Baron von Schumann debate. Priceless.
-The mosquitoes, chiggers, fire ants, ground bees - everything in the South seems to bite! And now I'm paying for it.
-The trading that went on between the lines and the friendly conversation between Brothers.
-The gratitude received when sharing a canteen with a parched friend.
-The true appreciation that was given me as I cared for those with heat issues.
-The putrid smell my shirt gave off as it hung drying in the garage after I got home at 3 in the morning (my wife was not amused).
-The heat: if you weren't there you won't understand. It really became a test of endurance for many of us, including me.

Thanks again guys. I'm glad I didn't miss this one! I now have a greater understanding of "Life on the Line."

Cpl. John M. Halliday
Co. F, 56th Ohio
AKA
Scott Gutzke, ONV

[Charles Heath]

As a kettle kicker for the weekend, I want to thank Ley and Randy for a heck of a lot of fine help feeding Pharoah's Locusts, and really am indebted to Pat and Terry for having the rations, condiments, and the bulk of the cookware pre-positioned on site well before we arrived. Ley, Harry, and myself had a heck of a fun road trip, and we really enjoyed this event.

[ley74]

Pat, NPS and the Big Bugs:

What a great weekend. Thank you all.

To Co's A & F: While I realize brown food can have its moments, you all seemed pleased. Farina remains a mystery to me. You were all first rate, even the Canadians.

[Matt Woodburn]

Bon Apperat!

1. Matt and rat.
2. Rat on a spit.
3. Suthroners fatin for their rats!

[Vicksburg Dave]

1. Matt and rat.
2. Rat on a spit.
3. Suthroners fatin for their rats!


And all the time we rangers thought it was the heat that was making ya'll puke!

[springkeeper]

Pic#2 - Rat on the spit... I took one look at the dangling feet with the pasty white claws and about gagged.

Events such as these make you have a very deep respect for what the soldiers experienced on a daily babsis, even weeks at a time. They did not get to go home Sunday afternoon, take a bath, and set the air on 74 degrees before going to bed.

Patrick L. it is apparent you and your assistants did a fine job in recreating "Llife on the Line". Mother Nature added her personal touch with man-eating bugs, raw heat, and intense humidity.

[Scott Gutzke]

Matt,

When the Federals first starting hearing about the Johnnies eating rats, I thought "what a great first person discussion." Then some more of the boys told us at Cracker Barrel after the event and I thought they were just pulling our leg. But the photo's speak for themselves. You fellars really are crazy! :eek: You have my respect, but I doubt I'd ever eat rat myself.

[Dale Beasley]

"Events such as these make you have a very deep respect for what the soldiers experienced on a daily babsis, even weeks at a time. They did not get to go home Sunday afternoon, take a bath, and set the air on 74 degrees before going to bed."--Carrie Craddock

Carrie,

Actually I have had 7 showers since I got home Sunday....and I had the air on 68*.

:)
r/db

[Charles Heath]

All I'm going to say about noshowitis Virginiania var. repeatus is Dave and Joe you two missed a fine time. I hope you two are chowing down at the Pork Festival come tomorrow -- and it does not rain.

I don't know what was better:

1. The road trip with two other middle aged men who understood any question beginning with "does your wife ever...." will generally result in at least one comical affirmation. The "guest towels" sequence was no doubt the funniest of all.

2. The Vicksburg NPS LH itself.

3. Enjoying two of my favorite NPS sites. Okay, so technically the USS Cairo is part of the Vicksburg site, but let's not split hairs.

Ley Watson and Harry Canoli are two of the best travel partners a feller could have. The ride from Maryland to Vicksburg and back was essentially one big gut busting laugh after another. The only problem we had was Harry forgetting to buy a six pack of a certain fermented grain beverage in Mississippi, since purchasing said amber brew is verboten in Ga. where we lodged Sunday night. That's okay, as we now claim the exit known as Trenton GA as the G.P.F.A. HQ. You'll have to figure out that coital porcine acronym on your own, Mr. Beatty.

Ahem.

Pat Landrum's skill at bringing together cookware from the Cheesehead Nation via Terry Sorchy, cooks from Illinois, Virginia, and Maryland, as well as ingredients from all over creation is pretty impressive. The fact none of the federals died from food poisoning is even more impressive, and there is more to that story than you may know.

The original meat product for the weekend was to be another round of salt pork, however, the weights slipped off the hold down disc, and the meat rose out of the brine. This caused a certain putrid situation, so Pat scrapped the idea of salt pork, since it was hard to tell what was rotten, and what was good. The substitute was the beef, and considering folks pretty much licked the kettles clean Saturday evening, this was a good choice.

The Essence of Coffee went over well. If you had coffee from the kettles, then you've had coffee made from that good old roofing tar. As cooks, we liked the fact there were no grounds to deal with. As consumers, you probably liked the fact there were no grounds to deal with. Some of the fellows really liked the coffee made this way, and a few brave souls enjoyed the Essence of Coffee straight from the tin. No, I'm not kidding, and Don Smith noted that it makes a heck of a fine ice cream topping. This I have to try sometime.

Terry's two-part period recipe portable lemonade was a big hit. The powdered portion was a tad weak, but the addition of the liquid extract (which turned white as soon as it hit the water) made for a good drink. The boys seemed to like the black tea, too. We don't often get to serve tea at events, and it was kind of neat to not have to deal with roasting coffee beans, grinding beans, or any of that ritual.

We had the chance to stay in one place long enough to soak and slow boil some beans. I like beans. Beans like me. In the absence of field music, I gotta say the beans were a big hit not only at meal time, but a little later on in the day. It's the gift that keeps on giving. For the Newinglanders in the bunch, we reheated the beans for Sunday breakfast rather than have a repeat of that soupy army hospital farina receipt again.

My personal food service highlight of the weekend was the chitlins from those two delightful gals. Nothing says "Welcome to Mississippi!" like the gift of a hot plateful of Granny's fried chitlins. Mmmmm, good.

It was nice to have some shade, too.

Dale, hit that shower a 9th time. I can still smell you from here.

[blackhattertuck]

Wow,

All I can say is that I have grosso respecto for the guys who did this for real. For my pards: I am ashamed for my "desertion" on Saturday night, however, I was able to get 6 good hours of touring time in. The experience of standing where Grandpa Moyer stood (and in the same heat!) was sublime I would like to thank Pat very much for his work both in organizing this event, and for the time he took to put up with me. To all my pards in the 20th Ala, you are truly a special set of chums, and I wouldn't want to hang out with anybody else. And Herb; I had a dream on Saturday night that I was looking at the picture of the 8th Wis eagle bearer, and standing right next to him was the guy with the rooster. I kid you not! See you all at Chickamagua!

[theknapsack]

Charles,
Whatever it was that you guys made on Sunday morn was one of the worst meals I've had at a good event, whereas the Saturday night meal was one of the best. What happened?

[Coatsy]

Adam, that rooster fellow was the Belle of Ball in my opinion. Old Abe had nothing on Baka Baka the Rooster Sniper of the South.

Yeah the gal who was selling her book was an annoyance on Saturday afternoon, but I had some good laughs from it. I hope the rest of Company B had some laughs as well.

[Charles Heath]

Charles,
Whatever it was that you guys made on Sunday morn was one of the worst meals I've had at a good event, whereas the Saturday night meal was one of the best.

It means you don't like beans for breakfast. ;)

[Kiev Thomason]

Gents,
I wanted to say thanks to all who made this one work! Pat great job Brother !:wink_smilThis was one of the best for me so far.I really would say more ,but most of the things have been said that I thought made the event for me.

The ride to and from was fun with my pards CJ and Herb.We rocked out as always!
The dang bumpy roads made it hard to get the itch cream on where ya needed it:cry_smile.Dang them was big bug bites!

The Woodburn ,Thomason meat market may be coming to another event soon .....Come get yer Rats boys!:confused_So check the event sites.

[JLHurst]

It can't be that bad seeing as how I've been eating squirrel for years now. (see rat with furry tail). I'm sorry I missed out on that part of the event. But seeing the picture of the fight was worth it. Landrum & Runyon fight it out, Woodburn happy to see that rat is that big of a hit, and the Hicks swooping in for the steal. Priceless!

[theknapsack]

No I like beans just fine... just not what went with the beans.

[Mark Susnis]

Fellas,
I was assigned to 1st Section, 1st Platoon, Company F (Capt Wilhelm aka Sorchy) Here's my take on the event:

Needs Improvement:

- Too many straps. If I was "king for a day"... Company F had 35 soldiers and Company A (Butler) had 14 from what I could count in the ranks. The two companies should have been consolidated and with that would only need one captain and two lieutenants. I thought it was a little much to have an Adjutant and another Captain providing overwatch on two companies one of which was basically a section.

- Modern talk in the trenches. The Adjutants Star Wars quips were getting just a little annoying on Saturday afternoon.

- Capt Wilhelm (Sorchy) should have been designated as Officer of the Day and been in charge of the picket detail and trench line on Saturday night. He brought the most guys to the show so give him the honor.

And to finish up on a positive note...

- Uniformity. Company F had every soldier in a four button sack with either a forage cap or Army hat on their head. The same could not be said for Company A with their hodge podge of Ohio jackets, frock coats, sacks, forage caps, civilian hats, etc.

- Rations. Thanks to Charles and his fellow bean cookers. The Saturday evening supper brought me back to life and you were "Johnny on the spot" with the cold tea and ice for the wilted boys coming out of the trenches.

- Roll Call. Orderly Sergeant Burke (Joe Liechty) set the bar high with his roll call. He memorized the first person name of each soldier in Company F and called roll without the use of a notebook. Gave you the feeling that he really knew you by this time in the War.

- Tipton's reading of the rather risque story out of Harpers on Friday night.

- Research. Great work by the Mess #1 boys on locating the applicable vignettes to use for discussion. Had a blast doing the battlefield tour after the event with the Ed Bearss CD.

Landrum, thanks for busting your ass on this one! Yeah it was hot and it sucked to be miserable but those are always my favorite events...

For what it's worth...

Mark Susnis

[Dale Beasley]

"I was cold at Perryville, I was tired at Port Gibson, and I was hot at Vicksburg"

[theknapsack]

"Uniformity. Company F had every soldier in a four button sack with either a forage cap or Army hat on their head. The same could not be said for Company A with their hodge podge of Ohio jackets, frock coats, sacks, forage caps, civilian hats, etc."

Mark,
I wouldn't be surprised it they were more accurate in their portrayal. Uniformity is great but an uncommon appearance in The Army of the Tennessee, let alone a regiment like the 56th (they were pretty rowdy and uncouth).
That being said, I didn't do the research or make the guidelines so I can't say the above for sure; just stating the general attitude of the Army of the Tennessee

RE
AKA Pvt. William H. Cool, Co. F, 56th Ohio Infantry

[JimConley]

It's been almost three days since I've returned home, so I guess it's about time for me to give a lil write-up.

First, as redundant as it sounds, it's entirely necessary for me to give a cheer for Pat Landrum on this one. For months and months and months he has been bending my ear about all the logistics for this thing, and to see it all come to life was great. I know that Pat really worked his tail off on this event, fellows, and at the end of the day, we were the ones who got to play and the park collected new items for their interpretive programs. And, after all that, Pat has to settle for a few lines of compliment in an AAR :D

The guys in Co. A seemed to be more than patient with me as I had to step up at the last minute and act as orderly sergeant. So, to Capt. Butler, Lt. Connelly, and the grunts of Co. A, thank you for that. I hope that my attempts were near adequate for you all.

What else can I say that has not been covered on a general level? Yes, it was miserably hot, humid, and insect infested. In my delirium of exhaustion, numerous bug bites, and deadly heat, I told Tilley that I'll not travel that far south for an event unless it is in the spring, fall, or winter months. But, I like to think that the heat only added to more of an authentic experience as we tried to replicate the summer of 1863, the monotony of camping and holding the earthworks, and starving out the Johnnies.

For those of you that were on picket duty Saturday night, I was quite impressed with the first person between the johnnies and our posted guards as Kiev begged for hardtack crackers and coffee and the Hoosiers recalled old times with their pard Sgt. Liechty. And those photos of y'all eating rat is just too much, fellows. Maybe Landrum should have issued vinegar again to cope with digesting that :eek:

There are not too many instances when you can say something positive about Da Heef, but I thought it appropriate this time. All day long on Saturday, through the rain and the humidity, Heath was out in camp keeping chow going, issuing salt for the boys sweatin' out mass amounts of sodium, and making sure there was something to drink aside from warm canteen water. Mr. Heath, you surely surprised me and have outdone yourself on this occasion.

Good to see some of my pards and meet new ones as well. The camaraderie with Dad, Tilley, Babyface, Tim, and Preston was first rate. Hope to see you all again soon.

See everyone at Chickamauga!

[Bushrod Carter]

Fellas,
I was assigned to 1st Section, 1st Platoon, Company F (Capt Wilhelm aka Sorchy) Here's my take on the event:

Needs Improvement:

- Too many straps. If I was "king for a day"... Company F had 35 soldiers and Company A (Butler) had 14 from what I could count in the ranks. The two companies should have been consolidated and with that would only need one captain and two lieutenants. I thought it was a little much to have an Adjutant and another Captain providing overwatch on two companies one of which was basically a section.

- Modern talk in the trenches. The Adjutants Star Wars quips were getting just a little annoying on Saturday afternoon.

- Capt Wilhelm (Sorchy) should have been designated as Officer of the Day and been in charge of the picket detail and trench line on Saturday night. He brought the most guys to the show so give him the honor.

And to finish up on a positive note...

- Uniformity. Company F had every soldier in a four button sack with either a forage cap or Army hat on their head. The same could not be said for Company A with their hodge podge of Ohio jackets, frock coats, sacks, forage caps, civilian hats, etc.

- Rations. Thanks to Charles and his fellow bean cookers. The Saturday evening supper brought me back to life and you were "Johnny on the spot" with the cold tea and ice for the wilted boys coming out of the trenches.

- Roll Call. Orderly Sergeant Burke (Joe Liechty) set the bar high with his roll call. He memorized the first person name of each soldier in Company F and called roll without the use of a notebook. Gave you the feeling that he really knew you by this time in the War.

- Tipton's reading of the rather risque story out of Harpers on Friday night.

- Research. Great work by the Mess #1 boys on locating the applicable vignettes to use for discussion. Had a blast doing the battlefield tour after the event with the Ed Bearss CD.

Landrum, thanks for busting your ass on this one! Yeah it was hot and it sucked to be miserable but those are always my favorite events...

For what it's worth...

Mark Susnis

Just another reason why I like Mark Susnis and men like him. No hidden agenda. Just straight forward, honest, and truthful.

[Charles Heath]

All day long on Saturday, through the rain and the humidity, Heath was out in camp keeping chow going, issuing salt for the boys sweatin' out mass amounts of sodium, and making sure there was something to drink aside from warm canteen water.

Jim,

Actually, your real cooks for the weekend were Ley Watson and Randy Swanson. They made the cookhouse an easy task, and all I really had to do was mumble what went in which mess kettle or serving basin. The beauty of having designated cooks (kinda like the army did back then) for the whole event was not depriving someone of his much anticipated experience when he gets tagged for kitchen duties. We didn't pull any servers from the fellows standing in line, as we didn't really have enough items on the serving line for that to be needed.

Some of the fellows came up to the cookhouse and volunteered to tote a little water. The "spring" was nearby, but the offers were genuine and greatly appreciated. No one asked them to do so, but it became readily apparent this weekend was a group project with folks buying into the experience from foundation to roof. This was just one indicator of participants investing in the event.

Part of the rations were designed to boost the potassium in your system. Peaches are a good source of potassium, and they tend to go over well with the troops whether dried, canned, or fresh. The carb loading from the hospital grade farina and the hardtack gave folks a good start Saturday morning. Most people probably know farina by the trade name "Cream of Wheat," and while I like mine thick like grits, the army receipt generally yields a soupy gruel. The secret ingredient to make it an unappetizing beige color was simply some issue sugar. The Essence of Coffee was surprisingly good, documented for the seige, and that batch Saturday morning was from Pat Landrum's own hands. That particular receipt included the milk, if memory serves me. Essence of Coffee showed up in at least one tidbit of pre-event research. The hardbread was a nod to the end of the hardbread shortage, and the incident when the troops were chanting for their hardtack at General Grant.

The enlisted beans for the Saturday noon meal had a good dose of chopped & sauted onion, unsulfured molasses, coarse salt, cubed & seared bacon, powdered mustard, black pepper, ground red pepper, pepper sauce, vinegar, sugar, tomatoes, and a few dried cayennes. We fed the officers white beans without the majority of the condiments, and Jim Butler was the only one to really notice. I suspect at least a couple of the officers didn't realize there was an officers' mess, such that it was, at the "head shed" concurrent with the enlisted feed. We chose black tea for the drink for that meal, because we don't see a heck of a lot of tea issued in the field.

About that time, we noticed folks having the usual pre-heat casualty symptoms, so Ley took the chase vehicle into town for some ice. The reason we could have ice in the first place goes back to the salt pork problems, and the substitution of corned beef and ham (modern variety), which allowed us the luxury of two big coolers for ice storage. I can't remember the last time I had a cooler in the cookhouse, but I'm damn glad we had them this time around. Between the ice water, a weak version of iced tea, and Sorchy's portable lemonade mix, we found something most of the boys would drink, and drink plenty of it, at that. If anyone has a problem with issuing the ice at this event, feel free to pin that tail on this donkey.

Along with the liquids, we took the controversial step of issuing salt to individuals. While licking a little salt is a period practice, we moderns discounted the value of salt packets in first aid kits, salt tablets by the water cooler, and other moderate sodium intakes for about 20 years until a few electrolyte deficiency disorders, primarily with long distance runners, caused brain damage and deaths. For those who want to argue that point, please read Claude Sinclair's articles concerning salt and the demanding sport of ultrarunning. Thank you, Claude.

Another bit of conventional wisdom that was tossed out was the "no caffiene in hot weather" rule. While eliminating a diuretic is a good idea, the thunderclap of a headache that trundles along with coffee withdrawal is just plain ugly. While the hot coffee Saturday morning was full strength, the various tea concoctions were pretty much watered down. Just staving off that headache tends to be a good risk vs return in the world of "coffee hounds." The boys enjoying the straight chicory on the other side of the field may know precisely what I mean, if their heads were about to explode Saturday afternoon. It's an ugly feeling.

The cabbage soup tends to be a big hit whether on Morris Island, along the shores of the Mississippi, Tennessee, Red, Rapidan, Des Moines, Bullpasture, Potomac, Harpeth, or Rappahannock Rivers. It's proof root crops can be loaded up with salt, and men will actually eat vegetables. Like the beans, it simply takes a little time to fix, and one of the joys of not being on active campaign is being able to serve something other than hardtack, coffee, and bacon.

Sunday morning was leftover beans, since we had enough left over to feed the folks who remained on site. With the addition of the remaining molasses, some sugar, and a couple of chopped onions, the beans saved a little money on the farina. For the officers, they had a hasty version of tomato pudding using crumbled hardtack instead of bread, in addition to the beans.

A great deal of credit goes to the individual participants who recognized their own heat casualty symptoms in time to take themselves out of the game, thus preventing the need for sundry EMS vehicles plodding through the interpretive area. In most cases, they were able to sit in the shade along the woodline, rehydrate, snooze a little, nibble a little bit, and get back into the swing of things. I would be remiss not to mention the Crabb's sutlery, where the boys were able to get all manner of fine munchies to enjoy between meals, as even as meals, during the event. That was a big plus, too.

Off to take yet another cool and refreshing shower. For some reason I don't think it was Dale that I've been smelling the past few days. :)

[boreguard]

Charlie my one dissappointment was not catching up with you, I thought about it a hour or so after I left the park and was P.O.'d !

Hope to catch up with you soon.
BTW that is Dale you smell, but quite possibly my festering redbug bites and ticks sores which have now gone into second gear !

See ya
Dennis Neal

[coastaltrash]

"- Too many straps. If I was "king for a day"... Company F had 35 soldiers and Company A (Butler) had 14 from what I could count in the ranks. The two companies should have been consolidated and with that would only need one captain and two lieutenants. I thought it was a little much to have an Adjutant and another Captain providing overwatch on two companies one of which was basically a section."

Mark,
According to the early rolls (registration lists I had) both companies should have stepped off with equal numbers, reenactor math is a bitch. With the fatigue details that were planned, and the trench needing to be manned, it was entirely required to have two companies. The set up was needed and the men were registered, and I had no intention to take anything away from anyone after everything started.

[Jim of The SRR]

"- Too many straps. If I was "king for a day"... Company F had 35 soldiers and Company A (Butler) had 14 from what I could count in the ranks. The two companies should have been consolidated and with that would only need one captain and two lieutenants. I thought it was a little much to have an Adjutant and another Captain providing overwatch on two companies one of which was basically a section."

Mark,
According to the early rolls (registration lists I had) both companies should have stepped off with equal numbers, reenactor math is a bitch. With the fatigue details that were planned, and the trench needing to be manned, it was entirely required to have two companies. The set up was needed and the men were registered, and I had no intention to take anything away from anyone after everything started.

To support Pat's point, if we want to shoot straight here, unreliable reenactors are too blame, not just the officers. At every event there are many folks who do not even have the courtesy to say they are not attending. There are even people who submit paid registration when I know it will be highly unlikely they will attend. They just like having their name on that list during all the pre-event hype. We could solve this by charging a big deposit that you get back when you arrive, but I doubt this would go over to well. We could also publish the names of the inconsiderate people who did not have the courtesy to let someone know ahead of time that would not be attending. However, I doubt this would go over to well. And even most of the people who do inform us that they can not attend tell us within days of the event. It seems that many people ALWAYS have excuses at the last minute. I believe in reality that it is based more upon what the Weather Channle forecasts prior to the event. I am sure this will piss some folsk off, but you are talking about honesty here and here is a dose of it. It is so convenient and easy to point fingers at the officers, but I can tell you that each officer there did a GREAT deal of work ahead of time to organize the men, discuss scenarios, harass folks to register, etc, etc. If any of these men did not pull their weight, I would be the first to admit it. Additionally, average company size during this campaign was 28-45 (just look at the roles in the Illinois monument). Many had about 35 men, 5 sergents, and as few as 2 corporals. I was asked to serve as an officer by Pat. We had 28 set for our company prior to the event. We had 19 show up. I offered to serve as a private prior to the event due to these numbers (28 at that time) and was told that we wanted to stick to the scenario and asked to stay in my role. As Pat points out, I challenge anyone to explain the mathematics of reenactor numbers! We want to point blame for this problem, we can ALL start at our mirror. It is time to find some solution for the consistent no-shows at events!

Jim Butler

[Jim of The SRR]

- Uniformity. Company F had every soldier in a four button sack with either a forage cap or Army hat on their head. The same could not be said for Company A with their hodge podge of Ohio jackets, frock coats, sacks, forage caps, civilian hats, etc.

-Mark Susnis[/QUOTE]


These were hardened Western, federal troops. Is there ANY documentation to support that they all looked the same. Too much cookie cutter soldiering may be good for a Shiloh, but NOT appropriate for other campaigns.

Our company was an ad-hoc company. SCAR did NOT vote for this to be a max. effort event. Thus, we were made up of men from the Salt River Rifles, Hard Case Boys, Columbia Rifles, Rowdy Pards, Pug Uglies, Jacks N tens, etc.

All the men MET the guidelines for the event. I saw NO requirements for uniformity bewteen individuals. We were all to have been inspected upon check-in. Thus, if there was a problem, there were several occassions there were opportunitie sto address any issues or problems. None were brought to my attention, by Mr. Connely or Mr. Landrum (which he was really busy in any case).

Based upon the lower numbers, heat, bugs etc, I think we should just thank all the men who actually showed up, rather than bitch and micromanage about it. We all could have just decided to NOT show up and NOT support the event as well. I certainly could have stayed home in AC and not been bitten up with bugs (maybe that will be my option next time and I may recommend that too others). I didn't realize this was some sort of competition between companies? I thought we were all there for a common purpose.

Company A can be proud of themselves as we only lost two men during the event. Your impressions and dwemeanor were excellent. THANKS for supporting the event and the park! Thanks for taking on the challenges of heat, bugs, etc. Many times is it is more about the bearing and attitude of the soldier and less about the uniformity of men.

Regards,
Jim Butler

[theknapsack]

Thank you Jim.

My biggest issue with the event (is minor) was the lack of hydration. Lots of guys drank a lot, but they drank too much, too late. I know we weren't expecting long marches and steep hill climbs, but that is no reason not to drink a LOT of water before the event. I drank about 100+ oz. of water a day the two weeks preceding the event and I didn't have too many problems with the heat outside of getting a little sun burnt.

Next time you go to an event, DRINK WATER.

[Dale Beasley]

Three things:

1. Jim, Good idea about the deposit, then it could be given back in say a "pay call".

2. Charles, it is Dennis who stinks not me...Ross, Caleb and I all agreed on that.

3. Mark, our Confederate Officers due to the heat, were smart enough to have us take our jackets off.:rolleyes:

[Kevin O'Beirne]

I'll post an AAR of sorts on Thursday. About the comment regarding "too much rank", perhaps the lieutenant in each company of the 56th Ohio could have been eliminated...perhaps. The two company structure was required for the type of event and activities planned, and to give the event some semblance of battalion structure. A large company is nice, but is somewhat limited in functionality when there's no one from above to demand morning reports, and other battalion level activities.

The adjutant was necessary for a few reasons: first, the original plan by the organizers was a battalion commander, adjutant, and engineer officer. We consolidated the engineer officer with the "Senior Captain" and Adjutant roles. Some original plans also included a dress parade and guard mounting ceremony, both of which require an adjutant. What the average private did not see at this event was the paperwork dong by the orderly sergeants, company commanders, and adjutant, to provide a semblance of a period battalion. Further, while someone could say that perhaps the battalion level positions (jsut two of them) were unnecessary, it sure seemed that Lt. Luscombe and I were faily busy during the weekend. :)

Finally, at the late Saturday afternoon Federal officer call, almost everyone was played out due to the heat and humidity. I asked for a volunteer to lead the Saturday evening detail in the trench, and no one spoke up. Finally, I volunteered Lt. Connelly/Canoli, who accepted and did a good job leading the Yanks in the Saturday evening demonstration and post-demo picket duty. If we didn't have "those extra officers", we'd probably have either had a wiped-out "half-there" officer in command, or a sergeant leading the detail.

Sometimes an event sponsor envisions the jobs that need doing and select the rank to do the jobs, instead of merely designating rank for rank's sake. I think the former is more of what happened for the US side at Vicksburg 2007.

[Federal Bummer]

Well when you don't check the board for several days after the event there is very little to add. Thanks to everyone involved with this event in any way, shape or form.

While we don't really ever experience what they went through to the max, I believe we got a nice taste this week and after such a taste I was ready and surrendered a quad (after capturing the advanced trenches and half the federal battery:D) to the federals on sunday. When asked by the officer in charge what we wanted the response by all was food, coffee, and SHADE. We got said items which I would like to personnally thank Charles and Crabby for.

Pat, GREAT event.

Looking forward to seeing all you wags a Chickamauga

I promise GA in Sept is not as hot as MS in June. Hopefully

[huntdaw]

Uniformity. Company F had every soldier in a four button sack with either a forage cap or Army hat on their head. The same could not be said for Company A with their hodge podge of Ohio jackets, frock coats, sacks, forage caps, civilian hats, etc.

You all looked pretty much the same from our side of the field - bunch of fellas in dark blue coats shooting at us from a trench.

[Coatsy]

I'll have to echo what Mr. Comer said. There were a few "the Yanks look like black ants" comments made on our side.

The Federals, from my vantage point across the ravine, looked fine to me. My actual worries were what you saw in our works. The visitors were overlooking everything from atop the Square Fort (Ft. Garrot) while we were hunkered down in the trenches and along the fort's parapet. I wondered if you were thinking "Why are all the Johnnies strolling along the top of the fort?"

The best part about having some time to think about the event is now I have my vaunted air conditioning back and I can actually think coherently and form complex sentences again!!

[AndrewMartin]

Well now that I have had a few days to gather my thoughts and think coherently again. Along with finally getting bored watching the red spots all over me go from maybe being mosquito bites...to chigger bites, to just flat out poison ivy I'm ready to add my thoughts to the V'burg AAR. First the Thank you, Pat I echo everyone else's thoughts so far. There are many, many other things that I would rather be doing then be the event coordinator. The B.S., long hours, last minute changes that unfortunately hinder most reenactment coordinators would be to much for me to handle. I'm glad guys like you step up to the plate to allow guys like me to have a hell of a time playing! Thanks as well to my company commander Tripp and the rest of company B. You made my first venture as a Confederate reenactor a blast. Although I'm still not sure about the way you boys in gray eat?

Pickett duty Saturday night was interesting especially when the guard before you (cough) "ADAM CLARK" gives you the wrong countersign...and then you have the likes of Kiev, Runyon, Bugs, and Woodburn trying to make their way back through the lines. Let's just say it makes for a interesting, and fun exchange. Don't worry Adam, I'm pretty sure it was the rooster who told you the countersign was "bock-a-bock Nashville". Thank you to Charles Heath and Crabby, for your kindness to us weary and starved souls, it hasn't been forgotten. But Charles with that large amount of essence of coffee that you gave me after what I had been consuming made me went to flap my arms and fly back to our lines.

Kevin O'Beirne, I'd like to believe that there was nothing mendacious about your statement "this piece of paper doesn't mean anything, just sign it and you can have all the food and coffee you want" after I told you I couldn't read or write! But with the evidence looking back now,it's pretty hard to refute otherwise.


Toughest part of the entire event for me was trying to turn my born and bred Hoosier speak into that rich southern drawl ya'll have in gray. Looking forward to the next event!

and Justin......I would like rat a little more, if next time you don't mind handing me the little guys leg to take a bite from, and the buggers little paw with hair still isn't attached!

[Kevin O'Beirne]

Considering this event was in Mississippi, it's surprising how many participants were Northerners--on both sides. The vast majority of the re-created 56th Ohio were from the North (mostly the Midwest), and it sounds like a good part of the 20th Alabama was as well.

When I got home to western New York State, the air temperature was about 75 to 80 degrees and it almost felt cold. :)

Event sponsors can make few guarantees regarding weather and environmental conditions at the event, but this I can and will GUARANTEE: "Winter 1864" 2008 will not be as warm as it was at Vicksburg 2007. :D

[boreguard]

It's easy to think that those who'd prepared to act as an officer should've modified their impression to act as a private, it's another to actually do that, especially at an event of this sort.

The event notice goes out.
Men are chosen/requested/or elected to fill a position of leadership.
Guys register.
Privates and officers prepare their impression over the next several months.
Registeration fills up.
Date comes, people leave from all parts of the country and arrive at different times of day and night.
A private arrives and know's that all his hard work and time spent on any preperation will not be in jeaopardy because Mr. Officer decided not to make it for whatever good reason.

HOWEVER Mr. officer whose added to his collection (kit) that uniform, sword, and other sundry expensive items to properly portray the respective rank he's been asked to do gets to the site early makes the transition to the impression and steps off to camp. He's there ready to do business... then because Timmy had to cut grass, Billy forgot to tell his wife about the event, George forgot all about it, and Sam's just not sure he's going to be able to get away because his wife's fourth cousin called and they may stop by sometime in the next 365 days, and the rest of the bulk of guys fail to show up with no reason at all and not so much as even a phone call, NOW...Mr. Officer whose spent time studying, preparing, sewing, spending money, and etc. has to find a ride back to the wagon lot at midnight change uniform impressions and then remembers he lent some gear to one of the few privates that did show up because he forgot something is in a pickle.

A pickle you ASK? Yes too many straps, too many damnable officers, these glory grabbing turds, who just want to stand around and do nothing, they should be flogged.

All kidding aside, I know things come up and from my own experience it's safe to plan on "casualties" before an event even starts, but what's an officer to do sometime? Maybe wait until mid day on saturday before he deciedes which uniform to put on ?

IMO Too many straps at this event wasn't a problem, this is one of the few sites and engagements that this can be justified....
All those officers men were digging tunnels and couldn't be seen :)

[Alamo Guard]

Dennis,
It is always fun to be a mere private and bellyache and complain about the soft life that the officers have. Back in 1861 when we answered the call we elected these men to lead us all the way. Little did we know just two years ago they would turn into what they are today. Besides if we arent complaining about their soft life, something is wrong and we don't want to make them suspicious now do we?
As far as Kevin's comment about alot of northern boys at the event, we can attest that the first paltoon of Company A was almost 100 percent Crazy Cajuns and Wild Texians.

[boreguard]

You raight abowt thaight...Weren't many if any Yankee's in co. A !

Texas and Louisiana came together to play Alamabain, it seems all my reenacting career I've been playing Alabamian, and they wonder why I'm so rabid come football season, go L.S.U.

To get this thread back on track though, I was just trying to defend the officers who participated and were subject to dynamics (fewer rifles than desired) out of their control.

[AndrewMartin]

Dennis,
As far as Kevin's comment about alot of northern boys at the event, we can attest that the first paltoon of Company A was almost 100 percent Crazy Cajuns and Wild Texians.


You want to talk about a mix...try Company B's heavy Georgian-Hoosier contingent!:tounge_sm

[Kiev Thomason]

You want to talk about a mix...try Company B's heavy Georgian-Hoosier contingent!:tounge_sm

Hey!I married a Hoosier.:)That makes me happy.....I get Corn in ever way you can make it !:tounge_sm

[Dale Beasley]

In Company A, up on the hill, my officers had the most "common sence" and the "purdeist Bow-Ties" in the whole Confederate Army...and don't my 1SGT have the "purdiest way of bitching"?:D

[boreguard]

Well that settles it then VICKSBURG was truly a "Melting Pot" ...in every which a way !

[Charles Heath]

Dang! It's Friday afternoon...has it been a week already? Seems as if we were just there a few hours ago. My how time flies!

I keep wondering if there was any pea bread to go with that "fought over" rat? That "Fighting for their Rats" photo is a keeper. It's really funny. Looks like the Hoosiers have the edge, too. Pun intended.

[Pritchett Ball]

HEADQUARTERS THIRD BRIGADE, STEVENSON'S DIVISION,
July 1, 1863.
GENERAL: I am in receipt of your communication, inclosing copy of a note from the lieutenant-general commanding, of this instant, in the former of which I am directed to give my opinion, as far as concerns my brigade, on several points raised in the latter.
As to the general fact that the troops of this brigade are in a condition of great physical debility and weakness, it needs but to see them in, or on their short beats to and from, the trenches, to be able to bear testimony to it.
Everything beyond this assertion of the general fact must, of course, be mere matter of opinion and conjecture. After much reflection upon the subject, based upon my own observations and the remarks, casual and incidental, of the regimental commanders, I would state the following as the conclusions at which I have arrived:
From shortness of rations, and greatly more from a confinement of forty-five days to the trenches, under the summer sun of a debilitating climate, few, if any, of the men are in their ordinary health and vigor.
I am disposed to believe that perhaps one in five of those now reported for "duty in the trenches" would, under different and favorable circumstances, be receiving medical treatment; and I have less hesitation in declaring it as my opinion that of this number, for "duty in the trenches," 50 per cent would on trial, be found unfit to encounter the fatigues incident to the life of the soldier in the field.
I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
A. CUMMING,
Brigadier-General.

This above was something going thru my mind all last week after the event, as I was sick much of this week due to food poisoning I think I got from eating at a East Texas fast-food place, coming home AFTER the event.

Needless to say, not having eaten hardly anything for nearly all the week, my energy level at work was awfull! Welding in the heat, with lack of good nutrition, is not conducive to good performance!


OK, OK, about the event:

Patrick sure set up a good event, he did good in keeping what we would be doing quiet, so we would not anticipate events, till they happened. Being creatures of habit, it made for an interesting series of events.

The whole commissary set-up was not expected; as I thought we’d be issued rations, not have them cooked up for us as time went. I actually thought they were well prepared; I liked the meat and bread served up Saturday night.

The heat did a real number on me Saturday evening, and I’m grateful Trip Corbin was understanding and let me rest up, instead of going out and doing extra duty the others partook in. I sure felt raring to go on Sunday morning! I will say that getting up onto the fort on Saturday evening, during the demonstration left me with much to reflect on. Seeing the Yanks many yards away, firing from their lines, seeing the smoke from their muzzles, and then hearing the reports a bit latter, gave me an eerie feeling!

Patrick also did good, in making sure we had the right info on proper cartridges for the NPS weapons inspections. I never would have figured that Lady Ranger would know anything about the rifles we were carrying. She knew what to look for, and didn’t miss much of anything. She sure noticed the 1861 lock-plate marking on Kevin Wilson’s Enfield.
Who would have figured!

Getting with fellers from all over country was the big event high for me. Hanging around folk I’ve been with at other events, and meeting new faces really makes this hobby fun for me.

Thanks everyone for making it an event to remember!
Respectfully:

Kevin Dally

[Vicksburg Dave]

"Patrick also did good, in making sure we had the right info on proper cartridges for the NPS weapons inspections. I never would have figured that Lady Ranger would know anything about the rifles we were carrying. She knew what to look for, and didn’t miss much of anything. She sure noticed the 1861 lock-plate marking on Kevin Wilson’s Enfield.
Who would have figured! "


Robbie (The female ranger who did inspections) will consider this high praise indeed. She truly appreciates the efforts you guys make to ensure your weapons are as authentic as possible and enjoys the opportunity to interact with you when you visit the park.

[missourirelics]

I remember those days....sound like ya'll are doing a great job down there. Tell Rick I said hi!

Paul Arnold
Battery A, 1st Mississippi Light Artillery Summer 2001

[Vicksburg Dave]

Thanks Paul, it always good to hear from alumni.
I'll pass the word to Rick. He works overtime to ensure living history continues in the park and will be pleased to hear from you.