Mosby event at Welbourne Manor

[rbruno]

We would like to inform everyone that the Valley Light Horse, 1st Maine Cav, and the 1st Maryland Cav are working on a Mosby event at Welbourne Manor in the Aldie/Upperville area on the weekend of May 9 -10. If anyone has taken part in an event in this area over the last couple of years, you know how great this ground is for a Civil War event. Acres of untouched land to use for a great event. This is intended to be a immersion event with as much first person as possible. We are looking for about 20 to 50 federal infantry and civilians to participate in the event as well as CS and Federal troopers. We are proposing several ideas for scenarios. Something along the lines of a march and outpost for the Feds with the infantry and cav working together with roving patrols and Mosby's men harassing the column and outpost. We are also working up torchlight tours of Welbourne with some other interesting ideas. We are looking for civilians to participate in and around the grounds for the tours. We trying to work with the Mosby Heritage Society and also working to help support Welbourne. Our ideas are still in the works, but this could be a great alternative to the mega event the weekend before and New Market the weekend after. With the ground we will be using, it is a great opportunity for first person with realistic distance to march, ride, skirmish, and do a great event. Please contact Todd Kern, Tom Craig, or myself if you are interested.

Todd and Tom, feel free to add anything that I missed to help describe the event.

[Tom Craig]

To All,

Notice of this event is late in coming, but that is because it has been an effort by our three units to fill in the blanks in our schedules this year. We wanted a cavalry friendly event, and we figured it couldn't hurt to open the event up to infantry and civilians as well.

The 1st Maine, Valley Light Horse, and 1st Maryland have been doing an event in this area for the last few years, and the place can't be beat in terms of pristine landscape, history, and natural beauty.

The scenario for our "Mosby" event is to portray a couple of days in the life of Mosby's men, the citizen's of Loudon County, and the Federal forces who worked to subdue them. The exact details of what the scenario will include are being resolved, but it is safe to say that there will be infantry picket posts, regular patrols, and some cross country marching. The Federal infantry will work to fend off Mosby's men, while the Federal cavalry will work to hunt them down. We are working on a scenario where the Federal forces will actually raid a period house in search for Mosby's gang.

As Rob said, we're looking for between 20-50 quality Federal infantry, and several quality civilians, along with any cavalry with good impressions that want to come. There will be no snazzy name or fancy website for this event. The property is secured, and logisitcs are all set, come out and join us for a great time in a great location; skip the mega farb fests and join us on original ground for a great little event.

Take care,
Tom Craig
1st Maine Cavalry

[Tom Craig]

Gentlemen,

Thank you to all of you who have expressed interest in this event! The delay in getting info out stems from the fact that up until the cancellation of the Spottsy event, our planning had been largely casual in nature as it was just going to be an event for a small number of cavalry, designed to supplement our meager 2009 event schedule. We've had to get a bit more serious, and we haven't wanted to put a ton of info out until we had our collective act together. Here are the rough details:

Date: May 8-10th, 2009

Location: Private farm in Middleburg, VA (land is 100% secured for the event)

Hosts: Valley Light Horse, 1st Maine Cavalry, 1st Maryland Cavalry

Contacts: CS Cavalry Todd Kern or Rob Bruno
US Cavalry and Infantry: Tom Craig tom.craig@ymail.com
Civilians: Todd Kern

Event website: None is planned at this point, but is subject to change. If there is need we will create a Yahoo listserv for the event.

Historical Scenario: The event in a nutshell will feature CS cav portraying Mosby's Rangers, US cavalry as the 2nd Mass. and US infantry (regimental impression TBD). The time frame is May 1864 right after the start of Grant's move into the Wilderness. The Mosby's Confederacy (Loudon and Faquire Counties) is the main supply line for the Union, and also a hotbed for partisan raids etc. So, the US forces will be men deployed in the area to protect supply and communication. Particularly in this case the area around Goose Creek Bridge in Middleburg. The infantry will be posted as part of a cordon of pickets in the area, with instructions to send patrols from their posts looking for Mosby and his people, and to work with the cavalry to track Mosby down and destroy him.
We are also seeking civilians interested in portraying the Dulaney family of Middleburg for the weekend, and interacting with the military in first person.

Event Scenario: The infantry will muster on Friday at Goose Creek Bridge (right off of rt 50 in Middleburg). Saturday morning they will then march an undisclosed distance, but not more than 3 miles, and establish a picket post. From there they will mount patrols and work to secure the area along with the US cavalry while looking for CS cavalry. CS cavalry will seek to disrupt the operations of the Federal forces in any way possible, and to take prisoners when possible.
Saturday evening will feature a brief break in the immersion portion of the event for a spectator torchlight tour that will raise money for preservation. The tour will feature a "raid" on an actual period plantation house in search for Mosby's Rangers. Following the spectator portion of the event, Federal forces will make a night march (less than 2 miles) back to their picket post, and will remain vigilant for attack for the rest of the evening.
Sunday AM the infantry will send out a patrol or two, and will then make its way back to Goose Creek Bridge by about noon.

Impression Standards: We are only looking for "high quality" impressions for all participants. Detailed standards will be posted shortly, but in a nutshell, if you passed muster at events like the Slaughter Pen, McDowell, or Rich Mountain, then you're in good shape.

Registration: There will be no walk ons for this event. Registration is by individual, and is $10 per person. Rob Bruno (1st MD Cav) is handling registrations, and he will post the form on here, or you can contact either he or I for the form.

Take care,
Tom Craig
1st Maine Cavalry
tom.craig@ymail.com

[Shotgun Messiah]

Honestly this sounds great but its the weekend before Resaca, just can't travel East of the Big River That often....if only I was independently wealthy.

[rbruno]

To All,
I am going to make an attempt to attach the registration form to this post. It will also be on the 1st Maryland Cavalry website which has the link in my signature. Hopefully, you will be able to download the registration form from one of the sites. If unit commanders would like to down load the file and fill out individual forms for the people that plan to attend and send one check that is fine. If you are looking to attend as an individual, send in the form and check as soon as you can. I hope everyone will be ok with making the check out to me. This is the first time we have somewhat planned an event, so we don't have an account just for the event or organization. I will promise to everyone that every penny of registration will go to the cost of the amenities need for the event and the rest donated to preservation.

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[sam H]

me and my pops sent in our registration yesterday. i love going to this area for events. it is indeed some of the most pristine ground i have ever been on. i am looking forward to this event a great deal

[rbruno]

Sam,
I will keep an eye out for your registratin and let you know when I receive it.

[VaTrooper]

The Valley Light Horse and a couple lost sheep had a great drill on site last weekend. Should be a good time.

[Tom Craig]

Gents,

Plans are coming along well for this event. We've gotten a lot of interest from the infantry, and have over 25 guys who say they're coming...proof of course is in the registrations!

For those that need to see them, I will have standards posted early next week in case any of you have a question on them.

In the mean time, get the registrations in, and we'll see you in a bout a month!

Take care,
Tom Craig
1st Maine Cavalry

[Chuck A Luck]

I'll be there, and already looking forward to spending another Friday night in the soft sands underneath Goose Creek Bridge ...and Lord-knows-where we'll Saturday night.

I hope them rough'n'ready cornbread-eatin' cav boys take it easy on us Federal infantry. ;)

[rbruno]

Charlie,
I am really getting excited for this event. I can't wait to get back out in this area to ride and have a tactical event. This will be the 1st Maryland first outing of the year. Tom had a tune up with the 1st Maine last weekend, so I am sure they will be ready. We will be the out numbered ones. No matter what happens, this is about one of the best spots to carry on and do a great event.

To all
Keep the registrations coming in. We have room for a lot more.

[Tom Craig]

To all,

The event is coming up quickly, so those who want to go need to get their registations in! We've got a bunch already and more are on their way.

This event won't have a lot of frills or bells and whistles, but it will have a great scenario, with great participants, on amazing original ground. It certainly isn't the blockbuster event of 2009, but if you come with the right attitude, and look to have some unique historical experiences you'll have a great time!

If there are any of you out there who want to sign on with the US cavalry, let me know. If you're really brave, there are 1 or 2 rental horses available for those who need a ride.

Take care,
Tom Craig
1st Maine Cavalry

[rbruno]

To All,
I have attached information for this weekends event. I will also post the infromation on the 1st Maryland Cavalry's website. I also sent the information to everyone's email address I had. Some of the addresses came back undeliverable, so please pass the information on to any of your pards that may not get the information. There is information on the camps and the scenario for the weekend. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact Tom, Todd, or myself so we can work things out. We are hoping this event will give the participants a unique experience and lay the ground work for future events at this great location. Also, there is still room for anyone that is interested in the event. So, if you want to come to Welbourne and chase Mosby's rangers around or get chased around by Mosby's rangers, come to Welboune this weekend for a great event.

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[sam H]

I had a pretty damn good time. Awesome land, Awesome scenarios, and a little too awesome first person. Thanks for putting it on guys. I look forward to coming back in the fall. Keep us updated on that.

[BillO'Dea]

Great ground, ! Thanks to Rob and the 1st Maryland for putting this on. I had a really good weekend.Thanks also to Gerry of the 1st Maine too.
regards,

Bill O'Dea
Salt boiler mess / 122nd NY
Liberty Rifles

[Tom Craig]

As one of the organizers of this event I want to thank all of you who came out and supported the event! It was a small, bare bones event, and that is what it was intended to be, but I think it had a little something for everyone.

Beyond our cavalry fight on Sunday morning, my favorite memory from this event was watching the two fellows who were taking a bath in the creek got cut off by the Reb charge. That was funny!

Thanks again,
Tom Craig
1st Maine Cavalry

[rbruno]

I too had a good time this weekend. I mentioned to several people that just having the chance to move around in that area is worth the price of admission. I am glad the infantry guys had a good time despite the mishap on Sat. We did have a very lively action Sunday morning which was great. I need to thank Todd and Tom as well for there efforts in moving this event forward. Now, we need to look at Unison in the fall and get ready for that. Same area, more extended action and ground, and hopefully another good event. Look for details about that event with more notice and organization then this one.

[ridinshotgun]

Thanks to Tom and Rob for putting on this event. I had great time riding with the 1st Maine especially the night time ride cross country.

The chance to drag a partisan out of the main house was good fun too!

[Tom Craig]

We rode more after dark than I have ever done. On Friday we got to ride cross country and navigate through woods I had never been in, all in the dark, which was a very period experience. Very cool!

Dragging that partisan out of the house was neat as well!

Looking forward to October!!

Take care,
Tom Craig
1st Maine Cavalry

[Andrew German]

Belatedly, I'm adding my thanks to Tom, Rob, et al. for a great event, and to Todd for a lively horse.

It was indeed about as real as we can get. Where do we camp and when? We'll know when we get there, watering the horses where we can, and if there's no hay we'll improvise. We discovered that marching at night is a real trip, engaging all the senses and showing how reliable a horse is. We were patient and helpful when someone had equipment issues. We paid our respects to our fallen comrade Bill, we reconnoitered the margins, forded streams, retrieved water for the infantry, coordinated with them in battle, and fought well. It was an honor to indulge our dramatic flair and participate in the torchlight tours, and however tired and sore I was by the end I would not have missed it for anything. In the end, although we may have chaffed each other in blue and gray, we came away with a mutual respect much as those who fought the real fight felt for each other after years in the field.

As I see it, our mounted events at Unison are only getting better, and I have great hopes for next October. Any serious cavalryman should make a point of being there.

Andrew German
1st Maine Cavalry

[GBaylor]

As good as the Mosby event was, the Battle of Unison will be even better. Gerry Todd has the beginings of the website up and running(link to it on the 1st Maine Cavalry website). We will be doing Phase I,II,IV, and V as documented in the NPS survey of the 1862 battle in Loudoun County, Virginia. The authenticity standards are going to be quite high.

We're hoping for a company size contingent of Federal Infantry and twenty mounted troopers per side. There will be some civilian vignettes in the town of Unison and at Welbourne manor.The troops will cover about 12 miles over the course of the event.

For those of you who haven't been in this area of Virginia, the landscape is almost pristine with numerous stone walls, period farms, and all gravel roads.

Your Obedient Servant,
John Sweeney
Valley Light Horse