Pickett's Mill AARs

[LWhite64]

Well, I guess Im one of the first back from the Mill that has made it online, sometimes its good to live this close to an event. Anyway, I just wanted to set this up for the others who are more blessed with the gift of AAR gab than I, and also to say that it was a fine event, and a hearty thank you to all those than made the event worthwhile. Although I must admit I was rather surprised by the surprise of seeing me return from the dead, so to speak.

Back in Black,
Lee

[K Bartsch]

Great time, well-organized and executed. I definitely got my twenty-five bucks worth! Nice to finally put faces to so many names. Weather could have been far uglier. Thanks to John, Coley,Tripp and all the organizers and every soul who contributed so generouosly to the fence rail drive. The fence is splendid. On behalf of all us and our horses, thanks to the CS infantry who put their shoulders to the wheels as we negotiated the hills and the creek.

Bottomline: Wouldn't change a thing! They just don't get any better than this one. IMHO, such a splendid event is due in no small measure to an air of cooperativeness and willingness of the participants to have a good time while performing countless selfless gestures to make sure everyone else did too. Perhaps the collegial attitude which prompted folks to leave their ego's locked-up safely in their vehicles in the parking lot had a little something to do with it too :wink_smil

Methinks such spirit is the key to good events.
Thanks to all.
Happy Memorial Day.

Finally, If you value your freedom, take a few minutes on Monday to go by a cemetery and reflect over the grave of a veteran. Doesn't matter whom. His war doesn't matter either. They're all worthy of our respect and remembrance. I also think he'll know you're there.
Cordially,

[Eric Tipton]

Briefly...

This was an incredible and memorable weekend. Above all, I really enjoyed the opportunity to meet so many who frequent the boards here and elsewhere. The genuine camaraderie was something that will stick with me for a long time.

There are many people I want to thank, but for now, I wanted to mention that Mr. John Cleaveland is quite possibly one of the classiest individuals I've ever met. There were many others this weekend, but something about John's quiet and humble passion really made an impression on me.

I'll offer up an AAR later, but just wanted to say... only one more hill... Captain Crabb and all you Federals will understand....

Has anyone seen the Mintons?

[OleMissRebel]

ONE MORE HILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"where are the Mintons??" That's classic stuff and will be for a long time.

Great event, and I'm very pleased that nobody blew a knee out or dislocated anything, even though we did have some minor injuries nothing major occurred which was splendid.

Thank you to the event organizers.

[PogueMahone]

Poor little Kittens,
have lost their Mintons ...

Humidity sucks.

For the first time, as I advanced on the skirmish line, I was afraid of dying and my body never being recovered and rotting to nothing alone out there in the woods. Mind, it wasn't enemy fire that I feared. It was the heart attack I deserved.

glad to be home,

[Wild Rover]

Glad to hear you all had a great event.


Pards,

[ChrisM(armyguy)]

As ive seen,


One more hill, the federal minstrel show, the walking through the stream in sight of a bridge scorpy the scorpion and milly the milipede(sadly both have passed on) and a letter home that was more of a death wish then ive ever seen. Thanks to everyone in company f, thanks to Greg and for the last time no i am not going to mumford!!!


chris mattingly

[JimConley]

Great event! Had a great time! Met great people! Great, great, great!!!
I loved one particular part where some other boys and I of CO.A 33rd ALA had to push a cannon up a hill after crossing a stream, that was awesome. The feds looked awesome! My pards looked good. Nothing else to say, but GREAT!
P.S. A special thanks to Aaron Schwieterman and Joe Hill for allowing me to tag along for the 8 hour trip down to the mill :cool:

[ButtermilkRanger]

I'll wait around awhile and see if someone from the mounted arm wants to post an official AAR before I dive into it. However, I would like to say thanks, once again, to our brothers in the Critter Company for allowing us to ride with them one more time. As everyone already knows, they are a fine group of cavalry and always do a splendid job on the field. It helps that they are just as trashy as we are. :) Maybe that's why we get along so well.

The terrain was tough on some horses and some tack problems caused a few mishaps, some of which could have been serious, but that's just another day at the office for cavalry. I do know, however, that galloping to the top of a hill then stopping to look back down actually made me feel sorry for the federal infantry that I knew was behind us and would soon climb the same hill on foot.

Another real treat was getting to ride with so many varying personalities from different parts of the country. Just in the cavalry company the states of Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas and Louisiana were represented. That's no easy job considering the fatigue, logistics and expense that goes with hauling equines hundreds of miles cross-country.

It's always a treat to be riding through the woods and happen upon civilian refugees. It adds a sense of realism we often overlook, I think. My hat is off to those civilians who tough it out just like everyone else to portray a part of American History that so many overlook. Job well done.

The camp life was great, but I had no idea that the Critters had such an deep seated love for helicopter rides and Georgia Pop-Tarts. Especially that Calvin guy.

Thanks for a great event guys. I'll see you at my next last event.

Larry Morgan
Buttermilk Rangers LHC
Critter Company (Guilt by Association)

[Matt Prost]

The Hoggs had a great time. We shared many a fine experience with company F.

The hills were challenging, but do-able. Watching others fording the streams ahead of me as I came down the hill was a image that will last. The fatigue and confusion of the battle on Saturday was a great experience. Roll call with men missing as well held the rail fence left an impression. Trying to dry items out by the fire Saturday night was impossible. Sleeping on the cornfield that was rockhard hurt, but the reward of driving the Confederates down the road at a full sprint with Lt. Commander Craddock leading was a rush.

Thanks again to the planners/hosts it was a great time.

Yours,
Matt Prost
Hogg Mess

[Enfilade]

Gentlemen,

The rendezvous site for our guys from Ye Old North State was Kennesaw Battlefield. After supper, we made it to registration where we met Greg Pace. He checked us in and we parked at the same school lot as before and were shuttled back to the park's visitor center. We marched in and found our company already bedded down and asleep by the roadside. Slight spurts of rain didn't concern us as we anticipated a great event to follow.

We awakened to overcast skies and three companies of Confederates. Our Company Commander, Marlin Teat, gathered us together and we had issues of rations consisting of bacon fat(what I got) and cornmeal. That's it! I'm glad I brought some coffee. Marlin asked me if we had anyone as an experienced NCO. I volunteered and was designated Orderly Sgt for 3rd Company for the weekend. I hadn't prepared but made do with a substitute morning report and a pencil I found in my period wallet.

Our Captain and overall Commander for the weekend, Rick Joslyn, gave each company 30 minutes for inspection, drill, and a quick refresher course of Hardees Revised. We also saw two field pieces horse drawn and centered these artillery between 1st and 2nd Company in line of march.

We then came together as a battalion and marched downhill where we found a deep kneedeep creek and crossed. As Captain Teat so masterfully stated, "What goes down must eventually go up", the field pieces had to be unhitched and both sets of horses used to pull both field pieces uphill(mountain?) one at a time. 3rd Company set pickets to our rear where they encountered civilians. Some unique first person was discussed between our Captain Joslyn and the civilian spokesman. My company pickets brought me a piece of cornbread he received from the refugees. This was all I saw of the civilians that weekend as we seemed to be engaged in bloodshedding the rest of the weekend.

We marched and marched and the heat and humidity took it's toll. We had a good respite at a period reconstructed cabin where we set pickets and met real modern civilians and they were escorted through camp. Our cavalry was seen in the area as my picket at post #1 called out "Sgt of the guard!" and I responded that "it was nobody, just Coley Adair". It looked as if it was about to rain harder than a cow peeing on a flat rock, but that wasn't the case as we only received a sprinkle. We also picked up a soldier in Lee White who fell in with us.

Our battalion moved out at about 5:30pm on Saturday where we met the enemy at a cornfield and railed fence field. Our unit was put in line of battle and we could hear our artillery but could not see them as they were at some distance from us. Our infantry drove the enemy down a ravine and up a sharp incline and behind another set of fence rails where they entrenched stubbornly. After much discussion and several probes, our CO's decided that we would form a column of companies to punch through the enemy position. We did in splendid fashion at the double quick where we captured many of the enemy.

After a march back to a water well, we took time to re-hydrate and rest. We ended up camping there and cooked rations where we set camp for the night.

My mess was directly across from our CO staff and we got word early Sunday morning that the enemy was demonstrating. We could hear their bugle calls and formed companies again for the march. Our company was sent out to meet the enemy line in skirmish which checked the overwhelming force for only a short time as they entered the field of battle. We fell back behind a railed fence and woodline and the enemy approached by cover of a steep hill to just 40 rods. They charged our line and captured significant amounts of men. We also had many wounded. We fell back without our Captain as we assumed he was captured. We double-quicked to the very top of the hill which was daunting in every aspect. Winded, we formed a thin gray line to meet the onslaught from the blue juggernaught. They came in droves. Our wounded falling at a rapid rate, we retreated up a small road and set successive lines where we tried without much hope of stopping the enemy. We fired volleys to no avail. Our tired adjutant, Tripp Corbin, relunctantly pulled out a white handerchief and made his way to the yankees. We accepted surrender and watched the triumphant foe march past. We had no idea of their significant number.

I had a great time and my hat's off to all those who made this a memorable event! Thanks Marlin, Rick, Tripp, Greg, and 3rd Company.

Faithfully submitted,

Orderly Sgt of 3rd Company, 33rd AL
Mark Berrier
North State Rifles
combinations@northstate.net

[BrianHicks]

Near Dalton Georgia. May, 1864.

AAR of Ordnance Sergeant, Co. K, 5th Regiment, Kentucky Volunteer Infantry.

The Company was initially formed on Friday night, but due to several men still being on detached duty, we did nothing more than move into the tree line, and bed down for the night. The warmth of the evening made the use of blankets or tentage unnecessary. It did however sprinkle with a light rain shower on us at one point during the night, but quick use of a gum blanket, and you could easily stay dry through out the night.

At sunrise, revelly was sounded, and a roll was taken. Due sickness and death, our Company now officially stood with 22 enlisted, and 2 Officers. As soon as the roll was signed by Capt. Duffer, we drew our rations. Perhaps because Gen. Sherman had moved us so far from the rail lines, our rations were some what lacking. Each man was issued a small portion of bacon, six hard tack crackers, a handful of beans, and as much of the cursed southern cornmeal as a man would want. We were all anxious to get back to the rail lines and once again draw proper rations that consisted of our beloved Coffee and proper white flour. The men would soon lament the lack of Coffee on our coming movement along Pumpkin Vine Creek.

After rations were drawn, we had very little time for the cooking of the Bacon, as were soon formed up for Battalion and Company Drill. At 10 O’clock the Battalion was formed and we began our movement into the woods.

In the column, we were third of the four companys as we moved. The thickness of undergrowth amongst the woods and the many of the steep hills forced us to move in two ranks. A very, very few of the entire column found the heat and the hills too much for them, and had to be sent back to the wagons. Given the challenge of those hills, it was a marvel that so few men had succumbed to the conditions. We were very fortunate that several wells were along our route, as we quickly drained our canteens. Details were often sent to replenish them, and at atleast one of the wells, we literally drained it dry.

It was at mid-day that we took a longer break than usual. At this stop, the men quickly had fires going, and several of us cooked what sparse issues of Bacon we had been given.

We crossed the Pumpkinvine Creek three or four times in our movement. On tow occasions, it was nothing more than a small stream, but on our final crossing, not a man stayed dried, and the water was over the top of our booties, and about as wide as the height of two men.

It was just after the crossing of this wide section that the Battalion took what was intended to be a short stop, however…. The company that was leading the column upon a taking of the roll, discovered that two of their privates, a father and son, their given name - Mitton, were not answering the call of their names.

Now… as w had been advancing through out the day, on a few occasions, the head of the column had been forced to deploy skirmishers, as a very light force o Southern Cavalry had been harassing our movement. But at no time had they actually posed a serious threat, or caused those of ius in the middle of the column to slow our progress, or have to be deployed for a fight. So… it was thought that perhaps these tow missing Mittons had been captured by the Confederates… but no… Col. Craddock was sure that he had seen them as we had crossed the last creek. A small search party was sent out to find our lost Mittons. After perhaps half an hour, word came down the line that they had been found…. Still in their place with the lead Company. How they went unnoticed in the ruckus that followed their failure to answer to their roll, we’ll never know. But found they were, and so we were once again on our feet, and soon climbing more of those damned North Georgia hills.

There was one creek we crossed, and had moved less than the distance of three or four rods, when we noticed that there was actually a bridge just out of sight of were we had forded the water! Once again we were amazed and amused at how close we had come to comfort, only to have passed it by just a few more steps. (the next morning, after the fighting, when the bridge was commented on, someone had ventured that their were trolls living underneath… and the big bugs had decided it best to avoid a ruckus with them lest the Southern Cavalry that had been in front of us take advantage of that, and swoop down on us while we were busy at the bridge).

Well….. after a whole day of marching up and down this damn hills, it appeared that that Col. DeBello had gotten us to where he wanted us, and after a short break, and replenishment of water, we were formed into a column of Eights. It was at this time, that the only rainfall of the day came upon us. It wasn’t to heavy and only lasted for perhaps a quarter of an hour, but with the heat we already had, the additional water only made the air heavier, and the heat more oppressive. As Co. K. we were the lead Company of the left half of the column. The Command to load was given, and the front four men of each of the two leads Companies were sent forward as skirmishers, with our own Lt. Morris commanding them. We knew at this point that a fight was soon to be undertaken. The skirmishers soon engaged what was described as a thin line of dismounted Cavalry. After a quick push across a small field, and into the tree line, the Column of Eights followed. In the tree line, we went down a thickly covered slope, across a crick, and started back up on the other side. The tress and tangles had split our column of eights, and after a brief struggle with the hill side, we were reformed. Our skirmishers had slowed a little near the top of the hill. This allowed us to deploy form a column of eights, right into a Battalion on line as we approached the crest of the hill.

At the top of the Hill, a farmer had built a split rail fence around this edge of a small field. The Southern Cavalry had been using to fight form. We were pushed forward, and I think without the loss of a man, we forced them off the fence, and across the field. We didn’t hesitate, but kept after them. We had to take some the fence rails down, and reformed on the other side. Pushing across the small field, we advanced in the far tree line, and saw the southerners flee down into a ravine, and up the far side. Keeping our line as best we could, we tried to keep on their heels.

At the bottom of the ravine, we crossed yet another crick, and then faced one of the steepest hills of our journey. The Skirmishers pushed up ahead of us, and as we formed our lines to reach the top of the ravine, we finally started to lose a few men. Josiah Edwards of our Company went down with a glancing shot to his knee, The elder Smotherman was put out of the fight by a spent ball to the center of his chest. Out Lt. Morris, whom had done so well pushing the skirmishers, also fell.

As we finally reached the top of the ravine, we found an uneven corn field, about 12 rods across, and about 50 rods form out left to right. On the far side was another of those rail fences, edged against another tree line.

We paused to load, and advanced into a galling fire from the other side. We leaned into the heat, and pushed. Our line fired at about 20 paces from the rail fence and stopped to reload. The Southerners were knelt down behind the rails, and returned our fires. More of our Men went down. A fellow in the company to our Right must’ve been gut shot, because he lay in the field behind us, thrashing and hollering and screaming, but there was nothing we could do for the poor soul, as we were quit busy minding our own lives in this unexpectedly hot fight. We knelt and held on for some time having a heated exchange with the Rebels on the other side, but that damned rail fence they were using, might as well have been made of stone, as we just couldn’t push them off of it. We soon came to accept thath we were no longer facing mere dismaounted Cavalry, but te fellas on the far side were Infantry... and lots of them.

We would rise up as a Company and give them a Volley, and kneel back down. But to no avail. The smoke from our muskets, the steam rising from the men, and the fog which had started rise after the earlier rain, had all mixed together to make it difficult to make our distinct individuals on the other side of the fence. Their muzzle flashes however, marked them as serious… and deadly. Our line pulled back to some of the uneven ground and sought to reform our ranks. At our first start to move back, some of the men were anxious to leave the killing ground, and we had to keep them in line, and slow their retreat, forcing them to face the enemy, and continue the fight. Our discipline held, and no one from Co. K skiddadled to the rear. We continued to exchange fire with them, but our careful withdrawal must have excited the southerners, as they soon rose, and advanced into the field. We gave them some heat, and were drawn further back and into the ravine. Cpl. Skemp went down during this movement, as did Pvts Wilson and Waddel.

We struggled to get back up the far side, and finally withdrew to the first rail fence we had encountered. We had just enough time for a quick call of the roll. We had lost five men in that hot hour since we had first crossed the fence we now sought refuge behind. Three others in our ranks were wounded and still with us, though unable to fight.

It wasn’t long before the Confederates came out of the far tree line, and in good form, advanced towards us. We were determined to return the favor, and hold the rail fence, and make them pay, as they had done to us.

The Southerners pushed once, twice, and then stalled in the middle of the corn field. We held our line. After some minutes of exchanging fires with them, they withdrew to the far side of the field. I once again took the roll, and marked the names of our missing and wounded. I got a count of rounds, and found that we averaged less than 30 rounds per man now. We had marched out that morning with full cartridge boxes, and additional rounds in our knapsacks and blanket rolls. In all, each man had fired perhaps 30 rounds or more. I told the Captain that if we were going to hold that line, or push again, we needed a replenishment of ammunition.

After a short respite in the fighting, the Southerners formed into a column, and made a dash to break the far left of our line. They had a brief success, but then, for whatever reason, withdrew. Perhaps they were realized that they had broke our lines, only to find themselves unsupported, and with another federal regiment on the far side of them, they thought it best not stay amongst us. With that short ft of excitement, the fighting for the day was over for us.

Co. F was left n that fence as Picketts, while the rest of the Battalion wearily withdrew a few hundred yards into the tree line for the night.

Just as darkness closed in, tow of our Wounded, and presumed dead, made I back to our Lines. Cpl. Skemp had taken a round to the skull, but it had only dazed him for a few hours, and after the Southerners had passed him by, he made his way out of the ravine, and was able to make it back to out lines.

Just at Dark, Capt. Duffer allowed Pvts. Leach, White and three others to leave the area in search of forage. We had heard rumors of a few civilians being in the area, and were hopeful that they could find some forage to supplement the meager government issue that we were trying to live on. After perhaps tow hours, they returned with only a handful of fod items, hardly enough to have made the effort worthwhile.

The men of Co. K, quickly stripped off their soaking clothes. I think we had more men near nakedness, than we had clad. They first saw to their weapons, which greatly leased me, as I knew that with the morning, we would renew the fight.

Two fires were started by our men, and attempts were made to dry socks and trousers. What bacon had not been cooked earlier was quickly cooked.

Soon after full darkness, we heard some firing from the Skirmishers, but it wasn’t heavy enough to cause us to form back up.

The Big Bugs had camped near our company, and I could see that a few of them had also stripped out of their outer garments as well. It would have been quite a hoot if the skirmishers had gotten heavily engaged, and the Colonels would have been forced to form the Battalion, them and us still in our undergarments!

At first light, we quickly dressed, and formed for roll call. It was my sad duty to record the names of five men as missing, and presumed dead. Lt. Morris, Cpl. Skemp and Pvt. Edwards had recovered through out the night, and were ready to fight once again.

We soon formed in our battle lines, and sought to give as good as we had taken the day before.

We advanced across the first fence and field unopposed. We dropped into the ravine, and began to climb the slope towards the second field ad fence. As we gained the field, the Confederates were just moving into place. It appeared as thought we had cought them at their morning cook fires, and had surprised them with our attack!

We hardly paused as we made for the fence. We gave them two good volleys and charged. Unlike the previous day, we made it to the fence, and pulled several of them across as prisoners. Unfortunately, Capt. Duffer fell as we made the fence line. Three others in our company were wounded, but struggled to stay with the line. Lt. Morris now took charge of Company. As the Confeds fell back into the trees, I struggled to get another roll called.

The Southerners reformed and charged. We were ready for them though. We had loaded, and were crouched behind the fence that had served them so well the evening previous. Now the fence served us well. As they came to within 10 paces, we rose as a Company and unleashed a horrendous volley into their faces. Their line to our immediate front vanished in a wall of smoke and fire. We knelt back down ad reloaded. To our front, barely out of reach, several southern lads lay dead or dying. Their line once again fell back to reform. And once again they came at us. We rose and fired, with the same results as before.

After their second failed attempt to charge us, they must have lost faith, as they soon began to shift to our right.

The fight moved down our line, and the right wing of the Battalion became the focus of the southern fury.. With our front clear, we were ordered to go into Companies into line, wheeled to our right into the woods, stepping over the freshly killed southerners, and began to move to our right, keeping the tree line and rail fence just several paces of our far right ranks. We soon came upon the Southerners flank, and assailed it. With our Right wing to their front, and our left wing taking their flank, the Confederates finally lost all hope and either fled the field or surrendered.

With this last fight early in Sunday Morning, our adventure came to an end.

Respectfully,

Brian Hicks
Ordnance Sergeant, Co. K, 5th Regiment, Kentucky Volunteer Infantry.

-----------------------------

With all of that having been written, I’d like to say that Pickett’s Mill was a great success. The Federal Infantry was Commanded extremely well. The Companies performed in unison, and the Men in the ranks were all their with the same purpose in mind. We were all serious about the week end, and willing to endure the challenges of the heat, the Humidity and the Terrain.

Well done to everyone involved! Especially those responsible for the orginisation and execution of the event. i.e. John Cleveland, etal.

[Jersey Devil]

For those of you who know Senks, he was hit by a scorpion on the pinky at Picketts Mill. 10 hours later he had two thumbs on his right hand.

I am assuming that it was a Southern Devil Scorpion (how fitting). He is making his way to the ER up here in Jersey. I can imagine their reaction when he tells them what did it.

His pinky is rather swollen and discolored and it wont bend. I am sure it is just a allergic reaction. The Southern Devil is not deadly.

Anyone else get hit? Any reactions?

Thanks to Captain Jerram for allowing us to grace his company and thanks to the men of Co. B for making life easy on Sgt. Bacon and myself. I hope everyone found their way home safe.



John, Coley, Tripp, etc., - It was a great event as usual!! I would expect nothing less.

[john duffer]

Dear Friend,

I write to tell you of our action of May 27th, near Acworth, Georgia, while the events are fresh in my mind. This letter is intended for your eyes alone, for to be perfectly candid never did men more valiantly follow an order and seldom were there an order more foolishly given. Some oracle of wisdom divining that we must certainly be near Johnston’s extreme flank and could shift to our left a very short way and get beyond it entirely, it was our great luck to be a part of this grand adventure. From mid-morning on we toiled through some of the worst terrain we have encountered to date, not so much as a hog path to go on, as no creature but man would want to traverse the area, the head of the column making their way by compass. This country is oppressively hot, the men suffering much and making but slow progress. Despite the pace there was a sense of urgency and we were under order not to allow the men to take off their shoes at creek crossings, which caused some grumbling and more than once thought I saw a black look directed my way notwithstanding my lack of guilt. Throughout most of the day enemy cavalry had hovered in our front, occasionally putting up a slight resistance, doing little damage but making me personally uneasy as our expedition would seem to assume some element of surprise in order to succeed. In late afternoon this resistance stiffened enough that the skirmish line couldn’t drive them, we paused to let the men catch their breath and make their coffee and moved forward by wings of regiments through wood and ravine, our mass enabling the line to move once again. We drove them across a wheat field, another creek, climbed a hill that six months ago I would have thought not scaleable, and halted before a fence being used as works. We formed line of battle, went over the fence and crossed a cornfield down to another ravine were we came under much heavier fire, from artillery and small arms. No body of men could behave more gallantly than my company, sliding down one side and scaling the other, quickly reforming the line and plunging up the steepest hill yet with loud shouts of “Hurrah !” “Hurrah !” towards another fence at the treeline. We came within a few paces of the fence, close enough to shoot down the led horses behind the lines, when we were stopped by massed infantry volleys moving from our right across our front, a perfect hail of shot tearing through our line and we were quickly driven back to the lip of the hill. They moved along the fence to our left which uncovered our line and forced us to leave the field entirely, back down through the ravine. Here our cohesion left us, the least winded and the most frightened leaving the others in their haste to gain the first fence we had encountered, now looking quite the fortress to our eyes, where we could reform and await our supports. And wait we did, I have not seen them yet in fact. The enemy now tried their hand assaulting our fence with even less success than we had enjoyed, making several attempts with waning enthusiasm. As darkness approached we were withdrawn. It would seem we were not as far beyond their flank as might be hoped and the whole sad affair took less time than has been needed to write of it. James Aulds was killed outright, we had four wounded, one severely, and three still missing. The brigade as a whole suffered horribly and for what gain I could not tell you. I will close this mournful tale for now. Were the need not great I would not impose but if you could send a package of foodstuffs you can not imagine the joy with which it would be received. The men’s rations are poor at best and not plentiful enough to share, there is almost nothing in this region to buy, and I have begun to fear we will have the remarkable sight of an officer in more danger of starving to death than being slain by hostile fire.

Commanding Company K
5th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry
your servant and loyal friend
John M. Duffer

[BigMike]

Just at Dark, Capt. Duffer allowed Pvts. Leach, White and three others to leave the area in search of forage. We had heard rumors of a few civilians being in the area, and were hopeful that they could find some forage to supplement the meager government issue that we were trying to live on. After perhaps tow hours, they returned with only a handful of fod items, hardly enough to have made the effort worthwhile.

I don’t know Sergeant, I think the rest of the guys will agree with me when I say that the bread we confiscated made the trip well worth it.

[Fishermans wife]

My traveling groups consisted of Cj Pace, Addi Grace Pace, Pat Price, Barbara Hartman, Stephanie MCKinnell, and Robin Meade

Friday - we finally got our family members and headed down to into the dark woods to find a camp for the night as it was too late and dark to make it ot the unknown site of Pickett's Mill. As we laid ourselves down to sleep along side the road, I found myself listening intently to the sounds of horsemen in the distance and feared myself being found. The rains begin to come off on during the night but the shelter of the small dogwoods trees kept my family dry.

Upon waking saturday morning- we partook of a quick breakfast and began our journey to the mill site. It was long way down the ravine to the creek. When we arrived we did much searching to make sure we were in the right place . After a quick creek wading we began to find a better hiding spot from the approaching armies.

Finally a safe hidden spot was procured behind this huge 12 foot high rock. To get there you had to ford the creek about 30 feet down stream, or cross the creek on rocks as the base and climb straight up the huge rock at a 45 degree angle.

We held up there most of the day playing cards, singing , and listening for any approching dangers. The children playiing in the sand and creek. A watermelon was shared by all,and then watermelon rind boats were floated in the stream.
After a swim in the creek with Addi Grace and CJ ,we went into hiding. This was the ultimate for me.

Shortly after noon we were surprised by a very quietly moving confederate army coming through the woods. Addi Grace scampered up the rock from the creek below just in a nick of time. The first few saw her but the majority of the army never even suspected we were lurking behind the huge rock with peering eyes and quite mouths. This army impressed me so with the silence at which 60 men could move throught the rough terrain. They diappeared into the woods as quicklly as they came upon us. The "taters"(new word for me compliments of Pat Price) in groups of 2 or 3 were louder than the entire Confederate army.

We had planned to move out from our safety rock when the battle begin and begin our journey up the hill to make our way to the visitor's center to assist with the candlelight tour. But a sudden and heavy rain changed our plans. The rock shelter soon turned into a mud slide. We quickly packed our items down the huge steep slippery rock by a human chain with CJ standing in the creek , me handing blankets and baskets as fast as possible int he pouring rain down to him, and them being passed from person to person as we packed our items out.

Then as we crossed to the side which provided no shelter, The bugle of the oncoming Federal armies sounded. Fear strucken we began a hasened journey up the steep ravine. It took Robin, Steph aong with Cj an d I to get the goat wagon up the slope. During the flight to safety our group became seperated. We passed one federal picket along the road, we later learned he was unknowingly trapped in between the confederate army lines. A horseman ( Coley Adair) came upon us and ordered to the keep moving quickly as we were still in harms way of the approaching fedral army.

We made it to a safe hiding place and rested trying to find our lost members and wait for them. Then we heard an approching army from the front. It was a confederate column, scared we hid again. We were told more were coming. We istened for a while and concluded they must have lef t the road. We began to move up the road again. There they were, quietly, coming in waves. we were forced to hide again.



After they passed We moved on further , weary, fearing the worst of our traveling companions. Another horseman ( Guy Musgrove) came up on us and gave us his weapon as he had been injured and needed to leave his arms. Panicked we took it and hid it in our belongings. With gunsots ringing in the direction we had just fled we hunkered down , hiding in the woods listening to for our other members footsteps to be recognized.

Finally, they came and we all moved further away and found a safe hiding place on the woods. When we approached once again by a man on horseback ( John Cleveland). He preceeded to shout obscenities ordering us to move even further as the army was coming. We felt we could travel no more up the road. We were exhausted, wet, weary, hungray and aching from the previous flight. We just moved deeper in to the thick green covering and hid.

As the battle commenced, we saw many stragglers traveling the road. Many injured, and weary in both colors of blue and grey. Some we fed ( Brian Wilson, Mark Waddell, Will Leech, and gang I hope you all enjoyed that good bread)), and some we sheltered( Matt Cauldwell and Brian white). Many just reported battle news. Tales of the battle, weapons being lost ( Chris Mattingly) and food shortages stung my ears. After the candle light cancellation we scoured about the country side looking for a dry place to make a camp for the night.

After hearing of a cabin up the road , we proceeded there for shelter. We passed a huge artillery encampment. But safely traveled on our way. The cabin had been overran with an entire regiment of conferate calvary, so this was no place for us. We were forced to find a close place and bed down as it was already dark and we were soaked to the bone. The night was cold and long .

We had little food left for breakfast that morning, but I managed to feed the children from a boiled egg, a piece of cheese and bread. We then packed our blankets into the wagon, which was so much lighter than the day before and begin our travels again.


Thanks to Coley for all his hard work, and John for his awesome first person yell ( seems like I have been yelled at by him before) we later discussed if you were in first person or really that mad at us for being caught int he battle zones. Robin and Steph for coming out one more time. It had been too long since we were all together. Pat Price for his first person ability. Best event for me in a long time.


Lisa Pace

[James Masson]

"( Brian Wilson, Mark Waddell, Will Leech and gang I hope you all enjoyed that good bread)"

Ma'am, that was truly some great bread and thank you so much for letting us have it without a fight. We didn't know y'all had a gun :)

I want to say thank you to everyone that helped organize the event, it was great guys. To the Federal battalion staff, you guys did an excellent job. A big thank you to Cpt. Duffer and Sgt's. Hicks and Ezell, I don't think there was a better group of NCO's in the entire battalion. And last but not least to the men of Company K, I want to say thanks to all of you for the great time I had. Guy White, your stories will not be forgotten for a long time.

[GBaylor]

First and foremost,

My hat's off to Coley, John, Chuck and all those folks who worked for months putting this fine event on. Y'all outdid yourself. To our foe..the Yankee horde. You guys looked spectacular from start to finish (you think I've used enough cliche's?)

We settled into Camp Adair, the site of a log home, around dusk on Friday. Despite the fact that some of us hadn't met each other before, we melded into a very cohesive unit in no time (aptly displayed by the insults on each others states of origin and attributes of of female kinfolk). We passed the night rather uneventfully, save the snoring.

The morning broke with troopers watering, feeding, and grooming their horses, saddling up and drawing rations; which we cooked imediately (fire ants in corn meal can't be beat...try it sometime). We moved well ahead of the Federal column into what I'll call the "great woods" with John Cleaveland as our guide. He was in every way like Moses leading his tribe through the desert (it seemed it would take forty years to find our way out). John and Zak went back to make sure the Yankees could find their way. The technique used was called "navigation by fire" (when the Yankees looked like they had lost their way we'd shoot at them as if to say, "over here! the trail is over here"). My hat's off to that skirmish company, you moved very well and made it hot for us a couple of times. After crossing the creek, we made it up to the top of a rather long hill and a rear guard was left behind to set up an ambush for the Yankees. We could hear them down at the creek hollering for their "Mittens". We looked at each other and wonder why Yankees would want to find "Mittens" on such a hot day. Well, yankees are a peculiar breed anyway. We sat up there for what seemed like an hour and I really felt sorry for those ground pounders having to hump it up that hill. Coley decided if we held them up too long they wouldn't make it to the cornfield until after sundown. We pulled back to another creek crossing to wait for the Yankees. Zak and I went back to see if the Yankees were close and came upon a very tired and hot Pat Craddick panting his way up the road. Zak and I returned back to the Critters who were lounging by the tranquil creek side preparing a picnic for the Yankees. We gave the Yanks a few rounds and pulled back up another really steep hill. On the way up Guy did his best impression of a lawn dart off his horse ( I'll give it to Guy, he's one tough feller). Guy and Coley traded horses and all was right with the world. We stopped a while later, and few more unintended dismounts later (names whitheld to protect the guilty) and cooked coffee and watered the horses. We heard the Yanks make their way into the wheatfield, so we set up a mounted skirmish line at the top of a wooded hill. We hit their advance and skeedaddled back to the fences in the cornfield.

We left about ten troopers to act as skirmishers in the first half of the cornfield at the fence. The Yanks came on at the double quick and drove our boys back through the ravine and up the hill to the rest of us sitting behind the fence at the other end of the cornfield. The Yankees came on and we gave them lots of lead. I agree with Larry that the use of ramrods made the whole thing seem more realistic (saying this though, I did stay down behind the fence to prevent an errant ramrod from making a Sweeney shish-ka-bob). The Feds looked great coming on in good order and taking realistic hits. When I couldn't reload my Mississippi Rifle quick enough and the Yanks were in "spitting" distance, I unloaded my Colt into them dropping five (including my pard Huck...ahh the fates). The Feds pressed on and almost broke us, but the Confederate Infantry arrived and stablized the line. The Critters pulled out in Critter fashion, at a gallop, to the cheers of our adoring fans :wink_smil

We pulled back to Camp Adair to water, feed, and groom our tired mounts. We enjoyed the "helicopter" demo by Coley and continued to insult each other's ancestory, religion, and sexual peccadilloes (we wouldn't be Critters if we didn't). The care package sent by Zak's "soon to be fiance' " was a life saver, filled with all sorts of delectables. We filled the night air with roars of laughter as we faded off into the land of Nod. A note of thanks to Scott who jumped on my horse's neck when he became entangled in his lead line, although I did suspect Scott might have enjoyed it more than he let on.

To Coley, John, Guy, Zak, Chris, Chuck, Pete, Jerry, Scott, Patrick, Ethan, Daryl, Larry, Charles, Sergeant Major and Captain Gatch you are all a fine bunch of gentlemen and great cavalrymen. I enjoyed every minute of the event. To the Federals: you all were a great looking bunch, hearty souls for marching over hill and dale in the hot humid Georgia countryside, and did your forefathers proud. The Confederate Infantry did a great job of helping is out in a pinch and I'm sorry we didn't get to spend more time with you folks. Unfortunately for the Confederate Artillery, I only heard you fire the gun, but we rode by your camp and you have nice horses and you looked good too!

All in all, a fine event. well worth the price of admission and the 10 hour drive. Hey Coley, can we do it next year?

John Sweeney

[I. Hogg]

I think I can say for all of Company F (Hogg Mess, Hard Head Mess, Mess #3, Columbia Rifles, Southern Guard) that we had a splendid time. The marching was hard but gave us a real appreciation for the hard work done during the Atlanta Campaign.

After the heat, the hard marching and the scrape with the confederates, our company was given the priviledge of setting up a picket post on the same spot where the federals held after falling back. We stayed along that fenceline all night. Our company was made up primarily of folks from Wisconsin, northern Illinois and Buffalo New York, the LONG drive was definately worth it to be allowed to spend the night on the line in the same spot as Hazens boys.

John and all, thanks for making that happen. We all appreciate your hard work, and I believe that to a man, our company would drive back next weekend to do it all again.

Thanks also to Captain Steve Acker, Lieutenant Kevin O'Bierne and 1st
Sgt. Derik Morefield for looking after the boys so well.


Steve Parrish
Hogg Mess

[ButtermilkRanger]

John,

It was a real pleasure and an honor to have ridden with you this weekend. Maybe one day Darryl and I can make the pilgrimage to one of your events in Virginia. You're welcome to come to the Bayou country anytime you get ready. We laughed at the Critters description of fox hunting with Viking helmets all the way home. You didn't bring any Georgia pop-tarts back to the Old Dominion with you, did you? Cornelius says they're a real treat. :wink_smil

My hat is off to everyone who worked so hard to make this event the success that it was. The quality of event and people meshed to make a great time for all.

Larry Morgan
Buttermilk Rangers LHC
Critter Company (Guilt by Association)

[Jim of The SRR]

Thanks to John Cleveland, Coley Adair, Tripp Corbin and the park for making this event happen.
It was a great event and I had random period moments throughout the weekend. Here were my highlights:
* After the battle on Saturday, the Yanks did a great job playing dead and wounded and played it till the very end. When we retreated back across the cornfield, the dead were already being lined up along the fence. It was very eerie and looked great and don't think we didn't notice and appreciate the extra effort you fellas did. You Yanks also looked great assaulting the fence. The smoke and scenario looked great from along the fence.
* Cooking corn pones with my messmates. I became a corn pone making machine on Sat night. Authentic reenacting really makes you see how important your mess is in supporting each other to cook, get water, get fire started with wet wood, etc. All this after everyone is quite spent from marching and fighting.
* Listening to the artillery drivers yelling and urging on the horses off in the distance.
* Laying down to sleep wet from sweat and rain looking up at the GA pines and wondering what the real soldiers were thinking at that same location 140 years ago.

Thanks to Rick Joselyn for his leadership and Cory Pharr our Capt of Co. A and David Chinnis our First Sgt for doing a great job. Thanks to The Salt River Rifles and GA Regulars for forming a great mess.

Regards,
Jim Butler
formely 2nd Sgt of Co. A - 33rd Alabama infantry
The SRR

[Old Reb]

I reckon by the time you read this, you will also know that I was not kilt along Pumpkinvine Creek like so many others from back home in Coffee County, but am a prisoner of the Yanks which is some what better than being dead. Since this pretty much brings an end to my soldiering, I thought I would tell you how it all came about in case anyone ask. As you know, we've been giving ground to the Yanks all the way from near Dalton, and at a place somewhere near the little community of Dallas, we made a firm stand atop a ridge overlooking a little corn field surrounded by a split rail fence. The marching to get there was a might hard, being that the country in these here parts is a might steep, but we all held up pretty good. Our march was held up by the artillery fellers who almost lost one of their canons in the creek, but they managed to get it out and get up the hill. We seen some civilians and I felt sorry for them since they was having to leave their homes, but I guess that is one of the woes of war. We had good high ground and the Yanks came at us and we did ourselves proud and drove them back and then chased them up another hill where they became a might stubborn and held firmly until night fall when we retraced our step back across the corn field to the ridge where it all began. We pretty much destroyed that corn field and I felt a bit of sorrow for the poor farmer who had planted it, and now it was layed in ruins. I was concerned with how hard I have become to seeing death, 'cause I was more concerned with the trampled corn than all the dead and wounded scattered about just as they be stalks of corn cut by a scythe. We made camp and built little fires but the rations we had been issued were about gone. I am pretty tired of eating fat hog meat and cornmeal, but we did not even have none of that left, so we curled up like dogs and slept 'til dawn. We did not have no breakfast either. A hungry soldier is not a happy soldier, I say that for certain. I just want you to know that Captain Jerram is a good fellow and showed great concern for our welfare, even offering to share what meager rations he had with us fellows. I suppose I do not know much about what is going on beyond my mess mates; Jeff, Chad, and Steve, 'cause that is about all a soldier knows or cares about. His friends. First Sergeant Bacon did a fine job getting us prepared to meet the Yanks. Ain't no better outfit than B company of the 33rd Alabama and I was trying to lift the spirits of some of the fellers by telling them how the Yanks had never whipped us which is more than I can say for the rest of the army but we got General Cleburne who is a fine gentleman and a fighter. All that said, we scrapped with the Yanks at first light and they, I found out later, were Kentucky fellows, and we had faced them before, and they are fighters to say the least. When they came, we opened up on them, but they kept coming like demons from hell with no fear of death and many of us were faced with being kilt or captured and the later prospect seemed easier to chew. One of the Yanks that guarded us ask me how far it was to Atlanta 'cause his officers had told him it was just a mile or so. He seemed a bit disappointed when I told him it was still a good piece to Atlanta and old General Joe was not about them get across the Chattahoochee with out a good fight. He told me he had not had breakfast either having eaten up all the issued rations of hard bread and beans that had been issued to him the day before. I offered him a chaw of tabacco. No sense in blaming him for me being captured. When we was marched to the rear I says to him, “See you in hell Yank.” He just smiled at me and says, “I think I am already there.” Well, I hope this war ends soon so I can come home and plant some corn and know that no soldiers will be littering it with their corpses.

[Eric Tipton]

Comrades:

Here is an evaluation I posted over on the Camp Chase Forum.

Your Name: Eric Tipton
Name of Event: Pickett's Mill 140th Battle Commemoration
Location of Event: Pickett's Mill State Historic Site - Dallas, Georgia
Type of Event: Semi-Immersive, Living History
Event Host: Critter Company, 10th Texas, Wool Hat Boys, Pickett's Mill State Historic Site, and Friends of Civil War Paulding County.
Date: May 28-30, 2004

1) How did you hear about this event?

Comments: The event was promoted on the internet forums. Most information came from the discussion on the Authentic Campaigner. There was also quite a bit of positive word-of-mouth I had heard from friends who had attended in 2001.

2) Did the event scenarios and amenities meet the advertised expectations?

Comments: The event scenario precisely followed the route of the 5th Kentucky in their march and assault on May 27, 1864. The route we took and the battle scenarios did not disappoint and there were minor glitches that did not effect the overall quality of the march. A father-son duo did not report for roll-call during the march, which delayed things a bit, but provided some comic-relief when it was found out that they were out in front with the skirmishers all along. The "dead company" ended up with more than anticipated, because other "dead" Federals fell in with us. We were not gathered up for a while, but again, this was a welcome relief for me, because I was able to re-join my Mess #1 pards, who had already found a cozy camp site and had a ready fire for drying out our gear.

The march and battles, were in my opinion, absolutely spectacular. We kept moving on the march and the phrase "one more hill" became a theme for the weekend. No modern intrusions, whatsoever on the march. You had to be there to appreciate the heat, humidity and camaraderie of the troops.

The battle went off without a hitch from what I had heard about the plan. We Federals took quite a few hits and were driven back to the ravine just as the originals did. Eric Emdy came up with the idea of lining us up along the fence, so when the Confederates returned, they would find us there. We heard some muffled comments and they were kicking our boots checking us. From what I heard from Jim Butler here, the effect worked out ok. When I was "dead", the sounds and smoke from the battle and the humidity made for another moment I won't forget. It made me wonder what those boys were thinking as they breathed their last breaths in the very area I was laying.

As far as amenities, there was plentiful water arranged throughout the march at wood "wells". Rations were issued Saturday morning (bacon, beans, hardtack) with plenty of time to cook bacon before heading out for the march. We were provided with "hard" parking surface at a school a few miles from the visitors center. Shuttles ran frequently. We were able to catch a shuttle back to the starting point only a few minutes after leaving our vehicles. I was impressed with the efficiency on this point.

3) What was the camping arrangment? Was this a campaign event, family-oriented or mixed?

Comments: Campaign. Nice Federal camping spot on Friday night with pine needles blanketing the ground. Best night's sleep I've ever had on campaign. On the move constantly on Saturday with the afore-mentioned spot on Saturday night.

4) Was this event based on an actual battle or historical event?

Comments: This event was based on the Federal assault on May 27, 1864 during the Atlanta Campaign. It was held on precisely the same ground as the assault and this provided a good deal of motivation, at least for me personally, to do it right.

5) Describe the setting for the event. What was the surrounding area like? Was it set amidst modern surroundings or a more rural setting?

Comments: As I've said, the site itself is perfect for a reenactment of this type. I can see now why so many people have told me about this event from 2001. Hills, ravines, hills, creeks, hills, thick forests, oh and did I mention hills.

I guess my biggest surprise/disappointment was how developed the area immediately outside the site is. At one point during our march, we encountered developers literally digging out a hillside adjacent to the park. I understand the immediacy of the rail drive and preservation effort a little better having seen it firsthand.

6) Where there citizen reenactors attending the event? Describe the interaction between the citizen and military reenactors.

Comments: I didn't encounter any citizens, but heard about interaction that sounded like it was more on the Confederate side of things.

7) Did the event promise to benefit preservation? To the best of your knowledge, what was the total amount donated for preservation?

Comments: I don't know what the total was, but approximately $3,000 was raised to install fence rails on the site. We had the pleasure of knocking some of those rails down during the scenario. If someone knows the total donated for preservation, I be interested to hear about it.

8) What were some of the specific rules and standards for the event? Were they enforced?

Comments: There were uniform standards for the event and a weapons inspection. I can honestly say that this event had thge best impressions I've ever seen collected in one place. There were several moments when I looked down our lines, snippets from the batles and down our column where it literally gave me the chills.

9) Were there any safety violations that you noticed, and did you feel that safety was made a priority for the event?

Comments: Rammers were drawn for the event to better-portray the real-time action. To my knowledge, no accidents were caused by this practice. There were some heat-related injuries and some twisted ankles and such, but nothing serious that I have heard about.

10) Do you feel that the organizers had the needs of the reenactors in mind when they planned the event?

Comments: I commented about John Cleaveland in an earlier post, but I would be remiss in mentioning our 5th Kentucky Company "B" Captain John Crabb. Coley Adair, Pat Craddock and all the others who put this together went the extra mile to make us feel at home. I also noticed that some of the biggest bugs took time to talk to individuals who approached them.

Some of the other "little things" I noticed about keeping the rank-and-file in mind:

(1) The event went live on Friday night at 11 PM. This allowed everyone to show up and be ready to go. This created a cohesive unit before things got started. This worked well.

(2) The decision to issue rations Saturday morning instead of Friday night was done on the fly and made a lot of sense, because we were able to get some immediate rest when things were st up and I was ready to go Saturday morning.

(3) After we were well-spent on Saturday night, they called off picket duty. We accomplished a helluva alot on Saturday and I thought this was first-rate. We were ready to go back up that hill again early Sunday morning and the event wrapped up by 10:30 AM, again, to help out those who had a long drive home.

(4) The officers and NCO's were first-rate. Other than a couple of about-faces, and the Minton (sp?) disappearance there was never a time where there apeeared to be any confusion or uncertainty. From what I know about the organization of the event, the group was hand-picked to lead from different units and it showed.

Overall, the organizers were gracious and visibly thrilled to see each one of us there. The staff at the visitors center was extremely friendly as well and got a kick out of telling us what we were in for on the Federal side.

11) Overall, would you attend this event in the future or recommend it to others?

Comments: Right now, I wish I was still there - lol. I have to say, as my first "western" EBUFU event, I was more than highly impressed. I met many from the WIG, Critters, AOP, and the GHTI. We were in compay "B" with the GHTI and I thought those fellows were a blast to fall in with. There were others I had previously met from the Salt River Rifles and those boys are salt-of the earth as well (no pun intended). Lastly, I wanted to mention my file partner for the weekend, Matt Woodburn. Matt, thanks for the licquorice and for being there with me all weekend long. I really had a good time getting to know you a little bit. My pards in Mess #1 - can't wait for the next event together.

I know I've repeated some things already mentioned, left things out and people, for that matter, so anyone else is welcome to add or comment on my observations.

It was a pleasure. :D

Respectfully,

[Strawfoot]

In our hobby, people speak constantly of 'capturing the moment.' But at Pickett's Mill, the moment captured me. Never have I found myself thrust into a situation where I understood so much of what those men may have went through 140 years ago.

The absolute feeling of physical and mental exhaustion that consumed me after Saturdays cornfield battle, gave me that very sobering perspective. It was a wierd feeling of closeness, being there on that ground and knowing what they endured and suffered through.

You can experience a period moment at an event by standing picket on a dark cold night, or maybe pitching in on a battle line with hundreds of others. But to actually follow in the exact footsteps of Hazen's men, feeling the same fatigue and weariness, fighting the same terrain and brutal weather, well... It sort of thrusts you into 'the moment.'

Yes, the march Saturday was doable. But it was also an asskicker. The constant fits and starts in double and single file I think took its toll as much as the harsh terrain. Historically, the brigade averaged less than a mile an hour, and we matched that handily. I saw very few men fall out, but everyone was challenged with fatigue, and the sweat was running in torrents. Thank God the water supply was handled brilliantly.

After the march, we attempted the approach advance in columns of eight as they did, but the battalion became a hopelessly tangled mess in the brush. With a rueful grin, I note that in Ambrose Bierce's account of "The Crime at Pickett's Mill," he describes the attacking brigade as turning from "trim battalions into a simple swarm of men struggling through the undergrowth of the forest, pushing and crowding." Not wanting to be ridiculous here, but those were hardened men of intense discipline, seasoned campaigners of three years, and they struggled in that mess just as much as us overage, out of shape, modern day re-enactors...

The AoP battalion looked simply awesome. Awe inspiring. I've never seen a group of mangier, dirtier, or more ragged re-enactors anywhere. My company commander, Nate Petersburg, was amazing in his role. I was dead tired Saturday afternoon, just spent. All of us in Company A were. Yet there was Nate, bounding around camp as if he were still on the firing line, checking on our welfare and spirits. I simply shook my head...

The battle Saturday was truly memorable. All the smoke amid the trees and cornfield. The screaming and chaos. And the ever present fatigue dulling your senses and actions.

I'll tell you... You can have the first person chit-chat, the authentic kits, and all the dirt and grime. But I have never felt more in touch with those heroes than that Saturday afternoon, just being so utterly spent and done. Talk about your period moment.

My thanks to John for putting us all in the postion to make the event succeed. Also to Dom and Steve for making the trip. It was great to see all the same old faces again. The usual suspects. And also to make new acquaintenaces. Frank Aufmuth's entertaining our company before the fight was priceless.

My hats off to my pards in the GHTI company who didn't lose a man the whole weekend. They are definitely the standard for Fed reenacting in the land.

What a weekend... The Mill? Yeah... The grinding mill. But WELL worth it.

Mike Phineas
Arlington, TX

[markmason]

At this point, I am unable to add very much to that which has not already been said.

#1 One event that stands out in my mind is while 1st platoon Co. B (GHTI)was deployed in skirmish advance of he column, we approached Pumkinvine Creek, halted, soon after discovering a picket line across the creek. The encounter brought on a sharp engagement between lines until they fell back toward the rear. The order was given to advance our line, the men splashing across the creek in good order, our line was established on the other side of the creek, and without wasting a moments time we pushed up the hill driving the rebel pickets deeper into the woods.

This was a very "REAL" moment for me as I hit the cold water knee deep.

#2 I truely appreciate the organizers allowing us to use our ramrods during the fight along the cornfield. This truely did slow the rate of fire down to give it a sense of realism. Also, it did not take long for my hands to become black from the fouling collected on the ramrods, wiping the sweat from my face quickly turned everythign I touched black. THIS WAS AS REAL AS IT CAN GET. The fields became thick with smoke to the point that it was hard to see the oncoming advance of the enemy giving a sense of suprise, not to mention a real sense of urgency.

#3 We had pork belly, crackers, beans, and cornmeal for rations. Some of the boys chose not to take the meal and/or beans, while others did so, they cooked the pork and threw off the grease leaving nothing to cook the corn meal in. These are tough lessons we learn as did those whom were there 140 years before us.

All in all, the sweat, humidity, scorpions, spiders, hills, and a DAMN WHIPPERWILL and two HOOTY OWLS who decided our neck of the woods was just as good as any other were well worth the time. I would do it again!

Thanks to John C. and all those who pulled this one off with a bang! Our command structure within our own company was superb as always. When John Cleveland is involved with organizing a event, it is well worth your time to sample it

[justthemiller]

Hello All,

First off I would like to say that Coley & John did an un-godly amount of work for this event and there just isn't enough praise to give them for their efforts. The fence rails alone looked spectacular. I was also glad that I could help out a little bit by working Federal registration while the two of them were able to attend to other matters.

I was also doing Federal but chose to not participate in the march for two reasons. One, my health and two, the park folks asked for volunteers so I figured I could help out better that way. While the federals were out marching I was doing some interp a hundred yards or so down from the visitors center. There were a lot of public out there and they came in large groups for the most part to look over the park. Many of them were from the VERY nearby developments and I received a lot of comments like, "I knew about the park but I didn't know anything about the battle before now." Hopefully they came away more educated from their visit.

A few folks came in from the march very fatigued and they brought them back to where I was. All except one looked like they just needed some air and a good amount of water and hopefully the one that needed more attention was able to recover from it. Later on in the day I tried to link up with the marching battalion but basically wound up just helping some walking wounded back to the visitor's center for a look-over by the EMT's. Hopefully they have recovered also from their knee & ankle injuries. Just doing that little amount of work was fatiguing enough so to those that even attempted the march I say Bravo! Four miles over terrain like that is more like 20 miles over flat terrain. When I finally got back to the Federal camp on Saturday evening I was impressed with the tired looks on all of the faces yet everyone seemed to be in high spirits. Slumber definitely came easy for those men I can say. The Sunday morning affair went well with no one getting hurt and a good time had by all that participated in it.

Once again I felt that the overall event went along swimmingly with little or no real problems encountered by those that went to it. Organization was great and those that attended were adult enough to roll with whatever difficulties that came along. I sincerely hope that in the future there will be more events like this one. Take care.

[Dave Grieves]

Four of us from the 122nd NY flew down to attend Pickett's Mill in Co. F, 5th Ky, with Capt Ackerman. Posted below is the diary I kept during the event. There are no times, as I cannot afford a timepiece on a private's pay. The facts and chronology may be askew, since I wrote this from the private's view without outside information. It was an interesting excercise, and I thank Dave Towsen for the idea. Here it is, for what it's worth:
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May 28, 1864 – Arrived at marshalling area around 7:00 pm. Got naked around women, but there wasn’t another way to change clothes. Marched to co. area and started fire. Met orderly sgt. Morefield. Slept peacefully under the trees with small fits of rain.

May 29 – Woke at dawn. Detail brought rations that were quickly issued and cooked. Drilled a little, went to bn. drill and learned “marching by 8’s”. Broke for a while and went on water detail.

Formed bn. at 10:00 and began a march approaching the rebs. Very steep hill cost us some men to fatigue. Another ½ mile and a good rest and refilled canteens. Just before the rest we heard musketry to our front.

After resting we marched another ½ mile or so, with another big hill. No casualties that I know of. After crossing a cold creek (only one foot wet) we stopped for another break.

More marching. We were told at our first rest of the day that there would be two more large hills. We’ve now done at least 3, and the boys are whipped. We are resting again, and the Col. says we will be here for 2 hours. There was more firing by our skirmishers, but I have not yet seen a reb. Water has been plentiful, shich is good, for some of the men need it. At our send rest, 2 men from another co. went missing, which extended our break.

The last time we crossed pumpkinvine creek our feet got fairly soaked, so I have my socks and shoes off to dry.

After our long break we began our approach on the rebel works. More very steep climbing that tested the boys. Our skirmishers met dismounted cavalry and drove them away. We crossed a deep ravine and at the top took position briefly behind a wooden fence. After brief firing we pushed the fence down, crossed it and advanced across a field. We crossed 2 or 3 hedgerows moving steeply downhill. All this maneuver was done in “column of 8’s”.

At the bottom of the field we encountered another steep ravine. We pushed hard all along. At the bottom of the ravine was a deep gully cut by a stream. I stopped to help Brad out of this gully. We pushed up the hill, which opened on a small cornfield. We made it part way across the field, but were pinned down by withering fire. We remained there for firing prone for a long time, but retired back down the hill. The rebs followed us, and we took a position behind the fence we pushed down earlier.

The rebs approached us and we held them off from behind the fence. They left and we spent the night there.

May 30 - It had started to rain hard as we formed to move on the assault, so by the time we were in camp we were fairly soaked. It rained throughout the night, and all were wet in the morning. We are waiting for word to move. Nick let out a screech while packing up. He found a scorpion in his things.

We received word to move and rejoined the bn. from our position on the skirmish line. It is reported that several soldiers from other companies skulked away during the night, but our co. is all here.

The bn. then moved to our old skirmish line. We then followed yesterday’s route, but this time in line. We quickly lost order, and re-formed past the deep gully. We then advanced up the hill, and as we moved quickly, we lost order again. We formed a line as best we could about 40 yards from the rebs behind their fence and charged them. They fell back from the fence and we tore it down to build breastworks.

We watched the rebs re-form and move to our right, so we marched by the flank and came upon them. We gave them heavy fire and they turned to retire. We charged them, chasing them about a quarter mile and taking many prisoners. It was hot work.

The bugler sounded the halt and to the colors and we re-formed and took roll. We lost 5 or 6 men, including Capt. Ackerman, but drove the johnnies from the hill.

After roll call the battalion marched to a clearing, where we received words of appreciation for our deeds from the Lt. Col and other officers.
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We had a bully time. I thank the organizers and our company leader's for leading us through the re-creation of the 5th Ky's travails at the Mill. I'll never forget those darned hills. :tounge_sm

[unionreb]

My turn to thank all the Critters for great job of putting on the event. I wish to second all that Larry has said about the event and my thanks to the Buttermilk Rangers for letting me ride with them and sharing the dirve time between Louisiana and Georgia. To bad I had to drive the Louisiana/Texas legs without the companionship shared during the rest of the event. I arrived home 22 hours after leaving Pickett's Mill Sunday morning. As I said in the first sentence, thank to the Critters, but especially Scott, who without his farrier skills, I would have made a 2000 mile trip for nothing. My horse found one of the holes in the pasture first thing during drill Saturday morning and pull a shoe off. Scott's skills got us ready to ride and ride we did. Again thanks to everyone for a great event.

Charles

Charles Bradford
Critter/Ranger convert

[HoggBro]

First off - words are simply not enough to thank John Cleveland, Coley Adair and all of those who put time and effort into organizing this event. Next, large marks for Col. Dal Bello, Lt. Col. Craddock, Adj Milbert and the entire command staff for their efforts at leading and looking after the 5th KY.

Now to Company F. My thanks to all of those who made the trek and agreed to fall in, it was truly one of, if not the best Federal company that I have ever had the privelege of participating in. Hats off to Sgts Scott Frank and Jason Reinholz and Cpls Stephen Tyler, Dave Gerow, Joe Hill and Terry Sorchy for keeping the company organized and effective. Finally, to Capt Acker and Lt O'Bierne who provided much enthusiasm and quality leadership in getting the company through a pretty rough weekend. I was proud to call roll on Sunday morning and not have one man missing from the company.

Looking very much forward to the next opportunity to serve with you all (or is that all y'all?).

Best Regards,
Derik Morefield
formerly, 1st Sgt., Co.F, 5th KY Infantry

[pprice]

This was my first time out as a civilian and my first time back to a decent event in quite a while due to a permanent ankle injury. I can definitely say it was a different experience than that of toting a rifle in the ranks of blue.

There were actually 3 civilian groups hiding or roaming about the property for the weekend. If you didn't see any civilians then consider their goal accomplished. Our purpose was to hide from the armies and find safety.

As Lisa already stated, our bunch consisted of Lisa Pace, Cj Pace, Addi Grace Pace, Barbara Hartman, Stephanie MCKinnell, Robin Meade and myself. We'd bedded down for the night at the juncture of two trails, just hoping the horses and bugles we heard in the distance were doing the same. Not long after dawn we made our way down to a bend in the Pumpkinvine Creek where we commenced to engage in a bit of swimming, picnicking and mostly relaxation. My, what a contrast to what most of you wags were engaged in, eh? :baring_te

I won't repeat all of what Lisa said, as she did an admirable job of recounting our exploits. After we bugged out of our soggy shelter Miss Barbara and I were bringing up the rear when we heard bugles signal the advance of the boys in blue. Scurrying the best we could in our impaired states, we had just chosen a forked path when a Critter harrangued us to begone before we were caught between the opposing forces. A lone federal picket also interrogated us - though he looked more ill at ease than we, being behind enemy lines and apparently completely lost from his like-minded soldiers.

Some federals later beseeched us for what food we could spare and gave until we couldn't afford to give anymore.

All in all, I had a great time. Thoroughly enjoyed my company and got to see a side of things I'd never really spent much time thinking about. I completely realize that at any event like this, however, civilians often have to "make their own fun". This was something I was moderately prepared for, though I'd hoped for much more interaction with other civilians and more soldiers. I was dissappointed that dedicated foraging parties weren't all over us - as that would have given both us and them something more in the way of first person interaction. To remain dedicated to historical fact, however, keeping a very low profile was in order.

Hats off to Coley and everyone else who had a hand in bringing the event off. I hope that a goodly amount of money was raised for the park by reenactor admission fees!

P.S. The trip hope was interesting too - keeping our fella hydrated who'd earlier had issues during the event, and dodging not one, but two tornadoes in Lexington, KY on the long road back to Michigan.

[Pritchett Ball]

My two cents:

Traveling from Texas, this was the best event I have ever been to…not knowing where I was in the park at times, (having never been to P. Mill before), not knowing where the Yanks were, but knowing we were going to clash!

Saturday evening:
Being in the 3rd company in the Confederate line, getting on line after the shooting started, I was looking over the rail fence, trying to find the Yanks. Then, as the smoke cleared, seeing dead/wounded Yanks laying everywhere in the cornfield! AWSOME!
When we charged, I couldn’t tell where in the forest across from us where the Yanks were, till I saw the gleam of some rifle barrels pointing at us…a weird/spooky feeling! When they fired, it was a lot of flame & smoke, just like you read about. I have never seen so many authentic looking Yanks before in my life.
Sunday morning:
I was worn out, & praying that the Yanks would adopt the policy of “don’t start nuthin, won’t be nuthin” but alas, I heard a bugle calling several times and we inevitably formed up again!
Well, at one point when we got to the fence, them Yanks had a line right on the other side, and killed or captured many of our boys. I turned, ran back to the forest, reformed with whoever was left, charged, and was met again with a whole line of yanks at the ready, they fired, and I had no choice but to go down. They had me dead to rights!
I am ever so thankful we did the Sunday morning battle, no matter how tired I was.

Hey, that rail fence was something to see. That made a big impression on me marching down to the cornfield. The effort & money spent in erecting that made for a wonderful setting. Hats off to the coordinators & those that donated.

I got to meet new friends, see a couple of old faces, learned new things, and came away with some experiences I’ll never forget!
I can't thank Coley, Tripp, Rick…all those in charge of getting this event off the ground, and providing experiences I wouldn't have otherwise. Marlin Teat my Co. Commander also has my thanks, as well as my First Sergeant.

Kevin Dally

[HOG.EYE.MAN]

Great Event!

I fell in with Company F and it was an awesome experience. The officers and NCO's did an outstanding job running the company.

I ran into a problem I'll share with you about my canteen:

On Saturday morning during drill, I noticed my canteen was leaking after it was filled up from the 1st water detail. Sure enough the damn thing sprung a leak in one of the rust spots. Within 10 minutes later, all my water ran out down the side of my leg. Just when I thought I was screwed, I was told the 1st Sgt. had on 2 canteens. (go figure). So, to make a long story short, I borrowed his extra canteen and everything worked out fine. Taking on those hills in humid weather would have been a Bitch (With a capital "B") without my own canteen... Thanks a bunch Derik!!

See you guys at Shaker Village....

[SGulley]

First off, I echo everyone's statements, thanks to all who made this possible.

Okay, now I can admit it was I who went down with heat exhaustion/dehydration. A couple of thank you's are in order.

Rick Musselman - Taking it upon yourself to help a comrade in need.

Jerry Ullman, Kevin O'Bierne, the Sgt. and pvt. with us as well - For carrying my gear on the trek back to the visitor's center.

The Sgt. in Nate Petersburg's Co. who realized what danger I was in.

For the comrade who gave me some berries for that extra little bit of sugar.

And for the park ranger who showed me the coolest spot on the battlefield.

Sorry I don't have names for some of you, but thanks to all. Because of your selflessness I was able to rejoin my Co before the Sat. battle.

And also thanks to Coley and the Critters for not putting my head on a pike as I tried to find my batt. (You fellas have some of the best impressions I have ever seen!)

All is well, rehydrated and rested, although as Pat Price stated earlier, we were almost the victims of 2 tornados.

Catch y'all next time I need an I.V.

[TeamsterPhil]

The view from the other side of the creek (the civilian perspective):

Thank you to Coley Adair for giving me the opportunity to be civilian coordinator (at my first civilian immersion event). Thank you to the rest of the civilians for making my "job" fairly easy. It's a piece of cake when everyone is chasing the same goal.

The good:
Fine first person with only minor slips.
Excellent impressions by all the civilians.
Katie Vogel doing a fine job toting almost as much as Holly_Mule would have with no complaints.
Katie's & Milicent Yeager's fine job of serenading the rest of the Brand family. I'm surprised you soldiers didn't hear them across the creek.
Confederate soldiers treating us sympathetic locals, not someone to be brushed off.
Getting 5 dollars (Confederate) in exchange for 2 boiled eggs and a hunk of cornbread.
The dense canopy of trees that kept us dry through every shower.
Erin Caldwell insisting that we read that infernal dime novel.

The bad:
Humidity
Bugs
Inexperience in pack saddles
The event only lasted 2 days
Not getting to meet as many folks as I would have liked.
Not finding my ancestor's grave up the road in Kingston, GA.

The ugly:
Bo Carlson's voice coming from a Confederate soldier. One of these day's I hope he gets to portray a soldier from Joisey via Brooklyn. You know I'm kidding, don't ya Bo??


Phil Campbell
Someone better put this event on again.

[SCTiger]

After working with Key's Battery for two days, I didn't get much time to take in the sights. What I was able to witness was very impressive. Lots of serious campaigners and c/p/h types from East and West and both sides of the Mason-Dixon line. It wasn't just a good turn out, it was a good turn out for the right sort of people. As mentioned before, the attitudes and zeal were just outstanding. The right people at the right event. I had attended the Living History program in 2003 and I was impressed by their efforts, good word of mouth does get around

Among the mounted artillery, the entire 13 man crew sweated and toiled and everybody was busy. We swapped cannon barrels, greased axles and did all of the heavy manual labor expected of a cannon crew. I learned alot that weekend, if anything I wish there were more mounted artillery teams in the hobby, everyone would then have a new respect for the artillery, if done correctly, it's truly an elite service. I feel that I could work 180 days straight with the Mounted Artillery and I would only learn a fraction of the technical knowledge that the old cannon masters knew. We were proud to carry the beautiful "Keys Battery" guidon, I was proud to fire a cannon on their position. It was a real high point for me.

I have also noticed that if you attend many c/p/h events within the same year, you will experience a cumulative effect, the more c/p/h events you attend, the better your field craft and living historian skills. The c/p/h experience gets better with every good event you attend. A proper historical atmosphere allows for this to happen.
Hurrah to the CS Infantry for helping us out at the hill and the creek crossing.
Hurrah to each person that showed up, traveled far and made the event .

Thanks to everyone in Ken (Boss) Oestenstad's Team and to all of the "behind the scenes" people that made it happen. The rail fences really added to parks
natural beauty.

[Kate Vogel]

A huge round of applause is in order for Phil Campbell. This was by far the best event I've ever attended as a civilian. As far as first person is concerned it was almost flawless. Other than exactly two name slip ups, everyone handled themselves brilliantly. Millicent Yeager was the perfect scolding, crabby, nasty Auntie and Phil Campbell was great as my Grandfather. There's nothing quite like tagging along with a crotchety old man who is wielding an axe and going on and on about the yankees, the confederates, the mule, and everything else that could be complained about.

A few isolated highlights

*That god-awful dime novel. Erin, if I ever hear the word "Malaeska" again, I'll scream.
*Hunting for crawdads by myself in the creek
*The excellent first person. We all knew our characters well enough that the family interaction was truly great.
*Being bored out of my mind. This should really be item #1, but it's down here for some reason. The most period moments I had all weekend were when I was trying to devise ways to entertain myself. All that really resulted was some crawdad hunting, knitting, reading aloud, some serious napping and various plots to do nasty things to my aunts that fell through due to a sudden need to get out of sight very quickly. I'm amazed no one picked up on my fascination with really large beetles that dissapeared into a box in my apron pocket and were quickly emptied from said box. Ladies, please check your bonnets, dresses, shoes and stockings just in case.
*Listening to Millicent Yeager. She's amazing and anyone who hasn't heard her sing is really missing out. Being scolded for forgetting the lyrics to a Stephen Foster song was pretty great as well.
*Talking Kimberly Bruce into taking a bath with me at four in the morning.
*Spending time with Phil walking around the site a little. That was great.
*Hauling a yoke, a ham, a significant portion of our food, my jacket, shawl and other assorted necessities, and almost all of our water and NOT having an asthma attack while trudging up those hills. That was a personal accomplishment if ever there was one.
*Turning that huge leaf into a makeshift bonnet.
*Successfully hiding from the army for the duration of the weekend.

The downers:

*The "chigroes" as JJ would say. I'm covered in the little monsters and am itching like mad.
*A really huge wolf spider that was inspecting my dress.
*The whole mule situation and ultimately having to leave Bev and Holly behind. We missed you all weekend and there was plenty of discussion about Aunt Cecilia who was hopefully unharmed while hiding in the back of the cornfields with the livestock.
*Taking a fall down the hill in the middle of the night during a trip to the Brand Women's Official Tree of Choice. Unfortunately, this was just off the road that the horse drawn artillery had gone down earlier and I wound up smelling like a road apple. Mmm, mmm, good.

All in all, it was an excellent event. We had more than enough water, we dealt with various setbacks and it seemed that everyone (in our family group at least) had an amazing time. Thank you to everyone who put time and effort into this.

[TKlas]

Gents,

It seems like a broken record but it is true, John Cleaveland knows how to host fine events year after year. Thanks to John and his staff for making Pickett's Mill a memorable event for years to come.

The Hard Heads had a great time falling in Company "F" organized by the Hogg Mess. Our company was a very good mesh of several units including the Hogg Mess, Hard Head Mess, 33d Wisconsin, Phoenix Iron Pards, Columbia Rifles, 122nd New York, Mess #3, and the Southern Guard. Special thanks to Captain Steve Acker (Hogg Mess), Lt. Kevin O'Beirne (Columbia Rifles), Derrik Morefield 1st Sgt. (Hogg Mess), and my fine comrade Scott Frank 2nd Sgt. (Hard Head Mess) who all made being a soldier in Company "F" a rewarding experience. The other nco's did first rate job as well! Good company leadership for sure.

I also want to thank my file partners Lucas Dietsche (Hard Heads), Matt Prost (Hoggs), and Dave Grieves (122nd NY) for the fine first person interaction during the event. Well done pards. And to Matt P., I will try to avoid the habit of leaping over rather tall obstructions during future campaigns. I might not make it over next time. :wink_smil

Just a great federal battalion as well with Col. Dal Bello, Lt. Col. Craddock, and Major Steve Dunfee leading us.

For those who could not attend, you really missed a great event.

[GreencoatCross]

Pickett's Mill was amazing. Aside from a busted, blackened knee I had a wonderful time and I have to say that I don't think the event lasted as long as it should have.

I will mirror other comments about the "good stuff" but I'll add that my own experience in the Sunday fight was almost transcendent. From the moment our battalion turned into the cornfield to the moment I got back up after taking my hit I felt totally caught up in what was happening. I had that sense of dread and I actually thought once to myself, "what will happen if I'm killed?" even though I knew that would not happen. Standing in the field watching the skirmishers go down the hill and out of sight was tense and hearing the firing but not seeing what was happening was even worse. I wanted to move so damned badly but we just had to stand there until the order was given. When the order was given, oh my God, I was elated, and when we crossed that deep ravine I looked UP the hill (that holds a different meaning to me now that I've been to PM) and saw our skirmishers behind a few trees. Then I saw some rebels through the smoke and I wanted to shoot at them badly but instead we were ordered forward up the hill. From the right came a deep cheer and off we went; I looked down the line from my position on the far left and saw a solid mass of men broken here and there by trees and when I looked forward again there was the open field and the rebels beyond. There was a volley and I think it was at that point when Corporal Eric Emde, next to me, fell dead. Some others fell in the first volley and I got off only three shots before we reformed and charged the fence. It's weird to think of now but this was all in slow motion. I looked down the line again while I ran and saw that everyone was keeping up and I felt like we could simply run through the fence and mow down the rebels; but I looked forward and a man was pointing his rifle right at me, fired, and I fell in the field. As I was laying in the dirt I wondered if what I saw, just a wall of flame and smoke and hardly any discernable rebel, was what so many soldiers saw of their enemy before they died or were wounded.

I want to thank everyone in Company B for making this the best event I've ever attended, and I want to thank the officers, hosts, NCOs, and event staff for taking care of everyone and everything.

See you again, soon,

Brian White
Slackerz Saloon Mess
GHTI

[Jersey Devil]

Phil,

Someone will step up and do it again, I am sure.

The Good, Bad and the Ugly?

At least you connected me to the ugly in some way. Always good to see you and hang for most of the day pre event.

The Good...

Just about the entire event, especially the Sassafras Root Tea! It was a life saver.

The Corn Field battle was just about the best sight I have ever seen. Probably the most realistic battle recreation ever done.

The Bad...

Playing Hacky Sac with each others balls on the march. My balls were in my shoe the whole weekend.

Oh and the damn Southern Devils, they were everywhere, including Senks' coat sleeve.

The Ugly...

Paul Jerram stripping down to his bare ass on Sat. night right on the road to dry off. Ain't nothing worse then a naked limey where you are trying to get some rest.

The Sad...

Few Easterners. Thank heavens for the few CR's that were there or we would have been REALLY out of place.

PS - I really did want to eat that "baby" fawn (Dept. of Redundancy Dept.). I guess that too many people had some feelings for Bambi.

I love visiting foreign lands - Scorpions, Whipper Wills, Coyotes, Copperheads, Rattlesnakes... Oh my!

[James the Haggard Ranger]

I would like to thank all the organizers and participants that made the 140th Anniversary a great event. There are too many of you to list by name besides you know who you are. I would also like to thank the members of the Friends of Civil War Paulding County Inc., and the Paulding County EMT's for their dog work behind the scenes.

After reading the AAR's, hot, humid, and rain not only describes the 2004 140th Commemoration but sums up the entire 1864 Atlanta Campaign. Imagine living like that from May until September. This event gave a good taste and glimpse at what those poor soldiers went through in 1864. I am glad everyone got to experience it in their own way.

On a historical note, although it was a rough experience, y'all still did not have it as rough as the 1864 soldiers. There were three things that fortunately you all were not required to do.

1. Lowery's Brigade participated in the 10:00 p.m. night assault on May 27, 1864 and did over run the area where the Federals camped Saturday night.

2. Both sides did not get to sleep until approximately 2:00 a.m. on the early morning of May 28, 1864.

3. Both sides started digging earthworks at first light on the morning of May 28, 1864 with bayonets and dinner plates. Of course, digging is forbidden today on historic sites so be glad be very glad. In 3 hours time the 1864 soldiers would have built formidable earthworks and with another 3 hours work would have built almost impregnable earthworks.

However, do not think any less of yourselfs because you did not do everything done in 1864, you all performed well under conditions most of us seldom experience on a week by week basis. By far the participants in the 140th Commemoration at Pickett's Mill are the most authentic and professional group of reenactors to be found anywhere. What I saw was soldiers and citizens of 1864 once more moving over this hallowed ground. Keep up the good work.

Thank you one and all for making this a great event,

James Wooten, Interpretive Ranger

[Old Reb]

Bo, I have served in the same company with you in Tennessee and north Georgia. Now that you have experienced some of the beauty of our country side, you need to venture even deeper into Dixie. You would be more than welcome in Louisiana. We would quarantee you some gators, mosquitoes that would carry you off if you weren't well planted, and the chance to eat mudbugs. Come on down!


Phil,

Someone will step up and do it again, I am sure.

The Good, Bad and the Ugly?

At least you connected me to the ugly in some way. Always good to see you and hang for most of the day pre event.

The Good...

Just about the entire event, especially the Sassafras Root Tea! It was a life saver.

The Corn Field battle was just about the best sight I have ever seen. Probably the most realistic battle recreation ever done.

The Bad...

Playing Hacky Sac with each others balls on the march. My balls were in my shoe the whole weekend.

Oh and the damn Southern Devils, they were everywhere, including Senks' coat sleeve.

The Ugly...

Paul Jerram stripping down to his bare ass on Sat. night right on the road to dry off. Ain't nothing worse then a naked limey where you are trying to get some rest.

The Sad...

Few Easterners. Thank heavens for the few CR's that were there or we would have been REALLY out of place.

PS - I really did want to eat that "baby" fawn (Dept. of Redundancy Dept.). I guess that too many people had some feelings for Bambi.

I love visiting foreign lands - Scorpions, Whipper Wills, Coyotes, Copperheads, Rattlesnakes... Oh my!

[crabby]

My Compliments,

Action at Pickett's Mill, Georgia:

Co.B, 5th Ky set up camp on the 28th of May in a fine forested area near Pickett's Mill. The men straggled in most of the evening. We had a compliment os 37 officers and men.

Revellie the morning of the 29th was at 6 1/2 O'Clock in the morning. The roll was taken and rations issued. Rations were light with each man recieving 4 crackers, about 3/4 lb. of pork a handful each of beans and cornmeal. There was much grumbling due to the lack of coffee.

The battalion formed at 8 1/2 O'Clock for parade and drill, both battalion and company level. The battalion marched out in full marching order at around 10 O'Clock. The weather was fair, with some clouds left over from the few light rains of the previous evening.

The route was trying with hill after hill before us. The men struggled with the chore. We lost three men to fatigue as stragglers. Co. B took the lead during to onset of the march as the battalion stepped off by the left flank. The second platoon, under 2nd Lt. Runyon, was placed in the advanced guard as skirmishers. About 2 to 3 hours into the march we took one of our halts after crossing Pumkin Creek. Orderly Sgt. Rector called the roll and two men, both named Minton, failed to answer. We spent about 1/2 hour trying to locate them. I had to report to the Col. that Co. B had lost their Mintons. They were found to be on the far left of the skirmish line. They were disiplined for failure to answer the roll. We had encountered small resistance from the rebel cavalry, which slowed the march. I believe it was just a probing action.

We finally took a long needed rest about 3 O'Clock for a couple of hours. This was the dinner stop, of course there needed to be a dinner to eat. Of which there was none.

The battalion was formed after the break and we were placed into columns of eight. We proceeded to move through the woods with much effort. We came upon a clearing with a cornfield and encountered rebel skirmishers. We were ordered to companies in line to form a battleline and proceeded to push the skirmishers back. We had to cross another creek and pushed to a fence line protected by a sizable rebel battalion. The fighting was hot and many a good man paid his dues on the Georgia soil. We charged but were repulsed back across the creek. We retreated in good order back across the cornfield and found a fence which we pushed down and made hasty breastworks. We were assaulted several times but held fast and the rebels retired from the field. Of 37 men engaged from Co. B, 13 were killed, wounded or missing.

We moved to about 300 yards behind the line and made camp in the woods. What rations were left were cooked and put away with elan. Revellie was at 6 1/2 O'Clock on the morning of the 30th. The roll was called and we had 36 men, as stragglers from the prvious days battle had trickled in over the course of the night.

The battalion was formed and we moved quickly back across the creek and y attacked the rebels at he fence. The left wing, of which Co.B was a part, moved to the rebels far right and made a quick by file right and by company into line and flanked the enemy. They were taken by complete surprise. We rolled up their right and they made a hasty retreat. We took the day. The battalion reformed and marched off the field victorious. Co. B lost an additional five men.

Total loss of Co.B
6 killed
3 wounded

Your Obedient Servant
Captain John Crabb, commanding
Co.B 5th KY

Side bar: Excellent event, very physical and very rewarding.

Thanks to John, Tripp, Coley, The Prk Staff for making it possible. Pat, Dom and Steve for your leadership. JUstin, Matt, Dan and Bugs, the lads appreciated your leadership (me too!). The lads of Co.B, you did a supurb job.

Okay enough already!!!

Crabby

[Cleaveland]

I thought I would throw in my observations on this discussion.

First.
When typing in your thank you for the event, the first name you should type is COLEY ADAIR’S name, in all caps. He deserves more credit for the event happening than anyone else.

Second.
Thank Joe Lictey when you see him next. In his own way he is responsible for many of the good things that happened on the federal side. He silently pulled a lot of duty for us as the sgt maj. I would say that, I know of no one that works harder than he does to getting things right, at any event he goes to.


Third
Many are under the misconception that the federal battalion was organized by the AOP. Dom was commanding, with Craddock as the second in command. The federal battalion was made up of diverse groups. Company commands where delegated by the event organizers to men of known ability. I'd say a majority of the participants at the event where WIGs and GHTI's with a hell of a lot of non-affiliated collected messes and individuals from all over the country.

Forth,
The water wells are not about hiding the water, they are about forcing the men to get water in a 19th century manner, yeah it slows you down, that's the point. It also clearly shows how limited a water supply could be. It does this while attempting to dispense it with a degree of sanitary measures; I think we did that this time, as we had no complaints of the trots.


Fifth.
I think Phil Campbell in another post (otb) has hit the nail of the head, for most of us mere mortals, I think that at this type of event, first person is close to impossible to maintain simply due to fatigue. Let me add that except for very controlled events, that most of first person I have seen resembles a bad puppet show with real people. There are a few people that can pull it off without resembling a cardboard cut out of a person, and I give them due credit. More than once I have had a good day ruined by some idiot with a very bad idea of what first person is. I think that we should stick to trying to recreate action and not individuals, if that makes any sense.

In any case take my words for what they are worth, except for helping out with Port Gibson in 2006. I am retired from the event business. I appreciate all the nice things people have said about my efforts but most of the credit goes to my friends and all the individuals who supported those events by attending them.

Last words, If the people in this hobby would show the respect, cooperation, and discipline, that they showed each other at Pickett’s Mill, while fighting in the corn field Saturday, Events like Pickett’s mill would be a little more common.


John Cleaveland

[marlin teat]

To Mr. Melvin Dwinnel,
Editor, Rome Courier
June 3, 1864

I wish to report the activities of the boys to their loved ones at home. I understand that a good many refugees from Alabama are in your neighborhood.

We have had a pretty hard time of it on the march for want of something to eat. It rained Friday night, everything got wet. I wrapped myself in the coverlet the kind ladies of Rome sent and stayed a little dry. We were issued rations there the next morning. The men put salt, vinegar, and red pepper on their bacon then broiled it over the fire on their ramrods. What was cooked on the top side we would eat to where it was raw while the other side was cooking, eating it without bread for we had none of that. We had a little meal which we mixed up without soda or grease of any kind, in a tin cup making a long string of dough and winding it around a stick and holding it over a fire until cooked. It did not take long. The bread was a little nasty, but no soldier ever finds anything too filthy to eat when he is hungry.

On May 28th we had a hard battle at Pumpkinvine Creek between Acworth and Dallas. We drove the enemy by charging them across a cornfield and through a holler. Balls never flew thicker than there but the Yankees were behind a fence all in a bunch and we were forced to fall back. We lost one man of our company. He was in front of the line when shot, the regiment falling back. We fought about one and one half hours, the Yanks were firing at us fast. Our company fought bravely, none lagged behind.

The next morning we heard the Yanks grubbing about in the holler to our front so we were sent to do some skirmishing. We were in a tight spot as we were between friend and foe; someone would fire and then the Yankee lines and our own near lines would both fire before the skirmishers could get in. I was on the skirmish line and know how it was for I came very near being shot by our own side, one man from another company shooting and the ball brushing my leg. I talked pretty roughly to him but he cowered down like a whipped dog.

By the time we got back into our lines the Yanks were on us. There were just too many of them. We were in a piece of woods behind a rail fence and I could hear the boys say “Boys, this is a bad place to get away from here.” We moved by the left flank to try to get on their flank but the Yanks were on to us. They were able to beat us there and still leave enough to clean up the table.

I had a ball pass through my hat in the fight and a ball went through my shoe sole, cutting it entirely in two from side to side. I thought my foot was ruined but it was only shocked; the skin wasn’t broken.

Most of the company was able to get away. I do not blame a man for taking care of himself whenever he can honorably. One thing I do know, it was a terrible battle, the losses were heavy on both sides. It is a wonder to me that as many got out alive as did.

Your correspondent,
Lt. C.M. Teat
Late of Co. C.
Alabama 33rd