Pickett's Mill AARs

[Pritchett Ball]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

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]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

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]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

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]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

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]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

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]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

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]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

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]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

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]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

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]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

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]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

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]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

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]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

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]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

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