Sumter AAR

[Coatsy]

Re: Sumter AAR

Pete P, I did mean Pete B. A lot of Petes floating around.

[Johnny Lloyd]

Re: Sumter AAR

Will write more in a day or so for the AAR... but in the meantime, how about some images?

If you missed this event, eat your heart out with a three-tined fork! ;)

[Spinster]

Re: Sumter AAR

Officers were responsible for their familes---and sent their wives away to better quarters.

However, the Army was responsible for the wives of enlisted men---and they too moved to Sumter in the night. For those women, it would be another six weeks before they were moved to safer posts.


[IMG][/IMG]

[Pvt_Sullivan]

Re: Sumter AAR

Outstanding Living History program. The tours on Friday night at Ft. Moultrie were well developed and laid out the narrative of events in a great progressive manner.

The logistics (which where enormous) went very smoothly, especially considering the amount of cargo and number of trips required to get everyone (and everything) to and from Fort Sumter.

Overall, the event came off as promoted.

I personally was very honored to portray Maj. Anderson during this inaugural 150th celebration event for the National Park Services. And I am grateful to Pete Berazuk for asking me to step up and take on that role.


Bravo Zulu Pete. Thank you!

(and yes... I will now let my beard grow back.)

Brian, I was honored to have you support our endeavor. Thanks for the words of praise and I'll look forward to the next time we're in the field and you have your beard back.

[Pvt_Sullivan]

Re: Sumter AAR

I hadn't seen that image yet. It has a ghostly quality to it, as if each of those fine ladies is someone else that I don't know.

Without their presence at Fort Sumter and the other ladies on Sullivans Island, TPEB would not have been as rich an experience for those of us wearing uniform. Thank You, Ladies...

[Johnny Lloyd]

Re: Sumter AAR

Okay- my AAR for TPEB:

Summary:

First off, I want to say this event is personally significant to me not just as a reenactor or a Civil War buff, but as a 1998 graduate of The Citadel. When I was a cadet in 1997, I got involved with reenacting as part of the Citadel Reenactment Club, otherwise known back then as Palmetto Battery. (One of my mentors, Steve Smith, was on the Citadel gun crew on Morris Island for this event.) Reenacting has not only been a hobby for me since then, but it has been another family of good friends that I really care for on a personal level. I care about the hobby as a whole and the quality of what we do today and it is all because of my association with such a special place like Charleston and The Citadel. For me, this was the chance for me to reenact the actual battle that was my cadet ancestors' claim-to-fame in history and American heritage.

With that out-of-the way, I have to admit this event was dynamite outstanding overall. Angela Harris, Pete McCarthy, Joe Caridi, Billy Birney and myself rode-down on the TPEB express from Virginia and we had a great time on the way. We had plenty of good laughter and we made better friends of one another. Many inside jokes between all of us will be shared in the near future about the fun we had on the way down to TPEB. This was a great way to kick-off the 150th series of events.

My role:

I was the Baltimore contract worker whose name was lost to history- I didn't have an official one on the name roster Pete put-out. No matter, for this I would still just use my personal name, as it is the easiest for me to do. My objective was to be the leader of the anti-federal and/or pro-secessionist section of masonry contract workers that voiced their opinions and left the island the morning after MAJ Anderson pulled his almost-suicidal stunt of moving the Federal garrison to Sumter from Moultrie.

As the afternoon of Friday grew later and the Federal garrison arrived at Sumter, my role bacame more complex in that I could not really say my men were "seccesionists" since most of them just wanted to go home and didn't care about politics. Some actually were secessionists, but didn't voice it much. The problem of calling ourselves secessionists was that the label would probably not get us off the island any quicker and we might find ourselves in a stockade instead of on a boat. All men agreed that with the stunt Anderson pulled in coming to the unfinished Sumter, every South Carolinian that had a gun would point it at Sumter and that was not what we were being paid for.

The Federals (mostly that dastardly Doubleday and Sgt. "Little Napoleon" Hamner) ordered us around like pack mules to take baggage for the Federal garrison's arrival. This was obviously outside the contract bounds and my men would not do such activity. We just wanted our pay and our way off the island that could become our tombs if we weren't careful. I went around and got a consensus of what me were on our side and who was pro-unionist or just wanted to stay to get paid. I tried to rally as many men to our cause and to make the Federal leadership realize that what they did was suicidal and detrimental to the country. After the blowhard Doubleday finally left us alone a bit, CPT Foster was charitable as he could be regarding our feelings. We were promised a boat in the morning would take us back to Baltimore.

When we arrived at Moultrie, we changed roles and became local secesionist Charlestonians. It was two weeks later in the game and we were part of the local forces that occupied Ft. Moultrie. On Saturday, we watched the firing of the Star of the West steamer supply ship by the Citadel cadets. We did rifle manual of arms as well as learned how to operate the heavy artillery pieces of Ft. Moultrie.

Good:

-We had some great firper in the evening/morning hours of Fri.-Sat. night at Sumter. I genuinely became fearful for my men's lives and getting off of that iceberg. The Federals were being hardheaded at first, but then they began to listen after we calmed-down and acted as rationally as the situation would allow. The Federals learned that they could not talk to us in a demeaning tone since this got them nothing from us either. Modernism was not a factor when we were the only ones on the island. The darkness also helped set the scene for us to have a good firper scenario.
-Seeing the invasion of the Federal forces that Friday night and shouting insults at them to get out of the fort because they would get us all killed.
-Seeing the Star of the West firing by The Citadel and watching the action on Sumter as it happened
-The Ft. Moultrie contingent was small, but very well-organized. We learned heavy arillery drill that was brand new to us "former civilians" that just took a fort from a Federal Regular Army contingent.
-Overall, Pete/Greg did a great job at organization of the event. As a professional logistician, I felt they answered all of the big questions of logistical issues and any that arose elsewise was the fog-of-war and couldn't really be helped beforehand.
-Rankholders at Moultrie were very competent and knew their roles. All were safe and I felt everyone cared about the impression with the public.
-Boataride in 15'+ swells in a small steam skiff to Moultrie. Zowie!

Improve:

-Not much on this front in my opinion. I think there were too many officers for what enlisted we had on Sumter since there were so many as to strut-around as peacocks and not do too much. I know the garrison had that many in real life, but for better event operations sake, we might have been able to do without a few of them.
-Not too many militia as far as numbers. We could have used a few more to provide a more robust impression, but no one can help who shows/doesn't how-up to the event.
-A suggestion if we do something like this next time: Could we offer militia members that were totally-stuck at Moultrie the option of somehow doing an impression that could get to Sumter? Some individuals were stuck the whole time at Moultrie (some wanted to be, some didn't). I felt kinda sorry for them.
-It might have been neat to somehow incorporate the Citadel battery into a trip out there by the event we attended. Don't readily know how to do this, but it might have been fun to somehow research how to incorporate it with a launch from Moultrie to the Citadel gun battery on Morris Island.

In Closing:

Again, this event was dynamite. If anyone missed it, they really missed a once-in-a-lifetime event. Many thanks to Pete B., Greg Deese, and all of Charleston harbor for making this a special event. Another not of thanks to my travelling companions on the TPEB express Joe Caridi, Angela Harris (one of the boys), Pete McCarthy the Yiddish Bear Killer, and Billy Birney for the fun on the way to the event and from it. I will remember it for all my life!

[FrockCoat1862]

Re: Sumter AAR

Hello,

Sounds like it was a great time!

It must have been something different for those who portrayed the heavy artillery.

Just a question, has there ever been an event like this before, with the same/similar impressions?

Thanks.

[pss_nyz]

Re: Sumter AAR

A great start to the new year, thanks Pete & Greg, really enojyed the event.

Mr. Robison, the forum rules require that you sign your posts. PM also sent. - Silas Tackitt, one of the mods

[AndrewGrim]

Re: Sumter AAR

Thanks Pete and Greg for putting on such a great event. It was well worth the travel from California. The 150th events are off to a great start. I also want to thank Johnny Lloyd for the tour of Charleston harbor.

[Johnny Lloyd]

Re: Sumter AAR

Thanks Pete and Greg for putting on such a great event. It was well worth the travel from California. The 150th events are off to a great start. I also want to thank Johnny Lloyd for the tour of Charleston harbor.

You are most welcome, Grim, and good to finally meet you. Chuck-town and her harbor, where the Ashley and 'Cupper' co-mingle to make the Atlantic Ocean, is an old friend of this Citadel Grad.

[pss_nyz]

Re: Sumter AAR

A great start to the new year, and a great event to be sure, thanks Greg & Pete for putting this on. Huzzah for "Horse" Company.