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Re: 87th PVI at Sailor's Creek - April 6-8, 2018
Gentleman, I want to say from the bottom of my heart, thanks to each and every one of you who came out and supported the Sailors Creek Living History event. I can't even count the number of times I paused and thought "That's exactly what the Civil War looked like". What better reward could there be? This was truly an embrace the suck event and my hat is off to each and every one of you. I've heard some awful stories and anecdotes that, as bad as they must have been at the time, on Monday they just sound really super cool! Just know this, while you were sleeping in the rain, in the middle of Southside Virginia, there were at least 3 guys with the VIRGINIA QUICKSTEP, leaning against pine trees and cutting up their drawers for paper. They all finished the march too...how's that for grit!?
This Battalion made a statement this weekend about what Living History can and should be. We combined high authenticity standards and immersion experiences, with high quality physical and visual living history interpretation for the public, while on the site of the Battle of Sailor's Creek and on the anniversary, and to top it off, we were able to make a $1,200 donation to the Friends of Sailor's Creek Battlefield. What more can we ask for on our end of the hobby???
We consumed 132 lbs of bacon, 120 lbs of beef, 72 lbs of dessicated vegetables, 400 crackers, and 20 lbs of coffee. We issued 3,000 rounds of ammunition. And of course, we marched 7 miles on the nose (in 2 hours and 15 minutes), aslo known as "Just one more mile to go, boys"!
Despite Mother Nature's best efforts, you guys stuck it out. You built your shebangs like Civil War soldiers, and in the midst of the cold drizzle I could still hear laughter, and cursing, usually followed by more laughter! You cooked your rations like Civil War soldiers, you carried your packs like Civil War soldiers, you drilled like Civil War soldiers, and you suffered through the Adjutant's 47 different General Orders like Civil War soldiers. I'd say we all have just a little bit bigger of a window into THEIR lives after this weekend, and I know for me, that's what this is all about.
Now, I want to make one thing very clear. A lot of people have been thanking me, and tagging me on facebook or sending me e mails congratulating me, and I truly appreciate the sentiment, but this was a MASSIVE team effort.
-Starting at the top, Fred Rickard spent hours and hours pouring over his "little green book", compiling "Casey's for Reasonable Human Beings to understand in 2018" e mails. That is to say, Fred sent an e mail out weekly, if not two, detailing to the Company Officers and 1st and 2nd Sgts exactly what their job was during the Battalion evolutions we would be utilizing throughout the weekend. We are in the best hands when Fred is at the helm! Columns doubled on the center??? Who does that?
-Thanks also to Craig, not only for being the Adjutant which might be the hardest working man in a Battalion, but for the blood, sweat and tears he poured into the details leading up to the event. Suffice to say, if you looked around and saw a cool piece of equipment, or box, or piece of kit...Craig probably made it.
-And if Craig didn't make it, then he probably had Justin Hammond make it for him! Which is the next man in line. Not only did Hammy build all of the boxes for the event, but he built the Dessicated Vegetable press and mold, and took great care to make sure I didn't hurt myself when using it. He also literally ran his truck out of gas shuttling guys to Friday night's campsite. And of course studied his ass off for Orderly.
-And speaking of Hammy's boxes, those things got filled by Tom Gurnett, who organized the round purchasing and acquisition, on top of preparing to be an Orderly Sgt...thanks Tom!
-And Jim Miller, who actually MADE the rounds...how cool was it to see cleaner rounds??? And again, Jim did this while preparing to be an Orderly Sgt as well.
-I also owe a huge thanks to Mike Scheibe and the SVBF for bringing the water truck...Mike is a WORKHORSE. Logistical things don't just poof out of the air, and I can tell you, they often end up being thankless jobs. Mike was refilling the water tank at 3 am Saturday morning while you guys were snuggled up under your shelter halves.
-Also a huge thank you to Jeff Baldwin and TJ Cox who performed the job of the Regimental AAQM and came up behind us and packed up the wagon and camp while we were marching, and policed the place in hopes that we might be able to do something again there in the future. TJ also ran himself well up towards midnight bringing in stragglers from the parking lot.
-Tyler Underwood stepped up big too, literally bringing home the bacon, and helping shuttle guys over.
- Cody and Jobey did an awesome job with the rations...breaking down a couple hundred pounds of food and getting it issued out is no easy task, and I think everyone enjoyed the boiled beef Saturday evening!
-Next up on the list is our Cavalry arm: Dan, Mike and Sweeney. Next time you're packing your knapsack for an event, consider the fact that these dudes usually pack 4 horses, with all of the equipment, into a big ass trailer, pulled by a big ass truck (that does not get 50 miles to the gallon like my Prius), and they bring all that to the event - and then on top of that were willing to let some very novice horsemen ride their animals. I think horses add a much lacking element to the life of Civil War soldiers...so next time you step on a road apple, think of Mike, Dan and John, the money, time and effort they put in...and buy them a beer if you have the opportunity.
-Our Company Commanders came up huge this weekend as well, Troy, Jon Bocek, Ivan, Brent, John Pagano, and Jeremy were the brains of the Battalion. They studied their e mails, came to the Drill School, practiced at home, and executed on the field. And on top of that, pulled together a variety of different messes and got them to gel into Companies. Plenty of guys in reenacting like to dress up like Officers...see how many of them want to work their asses off like these 6 did this weekend and I can tell you, the gilt and braid suddenly becomes a lot less popular.
-And of course you know, behind every half decent Officer, are the guys who REALLY run the Companies, and thats the NCOs. I don't know if I've seen such a good NCO group in my 18 years of reenacting. Absolutely incredible job keeping your men together, in good spirits, dispatching duties, setting guards, getting camps established, and setting the example. Not to mention what a great job the NCOs did with Battalion Drill. I was really impressed.
-Our General Guides and Color Guard were exceptional as well. I hope everyone noticed the details that went into Marc Hermann's guide flags, and the Luks' 87th Penn Colors. Lastly, I want to thank our field music, you guys bring the audio experience and regimentation to Army life, so I thank you for that!
None of this stuff just happens in a vacuum! It takes serious time and dedication, away from your families, away from work, away from all of the things that all of us have going on in real life. It's truly incredible the amount of effort that these folks put in. I REALLY hope I'm not forgetting anyone, and if I am, please blame it on sleep deprivation and exhaustion. Just a simple thank you can go a long way, so reach out to these folks and let them know you appreciate their efforts!
I personally had an incredible weekend and am so pleased with the end results. I hope everyone else did as well. I will say this, if you like these sorts of events, and think we're moving in the right direction, please consider registering and attending "Prelude to Invasion". You will find more of the same, but on a larger and more detailed scale. We are recreating the entire 8th Virginia Infantry Regiment to scale. The event will be very similar to this past weekend except it will be early June, we have a river to swim in, and the march will be shorter. We learned a lot from this weekend and look forward to improving your experience at future events. We are going to keep pushing the envelope fellows. If you don't have a Rebel kit, now is the time to start, otherwise you're leaving it to the yahoos to tell the story. Contact me if you need help putting a kit together and we will help you! While the mainstream hobby is sucking wind, we are going to continue kicking ass. Spread the word and tell your pards.
Stay tuned for photos of the event...wait what, you didn't see guys posting updates on Saturday night to facebook? Or a bunch of selfies pop up Sunday evening???? Must have been because you guys respected the rules and each other enough to unplug and leave your cellphones in the car. Thanks for that. We have a lot of pics and videos coming from our discreet assigned photographers!
To the men of Mess #1, Hairy Nation Boys, Monroe Wildcats, Clinton Guard, C&B Mess, The Tribe, Camp Chase F&D, Ft. McHenry F&D, Jacks N Tens, Palmetto Guard, SCAR, Shockers, Gov Guards, Western Rifles, Coffee Coolers, Eureka Volunteers, and The Liberty Rifles, my hat is off to you, and I thank you for giving me one of the best Civil War experiences I've ever had. I think we gave a good account on behalf of the men of the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia, in their memory, and gave an excellent representation to the public of what their experiences were like. I thank you all for that and look forward to seeing you at the next one!
Gentleman, I want to say from the bottom of my heart, thanks to each and every one of you who came out and supported the Sailors Creek Living History event. I can't even count the number of times I paused and thought "That's exactly what the Civil War looked like". What better reward could there be? This was truly an embrace the suck event and my hat is off to each and every one of you. I've heard some awful stories and anecdotes that, as bad as they must have been at the time, on Monday they just sound really super cool! Just know this, while you were sleeping in the rain, in the middle of Southside Virginia, there were at least 3 guys with the VIRGINIA QUICKSTEP, leaning against pine trees and cutting up their drawers for paper. They all finished the march too...how's that for grit!?
This Battalion made a statement this weekend about what Living History can and should be. We combined high authenticity standards and immersion experiences, with high quality physical and visual living history interpretation for the public, while on the site of the Battle of Sailor's Creek and on the anniversary, and to top it off, we were able to make a $1,200 donation to the Friends of Sailor's Creek Battlefield. What more can we ask for on our end of the hobby???
We consumed 132 lbs of bacon, 120 lbs of beef, 72 lbs of dessicated vegetables, 400 crackers, and 20 lbs of coffee. We issued 3,000 rounds of ammunition. And of course, we marched 7 miles on the nose (in 2 hours and 15 minutes), aslo known as "Just one more mile to go, boys"!
Despite Mother Nature's best efforts, you guys stuck it out. You built your shebangs like Civil War soldiers, and in the midst of the cold drizzle I could still hear laughter, and cursing, usually followed by more laughter! You cooked your rations like Civil War soldiers, you carried your packs like Civil War soldiers, you drilled like Civil War soldiers, and you suffered through the Adjutant's 47 different General Orders like Civil War soldiers. I'd say we all have just a little bit bigger of a window into THEIR lives after this weekend, and I know for me, that's what this is all about.
Now, I want to make one thing very clear. A lot of people have been thanking me, and tagging me on facebook or sending me e mails congratulating me, and I truly appreciate the sentiment, but this was a MASSIVE team effort.
-Starting at the top, Fred Rickard spent hours and hours pouring over his "little green book", compiling "Casey's for Reasonable Human Beings to understand in 2018" e mails. That is to say, Fred sent an e mail out weekly, if not two, detailing to the Company Officers and 1st and 2nd Sgts exactly what their job was during the Battalion evolutions we would be utilizing throughout the weekend. We are in the best hands when Fred is at the helm! Columns doubled on the center??? Who does that?
-Thanks also to Craig, not only for being the Adjutant which might be the hardest working man in a Battalion, but for the blood, sweat and tears he poured into the details leading up to the event. Suffice to say, if you looked around and saw a cool piece of equipment, or box, or piece of kit...Craig probably made it.
-And if Craig didn't make it, then he probably had Justin Hammond make it for him! Which is the next man in line. Not only did Hammy build all of the boxes for the event, but he built the Dessicated Vegetable press and mold, and took great care to make sure I didn't hurt myself when using it. He also literally ran his truck out of gas shuttling guys to Friday night's campsite. And of course studied his ass off for Orderly.
-And speaking of Hammy's boxes, those things got filled by Tom Gurnett, who organized the round purchasing and acquisition, on top of preparing to be an Orderly Sgt...thanks Tom!
-And Jim Miller, who actually MADE the rounds...how cool was it to see cleaner rounds??? And again, Jim did this while preparing to be an Orderly Sgt as well.
-I also owe a huge thanks to Mike Scheibe and the SVBF for bringing the water truck...Mike is a WORKHORSE. Logistical things don't just poof out of the air, and I can tell you, they often end up being thankless jobs. Mike was refilling the water tank at 3 am Saturday morning while you guys were snuggled up under your shelter halves.
-Also a huge thank you to Jeff Baldwin and TJ Cox who performed the job of the Regimental AAQM and came up behind us and packed up the wagon and camp while we were marching, and policed the place in hopes that we might be able to do something again there in the future. TJ also ran himself well up towards midnight bringing in stragglers from the parking lot.
-Tyler Underwood stepped up big too, literally bringing home the bacon, and helping shuttle guys over.
- Cody and Jobey did an awesome job with the rations...breaking down a couple hundred pounds of food and getting it issued out is no easy task, and I think everyone enjoyed the boiled beef Saturday evening!
-Next up on the list is our Cavalry arm: Dan, Mike and Sweeney. Next time you're packing your knapsack for an event, consider the fact that these dudes usually pack 4 horses, with all of the equipment, into a big ass trailer, pulled by a big ass truck (that does not get 50 miles to the gallon like my Prius), and they bring all that to the event - and then on top of that were willing to let some very novice horsemen ride their animals. I think horses add a much lacking element to the life of Civil War soldiers...so next time you step on a road apple, think of Mike, Dan and John, the money, time and effort they put in...and buy them a beer if you have the opportunity.
-Our Company Commanders came up huge this weekend as well, Troy, Jon Bocek, Ivan, Brent, John Pagano, and Jeremy were the brains of the Battalion. They studied their e mails, came to the Drill School, practiced at home, and executed on the field. And on top of that, pulled together a variety of different messes and got them to gel into Companies. Plenty of guys in reenacting like to dress up like Officers...see how many of them want to work their asses off like these 6 did this weekend and I can tell you, the gilt and braid suddenly becomes a lot less popular.
-And of course you know, behind every half decent Officer, are the guys who REALLY run the Companies, and thats the NCOs. I don't know if I've seen such a good NCO group in my 18 years of reenacting. Absolutely incredible job keeping your men together, in good spirits, dispatching duties, setting guards, getting camps established, and setting the example. Not to mention what a great job the NCOs did with Battalion Drill. I was really impressed.
-Our General Guides and Color Guard were exceptional as well. I hope everyone noticed the details that went into Marc Hermann's guide flags, and the Luks' 87th Penn Colors. Lastly, I want to thank our field music, you guys bring the audio experience and regimentation to Army life, so I thank you for that!
None of this stuff just happens in a vacuum! It takes serious time and dedication, away from your families, away from work, away from all of the things that all of us have going on in real life. It's truly incredible the amount of effort that these folks put in. I REALLY hope I'm not forgetting anyone, and if I am, please blame it on sleep deprivation and exhaustion. Just a simple thank you can go a long way, so reach out to these folks and let them know you appreciate their efforts!
I personally had an incredible weekend and am so pleased with the end results. I hope everyone else did as well. I will say this, if you like these sorts of events, and think we're moving in the right direction, please consider registering and attending "Prelude to Invasion". You will find more of the same, but on a larger and more detailed scale. We are recreating the entire 8th Virginia Infantry Regiment to scale. The event will be very similar to this past weekend except it will be early June, we have a river to swim in, and the march will be shorter. We learned a lot from this weekend and look forward to improving your experience at future events. We are going to keep pushing the envelope fellows. If you don't have a Rebel kit, now is the time to start, otherwise you're leaving it to the yahoos to tell the story. Contact me if you need help putting a kit together and we will help you! While the mainstream hobby is sucking wind, we are going to continue kicking ass. Spread the word and tell your pards.
Stay tuned for photos of the event...wait what, you didn't see guys posting updates on Saturday night to facebook? Or a bunch of selfies pop up Sunday evening???? Must have been because you guys respected the rules and each other enough to unplug and leave your cellphones in the car. Thanks for that. We have a lot of pics and videos coming from our discreet assigned photographers!
To the men of Mess #1, Hairy Nation Boys, Monroe Wildcats, Clinton Guard, C&B Mess, The Tribe, Camp Chase F&D, Ft. McHenry F&D, Jacks N Tens, Palmetto Guard, SCAR, Shockers, Gov Guards, Western Rifles, Coffee Coolers, Eureka Volunteers, and The Liberty Rifles, my hat is off to you, and I thank you for giving me one of the best Civil War experiences I've ever had. I think we gave a good account on behalf of the men of the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia, in their memory, and gave an excellent representation to the public of what their experiences were like. I thank you all for that and look forward to seeing you at the next one!
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