The Young Campaigner

At High Tide

by Tyler McHone

Last week I was in Gettysburg, PA for "At High Tide" (145th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg or the other Gettysburg event)  The event started Friday with everyone arriving in camp.  For the event I fell in with my group, the Liberty Rifles.  Our company was one of the most authentic I have ever been a part of.  After we all were at the event site some of us got together to practice for a little show we were putting on the following night.  The play was MacBeth.  After that we all fell in for company drill.  When drill was over we started cooking dinner and turned in for the night. 

The next morning we were woken up at 5:45.  We started the fires and fell in for roll call.  During the night we added about five more men to our company.  After roll call we made breakfast and then we went to do more drill.  Then we waited for a few hours for the battle to start.  The battle started with Union skirmishers shooting at us as we marched through a field.  We pushed them back through a marsh and up a hill.  When we were going up the hill I took a hit in the leg.  The ambulance corps picked me up on a stretcher and took me to the field hospital.  I was then put in a wagon and taken farther to the rear.  After that we rested for a half hour and went back to battle.  We pushed the Union off the hill then I took another hit and that was all of the battle I saw.  We went back to camp and rehearsed for the play that night.  Then we ate dinner and formed up for the night battle.  Both the Union and Confederate armies were formed up and ready to go into battle then a thunderstorm hit and the night battle was canceled.  We couldn't go back into camp because of the strong winds and we were camped in woods.  The storm let up so we started the play.  It turned out to be a comedy because were hadn't practiced much but the crowd seemed to enjoy it.  The play ended with a standing ovation and then Clifton Hicks and Lars Prilliaman played fiddle and banjo late into the night. 

We were not woken early the next morning. Morning drill and dress parade were canceled which made everyone happy.  We ate breakfast and sat around waiting to go into battle.  We were formed up after a while and marched out of camp and into a field where we were ordered to rest.  We waited in the hot sun for a while until we were ordered to repulse the Federal charge.  We marched through a wheatfiled and were met by a wall of blue.  we pushed them back but there was too many of them.  Support came behind us and drove the Yanks from the filed.  We were ordered to rest again.  We then marched through the wheatfiled and on to open ground.  There we met the 1st Minnesota who unleashed a volley of musket fire that took the breath out of me.  After I recovered I shot back and then we moved foward.  We fired a few volleys and then retreated.  We marched back to camp packed our things and the event was I would say "At High Tide" was one of the best events I have been to.  I would like to thank Chris Anders and the Western Maryland Heritage Foundation for a great event and a great weekend.

Pamplin Park's Civil War Weekend

by Andrew Turner

This past weekend (June 20-22) I attended the Pamplin Park Civil War Weekend as Confederate infantry. I will attempt to put down on paper a few of the events of the weekend.
I rose around 5:40 (after a night of sleeping campaign style) Saturday morning to play reveille with the Park’s Field Music Interpreter at 6:00. The reveille went well and it was said that it could be heard by all. It was truly a treat getting to play with other experienced drummers this weekend.

Photograph by Chris Morgan

The next event of the day was company drill at 9:00 in order to prepare the Confederate company for the scheduled public drill at 10:00. The Confederate company was led by Mike Hendricks of the PAG and Lee’s Sharpshooters who masterfully led the company through the manual of arms and various maneuvers such as by company into line and on the right by files into line. The men seemed to execute these very well after a bit of practice to knock the rust off.

After drilling until about 9:40 we were ordered to rest until the public drill. At about 9:50 we formed up and marched over to the demonstration area where we drilled for the spectators. The drill went great and everybody did their jobs great. We then marched back to camp and were ordered to rest until it was time for dress parade.

At around 12:50 we formed up in camp in preparation for the dress parade. When we formed up I was joined by fellow drummers William and the Field Music Interpreter. We marched to the demonstration area where the Federal and Confederate companies were formed into one battalion. The drummers were posted on the right of the battalion where we played the Three Cheers and then trooped the line with Army 2/4. The officers and NCO’s of the companies then reported to the battalion commander and the dress parade was concluded.

The Confederate company was then marched to some and shade near the battlefield and the Federals to there camp. While we were resting in the shade we were given ice much to the relief of the men because the temperatures rose into the 90’s!

After a brief respite the company was reformed and we were marched to our end of the battlefield and the Federals to theirs. The battle opened with the artillery of each side and then the Confederates deploying a platoon as skirmishers The Federals, having a small company, deployed their entire company as skirmishers. After some brief skirmishing the platoon of skirmishers rejoined the company and we marched toward the Federals. We drove them pretty far but then we broke and ran. In the process of running William and I were “wounded”. We were then forced to lie on the field during the ensuing artillery barrage. The battle was ok but there was some miscommunication between the two side which caused both to retreat off the field.

We were then marched back to camp where we were dismissed for the day. Following the battle I made a visit to the Park’s café and museum which were both excellent. While in the museum I visited the bookstore where I picked up Drum Taps in Dixie which so far is an excellent book.
When I got back to camp I relaxed in camp with my pards until it was time for dinner. Dinner was provided by the site which was very generous of them.
After dinner where I went back to camp where I picked up my tinwhistle and played several hours of music with the Minstrel Band, The Huckleberry Brothers. That was very fun and soon after we were done I turned in for the night.

The next day passed much as the first with the exceptions of reveille being at 7:00 and the battle being better coordinated. Also, on Sunday I sat down my drum and carried a musket during the day. I was in the skirmish platoon during the battle which was much fun.

Before the battle on Sunday I had my likeness made with my pard Ellis Braswell. It was made by Chris Morgan who I consider to be a master of his art. When I picked up the image after the battle Mr. Morgan’s wife said it was great and I couldn’t agree more. I got many compliments on how period we both looked.
All in all the event was a great one. It is definitely worth the trip to Pamplin for there great site and this great event.

A Weekend at The National Civil War Field Music School

This past weekend, I attended the National Civil War Field Music School at Pamplin Park in Petersburg Virginia. The event was hosted by the National Association For Civil War Brass Music. The event began on Friday at seven with an introduction meeting when we all were greeted by the school staff. After dinner, all of the musicians gathered around the Hart Barn to play some music and get to know one another. We played tunes like Newport, Hell on the Wabash, Frog in the Well, and Old Dan Tucker that night before we went to bed.

The infantry camp near the Hart Farm.

That weekend, we stayed in Pamplin's winter quarters on the original site of the Breakthrough at Petersburg. The school was intended to represent a school such as the school at Governor's Island in New York. The quarters had the appearance of garrison quarters such as the ones at the original field music schools and training camps. There was no requirement for a Union or Confederate impression, so there was a little of both represented. There were seperate infantry and field music camps. The field music was camped in the winter quarters and the infantry was camped around the Hart Farm yard and the Hart Barn. Altogether, the site was period correct as far as the eye could see.

Me leaving camp on Sunday.

Bright and early on Saturday morning, the fife and drum instructors beat reville. There was a series of grunts and groans from all over camp, but we all got up, got dresed, and got ready for the first day. The duty drummer for the day beat assembly shortly after and we all assembled for morning parade and roll call on the parade ground, which was adjacent to the infantry camp at the Hart Farm. We assembled by companies, which were determined by instruments (drums, fifes, bugles) and had our morning announcements from the millitary commander, Doug Dobbs, and the music director, Jari Villanueva. We were dismissed from the parade and returned to camp, where our quarters were inspected and morning fatigue duties were performed.

The next call was Peas Upon A Trencher, which signaled that is was time for breakfast. Civilian volounteers were present all weekend, cooking good period-style meals for the participants.

The field musicians marching to dress parade.

Shortly after breakfast, it was time for instruction. The buglers played school call, and we divided up into groups, each with an instructor, to go into the woods and recieve instruction. We learned new material while standing near the original Confederate earthworks from 1864.

We had more instruction on Saturday afternoon. The dress parade scheduled for that evening was cancelled to to an impending thunder storm, so we played a game of rounders on the parade ground. Everyone enjoyed this very much until the storm clouds rolled in and chased us away. We returned to the barracks that night and slept with the patter of rain and the roar of thunder outside. During the entire weekend, the infantry participants stood guard duty around camp. Even during the storm, they were present, standing outside wrapped in gum blankets and ponchos.

On Sunday morning, we had parade, breakfast, and a period church service. We were given the option of going to church or attending a reading of the Articles of War at the adjudent's tent. Needless to say, most of us attended the church service. The 26th North Carolina Band was present for the entire weekend and they provided beautiful brass music for the church service. It was a good 19th century Lutheran service under a large dining fly in camp. Afterwards, we had another school period. After dinner, we had a dress parade that was open to spectators at 1:00. The parade went very well. The fifes and drums played Downfall of Paris, Battle Hymn of the Republic (aka. John Brown's Body), and a few other tunes. The band played the Star Spangled Banner, Dixie, and the Bonnie Blue Flag. The buglers then demonstrated what they had learned over the weekend and we were dismissed for the weekend.

All in all, it was an enjoyable and authentic weekend. I will definately be there again next year.

Cedar Creek '07

I just got back from Cedar Creek.  What an awesome event.  There was a great turnout of reenactors and spectators there.  I was with the Signal Corps Of The James that weekend along with the rest of my family.  The battle on Saturday was phenomenal.  My good friend John-John Schultz and I drummed during the battle.  During the Union counter-charge towards the end of the fight, we were captured by Vincents Brigade.  I would like to congratulate the musicians in that brigade on their musical skill.  They really sound good out there on the field.  I understand John-John has some friends among them, so it was cool to get an opportunity to see them.

We ran away from Vincents Brigade only to be apprehended again by the Irish Brigade.  An officer among them kept us at gunpoint but because we were within about fifty feet of the Confederate line, we decided to make a break for it.  Looking dismayed, the Irish boys made a few attempts to pick us off but we got back safely.

The next day, I woke up to the sounds of gunfire.  The dawn tactical had begun about an hour before I got up and when I got over to see it, all that could be seen in the fog and early light was the silhouettes of the troops.  The Confederacy won that tactical.  During the day on Sunday, I had a dageurrotype portrait taken of myself by Robert Szabo, a wonderful photographer.  He is a great guy with an incredible talent for photography.

The battle on Sunday was a reenactment of the battle of Guard Hill.  That went really well.  The whole weekend was incredible.  I really recommend Cedar Creek to anyone interested in finding an event.  There were plenty of kids there.  I got to meet a lot of great people and see some great things.  I hope to see you there sometime.

P.S. To see more photos of Cedar Creek, visit Jonah Begone's page about it.