Well I will forgo the usual we arrived and such information.  For this event, myself and a pard attended with a couple of other members of our unit showing up for either saturday or sunday, but with the 2 of us sticking it out for the weekend.  This was the first event where I was able to just be a private in the ranks rather than an NCO.

Saturday morning seemed to come early as we heard what may have been a musicians call but as such it work us up.  So we rose up and started our coffee.. just as it was getting ready the band for our camp area came out of the woods about 20 feet from our small fire.  After listening to them play, we asked if they took requests and suggested they play "lights out".  Once we had our coffee and something to eat, we found our company and requested our "pass" to go get our image made at sutler row.  We returned to camp in time to march out to have the large photo taken by Julio and then back to camp to rest until the battle.

The first battle scenario we started in the woods and listened to the fighting off to the right, then it was rise up, forward and into the fray we went.  It was a pretty hot fight and we were pressed and fell back.  My filemate was killed and we were being flanked.. at this point self preservation took over and I decided to live and fight another day.. but was pushed back into line in time to collide with the federals who were closing on us.  After a brief struggle, we seperated and we took to the hills..

We returned to camp and rested and cooked our rations for dinner.  Cleaned the weapons and prepared for the evening fight.  Once in position, we sat back off the ridge and watched the far woods and listened to the fight off to our right in the distance.  It was an odd feeling to hear the ebb and flow of the battle and not know what was happening or who was holding the upper hand, when suddenly 2 federal cannons brought us back to our own reality.

With that a Federal bttn emerged from the far woods and fired a volley, while the smoke was clearing a 2nd bttn emerged from behind their cover.. and then a 3rd and what appeared to be a 4th..  They made their way across the field and we waited for them until we were ordered to rise up and pour it into them.  They gave as good as they got.. suddenly we were being ordered to refuse the flank.. As we turned, the woods to our right (about 30 yrds away) erupted in a sheet of flame.  The sudden presence of the enemy that close again created a call for self preservation.  I fired my rifle and then looked to get out of there.. and when I did.. I didn't look back. But from the sound of it, the whole confederate line there was being rolled up like a carpet.

Sunday morning arrived and my pard and I awoke, and stoked up the fire and while the coffee was boiling we read some of the Good Book to get our minds focused where we should be on the Lord's Day.  Knowing that we may or may not be joining him in a battle that we felt was brewing..

We again watched as the battle erupted in front of us and the troops were pushed from the field, we filed into the field and tore through a split rail fence and then collided with the enemy.  They pushed us back onto the road between the fences.. there we found ourselves being hit on the front and rear.. and eventually on the flank.  I took a hit as there was no place to run in this instance and the sound of the battle grew to a roar and then quieted and then began again..

When the final bugle rang, and we began to rise up.. the "Pike" was covered in bodies and the look of what was there was quite intense.  

Insert the usual, we packed up and headed out of the event and home stuff..  This is an event I will be telling people about in our unit for a while and will say.. you should have been there.

I was the Quartermaster for the September Storm event. Since my duties required me to travel between the Federaland Confederate camps, I had no military rank for the weekend. I do have a pass sign by a certain Captain Schaffner that may come in handy at a later date.

My duties were involved logistics. I got on site around noon on Friday, which isn't my normal practice. Under normal circumstances, I would have been on site Thursday morning. I had come down with bronchitis and was feeling pretty rotten. I hung around Registration for a while, getting the lay of the land, before heading out to Confederate HQ's. I spent most of the day and evening directing folks to their camps. The usual issues with parking developed. Some reenactors had left their cars in the spectator's parking lot and the registration area. On the threat of towing, these cars got moved. My mid-evening the Reenactor parking lot was filled and people were sent to the overflow area, which resulted in another problem we were not aware of at the time. About 9:30 I went back to the "wagon" and slept like a dead man until 7:00 in the morning. I got back to HQ's just about the time the fun began. During the night, it seemed a Reenactor had run into a fence, and parked outside the limits of the event site and about thirty other folks followed him. These cars were all towed into the correct parking area at no cost to the owners. The fence was restored and the farmer was happy.

About this time, I did my first inspection of the porta-potties and water tanks. The potties were pretty much empty and the water tanks were pretty much filled, so all was well with my world!

While the military types plotted their scenarios for Saturday's spectator battle, I arranged to get ice out to the troops. Did I mention that it was hot as the hubs of hell on Saturday afternoon? The timing of the ice delivery was pretty critical. Too early and the troops would have gotten bags of water. Too late and the spectators would have been treated with the sight of me and my golf cart bouncing over the battlefield. There was ice positioned for the Federals behind their lines and at the water points for use after the battle. After conversations with a number of Confederate reenactors, I found that many of them never got any of the ice. It seems that some folks grabbed the bags and took them back to their camps. It's the old story, I got mine, the heck with the other guy! I didn't get to see much of this battle, since I was busy checking pots and tanks and then keeping spectators from leaving the viewing area until the scenario was over.

We conducted a water run Saturday afternoon. I was checking the two major tanks that were getting the most use. That was a mistake on my part. Later in the evening, the water tank near the Western Brigade went dry. We were able to arrange an emerengcy water delivery. Bobby Smalls, who's a lot younger and healther than yours truly, went along with the water truck and helped with the delivery.

I made the decision to clean only the two banks of porta-potties near Registration and the Federal mixed camp. I felt the facilities scattered around in the woods were in pretty good shape and it would be less disruptive if we kept the "Honey Truck" out of the camps. We only got two complaints about stinky potties, so I'm figuring I made the right decision!  

I had a great view of the evening non-spectator battle. I was positioned to keep any period spectators off the field, so was right on the flanks of the attacking Federal forces. It was an amazing sight to watch the lines come together and the firing begin. It would have been even more amazing if one of the Federal Officers hadn't been using his cell phone to photograph the action! That little two inch screen really showed up in the dark.

After a few fires had been put out, to include the Western Brigade's water issue, I went back to the wagon for another good night's snoze. I woke up Sunday morning feeling much better. Chris Anders said he figured I sweated out every form of germ in my system!

Tom Piston and I handled crowd control for Sunday's battle, so I watched the "Assualt of the Iron Brigade" from the spectator's perspective. Of course, my big moment was the Texas Brigade's counter attack. The conclusion of this attack was the only place where I noticed the troops seemed too close for too long. I also noticed the Confederate's took massive hits and also had a good number of wounded moving off to the rear, so I guess it balanced out. I know the spectators were very impressed by what they saw. I did hear a spectator say he noticed one of the casualties taking pictures with his cell phone. Come on guys, leave the damn phones in your cars.  

All in all, I think the event went really well. I can't say much about the battle scenarios one way or the other. I just wasn't involved that much. But, what I did see looked good. Most of the people I talked to had a good time. It's my opinion that events like this, with reasonable, but enforced rules, is the direction that much of the Hobby will be taking in the future. There is no way you can be all things to all people, but I feel "Chris & Company" have really found their nitch. I was proud to be a small, if sickly, cog in the machine.

On a personal note. I finally had an opportunity to speak and interact with Hank Trent during this event. We have talked many times here on the internet, but rarely spoke more than a few words in person before. Our reenacting styles are far different, but I've always greatly admired his dedication and knowledge of the period we attempt to protray. Hank, I hope I didn't personally rain on your parade this weekend.    



   

Bill, a couple observations from the Western Brigade camp:

The upper part of the camp was littered with lots of small to medium chunks of wood, and no grass.  Camping there was tolerable, but you had to scrape off your site to be able to lie down on it.

Sunday morning I heard some talk of those port-a-johns near our camp being close to full up, and of at least one being rendered unusable due to poor aim (and I don't mean of the fully liquid kind.  Other than that, the sanitary facilities seemed to be quite adequate.  Apparently, the WB was full of **** during the night...  

As for our water buffalo going dry, I think it was a combination of the outflow pipe being a bit high on the tank (leaving the last few inches of water unreachable) and spillage.  The type of nozzles where we filled up weren't very efficient for filling a canteen, and lots of water got wasted on the ground trying to fill up. (Did you notice the swamp that developed in front of the tank?) Maybe some tapering nozzles would be a better solution next go around, and the outlet pipe lower to the bottom of the tank.

It was a short walk up the road to the next water tank, so no big problem unless it was during the night.

On the whole, logistics appeared to be well planned.  There was enough ground fall that our little slice of heaven never used the wood pile except as planking to gain access to the water tank through the swamp.  Ya done good.  

Am I correct that we had some dehydration/heat casualties during the event?  I had sweat pouring off of me just setting up a shelter half.  Good thing we watered up well pre-event.

Quote :

flattop32355 wrote : Bill, a couple observations from the Western Brigade camp: The upper part of the camp was littered with lots of small to medium chunks of wood, and no grass.  Camping there was tolerable, but you had to scrape off your site to be able to lie down on it.

Bernie,

A lot of the camp sites had been brush hogged out during the month before the event. There had been no rain, so you got what the Brush Hog left behind. Confederate HQ's was about the same.

In regard to the Porta-Potties. I checked them right before the Saturday afternoon battle and they were in good shape. You guys must have eaten really well Saturday evening! The bad aim is one of my pet peeves and it seems to happen at every event. If you are that concerned about sitting down on the toilet seat, bring some antiseptic wipes from home.  

Bill,

Consider using duckboards under the manifolds to prevent the swamp situation, and inexpensive supply tubes can be cut in half for the canteen fills.

Something worth tinkering with at these mainstream events could be chemlights in the portajohns. Where candles, flashlights, and lanterns create a shadow show for all to enjoy, the lumens produced by a small chemlight could be just enough to illuminate the situation while not providing the rich cultural experience of live Out House Theatre.  A loop of string, and they practically self install. What Bernie may be seeing on the floor, the seat, the lid, ( if they can't see to open the damn thing), the door, and wherever else the "nightfiring" landed is often the results of hovering, and the accompanying annoying overshot/undershot troubles with nocturnal rangefinding. You can guess the rest.

Ken, I hope this squeaks past the Hall Monitors.

Quote :

flattop32355 wrote : Am I correct that we had some dehydration/heat casualties during the event?  I had sweat pouring off of me just setting up a shelter half.  Good thing we watered up well pre-event.

Bill

I was going to ask you about injuries for the weekend, I know there was someone down before the dusk fight in front of our position.

And I think we had one guy from the battn or brigade we fell in with go down with a twisted ankle.  I saw him after the first battle getting ice on his ankle..

Other than that I didn't see too many others.

Charles,

I like it when you are a straight shooter   .

Greg,

Casualties that I know of-

Heat- 4- 3 Federal, on CS (the stretcher bearer you saw)

Ambulance Wreck- 1- lynch pin on Coolidge Ambulance broke sending rider on A Team style roll

Round Cook off- 1- Cs at Crampton's Gap

Twisted Ankle- heard of 2

Mental breakdown- 16- all staff members, cured by copious amounts of Jamison -

Al for now

I hope to post my AAR tomorrow or early next week.  Here's an excerpt regarding the work of Dirk Armstrong, our Chief Surgeon at US headquarters:

"Much to my gratification, he fulfilled the administrative role of his position, turning in Surgeon’s Morning Reports (Medical Department form 16) for both Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday’s showed two soldiers treated and returned to duty, one for a spider bite and the other for nausea.  Sunday’s reported problems were more serious, with one reported case of hypoglycemia, one eye contusion, one twisted ankle, and five struck down by heat; of the eight, two were reported in hospital, three confined to quarters, and two returned to duty."

Since the morning reports were compiled (as the title would indicate) in the morning, the Saturday report covers only incidents occurring Friday evening through about 10 a.m.  The Sunday report covers everything till just before the Sunday battle.  Dirk was very active on the field, so I think his report would cover just about everything on our side, save incidents in the Union "mixed" mainstream camp, which might have been reported directly to Laura at registration.  Even so, I think I overheard at least one request for Dirk to go there and take a look at someone.

The heat and humidity were a bit more than I think most folks expected for early September, so we were probably lucky.

Quote :

Anders wrote : Greg, Casualties that I know of- Heat- 4- 3 Federal, on CS (the stretcher bearer you saw) Ambulance Wreck- 1- lynch pin on Coolidge Ambulance broke sending rider on A Team style roll Round Cook off- 1- Cs at Crampton's Gap Twisted Ankle- heard of 2 Mental breakdown- 16- all staff members, cured by copious amounts of Jamison - Al for now

Chris

Thanks for the answer.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp9ybSR8Bf0

Someone was able to get some of the saturday's battle on film.  It is a little shaky.

Quote :

The bad aim is one of my pet peeves and it seems to happen at every event. If you are that concerned about sitting down on the toilet seat, bring some antiseptic wipes from home.

I've long been convinced that we spend too much time teaching new reenactors drill and tactics and not enough time on Anatomy & Physiology.  If they know how their bodily parts function, they should be able to pass "Outhouse 101" before being permitted to attend.  

Ron Myzie

Oh Michael,

I know your September Storm opus is completed. How about blessing the assembled masses with a copy?    

That would be here (four threads down <g>):  http://commonground.aceboard.com/249612-4910-4455-0-September-Storm-Federal.htm

Sorry Mike,

That's what happens when you just look at the threads with new posts.    I've already added a printed copy to my collection of Schaffner AAR's.

Don't you just love the new photo! Only took me nine months to get one posted. Thanks Ken!    

Bill

Was that taken at Sept Storm?

The image I used for my avatar was the image I had taken at Sept Storm.  That was an adventure in and of itself.

Quote :

lhsnj wrote : Bill Was that taken at Sept Storm?

Greg,

Nope. It was taken at the end of Sunday's scenario at Neshaminy last year. You ought to recognize that frock coat. You'll notice the photo captures my best side.  

Looks like some of the first Sept Storm photos from Julio are being posted on his site: http://zphotos.smugmug.com/gallery/3533270#199837233

Bill.. I think he even got a couple of you in there.

While I couldn't quite see it, but from the sounds of the Federals approaching the "road" on Sunday it sounds like this might have been a pretty good descrïption of what we were trying to recreate..:

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1862/october/antietam-battlefield.htm

Oct 11, 1862 - Harper's Weekly article.

HORRORS OF THE BATTLE-FIELD.
A World correspondent says:

The severest fighting of the war was followed by the most appalling sights upon the battle-field. Never, I believe, was the ground strewn with the bodies of the dead and the dying in greater numbers or in more shocking attitudes. Let those who desire to witness a great battle, and gratify themselves with the sublimest spectacle which mortals ever gaze upon, hear but once the cries and groans of the wounded, and see the piles of dead men, in attitudes which show the writhing agony in which they died—faces distorted with the pains which afflicted the dead in their latest moments, begrimed and covered with clotted blood, arms and legs torn from the body or the body itself torn asunder, and all the scenes upon the field of battle which fill one with horror and sadness, and they will be content to deprive themselves in future of the sublimity of a battle scene, when they think upon the horrors of the field where the dead lie in heaps unburied, and the dying and wounded uncared for beside them. The faces of those who had fallen in the battle were, after more than a day's exposure, so black that no one would ever suspect that they had been white. All looked like negroes, and as they lay in piles where they had fallen, one upon another, they filled the by-standers with a sense of horror. In the road they lay scattered all around, and the stench which arose from the bodies decomposing in the sun was almost unendurable. Passing after night from Sharpsburg to Hagerstown upon the turnpike, it required the greatest care to keep my horse from trampling upon the dead, so thickly were they strewn around. Along the line for not more than a mile at least one thousand five hundred lay unburied.

edit: to clarify statement.  

--Last edited by lhsnj on 2007-10-11 14:57:23 --

Quote :

While I couldn't quite see it, but from the sounds of the Federals approaching the "road" on Sunday it sounds like this might have been a pretty good descrïption:

Unless I'm missing the sarcasm, I'd say, no, I was there as a stretcher bearer, and it wasn't anything like that.

Some original passages are simply humbling, reminding us how trivial our attempts are to recreate some things, in the face of what actually happened.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net