Submitted for discussion/enjoyment/perusal:

                                                                                                  Near Hagerstown, Md.
                                                                                                        16 Sept.

-----------------------, Commanding Cavalry

-----------------------, Adjutant

I have the honor to report on the activities of our unit during the recent campaign in Maryland.

For the skirmish cavalry, our Saturday battle began with a mission to guard a portion of Gen'l Longstreet's wagon train. We were pressed into service as rumors spread that Federal cavalry were looking to capture or burn the train. A couple of wagons were halted and we were deployed on foot outward on several of the area "roads" with our command being separated into two squads with four mounted riders as support.  A company of infantrymen were closer to the train and we spent tense moments waiting to see if the rumors were true.  Unfortunately, they were, as by the sounds of the firing, the blue cavalry had run into some portion of our hastily formed guard unit.  The sounds of the pistol and rifle became more intense to our left, then abruptly stopped. Evidently, our blue foe had gotten word to some of their infantry supports and we soon spotted a line of Union infantry near a knoll on our front. We heard their drums and saw their colors as they formed, but these Unionists weren't readying for a head-on assault. They put out flankers and skirmishers on their left flank and attempted to make their way through our area. Fortunately, we were in a position of advantage with plenty of cover and support from more of our mounted men as no serious effort was made to advance our way.  The enemy having retired completely from our front and flank, we headed back toward the wagon train as the sound of a serious engagement was apparent. Our infantry in the area had been called up as the wagon train was very important to us. We had planned to help in the defense of the train, but upon our arrival, it was obvious that the Yank's were preparing to swarm amongst it with everything they had. We fell back from the train to it's left flank but were soon forced to move from that area due to overwhelming numbers of Yank's in the area.  It was only by the thinest margin were we able to return to safety.

Sunday's battle found us on the left flank of our army providing protection for an artillery piece. We were in good position to observe a large Union unit advance and prepare to assault our infantry comrades who were falling back into a wooded area.  As the Yanks advanced, the big gun opened on them with little effect. It did, however, gain the attention of a Union piece and a squad of what appeared to be Zouave's. As the Yank's approached our gun, we opened on them with even smaller effect. Their advance was bold and brave, forcing the retirement of the gun, and us along with it.  As the small band of Unionists advanced up the hill we were on, they could not observe us and we fell back and to our left, in the hopes of springing a trap on them. Unfortunately, they didn't take the bait and retired back to their main body, joining the Yankee advance into the woods. We, in turn, returned back to our mounts and joined our cavalry.

Personal Observations - First and foremost, credit and thanks has to go to those who made this event possible.  Without that effort, this event would never have come off.  Having said that, the effort building and supplying the sunken road for that engagement took effort and pride was evident. Hat's also off to all of the others who helped before and behind the scenes.

While the vast majority of the engagements at and around the Battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg involved the infantry forces of both armies, the effort was made and was apparent to involve the cavalry, both mounted and dismounted in this event. Speaking for myself, upon reading of the battles planned on the event web-site, I didn't expect much in the way of action for dismounted cavalry.  I knew what I was getting into and relayed that to all in our unit. We were pleasently surprised by the efforts of the organizers and command. We were engaged in the Saturday morning scenario and it was not difficult to "imagine" that we were either in "Company Q" due to broken down horses, or, our horses were to the rear and we were engaged on foot. On Sunday, knowing full well that the battle in the West Woods was an all infantry battle, we were given a mission on a flank and engaged by Union forces for a short period of that scenario.  We knew full well that we wouldn't have a major input or be part of that engagement, and to be honest, none of us expected to be. We are  dedicated enough to the hobby to go with the flow and know that we'll have our time at other events with cavalry engagements. Still, kudos have to be given to command for our "employment". The offer was also made to any of us that wanted to fall in as infantry to do the sunken road battle and was accepted by all those wanting to be involved.  With that said, I've heard the rumors and guffaws from some that this would be an "anything goes" event and history be damned. The purists among us may say that cavalry and others not employed at the real battle should have been excluded. In a way, they are probably right. But, many of us saw this event as one of inclusion, rather than exclusion and efforts were made to include all arms in the scenarios. Let it be known, though, that, at least from my point of view, the efforts to include cavalry, both mounted and dismounted did not interfere or take away rom any of the infantry engagements as our employment was away from the main battle lines in all cases.

Boogers: For what it's worth, I saw no Lincoln's, Lee's, Grant's, or any of that stuff. I saw a couple of Union "ice angels" but nothing on the CS side of that nature. There were one CS infantry and two CS cavalry galtroops who made no effort to disguise their gender that I observed (only because of the lack of effort) but there were two CS cavalry galtroops that deserve lots of kudos for going above and beyond in their efforts (one because I reenact with her/him regularly, and the other only because I overheard her/him talking while in line at the blue thrones). Those were the only obvious "boogers" that I saw, but then again I concern myself with me and mine most times and don't go looking for things to make my blood pressure rise.

Vehicles were kept out of camp from 9 Saturday morning till the end of battle Sunday (at least on the CS side) and this was no problem that I saw. This was a plus since all were told that if they needed to leave early, they'd either have to hoof it out themselves, or obtain the services of one of the horse-drawn wagons.

The Sunken Road battle. Touted, I believe, as the highlight of the event, it was moved from Sunday to Saturday and several of us took the opportunity to watch from the flanks as "spectators". If there could be one criticism, it was that more participants would have made it quite a spectacle. I'm told that the sunken road fence was about 1/4 mile long. Numbers being what they were, a few hundred more per side would have made that battle awesome. I have no earthly idea of the attendance numbers, but I'd estimate somewhere around 700-800.

Amenities:  Wood was plentiful and of good quality.  A water station was also very close. Which leads us to port-a-johns. With the way our portion of the camp was set up, we needed at least one more, IMHO. They were cleaned Saturday evening, but with the numbers using the two in our portion of the camp, they filled up quickly and that made things uncomfortable.  Ice was also offered, and the "ice man" made it to our section at least three times throughout the week-end. In a horse-drawn wagon BTW.

In a nutshell, a pretty good event. Certainly not an immersion event, but, I'd say, a cut above the regular mainstrem from my viewpoint. Perhaps an infantryman who attended can offer their view.  

--Last edited by mstuart on 2007-09-17 19:41:25 --

Mark,

I'm glad you had a good time. That fence along the sunken road looked great. I was involved in building a much shorter fence on the Boonsboro site, so I have some idea how much work that took.

For the sake of argument there were less than a thousand folks at this event and maybe fifteen hundred at September Storm. That's a total of twenty-five hundred people. Where the hell have all the reenactors gone?

Bill:

That's the $64K question. We had the threat of rain from about 11 am Friday and it started to come down about 3 pm, lasting well into the late evening. That may have had something to do with this one. One also can't rule out reenactor "politics", distance, gas prices, etc, etc. I don't think this event was advertised much, except word of mouth and internet forums in a small way. Those that didn't attend know the reason/s. I sure don't.

If there were 200-300 more per side, the sunken road scenario would have been quite the sight.

Mark

Bill,

Been saying this for a long time-  Those days are long long over, till 2011.

Until then we have a chance to clean house and build a solid foundation so that when the influx of recruits come pouring in in 2011, we will be ready- sort of the German program in the late 1920's if you will.  Events will be much better for it, and the hobby as a whole, and this will make the 150ths seem even more special.

Till then, 1-2,000 person events will be "big" and 3,000 plus will be a "mega"

I think the final count of kool aid drinkers (reference to another forum comment) at September Storm was around 1700-1800.

Quote :

Anders wrote : Bill, I think the final count of kool aid drinkers (reference to another forum comment) at September Storm was around 1700-1800.

Chris,

Was that the total participants? Based on the morning reports, the number of military personnel didn't seem that high. Closer to the number I used, 1,500.

I think you could get to the higher number if you counted the civilians.  Since we don't cover them in morning reports, I don't know how many showed up, but I believe that well over 300 registered.  Based on our discussion elsewhere, it seems that military "pre-event attrition" runs to about a third of registrants, so if you assume the same for 300+ noncombatants and add them to the military, you get Chris's number or something like it.

As for why the numbers weren't higher, quite apart from broader trends, both events had caps based on available land and logistics.  For "September Storm" there was the added dissuader of slightly more rigorous than mainstream standards, which folks had every reason to expect would be enforced.  With all that, I believe we hit the cap for Confederates and got pretty darn close for Feds.

The other Antietam event had the hurdle of not being endorsed by most of the established Federal organizations and maybe even having a sort of "second best" air about it -- not that anyone intended it.

On the plus side, units whose counts I have some familiarity with experienced a significantly higher turn-out for "September Storm" than many recent events.  The last mega-event I attended was Augustburg in '03 and though it had many more people, I don't remember anything as impressive as what I saw a few weekends ago -- fewer people, but competently executing a good plan.

Just my opinion, of course.  I sincerely hope the "Other Antietam Event" had a similar success in turnout for the units that chose to go.  It sounds from the AARs that folks found their expectations met and had a good time.

I attended the event with my company in support of PACs. I must say that the land this event was held on would make any organizer drool. The owner had put much effort into developing the land.  The Sunken Road was amazing. I saw the potential for many scenerios, Culps Hill, Little Round Top, Fredricksburg, Chancellorsville and The Wilderness. From a soldiers prospective the Confederate camping was great, planty of cut and deadfall wood for fires, water and sinks were plenty. There were sutlers and a food vendor but I can't comment much on them.
The am Tactical was interesting since it had the element of the unknown result. The two historic scenerios the Sunken Road and West Woods were far from representative of history. The Sunken Road was a time for the boys in blue to shine and honor the sacrifices of the Irish Brigade. I saw volley after volley poured into the blue with little casualties, with exception to the zouaves. There was even a Union officer with a Henry Rifle looking like John Wayne shooting from the hip, we rebs were quite confused. Then when the final assult was to come on the Confederate right, it came on the center?? Believe me I was on the Confederate right and was ready to fall with the enfilading fire, but I think my pards "died" of frustration instead.
The West Woods scenerio started out quite accurate with the Rebels early on being driven from the "Hagerstown Pike" (nicely created) into the safety of the West Woods. Instead of Segwick's grand en echelon assult, I witnessed a change in history. A battalion front with several companies working to flank the Conderates??? I thought history states the frontal assult into the woods was supposed to be halted by a converging (flanks and front) counter attack by the rebels and then driven from the West Woods leaving it in Confederate hands. This did not happen.
This was my second weekend in a row attempting to recreate the historical events leading up to Shapsburg. I have to say that for me the September Storm event was more realistic, meaningful and historically accurate. This event was billed as a non-spectator event, We were there attempting to recreate history only for each other. The scrïpt was written 145 years ago.
We must insist that our organizers, "generals" and leaders and troops follow the history.  The pre-scenerio walk throughs with leaders from each side may put more accountability on the line.  This is done at other events and works.  Because surprisingly not everyone actually knows the history.  
If we do not we are no more than big boys playing guns in the woods.

Respectfully
Shawn Stern

"The am Tactical was interesting since it had the element of the unknown result. The two historic scenerios the Sunken Road and West Woods were far from representative of history. The Sunken Road was a time for the boys in blue to shine and honor the sacrifices of the Irish Brigade. I saw volley after volley poured into the blue with little casualties, with exception to the zouaves. There was even a Union officer with a Henry Rifle looking like John Wayne shooting from the hip, we rebs were quite confused. Then when the final assult was to come on the Confederate right, it came on the center?? Believe me I was on the Confederate right and was ready to fall with the enfilading fire, but I think my pards "died" of frustration instead."

YAHOO! How many units had Henry rifles at Antetiam? Or, infantry units in the AOP for that matter. IMHO, He should have never been allowen to carry the thing onto the field, let alone into the event. Folks doing what they please, broken senerio's. You get what you pay for. And, you saw that, quoting the differences you saw at September storm.

Quote :

MStuart wrote : Submitted for discussion/enjoyment/perusal:                                                                                                   Near Hagerstown, Md.                                                                                                         16 Sept. -----------------------, Commanding Cavalry -----------------------, Adjutant Vehicles were kept out of camp from 9 Saturday morning till the end of battle Sunday (at least on the CS side) and this was no problem that I saw.

OUCH. If they can't get them out by Friday Night....ohh just say it ain't so. That's a major problem.......

One of the horror's of bugling is trying to be heard over modern sounds.....Truck Engines over by Cedar Freak, car doors slamming, engines idling......

I'd make it a point to sound Reveille AFTER all the cars had disappeared.....and anyone talking Prior to Reveille can pound salt and stand on a barrel until noon.

Hey Michael, civilian's aren't counted in event numbers from a military perspective.....when we say 1,500 total were at an event, there might well be another 2,000 civilians....

Nope, I wasn't at this event so I can't comment on it.....but darn glad I didn't drive out from Chicago.

Quote :

RJSamp wrote :   OUCH. If they can't get them out by Friday Night....ohh just say it ain't so. That's a major problem.......

RJ,

That depends on the rules of the event. If the rules said vehicles had to be out on Friday night, but they were still around on Saturday morning, yeah that's a problem. On the other hand, if the rules stated vehicles had to be out of camp by a certain time on Saturday morning and they were gone by that time; well, no harm, no foul.  

As an individual, you might not want to attend an event that allows cars in camp until Saturday morning. That's fine; but, at least you knew what to expect. There's a wide range of authenticity levels in our Hobby and there's no reason events can't cater to those different levels and expectations. By the same token, people should know what to expect when they attend a certain event.

This ain't rocket science. Publish your rules and guidelines and then enforce them; no matter where they fit on the authenticity scale. If you attend an event where the rules and guidelines were enforced, don't bitch if the event didn't meet your expectations. You should have known what to expect before you got there.

Oh yeah, trust me, no segment of the Hobby has a monopoly on folks who break event rules. The just pick different rules to break.    

Hey Michael, civilian's aren't counted in event numbers from a military perspective.....
[quote]

Well, that's absolutely true -- otherwise they would have been on my morning reports   But from the organizer's perspective they would very much count, unless you could make them all stay off sight and not use the porta-johns.

Anyway, I was just trying to reconcile Bill and Chris's numbers.
Not that it matters, because the really critical fact is that we had five buglers coordinating with each other -- not perfectly, but it was still pretty cool.  I like to think you would have approved.  If there's an Eleventh Corps scenario somewhere next year, maybe they can work in some of those Hanoverian calls...

Quote :

Sayeth Bill: Publish your rules and guidelines and then enforce them; no matter where they fit on the authenticity scale.

And keep the rules simple so you can actually remember what to enforce.  

--Last edited by Bullet Sponge on 2007-09-19 17:55:59 --

Quote :

Bill wrote :  There's a wide range of authenticity levels in our Hobby and there's no reason events can't cater to those different levels and expectations. By the same token, people should know what to expect when they attend a certain event.

Bill,

That ought to be bronzed. Not matter how many times someone points out the obvious, the obvious still isn't obvious to everyone involved.