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Charles Heath wrote : Bernie, Did you really steal Todd Morris' infamous "tiny hat" and stick it on that monkey's head?

It is really a Sekela reproduction of the original item, which now resides in an undisclosed location, under guard.

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Gettysburg 1 or 2

Well, from the AARs I've read of Grumpy Dave's forays into that town, it sounds like Gettysburg is always "number 2".  

bernard... i didnt mean the actual place i meant the event this yr... sorry didnt make that clear!

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lhsnj wrote : I have been reenacting since 98 and have yet to do a Gettysburg event.  I missed the 135th because I didn't have enough vacation time get to it.  I became frustrated with the large mega events with the 140th Antietam and with that have not been really eager to do a Gettysburg event.   But I have been to Sept Storm, Summer of 62 and enjoyed those because the battle scenarios are well planned and as a soldier in the ranks had some great moments.  So when I saw there would be an alternative event, I marked my calander for it.  I will be planning on going to AHT, and will try to persuade the members of my unit to attend also.  Those who don't want to are welcome to attend the GAC event the following week. Do I think the 2 events will hurt each other.  I don't think it will have the impact that we are making it out to be. I guess we will find out next July 7th after the dust has settled and the AAR's start to come in.  I think the one thing that having these 2 events near each other will do is give the GAC an "excuse" should their event not do well.

Out of curiosity, why were you frustrated with 140th Antietam?

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Out of curiosity, why were you frustrated with 140th Antietam?

This forum might not have enough bandwidth to truly answer that question.  

Having actually been at A140, Id have to say most of the "Sham Battles" were wildly off scrïpt, at least from where I was standing.

Imagine this if you will. First Senerio, Cornfield, early early. At the appointed time we were to step off, pass through a battery and enter the "Cornfield." The signal was given, off we went. As we passed through the line of guns at the top of a small rise, there were the "Confederates" already through the field 25 yards away. They began firing on us. Our Battalion commander screamed, "What are you idiots doing, you're too close, it's not safe!" And, ordered us to "kneel." The "Confederates" moved off to our right, finding a Federal unit who didn't care about safety. We were ordered to "Rise" and began engaging a "Confederate unit who was at a much safer distance at our front. Suddenly, our Company Commanders noticed, (we were the left of the line), a column of "Confederates" marching through the parking lot on our left in order to gain our rear. So, suddenly All of the Company Commanders on the left wing are missing. A plan was hatched. On a given signal, our entire left wing, tired of the silliness, broke and ran. My friends and I made coffee in a little patch of woods about 100 yards to our rear in the cornfield.

Saturday afternoon I was assigned Corporal of the Guard for our camp. Directly at one of our guard posts there was a mini-van parked, rear hatch open, 19 inch color TV showing college football, and 5 or so guys on lawnchairs, drinking beer and eating "Subway," enjoying the game.

Last scenerio, Sunday. Our battalion is lying, in a picked corn field, arms stacked. The "Confederate" unit across the field 4oo yards away was swearing at us and taunting us, attempting to get us to attack them. A rider moved to them and they moved off. At the appointed time, we marched off, directly on the route our officers had been instructed to take and, found our path blocked by another "Confederate" unit who had positioned themselves in our path. At about 30 yards, our officer ordered the Battalion to "Halt" and "Kneel." The taunting they began was really funny. A rider came up to the unit's commander and in very unpolite terms asked him what he was doing and had them move. At that point about half of the battalion headed for their cars, including me.

Besides the all night Grand Guard our battalion participated in and some things that went on in our camp(we got issued pumpkins) for me, the event was a real stinker.

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TexReb wrote :   Out of curiosity, why were you frustrated with 140th Antietam?

I don't think there way any one thing at the event that was the last straw, that was just the last mega event I attended.

There were some unsafe moments in the cornfield for us. At one point we took a knee to avoid being too close with a federal group.  And one of our guys got a face full of powder from that unit.

I think some of my frustration was a carryover from the Manassas event the year before.

Greg & Dave:  My last "mega" was 140th Manassas, although I attend Cedar Creek each year (but, that's hardly a mega event).
It seems to me that when you get mega-numbers of folks at these events, the command and control goes to hades quickly. Add to that the units that care little of history, only that they get to shoot as much as everyone else. Not to mention those that have never even begun to research the battle or scenario.

Those "mega's" seemed to attract every type of reenactor under the sun, good, bad, and ugly. Unfortunately, it's the one's on the bottom tier that seem to screw everything up.

For some, it's all about shootin'....and that's sad.  

--Last edited by mstuart on 2007-11-07 11:30:26 --

Perhaps the defining moment was when Sparky Henion removed his "Changing Destiny" event medallion in the parking lot, and proceeded to moisten it in a most proper fashion.

Note: That stream of liquid was not canteen water.

Some say it was Wildermess 1996 when Eastern Mega Events jumped the shark. If so, the shark washed up on the beach by Leesburgnassas in 2001, and the flesh was in full putrification by September 2002.

Those who wear wool in summer time often seek different kinds of events and that's not necessarily a bad thing.  This year, while serving as Kevin Air's AAG for "September Storm", I was actually glad that Birney's hosted another Antietam event.  For those units that saw the proposed standards for "September Storm" as a burden, we had an alternative to point them towards.

Similarly for Gettysburg there will be a lot of folks who want no more than a few, not-too-tightly organized battles, plus standards that allow them a broad choice of uniforms (including perhaps the ones their unit wore in 1861), plus downtime for shopping at the sutlers and socializing.  It's good that they have an event to go to -- they'll have more fun and the organizers of "At High Tide" will have less to do in the way of enforcing standards.

Spectators will have a choice, too.  I suspect the refreshments, seating, and other amenities will be more on display at the GAC event and welcomed by folks who value that.  People who want to see something more resembling incidents of the actual battle will probably enjoy AHT more.  To each their own.

The choice offers a broader range of people the opportunity to get what they want from the hobby, and I don't see anything vile or offensive in that.

Trying to get everyone under one big tent for a single extravaganza has a certain appeal, but I think it would disappoint more folks.  If GAC was the only event, you'd hear more complaints about megafests; if AHT was the only event, you'd hear complaints about elitists.  It's kind of nice to have a choice.  

And American.  Heck, it's not like we're fighting to get the same 250 guys to one of two Austerlitz reenactments...

Where is the GAC event? Is it on the Redding farm, out by their auction again? If so, I hope it's not a wet June.

After a less than steller experience at 1st Molasses, I let myself be talked into A140.  I had attended the 135th at the same location and forgot the rule about not being able to go home again.  I knew that weekend was a total bust for me when we marched up to the early dawn Cornfield site.  At the 135th event, the Cornfield was fairly well done and seeing the artillery fire into the darkness was a sight.  At A140, we waited for the spectators to fill the bleachers, whose viewing experience was enhanced by the flood lights.  I was waiting for the kickoff to start the "battle"...which turned out to be a royal mess.  Once we got into the corn, safety issues trumped staying in the ranks and I deserted at that point.
  I vowed never to come East again for a circus like that.  Im looking forward to Andersburg in 2008.

Kent Dorr
"Devils Own Mess"

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Charles Heath wrote : I wonder how many people will take a week of vacation and do both events? It's an attractive option for a variety of reasons, and a good number of locals in the typical couple-of-hour-drive radius can participate in both efforts with little or no expenditure of vacation days.

I'll be attending both.....bugling needs numbers of units/troops to show off its ability to move units at a distance or get 400+ rifles to step off at the same moment.....and those opportunities are few and far between.

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GrumpyDave wrote : Having actually been at A140, Id have to say most of the "Sham Battles" were wildly off scrïpt, at least from where I was standing. Imagine this if you will. First Senerio, Cornfield, early early. At the appointed time we were to step off, pass through a battery and enter the "Cornfield." The signal was given, off we went. As we passed through the line of guns at the top of a small rise, there were the "Confederates" already through the field 25 yards away. They began firing on us. Our Battalion commander screamed, "What are you idiots doing, you're too close, it's not safe!" And, ordered us to "kneel." The "Confederates" moved off to our right, finding a Federal unit who didn't care about safety. We were ordered to "Rise" and began engaging a "Confederate unit who was at a much safer distance at our front. Suddenly, our Company Commanders noticed, (we were the left of the line), a column of "Confederates" marching through the parking lot on our left in order to gain our rear. So, suddenly All of the Company Commanders on the left wing are missing. A plan was hatched. On a given signal, our entire left wing, tired of the silliness, broke and ran. My friends and I made coffee in a little patch of woods about 100 yards to our rear in the cornfield. Saturday afternoon I was assigned Corporal of the Guard for our camp. Directly at one of our guard posts there was a mini-van parked, rear hatch open, 19 inch color TV showing college football, and 5 or so guys on lawnchairs, drinking beer and eating "Subway," enjoying the game. Last scenerio, Sunday. Our battalion is lying, in a picked corn field, arms stacked. The "Confederate" unit across the field 4oo yards away was swearing at us and taunting us, attempting to get us to attack them. A rider moved to them and they moved off. At the appointed time, we marched off, directly on the route our officers had been instructed to take and, found our path blocked by another "Confederate" unit who had positioned themselves in our path. At about 30 yards, our officer ordered the Battalion to "Halt" and "Kneel." The taunting they began was really funny. A rider came up to the unit's commander and in very unpolite terms asked him what he was doing and had them move. At that point about half of the battalion headed for their cars, including me. Besides the all night Grand Guard our battalion participated in and some things that went on in our camp(we got issued pumpkins) for me, the event was a real stinker.

I know ALL about the "cornfield"....I was with the 1st Texas that morning, and almost got my hand broken by an overactive fed who hit me by accident with his gun butt.

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lhsnj wrote :   I don't think there way any one thing at the event that was the last straw, that was just the last mega event I attended. There were some unsafe moments in the cornfield for us. At one point we took a knee to avoid being too close with a federal group.  And one of our guys got a face full of powder from that unit. I think some of my frustration was a carryover from the Manassas event the year before.

Yep.  As I posted earlier, being hit with a gun butt was my experience.  It was "hairy" in that cornfield.....

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MStuart wrote : Greg & Dave:  My last "mega" was 140th Manassas, although I attend Cedar Creek each year (but, that's hardly a mega event). It seems to me that when you get mega-numbers of folks at these events, the command and control goes to hades quickly. Add to that the units that care little of history, only that they get to shoot as much as everyone else. Not to mention those that have never even begun to research the battle or scenario. Those "mega's" seemed to attract every type of reenactor under the sun, good, bad, and ugly. Unfortunately, it's the one's on the bottom tier that seem to screw everything up. For some, it's all about shootin'....and that's sad.

Yea...Who can forget 1st Manassas. Camping out in a field of poison sumac, under the broiling hot sun. Water shortages. People SELLING ice to men that were dehydrated......ick.

Jaye

Selling ice, At least they had ice. I agree BS, you want to hear one along the same line. This year at Perryville Kentucky 145th. 90 PLUS heat no ice period. The people running the event said the park lost money in the past on ice and the decided not to have any. Leadership takes many forms this is yet another example. They didn't have it in the CW why now.  

Always
Doug Thomas
Lyons Battery CS
Kentucky

I can't speak for everyone, but after i was down with a MAJOR case of heat stroke in 98' Chickamauga, I use the ice. It is a health thing with me.

Jaye

Commmon sense and manners should go hand n hand it's a shame that the two hardly know each other.

Always Doug

[quote]Commmon sense and manners should go hand n hand it's a shame that the two hardly know each other.

Amen. Truer words have never been spoken