unison ride

[GBaylor]

To all those who attended the Unison Ride this past weekend, many thanks for your participation. Many thanks particularly to those who travelled great distances to attend. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves.

John Sweeney

[Andrew German]

Re: unison ride

John,

From the federal perspective, thanks to you all for making this a better event every year, and to being great opponents in the saddle and on the dismounted skirmish line. We had a fine mix of fighting all day Saturday and then on Sunday morning as well. Those sabre charges and melees were a blast. We had a little ceremony and Jerry installed a plaque in Bill King's memory on Saturday evening. Sunday was great action in the woods and on the high meadows around Welbourne. Representative of our enthusiasm for the event and the area, we all chose to ride back to Philomont on Sunday rather than ferrying horses.

Thanks again!
Andrew German

[Tom Craig]

Re: unison ride

I just want to echo what John Sweeney said! Thanks to all who made this event happen, and thanks to all who made the effort to come out and take part. It was a great time, and a pleasure to take the field with all of you!\

Take care,
Tom Craig
1st Maine Cavalry

[Jerry Ross]

Re: unison ride

Hello All,
Thanks to Todd Kern, Tom Craig , John Sweeney,Rob Bruno for working to make sure that Unison was a success! Our 12+ hour drive was well worth the event. Our horses and asses are sore from all the fighting . It has been a long time since I have fought and rode so hard all weekend long .The land in and around Unison is awesome! The land provided for all kinds of senarios and opportunities. The weather could not have been better, warm to cool and without rain .On the Confederate side many people came through out the weekend. Some could stay a little and some a lot. It made things change and evolve over the weekend in the gray column. That made you think of what the men went through when they lost a pard or file partner.I don't believe either side had planned on the intensity and duration of the fighting. I know at one point I was sitting behind a fence with six cartridges and waiting to see the whites of their eyes before firing. Later doing the same thing again while sitting behind a rock wall.I was worried about wasting ammo for over an hour. Many saber charges were made because of shortages of ammo.

Three days later the hard riding still has the horses and myself sore. I know several of our horses went down during the event from running and sliding on wet grass . That sure made a unique picture in my head to see my pards shot down .

I have noticed a big change in the 1st Maine since I first saw them at The Recon event many years ago. The unit is a fine one to ride with and against. I can't decide which way is better????Tom having you chasing after me at several points at Welbourne was priceless. Trying to manuver with a horse at full speed is difficult while trying to figure out what to do next and fight against you and still stay in the saddle.

Things for myself to work on for next time ,Learn Pointsett Drill, pack more ammuntion,teach horse to jump those rock walls like Todd Kern horses.

Thanks again to all of you who worked so hard planning and working for this event. This Hog Driver had a good time .

[Jerry Ross]

Re: unison ride

Andrew,
When we slept at Fiddler's Green Friday night we gave Bill King credit for making the rain go around us and keeping us dry and comfortable. It was something to think about seeing the marker for him . I could only imagine what the soldiers of the 1860's thought about all of the pards they had lost . Some realism that I hope I don't witness again.

[GBaylor]

Re: unison ride

The view from Company "Q",
Tom, Jerry, Andrew, et al. I hope this good feeling can keep going so that we can continue to build this event while keeping the authenticity standards high. I was extremely pleased to see how everyone has improved in authenticity. I'll echo what Jerry Ross said about improving our drill. A thought would be to meet halfway for a combined drill. Hats off to the 1st Maine and their drill and executing manuevers by the bugle. To borrow a phrase from the sports world we left it all on the field- spent ammo, spent horses, and spent troopers.
Next year we'll be getting some horse drawn artillery. I'd like to hear some constructive criticism on how to make the event better.

Your Obedient Servant,
John Sweeney

[Tom Craig]

Re: unison ride

That made you think of what the men went through when they lost a pard or file partner.I don't believe either side had planned on the intensity and duration of the fighting. I know at one point I was sitting behind a fence with six cartridges and waiting to see the whites of their eyes before firing. Later doing the same thing again while sitting behind a rock wall.I was worried about wasting ammo for over an hour. Many saber charges were made because of shortages of ammo.

Three days later the hard riding still has the horses and myself sore. I know several of our horses went down during the event from running and sliding on wet grass . That sure made a unique picture in my head to see my pards shot down .

I have noticed a big change in the 1st Maine since I first saw them at The Recon event many years ago. The unit is a fine one to ride with and against. I can't decide which way is better????Tom having you chasing after me at several points at Welbourne was priceless. Trying to manuver with a horse at full speed is difficult while trying to figure out what to do next and fight against you and still stay in the saddle.

Jerry,

You make a lot of great points! No, as one of the event organizers I never anticipated that we would keep the action going so fast and so furious for so long. I don't think the 1st Maine has fired as many rounds at any one event in this decade as we did this weekend. The cool thing was that it was all very authentic, not just powder burning. Worrying about running out of powder was a very real and accurate concern for me as a leader. As the day wore on, many of my tactical decisions were governed by the amount of ammunition, and horseflesh that we had left!

I didn't think about the falling riders and horses in that context before, but you are totally right. Thankfully no one was injured, but it was certainly a very period experience to have!

It was a hoot and a half to chase you down at Welbourne. My horse is a very fast one, and most of the time I didn't even kick him into his 6th gear which is about warp speed. The looks over your shoulder as I was chasing you down and you were sizing up your options were equally priceless! Again, a very period moment, and a heck of an adreniline rush too!

I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, and thanks for the compliments!

Take care,
Tom Craig
1st Maine Cavalry

[IowaYank]

Re: unison ride

I again this year had a great time coming out to Unison, this time wearing the gray uniform. Always have a fun time riding with Jerry, Ethan, Scott, Kerry, Jeff, and Joe!!! I was definately sore after this weekend for sure!

I have to commend Ken Doyan on his excellent bugling!!! I believe Ken is one of the best buglers in this hobby!! His calls are always crisp and clear, and even from across the field this weekend, I was still able to hear what his calls were!! Always is nice knowing what your enemy is doing by listening to their calls!! ;-)

I wont hesitate to come back next year!!!

Dan

[IowaYank]

Re: unison ride

I suppose this is really going out on a limb, but did anyone find a Federal Issue Curry comb this weekend?? I last used it on Friday night when we had the picket line set up in front of the Welbourne mansion, then noticed I did not have it Saturday morning when we were camped at Fiddlers Green. I looked around both camp sites but did not see it. I suppose it could have come out of my nose bag sometime on the ride from Welbourne to Fiddlers Green. Just curious to see if anyone came upon it at either site???

Thanks
Dan

[GBaylor]

Re: unison ride

We'll keep an eye out for it.

John Sweeney

[rbruno]

Re: unison ride

Dan,
We camped there both nights and I don't remember seeing anything. We policed our area pretty well when we left. No one said they found anything.

I too had a great time and are just starting to get out of bed in the morning without being sore. Yes, I can admit it too. My horses is looking a little more lively in field as well. I don't think I have done that much hard riding in a while either. This was the fastest I have been on the horse I was riding. I know I gave Tom a couple of those looks that Jerry did, but I wasn't going to be caught. I didn't know my horse had it in him. And, I am also not ashamed to admit that running across one of those fields, I was hoping/praying there was not going to be a hole or something else. We were going so fast I wouldn't have been able to turn. What a rush to just turn your hoeses head in the direction you want to go and let him out.

Each side had a few good surprises for the other. One of the surprises for me was to see those 4 hardy infantry men with the cav all the way at Welbourne. Great job! Hope more infantry decides to take part in the future. If more guy show up with the same spirit of those 4, we could really have a combined arms battle on our hands.

[Tom Craig]

Re: unison ride

Rob,

Your horse is pretty fast, although I think I would have caught you at Fiddler's Green if the Tenn. boys hadn't been on the other side of that ridge! I too often think about holes, but having ridden in the area several times now I have not seen a hole yet. Either way, it's all part of the thrill of mounted service!

Dan,
I'll pass on the compliments to Ken. He is damn good, and a treat to have around even if you folks can hear what we are up to!

Take care,
Tom Craig
1st Maine Cavalry

[Andrew German]

Re: unison ride

Dan,

Ken thanks you for the compliment (he hasn't been able to register here for some reason). It is great to rise and form by the bugle, and to follow bugle commands on the skirmish line (though we get a little rusty as we can't get into the field as often as we'd like). As you say, it's an essential feature missing in many cavalry reenactment units.

We like having you and Jerry on our side, but you're great opponents as well.

Finally, to fess up, we thought the inexorable blue tide was rolling through Unison till we crossed the creek and deployed in mounted skirmish formation, only to climb the ridge and find you all massed for a flanking sabre charge. Nice work.

In the end, I think we embodied the spirit of the cavalrymen themselves, who respected their mounted enemy above all of their philosophical disagreements and confirmed efforts to leave them hors de combat.

Will you be at Bummers?
Andrew

[bushy chops]

Re: unison ride

As one of the few infantrymen, I had a total blast. Couldn't even guess how many miles we hoofed, but every step was worth it.

Had to totally change our gameplan to deal with going against horses, but that made the event for me. I've never been so scared at an event as when we were stalking reb cav and lost contact with our riders, knowing if we were seen or heard we would certainly be killed or captured.

Had a great time being "foot cavalry." a little sore but I'd do it again this weekend if I could.

-Dave

[IowaYank]

Re: unison ride

Andrew, yup I am planning on being at Bummers. See you there!!!!