Pickett's Mill AARs

[Fishermans wife]

Civilian account

My traveling groups consisted of Cj Pace, Addi Grace Pace, Pat Price, Barbara Hartman, Stephanie MCKinnell, and Robin Meade

Friday - we finally got our family members and headed down to into the dark woods to find a camp for the night as it was too late and dark to make it ot the unknown site of Pickett's Mill. As we laid ourselves down to sleep along side the road, I found myself listening intently to the sounds of horsemen in the distance and feared myself being found. The rains begin to come off on during the night but the shelter of the small dogwoods trees kept my family dry.

Upon waking saturday morning- we partook of a quick breakfast and began our journey to the mill site. It was long way down the ravine to the creek. When we arrived we did much searching to make sure we were in the right place . After a quick creek wading we began to find a better hiding spot from the approaching armies.

Finally a safe hidden spot was procured behind this huge 12 foot high rock. To get there you had to ford the creek about 30 feet down stream, or cross the creek on rocks as the base and climb straight up the huge rock at a 45 degree angle.

We held up there most of the day playing cards, singing , and listening for any approching dangers. The children playiing in the sand and creek. A watermelon was shared by all,and then watermelon rind boats were floated in the stream.
After a swim in the creek with Addi Grace and CJ ,we went into hiding. This was the ultimate for me.

Shortly after noon we were surprised by a very quietly moving confederate army coming through the woods. Addi Grace scampered up the rock from the creek below just in a nick of time. The first few saw her but the majority of the army never even suspected we were lurking behind the huge rock with peering eyes and quite mouths. This army impressed me so with the silence at which 60 men could move throught the rough terrain. They diappeared into the woods as quicklly as they came upon us. The "taters"(new word for me compliments of Pat Price) in groups of 2 or 3 were louder than the entire Confederate army.

We had planned to move out from our safety rock when the battle begin and begin our journey up the hill to make our way to the visitor's center to assist with the candlelight tour. But a sudden and heavy rain changed our plans. The rock shelter soon turned into a mud slide. We quickly packed our items down the huge steep slippery rock by a human chain with CJ standing in the creek , me handing blankets and baskets as fast as possible int he pouring rain down to him, and them being passed from person to person as we packed our items out.

Then as we crossed to the side which provided no shelter, The bugle of the oncoming Federal armies sounded. Fear strucken we began a hasened journey up the steep ravine. It took Robin, Steph aong with Cj an d I to get the goat wagon up the slope. During the flight to safety our group became seperated. We passed one federal picket along the road, we later learned he was unknowingly trapped in between the confederate army lines. A horseman ( Coley Adair) came upon us and ordered to the keep moving quickly as we were still in harms way of the approaching fedral army.

We made it to a safe hiding place and rested trying to find our lost members and wait for them. Then we heard an approching army from the front. It was a confederate column, scared we hid again. We were told more were coming. We istened for a while and concluded they must have lef t the road. We began to move up the road again. There they were, quietly, coming in waves. we were forced to hide again.



After they passed We moved on further , weary, fearing the worst of our traveling companions. Another horseman ( Guy Musgrove) came up on us and gave us his weapon as he had been injured and needed to leave his arms. Panicked we took it and hid it in our belongings. With gunsots ringing in the direction we had just fled we hunkered down , hiding in the woods listening to for our other members footsteps to be recognized.

Finally, they came and we all moved further away and found a safe hiding place on the woods. When we approached once again by a man on horseback ( John Cleveland). He preceeded to shout obscenities ordering us to move even further as the army was coming. We felt we could travel no more up the road. We were exhausted, wet, weary, hungray and aching from the previous flight. We just moved deeper in to the thick green covering and hid.

As the battle commenced, we saw many stragglers traveling the road. Many injured, and weary in both colors of blue and grey. Some we fed ( Brian Wilson, Mark Waddell, Will Leech, and gang I hope you all enjoyed that good bread)), and some we sheltered( Matt Cauldwell and Brian white). Many just reported battle news. Tales of the battle, weapons being lost ( Chris Mattingly) and food shortages stung my ears. After the candle light cancellation we scoured about the country side looking for a dry place to make a camp for the night.

After hearing of a cabin up the road , we proceeded there for shelter. We passed a huge artillery encampment. But safely traveled on our way. The cabin had been overran with an entire regiment of conferate calvary, so this was no place for us. We were forced to find a close place and bed down as it was already dark and we were soaked to the bone. The night was cold and long .

We had little food left for breakfast that morning, but I managed to feed the children from a boiled egg, a piece of cheese and bread. We then packed our blankets into the wagon, which was so much lighter than the day before and begin our travels again.


[SIZE=7]Thanks to Coley for all his hard work, and John for his awesome first person yell ( seems like I have been yelled at by him before) we later discussed if you were in first person or really that mad at us for being caught int he battle zones. Robin and Steph for coming out one more time. It had been too long since we were all together. Pat Price for his first person ability. Best event for me in a long time.[/SIZE]


Lisa Pace

[James Masson]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

"( Brian Wilson, Mark Waddell, Will Leech and gang I hope you all enjoyed that good bread)"

Ma'am, that was truly some great bread and thank you so much for letting us have it without a fight. We didn't know y'all had a gun :)

I want to say thank you to everyone that helped organize the event, it was great guys. To the Federal battalion staff, you guys did an excellent job. A big thank you to Cpt. Duffer and Sgt's. Hicks and Ezell, I don't think there was a better group of NCO's in the entire battalion. And last but not least to the men of Company K, I want to say thanks to all of you for the great time I had. Guy White, your stories will not be forgotten for a long time.

[GBaylor]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

First and foremost,

My hat's off to Coley, John, Chuck and all those folks who worked for months putting this fine event on. Y'all outdid yourself. To our foe..the Yankee horde. You guys looked spectacular from start to finish (you think I've used enough cliche's?)

We settled into Camp Adair, the site of a log home, around dusk on Friday. Despite the fact that some of us hadn't met each other before, we melded into a very cohesive unit in no time (aptly displayed by the insults on each others states of origin and attributes of of female kinfolk). We passed the night rather uneventfully, save the snoring.

The morning broke with troopers watering, feeding, and grooming their horses, saddling up and drawing rations; which we cooked imediately (fire ants in corn meal can't be beat...try it sometime). We moved well ahead of the Federal column into what I'll call the "great woods" with John Cleaveland as our guide. He was in every way like Moses leading his tribe through the desert (it seemed it would take forty years to find our way out). John and Zak went back to make sure the Yankees could find their way. The technique used was called "navigation by fire" (when the Yankees looked like they had lost their way we'd shoot at them as if to say, "over here! the trail is over here"). My hat's off to that skirmish company, you moved very well and made it hot for us a couple of times. After crossing the creek, we made it up to the top of a rather long hill and a rear guard was left behind to set up an ambush for the Yankees. We could hear them down at the creek hollering for their "Mittens". We looked at each other and wonder why Yankees would want to find "Mittens" on such a hot day. Well, yankees are a peculiar breed anyway. We sat up there for what seemed like an hour and I really felt sorry for those ground pounders having to hump it up that hill. Coley decided if we held them up too long they wouldn't make it to the cornfield until after sundown. We pulled back to another creek crossing to wait for the Yankees. Zak and I went back to see if the Yankees were close and came upon a very tired and hot Pat Craddick panting his way up the road. Zak and I returned back to the Critters who were lounging by the tranquil creek side preparing a picnic for the Yankees. We gave the Yanks a few rounds and pulled back up another really steep hill. On the way up Guy did his best impression of a lawn dart off his horse ( I'll give it to Guy, he's one tough feller). Guy and Coley traded horses and all was right with the world. We stopped a while later, and few more unintended dismounts later (names whitheld to protect the guilty) and cooked coffee and watered the horses. We heard the Yanks make their way into the wheatfield, so we set up a mounted skirmish line at the top of a wooded hill. We hit their advance and skeedaddled back to the fences in the cornfield.

We left about ten troopers to act as skirmishers in the first half of the cornfield at the fence. The Yanks came on at the double quick and drove our boys back through the ravine and up the hill to the rest of us sitting behind the fence at the other end of the cornfield. The Yankees came on and we gave them lots of lead. I agree with Larry that the use of ramrods made the whole thing seem more realistic (saying this though, I did stay down behind the fence to prevent an errant ramrod from making a Sweeney shish-ka-bob). The Feds looked great coming on in good order and taking realistic hits. When I couldn't reload my Mississippi Rifle quick enough and the Yanks were in "spitting" distance, I unloaded my Colt into them dropping five (including my pard Huck...ahh the fates). The Feds pressed on and almost broke us, but the Confederate Infantry arrived and stablized the line. The Critters pulled out in Critter fashion, at a gallop, to the cheers of our adoring fans :wink_smil

We pulled back to Camp Adair to water, feed, and groom our tired mounts. We enjoyed the "helicopter" demo by Coley and continued to insult each other's ancestory, religion, and sexual peccadilloes (we wouldn't be Critters if we didn't). The care package sent by Zak's "soon to be fiance' " was a life saver, filled with all sorts of delectables. We filled the night air with roars of laughter as we faded off into the land of Nod. A note of thanks to Scott who jumped on my horse's neck when he became entangled in his lead line, although I did suspect Scott might have enjoyed it more than he let on.

To Coley, John, Guy, Zak, Chris, Chuck, Pete, Jerry, Scott, Patrick, Ethan, Daryl, Larry, Charles, Sergeant Major and Captain Gatch you are all a fine bunch of gentlemen and great cavalrymen. I enjoyed every minute of the event. To the Federals: you all were a great looking bunch, hearty souls for marching over hill and dale in the hot humid Georgia countryside, and did your forefathers proud. The Confederate Infantry did a great job of helping is out in a pinch and I'm sorry we didn't get to spend more time with you folks. Unfortunately for the Confederate Artillery, I only heard you fire the gun, but we rode by your camp and you have nice horses and you looked good too!

All in all, a fine event. well worth the price of admission and the 10 hour drive. Hey Coley, can we do it next year?

John Sweeney

[I. Hogg]

Company F

I think I can say for all of Company F (Hogg Mess, Hard Head Mess, Mess #3, Columbia Rifles, Southern Guard) that we had a splendid time. The marching was hard but gave us a real appreciation for the hard work done during the Atlanta Campaign.

After the heat, the hard marching and the scrape with the confederates, our company was given the priviledge of setting up a picket post on the same spot where the federals held after falling back. We stayed along that fenceline all night. Our company was made up primarily of folks from Wisconsin, northern Illinois and Buffalo New York, the LONG drive was definately worth it to be allowed to spend the night on the line in the same spot as Hazens boys.

John and all, thanks for making that happen. We all appreciate your hard work, and I believe that to a man, our company would drive back next weekend to do it all again.

Thanks also to Captain Steve Acker, Lieutenant Kevin O'Bierne and 1st
Sgt. Derik Morefield for looking after the boys so well.


Steve Parrish
Hogg Mess

[ButtermilkRanger]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

John,

It was a real pleasure and an honor to have ridden with you this weekend. Maybe one day Darryl and I can make the pilgrimage to one of your events in Virginia. You're welcome to come to the Bayou country anytime you get ready. We laughed at the Critters description of fox hunting with Viking helmets all the way home. You didn't bring any Georgia pop-tarts back to the Old Dominion with you, did you? Cornelius says they're a real treat. :wink_smil

My hat is off to everyone who worked so hard to make this event the success that it was. The quality of event and people meshed to make a great time for all.

Larry Morgan
Buttermilk Rangers LHC
Critter Company (Guilt by Association)

[Jim of The SRR]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

Thanks to John Cleveland, Coley Adair, Tripp Corbin and the park for making this event happen.
It was a great event and I had random period moments throughout the weekend. Here were my highlights:
* After the battle on Saturday, the Yanks did a great job playing dead and wounded and played it till the very end. When we retreated back across the cornfield, the dead were already being lined up along the fence. It was very eerie and looked great and don't think we didn't notice and appreciate the extra effort you fellas did. You Yanks also looked great assaulting the fence. The smoke and scenario looked great from along the fence.
* Cooking corn pones with my messmates. I became a corn pone making machine on Sat night. Authentic reenacting really makes you see how important your mess is in supporting each other to cook, get water, get fire started with wet wood, etc. All this after everyone is quite spent from marching and fighting.
* Listening to the artillery drivers yelling and urging on the horses off in the distance.
* Laying down to sleep wet from sweat and rain looking up at the GA pines and wondering what the real soldiers were thinking at that same location 140 years ago.

Thanks to Rick Joselyn for his leadership and Cory Pharr our Capt of Co. A and David Chinnis our First Sgt for doing a great job. Thanks to The Salt River Rifles and GA Regulars for forming a great mess.

Regards,
Jim Butler
formely 2nd Sgt of Co. A - 33rd Alabama infantry
The SRR

[Old Reb]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

I reckon by the time you read this, you will also know that I was not kilt along Pumpkinvine Creek like so many others from back home in Coffee County, but am a prisoner of the Yanks which is some what better than being dead. Since this pretty much brings an end to my soldiering, I thought I would tell you how it all came about in case anyone ask. As you know, we've been giving ground to the Yanks all the way from near Dalton, and at a place somewhere near the little community of Dallas, we made a firm stand atop a ridge overlooking a little corn field surrounded by a split rail fence. The marching to get there was a might hard, being that the country in these here parts is a might steep, but we all held up pretty good. Our march was held up by the artillery fellers who almost lost one of their canons in the creek, but they managed to get it out and get up the hill. We seen some civilians and I felt sorry for them since they was having to leave their homes, but I guess that is one of the woes of war. We had good high ground and the Yanks came at us and we did ourselves proud and drove them back and then chased them up another hill where they became a might stubborn and held firmly until night fall when we retraced our step back across the corn field to the ridge where it all began. We pretty much destroyed that corn field and I felt a bit of sorrow for the poor farmer who had planted it, and now it was layed in ruins. I was concerned with how hard I have become to seeing death, 'cause I was more concerned with the trampled corn than all the dead and wounded scattered about just as they be stalks of corn cut by a scythe. We made camp and built little fires but the rations we had been issued were about gone. I am pretty tired of eating fat hog meat and cornmeal, but we did not even have none of that left, so we curled up like dogs and slept 'til dawn. We did not have no breakfast either. A hungry soldier is not a happy soldier, I say that for certain. I just want you to know that Captain Jerram is a good fellow and showed great concern for our welfare, even offering to share what meager rations he had with us fellows. I suppose I do not know much about what is going on beyond my mess mates; Jeff, Chad, and Steve, 'cause that is about all a soldier knows or cares about. His friends. First Sergeant Bacon did a fine job getting us prepared to meet the Yanks. Ain't no better outfit than B company of the 33rd Alabama and I was trying to lift the spirits of some of the fellers by telling them how the Yanks had never whipped us which is more than I can say for the rest of the army but we got General Cleburne who is a fine gentleman and a fighter. All that said, we scrapped with the Yanks at first light and they, I found out later, were Kentucky fellows, and we had faced them before, and they are fighters to say the least. When they came, we opened up on them, but they kept coming like demons from hell with no fear of death and many of us were faced with being kilt or captured and the later prospect seemed easier to chew. One of the Yanks that guarded us ask me how far it was to Atlanta 'cause his officers had told him it was just a mile or so. He seemed a bit disappointed when I told him it was still a good piece to Atlanta and old General Joe was not about them get across the Chattahoochee with out a good fight. He told me he had not had breakfast either having eaten up all the issued rations of hard bread and beans that had been issued to him the day before. I offered him a chaw of tabacco. No sense in blaming him for me being captured. When we was marched to the rear I says to him, “See you in hell Yank.” He just smiled at me and says, “I think I am already there.” Well, I hope this war ends soon so I can come home and plant some corn and know that no soldiers will be littering it with their corpses.

[Eric Tipton]

An Evaluation/AAR

Comrades:

Here is an evaluation I posted over on the Camp Chase Forum.

Your Name: Eric Tipton
Name of Event: Pickett's Mill 140th Battle Commemoration
Location of Event: Pickett's Mill State Historic Site - Dallas, Georgia
Type of Event: Semi-Immersive, Living History
Event Host: Critter Company, 10th Texas, Wool Hat Boys, Pickett's Mill State Historic Site, and Friends of Civil War Paulding County.
Date: May 28-30, 2004

1) How did you hear about this event?

Comments: The event was promoted on the internet forums. Most information came from the discussion on the Authentic Campaigner. There was also quite a bit of positive word-of-mouth I had heard from friends who had attended in 2001.

2) Did the event scenarios and amenities meet the advertised expectations?

Comments: The event scenario precisely followed the route of the 5th Kentucky in their march and assault on May 27, 1864. The route we took and the battle scenarios did not disappoint and there were minor glitches that did not effect the overall quality of the march. A father-son duo did not report for roll-call during the march, which delayed things a bit, but provided some comic-relief when it was found out that they were out in front with the skirmishers all along. The "dead company" ended up with more than anticipated, because other "dead" Federals fell in with us. We were not gathered up for a while, but again, this was a welcome relief for me, because I was able to re-join my Mess #1 pards, who had already found a cozy camp site and had a ready fire for drying out our gear.

The march and battles, were in my opinion, absolutely spectacular. We kept moving on the march and the phrase "one more hill" became a theme for the weekend. No modern intrusions, whatsoever on the march. You had to be there to appreciate the heat, humidity and camaraderie of the troops.

The battle went off without a hitch from what I had heard about the plan. We Federals took quite a few hits and were driven back to the ravine just as the originals did. Eric Emdy came up with the idea of lining us up along the fence, so when the Confederates returned, they would find us there. We heard some muffled comments and they were kicking our boots checking us. From what I heard from Jim Butler here, the effect worked out ok. When I was "dead", the sounds and smoke from the battle and the humidity made for another moment I won't forget. It made me wonder what those boys were thinking as they breathed their last breaths in the very area I was laying.

As far as amenities, there was plentiful water arranged throughout the march at wood "wells". Rations were issued Saturday morning (bacon, beans, hardtack) with plenty of time to cook bacon before heading out for the march. We were provided with "hard" parking surface at a school a few miles from the visitors center. Shuttles ran frequently. We were able to catch a shuttle back to the starting point only a few minutes after leaving our vehicles. I was impressed with the efficiency on this point.

3) What was the camping arrangment? Was this a campaign event, family-oriented or mixed?

Comments: Campaign. Nice Federal camping spot on Friday night with pine needles blanketing the ground. Best night's sleep I've ever had on campaign. On the move constantly on Saturday with the afore-mentioned spot on Saturday night.

4) Was this event based on an actual battle or historical event?

Comments: This event was based on the Federal assault on May 27, 1864 during the Atlanta Campaign. It was held on precisely the same ground as the assault and this provided a good deal of motivation, at least for me personally, to do it right.

5) Describe the setting for the event. What was the surrounding area like? Was it set amidst modern surroundings or a more rural setting?

Comments: As I've said, the site itself is perfect for a reenactment of this type. I can see now why so many people have told me about this event from 2001. Hills, ravines, hills, creeks, hills, thick forests, oh and did I mention hills.

I guess my biggest surprise/disappointment was how developed the area immediately outside the site is. At one point during our march, we encountered developers literally digging out a hillside adjacent to the park. I understand the immediacy of the rail drive and preservation effort a little better having seen it firsthand.

6) Where there citizen reenactors attending the event? Describe the interaction between the citizen and military reenactors.

Comments: I didn't encounter any citizens, but heard about interaction that sounded like it was more on the Confederate side of things.

7) Did the event promise to benefit preservation? To the best of your knowledge, what was the total amount donated for preservation?

Comments: I don't know what the total was, but approximately $3,000 was raised to install fence rails on the site. We had the pleasure of knocking some of those rails down during the scenario. If someone knows the total donated for preservation, I be interested to hear about it.

8) What were some of the specific rules and standards for the event? Were they enforced?

Comments: There were uniform standards for the event and a weapons inspection. I can honestly say that this event had thge best impressions I've ever seen collected in one place. There were several moments when I looked down our lines, snippets from the batles and down our column where it literally gave me the chills.

9) Were there any safety violations that you noticed, and did you feel that safety was made a priority for the event?

Comments: Rammers were drawn for the event to better-portray the real-time action. To my knowledge, no accidents were caused by this practice. There were some heat-related injuries and some twisted ankles and such, but nothing serious that I have heard about.

10) Do you feel that the organizers had the needs of the reenactors in mind when they planned the event?

Comments: I commented about John Cleaveland in an earlier post, but I would be remiss in mentioning our 5th Kentucky Company "B" Captain John Crabb. Coley Adair, Pat Craddock and all the others who put this together went the extra mile to make us feel at home. I also noticed that some of the biggest bugs took time to talk to individuals who approached them.

Some of the other "little things" I noticed about keeping the rank-and-file in mind:

(1) The event went live on Friday night at 11 PM. This allowed everyone to show up and be ready to go. This created a cohesive unit before things got started. This worked well.

(2) The decision to issue rations Saturday morning instead of Friday night was done on the fly and made a lot of sense, because we were able to get some immediate rest when things were st up and I was ready to go Saturday morning.

(3) After we were well-spent on Saturday night, they called off picket duty. We accomplished a helluva alot on Saturday and I thought this was first-rate. We were ready to go back up that hill again early Sunday morning and the event wrapped up by 10:30 AM, again, to help out those who had a long drive home.

(4) The officers and NCO's were first-rate. Other than a couple of about-faces, and the Minton (sp?) disappearance there was never a time where there apeeared to be any confusion or uncertainty. From what I know about the organization of the event, the group was hand-picked to lead from different units and it showed.

Overall, the organizers were gracious and visibly thrilled to see each one of us there. The staff at the visitors center was extremely friendly as well and got a kick out of telling us what we were in for on the Federal side.

11) Overall, would you attend this event in the future or recommend it to others?

Comments: Right now, I wish I was still there - lol. I have to say, as my first "western" EBUFU event, I was more than highly impressed. I met many from the WIG, Critters, AOP, and the GHTI. We were in compay "B" with the GHTI and I thought those fellows were a blast to fall in with. There were others I had previously met from the Salt River Rifles and those boys are salt-of the earth as well (no pun intended). Lastly, I wanted to mention my file partner for the weekend, Matt Woodburn. Matt, thanks for the licquorice and for being there with me all weekend long. I really had a good time getting to know you a little bit. My pards in Mess #1 - can't wait for the next event together.

I know I've repeated some things already mentioned, left things out and people, for that matter, so anyone else is welcome to add or comment on my observations.

It was a pleasure. :D

Respectfully,

[Strawfoot]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

In our hobby, people speak constantly of 'capturing the moment.' But at Pickett's Mill, the moment captured me. Never have I found myself thrust into a situation where I understood so much of what those men may have went through 140 years ago.

The absolute feeling of physical and mental exhaustion that consumed me after Saturdays cornfield battle, gave me that very sobering perspective. It was a wierd feeling of closeness, being there on that ground and knowing what they endured and suffered through.

You can experience a period moment at an event by standing picket on a dark cold night, or maybe pitching in on a battle line with hundreds of others. But to actually follow in the exact footsteps of Hazen's men, feeling the same fatigue and weariness, fighting the same terrain and brutal weather, well... It sort of thrusts you into 'the moment.'

Yes, the march Saturday was doable. But it was also an asskicker. The constant fits and starts in double and single file I think took its toll as much as the harsh terrain. Historically, the brigade averaged less than a mile an hour, and we matched that handily. I saw very few men fall out, but everyone was challenged with fatigue, and the sweat was running in torrents. Thank God the water supply was handled brilliantly.

After the march, we attempted the approach advance in columns of eight as they did, but the battalion became a hopelessly tangled mess in the brush. With a rueful grin, I note that in Ambrose Bierce's account of "The Crime at Pickett's Mill," he describes the attacking brigade as turning from "trim battalions into a simple swarm of men struggling through the undergrowth of the forest, pushing and crowding." Not wanting to be ridiculous here, but those were hardened men of intense discipline, seasoned campaigners of three years, and they struggled in that mess just as much as us overage, out of shape, modern day re-enactors...

The AoP battalion looked simply awesome. Awe inspiring. I've never seen a group of mangier, dirtier, or more ragged re-enactors anywhere. My company commander, Nate Petersburg, was amazing in his role. I was dead tired Saturday afternoon, just spent. All of us in Company A were. Yet there was Nate, bounding around camp as if he were still on the firing line, checking on our welfare and spirits. I simply shook my head...

The battle Saturday was truly memorable. All the smoke amid the trees and cornfield. The screaming and chaos. And the ever present fatigue dulling your senses and actions.

I'll tell you... You can have the first person chit-chat, the authentic kits, and all the dirt and grime. But I have never felt more in touch with those heroes than that Saturday afternoon, just being so utterly spent and done. Talk about your period moment.

My thanks to John for putting us all in the postion to make the event succeed. Also to Dom and Steve for making the trip. It was great to see all the same old faces again. The usual suspects. And also to make new acquaintenaces. Frank Aufmuth's entertaining our company before the fight was priceless.

My hats off to my pards in the GHTI company who didn't lose a man the whole weekend. They are definitely the standard for Fed reenacting in the land.

What a weekend... The Mill? Yeah... The grinding mill. But WELL worth it.

Mike Phineas
Arlington, TX

[markmason]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

At this point, I am unable to add very much to that which has not already been said.

#1 One event that stands out in my mind is while 1st platoon Co. B (GHTI)was deployed in skirmish advance of he column, we approached Pumkinvine Creek, halted, soon after discovering a picket line across the creek. The encounter brought on a sharp engagement between lines until they fell back toward the rear. The order was given to advance our line, the men splashing across the creek in good order, our line was established on the other side of the creek, and without wasting a moments time we pushed up the hill driving the rebel pickets deeper into the woods.

This was a very "REAL" moment for me as I hit the cold water knee deep.

#2 I truely appreciate the organizers allowing us to use our ramrods during the fight along the cornfield. This truely did slow the rate of fire down to give it a sense of realism. Also, it did not take long for my hands to become black from the fouling collected on the ramrods, wiping the sweat from my face quickly turned everythign I touched black. THIS WAS AS REAL AS IT CAN GET. The fields became thick with smoke to the point that it was hard to see the oncoming advance of the enemy giving a sense of suprise, not to mention a real sense of urgency.

#3 We had pork belly, crackers, beans, and cornmeal for rations. Some of the boys chose not to take the meal and/or beans, while others did so, they cooked the pork and threw off the grease leaving nothing to cook the corn meal in. These are tough lessons we learn as did those whom were there 140 years before us.

All in all, the sweat, humidity, scorpions, spiders, hills, and a DAMN WHIPPERWILL and two HOOTY OWLS who decided our neck of the woods was just as good as any other were well worth the time. I would do it again!

Thanks to John C. and all those who pulled this one off with a bang! Our command structure within our own company was superb as always. When John Cleveland is involved with organizing a event, it is well worth your time to sample it

[justthemiller]

Re: Pickett's Mill//A different Perspective...

Hello All,

First off I would like to say that Coley & John did an un-godly amount of work for this event and there just isn't enough praise to give them for their efforts. The fence rails alone looked spectacular. I was also glad that I could help out a little bit by working Federal registration while the two of them were able to attend to other matters.

I was also doing Federal but chose to not participate in the march for two reasons. One, my health and two, the park folks asked for volunteers so I figured I could help out better that way. While the federals were out marching I was doing some interp a hundred yards or so down from the visitors center. There were a lot of public out there and they came in large groups for the most part to look over the park. Many of them were from the VERY nearby developments and I received a lot of comments like, "I knew about the park but I didn't know anything about the battle before now." Hopefully they came away more educated from their visit.

A few folks came in from the march very fatigued and they brought them back to where I was. All except one looked like they just needed some air and a good amount of water and hopefully the one that needed more attention was able to recover from it. Later on in the day I tried to link up with the marching battalion but basically wound up just helping some walking wounded back to the visitor's center for a look-over by the EMT's. Hopefully they have recovered also from their knee & ankle injuries. Just doing that little amount of work was fatiguing enough so to those that even attempted the march I say Bravo! Four miles over terrain like that is more like 20 miles over flat terrain. When I finally got back to the Federal camp on Saturday evening I was impressed with the tired looks on all of the faces yet everyone seemed to be in high spirits. Slumber definitely came easy for those men I can say. The Sunday morning affair went well with no one getting hurt and a good time had by all that participated in it.

Once again I felt that the overall event went along swimmingly with little or no real problems encountered by those that went to it. Organization was great and those that attended were adult enough to roll with whatever difficulties that came along. I sincerely hope that in the future there will be more events like this one. Take care.

[Dave Grieves]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

Four of us from the 122nd NY flew down to attend Pickett's Mill in Co. F, 5th Ky, with Capt Ackerman. Posted below is the diary I kept during the event. There are no times, as I cannot afford a timepiece on a private's pay. The facts and chronology may be askew, since I wrote this from the private's view without outside information. It was an interesting excercise, and I thank Dave Towsen for the idea. Here it is, for what it's worth:
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May 28, 1864 – Arrived at marshalling area around 7:00 pm. Got naked around women, but there wasn’t another way to change clothes. Marched to co. area and started fire. Met orderly sgt. Morefield. Slept peacefully under the trees with small fits of rain.

May 29 – Woke at dawn. Detail brought rations that were quickly issued and cooked. Drilled a little, went to bn. drill and learned “marching by 8’s”. Broke for a while and went on water detail.

Formed bn. at 10:00 and began a march approaching the rebs. Very steep hill cost us some men to fatigue. Another ½ mile and a good rest and refilled canteens. Just before the rest we heard musketry to our front.

After resting we marched another ½ mile or so, with another big hill. No casualties that I know of. After crossing a cold creek (only one foot wet) we stopped for another break.

More marching. We were told at our first rest of the day that there would be two more large hills. We’ve now done at least 3, and the boys are whipped. We are resting again, and the Col. says we will be here for 2 hours. There was more firing by our skirmishers, but I have not yet seen a reb. Water has been plentiful, shich is good, for some of the men need it. At our send rest, 2 men from another co. went missing, which extended our break.

The last time we crossed pumpkinvine creek our feet got fairly soaked, so I have my socks and shoes off to dry.

After our long break we began our approach on the rebel works. More very steep climbing that tested the boys. Our skirmishers met dismounted cavalry and drove them away. We crossed a deep ravine and at the top took position briefly behind a wooden fence. After brief firing we pushed the fence down, crossed it and advanced across a field. We crossed 2 or 3 hedgerows moving steeply downhill. All this maneuver was done in “column of 8’s”.

At the bottom of the field we encountered another steep ravine. We pushed hard all along. At the bottom of the ravine was a deep gully cut by a stream. I stopped to help Brad out of this gully. We pushed up the hill, which opened on a small cornfield. We made it part way across the field, but were pinned down by withering fire. We remained there for firing prone for a long time, but retired back down the hill. The rebs followed us, and we took a position behind the fence we pushed down earlier.

The rebs approached us and we held them off from behind the fence. They left and we spent the night there.

May 30 - It had started to rain hard as we formed to move on the assault, so by the time we were in camp we were fairly soaked. It rained throughout the night, and all were wet in the morning. We are waiting for word to move. Nick let out a screech while packing up. He found a scorpion in his things.

We received word to move and rejoined the bn. from our position on the skirmish line. It is reported that several soldiers from other companies skulked away during the night, but our co. is all here.

The bn. then moved to our old skirmish line. We then followed yesterday’s route, but this time in line. We quickly lost order, and re-formed past the deep gully. We then advanced up the hill, and as we moved quickly, we lost order again. We formed a line as best we could about 40 yards from the rebs behind their fence and charged them. They fell back from the fence and we tore it down to build breastworks.

We watched the rebs re-form and move to our right, so we marched by the flank and came upon them. We gave them heavy fire and they turned to retire. We charged them, chasing them about a quarter mile and taking many prisoners. It was hot work.

The bugler sounded the halt and to the colors and we re-formed and took roll. We lost 5 or 6 men, including Capt. Ackerman, but drove the johnnies from the hill.

After roll call the battalion marched to a clearing, where we received words of appreciation for our deeds from the Lt. Col and other officers.
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We had a bully time. I thank the organizers and our company leader's for leading us through the re-creation of the 5th Ky's travails at the Mill. I'll never forget those darned hills. :tounge_sm

[unionreb]

Re: Cavalry AARs

My turn to thank all the Critters for great job of putting on the event. I wish to second all that Larry has said about the event and my thanks to the Buttermilk Rangers for letting me ride with them and sharing the dirve time between Louisiana and Georgia. To bad I had to drive the Louisiana/Texas legs without the companionship shared during the rest of the event. I arrived home 22 hours after leaving Pickett's Mill Sunday morning. As I said in the first sentence, thank to the Critters, but especially Scott, who without his farrier skills, I would have made a 2000 mile trip for nothing. My horse found one of the holes in the pasture first thing during drill Saturday morning and pull a shoe off. Scott's skills got us ready to ride and ride we did. Again thanks to everyone for a great event.

Charles

Charles Bradford
Critter/Ranger convert

[HoggBro]

Re: Pickett's Mill AARs

First off - words are simply not enough to thank John Cleveland, Coley Adair and all of those who put time and effort into organizing this event. Next, large marks for Col. Dal Bello, Lt. Col. Craddock, Adj Milbert and the entire command staff for their efforts at leading and looking after the 5th KY.

Now to Company F. My thanks to all of those who made the trek and agreed to fall in, it was truly one of, if not the best Federal company that I have ever had the privelege of participating in. Hats off to Sgts Scott Frank and Jason Reinholz and Cpls Stephen Tyler, Dave Gerow, Joe Hill and Terry Sorchy for keeping the company organized and effective. Finally, to Capt Acker and Lt O'Bierne who provided much enthusiasm and quality leadership in getting the company through a pretty rough weekend. I was proud to call roll on Sunday morning and not have one man missing from the company.

Looking very much forward to the next opportunity to serve with you all (or is that all y'all?).

Best Regards,
Derik Morefield
formerly, 1st Sgt., Co.F, 5th KY Infantry

[pprice]

Another civilian perspective

This was my first time out as a civilian and my first time back to a decent event in quite a while due to a permanent ankle injury. I can definitely say it was a different experience than that of toting a rifle in the ranks of blue.

There were actually 3 civilian groups hiding or roaming about the property for the weekend. If you didn't see any civilians then consider their goal accomplished. Our purpose was to hide from the armies and find safety.

As Lisa already stated, our bunch consisted of Lisa Pace, Cj Pace, Addi Grace Pace, Barbara Hartman, Stephanie MCKinnell, Robin Meade and myself. We'd bedded down for the night at the juncture of two trails, just hoping the horses and bugles we heard in the distance were doing the same. Not long after dawn we made our way down to a bend in the Pumpkinvine Creek where we commenced to engage in a bit of swimming, picnicking and mostly relaxation. My, what a contrast to what most of you wags were engaged in, eh? :baring_te

I won't repeat all of what Lisa said, as she did an admirable job of recounting our exploits. After we bugged out of our soggy shelter Miss Barbara and I were bringing up the rear when we heard bugles signal the advance of the boys in blue. Scurrying the best we could in our impaired states, we had just chosen a forked path when a Critter harrangued us to begone before we were caught between the opposing forces. A lone federal picket also interrogated us - though he looked more ill at ease than we, being behind enemy lines and apparently completely lost from his like-minded soldiers.

Some federals later beseeched us for what food we could spare and gave until we couldn't afford to give anymore.

All in all, I had a great time. Thoroughly enjoyed my company and got to see a side of things I'd never really spent much time thinking about. I completely realize that at any event like this, however, civilians often have to "make their own fun". This was something I was moderately prepared for, though I'd hoped for much more interaction with other civilians and more soldiers. I was dissappointed that dedicated foraging parties weren't all over us - as that would have given both us and them something more in the way of first person interaction. To remain dedicated to historical fact, however, keeping a very low profile was in order.

Hats off to Coley and everyone else who had a hand in bringing the event off. I hope that a goodly amount of money was raised for the park by reenactor admission fees!

P.S. The trip hope was interesting too - keeping our fella hydrated who'd earlier had issues during the event, and dodging not one, but two tornadoes in Lexington, KY on the long road back to Michigan.