Rich Mountain - July 14-16, 2006 (Proposed)

[Eric Tipton]

Comrades:

I'm adding this to the potential calendar for 2006 in the spirit of deconfliction. I haven't seen anything else scheduled for July 2006, so here goes:

Discussion is very preliminary, but I should know more in the next week or so from the Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation. The initial proposal is currently in their hands for discussion and we plan to meet in August to discuss potential logistics. They have a mainstream reenactment in odd-years, so the site is open as far as that goes.

Event Name: Rich Mountain 145th Anniversary
Location: Beverly, West Virginia
Date: July 14-16, 2006 (Proposed)
Host: Sixth Ohio - Mess #1. Seeking a co-host on the Confederate side if concept is approved.
Sponsor: Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation and potentially the CWPT (Proposed)
Discussion Format: To Be Determined.
Contact: Federal: Eric Tipton, etinohio@msn.com
Contact: Confederate: To Be Determined.
Citizen: To Be Determined.
Website: Would most likely be an off-shoot of the <!--EZCODE LINK START-->Rich Mountain Web Site<!--EZCODE LINK END-->.
Comments: General plan is for movement in the vicinity of Laurel Hill, the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike in and around the Rich Mountain Battlefield to follow in the steps of the original battle in July of 1861. If concept is approved, the scenario to be worked through with the Battlefield Foundation historians. A tour of the site is tentatively scheduled for August.
Event Point of Contact: Same as Federal POC, above
Event Type: Campaign, semi-immersion event
Impression(s): Federal - Sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Confederate - To Be Determined. Early war impressions, obviously. Uniform standards would be in line with other EBUFU events.
Preservation: To Be Determined. Preliminary discussions have begun with the Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation and the plan would be to donate all net proceeds to the preservation of the battlefield.
Registration: To Be Determined.

That's all for now. We have a very long way to go, but it's a start. If we can get past the concept stage, I'm going to need some help. John Cleaveland has agreed to "consult" a bit and I'll be calling him if we can get this meeting set up.

Does anyone have an idea about a good Confederate unit that could be portrayed? I'm just starting my homework on that part.

[markj]

Re: Rich Mountain - July 14-16, 2006 (Proposed)

How about the 25th Virginia for a Confederate impression? Good sources regarding the Rich Mountain fight are:

Haselberg, Fritz. "Yanks from the South!"

or

Lesser, W. Hunter. "Rebels at the Gate: Lee and McClellan on the Front Line of a Nation Divided." Sourcebooks, 2004, ISBN: 1570717478. (Hunter used some of my contributions in his book)

I'm not sure why the 6th Ohio was picked for an impression. Although I'm admittedly a Hoosier, better impressions would be the 8th, 10th, or 13th Indiana Volunteer Infantry regiments or, conversely, the 19th Ohio. The 10th IVI, raised in my part of Indiana, took the lion's share of the casualties and I've done tons of research on its uniforms, arms, and equipage. David Hart, the "Rich Mountain Guide," actually came back to Indiana with the 10th IVI and enlisted in the regiment as its Commissary Sergeant. He served in the 10th IVI until he died from typhoid in March 1862.

Inquiring minds want to know,

Mark Jaeger

[Eric Tipton]

Re: Rich Mountain - July 14-16, 2006 (Proposed)

Mark:

How about the 25th Virginia for a Confederate impression?

Much appreciated. That's a good start and more than I know right now. There is a lot of homework ahead if we can get this off the ground. The unique thing about this particular battle, if we can get it together, is the presence of eastern and western troops. My preliminary idea would be to have the western boys on the Federal side and some of our friends out east on the Confederate side. The site is located pretty well for joint attendance.

I'm not sure why the 6th Ohio was picked for an impression. Although I'm admittedly a Hoosier, better impressions would be the 8th, 10th, or 13th Indiana Volunteer Infantry regiments or, conversely, the 19th Ohio. The 10th IVI, raised in my part of Indiana, took the lion's share of the casualties and I've done tons of research on its uniforms, arms, and equipage. David Hart, the "Rich Mountain Guide," actually came back to Indiana with the 10th IVI and enlisted in the regiment as its Commissary Sergeant. He served in the 10th IVI until he died from typhoid in March 1862.?

The simple answer is that I'm with the Sixth Ohio :wink_smil, and a Buckeye. We have an excellent source right off the bat, because the Sixth Ohio Regimental, written by Hannaford has a fairly detailed account of what they did in this area - almost to the hour in most parts. We also have several members who can practically trace the path of the Sixth throughout the entire war. The impresion isn't set in stone, but it would be an excellent opportunity with the wealth of knowledge we have at our disposal and within the unit.

This is all a concept right now, but I wanted to get it out there to avoid any potential conflict with something else that might be in the planning stages and find out if there is any interest to do this.

I have exchanged several e-mails and provided a preliminary proposal to the Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation and their board will discuss this at their meeting this week. If we can get a meeting set up, I want to assemble a team to meet with them to give them a more detailed proposal. I want to involve them in the planning if we can get that far, because they appear to have an excellent understanding of the private property owners around the site as well as on-staff historians.

At first, they were a little wary about the concept, since they do the mainstream thing on alternating years. I hope we can get it going, because from what I've heard, the surrounding area is in pristine condition. We'll find out more when we get down there.

[markj]

Re: Rich Mountain - July 14-16, 2006 (Proposed)

Sounds good, Eric. If you want any first-hand accounts of the battle (the Indiana papers printed several of them), let me know. I also have a very lengthy account of the battle that I found in the diary of Valentine Thuma, a guy who served in the 8th Indiana

Of course some sticking points, when it comes to "authenticity," are the issues of uniforms and arms. From the pics I've seen of previous Rich Mountain events, the uniforms are generally incorrect for that period (e.g., sack coats, which apparently weren't issued to Indiana troops until the end of 1861 or beginning of 1862 at the earliest). The 10th IVI, to name one regiment, was issued "light blue jean" roundabouts with 9-button fronts and matching trousers in late May 1861. They also wore gray "rough and ready" (somewhat similar to "Hardee") hats. The 10th IVI (contrary to what is stated in Todd's Military Equipage) were issued .69 M1816 altered-to-Maynard's-system arms.

If you want to see a man wearing a typical early-war Indiana-issue uniform, go this URL and scroll down to "Philander Wisehart" (bottom row, far left). Wisehart served in the 8th IVI and was KIA at Rich Mountain so the image dates to early June 1861 (the 8th and 10th IVI's deployed to Western Virginia on 19 June).

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

[Mike Ventura]

Re: Rich Mountain - July 14-16, 2006 (Proposed)

Mark:

My g-g-grandfather, Archibald Scott, fought with the 10th IVI at Rich Mountain. He returned home and then enlisted as a Corporal in the 43rd IVI.

I didn't see the URL posted that you mentioned in your above post.

Please email me off line - I'd love to see some of your other resource material on the 10th IVI.

mikeventura@venturacompany.com

Once a Hoosier, always a Hoosier!

Regards,

[BerkeleyBorderGuard]

Re: Rich Mountain - July 14-16, 2006 (Proposed)

Eric-

First, as a resident of WV, let me say THANK YOU for putting this event together. Many parts of WV are well suited for better events as the Trents have shown. I hope this is the start of a trend to bring these better events to the Mountain State.

Here is a link to some good OR material. There was simply too much to cut and paste.

http://www.ehistory.com/uscw/library/or/002/0193.cfm

I also have a great little booklet published back in 1963 that contains wondeful information on Rich Mountain. I will look for it and will send it to you if need be.

All the best to you on this event!

[markj]

Re: Rich Mountain - July 14-16, 2006 (Proposed)

Hi Eric, et. al.

For those of you interested in a Rich Mountain event, here are some newspaper letters I transcribed many moons ago for my 10th IVI website (since taken down due to reasons I won't bore you with here!). These discuss life in the 10th IVI from the time of its organization, in April 1861, to the Rich Mountain fight. Enjoy.

Regards,

Mark

[Pritchett Ball]

Re: Rich Mountain - July 14-16, 2006 (Proposed)

Interesting discussion...

I happen to have a letter, (Copy) in the handwritting of a THG Beck, to a "Miss Ann" dated July 23, 1861

OK, this letter describes events around the battles of Rich Mountain, and Laural Hill. He also mentions Beverly.

The letter is hard to read, but one part states:
" The yankees came on us at Laurel Hill on the 7th of July. We went out to meet them, we had it round there for a while but we made the rascals run like turkeys. I tell you it was not fun at all for the bullets whized by my head too much to suit me. We killed twelve and they killed one of our men."

He latter desribes retreating to Rich Mountain Road,five miles from Beverly they found out there were ten thousand yankees there, and they decided to cut across to Stanton;
"but had not gone very far when the rascals overtaken us and there we had it. you could not hear the words the officers said, it was shooting here & there, men falling all around you. we killed twelve hundred of the (?) and they killed fifty to sixty of our men."

Now, I have no clue who this "Beck" fellow was, or even what unit/State he acually came from. This "Miss Ann" may have been the Mother to a Eunice Ann Loughridge, who was born in Eton, Murray Co. Georgia in 1882. Ivan Thornton of Fort Worth, TX. was the Son of this Eunice (Loughridge) Thornton, and he found this letter when his Mother Eunice died. Ivan and I are related, and he gave me a copy of the letter.

I will be more than happy to snailmail copies of this letter to anyone who emails me, and gives me their address, for I am having PC problems, and it would be too hard to email the document.

I just read this posting, and it reminded me of the letter. Sure would like help in figuring out who this Beck feller is!
Respectfully:

Kevin Dally Kdallyrm@aol.com

[6thLouisiana]

Re: Rich Mountain - July 14-16, 2006 (Proposed)

This sounds like it might make a great event. I remember going through Beverly WV on my way to the McDowell event and seeing signs for Rich Mountain. My father's family came from that area and I would like to do an event there.
Dirk Behana
6th Louisiana

[Eric Tipton]

Re: Rich Mountain - July 14-16, 2006 (Proposed)

Comrades:

Your encouragement means a lot to me. I think this would be a great opportunity for us. I just hope we can convince the Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation. Their board meeting is tonight (Tuesday, July 13th) at 7:00 PM and for their consideration, I have requested a face-to-face visit sometime in August. If we can secure the meeting, we would tour the field and then sit down and meet with the Foundation folks to discuss the possibilities for the event. At some point, I'd like to involve the CWPT, but I'm probably putting the cart before the horse. First, we need to get this meeting set up.

If you are interested in helping this along, here is the link for the board members. A short e-mail to them expressing your support for this potential event probably wouldn't hurt:

http://www.richmountain.org/staff.htm

If you write them, please remember that at this point, I have only sent an e-mail proposal to each of the board members (who have a listed e-mail) and I spoke with Ruth Brinker on three or four occasions. Everything is VERY preliminary at this point.

Our overall goal would be to benefit their hallowed ground and create an outstanding experience for all of us while aspiring for the highest possible standards. I want to do it as a partnership of the foundation and some of the best and the brightest our hobby has to offer.

We have a long, long way to go... from concept to reality.

[Charles Heath]

Re: Rich Mountain - July 14-16, 2006 (Proposed)

ET,

Great to see people putting out proposed event announcements early enough for prospective participants to make informed decisions well in advance. I do believe this type of open communication is what is meant by the phrase leading by example.

Charles Heath

[Canton Zouave]

Re: Rich Mountain - July 14-16, 2006 (Proposed)

Eric,

Since Mark was nice enought to plug one of my Stark County Regiments, 19th OVI, I might as well say....what about the 4th Ohio. (2 companies of Enfield, and 8 of Smoothbore .69 Calibre's, straight from Camp Chase)


Anyways, I will gladly send an email to all the members of the board that I can to encourage them to consider such an event.

Also, count me in to help in any way that I can. Feel free to drop me an email for whatever assistance you may need.

Rich Mountain would be a wondeful setting for a EBUFU type event.

[Canton Zouave]

Re: Rich Mountain - July 14-16, 2006 (Proposed)

Just some thoughts.


From the sources that I have been reviewing:

"A Banner in the Hills" by George E. Morre.
"Loyal West Virginia 1861-1865" by Thoedore F. Lang
"The Civil War in West Virginia" by Stan Cohen
For Starters

It seems that Roscrans' flanking move to the Hart Homestead led by David Hart, would be the most interesting and key scenario for the Rich Mountain Battle. To that, Col. Pergam & Major Nathaniel Tyler 20th Virginia would be the regiment faced by Rosercans' 1900 men. There are several good Confederate accounts of the route by Rosecrans men.

The 8th, 9th, & 13th IVI and 19th OVI, along with the 10th IVI deployed as Skirmishers, were the units compiled to form Rosecran's Reinforced Brigade that made the flanking movement to Pegram's Right. The remainder of the Indiana & Ohio Regimetns were part of McClellan's Main Force or attached to General Morris' Brigade, which was sent as a feint against General Garnett's forces at Laurel Hill. The sources that I have found list the 6th OVI attached to Morris' brigade.

If Rosey's march is recreated...it would be one heck of a hump, but it would be fun. On top of that these guys did it in the rain, on a densely wooded mountain side.

Refer to Stan Cohen's book on pages 28-30 for some reference images to what the Rich Mtn area looks like around the Hart Farm. Please keep in mind that this area had been heavily logged after the war, like most of the state.


Also, here is a list of some of the Confederates located on the CS Right Flank.

20th Virgina
Rockbridge Guards, Capt. Curry
Buckingham Institute Guards
Pryor Rifles, Lt. Williams
Upshur Grays, Capt. Higginbotham
Lynchburg Lee Battery
Churchville Cavalry, Capt.Sterrett

Note: This name and information comes from a Topographical Map originally scetched by jed. Hotchkiss, Top. Eng. and is in Stan Cohen's book.

[markj]

Re: Rich Mountain - July 14-16, 2006 (Proposed)

With all the above in mind, if anyone is interested in seeing additional letter transcriptions about Rich Mountain that I've uncovered, let me know. I just found two more in the 25 July 1861 Indianapolis "Daily Journal." One is from an unidentified member of the 10th Indiana (he was likely in Company K, which was formed in Marion County) as well as a very lengthy letter about the fight from Major R. S. Foster of the 13th IVI. Both are dated 14 July 1861 and were "bylined" from Beverly VA after the town was occupied by Federal troops. Both are quite interesting (although some of their "facts" can be debated) and, to my knowledge, have never seen the light of day since they originally appeared in the "Journal."

Anyway, if this tickles anyone's fancy, let me know and I'll get to typing....

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

[Eric Tipton]

Re: Rich Mountain - July 14-16, 2006 (Proposed)

Todd, Mark, All:

The Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation has agreed to meet with us in September to tour the site and go over some potential logistics. I will try my best to update things as we move along. At the very least, for those who haven't attempted to do something like this, it can be a journal of sorts. For those who have, well, as I've said before, I'll need a lot of help to get this thing off the ground.

Based on the information you boys have posted and some work done by my mess mates, it looks as if an Indiana regiment might be the way to go. Upon further research, it looks as if the 6th OVI was in reserve for much of the action anyway. So much for sentimental attachments. On the Confederate side, I've seen you fellas mention the 45th and 20th Virginia. Either way, a Virginia unit would be most interesting, as we would have westerners on one side and easterners on the other. Is this starting to sound like a natural set up? More ideas on that later... First things first.

One of the people we will meet with is the author W. Hunter Lesser, who recently released the book "Rebels at the Gate: Lee and McClellan on the Front Line of a Nation Divided...". Here is his biography from the Rich Mountain web site:

Hunter Lesser works part time with the Foundation monitoring and watching for damage to historic features at the battlefield and helping with interpretation and artifact exhibits. Hunter has long been active with RMBF, was one of our original board members, and was site manager for the Rich Mountain archaeological survey in 1995. He is the author of Battle at Corricks Ford: Confederate Disaster and Loss of a Leader. Formerly an archaeologist with the Monongahela National Forest, Hunter is now writing a book on the 1861 Mountain Campaign.

I am in the process of assembling a group to meet with the Foundation in September. My comrades from Mess #1 will be there with me and I'd like to take a couple more people. Mark and Todd - please shoot me an e-mail at etinohio@msn.com and provide your phone number if you are potentially interested in going with us. If we can assemble an excellent presentation and form the skeleton of a scenario and organizational goals with the park staff, I think we will be well on our way.

Thanks again for the interest everyone. We have a long way to go...:wink_smil