Perryville 2006 AAR

[Beaner]

Re: Perryville AAR

Gents,
There's a pic or two of the Medich Battalion hitting the march in my albums. It was wonderful seeing you boys in blue being hung out to dry at the bottom of that hill. Sunday's battle was best I've participated in. Chris it was an honor having you in the ranks. Let us all remember those whose valiant horses fell at the event.

Sam Billingsley
4th Texas Co. E
Medich Battalion
AOT

[btfire]

Re: Perryville AAR

Hello to everyone,
Perryville was my first event, and it was a blast. I had a great time in everything I did, but was almost overwhelmed by everything there was to see. I cannot thank everyone I encountered enough for all of the assistance and understanding they showed as I learned what I could in 72 hours. I hooked up with a great bunch of guys from the Palmetto Battalion, and I caanot say enough about them. I am so amazed at the distances people traveled to get to this event. This was my first time in Kentucky, also, and it is such a beautiful place. The battlefield was great. The only bad thing I can say about my whole time is that it was over too fast.
Thanks, everyone.
Brian T. McGarrahan

[Mcguire]

Re: Perryville AAR

Good:
Kickin' it with Wide Awake
Fighting with MLK.
Seeing Conely again
Minstrel show
Babes!
Oysters From Crabby!
Babes!
Seeing Landrum and Rasmus again

Bad:
Horse killed
Not finding the MLK before sundays battle
Long Drive, buyt worth it
Rash

Ugly:
Hangovers


Bully event!

Glad to here you boys enjoyed fighting with us! I too wish you could have hooked up with us before Sundays battle. I must say we do know how too engage in a little non-sobriety, if you will, and play and sing and have a good ole time . It would have been an honor to have you boys kick it with us in camp. I gotta admit the Tater Mess has some great impressions. Maybe next time. Keep us informed as to what events you may be attending.

[majdoc]

Re: Perryville AAR

Hi All
Had a great time. Worked with the AOT Provost with dave Thomas as Company Cpt.
Also it was fun wondering(sneeking) Thru Yankee camp Sat. night. You can learn a whole lot of what is going on from people who like to talk about what there army is going to do. :D
Hope everyone had a great time.
See you round the camp fire down the road.
Jim "Doc" Bruce

[Mcguire]

Re: Perryville AAR

I was with Company A with the AOP. We hada great time. I believe we enjoyed the engagement with the Rebs during the Preservation March more than the regular battles. During the march the battalion had to move thru a gate at the bottom of hill before they could deploy into battle line. At the top of the hill an dover the crest were the Rebs waiting for us. I was commanding the skirmish line on the hill. I took them as high as I could go without exposing us to the Rebs fire. My job was to hold the Rebs off long enough for our battalion to get onto line. Just as the first company got onto line, the Rebs began their assault. It was a thrill to yell down to the battalion to "Hurry and get on the line!!!". We held the rEbs off for one or two volleys and then had to pull back to the main line, just in time. Whoever the rEbs were at the top of the hill, y'all did a FINE job!

The Minstrel Show was GREAT!!! Thanks to everyone who put the village together...it was really worth the walk from the AOP camp!

The unofficial, AOP, forage detail at the Bottom's House was also fun.

Regards,
Jim Butler

Them Rebs were the Medich Battalion and we had marched three miles to engage you Yanks. We were a little disappointed in your lack of aggresiveness. It was a long way to march for so little battle. But, we appreciate your respect and maybe next time your commanders will have a little more pluck!

[csa blacksmith]

Re: Perryville AAR

Them Rebs were the Medich Battalion and we had marched three miles to engage you Yanks. We were a little disappointed in your lack of aggresiveness. It was a long way to march for so little battle. But, we appreciate your respect and maybe next time your commanders will have a little more pluck!

Ya, what was the deal with the yanks standing there while we poured powder into them saturday morning? We were a bit confused.

[Lilymess]

Re: Perryville AAR

I was one of the winded Yankees on the preservation march. In our defense, the confederates did not have to climb a wet hill (using the term "hill" lightly, it was more like the size of Little round top) while skirmishing. If your wondering I was in the second group of skirmishers that scaled the hill only to find you all snuggled behind a fence in mass (nice touch). All kidding a side, well done on your part. The members of the 42nd Ind. had a great time and the AoP put together another great event.


Scott Derick
Daylily Mess
"We look great for a day and then disappear, just like daylilies"

[CFHicks]

Re: Perryville AAR

Yes, that hill was mighty steep. I was with the initial platoon of skirmishers under Captain Jimmy, I believe the delay was caused by all those cattle gates along our route, the whole battalion having to file through them it took a lot of time. It kind of sucked as they were barbed wire and we couldn't just tear them down or climb over them as They would have done.

It did make for a cool moment in the end though when we saw the tip of a Reb battle flag coming over the crest of the hill towards our puny skirmish line and our mixed up and unprepared battalion which was mostly still on the other side of the creek. There was lots of yelling and running there for a minute and we were all sincerely worried about our "chances" since we knew we were outnumbered etc. There were several spots like that where I forgot that the whole thing was fake and none of it really mattered in the end.

Once we captured the hill and moved on the battle got pretty stupid though and we wound up trading point blank volleys with each other across more modern fences with pickup trucks riding by and all that. And I could have done without all the Josey Wales cavalry guys shooting their pop-guns in the air and all the usual stuff they like to do. And marching on all that blacktop later on was just rediculous, there's no point to it, even if it is the original route. These guys on horses need to get that through their skulls somehow.

The best parts of the weekend were carousing with friends under the harvest moon and Jerry passing out in a sticker patch and puking all over the place on friday night, chopping down and dragging around a bunch of trees for no reason (very much like the real Army), the booze tent and minstrel show late on Satruday, and crapping in the latrines which became cooler and cooler looking as the event wore on. They were so full of empty cans, trash, and turds etc. that I wished I had my camera to take a picture. Sunday involved a more-boring-than-usual drill followed by long winded orations by the staff, and a big boring battle, once again just like the real Army. I thought overall it was a great time and a great effort, we'll all come crawling back next year I imagine.

[MO-Pard]

Re: Perryville AAR

Bully event!

Although excited about the Living History, I wasn't sure what else to expect from the event. I think that was pretty much the feeling across the board, from the 7 of us who were able to make the ten hour drive. A couple thoughts:

Bully

The Living History as the 6th Tennessee. It was great to see Conley and Landrum again, as well as meet some killer pards like Joe, Matt, Jordon, Ben, Conley Sr, Bill and Jeremy. I don't think I ever remember a living history with such good, sincere and intelligent questions from the crowds. I had the honor of serving as one of the corporals and it was nice to have such good attitudes. The guys who made it here worked for 3 months on their impressions and research, and it showed!

The Wide Awake, Battle of Perryville production. Every Civil War enthusiast has heard of and know the quality of their productions. Those of you out there who had a chance to see some of the footage shot over the weekend will all utter a collective "WOW!". This will be their best yet and hope all support it. They are great, down-to-earth people, and I watched them ask a lot of people who came by the tent with a good impression to take part. Oh, and the awesome Wide Awake AoT or Bluegrass invasion tour tshirts......designed like rock concert tour tshirts!

The Minstrel Show. Wow! What a talented bunch of guys, great looks and so very entertaining. They left me wishing I had seen the early show as well, wishing I could see the show again soon, wishing the one I had seen wouldn't end.

The Civilian Town. The location, offerings and impressions were exellent. It was great to buy period goods at Ezra's, socks from Ms. Lawson, and a kind drink of "whiskey" from the tetering, dandy gentlemen at the Tavern.

The Sunday Battle. We didn't plan to take part, because our obligation as park volunteers was first to the Living History and some just didn't care to. There were some talking prior to leaving for the event about the possiblity of taking part in a battalion-scale drill/battle, but would just have to play it by ear. We found out too late Mr. Ventura who had extended an invitation to fall-in would not lead the AoT, and were unable to reach Silas before leaving home or prior to the battle. We sat and watched the battalions march up past the sutler area and saw one of our old MLK pards who was second Sgt and invited seven of us from the LH to fall-in. After a few concerns by the major, we were well received by the Medich battalion. What a great bunch of guys and there musicians were tight. Very impressive to see that many good drummers, fifers and base drum. I had a lot of period moments this weekend and a couple here. One, when we were formed up and began marching toward the battle, the aforementioned musicians played 'Dixieland' and even a trumpet was heard from some unseen spectator. The crowd noise, battle noise and the rebel yells from the field instilled a sense or period patriotism. Two, being the last battalion to make it to the field allowed us to see everything in front of us and crossing the fence and getting into formation during all the bedlam was priceless. Three, once we topped the hill, we immediately obliqued and went through the six foot high prairie grass. Movement was extremely challenging, we could hear the direction of firing, but the Feds couldn't see us coming yet. Trying to keep your feet while getting tripped up and having others bumping into you with the same problem, all while under fire was a great challenge. And by the way, Wide Awake was really impressed with the Sunday battle footage. Good job everyone.

Getting out the vehicles and the impression guidelines. Of course you will always see plenty of Farby impressions and there were such there. However, I went in thinking it would be a lot more widespread and was pleasently surprised to see much better impressions collectively than I expected. I don't know if this was due to the park laying down the law or if Wide Awake had any input. Granted, I didn't get out much, but from what little I saw it was better than expected. Sure others have horror stories, but that was my experience.

Beautiful Battle Park. The state has done a great job and Kentucky is beautiful. Reminds me of Missouri, although hillier than the northern portion and flatter than the southern portion. One of my favorites along with Wilson's Creek and Pea Ridge.

Seeing old pards. I have already mentioned several names, but also nice to see the pards from MLK (great guys and great CS impressions from a unit way up in Michighan.) Silvana, Anna, Vivian, Mitch. There were several others I either did see but couldn't get to to greet or just missed throughout the weekend. Of course, I can't mention everyone.

Not so Bully

Non 'battlefield tour' particpants, (i.e. old pards, AC c/p/h'ers) had a rough time finding us. A big part of this was we were kept so busy, and saturday literally were on the go from 8 that morning until after 10 p.m. before we could eat "lunch." It was great doing the LH, ghost tour and wide awake specialty shooting, but it left us so ragged and little time to do much else.

It just went too fast.

On to Banks Grand Retreat!!!!

Best Regards

[Chris Suppelsa]

Re: Perryville AAR

Where was this maneys fence? I was looking for conleys group on and off all weekend.

[Spinster]

Re: Perryville AAR

Chris,

It was one of those places that was "just over the next hill"--kinda like finding the end of the rainbow. They were up a ways from the cemetary.

Thankfully, since the Doc had grounded me to sitting much and lifting little for the weekend, all I had to do was send word, and those I needed to see came to me. I did attempt to walk out there on Saturday just to see, and make sure those boys knew where to come pay their dollar for Preservation and see the Dancing Princesses, but I gave up about halfway there.

From what I could tell, most were quick enough to find the Princesses on their own.

[Amtmann]

Re: Perryville AAR

Dang it! Not only did I not get to see the Minstrel Show, I missed the Dancing Princesses too!

[rebel225]

Re: Perryville AAR

Good-The Saturday morning battle.....Priceless
Bad-The loss of a comrade and good horse (Blue)
Ugly-The Mud on Thursday and Friday!

Paul Richardson
9th KY Cavalry

[coastaltrash]

Re: Perryville AAR

Well I got about 1.5 hrs of sleep Friday before jumping the plane to Atlanta, then my connection to Nashville. Apparently, Rasmus got hot at the bottom of the suitcase because when airport security checked my bag, there he sat, in all of his wonder. Good ole Rasmus. I sure did appreciate getting EVER bag searched, TWICE, and having to take off my shoes, even though I was wearing flip flops, TWICE. Rasmus and I finally landed in Nashville and was picked up by my conscience (girlfriend) who had been to and from the airport waiting on me to land everytime Delta said they thought I would. She actually did however run into Art Milbert (WIG commander) in the airport, which was funny for all parties involved, except for me, because I was scheduled to be at the airport 2 hours before Art.

Arrived at Perryville late in the evening and unloaded the ladies things at her camp, and agreed to go park the car, then go find Conley and the rest of the boys. Dreading the walk back to CS parking I was shocked to realize the true distance I would be required to go. Oh no, not further, I actually parked across the street from the entrance to the park. (Later actions would prove this spot to be a moot point, but it was a nice spot, still is actually). Usual meet and greet followed. Watched Conley finish up the mail call, while under the ever watchful eye of Ms. Anna Allen. Saw the rest of the crowd drift in the Wide Awake tent and finally got bored and wanted to head to bed. After Conley and I fired up a second fire for the camp, I slept relatively warm, save for my feet, which had to be in canvas shoes for the weekend due to a broken bone in my foot. Canvas shoes in 40 degree weather is REALLY REALLY stupid for anyone that thinks it might be a good idea. In fact, half way through the night, I was wondering if wearing the boots with the broken bone would have been better.

Saturday morning came early. Another 2 hours of sleep would crank most of the living history group through the entire day. I have done many programs with the public, but never before have I seen such good questions and people who REALLY cared about this stuff. I talked with one group of 6 people about nothing but food for at least an hour. The guy liked Essence of Coffee so much he took down my recipe. Rasmus even amazed several people as he looked on from his post inside the knapsack. The Candle tour proved to be pretty interesting, and I would do it again.

Saturday night for me was the highlight. Went to the Melodians show with Liz, which was top notch. Rasmus however was a pain the rest of the weekend. He attended the 2003 show at Granger, but was steamed I left without him for this one. Rick, you should really get by and see one of those things, I mean those guys are REALLY good. I swear though, that banjo player looks familiar. Like some feller I bought tin from some time back. Opposite color though, who knows, perhaps his lovechild??

Sunday ended early for me, well at least the reenactment part. Rolled into the resting place at 1230am Monday Morning, and promptly died.

The GOOD

Skulking
Spending time with folks I don't see enough. Mainly Liz. The majority of the time, waving at each other from a distance is about it, so actually seein a show with her was worth it. But yeah Wambaugh, White, Daley and actually meeting Kara Bartels will be mixed in there too.
The Taters and other guys in the LH area. VERY good group of guys
The weather.

The Bad

Delta Connection flights
Return Flight home via Northwest

[Irishvol79]

Re: Perryville AAR

I fell in with the Western Brigade for the Weekend and found ourselves part of an ambush Saturday morning. We woke up at 4 and were in hiding by 6. We were the ones that were supposed to provoke the fighting to get the whole thing started but that went to pot while we were sitting up the hill watching the fight down the hill in front of us. It was a very cool sight to see where we were at though with the fog. All you could see and hear was the muskets firing and the men yelling. It was quite a sight.
I would agree that Sunday's battle was a blast as well.
Too bad I missed the minstrel show though. I was feeling ill or I would have gone.

Jon Birket