Bummer's Cavalry Perspective....

[1st Maine Trooper]

Re: Bummer's Cavalry Perspective....

From the perspective I had in the saddle, we covered the same terrain at one time or the other.

Dave Myrick

[Jerry Ross]

Re: Bummer's Cavalry Perspective....

Per what Dave said ,if Cav had been on both sides intelligent on time information could have made a difference to some of the less fortunate Federal Divisions and found better paths for the sore footed blue bellies.

Iowa, Maryland, Connecticut, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and whole bunch of Tennessee boys were among those who were on horses through the weekend.

I had a good time riding with fellas from the 7th Tenn, 1st Maine ,Horse Hair mess, Old Critters, and some Hog Drivers.

Hits......I wish I could control my horse to the point I could take better hits. When everything hits my horse is livid and hard to control . I not able some times due to the safety of all around the horse. I do when it looks like a safe place to fall almost 5 feet and think the horse will stay under control. Sorry ,he doesn't play nice or understand me when I tell him to lay down.

The event was good, not what I planned .I am glad I went ,I almost backed out ...........

I went hungry ,thirsty and pissed off on purpose.I hope there will be more events that will allow us horseman to come and play.

[Mark Choate]

Re: Bummer's Cavalry Perspective....

I really have to say that I had a great time at this event. Much was said about being hungry, thirsty, tired and with long delays and lots of looking and waiting for the enemy..............in saying that, I have just described most of the real war experience. So, for realism, what more could you want!
The riding was hard and the terrain even harder, but it was a pleasure to ride with and to meet some of the fellas that I had here-to-fore only conversed with by email.
My hat is off to all of you who worked so hard to put this together and to all who attended. Whether Cav or militia or foragers or civilians, all added to the experience. It is a good thing to push yourself and test your limits. This event did both.
Thanks to "Pete" Peterson for all of his hard work to tend to many things for the cavalry.
Me and "Ole Whip" had a big time!

Mark Choate,
7th TN. Cav.

[GMM64]

Re: Bummer's Cavalry Perspective....

I for one am DAMN PROUD of every mother's son who rode at this event I want to give special thanks to Pete Peterson who took on a lion's share of the logistics so if you enjoyed not having to walk your ass off to water your horse or lug bales of hay then you owe a thank you to Pete. Mark Choate I appreciate all your assistance in this adventure, as this was a high point for me in my mounted reenacting I thank ALL the troopers who travelled huge distances to attend New England, Iowa,Texas, Kaintuck Tennesee , Florida and Georgia were ALL heard from this weekend And I thank you all. I also want to thank all the event organizers as this was a kick -ass event with more realism to it than many of the complainers realize I also want to let the infantry , militia and civillians who played along in spite of the hardships that I appreciate their efforts. The militia was even MORE infuriating than the yankees {I hope that was first person!} Jerry you have hit the nail on the head with your comments about taking hits I think that the infantry should remove the beam from their own eye before concerning themselves with the splinter in ours! Dan , of course you are the exception to that , All I can say is do it while you are young , Cougar bait LOL!!! I am sure I have missed someone , somewhere and if you are one of them then you have my apologies. Thanks again boys and I will see yall in hell !!!! Or at least the next event

[Andrew German]

Re: Bummer's Cavalry Perspective....

Gentlemen:

I don't presume to speak for Tom Craig and Dave Myrick, but I think it is safe to say that we of the 1st Maine were pleased and proud to ride with all of you at Bummers. We're from the other side in the other theatre, but we've been hoping to establish a cavalry bond with the best of the west, and this was a great opportunity to do so. Indeed, it was worth 15-20 hours of driving each way to ride among you.

Our rental horses did not match up to yours, and our tactics (Poinsett's) are very different, but I hope our enthusiasm and devotion to doing it right, as "they" did, came through.

I've got wonderful memories of Bummers (well maybe not of all the rocky hill-climbing), of some very vivid first-person impressions, and of all of you comrades in the saddle (even if I didn't get all of your names).

Here's hoping we can keep the momentum going on progressive cavalry.

Tallyho!
Andrew German
1st Maine Cavalry

[csabugler]

Re: Bummer's Cavalry Perspective....

Well, I'm pretty sure I mentioned somewhere in all those countless inept ramblings on the Shannon's Scouts web site that the terrain was tough, at least once.
As far as taking hits, hell I took 2 damn fine hits and came out of the saddle both times. Now I'm sure some jerk will point out that no one was shooting at us then, but what does that really matter?
I personally would like to thank every one of you who attended, and accepted the secrecy mandate that was decreed by others. I never saw a word about our numbers, or even a response to all the "we're gonna make Georgia howl" remarks. Boys, any of those yanks whom Georgia didn't make howl, Ya'll did.
I did my "lone Ranger" impression sunday morning by not being around when Guy tried to acknowledge me. When Bill came over on me that morning I got back in the saddle but by the time Mark B. and Joe and I got up to the trough to secure water my whole left arm, shoulder and chest were apparently missing, as I could not feel them.
The work I did was more than rewarded by the presence ya'll made at Bummers. The score is more than settled in my eyes.
I would also like to recognize Ken Knopp who lent his reputation to my fledgling efforts. Without his support and coaching I would never have even tried. Guy did a tremendous job of leading. I was actually amazed by him!! (I'm gonna hear about that!) The Maine and VA boys , Chmelar, Bradford, and Nickerson, thanks for making the trip. Andy lang and Mike Ventura came out of retirement and rode the site with me and filled our ranks. And Tennessee, what can I say about the 7th and the Hog Driver mess of the Critters? Poor Mark Choate must have gotten 60 e-mails from me about the event. He and his boys were beyond my simple words to thank.
I would like to see the communication continue among our ranks, and hope whomever picks up the mantle for the next effort will follow that . I'll help you in any way I can.
So what's next?


Your humble pard

Pete

[Jerry Ross]

Re: Bummer's Cavalry Perspective....

Andy ,
Drill/orders on our section was almost nonexistent .Get up here and make a line and go is about all we did over the weekend.I think everyone in our section was more than capable of leading and we all know what needed to be done at the moment .Veterans at the end of the War doing their job.

I am glad you boys did come from the far reaches in the name of brotherhood.It is a very good statement of the quality of men who will travel across the country to ride with you.

We will work on getting you better mounts next time .

High points of the events for me were...
1) visiting with friends from all over the country
2) riding hard over rough terrain day and night
3)love it when the two groups of Cavalry converged on the cabins at the same time unplanned
4)going hungry ,thirsty, tired
5)I loved the terrain it was a challenge finding my way around although I had never been there before.
6) Escorting the yankee prisoners to get there guns and seeing the cabins crawling with federals again and wondering what to do with them ? Killem was my natural instinct.But we took them back with lots of bluff with the POW's and the other across the field . We lost a few but made it back with most of them and my skin.
7) doing some scouting with just a few guys and not being sure where and what was next
8) being fed at several stops by the mercy of the country folks
9) chasing soldiers down the hill toward the finish line thinking any minute we would be in an ambush
10) seeing my horse being lead down the hill so I would not have to walk up the hill

High points after the event .
1) how people thought we were the Militia
2) how people thought we were only a hand full of guys on horses
3)how hoof beats makes the heart run wild
4)how horses could/should of helped the other side

Looking for the next event that allows us horsemen to play

[Tom Craig]

Re: Bummer's Cavalry Perspective....

It has taken me a couple of days to get back to speed after our expedition...nothing like getting home at 6:30 AM on Monday after an all night drive to mess with your sleep schedule!

I want to thank the event hosts, Guy Musgrove and Patrick Peterson for all their organizational and logistical efforts. I know what a chore that stuff can be, and with cavalry it really is like herding cats! I want to throw a special thank you to the Hog Driver Mess for inviting us in, and treating us like family (okay, so maybe like the weird cousins at the family reunion, but anyway...:tounge_sm). We've done three events together at this point, and things just keep getting better!

Before the event great pains were taken to keep our numbers, and even existence secret from the Federals. It was a pretty good effort and I think it worked for the most part, although judging from the intimidation that many of the Feds reported about us, maybe it would have been better to have full disclosure to scare their pants off!

Four of us made the trip from the northeast (2 from CT, 1 from MD, and 1 from VA who went infantry for this one) and we had a great trip down and were very excited for the event. For my money the event didn't live up to the hype but it was still a good event and I'm glad I went.

We rode a lot, much of it in darkness. We had tons of interaction with the civilians who we saw more of than the Yankees. We fought what Federals we could find, and captured the first two foraging parties we ran across. We generally did a lot of what cavalry was supposed to do, and had a good time doing it.

The ground was some of the most difficult I've ridden on, chiefly due to the steepness of the hills and the loose rock. We had several horse casualties, most of which were minor but still disabled horses so we had a sense of what it is like to loose comrades to action.

There were some great impressions, and all the guys at least had good impressions. As has been noted, this was probably the largest group of authentic cavalry at an event up to this point, and I was happy to be part of it!

The Highs:
Meeting and riding with some great guys from Mark and the 7t TN, to Paddy Mac, Jerry Ross and Ethan Harrington and everyone in between

Scouting and riding looking for Yankees who were out there somewhere

The interaction with the civilians

Bagging the two foraging parties in a heated little action

Messing with the Federal pickets Saturday night before the truce

Chasing the Federals down the hill SUnday morning in that running firefight that ended in us being slaughtered at that barricade by their Henry's

The Lows:
Not having some mounted Federals to guide the Yankees around the floods and into where they were supposed to be

Limited chance to engage the Federals due to their being lost (I didn't see more than 50 Yankees during the entire event)

The event going on stand down Saturday night due to the Federals being lost and disorganized...wasn't this supposed to be a hardcore event?

Pound for pound I had a great time. I think that due to the nature of the ground our numbers couldn't have been used to the best advantage, and I hope to see an event in the future where we can get those numbers, and use them! Cavalry seems to be getting squeezed out of events lately, and I hope that through quality impressions and active useful service we can change that trend!

Take care,
Tom Craig
1st Maine Cavalry

[Outrider]

Re: Bummer's Cavalry Perspective....

Well for my part,
First I want to thank Pete for his hard work. I also want to thank my friend and Brutha Guy who I thought did an outstanding job under difficult circumstances.(...psssst....next time boys we shoud all try to refrain from constantly whispering our ideas for strategy in Guy's ear unless asked. I thought there was a bit too much of that. noone would do Coley that way. Guy is leader let him lead.)
Anyway, Like Jerry said, it was great to gather with all you boys from afar. As always for me its the comraderie that I enjoy most and with authentic cav being so small it never fails to feel to me like a family coming together -albeit a slighty disfunctional one..ha.. no matter whether its strangers, old comrades or whatever.
Its been nearly 3 years since I was in the field as a trooper with my old unit mates the Critters. While I cant say this event has changed my mind about wanting to branch out into other mounted impressions, I can say it was to my great satisfaction to see that no matter how long its been and what ever inner and petty disagreements may come amongst us we can all come together like brothers , ride hard and get the job done. I was so happy to ride with my old Tenn. pards . I have always enjoyed Scott's ,Kerry's, Jerry's and Ethan's fellowship so much. Ditto for Andy Lang .I missed our fellow Jawja boys Zach and Tommy though...sigh.

You 1st Maine boys, Andy, Dave and Tom, are also first rate and like Jerry said, we will get you some better mounts next time, but I can tell yall are hell on horseback and a real hoot to hang out with! I like you all immensely. You boys sure seem suspiciously southern to me to be East Coasters and New Englanders though, must be some kind of conspiracy!
As always Mark C and the 7th Tenn were excellent in the field and I was glad they were on our side. I really look foward to ridng with yall boys again. The Daves are cool fellows and fine gentlemen as well. I was happy to make new friends of those boys.
Ditto for Dan "cougerbait" Chemlar (sp?..ug!) a fine trooper you are and what a relief to see a young man taking up the torch for the future of authentic cav wanting to do things right. Dan I have a strong feeling I would like your parents...alot.
Before I blather on endlessly, as for the event itself I personally didnt find it all that much different from past efforts on at least The Critters part but I did learn something important as I always have:

The biggest thing for me, personally, ( I have a feeling Ken can appreciate this ) is that no matter how light I try to pack, no matter how hard I try to pack for the war and not the weekend, I still am surprised to learn how little a trooper really needs to carry to get by nicely. I carried very little and still didnt need half of that. It has become VERY clear to me why all those Wheeler's cav inspection reports show so little in the way of equipments. I believe it was by choice! I find more and more I can easily get by without a haversack, without a feedbag, saddlebags or much of anything. I think next time I fall in as western cav it will be with the very basics rolled into a gumblanket or bedroll and tied behind the cantle. That outta do it.
Also I never had to put a shoe on on in the field and was actually kinda proud of myself that I did it and a decent job with hardly no tools. I knew that test would come sooner or later. Its good to know. I think its something all troopers should probably be able to do in a pinch. Sure came in handy for me and Caesar!

One last comment about the impressions. I thought it was overall a well done Texan theme with some appearing very obviously Texans and some that could fit in with any West. Th. Cav unit without standing out no matter who they be. In my mind that was how it should be.
To be honest there were a few I thought were not r.e.a.l.l.y. up to authentic standards but then only a few and I am not complaining about it. I am no "stitch nazi" and I was impressed we managed to field that many cav at an event like this one. So its all good for me.

Thank you Guy and all of you proud horsemen for letting me come out of semi military retirement and ride hard with you again .I had a big time . It was my pleasure and I look foward to falling in again if yall will have me albeit with a fresher mount next time.

Paddy loves yall and God Bless!

[Bob Minton]

Re: Bummer's Cavalry Perspective....

Tom-you messing with the Federal pickets Sat. night was our high point as well. I stated before, hearing whinnies, hoof beats etc. in the dark is quite a rush. Not sure why we went on stand down at those two cabins honestly. Our party(30th OVI of 2nd Div.) along with a couple others arrived there around 3:30, hot, tired, starving and parched. We found food, ate some stuff cold as we were famished, watered up, set up camp and began cooking. We were advised that the picket line needed reinforcing, so I sent half of my 15 man party up to the front. (the other parties declined to pitch in any men, and the one small group out there was not enough. I'd give that party credit for being out there, but not sure who they were) Coincidentally, this was just as what I considered the major attack started. After that, my guys rotated half at a time from the front to camp and got fed. We were then advised we would be the 1st shift of Fed. pickets from 6-10. We did this, rotating guys thru (and staying way away from the road, in the woods to make it harder to be seen/captured by cavalry) About 9:15 a superior officer came out and advised that we were being pulled back and a truce had been called. Not sure why as by this time there must have been at least 4-5 foraging parties around that cabin who could have contributed to the guard. Still, those hours from 3 or so, until we were pulled off the line made the event for my guys. I trust we provided a worthy foe.

Regards,
Bob Minton
14th OVI-3rd Arkansas
Army of the Ohio

[Tom Craig]

Re: Bummer's Cavalry Perspective....

Bob,

One of my prime objectives for going to the event was the chance to be something of a bushwhacker for the weekend. We in the cavalry were portraying Shannon's Scouts, which was a body of picked men from the 8th Texas Cavalry. They were rootin' tootin' sort of characters whose job was to cause mayhem wherever possible.

As such I was hoping that we'd get lots of opportunities to pounce on isolated foraging parties, pickets and the like, and either capture them, kill them or make their lives miserable. Unfortunately the way things went down we hardly saw any Yankees to attack. The first group we saw we bagged, and every other chance we got we pitched into them, but never again saw a group out on its own that we could get a piece of.

When the action Saturday evening broke off we stayed in the saddle and went to check out what you all were up to. I volunteered myself to ride forward and do a little recon. We could see the fires of the troops in the clearing by the cabin, but we couldn't see you guys at all. I knew that any troops with any sense would post picket in the treeline, and my horse could sense you were there, but I couldn't see anything. Being on a grey horse I am sure that I stood out. You fellas did an excellent job of not giving away your position by not firing!

Then of course we came back for a second round a few minutes later to stir up more trouble. This time I could see two men silloutted in the light of the fire who were standing in the road, but we didn't have a good handle on how many of you there were (my guess was 4-6). Your group sounded pretty nervous about us, which was a great deal of fun.

We really wanted to bag at least one of you. We figured after that little episode that you'd all be too nervous to let us get close enough to grab one of you, so we headed back to camp with the intention of coming back at 2-3 AM for another go at it when the guards would be less alert. On the way back to camp we heard that there was to be a stand down, and we were pretty bummed.

It was fun for us, and I'm glad you guys enjoyed it. I just wish it could have gone on longer!

Take care,
Tom Craig
1st Maine Cavalry
formerly one of Shannon's Scouts

[Bob Minton]

Re: Bummer's Cavalry Perspective....

Tom-without giving away too many trade secrets...;-) Those guys around the fires were our reserve with orders to keep the fires cranking. The front line of pickets was in the trees at the edge of the field. We had pretty good vision across the field. The pickets were away from the road, at the edges of the ridge, because we figured you'd want to capture one of us! That kept us a distance from the road where we figured you could not safely ride. We had discussed trying to let you come up the road a piece into the woods with the notion of capturing one of you (which we wanted to do quite badly!!!). But, we did not think that safely we coud do that to a mounted horseman in the dark.

The one round of shots that was exchanged stirred the Yankee camp a good deal! You'd have enjoyed the reaction as guys scrambled for gear in the dark while they debated if it was a real attack or not!

By 2:30 a.m. I'd have been asleep and would have been awful hard to wake up after the day we had! I'm sure anyone on picket would have been dragging and hard pressed to be alert.

Perhaps we can do it again sometime!

Look forward to it,
Bob

[Outrider]

Re: Bummer's Cavalry Perspective....

Tom said,
"One of my prime objectives for going to the event was the chance to be something of a bushwhacker for the weekend"

Then I said,
Hey Tom. Its a long way to go for you but should you be interested in traveling WEST to Mo in the next year or two man have I got a gig for you!

PaddyMac