Raising Co. D "St. Louis Grays"

[Campjacksonboy]

With Mike's permission I am raising Co. D.
Unlike the men in Co. I - the men of Co. D. had been captured at Camp Jackson. As a militia company the St. Louis Grays was/is the oldest militia company/National Guard unit in the state.

While at Camp Jackson the St. Louis Grays were in dark blue frock coats. It is possible that some might have been smuggled to Memphis and were worn before they were issued Confederate uniforms which didn't come until after the regiment left New Madrid. Those few of us that have the proper militia uniforms will wear them but civilian clothing such as overshirts, civilian frocks or sack coats are equally acceptable. Beyond that I will defer to the guidelines.

For those of you with flinters Co. D was a company that got the flint locks. According to ordnance reports they appear to have been .72 and .75 cal. "British Muskets." If you have a brown bess this would be a good time to dust it off. If you have a flintlock whether it be a .75 or .69 cal three band musket you are encouraged to bring it. If you don't have a flinter converted 16's, 22's, '42s, and prussians are ok too. One little detail if you do bring a flintlock be sure to also bring a cap box. It appears they issued them to the flintlock company's but not sure why.

Anyone interested?
Frank Aufmuth

[Michael Comer]

Re: Raising Co. D "St. Louis Grays"

I just wanted to clarify something here.

The company that Frank is raising will be portraying men that have already enlisted in the 1st. They went to Memphis and joined up with Bowen while he was there.

There will be another company portraying the New Madrid Guards, a local militia unit, which will be making up Company G. These men would be reorganized into Company I after they left New Madrid. A few of these men had gone to Memphis to enlist but there were also some here that did not join the regiment until it came to New Madrid to finish its recruiting efforts.

So, you'll have a choice. You can be in Co. D and already be enlisted and a bit better versed in military life, or you can be in the Guards and go through the enlistment process during the event.

Expect to be drilled at this event. Bowen's 1st was one of the best drilled units in the entire Confederacy and was well know for its excellence in drill. There were a few unique elements of drill within the 1st Missouri which we hope to replicate at this event.

A website, guidelines and registration info will be coming soon.

[Campjacksonboy]

Re: Raising Co. D "St. Louis Grays"

We have two months before the registration guideline. Three of us Aufmuth boys will be there. I know this is one of the WIG listed events are there any takers for Co. D? Anyone here? Hello??
Frank Aufmuth

[mootpoint]

Re: Raising Co. D "St. Louis Grays"

I have a .50 Cal Hawkens and a '42 Springfield. Being that Hawkens were manufactured in St. Louis, is it appropriate or reasonable?

[Michael Comer]

Re: Raising Co. D "St. Louis Grays"

Bill,

While the Hawken was certainly in production during our time period, the Hawken brothers targeted the fur trade for most of their sales even calling their product "Rocky Mountain Rifles". For this event, I think the '42 would be a more acceptable firearm. Also, remember that no weapon at all is perfectly acceptable for this event if you don't want to carry the '42.

[newshirt]

Re: Raising Co. D "St. Louis Grays"

I know this is going to come off stupid, but I have to ask... Would it have been possible for new recruits to join Co. D at New Madrid?

Here's the conundrum: I want to experience the enlistment and equipage process, plus drill with a fully equipped company. But I get the feeling I have to choose between the two. I.e. if you join the New Madrid Guards, you get to experience the enlistment process but not drill. If you join Co. D, you get to drill with a fully equipped company but not enlist. I don't see a choice where you get to do both. (I've already registered for Co. D.)

Ideally, I'd like to listen to patriotic speeches, succumb to the pressure, enlist with my friends, have (my own) gear issued to me, and then drill with a fully equipped company as a new recuit.

[Michael Comer]

Re: Raising Co. D "St. Louis Grays"

Ray,

When the 1st was here, there were already compannies established. The New Madrid boys were recruited to make Co. I so if you are with the Guards, you'll form Co. I. But having said that, everyone is going to drill. Remember, both Co. D and the Guards know some drill already. Co. D was a well run militia unit in St. Louis and were very sharp but the Guards were also a unit in themselves. They are just passing from being a militia unit to form a company in a CS unit.

So no matter which one you join, you'll be getting drill. In fact, I have an idea about drill and the proper pacing that I haven't seen done before. I'm going to try it here and we'll see if it is of value to folks.

[newshirt]

Re: Raising Co. D "St. Louis Grays"

How will men who come to the event without weapons drill?

Forgive me; I'm probably just getting all tangled up in the details... :) If you enlist with the New Madrid Guards, you can't bring a military musket to the event because citizens would not have had them. So if that's all you own (and you want to join the New Madrid Guards), you should come without a weapon. And then you can't drill. Will there be muskets to borrow?

[Michael Comer]

Re: Raising Co. D "St. Louis Grays"

Ray,

Some of the drill will be the basics - facings, evolutions of the company, paces etc in which a weapon is really not needed. For school of the soldier, it might be necessary to swap weapons with other men in the company or use a substitue for a weapon. The idea is to give a feel for what a company was going through at the very beginning of its military career and it is different than what we are usually used to at an event where we portray already formed units.

It also just so happens that I am a veritable armoury and quartermaster department and have several civilian weapons - couple of hunting rifles and a shotgun - that I would be willing to make available to folks. Send me a PM about what you need and we can discuss.

Bottom line is if you want to be in the Guards component, there's a way to make it work for you.