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as promised or whatever... its got to better than "how do I fit blankets in a knapsack"
Probably the two biggest events I remember attending during the 70s had to be Gettysburg in 1976 and The Bushrod Johnson monument dedication at Chickamauga National Park in 1977.
Gettysburg was a family trip. It also was a long trip for Cleburne’s. In order to get there, they marched from Harpers Ferry to Gettysburg. Cleburne’s wasn’t the only ones to do it, there were others. They forded the Potomac and everything. They marched for preservation. Novel concept. I have some pretty interesting photos from this march.
On the way to Gettysburg I remember stopping at Washington Lee. That was a cool stop because at that time, they still had original ANV confederate flags hanging in the chapel. My father picked me up so I could touch them. Not bad for a 10 year old. I think this is about the time I received my lesson in east vs. west. ANV vs. AoT- let’s just say I still carry that one close to the chest… people get real pissed off when you compare and contrast. I was given a long lesson in what exactly a “band box soldier” was.
o The event at Gettysburg its self was pretty extraordinary. I think it was about 2000 participants. I remember the Mudsills where there… they had 2 companies I believe and Cleburne’s had two companies. Remember this was 1976 the bicentennial, so this was a national event. I remember watching the “battle”, Pickets Charge of course. It was quite a spectacle…. The “rebels” came in waves… in a single file no less, sweeping down on the “yankees” at the bottom of the valley. That was the prelude to the coolness… after the initial waves … suddenly in the middle of all that 2 confederate companies emerged from the top of the ridge, in column of companies… from column to line… a prefect line, oblieqing all the way down the hill to a point in the line where the Mudsills sat. They halted about 100 yards and fired a perfect volley. Then you could faintly see a ruckus of some sort in the middle of one of the confederate companies… It seems that somebody from the first wave on confederates was carrying a Maryland flag (right) and they took a hit in the wrong spot. They resurrected themselves in the middle of Cleburne’s while firing. You could clearly see Cleburne’s 1st Sgt, John Hudson pick this fellow up and toss him skyward with flag in tow. Seems John was a 6th Division Marine vet that was an exceptional 1st Sgt. How do I recall this so vividly... well I was 10, so watching an event with that many was memorable… but truth be told, I am fortunate enough to own an unedited bootleg CBS News copy of the raw footage. Complete with Dan Rather commentary. I guess in 1976, ole Dan wasn’t quite that important. I really tell this story so folks understand that 36 years ago, short of Cleburne’s and the Mudsills most guys in this hobby couldn’t even drill, school of the company? What the heck is that? To quote a old founding member of Cleburne’s:
“Rhea Baskette's idea or organization provided for higher ranked officers than what the majority of us desired. His reasoning was sound in the reinacting world of that day. Not a few 'units' were composed of five men, three women and two dogs and had at least one Colonel in their ranks. The hobby really sucked. But the organization we were wanting to create, Cleburne's, would not participate in all of their games. We would do the hobby and do it right with the correct number of troops for a CW company of soldiers. The Mudsill's had the same idea, although I have ALWAYS known they STOLE it from CLEBURNE'S! ”
You know I don’t know the accuracy of the last statement but I can say that the two organizations certainly followed the same paths through the years.
I also remember going to downtown Gettysburg. It was awash with the celebration of the country’s Bi-centennial. Got to hang out with all the Cleburne’s guys and shop. Not your ordinary shopping… CW stuff-relics-gear-everything. I watched my father buy a “brick” of original double bags that had sat so long that they seemed to be stuck together. 20 bags where about 2 feet thick. Those double bags went on to become hardware and patterns for reproductions. The knapsack material that was used for the reproductions came from a warehouse liquidation sale in Memphis TN. One the old warehouses down on the river was being demolished and my father bought a bolt of original knap sack material. Interesting thing was as you opened each original bag, it contained all sorts of interesting items… extra blouse buttons, knife/fork/spoons and extra hooks and hardware. I don’t know if these bags had been issued and repackaged or they were never issued… none the less that stuff inside was pretty insightful. They also bought shoes, heel plates and anything their checkbooks would let them “float”. LOL Strange times in the hobby I guess. Really its something WE all take for granted… I can get on the interwebs and in less than an hour, have the most accurate historical reproductions of basically anything. These guys that taught me so much had to work for it. They showed a level of “commitment and attitude” that most of us will never understand. I think I really realized this at the 135th Gettys burg. I walked through the sutler area and some young “kid” was selling off extra gear. I asked him how much he wanted for a shirt he had… his answer was 80 bucks… I asked him to tell me why the shirt was worth 80 bucks… all he could do was tell me who made it… he had no idea as to why the shirt was solid and correct only that somebody with a “name” had made it. I call it the Tommy Hilfiger syndrome…
Chickamauga 1977- By this time in my life I was no longer from Memphis Tennessee but now a resident of Nashville. Cleburne’s was invited as well as the Mudsills to Chickamauga National Park to participate in the dedication of the Bushrod Johnson monument. This trip always stands out in my memory as well. Especially when attitude and commitment are the topics. Cleburne’s had about 80 guys in the ranks for this simple “parade” and living history. I vividly recall that the local National Guard was in attendance, about a company, marching in the parade. John Hudson as you may remember me mentioning his name before seemed somewhat put out by the level of commitment the National Guard folks had with their drill. Might be a Marine thing… not sure. He challenged the National Guard to a School of the Soldier and Company drill competition… SO here you have a collection of 80 very part time strictly volunteer types trying to portray the common confederate soldier and the part time – paid National Guard competing in drill. I am not disparaging the National Guard at all. But I will let you figure out who had it buckled up tighter that day. Later about 1994 I remember going to a living history at Chickamauga, I hadn’t really been all over the park in years. Me and my pard arrived very late after dark and did the zombie walk through the park to find the confederates. We found them, feel out and when I woke up in the morning I was staring at the Bushrod monument… weird.
Ike Gatlin
Probably the two biggest events I remember attending during the 70s had to be Gettysburg in 1976 and The Bushrod Johnson monument dedication at Chickamauga National Park in 1977.
Gettysburg was a family trip. It also was a long trip for Cleburne’s. In order to get there, they marched from Harpers Ferry to Gettysburg. Cleburne’s wasn’t the only ones to do it, there were others. They forded the Potomac and everything. They marched for preservation. Novel concept. I have some pretty interesting photos from this march.
On the way to Gettysburg I remember stopping at Washington Lee. That was a cool stop because at that time, they still had original ANV confederate flags hanging in the chapel. My father picked me up so I could touch them. Not bad for a 10 year old. I think this is about the time I received my lesson in east vs. west. ANV vs. AoT- let’s just say I still carry that one close to the chest… people get real pissed off when you compare and contrast. I was given a long lesson in what exactly a “band box soldier” was.
o The event at Gettysburg its self was pretty extraordinary. I think it was about 2000 participants. I remember the Mudsills where there… they had 2 companies I believe and Cleburne’s had two companies. Remember this was 1976 the bicentennial, so this was a national event. I remember watching the “battle”, Pickets Charge of course. It was quite a spectacle…. The “rebels” came in waves… in a single file no less, sweeping down on the “yankees” at the bottom of the valley. That was the prelude to the coolness… after the initial waves … suddenly in the middle of all that 2 confederate companies emerged from the top of the ridge, in column of companies… from column to line… a prefect line, oblieqing all the way down the hill to a point in the line where the Mudsills sat. They halted about 100 yards and fired a perfect volley. Then you could faintly see a ruckus of some sort in the middle of one of the confederate companies… It seems that somebody from the first wave on confederates was carrying a Maryland flag (right) and they took a hit in the wrong spot. They resurrected themselves in the middle of Cleburne’s while firing. You could clearly see Cleburne’s 1st Sgt, John Hudson pick this fellow up and toss him skyward with flag in tow. Seems John was a 6th Division Marine vet that was an exceptional 1st Sgt. How do I recall this so vividly... well I was 10, so watching an event with that many was memorable… but truth be told, I am fortunate enough to own an unedited bootleg CBS News copy of the raw footage. Complete with Dan Rather commentary. I guess in 1976, ole Dan wasn’t quite that important. I really tell this story so folks understand that 36 years ago, short of Cleburne’s and the Mudsills most guys in this hobby couldn’t even drill, school of the company? What the heck is that? To quote a old founding member of Cleburne’s:
“Rhea Baskette's idea or organization provided for higher ranked officers than what the majority of us desired. His reasoning was sound in the reinacting world of that day. Not a few 'units' were composed of five men, three women and two dogs and had at least one Colonel in their ranks. The hobby really sucked. But the organization we were wanting to create, Cleburne's, would not participate in all of their games. We would do the hobby and do it right with the correct number of troops for a CW company of soldiers. The Mudsill's had the same idea, although I have ALWAYS known they STOLE it from CLEBURNE'S! ”
You know I don’t know the accuracy of the last statement but I can say that the two organizations certainly followed the same paths through the years.
I also remember going to downtown Gettysburg. It was awash with the celebration of the country’s Bi-centennial. Got to hang out with all the Cleburne’s guys and shop. Not your ordinary shopping… CW stuff-relics-gear-everything. I watched my father buy a “brick” of original double bags that had sat so long that they seemed to be stuck together. 20 bags where about 2 feet thick. Those double bags went on to become hardware and patterns for reproductions. The knapsack material that was used for the reproductions came from a warehouse liquidation sale in Memphis TN. One the old warehouses down on the river was being demolished and my father bought a bolt of original knap sack material. Interesting thing was as you opened each original bag, it contained all sorts of interesting items… extra blouse buttons, knife/fork/spoons and extra hooks and hardware. I don’t know if these bags had been issued and repackaged or they were never issued… none the less that stuff inside was pretty insightful. They also bought shoes, heel plates and anything their checkbooks would let them “float”. LOL Strange times in the hobby I guess. Really its something WE all take for granted… I can get on the interwebs and in less than an hour, have the most accurate historical reproductions of basically anything. These guys that taught me so much had to work for it. They showed a level of “commitment and attitude” that most of us will never understand. I think I really realized this at the 135th Gettys burg. I walked through the sutler area and some young “kid” was selling off extra gear. I asked him how much he wanted for a shirt he had… his answer was 80 bucks… I asked him to tell me why the shirt was worth 80 bucks… all he could do was tell me who made it… he had no idea as to why the shirt was solid and correct only that somebody with a “name” had made it. I call it the Tommy Hilfiger syndrome…
Chickamauga 1977- By this time in my life I was no longer from Memphis Tennessee but now a resident of Nashville. Cleburne’s was invited as well as the Mudsills to Chickamauga National Park to participate in the dedication of the Bushrod Johnson monument. This trip always stands out in my memory as well. Especially when attitude and commitment are the topics. Cleburne’s had about 80 guys in the ranks for this simple “parade” and living history. I vividly recall that the local National Guard was in attendance, about a company, marching in the parade. John Hudson as you may remember me mentioning his name before seemed somewhat put out by the level of commitment the National Guard folks had with their drill. Might be a Marine thing… not sure. He challenged the National Guard to a School of the Soldier and Company drill competition… SO here you have a collection of 80 very part time strictly volunteer types trying to portray the common confederate soldier and the part time – paid National Guard competing in drill. I am not disparaging the National Guard at all. But I will let you figure out who had it buckled up tighter that day. Later about 1994 I remember going to a living history at Chickamauga, I hadn’t really been all over the park in years. Me and my pard arrived very late after dark and did the zombie walk through the park to find the confederates. We found them, feel out and when I woke up in the morning I was staring at the Bushrod monument… weird.
Ike Gatlin
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