150th Battle of Nashville

This past weekend, Pvt. Baconator (that is Malc's reenacting name) and I (Amish Todd . . . the Brits call me Moonshine Todd) joined the rest of the 9th Ky for an event commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Nashville.  A number of historic sites in and around Nashville participated in this sesquicentennial remembrance with the 9th were stationed at Fort Negley (which was the largest inland fort built during the Civil War).  Our weekend was fairly low-key . . . doing drills and a few firing demos, but mostly just interacting with the public in the camp.  The above photo is of our encampment framed by the substantial entrance gate at the Ft. Negley Park.  It was taken after all the others had turned in for the night.  I was up because one of my favorite joys of reenacting is being allowed on a historical site after dark.

Bivouac of the dead tired . . .

Baconator and Critter up at the fort pondering my musings about the Roman emperor Pupienus Maximus.  Well, this was the last of the significant 150th events for our area.  We will be doing Bentonville early next year, which will be the last of the 150th events for the western theater and then, I imagine, will die down.

150th Franklin

This weekend, Malc and I joined a good many of the 9th Ky for the 150th Battle of Franklin.  It was an especially notable event for Malc, as he was able to fully participate in a reenactment for the first time.  No more just a runner . . . he marched, and fired just like everyone else.  Here is Malc and Kyle going through the "school of soldier" just to make sure he was battle ready.  From what people around him told me he did great.  This was extra special because Franklin is the last major 150th event the 9th participates in the western theater (we will be going to Bentonville, NC in March). 

Malc in line for inspection before heading out to the field of battle.  Unfortunately I was at the other end of the line, so I didn't get to watch Malc's encounter with "the elephant."  *The above photo is from the 9th Ky webpage.

The last men standing . . . the rain came . . . the rebs left, and the event canceled.  The 9th, as you can see, didn't want to pack up and leave.

Drilling at Oaklands Mansion

This past weekend, Dudeboy, Dr. J and I joined the 9th Ky for a living history encampment (read "drilling") at the Oaklands Mansion in Murfreesboro, Tn.  We had, for once, absolutely beautiful weather the whole weekend.

There is quite a bit of history that pertains to the house . . . during the war C.S.A. President Jeff Davis stayed at the home in 1862, and in that same year Nathan Bedford Forrest defeated Thomas Crittenden in the First Battle of Mufreesboro with much of that battle taking place near here, and "it was here on July 13, 1862, that Nathan B. Forrest received the surrender of Federal forces occupying Murfreesboro."  Another nearby marker states, "July 13, 1862- Surrender of the Union garrison took place about 4:00 P.M. Units surrendered were Brig. Gen. T. T. Crittenden and staff, detachment of the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry, detachment of the 8th Kentucky Cavalry, "B" Battery, Kentucky Light Artillery, the 9th Michigan Infantry and the 3rd Minnesota Infantry. Stores valued at $500,000, four field-pieces, 60 wagons, 300 mules and 175 horses were taken. The entire Union force of about 1200 lost 19 killed and 120 wounded. Confederate losses were 30 killed and 60 wounded. The Confederates withdrew to Readyville, thence to McMinnville after tearing up the railroad and destroying bridges."

 Dr. J at the spring below the house.

Working on the basics. 

The bastards made me a corporal!  How lowly the 9th must be . . . 

*the above photo was taken by cousin JoAnne

A Day in the Life of the 9th Ky

Pards Malc and Harry . . .Photos are from the Stones River National Battlefield Facebook page.

This weekend Dudeboy and I joined the rest of the 9th Ky for a special event where one could "Experience the daily life of a soldier, and the parallel life of their loved ones at home as the men of the Ninth Kentucky keep to the schedule in General Orders No. 8 from the papers of their very own Marcus Woodcock."  Which meant reveille was at 5am and then we drilled and drilled some more . . . a typical day in the life of the 9th Ky.  Below is a copy of the actual schedule written out by Woodcock.

A 9th Kentucky Wedding . . .

An original ferrotype by Wendell Decker (see here and here for our previous sittings with Wendell).

Another original ferrotype by Wendell Decker.

Father and son on Father's Day weekend . . .

Dudeboy in line at one of the demonstrations for our Old Mulkey Meeting House living history event.

Apart from our annual Old Mulkey Meeting House living history event another important occurrence transpired this weekend  . . . an antebellum-themed wedding involving two 9th Ky. members Todd W. and Tara.  They met at the Old Mulkey event two years ago and fell in love. (Photo taken by Cousin JoAnne)

(Photo taken by Cousin JoAnne)

Rain-Soak-A

This past weekend, Dudeboy and I joined a few of the 9th Ky. for the reenactment in honor of 150th anniversary of the Battle of Resaca.  This was the first major engagement in the Atlanta campaign with some 6000 casualties.

A Boy and His Dog . . . dog tent that is.  This is what he wanted for his birthday and we purchased it on the way down to Resaca.  He is quite proud of it, but I daresay come weather in the teens (like at Ft. Donelson) he'll be in the A-Frame with me!  Speaking of my A-Frame, look at the nice open area to the right of it.  By the next morning, that area looked a little bit different, as you will see in the next picture.

We had a steady rain for the majority of the time while we were at Resaca and these were some of the results. Dudeboy dubbed the event "Rain-Soak-A."  However, we consider ourselves very lucky for our tent stayed fairly dry, but as you can see, the water was encroaching.  A number of others were not so lucky.  While we slept soundly, a good many of the others in our area were inundated and "maybe got an hour of sleep!"

Dudeboy and his tent-mate . . . 

"Say hello to my little friend . . . "

While in the area we visited a few of the sites pertaining to the battle . . . like the cemetery for the Confederate dead.  I should mention that the reenactment took place on a portion of the original battlefield.

I recommend that you take the time to read a great short story pertaining to the battle that Ambrose Bierce wrote entitled "Killed at Resaca."

It is impossible to tell from this photo, but Dudeboy is standing in front of the remains of some earthworks of a large redoubt located at what was Fort Wayne.  This fort was built in part to protect the Western and Atlantic railway bridge over the Oostanaula River.

Triune

This past weekend, Dudeboy and I joined the rest of the 9th Ky at the Battle of Triune Civil War Living History and Battle Reenactment.  It was a perfect weekend . . . unlike "Triphoon" last year!  And, as you can see in the above image, we had group photo taken by a certain well known collodion photographer (who wasn't exactly pleased with the results, but we sure were).  

Fort Donelson living history

This weekend, Dudeboy and I braved the cold and joined the rest of the 9th Kentucky for a living history event at Fort Donelson (it was the 152nd anniversary).

Tennessee History Festival

Yesterday, Dudeboy and I joined the Fetter family (homeschool friends of ours from way back when we first started homeschooling) for a beautiful day at the the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park in Nashville and the Tennessee History Festival. It was basically a gathering of reenactors/interpreters representing the sweep of Tennessee history through demonstrations and encampments . . . everything from a Cherokee encampment to conquistadors to WWI soldiers to a slavery revisionist display. Odd, that last one.  

With Lincoln, Davy Crockett, and a Civil War surgeon.

With a group representing soldiers from the Spanish-American War.

With a longhunter from Roan Mountain.

Careful with that ax, Eugene . . .

Architectural historian Dudeboy, in a full discourse about columns, capitals, pediments, and the like . . .

Ambrotypes, Ferrotypes & the 150th Chickamauga

Dudeboy and I spent a good deal of this past week in the past.  Tuesday we visited local collodion photographer Wendell Decker.  It was a great experience as he took the time to explain the whole process to us in detail. 

The above image of Dudeboy is a ferrotype . . . which is a photograph created on a piece of metal (traditionally iron and not tin as the misnomer "tintype" would imply) which is then coated. I mentioned to Wendell that he had to be part photographer and chemist.  He added artist, historian, educator, etc. The man certainly knows his stuff.
 

For our joint portrait we chose an ambrotype, which is sorta like the ferrotype but the image is created on a sheet of glass using the same wet plate collodion process. After that, just silver remains on the glass. The result is a negative made positive when a black varnish is applied. So, in the above photo, everything that is black is actually plain glass . . . until that varnish is applied to the back. Wendell also praised the image quality. He said this process produced detail that was much better than film or digital can attain. In many instances often the old ways are the best ways.     

And then Friday through Sunday (we missed the activities on Thursday) we traveled to north Georgia for the 150th Anniversary Battle of Chickamauga put on by the Blue Gray Alliance.

And it rained.  And then it rained some more . . . as evidenced by our campfire. But the weather finally cleared and we participated in some long sustained battles. Unfortunately, I am not able to take the camera out on the field with me at reenactments (I wish I could at times, because I could get some great images), so most of what I capture at these events is of camp-life.

Downtime playing cards and waiting out the rain.

Old Mulkey

Dudeboy and I have been so busy lately that I have fallen behind on our postings.  Soon we will return with entries pertaining to our War of 1812/Canada trip, but first we need to post a couple more recent entries that relate to the Civil War.

This past weekend, we fell-in with the 9th Kentucky at our annual "homecoming" Old Mulkey encampment. Above is the unveiling of our new colors, replacing the much worn one that has been in use for 20 years. As the website for the 9th states, "We have chosen to recreate the flag as it appeared the day it was first unfurled from its case in the camp of Col. Grider there near Corinth, MS and not as it likely later appeared with numerous battles' names painted up and down its far right side."

  

Stacking arms . . .

After a 3-volley salute at the Old Soldiers Cemetery in Tompkinsville, we posed with our old flag for the last time before the new historical marker noting what at one time was a national cemetery. Due to the small size of the plot most of the soldiers were moved to Nashville in 1867, and this became a public cemetery. At one time there were over 100 soldiers buried here. Of the few that remain, most are from the 9th Ky.

Dudeboy on local TV

This video link will probably only be available for a week, so take a gander while you can. We are being interviewed about an upcoming living history encampment the 9th Ky will be doing at the Old Mulkey Meeting House in Tompkinsville, Ky.

The War of 1812 . . . Year Two, Part 2 . . . Crysler's Farm

The remaining entries pertaining to this trip will all be in Ontario. Our first few entries are from the Lake Ontario Theater of Operation.  In this and the next entry we are just west of Cornwall, Ontario near Morrisburg.  

A sign commemorating the Skirmish at Hoople Creek.  The true site, like Crysler's Farm, has been mostly lost to the St. Lawrence Seaway.  On November 10, 1813 troops under the command of Winfield Scott (who was acting as an advance force of Wilkinson with Jacob Brown) forced the retreat of British troops posted at the Hoople Bridge. However, the action bought time for the British to prepare for the Battle of Crysler's Farm.

The Battle of Crysler's Farm (November 11, 1813) . . . a shameful end to a shameful campaign. The goal of the US St. Lawrence Campaign was ultimately the capture of Montreal. While a force under the command of Major General Wade Hampton was to advance from Lake Champlain, a division of some 8000 troops under Major General James Wilkinson were to advance from the St. Lawrence. Unfortunately for the US, Wade Hampton's forces were stopped cold at the Battle of Chateauguay (we will hopefully visit this site on next year's trip).    

While Brown and Scott had some success in the advance, Wilkinson was constantly being threatened at the rear by a British force led by Colonel Joseph Morrison.  This force of about 900 included British and Canadian regulars, militia, and Iroquois.  With Wilkinson indisposed due to illness, command of the about 2500 men fell to Brigadier General John Boyd.

A view of the actual battlefield.  Most of it and the "lost villages" of Canada lie beneath what is now the St. Lawrence Seaway.  Apparently, much of the dirt for the mounded earth where the monument is located was extracted from the actual battlefield site.

More than a few historians credit the highly disciplined action of the British regulars with thwarting the US forces . . . read, inexperienced US forces panicked when confronted by the cool and calm resolve of a superiorly trained military.  Well, we learned quick.  In a future installment, it will be noted that at the Battle of Chippawa, the British commander supposedly exclaimed, "Those are regulars, by God!"

 Canadians portraying Kentuckians . . .

The crowd gathered to watch the reenactment (huddled under the trees seeking shade.  It was as hot up there as it was back in Kentucky).  Well, actually what was presented the day we visited was a tactical demonstration, rather than recreation of the Battle of Crysler's Farm. It was odd to hear the comments of the crowd referring to us as the baddies . . . even if we deserved it. I heard one mother tell her confused small daughter, "those are the bad guys." At least the announcer referred to the US forces as the "away team."  The British were the "good guys."
  

It was said there were about 450 reenactors that participated in the event.  

In the end, US forces running low on ammunition began to falter and lose heart. Boyd ordered a retreat and the next morning Wilkinson learned that Hampton would not be continuing his advance (his army being in full retreat!).  Low supplies, a dejected army and no support gave Wilkinson the excuse to abandon the plans for Montreal.

Of the 2500 or so troops the US had engaged, there were 102 killed, 237 wounded, and 120 captured. The casualties for the British were 31 killed, 148 wounded, and 13 missing.  This is out of a total of about 900.

 Old sawbones has been busy . . . 

I must say the man who portrayed the surgeon was the best I have seen at any historical reenactment/living history event. I must warn you dear reader to avert your eyes from the next few pictures if you are easily queasy, because he was able to achieve a high degree of realism in his depiction.

And he was very informative.  Still, Dudeboy said the whole presentation "was so realistic that I almost puked."  

Of course, a comment was made that "if the patient had been an American, he would have screamed." All of which delighted the approving crowd.

Here "old sawbones" is trimming up a bit of the bone. 

After the reenactment, we visited with the group of Canadians portraying Kentucky Militia. It might seem odd at first, but one has to realize that if you want reenactments you are gonna need bodies for both sides. We run into the same problem, at least in our area, with the Civil War reenacting.  For whatever reason, few people want to portray the Union.  This is why you see such discrepancies at so many battle reenactments.    

We talked with a few members of this group, and in particular we enjoyed talking with the commander in charge of the Kentucky militia (not pictured).  Throughout our travels we tried as much as possible to engage with people to get their viewpoints of the war. The commander said that by portraying Kentucky militia it has allowed him to gain a better and broader understanding of the war.  In fact, he said the American justifications for the war were somewhat understandable.  On a similar point, in talking with Canadians about the war, it seems to me that most are far more flexible in their conclusions about the causes, results, and blame than what I have encountered in the states.  However, Dr. J noted that most of who we conversed with were very knowledgeable about the war and common thought would probably run parallel to the standard view.  

The view from our campsite at the Woodlands Campground, which is part of the Parks of the St. Lawrence.