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STONE MOUNTAIN
HISTORICAL REENACTORS, INC.
JUNE/JULY - 2003
NEWS AND INFORMATION
From the Executive
Officer
IN CAMP AT RUFF'S MILL
TO ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN OF
THE STONE MOUNTAIN HISTORICAL REENACTORS INC.
Spring Campaign is over for another year,
and I had as good a time as always. Thank you all for making it a
success. We didn’t have the turn out this year with the school
children as we have in the past, but hopefully this will be rectified
for next year’s event.
For those not able to attend, Friday night started
out with a bang. Severe thunderstorms ripped through the area,
dropping pea sized hail and spawning several funnel clouds, which
passed over highway 78. I never knew that many people could fit under
the overhang of that house.
Several comments were made about drill competition,
and the lack of attendance. This got me thinking how sweet it would be
to not only participate in next year’s competition, but also win it
hands down. It would take the commitment of everyone in
consistently showing up for drill, and working out all
the imperfections. But we can do it if that is what is wanted by all.
Think about it… we are always one of the best in the field when it
comes to maneuvers…and that is with half the company showing up at any
one time on drill weekend. Just think of how good we could be if we
really tried as one cohesive unit to show up and practice month
after month.
Resaca turned out to be wet, but that
did not dampen the spirits of those who showed up. We had the battle
on Saturday, which turned out to be a nightmare of missed cues and
companies marching into one another time and time again. The battle
scenario was either never explained beforehand to the right people, or
they were drunk when it was offered. We were scratching our timepiece
and winding our butts after that one. Sentry duty was called off
Saturday afternoon due to rain and lightning, but after a while it
broke long enough for us to volunteer to do our part. We were told it
had been cancelled, but we did it anyway, and it was appreciated by
the field command. Sunday saw more rain cancel colors and the morning
formation for drill. At battle time, people got word it wasn’t letting
up all day, so most camps began to break up and disperse back towards
Atlanta. For those of you who could not come, you missed seeing
‘Nature Boy’. He was one of a group of three guys who were camped in
front of us in two man tents. They got rather wet during the nights
monsoon, and one spent the day lounging in camp in his under wear.
Come to think of it… I can never remember a dull Resaca.
I hope everyone has a great summer. I can’t
wait for the 42nd to get back together again on the field
of battle.
YOUR OBEDIENT
SERVANT,
ERIC R. BECKMANN, SR.
Campaign
Schedule
July 26-27 Drill - Mid Year Picnic Meeting (Max Effort) - Stone
Mountain Park
August 24 Drill
- Stone Mountain Park, GA
September 5-7
Battle of Tunnel Hill (Optional) - Tunnel Hill, GA
September
5-7 Battle of Munfordville (Optional) - Munfordville,
KY
September 28 Drill -
Stone Mountain Park, GA
October 4-5 Elisha
Winn Festival (Optional) - Dacula, GA
October 10-12 Battle of Jonesborough (Optional) -
Jonesborough, GA
From
the Executive
Officer
Our Unit is Losing
Money!
Sixteen people did not
show up for the Resaca event this year. Since the unit pre-paid for
their attendance, this amounts to almost $100.00 the unit lost
just in one event on registration alone. This does not
include the additional cost of food, which was bought to support this
amount of people, and was wasted.
This cannot continue to
happen!
Our
Treasurer is concerned about our financing, and rightfully so. There
are several things we have talked about in the arena of cost cutting,
and self-registration for each event is one of them. It is up to each
member to make sure it does not come to this.
Of
course, things come up that prevent us from attending and are
unavoidable. For the people that called to say they could not make it,
I thank you. Some of us who could not attend, and who had family
members registered, but could not come, have sent checks to Ric Palmer
to cover their expenses, including a little extra for food. I
encourage those that were registered and did not show up, to do the
same.
Your Obedient Servant
Eric R. Beckmann Sr.
From the Captain
Gentlemen & Ladies of
the 42nd Georgia,
I wish to thank each
and every one of you for coming out and participating in Spring
Campaign. Even though the
numbers of participants and children were down, we all had a good
time. I don’t think that
it had anything to do with our event. With Confederate Memorial Day
being the same weekend, a poor economy, and schools reluctant to have
field trips, we should be grateful with the numbers we had. Most events this year
are suffering from reduced turnout.
It is also encouraging to know
that we’ll have Spring Campaign again next year. Next year, the 42nd
will have regularly scheduled drills on Saturday and Sunday of Spring
Campaign. Since we
had only one provost spot to cover this year, there’s no excuse for us
not to drill. This will
hopefully encourage other units to drill. We will lead by example. The executive board and
membership at large will probably have discussions on this and other
issues regarding Spring Campaign at the mid-year meeting and again at
the Christmas Party.
Suggestions will be appreciated.
I would also like to
thank Captain John Graybill of the 125th Ohio for his
bayonet instruction drills.
We also have a member of our unit that is well versed in the
bayonet drill, Pvt. JD Gille.
He has volunteered to continue our bayonet drill education.
Speaking of drill, at
the battalion drill on Saturday and Sunday of Spring Campaign, some
members of the unit were confused because the battalion staff was
doing some things differently than we do. There were five basic
items of contention:
1. On “Load In Nine Times”, the
battalion was placing the musket in between your feet on “Load”
2. On “Load In Nine Times”, the
battalion was drawing the ramrod halfway out on “Charge Cartridge”
3. On “Fix Bayonets”, the
battalion was placing the musket in between your feet
4. On “Fire By File”, the
battalion was telling the rear rank to call out “fire”
5. After firing, and being given
the command to load, the battalion was commanding to come to the
shoulder.
As you well know, we do
those items listed above as described in Hardee’s, not as above. I addressed these issues with
Colonel Poythress after the drills, and showed him in Hardee’s. I also showed Lt. Jerram. I told them that the 42nd
would be following items 1-4 as we have been taught. On item number 5, it was
agreed between the officers and nco’s of the 42nd to come
to the shoulder after loading when we’re at an event and participating
with other units. This is
for your safety. At
drill, we will come to the ready after firing and being given the
command to load.
It would be nice if the
battalion could all do it the correct way. But the battalion staff
doesn’t have any control of individual companies, and any attempt from
the battalion staff to make changes in individual companies would
backfire.
Your Obedient
Servant,
Captain Rick
Fallaw
42nd Georgia
Company
B.
Drill Schedule for July 27,
2003
1:00 p.m. - Artillery Demonstration
1:15
p.m. - Form company - Announcements/Manual of
arms
1:55 p.m. - School
of the Soldier (Facings, Musket firing)
2:30
p.m. - Artillery Demonstration
2:45
p.m. - School of the Company (NCO's drill the company)
3:15
p.m. - Rest
3:30
p.m. - School of the Company (Officers drill the company) - Also Skirmish
Drill
4:00
p.m. Artillery Demonstration
4:15
p.m. - Load cannon and drill is dismissed
We
will try to adhere to this schedule as best we can. There may be
slight variatios, but the material covered will not change.
Relics for Sale
Private JD Gille has decided to part with some of
his collection. As you
may recall from an earlier email, he had cartridges and buttons for
sale. Here they are
again:
8
x .577
Enfield cartridges: $180.00 each
6 x .58 Minie
cartridges:
$100.00
each
5 x .69 Buckshot
cartridges: $140.00 each
4 x .69 Buck&Ball
cartridges: $140.00 each
12 x
.69 Round Ball cartridges: $125.00 each
Confederate Infantry One
Piece Cast Iron Block I Buttons (non
dug): 3 x 250.00 each.
Please contact JD if you’re interested. You can reach him at jdgille@42ndgeorgia.com.
42nd In Cyberspace!
Visit Our
Website Often!!
www.42ndgeorgia.com
Eric Beckmann, Jr. Win
Awards!
Eric Beckmann, Jr. received the Georgia
History Award for eighth grade. The presenter mentioned the fact that
not only does he know Georgia history, he relives it on the weekends
with his family reenacting the Civil War. Eric also received the
Smyrna Optimist Club award, which is voted on by the eighth grade
teachers. The Optimist Club award is given to the student who shows
outstanding citizenship. It has a $500.00 scholarship toward college
attached. These awards were out of an eighth grade class of 300 plus
children. He received a standing ovation for receiving these
awards. Congratulations
Eric!
Submitted by Eric R.
Beckmann
Sr.
I was
hot. A wool uniform on an 80-degree day has a tendency to do that to
you, and this wasn’t the first time I had gone through a full canteen
of water during a battle. But this time, it was different. I felt hot
on the inside.
I wasn’t feeling well
before battle time, and could not get enough to drink. That should
have been the first clue. We were fighting behind the breastworks on
Saturday’s battle at Resaca, and already I was feeling hot and tired.
We had not done that much marching, advancing, falling back, but I was
already feeling drained. That should have been the second clue. I
decided to take a hit at the breastworks, but was told to resurrect
because we needed the manpower for the coming advance. My body told me
to stay put, but being ten foot tall and bulletproof, I got up and
went forward. I found it more difficult than usual to get back to camp
after the battle, and there soon after got sick behind the
Quartermasters tent.
I had suffered a slight case of heat
exhaustion with all the telltale signs warning me before, and all the
symptoms after. My head pounded that night and into the next day. I
had been feeling badly the three days before the event, having some
sort of ‘bug’. This had me rather irregular, if you get my drift. This
also meant I arrived at Resaca with inadequate hydration. I should
have thought things out a little better beforehand, and possibly sat
that one out… or, listened to my body when it told me to stop. I can
expound upon them needing me in the ranks, since we were thin on
rifles, letting our guys down by not forging on, being tough when it
was needed… but in reality, it was being stupid.
Please, think about how
you feel before and during battle. Do not feel the need to go on when
you know it’s better not to. Hydrate as much as possible before,
during, and after, each battle. Only you can make the call, so make it
wisely. I will from now on.
From
the
desk of the
Second Sgt.:
We
have now finished up the first quarter of our schedule and are well
under way to finishing the second with our summer drill and
encampment. This season
has brought a lot of challenges to our new command structure and
especially to me. It
wasn’t until I spent a little time with the 125th Ohio, Co
A., at Resaca that I found I still had much to learn.
First let me start with
Spring Campaign. The
duties of provost and Grand Guard were a lot more demanding than I
ever imagined but with the help of our trusty Corporals Robertson and
White, the job was made simple.
Their attention to detail and enthusiasm at their post was much
appreciated by yours truly. I would also like to
mention Pvt. Keene and thank him for providing the provost badges and
necessary paperwork to make our impression even better. Our Quartermaster
Chris and his lovely wife Susan did another exceptional job of feeding
the troops and supplying us with our every need and want.
I
also want to mention Pvt. J.D. Gille and his wonderful display of
“goodies” that he so unselfishly shares with the crowds including his
vast knowledge of this “foreign war”. And of course I would be
remiss in mentioning all of rest of the 42nd Georgia for
their support and willingness to volunteer their time and talents to
this event. Thanks for a
good show!
Now
let’s turn to the downfall of rain we had at Resaca. What makes an event
memorable? To me I have
found it’s toughing it out with the “hardcore” members who find ways
to stay dry, usually on a cot or plastic tarp, and enjoy
standing/sitting under a tarp, huddled in the center trying to stay
dry. The chili that we
enjoyed on Saturday was to die for. It had to be brought in off of
the fire in the pouring rain.
It was just on of those things you don’t forget. The sudden flow of water down
the hill from the direction of Earl Zeckman’s tent had to be diverted
by two guests who were enjoying our cooking. Once the water stopped
flowing over the campfire we heard shouts from the camp below that
their tents were being flooded.
We all had a chuckle and looked the other way. Once the downpour stopped for
a while our trusty Quartermaster brought out his dry kindling to
restart the fire and all was well. We were constantly graced with
a display of shirtless, shoeless, and tattooed hardcore fellas camped
in front of our cook fly that insisted on remaining this way
throughout the event.
Must be the way the federals do things. On another note, it was so
nice to fall in with the guys from the 125th Ohio who were
able to teach me more than a thing or two about being a second
sergeant. It was nice the
way they found room for all or our “chiefs” since the indians were
little low on the count.
Speaking of indians, I would like to welcome back #33 to the
ranks. Even with all of
our pot shots and jokes about using white out to remove his number
from the ranks he proved himself a good sport and well-rounded and
safe reenactor. Welcome
back Randy!
I
will close for now but not before dropping a little hint about
participation. The
different members of the 42nd that I have met over the
years have all been good friends. We all have our place, our
impression and our way of doing things but above all we are
friends. I count it a
blessing in my life to have been recruited by our former Captain, Ric
Palmer, without whose persistence and encouragement would have found
me just sitting at home wishing I had a hobby or could do something as
important as we do.
Let’s keep up the good
work. Let’s keep looking
for quality people to add to our unit. Let’s all come and enjoy each
other’s fellowship.
Your
Friend and Second Sgt.,
Scott A.
Kuehl C.S.A.
Friends of Port
Columbus:
Hope you will be able to attend this historic evening
for the museum! If you know anyone else that might be
interested, please pass this message along to them. If you get
this message more then once, we apologize, but we are trying to get
the message out to as many people as
possible!
Matthew Young,
Programs Coordinator;
Port Columbus National Civil War Naval
Museum
1002 Victory Drive, Columbus, GA 31901
(706)
327-9798
programs@portcolumbus.org
www.portcolumbus.org
Rare Civil War flags to be displayed
for one night only!
After more than 100 years, seven Civil War
flags are about to reveal their secrets when they are displayed for
the first time at the Port Columbus National Civil War Naval Museum in
Columbus, Georgia on Saturday, July 12.
All of the flags are associated with
either the U.S. Navy or the Confederate Navy and range in size from 3
feet by 5 feet to 16 by 24 feet. "These flags were all sent by naval
commanders to the Secretary of the Navy during the Civil War," said
Bruce Smith, executive director of Port Columbus, "and his assistant
brought them to Massachusetts following the conflict where they have
been in storage ever since."
Several of the flags are from famous naval
ships and battles such as the Battle of Mobile Bay from the
Confederate flagship, CSS Tennessee, and the Savannah Harbor battle
between the CSS Atlanta and the USS Weehawken. "Two of these flags
from Mobile were flying when Admiral D.D. Farragut uttered his famous,
'Damn, the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" in 1864, said
Smith.
A group from Port Columbus brought the
flags back south last week, after they were transferred from the
Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston, where they have resided
since 1869.
"The response from across the country has
been incredible," said Smith, " so, we decided to have a preview
viewing of the flags before they get packed up for their
conservation." Smith said the July 12 viewing will be the only time
the public may see the flags this year, and next year the permanent
exhibit will open with all the flags behind
glass.
.
Hours for the preview will be from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
and the cost to see the flags will be $20 for adults and $10 for
students. Proceeds are deductible and will go toward the costs of
acquiring, conserving and exhibiting the flags. Refreshments, music
and custom souvenirs will all be available. Museum members will be
allowed to enter at 6 p.m. that evening.
Smith said he expected hundreds to attend the preview
and that everyone who came would have an opportunity to get a good
look at the flags which have not yet been cleaned and still show lots
of battle damage
.
** Attention
****Attention**
The Hunley - Do you want to be part of History?
We
have the chance to become part of the history of the Hunley, by
participating in the project as a weekend Honor guard. However, the
window of opportunity is closing fast. Reenactment groups are
scrambling to sign up for weekends in which they will ‘guard’ the
Hunley.
Jim Keene has become a member of the Hunley organization, and
can get us set up with a time and date, but we have to
act fast.
If anyone would be interested, please contact Jim quickly
(Home: 706-336-8816 / Cell: 770-329-6464) so he can collect a count of
who can go, and coordinate weekends people are free versus weekends
that are open for us to do this (we need a certain amount per
weekend).
This is an opportunity for the 42nd Ga. to be become
part of this historic event, and we should not pass it up. Information
on the Hunley project can be found at www.hunley.org
Jim has a log on and password to access the site further, for
those that are truly interested in participating. Once again, he can
be contacted at:
Home: 706-336-8816
Cell:
770-329-6464
The funeral for the crewmembers of the Hunley will be on April
17th, 2004. We have the chance to become members of the
funeral procession also.
Your Obedient Servant,
1st Sgt. E. Beckmann
Sr.
I Love
English!!
The bandage was wound around
the wound
.
The farm was used to produce
produce
.
The dump was so full that it had to refuse more
refuse
.
He could lead if he would
get the lead out
.
The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the
desert
.
Since
there is no time like the present, he decided it was time to present
the present
.
A bass was painted
on the head of the bass drum.
When shot
at, the dove dove into the bushes
.
I did not object to the
object
.
The
insurance was invalid for the invalid
.
There was a row among
the oarsmen about how to row.
They were
too close to the door to close it
.
The buck
does funny things when the does are present
.
To help
with the planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow
.
The wind
was too strong to wind the sail
.
After a number of injections, my jaw
got number
.
Upon seeing a tear
in the painting, I shed a tear.
I had to
subject the subject to a series of tests.
Yes, English can be bewildering. If we explore its
paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are
square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
In
what language do people recite at a play, and play at a recital?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, yet
a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?
Your house can burn up as it burns down, you fill out a
form by filling it in, and an alarm goes off by going on.
That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible;
when the lights are out, they are invisible
.
And, when I wind my watch, I start it, but when I wind
up this essay, I end it.
I love English
Ragged Soldier Sutlery - Submitted
by Cathy
Beckmann
The
design of this website is to provide the information you want as
quickly as we can without making you wait while oodles of graphics
load or making you sift through information of less interest to you.
While it may not be the prettiest site on the web, I tried to design
it so it would load quickly. The first few layers are mostly text
since graphics take longer to load. If you would like pictures of
items, the graphics are grouped on later web pages that you can reach
by clicking the appropriate link. You can then limit the graphics
loading to those images you want to see the most. And, just so you
don't feel cheated, we have included a photograph of the proprietors
appropriately attired on a separate link in the menu.
If you
already know the background of the item or items you want, we have
limited the descriptive notes on the pages that are essentially
listings to keep the verbage down and shorten the page. For those who
want or need documentation or additional discussion, further
information is on other layers reached through the appropriate
link.
Since
this design is new and we are still learning, we would really
appreciate feedback. Therefore, send us some e-mail
or leave a message in our guestbook and let us
know if you liked it, didn't like it, or additional information you
would like to have added. If we don't know what you want, we can't
change to better suit your needs.
Of
course, e-mail us if you want to discuss anything to do with
mid-nineteenth century toys, games, or other entertainments. You can
also e-mail Virginia to discuss 19th century material culture.
Products
Ragged
Soldier Sutlery has the largest collection of reproduction Civil War
era toys, including
dolls, in the country. We have done our
best to document their use during the time of the Civil War although
some are of such ancient lineage that they would have been used during
other time periods. On the links for the individual items will be a
brief discussion of the toy as well as a picture or pictures.
We
also carry a large number of games appropriate to the time period of
the civil war. They range from classc games that existed for centuries
through games newly developed during the nineteenth century. And if
you are interested in children's games or parlor games for all ages,
check out the Modern
Books for booklets on those topics and the
Facsimile 19th Century Books for 19th
century activity books. And for those not necessarily interested in
the civil war period but do have an interest in things Victorian,
since the civil war occurred during the Victorian period, the toys,
games, etc&. could be considered Victorian toys, Victorian games,
Victorian parlor games, and Victorian era books.
For
some scarce supplies for doing civilian impressions, we have a limited
offering of Sundries not commonly offered by other
sutlers. These include such items as solid bluing used for doing a
laundry impression. As we hear needs voiced within the reenacting
community, we will be finding suppliers for some other items.
We now
have two new categories of Craft Supplies and School Supplies. The craft supplies
include some materials used in doing 19th century crafts. The school
supplies are some items children would have used in school.
The
books offered by Vintage Volumes are of two varieties.
The
first collection is Modern
Books, most written by us. These are all
listed alphabetically.
The
second collection of books are Facsimile 19th Century Books. The
facimiles at present only include books from other publishers but we
have some of our own efforts in progress which will be available
shortly.
News and
Information for the Ladies
The Society for Women and the Civil War
To the Ladies of the 42nd
Georgia,
No news this
month.
Debi Palmer Stone
Mountain Historical Reenactors, Inc.
c/o Debi Palmer
2144 Starlite Way
Snellville, Georgia
30078
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