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STONE MOUNTAIN
HISTORICAL REENACTORS, INC.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER - 2002
NEWS AND INFORMATION
From the Executive Officer (filling in for the
CEO)
IN CAMP AT RUFF'S MILL
TO ALL MEN AND WOMEN OF
THE STONE MOUNTAIN HISTORICAL REENACTORS INC.
GREETINGS!
The 2002 campaign season has drawn to a close; with many a hard fought
battle under our belts. There promises to be no further action in the
field, due to weather, for the next few months. Word is circulating
that Federal forces may try gaining an advantage around the area of
Lake City, Florida. Our Commander does not expect this to happen
before the weather breaks some time in February. This will give us
much needed time to rest, re-supply our forces, and visit our
families.
Every year at this time, when the weather sets in and things
slow down, I look forward to a few months rest. Usually by the end of
January, I am climbing the walls itching for the fight, the smell of
gunpowder and campfire, and the cool starlit nights. It seems that
years of fighting would grow weary and tiresome. But it does not.
Of all things that I love about the Campaign, it’s my friends I
yearn to see again that keep me going. Little did I know many years
ago, when I fell into the ranks for the first time, there would be
formed this unbreakable bond…
Thanks for all the hard work and dedication everyone has put in
this year. Next year promises to be better yet. Please help welcome
our new recruits and their families; Ryan Daugherty, Barry Wilson,
Jeff Harms, and Gareth Swanepoel into the fold. Their muskets and
exuberant spirits promise to make our unit stronger than ever.
I challenge each and everyone to insure the 42nd is
always the best company, in camp, and in the field, anywhere, anytime.
Let’s not just keep it going… let’s make it better.
YOUR OBEDIENT
SERVANT,
ERIC R. BECKMANN, SR.
2002 Campaign
Schedule
November 24
DRILL - Stone Mountain Park
December
8 BUSINESS
MEETING/CHRISTMAS PARTY - Stone Mountain, GA
From the Captain
Gentlemen & Ladies,
I have been in reenacting for many years and in the
42nd Georgia for the past 16 years. During this time I have
served the organization in all positions from President to Treasurer,
from Private to Captain. I love the hobby of civil war reenacting and
the 42nd Georgia is very special and dear to my heart. This
unit is one of the best in the state and is known throughout the
southeast.
Now it is time for me to say what’s on my mind. At the end of
this year I will step down as Captain of the 42nd and will
assume my place in the ranks. I have helped pull this wagon over many
a rough road with your assistance and now it’s time for me to
ride.
We have several good men who are stepping forward to take up
the task of pulling the wagon. Let us look closely at them and their
qualifications so we can select the very best men to fill our vacant
positions and pull our wagon strongly down the road.
After my retirement from Captain, I intend to suggest to the
other men in the Battalion who are also retiring like, Allan Bright,
Ray Oakes and Walter McCannon, that we form an “Ole Farts Battalion”
and call our company “The Capital City Beer Zouaves of the Home
Guard”. Our intent will be to sit in the shade with the ladies, drink
beer and guard the far flank. You can count on us to be firm and
steadfast in these duties as long as the beer, the viagra and the
shade hold out.
All follishness aside I would like to remind the membership of two
events still on our calendar, 1) Drill at Stone Mountain Park on November
24, and 2) Most importantly the annual Christmas Party and
Business meeting.
I hope to see all of you there and in good health.
Your obedient
servant,
Ric Palmer, Captain
42nd Georgia Volunteer Inf.
CSA
42nd In
Cyberspace!
Email
aliases have been set up for twenty-one members of the 42nd Georgia using
42ndgeorgia.com as the domain. It is the first letter of your first
name and your last name, (Example: Eric Beckmann, ebeckmann@42ndgeorgia.com). If I have missed you and you want to have your email
set up, please send me an email at rfallaw@42ndgeorgia.com.
I'll
set it up for you. It will take about 24 hours to become active. If
any of you change your regular email address, please notify me so I
can make the change for the email alias. If not, any emails sent to
your email alias will be rejected back to the person that sent
it.
I have also added a
forum page to the web site.
It is for discussion and for posting information. So far we’ve had 4 members put
posts on it. Be sure and
check it out, and let’s get some discussion going.
Your obedient
servant,
Cpl. Rick
Fallaw
Visit Our Website Often!!
www.42ndgeorgia.com
Battalion Event and 42nd Georgia Event
Information
At the battalion elections held in Jonesboro, the Georgia
Volunteer Battalion commanders voted to support the follow events:
Olustee, Resaca, Battles for
Atlanta (140th Chickamauga), A national
event
Next summer the 140th Gettysburg is being held. This may be the national event
that the GVB will choose to attend. Several members of the
42nd have indicated they would like to attend. I, for one, am planning on
going. On the
42nd event schedule, we’ll be having Spring Campaign in
April, monthly drills, the mid-year meeting, and the Christmas party,
as usual. This past
year, many members have spoken up and said they would like to go to
Bridgeport, Greensboro, Tunnel Hill, and Jonesboro, either not at all
or every other year.
Other members have suggested different events, such as
Manassas, Secessionville, and Aiken. This is the time of year that
you need to speak up and be heard.
Your
obedient servant,
Cpl. Rick
Fallaw
Christmas Party!!
Yes it is that time
again. I would like to
ask that all families bring a dessert and whatever you would like to
drink, if you want something other than Tea or Lemonade.
Gift Giving is not
required, but if you so desire, Men bring a gift for a man and Ladies
a gift for a woman. Please limit your cost to not more than $10.00. If
you have children that will not be participating in the adult gift
giving, please bring something for them.
The Christmas Party
and business meeting will be held at the FOP Lodge on Ridge Avenue in
Stone Mountain.
Directions to the Lodge:
From: I-285, take Hwy 78 (the Stone
Mountain Freeway) East Bound to the Village of Stone Mountain Exit.
Get off at that exit and continue until you reach a traffic
light. This traffic light
will be Memorial Drive on one side and Goldsmith Road on the
other. Turn to the Left
onto Memorial Drive.
Ridge Avenue is the last street just before you get to the
train over pass. Turn
left onto Ridge Avenue and follow it to the Dead end. The lodge is at the dead end
of the street. If you
have any further questions, contact Ric Palmer (770) 985-4684. If you get lost on the way the
number to the lodge is (770) 879-0557. Call and we will give you
further directions or send someone to get you.
Christmas Presents for
Men (excerpts from Harper's Bazar, December 19, 1896)
“EVERYTHING for
men this season in the way of gifts is leather but instead of the
accompanying prunella, silver takes its place. The English goods are very
attractive, and the leading American manufacturers have produced
copies of these, and thus all the large shops are filled with many
articles, any of which would delight the heart of a man.”
SILVER:
“If one begins in
silver, it is necessary to note that repousse work has gone out of
fashion as far as presents for the sterner sex are concerned, and
everything must be solid, simple and handsome. At the same time bulky
articles are not popular and the prettiest conceits are made to fit
comfortably in the waistcoat pocket.” TOBACCO BOX:
“A tobacco box, elliptical in shape, opening with a spring, of
plain polished silver, with monogram or crest engraved, costs
$18. It is
quite small and invaluable to the man who likes an early morning pipe
or a quiet smoke after the cares and pleasures of the day are over.”
INKSTANDS:
“In inkstands there are many elaborate affairs in crystal and cut
glass, with silver stoppers, plain and highly polished and silver
trays to be placed underneath
them. Many of these are
quite high-priced, a very handsome one costing $29, while others again
are much less in price.
An antique tray with two
receptacles for crystal inkpots, and a stamp-box of chased silver,
Queen Anne design, is $20, and it would be a gift to be appreciated.”
NOVELTIES:
“With the exception of the little tobacco-boxes there are
perhaps but few absolute novelties. Inkstands assume all manner of
quaint shapes, and are in a hundred or more odd designs. Some in solid silver are among
the actual new things, and they do not range in prices as high as the
combinations of silver and crystal.”
DECANTERS:
“For the table – and a bachelor would appreciate this,
especially if he is keeping bachelor’s hall – there are heavy crystal
decanters of the Queen Anne patter, some of them antique and other
imitation. For the real
article the shops ask as much as $50, but an excellent modern copy can
be acquired for $10 to $15.
All these should have silver labels with the name of the
drinkable to be contained therein.”
HYMNAL:
“A very useful Christmas present is a hymnal, or hymnal and
prayer-book, bound in black monkey-skin, with silver monogram or gilt
initials (the latter stamped inside the cover), of size for the
waistcoat pocket. These would cost – marking and all - $10.
Elephant-skin is not as handsome as monkey, and the snake-skin is
beautiful to look at, but most perishable.”
Information for the
Field, From the
Corporal
Recently I have been hitting the books and doing
some more research on commands.
I have an original “US Infantry and Rifle Tactics” that I have
been carefully reading as well as the “Regulations For The Army Of The
Confederate States.” Here
are some of the things I’ve noticed that are being misrepresented at
the battalion level, and saw some of them at Battles of Atlanta this
weekend:
1. “By Files, Left (or Right) March.” This is a
misrepresentation. The
correct command is “By File, Left (or Right) March. (US Infantry and
Rifle Tactics, School of the Company, Lesson IV, section 142, To
Change Direction By File) 2.
When we are in a battle line
and are told to dress right or left, after this has been accomplished,
the battalion commander should issue the “Front” command to get the
battalion facing forward.
Most times, this is completely
forgotten.
Your obedient servant,
Cpl. Rick Fallaw
Movie Stars
Abound!
It seems that the 42nd is getting all sorts of
publicity lately. First,
PBS aired “Georgia’s Civil War.”
This featured film footage of the 42nd taken at
Jonesboro a few years ago and also footage from Tunnel Hill this past
September. If you do a
“freeze frame” on you VCR, you can identify various members of the
unit. At the same time
that the PBS series came out, the Atlanta Journal Constitution ran an
article in the Saturday edition of the paper on civil war reenactors
and style. The picture
that accompanied this featured a photograph of the 42nd
from behind the lines.
You can identify several members in the photo. Also, Ric Palmer and
Nils Ohberg were featured in the Clayton News Daily newspaper, with
photos taken at the Battle of Jonesboro.
Later in September, “Sweet Home Alabama” was released. It seems that most of us were
cut out of the movie, with the exceptions of George Palmer and Mike
Honour. Supposedly there
is a director’s cut coming out early next year that has more of the
scenes that were cut out.
Also, a magazine published recently about Dacula had Ric
Palmer, Chris Jones, and Jim Mabe on the cover with the mountain
howitzer.
Lastly, there was another movie filmed at The Battles of
Atlanta called “Strike The Tent.” They filmed for three days and
the 42nd was actively involved in that, especially the
first two days. We’ll
have to go see the movie when it comes out.
New
Members
We have two new
recruits that are eligible to become members of the 42nd,
Ryan Daugherty and Barry Wilson.
We will be voting on their membership at the Christmas party
this year.
Elections - Business
Meeting - Christmas
Party
FROM ERIC R.
BECKMANN, SR. - VICE PRESIDENT
Elections:
Another year of
hard campaigning is coming to a close, but there is still much to
accomplish before the end of the year. December 8th will be
our annual Christmas party/Business meeting, and much should be
contemplated beforehand. This election promises to make the most
wide-sweeping changes in the unit’s leadership structure in many
years.
For several years
we have been lead in the field under the superb guidance of Ric
Palmer. Ric has decided it is time for him to take it easy, and pass
the reigns down to one of the ‘younger’ guys. Allan Bright will
relinquish his spot as 1st Sergeant for the same reasons.
Cecil Haygood will not seek re-election as our President because of
increased demands and pressure in his ‘real’ job. These three
gentlemen have contributed more to our unit than could ever be
measured, and will continue to do so in other positions of lesser
demand. Please offer your heartfelt thanks to all, for the years of
great leadership they have given, and will continue to
give.
Other very
important spots in Executive and field positions will be open for you
to choose the right people. Please remember the people chosen during
elections will lead you both on and off the field for the next two
years.
So far as I know,
these are the positions, and people running for them. All positions
will be subject to Trickle down, within its own category of
‘Executive’ and ‘Field’:
Field
Positions
Captain – Rick
Fallaw /
Lieutenant – Nils
Ohberg /
First Sergeant –
Eric R. Beckmann Sr. /
Second Sergeant -
Jack Hulsey / Scott Kuehl
Corporal - Houston
White / Phil Robertson
Quartermaster
Sergeant – Chris Jones /
Executive
Positions
Chief Executive
Officer – Eric R. Beckmann Sr.
Executive Officer
– Cecil Haygood
Financial Officer
– Ric Palmer
I strongly
encourage anyone who feels they might want to run for a position, to
do so. You can make the announcement the day of the elections, or
possibly nominate someone you feel is worthy, for a position.
Most importantly,
Get Involved! This is
your unit, so make yourselves
heard.
Business Meeting
I would ask for
everyone to bring with them, their copy of last years Event Schedule
booklet, and a pen. After some
thought, I feel it is a waste to duplicate items which have not
changed since last year. A new event calendar, updated roster, and
medical forms will be brought to update your booklets. New squad
assignments will be handed out when they are decided. Gather your
thoughts and be prepared to talk about new and old events, things we
can do to better our unit, drills, the mid-year campout, living
histories, creating a ‘hit’ list before battles, etc.
Christmas Party
Be
prepared to have a good time, with good food and good
people.
News and
Information for the Ladies
The Society for Women and the Civil War
Ladies,
No news
for this month's newsletter.
As always,
Debi
Palmer
Stone
Mountain Historical Reenactors, Inc.
c/o Debi Palmer
2144 Starlite Way
Snellville, Georgia 30078
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