Perryville, Part II,
To continue from my previous post.
I call this story, 'My First Great Skedaddle.'
As stated above, many have expressed their amusement at my tendecy to run from the battlefield at reenactments, having what President Lincoln called, 'cowardly legs.' My own personal views on performing this 'act' at civil war reenactments is that it presents a true side of the war and not all men could stand up to all that death and destruction in a brave manner. Plus it does get the public's attention!
Although now well-rehearsed in this particular movement, it was not always so. It took the Perryville, Kentucky reenactment in '95 or was it '98? to put me on the path of doing this particular scenario.
After my infamous camp inspection and log exercise drill, we prepared to reenact the first contact between the Rebel and Union forces that resulted in the October 7, 1862 Battle of Perryville. At that time, the summer had been very hot and dry, drying up potential water sources for both armies as they both sought to take control of the State of Kentucky. Streams and such had dried up, leaving only a few mud and scum filled ponds available for the soldiers of both armies to use to slake their thirst.
My group was picked out to be a canteen detail sent out in front of the main Yankee army to get water for thirsty troops. This skit would be played out in front of the thousands of spectators who had lined up behind yellow tape on the top of both sides of a small valley/depression where the scene would be played out by us reenactors. The bottom of the valley contained a small ditch where we would conduct our first battle.
My Union infantry company was sent out, each man carrying along with his gear and rifle, five to six canteens each, to be filled and then carried back by us to our waiting comrades. We moved out through the bottom of the valley floor, carefully ignoring the thousands of people at the top of each side, silently watching us to see what would happen. All seemed pretty calm and easy, as me and the boys talked and joked as we headed for the small, water-filled ditch.
It was then that Rebel calvary appeared at the other end of the valley. We spotted them, dumped off our canteens and sought shelter where ever we could find it and raised our rifles. We did not have long to wait. The Rebs charged us, pistols and sabers drawn, yelling like madmen as they bore down upon us. They got to within about twenty yards and began firing at us. After snapping off a few shots, we saw our regiment coming up to reinforce us.
We quickly fell back into the ranks of the regiment, expecting an easy time of it pushing these few Reb horsemen back with our greater numbers. That's when the situation changed for the worse. Behind the Rebel calvary, coming up at the quicktime, were TWO or more Reb infantry regiments! Suddenly, things did not look good at all.
Now here is where all the research I do, the countless hours of reading through battlefield historys and such, gave me an idea. I had read when the men thought they might be flanked or overrun, they would sometimes yell, "Betrayed! Betrayed!" Or complain that they were about to be flanked and using this excuse, run from the battle as fast as their legs would carry them.
As we waited for the rebel regiments to get into range, I whispered to my fellow reenactors what that I intended to fire a round or two and then I was going to shout "Betrayed!" and run to the rear like the dickens! All of this without informing our company commander, of course. Three or four of the boys said they would come too, as it made for a different spin on the same old, stand-up fight.
Once the Rebs were in range and drawing down on us, my plan went into effect. We fired one volley, then another, and as if on cue, one of the Reb regiments began moving off to our right, trying to flank us. I shouted to our officer, "The Rebs are flanking us! We are all going to be killed! We are BETRAYED!" which was our code word to panic and begin edging and running to the rear.
Our commander tried to calm us and force us back into line, but four of us broke and ran for the rear, astonishing him and others in our company. Three of us ran like rabbits, but the fourth man was stopped by a Union calvary man with a drawn pistol who said he would shot him if he did not return to the line! Excellent!
Two Union officers of a company coming up to reinforce our regiment stood in front and off to the left of us, calling on us to halt and return to the front. It was at this point I threw down my rifle, tore off my hat, haversack and canteen, anything that would slow me down in my run to the rear. The officers were astounded at my actions as I did not even slow down or look back when I performed these actions. And the reactions of the crowd were just as amazed, as they pointed and commented to one another over what they had just seen.
I was lucky that those two officers picked up my gear and kept it for me until the end of the 'battle.' They were very positive in their comments saying they were delighted to see such action as it made the whole scene seem more real to them. They also admitted the whole thing took them completely by surprise and off their guard. Next time they would know what to do. Draw their side arms and fire if we did not obey orders to return to the fighting!
So, there you have it, my first skedaddle, and now, one of my trademark moves at a reenactment. If you ever go to one, just look to the rear and see who is running the fastest to the rear and you will have a good guess at who it is.
YMOS,
Runnin' Blue
PS If any of you are interested, here is a web site that contains pictures of the reenactment at Perrysville, 2002.
http://www.pbase.com/rubenkc/battle_of_perryville
(Message edited by Unionblue on September 24, 2004)
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