Gettysburg 2016: After Action Reports

[alexjack]

Maybe you'll be feeling a little less surreal now:

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Peter I'm disappointed. I thought you'd have one of those hats with the corks hanging off the brim.

 

[Northern Light]

Peter I'm disappointed. I thought you'd have one of those hats with the corks hanging off the brim.

And a great big honking knife.! Heh. Guess it would be hard to get that through Customs these days!

 

[Nathanb1]

Deposit paid: see you there, my friend!

Hey, fly into Texas and come with me!

 

[W. Richardson]

It is with heavy heart and deep sadness I must announce the retirement of my avatar "September to Remember" the plan was to keep it in use until the end of Sept. with it now Oct. it is time to place it where it will be of most use..............My heart.

I want to thank everyone for a wonderful time, one that will live in my memory for as long as God will allow.

Now it is time to.................Get back to battling, where is Union Blue, Brass Napoleon, and Cash

Respectfully,
William

 

[PeterT]

And a great big honking knife.! Heh. Guess it would be hard to get that through Customs these days!

Peter I'm disappointed. I thought you'd have one of those hats with the corks hanging off the brim.

I got more cultshur than that!

I do wish I had brought Vegemite over for the folks to taste! Next time.

 

[Northern Light]

I got more cultshur than that!

I do wish I had brought Vegemite over for the folks to taste! Next time.

If it is anything like marmite, then I will pass, Peter. Thanks anyway!

 

[PeterT]

If it is anything like marmite, then I will pass, Peter. Thanks anyway!

Much better than marmite!

 

[Nathanb1]

If it is anything like marmite, then I will pass, Peter. Thanks anyway!

Much better than marmite!

I see a taste-off in the making for 2017.............I guess I could bring cabrito.......

 

[Bee]

Now it is time to.................Get back to battling, where is Union Blue, Brass Napoleon, and Cash

Now that I have met all of you, your "battles" have lost some of their edge, as the truth is out: the lot of you is a bunch of sweetie pies

 

[Northern Light]

I see a taste-off in the making for 2017.............I guess I could bring cabrito.......

 

[John Hartwell]

Many years ago, I was on an archaeological dig in Mallorca. The whole crew, mostly Brits, seemed to live on marmite sandwiches, and a savage local manto negro wine. At the time, I actually enjoyed it. About four years ago I found a jar of marmite (a concotion encouragingly termed "food paste") here in the states. Bought the characteristic globular jar for nostalgia's sake -- it's still in the fridge, with one teaspoon full missing. Seems I had no taste at all back in the day. Dreadful stuff!

 

[bdtex]

Ten states in 20 days! But the best part was meeting you guys in person and getting to see old friends once more. Thanks to Neal's driving most of the way, shopping for underwear, loading and unloading every night, and filling in when a prescription mixup knocked me out a couple of days. Loved the tours we went on, love the pile of books we brought home, and loved seeing Powers Hill and patting Lo every day. Laura, please tell your friend I loved the part of his tour I was able to manage. My stamina level was, as I feared, not quite up to all the hiking, thanks to the dog bite that kept me from walking much the weeks before the trip!

One of my reasons for undertaking the trek was genealogy. I got to stand on land farmed by my family in the wilds of Sevier County, TN in 1790, a cemetery FULL of my family going back five generations in Leake Co., MS, and the land they farmed, the battlefields at Mansfield and Pleasant Hill I first visited as a four year old with my daddy, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Okolona, Brice's Crossroads, got to revisit Franklin with Neal and share my love of that place, Spring Hill and Rippavilla, Asheville, NC and those mountains you could see from the Henry land in TN. We drove down the Shenandoah Valley and visited Lee Chapel, and drank coffee in one of those wonderful coffee shops you only find in a college town. Mia doesn't know it, but I am sending her to college there.

Afterr Gettysburg, we headed west through PA and MD, to.... yes, John Denver was right.... almost heaven, West Virginia. Jackson's Mill may be heaven. Wheeling is amazing. Then Kentucky.... the Horse Park and Churchill Downs! Back down to Nashville and the Hermitage, down to Greenville, MS to stand at Ft. Pemberton, where the Sanders boys blew themselves up with that pesky torpedo mine. To Natchez in the daylight to see Longwood.... and stop at Jefferson College and Windsor Ruins. Mighty neat. We drove through Alcorn State... beautiful, historic campus, where the steps to Windsor were repurposed... very appropriate!

Then the turn home through Louisiana, where I made Neal practice saying Natchitoches and we watched the Aggies take apart Arkansas..... in JerryWorld, which made it better. And it began to rain after we crossed the Sabine..... and rained till we got home. My yard is gorgeous and my plants survived, so all is well.

My take from all this? America is an amazing place, full of friendly people and buzzing with innovation and industry. It was a privilege to meet them.... and you.

Wow. What a trip.

 

[MRB1863]

Wow. What a trip.

Yes, it was!!!! And hopefully the first of several.....

 

[W. Richardson]

Now that I have met all three of you, your "battles" have lost some of their edge, as the truth is out: the lot of you is a bunch of sweetie pies

, you are so right. After meeting everyone and especially, my "arch villains" Union Blue, Brass Napoleon, and Cash, I found them to be, as was everyone else, wonderful. The "battles", the "argument", the "wars" have lost their edge, as now the "villains" are real friends.

I do look forward to more discussions, but the old "drive a stake through their hearts" is gone, gone for good...................The "September to Remember" was all I knew it would be, as to the Battle of Gettysburg, but it was so much more, and just what I hoped for................."the bonding"

Respectfully,
William

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

I'll pick you up on my way by, JPK, and we can talk all things Civil War, from hoop skirts to haversacks, as we head towards Mississippi, with a few bathroom breaks on the way!

What a kind offer, thank you!! What a blast it would be- now have no choice but to give it serious thought. And sure will, the prospect of a trip like that is too delightful.

 

[PeterT]

Working through more photos to post here in the next few days

 

[unionblue]

It is with heavy heart and deep sadness I must announce the retirement of my avatar "September to Remember" the plan was to keep it in use until the end of Sept. with it now Oct. it is time to place it where it will be of most use..............My heart.

I want to thank everyone for a wonderful time, one that will live in my memory for as long as God will allow.

Now it is time to.................Get back to battling, where is Union Blue, Brass Napoleon, and Cash


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Respectfully,
William

William,

We're here, new old friend, and ready for the upcoming fight on any field of battle you decide to stand on.

I will join that battle with a sense of regret as I feel our friendship has grown, but I will aim for in between your eyes to cause you less pain, out of my new found respect for you.

Plus now I know what you look like.

Sincerely,
Your newer, closer, friend.
Sharpshooter Blue

 

[Bee]

I will join that battle with a sense of regret as I feel our friendship has grown, but I will aim for in between your eyes to cause you less pain, out of my new found respect for you.

First laugh of the day --> thanks ub!

 

[W. Richardson]

William,

We're here, new old friend, and ready for the upcoming fight on any field of battle you decide to stand on.

I will join that battle with a sense of regret as I feel our friendship has grown, but I will aim for in between your eyes to cause you less pain, out of my new found respect for you.

Plus now I know what you look like.

Sincerely,
Your newer, closer, friend.
Sharpshooter Blue

Now that is the UB I admire

I have to tell you this. My wife, upon you and I first meeting at Gettysburg, told me "You hugged him like you were brothers"..............I looked at her, and said "We are"...................
In our upcoming discussions, I expect nothing less from you than your best shot, even if aimed between my eyes.........
I also have a new found and deeper respect for you my brother.

Respectfully,
William

 

[unionblue]

I have to tell you this. My wife, upon you and I first meeting at Gettysburg, told me "You hugged him like you were brothers"..............I looked at her, and said "We are"...................

Respectfully,
William

William,

Indeed, we are, my friend.

With utmost respect,
Your friend,
Unionblue