Gettysburg, 1981

James N.

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Since the years 2011 - 15 mark the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War, they also mark the Semicentennial of 50 years since the Civil War Centennial 1961 - 65, arguably the "birth" of modern reenacting. As I've said here before reenacting is now old enough for those of us who have been involved in it a long time like myself to consider its own history.

One of the early though by now probably forgotten milestones of reenacting was Gettysburg, 1981, another in the series of annual events there begun and hosted by the SUV or Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. It was ostensibly to this event that a group of over thirty Confederate reenactors made a memorable march the week previous from Martinsburg, W. Va., to Gettysburg which I have described previously in an accompanying thread:

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/roads-to-gettysburg-summer-1981.101846/#post-910104

By the standards of massive events like those of the 125th or the 135th Gettysburg seen here:

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/with-the-u-o-battalion-at-125th-gettysburg-july-1988.115235/

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/with-the-frontier-battalion-at-gettysburg-135th-july-1998.100263/

the 1981 affair was hopelessly small and poorly-organized and presented; yet it provided a base upon which to build those greater which lay in the not-too-distant future. First, here's an assessment written the following year by the then-managing editor of the Camp Chase Gazette, Howard J. Popowski:

... In all probability, Gettysburg '81 was a once in a lifetime happening. The number of participants involved, in all, about the equivalent of a CW division, the ability to persevere in the face of all manner of adverse conditions--the least of which was being caught in the tail of a hurricane as we found out later--and still put forth the required effort to go on with the program, is in itself astonishing. and that program caught everyone involved with its startling reality. No one who was involved can deny that the Saturday action was anything less than real.

Still, we all managed to maintain a grasp of Twentieth Century reality as well. not a single injury that I have heard of. And the potential for injury was frightening. We, essentially, took realism to the brink and we all managed to walk along the edge without anyone losing the present day...
 
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Despite Popowski's lack of prescience regarding the future size of reenacting he was essentially correct when he wrote the above in the rosy glow of a year's passing. At the time I was far less impressed with things as we found them following our exhausting seventy mile hike! After resting an hour or more in Gettysburg's town square we still had to march to the camps for the event which were south of town and the park in a "convenient" KOA Campground above; the hill in the background is Big Round Top which we were immediately south of.

As usual for this period in reenacting there seemed to be no overall commander in the Confederate camp pictured here - there was no order to it, and as we discovered, no discipline either. Exhausted as we were all we wanted was to rest in a wall tent provided for our use. All Friday night, every hour on the hour some fool would stagger in his drunken stupor to his Coehorn mortar, fire off a round, and exhale a huge Rebel Yell. As usual by comparison I found "The Federal Authentic Camp was a beautiful sight, however, and included units as diverse as the 5th New York Zouaves, 14th Brooklyn Chasseurs, Thomas' Mudsills, Berdan's Sharpshooters, cavalry, artillery, and at least three members of the U.S. Colored Troops!"

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The following day the aforementioned hurricane arrived dumping a good deal of rain on us and our waterlogged camp but that failed to deter the Confederate commanders from using us as guinea pigs in an attempt for them to learn battalion and brigade drill. We endured their bumbling inefficiency as best we could, but I must say with my sore, blistered, and bleeding feet, standing in several inches of water in soggy stockings and leaky brogans wasn't my idea of anything pleasant! Twice they fooled around and not only inverted the formation without realizing it, they left us that way so we had to sort ourselves out.

Of course all this foolishness was a rehearsal for the big battle which followed. Billed as a reenactment of Pickett's Charge, it bore little resemblance to the actual event. Still, despite the drizzling rain and incompetent commanders I was impressed enough on reflection to write for our unit newsletter a week later:

"Imagine five battalions of Confederate infantry, each four or five companies strong ( ours had six! ) - a total of at least 1,500 men - plus upwards of twenty semi-authentic pieces of artillery and their crews, and cavalry, all played into battle by the 4th Georgia Band; attacking a Union force of equal size, and you have some idea of the battle itself."

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The battle begins with an artillery duel, seen above and below. The land used for this event was adjacent to NPS property just south of Wright Avenue and east of the Taneytown Road in an area that likely served during the actual battle as a VI Corps wagon or reserve artillery park or maybe even a field hospital.

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Our battalion was committed early on and shot to pieces which allowed me to lie still and take these photos with the Kodak Brownie camera I'd left in the van during our march the week before but had brought purposely for this occasion.

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"The rain-sodden field and low-lying clouds held the battle smoke in great heaps and piles all about us"

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"From the time the infantry went in, there was a continuous rattle/roar of musketry for over half an hour."

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"Shadowy battle lines were momentarily lit by flashes of volley fire, from a hundred muskets at once, then again shrouded in smoke."

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"Missing only were the whistle of balls and the screams and groans of the wounded and dying. ( Thank God! )"

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"It was an unforgettable experience for those who were fortunate enough to either participate in or witness the battle."
 
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Organization and discipline of volunteers is aways a challenge, whether it's a group of Boy Scouts, church groups, etc. Having a background in logistics (which makes up most of what I do for a living), I usually "volunteer" to organize the volunteers - not so much as their leader, but to make checklists and make sure things are done well in advance (food, lodging, supplies, transportation, publicity, permission slips for minors, etc.). The one thing which sends a chill down my spine is hearing a church leader announce that they are going to do some event a couple of weeks after the announcement, without any advance planning.

But when you see the artillary batteries in action and the rows of infantry firing musketry at the other side, your heart skipps a beat and you decide it was all worthwhile.
 
Organization and discipline of volunteers is aways a challenge, whether it's a group of Boy Scouts, church groups, etc. Having a background in logistics (which makes up most of what I do for a living), I usually "volunteer" to organize the volunteers - not so much as their leader, but to make checklists and make sure things are done well in advance (food, lodging, supplies, transportation, publicity, permission slips for minors, etc.). The one thing which sends a chill down my spine is hearing a church leader announce that they are going to do some event a couple of weeks after the announcement, without any advance planning.

But when you see the artillary batteries in action and the rows of infantry firing musketry at the other side, your heart skipps a beat and you decide it was all worthwhile.

1981 Gettysburg, bad as it was, was the largest event I'd attended up to that time. Though dwarfed by later national events it served to good purpose as preparation for those soon to come. The "semi-authentic pieces of artillery" I referred to were soon replaced with authentic guns or full-scale reproductions, as were the five or six company battalions replaced by full-regimental-sized units at proper strength levels. This was a learning experience for everyone and valuable for that reason if no other.
 
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