With the Frontier Brigade at the 135th Shiloh ("Mudlo"), April 4 -5, 1997.

Are there still Shiloh reenactments at all? Last I heard of was the 150th and it was a political mess. Listening to Tom talk about Shiloh reenactments on the way to Shiloh, and hearing of the legendary Mudlo over the years I'd really like to go to one.
 
Who else remembers the comet? It must have been Thursday night, before the skies clouded over; I remember some wags around the campfire chanting "Hale-Bopp! Hale-Bopp!"

During the worst of the rain, I remember the Vietnam vets in the ranks having flashbacks.

After the cancellation, many in my unit decided to wait until Sunday to slog our way out. The firepit had filled with water, so a raft was constructed out of surplus firewood and a blaze kindled on top. We found an individual had concealed a couple of bottles of wine without sharing them with his comrades; taking due offense we consumed the contents, refilling them with drainage from the pit and returning them to their hiding place. As the wine took effect the skies cleared and again the chant rose: "Hale-Bopp! Hale-Bopp!"
 
Are there still Shiloh reenactments at all? Last I heard of was the 150th and it was a political mess. Listening to Tom talk about Shiloh reenactments on the way to Shiloh, and hearing of the legendary Mudlo over the years I'd really like to go to one.
As I seem to recall, they had devolved into maybe one every five years or so, but I don't know if there had been a 2017 event or not.
The 145th and 150th are the last ones I attended and am aware of. I don't recall anyone I encountered during our recent CWT Gathering there mentioning anything about one.
 
James N. from the very first photo with Grant on his horse, all I could think was what of the horses during the rain, and the saddlery? Were the horses made to return to their carriers during the downpour, etc.?
Lubliner.
 
Great post James N.
@Lubliner Our horses stayed on the picket line. The saddlery was covered with ponchos or tarps (rubberized).
Horses had hay and received grain at the usual times and maybe just as content as standing in a trailer.
Rain is common at reenactments, but at "Mudlo" it seemed to never stop. The ground became saturated." Armies create their own mud" the saying goes. Unbelievable !
I really felt sorry for those who came from Europe and England to an event which was cancelled. To my knowledge it was the first ongoing event to be stopped.
 
James N.,

I always look forward to to your throwback photos. I am amazed at the detail that you go into explaining the photos, and the other stuff going on (weather, names of individuals, etc...) did you keep a journal or notes while you were attending these events?

Respectfully,
Kyle Kalasnik
Ironically I have better luck remembering details of earlier events, largely because I made a large scrapbook of my "adventures" from about 1976 - 1982 or so. Next, photos went into one of those ring binder photo albums; sometimes I made notes on the backs of prints and sometimes not... Also, since at least when I worked on Glory back in the 1980's and 1990's I've kept little pocket annual calendar notebooks or penned notes on wall calendars that at least show the dates and locations of events I attended. Of course it's been necessary to scan everything from back then into my computer in order to transfer it onto a drive in order to post it. Most recently, since about 2005 or later, I've had a digital camera, and although there's no way to document anything in particular, thank God so far my memory's still good!
 
Would you agree James N. the world appeared to be a lot smaller back then, easier to remember, and due to the newness, nostalgically clearer?
Lubliner.
Not really - despite our tendencies to "simplify" the past - our own and all that came before - to the degree of romanticizing it, I think there was always enough going on that people living at any particular time responded similarly to whatever stimulus was available, whether it was where to find the nearest mastodon herd or myself, currently trying to figure out the digital camera I just bought.
 
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