Civil War camp struck at Tawawa Park...

In September of 2016, a little over 150 years after the end of the American Civil War, a group of reenactors, sponsored by the Shelby County Historical Society and the City of Sidney, set up camp in the Tawawa Park area.  This was to be a weekend of reenactments, period music, education, and time for our local residents to actually come in contact with "Billy Yanks" and "Johnny Rebs".  The weather wasn't very cooperative, but I guess that depends on your point of view.  I thought it added the final, best touch of reality.  I know for a fact that it rained more than once on me when I was in the service, so this just added a whole lot of reality to everything -- at least from my perspective.  Can't speak for everyone else.

In the bivouac area, there were lots of tents spread throughout the woods, broken down into the Yankee and Rebel camps, separated by a respectable distance and suitable terrain and guards.  The coolest part of the separation was the two sides each occupied a side of the old red covered bridge.  They had bales of hay and barricades set up and yelled things back and forth at each other.  Of course the "observers" were allowed to cross over into the various camps, but only after being warned about the "low life so-and-so" troops on the other side.

One of the first tents I came to in the Union camp was that of General Burnside.  This gentleman had him down pretty well, even to the famous sideburns.  It seems we interrupted the General as he was inspecting his rifle  prior to going into battle later that afternoon. 

The tents looked like every other tent I have seen at battlefields and in books.  Nothing fancy, and probably not very dry or warm.

After walking around, talking to some of the soldiers there, we went over to the Rebel side of the creek and had a look around.  Things looked pretty much the same.

There was a small boy over in the Confederate camp.  He traveled with his parents on some of the trips during the summer or to some of the bigger events.  This was September, so it must have qualified as one of the bigger events.  He looked pretty wet and tired.

One point I was really glad the group emphasized was the medical aspect of being a field hospital on a Civil War battlefield.  There was a "surgeon" who set up a tent with a lot of visual aids and lots of antique period medical pieces.  He spent lots of time talking to people about the horrors of his part of the war. He really emphasized that a lot of his "medical training" was hands-on and field expediency.  You don't see it in this picture, but he had a big pile of "arms and legs" piled up to the side of the tent.

Later that day, after walking around for the whole afternoon, talking to people, learning a lot more about their craft, we were treated to a concert by a Yankee band (made up mostly of college students and National Guard and Reservist band members from current day units around the states).  They did this all over the place and were very good.  It was still raining off and on, so the band played under a tent.  It was an evening performance, and it really just felt good to take it all in and listen to the dialogue as well as the music.  The director wanted to use kerosene lights in the tent to continue the mood, but the musicians were unable to see the sheets so they settled on one spotlight aimed up at the tent.

And just before the night battle, we walked around the night campsite.  People were settling into their nightly routines.  Cooking, building campfires, and singing some songs and playing old music instruments.

I know a lot of you probably aren't in to this very much, but it was an absolutely fantastic weekend for me.

"Here, in the dread tribunal of last resort, valor contended against valor. Here brave men struggled and died for the right as God gave them to see the right." (Adlai E. Stevenson I)
Hooah

The Battle of Tawawa Woods...

This past September, the Shelby County Historical Society and the City of Sidney sponsored a weekend of Civil War reenactments, period music, and educational events at the Tawawa Park.  I have spent a great deal of time studying the Civil War from a military prospective.  My wife and I have walked battle fields (Gettysburg twice), stayed at period bed and breakfast establishments, and I have read more books about the subject than I can count.  When I was in the Army, one of my battalion commanders who had a similar interest in that war from a military perspective, took his whole battalion staff on a battle field terrain walk.  We studied the tactics and how terrain, populations and logistics had different impacts on various battles (Richmond, Bloody Angle, Gettysburg, etc.).  That was quite a treat for all of us young officers.  As a much younger E-5 Sergeant, I took part in a Civil War Color Guard which traveled around to events a number of times.  Later in my military life, I even had an opportunity to walk the grounds of the Andersonville Prison Camp. 

So, when this event was advertised, I could not wait.  Knowing the director of the Historical Society, I knew she would make this a first rate event.  As the date got closer, the weather forecast got worse -- go figure.  All those people who thought that that particular war might have been fought in the sunshine were given a wake-up call.  It rained pretty much most of the weekend, off and on. I thought it was great.

So on Saturday afternoon, the "Yanks" and "Rebs" conducted a battle which the director called "The Battle of Tawawa Woods."

As the combatants took the field, the Union forces, under the command of General Burnside, attacked from the right, across the woods in a frontal assault against an assembled Rebel force.

However, the tide of battle soon turned and the Yankees withdrew and the Rebels advanced.

 The Yankees soon regrouped and pushed the Rebels back to their original starting position. 

The Rebels tried a flanking maneuver to the right side of the field, across the creek, but their momentum stalled out and they remained there until nightfall.  The Rebels posted pickets by the treeline running along the creek just in case the Yanks decided to push the engagement.

Under cover of darkness, the Rebel forces tried an assault back over the creek, but by that time, Burnside had moved cannons into an overwatch position on the top of  the levy.  The Rebel forces proved to be no match for the cannon fire and riflemen the Yanks had positioned along the treeline, guarding against any advance over the creek.

I heard a lot of the visitors to the event commenting on how this looked pretty authentic (at least they thought so).  And, sadly, this was how a lot of these small battles went.  Everyone got a big kick out of the night battle.  The blast and fire of the cannons really highlighted the battle.  The reenactors really tried to make this as authentic as possible.  But I'm not sure some of the young people there were not trying somehow to tie this into some sort of video game they might have played in the past.

Kudos to the Historical Society and all the reenactors for their hard work. 

"It is well that war is so terrible, or we would grow too fond of it."
 (R.E. Lee)

Hooah

One of the highlights for Pam on this trip;...

The roaming horses of the Outer Banks are legendary, dating back to the earliest civilization of this country.  They are protected and can roam just about anywhere they want in the confines of the island.  Human's are not allowed to touch them, certainly not feed them , or bother them in any way.  The laws are pretty strict and ignorance of them won't get you anywhere.

So what's the big deal about them?  Well you can read about them and the history at this web site.  It is pretty good reading and when viewed in conjunction with the ocean, the location, the beaches and the proximity of man to all of this, it makes you appreciate these creatures even more. Click on this link and see what I mean. OBX Wild Horses

The horses pictured below are grazing in the front yard and the lane of one of the houses on the island.

 OK.  So what is really so important about some wild horses?  Well, there are not many things that would pull my wife away from the ocean and the beach for a whole day.  But viewing horses in the wild would do it every time.  She loves them and likes to take walks down one of our country roads to a horse farm where she is able to feed them apples and and talk to them.  I told her once that I would get her a horse if she wanted, but she said she didn't want to own one necessarily, just liked to be around them.

The best way to see the horses if you do not have a Jeep 4x4 is to take the guided tour.  Not only do you get a lot of the history of the horses, you also get the low down on a lot of the rest of the island.  Well worth the money, which, by the way, helps in the preservation of the horses' habitat and protection.  Those folks do a nice job.

Here is a picture of one of the tour trucks.  Have you ever been at a swimming pool and gone out on a diving board that was only meant to support a 100-pound child and you happen to weigh 210 pounds.  That sinking, whippy sensation is what we got while riding over the sand and back in the trails.  I think I mentioned somewhere before that it was a lot like riding in a 2 1/2-ton Army truck back in the day.  Nobody ever gets thrown out of the back, but some come close.  Looks like a lot of weight on that back set of springs.

Overall, this was a great side trip and well worth the time.

The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire.  (Sharon Ralls Lemon)

Hooah

I could hit those...

About two months before Christmas I decided to take up a new hobby -- trap shooting. 

One evening after finishing up our weekly round in our golf league, a number of us happened to be sitting in the 19th hole at the golf course, doing what we probably do better than playing golf -- having a beer and telling old stories.  The conversation centered on how so-and-so missed two birdies that night, and somehow turned to one of the guys mentioning that he was much better at shooting quail.  And then it moved on to me saying how I had always wanted to do trap shooting and I thought I just would take that up pretty soon.  Well, then a couple of guys said that if I did, they would too.  And that is how we got started.  Sounds like a productive outcome from a 19th hole discussion group.

Probably the most remarkable thing of all of this is that we actually followed through on it.  Greg, Larry and I all joined a local rod and gun club and actually went out and shot clay birds.  Well...some of us shot AT clay birds, but it was really fun, relaxing, and will probably serve as a whole new source of stories for the sit-arounds we usually have.

So this new hobby gave Pam an idea of what she could get me for Christmas.  I told her how I had actually (luckily or skillfully) shot up pretty much the whole box of birds (that's how you refer to our targets once you are part of the "club") and would have to get more before we went out the next time.  She went to the local Wal-Mart and inquired.  The clerk said they were all sold out, but should have some in before Christmas.  Seems some more people had the same idea because they were sold out again when she went back just before the big day. 

My wife is not one to take small set-backs very easily, so she just came up with a unique solution.  Check these "birds" out.

A little copying from the old bird spotters book, and there you go -- "birds."  Have at it, big boy!

I was able to redeem the paper versions for a new box and am now just waiting for the weather to break.  Just like golf, shooting is not that much fun in snow and low-twenties (Man trip excluded, of course).  Oh, and another way trap shooting is like golfing -- the object is to keep your head down and hit the what you're aiming at.

So the guys at the "club" told me there are two ways to break the targets -- either shoot them or watch them break when they fly on by and hit the ground.  Didn't ask which was better.

Some say it is better to "live, laugh, and love."  I'm kinda likin' "pull, aim and shoot."
Hooah

Wreaths Across America project...

What a day...December 17 was the day that the ceremonies for the Wreaths Across America project were to take place.  At 12:00, all across America, volunteers would place live wreaths on the graves of Veterans in recognition of their lives, their sacrifices and the gift of freedom that they gave to us.

Centered around the three-part theme of "Honor, Remember, Teach," the volunteers would spend the better part of a day (depending on how many wreaths were to be place at any one cemetery) focusing the attention of a community on our Veterans.  What a great project.

The Shelby County Vets to DC group, a group that has already coordinated and executed 10 trips to DC for Veterans and a caregiver/travel companion/relative/spouse/etc. of their choice, decided this would be a worthy project to take on. Having completed that mission, the group turned its attention to a different venue with which continued honor and remembrance of our Veterans could be done. We knew it would involve some work, but having taken 1,045 persons on these 3-day trips to see their memorials, we figured we were up for it.

Below are a couple of pictures of the area at the Graceland Cemetery in Sidney where we concentrated our efforts.

Even though this project has been going on for several years across the country, this was the first time for this project in Shelby County, and the first for our group.  There are over 70,000 volunteers who dedicate their day at the National Cemetery at Arlington, Virginia.  Every single grave marker there has a wreath placed on it by the volunteers. 

Below is a picture of Arlington and one of the trucks delivering the wreaths.  Note the volunteers lined up to welcome the trucks.  This is only a small sample of them.  The rest are already at their stations throughout the cemetery.

As I said, this was our first time doing anything like this.  We had no idea what it would be like, what the weather would be, how many people might want to volunteer besides the ones on our committee, what the procedures were for the ceremony, and so on, and so forth.  Lots of unknowns.  But, as we used to say in the MP Corps, "Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst."

The weather forecasts leading up to the December 17th date were not good.  It called for possibility of snow (10% chance) and freezing rain (90% chance).  We had made arrangements for uniformed personnel from the Piqua and Lima, Ohio Recruiting Commands to assist with the ceremonial wreath paying portion , and we had secured the Honor Guard and Color Guard from the American Legion Post 214 to also assist with the day.  Well, the Recruiters would have had to come from Lima and Piqua, a 30-35 mile drive for both, and the Legion personnel had an average age in the neighborhood of 85 years old.  Some neighborhood! 

Not looking too good for a ceremony.  I walked out of my house at approx. 8:30 just to have a "look-see" and fell right on my backside on the first step off the porch.  Really not looking too good for a ceremony! 

So, not wanting to have anyone get hurt, I called the local radio stations, the Legion, the Recruiters, and the committee members and told them that the ceremony part of the day would be cancelled.   However, I did tell the committee that my wife and I would be at the site at 11:00 to unbox the wreaths and anyone who wanted to try to make it could help us.

It was really rewarding to show up at the cemetery and  see people there already.  Members of the Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts were there with their Scout Masters, the Mayor was there and ready to help, some of the uniformed service members showed up anyhow (which really didn't surprise me), and a number of the committee members braved the ice and came down to complete the mission.  What a great bunch of people.

So, we "got 'er done."  Now, we'll meet to have an after action review to document the highs and lows, and the "should-have dones" and the "be sure to remember for next times."  According to the Director of our County Veterans Services Office, there are close to 2,500 Veterans buried in just the Graceland Cemetery alone.  That will be a much larger undertaking for subsequent years.  But we'll start earlier, refine our plans, really push for volunteers...and hope for better weather next year.

There are not words big enough,
There is not a hug strong enough;
There is not a smile wide enough...
All we can offer is our thanks to you.  You are our heroes.
Hooah