SEEING THE ELEPHANT- PART 9 Well the time came for us to travel to Poison Springs. Pard and Pard and I drove the 95 miles to the area and arrived on Friday in the late afternoon. We help put up tents and set up our campsite with a row of tents for our entire unit along with a company camp …
SEEING THE ELEPHANT-PART 8 Chris had met a former reenactor who had moved from Tennessee to our area. Chris had cajoled him into coming to a drill and seeing what he thought about us and if he would be interested in being our commander. Well, we met again for a Saturday morning drill at the State Park we had originally …
SEEING THE ELEPHANT-PART 7 Well, Pard and I talked like long lost brothers all the way home. The 4 hour ride seemed like a 20 minute ride in the country. We told each other our life’s stories and I asked if he really could help our unit get better. He assured me he could help. So we decided to organize …
SEEING THE ELEPHANT-PART 6 After the battle we all retired to our camp and were visited by the Brigade Commander who in one swift lesson tried to teach us the basic maneuvers we were supposed to know. However, it just degenerated into a lecture that badmouthed us for coming out to a reenactment without knowing the first thing about unit …
SEEING THE ELEPHANT-PART 5 Our cavalry finally got into the fight and chased the Union cavalry away. We were ordered to straighten back into battle line and we advanced toward the Union Infantry. They retreated about 200 yards as we advanced. Theoretically, this allowed their cannon to fire at us without hitting their troops. We started to take casualties as …
SEEING THE ELEPHANT-PART 4 Once we halted behind our artillery, we were given the command “Front”. This put up in a brigade battle line. We were also commanded to load our muskets. Our artillery quit firing, which allowed us to move through their battery and advance on the Union Infantry that was threating the taking of our cannon. On the …
SEEING THE ELEPHANT-PART 3 The day was hot for the first weekend in December. It was one of those freak hot spells we sometimes get in Arkansas. I had been drinking from my canteen and it was about half full. I was sweating profusely, but was feeling like a kid in a candy store. We marched off to the battlefield …
SEEING THE ELEPHANT-PART 2 Saturday morning a few of the unit member’s wives cooked us breakfast of bacon, eggs, and bread along with steaming hot coffee. Food cooked over a fire in a camp setting seemed to bring out more favors in anything you eat. I was stuffed to the gills and loving it. After breakfast Pard and I looked …
SEEING THE ELEPHANT-Part 1 Seeing the Elephant is a weird expression. During the Civil War and in today’s Civil War Reenacting it means participating in your first battle. I remember the first Civil War Battle for me was the first weekend in December, 1994, at Prairie Grove Battlefield in Northwest Arkansas. The reenactment commemorated an 1862 battle that confirmed Missouri …