Saturday, February 27, 2010
Inaugural Battle of the Sipsey
Two-day event in Fayette, Ala., this weekend commemorates April 1865 battle. The Confederate cavalry held the contested fields in at the end of the fighting. It would also be the last Confederate victory in Alabama. • Details
Friday, February 26, 2010
Of rocket launchers and engineers
The scene reminded me of the time I wore cutoffs and a Hawaiian shirt to a debutante party.
She, too, seemed out of place, an attention-getter standing among old-style canvas tents, wooden crates and folding chairs.
Visitors to the recent Battle of Aiken (S.C.) re-enactment milled around a replica of the Hale Rocket Launcher, which I would have guess had been built a little before World War II.
Instead, the launcher, which resembles a mortar, had been developed around the time of the Mexican-American War by British engineer William Hale.
Two soldiers could tote the beast. It was even more mobile if hitched to a couple of mules. It saw some action during the Civil War, doing a great job of disturbing the peace.
“This would scare horses,” said Ray Sheen, a captain in the Co. B 3rd Regiment Confederate Engineers re-enacting group. “It made all kinds of noise and smoke. It would have quite an effect.”
Sheen, of Greenville, S.C., and other 3rd Regiment members provided fascinating living history displays of the engineers’ contribution to the war effort.
When they think about the Civil War, most people conjure images of gray- and blue-clad warriors locked in battle.
But it was the engineer who improved roads, built bridges and made maps that got troops to the battlefield. He set up telegraph lines, designed and built fortifications and used signal flags. And he might even use a barometer to figure the grade of a road and whether the elevation rise was too much for an Army wagon.
In a word, the engineer was indispensable.
Evan Castle of Between, Ga., showed a collection of sextants, compasses and surveying equipment used by mapmakers.
The group pays homage to Jedediah Hotchkiss, a cartographer who made maps used during the Civil War. His detailed maps of the Shenandoah Valley are credited by many as a principal factor in Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson's victories in the Valley Campaign of 1862.
Castle, a surveyor in his own right, talked about the “amazing accuracy” of many of the old maps.
A couple tents down, Dave Young (left) and Walt Sommer of Acworth, Ga., demonstrated the use of old woodworking and carpentry tools.
The jack planes, drills and saws still do precise work.
“I’ve always like the old hand tools,” said Sommer, who was making dovetail joints using spruce boards.
Company B, also known as Pharr's Company, was commanded by Capt. H. N. Pharr, and was organized on Aug. 1, 1863. The re-enactment displays many of Pharr’s personal items and tools.
• Read more about the re-enactment group
She, too, seemed out of place, an attention-getter standing among old-style canvas tents, wooden crates and folding chairs.
Visitors to the recent Battle of Aiken (S.C.) re-enactment milled around a replica of the Hale Rocket Launcher, which I would have guess had been built a little before World War II.Instead, the launcher, which resembles a mortar, had been developed around the time of the Mexican-American War by British engineer William Hale.
Two soldiers could tote the beast. It was even more mobile if hitched to a couple of mules. It saw some action during the Civil War, doing a great job of disturbing the peace.
“This would scare horses,” said Ray Sheen, a captain in the Co. B 3rd Regiment Confederate Engineers re-enacting group. “It made all kinds of noise and smoke. It would have quite an effect.”
Sheen, of Greenville, S.C., and other 3rd Regiment members provided fascinating living history displays of the engineers’ contribution to the war effort.
When they think about the Civil War, most people conjure images of gray- and blue-clad warriors locked in battle.
But it was the engineer who improved roads, built bridges and made maps that got troops to the battlefield. He set up telegraph lines, designed and built fortifications and used signal flags. And he might even use a barometer to figure the grade of a road and whether the elevation rise was too much for an Army wagon.In a word, the engineer was indispensable.
Evan Castle of Between, Ga., showed a collection of sextants, compasses and surveying equipment used by mapmakers.
The group pays homage to Jedediah Hotchkiss, a cartographer who made maps used during the Civil War. His detailed maps of the Shenandoah Valley are credited by many as a principal factor in Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson's victories in the Valley Campaign of 1862.
Castle, a surveyor in his own right, talked about the “amazing accuracy” of many of the old maps.
A couple tents down, Dave Young (left) and Walt Sommer of Acworth, Ga., demonstrated the use of old woodworking and carpentry tools.The jack planes, drills and saws still do precise work.
“I’ve always like the old hand tools,” said Sommer, who was making dovetail joints using spruce boards.
Company B, also known as Pharr's Company, was commanded by Capt. H. N. Pharr, and was organized on Aug. 1, 1863. The re-enactment displays many of Pharr’s personal items and tools.
• Read more about the re-enactment group
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Louisiana Tigers and Gettysburg
Southern Bookman blogger Louis Mayeux conducts a Q&A with author Scott L. Mingus Sr., whose book concentrates on the Louisiana unit's activities on July 2, 1863. • Article
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Video: Watch the flying kettle corn!
Sutler Billy Shealy of South Carolina offered Ole Tyme Kettle Corn at the Battle of Aiken on Feb. 20, 2010. A couple assistants cook up a big pot, complete with a heaping of sugar.
Paintball players re-enact Antietam
A group of history buffs and paintball enthusiasts took over a paintball park in Oroville, Calif., to reenact the famous Civil War battle of Antietam. The modernized event was complete with story lines, props, costumes and missions. • Article
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