Arriving with the gun in tow, John met
Mark at our designated camp site around 10 AM on Friday. The weather was a
comfortable mid 80s and sun was predicted for the entire weekend - unusual for
the Jackson Muster...
Cam arrived shortly after and the men
started setting up canvas. Brian arrived and helped finish the set up of
the flies and tentage. Later in the day Fred, Silas and Wyatt came in with
their tents.
For this event, Robinson's Battery was asked to be Confederate, so the men dug out
their gray uniforms.
The Confederate Chief of Artillery, Capt.
John Clark and First Sgt. Dave, from Battery D were camped next to us, so
we asked them to join in our mess for the weekend.
Buffalo and beef stew was cooked up on the
camp stove for supper along with biscuits, pickles and fresh tomatoes.
Jon and Dave arrived after dark and with
their tents added, we had 9 tents up.
Cody was detached to serve in the Georgia
Infantry so he camped with them.
However
he did take meals with us.
A very pleasant night was spent, the
temperature dropped into the low 60s and very few mosquitoes were hunting us.
Saturday morning, breakfast was prepared...
...Altho we had to keep a close eye on Pvt.
Pangburn.
The boys ate heartily because we were
going to be improving our gun position in the earthworks later. Privates Nager and
Walstedt fell into the ranks.
Implements were issued and the men
marched out to the line. Private Goodwin played his fife,
keeping the men's spirits high as they marched to the morning's work.
Once
the earthworks were reached, the men eagerly attacked their duty...
...and the dirt
flew under the direction of Cpl. Davis.
Pvt. Goodwin fitted in some logs to
provide additional support.
Capt. Hughes, when satisfied with the works...
...allowed the men a break to admire their handiwork...
...then took them back to camp for a lunch
of sandwiches.
After eating and a short rest, the men
marched back for a period of drill.
"For the purpose of
drill, LOAD!"
"Number 1 gun,
READY!"
After the men worked hard, they went back to camp to rest and a few walked down to Sutler's
Row to spend their pay.
At 1:30 PM, the call
to duty was sounded...
...and the army took to the works.
The NCOs held a
brief council.
Cpl. Chapman directed the men's attention toward the enemy's cannon in the tree
line.
The Captain ordered
"LOAD" and the men sprang into action.
After a period of counter-battery fire...
...the Union Infantry appeared and we started firing canister.
With all
rounds expended, the cannoneers retired to the bombproofs and the Confederate Infantry
took the redoubt.
A determined assault
by the Federals...
...drove the Rebel infantry from the works.
The Rebel Infantry
made a valiant counter attack...
...and then stood their
ground in the fight with the Yankees.
Re-enforcement
arrived to bolster the Confederate troops...
...and they counter charged, retaking the
earthworks, and swept around in a flanking movement...
...which cut off the Union force
from their line of retreat and allowed the capture of several hundred soldiers.
After returning to
camp, Private Goodwin was so ravenous, he started to cut off the soles of his
brogans to boil up...
...but, as usual, fortune shown
upon our battery mess, as our foragers brought back some pork loin and a fat
chicken, which was promptly spitted and put in the tin kitchen to
roast.
Some potatoes, onion,
carrots and parsnips were thrown in to cook in the meat drippings. A patch of
green corn was relieved of its ears and roasted over the fire. With the
meat done...
...the table was set
and the famished soldiers and a few of the local civilians enjoyed a delicious
meal.
A dessert table of three fruit pies, freshly baked in the dutch oven,
and hand cranked ice cream topped everything off.
After the repast, the evening chores were done - cleaning the cookware, gathering
wood for the morning and a water run.
With duties done for
the day, Private Goodwin brought out his fiddle and First Sergeant Dave accompanied
by playing the bones. Several members and
good friends arrive to visit; it was good to see Chris Czopek, the Rusk family, the Lintons and many others who stopped in to our camp.
Most of the men
spent the evening around the table talking and enjoying the cooler temperatures
until the bugler sounded the evening retreat - then off to a pleasant night of
sleep.
Sunday morning, we
were awakened by the sound of bagpipes instead of the usual
bugle melody; for
some, it was a great way to awaken, for others who may have spent their evening
at the Emerald Peacock Saloon, it might not have been so enjoyable.
Breakfast of fried
potatoes, sausage and biscuits with gravy revived the boys.
Privates Caleb Chapman and "Kate" Myers arrived to replace some cannoneers lost during the previous
day's fighting. The morning duty was light, so several of the men ventured back
to sutlers and found some necessary items, although with the temperatures reaching
the mid 90s, the most popular establishment was Uncle John's Rootbeer Emporium.
The afternoon battle
started a little after 2 PM...
...with counter-battery fire.
The men were allowed to
shed their jackets...
...due to the heat.
Suddenly some
federal Zouaves flanked the works...
...and they were
supported by a strong force of infantry.
We were ordered to
abandon the guns...
...while the
Confederate Infantry rushed...
...to stem the blue tide that was pouring into the
breech.
The gray clad men
tried to halt the advance...
...but were driven from
the works.
Private
Goodwin, having been swept up in the tide of the battle, found himself a prisoner of war. Upon learning he was really a Union man and a fifer, he was allowed to join the field musicians as the relentless Union Army marched
towards Atlanta.
Photo courtesy of Lauren
Woods, Jackson Citizen Patriot
Turkeyville, Michigan - August 2010
When John arrived with the trailer in tow at the Turkeyville
event o'clock Friday morning, he found Mark and Cam waiting to
help set up camp. The site was chosen and contents of the trailer unloaded. The
day was sunny and a slight breeze kept the heat from being too uncomfortable. Brian arrived a little later and so most of the camp was
established by noon. John had to return to headquarters and was assigned another
job that kept him away from camp until Saturday morning. Upon his return, Capt. Hughes found that in spite of the
rain overnight the men were starting breakfast.
We invited Sgt.
Dennis Jorgensen of Nelson's Artillery Co. from southern Indiana to join us for the meal.
A troop of Boy Scouts was there to help with the event; a number of them came over to look at the cannon. Several members discussed the cannon and artillery use during the Civil
War.
Some other reenactors stopped by and enjoyed the
display of shot and shell.
As brief showers kept the day damp, more of our members
arrived. Sharon "Steve" Davis, Fred and the boys came in along
with a friend, Katie "Kate," whom we talked into putting on a uniform and helping
serve the gun. Fred had to return to headquarters for detached
duty.
The soldiers formed up and marched to the gun for drill.
"Steve" and "Kate" were at the limber chest...
...while Caleb, Mark, Brian and Silas were on the gun.
After several runs through drill,
the Battle for Turkeyville
began.
Our gun fired 5 rounds...
...then the cannoneers went over to
Sgt. Jorgensen's 2/3 scale Parrott gun...
...and served on that for the
remainder of the battle.
The Infantry, under the command of Capt. Tom Emmerick, fought
doggedly against the rebels.
The Confederate artillery, which consisted of 3 howitzers, got
our range and a lucky shot took out the gun detachment.
The Rebels, having silenced the Union cannon, then drove the
Federal infantry from the field; those artillerymen, not dead or
wounded, joined in the rout and escaped capture.
With a restaurant across the driveway, we opted to forgo
cooking lunch & supper in camp, and availed ourselves the convenience of others
doing all the work -- the air conditioning was a real pleasure after being
outside in the 90 degree heat and humidity.
A night battle was planned for 10 PM.
Our
cannoneers, reduced by the earlier battle could only muster Capt.
Hughes, Sgt.
Jorgensen, Cpl. Davis and Privates Schwanke and Pangburn. The men fell
in and fired the gun in total darkness.
The smoke mixed with the fog
creating a
mixture so thick we could not see the muzzle flashes of the infantry
muskets, but only heard the reports of the firing.
We fired several rounds from our gun...
...then served on
the Parrott for several more shots.
Breaking off the fighting for the night, the men slowly found
their way back to camp and turned in. Sunday revealed scattered clouds in the morning as
the men prepared breakfast.
Sgt. Liebrandt arrived to reinforce our roster.
We were pleased to meet Phillip Nager
who is the gunner for the 1812 ship "Friends Good Will" based
out of South Haven, MI. After talking with Phillip, we invited him to serve with
us in the day's battle.
Using our loaner uniform box, we were able to get
Phillip uniformed and on the gun for drill.
The guns were repositioned to on top of the knoll and the men
prepared for the fight.
We "opened the ball" with a mighty roar.
A prolonged artillery duel took place between our gun...
...and a
Rebel howitzer.
The Union Infantry fought a disciplined delaying battle,
firing and marching to a new position then facing the enemy and firing
again.
We fired our last round...
...and then moved over to Sgt. Jorgensen's Parrott.
A section of Confederate howitzers appeared on
our right flank...
We took fire from the rebels...
...and returned it with vigor.
Our stubborn defense had kept the enemy in place...
...until General
Grant could arrive with the rest of the Army.
These last three photos courtesy of Sarah Slaninka Unit Coordinator 17th South Carolina
Infantry
Witnessing the surrender of General Robert E. Lee to General U.S.
Grant
With the battle over and peace restored, we packed the gun and headed home.
Grayling Long Range Live Artillery Match - July 2010
Friday, John, Cameron, Caleb and Silas hooked
up the trailer, strapped in and whipped the horses northward toward Grayling,
MI. They stopped in Clare for a visit to an Army surplus store and gun store
to see what they had and arrived at Range 35 around 5:30 in the afternoon.
On site, they dropped the gun & limber chest off at the
firing line and headed off to set up camp. Because this wasn't a reenactment, participants were allowed to camp using modern tents, campers or RVs so our camp looked a lot different than usual.
Cameron and John set up their bunks inside the cannon
trailer.
Caleb started supper - beans with smoked sausage, brats and sauteed zucchini.
As it got dark, Fred and Brian arrived and after a period of
talking and visiting the 1st South Carolina's camp, we all turned in for a
restful night sleep - no mosquitoes and the temperature dropped to the mid 50 degree
mark.
Saturday morning the artillerymen got up a had a very hearty
breakfast (surprise!). Kirk arrived and at 8:45 AM, the men headed to the range to
watch the mortar matches.Once there we found Mark and Chuck waiting for us and our
detachment was complete. Because there was fog and no wind, the mortars were
rescheduled to later in the day, and the field guns were brought to the
line.
Robinson's Battery was on the second relay, so we had a
chance to talk with other artillerymen...
watch the match...
or serve on one of the guns that needed an extra
cannoneer.
The fog lifted...
but in exchange...
a light rain began that
lasted the entire relay.
Once the first relay of field guns was complete, the siege
mortars fired at 1000 yards.
Finally it was our turn. The cannoneers rolled the gun into battery and began the 15 round match.
As part of the challenge, each
gun had to pull off their bull's eye target...
...and fire at least one round at a blockhouse target set at a different range at some point in the course of fire.
The first and last round had to be on the bull's eye.
The 6 pounder target was at 500 yards this year...
...as the 600 yards
proved to be almost beyond the gun's effective range.
The cannoneers had a chance to rotate positions through the
course of fire...
...allowing some of the men to gain some experience with live fire.
After the match was over, we had a
chance to go down range (see the small white squares in the distance?)...
...and see how we did - two hits at 500 yards.
The winning
smooth bore had 4 hits. Of the rifled guns, which shot at a target 1200 yards
away, the 3rd US Regular artillery won with 9 holes in the
target.
The trees near the targets...
sustained some damage from the
shot.
A expedition into the woods to recover cannon balls was
mounted and several of our shot were recovered along with some of the other groups'
shot. Fred and the boys, Mark, Chuck and Brian then headed home
while Cameron and John stayed overnight to watch the Sunday
match. The Grayling Open Mortar Match...
The Bacon Creek match...
...for rifled cannon
...which included a replica of the Hughes gun.
After returning to camp, John and Cam loaded the gun and headed
back home.
Charleton Park - July 2010
John arrived at Charlton Park Friday morning around 9 AM;
Brian was already on site and guided John to our campsite located behind the bank and general store. Mark, Cameron and Kirk soon arrived and the camp
was set up.
The cannon was placed in position facing the
river.
Having been summoned back to headquarters, John left camp
around noon and the men busied themselves in finishing up the camp and helping
the rest of the men set up as they arrived. Dave, Buddy and Cody filled out the
detachment.
Upon returning to camp on Saturday, Captain Hughes found the
men preparing a scrumptious breakfast of fried potatoes, German toast and
bacon.
It was nice to be camped on the outskirts of a town where
fresh food could be obtained. No hard crackers and salt horse on this campaign!
Even though Captain Hughes suspected that he would soon be dealing with irate
farmers and townsfolk whose smoke houses and root cellars had been "foraged
liberally," the meal was quite tasty.
After the meal, the men were put on work detail,
polishing the gun and limber chest top until they gleamed.
After polishing to the Captain's
satisfaction...
...the men were drilled on the gun.
After completing the drill...
...the men were allowed to visit town, eat
lunch and see what the sutlers offered.
At 1 PM, Major Newkirk ordered an artillery
demonstration.
After the demonstration was over, Captain Hughes discussed the
different types of artillery shells used in the war and the effects of solid
shot on trees.
At 2 PM, the battle began and the cannoneers were allowed to
shed their coats during the hot work.
Our duty for this battle was to provide the sound and smoke
of artillery; the infantry battle took place in the town green on the other side
of the general store.
It was a little disappointing to not be in the main
action, but due to the size of the battlefield and close proximity of the houses
with antique glass windows...
...the artillery was regulated to a secondary role.
It
was however a great way to train some of our newer artillerymen.
After the battle was over, a leisurely evening was enjoyed by
the men. Dave entertained us as we prepared supper by playing tunes on his
fiddle and fife.
Corporal Davis had baked some pies earlier in the day, and as
they cooled and supper boiled, we cranked up a batch of ice cream - everyone took
a turn.
While awaiting the call to supper, Captain Hughes, being a
practical man, visited the local undertaker and tried on a coffin for size.
After the evening meal, as the light changed from dusk to
dark...
...a night fire was performed.
At the conclusion, a lantern tour of the village was held and
several of the men took the tour. One of the vignettes was of a field hospital;
it was very sobering to see the wounded and dead soldiers, the chaos of the
overworked surgeon and grief that occurred at such
places.
Finally the men settled down and tried to get some sleep. It
was difficult due to the high humidity,warm temperatures and the mosquitoes that
threatened to carry us off. But finally Sunday morning dawned showing gray
skies with the threat of rain.
A couple of our men had been lost during the battle, so we
were glad to gain a recruit.
Mark Katzur arrived and the men drilled on the gun.
Again, at 1 PM, an artillery demonstration was held.
At 2 PM, the battle was renewed.
Mark was allowed to fire the last shot.
With the battle over, the trailer was brought to camp, the
tents packed and gun loaded. As the doors on the trailer closed, the rain
began.
Coldwater Civil War Days
Cam and John arrived at 9 am on Friday at the Branch County Fairgrounds, found a suitable campsite and set-up.
Buddy arrived later in the day; and he and Cam spent
the night guarding the camp. Saturday morning John, Sharon, Kirk and Cindy arrived to
serve the gun. The weather turned out to be very warm, but dry and the
cannoneers enjoyed the shade during most of the day. As the battle loomed, Sharon and Cindy donned uniforms to
fill out the detachment.
We were Confederate for Saturday's
fighting.
Although there was not a lot of infantry on either side, there
were four cannon...
...and so a lengthy artillery duel took place.
After the battle, Cam cooked a tasty boiled ham,
boiled potatoes and sweet corn, complemented by a loaf of oatmeal bread
that Cindy made. The evening was spent in conversation, as everyone caught
up with each others overwintering. New recruit Cody Hill and his family
arrived, and Cody decided to spend the night so that he could serve with us on
Sunday.
Sunday dawned promising a just as hot day as Saturday
had been. Cody's friend, Mark, arrived and volunteered to serve on the gun,
too.
After breakfast, the cannoneers went out to
drill on the gun; Cody and Mark were able to start learning the art of the
artilleryman.
A barbeque pork lunch was furnished for the reenactors who
then went out to fight the battle this time as Union artillerymen.
A large shade tree just happened to be where we placed the
cannon...
...so we were able to enjoy the cooler air through out the
battle.
Mark "volunteered" to help clean the cannon afterward. Once the event was over, members broke camp and the
gun rolled off the field by 5 pm.
Mansfield, Ohio Civil War Show and Sale - May 2010
Fred, Silas and John headed down to Mansfield, Ohio for the
Civil War/Artillery show on Friday, arriving there mid afternoon and setting up
their sale tables. Saturday was busy with a good crowd of spectators attending in
spite of the morning rain. The artillery show and firing went on despite the weather and a good crowd watched the cannons being fired.
The show
was great with many interesting and unusual Civil War items being shown or offered for
sale. Sunday's number of spectators was down considerably, but a
number of people came through the artillery barn.
Kalamazoo Living History Show - March 2010
Cam, Sharon and John set up the Battery's tables at the show
on Friday evening and were back early Saturday morning to do some "pre-crowd"
shopping before the doors opened at 9AM.
Once the spectators were allowed in however, the battery
members were at their posts ready to talk to the interested visitors. Joining
them later in the day, Kirk and Cindy Walstedt, Dave Goodwin...
....and Jon Liebrandt
(wearing his 1812 American Volunteers uniform).
Arriving with the gun in tow, John met
Mark at our designated camp site around 10 AM on Friday. The weather was a
comfortable mid 80s and sun was predicted for the entire weekend - unusual for
the Jackson Muster...
Cam arrived shortly after and the men
started setting up canvas. Brian arrived and helped finish the set up of
the flies and tentage. Later in the day Fred, Silas and Wyatt came in with
their tents.
For this event, Robinson's Battery was asked to be Confederate, so the men dug out
their gray uniforms.
The Confederate Chief of Artillery, Capt.
John Clark and First Sgt. Dave, from Battery D were camped next to us, so
we asked them to join in our mess for the weekend.
Buffalo and beef stew was cooked up on the
camp stove for supper along with biscuits, pickles and fresh tomatoes.
Jon and Dave arrived after dark and with
their tents added, we had 9 tents up.
Cody was detached to serve in the Georgia
Infantry so he camped with them.
However
he did take meals with us.
A very pleasant night was spent, the
temperature dropped into the low 60s and very few mosquitoes were hunting us.
Saturday morning, breakfast was prepared...
...Altho we had to keep a close eye on Pvt.
Pangburn.
The boys ate heartily because we were
going to be improving our gun position in the earthworks later. Privates Nager and
Walstedt fell into the ranks.
Implements were issued and the men
marched out to the line. Private Goodwin played his fife,
keeping the men's spirits high as they marched to the morning's work. 
Once
the earthworks were reached, the men eagerly attacked their duty... 
...and the dirt
flew under the direction of Cpl. Davis.
Pvt. Goodwin fitted in some logs to
provide additional support.
Capt. Hughes, when satisfied with the works...
...allowed the men a break to admire their handiwork...
...then took them back to camp for a lunch
of sandwiches.
After eating and a short rest, the men
marched back for a period of drill.
"For the purpose of
drill, LOAD!"
"Number 1 gun,
READY!"
After the men worked hard, they went back to camp to rest and a few walked down to Sutler's
Row to spend their pay.
At 1:30 PM, the call
to duty was sounded... 
...and the army took to the works.
The NCOs held a
brief council.
Cpl. Chapman directed the men's attention toward the enemy's cannon in the tree
line.
The Captain ordered
"LOAD" and the men sprang into action.
After a period of counter-battery fire...
...the Union Infantry appeared and we started firing canister.
With all
rounds expended, the cannoneers retired to the bombproofs and the Confederate Infantry
took the redoubt.
A determined assault
by the Federals...
...drove the Rebel infantry from the works.
The Rebel Infantry
made a valiant counter attack...
...and then stood their
ground in the fight with the Yankees.
Re-enforcement
arrived to bolster the Confederate troops...
...and they counter charged, retaking the
earthworks, and swept around in a flanking movement...
...which cut off the Union force
from their line of retreat and allowed the capture of several hundred soldiers.
After returning to
camp, Private Goodwin was so ravenous, he started to cut off the soles of his
brogans to boil up...
...but, as usual, fortune shown
upon our battery mess, as our foragers brought back some pork loin and a fat
chicken, which was promptly spitted and put in the tin kitchen to
roast.
Some potatoes, onion,
carrots and parsnips were thrown in to cook in the meat drippings. A patch of
green corn was relieved of its ears and roasted over the fire. With the
meat done...
...the table was set
and the famished soldiers and a few of the local civilians enjoyed a delicious
meal. 
A dessert table of three fruit pies, freshly baked in the dutch oven,
and hand cranked ice cream topped everything off.
After the repast, the evening chores were done - cleaning the cookware, gathering
wood for the morning and a water run.
With duties done for
the day, Private Goodwin brought out his fiddle and First Sergeant Dave accompanied
by playing the bones. Several members and
good friends arrive to visit; it was good to see Chris Czopek, the Rusk family, the Lintons and many others who stopped in to our camp.
Most of the men
spent the evening around the table talking and enjoying the cooler temperatures
until the bugler sounded the evening retreat - then off to a pleasant night of
sleep.
Sunday morning, we
were awakened by the sound of bagpipes instead of the usual
bugle melody; for
some, it was a great way to awaken, for others who may have spent their evening
at the Emerald Peacock Saloon, it might not have been so enjoyable.
Breakfast of fried
potatoes, sausage and biscuits with gravy revived the boys.
Privates Caleb Chapman and "Kate" Myers arrived to replace some cannoneers lost during the previous
day's fighting. The morning duty was light, so several of the men ventured back
to sutlers and found some necessary items, although with the temperatures reaching
the mid 90s, the most popular establishment was Uncle John's Rootbeer Emporium.
The afternoon battle
started a little after 2 PM...
...with counter-battery fire. 
The men were allowed to
shed their jackets...
...due to the heat.
Suddenly some
federal Zouaves flanked the works...
...and they were
supported by a strong force of infantry.
We were ordered to
abandon the guns...
...while the
Confederate Infantry rushed... 
...to stem the blue tide that was pouring into the
breech.
The gray clad men
tried to halt the advance...
...but were driven from
the works.
Private
Goodwin, having been swept up in the tide of the battle, found himself a prisoner of war. Upon learning he was really a Union man and a fifer, he was allowed to join the field musicians as the relentless Union Army marched
towards Atlanta.
When John arrived with the trailer in tow at the Turkeyville
event o'clock Friday morning, he found Mark and Cam waiting to
help set up camp. The site was chosen and contents of the trailer unloaded. The
day was sunny and a slight breeze kept the heat from being too uncomfortable. Brian arrived a little later and so most of the camp was
established by noon. John had to return to headquarters and was assigned another
job that kept him away from camp until Saturday morning. Upon his return, Capt. Hughes found that in spite of the
rain overnight the men were starting breakfast.
We invited Sgt.
Dennis Jorgensen of Nelson's Artillery Co. from southern Indiana to join us for the meal.
A troop of Boy Scouts was there to help with the event; a number of them came over to look at the cannon. Several members discussed the cannon and artillery use during the Civil
War.
Some other reenactors stopped by and enjoyed the
display of shot and shell.
As brief showers kept the day damp, more of our members
arrived. Sharon "Steve" Davis, Fred and the boys came in along
with a friend, Katie "Kate," whom we talked into putting on a uniform and helping
serve the gun. Fred had to return to headquarters for detached
duty.
The soldiers formed up and marched to the gun for drill.
"Steve" and "Kate" were at the limber chest...
...while Caleb, Mark, Brian and Silas were on the gun.
After several runs through drill,
the Battle for Turkeyville
began.
Our gun fired 5 rounds...
...then the cannoneers went over to
Sgt. Jorgensen's 2/3 scale Parrott gun...
...and served on that for the
remainder of the battle.
The Infantry, under the command of Capt. Tom Emmerick, fought
doggedly against the rebels.
The Confederate artillery, which consisted of 3 howitzers, got
our range and a lucky shot took out the gun detachment.
The Rebels, having silenced the Union cannon, then drove the
Federal infantry from the field; those artillerymen, not dead or
wounded, joined in the rout and escaped capture.
With a restaurant across the driveway, we opted to forgo
cooking lunch & supper in camp, and availed ourselves the convenience of others
doing all the work -- the air conditioning was a real pleasure after being
outside in the 90 degree heat and humidity.
A night battle was planned for 10 PM. 
Our
cannoneers, reduced by the earlier battle could only muster Capt.
Hughes, Sgt.
Jorgensen, Cpl. Davis and Privates Schwanke and Pangburn. The men fell
in and fired the gun in total darkness.
The smoke mixed with the fog
creating a
mixture so thick we could not see the muzzle flashes of the infantry
muskets, but only heard the reports of the firing.
...then served on
the Parrott for several more shots.
Breaking off the fighting for the night, the men slowly found
their way back to camp and turned in. Sunday revealed scattered clouds in the morning as
the men prepared breakfast.
Sgt. Liebrandt arrived to reinforce our roster.
We were pleased to meet Phillip Nager
who is the gunner for the 1812 ship "Friends Good Will" based
out of South Haven, MI. After talking with Phillip, we invited him to serve with
us in the day's battle. 
Using our loaner uniform box, we were able to get
Phillip uniformed and on the gun for drill.
The guns were repositioned to on top of the knoll and the men
prepared for the fight.
We "opened the ball" with a mighty roar.
A prolonged artillery duel took place between our gun...
...and a
Rebel howitzer.
The Union Infantry fought a disciplined delaying battle,
firing and marching to a new position then facing the enemy and firing
again.
We fired our last round...
...and then moved over to Sgt. Jorgensen's Parrott.
A section of Confederate howitzers appeared on
our right flank...
We took fire from the rebels...
...and returned it with vigor.
Our stubborn defense had kept the enemy in place... 
...until General
Grant could arrive with the rest of the Army.
These last three photos courtesy of Sarah Slaninka
Witnessing the surrender of General Robert E. Lee to General U.S.
Grant
With the battle over and peace restored, we packed the gun and headed home.
Friday, John, Cameron, Caleb and Silas hooked
up the trailer, strapped in and whipped the horses northward toward Grayling,
MI. They stopped in Clare for a visit to an Army surplus store and gun store
to see what they had and arrived at Range 35 around 5:30 in the afternoon.
On site, they dropped the gun & limber chest off at the
firing line and headed off to set up camp. Because this wasn't a reenactment, participants were allowed to camp using modern tents, campers or RVs so our camp looked a lot different than usual.
Cameron and John set up their bunks inside the cannon
trailer.
Caleb started supper - beans with smoked sausage, brats and sauteed zucchini.
As it got dark, Fred and Brian arrived and after a period of
talking and visiting the 1st South Carolina's camp, we all turned in for a
restful night sleep - no mosquitoes and the temperature dropped to the mid 50 degree
mark.
Saturday morning the artillerymen got up a had a very hearty
breakfast (surprise!). Kirk arrived and at 8:45 AM, the men headed to the range to
watch the mortar matches.Once there we found Mark and Chuck waiting for us and our
detachment was complete. Because there was fog and no wind, the mortars were
rescheduled to later in the day, and the field guns were brought to the
line.
Robinson's Battery was on the second relay, so we had a
chance to talk with other artillerymen...
watch the match...
or serve on one of the guns that needed an extra
cannoneer.
The fog lifted... 
but in exchange...
a light rain began that
lasted the entire relay.
Once the first relay of field guns was complete, the siege
mortars fired at 1000 yards.
Finally it was our turn. The cannoneers rolled the gun into battery and began the 15 round match. 
As part of the challenge, each
gun had to pull off their bull's eye target... 
...and fire at least one round at a blockhouse target set at a different range at some point in the course of fire.
The first and last round had to be on the bull's eye.
The 6 pounder target was at 500 yards this year...
...as the 600 yards
proved to be almost beyond the gun's effective range.
The cannoneers had a chance to rotate positions through the
course of fire...
...allowing some of the men to gain some experience with live fire.
After the match was over, we had a
chance to go down range (see the small white squares in the distance?)... 
...and see how we did - two hits at 500 yards.
The winning
smooth bore had 4 hits. Of the rifled guns, which shot at a target 1200 yards
away, the 3rd US Regular artillery won with 9 holes in the
target.
The trees near the targets... 
sustained some damage from the
shot. 
A expedition into the woods to recover cannon balls was
mounted and several of our shot were recovered along with some of the other groups'
shot. Fred and the boys, Mark, Chuck and Brian then headed home
while Cameron and John stayed overnight to watch the Sunday
match. The Grayling Open Mortar Match...
The Bacon Creek match... 
...for rifled cannon
...which included a replica of the Hughes gun. 
John arrived at Charlton Park Friday morning around 9 AM;
Brian was already on site and guided John to our campsite located behind the bank and general store. Mark, Cameron and Kirk soon arrived and the camp
was set up.
The cannon was placed in position facing the
river.
Having been summoned back to headquarters, John left camp
around noon and the men busied themselves in finishing up the camp and helping
the rest of the men set up as they arrived. Dave, Buddy and Cody filled out the
detachment.
It was nice to be camped on the outskirts of a town where
fresh food could be obtained. No hard crackers and salt horse on this campaign!
Even though Captain Hughes suspected that he would soon be dealing with irate
farmers and townsfolk whose smoke houses and root cellars had been "foraged
liberally," the meal was quite tasty.
After the meal, the men were put on work detail,
polishing the gun and limber chest top until they gleamed.
After polishing to the Captain's
satisfaction...
...the men were drilled on the gun.
After completing the drill...
...the men were allowed to visit town, eat
lunch and see what the sutlers offered.
After the demonstration was over, Captain Hughes discussed the
different types of artillery shells used in the war and the effects of solid
shot on trees.
At 2 PM, the battle began and the cannoneers were allowed to
shed their coats during the hot work.
Our duty for this battle was to provide the sound and smoke
of artillery; the infantry battle took place in the town green on the other side
of the general store. 
It was a little disappointing to not be in the main
action, but due to the size of the battlefield and close proximity of the houses
with antique glass windows... 
...the artillery was regulated to a secondary role. 
It
was however a great way to train some of our newer artillerymen.
After the battle was over, a leisurely evening was enjoyed by
the men. Dave entertained us as we prepared supper by playing tunes on his
fiddle and fife.
Corporal Davis had baked some pies earlier in the day, and as
they cooled and supper boiled, we cranked up a batch of ice cream - everyone took
a turn.
While awaiting the call to supper, Captain Hughes, being a
practical man, visited the local undertaker and tried on a coffin for size.
After the evening meal, as the light changed from dusk to
dark...
...a night fire was performed.
A couple of our men had been lost during the battle, so we
were glad to gain a recruit.
Again, at 1 PM, an artillery demonstration was held.
At 2 PM, the battle was renewed.
Mark was allowed to fire the last shot.
Cam and John arrived at 9 am on Friday at the Branch County Fairgrounds, found a suitable campsite and set-up.
Buddy arrived later in the day; and he and Cam spent
the night guarding the camp. Saturday morning John, Sharon, Kirk and Cindy arrived to
serve the gun. The weather turned out to be very warm, but dry and the
cannoneers enjoyed the shade during most of the day. As the battle loomed, Sharon and Cindy donned uniforms to
fill out the detachment. 
We were Confederate for Saturday's
fighting.
Although there was not a lot of infantry on either side, there
were four cannon... 
...and so a lengthy artillery duel took place.
After the battle, Cam cooked a tasty boiled ham,
boiled potatoes and sweet corn, complemented by a loaf of oatmeal bread
that Cindy made. The evening was spent in conversation, as everyone caught
up with each others overwintering. New recruit Cody Hill and his family
arrived, and Cody decided to spend the night so that he could serve with us on
Sunday.
Sunday dawned promising a just as hot day as Saturday
had been. Cody's friend, Mark, arrived and volunteered to serve on the gun,
too.
After breakfast, the cannoneers went out to
drill on the gun; Cody and Mark were able to start learning the art of the
artilleryman.
A barbeque pork lunch was furnished for the reenactors who
then went out to fight the battle this time as Union artillerymen.
A large shade tree just happened to be where we placed the
cannon...
...so we were able to enjoy the cooler air through out the
battle.
Mark "volunteered" to help clean the cannon afterward. Once the event was over, members broke camp and the
gun rolled off the field by 5 pm.
Fred, Silas and John headed down to Mansfield, Ohio for the
Civil War/Artillery show on Friday, arriving there mid afternoon and setting up
their sale tables. Saturday was busy with a good crowd of spectators attending in
spite of the morning rain. The artillery show and firing went on despite the weather and a good crowd watched the cannons being fired. 
Cam, Sharon and John set up the Battery's tables at the show
on Friday evening and were back early Saturday morning to do some "pre-crowd"
shopping before the doors opened at 9AM.
Once the spectators were allowed in however, the battery
members were at their posts ready to talk to the interested visitors. Joining
them later in the day, Kirk and Cindy Walstedt, Dave Goodwin... 
....and Jon Liebrandt
(wearing his 1812 American Volunteers uniform).