4th Texas Co. E Official Newsletter
Current Articles
2007
Nov. Newsletter
My fellow 4th Texans,
I would like to start out this month by thanking those members of the unit who showed up to support the 4th Texas at the Wolcott Mill event. The weather was beautiful that weekend and the event was an all around success. Even as I write this my thoughts return to time spent around the campfire and the conversations that, just like the smoke, surrounded those who were present. I would also like to thank our members who showed up the weekend before the event to help prepare for it. It was a lot of work carrying all of that wood, placing the bridge in the river, and anchoring it in place. In the end, this event is a perfect example of what the members of this unit can achieve when our members take the time to invest in this group and strive to make it better. No one individual is able to carry the load and when our members contribute, the possibilities are endless and events such as Wolcott Mill become reality.
In speaking of endless possibilities it would be remiss of me not to mention the possibilities for next year. It is nearing the end of the year and that always means that the company elections will be held soon, in January to be exact. Please look to another section of the newsletter for the specific listings of those running for positions within the company, but keep in mind that the elections are just around the corner and it is not too late for those of you who are young and enterprising (or for some of you just enterprising) to volunteer to serve your friends and messmates in a command staff position. Think about it and if you feel moved in that notion then volunteer to help make the future of this organization bright and active.
But let us not make just our future active, let’s stay active now. Once again I encourage the men of this company to continue learning, working, and striving to stay active throughout the fall and winter. The possibilities are there, we just need to make them a reality. Round rolling parties, movie nights, winter marches, and the merrymaking that surrounds the completion of a good shirt, haversack, or any other sewn item are all opportunities for those who are of the mindset to stay active and connected to the group and their pards over the winter. Volunteers are needed to host or organize some of these activities over the winter so let us know if and when you find the time. Please look to the event news section of this newsletter to find a few other opportunities to get out and mingle with your fellow unit members in the coming month.
In the end, I will see you at the meetings, at the work sessions, and as always,
I’ll see you in the field.
Your O’bdt Servant,
Captain J. Ragsdale.
Event News
Gentlemen,
Please look here for information on upcoming events. Use this information to prepare yourselves for the event(s) accordingly.
December 8: Christmas Party Time: Saturday Night Location: Dearborn, MI
This is the annual Christmas party that is hosted by Jim and Maureen Celmer. This event serves as our monthly gathering in lieu of a Multi-Lakes meeting. The decision has not been made yet as to whether those in the group will go to the Holiday Nights at The Henry Ford/Greenfield Village, or whether everyone will just go to eat and drink at the party. Please call and let Jim know if you would like to get tickets to go to the Holiday Nights or just go for the party. You can reach him at 313-850-6521 Either way, come to the party and have fun with your fellow soldiers. A-G bring a side dish. H-M bring a salad. N-Z bring a dessert.
January 11 : MLACWS Meeting Time: Friday Night Location: Warren, MI
This is an important meeting that everyone needs to be at since it is the night that we are not only selecting our new multi-lakes board, but for the military, we are selecting our new command staff for the 08’ campaign season. Please be in attendance at this meeting and help select the command staff. Remember, if you are unhappy with any of the selections and you are not there to cast a vote then you do not really have the right to complain when the positions are filled. So I look forward to seeing you all there.
The Monthly Mucket: See What’s Inside
Gentlemen, finally we have an outstanding resource for period civil war recipes. In his book on Civil War cooking, William C. Davis has amassed an outstanding list of soldierly recipes. I highly recommend this book for any of our members library’s. In the past most Civil War cookbooks have taken their recipes directly from original published cookbooks from the period. But astutely, the author notes that these cookbooks were intended for housewives who were generally operating with more and dissimilar resources than the soldiers were. Conversely, the recipes listed by the author were drawn from original soldier sources, letters and diaries. Davis therefore makes the case that these recipes were more akin to what the soldiers were actually gormandizing in the field than what is listed in most of the period cookbooks. Hence, every month I will do the best to list one of these period recipes so that our members may try them out and hopefully enjoy them in the field.
Regards,
John Difatta.
To Keep Meat From Spoiling In Summer
Eat it early in the Spring.
Source:
Confederate States Almanac, Macon, Georgia, 1865.
P.S. This is an honest to goodness quote from a period newspaper written in 1865!!!!!! They still had some humor left, although the genesis for this topic was the South’s lack of a ready supply of salt at this point in the war.
2008 4th Texas Election Guide
*Note* The nominations for these positions are still open and names may be added to this list in the future. Furthermore, those names that appear here are not bound by their decision to run until the final ballots are proposed at the January meeting. Finally, those individuals who are not elected to the position first indicated have the ability to drop down and run for the next available position (i.e. Captain to 1st Sgt.).
Captain
Alan Rothenberg
David Prince
1st Sgt.
Jim Celmer
Andrew Efird
2nd Sgt.
Rick Higgins Jr.
Corporal
Robert Van Sile
Ken Crysler
Recruiter
Frank Perkin
Chris Suppelsa
Adjutant
Ken Chrysler
Chris Suppelsa
Steve Domke
4th Texas Co. E
Newsletter
July
2007
I.
Captain’s Notes
My fellow 4th Texans,
I will start off this month’s letter saying that I hope that all of you are well and enjoying the campaign season so far. The Greenfield Village event went well and we received a personal thank you note from Brian Egan, the point man from the Village, which expressed his thanks for our unit’s actions and efforts. He informed me that over Memorial Weekend we helped educate and entertain approximately 10,000 guests. I would like to extend my personal thanks to all of our unit members who attended the event. The company performed brilliantly and I could not have been prouder of all of you. One other important development is that we were able to get four new recruits from this event. Our concept of Investing in the group and inviting others to join us is and will work. We just have to keep getting dirty for this unit and we’ll continue to grow.
In keeping with that theme, I’d like to thank those who attended the Walker Tavern event to support our group’s efforts there. The event went off without a hitch this year and I can not even say enough about the weather. We were truly blessed that weekend. To this point everything I have heard from those who attended has been of a positive nature. Aside from the fact that everyone went home happy and uninjured, one of the most awesome things to come from the event this year was the amount of money that we were able to raise for preservation this year. After the pie auction and the raffle, the 4th Texas and CFI were able to raise $1000 dollars for the Walker Tavern Historic Site, which was approximately $300 dollars more than last year. I can assure all of you that when I turned the funds over to the park personnel, they were absolutely speechless. So once again, I thank all of you who were involved in supporting the event and I look forward to seeing what we can do for next year. In an interesting symmetry of numbers as regards the two events discussed, Phil Kwiatkowski a curator from the State of Michigan put out a statement that said to this point we have educated and entertained approximately 10,000 people at the Walker Tavern Historic Site since we began hosting an event there. That is amazing to me and we should be proud of that.
In the end, despite the fact that we have achieved so much, we can not stop getting dirty for our unit and hobby. We have opportunities upcoming in which we can partake to enjoy time spent with good friends and educating the public. Coming up in July we have the annual 4th Texas golf outing with the usual after party at Andy Efird’s house in Fowlerville. In August many of us will be participating at the Cascades Civil War event in Jackson, MI. Following this up will be our annual cleanup in Gettysburg, the Mill Springs event in Kentucky, and Wolcott Mill, MI in October. I hope to see all of you at these events and look forward to getting dirty with all of you in the future. In conclusion, I will see you at the meetings, at the work sessions, and as always,
I’ll see you in the field.
Your O’bdt Servant,
Captain J. Ragsdale.
II.
From the Adjutant 
Event News
Gentlemen,
Please look here for information on upcoming events. Use this information to prepare yourselves for the event(s) accordingly.
July 28: 4th Texas Golf Outing Time: ? Location: Fowlerville, MI
This is our annual golf outing. Please do not shy away from this event if you are not good at golf. Pretty much all of us do not play well but we all come out and have a good time anyways. Following our rendezvous at the golf course we all head back to Andy Efird’s house to grill and chill, so to speak. There is a cook out and time for everyone to relax and enjoy the company of good friends. If you can not make the golfing part, or only the golfing part, that is fine. Please look to an email coming from Andy soon about the particulars regarding this event. I hope to see all of you there and don’t forget your Hawaiian shirt for all of our golfers.
August 24-26: Cascades CW Muster Time: Friday Night Location: Jackson, MI
This is the annual gathering in Jackson at the Cascades for the civil war muster that happens every year. There are always members of the company who attend this event and if enough individuals want to attend, we may form a contingent for this event. For more information on this event you can go to the event website at: www.cascadescivilwarmuster.com
Sept. 7-9: Gettysburg Cleanup Time: Saturday Morning Location: Gettysburg, PA
Once again this is the annual roundup we have for our commitment to reclamation and preservation of our civil war battlefields and history. Members from the group are invited to travel to Gettysburg where we come together on Little Round Top and cut grass and small trees and pick up garbage helping to keep the battlefield clean and looking as it did during the time of the battle. We take care of this commitment on Saturday morning and have the rest of our time there to ourselves traipsing all over the battlefield and the shops in town. Please come out and join us for this awesome time.
Sept.28-30: Mill Springs Time: Friday Night Location: Mill Springs, KY
This is our last Max Effort Medich Battalion event for the year as well as our only National for the year. If you have not been to this event before, please mark it down and try to make it. This event is held on the original battlefield and is one of those smaller nationals that we have loved going to in the past. I have been to this event once before and the hosts were accommodating and a good time was had by all. This has been my only experience where we fought through a harvested tobacco field. Good Times. Obviously, the impression for this event will be early war Western Confederate. We will do our best to set up messes and carpools for this event.
October 19-21: Wolcott Mill Time: Friday Night Location: Romeo, MI
This is our end of the year event that our unit is sponsoring as well. Please plan to lend your support to this event. There will be more information posted about the impressions for this event in the future. For any current information please check out the event website. It can be accessed through our webpage at www.fourthtexas.com
III.
NCO’s Corner 
IV.
The Company Street
Gentlemen,
In the effort to encourage company participation in the newsletter, herewith, posted within the newsletter on the “company street” will be a monthly topic which all of our members are encouraged to participate. The concept is that a topic will be selected every month for consideration for our membership to write about and the contributions to last months topic will be published for everyone to read. Please participate in this as we are not asking for a dissertation, but a few lines that encapsulate your feelings, remembrances, or opinions on the topic. This is an easy way to contribute to your newsletter.
Topic
Describe the biggest “farb” you ever saw at an event?
I’ve seen some doozies, but the biggest human anachronism I’ve ever seen at an event was at the Cascades event in Jackson, MI. It was an older gentlemen who arrived at the event dressed up in buckskins and a coonskin cap. With his .50 caliber Hawkins in tow he showed up and inquired about falling in ranks. I couldn’t believe it at the time. And the event being Jackson, he did find some other unit to fall in with and was out there on the field.
John D.
Walking around some of the Union Camps at GFV.
Frank P.
Next Month’s Topic
At what event have you seen the most “hardcore” impressions?
Cold and Defeated
The year was 1989. It was the third year of the war. Yes, the real war: the 125th anniversary events. The location was Tennessee and this was our attempted reoccupation of the state while Sherman was burning his way to the sea. We were too weak to hardly even distract Sherman, but re-taking the state our army was named after would have been good for morale and perhaps even cost Lincoln his re-election. So, the Army of Tennessee moved into that state under General Hood’s command and promptly experienced the embarrassment at Spring Hill. Who was to blame for that missed chance at cutting off Schofield and destroying him? Was it Cheatam? Stewart? S.D.Lee? It really didn’t matter, for Hood was enraged and determined to teach his army a lesson in obeying orders. And that was what led to the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee in November, 1864 (1989).
We moved into the area as the detached 5th Texas, part of the Jeff Davis Rifles, a battalion that evolved into the battalion now known today as Medich’s Battalion. Expecting late fall Tennessee weather, few of the boy’s had any idea of what was in store for us as we set up camp. This was a big event, with over 8,000 soldiers gathered for the struggle, in spite of the collapsing weather front. The site was superb, close to urban areas yet large, spacious and well developed. The thermometer was plummeting as we arrived Friday and as night fell that first evening, we knew we were in for it! My apologies, but perhaps I should identify myself: my name is Bolling Eldridge, and I am second officer of the Jeff Davis Rifles, under the command of Phil Zanko, our ranking commander from the 4th Kentucky. We are a late war re-configured battalion of remnants of the old 4th Virginia, the 10th Virginia, the 33rd Virginia, the 5th Texas and the 4th Kentucky. We number five companies of approximately 25 men each. Jim Colvin is the officer in charge of the 5th Texas and he and I were to bunk together under a shelter half along the officer quarters line.
The wind came up as the night came down upon us. Perhaps up to 35 miles per hour and the temperature collapsing into the 20’s. The colonel and I decided it was too cold for being an avid individualist, and so we went around and ordered the men to partner up; there would be no soldiers not “spooning” tonight for survival literally depended upon it. The next order was to bank all campfires. The wind was driving them to horizontal and one could see shelter halves going up in flames here and there around the camp of thousands of men. We only lost one tent in our battalion, due to quick and decisive leadership on the part of the command staff (did I mention I was second officer?) and those boys of ours weren’t injured and lost no gear but for their tent. Captain Colvin was a trial to this soldier all night. He constantly rolled around, shifting and creating drafts of air designed to blow down my spine, arm, feet or whatever was exposed as the battle of the blankets was fought in the blind darkness all night long. This soldier slept but little and was thankful for the coming pre-dawn with the decrease in wind and the increase in campfire heat as the fires were fed to the benefit of all of us who were brave enough to leave our blankets. For me, this was no contest, as Captain Colvin had won the war of blankets and I was surrendering.
We awoke anticipating the coffee we had in our haversacks, never realizing until the last moment the despair one experiences upon finding their canteen frozen solid. Imagine if you will, dozens of soldiers gathered around a campfire, dangling canteens close enough to heat and warm but not too close as to burn them up! For me, the endeavor cost me my canteen strap, as I got too eager and burned it through in my rush for coffee. Finally, the water was melted, heated and coffee made. And then, what a sight! Men everywhere with frozen mustaches and beards, as the steam from the coffee would condense and freeze upon their hairy faces. And woe to him who only sips his coffee! For tin cups hold no heat and the surface of your coffee would quickly congeal and freeze along the surface around the sides of your cup! What an experience, each man with his own personal face sauna which had to be gulped before it would cool down and freeze completely. And the dance steps to be seen! For thousands of soldiers had to keep moving, jumping in awkward movements, in a vain attempt to promote more warmth. Thank God for sutler Jeff O’Donnell and his well made great coat I had just purchased!
Again, we counted our blessings in spite of this ordeal. For earlier that morning, about 3 AM there had been a shout of “fire in the camp!” and hundreds of us arose shivering to see a pyramid of fire in the short distance. It had been a Sibley Tent, a grand teepee of a canvas tent with 8 occupants, each of the men sleeping with their head towards the center, like spokes on a wagon wheel, and the hub being the pot belly stove which had been stoked up red hot! Unfortunately, a bit too hot, for it caught the top of the tent where the stove pipe passed through on fire and they had to abandon ship, or tent, that is. Eight men standing around in their long johns in the cold, shivering, dancing, and yelling as they watched their entire kit: leathers, cots, rifles, uniforms, brogans and more, burn to a cinder. Last we heard they all deserted to return home, as they had nothing left to wear, let alone fight with.
As we gathered for morning parade, thousands in great coats, gloves, uniquely original head gear and colorful scarves made by mothers so far removed, we heard a rumor that the worst had happened. A slow moving ambulance then proceeded through the field and ours fears were confirmed: one of the re-enactors had succumbed to the cold. We later got the details: a history professor from Ohio had died from exposure during the night. As the ambulance made the return trip past, the entire army came to attention and saluted the fallen foe, with comments that perhaps passing at an event of this magnitude was not a bad way to go.
I have memories of frozen donuts being given out to us free by vendors as there were so few spectators that would brave the cold that weekend. The finale was the grand assault upon the Franklin works on Sunday against a re-created Carter house and cotton gin. My memories are of thousands of troops staging and gathering, as if they were for a parade, before the grand assault began. Zanko and I led our battalion in as part of Jack King’s Division and we were the second from the last wave to advance. I pushed our men forward, working behind the color company as I usually did to relay the colonel’s orders and we advanced against a wall of flame from thousands of muskets trained upon us. We suffered almost 100% casualties and I fell upon the trenches themselves, just a few yards from where General Cleburne himself did so. I realized I was but only wounded and might actually survive. Merciful Yankees dragged me into their lines, as the mouth of a cannon was but a foot or so from me and my ear drums were being pounded into mush. I remember the Henry rifles of the Yankee company that stopped our final push in the center as I lay on the embankment, their staccato of fire punishing our brave lads and then the realization that we had failed. As Sam Watkin’s said, the angel of death was in the air all around us that day. Also, I realized, our cause to rescue Tennessee was just as lost as his. We returned home to warm and regroup for another campaign. There lives but one other in our group that remembers this well and it is dear Robby Van Sile. Speak with him and you will verify the truth of this old soldier’s memoir. Your obedient servant, Pvt. Jethro Yates (ne: Bolling Eldridge, ne: Steve Domke.)
Shelter Halves - Part I
by Steve Hanson
Co. C, 2nd U.S. Infantry, Sykes Regulars
Introduction
First, we need an overview of “regulation” so
we can deviate from there to what can be accepted as “correct”. Each man was
issued one shelter half, a single upright pole in two pieces that fitted
together, a rope approximately 55 inches long, and four wooden tent pegs. That
was one man’s load
Two
men buttoned their shelter halves together, each put his two pole halves
together, one in front and one in back, and each tied his rope to the top of the
pole and secured it to the ground with one of his tent pegs. Then each staked
one side of the tent to the ground with his remaining three tent pegs. There was
no ridge pole. The tension of the two ropes on the uprights held the center
taught. Regulations state that leather gear is not to be hung on the ends of
tents - and this is why. In regulation construction, the peak corners of the
tent are not strong enough to support all of a man’s leather gear, and would not
support his rifle leaning up against it either. Because not very many of these
uprights and tent pegs survived field use at the time to exist today, it must be
assumed that either they broke easily, were used for kindling on cold rainy
nights, or were thrown away because they could be easily replaced with available
field material. We are all familiar with the field-material alternative because
all of our tents are constructed with them: two uprights notched at the top to
hold a ridge pole and six pegs to stick in the ground. This construction
dispenses with the ropes that would stretch into the company street under
regulation construction. As it turns out, because limited space usually prevents
our company streets from being the regulation width of 5 paces (11-2/3 feet or
almost 4 yards), those ropes would be in the way of any company formation on the
street, and would be a constant tripping hazard at all times. Plus, the added
strength of this construction allows us to hang our gear and lean our rifles on
the ends (even against regulation).
One of the biggest problems we have to overcome
today is that various sutlers align the buttons and buttonholes differently, so
tents from one manufacturer often will not button together with those of
another. As a result, and possibly other personal factors, we have to come to
the unrealistic alternative of each man carrying an entire tent, already
buttoned together and rolled around the uprights and ridge pole, which are both
usually much bigger than necessary. Then, because we don’t have to lug this
house on our backs as did the Civil War soldier, we tend toward railroad spikes
or bent pig-iron as tent stakes - neither of which a soldier would tolerate
having to carry in his packToday
the unnecessary weight is not a factor because we don’t have to carry it. Also,
unless a railroad yard or blacksmith shop was nearby, from which these things
could be “liberated”, neither would be available as a field expedient the great
majority of the time. So, metal tent stakes are incorrect on all counts at all
times.
As for the canvas itself, first of all, no
metal grommets! The only metal on your shelter half should be the buttons. On
all four corners and on both long edges (on the center seam), there should be a
4 1/2-inch-square reinforcement patch. Within the patch should be two stitched
round holesThrough
these holes should pass a 3/8-inch rope 8 inches long and tied in a loop with a
square knot, the loose ends of which are cut as short as possible without the
knot coming untied. So, without metal grommets and without metal tent pegs, the
incorrect practice of sticking the tent peg directly through the grommet is
already eliminated.
In a bivouac situation, any style structure and
any combination of readily available materials can be used for a simple
one-night stand. This is where the image of the tent tied between two rifles
with bayonets stuck in the ground comes from. Of course, this would not have
been allowed in close proximity to an enemy force, but in a long campaign march
away from any enemy, the danger was minimal enough to allow itThe
next morning, everything was packed up, the march continued, and any
construction material used was burned or abandoned to rot or be used by some
other unit to camp on that ground the next night.
However, in any “permanent” camp (a few day’s
to a few month’s duration at least), all tents were free-standing 2-man tents,
and all need to be constructed as such and look like two men are living in them.
In cold-weather camps, they might be constructed for three or even four men with
the extra shelter halves used as front and rear covers. For a unit just coming
in from the field, especially by mid or late war, the men probably would not
have their issued uprights and tent pegs, and would have to make do with field
expedients until such items were reissued or purchased, if thenThis
is the situation seen in a typical CW reenactor camp.
After a
campaign, if the men are ordered into a more-or-less permanent camp (one with
company streets) and are not carrying their issued tent poles, ropes, and
stakes, they must make do with field-expedient materials. At the very least,
each tent requires four stakes for the corners and two more for end supports,
and two uprights are needed if enough rope is available to serve as a ridge and
end supports. If no rope is available, a ridge pole is also neededThe
ridge pole eliminates the need for the rope, and the two end stakes can be used
to pin the center sides of the tent for a few days until the correct items can
be reissued.
Long
before the soldiers arrive at a new camp site, a party is sent out to measure
and mark it off, cut at least enough firewood for the next meal, dig sinks,
clear one or more roads for wagons if necessary, etc. That party is composed of
the pioneer sections of each regiment with extra parties of men if a lot of work
needs to be done. In the process of cutting trees for firewood, saplings and end
branches of trees that are not worth the effort of rendering into firewood, and
if not needed as abatis to defend the camp, can be rough-trimmed for
tent-constructing material and left in the company areas for the men to pick up
when they arrive and rework or finish to their satisfactionWhen
a camp is being established, the men have just ended a march and are tired. They
need to clean up the area designated for them, build their tents, light their
cooking fires, and cook their meal before settling in. In addition, some men are
drawn off for guard duty and for various fatigue parties: clerks for HQ areas,
unloading wagons, stacking supplies in their proper places, digging sinks if
that hasn’t already been done, and any number of other duties that might be
peculiar to that particular site, including building breastworks if the enemy is
close. They don’t just drive up, drop everything off, pitch their tents, and
either park their cars a mile away, and visit the sutlers on the way back, or
settle in to catch up on everything that has happened since they last got
together.
You
may have wondered why some field-expedient tents will withstand strong winds and
driving rain and other tents fall down when someone walks by on the next street,
or when a grasshopper climbs the pole and disturbs the delicate balance. One
remedy is to drive the uprights into the ground. For that, they need a sharpened
endHowever,
when attempting to hammer them, the “Y” at the top splits and won’t hold the
ridge pole anymore, so people forego driving uprights into the ground. Back up
one step -- the answer is not to use a true “Y”. You want the upright to be
straight so it can be hammered, but with a branch end coming off the side to act
as the “Y” (see diagram A). Tent stakes are the same. A straight stick won’t
hold a rope well unless it is driven into the ground at a rather steep angle
away from the stress. However, if the ground is very dry or very soft, they
won’t hold at that steep angle. If not angled, wind moving the tent will cause
the rope to ride up and off the stake. You need a design similar to the top of
your upright – a straight stick that can be driven and a branch end to hold the
rope loop of the tent (see diagram B). In both cases, that particular design is
much easier to find in nature than a true “Y” shape anyway. The rope loops
provide a sort of expansion buffer that will stretch and shrink in damp and dry
conditions. The tension between the canvas itself and the stake is much less
than if the canvas was directly staked to the ground.
Diagram
C shows the outline of a sapling or a tree branch with the various pieces of
tent-constructing material marked out in shadow. One tall or two medium saplings
can provide everything you needI
find that a good average for me is about waist high for the uprights and just
over head high for the ridgepole. Shorter uprights will make a shorter but wider
tent for those who like to sleep parallel to the street. Taller uprights will
make a taller but narrower tent for those who like to sit up in the tent without
touching the top. As for the ridgepole, all you need is about four inches beyond
the canvas, front and back. More will do nothing but get in your way. Uprights
and ridgepoles don’t need to be any more than an inch or so in diameter. Stakes
need to be at least 6-8 inches long and about ¾ to one inch in diameter. Make
several more stakes than necessary because some will break. Taper the ends of
the uprights and stakes to a rough point. They don’t have to be perfect, just
angled enough so they can be driven into the ground. Remember, all a Civil War
soldier would have is a small hatchet or a camp knife, so don’t make any
modern-tool marks on the wood.
When
storing uprights and ridgepoles between events, don’t stand them up in a corner
of the garage, especially when still green or after getting very wet. They will
sag and dry crooked. They should be laid on a flat dry surface until thoroughly
dry and seasoned – at least an entire summer or an entire winterif
your stakes get wet at an event, spread them out instead of leaving them
together in a bag where they will rot. For carrying and storing stakes, an old
haversack or even an old haversack-liner bag is great. Ideally, these wooden
items should look like they have been cut within the last week and no more.
Beyond that time, regulation uprights and stakes should have been reissued and
the field-expedient materials would have disappeared as the camps were “stracked
up”. However, we can’t afford the luxury or time to cut new wood for each event,
so dry and seasoned wood is the alternative.
On
a company street, the regulations call for “two paces” (that’s 56 inches, or
4-2/3 feet, or 1.5 yards) between tents on a street, and the same distance
back-to-back for tents on different streets. However, many times, there is not
enough room for regulation distances, and everything is miniaturized. Distances
must be determined after we see our camp site and maintained in proportion
throughout the campThe
space between tents is ostensibly for health reasons, to avoid overcrowding, but
it also serves as a place to store furniture and empty supply boxes and barrels
used as makeshift furniture. It keeps them off the street so they don’t get in
the way of company formations. A pace is defined in Casey’s as 28” – measure out
that distance at home and practice stepping that far – it’s about an almost
giant-step for most people.
When
setting up your tent on the company street, align the front upright with ALL the
other uprights ALL the way to the head of the street. Don’t just look at the
tent next door – that idiot may have put it up crooked. If the other tents
aren’t aligned exactly, use a good average to continue a generally straight line
down the streetYour
front upright should be placed about 3½ paces from the edge of the last tent on
the street. That will give you about two paces space and half the width of your
tent. Hammer it into the ground. Place the ridge pole on the front upright to
determine the location of the rear upright, which must be exactly perpendicular
to the street, hammer that into the ground, and place the ridge pole between
them.
Button
both rows of buttons on the shelter halves. Buttoning both rows greatly reduces
the strain on any one button so it won’t pop off and keeps the roof rain tight.
One shelter half needs to be flipped upside down to do thisAfter
the halves are buttoned together and thrown over the ridge pole, loop the ropes
at the ends around the uprights to hold the ridge pole in the notch and to tie
the canvas, the ridge pole, and the uprights all together. Be sure that the
uppermost shelter half stretches over the ridgepole to provide a roof cap so
rain won’t get in. We don’t usually camp in the rain, but it does happen
sometimes. Getting into the habit when it’s dry will keep you dry when it gets
wet. It will also show a degree of “veteran” experience to do that automatically
when you don’t really need to.
Stake
the front corners of the canvas down first, aligning with ALL the other tents
ALL the way down the street - not just the next tent over, which may be crooked.
Then stake the rear corners and then the centers. Make the tent generally tight
without undue tensionIf
it is too loose, it will flap in the wind and shake itself apart. If it is too
tight, the temperature and dampness difference between night and day will
stretch and shrink the canvas and ropes, and the pegs may pop out of the ground.
For
those who want to try to do without the ridgepole, you will need two ropes of
about 50-55” (or two men will need one rope apiece) to stake the uprights to the
ground so the weight of the canvas doesn’t pull them together, causing the tent
to sag. Using one long rope from ground to ground and along the ridge would be
incorrect because it is obvious that one man is carrying it instead of two. That
also means two more ground stakes for the front and backThis
is more like a regulation tent but using field-expedient, rather than
manufactured, uprights.
Remember,
though, if the street we have been allowed by the organizers is narrower than
the regulation 5 paces, the guy ropes stretching into the street from both sides
may get in the way of company formations. Also, they will be a tripping hazard
for someone not paying attention to where he is standing or walking, especially
in the dark. In addition, many times, the tents of two streets are almost back
to back with very little space between for guy ropesIf
we are going someplace where we know we will have a lot of space, the guy ropes
are no problem. However, at a major reenactment, or someplace where we know
space will be limited, the ridge-pole construction is necessary to save space.
In a
bivouac camp, there is only one rule, clearly stated in Regulations and
paraphrased here: “The structures should not completely block any one side of
the camp”. If some natural barrier is there, it doesn’t matter. The rule is so
that, in an emergency, the company can form quickly in any direction on any side
of the campIn
a bivouac situation, field-expedient construction is the rule. You can tie your
tent between trees; bend a sapling over and stake it to the ground as a
ridgepole without uprights; spread your shelter half over the lower boughs of an
evergreen, or some leaning deadfall, and lay under that; several people can
button their halves together to make a large hotel (remember the rain – watch
where your seams are and where water may collect so your roof doesn’t leak);
make a lean-to of just one half, or a larger lean-to or “soapbox” roof of two or
more halves; just roll up in it and sleep on the ground; etc. Anything goes.
Just remember to leave gaps so the entire company can quickly move through the
camp to form a line of battle on any side facing any direction. Again, this
would indicate a “veteran” instinct
Submitted by Frank Perkin
AKA Rufus Umberson
April
I. Captain’s Notes
My fellow 4th Texans,
I hope that all of you are well and prospering as we enter the campaign season. As we kick off the busy part of our year, I hope that all of you have given some thought to what the purpose of our unit is as well as the activities we engage in. It is my belief that the ideas outlined in my article last month will lead this unit to higher plateaus and increased membership. Please look to articles in future installments of the March Fourth for more information on some of these ideas as well as how we will achieve the purpose of our organization. I’d like to take a second here to briefly touch on some of these things before I proceed with other business. One key to achieving our units purpose is ensuring that all of the members in our organization find a place in the group to contribute. The reason being that our organization will only be able to achieve what our membership puts back into it. It is critical that our members find ways and times to contribute to our group. No one can find fault with a member who has higher priorities, we all should and do. But neither can we discount our contributions, or the lack thereof, to the group otherwise our organization will never go anywhere or achieve anything. How can we contribute to the group? There are many answers to this question; Share your research, write, sew or craft material culture that is pertinent to your impression, cook, run for a position in the organization, work with weaponry, etc. These are just some ways that our members can contribute to the organization. In the end, all of us should find some time and ways to contribute to our group. We have to look no further for examples of commitment than the ancestor’s we seek to remember. They achieved much because they were committed and took the time to contribute to their cause and organization. Forgive the colloquialism, but they gave their time and efforts and “got dirty,” literally, to achieve their goal(s). It is my belief that this is the perfect concept for the members of this group to embrace, getting dirty. Therefore, I am making the idea “4th Texas, Co E. Lets Get Dirty!!!” the slogan for our unit. I want all of the members of our group to embrace the idea of rolling up their sleeves and getting themselves dirty for our unit by contributing to the group so that we can achieve our organization’s purpose.
Coming up there are some great ways that our unit members can get dirty and contribute to the group. Our last organizational meeting for the spring is this Friday. We also have the Company Drill and Battalion Drill coming up as well. Beyond that loom the Wildwood and Memorial Weekend events in May. We will need the support of all of our unit members at these events. So as we move forward this year, let’s all find ways to contribute to the group and get dirty, just like our forefathers, and take this unit to a higher level. In the meantime, I will see you at the meetings, at the work sessions, and as always,
I’ll see you in the field.
Your O’bdt Servant,
Captain J. Ragsdale.
II. From the Adjutant
The Monthly Mucket: See What’s Inside
Gentlemen, finally we have an outstanding resource for period civil war recipes. In his book on Civil War cooking, William C. Davis has amassed an outstanding list of soldierly recipes. I highly recommend this book for any of our members library’s. In the past most Civil War cookbooks have taken their recipes directly from original published cookbooks from the period. But astutely, the author notes that these cookbooks were intended for housewives who were generally operating with more and dissimilar resources than the soldiers were. Conversely, the recipes listed by the author were drawn from original soldier sources, letters and diaries. Davis therefore makes the case that these recipes were more akin to what the soldiers were actually gormandizing in the field than what is listed in most of the period cookbooks. Hence, every month I will do the best to list one of these period recipes so that our members may try them out and hopefully enjoy them in the field.
Regards,
John Difatta.
Hardtack
Mix 5 cups of flour to 1 cup of water containing a ½ tablespoon of salt. Knead into a dough, and roll out to a 3/8 –inch thickness. Cut into approximately 3-inch squares, and pierce each with a fork or ice pick several times. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes or until slightly brown.
Davis, William C. “A Taste For War: The Culinary History of the Blue and the Gray.” Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 2003. pg. 130.
III. NCO’s Corner
2nd Sgt. Miller’s Odd and Curious Facts of the Civil War.
Rally Round the Flag Boys !
Kady Brown, the wife of a member of the First Rhode Island Regiment, was among the handful of women who succeeded in going to war without assuming a male disguise. When the regiment was encamped Kady cooked, washed clothes as well other chores. At the first Bull Run her comrades swore she dropped her washboard for a musket and rushed into the fray. At one furious point of fighting she even functioned as color bearer for the regiment.
Without the aid of field glasses an experienced forward observer could tell from a distance whether or not an attacking force was moving rapidly. When the flag bobbed up and down rapidly it meant the color bearer was “on the double quick”.
On the first day of Gettysburg, nine color bearers died carrying the flag of the Twenty- fourth Michigan. During the same period of time the Twenty-sixth North Carolina regiment saw one comrade after another assume the critical role. After the battle the final tally of fallen color bearers was fourteen.
During the Mexican War, young lieutenants vied for the honor of carrying the colors. At Chapultapec the U.S. flag was carried into a defensive moat by Lt. James Longstreet. When knocked from his feet by a bullet he handed the flag off to Lt. George Pickett.
At Ford’s theatre in Washington, decorative flags were installed at the beginning of the war. After shooting President Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth leapt from the balcony in a bid for a quick escape. He might have succeeded had not one of his spurs caught on one of the flags on his way down. He landed awkwardly, broke a bone in his leg, and had to hobble toward his horse. The soldiers who captured and killed the man believed to be Booth credited the flag for aiding in the capture.
It’s doubtful that most who carried the Confederate battle flag or saw it in later years realized the full meaning of the stars. Though only eleven states had seceded from the union there were thirteen stars. One for each seceded state and one each for divided Kentucky and Missouri.
Confederate Major General Stonewall Jackson was universally recognized as being irreplaceable after being mortally wounded at Chancellorsville. General Robert E. Lee said, “I have lost my right arm.” Admirers of the battlefield hero arranged for a formal funeral service in Lexington, Virginia. Casting for a fitting tribute it was decide to drape his coffin with a Confederate flag. The chosen flag happened to be the very first Confederate flag ever made.
See ya’ll in the field, 2nd Sgt Miller.
Boys,
With the weather getting warmer and the flowers begging to bloom, its come time to dust of that uniform, stretch out the legs, and get ready for another season. This year lets make the 4th heard from, by getting out to events and getting dirty. See you boys in the filed.
Your humble servant,
Cpl. Young
Ladies, Gentlemen and guests of the M-LACWS, Inc.
Fire safety is something we must stress at all times at events. Several years ago a smoldering log was returned to a wood pile and almost resulted in fire that would have been disastrous, but was caught in time. Let us reaffirm our commitment to ourselves and our hosts by being diligent in how we build, use and extinguish our fire pits.
These guidelines are to be practiced by M-LACWS members at all encampments:
· If fire pits on are built on sod, they are to be cut into the ground so the sod can be folded back and return in place with minimal witness marks.
· The area around the pit is to be cleared of materials that could spread the fire from the pit. This includes stacked firewood, straw, cooking grease, et al.
· Keep plenty of water handy and have a shovel for throwing dirt on the fire if it gets out of control. Buying a person fire extinguisher for your tent is good idea.
· Stack extra firewood upwind and away from the fire.
· Keep the campfire small. A good bed of coals or a small fire surrounded by rocks give plenty of heat.
· After lighting the fire, make sure your match is out cold.
· Never leave a campfire unattended. Even a small breeze could quickly cause the fire to spread.
· Do not continue to feed a fire if you do not intend to use it (Sundays). This will allow all the wood in the fire to burn up, leaving little or no wood chunks to be removed.
· When extinguishing the fire, drown the fire with water. Make sure all embers, coals, and sticks are wet. Move rocks, there may hide burning embers underneath. Stir the remains, add more water, and stir again. Fold the sod back into place and pat down.
· Feel all materials removed from the fire with your bare hand. Make sure that no roots are burning. Do not bury your coals - they can smolder and break out. Any wood that is partial burn is to be first extinguished, and taken away from the event site for disposal. Extra wood that was not use is to be stacked away from the fire pit area. Straw is not be stacked or piled near a fire pit.
Any additional suggestions are welcome to be added to this important list.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.