"Who the heck are you guys?"
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The reactivated Co. K was founded in 1992 by Bob Denton and Travis Haymaker, both of Winchester, Virginia. Denton and Haymaker were veteran reenactors with prior experiences in a number of units.

Already close friends, it was at the filming of the movie "Gettysburg" in August, 1992, where the seeds for the founding of Co. K were planted. The unit grew quickly over the next years as they were joined by other friends, most of whom were reenactors, disenchanted with their current organizations.

The 37th is a charter member of the Pridgeon's Shenandoah Legion (PSL), a national reenacting organization based in the Middle Atlantic region. The PSL's trademark is a strong emphasis on the "hardcore" or "campaign" impression, which involves adopting the way of life of the Confederate soldier "on the march" including camping without large tents or other creature comforts unknown to soldiers of the period. The Battalion is commanded by Major David Pridgeon of Joppa, MD.

Among the goals of Co. K is to break the stereotype of the "hardcore" reenactors by serving as "ambassadors of goodwill" to both other reenactors and the general public. "Hardcores are often seen as snobby or elitist", said Bob Denton, "but the 37th boys always try to joke around and keep things from getting too serious, especially in camp. Many Confederate units were notorious for their pratical joking and raucous senses of humor, especially Hood's Texans, and other 'western' troops. We try to capture some of that spirit in our own comportment. Some people think we're goofy, many don't like the fact that we've got so many young guys, but oh well...you can't please everybody!"

However the unit does pride itself on a high level of discipline and precision in both drill maneuvers and battle. "We don't joke around during battle", said Denton, "we'd cheapen the impact of what we're trying to reenact by doing so."

Yet it's difficult to escape the stigma of elitism as Co. K is far from an egalitarian organization. The members must meet strict standards for physical fitness, reenacting knowledge and "an obsessive love of civil war era material culture, especially clothing and gear". Membership is not open to the general reenactment community (or) public and is by invitation only, new recruits being "sponsored" by a current member. "There are a number of other 'invitation only' units out there", said Denton, "but they recruit on the basis of how 'awesome' an individual looks...how good their clothes and gear are and such. We are concerned about those things also...but the way a recruit 'fits in' is also critical. We are all close friends in the 37th, so we are always on the lookout for people of like mind. Gear, uniforms, all that stuff can always be improved; its harder to change a mindset."

Company K participates in many reenactments and living history programs around the region, and can usually be seen at least twice a year at Harper's Ferry National Historical Park.

More recently the company's horizons have been expanding, and the group has begun to get interested in doing more Federal and civilian impressions. An example of this was a program presented at the "National Tom Sawyer Days" in Hannibal, MO, July 1997. The pivotal portrayal was of Tom and Bence Blankenship, two boys who were contemporaries of Mark Twain (Sam Clemens) and contributed to the better part of the characterization the world would come to know as "Huckleberry Finn". Bob (right) portrayed Ben Hawkins, the real-life sheriff of Hannibal and older brother of Laura Hawkins, who Twain would turn into "Becky Thatcher". The photo on left shows Randy portraying "Tom" and Travy as "Bence", Tom's older brother and friend of Ben Hawkins. Although Huck's character was based primarily on the real life Tom Blankenship, it was Bence who actually aided a runaway slave whom he had discovered on an island in the Mississippi River while fishing. He brought the unfortunate man food and drink for several weeks, ignoring the danger he was placing himself in by doing so. Sadly, the escaped slave was drowned and never realized his dream of life in the "free states".

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