Event Reports
A Private's View
Dear Fellow Grays,
September 2004
An antebellum mansion, cannons, horse's, hundreds, no no, dozens of men in uniform. Yes, and the Jackson River. Ah, Warm Springs. Yours truly kept Travis company on this little jaunt. We fell in with the 8th VA, who fell in with the 5th Virginia. I never fired a shot, being given the honor of carrying the flag. Good thing there was heavy dew, other wise I would have missed the fun of cleaning my rifle. We stayed in a sha-bang against a wooden fence, where those criters got into some of our trash while we slept. We did enjoy a little fishing, and ate well, when we were not busy picking the bones out. Good thing for the local diner, ‘er, forage area, else wise we would have been eatin’ beans again. The battles went well, with the Yankginians and a few real Yankees flanking us the second day. The weather was great, actually a little cold at night. All in all a good time.
Well, once again we were called to arms to fight the fabled enemy. Yes, those dashing men from the north, err...., west. ahh, well, they had on blue anyway, even if they were from West and western Virginia. The Battle of Dry Creek near White Sulphur Springs, WV. We had a few to go this time, Capt. Robert, Ryan, Bones, and Lee joined by two gentlemen from Bristol TN. I was the defacto 1st Sgt. High Private I guess. We came through OK. Capt. Robert was too afraid of me leading the troops to take a hit. He knows me to well, I would have died too. The first night was in the back of the pickup, late as usual, with Saturday’s tactical finding us in camp. It rained all during the tactical. Big surprise. The live fire was interesting. Not as destructive as it would seem to be, though the targets standing still at a hundred steps and in on rank, not massed. There were still several good hits, and the full effect was seen when all four guns fired canister at once. The Sunday battle went well, with us pushing the Yanks off there fence. Lots of horse troopers at this event. And thanks to the guys who left there tent frame. I am putting it to good use. And of course the Cracker Barrel stop on the way home, where our waiter expressed interest in the unit. Three possible recruits in one weekend and a win for out side, not to bad. Until next time-
Respectfully Yours,
- Pvt./Reporter Kyle Duffer
