Event Reports
Tom Speaks Out
Winter Encampment------------------
March 2000
Brrrrrrr!!! The first ever (at least for me) winter campaign was cold, but a big success! Now we have an idea of how those boys at Fredricksburg felt (well, at least some of us do). It was a new experience to camp in the snow. We were very honored to have the 1st Kentucky as our guests. They are a great bunch of guys and their captain is always full of interesting and funny stories.
I was sad (or lucky, depending on how you look at it) when I arrived to find that I had missed the early morning "chaps" from school Friday. Seems the local schools had sent busloads of students over to the mansion to learn of the "waw" and our hobby. I had only missed 'em by about 10 min! Shew!
For those of you who missed the event, you missed some of the best eating ever. Our very own Chef Boy-are-dee himself, Captain Stowe, brought a stew, added onions, and everyone loved it. Kyle fixed us supper and breakfast. Kyle is a pretty good chef himself. if a he can keep his eggs yellow and his steaks out of the ashes! I'm still picking those ashes from my teeth! He said it was a new spice and asked me if it was done, to which I replied, "What? The ashes or the steak?" Oh well, it was good none the less, and we are all grateful for the good meals we had. Even the Kentucky boys cooked up a good batch of chili beans and cornbread, which made a hearty meal.
Saturday morning we had dress parade, and we found that we all needed practice with that! After dress parade, there was drill, drill, and more drill. However, what came after drill on both Saturday and Sunday was something you rarely see at a civil war event, a snowball fight! The 1st Kentucky was fighting the 18th Va.! The sky seemed to be full of white "shot and shell" It was surely a sight to see.
Our very own Don Wallace came Saturday for a few hours, and what happens to him? He makes front page of the paper! Hooray for Don! Captain Stowe's first act as Captain was to appoint two new Corporals. Josh Austin and Jason Brooks have gladly accepted the new positions. Congrats to the both of you! David Wilson was put on probation. Why him and Wendy want to stay with us is still a mystery.
Corporal or Captain? Ironically enough, Corporal Austin's first act as Corporal was to become captain! Seems he took command of the company for a short time. He even commandeered Lester's claymore to help him in his endeavor! He marched us around and bellowed out commands with the best of `em! Go Corporal Austin!
It turns out that Kyle Duffer is quite the marksman. There were two firing competitions on Saturday and Sunday. You were to open and close your cartridge box, draw and return your rammer, and have your feet at a "T". The Kentucky boys gave Kyle a run for his money, but he loaded and fired his weapon in 1 minute, 9 seconds on Saturday. Sunday, he did even better, with a time of 1 minute and 4 seconds. He was our champ both days. Congrats to Kyle!
Sunday afternoon the event was over, and it was time once again to pack up and go home. We all said our good-byes and sadly departed. Thanks to all who came, and for those who didn't, you missed a good event! surely different.
The next report will be after Bentonville, so stay tuned to see what happens. I'm sure we will have a good time, as we always do. Lets see some good turnout this year folks, because after all, the more the merrier!
Until next time,
Sgt./Reporter
Tom Ward
