Fort Knox

July 25-26, 2008

I love Fort Knox. I think all of us do. Well think about it, we get to camp in a state park that is also a FORT, how cool is that?! And we did not have to camp right outside the main entrance of the fort which has cast an unsavory appearance upon us (& our pride). Something I did not know until I went this time was that the Fort was built to fend off attackers during the War of 1812. Apparently, the area had been attacked before so the need for a fort was on the edge of everyone's minds. Well, they started it, and then the war ended. Well, sometime later, the Civil War began and the state decided to re-continue building Fort Knox in case of an attack. To this day the fort remains unfinished. Despite being unfinished (the only thing I see missing are the cannons) this is an impressive place in a strategically favorable spot along the river.

On to the photos!

See!? This is where we camped this time. It was still along the road, but it was much better than where we camped last year. And thank goodness we got to camp somewhere else, not all of our tents would have fit!

The 20th Maine gets to camp inside the fort. I have to admit, I am kind of jealous. I think it is really neat that they get to camp in there, but the 20th Maine was stationed there breifly before being sent down South to fight the war.

We had a pretty sizable group this year. Not only were we in full force, but we had three gentlemen from the First Maryland come all the way up from Connecticut! I cannot thank Elvis (John), Rocky and Chris enough for coming and we had such fun! It is always nice to have semi-even numbers at any event. Also, Marc from the 29th Georgia (I did not know there was one up here...) came, our newest member, Martin and we had our turncoat, Keith.

"The Rebs are comin'! The Rebs are comin'!" No seriously, he shouted that as he ran past.

Here is a lovely photo of Deb as we ladies watched our men die honorable deaths at the Saturday battle (we won on Sunday).

The 20th Maine lines up after their victory on Saturday!

The Confederates also line up.

This would have been an excellent group photo if everyone had been there, but for some reason, certain people just disappear after a gathering (battle) and you do not see them again until later and then someone else has disappeared! I need a nail gun.

As the evening waned, Tom and Ashley went out to pick wild blueberries. Deb, in her quest to track down her child also joined them. I, being the lazy thing I am, chose to participate marginally in the picking and then resumed my duties as historian to document the memories being created by these three. Which is all code for, LAZY. Can you tell I feel guilty about it? It is something like branding yourself a traitor...you save everyone the trouble of accusing you.

And this is a lovely photo of our group before Elvis, Rocky & Chris left. We are missing Keith & Mark, too. Mark left Saturday night and I do not know where Keith went. Those young men nowadays! Always running off!

Here is the end of the event on Sunday where we finished the battle and said our good-byes to the 20th Maine. At least until next time...

...and next time is Chamberlain Days! See you then!

North New Portland Bicentennial

July 12-13, 2008

I liked this event. We marched in a parade, got to socialize with some locals (to the group, recruiting!), and ended up with 6 or 7 pies. The area where we were camped was really nice, too, flat, even and fenced in by trees. The mosquitos were brutal though, you would think they would be well fed with all the wildlife in Maine...

Here was our campsite, tucked into a little corner of the fair grounds. It was great because no one was set up next to us & the only traffic we had to worry about was foot traffic, which is what we wanted!

This was our group for the Parade on Saturday. It was pretty good and we got a woman from some newspaper (the Sugarloaf irregular, I think) to take a photo of all of us!

Here are the troops on the march with the ladies following.

As a salute to all the veteran's of New Portland, past and present, the gentlemen fired a round on the bridge.

Here is a lovely photo of Lindsey. This was the first time I saw her dressed as a civilian, she had started as a soldier but as of Gettysburg she is now a proper lady. She did a really good job with her dress and the hat goes so well with it!

Chris treats our scout, Tom, who was wounded on one of his scouting missions. The surgeons tent really draws people in, mostly because Chris knows so much about it and is so good at lecture.

I liked this event, mostly because, while it was small, there was a lot of interest by the locals and they made it interesting...Davey Crockett...

>blink<

Did July really happen? Or did I miss it? Well, I should be up to date soon. A quick breakdown of the events of July were;
July 3-5: Gettysburg
July 12-13: North New Portland Bicentennial
July 26-27: Ft. Knox

The only one I will not be reporting on is Gettysburg because I was not there. Instead, I will refer you to Deb's blog Lady of the Blue and Gray, for detailed (and witty) narration's of the whole Gettysburg experience, from both sides of the war!

I know what you are thinking, "what has she been doing?!" the 2x4 of life has just been whacking me in the head for the past month. But I will catch up...I have to, I was voted Historian and I do not want to get voted off the island!

Train Robbery

June 21, 2008

Ah, once again, we take the train from Manasses Junction to Harper's Ferry, Virginia. On this event, I determined that we need a rough plan on what each ride is going to be like. Sometimes things get a little confusing because so many things are happening all at once, not always a good thing when dealing with black powder...

...On to some photos!

Why do we only get three Union soldiers at a time?!? We're not scary! The train robbery is fun and if you insist on someone being the "bad guy" both sides are! Geez, the Union commandeers the train & the Confederates steal Union money then sends the civilians on their merry way. Well, usually it is the 3rd Maine who helps us out, this time, we had two from the 20th Maine! Chelly (nickname spelling?) and Deb (Squared)'s husband. And our only gentleman from the 3rd Maine was Dick (Deb's "Uncle").

Just to clarify, we have two ladies in our group named "Deb" so since I knew Deb Bergeron (3rd Maine) first, she will be Deb. The other Deb (20th Maine) will be Deb Squared, as Mike called her. Like I need more confusion in my life!

Here is Deb (Mrs. Bergeron) our Union Lady from the 3rd Maine who camps with us when the 3rd Maine is not doing anything. She is definitely an asset to our company, we might have to have an ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN if our events ever conflict with the 3rd Maine. Tickets will be sold at the door...

One of our newest members is Amanda. She actually got involved because Mike talked her into it & she in turn talked her husband Martin into doing it. This was technically their first event. The train robbery seems to be a really good first timer event because you have little exposure to multiple people yelling commands you do not understand while you try to shoot the darn gun. It gives you that chance to learn the procedure and the showmanship.

Martin has a lot of promise, but he needs to work on it. He came on to the train on the first ride they were on and whispered to Amanda "Do you want to be kidnapped?" when her response was in the "um, sure" nature, he grabbed her and Marsha saw him 'dragging' her off the train & said "Where are you taking that woman?!" He stopped, looked at Marsha, then side to side and said "Nowhere..." then took off out the back. Amanda did pretty good, she struggled as he ran with her, but then we pose the problem of getting her back ON the train...

On one of our final runs, we civilians decided that one of us should take a hit and either die or become wounded. Well, I asked Kate or Meadow to do it, they both wanted to. It ended up being Kate taking a bullet and Meadow catching her, then fainting. Well, unfortunately for Meadow, she fainted, but was half under the bench. Kate meanwhile was causing quite the commotion due to her "wound." The both of them put on a magnificent show. Better than I had hoped for....thank goodness there were no little children present on that car, I am sure there would have been some life-long emotional scarring.

And our Captain was killed. He seems to enjoy taking injuries...as for this one, I will not divulge anymore information as to how he was killed except for the fact that Chelly pulled a pistol, took Mike hostage and well, let's just say friendly fire did him in & leave it at that.

Once again, we had another stellar performance by all. We have to continuously thank our friends from the 3rd and 20th Maine who come down to this event, we just wish we did not outnumber them so badly! I know, you are probably thinking, "Wait, isn't that what they want for once? They are always outnumbered!" No, we do not want to outnumber or be outnumbered, we want a fairly balanced group so that the show we put on is spectacular! Keep your eyes peeled for our next train robbery at the end of August!

Update

Okay, here it is. I will admit it, I am a wimp and opted out of Gettysburg this year even though the 15th is going, but, it's just so hot!!!! >Caution, whining in progress< I do not have a problem with the clothes, nor the camping, nor the fabulous stench of re-enactors on Sunday morning (authentic, no?). I just have no desire to wear a full length dress at Gettysburg. Have you people been there?!?! That place is gets really hot! I can handle by the water hot, but Gettysburg is a little too far away to catch an ocean breeze. So, best wishes to everyone who goes, I expect photos, and just so everyone is on the same page, any photos I post of Gettysburg will not be mine, but I give credit where credit is due. Deb's blog, Lady of the Blue & Gray will give you an idea of both sides of the re-enactment.

I love Gettysburg, I want to go, but there are only so many layers of clothes you can get away with taking off before you are called either a harlot or arrested (only one leads to jail, though). Let me know how it goes!