Chamberlain Days: Part 2

August 22-24, 2008

Now, you need to understand the layout of the downtown area of Brunswick that we were confined to. There was practically no room for an actual reenactment so we did not put one on our schedule. Well, then (young) Keith had to go down to the 20th Maine's camp and steal some things (they were actually his that he took out of his father's tent because technically Keith is a member of the 20th Maine). The 20th was not going to stand for some whippersnapper stealing things from their tents! Hell no! Especially a Confederate! So, they attacked. They were pretty darn sneaky about it, too. They came up the hill & went around a church to hide their precense.

Dave & Captain Pratt reloading.

Captain Pratt was wounded (once again) in battle and carried back to camp to be treated by the Major Nulle.

Dave shoots at some Yankees.

Here are some members of the 20th Maine who were kind enough to pose with Joshua Chamberlain's statue after the fight.

On Sunday we held a Memorial service at the grave of Joshua Chamberlain. It was very nicely done and actually one person wondered what Chamberlain would think of re-enactors from both the 20th Maine and the 15th Alabama coming to honor his continued effect upon American History.

Chamberlain Days, Brunswick, ME

August 22-24, 2008

This was an "interesting" event. It was an encampment, but it was in a peculiar place...more on that later.

This was a fun event with the 20th Maine. Apparently, unbeknowst to me (not a Maine native), Joshua Chamberlain who was entangled with the 20th Maine at Gettysburg especially, lived in Brunswick, ME and every year the town has a weekend celebration. It was very nice and an exceptional way to get in touch with the public. The best times for us to talk to people seem to be Ft. Knox and now this event. They seem less afraid of us if we are not either robbing them of their fine jewelry (their fine women, too) or shooting at the Yankee's in traditional encampment which requires people to be walking distance over a contorted field, that is definitely not handicapped accessible.

Well, what struck me about the site was that it was on this median strip between the road and it was literally in the center of town. The street lights took a little out of the camping experience, but hey, we had access to a real bathroom. Which leads me to another conundrum, we were camped across the street from Joshua Chamberlain's house...and behind the statue... Now logically one would think the 20th Maine would want to camp there, but after seeing the foot traffic, I think they had more visitors than us, and they had more of the larger tents so they would not have fit where we were, we barely fit!
Our camp. Do you see?!?! We had very little room to work with!!

Joshua Chamberlain's house. I highly recommend the tour. The house is an amazing piece of architecture!

The locals were a scream! All weekend we had people shrieking out the car windows, one person shouted "The British are coming!" as he went by, another made a pirate sounding "Arrgh." I guess the 20th Maine had some teenage kids walk into their camp on Saturday night & they very loudly wondered if there were people in the tents. Well, the one who opened a tent and found a Union soldier staring back at him was more than a little surprised. Brings new meaning to the words, "Restless Natives."


Here is our darling young Miss Kate spinning wool thanks to Sandy's Spinning Wheel. I could not do half the things this girl can do at her age.

Here is the 15th at Chamberlain's statue. We behaved.

This was fun, the 15th and the 20th Maine had a Prisoner exchange on Saturday. You know people just have such a good time at these small events. The Captain's of the companies were socializing a little as the prisoners were exchanged (our soldier was a little more beat up than their man...) and making some jokes about things.

Well, once we got our badly beaten comrade back to camp, Surgeon Nulle treated him/her. Methinks Deb(2) needs to work on her acting because she was trying really hard not to laugh throughout the experience and kept saying this funny little "ow. ow, ow, ow. ow" It was the cutest thing!

Practice on the lawn.

On to the next Post!

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!

A Nation Divided, Waterford, CT

May 16-18, 2008


This was my first overnight event of the season (by the way, I am finished with school completely! No more homework, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks...or something like that). Me and Dave felt the real crunch of gas prices when we left Massachusetts and Connecticut prices were over $4. Luckily, the truck held out until we made it back to Massachusetts where gas was about $.20 less. Well, it was dark...and raining...and we did not know where our tent was because it rained at Camp Pratt last month & Dave left it with Mike to dry out. I went around in the dark calling out names, when someone from the 1st Maryland told me where people were. Then I found Tom! And Meadow! And Sandy! Unfortunately, they were wondering where Mike and Robbie were. This looks like the only event that me and Dave are going to see the 1st Maryland at (sorry guys) because the next oppertunity would be at Gettysburg. While I would love to go, I just cannot bring myself to wear the Civil war clothes in that heat. I am looking forward to some photos from our other members which I may use to update my blog.

Now to some photos of this event!

Here is a cute photo of Tom & Sandy. Apparently, Mike makes some very good ribs that everyone loves (I brought the wet naps). Well, everyone except for the vegetarian...

Aside from the blue uniforms, you know which side of the war these guys are on. I love how this photo clashes with the next...

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!! The Confederates take the town!! It was funny because the captain said to everyone "No burning, no looting...wait >laughter<...no burning. Dismissed." So this was how the Confederates sacked the town of Unity, by milling about carelessly...

This was a pretty big place, nice field to run around on.

We actually had two small cannons (I think they were howitzers, but correct me if I am wrong) which were a big hit with the crowd.

This was a small enjoyment on the Confederate part, we actually outnumbered the Union. Not by many bodies I heard, but still, we are usually, grossly outnumbered.

Well, that is a fairly simple synopsis of that event. It was nice because it was quiet and right next to the beach. I was not about to go swimming, but I did go walking around out there with Dave and the beach was pretty nice.

So...now what?

I know what you are all thinking...the 15th Alabama's season of fun and excitment is almost over (the Veteran's Day parade in Waterville, ME is technically our last official event), so now what am I going to gab about?

Oh, I have plenty in store for the winter months. Some of my plans involve some research because I am going to try to entice some people I know into the hobby...I'm thinking of maybe baiting them with....marshmallows. Yes, that sounds good. I'll go with that.

Remember, if you see someone you know (or should know) e-mail me with some names if you want and I will gladly post correctly!

Ft. Knox, Maine; Take Two!

September 22-23

While I was not there, my super-secret-undercover-roving reporter (the dope I love) was there and brought his camera! Let's see what happened!


~*********************************************************************~
It looks like Saturday dawned (or rather, didn't) the same as it did last time, foggy. Chris must be wondering what Mike is wearing...I'm wondering, why is he wearing that?


Camp looks like it was set up in the same place as last time and from the look of Vicky's hair, it was rather windy.


Here are some of our compatriots from the 20th Maine. I am guessing Vicky was taking the photos, but Dave was not to clear on that and I am not certain when Peg and Kate got there. So it could have been any one of them!


Ah, the glory of the 15th Alabama! Wait...four of them are loading their guns...at the same time... I think I know what is going to go on at Camp Pratt next year.


Looks like our on-sight photographer got pretty close to the action this time! I had to stand pretty far away from them when I was there. This is a good shot of the Union line, not as big a group this time, states my source, but still, they make it look good.


And once again, Ben plays the bloodied victim. He's pretty good at that, and it looks like Chris not only has a bloodied apron (that's new), but he has two very pretty nurses to help him care for the wounded! Lucky Ben!

It looks like everyone had a good time, I also heard (from a reliable source) that the ladies of the 20th Maine invited the ladies of the 15th Alabama to tea! I am so jealous! Unfortunately, as of yet I have no photographic evidence of that soiree, but hopefully I will get to participate in something like that next season!

Well, it sounds like things went over pretty well, and everyone came back alive. I was sorry to have missed it, but I hope to see everyone in the near future or at the latest, next season!

Okay, who spilled the beans?

**


I blame Mike.

Sorry Vicky. Well, I guess word is out and apparently catching on! I am just glad to see other people blogging! I love Deb's blog on the 3rd Maine's activities! If anyone else has felt inspired to blog, please send me an e-mail and let me know so I can link to your blog and see where you and/or your company has been. Also, I would really like to get some names on the people in certain events. If you can describe yourself, friends, family members, etc. I will gladly post their names under the photos. It will also help me remember names & faces the next time I see everyone!

~Kylah

Robbin' a Train...again!

September 1, 2007

We just can't get enough! This event seems to be the only one where we have outnumbered the Union troops. We only had three this time, too, but we had some new civilians and one of the soldiers from the 3rd Maine was new! It was a fun affair! I actually missed the first couple of runs, but I made up for it!

Here's Ashley, a daughter of the 3rd Maine, Deb's child. She's sweet and the same age as Charlene...two ten year old girls on a train doing basically the same thing over and over again all day...they were talking about killer ninja rabbits stopping the train by the end of the day. The vivid imaginations on these girls!

Here's a photo of Deb and a new civillian, Brenda. It's always nice to meet new people. I did not get a real chance to sit down and talk with Brenda, but she seemed nice and all the 3rd Maine women I have met like to get into the act of accusing 'our boys' (the Confederates) of being traitors. Something me and Vicky take offense to! To think of those dashing men of the 15th Alabama as criminals is just horrible! And they're not robbing the train, they are "liberating" goods for the benefit of the country as a whole.

Here's a photo of Rick and Private Cylik. I had never met him before, he was our replacement for Matt. I hope he comes back next year, it is so great that more Union people come to protect the train! It makes the whole robbery more plausible in the defense of the train part (two Union soldiers shooting down six Confederates...I don't think that would have happened during the Civil War unless someone was REALLY lucky).

Here's another photo of Deb and the other new (to me) civillian, Marsha! Once again, I came late so I did not get to say hello to the two new ladies of the 3rd Maine, but I cannot wait to see them again! Hopefully sooner rather than later! I have to say, I loved all their hats! I need to get into hat making! As if I had free time! >rolls eyes, snorts<

Here's Ben's valiant charge at the Union troops!

Unfortunately, as brave as Ben is, he was brought to a halt by the musket fire of the 3rd Maine. Here, our surgeon, Chris administers something to assage his misery (no, not whisky).

Here's another elusive member of the 15th Alabama, Mr. Joe! I have actually only had the pleasure of meeting him once, at the Stranger's grave in Gray, ME on Memorial Day.

This was great. As mention above, I arrived late for this day's events. Well, on my way up to Maine, I stopped and picked up Dave and a few others, some provisions which did not fit in my basket! Kate was gracious enough to loan me hers. Well, once I got the food covered, I had to figure out a way to get it to the guys. So, I called Dave on his cell phone (I know...real authentic >eye roll<) and said that I was going to figure this out and ask the 3rd Maine to help me out. I was thinking, I'll just put it on the end of the last car and someone can sneak it off. Well, I went to Rick to ask for his assistance. Well, told me that it shouldn't be a problem passing off the basket to the Confederates because some of the ladies (Vicky) had been flirting and consorting with the men in some manner all day. Basically, it was Vicky flirting her heart out. >smacks forehead< That's what I did. Someone burst out laughing as I lowered my face into my hand and then looked back at Vicky sharply. Honestly, what are we going to do with that woman?! Well, she did pass off the food rather well, and Mike made it seem part of the plan when he asked if anyone had found provisions on the train with the dispatch case and coin box.


This was a good scene. Chris came over to his daughter, Kate and started calling her "Maggie." He asked her where her mother was (Peg, who was back at the station). Peg was there to pick Kate up and she wasn't supposed to be on this ride, which could be why Chris came up to her and asked (in a southern-like accent why she was on the train). Anyway, Kate, with her own southern-like accent, said that the Yankee's had captured Peg. Then the conversation went downhill and Chris said something about how Kate should know how much of a troublemaker her mother is. His parting words to Kate were something along the lines of, 'your mother should be out of prison, soon.' It was so hard not to spend the entire event laughing hysterically.

There were enough of us to seperate the Union sympathizers from the Confederates. Here's a good shot of the Union, Steve is wearing the straw hat. And you can see a young boy in suspenders peeking out from between the railings on your left...that's Deb's son, Benjamin. I actually did not get many photos of him.

Well, finally, the Union got to take the Confederates out in the last run. Fair enough seeing as how our boys took them out all day in June.

It was a good day. The weather was nice, there was a good breeze for those of us wearing layers, and we had a great turnout! The best part was the last run, we were sitting there for a while when all of the sudden, about fifteen asian tourists came around the boatyard. We thought, "okay! tourists! And foreigners, this'll be great for them!" well, next thing we know, a huge bus comes into the parking lot and we end up taking on about fifty asian tourists. My big question of the day was, why are they in New England? >shrug< but they seemed to enjoy themselves, and as always the 15th Alabama and the 3rd Maine do not disappoint when it comes to drama!

Ft. Knox, Maine: Part III: Revenge of the Confederacy

July 28-29 (Sunday's Battle)

I just couldn't resist the title, we won this day, and it didn't look as bad as it did in Groton! Can you really blame me? It's such a shameless pun.

Here's Mike serenading Chris and Steve with a little song (story) after breakfast.

I think this is a really good photo of Sandy. She's amazing! She went to one event, the train robbery in June, and she's gone into re-enacting full ahead! She also spins wool into yarn! It's pretty neat. If ever there is an event the 15th Alabama attends, look for her spinning because it is really neat to watch.

Well, here are the Union scouts. I guess the one on the right was brand new, like that day brand new! Good for him, young people getting into the re-enacting is nice to see because they could be out doing worse things.

Here is an excellent death scene. The 15th's soldier's took out the scouts first so they wouldn't alert the rest of the 20th Maine. You know, it looks like the Confederates shot a lot of young people at Ft. Knox...stop dying! You're making us look bad!

Here's a good photo of Dave and Ben. Well, it's not that good because you can barely see Dave's face through the smoke, but you get the general idea.

This was a good scenario. Chelli, against the Captain's orders, charged the 20th Maine (from a rediculous distance). Well, big surprise they "shot" him. However,...

...they only wounded him. He's really part of the 20th Maine, so they treated him like a traitor. Here's a photo of one of the guys running up to steal Chelli's hat, as a souvenier?

Then, when the hat-thief was "shot" the Captain of the 20th went up and stabbed Chelli to finish him off. It was pretty comical and the spectators around me thought that it was not only good drama, but pretty funny, too. I mean seriously, the guys couldn't help but laugh.

Steve's another one of those people who are hard to take a photo of. I was/am really happy that I got this shot of him because it's a good action pose, too.

And finally, we finish off our battles with watermelon because it really makes you feel better after running around in the heat. It's the original fruit/sports drink!

Well, we packed everything up and headed out. It was a little cramped to get the cars in because the 20th Maine couldn't bring their vehicles into the Fort and we were right there, so it created a little congestion problem. But all in all, it was a fun event and hopefully we'll be able to go again!

Update: There will be another Ft. Knox event September 22-23, 2007. I cannot go but I strongly encourage everyone who can to go!