The TBM went south to Savannah to portray the 70th Ohio with the SCAR men.  Two TBM members took roles as Sergeants under the guidance of Capt. Ken Giddens of the 48th New York.  We appreciate the opportunity to comemorate this event.  The entire weekend was rainy and cold, but the SCAR boys braved on.  We had a fun time and we want thank the Georgia State Parks staff and, Daniel Brown; along with Event coordinators Joe Blunt, and Clint Stanley.  Five TBM members were in attendance along with our newest associate member Chris Crabb.

Members of the TBM participated with the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust with a living history on the 5th of December at the Fort Lamar site.  Fort Lamar, originially named the tower battery, is located on James Island and was the site of the June 1862 Battle of Secessionville.  Members participated in talks with the visitors and demonstrated period equipment and weapons.  Author Stephen Wise was on site to provide tours of the fort and describe the 1862 battle.  We appreciate the opporunity to provide historical interpretation of the site to the public and thanks to John Jowers and Mike Taylor for inviting us.  Anyone who has not visited Fort Lamar is encouraged to take the short drive out to James Island and visit this well preserved earthen fort. 

It was a fine Saturday on sunny and warm Sullivan's Island. Initial NPS figures estimate the crowd of visitors at nearly 225 folks! Event began around 1000 hrs and had the represented time periods in their respective portions of the fortification. Pete and I covered the expanionist period through the American Civil War. Ron and his pard from Middleton Place covered the Rev War period. We also had representation from the Span-Am period, WWI and WWII Coastal Artillery and MP.
Pete seemed to draw the most visitor attention with his funny looking sky blue uniform. It seems the Seminole Wars are an oft dicussed period of history. His fatigue uniform was great and it was nice to see an 1830s era Artilleryman come alive. On a side note; Pete did one heck of a job networking and recruiting. Hopefully, we can see some new recruits come forward.
I represented the Charleston Battalion circa 1863. It was nice to sport the Charleston Depot and my other English accouterments and blue-grey kersey uniform items.
Ron did his best 2nd South Carolina impression and folks seemed intrigued with his lovely "sea biscuit".
We did three seperate programs for the public at 1100, 1300 and 1500 hours. Each time-period was given 2-3 minutes to discuss who they were, what they wore and what they shot. We finished each discussion with a loading demonstration. We next moved to the firing line and did a fire by file. We finished with a nice volley.
All in all it was a pleasure to support this fine local fortification on its 200th Anniversary with the first ever timeline event. Rick Hatcher seemed thrilled with the turnout and would like to make this an annual event.

Historic Brattonsville presented the "Black Hope, White Fear" event today at their site in McConnells, SC.  This event features what many consider to be a touchy subject: The prosecution of an entire family suspected of inciting slave rebellion.  Set against the backdrop of the election of 1860, the secession of South Carolina, and the fears that slaves may yet revolt, Historic Brattonsville brings to life an untold story. 
In December of 1860, the Bethesda Presbyterian Church formed a vigilance committee with the Turkey Creek Minutemen.  This group was to form slave patrols and arrest any suspicious black or white people.  Well, the Minutemen knew right where to go, the home of the Pugh family.  Mr. Pugh, a local farmer in the McConnells area, had been selling whiskey to slaves.  This action, although not illegal, was considered a direct threat to the safety of local families.  The Minutemen went to the Pugh house on the evening of December 26, 1860, and surrounded the cabin.  They sent Dave, a McConnell slave, to the door to lure out Pugh.  When he realized trouble was stirring, he fired at Dave, striking him in the leg.  A shootout began, and just as quickly, ended.  The Minutemen stormed the house and brought out the entire family.  The local sheriff wanted nothing to do with the "crime," so the church ran the trial.  The family was found guilty, adults whipped, all had the left sides of their head shaved, and the family was sent north on a train, never to be heard of again.  Nobody knows the real truth of the guilt of innocence of Mr. Pugh, or even where his family went.  The story is known, passed down by oral history and documented in the Charlotte, NC papers in early January 1861. 
We are honored to have been a part of this event, and we look forward to future work with Brattonsville.  Many thanks goes to Jon Failor, for his support and assistance.

On an interesting side note, the route from Rock Hill to the Brattonsville site travels over Wildcat Creek.

This weekend, members of the TBOHI made their way to Savannah, GA for a chance to learn how to work the heavy coastal artillery guns of Fort McAllister.  Crews spent all day learning the drill and exercising the gun carriages.  The work was heavy and hard, but well worth the blood and sweat.  We will do this again during the spring of 2010 in preperation for the To Prevent the Effusion of Blood event of January, 2011.

The TBM traveled to Atlanta to participate in a living history portraying the Battle of Atlanta, 1864.  Salt River Rifles member Jim Butler led the SCAR company in drills and picket duty along the line of earthworks as the 39th Ohio.  TBM members engaged the public in conversation and held demonstrations to show the public what life was like during the time.  The event was hosted by the Armory Guard and Salt River Rifles at Gilliam Park in Atlanta, GA.  The site is small and is only one city block from where Mercer's Brigade hit Fuller's Division.

The South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust, in conjunction with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, held a memorial service to honor the men who fought in the 1862 Battle of Secessionville.  The TBM came to support the event and participated with the Washington Light Infantry in the color guard.  The memorial service featured guest speaker Stephen Wise, author of Gates of Hell.  Professor Wise gave the historical background about the Tower Battery/Fort Lamar and the battle.  When the service was over, the TBM remained on site to speak with any visitors to the site during the day.  The TBM also went through the site cleaning trash and repairing one interpretive signs.  We thank the SCBPT for their support of our organization.

This weekend, the Tramp Brigade, Organization of Historical Interpreters, in conjunction with the National Park Service Fort Sumter National Monument, hosted the 1859 Fort Moultrie Living History.  Participants came from as far away as Minnesota to take part in this recreation of life on Sullivan's Island on the eve of the Civil War.  Brian Hicks led a group as the captain of Company E, First US Artillery inside the fort.  The Regulars learned siege artillery drill, infantry drill, participated in fatigue details and lived the life of a soldier in a peacetime army.  Local civilian men were participating in their bi-monthly militia muster and drill outside of the Fort.  Led by a new captain, Dan Shealy, they brushed up on drill and setting up camp.  As usual, the muster and drill of a beat company was more social than military.  Of course, several of the militia members were without weapons and were forced to pay the fine levied by the captain, who seldom listened to the excuse of his men for their lack of weapons and equipment.  Fort employees were also outside the fort walls preparing the meals for the Regulars, who were gracious enough to allow the beat militia to share in the food.  Augusta Carr, Tina Temm, and Jennifer McGarrahan worked over the cook fires in 90+ degree heat all day to keep the men fed.  The heat of the weekend certainly affected the men, as hydration was the word of both days.  It was decided too hot on Saturday for the men to play rounders as many were ready to swim in the ocean.  Several of the regulars and militia made their way to the beach Saturday evening to attempt to supplement their diet with fish and crabs.

 

We want to thank the men and women who made this event both fun and educational.  Without the support of so many, we could not have made the 1859 Fort Moultrie Living History happen.  Please visit the 1859 Fort Moultrie Living History page for a complete list of all participants and the people whose extra support and advise were integral in providing this program.

 

Visit Paint Charleston Daily for more photos and a charcoal drawing.

The TBM spent the weekend at the 145th Battle of Resaca, GA reenactment, falling in with the SCAR as Company A, Tenth Texas.  Friday night featured severe thunderstorms and rain which left everyone soaked for Saturday morning.  It was not long before the sweat saturated whatever was left dry.  High humidity and temperatures in the 80s made for fun times.  The WIG Battalion was lead into battle by Tripp Corbin with capable company commanders such as Jim Butler, Kiev Thomason, and Brian Hicks.  TBM VP Pete Berezuk was the Company A 2nd Sergeant.  The battles featured a pretty accurate historical ratio with Federal soldiers greatly outnumbering the Confederates.  The action was hot and the rattle of musketry was fierce.  The Confederate soldiers were quickly pushed back into the line of breastworks as the Federals were flanking the end of the lines.  Saturday ended with a stalemate as the Confederate lines held.  Joe Blunt, Justin Morris, and Terre Lawson were out and about selling their authentic wares to soldiers in need of quality equipment and clothing.  Wendell Decker brought his gear out for the soldier wishing to have an image struck to send home to family and friend.  The Georgia Volunteer Battalion worked hard to bring off a quality event.  The rain did not dampen the spirits and began again Saturday night and through Sunday afternoon.  We appreciate the hard work of the SCAR, WIG, Armory Guards, and the North State Rifles in making the battalion of campaigners the best in the field.

Two members of the TBM made the trip to Knoxville, TN over the weekend for an impressive event put on by Greg Barnett and Sean Cooper of the Mossy Creek Mess.  We fell in under Mr. Cooper in Company A of the Second Michigan with the rest of the SCAR members.  The company was well led by a cadre of experienced NCOs.  The site of the recreated Fort Sanders is beautiful and picturesque.  There are a few modern intrusions, but rarely did they take away from the feel of the event.  The scenario was well thought out and seemed to be followed.  We did not get any photos of the event, but hopefully we will get a few to post at a later time.

Members of the TBM traveled south to participate with the SCAR at the Battle of Ocean's Pond. Friday morning, the 48th New York moved from their camp and to the front in the advance of the Army. Finding only small bands of militia, the movement was easy. As we closed on Ocean's Pond, the action steadily got hotter as Confederate Cavalry joined the mix. With the train's whistling in the distance, we knew the reinforcements would soon arrive. As the day wore on we were further and further in the advance of our support. We soon encountered a stiff resistance and got pinned down along a road. Anticipating the movement of our own cavalry, we held our position expecting them to come around the rear of the Confederates. After an hour of fighting, it became apparent we were alone, but a stroke of luck gave us the day. The Confederates had exhausted their ammunition and stood up and walked into our lines. We took fifteen prisoners, five who took the oath of allegiance. We moved back to a more defensible position and made camp for the night. Pickets posted through the night in anticipation of an attack and the approach of our own reinforcements, found a quiet night in the northern Florida pine barrens. The rain began late Friday evening and did not stop until Sunday morning.  Early on Saturday morning, reinforcements finally arrived and then we made the big push towards Olustee Station. We formed into lines of battle with the brigade and moved into the open against an overwhelming Confederate foe. Artillery shells shrieked through the air as explosions turned up the ground. Many of our numbers fell to the massed fire of the enemy, only six men of 35 made it out untouched. Many soldiers found keeping their powder dry during the main push on Saturday to be a hard thing.  Plenty of misfires were spread across the entire battalion.  Saturday night left us in a static position with the enemy in our front. Sunday morning we fell in for two memorial services in honor of the soldiers who fought, died, and survived with the horrors of this battle. Union forces suffered 40% casualties here on 20 Feb, 1864.

The much anticipated "Duck River Line" event was a grand time for all who braved the cold of the Tennessee hills.  The TBM had a few members make the drive out to Hohenwald, TN.  We left Thursday afternoon and headed to Atlanta where the ever hospitable Kiev Thomason, of Traveling Man's Emporium, offered up his home as an overnight stop.  Early Friday morning, we loaded into his truck for the final six hours to the event site.  Afternoon temperatures were about 45-50 and the rapidly dropped in the night to below 20.  With plenty of fire wood and campaigner skills, we tolerated the cold fairly well.  Early Saturday morning we received our rations and formed up for an early attack.  Company D, Second Tennessee (US) flanked the Twenty-Fourth Tennessee's pickets without even our own knowledge.  Only a small group was inside their bivouac, where they had begun earthworks, when we started to come in the back door.  Unfortunately, for one of our gallant Unionists, some of the soldiers were a little slow in gaining the works before reinforcements arrived and Captain Hicks ordered the retreat.  In an effort to save his own men, the company commander of the Confederates jumped over the earthworks, taking to the ground the lone Federal to gain the area.  This Federal, and TBM member, spent the remainder of the day as a guest of his fellow Tennesseans.  To prevent his escape, the Confederates took his shoes.  The Federals continued with the pressure for most of the morning, but the ever resilient Confederates kept their ground.  It was not long before they brought in three more Federal prisoners, also taking their shoes.  One of the Confederate officers had his man-servant who seemed willing to help us escape, and also making his escape from the bondage of slavery.  As the action quieted down towards dusk, the Confederates seemed more willing to be nice to their prisoners, even offering food.  As darkness fell and everyone's attention was beginning to shift towards food and warmth, the moment was right for the prisoners to make their escape.  One by one we broke away from our captors and it was a good thirty minutes before anyone even knew we were missing.  Making our way back towards the Federal lines we were surprised to see the pickets were withdrawn.  Captain Hicks decided not to keep up the constant pressure all night and removed the men to the high ground and more ample protection.  We remained Saturday night on a hill with good vision along all approaches.  Early Sunday we moved out to occupy our earth works in anticipation of a Confederate attack, which came just as the sun was moving above the horizon.  This attack was easily repulsed as the weary Confederates had no passion to carry the attack.  Their spirits down, they withdrew.