The Official newsletter of the Southern
Guard Living History Association
March 2004
From the President's
Desk
Hey Pards,
Okay. I apologize. I realize my
performance Saturday night in the smoky barracks at Point Lookout
set a new low. I’m here all week…
Well, now that it is out of the
way, I feel sufficiently cleansed and can freely admit I had a great
time at PLO. What a fine event to start the season!
In addition to the fun I had
participating at the event, I was even more pleased to see a wide
array of the SG membership in attendance. From Nebraska, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland and Virginia,
members and friends came to help make the event a success. I enjoyed
just standing in the doorway of the NCO’s room (When Scattergun
Carter wasn’t blocking it, pleading his case to be left off a detail
or trying to develop a scheme against a comrade) and watching and
listening to all of the good-natured chatter and bustle in the
barracks.
I also enjoyed listening to the
cooks scream at each other when our food was dropped on the ground.
That was comforting. I heard Joe McGreal’s name the most. I guess
that’s what happens when you move a man beyond his skill level,
which in Joe’s case was crushing coffee beans with a log.
Ha! In seriousness, Jay and all of
the cooks did a great job in adding to the atmosphere and preparing
good food. Congratulations! Congrats also to the organizers,
officers and field music for your very successful efforts to make
this event enjoyable and purposeful.
I would also like to take a moment
and mention Scott Burgard’s fine work as a photographer. Scott has
only been at this a relatively short time, but already his images
reflect a level of quality and sophistication that I found
pleasantly surprising. Scott, I hope we can get some scans of those
images for the SG web site—they would be a fitting tribute to your
work and the fine Point Lookout event of 2004.
Courtesy of Paul Calloway and the AC Forums, the SGLHA
now has our own private forum!
Accessing the forum is simple
and we have complete control over who gets in and who doesn't. If
you are already an Authentic-Campaigner member, simply go to www.authentic-campaigner.com and
sign in as usual. Once you are in, click on "User CP." This
will take you to your personal control panel. Once there, click on
"Group Memberships" towards the bottom of the left-hand Nav.
bar. There you will see a listing of the groups you can join. Click
on "Southern Guard" and submit your application.
I
will be approving members (and banishing the unwashed) on a daily
basis. If you aren't an AC member, you'll just need to register
first and then follow the above instructions. These forums aren't
meant to replace the newsletter but will be a place for SGLHA
members discuss upcoming events, discuss uniforms and guidelines,
post interesting photos, etc...
All standard forum rules
apply so no profanity, sign your posts, no trashing vendors, and be
nice. In addition, I am applying SGLHA standards to the moderating
of this forum. Just as we pride ourselves on being a cut above,
these forums will be the same.
Anyway, this can be a really
cool tool for us to share info, talk about upcoming events, etc...
If you have any questions, email me at jstillwagon@earthlink.net
Cheers, J
Thank You letter from Point
Lookout By Dana
Shoaf
Please
click on the letter (right) to read the nice thank you note we
received last month for our donation to Point Lookout State
Park.
Bob and the folks in the 20th
Maine have really done a great job with that site and I think
helping them out was the right thing to do.
Procurement Committee
Alert ! Hardee Hat
Procurement Deal for Manassas By
Ryan Weddle
IRON
BRIGADE.
What’s
pops into your mind when you hear it?
For some folks ‘Wisconsin’ is immediately conjured from
the deep recesses of the cerebral cortex.
Others might recall ‘The Railroad Cut at
Gettysburg’ or ‘Miller’s cornfield at Antietam’.
But for me it’s the Model 1858 U.S. Army
Dress Hat, better known as the Jeff Davis or Hardee hat.
Given immortality by the Iron Brigade who
wore them, these issue hats would become synonymous with
that organization. The brigade would even be
nicknamed ‘The Blackhats’. Heck, even Doug Smith
knows that!
This August the SGLHA has a great
opportunity to portray Co. I, 7th Wisconsin
at the Brawner Farm, site of the Iron’s Brigade’s action
at the battle of 2nd Bull Run.
The Procurement Committee is working to secure a bulk
order of 25 hats from Tim Bender. The
pre-imminent maker of this unique style of
headgear.
These
hats normally cost $99. We have also been
fortunate enough to secure funds from the SGLHA treasury
to help subsidize the cost. So you will only pay
$75! A great deal!
These hats will help in our overall
portrayal of that company. Their photo was
taken in the field just weeks prior to the battle so we
have a great reference for what uniforms and gear we
need. The one thing that shows in this
photo is ‘new’ M1858 hats.
DETAILS FOR THE BULK
ORDER:
Who is
eligible:
Any
full time member of the SGLHA who has paid his 2004
dues.
Those
attending the August event will be given preference.
This
offer does not apply to anyone else.
If
you have a rather new Hardee, then let someone else
who needs one order.
Cost:
$75
paid to Don Barnett by April 15th,
2004. The SGLHA will subsidize $25 off the
original price for the purchase of your hat, and
secure shipping and issue of the hat to you at the
event
Time
Table:
This is the
kicker. We need hat sizes for those
eligible ASAP! The cutoff to get your hat
size in to me (ryanweddle@nyc.rr.com)
is March 17th. Tim Bender has many
orders he is dealing with so get your sizes in
fast, so we can make sure and secure this
order.
THREE
STEPS FOR SECURING YOUR HAT:
If you
believe you are eligible to take part in this
Procurement Committee offering:
Fill
out and submit the order form below
Send
your $75 to Don Barnett by April 15, 2004.
Watch
for E-Mail Updates from the Procurement Committee
On Sunday, February eighth, Rob Hodge, Chuck Sprowls,
and I, meant with Park Officials in Falmouth, Virginia. Park
Ranger and safety officer, Stacy Humpreys opened the meeting.
Stacy explained how new this kind of program will be for this
site. The safety of all who are attending will be their first
priority. Second will be the preservation of the site.
Sorry guys, no digging. I might add this will be her first
assignment as a safety official. Next, Greg Mertz, Ranger in
charge of Historical Interpretation provided research results as to
when and if this kind of program has ever taken place before.
Park records revealed that the
discharge of a firearm and overnight camping have never been done at
the Spotsylvania Battlefield site. We will be the first to do
both. That's exciting! It was mentioned that many other
units have approached the Park with requests to be involved in this
event. I am happy to say, no other units are invited.
Stacy Humpreys commented, " We are looking at the Southern Guard to
set the bar for this kind of interpretation."
Our next
meeting is scheduled for Saturday, March thirteenth. We will
be walking the site at that time. Look for the website to be
posted soon with more details. Pease feel free to ask Rob,
Chuck, or myself any questions you may
have.
Five
Forks Arty Event March 27-28, 2004 By Don Barnett Link: Five Forks
Event
We
will be portraying Carpenter’s Alleghany Battery.
Demos are currently scheduled for the public on Saturday
only however we will have an opportunity for some work
on the guns on Sunday if weather is permitting.
For
further info, please visit the webpage or
contact Don
Barnett
DUES ARE
DUE!
Full time
members are asked to send in your dues to Don Barnett as
soon as possible. They WERE due on February 15th
so don't delay. You will not be eligible to get in on
the Issue Shirt deal (see details below) until your dues
are paid up. You can send him a check or money order or
use paypal to update your membership. don_barnett@hotmail.com
GENERAL
ORDERS
General
Orders is
the official newsletter of the Southern Guard Living
History Association.
The deadline for the
March Issue is March 20th, 2004. Submissions may
be made e-mail to our Newsletter Editor: Christopher
Daley
RENEW
NOW!!
Attn Newsletter Subscribers: You can now
renew your subscription toGeneral Orders
online. To get your newsletter for the 2004 season,
click the button below.
$15.00
Two
cartoons
Below are two cartoons
submitted by Ryan Weddle
Click to enlarge
LOGIN
AND
PASSWORD
If you are a newsletter subscriber or
fulltime member and cannot log onto our Members Only
section, please e-mail Chris Daley to get a login
name and password at tailor@cjdaley.com
ROSTER
UPDATES
We are trying to update our online
roster and are requesting that all newsletter
subscribers and full-time members send their address,
phone number and e-mail addresses to John Stillwagon
at jstillwagon@earthlink.net
A Note
from
Miller
Gentlemen, I just wanted to drop you
a line to thank you all for the very thoughtful and
heartwarming thoughts you passed along to me and my
family after my father's passing.
It meant a lot to the entire Miller
family and I'm deeply touched by your sentiment. It
makes me realize that this organization is like my
extended family.
James T. Miller
Picket Post
Update
Fall Picket
Post Nov 13-14,
2004 By
Chris
Daley Link: Fall
Picket Post
This
November the WIG is planning on bringing a hand full of
guys (dozen or less) to the picket post to fall in with
us as Federals against Sweeney and the Critters. This
would allow us all to work together as a single company
and get to know each other a bit better in an intimate
setting without the distraction of public demos we
normally have at living histories.
Then in 2005,
the WIG would put on a picket post in Tennessee that the
SGLHA would attend as an opposition force.
This
not only frees up our event contacts to only worry about
picket posts every other year, but offers us one great
road trip every Fall to support like minded
folks.
In addition, Doug Cooper has enlisted
several individuals from out west to come to our event
to experience life as a Vermonter as interpreted by the
SGLHA.
In any case, Pat, Doug and I are all
excited about this and I hope you are too. Take a look
at the website again and let me know if you have any
ideas on how we can improve the event!l
SGLHA Sewing Weekend at the
Daley's
By Christopher
Daley Dates: March 20-21,
2004
Jenn and I would like to send an open invitation
out to the SGLHA to come to our house March 20-21 for a sewing weekend. In the past, sewing
weekends have been a chance for fellas to make repairs, start on projects
(or finish them in Miller's case) or just hang out.
Don't worry if you don't know how to sew as there
will be plenty of 'experts' on hand to help out. If you plan to come,
please send me an e-mail and the type of project you are working on so I
can have supplies, patterns and thread on hand to help out. We hope to cut
out the first batch of CS issue shirts that day so some of you may want to
start on those (See details below).