Held in Ghent, Belgium
4th Maine Only Civil War Group Invited
By 1st Sergt Guy Meysmans
Through the efforts of 1st Sergt Meysmans, the 4th Maine was invited to participate in an exhibition of Military history at a castle in Ghent, Belgium. Periods from the time of the Middle Ages to the American Civil War were represented. The 4th Maine was the only Civil War group invited. Due to the illness of Capt Robinson, this effort fell solely on the shoulders of the Belgian 4th Maine members, aided by the presence of Cherri Kimerer. From all reports this event went especially well, with allowances for the weather, and it is hoped to repeat this exhibition next year. -The Editor
This event was held in conjunction with several other Belgian living history groups, after nearly a year of planning. The exhibit was held in the inner courtyard of an old, restored, Middle Ages castle in the center of Ghent. The arrival was set for Friday and the first to arrive was 1st Sergt Meysmans, Pvt van Winkel and Pvt McMahon. Sometime after this Cpl Stratten arrived to add his help in erect-ing a wall tent.
The organizers of the event originally said that all groups would be able to spend the night within the walls of the castle but this did not turn out to be the case. After waiting for Ordnance Sergt Sean Kuhl, of the 48th Ohio, to arrive, all members of the 4th Maine were invited to spend the night at the Meysmans home in Antwerp, about 45 minutes away.
The next day was one full of activities at the castle. The 4th Maine boys presented themselves as best they could, as examples of the typical soldier of the Civil War period. This was done together with those living history exhibits from other periods of history. Soldiers and knights of the 13th Century could be seen mingling with soldiers of Napolean's 21st Line Infantry, and their adversaries, the Dutch 7th Line Infantry, British line infantry and Dutch militia units. Members of all these units joined together to perform guard duty at the castle main gate and in the castle ramparts.
Public viewing of the event turned out to be larger than was expected. Busloads of American, German and Dutch tourists arrived dur-ing the course of the day, wondering what was going on. Many questions were asked, especially from those Americans present, wonder-ing what a US Civil War group was doing in a Middle Ages castle. There was even a group of Americans from Maine, who spoke with Mrs. Meysmans about the 4th Maine.
Saturday's weather was rather dramatic, as rain showers lasted throughout the day. Couple this with the draftiness of the castle, and you can imagine how cold it would be on this day. Sunday's weather proved to be much improved, so that planned activities were put to the most use. The proper way to mount guard was demonstrated, as well as loading drill, marching drill and weapons drill. During the afternoon all of the participants marched out of the castle to a square at its front. We then marched back into the castle and those with muskets fired a volley in salute to the event host, Count Robert de Bethune, also known as the "de Leeuw van Vlaenderen", former owner of the castle.
Later there was a skirmish between the two Napoleonic factions present and this 4th Maine tried to act as "UN" troops. Though the idea may have been a good one, it did not turn out that way in reality.
All left on Sunday with thing on their mind, to do this again someday. In fact, as this was being written, steps were already being taken to begin planning a new event.
As for those 4th Maine members present, this event went well. The event could be rated as an 8 out of 10 and turnout was good, for the size of the area available. We had 5 soldiers, 2 cooks and a drummer boy. During the rain showers on Saturday, all fit into the wall tent in an effort to stay a little dry. Hope they will participate again next year.
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With these last words in mind, I must say here that the other members of the 4th Maine need to support our Belgian members more when events are organized in Belgium. As it turned out I was unable to attend this event due to a health problem that came up on Wednesday of the week of the event. It scared me and I did not want to make the trip to Belgium, away from an American hospital. I was the only one from Germany, not counting Sean Kuhl, who was planning on attending this event, and Cherri Kimerer. This is just not right. We plan events in plenty enough time for people to make arrangements to have leave, or what ever, in order to participate. I feel that this is one sided and it must stop. I must take leave every time we participate in a German event because I do not get German holidays off. I also know that this is true for the Belgians. While some of their holidays may coincide with German ones, not all of them do. The Belgians make each event in Germany that is scheduled for us to participate in. NO EXCEPTIONS. The least we can do is return the courtesy when they organize that odd event a year. It is only fair to do so and I feel that we must do so. This is especially true for those of who are being promoted or wish to be promoted. This all reflects upon your consideration for promotion. If you cannot attend events, DO NOT complain about promotions. - Capt Robinson