GETTYSBURG

The 135th gettysburg event was, if nothing else, huge. The numbers are not certain but it is around 26,000 counting dependents. Yes, one person died of a heart attack. A civilian lady. Yes, one person was shot by a live round. They caught him and he is going to be tried.

The battles.....well they were big. Our friday depiction of the Iron Brigade went smoothly...if you do not count the ambulance and semi truck going south on the road we were marching north on...all the while flanked by spectators. Oh yes, we were marching in a column of companies. Other organizations fared much worse. There was simply no traffic control as entire brigades entered the field. They went were they wanted, not where they were supposed to go. One medical fool tried to throw our surgeon, Tony Burnett off of the field. Well, we can imagine how far that went. It seems that he did not like the green flag Tony was displaying. Needless to say, Tony stayed on the field. Saturday morning had the oddest start. We were where we were supposed to be and the rebs under Jack King lined up 10 feet away and started firing. They actually squeezed through one of the battalions. When asked to stop, the battalion commanders refused until King told them. The balance of the fight was dandy but I think we were taken out of action too soon. Following orders, you know.
The four o'clock battle ended at four, just as we arrived. I was ordered to take you back to camp. Not wanting to walk all of that way for naught, I ordered the brigade forward to see if we could find a reb unit still wanting to fight. When we did not find anyone, we cracked off some dandy 800 man volleys. I have since been charged with violating orders for not just ordering an about face and take you back to camp. I just guess some commanders do not feel the same sense of responsibility to their men as I do.

For pickets charge, I was asked if i would allow the Irish brigade portray the 59th Ohio. When I asked how many men we were discussing, I was told 150. I was also ordered to march out of camp at 12:45. Well, we marched out at 11 and discovered about 600 men where we were supposed to be. When I complained, the army commander rode up and refused to intervene. I was then told that if I did not like it, to leave the field. As a result, we were about 100 yards from where we were supposed to be. It was neat to watch a 12,000 man pickets charge but that was about all---neat. Our camp area was by far the worse area of all of the brigades. I do not feel like the powers out there understand the time, distance, expense, vacation time, lost wages and sacrifices we western troops put up with to go that far for so long. In return, I think we could be given a few scraps as a reward. I sure have not seen a couple of thousand of them out here.

Many folks did an admirable job. I hesitate to start naming names because I know I will forget someone. Let's just say that everyone did their job and then some. Many went far beyond what they were asked. My deepest thanks and heartfelt gratitude.

CHEERS	JEERS
Pickett's Charge	Culp's Hill - we got left out!!!
Dave Shackelford's leadership (with Mel Kent, Tom Emerick and many others)	Dana Heim: When advised some other group had our place on the Line Sunday, he said "If you don't like it, go home!"
The volunteer workers who strived to get us in and OUT of the Event.	The Organizers decisions to keep as much secret as they could - even from their own staff!
The Rustic Camps.	The hourly tractor pull through the rustic camps.
NO WATER in the camps.	Plenty of Firewood.
The Troll Skit along the exit road.	The Troll Skit delaying traffic on the only exit.