Into the Breach!
Summer.
Normally I would be spending half the day at work in the High School, doing things like taking the inventory of the 300+ uniform parts and pieces for the cadets and then trying to figure out what I need to order for next year. However they are renovating the whole high school and it is one giant construction zone. So, I’m home.
My summers are pretty busy too. Every weekend I am off to another adventure, whether it is a reenactment, or a research trip for my books, or just a regular vacation get-a-way. During the week I am fighting nature, trying to keep the garden going. It hadn’t rained for 44 days in a row and finally, finally, this week it rained for two days. I was outside in the pouring rain, pruning tomato plants, singing The Who:
Only love
Can make it rain
The way the beach
Is kissed by the sea
Only love
Can make it rain
Like the sweat of lovers
Layin' in the fields
Love
Reign o'er me
Last weekend I went to Charleston, with my daughter Cailin, to a SCAR Roundtable meeting. SCAR is the Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution, which is an internet conglomeration of historians, authors, professors and reenactors.
http://www.southerncampaign.org/
The pension section of that webpage may be the largest collection of transcribed pensions anywhere on the internet. The meeting in Charleston was to determine exactly what happened at the opposite end of Sullivan’s Island while the fort was battling the Royal Navy on June 28th, 1776. At the other end of the island were trenches and some redoubts, built to stop the British army from doing a beach landing and taking the fort by a land assault. This fight was known as The Breach and is located at the Breach inlet, in between Sullivan’s Island and Isle of Palms. One of the reasons that the group wants to know exactly what happened there is because they plan on building a historical park to commemorate the action.
The day before the Saturday meeting we were all going to meet at The Boathouse at the Breach restaurant in the early evening. Cailin and I arrived a little early and I took her over to Fort Moultrie and explained what happened there. She also got to see Fort Sumter, and I explained how the War Between the States began.
The fort was used all the way up until WWII, so a large part of the island has bunkers, gun platforms and ammo supply areas that are now being used as houses, schools and a fire department. We drove over the Breach and checked it out. The Breach in the 18th century was over a mile across, but today, due to the movement of the beach, it is only about 400 yards across.
An 18th century map superimposed over the modern map
That night we ate overly expensive seafood and watched the dolphins play in the Breach. I know my middle daughter, Katie, would have loved to have seen that and Cailin and I figured that we would have to do a summer trip there in the future, instead of going to Ocracoke.
That night we stayed in a less than appealing Motel 6 on the Ashley side of Charleston, but first we stopped at an Arby’s. The overly expensive raw bar just didn’t cut it with us two. The next day we got up a little early and I took Cailin downtown into Charleston. In my opinion the two most beautiful cities in the United States are Savannah and Charleston. Both retain their 19th century history without being overcrowded too much by cages of glass and steel pushing up through the Spanish moss. One of the highest buildings in Charleston is St. Michael’s church, the one that has been there for hundreds of years.
As we were driving towards the battery I passed by Tradd Street. I told Cailin we had to pull over and get out my book on Francis Marion’s Orders. In there I quickly flipped to the page about Marion breaking his ankle during the siege of Charleston in 1780:
On March 19th Marion had attended a dinner party at a house on the corner of Orange and Tradd, hosted by Moultrie’s adjutant general, Captain Alexander McQueen. In a custom of the time, McQueen locked all the doors and first floor windows so his guests could not escape.
Marion was not a drinking man. He was descended from French Huguenots, and the hardest thing he drank was vinegar. Marion decided to go to the second floor and jump out the window. Upon landing he badly fractured his ankle, which put him in the category of an officer unfit for duty. By April his injury had still not healed and he was evacuated. His injury saved him from capture and would create a South Carolina legend.
After that we then began a search for Orange and Tradd. It didn’t take long and I had a passing young woman who was jogging take a picture of us at the famous intersection. I had to tell the young jogger what happened there. I don’t think she knew who Francis Marion was.
We then went down to the battery park and walked along the sea wall while I pointed out how the British took Charleston and then pointed out Fort Sumter in the distance.
The final place we went to was St. Michael’s church and walked through the very historic graveyard in the back on the church. The graveyard is always open and the groundskeeper gave us a little tour of the more famous headstones.
The roundtable was held at the Old Exchange Building, which is one of the oldest buildings in Charleston. It was originally the Governor’s home and a defensive battery in the 17th century. The rest of the day was a series of presentations from the different historians about various subjects in Southern Revolutionary War history. Towards the end of the day we got down to business with the fighting at the Breach.
The Breach is a huge mystery because the Americans wrote of the slaughter of British troops as they came across the Breach in their flatboats. However the British wrote that they never crossed and there were no casualties. So which story is true?
What was true was all the skirmishing back and forth between the two forces in the weeks leading up to the battle on June 28th. There were numerous accounts of men on both sides being killed by artillery and long range rifle fire. This was also a mystery because there is no possible way a rifle from the Revolutionary War could fire a mile, or even half a mile, across a windy inlet and hit an enemy target. So how were these men being shot?
After staring at the map for a few hours during the different presentation I finally came up with a theory. I don’t think the men were shot at across the Breach, but over on the side, where either side could wade along the shore, stay in the shadows and be able to ambush the enemy.
On a personal note, I was always interested in the Breach because I thought I had ancestors who fought there. During the Revolutionary War there were five O’Kelley brothers who all fought in the war and three fought in the 8th Virginia Regiment. The 8th Virginia arrived at the Breach towards the end of the day of the battle as reinforcements, just in case the British did push across the inlet. Doing the research for this fight I discovered that those brothers weren’t there.
The three O’Kelleys who fought in the 8th Virginia Regiment were Benjamin, my 4th great grandfather, and his brothers Charles and William. William was an officer, while the other two were privates in the Regiment. The three O’Kelley brothers in that regiment were in Captain Croghan’s company. This was a rifle company that was stationed at Fort Pitt. Fort Pitt today is Pittsburgh, but in the 18th century it belonged to Virginia and not Pennsylvania. How my ancestors ended up in a unit recruited in that area is anyone’s guess.
In May 1776 the 8th Virginia regiment marched to Charleston to help repel the British attack there, but Croghan's company was delayed recruiting at Pittsburgh. When the company arrived in Williamsburg in June they had missed the march to Charleston. Croghan's company was then attached to the 1st Virginia Regiment and marched north to join Washington's Army.
Croghan’s company and the 1st Virginia Regiment joined Washington’s army in New York and was part of the retreat into Pennsylvania. Everything had gone wrong with the Continental Army by then. Washington had lost the campaign for New York badly. He lost the entire colony of New York while also losing one third of his army when Fort Lee and Washington was captured by the British. New York City had also caught on fire and it was blamed on Washington. Everything Washington had done had made him look like a loser. Congress began considering new generals to take his place and there was a major push to ask for Washington’s resignation. This was slowed when Congress abandoned Philadelphia and fled to Baltimore.
Washington had another problem. On January 1st, 1777 almost all of his army would be going home because their enlistments would be up. This was the case with the 1st Virginia Regiment. In Washington’s ranks there was a private by the name of Thomas Paine. Washington asked Paine to come up with some pamphlet that would make the army reconsider staying on to fight. If the army left, the Revolution would be over. Paine had written “Common Sense” and Washington thought he could work miracles. Paine didn’t think he was up to it, and drank heavily instead. Paine finally got up enough motivation to write “The Crisis”. This is his most famous work, and it was a miracle. The beginning of “The Crisis” states:
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.
The pamphlet was passed among the people and the soldiers and it did motivate them. Not all though. Over half of Washington’s army left, only a few remained… not the Sunshine soldiers. My ancestors, the three O’Kelleys, were in that small group, less than 3,000, that saved the Revolution. Washington took this small army and crossed the Delaware on Christmas night, then attacked the Hessian barracks at Trenton. This was one of the most critical periods in the Revolutionary War, and Trenton, along with the follow up battle at Princeton a few days later, and it is considered the turning point of the war. Because of that battle, and Washington’s audacity, the French began to outfit us, covertly, with arms, ammunition and money. The Revolution was saved.
The Trenton campaign was not easy on the soldiers. Many died of sickness and had physical problems for the rest of their lives. Benjamin O’Kelley was in out of the hospital for the next two years, until his discharge. He later settled on a military land grant in the mountains of North Carolina, up in Buncombe County.
Pretty cool find.
Gold Stars
Today is my daughter Cailin’s 15th birthday. It was a pretty mellow day, spent hanging around the house, and her getting used to her new mini-laptop. She celebrated her birthday last Saturday with a slumber party and a handful of her friends. Before the slumber party we all went to a Lazer Tag place in Fayetteville. Cailin invited a few Raiders along to spice it up a bit. The Lazer tag was pretty intense and I broke out in a sweat doing it. We did two “missions”. On the second mission I told them we would hold the high ground on each end of the room. The room was a mazelike setup with two floors, where the top floor could shoot down into everyone. If you were hit, your lazer would quit shooting for ten seconds. It was a pretty good time.
Today I also got caught up on the farming aspects of my life. I picked two buckets of beans and a bunch of cucumbers. Yesterday and today I harvested the honey from my six bee hives. The honey is pretty dark, like molasses. This just means it has aged in the hive, but it still tastes the same. The new, yellow, honey wasn’t ready yet and still has not been capped by the bees. It was some pretty hot work, 109 degrees heat index, while I was in my bee armor. My bee suit consists of the bee veil, gloves and the rest is US Army ACUs. It’s a great bee suit and it is a light color too. Bees tend to attack darker colors.
Over in Afghanistan one of my Raiders received a Purple Heart. Jose Lopez was my Raider Team commander two years ago. He became an artilleryman, but when the Rules of Engagement does not allow for much shooting of anything but rifles, the cannon cockers end up on HUMVs doing patrols. Lopez was in the top turret of the HUMV when a roadside IED went off, peppering him with shrapnel in the face. The blast was strong enough that it ripped the M249 SAW out of his hands. He was out of duty for two weeks, but then was sent back to finish the mission. This tells me that he was not that badly wounded, which is great.
In the Junior ROTC hallway is a “Blue Star” flag for all those serving. Next to the flag are two framed papers listing all the students who are serving in the military since September 11th. Next year I will have to type up a third paper. Since the war began back in 2001 we have not had a single Lee County student killed, or wounded, until Lopez. So we have been lucky so far. The Blue Star flag was created back in WWI to designate that the person displaying the flag had a relative serving in the military. Each star indicates how many relatives are serving.
A Gold Star flag is flown to show that the family displaying it has lost a relative while serving in the military. There are no Gold Star flags in the Junior ROTC hallway, but there is one in my house that has two Gold Stars on it. One Gold Star is for my wife’s uncle, Noble Edward Fraley. Nobel was in Company K, 357th Infantry, 90th Division of General Patton's Third Army. He served in the Invasion of Normandy, in France, in Luxemburg, Belgium, and in Germany. He was killed in action as the Division was breaking through the Siegfried Line in February of 1945. His unit came under fire and unable to get under cover in time, he was killed. He was buried in Leipzig, Germany, but his body was later moved back home to Winchester, Kentucky.
The other Gold Star is for my brother, Sean, who was killed in 1987 while he was serving in the 3rd Ranger Battalion.
While writing this blog I discovered that there is a movement to recognize the Silver Star flag for those who were wounded or disabled while serving in the military and had to be discharged due to those wounds.
Afghanistan is in the news today, due to General McChrystal’s comments about President Obama’s handling of the war. I have recently decided that I do not think we will win this war. It is not being managed that well, similar to how the Vietnam War was waged. On the ground the soldiers win almost every confrontation, but just like Vietnam, the American soldier will win all the battles but lose the war due to the senior leadership back here in the United States. The question then is, if we pull out will all those who died over there have been in vain?
Vietnam is far enough removed that we can look at it objectively, and historically to discover what happened next. One of the reasons for us being in Vietnam was the idea that if did not fight the communists there, then the communist ideology would spread to each country and they would fall like dominoes. When we left that did not happen, but it most likely didn’t happen because of the expense of fighting a war against the United States for over a decade bled the communist movement so that it couldn’t spread.
When we left Vietnam there was a bloodbath, mainly due to Congress not honoring its obligations to defend South Vietnam. This bloodbath continued into neighboring countries, like Cambodia. Because we had left the region millions were killed by the Communists. So, due to our political defeat in Vietnam were all those who fought and died there considered to have “died in vain”?
History is repeating itself again. Only time will show us the answer.
Brian Jeznach
Two things made me who I am today, the Army and reenacting. In the Army my travels around the world, my time in the combat zones, and my time in the Rangers and Special Forces, created the discipline and the confidence to do whatever I wanted to. My social life pretty much all came from reenacting. I met my closest friends there, such as Bert Puckett and Randy Blevins, when they were all teenagers. I met my wife, Alice, at a reenactment (her first one, when her brother brought her). I also gathered the knowledge needed to write the five books I’ve had published. Like most successful ventures, reenacting started out by accident.
Back in 1980 I had been in the Army for only a year. I joined right out of High School in June of 1979 for three years. When I went to the recruiter my dad, who had been in the Army for almost 30 years, came along to make sure I got exactly what I wanted. I enlisted to become a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. There wasn’t that many people joining the Army then, since it was the post-Vietnam era. The Army was looked down upon, standards were much lower to get in and the Commander in Chief was Jimmy Carter. Each night the TV news (there were only three national channels then) would show how bad it was on a “misery index”. I went in though, not for future benefits or for college tuition, but for adventure. Not a combat adventure, this seemed unlikely since the Soviets seemed unstoppable and the United States administration was not that eager to try to block them. It was more of an adventure on a personal level. Could I live the life of a paratrooper?
Before maroon berets paratroopers wore the glider patch
After a confusing and chaotic 6 months of firsts (first time leaving home, first time firing an automatic weapon, first time I went into a strip joint, first time jumping out of an airplane, first time I got drunk, first time I fell in love with a 16 year old girl that I thought would be my soul mate) I ended up in the 82nd Airborne Division, in the 2nd Battalion of the 325th Infantry Regiment. Indoctrination into this world of warriors dealt mainly with acceptance into the ranks. I was never one just to do things to be part of the crowd, so I bumped heads repeatedly with the older, more experienced, paratroopers in the company (who were around 21 years old). I was slowly accepted, not by doing things to appease those who were the veterans, but by my actions. I was put on the M-60 machinegun and I became the best gunner in the company. They later had to drag me off the weapons squad, by offering me a squad leader position and a sniper school slot.
Kurt Keller and me in Panama
I had a few running buddies during my time in the 82nd Airborne. The first one was my roommate, Kurt Keller. Keller was an Indian from the Iowa who looked oriental and was constantly confused for someone who was Chinese. He was a quiet guy, who constantly read novels. He would read every chance he got, and there were many times that I remember sitting around a smoky fire in the woods in the winter, freezing rain pouring all around, while Keller would read a page, rip it out, and feed it to the fire. Keller left the Army right before Grenada in 1983, but he returned in 1985 and was in the 3rd Ranger Battalion with me. He tried out for Delta on numerous occasions, but never made it, and due to this his injuries from that selection process stopped him from going to Ranger school. If you can’t go to Ranger school you can’t stay in Ranger Battalion. We bumped into each other again when I was stationed in Germany with F Company, 51st Infantry, Long Range Surveillance Unit. He was right down the road in the 1st Armored Division. He is still in the National Guard, married, and living in Iowa.
The other buddy I had in the 82nd Airborne was Brian Jeznach. He was not in the line platoons, but was an RTO (radioman) in the HQ section. The first time I talked to him we were on a support detail to track down Special Forces candidates in Uhwarrie Forest. This was my first field problem with the unit and we lived in GP medium tents outside Troy, North Carolina during November. There was a lot of time just sitting around, talking and goofing off (the usual life of a soldier). He told me about his reenactment unit. I was aware of reenacting, since my first three years of High School was in Ayer, Massachusetts in 1975-1978. This was ground zero for the Bicentennial, since Lexington and Concord were only a short drive away. I had always been interested in history, but it was mainly WWII or the War Between the States. After that field problem Jeznach, Keller and I hung out after duty hours, forming a bond that would continue for years.
Flash forward to a year later, sitting in the barracks, with nothing better to do. Jeznach was packing up to go to a reenactment that was really close, only 45 minutes away in Red Springs, North Carolina. The event was the Highland games, but they brought in some Highlander units and some Continentals and staged a battle. We were on alert at the time, which meant you couldn’t go any farther than two hours away from the barracks. We were all stuck there, watching a small black and white TV, when Jeznach asked me if I wanted to go to the reenactment. I asked him if there were any girls there, and he said there were lots of them (and true to his word, there were). I also asked him if there was beer, and he said that drinks flowed freely around the campfire (and this was also true). So I said I would go.
Brian Jeznach and me at a reenactment in Virginia
When I got there I was introduced to the 2nd North Carolina Regiment of the Continental Line. They gave me some loaner clothes that were pretty tight, but didn’t look too bad and I entered the reenacting world for the first time. That was October of 1980 and I have been there ever since. Though I moved through other time periods (War Between the States, WWII, WWI, French and Indian War) I have always stayed with the Revolutionary War, my “first”. I am now the oldest member in the 2nd North Carolina (not age, but time in the unit). Jeznach became the 1st Sergeant of the 2nd North Carolina Regiment during the last years of the Bicentennial in 1980-1981.
Jeznach was always frustrated that he couldn’t do the more “high speed” aspects of the military. I don’t know why he didn’t. It might have been because his MOS (his job) limited him on his choices he could make, or it might have been due to his eyesight. He talked one time of going to France and joining the French Foreign Legion. I told him there were more chances of advancement here, and if he went to France he might just end up an RTO there too. I think that due to this frustration he left the military after his first enlistment in 1982, but I think he stayed in the Reserves.
I bumped into him a second time when he had reenlisted and came back to Fort Bragg in 1983. He called me up and told me that he was back in Bragg, and I picked him up at the Replacement Depot. We went out to eat and then went to a movie, “The Right Stuff”. I remember the movie because we were on alert, and it was the longest movie I had ever sat through. I kept getting up and calling the CQ desk to make sure that there were no alerts. I was a sergeant now, and had more responsibilities. I wrote about this night in my next book, a book about some of the things I did in the Army:
On Sunday I hung out in the barracks, and I learned of the bombing of the Marine barracks in
Towards the end of the day I learned that Brian Jeznach was returning to the Army and would be coming into
After work on Monday I went out to the 19th Replacement Depot trying to find Jeznach. I soon found out that he was looking for me too. We eventually ran across each other driving on opposite sides of the street. We went out to
Due to that earlier punishment I always made sure that if I was gone for a long period of time, I called the CQ desk to make sure that there were no callouts. If I had my pager it would have solved the problem, but since I lived in the barracks no one would call it anyway. The CQ told me that there was nothing happening and I stayed to watch the rest of the movie. As I drove Jeznach back to the Replacement Depot on
I dropped off Jeznach and returned to the A Company barracks. It was about midnight and when I came into the building the CQ desk was empty. I yelled down the hallway “Is anyone here?” There was no answer. I then jokingly yelled “I’m going to steal your CQ desk!” Still no answer. I started to head up the stairs and I noticed that the backdoor was chained shut. This was unusual. I looked out the window on the backdoor and saw the whole Battalion formed on the field.
Crap! There had been a callout.
So I was with Jeznach when I first went to war in Grenada, October 25th, 1983. I also got in trouble for missing the call out. Also from my book:
I was put in for a Bronze Star, but I had also missed the initial callout. So I would be awarded, and punished on the same day. My Bronze Star Medal was downgraded to an Army Commendation Medal with a "V" device for valor. I also received an Article 15 under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. My punishment was to supervise other soldiers while they did their extra duty punishment, for a period of 14 days.
On one trip to a reenactment up north I stayed overnight at Jeznach’s mom’s house in Maryland. I then learned of an interesting quirk about him. All the folks up north called him Scott, his middle name. However the folks in the South that knew him called him Brian, his first name. I always called him by his last name, which was a military thing. While at his mom’s I learned how to beat a small crab to pieces with a hammer to eat a sliver of meat. I thought it was counterproductive and most likely wasting more calories than you took in, but it was pretty good.
I bumped into Jeznach again, years later, when I went through the Special Forces Qualification course at Fort Bragg in 1988. He had tried out for Special Forces and wasn’t able to make it, and ended up in Military Intelligence. He also had gotten married. The marriage wasn’t a romantic one, but was more a marriage of convenience. He married a woman who was also a soldier, and they both decided that they had lived alone long enough. Unfortunately marriages like this never last and his didn’t either. I lost track of him after I was assigned to 5th Special Forces Group in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
In 2006 I was at the 225th Anniversary of the Siege of Yorktown with my wife and daughters, when I bumped into Jeznach in a British uniform. We shot the breeze for a little while and caught up, and then made promises to keep in touch.
Two days ago I learned that Brian Jeznach had died. He had been working on a jeep, and the vehicle came off the blocks, crushing the side of his head. Initially he seemed OK, but once he went to the hospital it was learned there was severe swelling of the brain and it would not stop. The hospital kept him on life support, because he was an organ donor, but he had died that night. I found out through another reenactor, from another time period (War of 1812), and then I received another message from WWI reenactors. Reenacting is a small world, and word gets around fast. I learned that he left behind a wife and that he was also a firefighter.
So, how does one life affect the world? If not for Jeznach asking me if I wanted to go to Red Springs I would not have joined the 2nd North Carolina Regiment. If I hadn’t had joined the Regiment I would not have met my wife, and I wouldn’t have my three beautiful daughters, Cailin, Katriane and Adelise. If not for reenacting I wouldn’t have written four books on the Revolutionary War and this blog would not exist.
Jeznach is being buried tomorrow. His memorial service is at his Fire Department in Westminster, Maryland. Over the past week I learned of the death of four men I knew while I was in the Army. I am truly beginning to resemble an old soldier, but I don’t feel that old. This weekend I’m going to the Ranch in Texas with Bert. The Ranch is owned by a fellow Ranger and each Memorial Day Rangers gather there to shoot, drink and remember.
It is Memorial Day weekend, how fitting.
The Best Raiders
What an end to the school year!
Throughout the year the Lee County Junior ROTC Raider team has done an incredible job. The only competition where the team did mediocre was at East Rowan back in October. This was partially due to a bad call by the host school, but we drove on and continued to do our best. Since that time the Raiders have come in 1st Place in all but one of their competitions. I don’t know what the magic was to make them become the number one Raider Team in the Carolinas, but it all “clicked” together. The team worked together more than previous teams, even though, ironically, some team members thought the team wasn’t as close as they were in the past. My daughter, Cailin, believed that she was the reason they won, since she always showed up, since East Rowan, in a pink Raider shirt. She became their mojo and had to have her at each competition. At some competitions they would high five her, or have her touch the rope bridge poles before competing, to get her “luck”.
When we competed at the Virginia National Guard “Raider Guard” event in Fort Pickett, Virginia, only one school came close to our scores. Prior to doing the final event, the 5 Kilometer march, each school was stacked in the order they would run. The schools with the highest PT test scores from that morning were put at the end of the line. When we were put last, the Raiders knew that they were number one for physical fitness. As we walked to the start point, other teams watched us, and spectators moved out of the way. I was in the front, beside me were Shawn Townes and Alyssa Jones, and beside them was the Black Spear guidon. Townes commented that it felt like the “power walk” scene out of Armageddon.
It did too.
The Raiders could feel the victory, they knew they would defeat all those in front of them. There wasn’t a question of whether they would win or not. They knew they would win the 5 KM portion of that Raider challenge. Though they didn’t come in first place at Fort Pickett, they did come in 2nd, against the best that Virginia had to offer.
The final competition of the year was the Fort Bragg Best Raider. This competition pitted teams from the 4th Brigade ROTC against each other, to determine, after a year of training, which is the best. The teams are reduced from the normal 8 man Raider team, to just four Raiders. We entered three teams in the competition. The A Team was commanded by Shawn Townes and was made up of our strongest Raiders. The B Team was commanded by Rebecca Malcolm and was our co-ed team. There was a separate co-ed competition in the Best Raider. Our C Team was commanded by the Raider Team commander, Alyssa Jones. This team consisted of some of the Raiders who had not competed yet, because they had not been strong enough to be chosen for the A Team.
At the beginning of the year I was worried about Alyssa being the commander of the Raider Team. This wasn’t because she was a girl. Since I took over the Raider Team back in 2001 as the sole instructor, there have been two Raider team commanders that were female. However this time Alyssa was the only female on the team. I told her that she was going to have her work cut out for her, and that she couldn’t show any weakness or the guys would not respect her. In the second semester Rebecca Malcolm returned to the team after leaving for the track team and swim team, so Alyssa wasn’t alone anymore.
To train for the Fort Bragg Best Raider I had the Raiders run constantly. The competition increased the run from a single mile to a 10 kilometer run on the MATA mile on Fort Bragg. Some of our Raiders were not able to finish the 10 KM run on time, so I knew that this run would be psychologically challenging to any school that didn’t train their people.
At Fort Bragg the 10 KM started with everyone beginning at the same time. After 45 minutes some of the runners began to come in. However none of my Raiders were seen. Finally, after about 20 Raiders had come in I saw one of my Raiders. It was one of the slowest Raiders on the team. I suspected that something wasn’t right. Each Raider had to run out 5 KM, get a tongue depressor from the turn around point, and return. I noticed that none of the Raiders coming in had tongue depressors. I mentioned this to LTC DiCassio, the instructor running the event, and he agreed that something might be wrong.
What had happened was at the turn around point, the student located there told the Raiders to grab a tongue depressor and keep “going straight”. So they didn’t turn around, and instead continued until they ended up on main post. After realizing the mistake that had been made, the student at the turn around point had all the slower Raiders go the right way, but didn’t give them tongue depressors. When all the fastest Raiders arrived at the start point, from the opposite direction, everyone knew that something was wrong.
After much talk and negotiations it was decided that the first event, the 10 KM run, would not be counted during the competition and all the scores were disqualified. This would prove to be psychological for some teams, since they realized all they had done for the last few hours were for nothing. However I told my Raiders to not let this drag them down. Look at it as a warm up for the rest of the day. I also knew that if they had accepted the scores, we would have won the 10 KM event easily. All of the A Team, and the B Team, were in the group that had tongue depressors. Rebecca Malcolm was the only girl in that group. The A Team also had all four of their Raiders in the lead, and they knew this. Their morale was high.
Prior to the competition I organized a field trip to The Climbing Place in Fayetteville, for the whole Junior ROTC. This was an indoor climbing place that had dozens of climbing lanes. The cadets, and the Raiders, spent the whole day there. Due to this I think they had an advantage in the climbing wall portion of the Best Raider competition. The A Team was able to get up the wall in 53 seconds, giving them 7th place in the climbing wall. There were 42 other teams competing that day, so this wasn’t too bad.
Prior to the competition our Raiders had trained at the rope bridge site and had done some blazing fast rope bridges. They were able to get the rope up, get all four Raiders across and take it down, all in a little over a minute. At the competition the A Team suffered one “knot” penalty because a swiss seat wasn’t tied correctly. Even with the penalty, they were able to come in 4th place in the rope bridge with 1 minute and 25 seconds.
Prior to the competition I took the Raiders out to the MATA mile and let them run last year’s orienteering course. I did this mainly so that they would be familiar with the terrain and know their way around the course on Saturday. This training also paid off. The course used last year was the same one used this year. It was hot, and the Raiders continued to keep hydrated, but I knew that this heat would be wearing down on some of the teams. The A Team was able to finish the orienteering course in 53 minutes, giving them 1st Place in orienteering. The B Team came in 3rd place with all points correct and in 59 minutes. South Rowan, the school that has beat us at just about every event in the last four years, came in 2nd place.
The Best Raider competition this year had a new event, to take the place of last year’s ammo box relay. This year there was the Logistics relay. Two Raiders would start off by crawling under an obstacle, simulating barbed wire, while they carried an ammo box. They would then drop off the ammo box and grab two water cans, and run for 50 yards. The second two Raiders would be waiting there and then would grab a large truck tire and flip it end over end for 25 yards. This was a very heavy tire weighing about 250 pounds. They would then drop off the tire and grab a mannequin weighing 70 pounds, and a rucksack and helmet, and then carry it an additional 25 yards. Once the two Raiders got to the end they would then sprint back to the first two Raiders, and then all four would run in to the finish line.
The B Team did really well on this and was able to do it in 1 minute and 16 seconds, giving them 2nd place in this event. The A Team was doing well, but then disaster struck and the 250 pound tire slammed down on Scott Piper’s hand, ripping off his canteen at the same time. He tried to pick up his canteen, but his hand wouldn’t work. He then grabbed the mannequin with one arm and continued the relay. The A Team’s time was 1 minute and 36 seconds, putting them in 12th place. Though the time was not good, South Rowan’s time put them in 15th place. Scott Piper had broken his finger. We called his dad, who was on Fort Bragg, to come and take him to the hospital.
After the events were all over I hung around the grader’s station, seeing if I could figure out what place we were in. The scores were not all in, but by looking over the shoulder of the scorer I figured out that we came in 3rd Place. This wasn’t too bad, and we would get a trophy out of it. It looked like Rebecca’s co-ed team might have come in 3rd place co-ed too. This would be pretty good, since we are going against the best in the Carolinas and Virginia.
When it came time to do the awards ceremony, there was a delay. This usually happens when you have to recalculate scores or when some score sheets come in late. We had nowhere to be, so we would stay. Some schools came from as far away as Petersburg, Virginia, so they had to leave. About an hour later we finally saw LTC DiCassio arrive with the score sheets.
When it came time to win the individual events we won three streamers to put on the Raider guidon. The A Team won 1st Place in the orienteering and the B Team won 2nd place in the Logistics run and 3rd Place in orienteering. The B Team did really well and came in 1st Place co-ed. This was the first time Rebecca Malcolm commanded a team and she was thrilled by it. The B Team consisted of Rebecca Malcolm, Chris Heyson, Antonio Garcia and Walter Martinez.
When the overall scores were read out Jack Britt High School A Team won 3rd and 2nd Place overall. Oh well, I figured some scores had come in and bumped us down into 4th place. It was a good competition and the Raiders could be proud of what they did. South Rowan would win 1st Place, like they always do. They are a good team and deserve it. However when LTC DiCassio read the 1st Place winner, he said “Lee County”. We were all shocked, and I even said “What?!” The four Raiders of the A Team, Shawn Townes, Scott Piper, Dylan Bailey and Rosalio Avalos went up to accept the four trophies. Michael Crankshaw filled in for Scott Piper and accepted the award for him.
Scott Piper returned before we left so he could go out for the victory dinner. I always told the Raiders that if they ever beat South Rowan I would pay for their dinner. We went to Red Robin and I paid for the A Team’s dinner, almost $100, but it was worth it. They are now the number one team in 4th Brigade, which encompasses South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Since that day the Raiders were featured in the Sanford Herald, with a full page story and color photos. The Fayetteville Observer also had a story in their Sunday paper about the team. The local television station wanted to do a story, but we were too busy when the School Board had the Raider Team come to their meeting to be recognized.
The Raiders had one more event to do before the year was over. This was their own, internal, Best Raider competition that they did on Ocracoke Island. After I went to the NCCAT seminar on Ocracoke, I came up with a plan, with the National Park Service, to use the Ocracoke National Seashore to do the Lee County Best Raider competition. The Raiders would stay in a hotel both nights, and I would make them breakfast to reduce their costs. The chaperones for the trip, since Rebecca and Alyssa would be going, would be Bert and Chris Puckett. With us were my daughter, the mojo, Cailin and Hunter, Bert’s son.
The trip to Ocracoke, on a bus, seemed like it took an eternity. People do not realize how long North Carolina is. It is faster to drive to Canada from North Carolina (450 miles), than to drive from one end of North Carolina to the other (540 miles). Four and a half hours later we arrived at the Swann’s Quarter Ferry. We arrived early, so the Raider played football until the ferry showed up. The ferry ride was 2 ½ hours long, and the Raiders spent the time watching DVDs on their computers, or taking pictures. Alyssa and Rebecca spent the time taking “modeling shots” in their bikinis, as the wind blew their hair back. They drew a crowd of middle aged guys, drinking beer that stood nearby, but were respectful.
We arrived at Ocracoke right around sunset and checked into the hotel. The hotel was pretty nice and right on the harbor. It was a fully stocked room, with refrigerator, stove, a bed for two and a pullout sofa for two more. The balcony looked over the harbor. Rebecca was so impressed with the room she gave me a hug. It was pretty nice. That night we went out to eat at Jasons, and then got some sleep. It was chilly at night, about 50 degrees, while we sat on the balcony watching the harbor and the stars. Many of the Raiders wanted to stay up all night playing with an X-Box they brought along, but I told them lights off at 11:00.
The next morning Chris and I made breakfast for the Raiders, of scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits and pop tarts. After we ate we all loaded up on the bus and drove out to mile marker 80. The physical fitness test was held at the wreck of the schooner George W. Wells. This was one of only ten six masted sailing ships that was built, and it was largest ship to wreck on the east coast in 1913. Due to the Lifesaving station at Hatteras inlet, there were no fatalities. All that is left of the ship was the keel, since it was burned over a salvage dispute.
The Raiders did two minutes of pushups and two minutes of situps, and then posed for a picture on the remains of the ship. Scott Piper was allowed to use his score from his last PT test, since he had the broken fingers. After the picture the Raiders moved out to the road for the run. They did a 1.6 mile run down to Parker’s Creek.
At Parker’s Creek the Raiders constructed a rope bridge, using two ropes since it was a greater distance, from the bridge to a wooden dock. The Raiders then were timed on how quick they could get over the creek. The Raiders also had to take their rucksacks with them. Since all the Raiders were going to get wet, this also showed each Raider whether they had waterproofed their rucksacks or not. If the gear inside the rucksack got wet, it would be heavier during the beach march. The Raiders didn’t mind getting wet after the run.
After the rope bridge the Raiders rode the bus to the pony pens. This was a National Park corral for the Banker ponies that used to run wild on the island. The first aid test was done in the shade of a tree by the Pony Pens. The Raiders had to splint a broken leg and then treat for shock. Only one Raider did it, while the other couldn’t talk. I chose the most experienced Raider of the team for the victim. Once they finished testing they moved across the street to Bert, who had them recite the Raider Creed from memory.
Once everyone had tested on first aid we drove back down to the George W. Wells and started the beach march. The Raiders were to move down the beach until I told them to stop, about six miles away. After they started the rest of us got on the bus and rode down to Ramp 77, and then waited from them to pass by. On that long beach you could see them in the distance, little black dots, that seemed to take forever to reach us. This was only the halfway point, so after each Raider passed by, we all drove down to the lifeguard beach and waited.
There was a surf fishing contest that weekend, so the Raiders marched by dozens of cars, with people wondering who these ACU wearing people were. We must have looked just as strange at the finish point. Everyone else on the beach was in bikinis or swimming trunks, while I was in ACUs. We put our folding chairs down in the sand, faced down the beach and waited for the little black specks on the horizon to arrive.
Shawn Townes and Scott Piper came in first, well ahead of any other Raiders. Ten minutes behind them were Dylan Bailey and Antonio Garcia. The rest of the Raiders were a half an hour or more behind them. Once they all came in I checked their rucksacks for the packing list, and then told them they could eat their MRE that they had carried all day.
The award ceremony for the Best Raider medal was held on the beach. The winners, by a large margin, were Shawn Townes and Scott Piper with his broken finger. For Townes this was a record, since he had won the Best Raider medal for the third time in a row. No other Raider had ever achieved that record.
The rest of the weekend was spent seeing the sights on Ocracoke, hanging out and eating lots of seafood at Howard’s Pub. Some of the Raiders had rented a “stretch” golf cart for the day and cruised around the island. Bert commandeered the cart and I took them on a tour of the village, showing them the lighthouse, the British cemetery and Springer’s Point. Later that night the Raiders stayed up almost all night playing on the X-Box in their room.
On Sunday Chris and I made them breakfast again, and then afterwards we went to the beach for a few hours. Everyone had a pretty good time. We ate lunch and then caught the 2:00 ferry to Cedar Island. I wasn’t able to reserve the ferry back to Swann’s Quarter, so it added an hour to the bus ride back.
Alyssa did a fantastic job this year. She was the Battalion commander in the first semester, and under her leadership the battalion passed the AFI inspection with one of the highest grades we have ever had (99%). She became the Brigade commander in the second semester and Shawn Townes became the Battalion commander. As the Raider team commander she led the team to being the number one team in the Carolinas, and this year’s Raider team has the highest winning record of all time… a 93% win rate. Unfortunately she graduates this year and moves on to ROTC at NC State. Whoever takes over next year had some big shoes to fill.
Guilford Courthouse 2010
I’ve started my spring break during which time I will be planting the crops for the year and doing maintenance on the gear used by the Junior ROTC cadets at the recent reenactment at Guilford Courthouse. Like all Guilford Courthouse reenactments, this one was plagued by bad weather. The good thing was that the rain only happened at night, so the reenactment happened during sunny weather. The bad thing was that it turned the ground into a muddy morass. I am still scraping mud off of clothes to be washed and shoes. This year’s reenactment of Guilford was a bit different than the ones in previous years.
This year the 2nd North Carolina had 72 members present, with 44 rank and file and 6 artillerymen. I brought 16 cadets of 11 privates and 5 distaff. The battle on Saturday was the main three-line Guilford battle, but there were going to be several changes from what had been done in the past. This was due to the new research done by Larry Babits in his book “Long, Obstinate and Bloody”.
The 2nd North Carolina Regiment at Guilford
The changes this year were that the first line action would actually be an engagement between the two forces and not just the British firing in the air to make noise. This is what we used to do at the site, since we never had enough reenactors to portray all three lines, and the public never saw the first line anyway. This year I wanted the troops to get into the feel of the fight, so all three lines would be portrayed.
The militia from the first line would melt back and become the 2nd line Virginia militia. They in turn would run back from the second line and then become the 2nd Maryland, which did not get many, if any, shots off in the actual battle. The British artillery did not have the manpower to move through the muddy woods, like the Americans did, so they prepositioned their artillery down in the low ground, out of view of the spectators.
The third line action would be a little different also, due to Babit’s research. The British had two groups for this scenario, that we called the “Webster” group and the “Guards” group. The Webster group would come out of the woods first, get annihilated, and then would fall back. I wanted them to go to the prone, but I knew the muddy ground would most likely stop that from happening. The “Guards” would slam into the 2nd Maryland, make them run, and then end up being engaged by the “1st Maryland” and Washington’s dragoons. The big change from Babit’s research is that the artillery did not fire into the mass of British and American, but instead just fired at Washington’s dragoons when they were regrouping. So the 1st Maryland didn’t fall back due to artillery fire, but instead fell back due to being left alone on the field, with an enemy in retreat before them and British reinforcements arriving.
Prior to the troops entering the field my Junior ROTC cadets were given a howitzer and two axes and told to make a path through the woods for cannon to travel. They dragged the howitzer to the field, and put in place on the third line as Singleton’s artillery (in between the 1st and 2nd Maryland). They then proceeded to chop apart any downed trees along the woods trail that could impede Walter McIntyre’s two 3-pounders. They did a pretty good job, but, like real privates, they broke one of the axes. The Continentals entered the field and took their places. The 2nd North Carolina and 1st Maryland would portray the 1st Maryland. All the other blue coated Continentals would portray the two Virginia Continental units to the right of the American line. McIntyre’s artillery would place themselves in front of that line after they had returned from the 1st line, and they would also be aiming down the line at a 90 degree angle, not shooting to the front of the line. This was also from research done by Babits in his book. This does make sense, since this is how machineguns are deployed in the modern military. You shoot down the front of your line to kill any attacking enemy throwing themselves against the line.
Junior ROTC mattrosses
Once the “1st Maryland” was in place, the Junior ROTC cadets, and anyone else who was young and agile enough were detached to pull McIntyre’s two cannon up a muddy wooded hill to the 1st line. The British cannon did not have anyone that could pull their cannon, so it was not used in the 1st line fighting and instead was prepositioned on the battlefield in a low area away from spectators.
The fight began with McIntyre’s cannons firing at the flashes of red and silver in the trees. Mike Cecere was in charge of the militia and he had them hold their fire through the cannonade. The signal for the British to move was after the cannons had ceased firing, but they moved forward early. No problem. Once the British moved McIntyre had the cadets grab his gun and now do the perilous trip back down the muddy hill, being chased by two 3-pounders. We had to wait until the cannons had exited far enough before we began the militia fight, so I had Cecere hold his fire.
Cecere was ordered to fire the first volley at the British soldiers, who had moved even closer. While the militia reloaded the British had stopped, fired their own volley, and then waited. A lone voice could be heard shouting “Come on my brave fusiliers!” and the British came on in a rush. The militia fired one more volley, and then ran to the second line.
At the second line I told Cecere to hold them as long as he could, then withdraw. Initially it was thought that there would not be many red-coated British troops there, but when they came over the ridgeline to approach the 2nd line, they covered the hill like Indians in a scene out of a western movie. There were at least a few hundred British soldiers there. The fight at the 2nd line went on longer than I expected, but it made the British maneuver and try to flank Cecere’s “Virginians”. This also allowed the two British units to separate for the next phase of the battle. Finally the British had surrounded the militia and pushed with the bayonet, driving them from the field. Cecere’s troops ran to the left of the American line, reorganized themselves and became the 2nd Maryland. Their unit was not facing the British, but was at right angles to them. Picture an L placed on its side with the 2nd Maryland being the small leg of the “L”. There were some aged militia members that we had to wait for, but eventually the 4th South Carolina howitzer was able to open up on the British Guards and the Royal Artillery.
The British “Webster” group came out first from the wood line, on the American right. As they did they were fired upon by McIntyre’s two cannon, the two companies of “Virginia” Continentals and the “1st Maryland” Continentals. They were shot to pieces and fell back to the woods. I was hoping they would go to the prone, like they did in the original battle, but it was too muddy for anyone to contemplate lying down. The three American elements poured in fire on the British. The “1st Maryland” shifted slightly, doing a half right wheel, to face them better. In the past we did a complete right wheel, facing 90 degrees, but the original 1st Maryland only turned slightly.
The “Guards” group came out of the woods on the American left, their target being the “2nd Maryland” under Mike Cecere. I told Cecere to try to change his front, by platoons, which is what the real 2nd Maryland did. However the original 2nd Maryland had new officers, countermanding each other’s orders and chaos reigned. Once the 4th South Carolina howitzer was cleared, the Guards charged forward, chasing the 2nd Maryland off the field and capturing the howitzer. The “1st Maryland” then did a right about face, and engaged the Guards, closing the distance so that the two lines were only yards apart.
It was at this time that Washington’s dragoons charged behind the Guards and hit them with a mounted attack. Randy Blevins of the 2nd North Carolina ordered a bayonet charge to drive the British off the captured howitzer. As the “1st Maryland” drove the Guards to the tree line, the “Virginia” Continentals were ordered to withdraw off the field. One company covered the other as each of the units leapfrogged off the field, pursued by both the survivors of the “Guards” and “Webster” groups.
Washington’s Dragoons
After we left the field the Continentals held up by the spectators. Some of the reenactors had collected money and bought Bert a horse pistol. When he was given the pistol a member of the 2nd South Carolina said that he was presented the pistol due to his service to his country. The spectators had gathered around, and must have thought that it was just some scenario being portrayed…so I spoke up and told the audience that this was Command Sergeant Major Puckett just recently returned from Afghanistan. The spectators then cheered wildly.
CSM Bert Puckett
Sunday’s battle was going to be totally different than anything we had done in the past. Normally we devote both days to fighting the main “three line” battle, but on Sunday we chose to do just the southern flank action. This was the fight between the Guards and Von Bose versus Lee’s Legion and Campbell’s rifles that ended up at the park where we were doing the recreated battle today.
The battle started with all the red-coated British portraying the Guards. The lined up in open order, in two ranks. Behind them, not in play yet, was the Von Bose regiment consisting of all German troops and the 2nd North Carolina Regiment. To the side of them, not in play yet, were Tarleton’s dragoons. Facing the Guards, on the other side of the field, was Cecere’s militia and riflemen. Initially Cecere was deployed in open order, but I had him close order, since he was portraying one of the 2nd line Virginia companies. On the far side of the field, below the crest so that the audience could not see them, were all the Continentals who were portraying Lee’s Legion.
The Guards entered the field and engaged the militia. The Guards moved forward, by platoons, engaging and obliquing to the right. As they advanced the militia returned fire, but also moved backwards towards the tree line. The Guards continued to fight and push forward until they had reached their line of advance (a small path on the ground). The fight over this path would go back and forth for several minutes. Finally, after the Guards suffered numerous casualties, the Hessians marched forward and deployed on line to the British left. Both Royal units concentrated their fire on the militia. While they did this the Continentals portraying Lee moved out of their hidden location and flanked the Guards. They began pouring fire down their flank.
The militia withdrew, and the Von Bose was able to do a right wheel into the Continentals. They poured fire into their ranks, running low on ammunition. The militia was supposed to move to another point on the field, where they would enter as Campbell’s rifles. It seemed to take forever, but finally we heard the “Rebel Yell” of the approach of Campbell’s rifles, and then they appeared on the crest. Von Bose now had to order his rear rank to right about face, and fire. They were firing as fast as they could in both directions.
Back to back
About this time I set off a smoke grenade to simulate the woods catching on fire. What set the woods on fire in the original battle were bits of burning paper from the cartridges. The smoke covered the Von Bose, and created an eerie scene. This was the cue for the Guards to return to the field, where they moved to the right of the Von Bose regiment. This was also the cue for the Continentals to leave the field. Lee thought that the British had suffered so many casualties that they were no longer a threat to the riflemen, and left Campbell alone to eliminate whatever threat was left. Lee then moved to the main battlefield. The Continentals portraying Lee moved down the woods trails and back to camp.
What Lee did not know was that Tarleton had been ordered to find the Guards and Von Bose and assist them. Tarleton’s Legion for the Sunday battle was Washington’s dragoons from Saturday, only wearing green coats. In the original battle Tarleton told Du Buy to fire one volley and he would hit them with his cavalry. This was almost an exact copy of what Washington did at Cowpens. “Tarleton” rode into the militia, engaging fellow 2nd South Carolina soldiers who knew how to react under a cavalry charge, and chased the militia into the woods. The British line did get off their final volley, but it was at fleeing militia at a long range.
Next year I may reverse the layout of the battlefield, and have the British come from the woods, and eventually bring the fight out into the open. This will allow units not in play to remain hidden and it will also make it seem more realistic by fighting through the woods.
Ocracoke seminar
I’m home for the second snow day in a row. This reminds me of January 2001, and how we were out of school for five days then. That was mainly snow, and this is ice. Two weeks ago I spent a week on Ocracoke Island, doing a seminar with NCCAT (North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching). The seminar was about Ocracoke Island… the history, the geography and what it is like living on a secluded island. An island that gets a million visitors each year for a town with the population of about 800. The main reason I wanted to go was to learn more about the history. Ocracoke has been the “front door” for North Carolina since settlers have landed here. Blackbeard used the place as a staging base to attack ships passing by, Royal Navy ships posted there during the Revolutionary War to interdict shipping, the British raided nearby Portsmouth in the War of 1812, the Federal Army occupied it during the War Between the States and U-Boats patrolled near it in WWII, sinking hundreds of ships nearby. Interestingly, the government toyed with the idea of making the Outer Banks a nuclear test zone after WWII. Luckily smarter heads prevailed and they moved the tests out to Bikini Atoll.
Ocracoke?
The one thing I wanted to see, which I wasn’t brave enough to do in the summer, was to go see Portsmouth (not brave enough due to the clouds of mosquitoes). This is one of the oldest towns in North Carolina, and now it has no inhabitants. The houses are still there, but everyone evacuated the island and the Federal government took control. Originally the family members of those who lived in the houses were able to lease the buildings and keep them up, but the Federal government has taken that away too. Whether those buildings remain there, or disintegrate into the ground, will depend on a government appointed caretaker.
Portsmouth
1753-1971
While on the island I had no TV and no computer games, so I was able to get a lot done revising my Nothing But Blood and Slaughter series. I also planned a Raider competition on the island, to be held there in May. Some of the Raiders have never left Lee County, much less gone to an island, so they are excited about it.
What I did for Christmas
The school let out on the 18th for Christmas vacation, it was a half day. The next day, Saturday, we drove up to Kentucky for our annual Christmas visit with Alice’s parents. This was the trip from hell. The actual visiting wasn’t hell, but getting there was. The night before there had been a big snowstorm that blanketed parts of North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. No snow for us down here in Barbecue though. When we took off on Saturday morning there was no snow on the ground, but we began to see traces of it as we neared Greensboro. By the time we had entered into Virginia there was white everywhere. Traffic jams were plenty and many were for no good reason at all. In some instances traffic jams were caused just because one trucker decided he didn’t want anyone passing him anymore, so he would pull up beside another trucker and go 10 mph. So now instead of one lane being slow, there are two, thanks to some ignorant trucker who has made himself the regulator of the highway. I saw one traffic jam, in the other lane, that went on for 12 miles due to one of these “regulators”.
When we pulled off to use the bathroom we almost got stuck in the snow and ice turning around. We weren’t driving my Dakota, with the four wheel drive, but instead were driving Alice’s Durango, with two wheel drive. Note to self… get Alice a four wheel drive next time. Normally we would have been pulling into Winchester, Kentucky by sundown, but we had not even gotten halfway yet. When we passed the West Virginia tollbooths, they let us in for free. No charge. This should have been a clue. What we didn’t know was that the interstate had been closed. The toll booth operators didn’t tell anyone as they passed through, that the road was closed (and had been closed for hours), but instead let them all in, so they would be stuck. Sure enough, we became one of those statistics. We were not moving, sitting in traffic for four hours. Ironically we listened to news of the global warming summit in Copenhagen while we were stuck in the snow. At one point I got out of the truck with all the girls and we walked down the interstate, between the cars, throwing snowballs at each other. It was then that I learned the interstate was closed from a trucker.
I wasn’t going to be trapped, waiting for the zombies to eat us, so I muscled my way over to an on ramp, and went the wrong way onto the on ramp. There was no problem with that, since it had been blocked off by highway workers. Once on the exit we drove to a gas station and asked what was going on. I talked to one guy from the 82nd Airborne who was home on mid-tour leave from Afghanistan with his wife and kids. They were working their way westward and were stuck now. One thing that did save us was that I had my school laptop with us, and I was able to pick up wi-fi connections when I parked in a hotel parking lot. We made a decision to get a room and wait it out until the next day. There were no rooms to rent though. All sold out.
We headed back the way we came; with no one on that side of the interstate (the other side was still a parking lot though). I would stop at each exit, looking for a room. Around 10:00 that night we pulled into a place to get food, one of the few still open, and were the last ones served. Alice was bummed out that she wouldn’t be able to get to her parents this year, but we realized we needed to head back home and maybe try again after Christmas. On a whim, I decided to stop one more time, in a place called Galax in Virginia. Sure enough they had a room, and it was discounted because it had not been made up. We spent the night there, pretty much exhausted from sitting all day (is that possible?).
The next day we made it to Kentucky by the late afternoon, in one piece. The time spent there was pleasant and we did do some more shopping for Christmas items. We all went and saw Avatar, in 3D. Excellent movie. Sort of a “Dance with Wolves” in space. While I was up there I had the laptop and I used it to continue making changes to my series, Nothing but Blood and Slaughter. Eventually I will quit making changes and release it again, but it will be a whole new book. Whenever I change something I mark it in red, so I know it is new information. Most of the book is now covered in red and there are entire red sections, of incidents that were never in the original books.
We returned home on December 22nd and did not go anywhere for the rest of the holiday. I immersed myself in my yearly game. I only play computer games once a year, during Christmas vacation. This is because I know it is addictive and takes away too much of my time. So I only do it once. This year’s game is Fallout 3. I have been up each night around 2:00 am playing it. During the day I haven’t been a total waste, but have been busy building a fenced in dog kennel. The girls have outgrown their playhouse I built years ago, so it will now become the dog kennel.
The girls and I also went up to the “nasty neighbor” trailer to pick up the trash. The neighbors up there, at the rented trailer, never went to the dump and just threw bags of trash on the ground. This trash would get ripped apart by dogs (sometimes my dogs) and the trash would get strewn around my property. This is not one or two bags of trash, but tons. Though I had called the police several times, they could only do something if the trash came in my yard. Interestingly there is no law in Harnett County that says you can’t turn your own yard into a dump because you are unclean. So their nickname for us was the “nasty neighbor”. Right before Christmas their trailer burned down. No one was in the trailer, because the parents had separated. So what was left was a smoking hulk and tons of trash. I knew that if the trash stayed there, it would soon attract other losers, who would dump their trash there (even though the real dump is only two miles away). So I took the girls up there and we picked up the trash. It was seven truckloads of garbage and it was the most foul, nasty job I had ever had them do. They were so gross that Alice made them strip off their clothes before coming in the house. Needless to say, we paid them double overtime on their allowance this month for that job. Hopefully, if anyone puts another trailer there, they won’t dump their garbage in the yard again.
The weather has been cold… really cold. All the water has frozen in the outside water barrels. Each day I work out on the fence I have the girls help me tightening the fence. It’s not done yet, but should be in a few days. But it is really, really cold. I have always hated cold weather, and enjoy a good hot summer.
On New Year’s Eve we took Bert’s wife, Chris, and a friend, Bob, to the Tirnanog Irish pub in Raleigh. Before we left we exchanged gifts. I gave Chris a bunch of stuff to do her one bee hive I got for her last year. Mainly a hood and gloves so she could look in there on her own. I also got her a super/feeder for the bees. She gave me a bottle of Irish Cream (I really like it in the coffee this time of year). I gave Hunter, Bert’s son, a gift card to a computer game store, and the girl’s got the same from Chris. Hunter also got a .36 caliber Navy colt from his dad in Afghanistan. He hasn’t fired it yet, and if Bert says it is OK I will be teaching him how to fire it.
We got to Tirnanog at a perfect time, right after sunset. There was some celebration happening in downtown Raleigh, but we were able to skirt it, and get a decent parking spot. We listened to traditional Irish music, at fish and chips and drank beer and cider on tap. Interestingly the pub sold their normal sweatshirt, but had one version with “82nd Airborne” on the back of it. We thought that was cool and we all got one. Alice was the designated driver home that night, and we got home right at New Year’s and just in time to fire off shotguns in the yard. Harnett County on New Year’s sounds like a war zone, with gun fire happening all over the place (and yes, I know what goes up, comes down, but my range fan puts my projectiles in the forest behind me, not landing miles away in some suburb).
Back to the fence building, in 27 degree weather! I hate cold weather.
I’m avoiding doing research. Its not that I don’t like it, but what I’m doing isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, so I keep getting off track with tangent trivial concerns. Bert has been bugging me about getting a Facebook page. I have held off and resisted, since I’m already spread out over a couple of dozen sites. Trying to keep up with one more would just be too much. However after massive peer pressure, I have knuckled under and got a Facebook page. I have no idea what I’m doing, but it is there now. I’m waiting for it to do tricks, or turn my water into wine or some such.
Thanksgiving was pretty good. I knocked out a bunch of Christmas shopping with my wife on the day before Thanksgiving, then the day of Thanksgiving we just sat around the house, ate lots of food and watched movies. Throughout the day I posted to Bert, in Afghanistan, what was going on. It was pretty much a “play by play” account of the Thanksgiving meal. What a concept. I couldn’t imagine this when I was in Desert Storm, or how the soldiers in WWII would have thought about instant communication.
When I could stay awake, I went through the Colonial Records of North Carolina, located at:
http://docsouth.unc.edu/csr/index.html/dates
This is the site I’m on now. A lot of neat information, but it is DRY reading!
For a little excitement the neighboring trailer burned down last night. It had been abandoned, so no one was hurt. The “Harnett County CSI” is investigating. That would be a great series for TV. To heck with Miami or Las Vegas, do a show about Barbecue Township!
Well, I’ve stalled enough… back to the research.
Moustache man
It has been a long time since I posted here. Too busy. It is that time of year where I am trying to split my time between Junior ROTC competitions, reenactments, family time, and working on various books. In the end I have no time to do much else, such as post here.
Since I last posted, Bert deployed to Afghanistan. He is in the southwestern part of the country, near Kandahar. Things have been heating up over there, but that is mainly because there is no real emphasis to win the war, and instead there is this attitude of keeping the status quo of just “being there”. Its not that the soldiers aren’t trying to win the war, it is that the leadership at the top doesn’t seem to want to move forward. This is very similar to what happened in Vietnam. Instead of winning the war, we were just there, year after year. The time that we have been in Afghanistan has surpassed the Revolutionary War, our second longest war. The longest was Vietnam… ten years, depending on when you start counting. I also have three other former Raiders over there. One with the 2nd Ranger Battalion, and the other two with the 82nd Airborne Division. One is in Bert’s battalion. I sent Bert a Christmas care package this week. I put in there some stuff that he likes, but also stuff that I remember that I liked the last time I was I a war zone.
Since I posted last there have been several reenactments, but nothing extra special that stood out. I took the JROTC cadets to Williamsburg for the “A Town Unchained” program. Once each semester I take the cadets to a reenactment, put them in the uniforms and let them live in the 18th century for the weekend. I had never taken them to Williamsburg, so it was something new.
I’ve been working around the plantation, putting in some apple trees (Hawkeye delicious), and winterizing everything. My chickens have been laying eggs like crazy. The Rhode Island Reds are the best layers I have. Just four chickens, but they lay two dozen eggs each week. I switched to a feeder tray for the bees, instead of just using a mason jar full of sugar water. The feeder tray is one of the supers, and it can hold up to two gallons of sugar water. In the winter the bees eat the syrup and not the honey. This way there is more honey when it is time to harvest in summer.
I have been working slowly, very slowly, on the rewrite of the Nothing but Blood and Slaughter series. I have been rewriting it since they were first published. There is a ton of new information. Lately I have been going through pension applications. Slow work, but each pension gives one little nugget of info that I didn’t have before. The pensions dealing with the war in the South can be found at the Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution (SCAR) website:
http://www.southerncampaign.org/pen/
They even have the pension from two of my ancestors, Robert English and Benjamin Kelly (O’Kelley), but they also had the pension of my wife’s ancestor, James Fraley. David Neilan, who is writing a book on the letters of Marion, has been sending me bits of information he finds that needs explaining. One was the letter from Marion, which has the men in the 2nd South Carolina all sporting moustaches:
Lt. Col. Francis Marion to Maj. Isaac Harleston (at Chs Town)
Sheldon, 26 Jany 1780
Dr Sir:
I am happy to find you are again in the 2d Regiment, tho I am sorry for Vanderhorst, who wishes to continue in the Service & have Given me Great Satisfaction the Little time he has been with me.
As some Captains from the 6th Regiment will be put in the 2nd, shall be glad you would point out 2 or 3 which you think are good, as for Subs they will be so few they can be no Choice. I think Lt. [John] Buchanan to be a good officer and wish to have him.
Majr. Vanderhorst goes to town & Leave me with one Captn. and 2 Subs, my Command here in Chief prevents me from seeing to the regimt.
Shall be oblige to You to get me all the Articles in the public store which I have a right (Except the Cloath for a coat Jacket & Breeches which I have) but no trimings. Linen I particularly am in want of.
When you come up if, you think proper to be in my mess (I have nobody but Captn Moultrie) it will be agreable to me.
I dont know When the General will grant me a Little time to transact my private affairs. I waited with patients, Expecting I should be one of those Officers who was to go to the right about. I am Disappointed & Suppose I am for the war, or a Ball. When you see me you will find I have a formidable pr of Mustasho, which all the regimt. now ware & if you have not one you will be Singular.
We find it Cold here. I don’t know how it may be where you are; you may see it by my Scroll.
I am Dr Sr. with Great regard,
Yr Most Obt Servt.
Frans Marion
N. B. Our men are in Great Want of Shoes & Shirts & Blankets to Compleat them. Many of the men is without a Shirt & Shoes. I wish you woud try to get them & Send by two Waggons now in town
ADS (SCHi), South Carolina Historical Society
I’m wondering if this is a Magnum P.I. moustache, or a Clark Gable moustache? It looked like the 2nd South Carolina had worked with a professional army (the French) for the first time at Savannah, and they decided to look like them. Some of the French grenadiers grew moustaches. Could Marion have looked like this?
The only bad thing about writing is that I am so busy at work, and during the day, and when I get home and start reading the pensions, I get so tired that I begin falling to sleep while I am typing. It is real hard to concentrate when your eyes keep crossing, blurring and you bounce your head off the keyboard. So the only chance I have of doing any real research is during daylight hours. Those hours are few and far between.
How I spent my summer
This is the first year where I went from a 10 month instructor at the Junior ROTC, to an 11 month instructor. It was a pay raise, but it was also a month I didn’t get off. So, what do you do when there are no students? I took some hand picked students to the JROTC Summer camp at Fort Jackson, SC for a week. The cadets had fun and they got to work in actual sized companies for a change. Normally the cadets work in companies of 50 other cadets, but at Fort Jackson they work in companies of 200 cadets.
While I was down there I found out that Chuck Wallace, former commander of the 2nd South Carolina, had died of cancer. I worked it out so I could go to the funeral, and Bert (CSM Puckett) swung by and picked me up. After watching the memorial service and funeral we all decided that if we die, only warriors or people who knew us would get up and talk about us.
After I returned from Summer Camp I did the logistics side of Junior ROTC. I turned in all the laundry to the cleaners (about 200 uniforms), and then began to inventory all that we owned. This year I became the supply sergeant of the Junior ROTC and I never was really sure what we had down in the supply room. I knew it was on paper, but I wanted to actually count out each item so I knew for sure. This process took awhile. The Raider Team came by during the days I was there and practiced, getting ready for next year. A few of the Raider wannabes also showed up to get in shape.
Now, how does all this play into my writing and research? It took a month away from it. In the summer time I usually get a lot done, but this summer I haven’t done much of anything in the way of writing. I still need to finish the last chapter of the book about my own experiences, but I have not got around to it. All I need to do is finish the part about Desert Storm, but I just haven’t been motivated enough to sit down and write it. I also need to re-edit the Nothing but Blood and Slaughter series, so I can come out with the “new and improved” edition, but I have only been doing small corrections.
I was able to find several new skirmishes, located in my own county (Harnett) that will be added into the book. So this summer has been slow for book writing, but it has been OK for doing plain old vacation time. There have been a handful of parties, some home improvements, and an excellent week spent on Ocracoke Island.
The 2nd North Carolina annual party and live fire will happen next weekend, and then it will be time to get back to school. So the summer is almost over, and I have nothing to show for it.
Writer’s block? Nah, just not motivated to write anything. Thank God I’m not doing this for a living, and I have a backup job, or I would be doomed and eating out of trash cans.
