BEDFORD LIGHT COURIER Bedford County Virginia

Text Box: BEDFORD LIGHT COURIER
Bedford County Virginia
VOLUME 5 September, 2006 No. 5

UR

I
ER

Brigade Structure:

Army of N. Virginia

Longstreet’s Corp.

Alexander’s Battalion

Officers:

Colonel Phill Matteson

Lt. Col. Craig McCann

Captain Mike Karnitz

1st Lt. Gordon Clifford

NCOs:

1 First Sergeant

2 Sergeants

2 Corporals

Ordinance:

3 – 3” Light Artillery with Limbers

1- 10lb Parrot with Limber

Phone Numbers

Col. Phill Matteson-

(716) 694-0947

Lt. Col. Craig McCann

(585) 225-8984

1^st. Lt Gordon Clifford

(607) 478-5100

During our sojourn at French Creek Gathering over the weekend June 17^th – 18^th, we discovered that Pvt. Tristan Lindberg likes the sound of steam engines. At least, that was the sound that emanated from the vent he was tending during the night shoot of the 17^th. When Qm. Sgt. Sheerer applied the wet sponge, it sounded like a Stanley Steamer coming down the road! I guess that youth does not have all the advantages over experience! But he got it right in the end. When we fired our last shot, we appeared to set off a whole arsenal of pyrotechnics across the other side of the field! (Actually, it was a firework display, but that does not sound so dramatic.) On the 18^th he was switched to #1. This was his first time on the front end of one of our guns, and he acquitted himself very well. Apart from the heat, it was a very relaxing, enjoyable weekend, just right for acclimatizing to the conditions of Gettysburg and 1^st Manassas.

Which turned out to be a waste of time, since the weather wiped out Gettysburg for the majority of those registered to attend. Of the 30 originally registered, only 6 actually attended (and 4 of those were women – it could have been interesting, except one of them was Miss Rosemary!), and the 3 registered guns were wiped out to none. I managed to wheedle a job as Corps Ordnance/Safety Officer (vice Maj. Landon, unable to switch dates), and spent the first day inspecting guns and munitions. I think I preferred that to being Corps Adjutant. All that paperwork!!!! “Pickett’s Charge” turned into “Pickett’s Skirmish Line”, but the weekend did not turn into the logistic nightmare that could have accrued if everyone had managed to rearrange vacation time. Those of us who did manage it hooked up with Taylor’s Battery, and I think we all had a whale of a time. Everyone got a chance to play on the guns, since those that turned up were short of crew. My only bad moment was pulling a round that refused to fire. (It would not eject under CO2 pressure, so it had to be pulled – turned out to be the Safety Officer’s job! Thankfully, God was on my side.)

Our camaraderie around the campfire in the evenings was a joy to behold, and we all laughed ourselves silly at the tall tales of events past. I cannot thank Miss Rosemary enough for her sterling efforts to keep us all fed and watered to schedule. She never missed a beat throughout the whole weekend, which is nothing short of amazing since she was the only cook in attendance. We all mucked in to give her a hand when required, but she was a brick – as she has been throughout the entire season of solo cooking. The enlisted men all did their share of camp duties with no moans or gripes, and the camp ran itself well.

My special thanks go out to Qm. Sgt. Paul Sheerer, whose ever-presence (with the exception of Gettysburg [none], 1st Manassas and Hamlin Beach [Micah]) has kept the Battery going throughout the season so far. Without him, and his Southern Tier Crew, we would not have had any representation at the vast majority of events this season!

From The Desk Of 1^st Sgt. Roland Meiers

Report of action at Hamlin Beach

The battery, although reduced in strength, preformed with great efficiency. Union forces were fought back and never came close to capturing any of the men or guns of the battery. Attacks came from the enemy on Saturday and Sunday at roughly 2:00 p.m. both days. The men were ready for a fight and performed flawlessly, continuous attacks were repelled till the enemy stopped there advance and left the field on Saturday. Battery received no wounded in the battle, and rest of the night was peaceful except for a few shoots we traded with the enemy around 9:30 the same evening. These also produced no wounded in the battery, the day clearly was a victory. As all of the men settled down on Saturday all become very peaceful and calm, by midnight the only sound heard was of crickets.

Sunday morning started wet, the rain continued for quite some time, no movement from the enemy was noticed till about 1:00 p.m. action front was called and the battery sprang into action. Union skirmishers were spotted just before 2:00 p.m. The battle followed and battery again suffered no losses. Infantry units did not have the same fortune; most units within my sight were almost completely destroyed. Many dead and wounded were scattered on the field, enemy units closed in. The batteries present fought them till their advance was halted. We were allowed to retreat with out further incident. Although the day did not favor us, everyone involved fought valiantly. In my option all the men in the battery deserve a medal and some time to rest. I’m afraid that the time is not right and we must keep moving.

Battery is now heading toward Gettysburg, where we hope to join back up with the rest of the battery and hopefully will find the rest of Alexander’s Battalion.

Yes, the Addison Fall Festival is on. The event is actually a one day event, however, it is an all day event on Saturday and Paul and I will be camping from Friday until Sunday. It is being held on Saturday, 9/30/06 at Pinnacle State Park. If I remember right, it starts about 9 am and runs until 5 pm. There is a lot of room for camping. They will have a port-a-potty there and Paul will bring plenty of water for us, although it won't hurt for those who have water buckets to fill them, too.

We fire about every 45 minutes - whenever they have a wagon load of people come down. Jim Cotton will be there with some Yankees, so we can “skirmish". He has made fake guns and runs everyone (kids & adults) through a drill. Pretty cool!

We are located at the "back end" of Pinnacle State Park. If you come down 390 or 86, it will turn into 17. Take the Gang Mills exit – just past Painted Post exit (there is major road construction there as you know). Head down 15 and take the Addison Exit (there will be signs for Pinnacle State Park). Just follow the signs to the park and they will direct you (or maybe we can get some signs up to direct everyone to the area).

For meals, I had thought about doing breakfast Saturday and Sunday morning (just eggs and sausage on Saturday & ham and eggs with home fried potatoes from the Saturday dinner leftovers on Sunday) and boiled dinner with ham, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage for dinner Saturday night. Friday night dinner would be on your own as would lunch on Saturday if anyone wants it. If I know how many will be coming, I will be happy to buy the food and collect money from folks.

Paul and I will be going down early Friday afternoon to set up camp and get organized, so people can come anytime after noon or 1:00 pm. We'll probably grab a sandwich for lunch and bring steaks & potatoes for dinner to grill Friday night. Others can bring their own food to cook on their own for Friday night.

Although it is still up in the air, we may have to run out for a few hours Saturday evening to be Pirates with the cannon for Chelsea's band competition in Corning that night. If we get approval from the school, anyone who would like to participate on the gun and dress like a pirate is welcome to do so. Hopefully, with school starting tomorrow, we will soon get a definite answer on whether or not it is a go.

Miss Jackie

Cook’s Column

Breakfast: Sat – Eggs and Sausage and toast Sun – Cheesey Scrambled Eggs and bacon and toast

I will get a roast to cook in the Dutch oven and collect money based on the cost of the meat. If you would like, bring snacks for a campfire.

Addison Fall Festival – Miss Jackie will be taking care of this event. If you plan on attending, please call and let Jackie know how many of you will be there. She will let you know how she is handling the food for this event. She may buy all the food and collect the money from those who attend or give out a grocery list.

We need to confirm who has registered with Capt. Karnitz for the upcoming events for this year. The events are as follows:

If you have registered with Capt. Karnitz or plan to attend any of these events, please follow the information below for getting ensuring you are on the registration list.

Addison Fall Festival -- Qtm. Sgt. Paul Sheerer (Jackie’s cell phone ) 607-664-4927 or Jacquelyn.Adams@va.gov.

We have been asked to do a Living History at the Churchville-Chili Central School District. They are willing to pay us $500. Lt. Col. McCann plans to bring his gun to this event. We need to know who will be willing to come. This event will take place either on Wed., October 11 or Fri., October 13 and will probably start at 8:00 a.m. Miss LuAnn will work with the school to determine the time schedule and classes we will be demonstrating for. At this time it is definite that we will perform to a Senior High English class and an Art class. Miss LuAnn is working with the Social Studies department to fit some classes in the schedule. This will be a great chance to put some money in the pot. Please let either Lt. Col. McCann (phone 585-225-8984 or e-mail mccannon01@bluefrog.com) or Cpl. Henry (phone 585-659-2240 or e-mail rvhenry@rochester.rr.com) know if you want to participate in this event. We will need to know right away how many we have to crew the gun so Miss LuAnn can wrap up the coordination of this event. Here’s a chance to help keep our expenses down. Let’s pull together and do an outstanding portrayal of what we are representing. We need your help to pull this off! Thank you.

Here is the true behind-the-scenes story of the development of one of the deadliest cannons of the Civil War: the dreaded Parrot Gun.

In the late 1840’s, an exotic bird craze swept the United States. Parrots and parakeets were imported by the thousands and thrived in the hospitable North American clime. By 1855 the bird rage had begun to wane and many parrot owners, bored with their pets, simply released them. Ere long, the major cities of the East - especially Washington City - were so infested that citizens dared not venture outside save but they carried a large protective umbrella or parasol.

Events reached a crisis state when General Winfield Scott, unable to dodge as quickly as younger, more nimble officers, was “parroted” outside the War Department on January 11, 1855 (the Third Maryland will reenact the 140th anniversary of this event in 1995; plan to attend). The bespattered commander-in-chief quickly drafted “Special Order 19” which read in part:

“...the Ordnance Branch shall post haste develop a mobile gun capable of clearing the air of these denizens, scores at a crack, with but a single shot.”

Two models were speedily developed: a ten-pound parrot gun for medium and small birds, and a twenty-pounder for the parrots brought back from Florida as souvenirs by tourists. Many of these latter birds had been flushed down toilets by their owners where they thrived in sewers and grew to a right monstrous size (especially in New York City).

So serious was the parrot problem and the need for the Parrot Gun that thousands were cast with no real test of the guns or the concept. On March 12 1856, a six gun battery of Parrots blazed away at the parrots and parakeets congregated on the roof of the Capitol building. A few sleeping birds were hit but the principle result of the fusillade was to cause construction of a new domed roof to be commenced on the Capitol, which was completed in 1865. Remembering Gen. Scott’s order to fell “scores at a crack,” and because of the effect of the shells on the structure under fire, the gunners soon dubbed the missiles “crackers” and preceded each salvo with cries of “Polly ‘wanna cracker?”

Cannister was tried with scarcely more success. While more birds were hit, the damage to buildings and bystanders from ricocheting grape-shot was, if anything, more severe. The 10 and 20 pound-Parrot guns were quickly put into storage and forgotten by all but a few wounded people and clients of several Washington City lawyers who had filed class action suits.

Miraculously, that summer the parrots (the birds, that is) flew back to South America. It seems they were homing parrots after all. They left behind, besides several shot-up buildings, tons of feathers which were quickly put to use by the Army in the M1858 Dress Hat, where they were dyed black and used as plumes. The side fastening device for the hat, often mistaken for a spread eagle, is in fact a spread parrot and is a tribute by the Army to an implacable foe.

As for the other Parrots (the guns, that is), with the coming of the Civil War some officers of the “Old Army” remembered them and their devastating effect on people and buildings, and sometimes parrots (the birds). Might they not also devastate the Secesh? They did, and Yankees too, when captured and turned on their former owners. Thus was the Parrot Gun - conceived for use in one national crisis, and used in another - used in the Civil War.

For more information on Parrot Guns, consult Lard Collector Encyclopedia of the Civil War. This excellent book also discusses the horse artillery version of the Parrot Gun, the Parakeet Gun.

From The Desk Of 1st Sgt. Roland Meiers

Report of action at Hamlin Beach

From The Desk Of 1^st Sgt. Roland Meiers