Commander's Corner

Well a New Year is on us and we have already had several opportunities to see each other. Thanks for the great attendance at the 26th NCT business meeting and then again at the Camp of Instruction.

We certainly shook the cobwebs out at the COI, the Legion Drill and the last tactical was the highlight of the weekend for me. The tactical is the first time in a while the Legion was able to put all of it's combat power on the field, working together. Both gun crews and horse teams responded to the challenge and with the other members of the combined arms team, kicked some butt!

We also gave our first NCO test and I am proud to present our three "new" NCOs to you: Sgt. John Horvath, Cpl. Dirk Lamberston and Cpl. Bill Long.

Kelly's Ford will be upon us in a couple of weeks and to echo what the 1st Sgt. said in his article if you haven't let us know whether you will attend or not please do so.

The Living History at Manassas will be only an artillery event this year - we have proposed and received the go ahead to plan a Legion Event there next year. This will be a great event - we will do some things different than we did last year - making it a better event for both the public and us.

The Morgan Horse show will be our major event in the Spring/early Summer. Please plan to attend, we will be giving presentations on Friday and Saturday evenings. I expect to be able to leave after the program on Saturday evening.

The Williamsburg event will be the first event any of us will attend wearing the redcoat…this looks to be a really good event.

Please get your registration in for the 140th Manassas as soon as possible. The projections for this event are for as many as 10,000 people to attend.

We require our Army Commanders to publish their vision/goals for their units each year. Below are the things I want to focus us on this year:

GOALS FOR 2001

1. Field the 3rd Piece as a horsedrawn gun by the 140th Manassas in August. (continued on page 4)

2. Continue to recruit at the rate of not less than 12 new members per year.

3. Train the unit on combat operations to include retreat by prolong while firing.

4. Continue to develop our Dragoon impression.

5. Integrate the bugle into our operations.

6. Develop the impression and requirements for the 4th Battalion Royal Artillery (Rev War).

7. Develop and field the impression for the 17th Light Dragoon (Rev War).

8. Develop and field the impression for the 2nd Dragoons Mexican War.

9. Develop and field the impression for the 2nd Cavalry - 1916 Expeditionary Force in Mexico.

10. Expand the involvement of our ladies in our living history presentation.

11. Develop a Mission Essential Task List (METL) to help more clearly define our roles and responsibilities. 

12. Continue to promote unit pride and esprit de corps.

The bottom line is that the hobby needs to continue to be fun for each of you. We have developed a unit of super individuals and I want to keep us on that same track - so continue to support us and we will meet all of our goals - together!

Capt. David L. Stanley, Cmdg.

1st Sgt. Sounds Off

Of the real army, our Capt. has been heard to say that sergeants see everything and are aware of everything that's going on with their men. Since we are together as a group no more often than we are, that's pretty hard to duplicate in our organization. Our leadership needs to hear from all of our members on a regular basis to even come close to that reality. This is never more important than before EVERY event we are supporting to let us know yes or no as to your attendance. Let me give you some very important reasons other than just plain courtesy. There is, even to the most casual observer, a very large inventory of hardware, harness, and horses that must be transported to each event. If the event is to be a maximum effort for the entire unit, then no less than all three guns, both limbers (soon to be three), and no less than 18 horses have to hauled to the site. This is accomplished at no small personal expense to the folks that have spent their personal resources to be able to do so. None of these folks ever complain, but I, as one of the haulers, want to express the frustration one feels when people we expect DON'T SHOW UP! None of us who are pulling any of the above mentioned gear or four legged members get better than about 9 or 10 miles to the gallon of fuel not to mention the wear and tear on the vehicle. This comes from our pockets, not the unit treasury. Not one of us minds the expense unless we get "on the ground" and find out that we've brought something we won't be able to use because someone didn't take 1 minute of their time to call the Captain or me to say "I can't make it".

I'm asking nothing less (or more) than every member in the unit to call or e-mail their intentions for every event not less than two weeks prior to the date. This means either yes or no…a negative response is still a response. If we don't have the numbers for all three guns, we won't bring but two. Now I know that each and every one of us can have something come up at the last minute. These situations must be addressed as they arise, but they shouldn't happen to the same people every event.

Horse Watch, Gun Crews and other camp duties are usually made up in advance. Having to re-work any of these at camp has become a regular occurrence. Hopefully, with the above request for communication, that should become less necessary. Guys, I'm not asking for a pound of flesh here…just a little communications effort.

Now that the Camp of Instruction is history, I want to express my thanks to all those members of the unit who were able to make all or part of the weekend. I especially want to recognize all those men who took our first ever NCO test. We will continue to grow and be a strong unit only as long as we have the level of interest and participation we have enjoyed since our beginning…we must be doing something right!

1st Sgt. Slifer 

Jesse Wharton Elementary School

We picked up the horses at 6:30 a.m. and drove to Jesse Wharton Elementary School in Greensboro. The fact that we were doing what we were doing was actually all Louise Lambertson's fault! :) We groomed the horses and set up an officer's tent with all the niceties: bed, two blankets, pillow, trunk, washstand. Then we assembled the private's sleeping arrangements: ground cloth, one blanket, and no pillow, and a "stolen" overcoat. The students were interested in the living conditions of the soldiers. John explained how the haversacks were used and how you could smell 'em before you saw 'em! We presented an overview of what would actually have been found in a Civil War camp.

We demonstrated how the Sharp's rifle fired and how to properly load a musket to fire it. The kids were impressed with Dirk's ability to make noise, even though we had a few misfires. The kids couldn't believe how long it took to load the musket.

The real hit was the horses. We saddled them and rode them around the school's playground to relax them. Joe behaved himself quite well; Harley acted like a jackass until he got used to the squeals of the kids and all those small hands patting him. The kids were looking out of their classroom windows and all the teachers were having trouble keeping order. So, they choose someone to come out to ask if it would be OK for their classes to come and see what was going on. Naturally, we said yes.

The boys liked the guns, the girls liked Mimi. Mimi was dressed like a woman in the 1860's with her long dress, hoop skirt, hat with feather, cape, and all the under clothes. They had to see her laced pantaloons, big laugh. When she showed her stockings, they all let out a great roar. The fact that we were live, showing the kids reproduction Civil War things, letting them touch them, kept their attention. We worked with 6 fifth grade classes of about 24 students each over a 3 hour period. There were other classes who came to see us, and we figured that added up to about 200 kids. The good part was they asked good questions. I feel that they learned new things.

Lt. Stewart

We have begun "serious" discussions and acquisitions for our "Royal" Revolutionary War Impressions. We hope to show a 17th Light Dragoon Impression as part of our "living history" presentation at the Morgan Horse Show in Raleigh this Spring.

This is a well-researched unit who has rather strict uniform standards that they have evolved to over the years. The Medusa on their helmets is made from a casting of the only known surviving 17th helmet in a museum in France. Their website can be found at: http://www.replications.net/17LD/17main.htm. I 'm developing my impression for this unit and plan to join them in Williamsburg this year (see our event schedule). I expect the total cost, including weapons will be around $3500 - $4000.

We are in the final research phase to develop a 4th Battalion Royal Artillery impression to include a horse-drawn gun. We hope to field both of these impressions in the next three years. Our primary focus will be working with the Guilford Courthouse Battleground Park and other Revolutionary War Sites in the South.

It is currently the 225th anniversary of the year 1776 our target is to be ready for 1779. If you are interested, please feel free to give me a call!

Capt. David L. Stanley, Cmdg.

In years past we have supported this event for the National Guard Headquarters in D.C. This year we had the honor of attending one in D.C. and one in Charlotte, North Carolina.

While the Charlotte event was a laid-back affair due to the rank of those folks in attendance, it was no less of a formal ceremony. Once the guests were seated in the dinning room, the 1st North Carolina Artillery posted the colors, in front of the one hundred members of the 113th Field Artillery Battalion, NCARNG Field Artillery (Batteries A, B, C and D).

The usual ceremonies followed to include that awful punch. ALL present artillerymen were required to partake. The taste was just as bad in Charlotte, NC as it was in D.C. Time and distance add nothing to the flavor. The evening concluded with the 1st NC Artillery retiring the Colors.

We were well received and praised for our contribution to the Ceremony's professionalism. Our exhibit was great - except for one minor detail…The six-pounder and limber would not clear the door, no matter what we did - no dice. The one door that she could have entered was four feet above the ground, so the old girl had to stay on the trailer in the parking lot. We must have made a good impression, because when we left for home, the 113th was working on how to get her in the door next year.

I would like to thank the men and women who helped with this event:

THE HONOR GUARD: THE LADIES:
CPL Chris Moose Ms. Danyel Moose
Pvt Kerry Hayer Ms Amy Rhyne
Pvt Terry Helms Ms Melissa Helms
Pvt. Daniel Helms

Thanks gang for your help!

Sgt. Rhyne