Getting Ready for the Next 145th Anniversary Event

Its been busy since my last post nearly three weeks ago, but not busy in the sense that there's been much to write about. I've been helping with preparations for the 145th anniversary event at Fort Anderson. The event will be held February 20-21 and the staff has planned an ambitious program that includes a different battle scenario each day (the fall of Fort Anderson on Saturday and the Battle of Town Creek on Sunday) and an evening lantern tour after dark on Saturday. Aside from my duties as a Historic Sites employee, my reenacting unit will be participating in the event. Usually, we do a living history display as Confederate Navy and Marines. However, this year there was a need for more Federal participation (as there always is at these things) so we decided to don our Union duds and dust off our impression as 2nd North Carolina US Volunteers. Though some of our guys will be doing Union Navy and Marine, most of us will be playing infantry. We are looking forward to doing something a little different than usual and burning some powder. Should prove to be a fun event!

145th Anniversary of the Second Battle of Fort Fisher

Wow! Two weeks since my last post, but what a two weeks it's been. This late winter/spring is proving to be much busier than I thought (and I knew it would be busy). Spring semester is underway now at both colleges and I have four online classes I'm teaching. However, the big story for the next few months is the ongoing 145th anniversary of many Civil War events in eastern North Carolina.

Fort Fisher got the ball rolling in style this past weekend with a three day long program that focused on US Colored Troops in North Carolina and the Second Battle of Fort Fisher. Friday evening there was a panel discussion held at UNC-Wilmington featuring Dr. Chris Fonvielle and Dr. John Haley of UNCW, Dr. Mark Elliott of UNC-Greensboro, and Dr. Richard Reid of the University of Guelph in Ontario. The panel was well-attended and made me miss my old alma mater more than I have in a long while. I was reminded especially of how much I miss my old advisor Dr. John Haley. To continue the focus on US Colored Troops, Dr. Reid gave a lengthier presentation at the historic site on Saturday. There were also a nominal number of US Colored Troop reenactors in attendance at the event.

On Saturday, it was all about the battle. Saturday morning we conducted small arms inspections, the Union Army conducted battalion drill, and there were artillery demonstrations. After lunch the troops formed up for the battle scenario, reenacting the Union breakthrough at the River Road sally port, which sealed the fate of Fort Fisher on January 15, 1865. I took the field with the Union Army in order to function as a safety officer and the battle went off quite well. There were a few glitches which are to be expected, but overall I think the public was well pleased with the action they witnessed. The program continued into the evening with lantern tours of the fort. Tour groups stopped at seven stations along the tour trail to encounter different "characters" from the fort's history. I played the part of Robert Watson, a Confederate sailor who served on one of the guns at the fort during the battle. The program closed with a night firing of the site's big 32-pounder cannon.

Due to heavy rains Saturday night into Sunday morning, the site staff decided to call off Sunday's activities. Aside from the fact that many of the reenactors had left, there was ankle deep standing water over much of the grounds. It was decided that having huge crowds out there would do more damage to the grounds and so the program was shut down early.

Still, I think that Fort Fisher has set the bar high for the rest of the 145th events going on this spring. Next up is the reenactment of the Battle of Fort Anderson, February 20-21.

Back at Work

I returned to the office today after almost two weeks off. I enjoyed the break, but I wasn't disappointed to come back to work. They are doing some renovations in our building so concentration is a hard thing to come by around here (at least for me). I'm currently gearing up for Fort Fisher's 145th anniversary reenactment, which will take place January 16-17. Lots more about that later. So, Happy New Year everyone!

New Books for Christmas!

Wow! Have I really neglected the blog for almost two weeks? Things have been busy, but really.....

So, no one actually bought me books for Christmas (which is probably a good thing), but I did get a couple of gift cards from Barnes & Noble. Thanks to a 30% employee discount courtesy of a friend of mine, I was able to stretch my money and parlay the gift card funds into three books. First, I got Francis Parkman's classic history of the French and Indian War, Montcalm and Wolfe. The other two books I picked up were both new titles (or fairly new anyway); Jay Winik's The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800, and Robert W. Merry's A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the Conquest of the American Continent.

In looking back over all my book purchases and acquisitions in 2009, I have noticed a trend. My library has been greatly expanded in the area of US history from 1781 to 1850. While Civil War books are always in the mix, my recent acquisitions have focused on the New Republic, Jacksonian America, and the Mexican War. Upon further reflection, it seems that in 2008 my collection grew in the areas of colonial/F&I/American Revolution. While I am still acquiring books that deal with those earlier time periods, this year's focus seems to have shifted forward, and thus has served to start bridging the gap between the earlier time periods and the Civil War.

My American history library is becoming more complete. Once my new office is finished and I can unpack all of it, you are welcome to come visit!

Two Down, One to Go

The colonial Christmas program at Historic Halifax this past Saturday was a lot of fun. As always, we set up shop in the Tap Room. We did some cooking outside, as well as the usual musket and swivel gun demonstrations. My new 1728 French musket was fired for the first time and fired flawlessly all day. This Saturday we head to Tryon Palace for the muster of the Craven Regiment of Governor Tryon's militia. In the meantime, here's some photos from Halifax.

Living in Colonial Christmas

I am in the midst of finishing up the 2009 living history year with three successive colonial Christmas programs. Last Saturday, my friend John Moseley and I joined a couple of others fine fellows in portraying a colonial militia company at Brunswick Town-Fort Anderson's holiday program. The visitor's center was very nicely decorated in the Colonial Williamsburg fashion, there was an artist demonstrating scherenschnitte (German papercutting art), wonderful refreshments were enjoyed, and the wonderfully talented Ken Bloom provided period musical entertainment. The weather was somewhat uncooperative, which stifled visitation, but we had a good time nonetheless. Photos will follow as soon as I can get my hands on some.

This Saturday, our merry little band will be at Historic Halifax for the third consecutive year for their annual Christmas program. We'll finish up the three week run at Tryon Palace on December 19. More to follow on these two programs in their wake.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Yes, it is my favorite holiday of the year. It's all about the three Fs for me - food, family, and football. My grandparents, aunt, uncle, and two cousins are making the trek from PA to be here for the holiday, which they do most every year now. It's been quite a while since we've gone to PA for Thanksgiving, although I wouldn't mind doing it again. The holiday will offer a nice break before the December craziness begins (more on that later). One place you won't find me this weekend is out shopping. I despise Black Friday and all that it signifies. I mean really, stores are opening and 3 am nowadays. Sorry, not for me. I hope everyone has a safe, happy, and meaningful Thanksgiving. We should all have something for which we are thankful.

Artillery School

So the artillery school that I conducted November 1-4 went off very well. It was a very long four days, especially for the instructors, but everyone had a good time and the class ran very smoothly for the most part. Sunday afternoon training on the swivel guns and 32-pounder was quick and easy. We knew Monday would be the slow day, due to the fact that it was the day we were doing most of the classroom work. It was made even slower by the fact that when we did get outside it was chilly and misty. Tuesday and Wednesday could not have been nicer though. On Tuesday we drilled all morning and fired blank rounds all afternoon. We also had a visit from our Department head and Division director, which was well-received and appreciated by all the participants. Late Tuesday was test time, which was stresful for some. Wednesday we pulled the cannons to Camp Lejeune for our live-fire exercise, which is always the highlight of this class. We had the Commanding Officer and some staff from the 10th Marines (the artillery unit at Lejeune) attend and they were very interested. I think I've finally recovered and am moving on to other things, but when you spend months planning something like this it can be very hard to move forward. Without further adieu, here are some photos.Photo of me on the artillery range Blank firing the 3-inch ordnance rifle Officers from the 10th Marines watching us shoot Rev War 3-pounder live firing Fort Fisher's 12-pounder live firing (best photo from the whole class)

A Departure from the Reading List

If you take a look at my current reading list on the right of the page, you will see a new book at the top of the list. I just received this one from History Book Club and decided to read it right away in the spirit of the season. The book is James W. Baker's Thanksgiving: The Biography of an American Holiday. Baker, a native of Plymouth, Massachusetts and Director of Research at the popular historic site, Plimoth Plantation, recounts the history of this distinctively American holiday, including how it came to be and how it has evolved. Through the first three chapters the book is very enjoyable and informative, so I'm plowing on through. As many of you will already know, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday so how could I resist this book? A number of years ago I read a history of Christmas, and this book seems like a nice companion.

Update Coming Soon

My apologies for my lack of posts lately. I've spent the last week and a half either at artillery school, doing follow up work in the wake of artillery school, or playing catch up on all the stuff that didn't get done while I was at artillery school. I've also delayed posting about the school until I had some photos I could put up. I'll be receiving LOTS of photos tomorrow when I return to the office so I'll put some pics up here and tell you folks all about it!