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Review of 2008 |
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| Veterans Home Visit - March 15th |
| Civil War Seminar - April 4th-6th |
| Spring Drill, Fort Ontario - April 18th-20th |
| Newtown Battlefield, Elmira - May 2nd-4th |
| Fire On The Genesee, Letchworth - May 16th-18th |
| Memorial Day Activities - May 25th-31st |
| Newark Rose Parade, Newark - June 14th |
| Independance Day, Palmyra - July 4th |
| 145th Battle of Gettysburg - July 3rd-6th |
| Marilla, NY - July 12th-13th |
| Harborfest at Fort Ontario, Oswego, NY - July 26th-27th |
| Erie Canal Village, Rome, NY - August 1st-3rd |
| Hamlin Beach State Park, Hamlin, NY - August 17th-19th |
| Canaltown Days, Palmyra, NY - September 12th-14th |
| Angelica, NY - September 19th-21st |
| Camp Fitz-John Porter, Rochester, NY - October 10th |
| 144th Cedar Creek, Middletown, Va - October 17th-19th |
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Veterans Home Visit - March 15th | |
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As realistic as we try to keep the experiences of participation in Civil War Living History and Battle events, sometimes a reality check needs to take place. |
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The civilians and children of the 28th New York spent much of the Winter months, both at home and also at the monthly civilian meetings, crocheting, sewing and stitching blankets and teddy bears. The plan was then that we would pass them along to veterans at a hospital visit early this year. The blankets and bears were all Red, White and Blue. |
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The civilian and military personnel of the 28th assisted and participated in a bingo session during which the winners of the games were presented blankets. Following the bingo, the children of the 28th New York passed the bears around the people who had been playing the games. |
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The occupants of the Veterans Home were men and women who had served this country during the wars of the last century. While we spend weekends (during the warmer months) drilling, encamped and eating similar to the style of 145 years ago, these people actually served in the Army, Navy, Airforce and Marine Corps. |
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The girls at Batavia Veterans Home |
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In a tour of the facilities, the rooms all had the eras in which each of the residents had served and we were informed that the last of the residents who had served in the First World War had recently passed away. |
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It was a very humbling experience. |
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Civil War Seminar - April 5th-6th | |
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In an addition to the early part of the reenacting year, we participated in a new Civil War Seminar which took place at Allegany State Park in New York's Southern Tier. This was the first year in which this event had taken place. |
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The accomodation was at Camp Allegany in the State Park and all food was provided during the course of the weekend. |
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As well as the people from the 28th New York Infantry, reenactors present were from the 136th New York Infantry, Cushings Artillery Battery A, 5th/43rd Virginia Cavalry, 13th Va Cavalry (from Albany) and 4th South Carolina Infantry. |
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The program opened on Saturday with the civilians discussing the appropriate attire for civilians of the era as well as the correct material to be used depending on whether the person was from the Northern or Southern states. |
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On The military side, we extensively discussed the different backgrounds of the regiments of the war, especially how the different structures used by each side swayed the early war to the favor of the Confederacy only to be balanced by the numerical advantage after 1863. After that the military discussed the ways in which the branches of service were, historically, used on the field and how the branches could be used better during events to represent their historical role. |
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Saturday Afternoon Session at the Seminar |
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A drill session was carried out in the afternoon followed by an introduction to Civil War era etiquette at dances and in public. |
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The following morning a joint discussion was held to talk about first person impressions and options which are open to people regarding places to gather information. |
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All in all, it was a very interesting and informative weekend. The opportunity to spend some time getting to know reenactors who you normally would not interact with was invaluable. I believe that the plan is to carry this out again next year with the inclusion of artillery drill sessions. |
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Spring Drill, Fort Ontario - April 18th-20th | |
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With the first battle events only a few short weeks away, we had our annual drill weekend. This year it took place at the, Civil War Era, Fort Ontario overlooking the port in Oswego, NY. |
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We were joined at the Fort by members of the 12th US Regulars and the 5th Virginia. As well as the drill, the weekend was an opportunity to update one another regarding the months in which we are unable to reenact in Up-State New York. |
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It was an opportunity for people new to the hobby to gain a step up in preparation for the start of the coming year and an opportunity for the veteran reenactors to shake off the cob webs which develop during the Winter. |
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Aerial view of Fort Ontario |
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We carried out a number of drill sessions during the course of Saturday and Sunday morning including firing and drill demonstrations for the members of the public who visited the fort during the weekend. |
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Our thanks go out to Karl and Megan Rosensweig who spent much of the weekend carrying out food preparation for the people who were staying at the fort that weekend. |
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Ben Newton Memorial Weekend, Newtown Battlefield, Elmira - May 2nd-4th | |
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The Civil War reenacting season is upon us with the first battle reenactment of the year at Newtown Battlefield in Elmira. In spite of the poor weather forcast expected for the Elmira weekend (what's new?) we had a good turnout and, when combined with the 136th New York and 149th Pa, we fielded the largest Union infantry company. |
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Throughout Friday an education day took place where over 1300 local school children walked around the camps. |
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On Saturday morning the reenactors present carried out a memorial service for Ben Newton, a young reenactor who died in a road traffic accident in 2001, and we then carried out company drill. |
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The 1pm battles allowed us little time for lunch and before long we were formed up and marched off to the battle. It was here that the smaller number of reenactars actually became a bonus. In previous years, the narrow width of the battlefield has reduced the options open to the field commanders, however, the lower numbers meant that the companies were able to operate with more flexibility and allowed space in line for a number of mountain howitsers between the companies. |
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Infantry Company and Artillery in line |
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The battle on saturday was effectively fought to a draw with the heavy defensive positions occupied by the Confederates countering the slight numerical superiority of the Union forces. |
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With the draw expected, the Union forces withdrew to a better defensive position. It was only after the battle when it was found that the Confederates were completely out of ammunition and down to less than half a company. |
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The candlelight tour on saturday evening was punctuated with stations manned by reenactors portraying scenes from the Civiil War. However, the deteriorating weather conditions reduced the number of people who came around the tour and many people returned to their camp considerably earlier than they had anticipated. |
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Sunday was the day which the weather forecast had suggested would be rainy. However, the main bulk of the rain had blown over during the course of the previous night and, with the exception of an early sheet of mist which rolled over through the camp early on Sunday morning, the day was dry. |
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Misty Sunday Morning with Damp Firewood |
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Once the mist had cleared the sun had a chance to begin drying the damp tent canvas. Following breakfast and the church service, we did a mid-morning drill which brought us back into camp later than anticipated leaving people ten minutes to get ready for the Sunday battle (This NCO needs to get a pocket watch). |
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Despite the rushing around, we took the field on time and had been told that the Confederates were "showing the black flag" (No quarter asked and none given). Basically, if we were to win that day, we would need to drive them from the defenses which we had left them holding the previous day. |
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Once again, the 28th New York was positioned on the right of the Union line and we pushed our way up a narrow track through the wooded area to the Confederate lines. |
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Similar numbers to the previous days battle were on display and the Union light artillery moved forward in support of the infantry presenting a number of excellent battery and battalion volleys. |
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The 1st Company (28th NY, 136th NY and 149th PA) was the first Union company to cross the Confederate defenses and after a short fight took a number of prisoners. Shortly afterwards, the rest of the Union line swept over the Confederate defenses to pushed the remaining enemy back. Victory was ours! |
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Dismissing the Company after the battle on Sunday |
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Fire On The Genesee, Letchworth State Park, NY - May 16th-18th | |
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The first of the events at Letchworth State Park this year is, as always, the Fire On The Genesee event. This event is a 28th New York sponsored event and one which we always push for a good attendance. |
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In addition to the 28th New York, the Union Infantry was a mix of a number of different regiments which we have had the honor of fighting next to on a number of occasions: 136th New York, 149th Pennsylvania, 49th New York, 94th New York and 42nd Pennsylvania (1st Bucktails) |
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The weather forecast for the weekend was not good (and that's being generous). However, anyone who has ever been to the Fire On The Genesee event will know that the weekend is not complete without a flash flood or tornado. |
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Armed with the weather forecast, ponchos and wide brimmed hats, we arrived at Letchworth on Friday for the education day. Over 400 school students were walked and talked around a dozen scenarios and stations designed to give them an idea of life during the American Civil War, both in the line with the military and also with the civilians at home. |
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Saturday arrived and the companies drilled in the morning. As the day wore on people began to watch the skies and certain less than authentic devices and the rain appeared to have missed us. The battle was fought at the Highbanks Recreation Area and despite the scripted "tactical draw", the Union forces found themselves outflanked and the Confederates were hardly going to let that opportunity go. The rebel infantry drove around our flank and captured the breastworks in the center of the field. With that, the line collapsed and the Union forces retreated. |
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Rebel Charge During Saturdays Battle |
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Following the battle on Saturday a community dinner was held followed by a Civil War Era dance. Saturday had stayed dry! However, with the arrival of Sunday, the opportunity to get rained on and pack up wet canvas tents once again reared it's head. |
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The rain started shortly after 9am and continued in a steady stream through the morning and into the early afternoon. But, with the first orders to march into the battle, the rain stopped and the damp air kept the gunpowder smoke hovering over the battlefield. The Fog of War. |
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First Company Firing Through the Fog Of War |
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Following the reversal of fortunes during the battle the previous day, the Union decided to attack on Sunday. We occupied the battlefield breastworks and, despite the best efforts of the Confederates, we never looked like losing them. |
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We made a number of full frontal advances and gradually drove the Confederates from the field of battle. |
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In spite of the weather, it was a very good weekend. The wet canvas is a small price to pay to participate in events like Fire On The Genesee and I have no doubt that we'll be back next year. |
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Memorial Day Activities - May 25th-31st | |
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Memorial Day started off for the 28th with a parade and memorial service in Newark, NY on Sunday, May 25th. We paraded along Main Street behind the VFW members to the War Memorial and participated in the honor guard for the soldiers, sailers and airmen who have served and died for this country. |
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The following day, Memorial Day, we had members involved in the Sons of Union Veterans service at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Rochester and later a parade a memorial service in Marion, NY. As something of a novelty, during the Memorial Service, we were requested to fire to the music during the national anthem ("...rockets red flare, bombs bursting in air..."). |
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After a week, we were invited to participate in the combined Nunda Fundays, town bicentenary activities which was preceeded by a Memorial Day service in the town. While at the cemetery, we found the burial place of member of the 28th New York. |
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Burial Place of William H Brady, 28th NY, Company F |
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Newark Rose Parade - June 13th-14th | |
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The Rose Parade in Newark is a new event to our schedule and the 28th arranged an encampment at the Historical Society in Newark. We had a good turn out by both military and civilian personnel and had space for a good sized camp. |
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Despite poor weather expected the parade went ahead on schedule. There were over 90 fire engines from across the surrounding counties present at the parade and the 28th marched as part of the Historical Society section of the parade. |
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28th NY in the Rose Parade, Newark NY |
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Independance Day Parade, Palmyra, NY - July 4th | |
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In another new addition to the schedule, Palmyra, NY, introduced an Independance Day parade and invited the 28th to participate in the parade. We made further arrangements to setup an encampment in the village park as part of the activities for the day and camped over from Thursday through to Saturday. |
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Following the parade, small drill and firing demonstrations were carried out and the camp was open to the public to visit. The afternoon was taken up by activities in the park and the reenactors carried out all that was asked of them. Our thanks to the Town of Palmyra for allowing us to setup a camp in the village park for this event. We also are looking forward to this event again next year. |
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145th Battle of Gettysburg, Gettysburg, Pa - July 3rd-6th | |
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While many of the 28th New York was at Palmyra, a number of our members headed to Gettysburg for the 145th anniversary of the battle there. We found ourselves encamped among over 12,000 other reenactors and fell in with the 1st Division, 3rd Brigade. Our company, under the command of Capt Terry Darrow - of the 28th New York - consisted of a number of familiar faces from other events and many people who had travelled many miles to participate in the event. With the 28th New York were the 136th NY, 149th Pa, 120th NY, 110th Pa and 3rd Vermont. |
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Unlike the previous years weather (110F and sunny), this year we were subjected to a nasty mix of 90F, rainy and stunningly humid. In our company were a number of men over from California for the reenactment and some of them struggled with the humidity. |
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During the battles, with the heavy atmosphere and rain, the smoke hung over the fields and some of the action must have been completely obscured from the large crowds which attended each day. There were times during the battles when all we could see was the lines of grey infantry facing us across the field and it was very intense. |
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Union Infantry line firing during Saturdays Battle |
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On Sunday, Picketts charge was carried out by over 5,000 Confederate Infantry. It was preceeded by an hour long artillery barrage. Our regiment was positioned on the wall close to The Angle and was representing the 15th Mass. Kenny Spencer, of the 28th New York, carried the regimental colors of the 15th for the battle. |
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Following the artillery barrage the Confederate advance began and, despite the best efforts of the attackers, the Union line would not be moved from the wall. The field was strewn with casualties following the charge and the Confederates withdrew. Despite how commercialised the national events can be, there is no experience like marching in a column with 5,000 reenactors and facing 5,000 others on the field of battle. We'll be back in Gettysburg next year for the 146th! |
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Marilla, NY - July 12th-13th | |
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The weekend after Gettysburg we were once again on the field of battle. However, in contrast to the thousands versus thousands the previous weekend, it was tens versus tens at Marilla Town Park. Not that the numbers take anything away from the event itself. As the largest Union Infantry unit present at the event, the 28th New York took the lead on the field. It was a glorious weekend to be out, but not necessarily out in a dark wool uniform. The heat and humidity were intense. |
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Battles on Saturday and Sunday were linked by a civil war era dance and night skirmish. |
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Harborfest at Fort Ontario, Oswego, NY - July 26th-27th | |
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For the second time in 2008, we returned to Fort Ontario overlooking the harbor of Oswego. Due to bridge repairs in the town, the entire festivities of Harborfest had been moved onto the east side of the river, where the fort is situated. The result was a busy weekend with a good view of the proceedings from the ramparts of the fort. |
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Our primary duties during the course of the weekend involved maintaining a pickett along the walls of the fort, maintaining a guard on the gate, drill demonstrations and firing demonstrations. |
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Erie Canal Village, Rome, NY - August 1st-3rd | |
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Erie Canal Village is a historic village located to the south-west of Rome, NY, and is wedged between the old Erie Canal and the original canal (which is, comparatively, little more than a ditch). The event at Rome is hosted by the 12th US Regulars and we annually attend the event. |
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Rome is a good event which gives us an opportunity to carry out skirmish operations against the town, street fighting, train raids as well as open field battles. The battles on Saturday and Sunday as well as the dance, which takes place on Saturday evening are always well attended. |
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Hamlin Beach State Park, Hamlin, NY - August 17th-19th | |
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For the 10th Anniversary of the Hamlin Beach reenactment, we had a busy schedule. In addition to the battles on Saturday and Sunday, a wedding was held for two members of the 28th New York. On Saturday morning, buttons and buckles were polished, white gloves were passed around the military and we drilled through the special orders for the wedding ceremony. |
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Infantry formed for the wedding. |
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The wedding was followed by a reception and then onto the weekends other events. The battles on both Saturday and Sunday went well. The Union infantry on Saturday fought bravely and died in great numbers eventually being driven from the field. Sunday saw the Union pushing to retake the field and the Infantry pushed the right of the Confederate line to breaking point. The Union won the day. |
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Canaltown Days, Palmyra, NY - September 12th-14th | |
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As an addition to the 2008 reenacting schedule, a Living History event was added for CanalTown Days in Palmyra, Wayne County, NY. Our hosts for camping was the Methodist Church in Palmyra, in the very heart of the festivities. |
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During the course of the weekend, we had thousands of people come through our camp. We participated in a drill demonstation and parade as well as had an occupied camp in place from Friday afternoon through to Sunday. |
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As the first year which we have attended this event, we were made to feel very welcome by the event organisers, visitors and public. Should Canaltown Days again fall onto a free weekend in our schedule, we are all very much looking forward to returning to Palmyra for Canaltown Days in future. |
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Angelica, NY - September 19th-21st | |
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The Scout Camporee/Civil War Weekend in Angelica, NY which is hosted by the 136th New York is always an eagerly awaited event on the schedule of the 28th New York. The event has been gradually developed from a event which was primarily a Scout Camp with a small reenactment to a large, and growing, reenactment in (and around) the town of Angelica. |
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The event consisted of two battles at the County Fairgrounds, a battle located in downtown Angelica, Scout Activities involving reenactors through Saturday morning, a Scout battle held after the main battle on Saturday afternoon, Sunday parade and an evening dance. |
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Forming for the Scout Battle |
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Despite limited opportunity to walk through the drill with the Scouts on Saturday morning, the Scouts always impress during their battle. Having said that, once they see the first group going into hand-to-hand fighting the only command they hear is "CHARGE!!!!" and all you can do then is get out of their way. They'll all make excellent reenactors some day. :-) |
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Camp Fitz-John Porter Marker Dedication, Rochester, NY - October 10th | |
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In conjunction with the SUV, a Scout carried out an Eagle Scout project to place a marker at the site of the Civil War recruitment camp on the banks of the Genesee River in Southern Rochester. Cushings Battery and the 28th New York turned up for the dedication of the marker. |
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Camp Fitz-John Porter Marker Dedication |
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The marker reads: |
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| "On this site in 1862 was erected Camp Fitz-John Porter as a recruit camp for Civil War soldiers. Named after the Union General, it was the initial training ground for Monroe County's 108th and 140th New York Infantry regiments and Mack's 18th Independent "Black Horse" artillery battery. The camp stretched southwest along Cottage Street between Magnolia and Utica Streets. |
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| Other camps were at the former county fairgrounds next to what is now Strong Memorial Hospital, just across the river, and at what is now the Rose Garden at Maplewood Park. |
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| From Camp Fitz-John Porter soldiers departed for different theaters of the war: The 108th and 140th to the Army of the Potomac to fight against Lee; Mack's battery to Louisiana. |
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| The 108th for example, had it's baptism of fire at the Sunken Road at Antietam, charged up Marye's Heights at Fredericksburg, fought near the Chancellor House at Chancellorsville, helped repel Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, was caught up in the savage fighting in the Wilderness, and participated in the siege of Petersburg before pursuing Lee to Appomattox. |
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| The 140th helped turn the tide at Little Round Top during the second day of fighting at Gettysburg, lost half its men killed, wounded or missing in an ill-fated charge across Saunders' Field at the Wilderness, lost more men in an equally futile charge at Spotsylvania, fought in the trenches at Petersburg, then helped overwhelm the enemy at Five Forks. It too was present at Lee's surrender. |
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| Mack's Battery endured stifling heat and enemy snipers during the siege of Port Hudson and later helped capture Spanish Fort outside Mobile in the last days of the war. |
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| Monroe County sent 10,372 soldiers into the Union ranks. 1,374 of them died of wounds or disease." |
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144th Anniversary of Cedar Creek, Middletown, Va. - October 17th-19th | |
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As in previous years, a number of the members of the 28th New York made the October trip to northern Virginia to participate in the reenactment of the Battle of Cedar Creek. As in 2007, we fell in with the 136th New York and 142nd Pennsylvania for the reenactment. |
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28th and 136th in Camp |
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Despite some interesting events on the field, such as the scenario falling apart, the reenactment always holds up to expectations. There were over 5,000 reenactors on the field for this reenactment. The running, open battles between the two opposing forces on Saturday and Sunday and the views along the valley more than made up for the cold conditions on Saturday night. |
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Shenandoah Sunset on Saturday |
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It's always a good ending to the reenacting year doing a national where you're lining up with people who, despite coming from different backgrounds, share the same interest and passion in this hobby. The seven hour travelling each direction is more than worth it. |
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