|
|
I was on an emotional high for about 24 hours after returning home from the TV Movie NORTH and SOUTH. But on my return to work the following Monday, my world came crashing down when the boss fired me. At the end of last chapter, I told you of a disagreement I'd had with my employer, which resulted in my termination. I was without employment for the first time in 5 years and I was damn depressed. I was not looking forward to spending the entire summer pounding the pavement looking for work, but I had to put food on the table, so I got my fancy Sunday church suit out of the closet and began visiting the few ad agency's and art studio's in town.
Meanwhile, at the end of May 1985, a Civil War event had been planned in New Madrid, Missouri. It was slated as a maximum effort event with many Federals and Confederates attending. My wife wanted to go, but I was still in a funk because I hadn't found a job yet. After several days of watching me come home with that hound dog look of rejection written on my face, she practically booted me out of the house. So we took Katie to Grandma's, piled everything into the Mitsubishi, and headed out. One thing in my favor was I didn't have to wait till after 5PM to leave. With no job to hold me back, I was able to leave during the early part of the day (I think the Higginbotham's, John Maki, and Connie Soper were traveling separately, so no Cocktail Flight was planned).
New Madrid is in the extreme southeast corner of Missouri, in the bootheel. Its claim to fame is that it sits on a fault line and in about 1812 had a massive earthquake. In February and March 1862, it was of central importance to both Union and Confederate forces as it controlled a vital junction of the Mississippi River. Just eight miles south was the Confederate stronghold, Island No.10. If Confederate forces captured New Madrid, Union river traffic could be halted. (By the way, its pronounced New MADrid, not New MAdrid. Missouri is funny that way.) Today, the State of Missouri owns a small portion of property in New Madrid including the fully restored and refurbished Hunter-Dawson home, which was the headquarters of US General John Pope during the battle for Island No.10.
The drive down took about 5 hours. We went from Kansas City to St. Louis, then down Interstate 44 south past Cape Girardeau. We rolled into New Madrid about 5 PM and decided to ask for directions to the event site. I walked into a tavern and asked one of the patrons for directions to the Civil War camp. There were only about a half dozen in the establishment at this hour, but they kind of looked at me funny just the same and one barfly raised his head from behind his beer glass and asked if I was a "damn Yankee" or "a good ol' boy". I should have known! New Madrid is just a rifle shot across the river from Tennessee, so I'll bet some of these folks were transplanted hillbillies. I proudly announced my portrayal was of a Union soldier from Missouri and all the Yankees live in New York. That set them to cackling through their broken cigarette stained teeth. Then as if figuring they'd pulled my leg enough, I was told I could find the camp by looking for such and such street.
I have been to New Madrid only twice. Once in 1985 and then again in 1987. There are episodes from the two New Madrid's that I'm unable to sort out. That is to say which incident occurred at which New Madrid? So, in a somewhat similar method as I have done the Prairie Grove, Arkansas chapter, I will lay all the facts out in a jigsaw puzzle and let someone more capable than I place them in their proper order. I know for certain that Dick Stauffer was still the Captain at both events (he would resign his position at the conclusion of the '87 New Madrid).
New Madrid was where Captain Lemon made his appearance. Early in the day there was a meeting for all Union and Confederate commanders, to discuss the scenario for the upcoming battle reenactment. These meeting usually took some time to "iron out" because there was always arguing going between 'Billy Yank' and 'Johnny Reb' on who would get shot, who would retreat, or who would perform the most heroics. When the soldier suddenly finds he has too much free time on his hands, he will come up with a distraction, or as the phrase goes "when the cats' away, the mice will play". Card and/or Domino playing, beer drinking, a visit to the sutler area (otherwise known as Las Vegas) to buy cigars, buttons, clothing and to look at firearms were some of the more popular distractions that tempted the reenactor. Then there were diversions such as pranks, tomfoolery, or just plain lunacy, which were invented at the spur of the moment and after some hours spent in the hot sun.
One such act of lunacy occurred when mild-mannered Robbie Piatt pinned a couple of lemon slices to the shoulders of his frock coat, 'borrowed' Dick Stauffer's sword, and began prancing around the parade ground like he was Professor Harold Hill from the MUSIC MAN. He barked some sham orders to a few willing stooges, then convinced them that Dick Stauffer should be arrested for associating with the enemy. He led a provost detail who had all their equipment on backwards, with muskets turned upside down, and in various stages of undress. The Confederate's all looked dumb struck as the detail paraded through their camp, led by a scrawny lad with lemon slices on the shoulders of his coat. At the Confederate commander's tent, "Captain Lemon" demanded that Dick Stauffer be handed over to him. Dick was conferring with Missouri Brigade commander Dave Bennett at the time. Neither could believe the apparition before them. Dick cleared his throat, apologized to Dave Bennett for the interruption, and told "Captain Lemon" to piss off or words to that effect. Feeling the color rise in his face and perhaps the lemon slices beginning to wilt, the "Captain" ordered the awkward squad back to camp. Dick returned to our lines about 15 minutes later, and being a good sport, allowed himself to be arrested. Checking his pocket watch, he instructed "Captain Lemon" to get on with the execution because he'd decided he was going to make us practice the skirmish drill before lunch. The firing squad had loaded with cartridge, then "Captain Lemon" gave the order to present arms. But since this was the awkward squad, 'present arms' was done upside down and all the black powder poured out of the musket barrel. The squad fired anyway but the effects were lessened, as there was no powder only a weak pop coming from the snapped musket caps. Dick writhed on the ground a moment, then resurrected himself and said to Robbie" ...now put my damn saber back in my tent and tell the First Sergeant that you're on lunch KP! The rest of you get ready for drill!"
New Madrid was where we first practiced "street fighting". This was not the street fighting as popularized in the stage and film version WEST SIDE STORY, but a method of uncovering an advancing line of men to reveal fresh muskets. A battalion is marching down a wide road, with its companies in columns or two ranks of men. When given the command to fire, the first column in line fires it's volley (as seen in Fig.#1). Then the men outward face left and right at the center and quick step to the rear of the battalion (as seen in Fig#2), which unmask's a fresh column which is set to fire. As each double rank of men fires its muskets, they also fall to the rear, behind the previous column of men. While reforming to the rear, the men are instructed to "reload on the run" because soon they will be back in front once again. This mode of firing by battalion also worked when in retreat from the enemy, as we would demonstrate at the next Pilot Knob event.
New Madrid was where Gregg Higginbotham shined as an officer, both on the parade ground and in leading his men into disaster on the battleground. Though minor, this incident during drill deserves mention as it occurred during our attempt to learn to "stack arms" (a stack of muskets is created by locking 3 muskets together by their bayonets. With at least 50 men in the company, a musket stack looks very impressive if done right). We tried the method as written in both HARDEE'S and CASEY'S TACTICS. We also tried one that the Confederates used in which the center musket is placed on the apex of the two muskets on the side, then swung forward to form the tripod. Higgy always liked to say that the musket stack should be strong enough "to support a large negro!"
We fixed and unfixed the bayonet, stacked and unstacked our muskets. Men were asked to swap sides with his pard and try stacking muskets from a different perspective. 1st Lieutenant Higginbotham was with a group who were stacking muskets. At one point he became distracted by something that caught his eye; might have been the well turned leg of a passing camp visitor. He was wanting us to fix bayonet and stack arms, but instead he said,"STACK......BAYONET!" We all jerked the steel bayonet's from our scabbards and launched then into the ground near our feet. Higgy turned red as he realized the folly of his remark, but it was a light-hearted moment and a source of some merriment. It also signaled the end of the drill and we were dismissed back to our camp life and/or diversions until time for battle.
During the battle reenactment of New Madrid, which was held off site on an acre or two of county property, we marched in battalion formation, and did the street fighting as we had practiced. 1st Lieutenant Higginbotham was given free rein with 2nd platoon, so he marched us away from the main group at a left oblique and into a weed infested area in an attempt to distract and outflank the enemy. Included this group of 20 men, otherwise known as the ‘forlorn hope’, were Color Sergeant Frank Kirtley, John Maki, and myself. It wasn't until we had gone several dozen yards that we realized we were trapped inside a small bowl shaped culvert with no way out. There wasn't enough time to retrace our steps and go all the way around this obstacle. The battle was at its zenith with Dickson and the boys firing withering volleys at the enemy. To tell the truth, it looked like Dick could use some help. Even as Higgy was calculating we'd have to crawl out of the culvert, Frank was taking apart the flagpole and rolled the colors into its protective bag. The sides of the weed-choked bowl were at least ten feet high all around us with brush growing along its top edge. Higgy's last words were, "kick you're way out and run like hell!" 20 men scampered out of the culvert on hands and knees, right into the teeth of a Confederate battalion. Suddenly popping out of the ground like a covey of quail probably made "johnny reb" shit his pants. Before we'd gone a few paces from our hiding hole however, the enemy muskets swung our way and fired into our fleeing backsides. And so concluded the battle reenactment of New Madrid, at least for me. I lay in my death throes while they "johnnies" walked right past me to finish the duel with Dickson and the rest of the Union boys. This is the only battle reenactment that I can recall, or at least the only one memorable enough worth recalling. The other battle demonstration we may have had here at New Madrid were probably in the variety of blowing black powder back and forth for an hour, with a cavalry action thrown in for amusement. In other words, nothing to write home about.
The final act of "tomfoolery" at the New Madrid event was unplanned, it was impromptu, and it was something that developed as a result of the most ordinary of circumstances. As I've already mentioned the reenactor's were camped on the old site of General Pope's Union Army Headquarters, the Hunter-Dawson Home. Both Union and Confederate camps were separated by at least 100 yards, with a two-lane driving road curving around the site. A tour of the entire battlefield site was offered to the visitor, which included a drive by of these reenactor's camps. The visitors were required to ride in a cage-enclosed hay wagon, that was pulled by a farm tractor. At least 25 people were crammed in this enclosure at one time, and with their flat faces pressed up against the wire of the cage, they reminded me of Jews at a concentration camp.
There were several tours that came by that weekend, one about every half hour, filled with the above mentioned sightseer's with their Polaroid and Nikon cameras clicking away as if they were looking at wild animals in their natural habitat. The absurdity of it all suddenly swept over me, as if we, the reenactor's, were on display like zoo animals for the amusement of these humans who were riding a people mover. As the next trailer load of humans passed the Confederate area and headed around the corner to us, I was suddenly swept into an act that was followed by first one, then two, followed by six more, until all of Holmes Brigade was involved, even Captain Dick Stauffer. What happened was we jumped out into the middle of this wide open area next to the street, and as the people approached, we started acting like gorilla's. Not the "William Quantrill type who sneak around in the dead of night and attacks the wayward traveler." I'm talking about the African gorilla that Charles Darwin claims is man's distant cousin. Doubled over at the waist like hunchbacks with our knuckles scraping the ground, we wacky Union boys began shuffling back and forth like the mindless slobs we were. Then some went into a rant, growling and grunting at nothing on particular while pounding on their chest for emphasis while others contented themselves with searching for lice in each other's head . It was like a scene from a bad version of PLANET OF THE APES. I can almost guarantee that the jaw of every person on that trailer dropped and I'll bet they probably forgot about the camera they had, too. In a moment, the tractor and its trailer were past us and we became cro-magnum men again. Until the next group came by a half hour later.
This concludes my essay on New Madrid. Since 1987, Holmes Brigade has not been invited back. Hmmmm! One has to scratch his head at that one. As I mentioned at the start of this chapter, I could not differentiate between one year or the next so I scrambled the two together. Hope you enjoyed reading about New Madrid as it was fun and added yet another chapter to the legend that is Holmes Brigade. In the next chapter I will talk about a couple of "end of the year" spectacular's including a trip to a fraternity house, a spirited festival, and a massacre in Kansas.