The
Yankee
Correspondent
Meeting: No
meeting was held for June, July, or August.
Next Meeting: To
Be Announced!
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
REGARDING THE NEWSLETTER:
Ø You may notice a few changes
in this month’s newsletter. First of all there is a new editor. Please pardon
the “work in progress” feel of this month’s effort, but I have to brush up on
my computer skills, and the wound from Fredericksburg is giving me fits. I also
apologize for the lack of girth to this newsletter but it has been a very busy
summer and with the change I didn’t have the time to get everyone’s
contributing feedback to put out a newsletter like you are used to getting.
Give me another month and you will.
Ø Second, I am going to add a
little section on items that may interest fellow 81st members. If
anyone came across a good deal on uniform or kit items, let me know so I can
share. If anyone read a really interesting book, let me know so I can share. If
anyone went anywhere related to our hobby, let me know so I can share it. This
can be a fun section for us. I know I’m always interested in a good read. So
start thinking of your ideas for next month. I will give you an example of this
later in the letter.
Past Events:
Ø June 26 & 27: Company Picket Post. I was not able to attend
this year’s picket post, but was told that once again Bill had outdone himself.
It was described as a walk back in time with the look and feel of the real
deal. It was even mentioned that Johnny Reb had the nerve to put in a showing.
I would like to thank Bill for using his time and energy to bring us an
opportunity to have some fun in our own backyard. I look forward to attending
next year’s post.
Ø July 3 - 5: Mifflin Guard Gettysburg Encampment. I would like to hear
someone’s account of this event.
Ø July 25 & 26: Fishing Creek Confederacy, Benton,
PA.
This event was a first time event with the feel of a first time event. I
arrived Friday night in a driving thunderstorm to set up, but was also lucky to
get a warm and hospitable reception from Amy and Dean. Saturday I was joined by
two local privates, one from the 11 PA and one from the 124 PA. Also Don and
Scott arrived to fill out our company. It was a beautiful day and we put on 2
nice demonstrations for the local visitors. Even though we were thin in the
ranks we stood and fired as many! Always a nice crowd pleaser. Captain Kuchta
gave a nice narrative as we were put through some basic commands. All in all a
nice time. At dinner we were treated to a wonderful chicken bar-b-q while
watching some of the festivities. Saturday night allowed us to enjoy a nice
campfire before the rains blew in around midnight. Sunday our company was
beefed up by the arrival of much needed reinforcements in the forms of Ted and
Jeff. We conducted another command and fire demonstration for the visitors but
Sunday’s attendance was very light compared to Saturday. We then packed up and
headed home to clean and polish for the next event.
Upcoming
Events: (June & July)
v October 17 & 18: Cedar Creek 145th
Anniversary Reenactment, Winchester, VA. Early registrations have been sent in, but
it’s not too late to register. It will cost $20.00 to register before September
7th, and $25.00 to register before October 4th. They say
they will allow a limited number of walk-ons for $30.00 but I wouldn’t wait
until then to register. They are promising a good time to help ring in the 145th
Anniversary of this battle. I went for the first time last year and had a great
time. I am looking for the same and hope that we can get a nice turnout.
Cancelled
Event: The Ashland Parade has been cancelled by the parade organizers due “lack
of money”.
Members Corner:
Ø
I wasn’t able to attend this year’s Eckley event because I went to visit
a college buddy who lives in Suffolk, Virginia. I mention this because he took
me to visit the Mariners Museum in Newport News. If you don’t know, the
Mariner’s Museum is where they took the turret and other items raised from the
final resting place of the USS Monitor. The museum and the Federal Government
have been working together on this project and the museum agreed to build a
complete new wing to house the relics from the Monitor as well as explain the
battle fought in Hampton Roads in 1862. They have mockups of cabins inside the
Monitor and a 1:1 scale front section of the CSS Virginia (Merrimack). This visit
was worth the visit alone. It was amazing to see some of the items raised and
restored and on display, as well as the full scale mock-up of the Monitor done
by engineering students in Virginia and sitting right outside the museum to be
walked on. I was amazed by how small it really is. From books and magazines I
always had an idea that it was a fairly large ship, but it’s not. Enjoy the
photos.
The 1:1 scale Virginia
A mock-up of the turret and its workings
The full scale mock-up of the
Monitor
The propeller off the Monitor. A
fore runner of today’s naval propellers. Note the missing pieces.
A gage from the engine room of
the Monitor. It looks brand new.
Copper piping from the Monitor.
One of the 2 turret guns from the
Monitor undergoing its “cleaning” process. You couldn’t enter this room but
they had big glass panels you could look through. This was really awesome to
see and left me with a feeling of awe to be able to see one of the 2 guns that
battled the Virginia.
This
is the tank that’s holding the actual turret from the Monitor. Its been in this
tank for 6 years of what is expected to take about 25 years to fully remove all
the salt from the 8 layers of steel plate that made up the turret. Again what a
feeling to see this up close.
OK. This brings us to the end of
the August newsletter. I hope you enjoy this short version and bear with me
while we get through my learning curve. Enjoy your summers and I hope to see
all of you at the September meeting. Once again please feel free to send me
items for the newsletter. This belongs to the 81st!
If you have “FUN FEST” tickets
please return them to me via the US Post Office so I can send them in before
the September deadline. I will reimburse you the stamp. Thanks for your help
with the tickets!!!!!!!!!
Paul Matticks
410 North River Street
Olyphant, PA 18434.
The Yankee Correspondent
Newsletter
of Co K, 81st PA Vol Inf Reg’t
Civil War Reenactors
www.angelfire.com/pa3/81stpennsylvania
c/o
1199 Bethel Hill Road
Harveyville, PA 18655-3737