MaineMilitia.com

Some background as I begin this AAR:

Last fall, I stumbled onto the website for the Princess Anne Greys/Lee’s Sharpshooters while seeking information on the sharpshooter battalions of the Army of Northern Virginia. They had held a first year camp of instruction for their unit and others in their area at Pamplin Park in Petersburg, Virginia in 2006. It struck my interest and I bookmarked their site. As the winter of 2006/2007 progressed, I read more on these “shock troops” and the role they played with the ANV and what they foretold of warfare to come the next century. Included in this reading was Fred L. Ray’s book “Shock Troops of the Confederacy” which proved an informative and interesting read.

In the spring of 2007, the PAG/LSS posted information for another Sharpshooter camp of instruction on their website and I made contact with the unit. As June approached, my wife and I were discussing the possibility of a fall vacation and Lauren thought it would be neat if we combined the two adventures (She would catch a flight out of Richmond to visit her best friend in CO during the COI.). It was turning out to be a win-win situation.

The School of the Sharpshooter was set for September 21-23, 2007 at Pamplin Park, and I was going to be able to be there to learn more on a subject that has had my interest for the past year. For the living history event, we would be representing North Carolina soldiers in Major Thomas Wooten’s Sharpshooter Battalion of the Army of Northern Virginia during the late summer of 1863 Campaign. The sharpshooters were taken off line for four weeks during this time and put through a special training program developed by Major General Cadmus Wilcox. We were to demonstrate how they where taught to judge distance, marksmanship, camouflage/ concealment, scouting and evolutions of skirmish formations that where used by the sharpshooter battalions.

Lauren and I departed Waterville in the early afternoon of September 19th and headed toward Virginia. We arrived in Richmond the afternoon of the 20th and after a late lunch, Lauren and I parted ways at the airport. I continued my way to Petersburg to make camp for the night. That night, I brushed up on some studying as well as checked over my gear one last time and turned out the lights.

I awoke Friday morning and visited the Petersburg Battlefield at a few sites (the Confederate Fort Greg was my main objective) that I did not see three years ago when we were there. From there, it was off to Pamplin Park to see where we would be meeting and having the event, a bit more exploring and then had a fine BBQ lunch at King’s BBQ.

I arrived back at Pamplin about 1430 and walked to the site of the School of the Sharpshooter (SOSS) and found three members of the PAG/LSS (Mike, Dave and Ben) setting up. After introductions, I changed into my finest Confederate garb and joined in the set up. We placed rifle targets at 100, 300 and 500 yards – these were to be used during range estimation instruction. We also set up some instruction tables and a tripod for steadying our “aim.”

Once we were settled in, I joined Mike and Dave for some more BBQ in town and a couple errands. That evening we got to know each other more and as more of the unit rolled in, I was introduced to them as well. Their Southern Hospitality was great and I did not feel like an outsider, more like this group was my home – at least for the next few days.

As the night rolled on, I grew tired and turned in for the night – revile was to be at 0600. Accommodations were rather nice for this garrison event, “winter” cabins would be our source of cover though the bunk’s slats were quite hard – I think the ground may have been softer. My sleep was more of numerous cat naps, but I was ready to go when Dave (acting 2nd Sgt) woke us up. A few more people rolled in, bringing the total to 15. Mike had explained to me that last year, they had over 50 people in attendance and they wanted to limit it this year to their unit (20 men). I felt honored to have been included this time around.

After a good breakfast including my home made Essence of Coffee – I mean that I traded with a Yankee Picket before coming to the SOSS, - we commenced to drill the basics, including loading in nine times and had our first weapons inspection. Lt. Hendricks was impressed with my rust-free bayonet and promised an extra ration of Grog for my efforts. Following this evolution, the company was split into two platoons for instruction. My group went immediately into skirmish drill for a little over an hour. We then swapped and attended weapons instruction and range estimation.

With the sun rising higher and temperatures too (close to 90 degrees), we marched back to camp for ration issue and lunch. We broke off into our “comrades” of 4 and this is how we drew food for the ration issue. The food was plentiful and we received ham, beef, onions, potatoes, snap beans, lima beans, coffee, sugar, bread and sorghum… We would not go hungry. The messes decided to keep out some food for lunch and combine our rations for a big stew for dinner and another for lunch the next day – still having enough to cook our own breakfasts. It was here that Matt; my comrade’s Corporal, introduced me to a tasty treat of a piece of bread topped with sorghum, brown sugar and coffee. It made for a great “dessert.”

The afternoon was spent with instruction on scouting, patrolling, map making and concealment, followed by a practical exercise. We were given an objective to scout out a bridge and report back to our instructor. Each of the three comrades was assigned a different route. We made our way over the grounds of Pamplin Park ever so slowly and cautiously as Mike and Dave were out there somewhere dressed as federals. Unfortunately, my comrade did not make out too well as three of us were captured when we approached our objective a little too aggressively. Had we held back 10 yards… We were paroled and made our way back to have our map critiqued – each group did pretty well on them. We marched back towards camp and performed a skirmish line demonstration as we neared the Hart Farm for some onlookers visiting Pamplin Park.

We cleaned weapons and prepared for chow and boy was that stew ever tasty!! We ate until our bellies were full and prepared for the evening – which included the monthly meeting of PAG/LSS. Once complete, we mustered back in camp for down time and our rations of grog (authentic Royal Navy Recipe). Major Wooten must have been impressed with our efforts to arrange for such a beverage for the men. The grog was smooth and helped me drift off to another night of extended cat naps.

I awoke before revile on Sunday morning and being the first awake, commenced to lighting the fire. A few moments later, I was joined by my file partner and we soon had a fire going and coffee on. Another hearty breakfast followed and then we got ready for the day’s activities.

Sunday was a lighter schedule that included photo ops as well as exercises to bring all we learned on Saturday together. We were quizzed on our weapons as well as our range judging abilities and that was followed by an exercise/demonstration. We formed up and marched from the Hart Farm to the vicinity of the Confederate earthworks. We deployed as skirmishers and made our way across the open field towards a woods line, engaging our enemy. Upon reaching the woods, we slowly made our way through, leapfrogging with our file partners, scouting and searching as we moved. It was hot and sticky that day, but I was enjoying every minute of it. We passed an old rifle pit once used by the pickets in ‘64/’65, long since overgrown and surrounded by the trees and vegetation. It was still almost two feet deep and a very special experience to see it mostly intact after almost 145 years.

We reached a road (one of the trails through Pamplin Park) and made a left wheel, eventually reaching the edge of another field. Lt. Hendricks spotted an artillery position on the opposite side and ordered us to fix bayonets and deployed forward. Again, we leapfrogged as skirmishers across the field, loading and firing as we did. Near our objective we were ordered to “rally by fours” and then we rallied on center. This was to simulate defending against Calvary to the visitors at P.P. as well as another test of what we had learned. We reached our objective to the cheers of the spectators and took a break to relax, drink water and cool down.

After our break, we marched back to camp for lunch and a quick cleaning of our weapons as we had a little over an hour before our next demonstration. Unfortunately, one of the men became ill from an apparent insect/spider bite during this time. His symptoms continued and he was taken to the hospital. A somber mood took over the camp and it was unanimous to forgo the afternoon activities and to break camp.

Once the gear was picked up and stowed, I changed my cloths and said my farewells to my hosts. The Princess Anne Grays/Lee’s Sharpshooters were a great group of people, and I enjoyed myself and learned a lot. It was a good opportunity to learn more about a subject that has fascinated me for the past year as well as to meet some new friends. I truly hope to be able to meet these guys on the field again someday.

I arrived back at the hotel for the night, grabbed some BBQ and cleaned and reorganized my gear. The next morning, I traveled to Richmond and picked Lauren up who had an equally fun time in Colorado. We made a stop at the Museum and Whitehouse of the Confederacy before heading to Williamsburg. The trip was finished off with an overnight and drive through the Gettysburg battlefield and shopping before returning home.

I cannot thank the PAG/LSS enough for the fine job they did hosting this event and letting a man from Maine fall into their ranks without knowing much about me first. If you ever get a chance to serve under Mike Hendricks or with his group, don’t hesitate as it will be a worth while endeavor.

Respectfully submitted,
Marc Averill