Military Affairs & History

shafnutz05
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Military Affairs & History

Postby shafnutz05 » Wed Jul 18, 2018 12:35 pm

We happened to do a daytrip up in Gettysburg two weeks ago during their 155th reenactment weekend. Swarms of people in period dress up there and in the town. In the three hours we were out on the battlefield, all we managed was the new (2008) visitor's center to the Meade headquarters to the High Water mark, then along Cemetery Ridge via The Angle and the Copse of Trees to the Pennsylvania Monument, and then back to the parking lot. Afterward, we had dinner at the Appalachian Brewing Co. and ended up doing a ghost tour in the evening before returning home.

Found out after the fact that my second cousin and his father were up there with an artillery battery, and would have given us behind-the-scenes had we wanted. We live in Manassas, whose battlefield park is quite large. But Gettysburg and the stops there dwarf Manassas. In three hour blocks, it might take a month to traverse the whole thing. They had people dressed up as President Lincoln and General Grant engaged in historical discussion at the Pennsylvania monument - these people knew their roles well. Though why Grant was at Gettysburg I am not sure I understood, given that he was at Vicksburg, but nonetheless it was a compelling performance.

(I'd post some photos but I haven't uploaded any yet - way behind in uploading to flickr or the like)
:thumb:

Thx for sharing. I really want to get out there for a reenactment weekend. We are only about an hour and 15 minutes away, and I absolutely love that town.

relantel
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Military Affairs & History

Postby relantel » Wed Jul 18, 2018 3:11 pm




:thumb:

Thx for sharing. I really want to get out there for a reenactment weekend. We are only about an hour and 15 minutes away, and I absolutely love that town.
It is a nice little town. The food was great at Appalachian. And the beer wasn't bad either. Probably plan a full weekend once upon a time. It's not bad as a daytrip from here, maybe 1:45-2 hours depending on traffic. We got there in 90 minutes from Alexandria. But one short day just does not do it justice.

Down here, Manassas is being very understated in advertising the 157th of 1st Manassas this weekend (Saturday), which happens to coincide with the actual anniversary. Sure, there are live demonstrations and such, and guided tours, but any reenactments are not being advertised by NPS, if they are even happening. We're here, and nothing scheduled, so we will try to get out there some. It's not Gettysburg stuff, but have some Manassas battlefield photos already uploaded:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/52075109@ ... 1273770847

I got an offer to participate with that battery at a future reenactment - all I have to do is find the time. They already have the uniforms, either side. Kind of an offer I can't refuse!

dodint
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Postby dodint » Thu Jul 19, 2018 10:59 am

I went back down to the Civil War fort that my wife and I used to live/work at, and are still good friends with most of the staff (Fort Macon in NC). It turns out that Civil War reenacting is getting harder and harder as the older generation dies off and the younger ones don't care as much. They used to do large scale battle reenactments there and now they have a hard time getting enough together for a skirmish.

I worked a cannon crew once in full uniform, was a cool experience but it's not a hobby I'm looking to get involved in beyond that.

DigitalGypsy66
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Military Affairs & History

Postby DigitalGypsy66 » Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:36 pm

We went to Fort Macon a couple of years ago when we were at Pine Knoll Shores. I really liked the “hotshot” furnace contraption, plus the displays of the fort’s use up until the World War II.

dodint
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Postby dodint » Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:39 pm

Fort Macon is a real gem.

Their newest cannon is a 10 pounder. It's special, though, as it's original. When the war was over they put 36 of them on a ship and were going to take them up north to melt down and reuse the metal. But the boat sank. They were rediscovered a few years ago and the company doing the salvage has been pulling them up one at a time and selling them, and FOMA was able to get their hands on one. It's fantastic.

DigitalGypsy66
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Postby DigitalGypsy66 » Thu Jul 19, 2018 3:25 pm

Yeah, they were doing a fundraiser for those cannons when we there. Pretty cool.

Freddy Rumsen
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Postby Freddy Rumsen » Thu Jul 19, 2018 3:54 pm

I went back down to the Civil War fort that my wife and I used to live/work at, and are still good friends with most of the staff (Fort Macon in NC). It turns out that Civil War reenacting is getting harder and harder as the older generation dies off and the younger ones don't care as much. They used to do large scale battle reenactments there and now they have a hard time getting enough together for a skirmish.

I worked a cannon crew once in full uniform, was a cool experience but it's not a hobby I'm looking to get involved in beyond that.
I used to do CW Re-enacting and there are myriads of reasons it is dying out.

1) Millenials are lazy.

2) The baby boomers are dying off.

3) PC stuff (campus SJW's and confederate flags) is making it difficult to hold re-enactments in some places.

4) General dis-interest from the public.

relantel
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Military Affairs & History

Postby relantel » Thu Jul 19, 2018 4:34 pm

I used to do CW Re-enacting and there are myriads of reasons it is dying out.

1) Millenials are lazy.

2) The baby boomers are dying off.

3) PC stuff (campus SJW's and confederate flags) is making it difficult to hold re-enactments in some places.

4) General dis-interest from the public.
That seems to sum up a lot of things, not just re-enacting.

Kaiser
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Military Affairs & History

Postby Kaiser » Thu Jul 19, 2018 5:15 pm

Maybe a lot of people think it's a stupid thing to do.

shafnutz05
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Postby shafnutz05 » Thu Jul 19, 2018 7:48 pm

I think the reenactments are a fun and interactive way to teach military history. There was a book (or was it a documentary) I really wanted to read Confederates in the Attic, need to get around to it.

Kaiser
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Military Affairs & History

Postby Kaiser » Fri Jul 20, 2018 7:58 pm

Sorry, that was a D-bag comment. I've been making a lot of them lately.

Kaiser
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Military Affairs & History

Postby Kaiser » Wed Jul 25, 2018 8:51 pm

I'm beginning a project involving KIA military members...not sure of the scope of it yet, but if any of you are willing, literally anyone could make a contribution (not monetary). It will take more time to launch, if anyone is interested, I'll update.

Freddy Rumsen
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Postby Freddy Rumsen » Wed Jul 25, 2018 9:01 pm

Interested

Dickie Dunn
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Military Affairs & History

Postby Dickie Dunn » Wed Jul 25, 2018 10:17 pm

Interested.

dodint
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Postby dodint » Wed Jul 25, 2018 10:33 pm

Hit me up.

Kaiser
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Military Affairs & History

Postby Kaiser » Thu Jul 26, 2018 6:53 am

Awesome, I'll get some more info together and PM. Thanks!

shafnutz05
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Military Affairs & History

Postby shafnutz05 » Thu Jul 26, 2018 6:58 am

I'd be glad to help too please.

Shyster
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Military Affairs & History

Postby Shyster » Thu Jul 26, 2018 11:47 pm

I'm listening to the Jim Bohannon Show on KDKA, and his guest is the author of this new book:

Chasing the Demon: A Secret History of the Quest for the Sound Barrier, and the Band of American Aces Who Conquered It
https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Demon-Hi ... 062688723/

Sounds very interesting, so I think I'm going to go buy a copy. I want to see if there's any mention of Tex Johnston and the Bell Aircraft test program of the X-1 before they handed it over to the Air Force. Johnston wrote in his memoir Tex Johnston: Jet-Age Test Pilot that the Bell test pilots could easily have taken the X-1 through the sound barrier, but the military forbade them from going that fast because they wanted the first person to officially fly at supersonic speeds to be a military officer.

Freddy Rumsen
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Military Affairs & History

Postby Freddy Rumsen » Fri Jul 27, 2018 7:43 pm

Image

Found a pic today of my Great-Great Grandfather from a 1904 Confederate Veteran reunion. He is bottom left, bald guy with a mustache and the bowtie. He served with the 14th Virginia Cavalry.

Old Baldy
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Postby Old Baldy » Wed Aug 01, 2018 9:31 pm

IRONS12
https://www.flightradar24.com/IRONS12/1d59b3e1

Late night Blackhawk activity related?

tifosi77
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Military Affairs & History

Postby tifosi77 » Wed Aug 01, 2018 11:16 pm

Whatever it is, I don't think it's a helicopter; speed track indicated nearly 300 mph at one point. Then again, that was ground speed, so who knows. But that speed/altitude combo implies military. (Generally not allowed above 250 KIAS below 10,000' AGL under civilian control unless transition from takeoff or descending to land)

dodint
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Postby dodint » Wed Aug 01, 2018 11:31 pm


DigitalGypsy66
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Military Affairs & History

Postby DigitalGypsy66 » Thu Aug 02, 2018 9:00 am

Our little municipal airport (i.e. too small for the local Fortune 500 company's fleet of small jets) often gets used for night assault drills with the special forces units out of Fort Bragg. Completely blacked out helicopters doing takeoff and landings all night...can be a bit disconcerting. But cool.

Shyster
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Postby Shyster » Thu Aug 02, 2018 5:14 pm

All I know is that for the last couple of nights those Blackhawks have been buzzing downtown low enough and fast enough to slightly rattle the windows in my office. I don't know where they've been going to/from but they've been in a hurry each time.

stillgeezer
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Military Affairs & History

Postby stillgeezer » Thu Aug 09, 2018 6:41 pm

I read an account of this guy after a title referred to marine serving in Europe during WW II which didn't sound right. I'm glad I read it because it was one of the most incredible stories I've ever read.
https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/sto ... r-j-ortiz/
http://militarymuseum.org/Ortiz.html
Col. Ortiz had numerous decorations from France, U.S., England and Morocco. He worked in Hollywood and appeared in a John Wayne film directed by John Ford. They made a movie about Ortiz in the early 50's Kames Cagney) but it seems like a story that could be retold.

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