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2000 Bentonville, North Carolina Reenactment Photos

A motley crew of 6 from the 7th MD left the DC area for the Old North State for the 135th Bentonville Reenactment.  Bentonville is held every 5 years.   Yours truly went in as a common soldier for the first time.  I borrowed my pard "Aaron's" rifle while "he" was on the mend from foot surgery.   Thanks pard, I had a grand old time and am going to purchase my own Enfield soon.   My name for this engagement was private "Elwood" Collins.  Myself, Christopher, Steve and Dan left Friday around noon and made good time hitting the camp around 5:00 pm.   Our two pards Guy and Andy left in the wee small hours of the night arriving just in time for Saturday mornings tactical.  We waited and waited in the woods.  We then found out the tactical was delayed so the whole rebel army could have their picture taken!  While we waited, Guy, Andy and Steve engaged our Captain Ron Palese (normally Major Ron) in a friendly game of poker.  Our boys graciously allowed the captain to win every hand!  See for yourself below.

Aces Wild!  Our pards pass the time as the rebs get their picture taken

We then proceeded back to camp and made ourselves coffee while the rebs had their photo op.  As murphy's law would allow just as our coffee was ready we were called up.  We all got only about 2 sips apiece and had to fall in.  We marched through the woods and were ordered to build breastworks pronto.  Dummy here wrenched "his" back trying to lift an entire log by "himself".  But I soldiered on and forgot the pain when the order was given to march forward.  We would hit the rebs and then fall back into the works.  Our aim was to trap them in the gully between our 2 lines of breastworks.  We proceeded in the woods quickly and formed a second smaller set of breastworks and the trap was set!  On they came (they cheated and took the side road!).  I told my pard Christopher, "I'm tagging onto you since I'm fresh fish".  We made a few volleys towards them and ran on back.   We formed up on the works to stall for time and we all took a hit.  The brigade behind us went onto finish the rebs.  I loved every minute of it.   

On back to camp to pop some of my trusty advil and to wait for the afternoon battle.  Again we marched out, and lo and behold the front line (where this 5'6" soldier was) was given the order to hand our rifle to the line behind and to "build breastworks"!  We had spectators in front and in our rear.   Some were actually in the trees!  We did our best with the hard soil to ram the pikes in and load the logs in front of us.  Below are pictures of our finished works and my pards.  The rebs made around 3 frontal assaults but we repulsed them.   We also had rebs in our rear and to our left!  We would come back tomorrow to finish them off.  Take a look below.

The breastworks we built for the afternoon battle with our stacked arms

Christopher in front with Dan in back get ready to repulse the rebs frontal assault

Before the battle Christopher shares some of his homemade beef jerky with Andy and Guy

We headed on back to camp to clean our guns.  The boys were hungry and went sutlering.  I stayed in camp to watch our stuff and to rest my 41 year old back!  My poor pards came back empty handed, the Bentonville Fire Department closed up the food area at 6:00 pm. sharp with only Nutrageous candy bars.   Luckily there was some left over beef stew from Friday night that I heated up.  Each of my pards got one helping.  As for spring water, well Dan had made a new 7th record the previous day of 17!  But one must remember this was done over the course of 12 hours from 1:00 pm. on till midnight Friday night.  Not to worry, yours truly did the driving with diet coke as my refreshment.  There were only 2 spring waters left but luckily our fearless leader Col. Wolf had an Irish variety of springwater for sale, harps for $1.00 a piece or Guinness for $1.25!  What a deal.  The 7th procured some and sat a spell in the tall Carolina pines and looked up at the stars and the full moon.   I was bushed and hit the hay early.   It got pretty cold at night, down in the 30's but our pards made themselves comfy by camping around the fire.   I kept waking up to what I thought was a lone cow mooing in the field.   I heard my pards talking around 4:30 a.m. and I came out to warm up around the fire.  When I inquired to where this mysterious cow was, my pards laughed and informed me that bessie the cow was none other than Andy!  It was Andy's snoring that I had heard.

The boys warm up Sunday morning

Dan and Steve trying to avoid the smoke while warming up.

After drill we had a few hours to kill.  I had lost the brass fitting to the top of my bayonet scabbard so we all went to look for it.  We couldn't find it so it was off sutlering.  I found a good deal at James Mercantile and ran into my pard Dan with none other than Bill Johnson of the Longstreet Memorial Fund.  It was nice to run into my fellow tar heel and say howdy.  Dan, Steve, Guy and myself then went to check out the Harper House.  The Harper family lived there during the battle.   They stayed in the upstairs level while the lower level was used as a field hospital.  Below is our foursome outside.

Dan, Guy, "Elwood" and Steve

It was time to form up for the afternoon's action.  We got some pards in Vincents to snap our picture with Captain Ron.

Part of Vincents Brigade with our fearless Captain Ron to your left with members of the 7th MD and 139th PA

We formed up and had the honor of having the 54 MA and 33rd Colored troops fall in with us.  They were a great bunch of guys who really knew their history.   After much dogging all weekend about his ancestry, we had Dan tell the boys who his infamous great-granddad was.  The 54 MA and 33rd Colored guys knew all about Old Pete Longstreet's post war career and his being in charge of the black militia during the New Orleans uprising.  Below are pictures of the 54 MA and 33rd Colored troops swapping stories with Guy.

Sgt. Guy Beaven and the fellas from the 54 MA and 33rd Colored Troops exchanging notes on gear

Killing time before the battle

The afternoon battle started with the union army getting its picture taken.  We then formed up right next to the artillery.  My ears are still ringing!  Not only did we have the cannon noise to deal with but a second brigade was formed to our rear, shooting over our heads at the same time the cannon went off.  I took an early hit and was dragged behind the lines by my pards Christopher and Andy.   The field was quite sandy and I had sand all up and under my trousers!  The battle was soon over with the union prevailing.  We gave our huzzahs and said goodbye to our new pards from the 54MA and 33rd Colored troops.  Luckily Captain Ron had allowed us to bring our cars into camp early that morning and we were already all loaded up except for our rifles and leathers.  We bade Andy and Guy farewell and hit the road around 3:30 pm.  We made good time and came to Christopher's house around 8:00 pm. to share some coffee with Jody.  We then headed on over to my father's house.   He was quite amused to see his daughter not only dressed like a union soldier but to be so filthy!  He couldn't believe this was the same little girl he had to rescue years ago for being homesick on girls scout camping trips of old.   "My God Enerie (nickname for Ann Marie), I've never seen you so filthy!  If paw paw could see you now!".  Paw Paw was his dad, my tar heel grandfather.   All in all I had a great time in Carolina.  I'm sure Paw Paw and his uncles Henry and James Collins of the 49th NC, were smiling from above.  Below is a photo of them next to my Dad in his WWII outfit.  Notice Dad's resemblance to his great-uncle James.