Perryville
AAR
I
arrived late Thursday afternoon along with my battalion Sgt Major (John Buker)
and one other passenger. We located
Division HQ and quickly found that no specific camp layout had been made
yet. Fortunately we were prepared and
quickly paced off distances for stakes marking the company streets and
officer's row. The few troops who had
arrived pitched their tents and we spent the rest of the evening trying to stay
dry in the face of a cold mist.
Friday
dawned fair and cool and we took the opportunity to run into town for breakfast
and visit the sutlers before taking the vehicle to reenactor parking. After returning to camp the pace of arrivals
began to pick up after noon. However,
there were still too few people on site to justify filling out strength reports
until after 3 PM. Sgt Major Buker and I
had made guard mount planning a big part of our pre-event preparation, so we
were ready when our first Brigade guard was due to march at 4 PM. This preparedness was much appreciated by
Division. We maintained our own
Battalion-level guard after Brigade released our men at 7 and I am confident our
perimeter was not infiltrated during this evening. The rest of the time was spent getting our
various units settled in and prepared for Saturday's early-morning festivities.
Reveille
sounded promptly at 4:30 AM Saturday morning.
As briefed, the battalion arose, companies formed ranks and weapons were
inspected. After forming the battalion
in line, arms were stacked and the men allowed to return to camp to pack
belongings and cook breakfast. Two
patrol companies, including our own Co. A, were also dispatched at this
time. We formed on the stacks at the
bugle signal and were on the road to "Pottsville" by 7 AM. Having arrived near the field of battle where
the cavalry were already engaged, Col Lavis called the battalion commanders
together and discussed his plans. Our
battalion was to lead, with 1st Bn on our right once we deployed and 3rd in
reserve, after which we would advance as ordered. Upon returning to the line, I formed the
battalion in close column, left in front and advanced to a ridge just behind
the cavalry skirmishers. We deployed in
this covered terrain and waited for orders which were not long in coming. Two battalions of enemy infantry were
reported advancing to support their cavalry, and our task was to stop
them. Unfurling the colors, we advanced
in line and opened fire, supported by 1st Bn on the right. We received orders to press forward and
accordingly double-quicked in as close as safety and prudence allowed, then
halted and began firing as rapidly as possible.
We held this ground for a short time then were ordered to retire,
sending the colors to the rear and making use of the "disperse". The enemy pressed forward and we were highly
gratified to see 3rd Bde arrive and take position along a fence connecting with
and at right angles to our left. I felt
sure that we had the enemy dead to rights and the efficient use of musketry
would soon drive them from the field.
Unfortunately, it was not that easy as each Secesh infantryman had
evidently brought a week's worth of ammunition along and was determined not to
quit the field until it was expended.
Further, none of them seemed to be overkeen on "dying" until
this had been accomplished. Having thus
assessed the situation, I felt it might be a good opportunity for my field
officer (Maj Minton) to gain some experience in battalion command, and
therefore went down with a "leg wound". I did not pay close attention to the rest of
the battle, but the Rebs eventually exhausted their ammunition. We collected casualties, cleared weapons and
marched back to camp to prepare for the next phase of the day's
activities. Co A had rejoined us during
the battle and their captain (Ed Mandes) reported the patrol had been
unfruitful.
After
a short rest, we retrieved bedrolls and formed on the stacks of arms for the
march to our next night's camp. At this
point we were joined by Chris Anders' 2nd Bn, which for a combination of
reasons was severely understrength and was seeking a home for the remainder of
the weekend. These troops were admitted
to our ranks as "Co G" and Lt Col Anders ably served as right wing
commander for the duration. Having
marched to our campsite in a meadow, we formed line, stacked arms, broke by
right of companies to the rear into column, opened ranks and welcomed the men to
their new home. Bedrolls were thrown
down into place and the officers formed their own sections a little further in
rear of the stacks. The adjutant, Sgt
Major and I deemed the camp sufficiently remote to dispense with battalion
guard duty unless requested by higher command.
After
giving the troops a few minutes to settle in, we formed on the stacks for
battalion drill. We covered basic
matters first, including general alignments and the use of guides, and the
posts of officers when advancing and retreating in line. We practiced advancing and retreating by
right of companies, believing we would need this maneuver during Sunday's
scenario to go through an artillery position.
We also ployed into close column doubled on the centre, and deployed
into line, believing this might be needed for a rumored Brigade dress
parade. We finished up with some
instruction in a "real" countermarch, as opposed to the
"reenactor" version, which was enlightening for many of the
troops. Brigade drill did not occur, so
we let the troops relax until time to form for the Saturday afternoon battle
scenario.
Our
task for this battle was initially to provide skirmishers to support the
cavalry, then to support an artillery battery on the Federal left during the
final withdrawal. We were the extreme
left of the brigade with our left flank close to the guns. We found there was just sufficient room for
the entire brigade in line once the skirmish companies had been pulled
out. Upon orders, we sent our skirmish
companies forward intending to form two lines.
Unfortunately, due to the proximity of the guns and maybe misunderstood
orders, they headed straight forward and became intermixed with those of 2nd
Bde. Two fleet-footed messengers (Lt Col
Anders and Brigade ADC Dangel) quickly corrected their course and got them into
position. Maj Minton was then sent
forward to relieve Anders and take tactical control of our skirmish line. The skirmishers were well handled, and did
their best, but unfortunately the enemy came on in such strength and
unexpectedly (due to the rolling ground) that they were compelled to fall back
precipitously. At this point the enemy
cavalry, having driven ours off, experienced "target fixation" and
pressed in determined to outflank and surround the skirmishers. Had they bothered to look to the right they
would have seen a whole battery of fieldpieces at extremely close range, and
had those pieces been discharged probably no horse would have been left
standing. In their quest for laurels
they also contemptuously ignored several volleys from our line. It was only when our own cavalry reformed and
approached to within pistol shot of their rear that they decided to retire to
their own side of the field. I hope no
spectators were watching this part of the action, or at least none took it
seriously.
The
"showboat Kevlar" cavalry having cleared our front, we braced
ourselves for the advance of a line of infantry, which took full advantage of
some dead ground for cover and appeared to mean business. We had been told to expect three feints in
this sector, followed by a fourth determined assault which would break us. This first enemy line pressed in
energetically, but was well briefed, took casualties and retreated when they
perceived our determination to hold. All
was not well on our right flank, however.
We had not been able to see much due to folds in the ground, but
quantities of powder smoke and noise had told us the right of our line was at
least moderately engaged during our skirmishing with the cavalry. Having driven off the line to our front a
glance to the right told the "rest of the story"; evidently our right
and center were already broken, and the Secesh were on our flank and heading
into our rear! It looked as if the
timing of our break to the rear might require a forward adjustment.
Things
became a bit confused at this point.
Wishing to speak to me, Col Lavis had his bugler sound our prelude and
recall, which I took for an order to disperse and establish a new line. Fortunately the enemy in our front were still
retreating and were unable to take advantage of our temporary confusion. Col Lavis attempted to form line with the
remains of 3rd Bde, but they continued to retreat and we were in very real
danger of being hemmed in. Upon a bugle
signal we dispersed again and successfully formed line in a clear area some 100
yards to the rear, then commenced firing again once our front was clear of
friendly troops. Lt Col Anders remarked
to me that he didn't see how this scenario was going to end, upon which I
replied that it would end sooner for some than others, and promptly went down
with a "chest wound". I heard
him telling Lavis shortly after that he had no effective troops left, and the
remnants of our line fell back, leaving me between the lines. When the engagement ended our troops were
badly scattered and the battalion could not be reformed. I took command of the troops I could find,
cleared weapons and marched them back to camp.
A
Brigade staff meeting was held and we decided to limit guard duty to 7-11 PM in
order to let the troops rest and refit.
Like several others, I took the opportunity for a short nap in the warm
sunshine, and succeeded in getting my feet dry for the first time that day. Our energetic Sgt Maj and Adjutant promptly
formed the guard for duty at 7. Passed
were issued to those soldiers requesting them and those staying in the
"mixed" camp or our Friday tented camp were dismissed. However, at least half of our men remained in
the remote camp during the night.
Sunday
morning reveille was delayed until first light, about 7 AM. Troops were given time to cook breakfast and
pack up, then we doused the fires and marched back to the tented camp for
"General's Time". Some of my
men had expressed misgivings about these activities before the event; however,
once the General began his speech and the games began they swiftly got into the
spirit of things. I am happy to report
that the Battalion took top honors in the individual loading and firing
competition, and also company drill by the bugle. Great spirit was also shown in the relay
race, tug-of-war and company loading and firing. Col Lavis having requested each battalion to
hold a dress parade, we accomplished that directly after the games and gave the
men a couple of hours off before formation for the afternoon battle.
For
Sunday's engagement we played the role of the 79th PA, the last Federal line in
support of an artillery battery. We
marched into position with plenty of time to spare, which gave me the
opportunity to confer with General Dolive, Col Lavis and Col Dal Bello before
the action opened. I am glad I had the
chance to do this as each commander had a slightly different understanding of
the scenario and confusion could easily have resulted. Once the battle opened, our task was mainly
to wait patiently until our moment arrived.
We lost sight of Dal Bello's troops due to the intervening hill and the
General had to give us a reminder to advance; however, once in position our line
held firm and stopped the enemy's attempts to cross the fence lines to our
front. Again, the troops opposite us
were well handled and well briefed, pressed in aggressively but safely, and
retreated when it became obvious a further advance was futile. A local truce ensued with both sides sending
individuals forward to recover wounded.
We
thought the action was over at this point, when what do we see to our left
front but two battalions of Rebel infantry, walking nonchalantly up the hill
right into the teeth of our artillery.
It was hard to believe this action was scripted as only an insane man
would have attempted to charge these guns.
However, it looked like touch and go for a moment since the guns did not
appear to be loaded and no organized infantry support was in sight. I was contemplating a change of front to the
left, which would have given us beautiful enfilade on the attackers, when the
support duly appeared and began pouring musketry into them. With no fire aimed in our direction we were
content to remain as spectators, keeping an eye on our late antagonists who
were hunkered down behind the fence rails watching the show from the opposite
side of the field.
Eventually
this action died down, and the Rebel troops opposite us rose, fired a volley
over our heads and then a volley of caps.
That seemed a good idea to us, so we repeated the "salute" and
then broke ranks as previously briefed.
No reason to hold up the troops with further "hails and
farewells" as we were already close to the parking lot entrance.
Conclusions
and A Concern:
One
of the feelings I took away from this event on the drive home was a sense of
how well different units had pulled together as a team. In addition to our “regular” Army of the Ohio
units, we had two companies of men from Florida we had never seen before. We were also unexpectedly joined mid-event by
Chris Anders’ “Eastern campaigner” battalion.
We had many different kinds of troops, ranging all the way from
“authentics” to the gentleman staying in “mixed” camp who had to have an IV
meal before attending the Saturday morning tactical. Yet come he did – great spirit was shown by
all. We deliberately mixed troops from
different units on guard details and I think everyone benefited from the chance
to learn from each other.
Before
Sunday’s battle, I thanked the troops for their effort and cooperation, and
told them no matter what the Internet pundits might say, I was proud of
them. Sad to report, my worries about
the Internet were all too prophetic.
Some of the Forum discussions became so strident that a member of the
Western Brigade was moved to ask if he was a “farb” just because he fell in
with the “wrong” unit, even though he had dressed the same and acted the same
as the AoP. Unfortunately, two members
of the AoP essentially answered in the affirmative, i.e. no matter how
well-dressed or well-behaved, if you don’t fall in with the “right” people it
essentially “doesn’t count”.
I
hope these views do not represent the majority opinion of the AoP, or of its
leadership. While it is natural for
every soldier in the army to feel his battalion is best, and friendly
competition is helpful, fostering ill feeling and division is not. Belittling people who are trying to improve
their camping impression and military activities, and treating them as
permanent second-class citizens is not the way to motivate them to
continue. I have no interest in having
the Army of the Ohio treated as a “replacement pool” to be picked over for
those who have “arrived”, and I’m sure that goes for the membership as
well. I hope Division, and the AoP
leadership particularly, will remind their members that if we are to remain one
Division, we must play together as one team.
Respectfully
submitted,
James
M. Ruley
Col
commanding
4th
Bn, 2nd Bde, 1st Fed Div
Perryville
2006.