"Collins' Last Ride" Cavalry Adjunct

Transcription

1 "Collins' Last Ride" Cavalry Adjunct Adjunct Ride Dates: July Event Introduction Thanks for registering for the Last Ride and welcome to the ride of your life! This once in a lifetime 150 mile ride will test the most hard core rider and reenactor. The following information relates directly to this specific part of the 150 th events scheduled at Fort Caspar. This event marks the 150th anniversary of the Battles of Platte Bridge Station and Red Buttes that occurred on July 26th What does this have to do with the CW you may ask? Many individuals seem to forget that many units that still had many months left on their enlistment papers were sent west to fight on the western frontier. Specifically the 11th Kansas cavalry was sent west for just a few months after the CW and suffered more casualties in two days than in 4 years in the east. This commemorative "Last Ride" recreates the 150 mile journey from Ft. Laramie to Ft. Caspar (Platte Bridge Station) that the 11th KVC traveled just days before many of them would die. We will be riding the same 150 miles from fort to fort along the original Oregon Trail. This campaign event is not for the lighthearted. Although this mounted cavalry adjunct is a sub-event to the main 150th event at Ft. Caspar in Casper, Wy, the standards and focus of this ride will be to authentically recreate the daily frontier hardships for the 11th KVC along the Oregon Trail. Uniforms must represent those of that unit, and we will live the 5 days of this ride out of the saddle. We will also include the under-represented contracted pack mule/horse. The additional food rations and other unit items will be put on these pack animals which will follow us the entire 150 miles. The only thing that will not be truly campaign will be staged food and water for the mounts since (as anyone who lives along the Wyoming portion of the Oregon trail knows) natural grazing is limited and there is a decent risk that the horses will not make the journey without aided effort of food/water. The ride will pass famous parts of the Oregon Trail that was patrolled by these CW units. See Ft. Laramie, Ft. Caspar, The famous wagon ruts that are cut into solid rock, and Register Cliff where civilians and soldiers alike scratched their name into the stone. If you want to experience the true daily life of the cavalry soldier on patrol and call yourself a true authentic or campaigner then you have registered for the right event! As you probably already know, there is no registration fee. Breakfasts and Dinners are provided, and the possibility to win an award as the Most Authentic Representation of the 11th KVC are all benefits of this event. Once this 150 mile mounted cavalry adjunct is completed, we will ride into Fort Caspar (Platte Bridge Station) about noon on July 24th and occupy the buildings of Fort Caspar. Fight with Indians reenacting the battles of Platte Bridge Station and Red Buttes and experience the life of a cavalry soldier whose enlistment had expired before many of them would die. The Fort Caspar Museum will open the fort buildings for us to occupy which rarely is allowed. Most of the main event will be a living history with a focus of public education however two reenactments are planned for the battles of Platte Bridge and Red Buttes.

2 Command Structure & Leadership: We are expecting slightly more than 30 mounted reenactors for this adjunct. Tom Craig has been nominated as the overall cavalry commander for this event, and has chosen to accept this nomination. Tom is currently the Capt. of the 1 st Main Cavalry group and is well known as one of the most authentic cavalry groups in the nation. All other reenactors involved with this event will be divided into messes as the time gets closer and there is a more accurate number of participants. Each mess will be responsible for distributing all necessary items throughout the mess to ensure we pack as light as possible while still bringing necessary items like cookware, hygienic paper, small hand-tools for taking a dump, and any other item that the mess may need. The messes will then be the base of organization for the entire ride. Each day we will rotate the Sgt. of the day to cycle through the responsibilities of the forward/rear guard, and flankers. Please be sure to not wear any rank over a Cpl. For this event unless you have been asked to do so. We will be contacting each mess mate leader and assign higher ranks. This means we are asking everyone to come at the rank of private if at all possible. If this is not possible please let us know! Will we fight Indians en-route? In order to create as realistic feeling of riding through hostile Indian country, we have organized Native American reenactors to establish a village along the route at a point only they know. They have been instructed to our schedule and have also been instructed that they may engage us if they wish. What this means, is that throughout the entire trip we will have a realistic chance of being attacked during the night or day. However, this is no guarantee of experiencing contact. In fact, we may even reach Fort Caspar having not seen one Indian. This will ensure a great deal of realistic fatigue within our ranks that we will need to deal with accordingly. Clothing Requirements: This section is one of the most important to pay attention to. Although we will not throw anyone out for not having hand stitched button holes or not having a sack coat from NJ Sekela, we still have high standards for this event. These standards are not to be mean or create a we are better than you mentality, but rather ensure the best possible experience for all involved. Please read the uniform requirements carefully. The biggest rule to follow it what was NUG (Normal, Usual, and General). Our objective is not to have so many "exceptions to the rule" that makes us look like unprofessional farbs. I know you can find documentation to support any impression you want and can have proof for any incorrect article of clothing/gear...but was it the norm? if not, then please don't do it or bring it. Even though that should be enough we do still have a need for a written list, and is as follows: Headgear: A campaign hat is most preferred as pictures of the 11 th KVC have a larger portion of wide brimmed hats vs. Forge caps. A late war forge cap or non-issue/private purchase hat is therefore allowed. Hat brass in this ride is not required but will also be allowed (11th Kansas, Co. I or H-See pictures). Dressed

3 Hardee hats will not be allowed. No Stetson s (Cowboy Hats). No limp hillbilly farmer hats. No hat cords. No stampede strings. Jackets: Fatigue Blouse (sack coat) is mostly preferred but Mounted Service Jackets/Shell Jackets will be allowed (Keep in mind we are giving awards on authenticity so actually try!). Please do not bring your 1870's Indian Wars jackets. It will not be allowed. Pants: Mounted pattern and infantry/foot pattern accepted. The 11th Kansas was an infantry unit before they were mobilized into a cavalry unit and there is a fair amount of documentation that shows much of the infantry gear/clothing was kept. Please do not bring your 1870's Indian Wars trousers. It will not be allowed. Shirts: US Issue Shirts, Gray Wool Flannel, Blue Wool Flannel, Knit or correct civilian pattern shirts will be allowed. Although this is a western event, if you show up looking up like Custer, you will be asked to change your clothing. Please do not bring your 1870's Indian Wars gear. It will not be allowed. Drawers: Unlike many events where there is little chance to see people s drawers, this long drawn-out 150 mile ride has more of a chance to show your drawers as we have the possibility of crossing some rivers (not guaranteed). Although I will not be looking at everyone s drawers, just remember that you are coming to experience soldier life on the western frontier. Footwear: Socks of solid color, off-white, gray, buff, blue, or other period correct style sock. No modern cotton, smart-wool, or similar hunting/sporting socks. Brogans with pegged or sewn soles or below the knee boots are allowed. Heal plates optional. Please refrain from above the knee style boots. Please also consider your impression to which you choose to tuck or not tuck the pants! Please do not bring your 1870's Indian Wars gear. It will not be allowed. Overcoat: I know many reenactors have a Fake overcoat on their saddle since they never use it and it is too expensive to have a real one to wear. Although an overcoat is not required for this event, please know that this is Wyoming. Since we are in the western high plains desert of the Oregon Trail, evenings and mornings (even in July) get chilly. Whatever you bring with you to stay warm must be period correct. As stated above, both sky blue mounted or foot pattern will be accepted. Please do not bring your 1870's Indian Wars gear. It will not be allowed. Accouterments: Standard black buff or bridle leather sword belt with shoulder (optional) and saber straps are required. Please outfit your belt in the way necessary to load and fire a sharps or Smith Carbine. A limited number of extra pistols will be accepted (as documented by the unit in the western theater of the war and further documented in diaries of the men moments before the battle on the Platte River). However, extra cylinders will not be acceptable. If you do choose to bring more than one pistol. It must have a holster and you cannot exceed two. Please do not bring your 1870's Indian Wars pistols. They will not be allowed. A carbine sling will be needed for your carbine. A haversack will be necessary for this trip as you will actually be living out of it for the week. Pack wisely. A US tarred version is what is required. Please also bring 5 days period rations. Even though we will provide dinner and breakfast, you will be responsible for lunch and any other snacks you might need. An issue of hardtack, coffee, and sugar will be made the night before the event.

4 We have not found much documentation on what style of canteen the 11th Kansas or 11th Ohio had. So please keep it correct for late war canteens in the western theatre of the Civil War. Same goes with blankets. Please use appropriate gray or brown US issue blankets. Cover/Shelter Half: Please be sure to bring your shelter half. Most likely, you will be bunking with someone with your shelter half. There is not a single stick to use for poles in many places, so be prepared for many options. Please also be sure to bring your gum blanket/ground cloth/poncho. Weaponry: The 11th Kansas was issued a variety of Sharps carbines throughout the war. However when they arrived in the west, they showed up with newly issued Smith Carbines. Additionally, the 11th Ohio (also present) was issued spencer rifles. Therefore Smith s, Sharps, and Spencers (in that order of Priority) will be allowed. If you do not have one of those, please consider riding without a carbine or please contact myself for consideration on whatever you may have. (ie- Frank Wesson and Merrill carbines would also be acceptable as some of them are documented to be in the 11th). Pistols: The units we will be reenacting had almost every type of pistol in their possession during the summer of 65. QM records and some diaries indicate that almost everything was used with the 11th. Therefore, the standard Colt Army/Navy, and appropriate version of Remington s will be accepted. Sabers: Must be correctly constructed with wire wrapped, leather bound grip and peened tang. (sabers with the nut on the end will not be accepted). Either model ( ) will be accepted. Horses: Generally solid colored (aside from stars, blazes, stripes, snips, socks, stockings, etc) no Paints or other breeds with stand-out colorings and markings. For those of you that have done your research, yes, I know there were limited documented cases of Indian ponies being used by the 11th, however our goal is the NUG solder in the 11th. Those of you who will be using rental horses; they will be available Sunday the 19 th at Fort Laramie and you will be able to return them at Fort Casper on Sunday the 26 th. The cost of the rental horse for the week is $400/horse/week. If you have any specific questions regarding the rental horses, please contact Steve Dacus (Contact info at end of info packet). Tack Requirements: Saddle - Model 1859 McClellan - All iron hardware, including jappaned or blued iron bar buckles. Wool web girth and surcingle with iron roller buckles. The Crupper was an issued item. Breast straps (martingales) were not an issued item for the 11th, in the standard issue (though troopers would go out of their way to get one on rare occurrences). Any breast strap should therefore be of civilian pattern or field produced (three leather straps joined by an iron ring) Brass heart sutler row breast straps are strongly discouraged. Although we are in the Rocky Mountains, we are riding in the Platte River Valley and should not need the breast strap or cruper over the 150 mile journey. Saddle-Bags. Smaller black bags with iron buckle closure. They should contain a correctly reproduced or original curry comb, brush, hoof-pick, and horseshoes.

5 The U.S. issue of black bridle leather Halter and Blackened bridle will be necessary. They can be the 3 or 6 buckle style properly outfitted with link strap and sewn reins. A nosebag will be quite necessary for this trip to properly take care of your mount. A picket pin and rope will also be necessary as we will actually be picketing our horses to eat at night/lunch. No modern rope. For those bringing horses with a fear of picketing, period hobbles will be allowed. For those renting horses, hobbles are required rather than picketing. Lastly, the proper horse blanket made of blue wool with woven orange stripe will be necessary. Since modern saddle pads are strongly discouraged, I urge you to consider additional issue blankets (grey) and your shelter half for more padding if you need it. If you choose to use a saddle pad (due to extreme equine needs), please ensure your saddle pads cannot be seen under your cavalry blanket. Please also ensure your blanket is folded properly (6 layers). Tactics and Expected Behavior: We will be using Cooke s Cavalry tactics and request that all those registered become familiar with the standard orders, formations, and duties. We will be traveling per military order outlined in standard manuals which will involve flankers, forward guard, and rear guard. As specified above, this is not just for show, but to identify possible hostiles and react accordingly. The behavior of each person is expected to be respectful and courteous. Although this is not a full emersion 1 st person event, any discussion of modern social issues is strongly discouraged. Please keep conversations around the event. We want everyone to have fun, get to know each other, but not distract by talking about your favorite X-Box game or internet life. We also expect everyone to follow your chain of command. Please respect this since it functions as a necessary role not just one of reenacting. This command structure keeps everyone safe and allows us to respond quickly to any issue (modern or historic). Amenities: It must be understood that NO amenities are being provided. No toilet facilities will be available, and no showers will be made available. We are reenacting a week long ride across hostile country, and that is exactly what we will do. We will also not have a chase vehicle. Since the terrain of the high plains is rolling and quite open, expect to do your business within sight of your mess-mates. Each commanding NCO/CO will likely not allow you to ride the necessary distance it would take to get privacy to do your business. Please be sure to bring enough hygienic paper to suite your needs. Water: The issue of water will be the biggest issue we face during the ride. We will have guaranteed fill stations at each overnight location, however after that, we are limited on the supply of drainages we ride through. We are riding in a desert and water is scarce. Some of the overnight locations are potable while others are not. In order to increase the authenticity of the event, we expect at least 50% to contract Cholera and Dysentery Ok, that was a joke, but we will be providing water purification tablets to put in our canteens. We have discussed the use of water filters but have decided against this due to many reasons (logistical & Authentic). So please know that we will be using purification tablets in our canteens. Planning For Emergencies:

6 As mentioned above, we will not have a chase vehicle following us the entire time. We will also be in some remote areas of the state. However, at no point will we be more than 2 hours from help. Designated individuals will carry cell/sat phones with them (these are only allowed to come out during emergencies). Thankfully we are only minutes from life flight too. We will also have at least two EMT s/paramedics (Steve Dacus the Organizer being one) riding with us. Horse emergencies will also be handled like any other emergency, if needed, we will call for help. Additionally, it looks like we have a farrier and retired vet on the ride with us. However, please understand the best way to deal with emergencies is to plan and train accordingly for this event. Please be sure you are in shape. Please be sure your horse is not 45 years old. Please be sure you know how to handle your gear, weapons and horse all at the same time. Many of us camp and pack in the back country in areas much more remote than this ride, and deal with emergencies just fine. I view this ride no different than hunting in the same areas with much less support. Civilian and Scout Roles: Since we are re-creating a very specific cross-country ride that involved members of the 11th OVC and 11th KVC, no formal scouts were used as the route was well known by many of the men on the trip. Therefore we are not going to approve the use of scouts as we normally understand this role. However, we will have a civilian packer which will carry a large portion of the food for the 5 day trip. The man we are renting the horses from ( will also be riding along as another civilian packer that will team up with the lead pack string (Casey Mott). Although we would prefer to keep the civilians to the absolute minimum (there was only one civilian on the original trek that we are reenacting), if you enjoy hard-core campaign style rides, we may have room for one or two more. Food: Every rider will be responsible to carry 5 days of lunches and snacks with him on the ride. Breakfast and Dinner will be provided and carried by the pack string. This requires efficient planning on your part on where and how to store your 5 days worth of lunches and snacks. Many of you may gain a new found respect in how the original troopers carried more rations on them with much less gear! Please do not bring anything that would not be appropriate for the trip. Also, please don t bring anything with modern packaging. We have assured the land owners we are crossing that there is no chance for littering as we will not even be bringing any modern packing with us. If you choose to bring canned goods, we will obviously need to keep the cans with us. The dinners and breakfast that will be provided to everyone will consist of authentic rations. Although the details may change a little, the majority of our meals will consist of rice, hard bread, some soft bread, cured meat, and some desiccated items. There is a chance of us eating a freshly killed big game animal (Game and Fish approval dependent), but everything else is standard. Although everyone knows that these were the staple meals of the soldiers that we reenact, very few seem to have experience eating like they did. I urge all of you to modify your diet to a similar structure before coming out here. We have had troopers in the past

7 experience surprisingly strong sicknesses due to nothing more than modern food withdrawals. We have noticed that individuals who consume soda, salt, sugar, and modern food on a daily basis, they tend to get pounding headaches and other issues. Please make sure you will not feint or fall ill simply because you don t have your daily Dr. Pepper, Twinkie, or deep fried onion rings. How to Win the Authenticity Award: As previously mentioned, we will be giving out an authenticity award Friday evening after we settle into our destination (Platte Bridge Station). The decision will be made by a vote cast by every trooper that participated in the Last Ride. Additionally, there will be three Weighted votes (worth 2 votes each) from individuals with the knowledge and experience that many of us don t have. The award will not only be based on uniform/gear, but also how he carries himself, the level of horsemanship demonstrated, the level of historical knowledge, the willingness to complete fatigue duties, an much more! Closing Remarks: All riders will have two options to choose from to address how to get back to your truck/trailer. We will have volunteers who are very experienced in driving large trucks and horse trailers shuttle your vehicle from the starting point to the end point once we leave Ft. Laramie. This way, all your gear, truck & Trailer will be at the arrival location when we get there. If you do not like the idea of experienced volunteers driving your truck/trailer, then a van will be able to escort the riders back to Ft. Laramie a few hours after we arrived at Ft. Casper. They will then drive the 2.5 hours back to Ft. Laramie so the reenactors can drive their own truck/trailer back to the main event. Please let us know what you prefer. If you have any additional questions regarding this event, please let us know. We are dedicated to making this Last Ride Adjunct enjoyable for you. Sincerely, Steve Dacus steven@caspersafety.com