Commander’s Column

Maybe this will get some more that want to sign up. Due to logistic issues, we will be taken up to the fight on Sunday morning.

This lack of attendance brings to mind that everyone not attending is voting with their feet for one reason or another. Maybe we need to look harder at the schedule. I know some have good reasons, maybe some did not make the connections that we needed to know as soon as we could about this event's attendance. What it all boils down to is if you want to go please put it on your signup sheet or call the 1^st Sgt. to get on the list for any event.

Event Update - Due to the change in how the South Mountain event will be put on this year, the company has decided not to attend. We are getting gaps in the schedule and will try to find an event or come up with a muster type event. If you have suggestions please let me know right away.

Well, what is there to say about this event, I know, it was a complete wash out, the interest was not there and we will not attend. As Mr. Vice said at the COI, "You all now have time to go and put out those posters you got from the annual meeting, that you have not put out yet." Anyway, this does not dampen my hopes for the year's events or recruiting, it just means we all have to do recruiting outside of that target rich environment. That is fine, we have a new recruit from our web page.

Capt. Web Weenie strikes again.

You can laugh all you want but the web is working (right now) for us. It is only one weapon in our arsenal of recruiting, yet it cannot carry the entire load. Mr. Powell, new recruit, comes to us via the web page. Mr. Stafford has brought him into the company after getting the request to join off the web. Quick follow up makes all the difference in the world when you are bringing in new members and our recruiters are doing a bang up job. Mr. Powell is assigned to Lance Cpl. Norman's platoon.

Other New recruit news, Mr. Gammon, Mr. Stafford's friend, has also signed up. He attended our Annual meeting and still wanted to join. He was also able to attend part of the Camp of Instruction and seemed to enjoy that too. Mr. Gammon is assigned to Cpl. Pearson's platoon. Thanks go to our Quartermaster/ Assistant Recruiter Stafford for bringing these new men into the group.

It has finally happened, I made the time to get it all together after it was updated and I am producing them as you read this. I have a source for copying which is the major cost. I have forgone the digital photos of the equipment and taken a shot at tracing some images for the new equipment we have, such as, the Confederate Haversack and Tin Drum canteen. They are not pretty but they will do for now. I am pondering the thought of making copies for everyone, to have a starting point and get updates as needed from there. This will probably be the course of action I take, with minimal or no cost to each individual. Some of the information will be repetitive to what you have already; however, we will all be on the same page. Also, suggestions for additions will have a frame of reference to start from. It will also be handy when you have to start replacing some of your current items due to wear and tear. New members will get theirs first and then those that attend events will get copies before they go home, all others will get them in the mail, COD. HAHAHAHA, maybe.

I have made some organization changes due to people either paying their dues or not. Please see the new roster and organizational structure. Mr. Gregory was the only one that swapped platoons.

Commander

Richmond Civil War Days is our next event. We will be doing the living history program with a firing demo as usual. Bring 40 blanks and caps, separate from your equipment so that we can comply with NPS rules. I would suggest you wrap your cartridges in packs of ten and put your name on them, tied with string. Keep two packs in the car and two packs for the ammo box. We will be focusing more on putting groups of kids together and drilling them as soldiers, since that went so well last year. We will have a few tents setup for display. We are also going to set up for recruiting as usual. This is a one-day deal. The program starts at 1000, I would like everyone there at 0830 to setup tents and get prepared. The program should end around 1600. We are at the Tredegar site this time. A map is included. Bring all your camp stools and such to be comfortable.

For those that missed it, you missed a good Camp of Instruction. Earlier in the week, it looked like we were going to get rained on the entire weekend, then it cleared up, and then it got worse, all according to the forecasts. Thursday night's heavy downpour was very disheartening and it was close to becoming a problem. I decided to wait till Friday to make any rash decisions. Friday was supposed to have thunderstorms all day. I woke to a beautiful spring morning with just the slightest hint of a nip in the air. I knew then that everything was going to work out for the COI. I packed the truck and my trailer with everything just in case it did rain on us all weekend. Mr. Stafford and I caravanned up. Mr. Hicks blasted past us as we got closer to the Fort. We arrived to see Training Officer, Vice waiting at the range. We unloaded and started setting up the camp. Mr. Pearson and Mr. Alexander showed up. After the range meeting, more had arrived, and most of the tents were set up and ready to go. Everyone was picking a tent and moving in. My new tent was really nice and thanks go to Mr. Allen for making the poles. Dinnertime came and we moved out to the restaurant. It was good as usual. More and more arrived and we were getting ready for the COI. Friday night was filled with the quiet harmonious sounds of the forest, broken only by the occasional M-60 going off in the background. Many times people came to me and noted that I had told them that Mr. Gregory was not going to be able to attend but they had heard him off in the distance firing his musket. I reassured them that it was not he because it was not fast enough.

Saturday morning brought a partly cloudy, partly sunny day with the threat of scattered showers. Breakfast was a little behind but Chef Pearson and Courson did a fine job. The equipment inspection went well and Chairman of the Uniform committee, Mr. Vice, will generate the final summarization report in the very near future.

Drill went very well, after tossing the newest members into the mix of veterans. All the time, Mr. Alexander was moving about making a movie. The company has been talking about getting things on video and putting together a marketing type presentation, featuring the things we do. Well, we are making it happen. We have a lot of good footage and will be doing this for the next year or so to try and boil it all down to about a 20 minute professionally edited video on the company.

The live fire went better than I had hoped, giving us plenty of time for other activities. Thanks again to Mrs. Sins and Mrs. and Mr. Brown, our EMT, Ambulance Driver, and backup EMT for attending and bringing the unit. This was at no cost to the company and kept us in compliance with Fort A. P. Hill regulations.

Dinner went very well, moving us ahead of schedule a little bit. The meal was good and tasty. There was enough light after everything was cleaned and put away for the night for us to have a "songfest". 2^nd Sgt. Firth provided the company secular songbooks and we sung until we could not read the words due to lack of light. The rest of the night passed quietly, except for the intermittent glow of the roaring flames, making it look like morning. Mr. Pearson had plenty of wood to burn and then some and then some more that he found that wasn’t nailed down. He was due since it had been so long since he had made a fire. Sunday mornings breakfast was right on time or even a little early, which was great. After breakfast and church services, Lt. Turley came to me and said, Capt. I think it is going to rain, looking at the sky forebodingly. Not 2 seconds later, Training Officer Vice came to me and said, "It is going to rain, Sir" while the Lt. and I stood there looking at the sky. At this time, I decided to strike the camp and get things under cover before it really started coming down. The men worked feverishly and had everything packed and ready to continue with the training no matter what came.

Bayonet exercise was next. 1^st Sgt. provided bayonet dummies and they were hung from a nearby tree. This was one of the many highlights of the weekend. The men lined up and tore into them. This was one of the most enjoyable parts of the whole COI, seeing the looks on their faces as they rammed the bayonet through the dummy so that it jutted out the other side. At one time I think 2^nd Sgt. Firth got the gun barrel through the other side. (close) The men went through multiple times and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. It was then on to Skirmish Drill. Everyone deployed very well but for some reason there is still a small issue of when the command Halt is given people stop firing. That is not until Cease-Fire is given. If we all could remember that we would make it even hotter for anyone we go against while skirmishing. I hope that we can use it more this year at events.

We also did some marching and wheeling.

We moved back to camp to get to the next block of instruction, Field Crafts, some thought this was basket weaving but that is on your own time. Mr. Courson provided a good presentation on how to carry your equipment without a knapsack and the various items he carried. Mr. Pearson then provided a set of instruction on how to find the best place to camp and what to look for. He also showed about shelter halves and their various uses, as well, as ground cloths.

All and all this was a very good COI and I look forward to more suggestions and new things for next year. Oh yeah, it did start raining on and off.

The Ukrop’s Golden Gift. For those that do not know, F Company 21^st Virginia Inc. has been registered with Ukrop’s, a regional grocery store, to participate in their giving program for non-profit organizations around this area. What the program is, shoppers that are Valued Customer participants accrue points for every dollar they spend. At the end of a certain period of time those points are tallied and sent in a certificate form for the customer to donate to any registered group as they see fit. In the little bit of research I have done, I have found that most people don't know what do to with the certificate and may just throw it away. Well, I have the intention of trying to keep that from happening by giving people a place to send their certificate. This will allow us to get a share of $500,000, that Ukrop’s is giving away. I have put together a flier to ask people for their certificate and I will have a return envelope attached to them. Guess where the envelopes go, you got it, the P.O. Box. If we can get a good turnout for this, we could blanket some of the subdivisions in Richmond, Williamsburg and Fredericksburg area. Aside from the canvassing of neighborhoods, everyone needs to ask your family, friends, and co-workers to give you the certificate. Ukrop’s states that the certificates will be mailed out on May 1^st to the customers. If you can get a commitment to get it, that would be great. If you can get them to mail it to the PO Box 6583, Richmond, VA 23230 that would be even better. The fliers and envelopes will have to be stapled together. The more people working on them the better. I hope to have them by mid-April. I will be handing them out at the Richmond Civil War Days event. Even if you are not attending the event, please take the time to come down and see us and get some of the fliers to put out in your own neighborhood. The more certificates we can get the better we will do for this fund raising effort. We will receive a percentage of the total points collected. This is a fund raising opportunity that only needs minimal effort from the members. You don't have to be at an all day event or anything other than put fliers around. This program is a once a year deal that we can continue each year. This has the potential for a very generous donation to the company with minimal effort on all our parts. All the certificates have to be in our hands by June 2, I have to get them to Ukrop’s by June 16, or we don't get credit for them. Please help out with this program by stapling or putting them around your or other neighborhoods.

As the now retired 1st Sergeant of F Company, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all the company members for their very thoughtful gift and presentation ceremony at the annual membership meeting. In particular I wanted to thank Cpl. Perry for his outstanding craftsmanship in producing the wonderful presentation tiger maple case for my pistol. How my wife was involved in all this for a year, and kept this a secret I will never know! Thanks again for the company membership’s thoughtfulness with this gift.

Pvt. Vice

Having just removed the first "hitch-hiker" of the year from my person, I wanted to let the Camp of Instruction attendees know that if they thought the tick season hadn’t started yet, they are mistaken. Make sure you check yourselves for ticks and other unwelcome visitors before too much longer.

As far as removal goes, I have been very pleased by the tweezers I purchased for tick removal. They are made by Coleman, and operate by gently squeezing the tick while you rotate the tweezers. The tick releases its hold, without any danger of breaking off under the skin. I’ve now removed more than 20 ticks with them, with nary a problem.

1. The Captain/President Jones brought the meeting to order at 10:06 AM at the Ashcreek Community Bldg., Mechanics-ville, VA. The Captain then asked 1st Sergeant Vice to stand for a special presentation by the membership of a Colt Commander .45 ACP Pistol in a handcrafted tiger maple presentation box w/a brass plaque noting the 1st Sergeant's long service to the company upon his retirement as the senior non-commissioned officer. First Sergeant thanked the company for its generous gift noting his appreciation of the company's support during his service to the company. The Captain then proceeded with the meeting, calling upon Member-at-Large Turley to give the invocation. Captain Jones then introduced the members of the F Co. Executive Committee and non-commissioned officers, as well as guests- David Gammon and son, Brewer Eddy, Kris Perry, and Freddy Sineath. The Captain then led the company in the Pledge of the Allegiance to the flag. Following this, the 1st Sergeant recommended that the minutes of the previous annual meeting for 2000 be approved as published in the July 2000 newsletter and the membership so moved.

2. Captain Jones then asked for committee reports. The Treasurer lead first noting that all bills were paid to date and that there were over $3,000 worth of goods on hand. The Treasurer noted that the balance on hand was only $3,640.10 which was lower than in years past due to the fact there had not been a major fund raising project in 2000 and that there had been a recent unplanned expenditure for ammunition for the 2001 COI. The Chairman of the Uniform Committee followed w/a short written report and noted the supplies of clothing and equipment for the company remained good. The Member-at-Large then took the floor giving a running narrative of the past years events and calling upon all the regular members to start the new year by recruiting another member for the company. The Recruiting Officer was then called upon. He provided a written report and noted the poor recruiting effort in 2000. The upside of his presentation came w/ Pvt. Pearson handout and briefing on the new recruiting materials in the form of business cards flyers and recruiting posters w/tear off mail-in cards. The membership received this presentation with good result and it was felt this material would help a great deal in kicking off a new recruiting campaign. Captain Jones followed this with a short verbal report on Jackson's Division noting that being part of a larger umbrella organization was still key to the success of the company. Additionally he noted that Mr. Cummings and Mr. Mink had stepped down from their positions in the Stonewall Brigade and would only be serving as Commander and Adjutant of Jackson's Division respectively. This ended all committee reports.

3. The Captain next turned to the 2001 Sign-up sheet w/an explanation of all the events listed on the sheet and noting the required sign-up date to all the members. The Captain followed up w/ additional information on the 2001 COI and noted that the coordination meeting the previous day at Ft. A. P. Hill had gone well. The Captain and 1st Lieutenant then gave a short presentation asking for membership support of an early war impression for the upcoming McDowell, 1st Manassas, S. Mountain, and Explorer Park events by the production of an early war battle shirt priced at $70.00 including all materials and labor. An example was shown which had been utilized by 1st Sergeant Vice during the 125th Anniversary for 1st Manassas. This concept was well received by the membership and a sign-up sheet was provided to be filled out following the meeting along w/size of shirt and payment. The floor was then opened to further discussion by Captain Jones concerning other events. Pvt. Ward noted that he questioned whether or not bayonet drill was really a useful exercise at the COI. Captain responded that it was, however, the entire training schedule was dependent on how much was accomplished during the given time period, thus bayonet drill might or might not be utilized. Further discussion solicited the idea that straw filled bayonet dummies might make this training much more useful and realistic.

4. The meeting was temporarily adjourned at 12:15 PM for lunch that consisted of excellent BBQ along w/beans and cold slaw. The meeting was gaveled to order again at 1:07 PM. The Treasurer under New Business made know his desire to retire from his current position in 2002 in order to devote his efforts to full time fund raising for the company. He noted that he felt once he could get the company's annual donations up to $5,000 per year that it was highly likely that money would fully sustain the basic company operation. The Treasurer then led a discussion concerning the 2002 budget and sought to deal with the issue of purchase of a travel/storage trailer for company property which had been priced at $1,500.00. He noted that he felt a one-time dues increase of $15.00 per member would pay for the trailer. Other members of the Executive Committee noted that issues such as title, registration, vehicle tags, and insurance had not been fully answered, and that the issue of storage had been at least temporarily answered. It was finally agreed that the matter would be tabled for now. As a result of this conversation, the Treasurer recommended that company dues remain at $40.00 per man for the next year and this was approved by the general membership. The Captain then asked if there was any other New Business to be discussed and there being none he moved to the election of officers for 2001.

5. The Captain asked the 1st Sergeant to oversee the nominations for the slate of officers. At the conclusion of the election the following individuals were elected to office- Captain/President Mr. Jones; 1st Lieutenant/Vice-President Mr. Turley; 1st Sergeant/Secretary Mr. Wilson; Treasurer Mr. Alexander; and Member-at-Large Mr. Pearson. Now-Pvt. Vice made it a point to once again thank the company membership for the wonderful farewell gift that he had been given upon his retirement as company 1st Sergeant.

6. There being no other business, the new 1st Lieutenant pronounced the benediction and the meeting was adjourned at 2:04PM.