April 2005

Gents,

   This is why I love this hobby, for the extraordinary situations that it can place you in, and for the remarkable experiences that you sometimes will have that you wouldn't be likely to have had on that particular day, if ever.  Those of you that were there on Saturday know what I am speaking of; assembled with other Confederates down in the dell of the old cemetery, surrounded by the graves of untold thousands of heroic Southern dead, shafts of sunlight through the trees, illuminating the top of the Confederate Pyramid, a soft, cool breeze to welcome and to comfort us, and the four caskets, each draped with the First National.   And then the song, that I last heard at the Hunley funeral in Charleston, as the widows glided forth to place a flower on each of the North Carolina boy's boxes.  A moment that truly seemed suspended in time. A moment that I will never forget, and that was all the better for that fact that I was there with F Company.  We have traveled some interesting roads, you, the company and I, but Saturday's march and funeral at Hollywood will always stand out as one of the most memorable.  I am so glad that, in spite of the wretched weather that morning, we had 12 F Company men make it, and were once again able to reveal ourselves to be one of the best drilled, and sharpest units in the field.  Masseurs Turley, Firth, Stafford, Gammon, Gammon, Catlett, Schirmer, Price, Ward, Powell, Parzych; thank you all for coming out, and for being part of a genuine historical moment; the final laying to rest of four soldiers who died in defense of the town that our unit was also created to defend, Richmond, Virginia.

   Time for you all to rally to the colors now, and make sure that the unit is well represented at the 140th anniversary of the Battle of Saylor's Creek, and the activities and ceremonies planned to commemorate the last days of the Army of Northern Virginia in the Appomattox Campaign.   Lt. Turley will command, be sure and give him all of the firepower that you can possibly muster.

Commander F Co/ 21st Virginia

The 2005 season has gotten off to a fast start with back-to-back weekends for the COI and Bentonville. If you didn’t hit the ground running, you may have stumbled or even fell flat on your face and that is exactly what I feel like I have done.

I do apologize for my non-attendance at these first couple of events, but I am feeling better and do plan on being at the parade and Sayler’s Creek. I hope to see you all there.

Lt. Turley

The Bentonville Few

No matter how good the intentions, despite all the desires in the world, and against all the odds, Bentonville turned into an event that became one not for the company’s record books. That is, for all except Private Powell and Macalah. Amongst the illnesses, some of which were very serious, job restraints or demands, and other unfortunate circumstances, this once every five-year event became just a wish list for the majority. A sincere thanks to Mr. Powell for keeping our honor and unit’s identity present in North Carolina.

Heritage Parade

April 2, 2005 marked a very special and significant day in Richmond and especially at Hollywood Cemetery. Below are just a few pictures where F-Company proudly marched to honor four Confederate soldiers who were finally laid to rest in respect for their Last Full Measure of duty. Thank you members of our beloved F-Company for your continued pride and dedication.

140^th Sayler’s Creek

This is our event to avenge the missed opportunity at Bentonville. It is my highest hopes that we will be there as a strong unit in complete numbers this time around. I know how strongly I was disappointed in missing Bentonville. I have no plans on a repeat performance for Sayler’s Creek or any other event for the season.

My suggestion is to bring no less than 100. I’d load up your cartridge box with all that it will hold, then possibly use a sealable baggy to place your additional rounds/caps for reserve. As Saturday’s tactical progresses, you may get a sharp idea of how many rounds you’ll be burning up and what you will have left for Sunday’s battle. If you look at the schedule, the tactical will take up much of Saturday, and we will be fighting off and on throughout the day, while on the march. Do not waste your ammunition, but I also don’t wish for your weekend to be ruined by running out and end up being just an observer of the fighting.

Directions:

Rations

As always, I stress to bring your frying pans. They are priceless out there and will come in handy for a nice hot meal without taking up a lot of space and adding that much weight to your bedroll.

I have been in touch with the event coordinator at the fort in working out the possibility of shifting our camp location. At this point, I have not received any negative feedback on my request. As the event gets closer, I will keep you advised of further developments and any updates.

Rations

Bring your own food and something to cook it in. The Fort does offer a meal on Saturday afternoon/evening at an additional cost not paid by the company. The cost is $8.00 per person, and you would need to contact the registration yourself to make those arrangements.

Fort Pocahontas is located 16 miles west of Williamsburg and 37 miles east of Richmond on Virginia Route 5.

From I-64 West from Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads, exit 242A (Jamestown/ Rt. 199 East) to Rt. 5 (John Tyler Memorial Highway.) Turn left onto Rt. 5 West (John Tyler Hwy) for 16 miles (approx. 30 minutes). Turn left onto Rt. 614**(Sturgeon Point Road.) Stay on Rt. 614 (Sturgeon Point Road) until you come to the entrance gate for Fort Pocahontas. Registration and ticket sales are located at the fort entrance.

**PLEASE NOTE: There are two Route 614s, the first one is located in James City County - this is NOT the correct 614. Please be sure to cross the Chickahominy River into Charles City County before turning onto Route 614.

Sailor’s Creek- April 8^th-10^th

Sailor’s Creek L. H.- April 15^th-17^th

Gammon D, Gammon M, Alexander, Harris, Pate, and Powell

Fort Pocahontas- May 20^th-22^nd

Ramsey, Pearson, Firth, Stafford, Gammon D, Perry, Powell, Harris, Catlett, Gammon M, Alexander, Pate, Parzych, and possibly Norman.

Cold Harbor L.H.- June 3^rd-5^th

Ramsey, Turley, Pearson, Firth, Stafford, Gammon D, Perry, Powell, Courson, Catlett, Harris, Gammon M, Pate, and Parzych.

Gettysburg- July 1^st-3^rd

Ramsey, Turley, Pearson, Firth, Stafford, Gammon D., Pate, Gammon M., Ward, Talbert, Harris, Lawrence, and Parzych

Summer of ’62- August 26^th-28^th

Ramsey, Pearson, Firth, Stafford, Gammon D., Perry, Pate, Gammon M., Ward, Harris, Powell, Schirmer, and possibly Parzych and Alexander.

Crampton’s Gap L.H.- Sept. 10^th-11^th

Ramsey, Turley, Pearson, Firth, Stafford, Gammon D., Perry, Pate, Gammon M., Catlett, Alexander, Harris, Powell, Schirmer

141^st Cedar Creek- October 14^th-16^th

Ramsey, Turley, Pearson, Firth, Stafford, Gammon D., Perry, Pate, Gammon M., Price, Harris, Powell, Schirmer, Lawrence, Parzych, and possibly Baird

Fort Branch- November 4^th-6^th

Ramsey, Turley, Pearson, Firth, Stafford, Gammon D., Perry, Perry, Pate, Gammon M., Catlett, Alexander, Talbert, Harris, Powell, Schirmer, Sanders, Parzych

Remembrance Parade- November 19^th

Turley, Pearson, Firth, Stafford, Gammon D., Perry, Gammon M., Alexander, Price, Talbert, Harris

Please take special note of the deadlines on registration dates for Fort Pocahontas and Gettysburg. We will need to get the company check in before those dates to keep our costs down. If your name is not there and you want to attend, notify your Corporal or the 1^st Sergeant immediately. Unbelievably, Gettysburg registration is due almost 2 ½ months before the actual event.

Hopefully, your editor will have a new photo to display in the near future. This one is now out-dated, but still a classic from Kernstown.

I look forward to our unit doing our best in the upcoming event at Sayler’s Creek. By now, you all know of my own personal disappointment in regards to Bentonville, so I won’t beat that into the ground anymore. Enough said in that regards. Now, onward to the good fight that’s to come. Be prepared for all that may be ahead and I’ll keep in touch with any or all updates. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. My open door policy is still in affect.

Camp of Instruction 2005

Standing L-R: Messerley, Pate, Talbert, Baird, Powell, Schirmer, Parzych, Harris, Gammon M., and Ramsey.

(not pictured were: Parks, Catlett, & Turley)

This year’s Camp of Instruction has come and gone, and not hardly a squeak was mentioned in this newsletter. We dodged a bullet, so to speak, with the weather. Other than a quick storm that hit Friday late afternoon after all of our shelters had been erected…and the beautiful light snowfall on Saturday morning, nothing could take away from a very successful training weekend. It was unfortunate that some could not be there to train, but we had a good turnout nonetheless. It was a well-designed schedule by the Captain with room for flexibility where needed. Despite all the training, we still had ample downtime to reacquaint, tell white lies, and enjoy our friendships. Mr. Parks was of great assistance during the weekend and especially during the live firings. His experience with the NSSA proved vital at one point. There were no disappointments, the training was vigorous, the meals superb, and let’s just say in one word…"pies"…helped all to sleep like infants Saturday night. Thank you Mr. Talbert. Mr. Schirmer’s sermon on the Mount was stirring, and hit home with a lot of us. All in all, it was a very educational weekend for the veterans and more so for the new recruits that finally got a small taste of the 1860’s, with some fringe luxuries. Those luxuries are about to be missed very much this coming weekend. Great job to all for a memorable 2005 COI .