The Grim Winter Before US...

To all- I gave up on posting the blog at Living History Worldwide it was too cumbersome.

Brothers,


This weekend’s event at JEB Stuart was an absolute disaster. For those who don’t know, my truck broke down outside of Easley, & we could not get the gun up to Virginia. I spent the better part of Friday night on the phone & e-mail contacting the people we let down.

I have come to a couple of conclusions:

1) We are (to quote General John Gordon), “Fought to a Frazzle”. Our manpower is no longer sufficient to meet the needs of the battery.

2) I have always said if we can’t field a gun crew, we won’t go… well, gentlemen, we are at that point. However, I have always felt (& still do) that we are a brotherhood. What we do & where we go will be up to us- together. It is not brotherly and/or fair for ME to decide the events. The best way I figure this is as follows:

A) I will poste events on the blog site at least 60 days prior.

B) You contact me either via the blog, Face Book, e-mail, phone of snail-mail. If I get a full crew (4 guys) within 30 days of the event- we go. If not we don’t.

C) I can no longer rely on my truck to haul the gun long distances. I will pull to Harmon Field, Hopkins Farm, etc any long range events (Hot Springs, JEB, Gettysburg, etc) either Dan or Creely will have to pull. If they can’t, we can’t take the gun. If the gun can’t go, I will check with Smitty to see if he can use some Marine sharpshooters.

D) Do not rely on rumor mills, if you have a question regarding whether or not we are attending an event, call me!

E) I need a contact list with phone numbers of everyone we usually work with.

The ultimate solution is to increase our manpower. We need troopers- If you have suggestions, I will certainly entertain them.

Your Obedient Servant,

Duke