Salt Works Fight

Today our wargaming group gathered at Lord Sterling's house for another play test of his The Sword and Secession rules variant to The Sword and the Flame.  As the overall Confederate commander, I had to defend the Cedar Key salt works against a group of Union raiders from some of the East Gulf blockading squadron.

My single unit of regular Confederate infantry advances to drive the Union raiders from the salt works.  Earlier one of my militia units was routed away from the works by Union musket fire.  My advance is being supported by a unit of dismounted Confederate militia cavalry (left rear).  You may recognize MiniFig British Victorian naval landing party figures - they were playing the role of Union sailors.

Although the Union forces gained control of the salt works, they didn't have enough time to destroy the large wrought iron evaporation vats before the second half of the Confederate reinforcements arrived and drove them away.

Soon a battle report will be posted on the Jackson Gamers new web site -- link.

Lord Sterling will be running this game at the Colonial Barracks convention, the first weekend in November.  This rule variant will eventually be published by Sergeants3, probably sometime in 2013.

Play Test of New TSATF Variant

The Jackson Gamers gathered at Jay's house today, Labor Day, to test a new variant of The Sword and the Flame rules.  This Civil War variant is called The Sword and Secession.

Please visit the new Jackson Gamers web site (link) for a battle report.

Rebellion and Relics

Saturday morning I participated in the Mississippi Department of Archives and History's Rebellion and Relics program as part of the Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War.  My presentation highlighted the Civil War related items in the various collections we maintain in the Archives and Records Services Division.  While I was there, I took some pictures of some of the artifacts that our Museum Division maintains and of a few of the reenactors who were there.  All of these activities were held in and around our Old Capitol Museum.  I hope that you enjoy these pictures.  As usual, please click on each image for a larger picture.

First, some of the artifacts:

The old Mississippi House Chamber where the programs were presented.

Two of the many uniform pieces in the Museum collection.  On the right is the butternut wool coat of Lieutenant T. Otis Baker of the 10th Mississippi Infantry Regiment.  On the left is a shirt made from brocaded silk curtains looted from the Old Capitol building by a Union soldier in 1863.

These are Jefferson Davis' .44 caliber rifled dueling pistols.  They were taken from him when he was captured in 1865, returned to the Davis family in 1914 by the War Department, and then donated to the Department's collection.

Restored flag of the 4th Mississippi Infantry Regiment.  If you look carefully, you can see that the "VICKS" in Vicksburg has been replaced during the restoration by slightly larger letters.  That was one portion of the flag that was completely missing.  The lighter red and blue places are where new material was added (as a backing) to replace material that had been lost over the years.

Flag of the Burt Rifles (Company K, 18th Mississippi Infantry Regiment.  This flag has also been carefully restored to its former full-color glory.  The tree in the center is a Magnolia tree with its white flowers in full bloom.  The leaves and the flowers were painted in great detail by the painter in 1861.

And now a few of the reenactors who set-up outside the main entrance to the Old Capitol:

A Union cavalryman showing some of the guests the flag carried by his regiment and the weapons and accoutrements he carried.

A sailor from the USS Benton talks to a guest about life aboard a Union gunboat on the Mississippi River.  This reenactor is also a master model maker and has done many models and dioramas for the Department and the Blue and Gray Naval Museum (in Vicksburg), among others.

Two United States Colored Troops reeanctors.  The sergeant on the left is from an infantry regiment while the sergeant on the right is from a heavy artillery regiment.  Mississippi contributed some 11 regiments (8 infantry, 1 cavalry, and 2 heavy artillery) of former slaves (some 18,000 men) to the Union cause.

There were, before I left, only two Confederate reenactors present.  There was such a crowd around their table that I couldn't get a picture.  But I will leave you with a vintage (1976) picture on Confederate Civil War reeanactors:

Two of the five (left and right outside men) are now deceased.  The center reenactor is who sent me the picture, which was taken at Asphodel Plantation in Lousiana.  All five were college mates of mine.

Inspection Report, 36th Mississippi Infantry Regiment

While checking into the interrupted re-processing of a collection of Confederate quartermaster and ordnance records at the Mississippi State Archives (where I work), I came across an April 1862 inspection report of the 36th Mississippi Infantry Regiment.  It gives a snapshot of the arms of the regiment as it joined the Confederate Army shortly after the Battle of Shiloh.  But what makes it even more interesting to me is that my great-grandfather, Wesley Washington Pitts, was a private in Company E (Hazlehurst Fencibles) from March 1862 through the end of the siege of Vicksburg (July 4, 1863).  I've tried to keep the capitalization and punctuation of the colonel who wrote the report as well as his spelling (which was actually pretty good).  I've included a short history note at the end extracted from Dunbar Roland's seminal work, Military History of Mississippi, 1803-1898.  I hope that you enjoy this.  My additions and editorial comments are in square brackets, thusly [   ] .

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Copy of Inspection Report of the Condition of the 36^th Regiment Mississippi Volunteers, Colonel Drury J. Brown, Commanding]

Rienzi, Miss.  Camp Rives

April 21^st, 1862

[To:]  Brigadier General. H. Little, commanding

1^st Brigade, West. Army

General,

In obedience to Orders No. 83 directing me to inspect the 36^th Regiment (Miss.) Colonel Brown commanding and to report in writing, etc. I have the honor to report that I have made said inspection and find said Regiment armed as follows, to wit:  thirty seven (37) Rifled Muskets - Forty one cartridge boxes - Thirty seven Bayonets and Bayonet scabbards- Thirty seven Waist and Shoulder belts - Thirty seven (37) cap pouches - 25 screwdrivers - one (1) Thumbvice - 360 Altered Rifles - Two hundred and seventy Double barrel Shotguns and Rifles.  The altered Rifles I find almost wholly worthless - badly bored out and the locks of the most indifferent kind.  The main spring being entirely too weak to explode our Army Gun caps.  The rifled Muskets are all excellent also the accoutrements belonging thereto.  The doublebarrel Shotguns are some of them, say enough to arm one company, good as they are of the right calibre to carry the B.B. [buck and ball ?] cartridge.  The others are either too small or unfit for service - Some being without tubes [!!] and some without hammers [!!].  Upon the whole, taking into consideration the kind of arms and the way they are distributed; with exception of the 46 cartridge boxes and the 37 waist and shoulder belts I find the Regiment without accoutrements - The Regiment has on hand 18,000 G. D. [?] Percuss. Caps, 15,000 Miss Rifle Cartridges, 1,480 Rifle Musket cartridges, all in good order.  In camp and garrison equipage, The Regiment has an abundance of Tents all of [extra ?] size and a fly to each.  This leaves nothing to be desired so long as they are transported by Railroad but would be cumbersome to transport by waggons - being composed of Osnaburgh [fabric] without the fly they would not keep out the rain.  The men  are comfortably clad and shod.  The Regiment is composed of a fine body of men and properly armed would doubtless do effective service though now laboring under that curse of all new troops the measels [sic].  I would further state that said Regiment is without waggons [?]fore having been transported by rail, and with exception of the want of a few camp kettles leaves nothing to be desired in the way of cooking utensils.

All of which is respectfully submitted

(signed) D. McRae Colonel

Commanding Regt M [?] Vol

[Postscript:]

Headquarters Rienzi Station, Miss.

Camp Rives, April 22d 1862

Respectfully submitted with recommendation that if possible Col Brown be permitted to turn in the Arms and Accoutrements now in his Regiment and draw all of one Kind.

(signed)  Henry Little

Brig Genl

Cg [Commanding?] Station

HISTORICAL NOTE:  The 36^th Mississippi Infantry Regiment was mustered into Confederate service in March 1862.  It was in camp at Meridian, Miss. during the battle of Shiloh (Apr 6-7, 1862).  From the above report, it evidently was moved to Rienzi prior to April 21.  It was part of the what became the Army of Tennessee at the battles in northeast Mississippi (Famington, Iuka, Jacinto, and Corinth) during the spring, summer, and fall of 1862.  In early 1863 it was posted (along with its brigade) to the Vicksburg area and became part of the garrison through the end of the siege, July 4, 1863.  It was reconstituted in January 1864 at the camp of paroled and exchanged prisoners in Enterprise, Alabama.  It rejoined the Army of Tennessee near Resaca in mid May, 1864 and stayed with the Army through the Battle of Franklin and the “Siege” of Nashville before being transferred to help at the siege of Murfreesboro, returning to Nashville just in time for the Union counteroffensive.  After the retreat they were transferred to Mobile and ended the war defending the Spanish Fort and Fort Blakeley where most of them were captured in the Union attacks in early April, 1865.

My great-grandfather was paroled after Vicksburg and was recovering at home in Copiah County.  He either never saw the notice that he had been paroled and was to report to the camp at Enterprise or he ignored it, deciding that he had enough fighting.  Either way his "records" indicate that he was listed as being a deserter from the Enterprise camp.  I can't say that I blame him, especially as he  married in December 1863 [edit].  If he had been with the 36th during the Nashville campaign, I probably wouldn't be here today!

[EDIT, 09/18/2012]  For additional information on the 36th Mississippi during the Vicksburg campaign, please see this article by my co-worker, Jeff Giambrone.