At High Tide Video

[Anders]

Hey all....the video documentary of the event is now availible for sale at http://www.civilwargoods.com/displayFileInfo.asp?product_id=18

The video is a documnetary of the event that is 64 minutes long and is a great view of the event rather than a documentary of the battle. Lots of combat shots and behind the scenes, march scenes and camp shots.

Buy it! 25% goes to preservation!

Pards,

[billwatson2]

My God, the trailer is incredible. Yeah, they had to have good material to work with, but Rob Hodge et al have gotten very, very good at this.

Really impressive. I'm ordering mine immediately.

This is a real ego boost. We get down on ourselves a lot, many of us doing these type events are never satisfied, many others look at events like this as putting on airs, but then you see that trailer and just say "My God." Tons of people, good kit, could even be a valuable depiction of some of the action.

So when's the next one, Chris? Any roles for a Braxton Bragg lookalike? :-)

[Anders]

Taking some regroup time, rebuilding the team and so forth but already working on Return to Manassas for 2010- 2nd Manassas Campaign.... still need that Lee look alike

:)

Pards,

[billwatson2]

I will resume preparations for the impression. :-) With any luck this time I won't be facing eminent domain proceedings.

wjw aka Gandalf the Grey

[flattop32355]

So when's the next one, Chris? Any roles for a Braxton Bragg lookalike? :-)

There's always Perryville.......One of the best preserved fields remaining, and as Bragg, you could be all over the place. Might want to ride at that one.

[Bill_Cross]

The History Channel now has some serious competition.

[dedogtent]

Bought the video and can't wait for the next Anders event.
It's New Years eve, cheers to the 2nd Delaware.

[RLHodge]

All,

Thank you for the kind words -- they mean a lot (more than you know). I spent a lot of time on this to get it out the door before Christmas. I am sorry it took as long as it did. It is our first departure from a standard battle documentary.

I enjoy doing the CW films, and hope to continue that at least to 2015, or maybe beyond. I am finally seeing the art classes I took at Kent State having value.

I want to thank y'all for letting me film you guys at AHT, and I want to thank Chris Anders for thinking of Wide Awake and me.

Sometime in the spring we will make an announcement as to how much was raised for the Land Conservancy of Adams County (LCAC), and donate a check. 25% of what you pay for the DVD will go to LCAC. This is the largest percentage donation we have ever given. I hope you can spread the word about the DVD, and it's preservation component, so that we can recoup our investment.

I want to continue doing these projects I love.

Again, thank you.

'Rob'ert Lee Hodge
Wide Awake

P.S. -- Feel free to email me at hodge@wideawakefilms.com with any suggestions on how to make these films better, or of any film or preservation related projects you have.

[billwatson2]

OK, got home today and it was waiting for me, popped it in and was glad I did.

Get this one, fellas, you'll always be proud to be a Civil War reenactor no matter how much we kick ourselves around.

Hard to say what the highlights were. I saw literally scores of fellows I've marched and camped with from Florida to Mississippi to Tennessee to Virginia to Massachusetts. Saw reenacting units that have made their own name in our little world, all preserved forever on this little documentary of an event.

Highlight might have been watching the Western Brigade marching out Sunday morning. That's Sunday morning, and they're all moving out with alacrity and in step and in full marching order, every man. Remember, their event started Friday with a march from the actual battlefield.

Another highlight might have been the abundance of lean, hungry-wolf young fellows who looked like they fell out of the pages of a history book. Used to be you could only say that about a handful of folks, but they are out there. We keep saying how we're getting to be a grey hobby; maybe not.

Great video. A must see for anyone who wants to know how to put on a good, big event; and you can see the "pre-battle walking tours" up front and personal and realize it just ain't that hard, folks, if you put making the history happen come before ego.

A great many of you who post are in this, by the way, including the inestimable RJSamp, looking much the worse for wear, much like a shoe that's walked a thousand dusty miles, but still producing the clearest bugle calls on the field. :-)

[dedogtent]

I agree Mr. Watson the video is a great one and a good one for the hobby. Mine came a few days ago and I have watched it every night. And I agree everyone just looks outstanding in this film, it makes me very proud to still be a reenactor at my old age. Our brave 2nd Delaware shows up a few times on the film. The clip I like the most of us is standing watching that nasty lightning coming towards us on Saturday evening. I can remember asking our Captain maybe we should git the heck off this hill. (Yes I am very chicken of lightning) He goes to our Brigade Commander and he says do what you guys want. Our Captain comes back to me and tells me what was said. The next thing ya know the 2nd Delaware was leading the whole Union Army off that dang hill. It was the right move!

[Remise]

We keep saying how we're getting to be a grey hobby; maybe not.



That was precisely the thought I had late last night, when I watched it for the first time! There were a lot of young faces marching past the camera and onto my TV screen, and that was very encouraging to see.

It is, in its own way, a very compelling video, and a good one to watch just before you go to sleep. That was a great event, and I hope to take part in more such in the future.

B.C. Milligan
Company K, First Penna. Reserves

[Anders]

There are many magic moments Rob captured....stuff that looks "right"

And that is due to the folks that came... remember reenactors make the event.

Pards,

[ejazzyjeff]

It is a shame that the night tactical was canceled due to the weather. That would have been very interesting to see how that would of came out on the DVD.

[RichLather]

It is a shame that the night tactical was canceled due to the weather. That would have been very interesting to see how that would of came out on the DVD.

Tactical? That would've been a full-blown scripted scenario. It's too bad it couldn't happen.

[Spinster]

Highlight might have been watching the Western Brigade marching out Sunday morning. That's Sunday morning, and they're all moving out with alacrity and in step and in full marching order, every man. Remember, their event started Friday with a march from the actual battlefield.



Bill-to add to the impressive march out of the Western Brigade was what was left behind in their camp area:

Virtually Nothing.

It all left on their backs. In policing the area afterwards, I picked up a couple of forgotten canteens, a mess pan, and 5 pieces of modern garbage (remembering that the area had a large spectator presence Saturday afternoon). That's it, that's all.

Of course, they came in roughly the same way, with everything on their backs except that barrel of salt port( in on a truck, empty was rolled to the parking lot sometime Saturday evening) boxes of hard cracker (toted over and back in exchange for a pie bribe) and the nested mess kettles (toted in and out by each mess).

Excellent Logistics, Excellent Leadership, Excellent Impressions.

[RJSamp]

Excellent Logistics, Excellent Leadership, Excellent Impressions.


Excellent Field Musics, Excellent Bugling.

Hey, not only did they look pretty, but they can Fight!

[Spinster]

Oh gracious RJ, those young drummers with the Western Brigade!

Dripping wet, soaked to the bone, while all about them had their gum blankets on.

Where were their gum blankets?

Wrapped securely around the skin-head drums!

Needless to say, once the inquiry was made, the skin head drums slept with me Saturday night, and the young drummers slept under their gum blankets. I was absolutely terrified to move in the night, for fear that pyramid of drums would fall and ruin the skin heads!

I think there was a bugle in there with me too. I know there was a box of cigars and one more pie.

[flattop32355]

Isn't it nice to talk about a group of people where the use of the words "skin heads" is not a derogatory phrase? ;)