Infantryman Pete Brooks
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The Regular The Official Newsletter of Sykes Regulars March Regular |
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| Brigade Schedule | Bugle Call | Reports from the Field NCO School |
Field Commander’s Report Written by the Editor
March 2000
The NCO/Officers’ School on 19 and 20 February went very well. Members of both the 2d and the 4th Infantries were present, and were the recipients of period-related information from drill maneuvers, to building shebangs and what is the proper food to take to an event. One of the highlights of the weekend
occurred at Sunday’s Dress Parade when Drummer McGrane of the 2d Infantry was presented with the Lance Corporal rank in front of the regiment. This lad has put in hours of practice on the drum and in the short period of one year, he has become proficient in the medium of communication so important to Civil
War troops. Well done lad.
The shake-out weekend at Ft. McHenry is next on the schedule. We will set up camp in the Star Fort on Friday evening, March 3, and live in the barracks for the weekend. Haversack lunches are suggested, and dinner in the local watering hole is a distinct possibility. We will not have a camp fire, so plan your feeding
accordingly. Those who have the pre-war uniform, please bring it AND your fatigue uniform. If you have not yet purchased the pre-war uniform, fatigue will do.
Following the shake-out weekend at Ft. McHenry, we will be involved in the 135th Anniversary of the Battle of Bentonville, near Newton Grove, NC. This will occur on the weekend of March 17 - 19, and you may copy maps of the area from the Bentonville Website located at:
Bentonville
There are links to a local map, as well as a map of the general area. This will be a campaign style camp, thus, company streets will not be set up.
Brigade Schedule
Sykes’ Regulars Schedule
March and April, 2000
Date: 3-5 March, 2000
Place: Ft. McHenry, Baltimore Harbor
Event: Drill Weekend
Directions: I-70 to Baltimore, take the exit just South of the Harbor Tunnel (Fort Avenue). Follow the signs to Fort McHenry which is at the end of Fort Avenue.
Style: Garrison, inside the Star Fort Info: This will be a drill weekend in order that we get the winter dulls out of our systems in preparation for the coming events. Pack inspection, weapon inspection (of course), brass, etc., will occur. We intend to
close the event early enough on Sunday afternoon to allow those of you coming from afar to get a start for home.
Uniform: Pre-war nine-button frock, dark blue trousers, Hardee hat, scales, white gloves, sack coat, fatigue hat, polished brass, clean weapon, darkened leathers, canteen, cot, blankets, and foul weather gear (just in case).
Date: 17-19 March, 2000
Place: Near Newton Grove, NC.
Event: 135thAnniversary Reenactment
of the Battle of Bentonville. (NR)
Directions: Newton Grove is off of U.S. Rte. 40 at exits 341 and 343. Check your North Carolina map, but the easiest way to the site appears to be I-95 to U.S. 40, then northwest on U.S. 40 to Newton Grove. There are maps at Bentonville.
Style: Campaign, no fixed company streets.
Info: Battle reenactment on the site in and about the position held by the Union XX Army Corps during the fighting on the Reddick Morris farm on March 19, 1865. Both State Historic Site and private property will be utilized for the event. All proceeds from this event go directly to the Bentonville Battlefield Historic
Association in order to support its continuing efforts to preserve and interpret Bentonville Battlefield.
Uniform: Sack coat, fatigue hat, polished brass, clean weapon, darkened leathers, canteen, dog tent, blankets, and foul weather gear (just in case).
See Special announcement in the Bugle Call for Mess arrangements at this event.
Date: 28-30 April, 2000
Place: Ft. McHenry, Baltimore Harbor
Registration: $7.00
Event: Living History at the Fort.
Directions: I-70 to Baltimore, take the exit just South of the Harbor Tunnel (Fort Avenue). Follow the signs to Fort McHenry which is at the end of Fort Avenue.
Style: Garrison, on the lawn outside of the Star Fort
Info: This is the annual Fort McHenry weekend, and this year it is a NR event. In the past, Colonel Doom has been the post commander, and we must be prepared to protect our own Infantry Commander, Major Hutchison. Let us not sleep the sleep of the unprepared. Let us come to the fort and be ever vigilant.
We will set up camp on Friday. The fort will provide breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, and the evening meal on Saturday.
Uniform: Sack coat, fatigue hat, polished brass, clean weapon, darkened leathers, canteen, dog tent, blankets, and foul weather gear (just in case).
New Email addresses
In the next month or two we should have the new roster with everyone’s email and telephone numbers. In the meantime here are two new members to the computer age.
Mr. Pete Brooks: Whisker1964@excite.com
Mr. Buck Kelleway: CWBuck46@aol.com
Email them and tell them welcome.
REGULARS WANTED
Regulars are needed for Ryan Spahr's Boy Scout Eagle project. The project will take place at Manassas Battlefield Park. The project will be restoring artillery cannons and will be held on April 7 and 8. If it rains on the 7 and 8 the rain date will be the 21 and 22. If anybody has further questions call me at (703)573-9109 or contact me by email regmaverick@yahoo.com
Registrations
Don’t forget to send in your registrations for events. They will posted in the Regular and on the web site. Send them to our esteemed treasurer.
Eric Schlegel
5260 Chapmans Landing Rd
Indian Head, MD 20640
Mess Arrangements at Bentonville
This event will be in bivouac, thus, everyone attending will bring their own foof provision for the weekend. Some of the company mess equipment will be there, but it will be a minimum complement of gear. The company fire will be available for use. (No fighting for the fire or the New Lance Corporal, Logan McGrane will have something to say about it.)
We suggest that you find a small group of messmates to coordinate your food with and prepare a meal or stew like substance. Coffee will be there.
We will adopt this mess style for bivouac events to lighten the load of the company and give a truer picture of rations that were issued to the individual soldier. Please try to pack your food in wax or brown paper. Most food won't spoil in a day or two.
For ideas on what the army ration consisted of please check page on the NR site in the 'orders and announcement' page. If you need the password email Commander Don Rivera for it.
NCO School
The Regulars Go to School
The National Regiment held it’s annual Officers and NCO school this past month and it was again an excellent learning experience. Each year the NR staff endeavors to improve the teaching format and provide a variety of subject and interactive programs. A good crew of Regulars was in attendance and the bell rang and off to class we went.
First on the agenda was school of the battalion. The NR usually practices a different manuever every year and the theory of the movement is taught here. Having been late for class, this reporter did not happen to catch this manuever, but I’m sure that I will be exposed to it in the near future. The school was aptly taught by Mr. Wilson and Mr. Downes. Notable were the block visual aids which aided in visualizing the
manuever.
The next part of the program was teaching stations where the students of all things military were broken up into companies and moved about the auditorium like cattle. The lads were broken up into different groups and when they tried to reunite into one a certain Bruce Spahr snitched and made us go back to our own groups.
The subject matter was varied and fascinating. One station addressed the merits of the shebang. One station took a deep look at the officers slouch hat. Our First Sgt. Hanson conducted a class in how to wear you accoutrements correctly. There was also a class on gun cleaning, proper seasonal food and the annual
stacking arms modification. I must say that the unit that did this demonstration were exemplary in their execution. The workings of stacking remained unaltered this year. What was added was the methodology. All movements were done with precision and with as little movement as possilbe. Each man new his job
and executed it with enough precision as to barely be looking at the rifles as they stacked. them. Each attempt ended in a perfect stack done in silence. It was a beautiful site especially to the Regulars. A goal has been placed before us. We will practice this and become as proficient as these fine demonstrators and
you want to know why? Because thats the way it should be done.
Commadore Hutchison was also in charge of teaching a class and of course when those rowdy Regulars arrived our behavior would have landed us in the principal’s office had we had one. Of course teacher’s pet, Flexi M, brought the teacher an apple and scored some browny points.
Mr. Hutchison conducted class on countersigns and paroles. He also produced an actual countersign communique from General Sykes himself. All such orders were folded in a triangular shape and once we learned how to fold them, they were seen flying about the room.
This class format worked well as there was an opportunity for question and answer and individual attention for those with attention deficit disorder. The soundproofing between the topic areas was very effective. The bell rang whenever principal Hutchison came ‘round as he kept the school on a tight schedule.
After the group sessions, the 5th NY was once again allowed to show it’s prowess in the bayonet drill. The school practiced along and we learned a very flashy way to shorten on the left by twirling the rifle.
Then we had lunch. It was a good lunch.
All that was missing was a fruit cup.
After lunch, battalion class was conducted with Bill Wilson and Tom Downes using the wonderful 2x4 block visual aids. At the end of the day, the NR music under the auspices of Mr. Dave Runner, regaled us with a fine selection of stirring military airs. The acoustics in the gymnasium were exceptional for the percussion of
drums and soon the battle blood raged.
After school was out we repaired to the Big Bopper lounge where we were to have dinner. The lads chatted and polished a cocktail or two and enjoyed the time to catch up with one another. After a fine meal of pasta and salad we adjourned to an adjacent room where ‘show and tell’ was staged. Many displays of interest
were to be seen. We the whiled away the evening with comradery and ale and adjourned to sleeping quarters. We didn’t want to be late for class the next day and risk detention.
Sunday’s classes included dress parade theory. We then of course walked through the parade and practiced to perfection one of the hallmarks of the National Regiment. A damn fine dress parade.
Before the dress parade was finished, a small ceremony ensued. The decoration of Mr. Logan McGrane as Lance Corporal in the 2nd US. Logan was with the NR music and was of course not paying attention to the proceedings so when his name was called to go to front and center, he was probably thinking he was in trouble for something. And indeed he was. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate this fine Regular for his commendation. In a year’s time, Logan has made remarkable strides in mastering the drum. He is also recognized for his industriousness around camp, espirit de’cor and his razor sharp wit
which all bear witness to the bearing of a fine Regular soldier. Well done lad, keep it up and you’ll make general before you know it.
And so ended another Officer and NCO school. We all gave ourselves passing grades and we will take the knowledge we had acquired and spread it far and wide to bring aclaim to our beloved National Regiment.
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