|
I ride in 1st FLA CAV Co. A for Civil War Reenactments. My father and i have been riding for almost 5 years now, with this unit. I am currently riding a 6 year old Quarter Horse Gelding named, T-Jack. I had to borrow him from a good friend, Craig, who does reenactments as well. When I started riding him, I fell completely in love with him. I soon asked Juston (Craig's son, and T-Jacks' real owner) if I could buy him. A price was set, and we handed them a check. From that day on T-Jack was mine. |
| My father, Dave, rides my original battle horse, Buddy. His original horse, Jelly, has sadly contracted the disease EPM (Equine Protazoal Myeloencephalitis). His back legs are partially paralyzed and he cannot be ridden faster than a slow jog/trot. I also rode Jelly for a breif period when we first began the CWRs. We did not get along to well so I had to buy another horse. That's how wer got Buddy. He was a camp horse at the YMCA Camp when i worked there, and his owner's were looking to sell him cheap. |
| My brother doesn't ride horses in the reenactments, so Jimmy, our Cavalry Captain, hooked him up with Florida Light Artillery. When David and dad went to Narcoosie to fight with FLA Light, the was no room for dad on the gun, so they hooked dad up with Peace River Artillery. This started our life in the world of artillery. About a year ago in 2000, my father saw and advert for an 1841, 6 pound cannon on a number 1 carraige. Right now Jimmy is in the proccess of re-building the entire thing. They have stripped the paint off and re-painted the trail, and are working on the limber. Soon they hope to start on the cason. Not to mention the dream of owning two, six horse teams to pull the gun and the cason. |
Dad and David the fisrt day we got the cannon. |
In September '02 some of 1st FLA Cav along with 1st FLA Artillery Battery A. are going to Antietam, aka Sharpsburg in Maryland. It is a national event on the 140th anniversary of the battle, so we are expecting 10,000 plus reenacters to be on the field along side us. *huge grin* It is such a total and complete adrenaline rush to be out on the field with 300 plus horses cantering in a charge next to you. My job in the unit is to carry the flag or run messages and errands for my captain Jimmy. When we do smaller battles I sometimes run errands for more than one captain. Yet when we are at national events I am just another trooper. Which is fine by me, because then I don't have to remember important stuff, and I get to fight on the front line.
Yes women do get to fight in our unit. Actually our women riders are a lot better than some of the men who ride of the field. Though there are people who'd rather see women off the field permanently. I will fight that for as long as I reenact. Not neccisarily for 'equal rights' but because it has been documented that there were women on the field. There was one women who donnedmens clothing to fight in the war, and then continued with that facade. She was not discovered to be a woman until 11 years after the war. The reason they found out was because she was hit by a carriage or was in a street side accident, and the surgeon found out. There was even a commanding officer who had his wife with him all through out the war, and when he was fataly injured, the wife led the troops into battle. They trusted her just as they had her husband and fought under her for quite a while.
|