Road to Gettysburg- Sunday, June 30, 2013

     This has been an odd trip to plan.  Scott knew that he wanted to go to the Re-enactment for 150th Anniversary Gettysburg.  His first big re-enactment was the 125th Gettysburg, back in 1988.   Julie and Scott met later that same month.  A milestone like this one seemed too big to miss.  Even though we have the big trip to Europe planned for later this summer, we planned it so that we could still get to Gettysburg.  

     When plans materialized for a company of 154th New York descendants to form specifically to participate in this re-enactment, Scott was even more excited to go.  There is supposed to be a small contingent of the old guard from the Excelsior Mess, somewhere there too.  There was some debate over the winter because two competing Gettysburg re-enactments were being planned.  Although he originally had a great hotel room for this coming weekend, Brian S. eventually cancelled that and went to the earlier of the two events with the Union Fife and Drum Corps. 

     Once it was clear which weekend we were going, Julie made hotel reservations in Hagerstown, MD.  Unfortunately, we discovered that she had somehow deleted the confirmation email, and neither of us knew for sure where the reservations were.  She probably called every hotel in Hagerstown, and some of them twice, but since she had made the reservations through an Internet site that does many hotels, no one knew anything.   We ended up making new reservations in Carlisle.  (Last week, we got a new e-mail about our reservations at the Hampton Inn in Hagerstown, so we were at least able to cancel them properly.)

     After years of inactivity, Scott has been unusually busy with re-enactments this spring.  The 200th Anniversary of the War of 1812 meant a busy month of weekends as the key events of the American's 1813 campaign were observed.  Ironically, most of the Canadians in the 22nd US will be in Gettysburg as Confederates this weekend.

     Scott's had trouble getting his Civil War gear back in order.  We tried two metal places to see if they would expand the socket on the bayonet that Scott bought last fall so it would fit onto the musket, but in the end Julie's Dad had to do what he could to make it fit.  Scott also needed a new, longer belt for his cartridge box, but the one made by the guy in Southgate plaza ended up being even shorter than his old one.  We hope to be able to get one from a sutler.  Worse, his 25 year old musket needs a sear spring.  Euroarms, the company that made it, is out of business and parts are impossible to find.   We're keeping our fingers crossed that things will work out for that. 

     Julie's friend Laura (who now lives in Columbus, OH) is having a baby shower on Saturday, and Julie really wants to be back for that.  Up until last week, she was going back and forth over whether she and the girls would go to Gettysburg or not.  Scott finally talked her into it.  We are going down a few days early so that we will be in Gettysburg for the actual anniversary dates and Scott can drill with the new 154th guys.  The plan is to be there for the battle on Thursday, July 4th, and then we can say we were part of it and be able to see what we want to.

     So Scott rolled charges to fill his cartridge box today, while Julie packed up the car.  We dropped the dogs off at the kennel in Orchard Park, and and headed out.   Remembering Scott's ride down in Bill L.'s van 25 years ago, we headed South listening to "old" Civil War music like he did in 1988.  We've now stopped for the night in Harrisburg, with only a short ride to Gettysburg tomorrow morning.