Company A (reinforced), 1st Regiment, US Corps of Cadets, Class of '64 Staff Ride at Gettysburg
Photos at:
www.west-point.org/class/usma1964/gettysburg
On September 28, 2007, Company A (reinforced), 1st Regiment, US Corps of Cadets, Class of '64 gathered in Gettysburg, PA to conduct a Staff Ride at Gettysburg. We didn't call it a staff ride but a gathering of company classmates who wanted to do something different for a mini-company reunion.
Inspired by tales of mini-company reunions of D-1 (who got Maj Cecil Adams, SUPERTAC) to attend, a group of A-1ers had held a gathering in March 2006 in Northern Virginia which included a dinner, a special trip to the Smithsonian, and the DC Society Founders Day. We had such a great time that we decided to do it again.
Instigated by Dave Winters who lives in Williamsport, PA, he campaigned for a trip to Gettysburg, a fairly convenient location to gather for a weekend. We started planning about 6 months out setting a date we could put on the calendar before any other organization got the time block. Dave then got a block of motel rooms and conducted a reconnaissance mission of local eateries for lunch and our dinner for Saturday night.
We reached out to some A-1 classmates we met at the Charleston mini reunion and others. In the end we had good representation with the following participants:
So what is this Company A (reinforced)? Skip Roberts (H-1) learned of our mini at Gettysburg and offered to be our tour guide. He does this for fun and profit with his wife Judy. So we graciously accepted his offer and are we glad we did. Skip and Judy gave us a wonderful tour that we enjoyed so much that we unanimously welcomed them into our ranks as honorary A-1ers.
We gathered at our motel on Friday, September 28th at various times. But upon discovery of the local watering hole with $2 beers, the battle preparation really began.
On Sept 29th, we awoke to a most beautiful September day. The temperature was perfect with a breeze and beautiful blue skies. Skip assembled us at the early hour of 830 to go to the Gettysburg Battlefield Visitors Center. There we got the BIG PICTURE with the lights on the battlefield map. We then took off in our caravan of cars to the northwest side of town to view the area where the battle started by Chambersburg Pike. Skip, with his trusty assistant, Judy, surprised us with a chance to handle some Civil War weaponry of rifles, pistols, and sabers that they had stashed in their car trunk. He also had some shrapnel from both Union and Confederate artillery. After getting some brief instructions on the manual of arms, Skip had us off on the tour. He first took us along the Union lines from which they retreated into Gettysburg. By that time, the troops were hungry and off we went to General Pickett's buffet. Afterwards, we drove along the Confederate battle lines to where General Lee watched Pickett's Charge. There Skip regaled us with insights into the decision making processes and why Pickett's Charge came about. We toured further to where General Longstreet dispatched Pickett and his meet across the open fields. The it was off to the Devils Den and Little Round Top where Col Joshua and the 20th Maine held the Union flank. And we closed the day with a brief stop at the orchard and finally Bloody Angle.
Throughout Skip kept us entertained now only with the military aspects of this battle but the personal stories of generals, captains, sergeants, and privates. All enjoyed hearing about the love life of Gen A P Hill (then cadet) and his relationship to the future wife of Gen George McClellan. Skip was doing such a great job that on several occasions, other tourists came up and listened, thinking he was a park ranger. A re-enactor Confederate artillery captain came up from his battery after listening to Skip's talk at one location and invited us down for a closer look. But time did not permit.
Skip apologized for not hitting all the battlefield highlights. We understood as we thought that what we did not see that time, we could see on our next visit. With that we retired from the battlefield for a nap before supper.
Dave Winters capped the days activities with dinner at the Dobbin House Tavern, an authentic colonial tavern in the oldest building in Gettysburg. The group gathered in a cozy room with a fireplace and lit with candlelight. A troubadour entertained us with a couple of ribald songs so he got challenged with some old ballads we know like "Army Blue" and the Caisson Song. The ladies were tested with a quiz on some A-1 minutia and Ruth Baratto won a bottle of wine for getting the most right. The group presented a thank you gift to Skip and Judy and we finished the day off with a wonderful meal.
Well, the weekend should have stopped on Saturday night, but Neil and Cynthia Efird responded to efforts to contact them. They had just returned from a two year tour of duty in Angola where Cynthia was the US Ambassador. Her new job is the Deputy Commandant, Army War College (International Affairs). So the group was invited to Carlisle Barracks for a luncheon. There we spent a lovely afternoon with a visit to the Hession Armory and then lunch at the Efird's spacious quarters. Neil even has a framed painting of West Point, vintage 1965, hanging on his entrance hall. We swore that the infamous "A-1" sailboat was parked at South Dock. The fellowship and camaraderie continued with some lively discussions about "what if" at Gettysburg.
Alas, all good things must end as we had to venture some miles to return home that night. But the memories of a weekend filled with friends doing something special with each other linger on. We are looking forward to our next one.
