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March Back - Then and Now

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Field Trip to Gettysburg Battlefield PDF Print E-mail
Written by Mark Brennan   
Saturday, 06 December 2008

Company A (reinforced), 1st Regiment, US Corps of Cadets, Class of '64
Staff Ride at 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:

Dave and Ruth Baratto

Dick and Sue Dexter,

Roger and Ann Yankoupe

Pete and Karen Schmeelk

Mark and Nancy Brennan

Neil and Cynthia Efird

Denny Gilson

Dave and Vivian Winters



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 trio. 

 

http://www.west-point.org/class/usma1964/gettysburg/

 

Last Updated ( Monday, 27 July 2009 )