A cold weekend in Fredericksburg

Well, actually at Sewerby Hall, near Bridlington, with the ACWS. For once, we were trying to represent a real battle not just a "might have been" scenario, and it was one where the Washington Artillery were actually present. And, what's more, I'd visited the real site last autumn. So there will be lots of photos
Sewerby Hall is a nice place to be, though a long away away. There's a little zoo, there's craft shops, there's a lovely house (with real loos!), and there's a Noddy train into Bridlington. The battlefield is tiny, but that means the audience can see better. And we got to put our guns on the terrace, with no possibility of moving them during the battle.

There's a good description of the battle on Wikipedia. The bit we concentrated on was the assault on Marye's Heights: some hills above the city held by the Confederates. A quick summary: Union attack across open ground (and a sunken road) under heavy fire, get slaughtered. Since that obviously didn't work, General Burnside tries it again. And again. And again. 14 charges and 9000 dead Union troops later, his subordinates persuaded him to stop. Yes, he did get court-marshalled.

From our trip to the States, here's the sign that shows the layout relevant to us:


here's a view downhill from the Washington position


and here's more of the sign, showing an artist's impression of the Washington in action, and lots of Words describing our part in the battle - as with all pictures, click to go over to Flickr and have a better look.


Onward to the present day: sorry, no pictures in action, as I was rather busy, but here's a few showing us before the battle started.



And the obligatory costume shot;

Since the last time you saw my Vivandiere uniform, the waistband has been removed and the thing's been repleated four inches smaller. Then after the first day's fighting, the button got moved another inch. I've got my gaiters done (needed buttons), and there's a new knife on the belt - a Damascene blade! Jayne Olden (that's her in the Union uniform) sells some very nice stuff.

Weather was cold and a bit wet, and we really didn't need the flat tyre before coming home, but we made it. And having two tents, not just one, and an awning in between, was far more comfortable.