We in Peters Corps join the rest of America and the civilized world in mourning the victims of the September 11^th tragedies. The following poem was writing by our own Brian Zawodniak as a tribute to America's Veterans. He wrote this for Memorial Day this year. His words are appropriate now for all who gave their lives to help their brothers and sisters in this most recent attack on our freedoms.

WE WILL NOT FORGET.

What better honor to bestow
Upon Veterans whose pride does glow
So bright their courage does show
We march for the freedom their Sacrifices sowed

Pvt. Zawodniak

If the heat does not get to you, the humidity surely will. Yet none of the weather-hardened Hartwell heroes succumbed to the heat and humidity as hoards of visitors hoofed heartily to Hartwell to hear he harbingers of truth and loyalty! Members in attendance for Saturday were Justin, Chris, Marcia, Mark, Carol, Bruce, Neil, Shelley, Tom, Bill, Diana and Brian. Nancy and Dan attended on Sunday while Bill, Diana, Bruce and Justin had other commitments.

Yours truly received his tailored regimental thanks to the skilled hands of Tom. I always have been impressed by Tom's talent and patience with needle, thread and fabric. Word has it he is making regimentals for Cliff and Justin!

We mustered and marched and shot and sweated. But it was all for a good cause: education. It is so much fun to tell the crowds about the American Loyalists and, as in the case of Tom and one visitor, get a convert or two. Mark worked his usual magic with the crowd and other unit members followed Mark's lead. The ladies showed off the finer skills of the eightieth century.

Our dinner was excellent. We have the best cooks in the BAR hands down! Thanks, ladies! Tom's breakfast was also tasty.

Heavy rains forced us inside on Sunday afternoon but did not deter some hardy visitors.

Much thanks to Jessica Liptak for all of her help and enthusiasm for setting up our events at Minute Man National Historical Park. It is not a bad thing to have an ally in the Federal Government.

After all, we are loyalists. . .

Your Must Humbled and Heated,

Pvt. Oil Cloth

It is hard to picture New York City in 1776. The landscape back then would be so alien to New Yorkers today. Nothing familiar, no traffic or tall buildings, no slums or sewage, no masses of humanity, nothing.

It is not hard, however, for the reenactor or lover of history to picture the carnage and confusion as the Americans broke in front of British, German and loyalist soldiers. What else could they do? The best armies in the world, supported by the largest British armada yet seen, descended on these brave yet untested American rebels. It was a tragic lesson learned, but General Washington adapted and prevailed only after hard-won battles, bitter defeats and Spanish and French assistance.

For Bill, Bruce, Chris, Justin, Tom and Brian, the 225^th anniversary of the Battle of Brooklyn was historically inspirational and strangely surreal.

Our hosts were the men and women of Fort Hamilton, and we felt safe under the MP's watch. Showers were set up for the reenactors and yours truly was tempted to try an army shower but was denied access to the post exchange to purchase soap because I was without military ID or proper uniform.

We were bussed out on Saturday morning to Prospect Park. It was a classic example of "hurry up and wait." After a surprisingly tasty boxed lunch, we marched out onto the parade ground and we met by a very hospitable crowd. We marched off and got a chance to watch the Commander-in-Chiefs' Guard (a recreation of General Washington's Life Guard) perform. They were a handsome bunch and drilled precisely, and we wondered how they would do in a slug match against us or any other Crown unit!

Once the battle commenced, the loyalists, under the capable and confident command of Lt. Todd Braisted, waited a bit and marched onto the field to drive the Doodles off. I think we fired a maximum of seven volleys before the battle ended.

We then engaged in a triumphal march to the Stone House with crowds cheering and hissing and following the mass of green, red, and civilian-clad soldiers past the brownstone apartments. It was a rousing feeling, and Bill commented that he had never been cheered so much before. Bruce was happy to be back in his old stomping grounds, waving to passersby and children. Upon arrival, we were "furloughed" and we relaxed a bit. I got a chance to see the Third Infantry Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps play for the crowd. This modern US army "continental" band was wonderful to watch and hear. Our busses arrived and we went back to Fort Hamilton.

Dinner was interesting. All day the men were promised free beer and Snapple at the officer's club cookout. The cost was a mere ten dollars. But in typical army fashion, the beer was not free and there was no Snapple to be had. In fact, no ticket, no beer, and soda was a buck. The ticket fiasco perplexed us and it was not until forty minutes after our arrival that the matter was sorted out. (I hear the beer was terrible anyway.) Add to that a cheesy wedding band trio and men in women in eighteenth century clothing along with army officers and their wives looking down at us from their terrace and you get one surreal evening. I won't even bother telling you about the movie in the bar. You didn't need a ticket for that.

It was an early evening for us. We were all under the sail by nine o'clock, weary from an early morning drive and hot weather.

Sunday broke hot and humid. Tom's breakfast made for a pleasant morning with his patented shovel-baked ham, hermits and eggs. The events staged at Fort Hamilton focused on the People of the Brigade, the Commander and Chiefs' Guard, the Third Infantry Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, and a drizzle-spattered tactical where the Doodles won. With a minimal camp, breakdown was painless.

I have learned that in the future for an event on a military facility it is essential to have generic tickets and a woodland battle dress uniform with cap, name tape, clean shaven face, and boots in order to get the goodies FIRST.

I remain ticketless, your most humbled and unSnappled,

Pvt. Vinnie Carbone Linseed

It is easy to imagine British and Loyalist forces, along with their Indian allies, attacking key support systems in the Schoharie New York area. The land is rich for farming today, and it was this fact that caused many raids here in the late 1770's and early 1780's. The valleys were most assuredly burning back then.

With an invitation from David Solek, Peters' Corps came to this beautiful part of the Empire State. Tom and I drove out on Saturday morning through the rain. It cleared a bit as we arrived, and shortly after our arrival came Chris, Dan and Justin. We quickly set up our sail and filled it with hay in case of any lingering showers. Our camp was simple. It did not even have a fire pit!

The weather cleared and the temperature remained cool. It was good reenactment weather and none of us broke a sweat. Saturday's tactical was fine and we won the day in front of a modest crowd. We worked with the Yorkers from Canada and our friends from The Company of Select Marksmen. Our downtime was spent resting, shopping, or talking with our comrades from other groups. Most memorable was Gavin Watt's compliment on how our unit knows how to work well together. He also stated that if our unit couldn't do it, then no one could take our place.

Dinner was late, but again most memorable. All of us passed George Mann's Tory Tavern on the way to Stone Fort. How appropriate! Dan and Tom did a reconnaissance and made reservations for all of us for 8:30 PM. They came back impressed at the prices, food and ambience. Better yet, the tavern was in walking distance from the camp. We all enjoyed a nice evening of conversation and dining.

We strolled back to camp around 10:30 PM and crawled into our sleeping gear, hoping for a good night's rest. The rain and wind were held back well by the sail, and all of us did in fact get a good amount of sleep without the inclement weather interrupting. Justin woke early for the tactical exercise while the rest of us slept in until 9:30 AM! Boy, did that feel great! Tom borrowed a fire in progress and cooked us a quick but good breakfast.

Sunday was noticeably colder with periods of small hail! At one point, all of us gathered in the shelter and were quite cozy until we had to report for the afternoon tactical. The battle was won by the Doodles and the weather off to the North did not cause too much precipitation to aggravate us further.

We broke camp and left with good memories and a happy stomach.

Your Most Humble and well-fed,

Pvt. Zawodniak

To view past editions of our unit newletter, The Loyal Gazette, click here.

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