Bill Wigham and I loaded up his wagon Friday afternoon and headed down south to the Battle of White Plains, N.Y.. The trip was uneventful, and left us time to talk.

Arriving there at about four thirty, we found the advanced camp up on a hill, very near the main gate, and started unloading. First we scouted out a suitable tent site; it happened to be on a slight slope, but by piling our firewood on the down-hill side of the sail, this gave us something to keep us from sliding out the bottom during the night. By the time we had set up, it was getting dark, and Tom showed up ( right when he said he would ) and I started a fire to cook the soup Tom had brought.

Mighty tasty, let me tell you !!! We ate well that night; and the rest of the weekend as well. What with our cheese, bread, dried apples, and home made jerked beef in our haversacks, and the cooking of chef Tom, it's a wonder we were able to fit into our cars for the ride home.

Saturday, we awoke to the clear, cold air of a beautiful fall morning. Not much in the way of brilliant leaf color, but the hills still had the muted earthy tones of color, showing where the oaks met up with the white pines and hemlocks on the hillsides. As Tom was beginning to cook our breakfast, and Bill and I were getting things ready for a day of fun, I remember thinking " I wonder who will be joining us today, and when will they show-up ? " Just then, I happened to glance towards the dirt road that led to our advanced camp. And to my very great joy, I saw five people (four of them wearing small brimmed, black, round hats, with pieces of white paper in them ).....who are these........YAHOOO ! !

Dan, Brian, Bruce, Neal, and Shelly were hiking up to the sail...Cliff came along too, and thus our numbers, and strength, were greatly increased!

That morning, and then Sunday morning, we had a tactical exercise with the doodles ( let me point out here, that the DOODLES don't like being called DOODLES ). As usual, we were working very closely with the Marksman, the 40th, the savages, and the KRRNY Light Co.. All of whom we seem to get along with smashingly !!! From where I was, it looked like the doodles were getting the stuffing kicked out of them. As the two parties see-sawed, and twisted about the fields and woods, streams and marshy bits, it became clear that the main force of the British camp wasn't about to climb out of their warm beds to help us kick some rebel butt. And, it also was clear, we were up against the majority of the rebel forces ( and holding our own quite nicely, I might add ). A few times, when we found ourselves momentarily stalemated, a group of Butlers Rangers would come screaming towards our position, and break the deadlock.

The battle Saturday afternoon was the first part...to be finished on Sunday afternoon, as the coop der grassey to the entire event. So Saturday we started by flushing the rebels from the hillside, just west of our campsite. Artillery, highlanders, cavalry, grenadiers, light infantry, marines, and plenty of regular and loyalist line infantry units all PILED onto the field. Peters' Corps. was held in reserve, along with a few other units, just because there wasn't enough room for us all on the firing line.

I think in the morning tactical, I shot approx. 30 rounds. But during the battle, I think I only got to fire about five times. We pushed them to the stone bridge, and were told not to cross it till all the doodles got across. Not nearly as exciting as beating the brush trying to out flank rebels, but interesting nonetheless. We all got back to camp and I went to try and find Marcia, who was coming down for Saturday night and Sunday. As I was waiting, Cliff, Bruce, Dan, and Brian came down the hill on their way home and greeted me. To see my friends leaving saddened me, but I was very glad to have had them for the day. Marcia came along soon after that, and she had a chance to visit with Neal and Shelly before they had to go.

Saturday night Tom cooked us a great stew, prepared by him at home, and heated up over the fire on the tripod, in one of Bills' pails. Along with some bread and lots of butter, you've got a winner. The only thing missing was an apple pie, boy, that would have topped it off great.

That night was probably a little colder than Friday, but made warmer by having more blankets and Marcia there. In the morning, Justin arrived to bulk-up our numbers, always good to see him there; a real dependable sort ! As mentioned before, we had a tactical Sunday morning, very worth while. Having a chance to ork closely with our best friends, we cleaned up once again, although the rebels wouldn't agree with that assessment.

The battle in the afternoon was a little better and we were actually used in several light actions, a bayonet charge, and as line troops. The end of the battle had us being dismissed at the British main camp; and as usual, we ( the Co. of Select Marksmen, the 40th, and us ) took the opportunity to march back to the dvanced camp together. The bugler of the 40th was fifing a couple of tunes we could march to, and that was one of the best moments of the whole weekend.

Packing up that afternoon, I was thinking of the past few days, and hoping to meet this crew again soon. I would like to add that, both days, we had a very promising young man fall-in with our unit. His name is Todd, and we first met him at the Stone Fort event in Schoharie, N.Y.

I think it was great being the only loyalist unit there wearing civilian clothing. There were plenty of red coats, green coats etc..etc.. but we were the exception.....we are exceptional ! ! !

Thank You All ! ! ! ! ! !

Chris

November 16^th, Bill, Justin, Tom, and I headed down to Fort Lee in New Jersey, to take part in Todd Braistead's event commemorating the rebel rout from there.

We arrived after dark that Friday evening, to find our sleeping accommodations to be the stage floor at the Forts' museum. Pretty fancy digs, if you ask me. No straw to sleep on, but no wind whistling down our necks either. We rested up for our 5 1/2 mile trek the next day; having the place almost to ourselves, it was real quiet that night.

The next morning, we were awake close to 6 :00 a.m., and found coffee and breakfast stuff in the lobby, which we made full use of. The busing of troops took a little while, and, for us, we didn't leave the Fort until about 10:00. The morning was chilly but clear, and was shaping up to be a very nice fall day.

Arriving at our step-off place, we were about twenty strong; four of P C, five hardy women, eight or nine Jersey Volunteers, and four or five Butlers Rangers. The first stop was only fifty yards distant, where some of the locals had been gathered up, mostly women and children. A reading of a proclamation, some interesting questions from the public, and we were off !!! Marching to the drum, we headed south towards Tenefly, Butlers leading the way, then the Jersey Volunteers, then us, and lastly the women. This position was quite an honor for us...to be trusted enough to be the rear guard, and to be protecting the women.

No problems for quite a ways, and then I noticed those little pains that show me that I'm not that used to walking on paved roads with my hobnailed shoes. No blisters though, thanks to Tom and his first aid kit, just that feeling of intense heat on the balls of my feet that make walking a little tender the next morning.

The next stop was in Tenefly, I think, and there we caught up with the German and English troops that had left the Hudson River at 7:30 that morning. Here we had another proclamation read, and a brief speech by the mayor. At this stop, we of Peters' Corps. were halted on the town common, and immediately went and stacked arms, and got comfy on the ground and took a rest. Everyone else was standing around talking; I don't know how they did it...it was a long day, to not take every advantage in resting. The troops we joined were The Guards ??? The Hessians, the 22^nd ( Steve Krentler's unit ), and the 40^th. They were glad to see us, and we really bulked up the group.

After this break, we all marched off again, with the loyalists taking the rear of the column, PC in the extreme rear. It was great to see people coming out of their houses and yards to watch us go by. Some of these we saw later at " the battle ". The next stop was lunch at the Armory...plenty of food there, and another chance to rest. We were very well taken care of, in the food dept. and with protection by the local police depts., they did a top-notch job !!!

The next rest, and, as it turned out, the last, was a little longer than planned because we were actually catching up with the rebel force, which was supposed to be 45 minutes ahead of us. I would have loved to have caught up with them...boy, what a fright they'd have had seeing us coming on fast ! About this time, PC was moved to the front part of the group, most likely in anticipation of some trouble. A short time later and we came into a small field, with scruffy rebel types along our right side. The shooting started just as soon as Mr. Najeki moved us into a skirmish line.

IThe battle went well for us; hiding behind a very big tulip poplar tree, which was good cover for two or three of us. The rangers were to our left in rather wet country, keeping the doodles from end-running us. There were two or three big units waiting in reserve, and the Jersey Volunteers were on our right, closest to the crowds. After a little dancing about on the field, we finally pushed them across the New Bridge, and, at this point, the battle was over. I should mention that, I, for one, shot off ALOT of powder. I went with about fifty cartridges, and had three at the end of the battle; and after the BAR ceremonies, I had ONE !

That night we ate a small supper at the tavern at New Bridge, and had a little libation while some sang, joked, and played whistles. Tom drove us back to the Fort, and we slept another quiet night.

Sunday morning, at about 11:00, we went back to the buildings at New Bridge and sacked out for a few minutes next to a barn, before we had to "sign up" and take the oath afterwhich, we were promised rum, which was said to be in the tavern. But upon looking there, we came up empty. So, while other unsuspecting fellows were joining up, Justin, Tom, and I went out the back of the tavern with a small keg, and as we ducked behind the cook house, a guard saw us and came over to arrest us. We pled our case to him, and he let us go. But from then on, we were playing the part of countrymen about to be reluctant soldiers.

The poor fellows that were trying to teach us the drill; we screwed up more than anybody else. All in fun, and hamming it up for the locals, who'd gathered to see what was going on; we eventually got our rum, and some little bit of food.

That afternoon, we had a battle with the doodles, back at the Fort. We were supposed to win ( and eventually did ) but for a while, I wasn't sure which way it would go.

This event was a little more physical work than I've had to do for some time but very worth doing for several reasons. First, the most obvious, the historic importance of it...some of us have been to the reenactment battles of the "beginning" of the war, and this is just another stone in the pavement of activities leading to the rest of the 225^th. Secondly, the feeling of crossing the finish line of a race. It's the completing of a hard fought race ( march ) that gives me a very satisfied feeling. And thirdly, the comradeship between the members that " did it " ...and wishing more of us could have been there to share in those feelings !!!

Sgt. " foot sore " Kennick

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