A message from the Federal Commander at Century Village

Good evening to everyone. I am sure many of you are getting ready for the traditional Memorial Day Civil War reenactment at Century Village in Burton Ohio. For many of us this is the first event of each year. For me this will also be the first year that I will serve as the overall Federal commander for our troops at this event. Over the course of the last nine months, along with my Confederate counterpart Col. Tim Perry, we have been working to redesign this event and take a fresh approach to a reenactment that has been part of the Ohio schedule for many, many years. In an effort to do so, we will be trying a number of new things this weekend both from an organizational standpoint and a presentation standpoint. Some of these things will undoubtedly be very well received by our fellow reenactors, and other things may not work as well as we might hope. All I am asking is for those of you attending to please keep an open mind and help us refine the ideas that will be useful in creating a much better event for years to come.

As part of this restructuring we have looked at two major elements of this event that impact us as reenactors. The first being the layout of our camps. We have designated specific areas for Confederate troops and Union troops. Some of you may be in the same place that you have been for years. Others may be in a new area. The main goal being a better organization to our camps in general. That is why it is important for all units and all family groups to check in with Federal headquarters prior to set up. As a reminder, due to school programs during early in the day, reenactors are not permitted to set up prior to 2 pm on Friday.

The other element of this event that we are striving to redevelop is of course the battle scenarios. For those of you who've been following the Century Village Facebook page, you know that the size of the battlefield we have to work with has been greatly increased. The location of the spectators will actually be transient. Their experience will start in the town green and they will move to the battlefield area for the larger engagement. With the number of troops we have attending this year (there are currently 116 Confederate INFANTRY pre-registered), we feel we will be able to more accurately portray a Civil War skirmish with a broader “paint brush”, at the same time creating a better experience for the reenactor on the field. With this in mind we are going to need the participation of civilians as part of the scenario in the town green as well, as a number of civilian reenactors who can hold a rope line so that spectators have a designated perimeter during the skirmish in the town. I will cover this in more detail with each of the company commanders during our Friday night meeting.

One of the other things I would like to touch on before the weekend arrives is the new registration process we put in place this year. As with reenactments in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and other states, many Ohio events are going to require that each unit provide a certificate of insurance as part of a national reenacting organization. Some of you may not realize that as a leader within the reenacting community, the liability of someone getting hurt at an event can be put directly on your shoulders. Be you the Union commander or a company commander. That is why so many large reenacting organizations now require their members to participate in a group insurance program. It protects ALL of us. Sorry guys, but I am not willing to risk my home and my business because someone was being stupid with a musket. Certificates of insurance from all of the large organizations participating have been provided to the event organizers. If you are planning to register as a walk on, and you are a Union reenactor, please be aware that the folks at registration have a list that will help them verify you are indeed covered under your national organization’s insurance policy. When you sign your waiver at registration you are also verifying that you are part of one of those registered companies covered by a national insurance program. If you plan on walking in and making that claim without it being true, better think again!

Okay, enough of the legal bull. For those of you not already registered, please be aware that you will not be provided a meal Saturday evening. You must have pre-registered to receive a meal ticket. Importantly for everyone who registers  as a pre or walk on, make sure to keep your registration token on you at all times. Both Col. Perry and I negotiated long and hard for a lower registration fee, and the same registration fee for walk on participants, with the promise that every reenactor would pay their registration. A representative from the Confederate Army will be checking all Union troops for their tokens prior to the battle. We will be sending a representative to inspect the Confederate troops at the same time. If you do not have a registration token you will not be taking the field for the battle. END OF STORY. That was the agreement we made with the event in order to cut the registration fee in half as well as a lesser fee for children reenactors.

All right all right! My head is spinning already from all of these things we have to remember!

For everyone's benefit, below is a copy of the Federal schedule.  As you can see we have a lot going on. It will be important for company NCOs and officers to be at the Friday evening meeting to discuss the details of the weekend.

Friday

9:00 pm - NCOs meeting (Federal HQ)
9:30 pm - All officers meeting (Federal HQ)

Saturday

5:45 am - Silent reveille
6:30 - 7:15 am - Tactical
7:00 am - Reveille for those not participating in the Tactical
7:30 am - Morning reports due at Battalion HQs
7:45 am - Consolidated reports due at Federal HQ
9:00 am - NCOs inspect camps
9:30 am - Dress Parade
9:45 am - Company drill
10:15 am - Battalion drill
10:45 am - Mail call
1:00 pm - Form up/inspection arms
1:15 pm - March to the staging area
1:40 pm - One company deployed on patrol
1:45 pm - Skirmish in the Green
2:00 pm - Main battle scenario
5:30 pm - Event dinner (for pre-reg only)
8:00pm - Ball

Sunday

7:00 am - Reveille
7:30 am - Morning reports due at Battalion HQs
7:45 am - Consolidated reports due at Federal HQ
8:45 am - NCO inspect camps
9:15 am - Dress parade
10:00 am - Church
11:30 am - Form up/inspection arms
11:45 am - March to the school
12:00 pm - Stack arms, lunch in the field
12:45 pm - Skirmish on green, Federals parade in Burton
1:00 pm - Main battle scenario
1:45 pm - Back in camps, out of state troops may get vehicles
3:30 pm - Local troops may get vehicles

Lastly, I would like to thank the officers who are going to be serving on staff this weekend. The following is the Federal command structure:

Col. Christopher Smith, Brigade Commander
Lt. Col. Don Van Meter, Deputy Commander
Capt. Paul Baltzer, Brigade Adjutant

Maj. Bill Smith, Artillery

Maj. Mike Dallas, 1^st Battalion Commander
Staff TBD

Maj Bob Penix, 2^nd Battalion Commander
Staff TBD


I am very much looking forward to seeing all of you there and having a fun and safe weekend.



Your Servant,
Chris

Colonel Christopher Smith
Federal Commander, Century Village Civil War Reenactment