Division Chief of Staff

ATTENTION TO ORDERS: On behalf of General Maffei, Birney’s Division Headquarters would like to congratulate Major Neil Shivelle on his appointment to the position of Chief of Staff for the organization. With this assignment, Major Shivelle is promoted to the rank of Colonel.

Colonel Chris Smith stepped into the Chief of Staff role last year until another qualified officer could be assigned to the post permanently. Last month, Colonel Smith made the recommendation to General Maffei that Major Shivelle would be an outstanding choice for the Division Chief of Staff position because of his attention to detail and leadership knowledge. Colonel Smith is returning to his post as the Birney’s Division Adjutant General (a staff officer performing a variety of roles as needed). Colonel Shivelle will help General Maffei oversee all operations within the organization on the field and in the real world. He will be making staff assignments to Division Headquarters in the next few months as required.

Congratulations Neil!

Birney's Division assembles at Cedar Creek

Birney's Division troops will be assembling for the 152nd Anniversary Cedar Creek reenactment in Virginia on October 14-16. Colonel Bouwhuis will be in command of Birney's companies as part of a consolidated battalion. If your unit, or any of your personnel plan to attend, please contact the Colonel at USricAF@verizon.net.

Please send the following informatiion if your unit is going to attend:
- How many military (Officers, NCOs, enlisted) and civilians you are bringing
- Billeting requirements (tents, to include number and types of tents.)
- Please also include tenting requirements for commissaries and messes as appropriate

Responses are needed from all company commanders, 1st Sgts or POCs with this information by FRIDAY, 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 to pass to the Division Engineer for planning.

Please note that negative attendance replies are also required. Colonel Bouwhuis needs to hear from ALL units either way. Thank you for your timely response to this call.

You can register for the event at the following link: http://ccbf.us/?page_id=997

Beaver Creek this weekend!

This weekend (Sept. 10-11) Birney's Division troops head to the reenactment at Beaver Creek State Park in East Liverpool, Ohio (near the site where John Hunt Morgan was captured). Colonel Baltzer is the overall Federal commander. If you have not registered but what to attend, PLEASE do so. Walk-ons are permitted. You can get information at www.beavercreekcivilwar.com.

Battalion change of command

As reenactors get ready to close out the 2016 season, Birney’s Division will be seeing some staff rotations. Colonel Bill Taylor temporarily stepped into the role of the 1st Battalion Commander last year until a full-time candidate could be appointed. Colonel Taylor has made his recommendation to General Maffei with regard to the new commander and will be transitioning out of the post as of this date. All members of Birney’s Division wish Colonel Taylor the best and thank him for his service to the reenacting community. Keep an eye out for the Colonel as I am sure he will come and spend time around our fires as his schedule permits.

On behalf of Birney’s Division Commanding General Michael Maffei, we are pleased to announce that Lt. Col. Rick Bouwhuis has been assigned to serve as the Commander of 1st Battalion with a promotion to the rank of Colonel. Rick has been active in Birney’s Division for some years and in a variety of capacities. As a retired Air Force Master Sergeant, his leadership and organizational skills will be a great addition to the Birney’s Division command team.

General Maffei and Colonel Bouwhuis will be announcing several 1st Battalion staff appointments before the end of the year.

Congratulations Colonel!

Perryopolis event cancelled by Parks and Rec Authority

AUGUST 10, 2016 – PERRYOPOLIS, PA: As some of you are aware, the Perryopolis Parks and Recreation Authority and the Perryopolis Area Heritage Society have recently entered into a disagreement over the use and care of the town’s Harry Sampey Park. Over the last 13 years the park has been the location of the annual Civil War reenactment hosted by the Birney’s Division Civil War reenacting organization, and in 2016 it was also used as the site for the West Virginia-style Tactical, a joint project between Birney’s Division and the Army of Northern Virginia reenacting organization. Yesterday, the Parks and Recreation Authority held a closed-door meeting, and in a three to one vote finally determined that there would be no more Pioneer Days or Civil War events held at Sampey Park.

This past Monday, Michael Maffei (President of Birney’s Division, Inc.) spoke at the Perryopolis city-wide meeting outlining the history of the Civil War event and the use of the park. Members of Birney’s Division have worked with the Heritage Society to develop the Civil War event and improve the site using thousands of hours of their own time and donated materials. This includes cleaning up the park and constructing full-scale functional period buildings which were approved by the Heritage Society. Over 13 years, hundreds of reenactors have participated in the annual Civil War event bringing thousands of visitors to the site and money into the local economy. All of the work was done by members of Birney’s Division and friends. Money brought into the event from reenactor registration and spectator tickets was turned over each year to the Perryopolis Area Heritage Society which amounted to many thousands of dollars. When not being used for the reenactment, the park and buildings constructed by the reenactors are used for a variety of activities including Boy Scout and Girl Scout events, as well as fire fighter training. The “Civil War” area of the park is also popular with joggers, dog walkers, and other town residence that are looking for a quiet place to enjoy the scenery.

Along with Michael Maffei, many Perryopolis residence made a strong argument that the park should continue to be used for the annual Civil War events even if the long-failing Pioneer Days event was terminated. This would continue to bring visitors into the town and help the financially strapped Heritage Society. The argument has previously been made that the site is not known for Civil War history but more for the grist mill commissioned by George Washington between 1774 and 1776. Though the town never saw an engagement between Union and Confederate troops, hundreds of men from Perryopolis enlisted in the Army starting in 1861 and the town’s train station was a major waypoint for Civil War veterans traveling to the 50th Gettysburg Reunion in 1913. It was pointed out that other historical venues such as Hale Farm & Village in Ohio, Old Bedford Village in Pennsylvania, and Mumford Village in New York were not the sites of Civil War battles, but these museums include Civil War activities as part of their dedication to honor the men who fought and provide valuable education to the public. Other than a few times a year, the Washington Grist Mill sits behind a locked fence and does not feature any organized educational programming. Much of the original structure has long since disappeared other than the foundation.

“A few self-appointed individuals have closed the history books on our Civil War veterans and deprived the public the opportunity to learn more about the history of our country”, said Maffei. Some of the residence attending the meeting also speculated that the park is in reality being eyed to expand the high-end housing development that has been continually encroaching on the site. The period buildings will be torn down and the park scrapped away. Perryopolis sits near the Pennsylvania Turnpike and is an easy commute to business and industry centers. Town officials could not be reached for comment.

In spite of this sad news, Birney’s Division and its fellow reenacting organizations will refocus their efforts on two other Civil War events in the geographic area. Beaver Creek in East Liverpool, Ohio on September 10-11, 2016 (www.beavercreekcivilwar.com and www.facebook.com/BeaverCreekCivilWar) which is held near the site of the capture of Confederate raider John Hunt Morgan, and next year’s annual June reenactment at Old Bedford Village (www.facebook.com/OldBedfordCivilWar) which is one of the largest Civil War reenactments in Pennsylvania.

For more information, go to www.BirneysDivision.org

(photo: Civil War veterans at the Perryopolis train station wait to head to Gettysburg in 1913)

Hale Farm Roll Call

Hi everyone. This is just a reminder for those members of Birney’s Division (and for those who are falling in with us). We are trying something new in order to get a good head-count of participants and the space needed for camps. By signing into the Roll Call page at www.BirneysHFV2016.eventbrite.com you are helping compile this information for the Battalion Commander and Adjutant. It is easy and automates a lot of this process. It doesn’t matter if you each individually go on and sign in, or if one person from each unit goes in and signs in for everyone who is actually going. Remember, you are dealing with just a few people at the unit level but the Adjutants are dealing with a hundred or more. This will be a big help to them. PLEASE go to the link above and get this done before the end of the week. Thanks!

Media help for Hale Farm

Hale Farm and Village is looking for a few military reenactors who would be interested in appearing on several live segments of the Fox 8 morning show in order to help promote the Civil War reenactment on August 13th and 14th. The segments will start at 6 am, Friday August 12th and go until 8 am. These will be broadcast live from Hale Farm. If you are interested, please contact Chris Smith at clsmith@5thohio.com as soon as possible and he will put you in touch with the appropriate staff at Hale Farm.