New cavalry on the ride

My name is Jonathan Welch commanding a newly raised company of cavalry from Lancaster County, Pa (2nd Pennsylvania Cavalry/59th Regiment Co.D "Pequea Dragoons"). We are based out of Strasburg, Pa in particular and hold annual meetings at the Charles M. Howell Lodge #496 Fellowship Hall in Millersville, Pa.

We are capable of fielding at least five dismounted privates, myself, a 1st Lt, and a First Sgt. With four more enlistees in inactive or ready reserve status (meaning they make no less than two events a season to maintain membership) Our recruiting base of operations is in Lancaster, Chester, and York Counties.

My motivation for the creation of a Union unit started with my historical interest in Lancaster County, Pa. With family ties that stem in the county for over 300yrs, my ambition has been to bring a bona fide mounted/dismounted cavalry unit for and from this area.

We have been in search of a exemplary umbrella unit to affiliate with that is in line with our goals of a practical balance between safety and authenticity, to make an honest Civil War impression to visitors and spectators while not insensible to the fact that these historical events take place in a modern world and are subject to present day safety and event concerns.

It seems Birney's is a first rate fit, and I have been in communication with Col. Rohrbaugh, Chief of Staff to move forward with the companies membership into the division.

Co. D at its events hosts dinner for all of its membership every Sat night. We have two encampments every year at either the White Horse Mill (White Horse Lancaster County) or the Robert Fulton Birthplace, where we drill for the upcoming year and which serve as a base for interested recruits to come out and join the unit. We are in the process of becoming involved in the conservation of the two regimental state flags used by the 2nd Pa Cavalry in storage in Harrisburg (we are having one reproduced for use by the unit).

About myself I started reenacting in August of 1991 at the age of 13 and have been a member of the 35th Battalion Virginia Cavalry for the entire time I have been reenacting. Initially dismounted I was trained and taught mounted at 16 by the late Maj James Musser. ( I continue to have an almost family relationship with the Musser's and count his son Peter as my best of friends).

In addition to reenacting I am active in the Masonic fraternity and am a Past Master of Charles M. Howell Lodge #496 Millersville for the years of 04,07,08, and 2014, Past Grand Tall Cedar of Lancaster Forest #27 2013 and a Past Royal Patron of Lancaster Court #70 Order of the Amaranth 2009.

Check us out on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/pages/2nd-Pennsylvania-Cavalry59th-Regiment-Co-D/245535108901961

Birney's events in the next few months - Register now

The 2014 reenacting season has already begun and we want to remind all of our members to dust off the wool and get your registrations taken care of. Here is what is coming up and how you can get more information:

Birney's Division Officer/NCO School
Perryopolis, PA
May 3-4

150th Anniversary of New Market
New Market, VA
May 17-18
Registration: http://www2.vmi.edu/museum/nm/reenactment/reen%20announce.htm

Old Bedford Village
Bedford, PA
June 14-15
Registration: http://birneysdivision.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/8/3/11838445/obvreenactorregistration.pdf

To check out the rest of the schedule and other registration information, go to www.birneysdivision.org/schedule

More information to follow on Argus Park (July), Hale Farm (August), Beaver Creek (September), Perryopolis and the 150th Cedar Creek in October!

Hale Farm Civil War promo makes its debut

Western Reserve Historical Society has created a series of short videos to promote the Civil War reenactment at Hale Farm and Village. In the next couple of months we will be rolling out the videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, on our website, and sharing it with others to generate additional buzz about Hale and the largest annual Civil War Reenactment in the state.
Here is the link: http://bit.ly/1qFHM1a.

We will be in contact with community partners in the Akron and Cleveland areas, the reenactor community, and others to help us share the video. We will also be providing the link to reporters who covered the event last year. Additionally, we’ll have it available for viewing at this year’s Legacy Award Benefit on May 17.

If you use social media, we encourage you to include the link in your preferred channels. And, feel free to share with friends and colleagues via email, as well!

We want to thank our good friends at Lost Tribe Media who shot the video and who edited it so beautifully. Additionally, we want to thank the Akron-Summit CVB who provided a grant to support additional promotional of the Civil War event at Hale; a portion of the grant was used in the production of the video.

If you are like I am, you’ll just want to watch it over and over!

Jane Mason
VP Communications & Marketing, CMO
Western Reserve Historical Society

Birney's Divison School of Instruction in May

Birney's Division 2014 NCO/Officer School of Instruction
May 2-4, Perryopolis, PA

All members of Birney's Division are asked to attend, Company Commanders BRING YOUR TROOPS! This will be an opportunity for the entire Division to learn and practice together without the duties and time restraints at an event.

Birney's Division welcomes all units to participate in our Spring School of Instruction. This will be a weekend series of short classroom instructional sessions, coupled together with field drill experience. We know that many of you are experienced veterans with many years in the hobby and we hope that you will share than knowledge and experience with others. What we hope to accomplish is to allow as many recently promoted NCOs and officers the experience of conducting the maneuvers and practical tactics  we will use on the reenactment field.

Perryopolis is a facility located about 15 miles from Exit 75 (New Stanton) on the PA Turnpike. The training camp was designed and built by reenactors for reenactors with seven period heated buildings. This includes a two-story barracks that sleeps about 30. We will assign sleeping quarters on a first come first serve basis. There is an abundance of camping areas for others.

DIRECTIONS: Exit the PA Turnpike at New Stanton. Take I-70 West to the Rt. 515 Exit. Follow Rt. 515 to the 3rd light and make a left. Follow the signs to the CW camps in the back of the park. A light lunch will be available Saturday for a small fee.

Please send your Company information (including the number attending) to General Maffei at general_maffei@verizon.net NO LATER THAN April 25, 2014.

History Day in Cleveland needs judges

Western Reserve Historical Society is recruiting new members for their Board of Judges for this year’s District 3 History Day Contest, scheduled to take place in Cleveland’s University Circle on Saturday, March 15th. This year’s contest will center on the theme of “Rights and Responsibilities.”

For those of you new to judging for History Day, it is a valuable experience year-long experience that engages students from area public, private and parochial schools with the study of history in a “science fair” type of atmosphere. The student who goes on to win the National History Day Contest receives a 4-year scholarship to Case Western Reserve University. Please go to www.nhd.org for more information about National History Day.

Volunteering as a History Day judge will entail your presence at the District 3 contest on Saturday, March 15th. Following a brief orientation, teams of three judges will disperse to evaluate student papers, student-constructed websites, performances, documentaries and exhibits at various sites in the Western Reserve Historical Society History Center or on the campus of Case Western Reserve University.

Lunch is provided for judges, during or after which judges finalize their evaluation forms and confer with other teams in their category to select finalists for the state competition. Judges are invited, but not required, to attend the awards program at 2:30 p.m.

If you are interested in participating as a History Day Judge, please complete the form at the following link:

http://www.wrhs.org/explore/Want_Participate_History_Day#for_judges_and_volunteers

Email it to historyday@wrhs.org - Subject Line-HD Judge as soon as possible, preferably by February 28th. We appreciate your consideration in performing this service in the cause of history education.

Congratulations to Bob Minton

Congratulations to our friend Bob Minton, Commander of the Army of the Ohio, who has been elected to serve as the Commanding General of the First Federal Division organization. Bob will command the Army of the Ohio for the remainder of the 2014 season as they work through the transition. Best of luck to General Minton. Birney's Division looks forward to continuing the great relationship.

2014 Winter Encampment at Perryopolis

This is just a Reminder that the 2014 Winter Campaign will be held on February 8- 9. Here is just a brief overview of the events of this training weekend.

• Battalion Drill: US and CS combined
• Company Drill
• Officers Training
• NCO Training
• Practical Tactical - Company / Squad will take what was learned in training and apply it to the battlefield in combat. Each Company/Squad will be expected to execute specific maneuvers in a judged tactical.
• This event is CLOSED to the public.

There is NO registration fee for this event. If you would like to attend please email us at perrycivilwar@gmail.com or register via our website just so we can get head count.

We want to make clear that there are heated cabins to set up quarters in. As always, you are free to tent out if you wish.

Further information involving the Winter Campaign can be found on our website at www.perryopolis.webs.com in the reenactors section.