What is the cavalry trooper’s main priority?
Why do horse soldiers train their horses to ride in circles?
Which Union general designed the saddle used by Federal cavalry?
The four hundred students who toured the Civil War re-enactors’ camps on the grounds of Primitive Olde Crow and Winery last Friday can tell you the answers to these questions … and a lot more.
Members of the 8th Mo. Cavalry from Springfield, the re-enactors set up their tents in the field in back of the event barn on the winery grounds and tethered their horses to picket lines along the tree line.
Among the groups visiting were students from the Leesville School District and homeschool groups from Clinton and Calhoun. All got a taste of the life of the Civil War horse soldier from Sgt. David Plummer. Plummer, actually commander of the 8th Mo. Cavalry, said he was delighted to see the “new recruits,” drilling them to form a straight line, right face, march and halt. Sgt. Plummer explained that a battlefield was hallowed ground, because so many soldiers died on it.
“Missouri had the second largest number of soldiers who fought in the Civil War, after Virginia,” he said, “because Missouri fought for both the Federals and the Confederates.”
Students tried their hands at fighting with a saber, after Pvt. Chris Britz demonstrated the technique. They also watched two horse soldiers fighting with a saber on horseback, each trying to get their horse to circle the opponent’s, with the goal of getting behind him. The saber, favored by cavalry, is a curved sword with a single-edge, 36-inch long blade that can be wielded by one hand.
Stepping carefully to avoid piles of manure, students went over to the picket line to listen to Corp. Heath Plummer, who explained why the priority of the trooper was his horse. The reason, the corporal said, is because if you didn’t meet your horse’s needs for food, water, rest and adequate foot protection, you would be walking instead of riding. Cavalrymen carried everything they needed for survival on their saddle —food, water, gun, saber, bedroll and shelter, he said, usually camping by creeks or rivers in order to water their horses.
Cavalry didn’t charge directly into battle, he said, because that put your horse’s safety at risk. Instead, they used the advantage of speed and ability to travel long distances to ride ahead of the ground force to scout, he said, or to gain tactical advantage by getting behind the enemy force and outflanking them.
Capt. Don Greene explained the different types of rifles and pistols used in the Civil War, how to load them, and fired them in the air. Infantry and cavalry loaded their rifles quickly by tearing off the tops of paper cylinder of black powder with their teeth, he said, then poured the powder in the rifle, loaded a patch, added the bullet and packed it down with a ramrod.
And they had to do it quickly, because they were being shot at.
“A good soldier could load in 30 seconds,” Greene said.
Students also visited the artillery camps at the far end of the field next to the road, and watched as the artillery fired cannon in a neighboring field, far enough from the winery so that the boom of cannon fire did not cause items to fall off shelves inside, although it shook the building.
Artillery soldiers are the ugliest in the military, the cavalry soldiers joked, because that’s where recruits that didn’t have front teeth, needed to tear off the powder capsules, were assigned.
The 8th Mo. Cavalry participate in reenactments and have appeared in period movies and documentaries. Capt. Greene said he has been an extra in 15 movies, including “Lincoln” with Daniel Day Lewis, “Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders,” with Sam Elliot, and “Jesse James” with Rob Lowe and Bill Paxton.
Paxton wasn’t a big star yet, Greene said, so he’d come over to their camp and hang out.
Greene was also in “Ride with the Devil,” an Ang Lee film about bushwhackers, with Tobey McGuire and Jim Caveizel, and has a photo of himself “between Spiderman and Christ,” as Greene puts it. “Ride with the Devil’ was filmed in Pattonsburg, Mo., he said. For “Lincoln,” which was filmed in Virginia, he played a soldier who guarded the president.
“We didn’t do a very good job, did we,” Greene said.
Greene said attending a re-enactment is more interesting than six weeks on a movie set.
Federal soldiers were not as experienced horsemen as their counterparts in the South, Sgt. Plummer told the students. Their advantage was the saddle designed by Gen. George McClellan, who served in the Mexican-American War along with Grant and Lee. Known as “Young Napoleon,” McClellan organized and commanded the Union Army of the Potomac and was at one time general of all federal armies. His cautious approach to campaign strategy was not popular with President Lincoln, and McClellan was relieved of command.
The saddle he designed after traveling in Europe to research cavalry organization and equipment had a longer legacy —adopted by the War Department in 1859, it was used by horse cavalry through most of World War II.
On Friday, students took part in saddle races, “galloping” across the field while holding a saddle under them. Many of the students, when asked, said they had horses they rode.
By the day after the student visits, Confederate reenactors had arrived at Primitive Olde Crow and set up camp at the far end of the field. Two more canons also arrived, and more tents appeared along the Union picket line. The two forces held battles on Saturday and Sunday at Primitive Olde Crow, where owner Lora Anstine and property development partner Max Jeys have added a new building and are starting to build a campground.
Called “The Mercantile,” the new building offers travelers less prepared than Civil War horse soldiers modern amenities — ice cream, deli sandwiches, fudge, cheeses, clothing and gift items. You can also have a wine tasting in the Mercantile, as well in the brick-oven pizza restaurant, next to the event barn, which has a wide selection of craft beers on tap and a boutique.
Located on 50 acres east of Clinton off Hwy. 7 S., Primitive Olde Crow is preparing for 55 units on the new campground site, and plans to add another 150 units.
Primitive Olde Crow has events throughout the year, along with open mic, live music and karaoke on weekends. For more information, go to the Primitive Olde Crow and Winery Facebook or website.
