I traveled with Pvt. Phillips and Pvt. Kibler. We crossed the Potomac River at Harper's Ferry and did our best to follow the route of the 1st Maryland from Harper's Ferry to Cross Keys. We stopped at Harrisonburg battlefield. The development around this site and lack of signs identifying this area as a battlefield was disappointing. It is a clear indication of the importance of the Shenandoah 62 Preservation Event as we do not want a similar fate to happen at Cross Keys and Port Republic.

I arrived at registration around 3:00 PM. Captain Hendricks had also recently arrived. Several men from Companies A and B including Lt. Mason had arrived and continued to arrive as I gathered me gear and socialized. Captain Hendricks left for camp first and was instructed to take charge of the camp until I arrived. As I parked my car Lt. Stern and several of his men from Co. C arrived. By approximately 5:30 PM I was shuttled to camp.

FRIDAY NIGHT
Upon arrival at the camp location I saw that Captain Hendricks had secured a camp location for Companies A and B. I positioned myself between the two companies. I decided to have Sgt. Kirk from Co. A assist me with staff duties. Some time later Colonel Stiles attempted to camp some of his men between our two companies. After a brief polite discussed and a talk with Brigade HQ it was decided that element of both of our commands would be required to move. Co. B had to move down the hill in closer proximity to Co. A in order to make room for Colonel Stiles' battalion. Volunteers from Co. A helped Co. B move everything including their fresh fire and coals. At dusk men from Co. C arrived and bivouacked between Companies A and B. Company ration returns were issued and details to receive rations were sent to the commissary. The rations consisted primarily of cured bacon and soft bread. What happened to the greens? Captain Hendricks accepted the ration issue under protest due to the lack of greens. There was an officers meeting at the barn around 8:00 PM. Lieutenants Stern and Mason each with an NCO and myself attended. Captain Hendricks was ordered to stay in camp and great stragglers as they arrived. By 9:00 PM all companies had engaged in company drill and our camp was in good military order with rifles neatly stacked along the color line. There was a second officers meeting at Brigade HQ to discuss the plan for the following day. At 10 PM I was ordered to provide guards for the road into camp. 4 men from Co. A were assigned to serve as guards, 2 men for the first hour and 2 men for the second. The guards reported no incidents, but they did appear to return to camp with heavy haversacks. The evening temperature was as good as it gets and everyone seemed to get a good night's sleep.

SATURDAY MORNING
Reveille was at 7:00 AM. The companies formed quickly for roll call and morning reports were submitted. The Battalion had 57 men present for duty and 10 men absent. Co. B was assigned to serve as 1st Company. Co. A was the Color Company, and Co. C was 3rd Company. All three companies engaged in company drill from 8:00 to 8:30. At 8:30 the battalion was formed and all weapons were inspected. We formed with the rest of Brigade as there was word that the enemy was near. We were 5th Battalion and positioned on the extreme left of the Brigade. The Brigade moved by the flank to the left out of camp and formed a line of battle in an open field. We were then ordered into a column of companies facing to the right. The Brigade went to join with the 2nd Battalion that had been serving as the advance guard and pickets. The first 3 battalions formed to the right of 2nd Battalion. Our battalion formed on the left of 2nd Battalion where we were ordered to lay down. Company commanders were instructed to have their company fire as soon as the enemy appeared. After a short wait the Yanks crossed the slight rise to our front and came into view no more than 10 rods to our front. Our men immediately open fire and the enemy suffered heavy loses at such short range. Each of our men fired 3 or 4 cartridges before the enemy withdrew from our front. A company of skirmishers was sent to pursue the enemy but when it became clear that the enemy had had enough, our skirmishers returned our army took time to rest prior to marching to Port Republic. Just prior to our march I noticed two stragglers had caught up with Co. A which brought our strength to 59 men.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON
It may have been around Noon when we were ordered to march to Port Republic. We march nearly 2 miles and stopped for a break in an open field. We marched another 2 miles to the town. The entire march for our battalion was completed without incident. It was a beautiful day with a nice breeze and perfect temperatures. Everyone in our battalion completed the march with little if any straggling. At Port Republic we were order to camp in a small park along a branch of the Shenandoah River. It was an excellent camp site except we were nearly a quarter of a mile from Brigade HQ, the latrines were inadequately supplied, and we had to forage for firewood. I was concerned that we might end up being moved, but orders are orders so we set up camp. Despite the logistical problems of this location the men seemed happy to be camped by the river. Many of the men were bathing and soaking their feet while others were given permission to explore the town. I made a trip to the local general store which was packed with our troops. When I returned to camp, I attempted to review elements of the Gilham's manual but quickly fell asleep. When I awoke I learned we would be receiving more rations based on the battalion ration return that I had submitted earlier in the day. Details were organized to collect rations which consisted of bacon, soft bread, and apples.

SATURDAY EVENING
As the men relax, cooked their rations, and settled in to their new home orders arrived around 6:20 for our Battalion to move to a new location. We were to move to Brigade HQ at 6:30, so we could be taken to our new location. It was impossible to meet this schedule as we needed time to finish cooking rations, get dressed, pack our gear, and gather all of our men, some of which were exploring the town. Many of the men were unhappy, but orders are orders so we marched to HQ as soon as possible. From there Captain Dangle took us nearly a quarter of a mile in the other direction of HQ to Madison Hall. At first it looked like we were being taken to the middle of no where, but General Anders came and explained that Madison Hall was the site of Jackson's HQ. The property owners expected troops to be camp on their property, and it was up to us to make a good impression. It turned out to be a good location with plenty of firewood and better latrines. From the sounds of things, they may have been the best latrines available to the Brigade. During this time I learned that at least one of our men would not be able to continue the march. The property owners were very friendly and invited the men to their porch for lemonade and cookies. The temperatures dropped in the early morning hours making a cool night. There were some complaints of it being cold that night, but we've seen much worse.

SUNDAY MORNING
Reveille was sounded at 5:30 AM and we had orders to report to our first camp location at 6:00 AM. The men quickly packed and were ready to move in 15 minutes. The companies conducted roll call and morning reports were submitted. I policed the camp site to make sure all fires were out and all trash picked up. Co. C's fire was still burning, so I had Lt. Stern send men to make sure it was completely out which they did. We had some trash that the property owner told us not worry about as he would take care of it for us. We thanked him and he thanked us for our efforts. We marched by Brigade HQ just before 6:00 AM and went to our assigned position in line. 5th Battalion was the third battalion and therefore positioned in the middle of the Brigade. I submitted the morning report which showed 57 men present for duty. The Brigade march 3 miles from Port Republic to check the Federal advance. We took one break midway through the march and again we had little if any stragglers. After completing the march we were ordered to unsling knapsacks and rest along a road. The battalion officers met and learned that the enemy was near, but this battle would be fought on very difficult ground compared to the previous battle.

Our battalion was assigned to the extreme right of the second wave. Two battalions went in first and were fell back. Our battalion was led to its position up a hill and formed a line of battle in a heavily wooded area on a ridge. We were ordered forward. This led us down a steep slope into a ravine that was strewn with many obstacles. It was impossible to keep formation. We no sign of the enemy we then climbed the other side of the ravine. When we came near the top of the ridge we still could not see the enemy until they started firing from about 6 rods. We suffered some casualties. Seeing that the Federals had thrown up works, I ordered Captain Hendricks to hit them on the right. This drove the Federal back about 4 rods to a second defense line. (Apparently, this worried one of the Federal commanders who thought we might chew up is flank too early. He came and spoke with me to remind me that where not to do this until the 3 attack. I informed him that I understood and had no intentions of moving any farther during this attack. My orders were to push the Federals back about 30 yards and then fall back. He had nothing to worry about but appreciated him coming to talk with me) We attempted to form on the first line of works, but they fired a volley and charged driving us back. We feel back into the ravine to rest and reform. Orders came for us to hit the enemy on the right. Our entire Brigade advanced on the enemy with our battalion stepping off first. We hit them on the right. Captain Hendrick's company had found a trail to form a solid line. Lieutenants Stern and Mason had a more difficult time finding a good spot to form their companies because of the woods and broken terrain. I sent them to right of Captain Hendricks and they were able to firing into the rear of the Federal line The Federals were swept off the ridge and the battle came of an end.

We reformed the battalion in the assembly area to clear weapons. We then marched back to our knapsacks. From there the battalion was dismissed. I had concerns about two of our men. Pvt. Vink was reported missed. He was found and was OK. Sgt. Kirk could not march any farther. His feet were very sore with many open blisters, and he was transported by wagon from the position where we had dismissed the battalion. Many of our men made back to the assembly area for rides back to parking and were present for the raffle.

The worst part of the weekend was the wait for transportation back to parking. We had many men in the laying around in the sun waiting for transport. There just weren't enough shuttles. Men who carpooled with others should have gotten rides first and returned to pick up with their friends. Some of us decided to do this, but it was too little too late.

I think it is important to point some areas that could have been better.

1. 5th Battalion did not conduct dress parade or battalion drill. The relocating of our camp Saturday evening and the 6:00 AM formation on Sunday disrupted plans for parade and drill.
2. We should have conducted a weapons inspection Sunday morning prior to battle. We didn't have time between reveille and formation, but we could have done a weapon inspection while waiting along the road before battle. Weapons had been inspected on Saturday and very few rounds had been fired at Cross Keys. I also noticed many men cleaning weapons Saturday evening, so the weapons were probably fine. "Probably fine" isn't good enough. It should be a habit for us to inspect weapons prior to battle as we are better safe then sorry.
3. During the battle on Sunday many of our men could have done a better job of dressing their ranks before firing. I realize we ended up in a woods fight over broken terrain. Straight and perfect battle lines were pretty much impossible, but we could have kept order better especially when firing. From an authenticity point of our view I think ragged lines were realistic, but from a safety point of view we could have done better.

I hope these three items are taken as constructive criticism so we don't get overconfident. I was very pleased with the Battalion.

Overall I was very pleased with the weekend. 1st Maryland (5th Battalion) performed well despite the fact that many of us had never worked together before. Our excellent performance can only be the result of the professionalism of the men in the ranks. For several this was their first preservation march. For a few this was their first campaign event, but all conducted themselves as experienced veteran reenactors. We executed a few maneuvers by the left that would have thrown off most troops. They did everything they were asked to do with few complaints, and we only had one man fall out as a result of Saturday's march. Two men fell out during the battle on Sunday due to the rough terrain. One man decided he could not go any further after the Sunday battle when we picked up our packs. There were many positive comments made by the men regarding the event and out battalion. This was a very successful weekend, and it was an honor to command these fine men.

Respectfully Submitted
Major John A. Wyman
1st Maryland Regiment
(Chesapeake Volunteer Guard)