Newsletter

Thanks to all of you who attended the Battles for Socorro event. Especially those of you that made the long trek from the far reaches of the Territory and beyond! It was great seeing some new faces as well as some returning members. Matt Sarazin has returned from active duty in Iraq and is back reenacting with the 1st. Great to have you back Matt!! Thanks for your service to our country!!

We had a wonderful exciting event, and for the 90% of the weekend the weather was fantastic, (expect for the last hour of breaking camp!!) We'll try to get the photographs posted in the next week or so.

Most of the 1st arrived on Friday and made the fight through town especially fun! We slowed the "chase" down a bit and spent more time fighting on the Plaza - to the delight of the townspeople.

The event called for 2 battles on Saturday and during "phase one" we blasted the Texas Lancers out of their saddles. During "phase two" half of the 1st NMVI defended Hall's Battery and the other half defended McRae's Battery. When Col. Canby made the unbelievably poor decision to split the forces defending McRae, (who was that short guy with the beard playing Canby??), the fateful charge of the Texans happened and they captured the battery. An attempt was made by elements of the Volunteers to recapture the guns - but they were unsuccessful and most died gallantly in the effort. When given the order to retire, after much protest from the 1st, Col. Carson's men, true to form, marched off the field as if on parade.

Saturday evening was, in a word - interesting. We were treated to a wonderful dinner of Indian Tacos provided by Gary Knight (Fire at Will's Dad). THREE CHEERS FOR MR. KNIGHT!! HUZZAH, HUZZAH, HUZZAH!!

Later that evening while the troops were being serenaded by a local musical group, some Confederate sympathizers attempted to set fire to the Opera House with Union Troops inside. Only by the quick action of the troops, (and the close location of the river and its abundant supply of water), was the fire extinguished and the music could continue. There were no causalities but the perpetrators were not captured.

Sunday saw lots of 'action'.

After much delay from the Pay Department, a shipment of gold coins arrived and the men were paid Sunday morning. There were multiple attempts to defraud the Government, but due to the alertness of the company officers, no fraud was actually carried out.

There was an serious incident later that morning in which the remaining payroll was absconded with. At the same time, the company Surgeon discovered that the medicinal whiskey supply was missing. After a thorough search of the entire company, and with some help from confidential informants, it was discovered that two soldiers were involved in the payroll theft and a third was involved in the theft of the medicinal supply. They were arrested and placed in chains. A council was quickly held with the senior leadership of the unit and a punishment was decided upon. The thieves were marched to the artillery camp where they were draped across a cannon and then flogged in front of the assembled company. After their flogging, they were then marched through camp with the field music playing the 'Rogue's March". I dare say such behavior will not be repeated in the future!!

The Sunday battle commenced promptly at 11:00am with Confederate forces massing for an attack. Lt. Garrett took the half the company out to run them off, but after the corn-feds rushed in additional reinforcements, Col. Darlin' committed the remaining company to the fight. Second Platoon drove off the reinforcements but 2 troopers attempting to flush out the remaining confederates were surprised by Confederate Cavalry and captured.

The company safely retired to the fort and continued trading musket fire with the rebels. Seeing the 2 captured men left unguarded, in a bold move of dashing and élan, Col. Darlin', along with a small squad of troops, heroically rushed the confederate lines and secured the rescue of the captives, killing numerous rebels in the process. Can a medal for valor be far behind for the dashing Col. Darlin'?

The Texans then attempted a suicidal general assault on Ft. Escondida. Swarms of rebels charged the fort and were promptly cut down as a sharpened scythe mows a field of wheat. What could have motivated the Confederates to make such a desperate move? A clue to their suicidal behavior might have been discovered when the cartridge boxes of the dead rebels were found to be empty! The Militia's burning of the Texan's ammunition train during the Valverde battle was the fateful deciding factor! The remaining rebels abandoned the field and the campaign was ended.

The only remaining battle was with the forces of nature as the wind increased to gale force as we broke camp!

All in all we had a wonderful weekend. Thanks again to all those that made it possible - Charles Mandeville, Leonard Clapes, Travis Ikner and our own Mike Bilbo.

Thank you to all who participated! It was an honor to serve with you again. For those of you not going to Picacho - we'll see you at Las Golondrinas!!

And lastly, my kudos to Lt. Garrett for his handling of the company over the weekend.

Captain Don