So let's get this straight. We wear wool uniforms that are too hot in the summer and not warm enough in the winter. We drink campfire coffee from tin cups and tepid water from rusty canteens. We shovel horse manure. We sleep on the ground under canvas and rubberized cloths. Ticks. People think we're weird.

So why do we do this?

Well really, it's FUN. Honestly, it costs enough, takes enough effort, and makes us so different from most people that it BETTER be fun. We wouldn't do it otherwise.

 

Col. norm calls the unit to Prepare to charge during the 160th anniversary at brandy station

photo by Luke Christopher for Foothills Forum. To reach the photographer, email lukechristo@gmail.com.

 

We put up with horses. Most of us actually love them. They go home with us after events and are an integral part of our lives. 

We love United States history. We feel, after so much study, that we KNOW these people from the 1860's, both the good and bad. They're like our relatives or neighbors. They could be us. We get misty-eyed as we read about and recount stories of their trials, triumphs, anguish, loss, sacrifice, and victory.

Lt. Mark introduces Dutch to some young spectators at Gettysburg National Military Park

Cavalry demonstration at gettysburg national military park

We also love sharing Civil War Cavalry history. The camps are open to the public at our Living History events, and visitors are welcome. This is true of most of our events, especially during the Living Histories we participate in annually at the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania and Fort Monroe National Monument in Virginia. Visit our camp, see how the Cavalry lived, talk to the troopers, ask questions, and meet a Cavalry Horse.  

 
 

Most importantly, we feel a strong sense of duty and privilege to remember, commemorate, and honor our United States military personnel, past and present. Many of us are military veterans, some of us are combat veterans. We owe to those who went before us more than we can ever repay. We thank God for their contributions and selfless sacrifice on behalf of our Nation.

 

We won't forget...

 

"A Harvest of Death", Gettysburg, July 4, 1863

 

"The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war"

-- General Douglas MacArthur