AAR - MAY 5-7, Pioneer Village AZ
The scenario: May 1864. Company "I" 1st California Infantry has been charged with marching from Fort Whipple to the intersection of the Gila and Salt rivers in search of hostile Indians. This is a small part of a larger sweep operation taking place throughout the territory by other fast moving columns of troops. Our patrol has been tasked with the reconnaissance of Pioneer Village, we are to search for any signs of hostile Indian activity, and the protection of the civilian population. Once this has been effected, we are then to report back to the main column. During the time spent in the area of operation we will be on constant guard and running patrols.
I arrived at the site late Friday afternoon as did many of the other members of the unit. We gathered next to the Victorian House, where normal greetings and introductions were passed about and a camp was set up for the evening. After dinner, most of the unit (I remained behind to watch camp) went into the village and passed a very pleasant evening at the well stocked cabin of Mr. B... returning to camp quite cheerful. The weather was fine and a most comfortable night was observed by all. The next morning the day began with coffee and breakfast followed by the packing up of camp, putting away extra gear, and going over the plans and guidelines for the event. At 8 a.m. we fell in and went through inspection, canteens were filled, gear double checked, and we marched to the far northwest end of the property.
Upon reaching the designated point the event went live at 9 am and all modern and anachronistic discussions ceased. Sgt. R... took command of our small 6 man patrol organizing us for possible encounters with hostiles and began our march towards Pioneer village. As we reached the outskirts of the village our first order of business was the examination and searching of some seemingly abandoned buildings. While out there we encountered one lone civilian, a loathsome looking individual who none the less claimed he was a good Union man. After some brief questioning, as he was traveling in an opposite direction of our line of march, he was permitted to go on his way.
Upon reaching the village proper we took advantage of some shade near the Victorian house and dropped packs. After a short respite and a refilling of canteens I was detailed to watch the packs while the others conducted a thorough and systematic search through the village. While maintaining my lone post I took advantage of being out of the Sergeants supervision and rummaged through the packs examining what might be found there in. Not having found the secreted bottle of spirits I was looking for, I took a break from my labors and settled in for a quiet mid-morning nap. A short while later Pvt.s S... and S... returned. There was a small hullabaloo when they found me napping and then discovered their packs had been rifled through. Threats of reporting my indiscretions to the Sgt. were laid aside on suggestion that I would then find it necessary to report the bottle of elixir secreted in Pvt. S...'s haversack (where I couldn't find it). Needless to say, we all concluded that the Sgt. was already far to weighed down with the burden of command and need not be bothered with our trifles.
The knapsacks were relocated to the yard of Mr. B..., the proprietor of the town theater & opera house, and a good Union man who agreed to allow us the use of his yard for the night. The day had become quite warm and the refreshing beverage Pvt. A... had made from some fruit he had harvested during the morning's exploration of the village, evaporated the moment he turned his back upon it. Upon the Sgt's order we moved our packs to the yard behind Mr. B...'s very palatial cabin. It was lined with large trees that provided a welcome amount of shade. He was apparently quite a wealthy man, having a pair of pigs and a very large hog that chose to remain in bondage despite the fact that Mr. Lincoln has said he is free. The chicken coop also appeared to be well inhabited and brimming with eggs, but also quite sturdy and sealed with a rather large and effective lock. The Sgt. allowed us the time to tend to our personal needs. At this time a fire was built and a less than satisfying dinner was made of rice and salt beef. What a little fresh pork or fowl, or even an egg might have done to improve it was, sadly, only a matter of conjecture.
In the afternoon Sgt. R... sent out three men to check upon some nearby homesteads to make certain that all was in order and that no secessionists were present. I have it on good authority that their patrol took them around back into the village where they had opportunity to take enough time to inspect the local tavern to make certain they were only serving healthy, undiluted beverages in their establishment. They returned just as the Sgt. began to fear he would have to go and fetch them from the gutter behind the saloon. After their report, Pvt. R... and myself were afforded the privilege of accompanying the Sgt. on a patrol of the town in which we were quite pleased to find the Union flag in the town bank and opera house. Unfortunately, suggestions that we should check to see if it was displayed in the saloon as well were not entertained and we returned to camp.
The late afternoon found us preparing our bunks and our supper. I was fortunate to dine on a few small potatos and a squash that I had enlisted for service from a citizen's garden the day before. Boiled up and dressed with a little vinegar, some salt, and a tiny onion they provided an adequate meal even if it lacked pork, fowl, and eggs. Pvt. S... was dispatched to take a message back to the column and took his leave of us. I certainly hope he made it without being waylaid by savages or roughs.
Pvt. A... presented a tin of peaches that he had nearly thrown aside when they grew heavy but carried when urged to do so by his comrades. We pooled our resources and using a rock turned some hard bread into a number of small crumbs. Pvt. S... took these crumbs and peaches, mixed them with some dried grapes and apricots, some water, and a touch of elixir and boiled it up into a right nice pudding that all enjoyed. Mr. B. brewed a pot of tea and we passed the evening in fine style around his table. As Pvt. A... traveled to and from the building checking on his slow cooking rice the heat of the cool evening seems to have again evaporated the cup of tea and condensed milk he had prepared. When his 2nd cup likewise evaporated we decided to aide him by refilling it with a bit of cold salted water, several heaping spoonfuls of sugar provided by Mr. B... and just a touch of milk to give it the right color. Upon his return he would likely have enjoyed the entire cup had I not been unable to hold my composure during his second hearty drought and alerted him to our joke with my laughter and fits of coughing. The evening passed with much joviality as we all enjoyed the pleasure of relaxing in a safe environment without any officers about. Had Mr. B... not been a thespian and of low moral character himself, he would surely have found our soldierly talk and hijinks most uncivillized and crass.
As the evening wore on it was decided that a trip to town was in order. Pvt. A... and myself remained on duty over the camp and arms. This duty we did in a most soldierly manner, especcially after being frightened by rustling in the underbrush that turned out to be a large domestic cat rather than our Sgt. and comrades as we had surmised. The party did eventually return in a most celebratory mood and even brought a bit of lager with them to share. The Sgt. was apparently will irrigated and bedded down without assigning the night's picket duties. Of course none of us suggested that we wished to stand guard through the night, especially in this well established, pro-Union village. The night was a little warmer than that previous and all slept exceedingly well.
The next morning, still thwarted by the locked henhouse, I resigned myself to a breakfast of coffee, once-soft bread, and pemican. The morning was spent bathing, polishing brass, brushing uniforms, rolling up bunks, and packing knapsacks. Pvt. S... gave a very fine devotional from Saint Paul's Epistle to the Ephisians chapter 6, on the armor of God. We took some time practicing a bit of drill, paying particular attention to the art of stacking arms. Sgt. R... had us rotate positions so that we each became familiar with the varous roles and responsibilities in this manouver. We were soon dismissed and permitted to prepar our noon meal. I cooked up a bit of rice with some salt beef, an onion, and a bit of vinegar. Throughout the weeked I had fortified myself with sips of water mixed with vinegar. This habit had led to some discussion of the benefits of this practice which I first read of Roman legionaires indulging in and than was reminded of during the march from Yuma to Tucson when its restorative properties were well demonstrated. Pvt. S... tried a taste and found it much to his satisfaction and urged others to try it where it met with approval all round, nuch to the surprise of all.
At the close of lunch we were a bit overwhelmed with a large number of citizenry who had traveled great distances to listen to pvt. S...'s splendid oration. It seemed he no sooner finished speaking before one group, when another arrived and urged him to begin again. Following the speechifying, the Sgt. formed us up and marched us to the village green. There he proceeded to instruct us in the finer points of skirmish drill. After running through it a few times without firing, he had us run through the drill using blank rounds in order that we might be well versed in this tactic that is so very useful in our line of work. At the conclusion of this training we relaxed in the shade and went through a debriefing and discussion about the weekends activities. We then concluded our most pleasant respite in Pioneer and marched out of the village to return to join the column.
Likely I have left out a great deal of heroics and hijinks, but this brief sketch should give the outline of events as I recollect and serve to provide some understanding to those not in attendance.
- Troy Groves