Civil War Re-Enactment; Monday, Period Three [ 06/15 ].

[civilwarsongs.livejournal.com]

You know, if you really thought about it and had to program them all into the Danger Shop, a lot of these open battlefields looked awfully similar. "Today," he greeted the class, "we're going to be talking about something bright and cheerful, and that's the Battle of Antietam, or Sharpsburg, which took place September 27, 1862 right here in this fine state of Maryland. First battle on Northern soil and the..." Come on, Jasper, you can say it, "...bloodiest single-day battle of American history, 23,000 casualties."

"Union McClellan launched an attack on Confederate Lee's defense by Antietam Creek, while Union Hooker sent in his own for Lee's left flank. And, eventually, Union Burnside came around to get the right. With incredible timing, Confederate Hill's division from Harper's Ferry arrived on the scene to divide Burnside's faction with a surprise counter-attack. Lee threw in his entire force, while McClellen only worked with a portion of his own, and by the end of the day, the armies were at a standstill. Skirmishes still continued through the 18th while Lee tried to pull his army back south of the river. This lead to an inconclusive victory on either side, but it is considered a general victory for the North. McClellan failed to destroy Lee's army, having kind of done a piss-poor job of things, but he had succeeded in putting a halt to Lee's invasion of Maryland."

"The retreat was enough of a victory that it's said to have given President Lincoln enough confidence to release his Emancipation Proclamation, which I'm now handing out to you, which not only set up the framework for the emancipation of slaves, crippling the majority of the Southern economic system, but also discouraged British and French governments from recognizing the Confederacy and changed the goals of the war to not just be about reuniting the country, but also about the issue of slavery."

"Look it over, share any thoughts if you've got them, and then grab your weapons and get to the field. One of you Confederates hold off a moment and then come in to represent Hill's reinforcements."

Or something. Man, this class was ridiculous...

"And, for the love of God, don't actually hurt yourself. We really," really, "don't need to re-enact the bloodiest part."


[[ OCD is on the way still probably making you Civil War nerd cry! Class Roster and Syllabus ]]

Spy Games, Monday, 6/15, Period 5

[saveyoulater.livejournal.com]

Class met in the Danger Shop today. It was set up as a shooting range, with a stocked weapons locker and safety equipment at one side and targets at the end of the room.

"Hi," Sarah said, completely at ease. "Today, we're taking about weapons. Spy weapons aren't going to be too different from any other kind of weapon, except that it's more important you conceal them easily on your person. If I was working, I would probably have a small revolver strapped at my ankle and a knife in the small of my back."

She was working. She had that and more. Her hair sticks? Not just decorative.

"Basically, if we're talking weapons, we're talking knives and guns. The main kinds of guns we'll be working with today are sniper rifles, for long-distance work, and pistols for short distances." She explained briefly how the guns were loaded and how they fired.

"I expect you to follow all NRA gun safety rules listed on your handout. The only field rule I'd add is, don't shoot if you aren't ready to kill. If you're shooting to wound or to scare someone off, you probably shouldn't have your gun out to start with. Firing a gun makes a big scene and, as a spy, that's the last thing you want. Right now, we're in the Danger Shop and it's programmed so that if you aim your gun at anybody, the gun turns into a badger."

Sarah frowned at that part of her notes, clearly thinking about it for the first time. "... I don't know why a badger. Still. Don't aim your gun at people."

Shaking that off, she continued, "The other weapon we're talking about is throwing knives. I'm a big fan of knives; they're small, they're light, they're easy to conceal, and if you're good you can use them in a crowd without anyone noticing." She demonstrated her throwing technique, easily making a few bullseyes from the end of her lane. "And of course there are safety rules with those, too. The knives have the same Danger Shop protection as the guns -- if you do anything stupid with a knife, it turns into a badger."

"I think that is everything. You have the rest of the class period to practice with the weapons. I'm here to give pointers. If anyone's uncomfortable with this session -- or drunk, high or otherwise impaired -- come see me and we'll work out an alternate assignment."