School of the Piece, Jefferson Park, St Louis, MO June 23rd, 2007

Ladies and Gentlemen:

School of the Piece, Jefferson Park, Saint Louis, MO June 23rd 2007

Friday Night – June 22, 2007

Around 4:30 PM Becky, Josh, Rachel & I met up with Harold Cox and his son Richard at Cracker Barrel in Springfield MO.  We drove up to Jefferson Park in Saint Louis, MO.  After getting lost close to the park we finally made it to the camp site around 8 PM. We where serenaded by a blues concert about 250 yards away from us. After a great visit with Harold and Richard, Rachel and I headed down to the concert while Becky and Josh hit the sack.  The concert ended around 11:30 PM. I am not much of a blues fan but these gentlemen where really good.

Saturday – June 23, 2007

The morning started with a registration @ 7 AM. At 8 AM we went over to a building for the lecture. The first thing we where given was a test. We where told to fill it out best we could. Then the “General” went through the test and we graded our own. It was just a teaching tool. After much discussion over each question we watched a short video of an actual reenactment where a young man was propelled 25 yards when a round went off prematurely while he was ramming it.

We then went back outside and started training on the guns. We had a choice of being certified on a large field piece or mountain howitzer type gun. All of us choose the larger gun. Unfortunately Harold and Richard where put on a different gun than Becky, Josh, Rachel and I. But we all made it through the training.

After lunch Harold and Richard had to leave and the rest of us had a 30 minute wait for our certificates to be produced, so we decide to fall in for some training on the mountain howitzer. The drill is different but not significantly so. Rachel was given a hard time as she tried to give out the commands. But she got through it and did a great job.

In our group of 4, Josh did the best. He remembered the commands and did everything properly every time. He even corrected me when needed.

As we started packing up a monsoon rain came upon us. We left and headed for home.

All in all this was an enjoyable experience where I learned a lot. If I can, I will do it again in two years. The more knowledge about different aspects of the war the better off I am.

The Good:

  1. Becky & Rachel would never pass as men in the ranks. They are just too beautiful!
  2. The blues concert Friday night.
  3. The weather was good with the exception of the rain at the very end.
  4. Met a lot of very nice folk.
  5. Becky and Rachel got to join in on the men stuff.
  6. Hopefully, on the field I will be more aware of what the artillery is doing so as to keep us safer.
  7. Learned how to SHOOT CANNONS!!!!!

The Bad:

  1. Rachel scored better than me on the test.
  2. Not being able to drill with Harold and Richard.
  3. No live fire because of rain.

The Ugly:

  1. Becky Quote “I like the mountain howitzer the best. They’re cute! More personable!” This is one reason why we don’t let women in the infantry!

Captain Daniel Keith

Co E, 4th Mo, Inf, CSA/MSG

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