Author:
Leon Harrison, East Kentucky Magazine Buckeye Bureau Chief
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Date Posted: 15:33:42 08/21/07 Tue
Leon Harrison
West Carrollton, Ohio
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
To: The Editor
Subject: Train-robbery reenactment at Lebanon, Ohio
“Lebanon Train-robbery Reenactment”
You military men and women (in Iraq and in Afghanistan) can undoubtedly empathize and sympathize with us Civil War reenactors when we say/type/write that, lately, Ohio weather has been hotter than a Centerville woman’s credit card; the “heat index” has made ninety-degree F. temperatures go over one hundred. During this recent Lebanon Blues Festival/train-robbery-reenactment weekend, (Aug. 4-5) Private Harrison died for the Union three times! Reenactors worked with the owners and operators of the Lebanon, Mason and Monroe Railroad to organize five train rides for paying passengers and spectators, three on Saturday and two on Sunday.
That weekend, some of us made the globe even warmer, and poisoned and polluted Mother Earth, by driving to Lebanon, Ohio, and by riding a five-car diesel-powered train to a reenactment site, whereat we reactors enjoyed our Civil War-fantasy fighting. We were having fun with guns, igniting and burning gunpowder to make smoke and noise with the big girls and boys, educating, enlightening and entertaining our appreciative audiences aboard and outside of that old train. A few of our cavalry friends [Custer and Lee among them] joined in, having parked their pickup trucks, SUVs and horse trailers near the edge of the grassy battlefield next to the railroad tracks.
The LM&M Railroad owns, operates and maintains twenty-five miles of track between Lebanon, Mason, and Monroe, Ohio. The 1950s GM GP-7 diesel-electric locomotive pulls and pushes [returning to Lebanon in reverse] four 1930s passenger carriages and an open gondola car [equipped with two long back-to-back wooden benches located in the center]. The gondola railcar was located between cars #3 and #4.
Saturday morning, August 4, 2007
At the Lebanon railway station, some suspicious-looking southern-talking 1860s-attired civilians mingled with the Union soldiers and passengers who were waiting and boarding the train at the depot, including womenfolk who were wearing long dresses and hoop skirts with bonnets, while carrying baskets. Reenactors kept looking up at that bright blue sky, wondering aloud about the weather: hopeful, grateful and relieved when slowly drifting high white cumulus clouds would briefly shade them from the bright sunshine. This did nothing to reduce the humidity [yes, things are worse in Fallujah, Haditha, Kandahar….
The scenario and show started at the station and at the very end of the train: Lt. Davidson and a few of his Federal troops entered car #4, carrying a rope-handled wooden money box [filled with copies of period paper money], getting the attention of the passengers as they walked through this and the other passenger cars. The robberies started at car #1 while the train was moving.
Since reenactors are in fact and to varying degrees actors and actresses, their adlibbed comical comments and routines improved with repetition. An announcer conductor also got better at reading from his script into a microphone. He and the sound system were located at the snack-bar station, at the front end of one of the cars. During each trip, he told the passengers about the train and about the railroads during the Civil War, joking and adlibbing along with these train-robbery reenactments.
With the moneybox and guards finally in place, the reenactors gathered to start the fun inside car #1: two Union troops sat or stood at each end of the car to guard the moneybox; the lieutenant or other soldiers sitting with it near the middle of the car. Uniformed Confederate soldiers remained hidden out of sight inside the small doorway vestibule at the very end of the car. Suspicious-looking civilians started sneaking into the car and taking their places, including those chattering nattering womenfolk who were carrying baskets.
Joy Fowler [of West Harrison, Indiana] also carried a red “self defense” book. Her lovely young teenaged daughter was accompanying her. Being northern gentlemen (especially Pvt. Harrison), these nice polite Yankees even offered them seats, conversation and companionship. The amused and curious passengers were smiling and sweating and taking pictures while they looked at and listened to all of this, most of them having naturally never seen nor heard of such strange goings on before.
Prior to boarding, LM&M passengers are warned that there are no toilets on these four old 1930s passenger carriages. People were lining up and trying to go inside the depot restrooms, knowing that they’d have to wait until they got to the plastic portable potties that were at the tree-shaded picnic playground battle-reenactment site. During the trip, young candy sellers walked through the cars, carrying it in a neck-strapped wooden box.
These authentic old passenger cars are not air-conditioned. One floor fan was set up and swiveling at the end of one car; Pvt. Harrison sat and shared it during one return trip. While rolling upon and along the rails, at about ten miles per hour, there was not much of a breeze to blow through those too few opened windows; reminding us about the reality of old-fashioned rail travel without hot cinders and dirty coal smoke coming from a steam engine. Nor are these cars heated during wintertime. Still, train buffs, tourists and reenactors like a couple of hours of just-enough railroad nostalgia.
The open-air gondola car is cooler but crowded; passengers can stand, sit and chat while looking at the passing greenery and scenery, the farms, fields and buildings. It was fun, exchanging smiles and waves with people who were watching and waiting inside their cars for the train to pass and clear the crossings.
Joy Fowler walked up to let unsuspecting Union soldiers look at her red “self-defense” book. She opened the cover and pulled out a little pistol! Much to their regret, her Confederette confederates pulled little pistols out of their baskets! One of them pulled a big gun from the holster that she had strapped to her leg! A big gray-bearded man joined in with his friends! The big whiskey-drinkin’ civilian pulled and pointed a pistol too! A black-clad Chaplain Mason did likewise and started smiling and singing a hymn, trying to get the passengers to sing along with him! Blasphemy! Treachery! Hoodwinked and tricked by women again! Captain White entering the car with pistol drawn and his gray-clad rebel rabble behind him, announcing that they were taking over the train!
Angry outraged shocked surprised Yankees held up their hands in surrender, while keeping their weapons, giving up the moneybox to their Confederate captors, being herded toward the rear of the car while passengers laughed and took pictures.
After those treacherous traitorous train-robbing rebels (including their crass civilian conspirators and these sneaky seductive southern belles) had captured these too few Union heroes and their moneybox, inside carriage #4 (the last in line), they forced the Yankees outside and followed them onto the open-air gondola car (between #4 and #3). As prisoners of the Confederacy, these Union heroes were to be taken to a prison camp. From the snack-bar car, the announcer conductor told the passengers that the Confederates had captured the train and were now in command and in control of it.
Because these Union POWs were men of honor and their word, their more-compassionate Confederate captors allowed them to keep their weapons and converse with captors and passengers alike. They were soon sitting on long wooden back-to-back benches and standing around next to the guardrails. Though hot outside, the only shade coming from passing trees beside the tracks, the gondola car did get a little warm wind to go with a better view. Outside, you could better hear the big steel wheels rumbling and squeaking over the clacking rail joints, hot brakes squealing.
They all talked and relaxed while they drank and snacked, reenactors staying in character while joking with the passengers and children. As he had seen Sgt. Stein do: Pvt. Harrison put his kepi onto the head of a little boy who was standing by the rail, while his father kneeled beside him, letting him hold up his rifle while he took a couple of pictures for them; pictures that they will display, save, share and show for decades to come. These pictures will help them to remember and relive this fun-filled day. How many photo albums, CDs and DVDs have our reenactment pictures been saved in?
Finally, with squealing brakes and squeaking wheels, the train started slowing for the stop at the tree-shaded picnic playground reenactment site. Near the wide wooden ramp by the tracks, conductors opened the doors and set short steel steps down upon the gravel. Confederates herded or followed their armed prisoners from the train. Reenactors started too early with an escape attempt, with rebs herding and then shooting fleeing Yankees in the back, before passengers had debarked from the train and taken their seats upon the hay bales and folding chairs that had been set up for them, next to the wire fence at the end of the picnic area field. After this, the escape skit was cancelled.
Besides, passengers and reenactors needed some time to go to those bright-green plastic portable toilets, the concession stand and the reenactor watering station [with fruity drink] that had been set up on a table behind it. On the other side of the adjacent fence, golfers were practicing their swings and drives at a nearby driving range. After getting their soda pop and water, the refreshed and energetic children started playing and running toward the playground equipment.
Thankfully, someone had wisely removed a couple of boards from the fence entrance, between the battlefield and the picnic area, making it easier for heavier more mature soldiers to step over that remaining plank with their guns. Pvt. Harrison told people that he could jump over this fence but did not want to show off, while grunting and lifting his leg across that one remaining plank. The cavalrymen and some infantrymen were already there, having driven or ridden out over the hot asphalt of two-lane country roads. Near the fence and near the opposite end of the battlefield, they awaited the arrival of their reenactor reinforcements.
Across the fence at the far side of this field was a farmhouse with an old gray weatherworn wooden barn and a small (but fragrant) pigpen in back. A big fat sow or hog watched it all.
“Now, you see why those men left the farm to join the army,” said Private Harrison, “to escape from farm work in the summertime.”
The dry thick rough field grass had grown over plowed ground. Later, after they stamped out a small smoldering patch of grass, reactors joked about reenacting the 1864 battle of The Wilderness. Before all five battles, after stepping over the fence gap, the Yankees had to walk across this field, while the Rebels got to wait at the end in front of the audience. Therefore, the Federals had to march, maneuver and shoot across this field ten times. Twice, the riffraff-rebel-rabble attacked, advanced and drove these heroic Federal forces back, causing them to retreat in defeat, just to be fair out there.
After the cavalrymen engaged with pistols popping and shiny sabers slashing and clicking, snorting sweating horses dancing and prancing close and running, the Union infantry started with two small units that got smaller, with fewer troops wearing coats, after each battle. They advanced or retreated across the grass. All experienced reenactors, Lt. Davidson and Sgt. Stein directed and led them, firing by file and by volley and at will [They will always joke about Will!]. Cheering and jeering, whooping and hollering, fussing and cussing as big clumsy sweaty fingers started dropping caps and cartridges onto the grass, loading on the move or while standing in rank. Taking a hit and lying down on the grass gave no relief from the heat, save for the guys who were avoiding unnecessary exercise. Pvt. Harrison has yet to flop onto a fragrant fresh moist warm pile of horse poop.
That “cleaner” black-gunpowder substitute IS NOT as good as the real dirty loud smoky smelly black authentic stuff…that is more corrosive.“Cease fire!…Cease fire!…Cease fire!” Silence… quiet…a mounted General/Private Lee playing “Taps” with a bugle on horseback, he and his horse breathing heavy and sweating with fatigue. You try blowing a bugle sometime. Although he wasn’t as good as Montgomery Clift, his bugle call sounded sincere, solemn and good enough to moisten the driest of eyes and get the silent respectful reverent attention of everyone there. “Resurrection!…Resurrection!…Resurrection!”
Brothers and sisters once more, blue and gray-clad soldiers looked around and got up, hearing the applause and cheers coming from the audience, adding their own clever comical comments and jokes to those of those other friendly folks. With relief, the soldiers eagerly drank water from their canteens and splashed it on their faces and poured it over their sweaty heads. They started walking back toward the fence.
Five times that weekend, after Taps and resurrection, First Sergeant Jeff Stein walked directly to the fence to lean upon it and address the crowd, repeating his regular routine to remind us all about our history, and about why we reenact with respect, to honor and remember those thousands of long-dead Civil War soldiers:
“Yes, it’s a lot of fun! Why do we do it? We do it for you, and to honor and remember those heroes on both sides! Six hundred and twenty-three thousand soldiers died during the Civil War! There was no right or wrong because they all believed in what they were fighting for! On one day, at the battle of Antietam, there were over twenty thousand casualties, killed, wounded and missing! At Gettysburg, there were over forty-three thousand casualties on both sides! After the battle, General Lee’s wagon train of wounded was thirteen miles long! At The Wilderness, General Grant lost eight thousand soldiers in one hour!”
Then, it was over the fence to mingle with the audience, answer their questions, and either take or pose for pictures with them, before walking into the shade under big tall trees. For the very first time [without makeup, mineral water, motivation, a stunt double or rehearsal], Pvt. Harrison performed in Sgt. Stein’s classic comical “drunken duel” skit: standing behind him and off to one side, where he waited to take a hit after the arguing staggering Stein fired a high pistol shot up into the air there. Maybe a couple of guys from both sides took hits at the same time. It didn’t matter that much because the people loved it and laughed and took their pictures and home movies. This skit ends with the two staggering drunken duelists becoming buddies, bodies lying upon the ground around them.
Sunday morning, August 5, 2007
Private Harrison woke up early, tired and sore, that Sunday morning, not eager to get up, much less ride a railroad train and reenact (at least for a week or two). As he lazily lay abed, his conscience pestered him with an obligatory sense of duty and esprit de corps. Besides, where else could he have so much fun with girls and guns? After driving back to Lebanon, he drove up to the OVCWA encampment at the Glendower Mansion to chat and take a few pictures.
After driving back downtown and parking his car at the furniture store, he walked across the street and up to the reenactor encampment, arriving in time to listen to Chaplain Mason’s Sunday sermon, enjoying it with his fellow and female reenactors. This Sunday was another fun day, despite it being even hotter than Saturday had been. It was a relief to only do two train trips [entailing eight railcar robberies] with two battle reenactments.
By Sunday, Private Harrison and his confederates had perfected their adlibbed Emmy-worthy parts and performances. During each of these five train rides, these resourceful resilient reenactors had occupied and robbed four railcars, a weekend total of twenty times. These 20 railcar robberies were followed by five reenacted battles: Saturday battle #1, Rebs win, Pvt. Harrison KIA [women weep]; battle #2, Pvt. Harrison leads Union troops to victory; battle #3, draw after both sides cease fire, call a truce, split the money and go their separate ways. Sunday battle #1, Rebs win by killing Pvt. Harrison; battle #2, Yankees win despite the third and final dramatic death scene that was so perfectly and professionally performed by the brave courageous noble selfless handsome heroic Private Harrison.
During the second and last Sunday battle, which the Union [Grandpa Squad] won, Private Harrison made a horrible mistake, taking a hit and dying too far out from the crowd! He thereby wasted his third and last dramatic death scene, unless it was seen and photographed through telephoto lenses…not that he cared about performing for pictures.
After that last train ride, your EKMBBC also sort of regrets not sticking around to help his fatigued fellow and female reenactors decamp and load up their stuff. He had to get out of his soggy smelly sweaty wet uniform and drive directly to the East Kentucky Magazine Buckeye Bureau to get started on this story.
Leon Harrison
West Carrollton, Ohio
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"Lebanon Train-robbery Reenactment"