Delaware Blues

2010-01-19T12:27:00.001-08:00

2010-01-19T12:24:00.000-08:00

We are not last

2010-01-13T06:26:00.000-08:00

The recent Skirmish Line magazine has the results from the Fall National, and the Blues were not (as ever) last:

In Class A2 Musket, the Blues Company A were in 14th place (of 40 places; a good margin).
In Class B1 Musket, the Blues Company B were in 36th place (of only 37 places; we need to improve)
In Class A1 carbine, the Blues were in 38th place (of only 39 places; we need to improve)
In Class B2 carbine, the Blues were in 7th place (of 12 places; a comfortable margin)
In Class A3 revolver, the Blues were in 19th place (of 26 places; a comfortable margin)
In individual 100-yard carbine, Marv Bendy, Jr. placed 9th in Striker with 81-00x (okay, that's technically last, but it's individuals)
In individual 25-yard revolver, Tina Newberry placed 4th in Striker with 74-01x

Well done, the Blues!

(If anyone got inadvertently left off the list, please email your info to Mark Seymour at mseymour@proofmark.com)

2009-11-12T12:38:00.000-08:00

The Civil War test

2009-07-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

A bunch of questions about obscure Civil War history; see them at Mark Seymour's page.

The Blues at the 119th

2009-05-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

The A Team, firing.

The A Team, cleaning (foreground), and the B Team firing.

The B Team, preparing to fire.

Pat DeCarlo leading the charge back from the line.

Standing about, waiting during an ambulance run (unknown causes).

Jim Worrell (at left) and Spencer Waldron (at center), conversing.

A Confederate shooter, reclining.

The 119th

2009-05-11T07:27:00.000-07:00

The upcoming N-SSA Nationals is the weekend of the 16th & 17th of May, and some of the Blues are already headed down for it. The musket shoot on Sunday is early this year, so Rico and the ladyfriend won't have to drive home in the dark.

The Blues

2009-03-03T05:32:00.001-08:00

Since the website is still screwed up (damn that HTML), here's the photo of the group, unobscured:

However, we are working on the problem. The unit webmaster apologizes for the delay.

Still asking for your money

2009-01-12T14:58:00.000-08:00

The Battery Gun Company is offering such a deal on a brand-new Gatling gun in .50 caliber for a mere $6300, with a separate carriage for only $4075 more.
Rico says the unit needs one in the worst way, and he'll pony up his part if everyone else will...

We are not last

2009-01-08T09:41:00.000-08:00

The new issue of The Skirmish Line came in with the results from the 118th National, and the Blues did well:
In Musket Class A-2, the Delaware Blues came in second out of 39.
In Musket Class B-1, the Delaware Blues came in 30th out of 38.
In Carbine Class A-2, the Delaware Blues came in 11th out of 36.
In Carbine Class B-2, the Delaware Blues came in 5th out of 11.
In Revolver Class A-3, the Delaware Blues came in 22nd out of 26.
In the mortar competition, the Delaware Blues came in 60th out of 64.

Not a single 'last' in the bunch.
Well done, the Blues!

Lending library

2008-12-13T06:41:00.000-08:00

If anyone in the Blues wants to read The March by E.L. Doctorow, a fictional history of Sherman's March to the Sea, merely email Rico.

Carbine standings

2008-11-05T15:59:00.000-08:00

Data removed for security purposes. Contact Mike or Tom for details.

Musket at the Fall National, 2008

2008-11-05T12:48:00.000-08:00

Data removed for security purposes. Contact Mike or Tom for details.

Pistol at the Fall National, 2008

2008-11-05T12:47:00.000-08:00

Data removed for security purposes. Contact Mike or Tom for details.

Sharps no longer for sale

2008-10-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

Mark Seymour had a relatively-unused reproduction Sharps carbine for sale, along with an excellent reproduction carbine sling (made by one of the best leatherworkers in the business), a cartridge belt box, and a small container of should-be-patented 'Tommy Barker'-style paperwrapped cartridges.
Sold to a gentleman from Texas, sorry.

Newsletter of October 2008

2008-10-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

A hell of a visitor to the Fort

2008-10-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

According to the current issue of The Skirmish Line, none other than R. Lee Ermey (known for his work as the cranky and gesticulating Gunny on Mail Call, shown on the Discovery channel) went to Fort Shenandoah to shoot a segment of his new show Lock & Load, also on Discovery.
In the pilot episode, he'll cover the evolution of black powder weapons in use during the Civil War, from flintlocks through the Henry.
His co-host for the segment will be Tim Scanlan of the N-SSA (who will undoubtedly be insufferable now as a result of his new-found stardom).

Importuning

2008-10-08T15:56:00.001-07:00

In case you missed it at the National like everyone else.

We're not last, and almost first

2008-10-07T14:23:00.000-07:00

Results from the Fall National:

Company A of the Delaware Blues came in 2nd out of 38 teams in Class A2, placing 'in the money' (which apparently doesn't have anything to do with money).
(Congratulations to the serious shooters of Company A.)

Company B of the Delaware Blues came in 30th out of 38 teams in Class B1.
(Better luck next year, but we were not last...)
.

Remembrance Day

2008-09-30T05:15:00.000-07:00

The Delaware Blues

2008-09-27T04:21:00.000-07:00

.
Click the member's name to view their page:

Mark Seymour
.

Fundraising

2008-09-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

Mark Seymour has put up the first contribution, but we'll need a lot more to get this.
On the tripod mount (workable, but then you gotta carry it), it's $7500. A proper wheeled carriage is another four grand. Chambers are six or seven bucks apiece, and extra magazines are $125.
Pricey? Certainly.
Worth it? Can you imagine the glorious sound when we cut loose on the range with it?
Expect to be importuned at every Blues event until we come up with the money...

Mortar team in 2005

2008-09-09T04:47:00.000-07:00

.
Our crack mortar team at the Spring Nationals (hence the rain) of 2005. Scott Delamater, noted artillerist, is at the right in the front; Mike Benson is in the red shirt to his right; Rico is behind them in the proper hat. Tina Newberry, Ptomaine George, and Chris Greer are at the left.
.

Comfort is where you can find it

2008-09-05T08:28:00.000-07:00

.
At an unknown reenactment, a participant finds a comfortable spot to take a nap.
.

Good old Herb

2008-09-05T08:03:00.000-07:00

.
Seems Herb Kaufman, long-time member of Old Baldy, happened upon an amazing historic document while helping prepare the Civil War Library & Museum for its move from 1801 Pine Street. He found what appears to be an authentic copy of the surrender document signed at Wilmer McLean's house at Appomattox on 10 April 1865. You can read his column about the discovery on page 16 of the September issue of Civil War News.
.

Look for the coffee can to leave your donation

2008-09-05T07:55:00.000-07:00

Rico wants one for the unit. He'll put in his part, but everyone who's willing needs to chip in. In .58 caliber, with the wooden carriage, extra magazines, and 100 'chambers', it's just over twelve grand... (If there are twenty interested members, that's less than a new musket each.)
.

Looking for some new gear?

2008-09-05T07:31:00.000-07:00

.

Check out this auction site: Civil War reenactors auction. Looks like one of just about everything, at at reasonable prices. (Post your interactions with them in the comments.)
.

Second place

2008-08-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

.
Courtesy of Tina, the medals and the hats of the carbine team at the recent Nationals; they took second place overall.
.

18 May newsletter

2008-06-11T17:32:00.000-07:00

Devotion to duty

2008-06-05T05:36:00.000-07:00

.

Jim Worrell won the Miller award for authenticity at the recent Spring Nationals. He even dropped his drawers to prove he had on period underwear. (Now that's devotion.)
.

Not just yet, but soon

2008-03-27T05:40:00.000-07:00

.
Mark is still hoping to make it to the Fall National, but if anyone in the club is taking an interesting road trip (Civil War related, mostly, but pique his curiosity) before then, if you want a companion do let him know.
.

New year, new shooter, new gun

2008-02-22T17:38:00.001-08:00

.
Mark will return, probably for the Fall National, hopefully with a new Spencer rifle:

.

Going, going...

2007-12-20T06:11:00.000-08:00

.
To my fellow Delaware Blues members:
I've invited all of you to participate as authors on this blog.
Multiple times.
Anyone who does not respond by the end of the year gets cut off.
Email me if you're confused.
.

Photos, please

2007-12-19T07:18:00.000-08:00

.
Both to appear on this blog and to use as a "Civil War for the Day" photo on my own blog, I'd love to get photos from the Blues of any Civil War event, whether Blues-attended or not.
Don't send me any of your 8-megabyte digital gems, either, but stomp them into pngs or jpegs of no more than a couple of hundred kilobytes and email them to me at:

mseymour@proofmark.com

A description of who, where, what, and when would be appreciated.
Thanks.
.

At least it wasn't raining...

2007-11-14T16:54:00.000-08:00

.
The Blues march on Remembrance Day.
.

The Blues at the National

2007-11-14T16:52:00.000-08:00

.
In the rain, of course. Would it be a National without it?
.

Group hug?

2007-11-14T16:46:00.000-08:00

.
Anyone in the Blues interested in jointly investing in a major semi-automated loading machine? I will, of course, bow to Mister Barker for advice on the right one to get, but I have to believe there's a high-speed machine out there that could load our stuff, especially for those of us with Civil War-era cartridge firearms (but also the muzzle-stuffer cases) faster than we each can on our own.
In the least, there's gotta be an automated casting device available to churn out some serious piles of bullets.
Any takers? Email Rico if you're interested.
.

And that's why they call it the Blues

2007-09-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

.

(With apologies to Elton John.)

The Regimental Histories button on our website (www.delawareblues.info) will let you read the complete histories of each of the nine regiments of the First Delaware Infantry, including their command structure, service history, and significant battles (of which there were many).
.

Reporting for duty

2007-09-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

.
The Delaware Blues website, http://delawareblues.info, is up and running.
You can always send emails regarding the site, the Delaware Blues, or other pertinent N-SSA issues to the Delaware Blues webmaster here or to the unit adjutant here.

We will also be posting photos and information, as appropriate, on this blog.
Check both places periodically to see what the Blues are up to.
Thanks for your support.
.