Birney's Division 2d Battalion News

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Thunder Valley AAR

A combined force of one company of Infantry and one Company of Cavalry under the command of Capt. Bob Penix and Lt. Grant Kirkwood made a reconnaissance into an area outside of McKean, Pa known as Thunder Valley. Friday evening we were able to enjoy a pig roast while the 6th Ohio Cavalry picketed the perimeter to our front. We could see the Reb's campfires as they moved about their camp.

Saturday morning I had the company fall in for a little skirmish drill to sharpen our skills a bit. I had troops detached from the 23rd Ohio, 111th Pa, and 7th Wisconsin for this recon. They had all worked together before so drill was short and sweet.

That afternoon we advanced to the edge of the valley and sent the mounted scouts out. The scouts immediately made contact with the Reb's advance guard, dismounted and formed a skirmish line that held the Reb force in check until we could form up and come to their support.

We kept up our fire to hold their attention while the Cavalry remounted and rode around their flank and attacked the Rebs from the rear. We successfully performed a pincer movement causing Capt. Paul Baltzer to surrender his company and be taken prisoner.

After a short discussion with a crowd of locals that had gathered to see the commotion, we removed the prisoners from the field and paroled them.

Later that evening I sent Lt. Kirkwood out with a small detail to recon the woods to the south. Lt. Kirkwood engaged some Rebs doing the same thing and a running skirmish ensued that netted us a few more prisoners.

Saturday night was cool and a pleasant evening was passed listening to some musicians from the 111th Pa. while some of our troops danced with the local ladies.

Early Sunday morning our pickets reported Rebs moving in the woods to our South. Lt. Kirkwood and I took a platoon of Infantry in from the North and the horse soldiers went into the woods from the East and West. My squad jumped the Reb line and engaged in a fierce firefight. They began to envelope us and the situation was looking bad when the Cavalry crashed through the brush and captured all the Reb with little effort.

Later that morning we were able to attend a worship service with a Confederate Chaplin that came through our pickets to preach the Gospel.

That afternoon I took a small detail of infantry and a squad of mounted cavalry out for a short recon through the woods to our East. The cavalry scouts soon made contact with Reb horse soldiers and opened fire. I brought my infantry up at the double to support the troopers but the force in front of us soon received reinforcements and began pushing us back to the tree line. Their cavalry got into our rear and I was forced to surrender my detail to Capt. Baltzer who chose to remove us from the field under cavalry escort with the intention of executing all of us.

Many thanks to our hosts at Thunder Valley Stables for another great weekend. The pig roast and all the fixin's was worth the trip by itself. It's a great place to camp and the folks there treated us like royalty.

It's not often we get to work closely with mounted troops and I enjoyed it immensely. The troopers from the 6th Ohio Cavalry were the show. They are pleasant to work with and very professional. If you missed this event you should plan to attend next year. It's a short drive from northeast Ohio and well worth the trip.

Faithfully submitted by Capt. Bob Penix - Adjutant, 2nd Batallion
Birney's Division
Army of the Potomac

Posted by CL Smith @ 8:31 AM

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Thunder Valley AAR

0 Comments: