Video
Infantry Demonstration
Transcript
[audio description] Against a black backdrop the National Park Service Arrowhead logo stands above the words Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.
Hey guys it's ranger Jake here and I'm sitting in our education room. And I wanted to do brief introduction video to the infantry demonstration that you're about to see. So if you'll remember from the program on the fighting that happened in the field at the base of Cheatham Hill. We talked a little bit about what the infantry's role was. Now the initial attack if you'll remember was ordered as a bayonet charge, but as the men got through the field fortifications and chaos continued to ensue, and they were coming under Confederate artillery and infantry fire, there was a kind of disorganized, or several disorganized musket firings by the Union soldiers there at that site. So the infantry demonstrations that you're about to see are just a small example of living history and of what some of the musket firing could have looked like. So the very first program you're going to see, the demonstration you're going to see is going to be a volley fire, and a volley fire is when all of men in an area fire all at once. The idea is to put a lot of lead and a lot of bullets down range. Of course we're not using bullets in this demonstration. But you're going to see three infantry soldiers, well three living historians, dressed in Union garb standing in the field at the base of the Illinois Monument, at the base of Cheatham Hill firing in roughly the same, we had to shift it just a little bit for safety and range safety, but roughly in the same direction they would have been firing on June 27th. So again you're going to see a volley fire by these men. Pay attention to how they load and fire their weapons and you kind of see how long it took to fire just one shot. And we will pick back up for the next one. So see you in a minute.
(Man off-screen) Attention squad: (Man off-screen) Shoulder arms! (Man off-screen) Load in nine times. (Man off-screen) Load (Man off-screen) Handle Cartridge (Man off-screen) Tear Cartridge (Man off-screen) Charge Cartridge (Man off-screen) Draw Rammer (Man off-screen) Ram Cartridge (Man off-screen) Return Rammer (Man off-screen) Prime (Man off-screen) Ready (Man off-screen) Aim (Man off-screen) Fire! [2 loud shots] (Man off-screen) Cease firing (Man off-screen) Shoulder arms
Welcome back! So you saw the saw the volley fire and one of the things that always gets me about having several muskets go off at once is the sound and just the cloud of acrid smoke. A lot of the men described especially on that day and the fighting on that day the smell and how the smoke that smoke from the black powder just occluded their vision and how the smell, you know, stunk in their nose and their lungs and it just added to the chaos and just the overall feel of that time and the fighting. So the next demonstration you're going to see is going to more closely resemble the chaotic fire. Now we say chaotic, these living historians are trained, everything is closely monitored for safety regulations for NPS standards, but we wanted to, we're going to be doing a 'load at will' and a 'fire at will'. And the 'load at will' will be basically the men loading at their own pace and you'll see them go through the steps and that will take them up to the position of 'prime'. At that point you will hear a voice off camera saying and telling them how they're going to fire, which will be 'fire at will' and then it will go through the the commands 'ready, aim, fire.' And after that the demonstrators, the living historians, will continue to fire at their own pace until they are out of ammunition and you will.. The video doesn't go the whole way, and it's just to give you a little bit of a demonstration of showing them firing off a few rounds. So I hope you enjoy it again this is this is the same setting as before. This is three living historians standing in the base field, the base of the Illinois Monument pointing in the basic direction. We had to shift the shift of direction for safety reasons, but pointing in the basic direction of the Illinois Monument to simulate and to show and demonstrate how the men would have been firing that day in a large field with the trail off to the side. Okay hope you enjoy!
(man off-screen) Attention squad. (man of screen) Load at will (man of screen) Load (man of screen) Squad: fire at will (man of screen) Ready (man of screen) Aim (man of screen) Fire! [3 loud shots] [2 loud shots] [loud shot] [loud shot] [loud shot] [loud shot] So that wraps up our infantry demonstration and the portion of the assault and the assault on Cheatham Hill. Hope you enjoyed this portion of our battle anniversary's programming. It was a very important time of year for us. We interpret and commemorate and try to honor the soldiers and the history that happened here on a daily basis. But the battle anniversaries are kind of special times that we get to talk about some different stories and we get to do some interesting things and try to really remain engaging to you all. So we want to thank you for your time and for watching our programs. And we'll see you at the mountain. Bye!
Description
[Sun 2:00 ET] In this short infantry demonstration, living historians show different methods and timings on loading and firing their muskets. This video is a companion to the virtual program, Assault Trail: Facing Fearful Odds Pt. 2.
Duration
8 minutes, 3 seconds
Credit
NPS/ J. Boling
Date Created
06/27/2021
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