Thanks Alan. This isn't my first such engagement and I really appreciate your suggestions and tips. Some of my gun crew and I have done stuff with younger and older students in the classroom as well as The Boy Scouts on occaission. We had a group of about 10 Boy Scouts that came out to The Watt House on Gaines Mill Battlefield several years ago. One of my cannoneers and myself were all decked out in full uniform with pistols and sabers and all the leather that goes with it. All the props that we try to avoid while reenacting, hot and heavy, hehehe. We were out on the field looking over the artillery that was there in the park when the boys arrived. They thought that somehow we were real soldiers when we first spoke to them about "the abandonded Federal artillery" that we were inspecting. And we held their attention for a good hour and a half. My neighbor who is a fellow Masonic brother told me that his son still talks about that day and that all the boys thought that it was the best weekend outing they ever had. We took them on to the Cold Harbor visitor center afterwards and showed them the trenches and talked about the conditions that the men were subjected to on those terrible days in '64. Near the end of our day I pulled out a handful of mostly dropped bullets from those very fields and gave them all a couple of them. I don't think gold nuggets would have had a greater impact. We did get scolded by "Ranger Rick" that day for being armed on NPS land. But he let us slide after he listened to our presentation and realized what an impact we had on those young men. And we have performed at NPS events since that day, so I guess we made a good impression. It's a pretty good thing on your resume to have demonstrated artillery with the Park Service. They are very strict on weapons authenticity, your drill, and of course safety. I think one of the things I enjoy most about reenacting is talking with the spectators before and after a battle. The look of amazement when you actually spend time with them and explain the workings of your gun and each man's duties always puts a smile on my face. If everyone that dons the wool could try to make an impression on just one person, young or old at an event, it goes so far in perpetuating their interest in that period in time and history in general. Our "hobby" is unique and the benefits are great. I urge everyone to support reenactment events in their area and if you participate, try to make contact with someone that is there. They will never forget it. And you won't either. I'll give you an after action report sir.

Keith