My battalion, the Mifflin Guard, prides itself on its drill. We've pretty much gone through Casey's School of the Battalion. All of the standard movements are routine for us so we've been working on the less common ones. This past weekend at the Cedar Creek reenactment we were learning one of the ways to form square ("Forward on the Center"). We did it a few times and agreed that it was a quicker and easier way than our usual method (from a double column or column of division) but we didn't know then that we'd have a chance to put it to good use before the weekend was over!
During the final battle scenario (a rather heavily modified version of an obscure cavalry action called Guard Hill) the Union Army was scripted to be flanked and driven back. My unit was designated as the rear guard for the army. Well, the scenario worked pretty well except the Confederates were being a bit too agressive in their flanking movement and were threatening to cut off the Union's escape route. That would have gummed up the scenario since this was only the first part of a much longer battle. So I fell back and shifted left and fell back some more and generally managed to keep the escape route open, but in doing so got pretty well cut off. I found myself with Confederate infantry on three sides and a sizeable body of Confederate cavalry in my rear.
Well! Only one thing to do! I called my battalion to attention and ordered: "Forward on the center, form square. Battalion, inward face. March!" Bless thier hearts, my men had not forgotten the morning drill! 30 seconds later we were in our square, blazing away in all directions.
Of course we were also doomed :)
There were a thousand Confederates on all sides of us and it would only take a violley or two to obliterate us. Worse, there was nothing to prevent most of them from hurrying off after the rest of the retreating Yankees. All we could hope to do was sell our lives as dearly as possible. I told my men: "Okay boys, it's time for the 300 Spartans!"
But much to my surprise the Confederates stopped in the tracks.
They just stared at us. A few kept firing but most of them just watched.
Finally, after a few minutes a bugler sounded cease fire. A Confederate officer came forward and I went to meet him. I fully expected him to demand my surrender. I was trying to decide whether to reply "The (Mifflin) Guard dies, but it does not surrender!" Or to just say "Merde!" and be done with it :)
But to my surprise he saluted me and said: "Colonel, you men have fought valiantly. You may withdraw from the field and we will not fire upon you!"
I thanked him, saluted and then hustled back to my battalion to get the heck out of there before he changed his mind!
We marched off the field, still in our square, to the cheers of the Confederate army.
Sometimes it pays to be (a) square!
Scott Washburn
Mifflin Guard
