(We asked Temescal Valley resident Rob Mucha to share his experience posing as a Union soldier during the Civil War re-enactment staged at Tom’s Farms in October. He shares his story here. Rob, since October, has appeared in other re-enactments.)

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Temescal Valley resident Rob Mucha carries the company flag.

By ROB MUCHA

When I heard that there was going to be a civil war re-enactment in my own valley I got a strong urge to enlist in the cause.

I’ve always been interested in the civil war since I was a kid, have visited several of the battlefields including Gettysburg, and have a couple friends around the country who participate in them, but I’ve never had the opportunity to participate on such a personal level. Plus, we had just finished our own not so civil war just weeks before (Corona annexation defense), and the timing seemed rather fitting.

Volunteering was easier than I thought it would be. I showed up the day before as the camps were setting up and the first person I talked to just happened to be the head of one of the Union divisions and had an opening and some loaner gear. He told me to come back the next day a couple hours early and they’d get me all set up. The best part is that he ran an artillery group so I’d be able to shoot cannons all day … there aren’t very many opportunities in my normal life to shoot cannons so I didn’t get much sleep the night before.

The uniform fit great and I was given some basic training about how to look and act in camp. The troops spend a lot of time, effort and money in making it look as real as possible, and there were justifiable expectations about how to act in uniform.

I found it interesting that both sides saluted the other side’s top leaders out of respect. The various troops come from all around the state/country and are very tight within their own group and promotions are earned over time. They take all aspects very seriously and people are addressed if they fall out of line.

Of course I fell out of line. I did a lot of things right and thought I blended in pretty well, but there are so many moving parts that it is pretty inevitable for a newbie. My troop was real patient, but when you get around the higher leaders they expect you to know your duties. That seriousness added a lot to the overall experience.

My first role was to carry and store all the black-powder charges for one Union cannon, a parrott cannon which is one of the larger ones and accurate up to a mile I’m told. I didn’t really fully understand how dangerous the role was until several people mentioned to me not to let any smokers around me, and to keep gloves on when handing a charge to the cannon loader. Good tips, considering I was holding 10 or so charges! That role stands back by the leaders until an individual cannon charge is requested. It was great listening to the upper leaders discussing the order of the blasts and watching the battle unfold from that perspective. I was supposed to remain pretty serious but I saw a picture where I had a huge smile on my face after a barrage of cannon blasts fired. Couldn’t help it!

It was also neat just walking through the camps in uniform. I even had the opportunity to carry our flag out to the battlefield which was also pretty special, especially considering what that meant historically. It would have been neat anyway, but running into people who I actually knew from the area added another level to it.

For the second battle my role changed to inserting and pulling the cord that actually fires the cannon. This is a lot more complicated and dangerous than it sounds, but it is absolutely thrilling and addictive! My troop held a little ceremony for firing my first cannon which was pretty cool. At the end of two days and four battles I really felt like part of the troop and was invited to participate in future events at other locations. Will I go dress up and fire cannons another day? No doubt!