Minutes of the North South Alliance Annual Meeting
January 26, 2008
Nashville, TN

Mark Hernbroth, Chief of Staff, First Federal Division called meeting to order at 1:15pm.

The following people were introduced:

• Mike Ventura, Chief of Staff, Army of Tennessee
• Mike Moore, Commanding General, Army of Tennessee
• Steve Dunfee, Commanding General, First Federal Division
• Mark Hernbroth, Chief of Staff, First Federal Division

A discussion of organizational issues ensued. Steve Dunfee stated that the overall purpose of the N/SA was to “continue to move forward in a way that we have agreed upon.”

It was stated by Mark Hernbroth that the consensus from the Executive Committee was that the N /SA needs to formally organize as a 501. ( c ) 3 “Not for Profit” organization.

(Note: No action was taken to move forward on the 501 ( c) 3 issue at this time.) It was stated from the chair that the N /SA Executive Board would form two committees that are of major import to the continuing activities of the organization. They are:

• Planning Committee: To set standards for N/SA events; To serve as the first point of contact for individuals or organizations wishing to partner with the N/SA in the staging of re-enactments

• Finance Committee: To be charged with seeking means to generate revenue for the N/SA and to administer the finances of the organization.

It was later determined in Executive Session that the Planning and Finance committees would consist of seven (7) members each and the First Federal Division would have four (4) members on the Planning Committee and three (3) members on the Finance Committee. The Army of Tennessee would have three (3) members on the Planning Committee and four (4) members on the Finance Committee. It was agreed that one civilian representative would have non-voting status on the planning committee, but and would serve to lobby the interests of the civilian re-enactors.

Mike Moore offered comments on several topics including upcoming events, event attendance, current state of finances and organization.

Steve Dunfee stated that the N/SA finds itself in a situation where events are fractionalized on 2008 but from this point forward, the organization needs to move forward in a united manner. General Dunfee suggested that the N/SA get in sync with the upcoming cycle of 150th anniversary events. He stated that whether the N/SA is the host or primary sponsor, we should have enough leverage to participate with our own command structure.

A discussion of specific events followed.

Mike Moore led the discussion on the Pea Ridge/Elk Horn Tavern event near Jonesboro, AR event for 2009. It was reiterated that the “Pea Ridge” event at Jonesboro, AR in 2009 was an official N/SA “sponsored/hosted” event for 2009. Steve Dunfee stated that there was no ambiguity that this was a fully supported, hosted, and sponsored N/SA event for 2009. It was recalled that it was decided on during the 2007 N/SA meeting, and it was re-approved by the Board of Directors of the FFD and AOT again this year.

The event is scheduled for a 1,000+ acre site in March 2009.Mike Moore asked about projected re-enactor participation for the Jonesboro event. Initial projections and estimates have been based on 6,000 reenactors including military and civilian. After some discussion, it was the agreement of those present that a number between 2,000 and 2,500 participants would be more realistic. Terre Lawson stated that the civilian reenactors that would participate in such a campaign style event number no morethan 400 – 500 in total. Due to the time of year, location, etc., Terre stated that she thought that no more than 10% of the campaigner civilians would participate.

Terry Crowder questioned the March date and wondered if the event could be moved later to a more hospitable weather window. Mike Moore stated that the reason for the early March date was that the land is used by the owner to grow hay and that a late date would interfere with the farming operation. General Moore also stated that the early March date was closer to the historical date of the Pea Ridge battle. Colonel Crowder asked if the cost of the land was a factor in the March date. General Moore stated that it was not, and that the landowner was taking a percentage of total participant registration, not a flat fee. Doug Cooper suggested that if the event could be moved to April, both the site and the date are more apropos to the Battle of Jenkins Ferry.Mike Moore stated that an effort would be made to get senior commanders of both the  First Federal Division and the Army of Tennessee to visit the site this year at a time similar to when the event will be held in 2009. He said that some funds were available for travel reimbursement.

Next, a presentation of “At High Tide,” the “alternative” Gettysburg event was made. Chris Anders of the Western Maryland Heritage Foundation was unable to attend the meeting as he had planned. However, he provided us with a PowerPoint presentation that was narrated by Doug Cooper. This event is a “recognized” event by the N/SA and a large contingent of the First Federal Division plans on attending. Some organizations in the Army of Tennessee have elected to attend the mainstream Gettysburg event. That, and the upcoming Chickamauga event have combined to severely limit AoT participation at “At High Tide.” Colonel Medich will command those AoT members who plan on attending.Next, Colonel Terry Crowder provided an update on “Stand of Colors,” the Kansas City, Missouri event scheduled for mid-May of this year. This event is also an “N/SA recognized event” for 2008. He informed us that this event is the primary fund-raiser of the Kansas City Rotary Club and that the funds go to a fund that supports a summer camp for handicapped children.

There were some questions as to the battle scenarios for the event. Col. Crowder said that Sunday’s battle would be the Battle of Westport and that a local historian was providing information for the scenarios. After first stating that the Saturday and Sunday morning battles would be unscripted evolutions, Colonel Crowder later explained that they would indeed be “loosely” scripted and controlled by the field commanders. Colonel Crowder stated that the sponsors were expecting 15 – 20,000 spectators for each of the two days of the event.

General Moore stated that he wanted to reiterate that Jack King would serve as the over-all Confederate commander for the Kansas City event.

A question from the floor asked about the inclusion of skydivers in the event.  Colonel Crowder stated that was being worked out with the Rotary Club as part of their “opening ceremonies” but if it did happen that it would not be something in which the re-enactors had to participate.

Another question from the floor: “How do the morning battles flow into the afternoon spectator battles?” Colonel Crowder stated “Your generals will get you there.” (Note: There will be general rules of engagement, objectives, and broad scenarios for the non-public, non scripted engagement times.. living history 24/7 for those who wish to participate in that part of the event.)

Finally, Ed Hooper and Reece Sexton of the Civil War Courier made a presentation of the 145th Battle of Chickamauga. The site is 847 acres in McLemore Cove, located on Chickamauga Creek twelve miles south of the Chickamauga Battlefield in Walker County, GA. The Army of Tennessee has agreed to participate in this event but the First Federal Division had not, at this point in time.

After showing a large overhead photo of the site and giving details of the event, Mr. Hooper and Mr. Sexton entertained questions from the floor.

Steve Dunfee asked if there was any possibility that the event could be moved to 2009 or beyond? Ed Hooper said “no,” and explained that the State of Georgia, Walker County, and the City of Chickamauga were all heavily involved at this point. General Dunfee stated that he was concerned about organizing and staging an event in nine months, when one to two years is the norm. He further stated that the First Federal Division had already committed to participate in two events in 2008 – Kansas City and At High Tide – Gettysburg, and that, along with the reorganization of the command of the First Federal Division, didn’t feel as if the FFD could commit to yet a third event.  However, General Dunfee agreed to discuss it further with his commanders and provide an answer before everyone left Nashville. (follow up: It was determined by the FFD Board of Directors, meeting subsequently to the N/SA Meeting, that the FFD indeed, due to its previous commitments, could not support the Chickamauga event as the federal command structure, but wished the event every success.)

Michael Maurier of the FFD  was recognized from the floor and presented the prototype of the re-design of the N/SA web site. It was well received by all present.

Mark Hernbroth redirected the discussion to the events calendar, stating that “slots” were available for N/SA events in Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010 and beyond. There was a discussion that the “cycle of events could be one per year if done in the summer, or one or two events per year if done in Spring and then Fall, but that we needed to have at least “one season” between” our events. This will be brought to the Planning Committee when it forms.

Dave Neel commented from the floor that the N/SA should be proactive in contacting and working with other organizations to solicit N/SA participation in 150th anniversary cycle events. Mark Hernbroth, from the chair, agreed.

Terry Sorchey proposed that perhaps the N/SA might want to consider a “Winter Quarters” and “Camp of Instruction” event in 2010 leading into the 150th anniversary cycle. The purpose would be to improve drill and camp-life and soldier impressions prior to attending the 150th anniversary events.

General Moore announced that he was “withdrawing” his previous statement that he would be retiring following the Jonesboro event in March 2009, and would stay on as commander of the Army of Tennessee for the foreseeable future.

After a brief discussion, it was determined that next year’s annual meeting would be held in Nashville, TN the weekend of January 24, 2009.

General Dunfee suggested that the meeting be closed with a brief prayer that he then offered.

The meeting was adjourned.