I do hope (and believe) that our combined efforts paid appropriate honor to the sons of Brandy Station, and throughout the day I felt an almost-physical connection to the Blue and Gray troopers of June 1863 as we traversed their magnificent battleground..

It has fallen upon me to conduct many, many dozens of tours of Brandy Station since the late 80’s and Saturday’s outing was perhaps the most enjoyable of them all simply because we were all “into it.” The day was superb; the attendees were engaged; the battlefield was resplendent, and the tour guides offered respectful, informative comments. Indeed, it could not have gone better and to have my son, daughter and grandson present as we all shared this unique “Brandy 150” experience made for a memorable day.

Cecil Jones and the Loudoun County Civil War Roundtable hosted an excellent event, for which we convey our deep thanks. This was their tour, logistically, and what a wonderful job they accomplished! Craig Swain ranks as one of the finest “field commanders” I have ever encountered. Nothing in fact escapes Craig’s tactical eye, a wonderful leadership attribute to retain when one is called upon to shift around dozens of cars on narrow country farm lanes–and to guide the way across a broad expanse of pristine battlefield.

Todd Kern–my friend of 25 years– and the Valley Light Horse mesmerized us all with their tactical machinations on the St. James Plateau, and it was a personal thrill for us all to once again witness cavalry troopers storming across this sanguine field of battle. Wow..

And especially, I wish to thank you and Michael Block from the bottom of my heart for your adeptly professional tour-leader performances. At times, I felt we had previously rehearsed the tour presentation as it went so smoothly, but in reality, our honored attendees simply received the very best we could deliver.. And I’m extremely proud of the association with you both.

None of us will probably be around for Brandy Station’s 200th Commemoration, but I do fervently believe we have done our part in June 2013 to pay lasting tribute to those brave souls who fought and died at Brandy Station. Honor to them all!

Wonderful report on the tour! Glad that you all had cooperating weather and a great turnout. I wish that I could have been there. I guess I’ll have to wait for the video.
I was also pleased to see you mention my good friend, Cecil Jones. Besides being a heck of a nice guy, one would be hard pressed to find someone more dedicated to Battlefield preservation and Civil War sites than Cecil.

Even when dealing with the bad behavior of the BSF folks, Bud kept his cool and didn’t bring the politics into the events of the day. He’s a class act.

You guys provided one of the best tours of any battlefield I’ve ever been on, and the depth of knowledge was amazing. It was a great event. Thanks for putting it on, Eric!

Simply go up to the search engine here on the blog and enter “Brandy Station Foundation.” You will find more information there than you could possibly want about the problems.

Eric

On the BSF part, I have no idea what you are talking about so you might want to explain to us not in the know.

I will post my pics and videos on my blog when I get time later in the week. Once again, well done.