Recognizes t Ted Alexander USMC, Sergeant orps, Helicopter Sup
Barry J. Arnold US Army, Spec. 5 Artillery – 1st Cav.
Lawrence E. Babits S Army, Sergeant E-5 o B, 1st Bn, 21st In old War (1963–1966)
klin C. Bergquist (R US Army, E-7 All over the world
John Biemick (Ret.) US Army, Colonel Ordnance Corps
Joseph G. Bilby US Army, 1st Lieutenant Military Police Corps
Richard J. Blumberg US Army, Colonel 2 years reserves, 4 active Logistics training for Com Arm, Combat Support, and Combat Service Support uni during Desert Shield, Dese torm, Noble Eagle, Endurin Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom
Charles H. Bogart US Navy, E-3 Radarman, USS Dennis J Buckley DDR-808 Armed Forces Expeditionary
Joseph Bordonaro USAF, E-4, Inventory Management
Edmond A. Chapdelaine US Army, Lt Col. Ohio National Guard, rimary S1 Personnel Office
ice Transport, Major (Ret.) Australian Army Reserve
Thomas M. Dunne USMC, Sergeant (E-5) Infantryman Vietnam (1967–1971) Michael Fisher US Army, D Co, 87th Infantr
John A. Gall US Army, E-4 Artillery Surveyor, 194th Armored Brigade
Brian M. Green US Army, Captain Europe, Central America
Frank Raymond Hilliard US Army, P.F.C. Cook, 605th AAA Lynn, Mass.
Catesby ap c. Jones US Army, PFC Engineer Combat Battalion 1280th World War II (1944-46) Great grandson of Catesby a Roger Jones. David J. Klinepeter S Navy, Seaman First Class, Postal Mail Clerk aval Operating Base, Norfol
Richard Knoepfler US Coast Guard, E-5 Quartermaster Second Class
Lewis Leigh, Jr. US Army, 1st Lieutenant 793d Military Police Bn.
Bill Locey US Army, E-5, cook Battery, 4th Missile Bn, 5 Artillery 20 months in Panama
Tom Morton USMC nam 0311 “GRUNT” (1969 5 years Marines, 2 yea R, 3 years USAR, 1 yea National Guard, t Guard Reserve 22 yea hs. Coast Guard active called up for 9-11-0
George Newton USAF, E-5 Security Police tnam War Era (1967-197
Thomas H. Pearman Army, Lieutenant Colon Field Artillery Office Cold War Vet serve & National Guard
Patrick D. Peters US Navy, E-4 Machinist Mate
Richard Reilly New York National Gua Captain, Commanding Officer Delta Company
Michael A. Schwartz US Army (Reserves), E-5 etnam War Era (1968-197
J.W. Jim Shurling US Army, SP 4 58th ASA Co., Radio EW pecial Ops, 82nd Airbor
Paul T. Scott US Army 1st Lt. Medical Platoo 7th Inf. Reg. 25th Inf.
William Sweeney US Army, E-4 attery, 2nd Bn, 11th Ar
Joseph V. Trahan, III Army, Lieutenant Colone or & Public Affairs Off
Patrick D. Wheatley US Army, E-6 Vulcan Squad Leader
John Zinn US Army, 1st Lieutenant Quartermaster Corps
often falling into the pit of nos talgia. One example of that nostalgia stimulation is Gun Digest, the annual firearms publication continuously in print since 1946. Each issue covered not only the new firearms and firearms related products for a given year, but also included in depth articles o firearm’s use and history. I got my first copy of Gun Digest as a grammar school kid a decade after the initial edition but manag to acquire previous issues over the years and today have a complete collection on my bookshelf. Each year I look forward to th publication of Gun Digest, and just received the 2020 edition. The editors must have had people like me in mind this year because the current Digest is steeped in nostalgia. In addition to the usu al new product announcements lby) and reviews, there are a
on all aspects of firearms, hunting, and shooting, then and now. One I enjoyed in this issue was “America’s Twelve Greatest Shotguns,” which included my own beloved L. C. Smith double gun and the classic Remington Model 1100. Black powder related articles include a story on lever action rifles and six guns that sha the same caliber ammunition, a post-Civil War innovation that has seen revivals over the years, and a black powder “Report From the Field” covering recently introduced muzzle loaders, including Pedersoli’s Whitworth and
shortened “Sheriff’s Model” percussion revolvers, and Eras Gone bullet molds, producing historically accurate projectiles to use
es firearms. One piece that caught my attention immediately was on the Enfield P53, which provides the basics of the gun’s development and use, as well as an account of a first-time black powder shooter trying one out. Although I love Gun Digest, I give the piece mixed reviews. The author starts out with an anecdote about the Confederate surrender in 1865 that does not have anything to do with the Enfield, save for the fact that t subject is surrendering one. His assessment that the rifle musket was a potential revolutionary arm in its day due to its accuracy is correct, but the assumption that it revolutionized warfare because of that quality, a theory often e poused by past historians, is not The idea that the rifle musket changed tactics because it gave the average soldier a gun that wa accurate well beyond the range of the smoothbore musket is largely incorrect. While European armies realized the potential early on, and established extensive marksmanship training programs, the
United States Army did not embrace accurate long-range shoot-
ing until after the Civil War. While astute commanders like Confederate General Patrick Cleburne, a British Army
veteran, realized the advantages of the rifle musket, and sharpshooter units in both armies, perhaps most notably the Army of Northern Virginia later in the war, did indeed take advantage of the rifle musket’s attributes a tactical tool, the overall tact of the bulk of both armies did not change dramatically, as evidenced by Pickett’s Charge and the Union attacks at Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor. Marksmanship training for most Civil War soldiers was minimal to nonexistent. In some cases, as with the Thirteenth New Jersey Infantry at Antietam, the battle was the firs time soldiers ever loaded their weapons. The P53 Enfield’s worldwide use made it the AK47 of its day, and to be fair, the historical and technical inform the article is largely correct, a save for a few minor errors; the Springfield and Enfield did not fire the same diameter bullet unt the Union reduced the diameter of its Minié Ball, and prior to t change, the men of the Twentieth Maine had a problem with Springfield ammunition jamming in their Enfields at Gettysburg. The idea posited that Confederate cavalrymen preferred the Enfield Model 1861 musketoon seems unlikely, should a Rebel horseman get a chance to acquire a Sharps carbine. The author admits to having no experience with black powder arms, but he did acquire the assistance of a friend with considerable experience for his shooting test. He used a Pedersoli musketoon loaded with a Minié ball from Dixie Gun Works and fifty grains of Hodgdon Triple Se7en powder (a black powder substitute) and fired the gun at fifty and seventy-five-yard ranges, not the three hundred yard di
tance he cited as a typical range for Civil War soldiers.
I must say, however, despite m nit-picking on the Enfield articl my nostalgia button was pressed by the 2020 Gun Digest and I can heartily recommend it to all readers interested in firearms.
der firearms and gear, you might want to check out Veteran Arms, a company that not only sells to historical reenactors and traditional shooters, but also provide props for film and television pro ects. The Veteran Arms online
flintlock and percussion guns, bu exotic weapons like matchlock muskets and “hand mortars.” If you want to rent a cannon for a special occasion, Veteran Arms seems to be the place to go. For more information and details, see their website at: http://vet-
in Joseph G. Bilby received his BA and MA degrees in history from Seton Hall University and served as a lieutenant in the 1st Infantry Division in 1966–1967. H is Assistant Curator of the New Jersey National Guard and Militia Museum, a freelance writer and historical consultant and author or editor of 21 books and over 400 articles on N.J. and military history and firearms. He is also publications editor for the N.J. War 150 Committee and edited the award winning New Jersey Goes to War. His latest book, New Jersey: A Military History, was published by Westholme Publishing in 2017. He has received an award for contributions to Monmouth County (N.J.) history and an Award of Merit from the N.J. Historical Commission for contributions to the state’s military history. He can be contacted by email at
