War wages every year on the first weekend in November as the Confederates attempt to defend Fort Branch against the Union Army.  Fort Branch is located in Hamilton, North Carolina — just about 12 miles from Big Mill Bed & Breakfast. 

Yankee reenactor Mike Kerriker (below) gets his weapon ready for battle in the annual Civil War Battle Re-Enactment this weekend near Big Mill B&B. 

Fort Branch sits high up on a cliff at a bend in the muddy, fast-moving Roanoke River near Hamilton, NC. 

Here, the Confederates built a dirt mound fort and it was strategic in the Roanoke Valley defense against the Union Army. From this vantage point, the Confederates had a clear view that enabled their troops to protect the railway bridge near Weldon and the construction site of the 122 foot ironclad ship the Ram C.S.S.Albemarle. From Ft. Branch, Johnny Reb could see if the Yankees were coming.

As a child we called this fascinating place Rainbow Banks, some called it Rainbow Bend. Since 1987, in early November Fort Branch comes alive again when Civil War Battle Re-Enactors recreate scenes of 1862. On the last day of the reenactment, war is waged with canons, musket fire and some pretty authentic-looking casualties. There was a real battle of Fort Branch and it took place in July, 1862.

But the days leading up to the battle are full of regular folk stuff like cooking on an open fire, making candles, making butter, playing music….all the things folks did to stay alive almost 150 years ago.

One of the reenactors gave me a piece of Hard Tack, a heavy, unleavened cracker or biscuit that was a staple for the soldiers on both sides of the war. Also called Sea Biscuits, these crackers are hard as a rock and are selling like hot cakes on the internet by the G.H.Bent Cookie Company. But you can make your own.

Hard Tack Recipe

(Preheat oven to 400 degrees)

2 cups flour

½ to ¾ cup water

6 pinches salt

1 Tablespoon lard or shorting (optional)

Mix all ingredients together to make a batter that does not stick to your hands, as dry as possible.

Roll out or press onto an ungreased cookie sheet to a thickness of ½ inch thick. Bake for 30-45 minutes.

Remove from oven and cut into 3-inch squares. Punch 4 holes into each cracker. Do not pierce all the way through. Flip and bake for another half hour or until crackers are dry. Turn oven off and leave hard tack in the oven until they are cool.

Note: Cooking times may vary. Hard tack can keep for up to a year.   

I am not a reenactor, but this is an exciting place to be. As I wandered through the campgrounds, I was shocked by the "dark." There were no electric lights, no flashlights … nothing of the twenty first century. Folks walked around carrying wooden lanterns lit with beeswax candles, men were wearing wool uniforms, smoke was everywhere, from the camp fires and the canons that they fire at dusk.

They do have concessions for folks to buy hand-forged iron things, candles, ball gowns, long underwear, artillery, ammunition, knives and most anything that a man would need to fight a war in 1862. The pretty hand-made gowns are for the women to wear on the last night of the reenactment when the Rebels join the Yankees to revel, dance and make merry.

The musicians above just picked up their instruments and started making music. On the left is Tommy Britt in civilian clothing. The mandolin player is obviously a Rebel and Ann Ortiz is playing the banjo. Most of these reenactors follow the circuit and they know each other from other battles up and down the east coast.

Ann plays regularly with the Huckleberry Brothers band from the NC 18th and the NC 27th Regimental Infantry units. They play instruments of the Civil war era including fiddle, banjo, mandolin, guitar, pennywhistle, bones, bodhran (Irish drum), mountain dulcimer and sometimes a harmonica. As Ann says of their music,  "It is Old Time Civil War Period and Minstrel Music of the Old South, full of bawdry humor and wit."  While I was wandering around Fort Branch I think I saw some Yankees playing music with some Rebels. This is one of the songs you might hear them play:

Old Dan Tucker

Old Dan Tucker was a mean old man
Washed his face in a frying pan
Combed his hair with a wagon wheel
Died with a toothache in his heel

Get out the way, old Dan Tucker
You’re too late to get your supper
Suppers over, breakfasts cookin’
Old Dan Tucker just stands there lookin’

Old Dan Tucker. old no good
Went to Alaska looking for food
The weather tried to freeze him,
did its level best. (song of the Civil War era)

As night falls the camp gets quiet, soldiers sleep when they can in the tents, but always with a sentry to watch for a possible Yankee invasion.

I did hear that sometimes it is necessary to have a "defector" if they don’t have enough Yankees to fight the battle. This might just be a joke among the group, but it sounds reasonable to me. 

After Robert E. Lee’s surrender in 1865 the Confederates spiked the canons and dumped them over the cliff and into the Roanoke River. Several have been recovered but some are still lie at the bottom of the river.

Today the site is maintained by the Fort Branch Battlefield Commission and the 1st NC Volunteers/11th Regiment NC Troops. Each year on the first Saturday in December, Fort Branch hosts a Christmas candlelight tour of the fort ending with visitors joining to sing carols around an open camp fire. This year it the tour will be on Saturday, December 6th beginning at 7 p.m. Wear warm clothes, it can get really cold on the banks of the Roanoke.

Fort Branch is a wonderful site and is definitely worth a visit.  Donations can be sent to Fort Branch Battlefield Commission, P.O. Box 355, Hamilton, NC 27840 or email them for more information — adjutant@fortbranchcivilwarsite.com. This year’s Re-enactment is October 30th, 31st and November 1st, 2008. 

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Summer nights bring back memories of childhood on the farm. You could heard the frogs, the crickets and you could smell the tobacco curing. It was a sweet, wonderful smell not at all like the smell associated with cigarette smoke.  I can still look out the window and see tobacco growing.

You can too, if you visit Big Mill Bed and Breakffast or eastern North Carolina in spring, summer or fall. Tobacco is a beautiful, stately plant with sticky, pink flowers.

In years past, come January the tiny seeds were sewn in beds that were then covered with cheese cloth. In May these plants were pulled and planted one at a time in rows in the fields that were "set off" with 8 rows and then a wider truck row. This was done so that when it was time to "pull or prime" the tobacco there would be room for the mule and the tobacco truck. We don’t "pick" tobacco.

This truck was a wooden cart with wooden wheels and it was pulled by a mule. Later tractors did this job. 

Pictured above are Mother, Monk, Sammy and our wonderful mule Mary. Mary lived to be 40 years old and spent her whole life here at Big Mill. Her room is being renovated for a Writer’s Retreat here at Big Mill Bed and Breakfast and we are calling it the Mule Shed.

Above: Nephew Monk is piled up (as we say in the South) in a tobacco truck full of green tobacco.

Left: My cousin Jean Carol and Aunt Effie in the late forties. (I assume that is true because Aunt Effie is wearing her Army uniform).

After it was piled into the tobacco truck, the tobacco was carried to the "scaffold" and looped onto sticks. The looped tobacco was poked up into the barn and dried with a wood fire; later it was flue-cured.  It was then removed from the sticks, graded and tied into pretty bundles, ready for market. 

In late August the tobacco was taken to the warehouse to be auctioned off and sold to the highest bidder. My dad owned one of these warehouses The Roanoke Dixie.
Wow, that was a fun place for a child to play.   

(Above) That is my dad Ops (back view) wearing the hat. It seems that he has stopped the sale and is probably asking the tobacco buyer for a better price. The fellow on the left has walked over from Griffin’s Quick Lunch, just across the street. Griffin’s is still in business and they still sell Martin County barbecue.

This is how tobacco is harvested now, we aren’t Tobacco Road anymore. The warehouses are a thing of the past…the tobacco companies buy the tobacco right out of the field. That is sad; some of the art is lost. Oh, well….it is still a beautiful crop. Some day we will find the perfect use for tobacco.

By the way, I have never smoked a cigarette, or dipped or chewed…but I did make myself a snuff brush out of a dogwood twig. And I saw on the internet how to make your own snuff….hmmm.

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Chloe and Ed at Robbie’s (above)  

Although not a bona fide Key’s bar, I just had to mention Robbie’s in Islamorada; it is a real Key’s treasure.

Robbie’s is the place to rent a Carolina Skiff, drink a beer and feed the tarpon. You will see lots of tourists here but the local flavor is still preserved. When I took this photo of Ed Gavit and me I had no clue that Ed was such a perfect profile of Keys Character. Being born here is not a prerequisite.

Ed’s favorite hangout was Harry’s Bar in Tavernier. Several years ago Harry’s was razed and now there is a vacant lot or maybe a bank where Harry’s used to be…too bad. Harry’s had been at this location since World War II.

Every night at Harry’s, Ed met his friend Bumpy who was a true Conch (a person actually born here in the Keys and most likely a descendant of the white Bahamians)…not many of those around anymore.

Alabama Jack’s (below) has a Key Largo address, but if you go looking for it you had better know that it is on the Card Sound Road. It is definitely still in the Keys and is still unpretentious. Alabama Jack’s has been around over fifty years and we hope it will be here for fifty more.

In a June, 2000 USA Today article Jimmy Buffett names Ten of his  Favorite Watering Holes in the world. Two of these are in the Florida Keys: Louie’s Backyard Restaurant and Lounge in Key West and Alabama Jack’s in Key Largo. Speaking of Alabama Jack’s, Buffett commented that many of the characters looked like they crawled right out of the Everglades.

It is a favorite of bikers and Joy, who knows the owner Phyllis says of Alabama Jack’s, "Most of the bikers who show up at Alabama Jack’s are attorneys from Miami who ride their Harleys on Sundays and don’t drink alcohol, but they gather and eat superbly-cooked conch fritters and Key lime pie." 

And on Sundays you might be lucky and see cloggers on the dance floor. Betty clowned for us and gave us a clogging flip (left).

They advertise "Best Conch Fritters in the Keys." The whole family can enjoy this Keys watering hole.  

The Caribbean Club in Key Largo has a long and vivid history. In 1935 Carl Graham FIsher, famed Florida developer built the club as a "poor man’s retreat;" this was his last venture. (Below: The view from the bar of the Caribbean Club includes Patrick.)

Publicity hype touts the Caribbean Club as being part of the 1947 movie "Key Largo" that starred Humphry Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Memorabilia of the film is still seen on the walls of this fun watering hole. Bogey (below) is joined by Patrick and Shane, the bartender.

A fire in 1955 changed the tenor of the club, but don’t fret-it is still up and running better than ever. (Below Chloe, Big Mill B&B Innkeeper, enjoys the views and characters at the Caribbean Club.)

Built in 1937 just after the devastaing hurricane of 1935, Papa Joe’s Bar and Marina has been around a long time. The bar seems to come and go but hopefully it can make it. This is a great place to catch a sunset.

And for real Keys characters you can’t miss the Paradise Pub in Key Largo. Great food and open late at night.

Yep, that is Chloe the Innkeeper (below) shooting a game of Eight Ball at the Paradise Pub, a real Shark in Paradise.

"Frankly, Scallop, I don’t give a clam." Great sign at the Mandalay in Key Largo. The Mandalay was once a favorite hangout of locals, who stopped by after work to grab a brew. It is totally gentrified now; nice, but you won’t see many Conchs here. 

This Keys blog story is dedicated to some of my favorite Keys characters: George and Louise Scott and old Mr. Ed, who has seen his last sunset and has moved on to a better houseboat somewhere out there.  

George and Louise clean up so well that I had to search to find a Keys character photo of them. Mr. Ed was always in his Keys persona, no matter where he was. We miss him, cantankerous character that he was.

Thanks to Florida Keys historian Jerry Wilkinson for sharing his knowledge of these historic places, characters, bars and watering holes. His information about the colorful history of the Caribbean Club would be a great Chloe’s blog entry all on its own.

Can you tell which one is Jerry?

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You don’t have to like beer to appreciate a Keysy bar.

To me a true Keys bar is unpretentious, it has a devout group of regulars, often tattooed, wearing ratty jeans or shorts and tee-shirts that make a statement. And they are serious about their beer. Many of the fellows seen at these bars are hangovers from the sixties, so expect to see bald spots and pony tails on the guys. Jimmy Buffett said there should be at least one fellow missing a few teeth.

The Lorelei in Islamorada (above) has been gentrified but it is still fun. If you visited prior to 2007 you saw a genuine Keys bar. In past years all the chair legs were not the same length, and you would see at least two folks missing a few teeth. You placed your money under individual mouse traps that were nailed to the circular bar. These are gone now. Too bad.

The Lorelei sits right on the water. Joy and I went once to see a group called Big Dick and the Extenders. What were we thinking? Touted as Family Fun, it really wasn’t! Looking back we are guaranteed to laugh and not forget. We still love arriving by boat even though most of the characters have moved on.

Below: The Dockside Bar in Marathon on Boot Key Harbor.

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Louise and Chloe at the Dockside (above). We motored up in our 10-foot inflatable dinghy. What fun! Some real characters can be seen here, many live on boats on a hook at anchor (below) just a dinghy ride away.  I haven’t been to the Dockside this year, and I hope it is still authentic

Whatever bar is at Snake Creek (below) it is sure to be a fun place to go by boat. I remember when it was the Big Conch and now it is the Island Grill. Most of the locals are gone but it it still worth a stop.

You can step right off your boat and sit at the tables with the cute umbrellas…the view of the Atlantic is breathtaking.  Once Ed and I ordered a glass of wine and it was so bad we dared not throw it overboard…that would be polluting and an environmentally serious Innkeeper couldn’t do that.  Luckily the wine list has improved. 

Chloe with one of the Keys Characters Ed at Snake Creek, now called the Island Grill (above)

(Above) Chloe in front of the No Name Pub.

The standout winner for the Big Mill B&B award for the best Keysy Bar is the No Name Pub in Big Pine Key. Decorated with thousands of old dollar bills, this is the real thing. It has been around since 1935 and it rather looks like it. Yes, that is a tree that fell on the building…don’t worry, it was still open for business.

"A nice place if you can find it."

That is very true. Heading south you turn right in Big Pine Key and wander around for quite awhile in residential neighborhoods. Then just before you head over the bridge to No Name Key up pops the No Name Pub.

The first time that Joy, Patrick and I went to No Name Pub several of the chairs only had three legs. Patrick tried to drink all of the Killian’s Red so he didn’t care about the chairs. Now he is the designated driver. Funny what age does to us, eh?

 Chloe and Joy inside the No Name Pub

The Pizza is actually quite good. I hope this place with all its history will be here for a long time. Do NOT miss The No Name Pub-it is one of a kind. I am sure Jimmy Buffett approves.

It is obvious that I will have to do this chloesblog entry in several installments-there are just too many great watering holes in the Keys.

(The Innkeeper has taken time away from eastern North Carolina to join dear friends Patrick and Joy at friends George and Louise’s house in the Florida Keys.)

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