1st Sergeant Dave Grill, 32nd Iowa, Co. B
May I call you Sergeant or Dave?
Sergeant, Mister Grill or David is fine.
What do you do in real life?
I am a service rep for a manufacturer of grain dryers. I travel the upper midwest on service calls, setting up service schools at dealerships, helping put on farm shows and helping with research and development work at the factory.
I understand you are getting ready to go on a big trip.
Yes, the company is sending me to the Ukraine to put on some service schools for some new dealers. It is a new market we just opened up. If it works out then next year it might be Russia.
That will be fun and you will learn a lot!
I'm looking forward to it.
How long have you been reenacting?
Ahh, I've kinda lost track. 6 or 7 years I think, since about 1996 or 1997.
And what is your role within the unit?
My role now on the field is as 1st sergeant. But, in the unit I am also president/secretary.
What is the history behind the role that you play in the unit?
The 1st sergeant has always been part of our military history. You can find some form of 1st sergeat all the way back to Roman times. The basic unit of the army is a company an this is traced all the way back to Roman times where they said centurians and that meant a hundred men. The 1st sergeant is the top non-commissioned officer of the company. Even to this day "they say" it is really the sergeants that run the army. The sergeant has a lot of responsibilities. he made sure the companies were formed and the company was taken care of and did every thing possible to make the officers look good.
Why did you pick this particular role to portray?
I really didn't pick it. I started off as a private with the company. All of our "non-coms" (non-commissioned officers include ranks from corporal to 1st sergeant) are elected. I was elected corpral and then sergeant when that possition came open. Just a few summers ago they elected me 1st sergeant.
But, why an infantryman?
The closest unit to where I live was the 32nd and it is an infantry Unit. It was the first unit I was invited into. It just made sense. I don't have a horse to be in the cavalry nor do I have a cannon. I have never regretted my decision.
What kinds of things did you have to learn to get ready for the role?
Basic infantryman has to learn the manual of arms, basic manuevers and different commands. As I moved up in rank I studied more and got books like the "Hardee's Manual of Arms" and Army regs and other publications plus watching and observing other units with more experienced people during drills.
Do your really fire bullets in the gun?
You can and I have. There is a friend of mine near Clemme Iowa that has a shooting range I go to occassionally. I have also taken part in the life fire competition at Boscobell twice. On the battlefield is strictly blanks. In fact there is always a danger of residue from bullets being still in the muskets. When that happends and it becomes dislodged it can cause injury. That has happened so, it is always a good idea to clean it thouroghly. Even better to have a second musket. One for reenactment use with strictly blanks and the other for live rounds.
Where did you find your weapons?
My fist musket came from my wife's uncle and cousin who have a gun shop in Michigan. They happened to have a 2-band enfield (it is the more expensive model) and sold it to me for half price. I prize that one because it came from family and because of the value. The rest of the equipment I got from James Country Merchantile
What is your favorite reenactment and why?
First of all let me prface that by saying that when I first started reenacting the biggest thrill for me was the battles, the fighting. Now there are other things away from the battlefield that give me a kick. Maybe it's interacting with a little girl who is a spectator ior at her first ball, or the situation of when I am trying to solve a problem with a complaint from a soldier and for a minute I loose track of what time frame I am actually in. It becomes that real that I feel like I am in the 1860's. I would say that my most favorite event (and it's hard to pick) would be Claremont of 2003. At that one I portrayed Congressman David Henderson. The different interactions I got to do portraying him has to make that my favorite one yet.
