The 13th regiment North Carolina Infantry was formed from members of the 2nd North Carolina Infantry, a reenactment organization. The organizer and first commander was Robert (Bob) McCleary who, at the time lived in Springfield, PA. To gain membership in the N-SSA took a couple of years because of the reputation of the 2nd NC Infantry. Finally in 1962, membership in the N-SSA was approved with the following listed charter members:

          Robert (Bob) McCleary

           Steven(Old Dad) McCleary

        Lee Terrey

        Steve Terrey

        Neal Travis

        Hank Birkenheuer

        William Brady

       Bob McCleary supplied most of the arms, accoutrements, ammunition, and expenses.

First Skirmishes

                    Fort Meade - 26th National

                    Fort Lee - 27th National

                    Fort Shenandoah - 28th National

                    Frontier City, Michigan 

          Pine Lake, N.Y. - We attended 3 skirmishes here. This was a long ride, but memorable. It was held at a beautiful setting along a lake that included a small amusement park and lakeside cottages. The highlight of the team events occurred at the conclusion of the last event when, after the last target was broken, a quarter stick of dynamite could the be detonated by hitting it with a musket round.

          The artillery event was fired at balloons floating on the lake. There was an incident when, during the event, a motorboat came toward the area, downrange from the targets, just as an artillery round fired. The projectile was a round ball and skipped across the lake toward the boat. You never saw a boat make a 180 degrees turn at full throttle as quickly as that!

          Then there was the time that Ed Atz showed up during the last musket team event on Sunday. He left home Saturday afternoon and went to 2 Pine Lakes before finally locating the one at which the skirmish was being held. He didn't go hungry during his search though, as evidenced by his carload of chicken bones and fast food boxes.

          Blue Trail Range, CT - We attended numerous skirmishes there. The most memorable was the time of the stake event that was supported vertically by 4 wires that appeared to come from coat hangers. We called time before the buzzer because we could see nothing left in the center of the stake although it still stood vertically. The line judge stated that it was still standing, but when he saw that a person could run his wrist through the center without touching the stake our time was allowed.

 13th NC Scores

            50 yd hanging clay pigeons:

                    71.0 seconds at the 37th National

                    77.7 seconds at the 39th National

                    69.6 seconds at the 42nd National

            32 clay pigeons on a backer:

                    149.2 seconds at the 44th National

             The best National time is 606.4 seconds at the 63rd National when we placed 17th

First Fort Shenandoah Work Skirmish - 15-16 June 1963

          Our primary assignment was the construction of the main bridge across Back Creek. That bridge has withstood the ravished of time (over 35 years), including floods, with minimal repair required.

          52nd National Skirmish Director was Bob McCleary. Primary unit responsibility was Statistical Office. Dale Smith was Statistical Officer and Neal Travis was Assistant Statistical Officer.

           Bob McCleary - Public Information Officer in 1976

          The Team pavilion was built in 1994 - 1996 at a cost of $6,051. The pavilion was paid from 13th NC savings accumulated over the years from numerous raffles and Regional Skirmish host proceeds.