The Civil War reenactment program this coming weekend, Sat. Nov. 3 and Sun. Nov. 4, will be more extensive than those of previous years. Interest is high, even among schoolchildren and perhaps especially among veteran reenactors.
Widespread conjecture about the similarities between our current political climate and the dissension in the early 1850s that led to the Civil War may have kindled interest in learning more about the period.
The wealth and power Americans enjoy have been made possible by our nation’s size, resources and unity — unlikely had the southern states been allowed to secede or had the war ended differently.
The two-day program titled “Windows to the Civil War” is sponsored by Middletown’s Gibson Museum, with support from the Museums of Lake County and the Lake County Historical Society .
Both the Union and Confederate camps as interpreted by the American Civil War Association are expected to be larger than in previous years. A field hospital will be featured, and an additional sutler store available.
Re-enactors spend years, and considerable funds, researching the war and the years preceding it to insure the authenticity of their attire and weapons. There will be opportunities to talk one-on-one with the reenactors and their families between the battle displays.
Emphasis on little-known information about the war and the antebellum period will be interposed between the reenacted battles with muskets and cannon between the Blue and the Gray .
Speakers and displays will offer intriguing information between battles. Few people today are aware of the women, Blacks and immigrants who served in both armies and other such ignored aspects of life in the 1860s.
Dean Enderlin, Commander of the Department of California & Pacific/Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, will speak of California’s role in the war and in particular how it affected Lake County. California’s involvement in the war was surprisingly extensive.
Phil Smoley, local realtor with a lifelong interest in the Civil War, will explain the position of the seceding Southern states and their experience with the war. Was secession illegal? Was Lincoln’s goal preserving the nation or ending slavery?
Carolynn Birilli of the Museums of Lake County will discuss the impact of food supplies and preparation on military, civilian and enslaved populations before, during and after the war.
Barbara White and Linda Lake will return with their amusing demonstration of getting a proper lady into hoops and petticoats in the 1860s.
Voris Brumfield will portray her great-great-grandmother, who was a slave, in presenting one of the more popular folk songs of the Civil War era, Goober Peas, and read the Emancipation Proclamation.
Don Coffin and Andi Skelton will open event activities Saturday with some good ol’fashioned fiddlin’.
A Contra Dance Saturday from 6 to 9 pm on the Middletown Mansion grounds will feature music by the Cobb Stompers with caller Celia Ramsey. It is free and open to al, although a $5 donation is recommended to help compensate the caller and musicians.
Middletown Mansion Event Center is just north of Middletown at 20650 Highway 29. Gates will open at 9 am both Saturday and Sunday. Advance tickets are available at all three Lake County Museums and online at thegibsonmuseum.com. For further information, see friendsofgibson.com or call 890-5605.
