On the weekend of March 28th and 29th, I travelled to the Charleston, WV area to attend the annual reenactment of the Battles of Hurricane Bridge and Scary Creek. I didn’t camp due to the weather (cold and rainy) and the continuing health problems which have plagued me since last fall. Much thanks to Bill and Linda Donegan for putting me up over the weekend. This is the first time that I have ever attended this event, so I was curious to see what it was like. The event is held at Valley Park in Hurricane which is a multi-use community park.
Now, right off, if you cringe at the idea of a Civil War battle held on a soccer field just yards away from a giant water slide, then this may not be the event for you. If you can suspend belief enough to deal with these anachonrisms, then you may be okay. More on this later.
The Confederates appeared to outnumber the union troops by about 3 to 1 for this weekend. Not surprising, I suppose, since this was in Southern West Virginia. For the battle on Saturday a couple of considerate rebels, Kevin Mullenax of the 25th Va. and Jed Bates of the 2nd Va., galvanized to the Federal side. ( and a fine-looking pair of Yankees they made, I might add.) This unfortunately did not sway the outcome of the Saturday battle, as the Federal troops, still severely outnumbered, took heavy casualties and were forced to withdraw. There was a very large crowd of spectators on hand who seemed to enjoy the proceedings immensely.
The event seems to benefit from a strong backing by the local community and appears to well-organized on that end with plenty of amenities for the reenactors. Parking is readily available and there were food vendors close by if camp food didn’t suit your taste. The organizers had arranged for a visit by a life-size traveling replica of the CSS Hunley for the weekend. While I listened to the owner-builder’s presentation, I was amazed that a home-grown project built in a parking lot, could come off so well. The replica looks accurate and features large openings on the starboard side which enable viewers to look inside at the recreated crew quarters and machinery. The setting was complete with canteens for each crewman and a candle for their light. I thought it was nicely done.
The event also featured an artillery school for those who wanted to get or renew their certification to work the big guns. Additionally, President Lincoln toured the grounds, accompanied by Allan Pinkerton. Given the number of rebels around, this was probably a good thing.
The weather was cold and wet for the weekend and while the rain generally stopped for most of Saturday, it was pretty damp. The temperature dropped overnight and Sunday was cold and windy enough for greatcoats. (It is nice to get to use mine at least once or twice a year.) Additionally another rain appeared to be blowing in. As a result, our party stayed only long enough for the Sunday church service.
Overall, I had a pleasant weekend and it was good to attend yet another event for the first time. As I indicated before, this definitely is not a ‘campaigner’ event. There is probably no way to make the battle feel very real in such surroundings. So if that is what you are looking for, this isn’t it. I see events like this as an opportunity to educate the public and get them seriously interested in the history of this period, much like a static living history event. However, this approach also requires that the reenactors present put forth the effort to set up a good period camp and be able to present a good living history. I have to say that from my observations, the Confederates did a better job of it. I saw more period items around their sites, which made them look like functioning period camps. The Union camps had less of this. Maybe the weather had something to do with this, but I also noted one of the union officers leaving his wall tent flaps open allowing the public to view his accommodations which were roughly equivalent to the nearest Comfort Inn. I also observed aluminum soda cans sitting on tables. Since there wasn’t much else to look at, they stood out. In my humble opinion, there really isn’t much excuse for this when the public is in camp.
As I have said before, at a time when other time periods are gaining quality members, while the Civil War community seems to be getting older and smaller, I don’t think its a good idea to get lazy and lower standards. Remember too, when we fail the hobby, we also fail our stated goal of educating the public. Goodness knows they need it. Just my opinion.
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