Tag: west virginia
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2022 events
All listed events are tentative pending Covid restrictions, government rulings, etc. Several events have not yet posted their schedules. February 2022 18th Century – February 25-27. Prickett’s Fort, Prickett’s Fort State Park, Fairmont, WV. 18th Century Firearms and Accoutrements Show. http://www.prickettsfortstatepark.com/events.html March 2022 Timeline – March ? No info at this time. Reenactor Appreciation Weekend, …
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School of the Longhunter
After a year’s hiatus due to the pandemic, Pricketts Fort, (near Fairmont, West Virginia) held its School of the Longhunter, which is largely a symposium on various aspects of life on the 18th century frontier. This year, due to ongoing restrictions, all aspects of the event were held outside of the visitors’ center in and…
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Events for 2021(?)
I know that I have been pretty quiet as of late. The situation with Covid restrictions has been tough to assess. They seem to be loosening up in some areas and some groups are finally starting to plan events. There are other questions that I have heard expressed by concerned reenactors. Will Cancel Culture put…
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Events: January to June 2020
This is what we have so far: January 2020 WWI – January 10-12, 2020: “Fortifying the Line” (Unit Sponsored Event) (Hosted by Fusilier Regiment 90). Time period: Early 1915. Event held at the Caesar Krauss Great War Memorial Site, Newville, PA. http://www.greatwarassociation.com/Schedule.html
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Fort Henry Days 2019
The Fort Henry Days celebration is held at Oglebay Park near Wheeling, WV every Labor Day weekend. The original Fort Henry, built in June 1774, was not erected by any specific plan or design, but was one of a number of similar forts built to protect settlers on the frontier in the middle years of…
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A Quick Overview of 2018
Here is a quick overview of events that we didn’t cover in individual articles. April 6-8. School of the Longhunter – Prickett’s Fort, near Fairmont, WV. This is a very informative seminar on life on the frontier in the 18th Century. Subjects can vary from an enlightening discussion on the life of Simon Girty to…
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Fort Henry Days 2018
On Sunday, September 2, we took part the reenactment of the 1777 siege of Fort Henry by Native American allies of the British. Scenarios alternated through the weekend as the Saturday battle featured the 1792 attack by natives as well as British regulars and Loyalists. Sunday’s battle reenacted the 1777 event, in which the attackers…
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Recap of (Most) of 2017
This past year has been an interesting one to say the least. Here is a recap of what we have done since April. We attended the Lantern tour at the Grafton National Cemetery in Grafton which contains 2100 internments, including 1252 Civil War soldiers. I delivered General Black Jack Logan’s address of May 5, 1868 to…
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Initial 2018 Calendar of events
Here is what we have so far for the coming year through April. January 2018 WWI – Jan 12-14, 2018: “Bathelémont: Baptism of Fire”(Hosted by FR 90 (German) and the 18th RI (French)). Time period: November 1917. Event held at the Caesar Krauss Great War Memorial Site, Newville, PA. http://www.greatwarassociation.com/Schedule.html WWII – Battle of the…
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School of the Longhunter 2017
April brings showers and on April 6-8 of this year, it also brought the School of the Longhunter which takes place at Prickett’s Fort near Fairmont, WV on an annual basis. This encampment/symposium is an interesting and informative event with a lot to offer for the Colonial era reenactor/living historian. This year’s presentations included talks…
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Grafton Lantern Tour 2016
The Grafton Lantern Tour is a memorial to the hundreds of Civil War soldiers buried in the Grafton National Cemetery located in Grafton, Taylor County, W.Va. This cemetery is a particularly appropriate location for such a memorial. “In 1867, Maj. R. C. Bates was ordered by the War Department to locate a permanent burial site…
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School of the Longhunter 2016
Prickett’s Fort, near Fairmont, WV, held its annual School of the Longhunter once again this year and as usual, it was an excellent event. According to the official website, “Pricketts Fort, constructed in 1774, provided a place of refuge from American Indian attack for early settlers. It was built at the confluence of Pricketts Creek…
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Grafton Lantern Tour
Grafton, West Virginia – Grafton National Cemetery Lantern Tour On Friday evening, May 22, at 8:30 p.m. There will again be a living history tour of the Grafton National Cemetery. Tour leader Mark Tennant will lead the tour of Civil War graves in the cemetery. Mark and reenactor assistants dressed in Civil War period…
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Chief Logan Civil War Reenactment 2014
News Flash! The following is a report from our correspondent, Bill Donegan from the field in the Southern Mountains: Federal Battalion wiped out! A Federal Battalion led by Captain Steve Allen was wiped out to a man at Chief Logan State Park on Saturday September 27, 2014. The Federal objective was to capture…
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Philippi Blue-Gray Reunion May 31, 2014
This event usually occurs at the end of May or the first week in June. Often it happens on the same weekend as the Reading Airshow, so I have rarely attended. The last two years, these events have occurred on different weekends, so that hasn’t been a problem. The reenactment commemorates the “Philippi Races”…
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School of the Longhunter
This year, for the first time, I attended the annual School of the Longhunter at Prickett’s Fort, (April 3-4) accompanied by my wife, Linda. The School is pretty much a symposium on 18th Century frontier life and covers a variety of subjects and activities. For example, the program started with an in-depth discussion of tumplines…
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Burning Springs Documentary Filming
Here is the latest dispatch from our correspondent, Bill Donegan: Thanks to Jack and Tonya Daft I was able to participate in the making of a documentary about the oil and gas history in the Kanawha Valley area. “Burning Springs” is a documentary produced by Motion Masters, a Charleston, W.Va. company that has produced…
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Burning Springs
The following is a post from our correspondent, Bill Donegan: Thanks to Jack and Tonya Daft I was able to participate in the making of a documentary about the oil and gas history in the Kanawha Valley area. “Burning Springs” is a documentary produced by Motion Masters, a Charleston, W.Va. company that has produced…
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Droop Mountain 150th
The West Virginia Reenactor’s Association held it’s reenactment commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Droop Mountain on Labor Day weekend this year due to a scheduling conflict later in the fall. While the event lacked the attraction of colorful autumn leaves, which it normally has, the park is still a remarkably beautiful…
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Remagen Bridge Reenactment 2013
Here is a report on the event at Tidioute, PA this past weekend, by our correspondent, Bill Donegan: Do you know what God did this year at the Tideoute event? First I have to set this up for you. Mr. Ken Hechler used to be Secretary of State for West Virginia. He was a member…
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Review – Gettysburg Reenactment – Blue Gray Alliance June 27-29
The Following is a report on the Blue-Gray Alliance version of the 150th Gettysburg reenactment from our correspondent, Chuck Critchfield: Greetings Attached is my report on the recent disagreement at the town of Gettysburg Scenarios We started the weekend with McPherson’s Ridge on Friday morning. We were up early and on the road (more about…
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16th Annual Scary Creek Battle
Here is a report from our correspondent, Bill Donegan: From March 21 through 24th the Valley Park, Hurricane Civil War Week-end was held as the tribute to the sesquicentennial. The public was invited to visit the campsites, meet President Lincoln (Fritz Klein) as well as Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, who gave talks…
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2012 – A Retrospective
2012 has been an interesting year, with more than its share of ups and downs, to be sure. As some of you know, I have had some personal bumps in the road, including some unpleasant health problems, which have affected my ability to get out to events as well as mind this blog as much…
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A 1940’s Radio Show
I had big plans for the weekend of August 18th. I was going to head down to Nokesville, VA for the annual open house at the Virginia Museum of Military Vehicles, better known as the tank farm. However, as some of you know, I have been plagued with ill health this year and have had…
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A Return to Jollytown
A couple of weeks ago, Mark Tennant and I went out to Jollytown to see how the Jesse Taylor monument was holding up. As some of you may remember, WVRA members and the Sons of Union Veterans teamed up to clean up site and paint the cannon and mortars at the monument. We were quite…
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Sutton 18th Century Event
The following is a report from Bill Donegan on a living history event in Sutton, WV: 18th Century Event Re-enactors’ presentations were revealing at the Braxton County Courthouse last Saturday (7-21-12). Jim and I want to add an 18th Century impression to our repertoire. A friend of ours, who had some 18th century men’s clothing…
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It Was A Dark and Stormy Night…
Here is an email that I got from our correspondent, Patricia Patterson: Dear Rowelsburg, Just a note to say thanks again. It was a bit rough this year, but as usual you came through. We arrived on Friday, a very warm Friday and after drinking a couple of gallons of water, the tent was up,…
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Grafton Lantern Tour
The Grafton National Cemetery was established in 1867 as a burial site for Union soldiers killed in the recent Civil War. For the last several years, Mark Tennant, with some sponsorship from the Spirit of Grafton committee, has been organizing a lantern tour of the cemetary, and did so again this year on the evening…
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Philippi Races 2012
Here is Bill Donegan’s account of his weekend at the Blue-Gray Reunion with “The Mighty Stonewall.” God’s predestination and sovereignty were made apparent to me again this week-end at the Philippi Races. The May 31st-June 3rd reenactment of the first land battle of the civil war. I had been asked to guard Maj. General…
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Capital Wing of APS Dinner
Submitted by Bill Donegan: When Linda and I were shopping at the FIG/Gap we ran into Bill and Sharon Krause, who are members of the Capital Wing of the Airmen’s Preservation Society (as the name suggests they are aviation oriented). We have been running into them for half a decade at USO dances and other…
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Bulltown II
Here is a further account of the fighting at Bulltown, WV: (On the second day) I was asked to walk guard duty around the fort perimeter as the rest of the garrison was asleep from the party the night before. See attached photo. As I looked out across the hollow through the trees I…
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Bulltown Day I, 2011
This just in. Correspondent Bill Donegan reports on the fighting between Union and Confederate troops in the area of Bulltown in the new state of West Virginia: Bulltown, West Virginia, Saturday October 9, 2011 The Federals win big at the tactical. Kevin Scaggs said after the tactical Sat., “The confederates were completely confused and didn’t…
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Logan Civil War Heritage weekend
We recently received this missive from a Union soldier involved in putting down the rebels in the Southern mountains (He has evidently had some schooling, but obviously lacks polish). Jim, There was a rebellion broke out in Logan Sept. 24 and 25th. It was so bad that President Lincoln himself had to come down and…
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Rowlesburg Volume II
Patricia Patterson is one of our most creative and original contributors. Here are her musings on the Rowlesburg event. I was thinking about the standard AAR template, and then ever the curious researcher, I read a variety of reenactor AAR’s just for grins. I read some of the past AAR’s, some of my own, many…
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2011 WORLD WAR II LIVING HISTORY WEEKEND
This report by our correspondent, Matt Gillespie, is the first in a series of impressions on last week’s Rowlesburg WWII living history weekend. Not many would know or even believe that tucked away in the mountains of Rowlesburg, WV would be such a high quality museum as well as a high quality living history. …
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WV’s Real American Hero
The following was submitted by our correspondent, Matt Gillespie: WV’s Real American Hero Recently I attended the WV American Legion Boys State Camp at Jackson Mill WV and met Hershel Woodrow “Woody” Williams, West Virginia’s only surviving Medal of Honor recipient. Mr. Williams is a regular visitor to the Boys State yearly one week long patriotic camp sponsored…
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Col. George R. Latham’s tombstone dedication
The following is a post from our correspondent, Matt Gillespie: The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Buckhannon Camp #49 organized a dedication ceremony for the newly erected tombstone of Brevet General George R. Latham at Heavner Cemetery on Memorial Day. Latham was a prominate officer during the Civil War and a prominate citizen afterward.…
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Mountaineer Military Museum’s Memorial Weekend Vet-together
The following is a report filed by our correspondent, Matt Gillespie: Saturday I traveled to Weston, WV to take part in the Mountaineer Military Museum’s Memorial Weekend Vet-together. There were several reenactors and veterans present who took part in the cook-out in front of the museum. The cook-out was sponsored by the VFW Auxiliary. …
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HARRISON COUNTY CIVIL WAR SESQUICENTENNIAL 150TH ANNIVERSARY
Here is Nick Korolev’s report on the Civil War doin’s in Clarksburg last week: MAY 13-15TH Despite a weekend of scattered showers, the Harrison County Civil War Sesquicentennial 150th Anniversary went off with hardly a hitch May 13 -15th. Funded by the state and sponsored by local historical societies and business as the kick…
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Prickett’s Fort – School of the Soldier
The WVRA held it’s annual School of the Soldier at Prickett’s Fort, near Fairmont, WV over the weekend of April 30, 2011. The weekend was well attended and the weather was pleasant. The fort is a good location for this sort of event for a number of reasons. There are numerous historical connections to the…
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Topkick’s Military Museum – Worth the Drive
For the last two years, I have talked about making the trip to Petersburg, WV to see Topkick’s Military Museum, but have not made it. on September 24, 2010, I finally made it. While it is a bit of a hike from my home to Petersburg, the trip was definitely worth it. The owner, Gereald…
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Henrietta Fitzhugh Barr House
The following article was originally submitted by Linda Donegan to the Charleston, WV Civil War Roundtable: Henrietta Fitzhugh Barr In 1835, Henry Fitzhugh and his wife Henrietta settled in Ravenswood. They had acquired land and built a home on the corner of Walnut and Race Streets. They had come to Ravenswood from Fauquier County Virginia…
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Jollytown Civil War Memorial – A Job Well Done
On September 4, 2010, the Reenactorpost and the Sons of Union Veterans drove to Jollytown, PA and cleaned up the Jesse Taylor Civil War memorial and repainted the guns. The SUV commander, Matt Gillespie, had gotten Lowe’s in Buckhannon to knock 50% off the cost of two gallons of Rustoleum. One can was olive drab…
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HAMPSHIRE HERITAGE FEST, ROMNEY WV SEPTEMBER 10 – 12, 2010
In my haste to get this out, I neglected to note that this was submitted by Nick Korolev (Very sorry Nick!) ed. The Hampshire County Heritage Fest takes place every 2nd weekend in September. The Civil War living history and reenactment part of this fun festival has only been going on for a few years,…
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Arthurdale New Deal Festival 2010
The 2010 edition of the Arthurdale New Deal Festival took place on July 10. As usual, Eleanor Roosevelt was there and was accompanied this year by her husband, the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt. For those of you who don’t know, Arthurdale was a planned community which was proposed by Eleanor Roosevelt…