INVITATION TO CIVIL WAR LIVING HISTORY AND REENACTMENT
Lewisburg, West Virginia
May 16-18, 2008
Submitted by
Ross Weisiger
rossoutreach@yahoo.com
|
TO: United States Colored Troops FROM: Battle of Lewisburg Heritage Committee RE: Invitation to Living History and Reenactment May 16-18, Lewisburg, West Virginia Website: www.battleoflewisburg.org Military The Battle of Lewisburg Heritage Committee extends an invitation to all USCT regiments and/or troops to participate in the Living History/Reenactment events of the Battle of Lewisburg (featuring the Battle of Hanley Hill), May 16-18, 2008. The theme of this year’s event will be “The Black Experience During the War”. Attached are highlights from the theme, a narrative of this year’s events, and a history of the Battle of Lewisburg. The Battle of Hanley Hill which will be the featured reenactment this year, was a local battle that took place in 1863, the year following the Battle of Lewisburg. A more detailed history and significance of this battle will be sent to Bennie McRae next week. Whether you consider yourself living history presenters or battle reenactment troops, consider coming to Lewisburg in May. Your participation is welcomed. Help us create some scenarios. For reenactors, the Unit Commander should contact our Military Coordinator, Capt. Rick Henry by e-mail (above). For living history participation, call Dr. Kendall Wilson at (304) 645-2154. In addition, we will need all units to complete a registration form which is available on the website.
Black Living History Event
Who: The Battle of Lewisburg Heritage Committee What: Civil War Reenactment in Lewisburg, WV When: May 16-18, 2008 (Friday – Sunday) Theme: “The Black Experience During the War” Purpose: Tell a side of history that has been mostly invisible and unreported. Contact: Ross Weisiger, Project Committee (304) 646-8555; rossoutreach@yahoo.com Dr. Kendall Wilson, CEO (304) 645-2154; klwatlwb@aol.com Website: www.battleoflewisburg.org Portrayals: Michael Crutcher,
Sr. as Frederick Douglass (859) 797-9700; spiritoffrederickdouglass.com; Clark Morgan, 5th USCT (419) 265-5951; ckmorgan001@yahoo.com Joyce Bailey as Elizabeth Keckley (301) 404-2991; bfmdc@aol.com Highlights: Education Day all day Friday - Stations around college grounds will offer presenters and demonstrations for students. Frederick Douglass portrayed by Michael Crutcher – Keynote Speaker Mr. Crutcher
will be hosted by the black church congregation at John Wesley Methodist
Church on He will present The Spirit of Frederick Douglass.
Elizabeth Keckley (Mary Todd Lincoln’s seamstress and confidant) Portrayed by Joyce Bailey of FREED (Female REEnactors of Distinction). Affiliated with the African American Civil War Memorial & Museum in DC. Ms. Keckley will be the featured speaker Saturday afternoon at the Ladies Tea held at the General Lewis Inn (a period inn in Lewisburg). Hallie Brown & Charlotte Grimke, (black educators of the time) Portrayed by Patricia Tyson and Theresa Saxton, also of FREED. Randolph DeLoatch, Mayor of Kimball, WV and Right Worshipful Grand Lecturer of the Prince Hall Freemasonry of WV. Mr. DeLoatch will speak on black freemasonry during the Civil War. US Colored Troops – Members of the Ohio 5th USCT Regiment will share information regarding the role of colored troops during the war. The women reenact camp life (as contraband) following after the troops.
Period Services - Clark Morgan, the Ohio 5th Regimental Chaplain will reenact a period style sermon at John Wesley Methodist Church on Sunday. Union and Confederate Generals will give separate group presentations, reenacting their perspectives on the politics and issues of slavery.
Reenactment Offers Black Living History Events The Battle of Lewisburg (featuring The Battle of Hanley Hill), will take place May 16-18 in downtown Lewisburg, WV. The Theme for this year's reenactment will be “The Black Experience During the Civil War” offering black living history events along side the military reenactments. The presence of colored troop reenactors and other portrayals will present a side of history that has been left mostly invisible and unreported. Frederick Douglass, portrayed by Michael Crutcher, Sr. will be the keynote speaker Friday evening at John Wesley Methodist Church, presenting his “Spirit of Frederick Douglass”. Frederick Douglass escaped from twenty years of slavery in 1838 to become a leader in the antislavery movement. An advisor to President Lincoln, Douglass was an eloquent and powerful orator. He was known as the Lion of Washington and is regarded by many as the grandfather of the Civil Rights movement. Mr. Crutcher, who has acted in film and commercials, is a devoted scholar of Douglass and finds his calling in sharing Douglass’s principals of freedom, equality, religion and self-esteem. Later in the weekend, Lincoln and Douglass will recreate their first meeting at the White House. Elizabeth Keckley, Mary Todd Lincoln’s seamstress and confidant, will be featured at the Ladies Tea on Saturday at the General Lewis Inn. She will speak on her thirty years as a slave, and four years working behind the scenes in the Lincoln White House. Joyce Bailey who portrays Elizabeth Keckley is a member of FREED, (Female REEnactors of Distinction), affiliated with the African American Civil War Memorial & Museum in Washington, DC. Two companion reenactors, Patricia Tyson and Theresa Saxton will present their portrayals of Hallie Q. Brown and Charlotte F. Grimke, two educators of the time. Troops from the Ohio 5th United States Colored Troops (USCT) will share information regarding the role of colored troops during the war. The women will reenact a contraband (refugee) encampment following the troops in battle. Randolph DeLoatch, Mayor of Kimball, WV and Right Worshipful Grand Lecturer of the Prince Hall Freemasonry of WV will speak on "Black freemasonry during the Civil War". Union and Confederate Generals will give separate group presentations, reenacting their perspectives on the politics and issues of slavery. Military activities and skirmishes will culminate in a reenactment of the Battle of Hanley Hill, a local battle which took place several miles away in 1863, the following year after the Battle of Lewisburg. Cannons will be fired and more than one wounded soldier will be taken to the field hospital for treatment. Medical stations will present medical practices of the time, authentic instruments, embalming, amputation and a special dramatization of surgery by candle light. Scenarios will allow the public to participate in historic events. Watch out! The Ladies Temperance Union will be on the march. Ken Barry will demonstrate 19th Century Wet Plate Photography. Have your picture taken! The Camp Dance on Saturday evening will swing to the fiddle music of Jim Costa. Sunday Services will offer period sermons at both John Wesley Methodist and Old Stone Presbyterian churches. Clark Morgan, the Ohio 5th Regimental Chaplain, will deliver the period style sermon of a black church at John Wesley. Later an actual period style confederate wedding will be performed on the grounds. For more information or to request a schedule of activities, visit the website: battleoflewisburg.org. The Battle of Lewisburg Living History & Reenactment commemorates the more than 620,000 American lives lost in the War Between the States – North and South, white and black, and especially those brave soldiers who died on the streets of Lewisburg, VA, May 23, 1862. History of the BattleThe Battle of Lewisburg took place on May 22, 1862 on Washington St. in downtown Lewisburg. The 146th Anniversary of the Battle of Lewisburg and the seventh consecutive year of this commemoration event will take place on May 16-18, 2008. The weekend will offer a Civil War living history encampment and other events for the general public. When the South seceded from the Union there were 1525 slaves, 186 free blacks and 264 slave owners in Greenbrier County. The county was generally loyal to the south, though if one went to the mountains and hollows outside of Lewisburg, there were many sympathizers to the Union. Between 1861 and 1865 more than 60,000 soldiers of both sides passed through Greenbrier County including at least 221 black soldiers. The area of what is now West Virginia was divided as no other in the nation. By May of 1862, the Northern armies were in control of all of what is now West Virginia, north of Lewisburg. Lewisburg was one of the few remaining towns that blocked Union access to what is now Virginia. On the morning of May 23, 1862, Union troops, the 3rd Provisional Ohio Brigade, under the command of Colonel George Crook were camped in Lewisburg behind the grounds of the present Greenbrier Community College. The troops numbering 1,400 were on their way to Radford, VA as part of a larger federal effort to sever railroad communications between Tennessee and Virginia. Confederate troops including the 22nd and 45th Virginia Infantries numbering 2,300 were commanded by General Henry Heth. They were camped along the heights of the eastern edge of town. At 5 am General Heath opened the battle with a bombardment of the Union camp. The Ohio Brigade advanced on Confederate troops attacking on the left and right flanks while Union cavalry charged the confederate troops down the center of Lewisburg (Washington Street). General Heath’s troops were routed across the Greenbrier River at Caldwell and burned the bridge behind them. The battle lasted a little over an hour. Eighty Confederate soldiers were dead, 100 wounded and 157 taken prisoner. Thirteen Union soldiers were killed and 53 wounded. The victory of Union troops in the Battle of Lewisburg prevented any possible recapture by the Confederacy of the areas north of Lewisburg and opened a gateway to the heartland of the South for the Union. The Battle of Hanley Hill to be forwarded as soon as we get it written up. |
