Civil War Soldiers Return to Century Village
Nearly 2,000 young and middle-aged men from Geauga County, out of a population of about 15,000, participated in the military aspect of the Civil War.…
Nearly 2,000 young and middle-aged men from Geauga County, out of a population of about 15,000, participated in the military aspect of the Civil War. Some 300 of them died of wounds, disease and accident.
Many of the people who remained home supported the Union cause through agricultural production and relief activities.
In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of this difficult and divisive period in America’s history, the Geauga County Historical Society is bringing back the Civil War Encampment after several year’s hiatus, with plans to hold the event every other year.
A group of Civil War reenactors will set up camp on the grounds of Century Village Museum in Burton over Memorial Day weekend, May 23-24.
“We will be setting up a Union camp and a Confederate camp, and we will have settlers — storekeepers — there as they did back during the Civil War era,” said Jack Schinness, a local reenactor who is coordinating the recruitment of the Union and Confederate units that will take part in the encampment, skirmishes and educational programs.
“We will portray an encampment just as they did back then,” he added.
Reenactors depicting Union and Confederate soldiers, camp followers and traveling merchants will provide a living history of struggles and tribulations associated with the Great War of the Rebellion from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.
On Saturday, a Civil War wedding will be reenacted and, on Sunday, a church service will be held.
General Ambrose Burnside, portrayed by Berdal Waffler, will command the Union army and Col. Thomas “Skip” Wilson will lead the Confederate troops, Schinness said, adding he did not know who Wilson would portray.
Schinness explained Waffler and Wilson will work together to create a “game plan” for the battle or skirmish.
“Depending on how many troops we have, we will come up with a battle or an hour-long or hour-and-a-half-long skirmish,” he said, explaining a specific battle such as Sharpsburg cannot be reenacted because the grounds at Century Village are not big enough.
The 19th Ohio Light Artillery reenactors also will be on site. The battery was recruited in the vicinity of Cleveland and left Camp Cleveland, near that place, on Oct. 6, 1862, en route for Covington, Ky. It participated in the Tennessee, Atlanta and North Carolina campaigns during the war.
Through this event, the historical society will be recognizing the 150th anniversary of the last year of the Civil War, the surrender of the Confederacy, the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the start of the rebuilding of a nation.
Schinness, who has been involved in Civil War reenactments for a quarter of a century and has risen through the ranks from a private to now portraying Capt. William Creighton of the 7th Ohio Regiment, Company K, said the Civil War Encampment is an important event to preserve history.
“It gives adults and children an opportunity to understand what happened during the Civil War, how people lived, what they did,” he said, adding on Friday, May 22, he will present a special educational program on the Civil War at Century Village Museum for middle-school students in Geauga and surrounding counties.
“It looks like we will have about 250 kids there,” said Schinness, who will be portraying a sergeant major in the program. “We will tell them about camp life, the clothing, the music and how surgeries were performed, what people ate. They will have to greet me when they come into Camp Cleveland.”
Students also will be able to see a Gatling gun at one of the many stations set up on the grounds.
“I enjoy teaching the public about what happened during the Civil War,” Schinness said. “The Civil War is not taught in school. The Amish kids know more about the Civil War than the Yankees.”
He added, “I will carry a battalion flag and a United States flag, and I will offer 100 pounds of gold if the students can tell me the name of that flag. Through the years, no one at all can tell me what that flag’s name was.”
The cost for the Civil War Encampment is $7 for adults, $4 for children ages 6-12 and free for children age 5 and under. Food and drink will be available on the grounds. Period merchandise will be offered for sale. No pets permitted.
For more information, contact the GCHS’s business office at 440-834-1492 or info@geaugahistorical.org.
