by Jim Barnes
Last year, on May 4th, to be exact, Mark Tennant wrote in this space, about our trip to the villages of Brave and Jollytown, PA to visit the graves of Civil War soldiers. On Sunday, April 18th, Mark and I once again journeyed to these villages to again visit the graves of Union Civil War soldiers and also to meet with Gary Wise, a Jollytown native who has been researching members of the 7th Regiment of West Virginia Volunteer Infantry who were from this area. Gary’s family also owns the farm on which Jesse Taylor, 1st soldier from the 7th to be killed in the war, is buried. Gary is a wealth of information on this subject and also is responsible for rehabilitating the Taylor family cemetery.
Gary told us that when his family bought the farm on which the cemetary is located, there was no fence around it and cattle grazed in it. This had also resulted in many of the headstones being knocked over and damaged. Gary and his family fenced off the cemetery and stood up the headstones where possible. They now mow and maintain it regularly.
Below is an article by our correspondent, Nick Korolev, concerning a recent Civil War living history event in Virginia: On Saturday, April 10th a living history of Lee’s Surrender plus the last battle that led up to it was presented at the Clover Hill Village just a mile from the historic site at the McLean ... ...
The West Virginia Reenactors Association held its annual Spring Ball on Saturday, April 10 at Christ Episcopal Church in Clarksburg, WV. The dance is held in an annex which built around 1870 and probably served as a venue for Christmas and Easter plays and other church and Sunday School productions. The main part of the ... ...
The annual Hurricane Bridge/Scary Creek Civil War weekend took place on the weekend of March 27-28 at Hurricane, WV. Thanks to my hosts, Bill and Linda Donegan for putting up with me so I could attend again this year. This event is sponsored by the Putnam County Visitor’s Bureau. The hosts are friendly and go ... ...
The title says it all. March 20-21 was a great weekend for the annual Military Through the Ages event at Jamestown Settlement. Despite having been out at Newville the previous week and dreading the 7-hour drive, I still felt compelled to attend. I’m glad I did. This was even better than last year. I don’t ... ...
We received this today from Alena and Stephen Shumway and thought it might be of general interest to our readers: If you would not mind posting this, we’d appreciate it. Living History, the podcast for the reenacting community is looking for feedback. We started producing a podcast (otherwise known as an internet radio show) for ... ...
James Taylor may not have been at Newville this past weekend (March 12-13), but there was a lot of firing and plenty of rain…not to mention mud. Despite this, the hardy reenactors who ventured out into the trenches seemed to have a rip-roaring time. The event at the Great War Association site was sponsored by ... ...
Our correspondent, Nick Korolev, recently attended an interesting workshop in Winchester, Virginia, and files this report: For those who wish to know more about it, living history impressionists belong to the branch of historical reenactment that goes beyond the recreation of famous battles or setting up a historically accurate camp. These living h...
Here is a report on the OBV tactical from the German perspective by Bill Donegan: Report of Elbe Tactical. It was cold enough to freeze the _____off a brass monkey at Old Bedford last week-end Feb 20, 21, 22, 2010. Thanks goes out to Gilbert White, Roger Bombard, Ray Partenheimer, the Second Gebirgs and Et ... ...
This is the latest update on the situation on the historic Smith House in Mercersburg, PA, from Karen Ramsburg: The Justice William Smith House, circa 1759 is gaining recognition after two distinguished Penn State Professors of History and Art/Architecture have taken an interest in the property. Dr. William Pencak respected author and historian a...
On the weekend of February 20th, I accompanied Bill Donegan to Old Bedford Village for the second annual ‘Elbe Crossing’ event, sponsored by the 2nd Gebirgs. Yeah, I know there are those who can’t stand Elbe events because this sort of contact between Soviet and Western Allied forces during the war was extremely rare, and ... ...
We received this notice from Lt. William King, USN concerning an interesting event upcoming in May. It sounds like a fascinating endeavor and should be of particular interest to those of the maritime pursuasion. Good luck and Godspeed to all involved: On May 15-16 2010 a crew of 10 will attempt to row and sail ... ...
The 2010 reenacting season kicked off for me and many others with the annual Battle of the Bulge reenactment at FIG. Once again I rode along with Bill and Linda Donegan, who were kind enough to chauffeur me where I needed to go. I went as Volkssturm this year and was housed with the German ... ...
We recently added a new feature to the website that we thought our readers might be interested in taking advantage of – Reenactor Post Classified Ads. If you are anything like us, you probably have gear you don’t need anymore or are looking for something you don’t have, so we thought this feature would be ... ...
As many of you know, the last living WWI veteran lives in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle. He recently celebrated his 109th birthday. The story was covered by the Charleston (WV) Daily Mail: “CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. (AP) – America’s last surviving World War I veteran is now 109. Frank Woodruff Buckles celebrated his birthday M...
After you get done with all your shopping at FIG, it will be time to start getting ready for the first two Eastern Front events in the southern PA area. The first is: The Elbe Crossing February 20, 2010, at Old Bedford Village. The scenario is the final days of the Reich. All Allied units ... ...
I received this email from Liz Cook regarding an internet site which allows viewers to watch documentary films for free. I checked it out and it looks fascinating. There may be something there that interests you: Hope this email finds you well. As you can see from my email, I work for SnagFilms, an online ... ...
Thanks to Sue Prager for forwarding the following announcement to us: A public buffet and a program by noted Civil War historian Dr. Bob Meadows will be held on Friday, January 22 at WVU Jackson’s Mill to mark the birthday of Stonewall Jackson. The buffet will run from 5-7pm at Mount Vernon Dining Hall, featuring ... ...
If we run short of new historically-based movies to review, there are always plenty great old ones to rediscover. This is one that I had somehow missed but recently was pleased to pick up. It was made in 1965 and stars James Garner, Rod Taylor and Eva Marie Saint. Shot in black and white, it ... ...
Apparently a couple of Virginia reenactors at last year’s reenactment of the Battle of Stannardsville took things just a bit too far and ended up in court. According to AccessAtlanta: “The men were playing cavalry officers in a re-enactment of the Battle of Stanardsville. The Confederate re-enactor claims his Union counterpart knocked h...
Here is a recent post off the Red Army list: Please keep your eyes, and ears open! Slightly off topic but a reenacting unit’s canon and all its equipment was stolen recently in Michigan. If everyone in the reenacting “community” could keep their eye out, it might be helpful. Spread the word to members of ... ...
The following is a review of a most interesting book by Bill Donegan: When Linda was at the Eisenhower Farm event this past September, she visited the 99Th infantry US Army. They had a book table, One of the books that caught her eye was entitled “Destined to Witness” by Hans J.. Massaquoi. On the ... ...
Thanks to our readers for all your comments and contributions over the past year. 2009 was an up and down year for history enthusiasts. The country’s economic woes hit the reenacting community and made it difficult for quite a few to take part in the hobby to the extent they would like. We won a ... ...
We have received the following information on the February Eastern Front event in South Carolina: This is a brief message about the Lugoff, South Carolina, Eastern Front event to be held FEB. 19-21, 2010. The hosting units for both sides are: IR134 (German) and the 13th Guards (Soviet). Registration 1200 Friday – 0800 Saturday $15 ... ...
Merry Christmas to one and all out there and if you are looking for a holiday recipe to introduce to the family, try this 0ne that I got from Bill Donegan. It is a period WWII dish: Jim, I was given this compliments of Larry and Kay Shedwick, WW2 Home-front Collectors: WW2 Spam Bean Bake ... ...