Posts Tagged local history
Troops and Trains II
Here is Part two of Bill’s report on Troops and Trains: Following our train ride with the Federal Generals, we returned to the museum to guard tables for the Nowacks (WW2 Army Air Corp, and Homefront), as well as Greg Hall (Vietnam display). On the walk back we spoke German to some tourists who could [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
A New Interpretation of the History Channel
As my regular readers know, I ran out of patience with the so-called “History Channel” a long time ago. However, I may have been wrong…the following is an careful analysis of that channel’s programming which seems to put it all into focus. Thanks to our newest contributor, Justin Eubank: If you’ve ever watched the History [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
PA Trolley Museum 2010
Another post that is a ‘little’ late. It has been a very busy Fall. On the weekend of September 11-12, the PA Trolley Museum near Washington, PA hosted the annual Antique Truck Show. As is customary,28th Division, 110th RCT, K Company,set up a WWII living history display as part of the show. As I have [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
Let Me Tell You About My Vacation…
As some of you may know, I spent a week in Maine last May. Anyone who knows anything about the American Civil War knows that Maine made a major contribution to the Union war effort in many different sectors. Maine was one of the first states in the northeast to be aligned with the Republican [...]
Philippi Races 2010
The following is a report on the annual Blue-Gray Reunion in Philippi, WV by our correspondent, Bill Donegan: On June 3rd through June 6th Linda and I attended, and participated in, the 149th Annual Blue & Gray Reunion in Philippi, West Virginia. Linda and I started this year’s preparation back in March when we began [...]
Save the Justice William Smith House (continued…)
Here is a short update from Karen Ramsburg concerning the ongoing effort to save the Smith House in Mercersburg, PA.: To all: We are pleased to have received a letter of support from Professor of History, Kevin Kenny of Boston College, author of the recently published book on the Paxton Boys titled Peaceable Kingdom Lost. [...]
Adding a Civilian Impression
In getting ready for Arthurdale Heritage’s New Deal Festival this coming weekend, I have been forced to do something that I have been wanting to do, but have been putting off for some time: developing a period civilian impression. Admittedly, this is a new area for me and I welcome any advice from the readership. [...]
GATHERING OF CIVIL WAR EAGLES JUNE 4-6
The following is a report from our correspondent, Nick Korolev: The 6th annual Gathering of Civil War Eagles held at the Old Courthouse Civil War Museum in the Old Town location of Winchester, VA took place the weekend of June 4-6. This premier educational event is history brought to life by living historians from across [...]
Julia Pierpont Day in Fairmont
The Marion County Historical Society held it’s annual Julia Pierpont Day in downtown Fairmont at the Society’s headquarters on May 29, 2010. (See 2009′s coverage for more details.) Governor Pierpont and, of course, Julia (Art and Pam Dodds) were in attendence, as well as Senator John Carlisle and Mrs. Carlisle (Gary and Millie Goetze). The [...]
Local Events You Don’t Want to Miss!
I wanted to give everyone a quick preview of some great events coming up in North Central West Virginia over the next few months. First of all, is the 5th Annual WWII Living History Weekend in Rowlesburg, WV on the weekend of June 19, 2010. This is West Virginia’s premier WWII event. Located in the [...]
A Hidden Treasure
On April 24, Mark Tennant and I drove to Oakland, MD for a scheduled Civil War living history. We were to meet up with some other reenactors at the gazebo by the train station, however, to our dismay, we learned that there had been a glitch and the event had been cancelled, but no one [...]
Return to Jollytown
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 [...]
Civil War Ball- WVRA 2010
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 [...]