Civil War Remembrance at Greenfield Village 2019: Every Picture Tells a Story

Civil War Remembrance is, perhaps, the most anticipated event of the Civil War reenacting season in this part of the country by most reenactors here in Michigan.  To have such an opportunity to reenact inside an internationally known historic open-air museum is an honor and a pleasure.  And to be with so many good friends makes this reenactment pert-near perfect.

As I took a myriad of photographs, and since pictures are worth a thousand word, I will let them tell the story...with a little help from my sometimes snarky, sometimes silly, and sometimes informative comments 'neath the pics! But...always a little bit o'history as well.
And, yes, I did use a few photos from others who took pretty amazing pictures.  Many thanks to those wonderful photographers!
So we'll begin with a sort of yearning for a time past - - in a sort of nostalgic photograph taken by Gary Thomas, member of the Facebook page  "Friends of Greenfield Village"  with pertinent lyrics by 1970s musician Cat Stevens:

Well I think it's fine, building jumbo planes

Or taking a ride on a cosmic train

Switch on summer from a slot machine

Yes, get what you want to if you want

Cause you can get anything

I know we've come a long way

We're changing day to day

But tell me, where do the children play?

Well you roll on roads over fresh green grass

For your lorry loads pumping petrol gas

And you make them long, and you make them tough

But they just go on and on, and it seems that you can't get off

Oh, I know we've come a long way

We're changing day to day

But tell me, where do the children play?

Well you've cracked the sky, scrapers fill the air

But will you keep on building higher

'Til there's no more room up there?

Will you make us laugh, will you make us cry?

Will you tell us when to live, will you tell us when to die?

I know we've come a long way

We're changing day to day

But tell me, where do the children play?

(above photo taken by Gary Thomas)

Welcome to Civil War Remembrance 2019.
Meet the fine reenactors of the 21st Michigan:

The annual 21st Michigan group photo, this year taken at the 
Smiths Creek Depot.
Every year at Greenfield Village we take a "family picture," though it is unfortunate we can never seem to get everyone to make it. 
Yes, unfortunately, we are missing a number of our membership yet again!
Next year we'll give it another try...

Here we are, hanging around the Smiths Creek Depot, originally built around 1858-59 in Port Huron, Michigan.  This depot is very popular around Thomas Edison aficionados, for it was while the young Master Edison was working on the Grand Trunk Railroad, which traveled between Port Huron and Detroit - and included a stop at this station - that an angry conductor threw young Tom off the train at this Smiths Creek depot when the boy accidentally set the baggage car on fire while conducting a chemical experiment using phosphorus.
This occurred in 1863 - right in the middle of the Civil War - so the fashions you see us wearing here fit perfectly for the depot and time presented.

After our group pic, many of us decided to stick around to chat, making it seem as if it were the busy place it may have been back in the day.

I love pictures of this sort, for nothing is posed, just the naturalness of folks from another time.

I can just imagine how it must've been over a hundred and fifty years ago, when this station once stood in Smiths Creek, Michigan, 
near the city of Port Huron...

In our modern times, the ride by automobile from Smiths Creek to Detroit easily takes less than an hour.  But in the 1860s, it could have taken a full day.  Trains did not go nearly as fast as they do today, and they stopped at each depot along the way.
A few of us decided to recreate our own depot scenario in photographs:

The train to take you to Detroit will be coming soon. 

The ladies got their tickets to Detroit

And they a-waited for the train to enter the station.

Many steam locomotives of this era could claim a top speed of 60 to 70 mph.  However, the average speed was much slower - in the range of 15 to 20 mph.  This may sound slow to people in the 21st century but to put things into perspective and and note the estimated average speeds of contemporary transportation modes of the day:
Pony Express -- 7 to 10 mph
Stage coach -- 3 to 5 mph
Horse & wagon (long distance) 2 to 4 mph (this was the preferred mode for the gold rush because it was so much faster than ox teams)
Ox team & wagon -- 1 to 2 mph ( this was the preferred mode for most western pioneers as they could walk comfortably along side the wagon and load more freight in the wagon)
Walking -- 2 to 3 mph
River boat (downstream) -- 5 to 10 mph
River boat (upstream) -- 1 to 5 mph
So I would suppose that 20 miles per hour wouldn't be quite so bad in comparison, now would it?

We here in southern Michigan may not have too much 18th century history, but we certainly have the Victorian era covered, with thousands of 19th century structures throughout our state.

Coming up in the not-too-distant future, look for a blog posting here on Passion for the Past about the train depots that Thomas Edison would have been familiar with as a young boy.
I'm still working on it so stay tuned.

I very much appreciate my friends here - Larissa, Beckie, Sue, Jillian, and Michelle - for their wonderful poses to help 1860s history come to life in living color.

~The Civilian Battlefield Observers scenario~ 

A few of the ladies of the 21st Michigan were chosen to do a couple of scenarios in the spirit of the picnickers at Manassas

Now, please understand, they are not necessarily reenacting that first battle of the Civil War;  they are, instead, giving an impression of  "curiosity-seeking"  citizens, perhaps looking for a bit of Victorian entertainment, not fully understanding the danger of it all.

Carolyn and Jackie did a marvelous job for the morning scenario, speaking to the public in a 1st person manner, though able to easily transfer and answer any comments or questions of  "future occurrences"  very satisfactory to the visitor's queries.

The military engagement of 1st Bull Run/Manassas earned the nickname the  “picnic battle”  because spectators showed up with sandwiches and opera glasses.

As part of their presentation, the two ladies spoke to the public about what it was like to witness the excitement of battle by enjoying an innocent picnic near where the men in blue had chosen to fight those wearing gray.

It was thought the war, if it could be called that, would be a short one, easily squelched by the powerful Union Army, so this just might be the only chance to see such an event.

Both Carolyn and Jackie are well-suited for this sort of interaction, for the two have been well-versed in 1st person 19th century vernacular for years.
The public seemed to enjoy being drawn into their world.

As you may know, I have a photo program that allows me to create a faux tintype image from regular photographs, which is fun to do.  However, having an actual tintype taken is the ultimate time-travel photography experience.  And that's what you see in this picture here: a real tintype of Carolyn and Jackie taken with an antique period camera.
Nothing can beat the real deal.

But Carolyn and Jackie were not the only women recreating the past in such a way.  In fact, a few others from the 21st Michigan, as well as two ladies from another unit, also came out to do a similar scenario, but they were to do it during an actual battle reenactment later in the day.
News reports from 1861 tells of the civilians, including men, women, and, yes, even children, and political-types who came from far and wide, traveling for a half day by buggy or carriage, carrying with them food to sustain them for their trip to witness the first major battle of the North and South:

Here we see a few of the ladies boarding the buggy.

Greenfield Village supplied a driver, Curtis, who has been an employee for quite some time and knows well how to handle horses. 

The buggy and travelers rode past the boys in blue, enhancing their anticipation for the excitement of 1860s entertainment.

The pleasantry of this scene hides the horror of what was about to happen, though the cannons might give a hint.

I apologize but I have little information on the buggy
itself, whether it is an original or a modern replication.

Let off at the perfect spot, the ladies find a place to have their picnic.

Spotted across the way, three more friends decide to join the others.

Our boys in blue coming through... 

Yielding to political pressure, Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell led his unseasoned Union Army across Bull Run against the equally inexperienced Confederate Army of Brig. Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard camped near Manassas Junction.  McDowell's ambitious plan for a surprise flank attack on the Confederate left was poorly executed by his officers and men; nevertheless, the Confederates, who had been planning to attack the Union left flank, found themselves at an initial disadvantage.

The Union army marched onto the field of battle, just yards away from our picnicking ladies.

The ladies giggled with excitement and waved their handkerchiefs at the young men, who were confused as to why they were there.

Confederate reinforcements under Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston arrived from the Shenandoah Valley by railroad, and the course of the battle quickly changed.

A brigade of Virginians under the relatively unknown brigadier general from the Virginia Military Institute, Thomas J. Jackson, stood its ground, which resulted in Jackson receiving his famous nickname, "Stonewall".

The Confederates Army.

The the firing of musketry began in earnest- - - 

The Confederates launched a strong counterattack, and as the Union troops began withdrawing under fire, many panicked and the retreat turned into a rout.  McDowell's men frantically ran without order in the direction of Washington, D.C.

"Those spectators who found themselves too near the combat eventually found themselves overtaken by the retreating men."

The Worst Picnic in History Was Interrupted by a War.

The battle that day resulted in a bloody defeat for the Union and sent the picnickers scrambling to safety.

At the time, nobody realized that the battle fought at Bull Run on July 21, 1861, was going to be remembered as the first gory conflict in a long and bloody war.

As an on-looker off to the sidelines, I must admit seeing this buggy whip around the corner of the road and scurry up the slight incline was truly a sight to see.  

And once it reached safety far from the scene of battle, the horse was brought to a slow trot.

But the horror of what was witnessed remained.

Both armies were sobered by the fierce fighting and many casualties, and realized that the war was going to be much longer and bloodier than either had anticipated.  1st Bull Run, the first land battle of the Civil War, was fought at a time when many Americans believed the conflict would be short and relatively bloodless, writes the Senate Historical Office.  That's part of the reason why civilians did go out to watch it.  And yes, many did bring food.
Kudos to all who played a part in this scenario.  I enjoy the fact that Greenfield Villages adds and changes things up a bit from year to year.

One of the very cool pluses for us who reenact the Civil War era is the fact that not only can we recreate the era itself (as best as we can), but recreate the historic images of the period in an authentic manner - by way of having our likenesses taken with an original tin type camera.

From what I understand, this camera is from the 1870s - not too long after the Civil War had ended.

A few of the ladies (and young Zane) who participated in the Manassas scenario have their likeness taken by "W.C. Badgley".

With an over-cast sky, the lighting was perfect.

This is what the image looked like upon development.

Another image was taken of two of the men of the 21st Michigan, including my son (holding the stars and stripes).

Yes, the images are reversed when developed.

And the ladies got in on having their likeness taken as well:

Beckie & Larissa emulating an original picture from the era

There was more than one photographer at the Village,
and this man is Robert Beech, who studied the
art of period photography in Gettysburg, is well
known in the circle of wet-plate photography.

This is one of Mr. Beech's photographs.  It is of
my son's girlfriend, Heather, who had never had her
likeness taken in this manner before.

Robbie with Heather (a Robert Beech tintype)

Now...just what the heck is this?

There was a brand new addition to Civil War Remembrance this year: a coffee wagon, which was pulled throughout the Village by a horse, offering a free cup of coffee to reenactors and patrons alike. Yes, this was very popular! 

This is a 7/8 size replication modeled after an 1863 original.  This one was built by the Chase and Sunburn Coffee Company in 1970.

The idea for a coffee wagon came in 1861 when delegates of the northern YMCA  (Young Men's Christian Association)  came up with the idea to help out with the soldier's spiritual and temporal needs of the Union Army as well as to help alleviate some of the suffering from wounds and illness.

In March of 1863, Jacob Dunton of Philadelphia built and presented to the US Christian Commission a wagon made from an artillery caisson that could brew 108 gallons of coffee, hot tea, or cocoa an hour.

No records have been found to show how many of these coffee wagons had been built, but documentation shows there was one at the Appomattox Courthouse in April of 1865.

And now we have one at Civil War Remembrance at Greenfield Village.  History coming to life... 

Plenty of period music was heard throughout the Village, inside the camps or on the stage:

The Masciale's kept passersby entertained as they
performed the fine music popular during the Civil
War.  In fact, they even played on the stage:

In our own 21st Michigan civilian camp:

The Alexanders performed many hits of the day,
along with a few of the popular spirituals.
Their vocals were simply beautiful.

And also in our camp:

Pearl Jones had song lyric books ready and waiting for guests to sing along to  "Goober Peas"  and other numbers of the 1860s still known today by many.

Memorial Day Monday is a very special day here at Civil War Remembrance inside the boundaries of Greenfield Village, for this is when a very special ceremony takes place: the Memorial Day Commemoration, where  "honoring the sacrifices and achievements of all those who bravely fought and continue to fight in defense of the American spirit"  takes place on the Village Green with the placing of the wreaths and laying of the flowers in front of the Martha Mary Chapel.

The ladies who participate in this solemn occasion are lined up in a chosen order for the service.

Lorna Paul, the woman walking along the front, oversees this part of the ceremony.

I am proud to say that the 21st Michigan civilians also take part among the other women of different units, as you will see in the following photographs:

Walking slowly to the front to set the wreath near the Garden of the Leaven Heart.

Heather, who you met in one of the tintypes earlier in this posting, was asked to participate.  What an honor, especially with it being her first time out as a Civil War reenactor (she usually does Revolutionary War).

Two more 21st Michigan civilians, Larissa and Beckie, also took part, among ladies from various units.

Greenfield Village does one of the most touching of all Memorial Day services, and I never cease to shed a tear in thinking of all those who did give - or were/are willing to give - their last full measure of devotion, including my own father in World War II.
Yes, it may sound corny, but I am honored to play a (very) small role in such a ceremony as a reenactor on the sidelines.  Those who chose/choose to serve their country are true heroes in my book.
Yes they are.
And God bless them.

So, how's the weather been for you?
Yeah, for the most part, the weather during this weekend was fair to good, especially on Memorial Day Monday, but for about a half hour late Saturday afternoon we had a pretty intense storm come through, with high winds whipping the rain around, which, at times, was falling sideways.  It seemed that our entire camp membership was holding down the fort, so to speak:

Including me, as you can see by this picture.  There I
am, standing on a chair, retying the fly to the front of
my tent while my daughter and her friend Elizabeth held
the poles to ensure stability.

While our next door neighbors bore the brunt of the
whipping wind;  a side pole gave way, allowing the
wind to knock over a shelf inside the tent, precious 
pieces crashing to the ground.  It's unfortunate that they
lost a wash basin, an oil lamp, and some lamp oil
spilled onto a bonnet, soaking the ribbons and straw.

But we had our own 1860s Captain Marvel - - -

Jackie just stood there, hands on hips, daring the
storm to cross her path, which it certainly did not.
I swear---the storm clouds split in two when it 
came upon her tent and went on either side.
Don't mess with her!

Activities in camp:

Some of the young ladies decided to write letters to the boys in blue, something we really haven't done too much lately as a group, but the interest seems to be growing again. 

My son, Miles, enjoys a good game of cribbage with Mr. Wayne.  Cribbage has been around since the early 17th century and remains popular to this day.

"No! I won't leave! Three days is
not enough time! This is such a fun event!"
Yep---I think my friend Jennifer's expression 
epitomizes all of our feelings when 5:00 comes 
on the Monday of Memorial Day Weekend 
and we all need to tear down and go home.
Then again...maybe she is ready...

So another successful Civil War Remembrance at Greenfield Village has come and gone.
Folks, I have reenacted there when night time temperatures have fallen into the 30s and daytime temps have reached to nearly a hundred.  I have spent this weekend with rain, tornadoes, swirling winds, perfect 70 degree and sunny days - pretty much through all kinds of weather.  And I never cease to enjoy myself immensely.  To me, anytime I can wear period clothing and hang out with like-minded friends is a good day.  But to do it in such a place as Greenfield Village makes it that much more special.
So no matter the weather, this event is always top-notch in my book.

Until next time, see you in time.


Some of the train information came from THIS site

~   ~   ~