Longstreet's Corps Remembers Chuck Hillsman
By Julio C. Zangroniz

SAILOR'S CREEK STATE PARK, Va. - Chuck Hillsman, the leader of the Longstreet's Corps who died last December, was a palpable presence at a memorial service held here by the members of his organization in April.

Under sunny skies, a line of some 200 infantrymen and a few mounted officers and staff approached the Hillsman House, which the honored man's family donated to the park long ago.

The reenactors marched quietly, as a single drum marked the cadence. All flags, except for one, were carried furled and held down by strips of black cloth similar to the black most of the marchers wore on their sleeves. Muskets were at "reverse arms," pointing to the ground.

About 100 yards from the house, the procession stopped and faced the audience, which had gathered around the speaker's stand on the rock outcropping near the rear of the dwelling. Wendy Oliver, representing the Sayler's Creek Reenactment & Preservation Committee, opened the program by introducing Ed Pardue, who said a prayer.

Winnie Wagaman, General Hillsman's widow, presented a flag to Bryan Carter, Hillsman's chief of artillery, who in turn gave it to Jeb Hillsman, the deceased's only son. Jim Maupin, in his public debut as the new commander of Longstreet's Corps, welcomed Dana Heim, the Federal commander who probably worked most often with Chuck Hillsman, including three of the largest Civil War reenactments events ever held.

Heim termed Hillsman "a friend that could have called me at any time, for anything, and if I could have done, I would have done it." Heim, in his blue uniform, praised his Confederate counterpart as "a Southern gentleman. He was an example for all men to try to live up to... those are large boots to fill." He forecast that "as long as that or-ganization [Longstreet's Corps] takes the field, Chuck Hillsman will not be gone."

Maupin concurred, urging those gathered to "do your best, to follow the example set by Chuck Hillsman." If you do that, he declared, you become a "living memorial" for him, and "that's what we need to do."

Barry Shephard, chief of cavalry for the Longstreet's Corps, struggled with his emotions as he spoke. "Remember how he always inspired us to raise the bar," he urged. Tony Zusman, who served as Hillsman's adjutant for many years, recalled the leader's great sense of humor, as illustrated by the anecdote of the recently recruited infantryman who, on a very dark night long ago, challenged the general as the latter walked through camp.

Even though assured by Hillsman about who he was, the sentry still demanded further proof, as evidenced by a pointed query: "But how do I know that?" That memory gave Hillsman a laugh again and again, for years after that late night encounter, said Zusman.

Ray Pickett, who often served under Hillsman on reenacting fields across the land, recalled that relations between his illustrious family and the Hillsmans "go back a long, long way." Pickett praised Hillsman's sense of decency and remembered, "We'd try to outduel each other in compliments…. I will dearly miss that."

Dave Parkowitz remembered meeting Hillsman when the latter, as a private at an event in La Plata, Md., was having trouble setting up his tent. Parkowitz, then a colonel, stopped to help. "Last year, right here at Sailor's Creek, he was still relating that story, of how a colonel came over to help a lowly private - and even though I've been out of a colonel's uniform for many years, he still accorded me the respect of that rank."

Don Warlick, reenactor coordinator at the largest event ever held, the 135th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg in 1998, where Hillsman served as overall Confederate commander, presented a videotape to Jeb Hillsman. "I am a lot better man for knowing Mr. Hillsman," declared Warlick, as he noted that the video memorializes "the Hillsman that we all knew and remember."

As the battalion stood at "present arms," its leaders officially retired the organizational colors carried for many years by Steve DiCarlo, Hillsman's real-life cousin, affectionately referred to by nearly everyone as "Cuz ." Then the order was given for the color sergeants of the regiment to unfurl the rest of the dozen or so flags in the ranks.

Greg Gallion closed the occasion with a prayer: "I know that, right now, heaven is trembling from the telling of his tales," he intoned, and he praised "the spirit, the zeal … of the man who led us for so long … we seek to give honor to the man who came into our lives … there will never be a finer commander on the field!"

The members of Longstreet's Corps then fired three ceremonial shots and a lone bugler blew "Taps," immediately echoed by a bugler farther up the hill. The service ended with Maupin's thanks to attendees.

Federal reenactor Guy "Frenchie" LaFrance summed up the feelings of almost everyone who had known Chuck Hillsman: "Everyone says he was a consummate gentleman, and that's what he was … that's what I found out within 30 seconds after meeting him. I wouldn't have missed this for the world."