It Takes A Village To Put On McDowell Event
By Sheree Watson

McDOWELL, Va. - Some 800 reenactors turned this village into a townwide stage on May 5-6, bringing the May 1862 Battle of McDowell to life with first-person interpretation of events that took place during the occupation by Federal troops who were eventually routed by Maj. Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson forces.

"I think it was spectacular, the fight through the Hollow and Jackson's pursuit - we have had nothing but absolute praise," said Diane Klein, president of the Highland Historical Society which sponsors the event.

"We laughed because the only negative comment was from one lady who bought a glass of lemonade and brought it back because it had seeds in it."

Some 2,000 spectators attended events in this little town, located in a county populated by only 2,300. "It's such a neat experience for people to really feel what it's like in 1862," Klein said.

While Confederate troops prepared for their assault on Federal forces, Yankees occupying the town did verbal battle with 50 civilian reenactors who created characters for themselves, then acted out planned scenarios as well as adlibbing their way through events that developed serendipitously during the weekend.

Battles were held in McDowell on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, with troops maneuvering throughout the weekend in the surrounding hills in a manner as historically accurate as practical.

Civilians coordinated prior to the event via an Internet site on which they posted photos and descriptions of their characters. Meetings were held Friday night and Saturday morning to further coordinate and solidify planned activities, which ranged from the festooning of shrubs, fences, tents and more with patriotic red and white ribbons to the trial of local men and boys accused of bushwhacking Federal troops.

Civilians operating a local "tavern" haggled with Federal soldiers posted as guards because they purportedly only spoke German. By the church, women knitted, sewed and rolled bandages then assisted in treating wounded soldiers. Town boys showed their disdain for Yankee soldiers by pelting them with potato and onion pieces. Soldiers occasionally would seize some of the more exuberant youths, who then would be rescued by pleading mothers.

On Sunday, a reunion planned between parents and a son who had gone off to war against their wishes became a time of mourning when the son, portrayed by reenactor Sean Pridgeon, was forced to take a fatal hit during battling in the street.
An entirely new scenario developed spontaneously as reenactors secured a wagon to take the boy's "body" back to his parents, portrayed by Kathleen and Ashley Jackson of the Atlantic Guard Soldiers Aid Society. The Jacksons and their real-life sons wept real tears over their dead "son" while being consoled by other reenactors, who also succumbed to the emotions of the moment. (See related story.)

The only break in the first-person activities came on Saturday night, when reenactors were treated to a Brunswick stew dinner. A dance was held in nearby Monterrey, primarily for local residents, while in McDowell, soldiers who were not camped outside with troops gathered in the Presbyterian Church for an impromptu hymn sing with civilians seeking refuge from a thunderstorm. The pastor, the Rev. Lester LaPrade, hearing the voices from his adjacent home, came over to provide accompaniment on the piano.

An aspect of the McDowell event that is unique to American Civil War reenactments worldwide is the town's open-arms participation. Homes throughout McDowell were marked with red, white and blue ribbons to identify them as sites where reenactors were welcome to stage scenarios, pitch tents, string patriotic decorations or sit on the porch.

Many townspeople also dressed up in period clothing, some participating in scenarios. In fact, the entire choir was dressed in Civil War era-attire for Sunday's standing-room-only service at the historic Presbyterian Church. The concluding hymn was a medley of a slow, reverent version of "Dixie" seguing into the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." A couple of dozen reen actors came Friday to present school programs to some 340 students who attend the county's K-12 school in Monterrey. Students moved among stations, enjoying artillery and infantry presentations as well as a hands-on civilian activity primarily focusing on 19th-century toys and games.

The only notable injury to occur during the weekend was to a Confederate soldier who hurt himself with an ax while working on a bridge. He was treated and released.