Spotsylvania 140th Anniversary Event To Stress Education,
Preservation & Appreciation
April 2004

SPOTSYLVANIA, Va. - Education, preservation and appreciation are the themes of the first Spotsylvania reenactment ever to be held in the county on May 7, 8 and 9 at historic Belvedere Plantation.

May 7 will be dedicated to bringing out school children to the "Civil War campus" for a dynamic and personal approach with the school groups about the Battle of Spotsylvania.

The weekend event will offer more than battle reenactments. There will be many informative talks and lectures from representatives of the National Park Service, museums and local preservation groups. The Museum of The Confederacy will be bringing display items from The Battle of Spotsylvania.

The two big battles are at twilight - as they were at the real battle of Spotsylvania. On Saturday, May 8, late in the afternoon as the sun goes down, Union General Emory Upton's assault on the entrenched Confederate position, called The Mule Shoe, will be reenacted. As the sun comes up on Sunday the Union attack of May 12, 1864, will be reenacted. That fight lasted 20 hours in The Bloody Angle, also known as "Hell's Half Acre."

A quarter-mile of trenches with traverses and log reinforcements has been built. "The county built the earthworks for the reenactors," said John Cummings, a member of The Spotsylvania Special Events and Tourism Commission. The county government is funding and supporting this event, a rare occurrence in reenacting.

Special effects coordinator Tom Fife, a long-time reenactor, said, "The earthworks are impressive. I had ancestors captured at The Mule Shoe, and I am excited to be a part of this event." Fife said he wants the reenactors' experience to be memorable and worthwhile. "The battles will have a dynamic pyrotechnics display that adds to the excitement and is safe," he said.

A large and growing "campaigner" element is coming to the event. Confederate pioneers and engineers will be working on the quarter-mile earthworks all weekend. "These are the most impressive earthworks I have ever seen," said hardcore campaigner John Pagano. "I can't wait to begin finishing them with abatis."

Confederate campaigners will be in the trenches all weekend, while Federal campaigners have a remote, yet close by, campsite on the Rappahannock River.

The educational perspective, the attention to preservation of Spotsylvania County's resources, the trenches, the time of the battles, and the pyrotechnics are all dynamic components designed to set this large-scale Eastern reenactment apart from others.

"We want to make it worth your drive," said Cummings. Larger reenactment organizations like the Army of Northern Virginia (ANV), the United States Volunteers (USV), and the National Regiment (NR) have all decided to attend this event.

Some reenactors will be involved in interpretive programs. Cavalry, infantry and horse-drawn artillery will demonstrate what soldiering was like in 1864. There will also be medical demonstrations, civilian interpretation and a massive ongoing pioneer and engineer program.

Also, fife and drum units and the Federal City Brass Band will be on hand to provide music.

On Sunday, National Park Service Chief Historian Emeritus Ed Bearss will share his knowledge of the Spotsylvania engagement.

After years of not having any Civil War reenactments in their county Spotsylvania is looking at reenacting as a viable way to bring more tourists into the county.

"After the pro-preservation shift in Spotsylvania County occurred this past year, with the defeat of the proposed subdivision at Chancellorsville, there appears to be much more interest in seeing what heritage tourism economics could do. A 140th anniversary Spotsylvania reenactment sounded like a great idea," said Rob Hodge of Wide Awake Films. Wide Awake is filming the event for a county movie on the battle and helping to coordinate the event.

Wide Awake partner Shane Seley said they want to help make the reenactment different from regular mega-events and bring something different and fresh to the event.

Hodge, who has been reenacting 23 years, said he wants to contribute to making big events even better. "They will be more dynamic, more intellectual, more realistic, more education driven for the kids, and much, much more preservation minded," he said.

Noting that May is always a busy anniversary month for reenacting in Virginia with three of the four Spotsylvania County major battles at Chancellorsville, The Wilderness and Spotsylvania, Hodge said, "Spotsylvania has a lot of history too and that cannot be ignored, especially when there is so much county support."

"Wide Awake, Belvedere Plantation and Spotsylvania County's goal with all the participants and public is to make this worth their time, so that when you are driving back home you are reflecting on what you saw and are thinking 'Those guys did a good job'" said Seley.

Adult admission tickets, age 13 and older, are $20 for one day, $35 for Saturday and Sunday, and $10 for Education Day. Prices for ages 6-12 are $10 a day and $18 for Saturday and Sunday.

For additional information visit www.spotsylvania140th.com or call (540) 891-8687.