General
Information For Reenactors:
Pridgeon's Shenandoah Legion (formerly the Fifth Battalion"), Highland Historical Society & Highland Chamber of
Commerce cordially invite you to participate in the 145th Anniversary
Commemorative Living History & Reenactment at McDowell, Virginia.
We welcome all serious historical interpreters to join us in
presenting the experiences of the soldiers who participated in the
battle, as well as the citizens of the village and surrounding
region.
The event
will feature:
• A
"regiment vs. regiment" size battle reenactment held on a part of the
original battlefield.
•
Opportunities for authentic first-person interpretation in a town
that retains much of its period atmosphere.
•
Lectures, talks and a candlelight tour illustrating the history of
the battle, participating units, and Jackson's Valley Campaign.
• Troops
of both sides will be garrisoned throughout town.
• Civilians who will explain the daily life of the 1860s and show the impact the war had on the civilians of Highland County and the Allegheny Highlands Region.
The website
contains a site description, historical setting, detailed explanation
of the event goals, rules and registration materials.
The
sponsors also want to emphasize that this event will have individual
registration only! Unit commanders may send a single check
to cover their unit, but each individual must fill out a separate
registration form and sign the waiver. There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to
this rule.
Event
Organizers / Sponsors:
The
Highland Historical Society
The
Highland County Chamber of Commerce
Pridgeon's Shenandoah Legion
Event
Organizing Committee:
Event
Site:
We
will be guests of the village of McDowell, which is located along US
Highway 250, approximately 33 miles west of the City of Staunton. A
detailed site
map
and directions
are included on the website.
McDowell is
located in the beautifully scenic valley of the Bullpasture River at
an altitude of approx. 2600 feet, and among some of the highest
mountains in the western Virginia Alleghenies.
The living
history programs will take place both in town and on developed
farmland and forest along the Bullpasture River. The focus of much of
our activities will be the McDowell Presbyterian Church, which served
as the primary hospital for wounded Federal soldiers, and some
Confederates, both during and after the battle. The bricks of the
church facade still bear inscriptions scratched into them by soldiers
during this time.
The McDowell
battlefield remains in nearly pristine condition. Various portions are owned by the Civil War Preservation Trust, the Lee-Jackson Foundation and the Highland Historical Society. All
proceeds from this year's event, will, as always, be returned to the local community to be used for preservation and restoration efforts. Proceeds from McDowell 2001 helped the Highland Historical Society purchase the Bullpasture River Field - 55 acres of the core area of the battlefield, and the George Washington Hull House. Proceeds from the previous 2003 event, and McDowell 2005, will be used to restore the house and turn it into an interpretative center for the battle.
Historical
Setting
Generally
considered the second full scale engagement of Jackson's brilliant
Valley Campaign, the Battle of McDowell took place May 8, 1862 on the
slopes of Sitlington's Hill, a spur of Bullpasture Mt. lying above
the village of the same name. It was here that 2000 Federal troops
under Robert Milroy & Robert Schenck attacked an advanced force
of Confederates under Edward "Allegheny" Johnson, who had already
occupied the hill. Johnson's troops were reinforced by the brigades
of Taliaferro and Campbell (under Jackson), and the Federal attacks
were successfully repelled. Nevertheless, the battle furnished enough
time for the remaining 4000 Federal troops to retire beyond McDowell,
where they were joined by the attacking force at dark. Jackson's
army, numbering nearly 10,000, took up the pursuit the next day,
leaving behind a detachment of cavalry and the VMI Cadet Battalion to
guard Federal prisoners (mostly wounded). The remainder of Jackson's
troops chased the Federals through Monterey, and down the South
Branch valley to just south of Franklin, West Virginia, where they
turned back.
In many ways
the battle could be considered a lopsided, "Pyrrhic" Southern
victory, as the Confederates suffered 498 casualties vs. the
Federals' 256. Milroy had boldly attacked Jackson's advanced guard
and the courage of the Federal troops had staved off a potential
Union disaster. Nevertheless, the battle accomplished several
important objectives for Jackson. It immobilized the major portion of
Union General Fremont's Army, isolating them well beyond the imposing
barrier of Shenandoah Mountain, and intimidated Fremont himself from
any further deployment for nearly a month. It also convinced
Nathaniel Banks, overall commander of the Valley Region, that Jackson
had much greater strength than he actually possessed, a suspicion
which Banks had held since the Battle of Kernstown. Finally, it
provided Jackson's troops, especially the men of his second
(Campbell's) and third (Taliaferro's) brigades, with a much needed
victory, boosting their lagging morale and convincing them of their
ability to win. The hard marching and fighting of the McDowell
action, often with little or no rest, soon resulted in their
referring to themselves as Jackson's "foot cavalry".
Event
Goals Military
•
Interpret the camp life, attitude and equipment of the Confederate
and Federal soldier during the First Valley Campaign.
•
Reenact a portion of the battle at a "regiment vs. regiment" scale,
portraying two of the regiments that were there, the 82nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry and the 12th Georgia Infantry.
• Units
that portray companies/regiments which were present at the battle are
encouraged to review their part in the action and be able to give a
thorough account to the public. All other units are requested to pick
a regiment from the above "order of battle" who they will portray for
the purposes of the event.
Civilian
•
Portray the local population's interaction with both the occupying
Federal troops and the Confederate liberators.
•
Interpret the life and times of the yeoman and tenant farmers of the
region in May 1862.
•
Highlight and illustrate the culture of the Virginia Allegheny
highlands.
