Civil War reenactment, other activities at park this weekend

»Go to pulsejournal.com after the event to see a photo gallery.

MONROE — The smell of gun powder and the booming sounds of cannons and muskets will fill the sky during a local Civil War artillery training this weekend.

The actors of the Confederate States Marine Corps, Company B, Ohio River Detachment will conduct a “camp of instruction” from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Community Park, 500 S. Main St.

Exercises will include the basic manual of arms, safety, marching in formation, essential maneuvers, and firing of cannons and muskets, said Susan Wise, a member of the Monroe Historical Society, which is hosting the event.

About 50 re-enactors from Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia are expected to participate, she said.

The event, which is free and open to the public, is a prelude to Civil War Days, scheduled to run Oct. 21-23 at the park, Wise said.

That event will feature a memorial at Mound Cemetery for fallen soldiers, a ladies tea, quilting, plants and herbs, a 1800s baseball game with the Monroe Golden Lads versus Union Troops, battles, artillery, cannon and cavalry, an Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis debate, dinner with troops, a Virginia Reel Ball, and lantern tours through Union and Confederate camps.

The living history event also will feature medical demonstrations of amputations, a mortician and blacksmith, a fire and brimstone church service in the Confederate camp, artillery drills, a final battle and school field trips.

Shop sutlers also will be on hand selling period wares, organizers said.

The idea to bring the event to Monroe came about after Mike White, a re-enactor with the Confederate States Marine Corps, visited the society in 2010 and saw a special display of original Civil War letters. That visit led to conducting the living history event, according to Wise.

She said the re-enactment group chose to conduct the camp of instruction in Monroe to prepare for its re-enactment season.

The re-enactment is timely because its an educational event on history, which falls in line with the historical society mission to educate, and it is being conducted during the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, Wise said.

“The city is excited that this is going to be a really big event and we expect for it to continue year after year,” she said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 483-5219 or dewilson@coxohio.com.