Reenactors camp at Montpelier Aug. 1-3

Contributed
Published: July 24, 2008

Approximately 50 Civil War re-enactors will be camping at James Madison’s Montpelier Aug. 1-3. The re-enactors will participate in a number of drills and activities similar to the estimated 4,500 Confederate forces housed on the Montpelier grounds during the encampments of 1863-64. The public is invited to witness these activities on Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
At 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2, and Sunday, Aug. 3, Jayne E. Blair, a Montpelier senior guide and author of two books on the Civil War, will lead an in-depth guided tour of the camp. She will bring to life not only the history of the Montpelier winter encampment, but will also highlight the individual troop experiences represented by the re-enactors. She will also recognize the Aug. 1 anniversary of the Confederate return to Orange County Courthouse following General Robert E. Lee’s devastating defeat at Gettysburg.
No additional charge above the standard admission fee is charged for the tour. Participants are encouraged to wear sturdy footwear, and should meet in the Montpelier Visitor Center prior to 12:45 p.m.
The “Montpelier Guard”
Throughout the Aug. 1-3 weekend, approximately 50 re-enactors will be on hand participating in a full day of drills and displays. The group will be led by Colonel Troy Fallin, Company A 13th Virginia, which was known as the “Montpelier Guards.“ In addition, Colonel Fallin will have representatives from the following units: Company A 7th Virginia (the Richardson Guards); Company B 19th Virginia (Albemarle Rifles); Company G 19th Virginia (Nelson Greys); Company B 40th Virginia (Totuskey Greys); 49th Virginia; and Company H 53rd Virginia (Mattaponi Guards).
Confederate Winter Camp Site at Montpelier
Prior to the 1864 Battle of the Wilderness, Orange County served as the headquarters for Lee’s army. In the winter months leading up to the three-day battle that experienced nearly 30,000 casualties, General Samuel McGowan’s South Carolina Brigade occupied the Civil War camp located on Montpelier’s now 2,650 acres.
Since its abandonment on May 4, 1864, the encampment has been nearly untouched. The five-acre encampment included huts with hearths and was laid out in 50-men streets, with a company officer positioned at the top of each street. Montpelier’s archaeologists have excavated four of these hut sites, and they are featured as part of the three-quarter-mile interpretive trail.
Freedman’s Farm Tour
The guided tours will also feature the Gilmore Cabin, which is the post-Civil War home of freedman George Gilmore, his wife, Polly, and their five children. Born a slave at Montpelier in 1810 during James Madison’s first presidential term, Gilmore was emancipated as a result of the Civil War. Following his freedom in the late 1860s, he leased nearby land from Dr. James A. Madison, a grandson of the president’s brother. In 1873, Gilmore built the home that now stands fully restored.
Opened to the public in May 2005, the one-and-a-half story house, built of chestnut oak logs, is the only restored Freedman’s cabin in Virginia. The Gilmore Cabin and its accompanying farm is profiled in “The Heritage and Culture of African Americans in Virginia,“ a guide to black history sites, as well as the recently released “Journey Through Hallowed Ground: Birthplace of the American Ideal,“ a National Geographic book.
Civil War Book Author
Tour guide Jayne E. Blair has written two Civil War books: “Tragedy at Montpelier: The Untold Story of Ten Confederate Deserters” and “The Essential Civil War: A Handbook of Battles, Armies, Navies and Commanders.“
“Tragedy at Montpelier” tells the story of a tragic event that occurred on the grounds of Montpelier during the Civil War when ten men who had fought valiantly at both Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, decided to leave their comrades-in-arms and go home. Captured and taken prisoner, they were returned to their division where their punishment, death by firing squad, was carried out in front of their comrades on Montpelier’s grounds.
“The Essential Civil War” is a general guide to the Civil War. Arranged both alphabetically and chronologically, this book makes it easier to understand the war by giving facts, plain and simple, in an easy-to-find format.