Experience The American Civil War

If you happened to be at Hovander Park Friday May 15, you would have seen a replica of the 15th Alabama infantry flag, tents, canon, makeshift doctors tent (complete with a “body”), the quilt that told a story to the runaway slaves and all sorts of other replicas from the Civil War Era. All of the participants were volunteers, some as far away as Wenatchee!

The 15th Alabama Volunteer Infantry and The Washington Civil War Association deserve an enormous thank you many times over. They went far above and beyond expectations in demonstrating a taste of the Civil War for a few hundred elementary and middle school children.

The fifth grade classes at Bernice Vossbeck Elementary were really looking forward to the field trip at Hovander Park and they didn’t leave disappointed! Since our son is in Miss Jennifer Hanna’s class, I followed them around all morning and afternoon, asking questions and taking pictures. Thank you to all the participants who allowed me to photograph them in action.

Each class at Hovander would visit seven stations throughout the day. Each station told a story of the Civil War.

Station One: Cause and Effect of The Civil War. This was a unique take on the Civil War, because it cast two men as friends, neighbors, and then soldiers for the two sides of The Civil War. These two gentlemen started out speaking to each other as friendly neighbors, and then gradually they entered into a discussion about the inevitable war, and eventually the men fought against each other, even “firing” rifles at one another! This was a very personal and intimate display.

Station Two:  Basic Military Drill and Manual of Arms. The children really enjoyed this station because they were led in military drills with “rifles” which were pieces of wood carved to look like rifles. There were two and three groups of children which would drill and fight against each other. Amazingly hard work.

Station Three: Ladies Clothing, The Roll of Women.  The two women who were leading this station were so very gracious. They told two stories, one was the quilt story and the other was how the women  kept their men and families dressed during The Civil War Era. The Quilt is made up of many many squares which each tell a story. Flags which displayed the quilt showed runaway slaves which direction to go, what hazards to watch out for, which house was a safe haven, or which trail would be the safest. The quilt was absolutely beautiful. The two ladies also explained how white cotton was the predominant material women would use to make their family’s clothing. One of the main reasons being that it could be washed in water and lye to come out clean. All children were outfitted in dresses until the age of four or five, and only then were the boys given a pair of knickers to wear.

Station Four: Medical Demonstration. This station was full of blood and gore and various limbs in a basket! Of course everything was a reproduction, but very captivating nonetheless. Here, a knowledgeable gal explained how most battle wounds affected the arms and legs. She also stated that a good doctor could amputate a limb in only 15 minutes. Most soldiers would die from infection, dsyentry, typhoid or pneumonia. If you survived an amputation or an operation you were lucky, and if you survived the infection or disease that followed, you were extremely lucky!

Station Five:  A Soldiers Story. This station told the personal stories of soldiers. The gentleman here explained how each battle was usually fought within 35-50 yards. Can you believe that? There would be only 105 – 150 feet between opposing sides. The subject of women was also discussed. Apparently there were over 600 women who disguised themselves as men and fought side by side, right next to the men. While not fighting, the men played games, sang songs, read, played with clay marbles and made hand carved miniature dice. An abundance of memorabilia was on display also, from shirts, jackets, swords, dice, marbles and brogans (boots).

Station Six: Artillery. The children were thrilled when they saw the cannon, and even more elated when it was fired! We were told that cannons were used extensively in the Civil War, and that they were very dangerous to be near, for obvious reasons. One thing I had never thought of was how much smoke is made when the cannon was fired. Imagine both sides having to aim and fire their cannons through all of the smoke!

Station Seven: Camp Life. Lets just say camp life was not very clean. The men didn’t have clean clothes unless their wives brought them clean clothes! Bathing was an extreme luxury. Officer living was a little better than enlisted. Officers were allowed furniture, like beds, and a way to transport them. Enlisted men had to carry all of their personal belongings. Crowded unclean tents was the norm for the Civil War Soldier.

Again, thank you so much,to the 15th Alabama Volunteer Infantry and The Washington Civil War Association. Thank You to all of the volunteers involved, thank you for your time, your effort, and thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!