West Virginia Travel Guide 2009 - (Page 56) In a small town like Belington, the build-up to the battle lasts all weekend, with camping and parades leading up to the main event . e T he first thing I learn about going to a Civil War reenactment is there are parades in which people clad in Union and Confederate garb hurl candy at you. As I’m sure real Civil War soldiers did, I hopped right onto the Internet to find out more. There at www.battleoflaurelhill.org I learn that not only would I possibly get to wage war, but I also might be able to experience a “lads and lassies pageant,” Civil War-style 5K run, vintage car show, silent auction, a cotillion ball and scads of flying candy. I also wander down to the library and check out a book, “Rebels at the Gate” by W. Hunter Lesser, an archaeologist and historical interpreter who lives in nearby Elkins. His book tells about the often-overlooked early battles of the Civil War, the first campaign that allowed West Virginia’s formation and shaped the rest of the war to come. I read through 86 pages, which gets me through the Battle of Laurel Hill, but then get impatient and decide just to call him up so he can tell me the rest. “These battles are small, but politically they’re really important,” Lesser says. Then he patiently explains what happened a century ago. As war brewed that spring in 1861, both armies set their eyes on western Virginia. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, which ran right through the state, was a vital supply line. Union troops were under the command of George McClellan, a public relations genius who ordered the construction of telegraph wires as a way to trumpet victories. The Confederates were under Robert Garnett, Robert E. Lee’s right hand man. One of the places they wound up clashing was at Laurel Hill, a broad valley near the town of Belington. That June, McClellan aimed 5,000 soldiers at Laurel Hill and federal troops kept Garnett busy there with skirmish after skirmish. Garnett finally slipped out of Laurel Hill at midnight on July 11, slogging through the mud and chucking supplies along the way – the sort of thing that happens nowadays at a really bad staff meeting. Before it was over, though, he was shot dead along the Cheat River, continued d This portion of history was new to me, but I cheer nonetheless as the Blue and the Gray pass grandly through the streets of a small West Virginia town while whizzing Tootsie Rolls, Double Bubbles and Dum-Dums at my feet. “Hurray for the Civil War!” I yell at a passing rebel, and he responds in kind by exclaiming “Hurray for Jeff Davis,” an admirable historical figure who I took to have been the era’s chief confectioner. But the pageantry and sugar high aren’t enough for me. I came here to fight. Candy merely strengthens my resolve. A Civil War reenactment seems pretty exciting – with all that saving or destroying the Union and all – so I thought I might like to take part in one. You know, get away from my usual desk jockey job, head for the mountains, put on a uniform, fire off some volleys, maybe get killed – and return safely to work on Monday. All that, plus the opportunity to better understand the war’s significance and gain a new respect for those who work hard to preserve it. West Virginia was forged out of that war, and the early battles that took place here shaped the outcome of our entire nation. For once, I want to be right out there on the battle lines. But where does a guy like me even get started? Where can you get a Union or Confederate uniform for the weekend? Should you hook up with a particular regiment beforehand, or should you just head out to battle and improvise? Choose Your Battles Carefully start by picking my battle. The Battle of Laurel Hill took place July 7-11, 1861, in the Tygart Valley of presentday West Virginia near the town on Belington. The battle is celebrated annually with a vivid reenactment, which I desperately hope won’t be so vivid as to include real bullets. I 56 1-800-CALL WVA http://www.battleoflaurelhill.org
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