Last Friday morning, I was eating breakfast and listening to the news when an advertisement came on telling of a Civil War reenactment which was to take place the following day at the Hale Farm located in the Cuyahoga Valley, about a twenty minute drive from Hudson. (In reality, everything is twenty minutes from Hudson!!) Kathy was visiting friends in North Carolina, and I had always wanted to visit this historic landmark depicting 19th century rural life in the Western Reserve. So by mid-morning on Saturday, I was off on an adventure.
 |
| "Old Brick" |
The short version of the history of the Hale Farm and Village goes like this: on July 13, 1810, Jonathan Hale, a tall, lanky farmer from Glastonbury, Connecticut, ended his journey to the wilderness of the Ohio Country. After traveling 646 miles in 28 days, he arrived at his new home in Range 12, Township 3 of Connecticut's Western Reserve, now known as Bath, Ohio. Jonathan began to work on the Hale House in 1825, the very same year that ground was broken on the Ohio Canal. By the year 1827, "Old Brick" was ready for occupancy.
 |
| Village Green at Hale Farm |
Three generations of Hales lived on the farm. Jonathan's great-grand daughter, Clara Belle Ritchie, acquired the property in the 1930's and supervised the restoration, but never lived in the house herself. On her death in 1956, Miss Ritchie bequeathed the property to the Western Reserve Historical Society. It was specified in her will that the Society was "to establish the Hale Farm...as a museum...to the end that the greatest number of persons may be informed as the history and culture of the Western Reserve." Since that time, the Hale Farm and Village has preserved and interpreted life in the Western Reserve for thousands upon thousands of school aged children and the general public.
Once through the Visitors Center, I was immediately struck by the smell of open camp fires. The men and women who were part of the reenactment, who came from all over Ohio and parts of the mid-west, were camped on the Hale property and using open fire much the way they did at the time of the Civil War. There is something about the smell of an open camp fire that has always appealed to my senses.
There were Union and Confederate drills to observe along with a wonderful Fife and Drum Corps. Dodging rain drops, one of the largest Cavalry demonstrations anywhere in the country took place in the open field near the Hale cottage. Over in the Main Tent, President Abraham Lincoln gave an address and offered his own reflections about the horrors of war. This was followed by a very fine presentation about the Battle of Williamsburg (the battle being reenacted that day). Finally, every one was invited to gather at the rail along the North Pasture for what was the culminating event of the afternoon - the reenactment of the Battle of Williamsburg.
Also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, the Battle of Williamsburg was fought on May 5, 1862. This year marks the 150th anniversary of this little known but important battle. This conflict was the first pitched clash of the Peninsula Campaign, with nearly 41,000 Federals engaging 32,000 Confederate troops. The opposing commanders were Major General George B. McClellan and Major General James Longstreet.
The battle ended with over 3,800 casualties and introduced America to some of the future "stars" of the long and bitter conflict: "Fighting" Joe Hooker, "Winfield The Magnificent" Scott Hancock, James Longstreet, JEB Stuart, Jubal Early, and many more were prominent leaders in this particular battle. With the exception of JEB Stuart, little at the time was known about these men who would later become legends during the remaining three years of the war.
The Battle of Williamsburg happened primarily because of the need to cover the retreat of General Joseph Johnston's Confederate Army from Yorktown to the Richmond defense lines. In following up the Confederate retreat, Hooker's division encountered the Confederate rearguard near Williamsburg. Hooker's forces assaulted Fort Magruder, which was an earthened fortification alongside the Williamsburg Road, but was repulsed.
Confederate counterattacks, led by James Longstreet, threatened to overwhelm the Union's left flank, until the one-armed General Phil Kearny's division arrived to fortify the Federal position. The General led his troops onto the field shouting, "I'm a one-armed Jersey son-of-a-gun, follow me!" It is said that the General led the charge with his sword in his hand and the reins of his mount in his teeth! Kearny is noted for urging his troops forward by declaring, "Don't worry, men, they'll all be firing at me!"
After stabilizing the front lines, Scott Hancock's brigade then moved to threaten the Confederate's left flank. The counterattack was unsuccessful. After a night of sporadic fighting, the Confederate army continued its withdrawl towards Richmond.
Watching the reenactment, which took about 45 minutes, I was reminded of the saying: "Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!" This war was fought in close proximity. One could clearly see their enemy and the men on the rifle lines stood shoulder to shoulder either killing the members of the opposition or being killed. It made me ponder about wars that are fought today with drones, satellites, and missiles fired from warships. All war is terrible; but, the Civil War must have been an awful bloody close encounter.
I left Hale Farm asking more questions and reflecting to myself on the drive home about humanity's need to war against one another. Leaders start wars, even within a country, because they desire and are addicted to power. Power is the main reason behind war and the need for individuals to control other groups of people. Politicians are the main reason there are wars in the world. What were the causes for the American Civil War? From my perspective, there appears to be five reasons: economic and social differences between the North and the South; states versus federal rights; the fight between slave and non-slave state proponents; growth of the Abolition Movement; and, finally, the election of Abraham Lincoln. A closer look at all of these issues, and the root seems to be the obsession for political power and the desire to control other people’s beliefs and rights. Has anything changed in our world?
Love One Another - Brian
No comments:
Post a Comment